Chapter 2
The following afternoon
……
……
—There you are!
Gyah?! What’re you doing? Didn’t your folks teach ya not to throw rocks at other people?!
Catapulting stones was a common tactic in the olden days!
Fu fu fu ♪ Every single time I’m surprised by you!
So if I don’t retaliate every now and then, I’ll lose face as a part of the Suou house!
What’re you talkin’ about… It’s not like we’re tryin’ to scare ya; it’s just that we’ve gotten into the habit of hidin’ our presence.
Are you saying I ought to forgive you just because you didn’t mean any harm by it? By that logic, I would additionally have to forgive every vermin ravaging our fields, every pest that bothers me!
Can’t ya just cut ‘em some slack? Maybe in the far-off future you’ll even get a reputation as an upstandin’ guy who wouldn’t even hurt a fly.
If I can’t kill a mere insect, what am I supposed to do? The Suous are a military family!
…You’re awful energetic today. That ain’t what I heard at all. There’s rumors goin’ round that you’re all outta sorts lately; you got everyone worried.
So? What’s up? Somethin’ good happen to ya?
Fufu. I’m just so happy you come to visit me every day—
……
—Just kidding! Actually, I’ve discovered the secret of life! I’ve achieved enlightenment all on my own, without anyone having to teach it to me!
The secret of life…?
Oh—You think I’m crazy, do you? I can see it on your face! How impertinent of you; I’ll have you beheaded, you know!
…Don’t joke about somethin’ like that.
Anyway, what great discovery have you made, princess?
Ngh, you were insulting me just now, weren’t you! I am not a princess to be protected; I am a warrior’s son who protects and governs the masses!
Sure, that’s what you’ve been taught, but it ain’t how the world sees it.
Well, it don’t matter. What’s this secret of life you came up with?
I’m not all that interested, but I oughta ask anyway. You’d get all crabby if I didn’t, right?
Yes! Allow me to explain!
Behold! Look at how many different types of insects you can see in the Suou family’s beautiful courtyard!
Well, there sure are bugs everywhere. Not like we’re up in space.
Yes. I have decided that one such species of insects—a colony of ants—should be named “sakura ants.”1
Why’d ya go and do that? It sounds tasty, like sakura shrimp or somethin’.
I don’t think they’re tasty. Even if you put them in your mouth, their formic acid would only hurt your tongue.
Ya kinda sound like you’ve eaten ‘em before.
Ants like to eat sugar, so I thought they might be sweet…
I–I mean, that’s not important right now?!
Well if I’m bein’ honest, that’s a relief. It’s good to know that Little Lord Suou’s got a childish side to him, eatin’ bugs outta curiosity an’ all.
F–forget about that! If you tell anyone, I will have you beheaded!
Yeah yeah, it’s just between us. Cross my heart an’ hope to die, stick a needle in my—
A–anyway, I’ve decided that I shall favor these sakura ants.
And that’s because they are criminals who have gone behind my back and ate my carefully hidden sweets.
Huh? What kinda logic is that?
I am rarely allowed to eat sweets, and so I have been eating them slowly, to savor them. One bite today, one bite tomorrow, and so forth.
But one day, I found a large colony of ants swarming the sweets I had secretly stashed away in a chest for tasting.
Well yeah, if you leave food sittin’ out, it’s gonna attract ants.
That’s true. I’ve learned yet another thing, fufun ♪
How is it you have all these book smarts, but you ain’t got the first clue about common sense?
I’m in a position where I can live without being aware of the collective wisdom of ordinary people.
Anyway, the ants who received the nourishment that was meant to be mine must have become superior to the other insects, just as I am superior to other humans.
They fed on something special, and so they, themselves, must have become special.
Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it. You are whatcha eat and all that. In other words, you’re shaped by the environment you grow up in.
Right, right? And so, in eating the sweets I so treasured, the ants must have acquired a special power!
Therefore, once I’ve painted them red to make them easier to identify, I’ve decided to call them sakura ants!