わしの剣は天下一じゃとあいつらは囃し立てた。わしもそう思うたし、事実、わしには誰も敵わなかった。
あいつらがわしにしかできんと頼むから、わしもそうかと思い剣を振るうてやった。
あいつらはわしを天誅の名人と誉めそやし、金も大層くれるしでわしもええ気分じゃった。わしを馬鹿にしとった連中が、わしを恐れて道の端を歩くようになった。まっことええ気分じゃし、ええ空じゃ。

だがそのうち、あいつらはわしを犬でも見るような目で見るようになった。天下国家がどうのこうのと難しい話でわしを仲間はずれにしよる。気に食わん、せっかくのええ空なのに、気に食わん。

そのうちわしは一人で京の町をうろつくようになった。金もないし、腹も減った。ええ空なのに、わしは動くのもおっくうじゃ。もう何でもええ。

何がどうしてこうなったかはわからん。どこでどう間違えたのかもわからん。わしは頭が悪いきに、たぶんどこかで間違えたんじゃろう。いや、もしかしたら最初から間違えとったのかもしれん。川原であいつらと遊んどった頃は間違えとらんかったじゃろうか。

―――ええ空じゃ、澄み渡るようにええ空じゃ。

People praised me, saying my swordsmanship was without compare. I thought so too, as nobody was able to best me. They all asked me to do it because they said I was the only one who could do it, and so I wielded my sword believing that.

They all hailed me as the expert of divine punishment and threw piles of money at me, and I was ecstatic. Anyone who made fun of me before now cowered in fear and opened up the road for me whenever I passed by. That felt good. My sky was nice and clear.

But eventually, the same folks started to look at me as if I were a dog. They talked about the state of the nation and other complicated stuff to keep me out of the loop. I didn't like that one bit. My sky was nice and clear, but it had started to cloud.

Eventually I was wandering around the capital all alone. I had no money and I was hungry. Even though my sky was still clear, I didn't want to do anything. I didn't care anymore.

I don't know how and why things ended up like this. I don't know where I made any mistakes. I'm not so smart, so I must've messed up somewhere. No, I must not have made any mistakes from the start. I know I wasn't wrong when I was playing by the riverbed with my mates back in the day.

It's a splendid sky...a sky so perfectly clear.