🤔 [What If Series]! What if Shinnosuke Nohara heard 'The Samurai and Sincerity'? ~It's a Man's Promise with Me~

Location: A bench in a peaceful park. A shadow in yellow clothes and red shorts creeps up next to Grandma Ume, who is basking in the sun.

Shinnosuke "Ho-ho-i! Hey there, you wrinkly and very charming lady! Why don't you and I talk about 'tomorrow's weather' and 'the extinction of green peppers'?"

Grandma Ume "Oh my, what a lively child. I'm not an 'older lady,' I'm Grandma Ume. Talking about the weather is fine, but today, how about I tell you a story full of manly spirit called 'The Samurai and Sincerity'?"

Shinnosuke "Bushi? Is that a new special move for Quantum Robot? Or is it the smell of Dad's feet (bushi-t)?"

Grandma Ume "No, no (laughs). It's not about Hiroshi's feet. It's about a samurai. A long, long time ago, in a certain village, there was a poor but honorable young samurai named Saemon Sasaki. One day, Saemon asked a moneylender named Daikokuya to 'lend me five ryo.'"

Shinnosuke "Five ryo!? How many Chocobis can you buy with that? I want to pile up Chocobis and bury myself in them. I'd even take a bath in Chocobis!"

Grandma Ume "You could buy a mountain of them, and take a bath in them too, I suppose. But you see, Saemon was a poor ronin, so he had no collateral or promissory notes. At first, Daikokuya laughed and said, 'I can't lend money to someone with no credit.'"

Shinnosuke "That makes sense. I tell Masao-kun 'I'll pay you back later' when I take his snacks, but I usually forget. Masao-kun ends up crying while eating his rice ball."

Grandma Ume "Hey now, you should pay Masao-kun back (laughs). But Saemon was different. He said firmly, 'Sincerity is the best promissory note. If I break it, I will offer my life.' Seeing that there was no lie in his eyes, Daikokuya reluctantly lent him the money."

Shinnosuke "Wow, that guy is generous! If it were my Misae, she'd be doing her drill attack, saying 'No wasting money! You've still got 32 years left on the loan!'"

Grandma Ume "Actually, Daikokuya used to be a kind merchant, but after lending money out of pity and never getting it back, he became completely distrustful of people. The villagers started calling him a 'stingy old man who only cares about profit,' and he was struggling because his customers were dwindling."

Shinnosuke "Hmm, so he turned into a stingy alien. Being an adult is tough. So, did that samurai just bail? Did he go home because he wouldn't make it in time for the Action Bastard broadcast?"

Grandma Ume "Well, six months later, Saemon showed up out of the blue and said, 'I've come to pay back the five ryo I borrowed,' and he paid it back in full!"

Shinnosuke "Ehh!? He really paid it back? I might have just pretended to be Shiro and gone 'woof woof' to get out of it!"

Grandma Ume "Saemon said, 'A promise is heavier than a samurai's life.' And he bowed deeply to Daikokuya, thanking him, saying, 'I will never forget the kindness you showed by trusting me without collateral.'"

Shinnosuke "Oh~, it gives me the tingles, but that's cool! Is that what they call a man's promise?"

Grandma Ume "That's right. The villagers who saw that thought, 'Daikokuya, who saw the worth in that samurai, isn't such a bad guy after all,' and customers started returning to his shop. Daikokuya had a change of heart, realizing that 'money isn't everything, trust is the real treasure,' and he became a kind merchant again."

Shinnosuke "I see~. So honesty is the best policy after all. I'll make sure not to lie to Nanako-onee-san. Because a promise with Nanako-onee-san is heavier than my life!"

Grandma Ume "(That kid suddenly got so serious...) Impressive, impressive. The story continues, and when the Lord heard about this, he said, 'A merchant of such character should be allowed into the castle,' and appointed Daikokuya as an official purveyor to the castle."

Shinnosuke "Amazing! He hit the big time! That's exactly what they mean by 'kindness is not for others'! ...Wait? Was that an Action Bastard line?"

Grandma Ume "You know it well, don't you? (laughs). It's a story about how if you act with sincerity, good things will come back to you. Shin-chan, you shouldn't break your promises to your mother, should you?"

Shinnosuke "Ugh... th-that's 'I'll handle it as best I can'! Anyway, I'll put aside the promise to eat all my green peppers... and go take Shiro for a walk! See you later, Grandma! Take care!"

Grandma Ume "Goodness, what a whirlwind of a child... But his eyes were clear. I'm sure he'll grow up to be a fine adult."

[Editor's Note] Pausing to reflect on a 5-year-old's 'personal rules'

The classic tale this time, 'The Samurai and Sincerity.' In modern terms, it was a slightly stiff theme called 'credit,' but Shinnosuke-kun's reaction was unexpected.

He is usually loyal to his own desires and forgets about Masao-kun's snacks. However, he has his own absolute 'personal rule' that 'a promise to Nanako-onee-san is heavier than life itself.'

'Keep promises to people you care about,' rather than worrying about profit, loss, or public perception. That simple and pure motivation might have something in common with the figure of Shinzaemon, who gained trust with nothing but 'sincerity.'

We adults, living in complex relationships, tend to look for excuses. However, listening to the words of a 5-year-old who seems to be fooling around but actually has a core, I feel like I've been given a chance to look back and ask, 'What are the promises I truly want to keep?'

Mixing surprising truths into laughter. That might be one of the reasons why he has been loved for so many years.

Click here for the original text of The Samurai and Sincerity

▼ Click here for the original story arranged this time. Please enjoy the original story before Shinnosuke Nohara-kun got mixed into it!

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