Chapter 14 B

"It's completely different from the Superman I saw just now." Said the young man who sat on the sofa facing Mishima.He tilted his mouth, shook his head from side to side, and said, "I can't fly, and, look, I'm not wearing a uniform." He opened his suit and unbuttoned a few buttons on his white shirt, revealing the clothes inside to the He sees.is pure white. "So, what can you do?" "I know the future." Even Mishima was taken aback by what he said with a serious face.Mishima frowned, and turned to look at me sitting on the chair by the dining table—I had been following the conversation between the two of them like a referee watching the progress of the game.Hey, is this man okay?Although Mishima didn't say it out loud, the expression of asking for help seemed to say, could it be some unreliable fortune teller?

This is Mishima's house. Half a month ago, because of a one-night stand, I ended up being separated from my wife, and I have been struggling with where to stay every day since then.Either work unnecessary overtime at the company to procrastinate, or spend the night in Internet cafes, or go to business hotels, and frequently visit Mishima, who advocates being single and lives in Futako Tamagawa's single-family apartment.Mishima is a writer who debuted in his twenties, and has been writing novels since becoming famous.For me, who is only interested in practical books, I don't see any value in his novels, and I haven't even read them through, but it is said that his books have been highly praised in the world.Whenever Mishima is mentioned with other friends, most of them will show envy.

Mishima is very smart, and I admit that.His eyes were sharp, like a bird of prey searching for prey from above.He reads, gets information from the Internet, and sometimes even consults papers written in foreign languages, giving the impression that he is always thinking.The subjects he ponders are commonplace, not outlandish, such as "the relationship between the state and the individual", "the limits of the influence of education on human nature", "the effect of the sexual strike by women", etc., and he is always thinking about things like this The problem.He didn't want to express his opinions in any newspapers, but he would visit me occasionally, say "Tanaka-kun, can you listen to my thoughts", and then began to discuss.Although I can't judge whether this is a beneficial activity, there is no doubt that Mishima loves to think.

On the other hand, there is something about him that is shockingly childish.He is obsessed with movies and comics where superheroes appear, imitating their actions and appearances, and is often proud of it.I went to a hot spring with him once before, and he put his head on the wall separating the women's bathroom and said to me: "This is how Superman sees through." He said happily: "That's it, put the light on the wall, The wall is now transparent." He pressed his ears against the wall and said, "His hearing is also very good, and he can hear every word from that side." It took me a long time to stop him from continuing to listen. go down.He also called the manufacturers of diet foods and said angrily: "It says 'This is more effective than what you do now' on the box, but do you know what I'm doing!"

Also, if the football team he supports loses, he will clearly show his displeasure and say angrily, "Fix the match! I won't watch it anymore!" I still remember the 2002 date. In the Korean World Cup, when the Japanese team lost to the Turkish team in Miyagi, he yelled frantically: "It's all because the players of the Red Ginger team are not used!" As a result, he was forced to leave the field. It was the same just now, after watching Tokyo Red Kang lose to a penalty kick before the end of the game on cable TV, he immediately called and yelled: "The referee's decision is obviously suspicious!" I don't know where he called.

About ten minutes ago, the young man who called himself Honda came to Mishima's house.After ringing the walkie-talkie, he claimed to be a salesman of the security company, speaking in a gentle manner. "Just listen to the explanation, will you?" He seemed to be visiting residents in this area one by one to sell the security system for small shops and individual houses.In normal times, Mishima would definitely drive him away without paying any attention.But just now he glanced at me and said, "Tanaka-kun, why don't we listen to what the salesman will say?" Sulked, intending to tease the salesman.I'm not interested.

Perhaps ready to be shut down, the salesman was overly excited to be invited into the home.It was a young man who appeared to be between twenty-five and thirty years of age.He is slender, with sloping shoulders, and looks unreliable, but the glasses with black frames and square lenses match him well, with a chic and suave demeanor. I don't know what kind of reasoning he made, but he decided that the owner of this house was me, not Mishima, so he handed me his business card. "My name is Honda, please take care of me." Probably, no, it must be because of Mishima's sloppy appearance.

"No, he is the owner here." I pointed at Mishima. Mishima, who didn't look like an adult at all, blushed childishly. "I'm really unhappy." He said awkwardly, "You're really rude, no matter how you look at it, I have the air of being the head of the family." Honda looked embarrassed and flustered, and his attitude of apologizing was as if he was about to kneel. "There's no need to apologize like this." Mishima was considerate once in a while. "I always make mistakes like this, and I feel disgusted." "Look, Mishima, it's all your fault for making a young man with a future so depressed."

Mishima frowned in disgust, then sighed, and said sharply: "There will be mistakes because you refuse to correct them." Honda and I were silent, not knowing what he was talking about all of a sudden. "This is what President Kennedy said." Mishima continued, "It was said after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion. People make mistakes, no matter how great they are, they will fail and make mistakes. Tanaka-kun, the important thing is to admit that you have done a good job. No. And admitting mistakes is harder than anything." Don't blame me, probably even Honda is bored.Mishima was a little angry, and he said loudly: "Furthermore, history was made by mistake."

"Are you going to start talking about history?" I smiled wryly, "He's talking about the security system." "Tanaka-kun, do you know the story of Nobel?" Mishima said to himself. "Nobel? The one with the Nobel Prize?" "Yes, while Nobel was still alive, someone made a mistake and published the news of his death in the newspapers." "Is that so?" Honda leaned out, probably trying to show his favor. "Why are you talking about death news again?" "It was actually his brother who died. The reporter made a mistake and wrote the report of his death. Nobel was shocked to see the news of his own death, but what shocked him even more than the death was that in that news, he Known as the 'Merchant of Death'."

I also heard the anecdote that he was called the "merchant of death" because he invented dynamite. "I think, don't speak ill of the deceased... But, he was not dead at that time?" "Then, Tanaka-kun, after a few years, Nobel wrote about the Nobel Prize in his will." "Is that so?" "Tanaka-kun, he is probably very angry at being called a 'merchant of death', so he must have held his breath! Are you kidding me, let me show you!" "It means, 'I set up a Nobel Prize for you, how about it'?" I asked suspiciously, "Is Nobel such a man suitable for playing rock? Well, but his mood is not incomprehensible." "The root cause is the misreporting of journalists. It can be said that if there were no misreporting, the Nobel Prize would not have been established." "Maybe it will still be established." "Tanaka-kun is wrong. Can you understand me?" Mishima glanced at Honda, "It is a mistake to create a view of history. Another example, do you know how the First World War started? Yes Because the Austrian crown prince was assassinated. In fact, there were five others who failed.” "Mishima, it's too far away." "Hmph." Mishima snorted, obviously upset, "Then, let's listen to the description of the product." Take the Denentoshi Line from Shibuya and get off at Futako Tamagawa. After making several turns along the winding and slender path, you will enter an old residential area, where Mishima's home is.The houses lined up in rows are not so gorgeous in shape, it is more appropriate to describe them as solid and regular.The residential area is surrounded by towering walls and magnificent greenery. Indeed, the people who live here seem to have the awareness of introducing a security system.In other words, I want to say that Honda's rash visit may not be aimless.However, Mishima suddenly pointed out sharply: "Look, most of the houses in this neighborhood are old, and those who are interested in the security system have already installed them." This is true. Honda puffed up his chest and said, "As you said." He replied like a warrior, "However—although it's a bit bad to say this, disturbing news comes out every day, so before the security system People who are not interested may suddenly feel scared at some point." "It turns out that you hired a salesman named Terror and Disturbance. The day when the robbery and murder occurred is the time to make money." "Yes, that's right." Facing Mishima's sarcasm, Honda responded honestly, "In order to protect everyone's safety——" he spread out the brochure, "Our company will reform in many ways." "A lot, how much is it?" "For example, from glass window switch sensing and monitoring to air purifiers, we are all involved in the operation." "Air purifier?" Mishima was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "The security company can not only prevent the intrusion of bad people, but also prevent bad air?" "Exactly." Honda said with a serious face, "and recently, the company has developed a new system to prevent wild cats from defecating anywhere." "Wild cat defecating?" Mishima leaned over his face with interest. It seems that an ultrasonic device is installed in the yard, which can emit ultrasonic waves that only cats can hear and make them feel uncomfortable, so as to drive away wild cats.Because the cat is detected through infrared rays, the dead angle of the sensor must also be considered in the configuration. "But if it's an old cat, its hearing will get worse and it won't work..." "That's interesting too." Mishima interjected several times, showing a strong interest in the cat-proof device, his eyes sparkling. I put the brewed coffee on the low table surrounded by them, and Mishima asked me seriously: "Tanaka-kun, I should also have this kind of system in my house, what do you think?" "That's right. You're a well-known writer, and you might have unpleasant guests at your door." I joked. "No, I'm talking about the wildcat protection system." "That...you don't need it? I've never seen a cat come to your yard. Besides, you often want to borrow a helping hand from the cat, don't you?" "Tanaka-kun also likes to talk nonsense." Mishima said with a cold look, sneered, and then continued, "And, cats and systems are a very interesting combination. Animals cannot be programmed into human beings." systems, they cannot be managed with systems.” At this time, Honda's attitude changed.After being stunned for a moment, he looked at Mishima, then scanned the bookshelves on the wall, and seemed to notice that there were several works by Mishima.Then, in a panic, he pulled the bag to his side, took out a library book from it, and said, "Are you Mr. Mishima? I have always liked your books." I was surprised that Mishima's attitude seemed to have also happened Variety.The bad intentions that originally wanted to tease the salesman disappeared, and he corrected his attitude. I thought very irresponsibly that Honda might use this as an opportunity to further urge the signing, but I immediately heard unexpected lines from him. "It may be some kind of fate to be able to meet Mr. Mishima on such an occasion. Could you please talk to me? I have something that bothers me and I can't find someone to discuss it with. I have already given up on myself and wanted to let him go." He smiled slightly He said with his head down.Mishima looked at me with a troubled expression. "I read Mishima-sensei's work," Honda mentioned the content of Mishima's novel, "I got courage from the last line." "Ah..." Mishima's expression was a little weak. "What's the matter? You look unhappy." I mocked him. But he confessed: "Because some critics once teased me that it was naive to end the novel with a positive line." "Are you shocked?" "No, I just think it's boring for the critic to easily deny my work based on the last line. What can I say, like a movie with a bright ending, what can it change? It's okay for ordinary readers to say so, even critics Is that so?" To put it simply, Mishima is not convinced, and I am not interested in paying attention to him. Then, after a while, Honda said, "Actually, I... how should I put it, I'm a little different from normal humans." "Uncommon? What exactly do you mean?" "I have special powers." Honda seems to be confessing his sins in pain, and the heavy attitude makes me very concerned.I began to think about what tone I should use to talk to him, and at the same time, I was wary of whether I would be laughed at by him after taking it seriously.Mishima also seemed to be struggling with how to respond. He picked up the remote control at hand and turned on the TV. He chose an old movie that I also like very much to play.The superman from the universe appeared on the screen, and after transforming, he flew into the air and rescued the famous scene of a woman falling from a helicopter. "Special power...does this mean?" Mishima asked Honda this, but what came out of the latter's mouth was this answer: "I know the future." Due to Mishima's confused and silent expression, I had no choice but to stand up, that is to say, from the standpoint of a bystander away from the referee, and urged him to explain: "Does it mean that you can predict the future?" The young man's expression was a little nervous, he turned his face and stared straight at me. "This man is Tanaka-kun, he can be regarded as my assistant." Mishima finally introduced me. When I came back to my senses, there was already a row of newspaper clippings on the low glass table for reception, which Honda took out from his bag and spread out.Does he carry it with him all the time?It is not a new method of fraud! The dates reported are scattered—in other words, the degree of fading of the paper varies widely.There were about ten of them, and they were all about homicides and accidents.I secretly wondered if he was going to proudly claim that he had predicted these events and accidents in advance. Mishima crossed his arms and looked displeased.