That night, I attended a meeting for the Watanagashi festival committee.

Everyone assembled at the meeting room in the Furude shrine.

I'd seen the building a few times. but I hadn't actually been inside before.

There were pictures depicting the history of the dam conflict on the wall.

According to Mion, this assembly building had been used as the headquarters of the dam protest back in the day.

There was a huge flag that said "Onigafuchi Guardians" hanging on the wall. People had written messages on it.

I had been called to the meeting so I could introduce myself.

While I'd been chosen to be the host of the auction several days ago, this was my first time actually attending a meeting.

There were about thirty committee members in the room, and my dad and I were introduced to them.

Since I'm still a minor, I had to bring him along with me.

...I'd often heard the term 'parental rights' recently, because of Satoko's situation, and because of that I'd been thinking about the relationship between me and my dad.

......The Maebara family is a pretty happy one, I think.

...I'm blessed to have parents like them.

"Hello. I'm Keiichi Maebara...

This is my first time doing something like this and I'm very nervous...

But I'll do my best!"

"Hear, hear!

You do your best, young man!"

Their friendly smiles and applause made me realize again how welcoming people are in this village.

I felt pressured as I thought about how big of a responsibility I was going to undertake at the festival.

Since I looked so nervous, the leaders of the committee all came up to me and said that I could just act natural and do my thing.

"Thank you for offering my son such an important position.

I'm sorry that I'm unable to participate in council activities due to my job, but...

I will do what I can to support my son."

Clap clap clap clap!!

My dad must be used to making speeches.

"All right then, we'll break up into groups and start the meeting.

It's going to last until 8:50 PM.

Please begin your discussions as soon as you can."

The festival committee can be broken up in different teams, like a general affairs team, a construction team, a refreshment booth team, and a ceremony team.

Each team has separate meetings.

My dad and I were told to join the event team.

...But after all, we joined toward the end without knowing anything, and the festival was next Sunday too.

I didn't understand anything they were saying and I couldn't even express any opinions anyway.

Nodding and pretending to participate in the proceedings was the most we could do.

Near the end, I finally got the information about the auction I needed. I found out what time I was supposed to be backstage, and other stuff about my job like that.

They asked me what I was going to wear, and I stopped short...

I thought I could just wear my regular clothes, but they suggested that I should wear something more flashy, since I was the host of the event.

...But I don't have any clothes like that.

"How about a suit with a bowtie? That would make you look like a real MC!"

"A bowtie?

That's so embarrassing!!

I wanna wear something more casual than that!"

"How's the meeting going, Kei-chan?

What'cha talking about?"

"They're talking about what he's going to wear during the auction.

If you don't have anything flashy to wear, I can get you something like that."

"Really?

Oh, I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet... I'm Keiichi's father."

"Dad, I don't trust him to get me proper clothes...

I'm sure he won't get me anything for men...

A bowtie is fine.

I'll just wear that."

If I didn't compromise on that, Irie and Mion would try and make me wear something outrageous.

...She'd also want me to wear women's clothes...

"You're part of the committee too, huh?

Which team are you on?"

"He's on the general affairs team, where he's in charge of first aid.

We always ask for his help, since he's a doctor and all."

"All I have to do is give band aids to people who trip and fall.

It's an easy job. For the most part, I'm just drinking beer under the main tent.

It's nothing compared to your work, Maebara-san.

I'm looking forward to it!"

"Yaahahaha...."

"......I'm going to drink barley tea with him too.

Nipah~☆"

"You absolutely cannot, Furude-san!

Oh, good evening, Maebara-kun.

Nice to see you too, Maebara-san."

"Ah, ah, hello, ma'am!

Thank you for being so nice to my son all the time..."

"Maebara-kun, are you ready for the auction?

I'm looking forward to seeing your show!"

It felt weird to see Chie-sensei and the principal outside of school.

"Rika-chan, you're performing a dance at the festival, right?

I heard it's right after my show. I'm looking forward to it!"

"It's a traditional ceremony that she's performing.

I'm sure you're nervous about it, huh.

How do you feel this year?"

"......I'm used to it now, so I'm fine."

"You've only done it once last year, but you're already used to it?

I'm impressed!"

"Maebara-saaan!

It's been a while."

"Oh, Ooishi-san!

It's nice to see you!"

"Have you been practicing the Tsubame Gaeshi?

Nfu fu!

We should play together!

You won't get better unless you play every day, you know?!"

"You know how to play mahjong, Maebara-kun?"

"Oh, he knows how to play, doesn't he?

Nfu fu fu!!

He's a pretty good player, too."

"Heh heh heh...!

Perhaps we really should start playing mahjong in our club now!"

"......We should go and crush every mahjong parlor in the city."

Ooishi-san thinks I'm an experienced player since I was practicing Tsubame Gaeshi the other day...

Why do people misunderstand me all the time...?

"By the way, Maebara-kun.

I heard about that case..."

"What case?"

"About what you're planning to do tomorrow evening.

A few of my staff members and I are going to be there as well.

Takano-san and Tomitake-san are coming too.

We can't bring that many people, but I hope you'll let us join you."

"That's... that's so nice of you!

Thank you so much!

Every person counts!"

"......Irie..."

"I'm sorry that we can't do much to help her, but we still want to do something.

This is what Takano-san suggested."

"......Takano?"

"Yes.

She wanted to help somehow.

She feels bad that she wasn't able to assist you the other day."

"Oh, are you talking about that rumor?

The one saying that Maebara-san's become the leader of a protest group or something?"

"Ahahahaha...

Even you know about it?

You know about Satoko?"

"Of course he does.

He's very sensitive to rumors inside the village."

"Na ha ha... It's only my job.

I'm very aware of what's going on with Satoko-san..."

"Ooishi-san... What do you think about her case?"

Ooishi-san is, after all, a police officer.

Could he maybe have an option other than going to the child consultation center...?

"Hmmm...

I also think that going to the consultation center is the smartest thing to do."

"Then... you're also saying there's no way to save her before something happens?!"

"We would probably do the same... We'd meet with him and tell him not to harm her...

I'm sure a professional social worker can do a better job than that, though.

They take care of these abuse issues better than the police can."

"The police only take action after something happens...

But the child consultation center can make a move before it does..."

"Na ha ha...

...It'd be a lot easier for us if we could arrest criminals before they commit crimes.

...However, we need to be very careful about whom we arrest, you know.

We don't want to lose our jobs."

"...In that sense, there's nothing wrong with them saying that they want to wait and see for a while."

"......Meep."

"Well, I don't think the child consultation center is being unreasonable.

However, it must seem terrible from the point of view of those who know Satoko-san and Teppei-san."

Ooishi-san was exactly right.

They must be assuming that we're overreacting by making such a big fuss. It's only been a couple of days since he took her away...

But that mindset can create huge problems.

"I'm sure they're going to call him tonight because we told them that she's been missing school for three days.

They'll ask him why she hasn't gone to school."

"......Teppei might beat her up for that..."

"I don't know.

...However, if he continues to keep her at home after the phone call, the child consultation center will probably make a move.

I think they'll talk to him about it."

"So she might come to school tomorrow?!"

"...That's possible.

Teppei can't stay in Okinomiya for some reason.

That's why he needs to stay at Satoko's house.

I'm sure he doesn't want any further trouble."

"He can't stay in Okinomiya for... some reason?"

"Na ha ha ha...

That's right, for some reason.

I heard that he had some kind of money-related trouble.

You don't know about that, Sonozaki-san?

Nfu fu fu...!"

"I have no idea...

I don't know what you're talking about~"

"What do you mean, Mion...?

There's a reason he wants to stay in Satoko's house?"

"Well... yeah... ahaha.

Teppei has money issues, so he can't live in Okinomiya anymore.

He's hiding out in Hinamizawa until the trouble brews over."

"Then he should hide somewhere alone.

Why would he try and drag Satoko-chan into this!?"

"......You want Satoko as your maid, right? It's the same thing."

"No!! That's not right!!

Maids are about love!

There is love behind my desires!!

I'm totally against violence!

A master should treat his maid with love!!"

"Let's just ignore that pervert for a moment.

So Ooishi-san... You think there's no choice but to let the child consultation center take care of it?"

"I think that's the most realistic plan...

There are certain steps that you need to follow.

When you take a piss, you go to the toilet and pull down your zipper.

If you don't follow those steps, it ends in disaster."

"That's a gross way to put it.

You disgusting old man~"

"Na ha ha ha... I'm sorry I can't help you.

But I do find Satoko-san's case unfortunate.

I hope that everyone gets to have a happy ending."

"The child consultation center is going to make their decision regardless, but what you guys are doing isn't against the law either.

What you're doing, Maebara-kun, is not a mistake.

Don't give up. Do all you can do.

I'll support you too."

"Thank you very much.

We went there yesterday and today, and we're going to go there tomorrow too.

I believe we can save her as long as we don't give up."

"Hmmm... three days in row, huh?

I heard you took twenty people with you today.

Are you going to take that many tomorrow too?"

"Heh heh heh!

Kei-chan is really talented when it comes to stuff like this!"

"......You'll be surprised. There's going to be sixty people tomorrow!"

"My, that's amazing...

I can see you becoming an active labor union leader when you grow up.

The head of our union is pretty deplorable.

Na ha ha...!"

At that moment, I heard someone clapping.

It was almost 9 PM.

The meeting was over.

Everyone returned to their seats and listened to each section head's report on what they discussed.

"You're incredible, Keiichi...

You know so many people from the village."

"But there are even more people that I don't know."

"Are you sure?

You were talking with so many of them.

Mm-hmm, I really am impressed!

They're such nice people... Maybe I should be more involved with them too."

"You should.

Hinamizawa is all about helping each other.

I know you're busy with your work, but you should be involved as much as you can."

"I'm going to talk with your mother about that, I think."

"That's it for the meeting today.

The next meeting is... oh, tomorrow!

I'll see you all then.

It will be the last major meeting before the festival.

Thank you for coming today.

Chairman, will you give us some closing remarks?"

"No, it's fine. Let's just go home and get some drinks!

That's it for now.

Let's meet tomorrow at the same time.

Thank you!"

Wha ha ha ha!

Everyone laughed at Mayor Kimiyoshi's closing remarks.

We finished cleaning up, and everyone began filing out of the building.

Even though it was a weekday, some of them were going out for drinks.

They asked my dad to go along with them.

...My dad isn't an ordinary worker.

He can sleep in if he wants to, as long as he makes his deadlines.

"Keiichi...

They want me to come for a drink, so I'm going, okay?"

"Sure, have fun.

I'm heading home now."

Going home alone was kind of sad, so I thought I'd walk home with Mion, but she was still lingering at the meeting talking with the mayor and other important people.

She was probably busy, with the festival being so near.

As I contemplated whether to wait for her or not, Ooishi-san came up to me.

"Good job at the meeting.

How did you get here?

I can give you a ride home if you want."

"I came here on my bike.

Plus, I'm waiting for Mion."

"I see, I see.

You'll be waiting a while, though.

They're discussing the trouble they had with the refreshment booth team."

"Trouble with the refreshment booth team?

It seems like such a fun festival, but they still have some issues, huh?"

"Oh, yes.

It's hard to make adjustments this late.

Shaved ice and yakisoba are always popular, so everyone wants to do those.

But it'd be a problem if all the booths sold yakisoba, right?

They need to make those kind of adjustments so there will be a variety of booths, but...

People get upset when they have to run a booth that's not going to make much money, you know?

They suggest running the booths in rotation every year, but some people don't have enough staff to do certain kinds of booths, and other people claim that their yakisoba is better than everyone else's...

They also fight about locations, and who to hire, et cetera, et cetera."

"I had no idea that the preparations for a festival were so complicated..."

"Everything needs adjustments.

I guess it sounds like boring adult talk for a young man like yourself.

But adjustments are necessary to make things go smoothly.

What you're doing at the child consultation center is a secret adjustment, in a way.

Satoko-san and Teppei-san don't even know about it."

"Ugh...

I guess... you might be right...

But we have no choice but to raise our voices.

That's the only option we've got."

"No, no, I'm proud to see you do something like this.

If I was your age, all I'd be able to think of is attacking him in the dark...

Ah ha ha ha ha... Man, ha ha ha."

Ooishi must have had no other plans. He stuck around while I waited for Mion.

There was no one else around at that time of night.

It would've felt pretty lonely if he hadn't been there with me.

...I'm glad Ooishi stayed to chat.

We talked about mahjong for a while.

Its theory, techniques, and history.

I rarely talked with a guy his age, so it was very interesting for me.

It's nice to interact with people from a different generation sometimes.

...He's also a police officer.

I was secretly hoping that he'd give me a hint about how to save Satoko.

...In any case, I had to wonder what was taking Mion so long.

By the time Ooishi-san finished his second cigarette, I started to think that maybe I should just go home for the night...

"I think I'm gonna head home.

Mion is taking too long...

...I have something big to take care of after school tomorrow."

"Going to the child consultation center, you mean?"

"Yes.

I'm going to fight until they come up with a plan to save Satoko.

Consistency is important. This is all we can do."

Ooishi-san smiled upon hearing my passionate words.

"...I bet the child consultation center understands your point by now.

You know, there's a limit to what you can do.

It's important to know when to quit.

If you go too far, it will only make things more complicated."

"But... I can't just let Satoko suffer."

"Of course you can't.

I'm sure that the child consultation center won't leave her be either.

They will help her."

"They might help her, but probably only after she gets hurt.

If Satoko suffers irreversible mental trauma, it'll be too late."

"Hmm..."

Ooishi took out his third cigarette.

That meant he was going to stay here until he finished it.

I didn't feel like waiting here with him, though.

I just wanted to go home and relax so I could prepare for tomorrow.

"I'm going home now."

"You know, Maebara-san.

...There's something I wanted to tell you."

The tone of his voice had changed slightly.

Whatever it was, it sounded important.

I stopped and turned back around to face him.

"Actually, you see...

...I don't think you should go to the child consultation center tomorrow. You've made your point already."

"...But... we need to do this so we can save Satoko.

They aren't getting how urgent the situation is.

We have to make even more of a fuss if that's what it takes for them to understand.

I think we'll make a bigger impact if we go there three days in row."

"You're trying to show them every courtesy, huh?

Na ha ha.

...But you know, Maebara-san.

Sometimes, you should just let sleeping dogs lie."

"...What?"

"Ah, let me make this clear.

This isn't a warning from the police, and no one told me to tell you this.

I'm just giving you advice... as your mahjong friend."

The word 'advice' didn't sound pleasant at all...

...I felt myself frowning involuntarily.

"Do you know what the child consultation center is thinking?

You guys showed up two days in a row

and you brought twenty people with you today.

They're afraid you'll show up again tomorrow."

"Ha ha.

Then why don't they just listen to us?

I hope they're not planning to build a barricade so we can't get in the building tomorrow!"

"No, no, they won't do that.

Their job is to listen to these claims.

They'll accept anyone who's come to make an appeal.

They can't stop you from coming, no matter how many times you show up.

They know that, too.

So they need to take care of the matter before you bring even more people and cause even more trouble."

"You mean...!

Have they already made the decision to save Satoko?!"

"Not quite.

They've started making secret adjustments so that you can't come by to pressure them anymore..."

"Wh-What do you mean...?"

They made a secret adjustment so that I couldn't bother them any more?

I felt confused... and then Ooishi-san said something that almost sounded like a line from a political drama.

"These officials sometimes act a bit like the yakuza.

They don't want their badge disrespected.

It's normal for them to ignore opinions opposing the decisions they've made.

Even if they realize their office is in the wrong."

"......So if they listen to us, other people will come to the office to get their cases taken care of...?"

"That's exactly it.

Na ha ha. They don't want people challenging their decisions.

They will listen to your appeal, but they'll never change their stance unless there's something odd going on.

Plus, this time Satoko-san's case is nothing special or noteworthy to them.

He may have taken her away from where she lived, but it's a legal act, since he has parental rights.

It's not like a parent without custody forcing his child to live with him.

After all, he's the only blood relative she has. There's nothing, legally speaking, that prevents them from living together."

"But that's not the case with Satoko and her uncle.

You know that too!

You know how violently he abused her last year!"

"That was last year.

The child consultation center can't do anything about it if he tells them that he feels remorse over what happened then.

And more than anything, Satoko-san told them that he's not abusing her."

"Khh... That's because last year Satoko relied on her brother, and she deeply regrets overburdening him.

So as far as she's concerned, seeking help feels like she's betraying her brother...!"

"...I see...

It might be very difficult to persuade the child consultation center, in that case...

...Well, anyway, for reasons like that, the center can't understand why you and your group is pressing this issue so hard."

"We're just trying to let them know that Teppei is a violent person, and that we can't let Satoko stay with him!"

"But why?

You weren't here in Hinamizawa last year...

I don't think you know much about Teppei-san.

Why are you so sure that he's that dangerous?"

.........That was a hard question to answer...

...He was right. I didn't know much about Teppei.

I'd never even seen his face.

...But......

I just know!

Way back in a different world...

I didn't save Satoko...

I just stood by, and...

...

...

I've seen the world where Satoko was irreversibly broken.

We all cried, and regretted it...

I couldn't explain that to Ooishi, though.

...My friends had understood my premonition,

but it's weird for someone to be so aggressive just based on what he saw in his imagination.

"I mentioned it earlier, but sometimes a divorced couple battles for the custody of their child.

The couple can sue each other, and sometime their relatives sue the couple, too.

Some of them decide to sue their partner not for the child, but just because they hate them.

This case is a bit similar to something like that.

It looks as though you're taking the actions you are because you hate Teppei Houjou.

The child consultation center needs to determine if you're doing this out of hate, or out of genuine concern towards Satoko-san.

Not all people go to the center out of good will like you.

They can only make a decision after carefully determining if the information given by the petitioner is genuine or not.

You need to understand that."

"...So you're saying that because I was too direct with them, they've mistaken my appeal as one born of ill will?"

"No, you don't have to worry about that.

Just please try to understand that they have to evaluate it carefully.

If they put a child under protection every time they got a report, the nation would careen out of control."

That's right, I think there was a passage in the civil law book the center showed us that first day...

The family or the prosecutor must make an appeal to the family court...

Family issues have to be resolved within the family.

...An outside appeal might move the center to take action, but an outsider can't tell them how to respond.

And when it comes to that...

Satoko's only family is her uncle.

Since her uncle obviously wasn't going to do anything about this, Satoko would have to seek help on her own...

But Satoko is denying that she's being abused at all...

This isn't going anywhere!

"The consultation center is simply hoping that you'll give up...

......They have other cases that need more urgent attention.

......But they're not sure yet if they should ask you to give up.

......That's what I wanted to tell you today."

"......?

What do you mean...?

I don't get it..."

"Maebara-san... When you visited them today, did they treat you better than yesterday?"

"Yeah... a bit.

We were taken to a bigger room, and the manager came to see us too."

"You might think that the manager is ranked just a little bit above the regular staff members.

However, his position is as high as that of a section chief in a regular company.

It's very difficult to achieve that position.

The person you talked to today is actually a very powerful man, more than you could imagine.

...It's not normal for them to do that.

The manager normally never shows up for a consultation.

You need to recognize that the treatment you got today was a very special one."

...It never seemed that special to me.

I thought we were taken to a big room because we went there with more people,

and Rena told them to adjust to us...

"Because you were so well-organized, they're suspecting that you're not the actual leader... and that the Sonozaki family are the ones behind this movement.

I'm sure you know how powerful the Sonozaki family is in this village..."

"I do...

But it has nothing to do with the Sonozaki family!

We're simply fighting to save our friend.

Mion hasn't even mentioned her name..."

"That's what the child consultation center wanted to know.

It's their normal routine to politely refuse a huge crowd of petitioners.

However...

things would be different if this was Oryou Sonozaki-san's idea.

Oryou-san holds great sway in the city's government.

No one can go against her wishes."

"I'm aware that Mion's grandmother is very powerful, but that has nothing to do with this!"

"In order to make that clear, the local government officials have approached the Sonozaki family in secret.

They met Oryou-san and asked her about this case.

They were going to take action if they found out that it was her idea,

but they soon discovered otherwise."

"So...... they're not going to take any action anymore?"

"It's not just that.

Oryou-san is now aware that there's a commotion going on within the village.

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but some people in the village still hold a grudge against the Houjou family, the traitors of the dam conflict.

Ever since the curse of Oyashiro-sama, the Sonozaki family has been telling people not to interact with the Houjou family.

......You might wake up a sleeping dog if you continue to make all this noise."

"What happens if I wake the dog up?"

"I don't know..."

Ooishi paused for a while and drew on his short cigarette.

"I'm not saying that you'll be threatened or that they will hurt you...

However...

You just moved here, and you're starting to get to know people from the village... but soon enough, you might get to see the underside of this place."

"............."

...The issues between the Houjou family and the Sonozaki family...

Well, village-wide matters have been slightly taboo in our group, but... we may have to go down that road now.

It's a fact that we haven't got any support from adults, except for the school teachers and Irie.

Other adults in the village must know what happened between Satoko and Teppei last year.

They all understand that it would be a disaster if we don't rescue Satoko as soon as possible.

However, no adult came forward to help us.

"If we continue our movement, will the people who hate the Houjou family become our enemies too...?"

"That's possible.

The Sonozaki family may get involved if you continue this commotion.

...You could say that the Sonozaki family is anti-Houjou.

If you try to save Satoko-san using people from Hinamizawa, that shows huge disrespect towards the Sonozaki family. It could create a huge problem..."

By that point, I knew.

This was a warning, not just advice.

An ignorant young man in Hinamizawa is making noise, trying to wake up a sleeping dog.

"I know you've taken a liking to this place, and that you're really doing your best here.

That's why......

I thought I should let you know about this.

I'm sorry if I upset you."

I love Hinamizawa.

I've made a decision to make this place my home.

I'm motivated about the big job I got for the festival too.

......Would it really be wise for me to try and create all this trouble?

"I'm just speaking as your friend, nothing more.

I'm not trying to threaten you or anything like that.

I'm not trying to make you do anything you don't want to.

I just wanted to give you this information."

Ooishi smiled at me... then stomped on his cigarette.

...I thought I had just made the decision to do what was right.

But was that only the stupid idea of an ignorant little boy?

...Did I need to grow up right now, and think about this again?

............Dark clouds hung over my heart.

But... wait a minute.

......Did that mean I didn't even have the courage to risk losing something?

Was I not brave enough to save Satoko at all?

I had to be the red fire.

I couldn't give up, even if everybody else did.

I had to fill other people up with righteous flames, just like I was!

".........."

"What's the matter?

Nfu fu!

What a bold smile you're wearing right now."

"Thank you for the valuable advice.

But...

I can't give up, no matter what you tell me.

I won't stop even if the whole world tells me to."

"Even if the whole world is against you... huh.

You're a stronger man than I thought."

"If the whole world is telling me that I'm making a mistake, I'll have to stop and re-evaluate myself.

However, I've already talked about Satoko's case with my friends over and over again.

This isn't just my idea.

I'm confident that our decision is the very best one to make!"

"I agree with you, Maebara-san.

Young people like you tend to make hasty and dangerous decisions.

However, all of you are being very rational about this.

You're making a democratic appeal.

Just like Dr. Irie was saying, there's nothing wrong with your methods."

"I know!

I'm positive that we're not making any mistakes.

We're doing our best to save our friend.

We're not going to give up just because we feel threatened. We are her true comrades.

I have faith in us, even if the rest of the world doesn't.

......That's what friendship is all about!"

"Hmm...

You have a strong will.

Not even my detectives are as strong as you are..."

Ooishi-san gave me a wicked grin of admiration.

I could tell from that grin.

He wasn't trying to pressure me at all.

It was exactly the opposite of that.

He had shared this information with me to confirm that I was ready to face this challenge.

I didn't even have to consider whether his words were advice or a warning.

"Every man has many things he wants to keep believing in, even if others don't share that belief.

...Of course it's important to listen to advice with sincerity, but some beliefs you still can't turn away from.

That's what being a man is all about."

"Nfu fu fu fu!

I also have a strong will, you know...

About five years ago, a person who was like a brother to me was killed."

"H-He was murdered...?"

"The case was declared solved, but... nfu fu fu.

I'm continuing an investigation alone, because I suspect there's another person in control behind the scenes.

The department told me that I was wasting my time.

They told me to stop...

But just like you, I can't give up."

"Are you getting close to finding out who did it?"

"Hmmm...

I don't know about that.

Na ha ha.

Anyway...

...If your resolve is that strong, then there's nothing for you to fear.

Just follow through on your beliefs.

I'm often threatened to show more restraint if I want to keep my full retirement pay to myself.

But I've never given in.

There's a lot of things we men can't convey without being unwavering.

My, my, exactly right!

We can't give up no matter how risky it will be.

It's important to pursue your goal!

And even if you end up playing into their hand, that's what being a man is about.

If you're going down, then go down fighting!"

"You're right. Waffling between whether to go or go back isn't the attitude of a real man!"

That's how a man should be!

We bumped our fists together, reaffirming that real men are the same regardless of their generation.

It wouldn't be a simple road to saving Satoko.

But I was never going to give up.

I was going to save her.

I had no doubts about that...!