Sand Sculpture of the Heart
Track 005
At the Tottori Sand Dunes
I’m so honored to have the opportunity to take a photo together! I’ll definitely come to the live show!
I’ve only recently heard about Ev3ns… but now I watch your videos every day! I’m so happy to be able to meet you all here~!
Haha, thank you. It’s been an honor to meet you, too.
Thank you very much for watching our videos.
Let’s all have a great time at the live show later! Everyone, I lo—
Ahem! It’s almost time for us to head to the stage. Let’s move.
This really is a gorgeous place. It feels like I’ve been whisked off to a foreign country, walking here on these sand dunes.
…Sigh. Raito, do you understand how many times you’ve almost broken your promise to me today?
Ah, sorry. That’s on me. You know, I never said all of the words through to the end even once.
That’s because I’ve been preventing you from doing so! My head is really about to split open…
Is it really that bad to say, “I love you,” when it makes the fans happy?
It would be acceptable if that was all it did, but strong words can be a double-edged sword. Emotions can be finicky…
…I wanted to ask you something, Raito. What do you feel is most important when it comes to developing emotional intelligence?
Developing emotional intelligence?
Hm… In my case, I think my youth had a large influence.
Your youth?
If I hadn’t received such a large shock at that time, I don’t think I would have become the person I am today.
…
(That’s right… Raito is probably referring to the death prophecy.)
If you become twisted during that time period of your life, it’ll have a lasting effect on who you are…
If I think about it that way, for myself who was created in this ageless form, I will never experience “youth.”
As expected, there are limitations to the formation of emotions through experience alone.
Haha! I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. I actually think the opposite is true.
?
You’re not seeking physical growth, but rather psychological growth, right, Kinari? If we consider that fact, you’re basically in the springtime of youth right now.
Does that mean that my current self is psychologically equivalent to that of a young boy?
More or less. Up until now, you’ve been in a world that was comprised of only you and your father. It’s normal for humans to spend most of their younger years with their parents, so the concept remains the the same.
As we grow, we spend more time in various places with different types of people. It’s typical to attend kindergarten, going on to further schooling. It’s there that you interact with others and nurture the growth of your heart.
It’s a favorable environment for you to be able to increase interacting with others, by being around everyone in Ev3ns and HAMA House.
With that in mind, how many years of age would you say I am?
Hm… You’ve only just left your home for the first time, so… I’d say you’re an adorable age of five, six, or perhaps seven years old.
So I am very young?
I often speak with the Day Group members. Kurama-sama in particular calls out to me often, but wouldn’t this mean that I’m younger than they are?
Akuta and the other Day Group kids are sixteen… They’re teenagers, so they’re certainly your seniors in a way.
However, in a different manner than most humans, you’re gathering a large quantity of experiences all at once. While your growth may be expedited, childhood is a precious thing.
I think it’s best that you take your time to savor the experience, and don’t try to rush in developing your emotions.
(Don’t rush… But if I don’t rush, when will I catch up? If one can only obtain a heart through the passage of time, then…
Will Ev3ns and Master still be by my side by the time I finally find the missing twenty-one grams…?)
At the Tottori Sand Dune Assembly Hall
The sand museum1 was so lit~! Wasn’t it totes rad!?
Haha, even you were catatonic when you saw the exhibit. Usually, you’d be snapping pictures immediately.
Because, bam! A huge sand building was before my eyes! The scale was super massive. Can you believe it was only made with sand and water?
It’s quite poignant how such tiny grains of sand accumulated to form such a grand image.
In fact, sand sculptures are made by mixing sand with water, compressing it, and molding it to create a base, and then carving away at it, similar to that of a regular sculpture. It’s a simple yet painstaking job.
(I can’t believe a few days have already passed since we started our ambassador work…
We have a lot of free time on this trip to go sightseeing, and everyone looks like they’re having so much fun. The joy is contagious!)
The seafood bowl for lunch was delicious, too… And the portions were huge… I was wondering if the fish in Tottori would be any good.
The sand dune pudding was also delish! The caramel looked like little grains of sand— a total delicacy!
During the break, I took a bit of a trek out to eat ramen. They had an interesting local ramen bowl, without any of the trimmings.
I received a camel plushie from a fan… It seems to be a souvenir of this area.
It’s suits a doll to be bequeathed a plush toy, plüss2.
That reminds me, what did you end up doing yesterday with Chihiro and Tao? Kinari and I provided hospitality services at the photo spot.
Ah, yeah! We happened to see something a~mazing near the area they had us working at yesterday!
Oh? Please share.
A wedding ceremony! People were holding a wedding on top of the sand dunes. We took a picture with them afterwards. Isn’t that lovely? They apparently called it a friendship marriage.
(A friendship marriage… I was surprised something like that exists in this age.)
Many people who commit to friendship marriages only submit the marriage certificate, but to actually have a ceremony, and on the sand dunes is quite romantic.
Right!? Getting all dressed up on the sand dunes was sooo adorbs!
Pass. No matter what form it takes, to intentionally ball and chain a relationship is such a futile act.
Is that how you view it? I think it’s nice. They’re your partner because you trust one another. Isn’t that something wonderful?
Actually, I could even experience marriage in that form. Since there is Nayuki to carry on the family name, I didn’t pay any mind to marriage, but…
…
I could marry Chief, my comrade in arms, or if we ever get close enough, I could even marry Kuguri! The possibilities are endless!
——— MC has a coughing fit.
…Utterly repulsive. This talk is vile, so I’m taking my leave.
Chief, that idiot says whatever flies into his brain without thinking so please ignore him. I’ll hit some sense into him afterwards.
Ahaha… I know, so please don’t worry.
(Now that Raito-san’s conviction has been overturned, he’s returned to the rankings for one of the most desirable marriage candidates in Japan, but if he said something like that to a fan, it’d be a huge mess…)
…
Kinari-kun? Is something the matter? It looks like you’re deep in thought…
I was thinking about emotions. Truthfully, a strange couple wanted to get married recently…
Oh! Did you receive a marriage invitation from a fan?
No, this couple reportedly stared at each other for forty-eight hours and fell in love.
I-I see. That’s quite a passionate story. So it was something like love at first sight?
They only said they were mutually in love. When I think of how marriage can exist even without the presence of love, understanding human emotions becomes more elusive…
Hmm, I think at it’s core, it’s because friendship and love both involve the simple but strong sense of trust towards your partner, but also a desire to be together. Although, that’s just my impression!
Simple feelings…
Let me see… For example, I believe trust is something that you build slowly with your partner. During times they helped me out or when they offered me support.
Even if there isn’t one specific instance, that feeling of relief when they’re close by… When you take those acts, sort of like little grains of sand, and gather them and then squeeze them together with all your might…
It becomes something difficult to collapse, like a sculpture of sand?
Yeah. Definitely. Of course, sometimes it can still collapse, like if there’s an impact, but… I think the heart is something that’s built up from the collection of those many particles of sand.
The amount of sand particles I have is insufficient.
I think you’re in the process of building that amount up now, Kinari-kun. Don’t you think it’s okay to take it step by step and not rush the process?
…
Flashback Begins
I want to grow up already.. If I’m going to die anyway, I want to die having achieved my dreams…
Flashback Ends
(The original’s impatience is conveyed in the recording… I have a feeling I understand that emotion now. I want to grow up quickly, too.
Before I’m left all alone… Is this the same as a child’s tantrum…?)
Footnotes
- The Tottori Sand Museum is the only indoor facility to specialize in the display of sand sculptures and art. ↩︎
- “Plush” in Hungarian. ↩︎
- “Bunny” in Hungarian. ↩︎
- “Teddy bear” in Hungarian. ↩︎
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