Chapter 69

The Silent Vow (無言の誓い, Mugon no Chikai) is the 69th chapter of the To Your Eternity manga.

Summary
The chapter begins with Bonchien narrating what happened in the previous chapter. He explains that Anna definitely died back then as he could see her ghost standing next to her father who wept over her lifeless physical body. Then Fushi recreated her body and then her ghost disappeared. He thought she went to heaven but then she came back to life.

In the present, Bonchien sits with Lord Uga and Anna outside having tea. Bonchien asks Anna how her illness is and she tells him by the time she woke up, the pain was gone. Bonchien mentally notes that Fushi healed her body as well. Anna asks if Fushi isn't coming today and Bonchien says he's not. He tells them he'd prefer if they keep it a secret — even from Fushi. Nobody knows of this ability and if people find out, his life would forever lose peace.

Bonchien then sets off after tea ad Lord Uga and Anna wave him off. As Bonchien rides off on his horse, Nixon and Fen ask if he can ask Fushi to revive their bodies as well. He tells them it isn't possible since Fushi can't create what he hasn't seen. He then tells them not to speak about it near Fushi as "the guy behind them" won't take too kindly to it. Fen asks why keep it a secret from Fushi, and Bonchien says whether he tells Fushi or not, Fushi will find out, but now's not the time. Bonchien then arrives back at the group's campsite.

Pocoa complains to Fushi and Todo that she's bored. She tells Fushi to tell Bonchien that he wants to go to the city but he declines. She then tells him it's an order, yield or die. Fushi asks Bonchien if everyone can go to the city and tells him it sounds good.

They arrive at a city and Bonchien tells the group they'll have a short vacation here and to not drink too much.

Kahaku runs up to Fushi and asks if he wants to walk around together but gets dejected when he sees Fushi talking with Todo. He comments to Bonchien that Fushi seems close to Todo. Bonchien asks if friendship between men is so unusual and Kahaku responds that he doesn't think of Fushi as a man and that Fushi hasn't acknowledged his own femininity yet. Fushi walks around the city with Todo who's familiar with the city, along with Pocoa still in her barrel. They pass by a shop window and Fushi's eye is caught by a doll sitting in a chair. Todo comments that the doll looks expensive and the storekeeper comes out and tells them it's not for sale.

Kahaku catches up with them with a gift for Fushi; a book he told Fushi about earlier. Todo says he knows the book as it won best Bonnist Award for novels last year. Pocoa asks what kind of book it is.

Kahaku explains that the protagonist is a wanderer who gets falsely accused of a crime. He's then sentenced to crucifixion. As the sun sets, the protagonist notices another shadow next to his and realizes there's another person being crucified. As they faced opposite directions, the protagonist could only verify her existence at twilight, and she can only verify his at dawn. Todo chimes in and says it's a tale of how they fall in love and become each other's strength even though they only know each other through shadows. Kahaku agrees and says that it's a love story about love unrestrained by appearances. He tells Fushi if he reads this book, he can understand the feeling of loving another person. Fushi blushes as he looks at the doll and wonders if he could really understand desiring something so much that your heart aches. Kahaku is shocked and realizes Fushi might already be in love. Fushi turns to the shopkeeper and asks if he can just hold the doll for a bit, then Fushi summons his own doll while saying, "it feels so good." Kahaku thinks to himself that Fushi really is a girl.

The group stops by a sewing store and Todo asks if they can drop by for a bit. Pocoa asks him what he wants to buy and Todo explains that he wants to buy some thread to make a new handkerchief for Bonchien. The shopkeeper turns around and recognizes Todo and welcomes "Iris" back. Todo calls the shopkeeper "father" to the surprise of everyone else.

At dinner, Fushi is shocked to learn Todo is actually a girl named Iris and is the daughter of the shopkeeper. Pocoa asks her why she's dressing up as a man and Iris explains that she originally went to the castle for an interview to be the Queen's attendant. While she was running, Bonchien calls out to her and says she's "quite plump" and that she would be perfect for his chair department and hires her on the spot, not realizing she's a girl. Fushi asks why she didn't say anything and Iris explains that she didn't know why, but she considered herself to be lucky back then and that revealing the truth might destroy that luck.

Afterwards, Iris's father says he leaves his daughter in their care and parts ways. Kahaku notes that Bonchien's crazy but Iris isn't far removed. Iris asks Pocoa if she's going to be fired but Pocoa says only if her mother finds out plus Bonchien hardly cares about her so. That night, Fushi in his tent reads the book Kahaku gave him. He stops reading and holds up his doll to look at, blushing at it. Bonchien enters his tent and tells Fushi he heard that he found a lover. Fushi asks if he means the doll and asks if this is the love they wrote about in the book and that he's really attracted to the doll. He ecstatically asks if that means the doll is his "lover."

Bonchien, taken aback, tells Fushi a lover has to be human not plastic. Fushi defensively asks what's wrong with having a doll for a lover. Bonchien says nothing's wrong and that he doesn't think anything's bad about it, but he just wants Fushi to be healthy. He asks what's there to love about a doll. Fushi says the doll is prettier than anything he's ever seen before and that if March were here she would've love the doll too. Nixon and Fen appear next to Bonchien and suggests he say something. Bonchien says under his breathe that that would let his luck escape then he leaves.

Kahaku walks by and Fushi gets up to tell him he's halfway through the book. Kahaku asks him how it is and Fushi says it's the first novel he's ever read and that he finds it interesting. Bonchien, who's hiding on the side of the tent, watches them then picks up the doll and places it down on the floor while saying, "you're so very lucky." March's ghost appears and is kneeling next to the doll and stares at Bonchien. Bonchien is outside and notices Kahaku and Fushi talking. Kahaku says he needs to ask Fushi something and he asks him what it is. Kahaku says it might be sudden, but he asks Fushi to become his wife.

Chapter Notes

 * Todo is actually a girl named Iris and the daughter of a sewing shopkeeper.
 * Kahaku asks Fushi to become his wife.

Trivia

 * Fushi's first love is a doll he's really attracted to. According to him, the doll is prettier than anything he's ever seen before.
 * The first novel Fushi ever read is the one Kahaku gave to him in this chapter.