８．Ｓａｔｕｒｄａｙ Ｍａｒｃｈ ２， ２０１９
文字数 5,629文字
"I'm sorry, all of a sudden." Kira wiped his eyes a couple of times with the sleeve of his flannel shirt.
"I don't mind at all. I sympathize with your position."
After Maruta said this, there was a strange pause.
He searched for appropriate words to say when someone's mind is sensitive in this way, but could only come up with clichés such as "It's hard, isn't it?". In fact, the man in front of him was faced with the death of a friend, undeniably, and it occurred to Maruta that this was supposed to be the subject of this meeting.
"You trusted Silva-san." When Maruta began to speak in a tone of mourning for the victim, Kira interrupted him and said stoutly, "OK, I'm fine now".
It did not look as if he was forcing himself to mend his appearance, and even seemed to be silently rejecting any half-hearted sympathy. Maruta thought it would be uncivil to ask, reminding him, "Don't you want this conversation to continue?", and decided to continue asking questions about the case.
"Was it still the case of Milley-san that prompted Silva-san to change his name?"
"I believe so." Kira was downcast, but his voice was firm. "As a continuation of our earlier story, about a year after he started his career as a video creator, he suddenly brought her to his apartment."
"That was around the time they started dating."
"Yes. This was when her channel had not yet reached a million subscribers, but she was already a big name in our industry by then. So I was surprised when I suddenly saw her up close."
"According to the Internet, they first got together at an event hosted by UMORE. Is that correct?"
"Almost right. As far as I know."
Maruta pulls up the tablet as before and searches for 'UMORE Conference 2016'.
A list of famous creators who appeared at the event can be found on a website that still exists on the Internet. The date of the event was December 6, 2016. Among the photos of video creators performing original songs and playing games, there is also a photo of 〈Milley〉 stirring the crowd with her signature dance moves.
"This event, right?" Maruta turned the tablet screen to Kira.
"Yes. I miss this one too."
"You and Silva-san went to this event together, didn't you? I have seen a video of you at that time."
"Of course you have seen that as well. Indeed, I accompanied him as a cameraman then. Free space at the entrance was allowed for videography."
"Were you there as guests of the public at that time?"
"Yes. But Silva also had about 100,000 channel subscribers at that time, and was on the verge of becoming famous. So, there were also several other well-known creators who are not affiliated with UMORE as the general public. Silva was one of these creators who were very active, and he followed the performers to the party after the event."
"Is such a thing so easy to do?"
"No, it would be absolutely impossible to do that under normal circumstances. There are several video creators who are much more popular now than bad TV celebrities. Simply put, it was connections with famous video creators that made it possible. So there were video creators, who although unaffiliated at the time, had gained hundreds of thousands of channel subscribers. Silva was very well-spoken, so he was very close to these people. Meanwhile, UMORE was also trying to bring in new creative talent. So the unaffiliated video creators, who had attracted the attention of event officials, were naturally invited to the launch after the event was over. Silva followed them very well."
"Silva-san was a good at getting things done, wasn't he?"
"He was a hotshot. It was a sight to behold. I am sure you can imagine how Silva approached Milley with the skill he possessed. He always had the contact information of over a hundred women in his phone. On the day of the event, Silva's purpose for attending the launch was still probably to her. A guy with a jock temperament at his core can easily tear down walls with others. As I watched the launch from the edge of the room, I noticed that Silva was the center of the other male cronies, energetically doing 'Chants for Drinking' next to Milley."
As he contemplated the scene, Maruta was stunned, as Kira said, and he gushed uncontrollably. Then, with a bitter smile, he said, "I can't compete with him."
"No. I would not recommend imitating him. If you imitate him badly, you will only be laughed at."
"Didn't Silva-san try to get into UMORE?"
Upon hearing this, Kira made a hand-rubbing gesture. He has surely been asked this question by a number of people. Maruta looked upward at the guest in front of him, wondering if he should avoid sensitive topics.
Kira, however, showed no sign of reluctance. Rather, he was showing a generous attitude, as if he was not sure whether to serve a fine wine or not. Kira's mouth has softened considerably.
When Maruta remained silent, Kira eventually spoke up in a very meaningful tone, as if to say, "That's the problem, isn't it?"
"In the months following that event, there was a lot of talk around Silva about whether or not to join UMORE. I didn't ask him directly, but I remember Silva saying to himself, 'I guess I should join UMORE too.' And while we were fumbling around like that, "
"That Milley's incident happened."
"That's what I mean."
"I don't mind at all. I sympathize with your position."
After Maruta said this, there was a strange pause.
He searched for appropriate words to say when someone's mind is sensitive in this way, but could only come up with clichés such as "It's hard, isn't it?". In fact, the man in front of him was faced with the death of a friend, undeniably, and it occurred to Maruta that this was supposed to be the subject of this meeting.
"You trusted Silva-san." When Maruta began to speak in a tone of mourning for the victim, Kira interrupted him and said stoutly, "OK, I'm fine now".
It did not look as if he was forcing himself to mend his appearance, and even seemed to be silently rejecting any half-hearted sympathy. Maruta thought it would be uncivil to ask, reminding him, "Don't you want this conversation to continue?", and decided to continue asking questions about the case.
"Was it still the case of Milley-san that prompted Silva-san to change his name?"
"I believe so." Kira was downcast, but his voice was firm. "As a continuation of our earlier story, about a year after he started his career as a video creator, he suddenly brought her to his apartment."
"That was around the time they started dating."
"Yes. This was when her channel had not yet reached a million subscribers, but she was already a big name in our industry by then. So I was surprised when I suddenly saw her up close."
"According to the Internet, they first got together at an event hosted by UMORE. Is that correct?"
"Almost right. As far as I know."
Maruta pulls up the tablet as before and searches for 'UMORE Conference 2016'.
A list of famous creators who appeared at the event can be found on a website that still exists on the Internet. The date of the event was December 6, 2016. Among the photos of video creators performing original songs and playing games, there is also a photo of 〈Milley〉 stirring the crowd with her signature dance moves.
"This event, right?" Maruta turned the tablet screen to Kira.
"Yes. I miss this one too."
"You and Silva-san went to this event together, didn't you? I have seen a video of you at that time."
"Of course you have seen that as well. Indeed, I accompanied him as a cameraman then. Free space at the entrance was allowed for videography."
"Were you there as guests of the public at that time?"
"Yes. But Silva also had about 100,000 channel subscribers at that time, and was on the verge of becoming famous. So, there were also several other well-known creators who are not affiliated with UMORE as the general public. Silva was one of these creators who were very active, and he followed the performers to the party after the event."
"Is such a thing so easy to do?"
"No, it would be absolutely impossible to do that under normal circumstances. There are several video creators who are much more popular now than bad TV celebrities. Simply put, it was connections with famous video creators that made it possible. So there were video creators, who although unaffiliated at the time, had gained hundreds of thousands of channel subscribers. Silva was very well-spoken, so he was very close to these people. Meanwhile, UMORE was also trying to bring in new creative talent. So the unaffiliated video creators, who had attracted the attention of event officials, were naturally invited to the launch after the event was over. Silva followed them very well."
"Silva-san was a good at getting things done, wasn't he?"
"He was a hotshot. It was a sight to behold. I am sure you can imagine how Silva approached Milley with the skill he possessed. He always had the contact information of over a hundred women in his phone. On the day of the event, Silva's purpose for attending the launch was still probably to her. A guy with a jock temperament at his core can easily tear down walls with others. As I watched the launch from the edge of the room, I noticed that Silva was the center of the other male cronies, energetically doing 'Chants for Drinking' next to Milley."
As he contemplated the scene, Maruta was stunned, as Kira said, and he gushed uncontrollably. Then, with a bitter smile, he said, "I can't compete with him."
"No. I would not recommend imitating him. If you imitate him badly, you will only be laughed at."
"Didn't Silva-san try to get into UMORE?"
Upon hearing this, Kira made a hand-rubbing gesture. He has surely been asked this question by a number of people. Maruta looked upward at the guest in front of him, wondering if he should avoid sensitive topics.
Kira, however, showed no sign of reluctance. Rather, he was showing a generous attitude, as if he was not sure whether to serve a fine wine or not. Kira's mouth has softened considerably.
When Maruta remained silent, Kira eventually spoke up in a very meaningful tone, as if to say, "That's the problem, isn't it?"
"In the months following that event, there was a lot of talk around Silva about whether or not to join UMORE. I didn't ask him directly, but I remember Silva saying to himself, 'I guess I should join UMORE too.' And while we were fumbling around like that, "
"That Milley's incident happened."
"That's what I mean."
