Solnus 11. The One Who Died Peacefully; Shrines Rites, Old Men and Young Men, and The Sea, A Murder Novel?

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one night.

Minato Nakamura was sitting in the second row of a Toyama City taxi. While waiting for the driver to take him to his destination, he was using his cell phone. He was scrolling through the last photos he had taken of him and his brother, Manjiro Nakamura.

Minato remembered that, during his last meeting with Manjiro, Manjiro had talked about something other than the arrival of alien workers.

Minato remembered that Manjiro had mentioned Minato's career choice, "I've said this many times. I think you could be successful if you became an academic or a researcher. Yes, perhaps the things you like, such as what you like to read, might not seem like you'd be suited to being an academic. But I think you're actually suited to working in that field."

Minato remembered Manjiro's verdict at the time: "But, in the end, it was all your own choice. You chose to be a fisherman, and you proved yourself successful with your choice. That's good."

Minato also remembered Manjiro discussing himself. At their last meeting, Manjiro had said, "We know I'm really old. Maybe my time in this world is running out. Overall, I'm happy with the life I've lived."

Minato remembered Manjiro's thoughts at the time: "I think I'll die peacefully. When that time comes, I think it will complete my happiness. Because there are so many people out there who die in certain ways, like committing suicide or being shot by someone else."

(000)

2378 days, or 6 years, 6 months, and about 1 week before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one early morning.

It had been about nine years since Minato Nakamura lost one of his relatives, Manjiro Nakamura. During that time, Minato certainly experienced changes. One of them was getting married and having a child. He also now has a new hobby: reading literature.

However, during those nine years, one thing remained constant. He still pursued the same old hobby: watching baseball. Another constant was that Minato continued to work the same job. Minato, now around 44 years old, had no interest in changing his career from fishing to catching sea creatures.

Because he remained in his job, Minato diligently followed his routine. When it was time to go out to sea, Minato faithfully got up early in the morning. Today was one of those days when Minato had to fish, so he had been getting ready before the sun rose.

After getting ready, Minato immediately left for his "office" at a small port in Wakkanai. He had been driving his kei car to the port since around 3 AM. The trip only took about fifteen to twenty minutes, including the time when Minato had to stop for a moment.

Minato had to stop for a moment to offer his hopes and prayers at a local shrine. He hoped that he and his entire crew would be safe. For your information, fishing in Japan has a fatality rate of around eight percent. This rate ranks third only to forestry and mining.

Besides hoping for safety, Minato also hoped for good luck. He hoped he and his fellow shipmates would catch a "tairyo," or a large catch. He hoped he could enjoy sashimi straight from the fish he had caught that day.

After completing the rituals at the shrine, Minato continued his journey. Arriving at the harbor area near the shore, he got out of the car with a bag containing the tools he needed to bring. Then, Minato walked with the bag.

Minato didn't immediately head to his workplace but instead walked to a small building. This building was a shrine, smaller than the one he had visited earlier. He placed his bag on the ground and performed the rituals at the small shrine once more.

After performing his ritual, Minato set off, now heading to his workplace. As he walked, the old man thought, "I suppose my life has been filled with good fortune overall. I can safely say I'm not the Santiago of Ernest Hemingway's novel, The Old Man and the Sea."

Since developing a new hobby of reading literature, Minato has always been a favorite of the novel that was a major factor in Ernest Hemingway's 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature. According to Minato himself, the novel is indeed excellent, both in terms of story and writing style. Of course, the novel's theme, which depicts the lives of fishermen, made Minato relate to it even more and deepened his love for it.

Minato continued walking, thinking about the main character in The Old Man and the Sea, "I do sometimes have bad days that are unsatisfying. But I've never had such bad luck as Santiago, who went almost ninety days without a fish."

It didn't take long for Minato's footsteps to lead him to a wooden building. The door to the building was quite large and already open. This building was where the crew of Minato's ship gathered. There were fifteen crew members in total, whom Minato would command during their fishing expeditions.

Looking at his crew, he thought, "Old Santiago's failure has even prevented his young apprentice, Manolin, from sailing with him. Manolin's parents sent him away to sail with a bigger fisherman."

Minato compared his current situation to Santiago's, saying, "Japan's fishing industry is also affected by the decline of Japan's population and the increasing influx of young people to big cities. Japanese Manolins prefer sailing near corporate buildings and maneuvering between trains rather than sailing on the ocean and maneuvering between waves."

Minato looked at some of his crew, which made him think, "But we can bring in other Manolins, young Manolins from outside Japan. So, I'm even more different from Santiago. Santiago's world is the world of The Old Man and the Sea, while mine is the world of The Old Men and Young Men and the Sea. I call them old men because, besides me, most of my Japanese colleagues are also elderly."

The young Manolins from outside Japan who were also working with Minato at the time were Banh Đức Hải and Guruh Dwi Cahyo. The X duo were now around twenty-one years old. To realize their dream of one day becoming involved in the music world, they traveled to a faraway land.

From the moment they received their contract, Banh Đức Hải and Guruh Dwi Cahyo consistently demonstrated their diligence. They also appeared to be constantly improving their skills in their field. One example was their increasing skill in performing "ikejime," a method for ethically killing caught fish.

Banh Đức Hải and Guruh Dwi Cahyo realized they were not tourists but rather challenging the "great waves of Wakkanai," which were as large as the Great Waves of Kanagawa. Minato Nakamuta's eyes saw the determination and seriousness of the X duo. That day, Minato finally expressed his appreciation: "Hải-san and Guru-san, next time it's your day off, how about you join me on a trip to the Path of White Shells?"

The X duo was surprised by the seemingly sudden offer that came so early in the morning. Hải immediately accepted his boss's offer. "Really, Sacho? I accept it."

Guruh didn't refuse the offer either, but he also had other thoughts in mind: "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Nakamura. Ah, but what about the other workers?"

Hải also agreed with Guruh, "Right, aren't the other workers invited?"

A Japanese crew member about fifteen years older than the X duo commented, "If we go there, it's not a trip for us. We're locals who have lived here for a long time. A trip for us is going to Tokyo or abroad."

The other local crew members laughed and agreed: "Hahaha..." "Right, that's right." "Honestly, I'd rather do something else if I got an offer like that."

Minato nodded and smiled. A few seconds later, the crew member who had responded to Guruh and Hải's question then asked Minato, "But, Minato-san, I have a feeling there's another reason why you suddenly want to see that place?"

Minato answered honestly, "I want to take photos of the Path of White Shells. To be honest, Kai-san, I've been trying to write a novel recently, and I think the white path might inspire me."

The crew member named Kai praised, "Wow, great, great. By the way, what kind of novel is Minato-san planning to write?"

Minato asked back, "What kind of novel do you think it will be?"

Kai took about three seconds to think about his answer before finally revealing his guess, "A murder novel?"

Minato smiled at that answer.