"Why hasn't this guy Ryoma come here yet, is the traffic jam so serious?"

Seeing that dusk was approaching, Sousuke Araki took the lantern handed by Yumato Kotori and took out the lighter.

"Leave him alone, don't miss the time......"

Although he was not superstitious about the "rules" of these sacrifices, only respect for customs could show respect for the deceased.

"Click."

The faint spark on the lighter, turning into a dim flame, went up the wick and swayed gently inside the lantern.

The little bird on the side also religiously lit the lantern in his hand for the ancestors of the small bird tour family.

Then, one left and one right, the two hung the "Soul Welcoming Fire" on both sides of the elf shed.

Under the illumination of the lights, the cute "elf horse", "elf cow" and wild "elf centipede" in the elf shed become vivid, as if they have been endowed with a different spirituality.

That's right, the expensive, 40-centimeter-long cucumber, Sousuke Araki didn't want to eat it in the end, and made a rather magnificent "hundred-legged human centipede" by himself......

He also boasted that this is a Ferrari in the "elf" world, and Kohei and Reiko must be very stylish when they come back from this.

"By the way, Little Bird You, there should be more lanterns, right?"

Looking at the things inside the elf shed, Sosuke Araki's eyes froze slightly.

"Yes, yes...... However, the number of lanterns should be sufficient. ”

Hearing his request, Kotori Yumako tilted his head in confusion.

"Please help me get another one, I want to ...... Give Uncle Qingren a separate order. ”

The Monglan Bon Festival happens to be the death day of Uncle Qingren, and it is also ......

Sousuke Araki's birthday.

……

Four years ago, Yokohama City University Hospital.

"Uhh......h

In the ward, a young man with a golden airplane head is forcibly inserting a bouquet of exaggerated and messy flowers into a small glass on the windowsill.

"Sousuke,I've said it a few times.,Visit me as long as someone arrives.,Don't pick the flowers downstairs in the hospital.,If the nurse sees it, you think it's me ......"

On the hospital bed, a middle-aged man with glasses and a thin face watched the young man's rough movements with some distress.

"But, Uncle Qingren, it's too monotonous to be white in the ward, and it will suffocate people if you wait for a long time, how can you not have some color! Anyway, these flowers bloom downstairs in the flower beds and upstairs for patients to see......"

"You're always so headstrong...... Forget it, I can't control you in the future anyway, so just let it be tossed. ”

The middle-aged man, who originally seemed to want to say something, smiled helplessly and changed the subject: "College life, it's going well, right?" ”

"It's ordinary, the food in the kendo club is not bad, there are gunners in the exams, and there are a lot of part-time benefits at the convenience store......"

"Whether it's going to college, being a gangster, being a police officer, in short, you kids just live an ordinary life."

Lying back on the bed, the middle-aged man put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes and smiled.

After putting the flowers away, the young man sat down beside the hospital bed and looked at each other with some concern.

"Always thinking about us, but Uncle Qingren, yourself, are you really not going to try chemotherapy, the doctor said there is hope, if it's a matter of money......"

"No, I'm not a doctor who can solve it."

Seeing the middle-aged man's determined look, the young man frowned.

Don't look at this Uncle Qingren's gentle appearance, he is actually quite stubborn, once he decides something, he will not accept anyone's persuasion at all.

“…… Sousuke, by the way, today is the Bon Festival, and it's also your birthday, so it's been 20 years before you know it. ”

On the hospital bed, the middle-aged man looked at the ceiling, his eyes gradually becoming deeper.

"So, is that why you called me here? Uncle Qingren doesn't say I don't know, I don't have the habit of remembering my birthday, anyway, everyone's birthday is registered by Uncle Qingren, you can register it casually according to the day you send it to the welfare home......"

The boy touched the back of his head with a nonchalant expression.

"Birthday" is more of an unaffordable luxury for them.

"Ahem, who said I registered casually...... Twenty years old, but at the age when you can drink and control your own life, I have already published my first book when you are your age......"

On the hospital bed, the middle-aged man was still muttering to himself, as if recalling his twenties.

"I'm sorry, but if you're an adult, I've already drunk it with Kohei in advance last month."

Because the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old, many young people choose to go to an izakaya with their friends on their 20th birthday to get drunk and experience the thrill of alcohol "legally".

For some, however, this "statutory" is apparently just words written on scrap paper.

"Sousuke, unlike Ryoma and Kohei, you're strong, stronger than you think......"

The middle-aged man turned his head sideways and looked at the young man in front of him seriously.

"Well, in terms of fighting, physical strength, and size, it's really stronger than them."

The young man accepted his "praise" with a (thick) face (face) and frankness (shame).

"So, you have to help others, do it as much as you can."

"Huh? Am I not the one who needs public relief the most? ”

"It's okay if no one understands, it's okay if you don't get gratitude, and it doesn't matter if you're confused......"

Ignoring the young man's complaints, the middle-aged man turned over, turned his back to the other party, and continued to speak as if talking to himself and as if he was being admonished.

“…… Promise me that you will do your best to help as many people as possible and to bring encouragement to others. ”

"Even if you go to hell, you have to break into the door as a hero under the gaze of everyone."

"Don't be like me, leaving behind your family and friends, and finally dying alone."

Listening to these gradually heavy words, the young man turned his face a little awkwardly: "Bah, what nonsense are you talking about, obviously for the welfare home, Uncle Qingren is everyone's hero!" As long as we're here, you're not alone......"

Twenty years ago, it was this man who suddenly appeared and saved the little daisy orphanage that was about to go out of business, so that more and more orphans could be well cared for and grow up.

"What a hero, I'm just a deceased man who has borrowed twenty years from hell and wandered the world...... However, the current situation can be regarded as being able to explain to 'that one'. ”

The middle-aged man muttered softly, and then stopped speaking as if he were asleep.

"Hey, Uncle Qingren, what the hell are you talking nonsense?!"

Looking at the middle-aged man who was facing away from him and no longer spoke, the young man stood up a little angrily and walked quickly to the other side of the hospital bed.

His instincts told him that something bad seemed to be happening.

Glancing at the middle-aged man lying on the bed, the young man's sharp eyes instantly drifted.

He slowly lifted his head and looked at the ceiling above him, as if there was something there that mattered.

“…… Got it, just promise you. ”

Even so, tears filled his eyes, unstoppably sliding down his face.

It's a pity that the middle-aged man who is lying on his side on the bed and seems to be just asleep will never be able to hear his promise.