Chapter 121 – Conversation with a Warmonger (1)

(This… meeting Churchill in a place like this, it almost feels like I accidentally summoned a British heroic spirit. Well, his class would be “War Monger” though.)

Without thinking, I start to escape into delusions, but for some reason, Winston Churchill is there, waiting for me in front of King Arthur’s grave.
It gives me a faint sense of déjà vu, but really, what kind of three-part joke is this?

“I’m glad you knew of me. But it seems I managed to catch the Priestess off guard. Which means I don’t appear in any of your prophecies or oracles, then?”

(Huh? You went out of your way just to test that? What an idiot!)

Faced with such an unexpected reality, irreverent words almost slip out of my mouth, but I do my best to piece together something more fitting.

“Like a fortune-teller, I cannot see my own fate, Sir Churchill.”

“Hmm. So that’s how it is.”

He looks me over without restraint, as if appraising me. His appearance is exactly the same as in the photos and videos I’ve seen.
No—maybe just a little younger, with less of that bulldog look in his cheeks. 

He’s wearing a gentleman’s hat, but perhaps his hair hasn’t thinned too much yet either.

In terms of age, he’s about the same as my grandfather. Since he’s in his mid-fifties, it’s still a little early for others to call him an old man.

“So then, Sir Churchill, why did you go out of your way to wait for me here in this place?”

“Hmm. I heard from an acquaintance in America that an interesting young lady was coming, and it caught my attention. And then I heard you would be visiting King Arthur’s grave as well. If you would go so far as to pay such respect to our country, then I thought it only proper, as a representative of the United Kingdom, to greet you, Miss Ootori Reiko.”

“I’m honored, Sir Churchill. Then, may we first pay our respects at King Arthur’s grave? We can speak afterwards.”

“Oh! Then I’ve interrupted something important. Go on, meet with the legendary figure of our country to your heart’s content. I’m sure he too would welcome a guest from the East.”

Saying that, Churchill steps aside from between us and the rectangular stone embedded in the ground that is said to be King Arthur’s grave.
I give him a light bow along with a “Thank you,” and then Kouryuu-sensei and I offer our prayers.

Shizu, Yagami, and the rest of our attendants and guards wait on standby at the spot.

(It should already be arranged in Europe too, so that pests don’t come sniffing around me—or rather, my money. And the one who handled that was Churchill, with his connections to the American upper class? The Americans never told me anything like that… Well, if Churchill showed up here without an appointment, it must mean something was already settled somewhere.)

While offering my prayers, I sort through the information in my head and confirm that there’s no real problem. That eases my mind a little.

(A person like Churchill as my brain trusts—no, if I were the one supporting him, it’d be pretty convenient. But since I’m here at King Arthur’s grave, if this were a two-dimensional story, surely the heroic spirit of King Arthur would appear, right? Still, more than Arthur, Merlin the magician would be more useful as a brain. I mean, if some of the other Knights of the Round Table showed up, they’d all just be muscleheads. I don’t need more muscleheads. And in my daydreams, it would be a hungry pretty girl who appears anyway.)

(“You’re awfully devout, aren’t you?”)

It seems I had been spacing out too long in escapism. Kouryuu-sensei, kneeling beside me in prayer, had apparently reached the end of his patience.
So I glance at him once, then slowly begin the motion of standing. 

At that, Kouryuu-sensei smoothly rises first and gives Churchill a deep bow.

“I delayed my greeting so as not to intrude on the two of you. I am Ootori Kouryuu. I work as a physician.”

“I am well aware of your distinguished name. Not a few among my associates have been saved by the innovative new medicine you developed. Allow me to extend my gratitude as well. And I am certain you will one day accomplish your true ambition.”

“My own trifles aside, if my medicine has been of even a little help, then as a research physician, nothing could mean more to me. And for your thoughtfulness and high regard, I must thank you in turn.”

In that manner, the two of them carried on polite greetings for a while. Kouryuu-sensei, seasoned by his time in America, now left no openings.

Normally, I would just be the ornament and slip away. Considering who the other party is, I’d rather do just that if I could.
But since he had been waiting for me specifically, there’s no escaping this.

So when the exchange ran its course, Churchill turned his already rather broad frame back toward me.

“Well then, I’ve had a place prepared over there. How about some tea while we chat?”

“I would be delighted. That said, may I ask one thing first?”

“By all means. Granting the wish of a young lady is a gentleman’s duty, after all.”

“Then, if I may take you at your word and speak freely. While we talk, might I ask that you refrain from smoking? Kouryuu-sensei’s paper has already made it clear that tobacco smoke is harmful to the human body, and it seems it is especially bad for children.”

“For children? I was not aware of that.”

‘I wasn’t aware of that either’, Kouryuu-sensei appealed to me with a sharp look at my words, then in the next instant gave Churchill a small nod.

Churchill returned the small nod.

(Yeah, I just forgot to mention it.)

I thought to myself that I should apologize to Kouryuu-sensei later, but as an opening jab, this should be fine. After all, when you think of Churchill, you think of cigars.
A mafia-like (biased view) suit, a bulldog face, and a cigar. 

And for a limited time only, the V-sign of victory.

That’s the four-piece Churchill set as I know it.
But of course, Churchill was still Churchill.

“However, surely you must find yourself in men’s gatherings from time to time. Do you demand non-smoking there as well?”

“I ran away into the smoking-free rooms. But since not everyone is as much a gentleman as yourself, Churchill-sama, when I can’t avoid it, I put up with it. Honestly, I’d like to have a gas mask in those moments.”

“Ha-ha! A gas mask, now that is amusing.”

At least he seemed to enjoy that last joke.
He didn’t smile, but maybe I can take it as a successful icebreaker.

(Well, I really do mean it, but maybe only someone from the 21st century would understand that.)

Thinking that to myself, I followed Churchill to the tea table he had already prepared.
It was inside the Abbey House, beside the ruins of the abbey where King Arthur’s grave lay.

We hadn’t prepared anything since we were planning to leave Glastonbury right away, but everything was set up perfectly, including arrangements for our attendants and guards.

“Now then, allow me to introduce myself properly. Winston Churchill. I serve as a member of Parliament in this country.”

Since he began that way, Kouryuu-sensei and I gave brief introductions as well.
I was an count’s daughter, of course, but come to think of it, Churchill himself didn’t hold a title.

Considering he was from the family of the Duke of Marlborough, one of the great aristocrats, that struck me as a little unexpected.

He had served in many ministerial posts before, but at this point, his party had just lost the election, so he was only a member of Parliament.

(Still, calling himself “just a member of Parliament” is very much Churchill’s kind of humor. But what on earth am I supposed to talk about with this monster of a man?)

I seriously agonized over it. I was so nervous I couldn’t even taste the tea or the sweets.
It had been a long time since I felt this tense. It was like sitting through a job or part-time interview.

Being caught off guard played a part, but more than that, I could feel the overwhelming difference in stature.

And yet, Kouryuu-sensei, as if it were none of his concern, was leisurely enjoying the sweets.
He was so irritating I almost felt like kicking his shin under the table.

While I was indulging in that little bit of escapism, Churchill—one of the last bosses himself—finally got down to business.

Being British, his small talk had been needlessly long.

“Well then, how did you find the New York Stock Exchange?”

(Well, of course he’d want to know that. There probably aren’t many people yet who were directly involved and then came over from America.)

“…Let’s see. I realized that ‘the bottomless abyss’ really does exist.”

Those words came straight from the heart. They left my mouth completely naturally.

“The bottomless abyss, hm… Did you see the bottom of it?”

At that moment, Churchill’s hand twitched toward his mouth, almost picking up a cigar before stopping. It felt like an unconscious reflex.

(Just how much do you love cigars? Or was that a deliberate move?) 

Thinking that, I made up my mind about how I would deal with this man.
I decided there was no need to hold back with him.

So I said it flat out.

“No. It was pitch dark.”

Maybe because I stated it so bluntly, his eyes widened a little.
Perhaps he had expected words wrapped in sugarcoating. No, a man like Churchill wouldn’t need that.

Even so, it must have gone beyond what he expected. Proof of that was the slight curl at the corner of his mouth.

“When do you think it will become visible?”

“I hope within three years.”

“Three years. Just reaching the bottom will take three years? And the world then?”

(Well, I guess this is where it starts. The words I have to throw at Churchill.)

As Churchill looked at me with interest, my hands under the table were drenched in sweat.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill:
A politician born in Britain for the sake of war. A war monger.

His quirk is that he’s not much use in peacetime.

 

Around the end of 1929, Churchill was just an ordinary MP, since his Conservative Party had lost the election. For the next ten years, he would remain away from ministerial posts.

 

His mother’s father was an American speculator.