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.
Oh no...
Especially the Matterhorn, known as the Devil's Mountain.
Please, you've gotta help me!
No way.
I'm not wasting time on some random tourist.
I was naïve.
I was a fool for thinking I could just show up and climb it.
There are other places.
Let's go around a bit more.
I came all this way and I can't climb it...
Don't give up.
There's one more place.
Let's go.
This is a wine bar, isn't it?
But it's in the guidebook...
Looks like a wine bar to me.
No! Look at this!
E-Excuse me.
Wine? Red, white, or sparkling?
It's not about that.
I want to climb the Matterhorn.
An Asian?
If you're a tourist,
there are lots of places with friendlier guides.
Every place I've been to has refused me!
Kanzaki-san, let's look somewhere else.
He's not friendly at all.
I don't like taking random travelers up on that holy mountain.
So I only act as a guide for climbers who know the mountain.
If you're not here to drink wine, beat it.
Hear me out.
I've come in search of a bottle of wine
so that I can do battle against a certain man.
It's a solitary, aloof wine that will never disappoint,
no matter how exaggerated your expectations!
I see.
So a wine like the Matterhorn, huh?
Yes.
I've come to climb the Matterhorn so I can find it!
Will you help me as my guide?
Wow, you're a fool.
You'd have to be crazy to climb the Matterhorn in search of wine.
Fine!
If you're not going to help me, there's no point talking further.
Hang on.
Drink this.
If you can tell me what country this wine is from, I'll be your guide.
You're on.
I don't have the knowledge to say where this wine is from.
I'll have to see what it shows me.
What does this wine reveal?
What is this place?
It's not France.
Or Germany.
Italy, then?
No...
Damn it. What is this wine?
Let's hear your answer.
I don't know.
K-Kanzaki-san?
Wow, for all that talk, you sure give up fast, kid.
But this isn't a European wine, I don't think.
What?
Of all the sights I saw in Europe with my father when I was a kid...
None are like this wine.
I'm sorry, but I lose this battle.
Let's go.
Wait.
How long have you been drinking wine?
Less than a year.
My dad's kind of famous.
I rebelled against him and avoided it for a long time.
But now I'm a prisoner to wine.
What's your dad's name?
Kanzaki Yutaka.
It's from the southernmost point of New Zealand.
Central Otago.
So that's it.
That vast, chilly landscape and gently rolling hills...
That was southern New Zealand?
That's the exact landscape of where this wine was born.
I'm Andrew Stalden.
Call me Andy.
I'm Shizuku.
Kanzaki Shizuku.
And is this your steady girlfriend?
No, I'm...
Nope! She's a stewardess I met on the plane!
You'll be my guide, huh?
Yes. With pleasure.
Now, when are you planning to climb?
Tomorrow, ideally.
That's not happening, unfortunately.
You just arrived in Zermatt yesterday, right?
You need to adapt to this altitude first.
You'll get altitude sickness if you don't.
You need to go up in a cable car and get used to the low oxygen on the mountain.
If we want to be safe, you'll need a minimum of 24 hours.
Um, can I come too?
Maybe I can't do it now, but someday, I'd like to climb the Matterhorn.
And I'd like to experience high-altitude adaptation to get experience for it.
I don't mind.
If Andy's okay with it, then of course I am.
It's thanks to you, Yamashita-san, that I made it this far.
Then it's decided!
Let's treat it like a little bit of hiking until the big day!
With wine in hand!
Nice!
Come in.
Mr. Tomine, we need to begin your high-altitude adaptation.
I still have work to do.
I believe there's medicine to cut the time required
for high-altitude adaptation in half.
Altitude sickness pills?
Those have side effects.
They increase the need to urinate, which is dangerous when climbing.
I don't mind.
I need to finish this job.
I want to be prepared in case something happens to me.
Very well.
But even with the pills,
you need a minimum of twelve hours to adapt to the higher altitude.
Please keep that in mind.
Understood.
Good night.
Sheesh. I don't like this guy at all.
But he's paying me a fortune.
I'll just have to play along.
Feels like the altitude adaptation worked.
Even here at base camp, we're 3,260 meters above sea level.
I still don't feel so great.
I'm a little unsteady, and I have a headache.
You're not going up. Take your time.
Andy said you'd be better by tomorrow.
Yeah, but I'll be here helping you on the radio,
so I'll do my best to get better.
On your way down, we can meet up here at Hörnlihütte
and go back down to Zermatt together.
Sure.
Where's Andy, by the way?
He had a worried look on his face. Said he was going to look at the sky.
Where have you been?
We need to plan for tomorrow.
The climb's off.
The weather report was way wrong.
It said things would be clear for the next three days,
but they won't.
I think the weather will turn tomorrow.
N-No...
When that happens, the Matterhorn turns into the Devil's Mountain.
I can't take a beginner up there.
W-Wait!
I came all this way!
I don't care how far you came.
If we have to turn back, we turn back.
That's the iron law of mountain climbing.
Get ready to pack it up.
We're out first thing tomorrow morning.
When's our next chance to climb?
Three days from now, if we're lucky.
That's not enough time!
I need to climb to the top of the Matterhorn tomorrow, no matter what!
Kanzaki-san?
If you won't take me, I'll go alone!
You fool!
Don't underestimate the Matterhorn!
If you climb it when it's the Devil's Mountain, you really will die.
I don't want to die.
But I can't lose this battle!
I have to climb it!
There's something I can only find by climbing it!
I'm here because I'm staking my life on wine.
Isn't there anything we can do, Andy?
Andy! It's not over yet!
Sheesh... Fine.
This second route from the left is the Hörnli Ridge route.
It's the safest, and the one I was planning to take.
But the low-pressure front means there'll probably be a strong wind from the east.
The Hörnli Ridge route will bear the brunt of it.
You'd get blown off the mountain to your death like that.
So trying to climb that way is suicide?
Yes.
But if you have to go tomorrow, there's another way.
This route to the west will shield you from eastern winds.
Even with the weather, we may be able to make it to the top tomorrow.
But as you can see from the map,
this route is a lot longer than the one up Hörnli Ridge.
It'll take more time and energy.
So I want you to promise me...
that if something happens and I decide we can't proceed safely,
we come down at once.
Got it. I promise.
Okay. Let's rework our plan.
I'll tell the other climbing parties what I've decided.
Kanzaki-san, are you sure about this?
It was my only choice.
The man I'm battling has taken bigger risks than this.
It's possible...
he's somewhere on the Matterhorn right now.