kscans

Chapter 140 - A Bizarrely Complex Middle-Aged Romance

"What is this place... a sake brewery?"

Apparently, the property was so vast that the underground space was also quite large, within reason. Satou said that what he found down there was all sorts of brewing equipment, the kind you'd see in a sake brewery. Dumbfounded, he went deeper and said he found a single old man silently brewing sake.

"Yo, old timer. Sorry to intrude."

"..."

He didn't respond at all. There was no sign of any other spirits, so there was no doubt this old man was the vengeful spirit in question, but,

"Somehow, he just didn't seem like a vengeful spirit."

"Didn't seem like one?"

When I asked, he elaborated.

"You know how a vengeful spirit's soul is all distorted? They're constantly leaking negative energy, right?"

"Ah, yeah, that's right."

"But this old man was as calm and composed as the surface of still water, without a single ripple."

With his power, the guy probably could have obliterated the spirit without a second thought. However, if his curiosity is piqued, Satou is the kind of man who has no problem making a detour. It seems he decided to observe the old man for a while.

"Ooh... now that looks like some tasty sake. Judging by the ingredients, you're using the good stuff."

"You can tell, boy?"

That was the first time the old man acknowledged Satou's presence. He was a little taken aback when those sharp eyes glared at him, but this was Satou. He answered without flinching.

"I'm a bit of a drinker myself. When I'm in front of good sake, my mouth just starts to water."

"It seems you're different from the other fools who have visited this place. You seem to understand."

By "fools," he must have meant the people who had come here on a request.

"Honestly... It's outrageous enough that they barge into someone's home with their muddy shoes, but to then try and attack a helpless old man."

Satou realized something as he watched the old man lament the state of the world.
Ah, this old man doesn't even realize he's dead.

"You're quite outrageous yourself, but if the smell of sake lured you in, it would be cruel to blame you. Boy, want a drink?"

"I'd be honored."

As they drank, Satou managed to hear the old man's life story. The old man's name was Satou Kinzou. They had the same last name, but were not related. Satou is a common enough name, after all. Kinzou had become a wealthy man at a young age and was a true drunkard who loved sake more than his three meals a day.

"I drank it all, Japanese sake, foreign liquor, everything. I used my money to order sake from all over the world... and sometimes I even went to the source myself."

"Nice. I'd love to live like that."

"Heh heh heh, right? But eventually... just drinking it wasn't enough to satisfy me."

"So you started making it?"

"Indeed."

Apparently, he couldn't be bothered with the paperwork and procedures, so he was moonshining. Isn't that a crime?

"So... what? Did the old man become a vengeful spirit because of his obsession with sake?"

"Yeah. It was probably more manageable when he was alive, but dying must have stripped away everything else."

"So only his obsession with sake remained, creating an alcoholic vengeful spirit."

"Exactly. And that obsession was on another level. The old man died at ninety nine, and when I went in, five years had already passed since his death."

Don't you think something's off? Satou asked with a laugh. Everything about it was off, but... hmmm? As I tilted my head, Satou gave me the answer.

"How was he making the sake?"

"Ah."

Some of the ingredients for brewing sake must have a long shelf life. But even if he had a stockpile, it would dwindle if he kept brewing, and what about the ingredients that didn't last long?

"Unbelievably, the old man had unconsciously acquired the ability to create matter."

"..."

I was speechless. There are people in the underworld with that kind of ability, and the technology for it exists too. The former is a unique ability and quite rare, while for the latter, the resources put in and the equivalent value of the matter created almost never balance out.

"Actually, that old man..."

"He didn't have any hidden talent as an underworlder that he just hadn't noticed. Nothing like that. He was a completely normal person."

"Th, then..."

"It must have manifested along with his transformation into a vengeful spirit, driven by his extraordinary obsession. It's crazy, isn't it? Even if it is limited to things related to sake brewing."

"...It is crazy."

He must have been using all of his power as a vengeful spirit for material creation, which is why there was no sense of a strong presence.

"That said, his resources weren't infinite. Even though he became a vengeful spirit with a massive amount of mass, it's not like it was limitless."

"Don't tell me..."

"You figured it out. The old man was unconsciously draining power from the people who came to get rid of him. All so he could keep making sake for longer."

A chill ran down my spine. Why? Because of how dangerous that old man was. The idea that he'd just vanish if left alone was far too naive. This was a vengeful spirit with an obsession strong enough to lead to material creation. If his resources ever truly ran dry, he could unconsciously manifest an ability to lure in more prey.

"Even I knew I couldn't just leave him be, but it felt wrong to just obliterate him with force, you know? So I explained his current situation to the old man and then made him a deal. I told him I'd provide an environment where he could keep making sake, and in return, he'd give me some when he made a good batch. He gladly accepted."

After that, Satou bought the mansion and the land, put up a solid barrier to ensure its safety, and arranged for people to regularly deliver brewing ingredients and perform maintenance and upgrades on the equipment.

"Huh? But if the old man has that ability, he doesn't really need ingredients sent to him..."

"Ah, about that. The moment the old man became aware of his ability, he stopped using it."

"He stopped using it?"

"Yup. Said any sake made with such an incomprehensible power would be impure."

"...Oh, so that's what that meant."

A supernatural being makes it, but supernatural power is excluded. That's what Satou had said. I see. So it's sake brewed by a top-tier vengeful spirit, the old man, but his personal standards meant any supernatural power was excluded from the process.

"That's right. The old man's standards are ridiculously high. We made a deal where I get sake as payment, but he says he can't give me anything subpar, so he rarely ever sends any."

In other words, what we have here is incredibly rare.

"Yeah. So make sure you savor it."

"You got it."

After that, we just kept drinking, with idle chatter as our side dish. About two hours later, Satou was dead drunk and had started to snore.

"...The reverse of last time."

I carried Satou to the bedroom. I placed him on the bed carefully so as not to wake him, but he probably wouldn't have woken up even if I'd tossed him. He's usually pretty rough around the edges, and right now he was completely exhausted.

(I guess I'll contact them for him.)

I took his phone from his pocket and sent a message to Sakuya-kun.

(This is Takahashi. Hero Uncle is down for the count from the last few days of exhaustion, so he's staying at my place... and send.)

An immediate, polite reply came back. Judging by the text, you couldn't tell who was the guardian.

"..."

I didn't return to the living room, instead finding myself staring at Satou's sleeping face. He's aged a lot since back then. But he hasn't changed. Just like back then, he's showing me that unguarded, innocent sleeping face. It's probably the same with Suzuki. This guy, now and then, he's still the same...

(...I dodged the question when my junior asked, saying it wasn't like that.)

Looking back on our relationship, there were several special moments. But if you ask whether we deepened our bond because of them, that's not it. We built up the everyday, the mundane, the nothing moments, and came to see each other as irreplaceable. Thinking back, I think both Suzuki and I, even when we were men... held feelings for Satou that went beyond friendship. That said, to call it love would be something different again.

(But now, I'm a woman...)

I sat down on the bed and leaned closer to his face. It was an almost unconscious act. When I was close enough for my breath to touch him, I snapped back to my senses and pulled away.

(Agh... damn it.)

Just doing this makes it obvious, doesn't it?

"Heh heh heh heh heh... yeah, setting fires is the best..."

"...So carefree, spouting nonsense in your sleep, while I'm over here..."

Thinking about it became too much of a hassle, so I just lay down on the bed and snuggled up against Satou's body.

"...Idiot."

I closed my eyes. It seemed like I would sleep well tonight.