Hiroshi Makoto was unable to win against Chiaki.
He wanted to take his daughter's place, but he couldn't even convince his daughter.
If Chiaki didn't agree, Seiji couldn't possibly go against her wishes.
In the end, the famous artist could only leave under his daughter's persuasion.
Before he left, he took a deep look at Seiji Mukai. Seiji Mukai responded with a kind smile that said "I'll definitely take good care of your daughter" and sent his future father-in-law off.
Seiji then looked towards Chiaki with a serious expression.
When Chiaki met his gaze, she instantly understood and retracted her neck.
"Do you know that you were wrong?"
"I do …"
"That's good, then."
She deserved to be scolded and beaten up for saying something stupid to her father.
Hiroshi Makoto scolded her, and she also seemed to know that she was wrong. Seiji didn't intend to say anything else, but he still had to show his attitude.
Things passed just like that. The end result was good. The distance between father and daughter had been reduced, and things would probably become better in the future.
Of course, the prerequisite was that this incident was successfully resolved.
…
"Hey, Haruta -san."
"Hello, Kamitani-kun."
Seiji wasn't surprised to receive a phone call from Itsuki Kamitani right before he went to sleep.
That was because Soul Society was scheduled to have their third battle in the Realm of Cherry Blossoms tomorrow.
"Come and be a hero again, Haruta -san, just like last time!"
"What's the reward?"
"The reward for being a hero is, of course, precious peace!"
"… You mean you don't have any?"
"I said it's peace, peace ~ Precious, great, priceless peace ~" Kamitani sounded like he was singing.
"If you can truly guarantee peace, I'm willing to be a janitor for the rest of my life. But you obviously don't have that ability," Seiji stated coldly. "That's because Kamitani-kun yourself isn't a peaceful existence."
Kamitani paused for a moment before chuckling.
"Heh heh, well said. I like that line. That's how you should talk." Kamitani chuckled. "Let's talk about 'peace' this time. Haruta -san, what do you think 'peace' is?"
"I don't want to talk to you about this."
"Let's have a chat. It's rare for us to talk on the phone. It's boring to talk about business. We're friends, after all."
"I don't remember being friends with you."
"It's okay if you have a memory problem. I'll keep repeating it to you."
"I don't have a memory problem. You're the one who has a memory problem!"
"Let's talk about memories next time. This time, the topic is' peace. 'We can't go off topic."
"Do you think this is a classroom discussion!?" Seiji retorted.
"No, this is just a chat between friends," Kamitani spoke happily.
"Just a casual comment, my bro Haruta. I really want to know what you think of 'peace.'"
"You also want to know my opinion on 'peace', right?"
Seiji: "…"
If he had to say whether he wanted to know or not, he wanted to know what this Messengers leader was thinking.
It wasn't because he wanted to be friends, nor was it because he wanted to understand the other party. It was pure curiosity.
"Peace is non-violence. A state without violence is peace," he said tentatively.
"What an average way of looking at things."
"My apologies, I'm just an average person."
"No need to feel inferior. Being average isn't bad either. It's just a bit boring."
"That's right, I'm boring, so stop wasting time with me and get to the point!"
"You're an interesting existence. It's fine even if you're a bit boring." Kamitani chuckled. "According to what you just said about 'peace,' do you think that it's a good thing that it's always existing?"
Seiji fell silent.
"No." After a period of silence, he gave a clear negative answer.
"… Why's that?" Kamitani sounded rather surprised.
"If peace can naturally continue forever, of course that's a good thing," Seiji spoke calmly.
"However, humans have desires. If they want to advance, there'll be all sorts of complex creatures that are dissatisfied with each other and fight against each other.
Many things will slowly accumulate and eventually lead to intense change.
Forcefully suppressing change and maintaining unchanging peace is a bad thing … because that might lead to even worse results. "
Peace was a good thing, and war was a bad thing. This was common knowledge among humans.
However, war would still occur.
Some people said that true peace had never existed before.
Some people said that war had never changed.
If one seriously discussed these things, it would be quite grand and heavy … Seiji had thought about this before as well.
In the end, it was just a question of affirmation or denial.
He chose affirmation.
Affirmation of past history, affirmation of humanity itself, affirmation of himself and everything else that existed because of this.
"You're truly an interesting person," Kamitani spoke in a delighted tone.
"Whatever you say … it's your turn, Kamitani-kun. What do you think of 'peace'?" Seiji asked.
"I think that 'peace' is a boring thing, and that humans always pursue interesting things. That's why peace can't always exist," Kamitani spoke casually.
"What exactly do you mean by 'interesting'?"
"Of course 'interesting' means interesting."
"What does that mean?"
"It means interesting."
"I don't understand what you mean … you're basically saying nothing at all," Seiji stated coldly. "I don't want to chat with you anymore, Kamitani-kun."
"Don't be like that. How about I tell you an interesting story." Kamitani cleared his throat.
"A long, long time ago, there was a cute girl.
"She lived a peaceful life and gradually grew up."
One day, a boy came and got together with her, and she gave birth to a child.
After that, the boy disappeared just as suddenly as he arrived.
The girl didn't care. She raised the child by herself and continued living a peaceful life.
After the child grew up a little, he disappeared as well.
Although the girl cared, she couldn't find him after searching for a while, so she stopped caring.
After that, a new boy came and made her give birth to another child. After that, he disappeared again.
The same thing happened many times, until she was no longer able to give birth to another child. She was taken to an unfamiliar place …
At that time, she understood what had happened to those boys and their children.
In the end, she died.
"I've lived my life in peace, and I've learned the truth of life before I die. Congratulations ~"
Seiji was rendered speechless.
"How about it? Isn't it an interesting story? "Kamitani asked.
"This' girl 'that you're talking about was actually a domestic animal, wasn't she?" Seiji guessed.
"No." Kamitani had a smile on his face as he spoke in a profound tone. "She was a human.
"A real human who once lived."
She lived and died peacefully. She lived a very happy life.
But, in other people's eyes, she lived a pitiful life.
That's why it's an interesting story.
From beginning to end, it's a boring 'peace,' but it's an interesting story. I think that's quite interesting.
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