The Man Who Remained — His Second Life Began with a Humble Bow of Apology. - Chapter 74: An Ordinary Fate – And Precisely Because It’s So Common, It Cannot Be Avoided.

An Ordinary Fate – And Precisely Because It’s So Common, It Cannot Be Avoided.

Whether one’s life is fortunate or unfortunate is not for anyone else to decide – it is something only the person themselves can determine.

Setting aside the meaningless evaluations of others, it is up to oneself to judge their own life.

By that measure, the woman known as Gyokuran had never led an unhappy life.

When she was still young and called by another name, she entered the Hisui House and, as a courtesan bearing the name Hisui, spent her days performing arts and at times selling her body to make a living.

But Hisui never once thought of that as misfortune.

Bringing pleasure to men, bringing joy to someone, easing another’s fatigue – these were things she truly wished for.

However, regardless of how Hisui herself felt, what about those around her?

The geisha who entered the Hisui House had no freedom and often faced unpleasant experiences. In other words, many of them were living unhappy lives.

Those who bring happiness to others should not be mired in unhappiness themselves.

That was precisely why Hisui wanted to change things.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Hisui was blessed with remarkable talent – the talent to bring joy to others, and the talent to teach what it truly meant to master an art.

With these talents, Hisui began to guide the other geisha.

She taught them ways to avoid misfortune, ways to not perceive themselves as unfortunate. From such mental teachings to the joy of mastering an art and the meaning behind it – everything practical and spiritual.

Repeating this over and over, through long, endless years that could make one lose sense of time, Hisui gradually improved their circumstances.

All to reduce even a single person’s misfortune, believing that by doing so, the guests visiting the Hisui House would find even greater joy.

Her efforts bore fruit.

The Hisui House, which had once simply been a place to satisfy men’s base desires under the guise of healing them, transformed into a true sanctuary where men could find comfort even without such transactions.

The geisha stopped selling their bodies cheaply, instead refining themselves and commanding a higher value.

At times they would refuse men outright, but with their gestures, bearing, dignity, and skill, even those men could only accept it.

In fact, being denied made them more enamoured, more devoted to the geisha, leading them to spend even more money and think only of them.

This was the true art Hisui wished to teach.

In such a transformed environment, a natural balance arose between geisha and guests, creating a more relaxed atmosphere for both – and before she knew it, the Hisui House had become what it is today. Somehow, without realizing it, Hisui became the proprietor of the Hisui House and took the name Gyokuran.

It wasn’t anything complicated.

She was simply too popular and too skilled at teaching.

Despite all this, Gyokuran never once considered her life to be unhappy.

If anything, she would truly be angry if someone pitied her.

That was how seriously, desperately, and joyfully she had lived her life.

Her current position was something she accepted from the bottom of her heart, something she was genuinely satisfied with.

Cross assumed she had been forced to sell her body out of misery, but that was not the case at all. Thinking so would be nothing but an insult to her.

In truth, the hardship Gyokuran began to feel only started after this – only after she became someone seen by all as a remarkable and admirable person.

Under her guidance, the Hisui House grew far beyond any neighbouring establishment, becoming renowned as the pinnacle of such institutions.

She possessed not only the talent to bring joy but also the skills to manage an entire business.

These were the conversational abilities she honed to engage her clients, the intelligence she developed to ensure even the wisest guests never felt slighted.

Though originally mere byproducts of her role as a geisha, they became the very skills that proved her worth as a proprietor.

The Hisui House continued to flourish without pause, eventually becoming so famous that it was said, “In the Eastern Nation, there is the Hisui House.”

Around that time, however, the Eastern Nation faced a major turning point.

Day by day, the Eastern Nation was losing its influence over foreign territories.

There was no particular reason.

If anything, it was because the neighbouring regions were gaining power.

However, for a nation that had always been unstable and frequently targeted, losing influence was effectively a death sentence.

At this rate, no one knew how long the nation would survive.

Thus, the rulers of the Eastern Nation quickly made their decision – to cast aside their name, even their country, if it meant saving as many of their people as possible.

They chose to be annexed and protected by the Demon Kingdom.

The Demon King at that time, a few generations before the current one, readily accepted their annexation.

It was not direct control, but rather an indirect rule – a relationship akin to a vassal state, providing tribute and troops in exchange for protection.

For the Demon Kingdom, gaining one less enemy, one more subjugated state, and an increase in production was a welcome outcome.

In this massive event, the Eastern Nation collapsed, becoming what is now known as Hourai Village.

And what followed within the village was… a vicious cycle of blame-shifting.

The Eastern Nation had always been a land targeted from all sides, protected only by the efforts of its own people.

The gatekeepers, the common folk, all took pride in what they had protected.

To suddenly cast that aside and join the Demon Kingdom – it was only natural that flames of anger and resentment erupted from every corner.

Those who had lived comfortably blamed the frontline defenders, while those who had protected the nation cursed the leaders who chose surrender. The leaders, trapped in an impossible situation, raged at the people’s complaints.

No one was truly at fault, yet Hourai fell into chaos, with near-splintering levels of unrest.

Amidst the relentless blame-shifting, the infighting, and confusion that threatened to dissolve them as a nation, the Demon Kingdom issued an ultimatum: choose a single representative.

The choice they made was her – Gyokuran, the proprietor of the Hisui House.

None of the existing leaders, the frontline defenders, or even Gyokuran herself wanted this outcome.

But the traditional leaders had lost all authority, consumed by the fallout of their decisions and their endless quarrels.

The people, lost in their suspicions and fears, could only place their hopes in one person.

It was not merely because of her popularity.

She was admired by both men and women, respected for her intelligence, but above all, she was the proprietor of the Hisui House.

That fact alone was decisive.

In crude terms, the Hisui House had already become the single greatest financial hub in Hourai.

With money, no one starves.

With money, they could even defend themselves.

With money, even the worst problems could be solved.

It was a mindset that could not be called wrong.

Yet, if she had been incompetent or unsuitable as a leader, she never would have been chosen.

Despite sabotage from the former leaders, Gyokuran never retaliated. She simply demonstrated her intelligence through earnest effort alone.

Though inexperienced, she tackled politics with sincerity and dedication, proving herself superior to all who came before.

She had the ability, the popularity, and the wealth.

That alone made her a more than adequate village chief.

Indeed, she had never been unhappy.

Not once in her life had she considered herself unfortunate, and she would likely never think of her life as unhappy in the future either.

However… for Gyokuran of the Hisui House to carry the burden of all Hourai Village, to save a land edging toward its end – her strength was not quite enough.

She never considered that misfortune.

But it was enough… to keep her from ever smiling truly again.

“…So, what is this about? It doesn’t look like there’s any problem.”

Cross asked Ellie as he flipped through the annual financial report that Gyokuran had presented.

He didn’t have the skills to read and fully understand financial statements at a national level.

However, he could at least read the conclusion, see that the final annual balance was well in the black, and think that there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Yes, that’s right. There’s no problem. That is… if things stay exactly as they are.”

Ellie replied in a roundabout, slightly sarcastic tone.

“…Meaning?”

“Gradually, but steadily, tax revenues are decreasing. …To be specific, at this pace, we’ll be in deficit within ten to twenty years.”

At those words, Gyokuran nodded with an empty smile.

The crisis facing this country wasn’t about being defeated in an attack, or under threat from hostile forces, or even being targeted by the Demon Kingdom.

It was something much simpler, clearer – and precisely because of that, a problem with nearly no solutions.

Gyokuran’s burden – Hourai Village had been suffering from financial difficulties for decades.

The cause was the declining value of Hourai’s products.

In other words, the problem lay outside of Hourai. The value of external goods had risen, and those valuable goods were flowing into the village.

Because of that, there was no real countermeasure.

No, countermeasures did exist, and Gyokuran had been desperately implementing them.

Protecting domestic products, imposing moderate tariffs on external goods, while ensuring the economy didn’t stagnate.

If anything, the only reason it had been contained to this extent was because Gyokuran had spent centuries doing just that.

Otherwise, the village would have ceased to exist in any form by now.

Therefore, no one could blame Gyokuran.

If it had been anyone else, this outcome would have been unavoidable all the same.

Scratching the back of his head, Cross showed a pained expression.

If there was anything he could do to help, he wanted to.

If it meant putting his second life on the line, he would have chosen that without hesitation.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t that kind of problem.

It was something far beyond what Cross could handle, and sadly, also beyond what he could even comprehend.

“Ellie. I’ll ask straight – is there any way to fix this?”

At his question, Ellie’s expression darkened.

Not because the answer was yes or no – but because she understood what Gyokuran truly intended when she entrusted this matter to Cross.

“To begin with… Hisui – no, Gyokuran-sama doesn’t actually think you can do anything about this. She just wants you to deliver the final blow.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Right now, Hourai is treated as a vassal state of the Demon Kingdom. But if the Demon King were to see these financial figures and this situation, they would judge that independence is no longer possible. As a result, the Demon Kingdom will move to fully annex Hourai.”

“…And if that happens, will it be saved?”

“Yes. It will be saved. But that’s not what Gyokuran-sama wants. She’s only choosing it because there’s no other option left.”

“…Why not?”

“Because even if Hourai continues as a mere village under the Demon Kingdom instead of a nation, they’ve managed to preserve their unique local culture up until now. There’s a real possibility that all of that will be erased. Even if it isn’t completely erased, they will undoubtedly come under heavy influence from the Demon Kingdom. It’s true that the people will live, and the land will prosper. But that doesn’t mean this place will continue to exist as it is. If anything, it means complete destruction.”

“If I ask Aura to…”

“Are you seriously going to ask Aura-sama to let the Demon Kingdom take a loss for your convenience? You’d be forcing sacrifices onto all the other citizens just for the sake of a handful here.”

Cross fell silent, unable to say anything back.

He didn’t fully understand what was happening or what it meant.

But at least in this matter, even Cross – with his limited intellect – understood thanks to Ellie’s deliberately blunt explanation that Aura was not someone Gyokuran could rely on, and that by intervening, he had only made things worse for her.

“…I…”

“Cross-sama. There’s no need for you to worry.”

As she said that, Gyokuran smiled.

“Yes. It’s already… impossible. Besides, if we wait any longer and the value falls further, selling ourselves will only bring misfortune to everyone. Right now, at least… it’s still manageable. …Thanks to you, Cross-san, I’ve made up my mind.”

The smile Gyokuran showed as she spoke those words –

No matter how one looked at it, it was not a smile of acceptance.

There are things in this world that simply cannot be helped.

That was something Cross, with all his weakness, understood painfully well.

Even so, he still wanted to do something.

He had never once managed to change such impossible fates before… but still…

Frustrated, Cross roughly scratched his head and let out a deep, heavy sigh.