ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA
THIS STORY IS A FICION, AND ALL NAMES OF FIGURES ND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
I'm sorry to bother you with this, but…
He always brings annoying work without asking for permission.
This is very unlike Sir Jinshi.
-What is it? -The thing is…
It's a troublesome affair happening to a friend of a friend.
A court purveyor goldsmith has passed away
without teaching his apprentice sons his techniques.
Some of those techniques have never been shared with anyone.
So you want me to figure out the secret technique of the goldsmith.
You say it like it's easy.
And you seem more enthusiastic than usual.
Is that so?
The goldsmith had three sons, who were all his apprentices.
One of those sons will be the purveyor
now that the father has passed away.
In their father's will,
he had written down how his possessions would be split.
The first son will get the outbuilding studio.
The second son will get furniture with goldsmith decorations.
The third son will get a goldfish bowl.
And he left behind the words,
"You all should have tea together just like the old times."
That was it.
Tea?
That's got to mean something.
Should we take those words at face value,
or does it mean something else?
Seems like the sons have no idea either.
And there seems to be an imbalance in how the possessions were split.
A shed, furniture, and a goldfish bowl.
The youngest seems to be getting the short end of the stick.
What type of goldfish can it be?
I haven't heard the details about that. However…
If you want to know more, here's the address.
"If you're curious, you should pay them a visit." That's what he said.
He's prepared.
Seems like he knew the whole time what was about to happen.
How interesting.
Could I take time off to pay them a visit tomorrow?
Looks like I'd get more work once I'm back.
Oh, is that…
His name was Basen, if I remember correctly.
Just like before, you're my "personal servant."
Don't move around on your own.
Understood, sir.
Just like before.
He only talks when he needs to.
Seems like he dislikes me.
As long as he doesn't do me any harm, it's fine.
Yes. Sir Basen, correct?
I was told you are coming.
Oh, that belonged to my father.
He had a hobby of collecting odd things.
I see.
-That's the studio? -Yes.
But we mostly do our work at the main house.
Now, it's a place where the workers have tea.
Come in.
Brothers, they're here.
-Hello. -Thank you for coming.
It seems like the boy that showed us around
is the youngest brother.
The furniture is arranged strangely.
Hey!
He's right.
Having furniture in the middle like this must be annoying.
But the room doesn't look bad.
Probably because the tables are placed in a uniform way,
and because the cabinet is decorated.
Goldsmith decorations on the corners.
Keyholes on the top three rows, and the bottom center shelf.
The bottom shelf is decorated with a different kind of metal.
It's fixed to the floor so it can't move?
Hey, that's mine.
You can look, but you can't touch.
The furniture was passed on to the second son.
If that cabinet is one of the pieces of furniture,
then he must be the second son.
That means this tall man is the oldest son.
The window is placed oddly too.
A long window in a Western style.
This home is made to let in plenty of sunlight,
but the large chestnut tree outside is blocking the sun.
The light entering here is filtered through the tree..
This spot is the only area with enough sunlight.
This mark…
Was something placed here for a long time?
So you'll really figure out our father's message?
Well, that's…
I couldn't say until you tell us more details.
You've already heard it all.
Our father left us without teaching us the secret technique.
Instead, he left behind this shed for me.
For me, this cabinet.
And this bowl was for me.
It's made of high-quality glass.
I thought that the goldfish bowl would be wood or porcelain.
In that case, all these possessions all hold their own value.
What was Dad thinking?
He left this behind,
but there's only one key and it doesn't fit in the hole.
The key doesn't fit?
I think this key is for this central shelf.
But it doesn't fit.
The top three shelves all open with the same key,
but I can't find the key in question.
What's the point of receiving this if I can't use it?
Same goes for me.
I have this shed, but I can't move the cabinet. It's in the way.
Dad caused us a lot of trouble.
I think…
I think Dad wanted us to…
You're lucky, you know?
You received something you can sell on the spot.
Yeah.
If you sell that, you could live off of that money for a while.
What was wrong with Dad?
What's the point of having tea together after all this time?
Now, what shall we do?
Looks like the relationship between the brothers
is quite strained.
Cut it out, you three!
Don't embarrass yourselves in front of the guests.
I'm so sorry.
I don't know when they became this way.
The two oldest sons became cynical and bitter,
and the youngest can't speak up for himself.
This is why my husband
worried for them until his very last breath.
Seems like parents
will always worry for their children, no matter how old they are.
Please have some tea. Enjoy.
Everyone changed positions to sit down.
They must have designated seats.
They probably don't sit in front of the window out of habit.
There's sunlight coming through the window at this time of day.
If the light stretched out a bit more, it might hit the cabinet.
But there was no sun damage on the cabinet.
Sun damage?
Hey.
The sun doesn't hit this area for a long time.
There's something stuffed inside.
Did you figure something out?
I thought he reminded me of someone.
He looks just like Gaoshun!
So?
The shelf in the middle with the lock doesn't open, right?
It used to open years ago.
But as Dad added goldsmith decorations,
it got sealed shut.
There's only one key?
Just this one. Dad said
if we break the lock, whatever's inside will break too.
So I can't force it open.
The three possessions passed onto the three brothers.
The shed. The cabinet. The goldfish bowl.
The cabinet locked in position to the shed.
A lock that doesn't open on the cabinet. Also…
"You all should have tea together just like the old times."
Could it be…?
Excuse me. Could it be that this goldfish bowl was
decorated on that shelf?
Yes, that's right.
We used to place it here with a goldfish inside.
It would die if it gets too cold,
so in winter, it was only here when we had tea, during warm hours.
Around this time of day, actually.
The past few years,
we haven't had goldfish, so it just became a decoration.
Hey, you!
I'm going to go ask for some water.
She's moving around without permission again.
This is how you added the water back then?
Yes.
So that the painting would face this way.
I knew it.
Hey! What is this?
Don't touch it!
I'm sorry. If you look at the light, you'll go blind.
Also, you're in the way, so please move.
Otherwise, it won't unlock.
The sun hid behind the chestnut tree.
It's hot. And it smells strange…
Hey, what's the point of all this?
Please open this shelf with your key from before.
-I told you, it doesn't open! -Go ahead.
What does this mean?
Could it be that
your father often had anemia and stomach pains?
Yes, he did.
What about nausea or depression?
He had those too.
I don't know much about goldsmithing.
Do you use solder in the studio as well?
Yes, we do.
What does this mean?
I only followed your father's wishes
to have tea together, just like the old times.
It's mold to make a key.
Can I remove this from the mold?
Oh… Sure.
It's still a little warm, and soft.
The metal stuck inside the keyhole must have melted from the heat
and poured into the mold below and hardened.
-It's open! -What's inside?
What the hell is this?
This blue crystal
is the same one decorated by the front door.
Damn it! What was the point of playing nice?
All we did was get pulled into Dad's little tricks for the last time!
So sick of this.
Lead and tin?
"Skills should be acquired by observing."
A craftsman client used to say this often.
I took those words to heart
and infused Old Man's medicinal herbs by copying him
and poisoned myself.
Listen before watching, all right?
That's what he said to me then.
Only the youngest son understood his late father's message,
it seems.
Solder melts at a lower temperature than its original metals
when it is mixed with various types of metal.
Out of the three metal chunks, two are lead and tin.
What if combining a third type of metal
could create a whole new metal?
Despite being exposed to the heat of the light aggregated by the bowl,
it wasn't exposed to the heat for long.
That means the melting point is that low.
The different sizes of the shelves may be indicating the mixing ratio.
But that's not for me to say.
What kind of will is this? Let's go.
I shouldn't have expected anything of Dad.
Wait, Brothers!
-What? -These aren't tricks.
So what is it, then?
Dad wanted us to be close again.
That's why he left behind this message!
-What? -That's why…
I want to continue working with you both!
You want to work with us?
Don't make us laugh. We're not like you.
You have talent.
That's why Dad doted on you.
That's not true!
Dad trusted you two.
Dad always used to say to me,
Brother Chan is always calm,
and is always accurate with detailed work.
Because you don't make mistakes, he can trust you with any task.
Brother Tsu is good at capturing people's hearts.
Being able to become friends with anyone
is a skill that you should be proud of.
Dad regarded us all in the same way.
That's what I think, at least.
-Excuse us. -Oh, I'm sorry.
A father, huh?
I wouldn't know anything about that.
Thank you very much!
I'll just leave them with this.
Hey!
In The Verdigris House at the pleasure district,
there is an apothecary named Luomen.
He's a very skilled doctor as well.
Please give him a visit if you're not feeling well.
Yes, I will.
Thank you for your help the other day.
It was very interesting.
It seems as if
the youngest was the most capable out of the three brothers.
You must've known that, Sir General.
The youngest became even more skilled after that affair.
He'll become the successor and create metalworks for the court.
And the two eldest
will no longer work as craftsmen after this incident.
-Why is that? -It's nothing bad.
They took their late father's words to heart,
it looks like.
The eldest will manage sales.
The second son will be the salesman.
They'll continue to support the family business in different ways.
In other words,
they all settled down in roles they're suited for.
I don't know what happened in that mansion.
I'm sure the Apothecary knows, and will keep quiet.
The late goldsmith's work was really magnificent.
It was a simple metal fitting,
but using that as decoration for ritual goods
will be beautiful.
That's true.
What an unlikeable man.
He knows that ritual goods have nothing to do with my position.
-Why did you, Sir General… -It's nothing.
I just felt it was a waste to neglect a hidden talent like that.
It doesn't matter who's older.
We should recognize great talents.
He's right.
Lakan is a sleazy man,
but he's good at finding people's talent.
That power got him to the position he is in now.
Speaking of,
I'd like to hear more of what you discussed before.
What do you mean?
The story about the courtesan.
Oh, you mean, how to decrease the scarcity value of a courtesan?
You should ask
someone who's well-versed in that world.
Oh, it's already time.
My men will yell at me if I stay for too long.
Please give this to your live-in maidservants.
It's not too sweet. It's easy to drink.
I'll see you tomorrow!
-Sir Jinshi. -Yeah?
I'm sorry to bother you after a long day.
Did you call for me?
Do you know much about makeup?
I have the basic skills.
In that case… Will you put makeup on me?
What?
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Next episode, "A Jaunt Around Town."
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi me?