２．Ｓａｔｕｒｄａｙ Ｍａｒｃｈ ３０， ２０１９
文字数 4,840文字
Before he could find the grave where 〈Silva〉 was laid to rest, Kira's figure caught his eyes. A small cemetery behind a temple called Nina-ji. It is Kira's neighborhood, so it must have been easy for him to come. Perhaps because the equinoctial week of Buddhism had passed, there were few people around.
"You could have stayed home today." When Maruta said, Kira turned around.
"Ah, I did not expect you to want to visit here, Maruta-san."
The headstone engraved with the words 'Nakata clan' is tarnished, but there are no other indications of decadence. Its well-organized, one-square-meter plot gave the impression of being rather clean.
Maruta climbed the two stone steps and stood in front of the grave. On the edge of the epitaph placed beside it, he noticed 'Gin, age 26' inscribed in white letters.
"Did you bring these things, Kira-san?" Maruta pointed to the offering table. There were canned juices and fruits that appeared to have just been bought.
"No. These have been there since I got here."
"This means that Silva's family or fans left them for him."
They had no incense or anything else, so they put their hands together and then bowed once. It was the simplest method of memorial service for the dead they could vaguely remember.
They stood there for a while, silent. Maruta almost put out his hand to touch the tombstone, but quickly retracted it. 〈Silva〉 no longer speaks to us.
Maruta wanted to know what 〈Silva〉 saw just before he closed his life. Was he killed by someone who strangled him, as reported? Or, in some other way?
When Maruta looked up, so did Kira. They did not discuss the incident on the spot. Descending the steps, Maruta saw several young women gathered in a corner of the cemetery. Feeling their eyes on him, he felt a little uncomfortable for a while. But after thinking about it, he quickly realized what was going on.
I am sure those people came to visit 〈Silva〉's grave.
When Maruta realized this, he left the place as quickly as possible with Kira.
"Please look at this." By the temple parking lot, Maruta held out his smartphone. On the screen, open is 〈Silva〉's video channel page.
"What are you trying to do?" Kira said, moving his eyes to the numerous comments on the screen. After reading them for a while, he returned the phone.
"Actually, last Sunday," Maruta talked about how he encouraged people to make the channel more widely known in the comments section.
"So suddenly, the comments have increased so much."
Even as they spoke, new comments kept arriving.
"May Silva become the video-creator star he has always wanted to be."
"Loved Silva's videos."
"Let's all get over a million channel subscribers."
"I still watch his videos. I can't believe he is dead."
"I wanted him to be a star."
"Truly we have lost a precious person."
"If he were still alive, he would have caught up with Milley by now."
...
"The people," Maruta said calmly. "Who were at the grave earlier must have been fans of Silva-san. Perhaps the excitement in the comments section inspired them to come here today. Or maybe not, though."
Kira took out his smartphone and looked at the comments section once more. He then exclaimed with admiration, "Wow, It already has over 400,000 subscribers!"
"So, Kira-san." Maruta's tone remains the same. "I have a request. You, as I recall, had about 5,000 SNS followers. Would you be willing to encourage people to get excited about Silva's channel?"
"Of course I will."
Standing beside Kira, Maruta observed the movement of his fingers as he typed his message.
'Let's get Silva's channel going together!'
The sentence seemed simple, but it soon became clear that it was an assumption. The response was remarkable immediately after the transmission.
"After all, having 5,000 followers makes a big difference in the response." Maruta said, peering at Kira's smartphone screen. Notifications such as 'Like' came in one after another, as if flipping through a stack of papers.
As soon as Maruta sat in the driver's seat, Kira did in the passenger seat. A moment passed after they both buckled their seatbelts. Immediately after, their laughter echoed through the car.
"I got on this seat out of habit these days." With a shy smile on his face, Kira tried to unbuckle his seatbelt.
"It's no problem," Maruta gestured for Kira to stay put. "I certainly didn't plan to do anything after this today. But it would not be pointless to head off somewhere like this. Kira-san, do you have any plans after this?"
"None in particular."
"You could have stayed home today." When Maruta said, Kira turned around.
"Ah, I did not expect you to want to visit here, Maruta-san."
The headstone engraved with the words 'Nakata clan' is tarnished, but there are no other indications of decadence. Its well-organized, one-square-meter plot gave the impression of being rather clean.
Maruta climbed the two stone steps and stood in front of the grave. On the edge of the epitaph placed beside it, he noticed 'Gin, age 26' inscribed in white letters.
"Did you bring these things, Kira-san?" Maruta pointed to the offering table. There were canned juices and fruits that appeared to have just been bought.
"No. These have been there since I got here."
"This means that Silva's family or fans left them for him."
They had no incense or anything else, so they put their hands together and then bowed once. It was the simplest method of memorial service for the dead they could vaguely remember.
They stood there for a while, silent. Maruta almost put out his hand to touch the tombstone, but quickly retracted it. 〈Silva〉 no longer speaks to us.
Maruta wanted to know what 〈Silva〉 saw just before he closed his life. Was he killed by someone who strangled him, as reported? Or, in some other way?
When Maruta looked up, so did Kira. They did not discuss the incident on the spot. Descending the steps, Maruta saw several young women gathered in a corner of the cemetery. Feeling their eyes on him, he felt a little uncomfortable for a while. But after thinking about it, he quickly realized what was going on.
I am sure those people came to visit 〈Silva〉's grave.
When Maruta realized this, he left the place as quickly as possible with Kira.
"Please look at this." By the temple parking lot, Maruta held out his smartphone. On the screen, open is 〈Silva〉's video channel page.
"What are you trying to do?" Kira said, moving his eyes to the numerous comments on the screen. After reading them for a while, he returned the phone.
"Actually, last Sunday," Maruta talked about how he encouraged people to make the channel more widely known in the comments section.
"So suddenly, the comments have increased so much."
Even as they spoke, new comments kept arriving.
"May Silva become the video-creator star he has always wanted to be."
"Loved Silva's videos."
"Let's all get over a million channel subscribers."
"I still watch his videos. I can't believe he is dead."
"I wanted him to be a star."
"Truly we have lost a precious person."
"If he were still alive, he would have caught up with Milley by now."
...
"The people," Maruta said calmly. "Who were at the grave earlier must have been fans of Silva-san. Perhaps the excitement in the comments section inspired them to come here today. Or maybe not, though."
Kira took out his smartphone and looked at the comments section once more. He then exclaimed with admiration, "Wow, It already has over 400,000 subscribers!"
"So, Kira-san." Maruta's tone remains the same. "I have a request. You, as I recall, had about 5,000 SNS followers. Would you be willing to encourage people to get excited about Silva's channel?"
"Of course I will."
Standing beside Kira, Maruta observed the movement of his fingers as he typed his message.
'Let's get Silva's channel going together!'
The sentence seemed simple, but it soon became clear that it was an assumption. The response was remarkable immediately after the transmission.
"After all, having 5,000 followers makes a big difference in the response." Maruta said, peering at Kira's smartphone screen. Notifications such as 'Like' came in one after another, as if flipping through a stack of papers.
As soon as Maruta sat in the driver's seat, Kira did in the passenger seat. A moment passed after they both buckled their seatbelts. Immediately after, their laughter echoed through the car.
"I got on this seat out of habit these days." With a shy smile on his face, Kira tried to unbuckle his seatbelt.
"It's no problem," Maruta gestured for Kira to stay put. "I certainly didn't plan to do anything after this today. But it would not be pointless to head off somewhere like this. Kira-san, do you have any plans after this?"
"None in particular."
