"Excuse me, I have something to say before the meeting starts."

They all knew immediately that I was going to say something about Satoko.

...I guess they weren't just old for show.

"Oh, Keiichi-kun.

Today is our final meeting before the festival, so can you bring up your personal issue later?"

I ignored him and continued talking.

"If you have something to say, just tell me directly. Don't go through Mion or Chie-sensei.

I don't like it when people are so indirect.

Let's talk face to face."

Everyone went quiet.

Nobody there wanted to be involved in a conversation about the Houjou family.

"Everyone here knows that Satoko Houjou is practically being confined by her uncle and suffering at his hands.

Well, I don't care that you're not proactive about helping her.

I'm sure that some of you don't want any trouble.

......But we're different.

Satoko is our friend.

We're fighting as hard as we can to save our friend from danger.

However--"

"Keiichi-kun.

We're aware of all that.

All we're saying is that you've done enough to the consultation center by now...!"

"Is there a problem if we continue our appeal?"

"......Of course there is!

It's a big problem, too!!"

Someone with a stern voice spoke out to me.

...Heh heh, I had gotten under their skin.

"Then what is the problem? Can you explain it so a child like me can understand?"

"The dam conflict ended ages ago!

The age of banding together and storming public offices is over!"

The subject wasn't even Satoko anymore.

All they had to offer was a bunch of excuses.

"I'm not asking about your past, and the dam conflict has nothing to do with this!

This is my war!!

So if you're going to partake in my war, then let's make it clear if you're my enemy or my ally.

Which is it?!

Are you my allies, or my enemies?!"

Mutter mutter mutter mutter!!

Listen to the things that come out of this boy's mouth!

Young people these days don't know how to be polite!

The whole room lit up and started filling with the smell of gunpowder.

However, none of my allies let themselves get swept up in the commotion and maintained their harsh stares.

Those expressions made me feel as though I had a million supporters behind me.

I was standing in front only as their representative. It wasn't my fight alone...

This was everyone's fight!

Because of that realization, the fierce looks the old people were giving me didn't intimidate me at all.

"Keiichi-kun.

This is not about us being your enemy or not.

Our village fought with these officials during the dam conflict.

However, I do understand that this has nothing to do with that.

The dam conflict is a thing of the past."

"I don't care what you thought about that.

I'm talking about me, my friends, and Satoko.

I never asked you about the dam conflict.

Ever thought of getting your ears checked, old man?"

"Why, you... How can you talk to your elders like that?!

You disrespectful little brat!!

I'd like to have a word with your parents!!"

My dad, standing behind me, gave an apologetic and bitter smile.

"...Pardon me.

I'm his father, you see."

"You're his father?

How could you raise him like this?"

"Hahahaha...

I guess I'm not a very good parent.

...I'm not sure if I raised Keiichi the way I was supposed to."

My dad paused. In the next moment, however, his expression changed to a glare.

"However, a single man known as Keiichi Maebara is standing here before all these faces, to voice his appeal that something about this doesn't make any sense.

I don't care if he's my son or not.

He's only making his assertion, as a man.

So I don't think there's really any reason to be talking to me here."

Silence filled the room as the old people sat there with their mouths agape.

...Ooishi-san broke that silence with laughter.

"You've got plenty of pride, don't you?

Nfu fu fu fu...!"

"...Umm... my name is Rena Ryuugu.

Can I ask something?

I don't understand the logic of how the dam conflict being over becomes a reason we shouldn't make our appeal to the child consultation center.

Would you explain that to us in detail?"

Rena's voice remained perfectly level, as though the matter didn't concern her.

...However, I could see the fury in her eyes.

I was probably the only one who noticed that fury.

The old people seemed like they'd rather deal with her than me.

"Reina-chan.

This village has no reason to fight with the government now that the dam conflict is over.

During that time, we did fight them, true.

But after the conflict was over, that's water under the bridge.

So our village re-established relations with the government.

Hinamizawa is not an individual country.

We're just a small village in Japan.

The government is taking care of us.

That's why we need to try and get along with them."

"...You're right.

It is important for a village to have a good relationship with the government."

"Listen to Reina-chan. She understands us, at least."

\n"Maebara's boy ought to learn from her!"

I heard little bits and pieces from the noise of the crowd.

"Yeah, that's definitely true.

Hinamizawa has been trying to fix its relationship with the government ever since the dam conflict ended."

"Exactly, just like Mion-chan said!"

The old men cheered.

However, Shion was the next to open her mouth.

"That's why the town council and the government officials are best friends now.

In fact, two officials always come along on the town council's annual hot spring trip.

They get paid to participate too.

The trip itself is mostly paid for with tax money, isn't it?

Oh, and I know so many other things.

Like the donations for the New Year and End of Year parties, as well as the vast financial aid the town council receives for festivities.

The upcoming Watanagashi is one of them. The government is putting millions of yen into subsidies and aid.

They're the ones who pretty much pay for the whole festival.

Ever since the conflict ended, the festival has been getting bigger and bigger.

That's because we're receiving money from government officials.

So if we get in trouble with them, we might not be able to hold a festival next year.

That's why Hinamizawa keeps kissing their asses. Isn't that right, Uncle?"

"Sh... Shion-chan...

How do you know all of that...?!"

"Ahaha... I switch places with my sis sometimes..."

"...What the hell.

That's a ridiculous story!

I still don't understand why you're against what we're trying to do.

Rena, will you sum this up for me?

What are they saying?"

"Well.

Basically, they're colluding with the government officials, so they can't risk upsetting them."

The whole room went into a panic after Rena summed it up so simply.

Some of them were ashamed that we hit the nail on the head,

some of them were enraged by our ignorance,

and some of them were simply angry about our disrespectful attitudes.

All of them combined to throw the room into a chaos of chattering and stomping.

"Be quiet! Be quiet!!"

They all settled down after Kimiyoshi-san raised his voice.

By the time they quieted, the mayor had a terrible look on his face.

"Keiichi-kun... The relationship between the town council and the government officials has nothing to do with this.

You're just sidestepping the issue yourself.

There's no point in mixing the two up together!

Listen, we won our battle against the dam project, but we're all labeled as a nest of troublemakers.

And yes, we were taking advantage of that image during the conflict.

However, now that the conflict is over, that image is working against us badly.

We need to try and repair it.

Otherwise, this village will have no future.

Do you understand?!

It's not just about being your enemy! It's much deeper than that!"

"In other words...

You're saying that if Kei-chan rouses everyone to action, then the friendly atmosphere we've developed will be ruined."

The old people nodded as Mion spoke.

They were assuming that Mion was on their side.

"Mii-chan.

What do you mean by the 'friendly atmosphere'?

Does that mean that we shouldn't seek help for a poor, innocent girl who's being abused?"

"They're trying to say that the child consultation center is doing their job already.

So they want us to stop interfering.

Given their position, the officials can't say 'leave us alone' that strongly.

So they're asking our village to deal with the matter for them, since they're granting us a lot of subsidies."

"Oh, so what you're saying is the town council is the government's lap dog."

"Hey you! Watch what you're saying!!

Be a little more respectful, why don'cha!"

"Why don't you watch what you're saying!

I hope you're not refusing to help her just because Satoko is the daughter of the Houjou family!"

"That's not it!

We're not saying anything about Satoko-chan!

We're just telling you to take a look at the bigger picture and show some more restraint in your appeals.

The child consultation center isn't ignoring you.

I'm sure they've taken your huge protest into account.

They already understand your point.

We're just saying that you're carrying this way too far...!"

"...Keiichi-kun.

I just saw something really interesting.

See, look at what's in that picture frame over there."

Rena pointed at the wall,

and everyone followed the direction of her finger.

There were very many different picture frames all over the walls of the assembly hall.

They mostly had to do with the dam conflict, and were usually about glorifying the Onigafuchi Guardians.

Rena was pointing at a framed article. Kimiyoshi-san wrote it, way back when he was the leader of the Guardians during the dam conflict.

"Look at the middle portion there.

\n'......We attempted peaceful negotiation, but the government and their marionette, the president of the electric company, declined.

They have trampled on our village's democratic movement and our native land with indescribable atrocities.'"

"......Meep.

That's what Kimiyoshi wrote for the dam conflict memorial.

He wrote the same thing on the monument too."

Everyone knew why Rena had brought that up.

I could hear them all gulping.

"'They attempted to negotiate peacefully with the government and its marionette, the electric company'...

What's this?

Are you sure they don't mean the Hinamizawa Town Council instead of the electric company?

Still, 'marionette' is a difficult term. Do you think the people understand what that means?

Could someone explain it to me?"

"A marionette is like a puppet.

It means that while they're supposed to be an independent organization, they're actually being controlled as though they're dancing on strings."

"Oh, that sounds like the perfect word to describe Hinamizawa right now."

"...Ahahaha, yeah, that is perfect."

"What are you saying?!

We're not their marionette! We're just trying to cooperate with them!

Calling us a puppet is just splitting hairs!!"

"But that's what you just stated.

You clearly told us that you want us to stop, not because of Satoko, but for the sake of the village!

You said there's an issue because the village needs to maintain a friendly relationship with the government!

Don't tell me that you didn't say exactly that!

You did say it!!

Didn't you?!"

"Mm, I heard him.

He said it had nothing to do with Satoko-chan."

"Mion.

I thought there was a saying in this village. Something about how the whole village comes together for one villager?"

"'If there's one person coming, two should throw rocks at him.

If there are two, four would do so.

If there are eight, sixteen would fight back.

If there's a thousand, the whole village should stand up and fight.

If one person is abused, the whole village is abused.

We all work together for that one villager.

That's the unity of the Guardians.

The unity of the Guardians is stronger than rock.'

......That's what their leader said back in the day."

".........Ugh..."

Mayor Kimiyoshi used to be the head of the Onigafuchi Guardians.

He crossed his arms and started to groan.

There were many things he wanted to say, but he knew that none of them would make him look good.

And so he continued to stay silent.

"When I moved here, Mion and Shion told me the valiant story of the dam conflict.

But that unity didn't start just a few years ago, when the dam conflict happened.

I believe those traditions have been here for over forty years, ever since Japan lost the war!!

That's why I really respect those who fostered the unity here since that era, and I find them incredible!

And more than anything, I'm impressed by the courage the Onigafuchi Guardians displayed here in this picture frame!!

The government tried to pull many dirty tricks to submerge this village under the water.

But the Guardians thwarted every one of them!!

Because of the efforts of those men, Hinamizawa is still here today!

If they hadn't done anything, we'd be at the bottom of a lake right now!

So I'm grateful that this village still exists, with its proud unity and beautiful scenery!

I'm proud to call myself a resident of Hinamizawa!!"

"That's damn right!"

Someone shouted.

It wasn't one of my friends.

It was one of the elderly villagers.

"That's why we fight!!

We fight because we all live together in this village!!

If there's one person coming, two should throw rocks at him.

If there are two, four would do so.

If there are eight, sixteen would fight back.

If there's a thousand, the whole village should stand up and fight.

If one person is abused, the whole village is abused.

Get together for one villager.

That's the unity of the Guardians!!

Satoko Houjou is one of us!!

You all know how horrible her uncle is.

You all know that we can't leave her alone with him for a whole month!!

We need to save her from her uncle right this minute!!

We need the power of the Guardians one more time!!

We need the spirits of the Guardians to reunite again!!!"

Rena and Mion applauded, and the applause quickly spread to everyone.

I saw smiles creeping across the faces of the old people.

However, they quickly wiped away those smiles and started discussing with their neighbors.

"Keiichi-kun is right.

It's not like Hinamizawa has to obey the government all of the time!"

"But the dam conflict is over now...

The government officials are taking care of us, too..."

"I wasn't aware of that.

Are they really supporting us that much?"

"Well, on a personal level, I agree with what Maebara's boy is saying..."

"I can't approve of how the town council is operating.

Keiichi-kun is right.

The village can't put pressure on him just because the government is telling us to do so!"

"Mr. Mayor.

We might not be able to support Keiichi-kun, but I also don't think we have the right to tell him to stop."

".........Hmmm."

"I don't like this Maebara boy's attitude!

He's way too disrespectful!!"

"You think you can get away with talking to us like that?"

Three scary old guys came up to yell at me.

I raised my own voice and yelled right back in their faces.

"It's not about my attitude!

It's about the soul of this village!

Get out of here if you don't have the courage to stand up for one innocent villager!"

"H-How dare you speak to me that way!"

Thwack!

The big old guy smacked me upside the head.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Thwack!

I hit him right back, and the room went into a panic again.

Rena approached us.

I thought she'd come to stop me, but she suddenly hit the old guy in the head too.

"What?!

What're you doing?!"

"Don't think you can get away with this just because you're a girl!!!"

He thwacked Rena upside the head.

However, Rena talked back to him with a firm look in her eyes.

"If one comes at you, two should fight back.

Isn't that the spirit of Hinamizawa?!"

"Since you hit Rena-san, four of us need to retaliate.

Let me in on this."

"Keiichi.

Your father's going to fight too!

Everything you've said is right.

If they're going to try and stop you with violence, I won't turn a blind eye to that!"

"......There are three people blocking Keiichi's way.

We need six people to fight them."

"R-Rika-chama...!!"

"I'm impressed to see that courage of yours, Rika-chama!

Let me in too!"

"...I, too, will be taking his side."

Chie-sensei stood up.

I thought she had given up under all the pressure.

"I was almost going to neglect my student.

...I prioritized myself, even though I thought I'd do anything for them.

I'm ashamed to call myself a teacher!"

Wearing a fierce expression, she stared at the mayor.

That was her answer to the pressure he'd tried to put on her.

".........Chie-sensei......"

"I think that I overstepped my bounds as an educator.

However, what Maebara-kun is doing is the right thing.

As an educator, I have to acknowledge the fact that he's doing something right.

I can no longer tell him to stop!"

"If I have your support, Chie-sensei, then I have nothing to fear!

Let me ask you people one more time.

Is it more important to stay cozy with the officials than it is to save the life of one poor, innocent villager?!"

"...You don't even need to ask them, Kei-chan.

This is no ordinary assembly hall.

This used to be the headquarters of the Onigafuchi Guardians.

The people here were all members of the Guardians once.

...Nobody without their spirit would ever come to a place like this."

"..........Mion-chan..."

"Mr. Mayor.

Kei-chan's actions are embodying the spirit of Hinamizawa.

The way he's trying to fight without fear is exactly what the Onigafuchi Guardians were doing.

I think it's shameful for this town council to tell him to stop.

If you're still going to ask him to back off...

I'm going to smash all of these pictures on the wall, and set fire to the flag of the Guardians!"

"............Nnn..."

While the mayor did nothing but moan, somebody else raised his voice.

"I'm going to support Maebara-kun.

He may be disrespectful, but he has the right spirit!"

"I agree!!

It's pathetic the way we're colluding with these government officials!"

"Keiichi-kun, don't worry about what anyone else thinks! Keep on fighting!

Don't give in to the pressure!"

The assembly hall instantly filled with a great round of applause.

"Maebara-kun, tell us what's going on so far."

"Very well.

On the day Satoko was kidnapped by her uncle, Chie-sensei visited her house.

However, he refused to let Chie see her, and it was obvious that something unusual was going on.

Chie-sensei called the child consultation center right after that."

"That night, a social worker visited her house.

However, they determined that there was no abuse going on, and they put her case on hold.

This might be a normal way to handle the situation, but they don't know how dangerous that uncle is.

For that reason, the five of us went to the child consultation center to let them know how urgent it was that she be rescued."

"They said they'd take that into consideration, but they still didn't take action after that.

We thought five of us was not enough, so the next day, we went there along with more than twenty of our classmates."

"You took the whole class...?"

"Kei-chan gave a very moving speech.

He told them that they had to save their friend and not abandon her.

If he was here during the dam conflict, I'm sure his charisma could have resolved it a year earlier!"

"Ha ha ha, we all know too well how spirited this lad is!"

"The consultation center was still not willing to listen to us on the second day.

We made almost no progress.

All they told us was that they were working on it."

"No, Keiichi-kun.

You did make progress.

They were so intimidated they asked someone from the local government to check on our town council."

"The fact that they tried to pressure us to stop meant that what you did was working.

You made progress!"

I see... I guess you could look at it like that...

If they weren't scared of us, they wouldn't have acted that way!

"On the third day, we called all our friends and gathered sixty people.

This time, we got to meet the head of the office.

He listened to us, but he didn't say what their decision would be."

"Keiichi-kun, to tell you the truth...

at that point, the council had already spoken to the officials and had made our decision to stop you.

After the child consultation center confirmed that the whole village wasn't involved in the protest, they decided to just ignore your appeal."

"That's what I thought...

I could feel that from the way the head of the office treated us.

It was obvious that they were just trying to get it over with."

"We're planning to go there tomorrow too, but... I wonder if they'll even pretend to listen.

They might not even let us in because they think the village is pressuring us to stop..."

"Yeah.

They think that the village is on their side."

"......The village needs to publicly announce that they're supporting Keiichi."

"I agree.

Otherwise, they definitely won't listen to us again."

"We should do that!

We should tell them that Hinamizawa is not going to stop Maebara-kun from what he's doing!"

".........Hmmmm...

Personally, I don't want to complain about Keiichi-kun's actions...

...However, it's complicated when I think about it from the town council's point of view...

Even if we tell them that we're not on either side, they'll think that we're on his side.

That's tantamount to picking a fight with them.

...But I still have to respect the opinion of the council, too...

I can't just decide this on my own...

...I need to get approval from all the council members..."

"Most of them are here right now."

"...So you say, but...

Hmm........."

"Let's just be honest here.

You're afraid that there are some among you who are against saving the daughter of the Houjou family, aren't you?"

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

The whole room sunk into silence.

That was the heart of the matter.

"Everyone thinks that the dam conflict is over.

You all told us that a few minutes ago.

You also think that there's no need to discriminate against the Houjou family, now that everything is said and done.

However, you're still afraid of her family."

"You're afraid that you'll be badmouthed if you interact with the Houjou family."

"Satoko-chan's parents were indeed the leaders of the evacuation supporters... But what crime did Satoko-chan herself commit?"

"......Personally, I don't have anything against her...

But other people do..."

"I don't have anything against her either.

The conflict is over, and her parents also passed away..."

"I don't hate her either.

But I know there are some people who still do, yeah..."

"Let me ask you this.

If you hate Satoko, please raise your hand.

I'm sure no one will.

...Yet you all still believe that interacting with her will make others speak ill of you.

However, no one's going to!

There is nobody like that!"

"No......... That can't be true.

There's one person, at least."

"Then tell me who it is.

Tell me who told you directly that they hate Satoko!"

The room fell silent again.

It had become obvious that they were all avoiding Satoko because of a huge misunderstanding.

"The child consultation center won't do anything, no matter what we do.

They're convinced that the town council is on their side.

We won't be able to fight until the council makes it clear that they're not supporting them."

"......Kimiyoshi.

By any chance... do you need approval from someone?"

"............Ouch.

...You're right on the money with that one..."

The mayor forced out a smile.

I had no idea what Rika-chan was talking about, but she must have hit the nail on the head.

Who could it be, though?

Who was that someone?

If I could persuade them, the village would end up supporting us!

"Are you talking about

...

...

my hag of a grandmother?"

"......The Kimiyoshi family has forgiven the Houjou family.

The Furude family has done the same, right?"

"......Meep.

I'm one of the leaders of the Three Families too."

Hinamizawa has three powerful families who make all decisions for the village.

That's been a tradition since the time of Onigafuchi Village.

...It's kind of an old tradition, but this was a road we couldn't avoid.

"So all we need is approval from the Sonozaki family.

I've heard that they have the most power among the three..."

Everyone knew that, but it was taboo to speak it.

It's something only I could say, since I didn't have the ties they did.

"...If we can persuade Mii-chan's grandmother, will the town council support us?"

".............What do you think, Mion-chan...?"

"...I don't want to fight with Granny.

But if she's standing between Satoko and safety, I'll have to.

I won't be fighting as the next head of the family.

I'll be fighting as Satoko's friend."

"Kimiyoshi-san.

Please promise.

If we persuade Mion's grandmother, will we have the council's support?"

"Of course.

No one would complain if it was the decision of the Three Families!"

"Let me get this straight. You're all refusing to help because you're afraid of Mion's grandmother, right?

You're all grown adults! Good grief!"

"That's what you say...

But isn't Oryou-san terrifying...?"

"Ahahahaha, that's not true.

I know Mii-chan's grandmother very well.

Sure, she has a scary side, but she's not that bad.

Keiichi-kun is scarier than her when he's angry."

"Yeah, and Rena is even scarier than me!

All right.

I'm going to persuade Mion's grandmother.

Support us when we succeed!

Actually, don't just quietly support us, either.

I'm expecting you guys to take action too!!"

"What do you mean by that......?!"

"We want the Onigafuchi Guardians to reunite.

Are you going to let us kids do all the protesting?"

"You want us to protest too...?

We can't do that..."

"We should do that!

We're going to tell those officials that we're going to fight against them.

We need to do everything we can!"

"If we're going to support Keiichi-kun on behalf of the whole village, we need to make things clear to them.

We have to support these kids if we're going to be on their side."

"Once we decide to do that, it's no longer just Maebara-kun's fight.

It'll be the village's fight too.

In that case, you should be our leader, Kimiyoshi-san!

There's no way the mayor shouldn't participate in the protest!"

"......All right, I got it already!

If Oryou-san gives us her approval, I'll act like a man!

I'll help Keiichi-kun!

Does everyone here agree?"

"""Aye!!!"""

"But you're not going to help him persuade Oryou-san...?"

"Ahahahahah... ugh... fine.

I'll come with him to persuade Oryou-san.

The way he talks might be too immature for her...

She needs someone who can talk like an old person."

"I'm sorry for being so disrespectful today.

I really have to apologize, everyone."

"Don't worry!

You said some good things!

You broke up the collusion in one fell stroke!

Your refusal to cave under pressure is the very pride of Hinamizawa itself!"

"I'm sorry for hitting you.

I got pretty riled up."

"No, that was my fault..."

"You did a good job too, Chie-sensei!

You're a wonderful teacher!"

"...I really didn't know that some people were still bitter toward the Houjou family..."

"Probably... Oryou-san is the most bitter of anybody."

However, according to Mion, Oryou-san doesn't hate the Houjou family either.

Really, the whole thing was ridiculous...!

"Nfu fu fu!

Good for you, Maebara-san.

I never thought you'd get the town council on your side."

"No, I don't have them on my side just yet.

I need to persuade Mion's grandmother first."

"Oryou-san is like a dictator around here, but she won't do anything that would make her lose the trust of the villagers.

If you've already settled things with the town council, then it'll be hard for the Sonozakis to oppose you alone.

You're such a great negotiator.

You insulted them at the start, but then you gradually buttered them up!"

"I, uh, I did it the way my dad writes articles for his art magazine.

That's the same style he uses..."

"Hoho?

Your father's set a good example for you, huh?

He's an artist, isn't he?

I'd love to see his work someday."

"Well, ha ha ha ha......"

My dad doesn't even let me see his work. I guess he can't show it to him either...

What kind of dirty pictures is he drawing?

"Well then, let's go and see Oryou-san tomorrow night.

We can't go right away.

Once she gets into a bad mood, she'll never listen to us..."

"I'll be coming along too.

Who else is going?"

"I'm coming too.

Rena-san's also coming.

She said she'd cleave her head apart if she doesn't nod it for us."

"Hauu... I'm not going to do that!

Don't be mean, Shii-chan!"

"......I'm going too, Keiichi.

I'll talk to Oryou myself."

"I see, I see.

Give her a piece of your mind!!

Of course, I plan to myself, as well!"

"I'll try and be there too.

I might be able to help just by being around."

"This sure is getting interesting.

Are you ready to defeat that evil hag, Sis?"

"......To be honest, I wish you'd swap with me tomorrow.

Ahahaha......"

"Keiichi-kun, you've made great progress today."

"Yeah.

The more people we have on our side, the stronger we become.

We can save Satoko if the whole village gets together!

This village once won against the national government, after all!"

The old people seemed proud to hear me talk about the dam conflict.

Everyone started talking about all the heroic things they did back then.

"......I thought we could never save Satoko... but that fate is reaching its end...

......The power we have right now is overwhelming.

The power to defeat fate is far stronger than the mere chance alignment of a few coincidences..."