After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

Air Chrysalis
was 
a very meaningful project for me.” 
“I still think I need to thank you for it properly.” 
“It really isn’t necessary,” Tengo said. “If you don’t mind, though, there’s 
something personal I want to ask you about Eri.” 
“No, I don’t mind, if it’s a question I can answer.” 
“I was just wondering if you are Eri’s legal guardian.” 
The Professor shook his head. “No, I am not. I would like to become her legal 
guardian if possible, but as I told you before, I haven’t been able to make the slightest 
contact with her parents. I have no legal rights as far as she is concerned. But I took 
her in when she came to my house seven years ago, and I have been raising her ever 
since.” 
“If that’s the case, then, wouldn’t the most normal thing be for you to want to keep 
her existence quiet? If she steps into the spotlight like this, it could stir up trouble. 
She’s a minor, after all …” 
“Trouble? You mean if her parents sued to regain custody, or if she were forced to 
return to the commune?” 
“Yes, I don’t quite get what’s involved here.” 
“Your doubts are entirely justified. But the other side is not in any position to take 
conspicuous action, either. The more publicity Eri receives, the more attention they 
are going to attract if they attempt anything involving her. And attention is the one 
thing they most want to avoid.” 
“By ‘they,’ I suppose you mean the Sakigake people?” 
“Exactly,” the Professor said. “The Religious Juridical Person Sakigake. Don’t 
forget, I’ve devoted seven years of my life to raising Eri, and she herself clearly wants 
to go on living with us. Whatever situation her parents are in, the fact is they’ve 
ignored her for seven long years. There’s no way I can hand her over just like that.” 
Tengo took a moment to organize his thoughts. Then he said, “So 
Air Chrysalis
becomes the bestseller it’s supposed to be. And Eri attracts everyone’s attention. And 
that makes it harder for Sakigake to do anything. That much I understand. But how 
are things supposed to go from there in your view, Professor Ebisuno?” 
“I don’t know any better than you do,” the Professor said matter-of-factly. “What 
happens from here on out is unknown territory for anybody. There’s no map. We 
don’t find out what’s waiting for us around the next corner until we turn it. I have no 
idea.” 
“You have no idea,” Tengo said. 
“Yes, it may sound irresponsible of me, but ‘I have no idea’ is the gist of this story. 
You throw a stone into a deep pond. Splash. The sound is big, and it reverberates 
throughout the surrounding area. What comes out of the pond after that? All we can 
do is stare at the pond, holding our breath.” 
This brought conversation at the table to a momentary halt. Each of the three 
pictured ripples spreading on a pond. Tengo waited patiently for his imaginary ripples 
to settle down before speaking again. 
“As I said the first time we met, what we are engaged in is a kind of fraud, possibly 
an offense to our whole society. A not inconsiderable amount of money may enter the 
picture as well before long, and the lies are going to snowball until finally the 

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207
situation is beyond anyone’s control. And when the truth comes out, everyone 
involved—including Eri here—will be hurt in some way, perhaps even ruined, at least 
socially. Can you go along with that?” 
Professor Ebisuno touched the frame of his glasses. “I have no choice but to go 
along with it.” 
“But I understand from Mr. Komatsu that you are planning to become a 
representative of the phony company that he is putting together in connection with 
Air 
Chrysalis
, which means you will be fully participating in Komatsu’s plan. In other 
words, you are taking steps to have yourself smeared in the mud.” 
“That might well be the end result.” 
“As far as I understand it, Professor, you are a man of superior intellect, with broad 
practical wisdom and a unique worldview. In spite of that, you don’t know where this 
plan is headed. You say you can’t predict what will come up around the next corner. 
How a man like you can put himself into such a tenuous, risky position is beyond 
me.” 
“Aside from all the embarrassing overestimation of ‘a man like me,’ ” the 
Professor said, taking a breath, “I understand what you’re trying to say.” 
A moment of silence followed. 
“Nobody knows what is going to happen,” Fuka-Eri interjected, without warning. 
Then she went back into her silence. Her cup of cocoa was empty. 
“True,” the Professor said. “Nobody knows what is going to happen. Eri is right.” 
“But you must have some sort of plan in mind, I would think,” Tengo said. 
“I do have some sort of plan in mind,” Professor Ebisuno said. 
“May I guess what it is?” 
“Of course you may.” 
“The publication of