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In that moment, the difference between agaru and noboru became clear. Words that had been floating in chaos swiftly grouped themselves into interlocking sets. In his mind’s eye he saw an agaru tower and a noboru tower, each one soaring high in perfect, beautiful balance. Forgetful of Kaguya’s presence in the room, forgetful of her invitation, he pursued the thoughts unfolding in his mind at bewildering speed. Controlling his excitement, he murmured, “That’s it. That’s it.” Agaru emphasized the place reached by upward movement, whereas noboru emphasized the process of upward movement. When inviting someone to “come on up for a cup of tea,” you used agaru, never noboru. That’s because the focus was on reaching a place suitable for drinking tea—the interior of the house, a step up from the outside—rather than the process of moving indoors. For “to climb a mountain,” the reverse was true; the correct verb was definitely noboru, as the emphasis was on the action of physically moving up the face of the mountain toward the summit, not just the moment of reaching the summit. Then what about that expression ten ni mo noboru kimochi (a feeling of rising to heaven)? Majime ruminated on the feeling he had experienced a moment before. Noboru was correct, not agaru, because his joy still had room to grow; he hadn’t yet attained heaven itself. Then he thought of something else.
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