thinkoutsidethebox | Memory 22 (trivial positive)

Start of the family conference about the gold. [EP5] Form of a small clay jar. (Drop it and shatter it to view it.)

The scene is the underground VIP room - a well-appointed room with no windows, only stairs leading out, a nice bed, and 20 billion yen worth of gold bars stamped with the one-winged eagle piled in a corner. Erika and Battler are there, obviously after having discovered the gold, and all the adults of the family have just arrived.

The mountain of gold left everyone speechless.

Regardless of how strongly they had believed in its existence, ......no one could look at this much real gold and not be shocked...
".........To think that a place like this existed........."
"I can't believe it............That Dad........."
Everyone was stunned by the gold.
The first one to break the silence and jump around in ecstasy was Hideyoshi.

Letting out an excited laugh, he clung to the wall of gold.
Then he felt the cold, hard touch of it all over his cheek.
"W, wahahahahahahahahahahahaha...!! Th, this is incredible! It's the real thing!!"
"......H, ......hahahahahahaha!! That damn Dad, sticking this much gold into such a ridiculous place!!"
"Now that we have this much......we no longer...have anything to fear... With this, ......we could overcome any kind of trial......! Rosaaa......!!""Nee-san......, Nee-san...... We'll be able to find happiness with this, right......?"
Eva and Rosa started walking towards each other at the same time and hugged each other as they broke down crying...
Ecstasy and shock...wonder and sighs.

After stepping forward in front of the pile of gold that caused these mixed emotions, ......Erika spoke as though she were an announcer in some show.
".........If this world is money, then this gold is the embodiment of happiness. ......Congratulations, everyone. I pray that this discovery makes all of your lives richer."
"I take my hat off to you............To think that you would solve the epitaph within a single day of coming to this island."
".........If you couldn't solve it in a single day, then you wouldn't be able to solve it no matter how many days you had. After all, it doesn't take more than an instant for your little gray cells to give you a flash of intuition. ......Also, I wouldn't have been able to solve this riddle myself. I ask that you praise Battler-san's achievement as well, everyone."
".................."
"......I abandon any rights to this discovery. I'm already satisfied to have my reasoning proven correct. Therefore, I want to give Battler-san the full credit for discovering the gold."
"......I may be here, but please continue your discussion as though I am not. Battler-san called all of the adults here, making sure that none of the cousins would notice. That can only mean one thing. ......He must have wanted to begin the true family conference with all of you."
"......Erika. Quit deciding things on your own."
"My apologies. ............In that case, I'll step down as the facilitator of these proceedings. So, who will take my place?"
Shrugging, Erika looked around at everyone.

......After a short period of silence, Eva made the first move.
"None of us have forgotten the deal we made earlier today, right?"
"Yeah. Divide it between the four of us, with 2.5 billion for each.

And then the successor to the head・・・・・・・・・・ gets another 10 billion."
".........W, wait a second! Who decided that the one who discovers the gold becomes the successor to the head?!"
"Hold up, you won't be able to get away with that, Natsuhi-san...!! We've all been arguing based on that premise the whole time, haven't we?! You really think you can pretend that never happened now?!"
"...That's right. ......Weren't you the one worrying about how if one of the servants solved the riddle, they might consider themselves the successor to the head...?"
"But nowhere is it explicitly written that that's the truth, right?!"
"You bastard!!! We were all aware of it, weren't we?!!"
"That's right, Aniki! Are you going to change your position this late in the game?!"
"Though it was never stipulated, I believe it was most definitely common knowledge between us. I don't see how you can call it completely irrelevant."
"You can't just interpret the head's epitaph however you like!! Where is it written that the one who finds the gold becomes the successor?! The epitaph was decided upon by the head. You have no right to decide these things for yourselves!!"
".........Calm down, Natsuhi."
"How could I calm down?! I certainly find it very impressive that Battler-kun solved the epitaph! I don't care what kind of reward he gets. However, saying that reward should be half of everything here is clearly a stretch, and you won't get away with the argument that the discoverer is the next head...!!"
"Th, that's low, Natsuhi nee-san...! This is completely different from what you were saying earlier today...!"
"I agree! Though it was never stipulated, the fact that the guy who solves the epitaph becomes the next head has always been the greatest unwritten assumption between us...! It's not fair if you start complaining about that at the last second, right? Yeah, it isn't fair!!"
"Anyways!! This gold is Father's!! We can't decide how it will be split up without Father's permission!!"
"No way!! That's low, Natsuhi-san! We were talking about this on and on earlier, right?! Are you saying that whole conversation today was a bunch of bull?! That's just not right!!"
"Why don't we just vote on it?!! Battler-kun, the one who found the gold, is the successor to the head! My husband and I have no objections!! What about you, Rudolf and Kyrie-san? Rosa?!"
"No objections here. Nice going, Battler!!"
"I have no objections either. Battler-kun is the true successor, chosen by the epitaph. If you aren't satisfied, then why don't we just ask Father directly...?!"
"That's right. Like you just said, Natsuhi nee-san, Father is the one who wrote the riddle of the epitaph. And he's also the proper owner of this gold. In that case, shouldn't we talk to Father about this directly? How should Battler-kun, the person who discovered the gold, be treated? I believe Father is the only one capable of deciding that...!"
"B, ...but......!!"
"......Didn't I tell you to calm down? ........."
"Rosa and Kyrie-san are right. Let's ask Father!! Your turn is already up, Nii-san, Natsuhi nee-san!!"
"Yeah, yeah!! Bring Father out to us!! We won't get anywhere with just you two! Let's begin the real family conference!! Does this look like something you can put off just because he's tired?! If we take this thing lightly, we'll have a massive problem on our hands...! Hey, are you listening?!! We won't get anywhere with just you!! Bring Father out right noooooow!!!"
"............Are family conferences always like this?"
"......How the hell'd I know?"
"They're probably always like this on the inside. .........Heheheheh. Looks like they won't be able to get this figured out right now without Kinzo-san. ......To think he's being called out to settle his children's fight even though it's been announced that he has only a short while to live. ......I wonder how he feels right about now. ......*giggle*. Imagining that...no, reasoning that out will be a treat."
The parents ignored Battler and Erika...and kept yelling at each other, on and on...

Even though Battler had more or less imagined that this sort of thing happened behind the scenes, this was the first time he had seen it.
He had suspected it since six years ago, and he'd been able to get a pretty good idea of what this was like by the darkening expressions on his parents' faces when this time of year drew near...
However, this argument his relatives were having before his very eyes......was much more......ugly than he had imagined...
That's why he was very glad that he'd called the adults out here without letting the cousins catch wind of anything......
Perhaps because everyone was tired out from this seemingly endless argument, they took a short break.
It was decided that this family conference inside the Golden Land should be moved over to the mansion...

This place may have been gorgeous, like a VIP room, but there was no heating, and it was a little cold.
It wasn't well suited for a long conversation.
They thought of the possibility that someone might snatch the gold away while their backs were turned, but of course, no one could manage much with just human hands and a small amount of time when it's 10 tons of gold they're dealing with.
In fact, it might be said that having this mountain of gold in the background was actually robbing them of the ability to make sound decisions.

So they agreed to return to the mansion, in part so that they could regain their composure and continue the conference more ruthlessly......
"......Then, if you would excuse me for the night. ......I imagine I would just get in the way if I remained any longer."
"Sure, sorry. Did we bother you too much?"
"Let us show our gratitude again tomorrow. Sorry for letting you see such an embarrassing side of us."
"You said that you refused, but allow us to prepare a fitting portion, out of gratitude, for you as one of the first to discover the gold. Right, Nii-san?"
"......Yes. We know what you're capable of. I think you can grasp our current circumstances."
20 billion yen in gold isn't something they wanted out in the open.
They didn't want an outsider like Erika telling people about it.

Of course, Erika had already 'reasoned out' that much.

She'd worn an unpleasant smile on her face, as though she'd understood all too well...
"......You don't need to worry about me. Of course, I have no desire to tell anyone else about this. ......And if I did, no one would believe me without proof."
".........I got to see something interesting tonight. It was quite a spectacle, so I'm more than satisfied."
"Heheh, I see. I guess it's not every day you see 10 tons of gold."
......Seeing the gold was the spectacle? Of course not.
Judging by Erika's dark nature, it's obvious what she's so happy about.

I thought about telling her to just go away, but I wanted to leave this all behind me myself...
I tried to head back to the guesthouse along with Erika.
However, Kyrie-san grabbed my shoulder.
"You can't go, Battler-kun. Please come with us."
"Yes, yes. You're now a real successor to the head! You've got to have an audience with Father and have him acknowledge you right away...!"
"Father is the only one who gets to decide that!! Don't make things up on your own!"
"......Battler. I know it might be a pain, but stick around with us for a little while longer. Don't say anything. Just stay quiet and keep your head down. Got it?"
"............Just do whatever you want."
It would have been easy to say that I had no interest in being successor to the head.
......But I was sure that would only add more oil to the fire.
Even if I hadn't been ordered to keep quiet, staying shut up like a clam is almost certainly a good idea...
In that case, would it really be so bad if they just let me go back to the guesthouse...?
Dad put his arm firmly around my shoulder, and I told him it was uncomfortable and to let go.

However, he didn't pay attention to a word I said...

Notes
- As happy as the family is to see the gold's been found, that lasts about a minute before they break down into jealous anger and bickering :'D
- This is exactly what Erika wanted to see and show Battler. JUST AS PLANNED.