Though It Was Brief, Somehow It Leaves Me Feeling Warm—

"Grandpa, aren't you going to visit your children? You have money, after all."

"Why would I go looking for those unfilial brats? They dumped me here because they were too busy making money."

A black stone bowl... On the inkstone, each pass of the rectangular ink stick left black powder behind.

The powder gathered until it became ink. Grinding it by hand took so long it felt like a spiritual discipline, so plenty of people used machines instead.

But for this little while, it felt as though everything grew quiet.

The ceaseless traffic outside. The sound of people hurrying along. For this moment, it all seemed remarkably quiet.

"You don't have any plans to leave this building, do you?"

"Huh?"

"You may not know this, since you never went to school, but whenever you learn something, you put it to use right away."

"Is that so?"...