The Drops of God (神の雫)

No way can I lose this battle.

I cannot lose this battle.

Not to him!

I will now begin the reading.

"The Fifth Apostle."

I stand on a lonely summit.

Suddenly, I find myself crying.

I look back upon my journey to discern the reason why.

I try to still my racing heart as I aim for the summit with racing steps.

The mountain sometimes shows me its gentle side,

and sometimes it bares its fangs at me with raging spirit.

But I refuse to give up.

I let the yearnings of my soul drive me higher.

The peak is beautiful and silent,

but it remains elusive no matter how far I climb.

Oh, mountain... are you a devil or a god?

I've long lost track of time when, suddenly, I find my hand upon the summit.

I have arrived.

What joy! What clarity!

The joy of being able to look out and see everything in the world...

This noble, aloof wine reminds me of that summit.

However exalted may be your ideas, however exaggerated your expectations,

none will come away from this wine disappointed.

He's finally ready to bring that out, eh?

What do you mean?

Old Man Robert.

Shizuku, Issei...

If you would truly seek the Fifth Apostle,

you must be ready to stake your lives on it.

I'm here!

I've never been to the summit of Mt. Fuji before!

It's gorgeous, isn't it?

Yeah.

But this isn't the wine my father talked about.

I think my father was referring to the most beautiful mountain in the Alps...

The Matterhorn.

Listen to me, Miyabi.

What is it?

This time, I don't want to lose.

What? You're tied two to two right now.

No, I can't win at this rate.

He puts everything into wine. He's put his whole life into it.

He's far ahead of me in terms of experience.

If I'm going to beat him, I need to enhance my senses, my strongest weapon.

I'm going to climb the Matterhorn.

I'm going to feel it for myself.

Issei, what's wrong?

Was this not a wine you like?

The Fifth Apostle's reading speaks of the most beautiful mountain in the Alps,

one that's taken the life of many climbers.

The Matterhorn.

And I'm hesitant...

Because if I'm going to find the Fifth Apostle, perhaps I must scale it myself.

You don't have to do something so dangerous!

I'm not afraid of the danger.

The Matterhorn ceased to be "the Devil's Mountain" ages ago.

Still...

It's also true that climbing it may not reveal the wine to me.

If I climb the mountain and can't reach the wine that Kanzaki Yutaka spoke of,

I will never find the Fifth Apostle.

Issei...

It was, yes...

During the search for the Third Apostle.

When I sipped that wine, I...

The answer to that, too, lay in my past.

If this strange fear I'm feeling

is because the answer I seek sleeps deep within my past...

No!

You'll get yourself killed!

It'll be fine.

I'll hire a specialist as a climbing guide.

That's not the problem!

If something happens to you, our opponent wins this apostle by default!

Issei, you have to go.

I think you have to do it.

And you must face it on your own.

What are you saying?!

But promise you'll come back.

It seems you're seeing something.

No matter what danger awaits,

I can't back down!

Issei.

Mother?

Issei...

There's no place for us in this world anymore.

Mom, where are we going?

I'm cold.

Come with me.

The mountain's calling us.

No!

No, Mom!

It'll be fine.

No!

This place is scary!

There's a scary white demon!

Help me, Mom!

Are you okay, Tomine-san?

What was I just...

You were doing hypnotherapy to recover past memories.

But your heart rate spiked suddenly, so I stopped.

I'm fine.

Please continue, doctor.

I was about to see something.

It's dangerous!

It could break you mentally.

As a psychiatrist, I can't let you do this!

I understand.

I apologize for the trouble.

Tomine-san!

So, how is Issei-san doing?

National Medical Center

He's awake.

But he's having trouble focusing...

Well, he'd better start focusing soon!

Issei-san!

Maki-san, I apologize for the worry.

I'm fine now.

Really?

You're looking rather pale.

Can you explain what happened?

I realized that I'll never find the Fifth Apostle here in Japan.

Kobayashi-kun. Sorry, but I'll be leaving the office for a week.

I'll postpone any talks and write any essays I need to on the plane.

With your knowledge and Loulan's palate,

you can do wine selections without me.

O-Okay.

Maki-san, get me a ticket to Switzerland.

You're serious?

Yes.

I'm going to climb the Matterhorn.

It's half a day's trip to Switzerland...

That's a long way.

Would anyone like a drink?

Oh, I'll take some wine.

Of course.

Red or white?

Hmm... I'll have what you recommend to start.

Let's see...

Here's a red, then.

This is good.

It has a uniquely bright spice flavor, like nutmeg.

I'd compare it to...

A vibrantly colored totem pole!

Both mystical and humorous!

I like it! I'll have another!

I-I'd like some as well!

I'll take the red too!

Oh, of course!

Excuse me!

Me too!

Who's this guy with bleached brown hair?

Man, I finally made it!

I need to stretch real bad...

I guess I can see the Matterhorn in the morning.

Look at the hour!

Crap! I was short on time to begin with!

Oh, sorry.

Likewise.

You're the stewardess from yesterday!

The brunet who liked the red wine!

Fancy seeing you around.

What brings you here?

Today's my day off.

I was going to do some summer skiing.

That sounds fun.

Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself.

I'm Kanzaki Shizuku with Taiyoh Beer's wine division.

Kanzaki?

I'm a flight attendant with Swiss New Airlines.

My name is Yamashita Maki.

Um, might you be related to Kanzaki Yutaka-san,

the wine critic who passed recently?

I'm his son, actually.

I-I see!

Yeah.

This is my first time in Switzerland since my dad took me here when I was little.

So I don't know my way around.

Shall I show you around?

I come here every year.

I decided to work at a Swiss airline because I love the Alps...

Hey, lucky me!

Let's go!

First, I have to get a look at the Matterhorn.

Do you like the Matterhorn?

I came to climb it, actually.

The Matterhorn!

Wow!

Um, do you climb for fun?

No. I haven't done any hard mountain climbing since high school, in fact.

Then why?

Because that's where the wine is.

Just kidding.

I'd like to start by going to the guide center.

That's this way!

Not happening.

We can't just give you a guide without a reservation.

Most people hire a guide a month in advance.

Don't underestimate the mountain.