“Hurry! Have that hanging scroll put away somewhere.”
Through the sliding door, I could hear Father giving orders to a maid.
Sitting at my desk, I gave up on trying to focus, turned over the cheap straw paper I'd been writing on, and allowed my pencil to roll over it. I thought about the paulownia wood pencil case on my desk, the small granite paperweight, the cuckoo clock hanging from a pillar, and the linen bag I'd been using for over five years now, ever since I'd first entered the girls' academy.
The pencil case and paperweight were both hand-me-downs from my elder sister I'd been using since I was a child, so of course they were covered in scratches. The cuckoo clock hadn't cuckooed once since it fell to the floor in the earthquake two years ago, and my bag was covered in burn marks.
...I didn't think they'd take things like that. But even if I told myself that, I still felt like everything I owned was merely borrowed.
I didn't know how bad Father's debts had gotten. No one would tell me.
Two years ago, I couldn't have imagined living such a desperate life. Back then, I'd lived in a mansion in Koishikawa with my own personal maid. There'd been a garden with a small artificial hill, and we'd owned our own horse-drawn carriage. I'd commuted by rickshaw to the girls' academy. The Kabatani family had been wealthy and happy thanks to the blessings brought to us by my grandmother, who had married into a Viscount's family.
However, the real estate holdings that accounted for most of the Kabatani family's income were lost in the earthquake. When he attempted to make it back, Father was deceived by speculators and soon fell deep into debt. We had to sell the Koishikawa mansion and move to our current home in Yotsuya, losing most of our maids along the way. It was just enough for us to keep up appearances.
The worst part of it all was not knowing how much we owed or who we owed it to. An endless procession of debt collectors came and went, by now coming several times a week. Though the others in the house were careful to keep me from meeting them, we still sometimes bumped into each other as they entered or left the mansion.
The debt collectors were either in their thirties or middle aged, and most of them wore dull, dark brown kimonos. It was like they had a dress code. They looked exactly like the debt collectors I'd read about in novels. They probably dressed the same no matter where they went.
...Did they enjoy barging into mansions dressed in shabby clothes?
I began to suspect that when I noticed the the way they always smiled at me like they were old friends, condescendingly patted my head, or sneered at my hair clip. I hated them. I was sure they were enjoying it, that commoners like them were able to force their way into a Viscount's mansion and demand money from the family head.
Surely, another one was coming today. Father was panicking because he was coming so suddenly. I turned back to the straw paper and tried to ignore my worries.
But soon, I put the pencil down again. Something was different today. The commotion from the other side of the sliding door hadn't calmed down. Besides, no matter how much Father tried to behave otherwise, there was no denying that the Kabatani family's debts were my concern.
I hid the straw paper under the dresser. Whatever happened, it was my problem, too. And so, I opened the sliding door to see what was going on.
As soon as I stepped out into the hallway, I bumped into the maid, Shino. She was carrying a vase that had been on display in the reception room to the back.
“Ah, My Lady, you mustn't come out of your room today–”
As I walked passed her, Shino gave me a troubled look and quickly walked away. The maid had a habit of responding to unusual events by acting flustered and fidgety but refusing to explain why, which always raised my heart rate.
I ignored her and went the other way down the hall to the entrance.
“What? Mariko?”
Father, who was busily pacing the entrance hall, called out to me.
“Didn't Shino tell you? We have a guest over today. You should just stay in your room.”
“I don't see why a guest would require you to put away the scrolls and vases.”
Father's face fell at my response, and he stopped moving.
“Mariko, even if the scrolls and vases are gone, I promise, it won't have any impact on your life. You don't need to worry about it.”
“Yes, of course, I'm not concerned about how many scrolls we have. What worries me is what will go missing the next time. The house? Something else?”
Father's frown deepened further and he went quiet.
My Father, Tadamichi Kabatani, was the third generation of the Viscounts Kabatani. He had one son and three daughters. My elder brother, the eldest child, served in the navy. My eldest sister married into the family of Count Minoshima last year. The middle girl, the one-time owner of my pencil case and paperweight, died in the earthquake. Unable to bear the emotional strain, Mother moved out to the countryside to recuperate, living in the care of an acquaintance. I, the third girl, graduated from a girls' academy last spring and hadn't left home since.
I didn't know what would happen to me now.
My older brother, who was set to inherit his title, could have been shipped off to the south or abroad at any time, so Father must have considered the worst case scenario. If that happened, he would have had me married off and declared my husband his successor.
However, I suspected Father's debts may have placed that plan at risk.
Father often complained, expressing his wish that my middle sister was still alive. I don't know all the details, but apparently, the second eldest was once engaged to a prominent family, and if it had come to fruition, she would have received a considerable dowry.
But after she died, the engagement was annulled.
And so, Father was now waiting on tenterhooks for me to be engaged to a spouse who could afford to erase his debts. Perhaps he was even looking for one himself. He must have realized by now he lacked talent as a businessman, so he had no choice but to hope for such a thing.
Father held a dignified silence, so I asked again.
“Father, I know it isn't fair of me to ask after the family affairs. But if it's something that will affect me, I think I'm entitled to know. At least let me be prepared. What is happening today? What has you so worried?”
Not that I could have prepared myself. I knew perfectly well that if he told me I had a marriage proposal, I couldn't just decide on it immediately.
“...It's the same as ever. It's just that today, I don't know who's coming, so I have to be prepared to greet them.”
“What do you mean, you don't know? It's about money again, isn't it?”
Father gave in and finally started to explain himself.
“Mariko, for about a year now I've been consulting with the president of the Harumi Trading Company about our money troubles. He told me he's coming to discuss the matter today.”
“The Harumi Trading Company? From Yokohama?”
“Yes.”
I knew of it. It was one of the top three biggest trading companies in Japan.
And speaking of its president, I remember reading in the newspaper that he'd made a massive financial donation after the earthquake. I never imagined Father would owe money even to someone like him.
“I wrote Mr. Harumi a letter apologizing for not being able to meet his latest request. He gave a cold reply, saying he'd send a messenger to settle everything with me. The messenger is scheduled to arrive this afternoon.”
“Did you ask what kind of person the messenger would be?”
“He didn't say in the letter. But it can only be the sort of person who would be charged with a job like this. Of course, it would have been someone hired by Mr. Harumi.”
In other words, a debt collector.
As the president of Harumi Trading, he wouldn't go around acting like a common loan shark. If Father was still that nervous, it must have been because he owed an enormous sum of money. It was the sort of loan that held the entire future of the Kabatani family in its hands, so it seemed unlikely he would be lenient in collecting his payment.
There was no longer any doubt in my mind that Father was planning to use me to settle his debt.
That was the only reason he would have gone out of his way to tell me all the details about the collection. He was taking advantage of the fact I'd said I wanted to “be prepared” to set the groundwork for talking me into selling myself for a dowry.
It was like I was trapped in a fish tank. I could do whatever I wanted within my enclosure, but I had no idea when someone would come along and scoop me out.
Father hadn't made up his mind yet. It seemed he felt compelled to tell me something before the debt collector arrived. I knew very well that Father was a timid man, nothing at all like the image most people imagine at the name of “Viscount”. It was a trait I'd inherited for myself.
My imagination ran wild. The debt collector would surely arrive wearing the same boring kimono, struggling to hide his laughter as Father explained why he couldn't pay the money back. Then he'd lecture him like a cruel teacher about how his circumstances didn't justify breaking a promise, and that applied to nobles as well as commoners. If things went the way they had in the past, that's how it would go.
And then... What would happen next?
Something about what Father had said worried me. The president of Harumi Trading had said that the debt collector he sent would “settle everything”.
“Can't Mr. Harumi think of any way of settling this except with money? I'm sure the president of a trading company knows about all sorts of things that a common person wouldn't think of...”
My anxiety suddenly spiked in my chest. It was possible that today, the debt would be settled in a single, forceful transaction. Of course, if that happened, I couldn't claim to be uninvolved.
I remembered a story from when I was still very young, when the daughter of a baron caused a stir by becoming a book saleswoman.
Or the many stories I'd heard of people orphaned after the earthquake who were forced to sell themselves in brothels. Both concepts were equally distant from my life, and both frightened me.
However, Father seemed to believe it was his duty to show no more concern in front of me.
“Mariko, what's the point of you worrying like that? I'm the one who will be talking to Mr. Harumi's messenger. All you have to do is be quiet and not cause any trouble.”
It was at the exact moment Father said that. Without warning, there was a quick, sharp knock on the front door.
The loud noise made both Father and myself jump. Without a moment's hesitation, someone on the far side of the door called out.
“Hello! I'm here for the money!”
It was the voice of a young girl.
2
Father hesitated, wondering if he should call a maid to open the door, but ultimately felt compelled to find out the visitor's identity for himself, quietly made his way to the door, and, without a word, grabbed the handle with bated breath.
Just as it had sounded, she was a young girl. The moment the door slid open, the girl stepped over the threshold.
“Hello, I'm Yuriko. Mr. Viscount Kabatani?”
“I'm Kabatani. I...”
The girl who'd introduced herself as Yuriko was certainly “a young girl”, but she was a strange one, the sort I'd never seen even on stage or in a moving picture.
She was shorter than me, less than five feet tall. She wore what looked like the traditional clothing of a country that was neither Japanese nor Western. It looked like she was wearing a thousand paper cranes.
Her face was round, thin, and had somewhat sunken cheeks. Strands of hair like coconut fibers grew freely from her head, making her look like the balls of cedar twigs used to mark sake stores1 . She wore large earrings made from carved shells. Her eyes were as large and black as Chinese soapberry fruits.
Father looked down at Yuriko with the exact expression he would have made if a Hina doll from the local department store had wandered in. He'd forgotten all about sending me back to my room.
“...A-Are you here to deliver a message? I'd heard that Mr. Harumi was sending a messenger over, but could he not make it?”
“No, I'm the messenger. Grandpa Harumi told me to get the money back. Please, take this.”
The girl put her right hand into the front of her traditional looking dress and handed Father a crumpled envelope.
I took a quick peek at Father's hand as he unfolded a piece of writing paper. It said “I apologize that I do not have the time to consult with you myself. Yuriko will be handling all future negotiations. Please make arrangements with her regarding your repayment” and so on.
“It's true, Mr. Harumi really did leave it all up to you...”
“Really? I can't read it, so I didn't know.”
Yuriko said that quite directly, making Father look even more confused. He carefully scrutinized the signature of “Kaneaki Harumi” at the end of the letter, but he couldn't find anything to set his mind at ease.
“I'm sorry, please give me a moment.”
Father left through the front door.
It seemed he'd gone to make a phone call. The strange girl and I were left facing each other in the entrance hall.
The girl tilted her head at me.
“What's your name?”
“I'm Mariko Kabatani, the Viscount's daughter.”
“Mariko? I see. I'm Yuriko.”
The girl introduced herself again and showed me a smile full of crooked teeth.
Not only was Yuriko dressed unusually, but she also behaved as though she'd come from a faraway land. I couldn't imagine a girl like her existing, whether in a slum or an aristocrat's manor. I felt like she had spent her life somewhere far beyond my imagining.
Not wanting to be disrespectful, I carefully asked her something.
“Miss Yuriko? What exactly is it you do? Do you work for Mr. Harumi's company?”
“What? No way, I couldn't do that. My job is to collect money from people who borrow from Grandpa Harumi and don't pay it back.”
No way, it's true, I thought.
The visitor was in fact a debt collector employed by Mr. Harumi. One who looked completely different from how I'd imagined.
“Why do you do this? Are you a relative of Mr. Harumi's? Is that why you were asked to come in his place?”
“We aren't related at all.”
“I see. Well, how long have you been working as his... civil enforcer?”
“I started after the earthquake.”
“What did you do before the earthquake?”
“I used to be in the circus.”
The circus! Somehow, that made a lot of sense. A mysterious presence like Yuriko's certainly must have come from somewhere like that. Although, I'd never actually been to a circus, so all I knew about them was what I'd read in foreign novels.
“...So, Miss Yuriko, you used to do things like walking across a tightly stretched rope, performing trapeze acts, and riding on horseback?”
“Mm-hm.”
“How did you get from there to collecting money for Mr. Harumi?”
“I ran away from the circus and made my way to Tokyo. Then the earthquake happened, and everything was destroyed. That was when I met Grandpa Harumi and asked him if he had any work for me. He told me that a member of the House of Representatives wouldn't give him his money back, so I should go get it for him.”
Apparently the president of Harumi Trading and Yuriko both had their strange circumstances. What could have happened to make the president of a famous trading company entrust a job like that to a runaway circus girl wandering burnt out ruins?
Yuriko explained with joy, as though she were showing off new clothes.
“Grandpa Harumi's already 74, so he doesn't want to do things like that himself. But I've never failed, not even once. I've gotten back everything he asked me to. Aren't I amazing?”
“Grandpa only lends money to people who don't need to pay him back, or who definitely will pay him back. So Mariko, I'll definitely get your money back, too.”
Yuriko said that directly, without a hint of hostility or malice. It was like she was visiting a friend's house to take back a board game she'd forgotten on New Year's.
The front door opened. Yuriko turned back around.
“Oh, Mr. Viscount. Welcome back.”
“Hrm...”
Father looked at her questioningly. As expected, he'd gone to call the Harumi Trading Company to confirm that Yuriko actually was their authorized debt collector.
Wearing an expression of total dissatisfaction, Father invited Yuriko into the reception room. I didn't know what he'd been told over the phone, but whatever it was, it seemed he'd been left with no choice but to accept the unbelievable story that this circus girl had been sent by the president of Harumi Trading to settle his debts.
“Please, we can talk in here...”
“Yep yep yep! Come along, Mariko.”
As though it were the most natural thing in the world, Yuriko grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me with her into the room.
3
“Are you... a friend of My Lady's?”
Shino, who'd come to serve refreshments, asked suspiciously. She knew that a debt collector was supposed to be coming.
“Yeah, that's right.”
Since Father and I were both silent, Yuriko answered for us. Then, with both hands, she quickly snatched the cup of green tea that Shino was in the process of setting down as though she were snatching a butterfly from the air, and said “Thank you very much.”
Yuriko spent some time fishing around in the sweets on the table, but when she saw that neither Father nor I had touched our tea or the sweets, she took a box of caramels and a can of caramel drops from the raggedy bag she had with her and placed them next to the tray.
“Want some?” she asked.
“No, it's fine.”
“Really? You sure?”
Yuriko took a caramel of her own.
Father couldn't stand to wait any longer and spoke to Yuriko, who was leisurely stuffing her cheeks with caramel.
“Miss Yuriko, I heard from Mr. Harumi that he has left this matter entirely in your hands. In other words, if you and I are able to come to an agreement, Mr. Harumi will not be able to object.”
“Of course, if he says that, I have no objection, but if we are to discuss this issue, I believe it is important we develop a foundation of trust–”
“Oh, you shouldn't be saying things like that. It would be a terrible mistake to trust me. You're a good person, Mr. Viscount. But are you seriously going to trust the people who come to your house asking for their money back? There's no reason to think about your relationship with your debt collectors.”
“If you borrow money you can't pay back, what you should be thinking is how to avoid paying it back. It's because you have so much blind trust in people that you're in so much trouble with your debts.”
Yuriko said all that with a smile. Father looked as though he'd been smacked in the face by a teddy bear.
“...I understand you're here to demand repayment–”
“Of course I am! If our roles were reversed, that's what you'd be doing. Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to demand the money back.”
“Alright! Let's decide on a plan. Mr. Viscount, do you know exactly how much it is you owe?”
Frowning, Father handed Yuriko the IOU that had lain face down on the table, trying to keep me from seeing.
“Is this correct?”
“Even if you show me that, I can't read it.”
“You can't... read it?”
Father looked to be at his wits' end.
It was true that Yuriko had said earlier that she couldn't read Mr. Harumi's letter, either, but did that me she couldn't read at all?
I had been trying to stay quiet, but I couldn't keep myself from blurting out.
“Miss Yuriko, when you say you 'can't read', do you mean you can't read katakana, or hiragana, or anything?”
“Yeah. I can't read any of that. That's why the only job I can do is collecting debts.”
That didn't seem possible.
If she couldn't read, did that mean she hadn't gone to school? Well, if she was from the circus, I supposed that wasn't so surprising.
Yuriko took a glance at the IOU that had been presented to her as though to confirm that she still couldn't read. Then, as though she were rejecting an invalid foreign currency, she pushed it back into Father's hands.
“Well, whether I can read or not shouldn't matter. I asked Grandpa Harumi about you and the Kabatani family already.”
“Mr. Viscount, you borrowed 10,000 yen from him one year ago, right?”
“Um...”
Father reluctantly nodded.
I was sure he wanted to proceed without me hearing about details like the amount of the debt. Father wasn't happy to have me involved in the discussion at all. I didn't know why Yuriko had dragged me into the room with her, either.
“So, the interest was five percent per year, rounded up to the nearest sen2 . What you owed us was probably about 200 yen plus interest per month. So, the promise was that the repayment plan was to take four years and two months.”
“However, we only got back what you'd agreed upon for the first three months. After that, you started only paying off the interest for a while. And for the last four months, you haven't been making payments at all. So, the remaining amount you owe is 9,558 yen and 38 sen. Is that correct?”
“Yes. It should be about that amount...”
When Father trailed off, Yuriko continued.
“Well, it's hard to understand if you just say it in money, 'cause money's just numbers. 9,558 yen and 38 sen is 95,583 packages of caramel and 16 individual caramels. Or 190,167 cans of caramel drops, with about half a can left over. Or 955,838 roasted sweet potatoes. That's what you need to pay back.”
“Now Mr. Viscount, you had a second home in Kamakura, didn't you? You promised Grandpa you'd sell it to pay him back if you couldn't do it yourself.”
“But the other day, you sold that house without talking to us about it, didn't you? Someone else was asking for money you couldn't pay back.”
That was the first I'd heard about him selling the villa in Kamakura.
Father must have known that Mr. Harumi would find out, but he was still taken aback when Yuriko, who didn't seem like she was aware of such things, so casually exposed him.
“Yes, it's true, and I have no excuse. I should have told him. Of course, there's no way I could make amends to Mr. Harumi for this except to find another way to pay him off–”
“It's fine, it's fine! Mr. Harumi wasn't all that mad. He said he expected this. But you finding another way will be a problem. Mr. Viscount, you owe them about 12,000 yen, don't you? Mr. Harumi looked into it.”
“Together with what you owe Mr. Harumi, that comes out to 21,558 yen and 38 sen. That's the same as 862,335 red bean buns.”
“Mr. Kabatani, you already sold your house in Kamakura, so all you have left is this mansion. But there are already two mortgages out on it. This mansion is valued at 12,500 yen, so if you sold it, you could pay off the 12,000 yen, but you'd only have 500 yen left. That's not enough to pay back Mr. Harumi.”
Halfway through, Yuriko turned to speak to me.
Yuriko spoke fluently through complicated mathematical calculations and terms like “value” and “mortgages”, but they were such a contrast with her demeanor I wondered if she actually understood what she was saying. However, judging by the way Father put his hands to his temples, it seemed everything she'd said was beyond argument.
I was also vaguely aware that Father had been spending all this time doing everything he could think of to raise money. There was no doubt he'd even committed shameful acts. And so, he'd been able to pull the debt that had once exceeded 100,000 yen down to this amount.
It didn't seem he could go any further. These last 20,000 yen were an unavoidable debt the future of the Kabatani family rested upon.
Father's voice was pitiful.
“I understand, that I broke our promise is entirely on my head. But when I borrowed the money, I felt Mr. Harumi fully understood my circumstances. Is Mr. Harumi in a hurry? Does he need me to pay him back soon?”
“No, he's in no hurry at all. It doesn't matter when you pay him back, as long as you get there in the end. But he did say that the longer it takes you to pay off the interest, the worse things will get for you. That's why he asked me to come here.”
“...Are you saying you have an idea? About how I should pay you back?”
“Yeah. I've got an idea.”
Yuriko spoke like a mischievous child who was preparing a prank. Neither Father nor myself could guess at her intentions.
“Will you tell me–”
“Of course I'll tell you. But first, I want to see the inside of this mansion. Because if there's 9,558 yen and 38 sen worth of goods here, then we won't have to do all the troublesome stuff I'm thinking of.”
“Besides, I absolutely need to get some collateral today. After what happened with the house in Kamakura, Mr. Harumi said I should seize everything I can.”
4
A vase, three hanging scrolls, a silver tin, a mother-of-pearl comb, a bolt of cloth, and my long-sleeved kimono.
These were the items Father had hastily hidden earlier. When Yuriko effortlessly found them in the six tatami mat3 room in the northern corner of the house, I felt more miserable than I ever had in the presence of a normal debt collector.
These valuables Father had tried to protect from the debt collectors were our final remaining possessions, having sold off all else we owned.
Yuriko had noticed that the edge of the tatami mat in the center of the room was slightly loose, so she'd turned it up towards Father with her toes. Seeing how that upset Father, she quickly lifted the mat and found the hidden stash.
“Oh, wow! You have so much stuff.”
As she said this, Yuriko sat down on the floor and looked over each item one by one.
Father had thought of these items as the embodiment of his pride as a nobleman and tried desperately to protect them, but seeing the circus girl retrieve them from under the floorboards and casually appraising them made him realize he'd lost all his pride long ago.
“Oh, cool, this one has writing on it.”
It was a hanging scroll, so of course there was something written on it. The calligraphy that Yuriko was holding was done by Emperor Meiji himself, but she didn't seem to recognize its value at all.
After Yuriko had finished looking through our hidden assets, she neatly arranged the items on the tatami mat, brushed the dust from her knees, and stood up.
“Do you want me to put all this back under the mat?”
“...No, it's fine.”
“Really? Then let's go to the next room.”
Yuriko started to leave, and Father hurried after her.
The calligraphy wasn't the sort of thing that could be sold easily, but the rest of the items under the floorboards should have had a combined worth of about 1,000 yen. However, Yuriko acted as though she wasn't planning to take any of them as collateral.
Even though she'd found the items under the floor so quickly, Yuriko the enforcer's search was rather careless. After taking a quick look at the furniture, she casually moved to the next room as though she were touring an aquarium.
Yuriko then put her hand on the sliding door of the four and a half tatami room I was using. Although it was a small thing, the knowledge that I had a secret hidden in the room set my heart beating faster.
“Hey, this is Mariko's room, isn't it?” Yuriko said as soon as she saw inside.
“Yes, it is.”
“Oh, this is lovely.”
Yuriko picked up the granite paperweight, the keepsake of my sister, from my writing desk. After seeing my expression, she put it back on the desk with a meaningful smile.
“There are so many books. Not that I know anything about them.”
The bookshelf held all the novels Father had bought me. Father wanted me to only read translations of the works of the Western masters.
Yuriko took out a few books and aimlessly flipped through them.
As she looked around the house, I realized something. Yuriko wasn't planning to seize our belongings.
I didn't know why, but it seemed like she was searching the house to learn about us: how we lived, what we were thinking. I was afraid that Yuriko would find the straw paper I'd hidden under the dresser and reveal its existence to Father, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this strange girl had already seen through my worries.
Yuriko closed the collection of short stories by Turgenev (which she couldn't have read anyway) with a clap, returned it to the shelf, and turned to face Father and I with her hands clasped behind her back.
“Right! I've seen all there is to see. There isn't much good here.”
It sounded like she'd just finished browsing a flea market.
“Is that so? I'm sorry I can't comply with Mr. Harumi's wishes, but am I correct in assuming you're planning to return with some form of agreement between us?”
“Yep, that's it.”
“What exactly is it you're planning? Miss Yuriko, you said earlier you had some idea...”
Father asked timidly. This uneducated girl absolutely had the ability to force us to pay back our debts, using methods we couldn't even imagine. Little by little, that suspicion grew within me.
Yuriko smiled and took a step towards us.
“Alright, Mr. Kabatani, I'll tell you how to pay back the money.”
“Mr. Viscount, even if we put every single item in this house up for auction, it wouldn't be enough to pay back what you owe Mr. Harumi. And you've already used up all your other assets, haven't you?”
“So no matter how desperately I cling to you and demand you pay back the money you owe, all I'd be doing is making noise. You don't have the money, so there's no point in asking. So, I'll look elsewhere. And when I find the money, I'll ask you to return it.”
“Look elsewhere?”
I didn't understand what she meant.
But it seemed like Father had sensed something in Yuriko's words.
“Did you hear of some rumor? When you say 'find the money', could it be that you mean...?”
“Yeah! I heard a rumor. An amazing rumor. One that makes Mr. Viscount's 9,558 yen and 38 sen sound like pocket change.”
“And where did you hear this rumor?”
“From Grandpa Harumi.”
Father looked resigned. He spoke with a hint of self-deprecation.
“Was this Mr. Harumi's plan from the beginning? Is that why he lent an impoverished aristocrat like me such a large sum of money without proper collateral?”
“I don't know. I haven't heard the details yet. But since Mr. Harumi said it, it can't be a lie.”
“Hey, what exactly are you talking about?”
I asked Yuriko, not Father. I thought she'd be more likely to give me a straight answer.
“Of course, I'll have to tell you, too, Mariko. Mariko, do you know about Yoshinori Kinukawa? You must, right?”
“Do you mean Viscount Kinukawa?”
“Yeah, him. Mr. Viscount Kinukawa.”
In that case, the answer to “did I know him?” was “of course I did”.
I was related to the Kinukawa on Mother's side. I'd met the family head, Viscount Yoshinori Kinukawa, many times before. From what I'd heard, they were a samurai family with origins in the San'yō region.
I was surprised to hear their name from Yuriko's mouth now. Because Viscount Kinukawa had passed away two years ago. And not just the Viscount.
“I heard that the entire Kinukawa family was destroyed in the great earthquake.”
“That's right. The Viscount's family are all passed on. There's no one left to take over the Kinukawa family.”
That's what Father said.
When I'd first heard reports that the Kinukawa family had been wiped out September two years ago, before the fires had even finished burning, I'd been distracted. My head was full of nothing but thoughts of my older sister, whose body still had yet to be found. It wasn't until after chaos had calmed that I realized those reports had been true.
“Yeah, Mr. Viscount Kinukawa's the guy. Apparently, the Kinukawa family had all sorts of amazing treasure. It'd all be worth over a million yen.”
I'd heard that story before, too. It wasn't well known to the public, but Viscount Kinukawa's family had inherited a great sum of treasure, including paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, antique swords, and Buddhist sculptures.
“But ten years ago or so, Mr. Viscount hid those treasures somewhere they couldn't be found. No one knows where they are now.”
That, I hadn't heard.
When I looked at him next to me, Father looked like he had already known. Reluctantly, he explained.
“I believe Mr. Kinukawa was a sensitive man, perhaps even... a bit mad. I tried to avoid contact with him whenever possible. He must have believed it was better to keep his treasures hidden away somewhere than to keep them close at hand and be tormented by the fear that they'd be stolen.”
“That's gotta be it. Up 'til now, even the people who did want to look for the treasure couldn't do anything. Since Mr. Kinukawa was still alive, it would have been suspicious to go digging around in his space, so nobody could get any clues.”
“But then the earthquake hit, and everything changed.”
“So you're saying that since the Kinukawa family no longer exists, the treasure has no owner and is free for the taking?”
“Seems like some people think that, at least. But that's not all. Apparently, after the earthquake, a piece of paper with the treasure's location written on it was found in the ruins of Mr. Kinukawa's house. But it's in code, so there's no way to tell the location without deciphering it.”
“You're quite well informed.”
Father was suspicious.
And I was beginning to grow a bit curious myself. I wondered, was someone I knew searching for the Kinukawa's hidden fortune?
As I thought that, Yuriko spoke to me.
“Hey, Mariko, you know Mr. Minoshima, right? Mr. Count Minoshima. Apparently, he's desperately looking for that treasure.”
“Count Minoshima?”
Minoshima was the family my eldest sister had married into.
“That's right. Mr. Minoshima buys and sells land for a living, right? A guy like that would definitely want a treasure worth a million yen.”
“A lot of people would want it. I mean, it's worth a million yen. You could buy a hundred million red bean buns with that kinda money.”
“Miss Yuriko, I understand what you're saying. You're planning to find that hidden treasure, correct? If that happens, my 9,500 yen debts will be paid off in an instant.”
“Yep, that's it.”
“But it's the Kinukawa family's property. Even if I did obtain it, I wouldn't have the right to do anything with it.”
“Yeah, but... It'd be a real shame if it just got swallowed up by the Earth like a piece of candy and rotted away in the depths of some cave or something without ever being used again.”
“Of course, we don't actually need to worry about that. Someone will find that treasure eventually, even if that someone isn't you, Mr. Viscount. And they just might keep it all for themselves. There's a lot of people in this world who want money.”
Indeed, with a million yen, it would only have taken 1/50th of that fortune to pay off all our debts. We were related to the Kinukawa family by marriage, so I didn't think it would be unfair for us to claim the treasure for ourselves. That is, if we found it.
“But even if you say that, we have no clue where the treasure is. I don't even know where Viscount Kinukawa could have hidden it. You've only ever heard rumors, haven't you, Miss Yuriko? It seems a bit fanciful to rely on something like that–”
“Oh? That's strange. I think it's much more reasonable to look for a million yen you know exists than to borrow ten thousand you know you can't pay back.”
When she said that, Father had no response to give.
“Besides, this way's much more interesting.”
“Somehow, I can't bring myself to agree...”
“Fine, it's not interesting then. Whatever. Then you don't have to help, Mr. Viscount.”
“I'll do it! I'll find the treasure in Mr. Viscount's place! And when I do, I'll cancel all your debts.”
Yuriko said that with confidence, as though she'd just promised to pop around to the local corner store.
“You'll look for it yourself!? This is a strange story, very strange indeed...”
“Of course it's strange. This is what we've gotta do to get back the sort of money you owe us, Mr. Viscount.”
“But I'm gonna do it. If I leave things up to you, we'll never get our money back.”
“So how about it? Is that okay? If you agree, you won't have to pay any interest until I find it. That's just the 9,558 yen and 38 sen you'll need to pay us back! I'll also pay you damages if I'm late.”
“Is it really okay for you to decide something like that without consulting Mr. Harumi?”
“Sure.”
If we took her at her word, it was a convenient story. We didn't have to repay it right away, and we didn't have to pay any more interest. And Yuriko would search for the money for us even if we didn't do anything.
“Do you... No, does Mr. Harumi have an idea? About the location of Mr. Kinukawa's treasure?”
“We don't, no. Not at all.”
“But you'll agree to this deal now? The repayment will be made using Mr. Kinukawa's treasure, and we won't have to pay any further interest until it's been collected, all of that is in effect now, right?”
“That's right.”
“If you can do all that, I certainly shouldn't argue.”
Of course, we had no other way to pay back the money, and earlier today Father had been desperately trying to find some way to have the collection postponed.
Father sat in understandable silence. Yuriko was offering to cancel not only our debt to Mr. Harumi, but all of our debts, by finding a hidden treasure. Why was Yuriko so confident? That idea must have rang in Father's head like a wind chime.
Yuriko looked at Father and I and either saw straight through our worries, or didn't think at all.
“So, is it okay if I look for the treasure?”
“Um. Yes. It is.”
“Then it's decided. Oh, but there is one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“About the collateral.”
It seemed Yuriko was planning to take something from the mansion after all.
“Is that so? I certainly should leave something with Mr. Harumi, but unfortunately, as you saw, I don't have anything suitable–”
Father seemed worried that Yuriko would change her mind and take the items under the floor of the six tatami room after all, but what she said next was unexpected.
“Yeah, I didn't find anything of value. But that's alright, I just took a quick look around to be sure. I knew from the start there wouldn't be anything! I also knew from the start what I'd be taking with me.”
“You knew from the start?”
“Yeah!”
Yuriko suddenly raised her index finger and pointed as though a someone had just appeared from nowhere.
“Mariko! I'll take Mariko with me. Then, if I find the treasure, I'll give her back, Mr. Viscount.”
After saying so, Yuriko turned around and put both hands on my shoulders as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
I was the collateral? I didn't know what would be done to me.
Father changed color.
“What are you saying!? Is my daughter the sort of thing that can be lent and returned?”
“You've got to understand, Mr. Viscount. If you think about it a little, you'll see that there's nothing else you can do.”
“Mr. Viscount, you've made promises you can't keep, sold collateral without permission, and have absolutely no plans for the future. So if I make you an offer that won't do you any harm, you don't have the right to refuse.”
“Of course, if I were borrowing a chicken or the like, there wouldn't be any harm in that. That's something you should know without needing to be told.”
“You don't have anything else, so I have to take Mariko. That's been obvious from the start. There's no room to argue. If it's Mariko, she has a value equivalent to 950,000 sweet potatoes.”
Just as she'd lured us into letting our guards down, Yuriko showed herself as a true debt collector. She gripped my shoulders as tight as sweet potatoes. Her hands were gentle, but it felt as though I could never have shaken them off.
Yuriko shook me like a children's toy.
“You understand why I have no choice but to take Mariko.”
“I can't read. If you can't read, you can't find the treasure. You need to decode the code. But if I have Mariko with me, then it'd be fine, right? I mean, she owns so many books.”
“So it's alright if it's for the treasure's sake, right? You understand why I need to take Mariko with me, no?”
“You want to search for the treasure with me?”
“Yeah!”
When I heard that, my heart fluttered just a bit.
But I couldn't say whether I wanted to go with her or not. Feeling like a puppy waiting to be adopted, I waited to see what Father said.
“...However you justify yourself, I can't allow Mariko to be placed in danger. Before anything else, she is my daughter. Can you take responsibility for her? Even though you don't even know your next step?”
“It'll be fine. Mariko is safer at my side than she is in this house.”
“Of course, I wouldn't make a promise I couldn't keep. I'm just borrowing Mariko until the treasure is found. As soon as I find it, I'll bring her back. Don't worry about a thing.”
“That's my solution. You don't have any others. If you don't like it, you better go find one, Mr. Viscount. So? What do you say? The clock is ticking...”
5
“You don't need to bring so many kimonos. I've got plenty, I'll lend you some of mine.”
“No, I'll just bring my own.”
“You sure? That's fine, then. You've got some nice ones here.”
Yuriko looked at me with interest as I rummaged through my dresser. Looking at the way she was dressed, I was sure that if I didn't bring my own clothes, she'd make me wear something ridiculous.
Father was out in the hallway. In the end, he hadn't given a clear answer one way or the other. Yuriko ignored him and told me to pack up, since I wouldn't be returning to the mansion for a while.
“...Can I bring my books?”
“Of course! As many as you can carry.”
I picked out ten books from the shelf and added them to the items in the half-folded furoshiki wrapping cloth.
Then, I quietly retrieved the straw paper from under the dresser, keeping an eye on Father on the other side of the paper screen. While Yuriko probably didn't know what it was, it seemed she could tell I was hiding something.
After a moment's hesitation, I also wrapped up my sister's paperweight and my favorite fountain pen.
“I wonder if this is too much. It's too heavy for me to carry it all by myself.”
“Don't worry about it. Let's go.”
Yuriko quickly grabbed the largest of the three furoshiki bundles and opened the paper door. I followed, carrying the other two.
Father looked as though there was something he wanted to say, but he stumbled on them, chewed his lip for a moment, and mumbled something I couldn't understand.
“I'll be going now, Father.”
As I made my way to the front door, I gave a quick, underdeveloped farewell, motivated partially by rush and partly by embarrassment.
“I'll be able to speak to her again, won't I?”
That was all Father was able to say.
Yuriko responded that he should tell Mr. Harumi if he needed to contact us.
I wondered, was I really about to embark on a treasure hunt with Yuriko? It felt like I'd been out on a walk when a mysterious girl had suddenly jumped from the shadows and dragged me by the arm down a dark alleyway. I told myself not to get too excited. An hour ago, I couldn't have imagined that would be a problem I'd ever have.
[1] Placing tightly bundled balls of cedar twigs (杉玉, sugidama) outside of stores that sell sake is common practice in Japan. While it is believed that the practice began as a religious offering to the gods, it has persisted into the modern day due to its practical function: fresh, green sugidama are placed out at the same time the latest sake shipments arrive, then slowly decay and change color from green to yellow to deep brown as the sake ages and matures.
[2] One sen is worth 1/100th of a yen. Today, the sen is considered an obsolete currency, similar to the American half cent or the British ha'penny.
[3] 1 tatami mat = approximately 3 feet by 6 feet (0.9 meters by 1.8 meters)