Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 6 Chapter 1

"Who knows? Maybe we still feel things, after our death. I’d like to rest, considering that ‘rest’ is the right word, in that little cave up on the tall mountain, overlooking Verrières."

'Le Rogue et Le Noir' Stendhal/ Translated by Kobayashi Masaki

Chapter 1

The protagonist of the story I am going to say next was a man who really amazed me.

To be honest, I am not too familiar with this man, and I never met him and talked with him. Moreover, the little information about him was all rumors. The most ridiculous thing is that he practically never appeared in this story. Even so, this is still a story that belongs to him.

His nickname was the “Bear Punch” (Bare Knuckles), and it was said that he earned this ridiculous nickname because he once beat a bear to death with his bare hands. However, that was what everyone called him as, no matter whether he was in Afghanistan, Yugoslavia or Congo. Perhaps that is because Japanese names are harder to pronounce?

He used to be a mercenary that went through many countries, but retired once when he was in his thirties, the age of his physical prime. That was because, when he returned to his hometown of Japan, he met a woman, and fell in love.

Nobody granted their blessings for this romance, but they still conceived a girl. He could not engage in illegal acts while raising a child, so he decided to wash away the stench of cigarettes and the stains of blood as he settled down in Tokyo.

Nobody knew why they chose to run a ramen store. Perhaps there might be some sort of significance to it. The history of Japanese ramen was that it inherited the essence of Chinese ramen, came over from the mainland, from the seas, but the soup absorbed the food cultures from all kinds of different countries, and finally became an authentic Japanese cuisine. Unexpectedly, this matched the background of the daughter both of them had.

However, after his wife died earlier, he abandoned his daughter and the ramen shop on a certain day and went back to the battlefield as the “Bear Punch” again. The only proof of him staying in this peaceful country, running a ramen shop, was the shutters of the shop.

His actual name was Hanada Masaru.

It was said that when he thought of using his own name as the shop’s name, his wife complain that it was too ‘primitive’, and got rid of the ‘da’ and ‘sa’. .

—“Ramen Hanamaru”

The story of Hanada Masaru began and ended here, at this shop with that name.

In any case, though I had forgotten about it recently, I was a high school sophomore, about to turn 17. I only recalled that when chatting with my classmates in the classroom. This is ridiculous. Do I have a psychological disorder.

Anyway, the conversation was as such.

"So Fujishima-kun, one month later, please come help out too. Don't spend too much time on your part time work in October."

The bell indicating the beginning of lunch break started, and I heard to voice of a girl. I lifted my face, and saw a short haircut, feisty eyebrows and friendly looking eyes. It was Ayaka. I was sleeping throughout the morning classes sleeping, and my head was in a daze. Thus, I could not understand completely what she was saying, and also, the reason why Ayaka and the other girls gathered around my desk.

"...One month later?" Will something happen?

"Listen to what I say! You were sleeping during homeroom period again, didn't you, Fujishima-kun? Why do you always come to school just to take a nap?"

I'm tired from all the troubles recently,, I tried to retort, only for the girls to interrupt.

"Doesn't look like it's a nap anymore when he's been sleeping since morning, right?"

"Sometimes, he sleeps till 7pm, after school."

"I heard he sleeps through PE too."

"Really? That's amazing! How do you do that?" I want to know too. That's quite some exaggerations from you guys."

"Fujishima-Kun's really talented when it comes to sleeping"

For some reason, Ayaka raised her chest proudly.

"There was once when we had a conversation while he was sleeptalking."

"You should have woken me up!" I retorted inadvertently, as if it was about someone else. "Erm, back on topic, next month? Is there something?"

The girls' eyes immediately descended into the ice age, and I shunned them by looking at the table, desperately trying to remember.

Today's the last day of September right? Erm, if it's one month later, in October...the end of October...

"Oh, my birthday"

"I didn't know that!" "Yes yes congratulations." "How old are you? Looks like you're an old man with onset dementia, are you seventy-seven-years-old?"

Why are they ganging up on me now?

However, thanks to that, I remembered. I would be seventeen soon. Come to think of it, I'm still a High School student, right? Merely a year had passed since I transferred to this high school.

It's a long story, but I'm doing a part-time work to a private detective agency, serving as an assistant. Looking back at the case files that I myself wrote, it seemed that over the past year, I was involved with more than 10 disputes that would have been required prosecution. There's still half of my high school life to go. Looking at this pace, I estimate that I'll be involved in another 15 cases or so before graduation. I'm starting to feel dizzy about this. What would I do if I graduate into life before I graduated high school?

However, Ayaka brought her face to me, dragging me back to reality.

Page 15 「藤島くんのことじゃなくて十一月の三日のこと。 なんの日かわかってるよね？」 "It's not about Fujishima-Kun it's about the 3rd of November. Do you know what day that is?"

「・・・・・・いいお産の日？」 "・・・・・・The day of good child birth?"

「文化の日だよ！ いくら藤島くんがほとんどニート同然で年中休日状態で国民の祝日に疎いからって」 "The day of the Cultural Festival! Even if Fujishima-Kun is practically the same as a NEET who has the day off all year long you're still out of touch with the current state of national holidays"

「僕には軽くボケる権利すらもないのか・・・・・・」 "Don't I even have the right to play dumb・・・・・・"

「文化祭の日も憶えてないなんて」 "You didn't even remember the day of the Cultural Festival"

え、文化祭？ Eh, Cultural Festival? 
 🌸

僕の雇われている探偵事務所と、彩夏のバイト先であるラーメン屋は、同じビルに入っている。 Before reaching the detective agency that employed me, you have to enter the same building as the ramen shop in which Ayaka worked part-time.

JRや私鉄や地下鉄がぐしゃぐしゃと交差した巨大な駅の東側、ホームレス公園を抜けて人通りが少なくなったあたりの袋小路に建っている、冴えないねずみ色の小さな雑居ビルがそれだ。 It was a small gray colored multi-tenant building that isn't clearly built in near the cul-de-sac of the area that is before the messy intersection crossing ahead of the huge station the East of JR private railroad and subway, homeless person Park, and pedestrian traffic decreased.

一階正面に掲げられた見事な刺繍の赤い暖簾が目印。 A red shop curtain with brilliant embroidery was unfurled in front marking the first floor.

『ラーメンはなまる』と書かれている。 The words written were "Ramen Hanamaru"

カウンター席が五つきりの、小さな店である。 There were only five counter seats in the small shop.

店主はミンさんといって、ポニーテイルにタンクトップに黒い腰エプロン、胸にはさらしを巻いているという、まぶしいくらい健康的なおねえさんだ。 The shopkeeper Min-San, who had her hair tied back in a pony tail and wore a tank top with a back waist apron, with a sarashi wound around her breasts, was a dazzlingly healthy older sister type.

「彩夏は文化祭の準備で、しばらくは出勤遅れるって言ってたけど。 なんでナルミはあいかわらず放課後すぐなんだ？」 "Ayaka said she would be late coming to work for a while because of the preparations for the Cultural Festival. Narumi why are you here immediately after school as usual?"

Page 16 夕方の四時に僕が顔を出すなり、ミンさんがカウンター越しにそう訊いてきた。 Min-San asked me this over the counter as soon as I showed up at 4:00 in the evening.

「あれか、クラスに居場所がないのか」 "Is it because there's no place for you in class"

「そっ、そんなことないですよ Th, that's not how it is」

焦って声が上ずる。 I raised my voice impatiently.

「僕が寝てる間にクラスの出し物が決まってたとか、僕の仕事はとくにないって言われたしか、机がカッター台がわりに使われてたとか、そんなこと全然ないです！」 The class program was decided while I was asleep, they told me there wasn't any particular work for me, and my desk would be used as a cutting table, so that's not the case at all!"

なんだか涙だ出てきたのは、さっきからミンさんが刻んでいるネギのせいだよね？ Somehow tears were coming out, is it because of the green onions Min-San was chopping up earlier?

「だからってうちの店に居場所があるわけでもないんだから、注文がないんならさっさと出てけ。 仕込みの邪魔だ」 "All the same my store isn't a place for you to stay, so if you're not going to order anything get out. You're in the way of preparations"

仮にも元店員に、なんという言いぐさだろう。 You say such things even though I'm your former employee.

しかし出ていくわけにはいかなかった。 But I can't afford to leave just yet.

「え、ええとですね、だから、ミンさんに文化祭のことでお願いがあって来たんですよ」 "Uh, uh well, you see, I came with a request for Min-San about the Cultural Festival"

「わたしに？」 "For me?"

「うちのクラス、アイス屋をやることになったんです」 "Our class is doing an Ice Cream Shop"

ミンさんの包丁を握る手が止まった。 Min-san's hand which was holding a kitchen knife stopped.

『はなまる』はラーメンよりもデザートで出てくる氷菓の方で有名という奇妙なラーメン屋だった。 "Hanamaru" was a strange ramen shop which was famous for it's icecream for dessert rather than it's ramen.

ミンさん、父親が失踪して店を継がなきゃいけなくなる前は、氷菓職人になるつもりで修業していたのだそうだ。 Min-San told me that before her father had disappeared and she inherited the shop, she had been studying with the intention to become an ice cream craftsman.

「だから、ミンさんにアイス作りを教えてもらえたら心強い、ってうちのクラスの女子たちが話してて・・・・・・」 "So the girls in class were saying that it would be reassuring if Min-San would teach them ice cream making・・・・・・"

Page 17 「・・・・・・そんなひまあるわけないだろ。 店どうすんだよ」 "・・・・・・I don't have such free time on my hands. What about the shop"

ミンさんがあきれた顔で言って、ネギを刻む音が再び始まる。 Min-San said with an exasperated face, and the sound of chopping green onions began again.

「ううん。 みんなが『はなまる』に通えばいいんじゃないですか？」 "Yeah. Wouldn't it be alright if everyone commuted to "Hanamaru"?

「アホか、同じだろ。 わたしがガキどもの面倒みてる間、だれがラーメン作るんだ」 You idiot, it would be the same. If I'm stuck with the trouble of dealing with a bunch of brats, who will make the ramen"

「え、ええと、それじゃ僕が」 "Uh, well, then I could do"

「なんか言ったか？ 三十分に一回どんぶり落っことして割るのが得意技のナルミが、なにをするって？」 "What are you saying? What could Narumi, whose special technique is to drop and break a dish every thirty minutes, do?"

「すみませんごめんなさいもう言いません」 "Forgive me I'm sorry I won't say anymore"

ううむ。 That's right.

わかっていたことではあるが、にべもない。 I understand it, point blank.

つまりこれが文化祭準備で僕に割り当てられた唯一の仕事なのである。 In other words this was the only job assigned to me for the Culture Festival preparations.

ミンさんを説得すること。 Convincing Min-San.

「あのな、そもそもうちはラーメン屋なの。 アイス屋じゃない。 わたしにだってラーメン屋のプライドがあるんだ。 ほらできたぞ、アリスんとこに持ってけ」 You know, in the first place this is a ramen shop. It's not an ice cream shop. I have pride as a ramen shop owner. Here it's ready, Alice is waiting for this"

ミンさんは刻みネギをどんぶりにざざっと入れると、僕の目の前に置いた。 Min-San placed a bowl of chopped green onions in front of me.

ネギと茹でたもやししか入っていないそのどんぶりを、しばらく僕は凝視していた。 For a while I stared at the bowl of only greenonions and beans sprout which was still boiling.

毎度のことではあるけれど、ミンさんはわざわざ解説してくれる。 It was like this every time, and I commented to Min-San expressly.

Page 18 「ネギ味噌ラーメンの麺とスープとチャーシューとメンマと味噌抜きだ」 "Green onion miso ramen without noodles, soup, roasted pork, menma, or miso"

「プライドも抜けてますよね!」 Your pride has already fallen!

殴られた。 I got hit.

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