The Painting
The four of us cousins were enjoying our stories, just shooting the breeze.
Anyway, there are both girls and guys here. Plus, we've got people over a wide spread of ages: adult, high school, and elementary school. Even though everyone was only telling his or her personal story, the other tree were listening attentively.
Battler: I think I'm finally getting used to all this. Jessica and Maria have grown more than I could've imagined in the past six years. To be honest, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but talking like this, I guess that on the inside, nothing's really changed since back then.
Jessica: I agree. Battler, even after six years you haven't changed a bit. Even though your body's gotten gigantic, you're still a kid inside.
Maria: Uu-! Maria's a kid too! Maria's a kid too!
Battler: Well, even you aren't gonna be a kid forever, are you Maria? I mean, you're growing from being a kid to a cute young lady, aren'tcha? And when that happens, that flat-as-a-board chest'll be on Jessica's level, huh~? When that happens, let me rub it, OK? Promise!!
Maria: Uu-! Let you rub it! Promise! Uu-!
George: N-No, Maria-chan! You can't make that kind of promise, that's bad, bad, bad!
Maria: Uu-? Maria promised, so let him rub it! Maria'll keep her promise! Definitely keep it, uu-!!
Battler: ...Maria, you're a really earnest, good girl... The guy you marry's gonna be really lucky.
Jessica: Just a... gettong back on topic here, you're not gonna be keeping that promise! Maria, that promise never happened! Never!
Maria: Uu-. Promise is cancelled? Uu-...
George: As I thought, without Battler-kun in our little quartet, it just didn't feel like all the cousins were here. These six years have been kinda lonely.
Jessica: ...That's true. We weren't able to goof off like this. Still, we did have some pretty consctructive conversations, don'tcha think? Stuff about preparing for our future, exam-taking, or finding jobs.
Battler: Oo~ooh! I'm sorr-rry! Now that I'm here, there's just thos stupid babbling~!
Maria: But, Maria's having fun this year. Uu- uu-!
George: That's true. I agree, this year's the most fun.
Maria's sincere words probably spoke for everyone. When George-aniki stroked Maria's head, she giggled like a happy kitten...
Shannon: ...Pardon me. Your meal is prepared.
A timid knockling sound and an equally timid young woman's voice came through the door. Jessica answered brightly.
Jessica: Shannon, come in! You remember Battler, don'tcha?!
Jessica stood up from the bed and opened the door. There stood a servant girl who was definitely about our age.
Shannon: I-It's been quite some time since we last met, Battler-sama. It's nice to see you after six years. I'm Shannon.
Trembling a little, she acknowledged me and bowed deeply.
Battler: ...Ah...! Jessica had me surprised, but Shannon-chan! You've turned into a total beauty too, haven't you?!
Shannon: Y-Your words are too good for me...
Battler: Bu~t, the food on this island must be reeeally nutricious, right? What are you eating, where are you training, to gte boobs that big?! Guess I'll have to feel 'em a bit and see whether yours or Jessica's are bigger, oka~ay?!
With both hands poised and saliva dribbling from my mouth, I closed in!
...For the sake of my honor and justice, I'd like to point out that I don't suffer from some strange disease that makes my lymph nodes itch until I scratch my neck open and which can only be prevented by rubbing breasts. It's just my Battler-style way of communicating.
If I slowly close in on her like this, odds are eight or nine out of ten that I get slapped or clobbered, right? This is a Battler-sama original technique which'll lead to a gag like that and break the ice!
...W-Well, that means I really do get to touch them on that one-in-ten chance though, right? Ihihyahyahya, like I really expect that'd ever happen?!
At that point, my hands were less than a centimeter away from Shannon-chan's boobs, but... the counterstrike had yet to come.
She blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment when she realized what was going on, but she just stood there with both hands politely joined in front of her, not even trying to resist or cover her breast.
...Whoaaaah, I wasn't planning on this! P-Please, hit me right now! At this rate I'm seriously gonna...?!
...Which is why I was glad that Jessica chose that time to drive her elbow into the back of my head.
Battler: Guaaaah, ooowww, thank you Jessicaaaaaa~!
Jessica: W-W-Why the hell are you thanking me?! Oh?
Battler: No, no, my bad, Shannon-chan. Looks like I got a little too absorved in your hypnotic chest... So now we can see that if I get too close I degenerate into a big pervert after all. Seriously, you've got to resist!
Shannon: ...B-But... you are... and important guest, Battler-sama...
Battler: Now look here, a pervert's a pervert whether he's a guest or not! Ten centimeters around a girl's chest is like an Air Defense Identification Range. If someone trespasses within two centimeters, that's already an invasion of airspace and you can immediately give me a slap, like a high-alert takeoff!
Shannon: ...I-I couldn't do such a thing...! We are... that is, furniture and...
Of course she didn't want her breasts touched, but... if a guest so desired, she intended to sacrifice her own needs in response anyway. ...A girl like this needs some urgent protection...!
Battler: ...I-In these days, to think that there's a dedicated and virtuous girl like this... Getting... giddy again! ...But, no! Nooooo! I'm coming at her with a pervert face again! Someone trip me! No~oo, pervert! Without your word, I can't settle down! Please, I beg you, smack me! Like this, smack! Hit meeee~!
Shannon: I... I cannot obey your request. Because I'm furniture. ...But... if it's an order, I'll obey you. ...Because that is my duty.
George: Ahaha, then I'll make it an order. The next time Battler-kun tries to touch your breasts, counterattack with a slap. Alright?
Shannon: ...Y-Yes. I'll do as you wish. From now on, please allow me to do so. Battler-sama, please accept this...
Shannon-chan announced this while bowing elegantly to me. Her facial expression was radiant. I gave her a thumbs-up to signal tht it was OK with me.
Battler: Six years ago, you might've been mistaken for a servent's daughter who lent a hand at your parent's work... but now you're a full-fledged adult servant. How many years has it been?
Shannon: Yes, I've had the pleasure of serving this household for ten years.
She's Shannon. ...The kanji for her name are read as "Shannon". This is another far from typical name for a Japanese person.
Being a kid back in those days, I had taken in her name without paying it much attention, but despite the fact that she is not a member of the Ushiromiya family, she still has this unusual name.
...Maybe it's like a servant's "professional name" or something. ...If so, I can kind of understand why that Kanon-kun's name sounds the way it does.
She's a long-term servant who's served here since she was six years old. Since her body had changed radically, she didn't match my memories, but I got acquainted with her six years ago.
It looked like she was just as shy she had been in the past, but I got the feeling that the charm befitting a girl her age came naturally to her. Especially her breasts, her breasts.
George: That kid we met earlier, Kanon-kun, is her little brother.
Shannon: ...He's not exactly my little brother... Still, he loves me like a big sister. ...He didn't cause you any trouble, did he?
Jessica: Haha! He's the same as always. It's such a shame that he doens't act just a bit more sociable.
Shannon: ...It seems Kanon-kun has caused trouble... I apologize...
Battler: He didn't cause any trouble at all! As a fellow man, I understand how moody you can get at that age. It's no surprise that he's unsociable!
Maria: Uu-! Maria gets called that all the time too! Gets called unsociable! Like Kanon! Uu-!
Shannon: *giggle* Maria-sama is not unsociable at all.
Maria: Uu-? It was nice to be like him... Uu-.
George: Umm, you said the meal was ready, right?
Shannon: Ah...yes! I'm sorry! ...The preparations for your meal have been carried out, so I shall be acompanying everyone to the mansion.
Shannon bowed again formally and returned to her "duty mode".
We realized that if we made her stick around for any more light conversation, it would actually make it harder for her to do her job. We got up off our butts to avoid interfering with her work any further.
George: Then, shall we go to the mansion? Everyone's probably hungry, right?
Jessica: Yeah. I'm really looking forward to Gohda-san's food. That guy, seems he was a chef at this famous hotel, so he's super good at cooking!
Battler: Oooh! I'm looking forward to it! Let's go Maria! We're gonna stuff ourselves like pigs!
Maria: Uu-! Stuff ourselves like pigs!
George: No, no! You just can't tale everything Battler-kun says seriously, okay? Because it's all jokes. Alright, let's go.
Under Shannon-chan's guidance we headed towards the mansion.
Met once again by the magnificent rose garden, we continued onwards as it came into view... the intimidating mansion of the Ushiromiya Head Family.
It had apparently been built shortly after the war, so you could feel the dignity of almost a half century hanging about it.
On the surface, the building was gorgeous, but being as old as it was, the equipment such as the AC seemed quite frail.
According to Jessica, midwinter was especially tough, what will all the drafts. ...It's not like they couldn't just take the kotatsu out.
As we entered the entrance hall, an aged servant greeted us. Now him I remember. As the most senior member of the staff, Genji-san served as the head of the servants.
Genji: ...Battler-sama, we have not met in a long while.
As our eyes me, he saluted us with a composed voice. He didn't give quite as refined a bow as Gohda's, but even so, and even though it felt rustic, it was a bow that had feeling.
Battler: Genji-san, it really has been a while! You look well.
Genji: Thank you, I have been quite well... Battler-sama, you have become a splendid young man. ...You have grown to resemble the Master in his youth.
Battler: I'm looking like Grandfather? I guess that means that Grandfather was pretty popular when he was young. Ihihi!
Genji: ...From here on, I shall take Shannon's place and accompany you. Please, come this way.
Shannon-chan bowed deeply and saw us off. Leaving the entrance hall, we headed to the dining room under Genji-san's guidance.
Genji-san, just like Kumasawa-san stood in stark contrast to us young people who had grown beyong recognition over the last six years.
His figure was exactly the same as in my memories of six years ago. It seemed like time had stopped since the last time we met.
Genji-san was a silent and diligent person. He was like Grandfather's close aide or caregiver... in fact, you could even go so far as to say he was Grandfather's right-hand man.
Actually, it seems that he was by Grandfather's side more than my late Grandmother was. According to Jessica, Grandfather trusted him more than any of his blood relatives.
But I wonder how long he's served. I've never heard the details, but I'm pretty sure he's been here since the beginning, when this mansion was constructed.
...That is to say, he had dedicated half of his life to serving here. ...In other words, he's both trustworthy and faithful.
As we cut through the open-ceilinged hall behind Genji-san... I found something I had no memory of from six years ago.
It was an awfully big portrait hung right in front of the stairs that rose to the secong floor.
Without thinking, I stopped wlaking, under its spell... Since I'd suddenly stopped, Maria, who was following behind me, ran into my back.
Maria: Uu-?
Battler: ...Ah, sorry. ...Hey, Jessica. Did that picture used to be there?
I pointed at the big portrait that caught the yey, hanging in the hall. Everyone else stopped too.
Jessica: ...Aah... Right. When you last came here, that hadn't been hung yet, had it? When was it again...
George: I think... If my memory doesn't fail me, I think it was around the year before last.
Genji: ...You are correct. In April of the year before last, as it had been arranged, the Master ordered an artist to paint it and it was put on display over there.
Battler: Grandfather did that? So, he went out of his way to have it drawn...
The portrait was appropriate for this western style mansion, and that woman wearing an elegant dress gave off a sense of refinement.
...I couldn't have guesses her age, but judging by her obvious strength of will and the sharpness in her eyes, she radiated youth. It was a different feeling than the composed mood of middle-aged women that are often in famous pictures.
If this woman had normal black air, I might have thought it was a portrait of my long-deceased Grandmother in her prime. However, the woman in the portrait had beautiful blonde hair and didn't look Japanese at all.
Battler: So... Who is she then, this woman?
To that naive question, Maria, as though trying to prove that she knew it herself, answered me with authority.
Maria: Uu-! Maria knows. She's Beatrice!
Battler: Bea... what?
George: ...Beatrice. She's the witch. Didn't you ever hear about her, long ago?
Battler: The witch... you mean... of this island?
...I think I already said this, but Rokkenjima is a small island that only spans about ten kilometers. However, considering that only the Ushiromiya family lives here, that's quite large.
So, only a harbor and the site around the mansion were set up to be lived in. Beyond that, the island remained as untouched as it was when it was still uninhabited.
The vast and empty forest had no lamplight, phones or people passing through at all. To understand how dangerous it is, you needed to throw off all your street smarts from the city.
Anyway, if by any chance you fell down on a hole in the depths of the forest and sprained your ankle, you could cry or scream, but no one would come save you.
If it got dark, the forest, where there were no streetlights, was wrapped up in complete darkness. And also, since it didn't have any guideposts, it would be easy to get confused and lost, losing your sense of direction inside the dark forest.
Nowadays, most people see a forest as a peaceful place, but to the people of the bygone eras, before the light of civilization drove out the night, forests were as geographically separated frm civilization as the ocean. Like an ocean above the ground.
Just like how fishermen who go out into the ocean are threatened despite their technical knowledge... Hunters who go out to the forest have technical knowledge as well, yet are also in danger.
...If children go play in that dangerous forest, something terrible might happen. Someone's parents must have thought so... Maybe my Grandmother, or possibly anybody else other than Grandfather might have said that.
Or maybe it's been handed down in this island from long, long ago.
...There's a terrible witch in the forest, so you must not go in.
Thus, Rokkenjima's ghost was born. That is the legend of the witch of Rokkenjima.
That's why, if we say "witch" in this island, we're referring to the master of the vast and savage forest.
Which reminds me, when I was little and stayed at this mansion, during the eerie nights where the wind and rain struck the windows, I got terrified by a story that the witch of the forest was roaming around searching for a sacrifice...
Beatrice, was it?
...When Aniki told me and I searched my memory, I was sure I remembered hearing a name like that when I was little.
Battler: ...Right. Still, I completely forgot that the witch of that legend had an elegant name like Beatrice. ...Since us grandchildren didn't believed Grandfather, he went out of his way to have her depicted in this painting?
Jessica: ...It's the witch from Grandfather's delusions. ...Ever since he had this picture hanged, he's been blurring the line between reality and illusion. ...To us, it's no more that the witch from his imagination, but... to Grandfather, she's a being that "exists" on this island. ..."Exists". That's why he says he had that picture painted. So that we'd understand. ...And I'm sorry, but she just doesn't exist.
Genji: ...Milady. ...To the Master, this is an important portrait. ...I beg of you, do not say such a thing in front of him.
Jessica: ...I get it. You don't need to beg.
Jessica turned away, after glaring a secong at the portrait.
George: ...Let's go. We're making everyone wait in the dining room.
Maria: Uu-! Hungry!
...Only a small portion of this island was controlled by the Ushiromiya family. All of the wild remainder.. was the witch Beatrice's domain. ...One could say that she was the being who actually ruled over Rokkenjima.
That slightly unsettling feeling of misfortune that I had when I learned the Tutelary God's shrine had been struck by lightning on the boat trip revived within me a bit.
At that time, Kumasawa-san had tried to tell an ominous story about Rokkenjima and had been stopped by Jessica. ...I didn't know what she had tried to tell us about this island.
But, there was one thing I did know. ...Rokkenjima's ruler was not the Ushiromiya family. It was the witch, Beatrice. Yes. ...Because this was the witch's island.
Maria: Battler! Uu-, slo-ow!
When I looked around, everyone was already heading towards the dining room. I hurriedly chased after them...
We walked up to the huge double doors that led to the dining room. Genji-san knocked.
Genji: ...I have brought the children. If you will excuese me...
The door was opened and we were invited inside.
The dining room, everything in the room looking clearly expensive, was set up with a super-long table which was obviously positioned with no other purpose than to make the guests conscious of their rank. Our parents were already sitting in accordance to that ordering.
Rudolf: You're late, brats. Hurry up and take a seat.
The old bastard pressed us to sit. Only the places where we would sit were empty at the long table, which only made us feel our tardiness all the more.
The seat at the head of the table, called the Incipient's Chair, was the most highly ranked, reserved for Grandfather. It was still empty. ...He was probably planning to come in last to ham it up.
The seating order, looking at the Incipient's Chair at the head of the table, went from left to right with the lower ranking seats progressing in rows of two further away from it.
So, on tge left-hand side of the first row, closest to the Incipient's Chair, was where Krauss oji-san, ranked at number two, should have sat.
...It looked like Oji-san hadn't arrived yet, so that seat was empty.
And then to his opposite, on the right side of the first row sat the eldest daughter of the family, Aunt Eva, ranked at number three.
The left-hand side of the secong row was for number four. There sat my old bastard, Rudolf, as one of the three siblings present. Opposite him sat number five, the youngest sibling, Aunt Rosa.
Going like this, you might think that the next ones to come wold be their husbands and wives, but... It's weird, but the next left-hand seat in the third row, meaning number six, was Jessica's seat.
Opposite her was George-aniki. Then, next to Jessica, was me. And opposite me was Maria.
Then, finally, next to me on the left-hand side of the fifth row was number ten, Aunt Natsuhi. ...Opposite her was Hideyoshi oji-san. Next to Aunt Natsuhi, in the sixth row and in the final seat on the left-hand side, was Kyrie-san.
The seat opposite to Kyrie-san was empty even though everything had been set out. According to this ranking system, that spot was the seat where Aunt Rosa's husband should be sitting. ...Even though he wasn't supposed to be coming, his place was made up.
These kind of ranking orders usually recognize the status of the spouse, but the Ushiromiya family had an original kind of ranking.
...Maybe it's a leftover of male chauvinism. If the system is predicated on the idea that a woman's womb is just a borrowed thing, then the children of direct descent would have a much higher ranking, and the grandchildren would come next.
Meaning that the spouses, with no blood ties, are considered the last in line. ...It's terrible, but according to that ranking order, Grandmother, when she was alive, would have been in a position even lower than mine.
In their youth they obey their father; after they get married, their husband; after aging, their children. There's the old saying "Women, whether in their past, present, or future, have no home".
Long ago, when I was still incapable of figuring all this out, I'd thought it was so great that we could all chat, with the adult sibling in their group and us cousins in ours. However, now that I can reexamine the seating order after growing up a bit, it stirs up some very complicated feelings in me...
Aunt Natsuhi, married to the eldest son of the family and number two in managing the house, sat to my right... which meant that she was two steps lower than me in the ranking order.
...It was difficult to guess what was going inside Auntie's head. That's why I made a small apologetic gesture before sitting down.
Natsuhi: How nice to see you, Battler-kun. You've grown quite tall, haven't you?
Battler: Huh, ah, yeah! I ate and ate and ate meals and before I knew it I got this tall.
Natsuhi: Boys will be boys, no? How tall are you?
Battler: I guess about 180 cm? Ah, Auntie, please, whenever you feel like it, feel free to say "Stop stuffing yourself!"
Natsuhi: Huh?...Ah, *giggle*, I'm sorry.
Auntie, after a moment, gave a small laugh, but it seemed she couldn't quite figure out what she was supposed to be laughing at.
This woman is Natsuhi oba-san.
She's the wife of the eldest son of the family, meaning she is my father's older brother's wife. Is it easier to get it if I call her Jessica's mother? ...It feels bad to say it like this, but, not that I hated her, I didn't particularly like her.
She never got into our kids' circle, and she always looked difficult to get along with. And it didn't help that she gave the impression that she was at odds with the other parents.
...The fact is that having barely over exchanged words, I hesitated a lot about how to approach her. ...And I ended up empty-handed.
The silverware had been tidily set up on the table, but the meal itself hadn't been brought in.
In essence, until the man at the head of the table had taken his seat, the meal wouldn't start. So, as long as Grandfather, the highest ranked, didn't come, lunch would be indefinitely on hold. Not even the appetizers would come.
So, while our parents withstood their hunger, the silence of the dining room would still wait for Grandfather to come.
It's just that the Grandfather I remembered, when we ate together liks this, always showed up at the right time. ...He was supposed to be the kind of person that would never be so late that he's keep everyone waiting, even though they were all present.
Battler: Grandfather's pretty late. ...As far as I can remember, he was always strict about staying on time.
Jessica: Well, that might've been true six years ago... but it hasn't been that way lately. Seriously, he's off in his own little world so often he doesn't even show up at family meals. ...Even so, I figured that he'd at least stick around for today's meal. ...Still, I feel more relaxed and happier without him.
Natsuhi: ...Jessica!
After being scolded by her mother, Jessica faced the other way, sticking her tongue out.
...No way around it. Nothing to do but wait for the host to arrive. When I glanced at the clock, I saw that it was almost 12:20...
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