You were in such a far-away spot, I had to search for you.
...You were slacking off again, right?
Nooo.
I diligently ferried one person over this morning, after all.
So I give myself a break to prepare for the next trip.
...That excuse would be more convincing if your everyday behaviour showed a little more eagerness.
But with that attitude you were showing just now...
Ordinary people would falter when shown that kind of behaviour, you know?
...And.
It may be my imagination, but we seem to be veering off the Road to Liminality.
Could it be that the person who'd say "The crossing really takes no time at all"-
Ah-ah, it's just your imagination, really.
...In the end, you say...
Could it be that you don't intend to enter heaven and become a celestial?
...Me, become a celestial?
If you're thinking you'll become one, you normally can, I think...
Thanks for your concern... but I'll pass.
and in the end, there are things I'd like to talk to Komachi about, so this is just fine.
...Speaking of that, wouldn't it be better if you worked as something else besides being a boatsman?
Huh?
Me?
...You're sure interested in lots of weird things.
Didn't you used to to say something to the degree of 'Maybe I should switch to harvesting spirits instead...'?
...Maybe.
Well, this job fits the leisurely way I do things more, though.
More importantly, is it really okay that you don't go to heaven?
It feels like such a waste.
If you went there, you could still descend here every now and then, and have a totally worry-free lifestyle, right?
...Would you want to be like that girl who totters around everyday repeatedly saying 'So bored, but there's nothing to do'?
that girl->
Haha.
That might be a good reason to refuse.
Well, that kind of never-ending lifestyle as a celestial may not be bad,
But I want to live in this world as a normal human one more time.
...Well, if that's what you wish, who am I to stop you.
But you know...
If you do reincarnate as a human, I doubt it's a question of "one more time"...
There's a surprisingly large number of bad ends in a person's life, you know?
...As long as there's a chance to attain the same happiness I had before, If I want to achieve that, I have to take some risks.
It was such a blessing.
...And being delivered to Higan by you makes my final wish come true to the letter.
...Your final wish... geez, you're really something.
Oh, did I offend you?
...That's, I'm not displeased, but still.
...Sheesh.
It would be nice if all the people I had to carry over were like you.
...Oh yeah, I saw the children's souls at the Sai no Kawara piling up stones for the first time earlier.
...I wonder what will become of those children. The story says they are brought to salvation by the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, but...
...Nope.
Those children can't be saved by outsiders.
When they stop piling stones of their 'own' will, is when they can be brought to Higan.
...Then when will those children finally give up by themselves?
Who knows...? No one can tell exactly.
Maybe in 10 years, maybe 20...
In the end, no matter how hard they work, kids are still kids.
Oh, them?
They see the path they think is right, and follow it without any knowledge or experience.
'Leaving one's parents to grieve is the greatest sin'
They seem to forsake the endless cycle of rebirth, believing in things like that.
...Isn't there anything that can be done for them?
...If I could, I'd want to ferry them across as well... but...
They seem like they're too young to let go their regrets.
"You can't let atoning to your parents become your only purpose"... No matter how many times I tell them, they won't listen.
...Well, being the shinigami I am, I can't fully understand the 'regrets' that people have, so I gave up on that.
...But you know, I'm sure their parents wouldn't want their own children to be doing such things.
...You really are a kind person.
...Huh?
...You really like to say sudden, weird things.
It's not weird at all, you know? I've thought that since long ago.
..Long ago?
You don't remember? Back then, when you came to my place for flower-viewing.
That's the Sanzu's...?
...That's unusual.
Well, but this way there was no waiting time for me,
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