Baccano! - Volume 4 - Chapter 11

THE WEALTHY

“C’mon, let’s do it again, say, tomorrow.”

“This time you help, too, Firo!”

There were several liquor barrels in Alveare. At the moment, instead of liquor, they were packed with a vast quantity of domino tiles. That said, the barrels had been empty to begin with; the Martillos kept them around in case of a police raid.

Seated on top of those barrels, Isaac and Miria were speaking loudly, swinging their legs.

“No,” Firo tossed off, briefly. Then, sighing, he asked the pair a question. “Look, lemme ask you one more time… What’s so fun about that? You spend hours and hours setting those up, and then you shoot it all to hell in just a few minutes.”

In response, Isaac and Miria grinned like children:

“But it was fun to watch, right?”

“Yes, it was fun, wasn’t it?”

“……Yeah, I guess.”

Firo agreed with them on that point. Although he’d razzed it to pieces as he watched, once the dominos had started to fall, he’d been so fascinated by the motion of the tiles that he’d forgotten about his empty stomach.

“Well, that’s what’s fun about it! When we knock down the tiles we set up, we have fun, of course…”

“And if the people watching have fun, too, that’s two birds with one stone!”

“In other words, we make out like bandits!”

“Yes, we have fun, and everybody watching it has fun, and then the whole town’s happy!”

As he watched the two, who looked genuinely and thoroughly delighted, Firo smiled, half in surrender.

“You’re right… When you think about it that way, it might just be the perfect game for you guys.”

It’s a whole lot like your lives, too.

That was what Firo thought, but he didn’t bother saying it aloud.

The way they live, they’re like a giant domino “main line.” They coast along at breakneck speed, knocking down branches of tiles through all sorts of gimmicks. These two affect other people’s lives all the time, the way they did with Ennis and me… Even though, as far as they’re concerned, they’re just barreling along any way they please.

“Fine. Next time you do it, I’ll help you out… Unless I’ve got something better to do.”

“Yesss! Now you’re a fellow dominer, too, Firo!”

“Or maybe a dominist! Which do you like better?”

“…Would you please tell me the difference between those things?”

Firo groaned and held his head.

If more and more people began to act like these two, they’d probably have world peace before anyone knew what was happening. However, no matter how many people they might influence, he doubted there was anyone eccentric enough to want to be like them.

Maybe I’m overthinking that.

Smiling wryly at his delusions, Firo scooped a handful of tiles out of the barrel.

In her second residence on Millionaires’ Row, Eve sat quietly at the dinner table, head bowed.

She was lost in thought, squeezing the little scrap of paper, remembering her brother and Luck.

If I rescue Dallas like this, will I have done the right thing in the end?

This was something she’d yearned for, so why was her resolution wavering?

She thought she might have hurt that man very badly with her selfish wish. However, there was no way she could stop wanting to save her brother.

What should I do? What should I have done? I…I—

“You look a bit down. Here, have something to eat and cheer up.”

When she looked toward the cheerful voice, she saw that Fang, the Asian cook, had just brought out the night’s meal.

“I don’t know what you’re worrying about, but for now, eat up. The only time people can be unconditionally happy is when they’re eating good food.”

“Quit with the bromides. That’s irresponsible.”

Beside him, Jon delivered a curt comeback.

At first, Eve hadn’t been hungry, but drawn by the aroma, she brought some of the food to her mouth.

“—It’s delicious. It’s just as good as what Kate made!”

“Who is this Kate person?”

Ignoring Fang, who looked mystified, the butler and Samantha watched the scene happily.

Eve had been blue since the incident, but now she was smiling again, and they were as pleased as if her mood had been their own.

Seeing them, Eve was reminded of just how fortunate her circumstances were. However, it was also true that neither her father nor her brothers were here. There was no point in grieving for people who were gone… But Dallas was definitely still alive.

As she ate, Eve kept thinking about what she should do.

What could she do, personally? What could she do so that everyone—Dallas and Luck and the Gandor members—would be happy?

I was only thinking about my own happiness, wasn’t I…?

When she’d thought that far, she resolved to rescue Dallas as soon as possible.

If there was nothing for it but to keep thinking, at the very least, she wanted to start working on what she could do now.

Of course. I’ll…I’ll try to be like those two.

Just like the two burglars who’d brought her that temporary happiness, she’d think, and keep on thinking, about what she could do for everyone else. Then, when she decided to act, she wouldn’t hesitate. She’d try to make sure that happiness—her own or other people’s—didn’t slip through her fingers again.

As she remembered the pair of thieves, she banished the hesitation from her heart.

Resolved, Eve squeezed the scrap of paper to her chest, tightly, ever so tightly.