Chapter 44

1. The God of Abundant Fruit

When I reached for the door to the response headquarters, I heard someone shouting from inside.

"It's far too dangerous."

The voice, deep and threatening from the pit of the stomach, belonged to Kirima. I'd walked into something unpleasant.

Peeking through the crack in the door, I saw Kirima standing with arms folded like a statue, facing Ryoko and a group of suited people I didn't recognize.

Ryoko shook her head and replied in a calm voice.

"You're aware of the danger, aren't you, Kirima-kun?"

"I'm well aware of the danger to us. But this could also pose a threat to civilians."

A man with graying hair, seen from behind and clearly middle-aged, responded.

"The true mission of the response headquarters is to protect the people from Territorial Divine Offenses. If it's just about recording the god's history, we're not needed. Sometimes, sacrificing a few to protect the many is necessary."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was clear they were arguing. Best to stay out of it.

I let go of the doorknob before they noticed me. Just before the door closed, I heard Kirima's voice.

"What will happen to the villagers if the God in the Fire is contained?!"

The hallway felt like a different world—quiet, unlike the noisy and tense atmosphere of the response headquarters.

"What the hell are they talking about...?"

I hated how I was starting to get curious. This had nothing to do with me. I didn't understand what the higher-ups were thinking.

I just needed to finish my task quickly and be done with this monster-hunting job.

Telling myself that, I turned to go have a smoke, when I found a girl standing right behind me and let out a startled yelp.

"What the hell? This isn't a playground, kid. Where'd you come from?"

Pressing down on my pounding heart, I looked at her. The girl stared back at me, slightly exasperated.

Holding a dented carton of orange juice, the girl said,

"I came with my mom. She told me to wait here for a bit..."

"With your mom?"

"My name is Rei Miyaki."

The girl, with her hair tied in a ponytail, blinked her large eyes and bowed. She looked about five or six, but already seemed smarter than me.

"There's no one named Miyaki here."

I started to say, then remembered. Ryoko had said her last name started with 'Mi'.

"Are you Ryoko-san's kid?"

Rei Miyaki looked troubled. I wasn't good with kids.

I shoved my hand into my jeans pocket and fished out some coins.

"I don't know what's going on, but it might take a while. Here, have some juice."

"It's before lunch, so I'm not supposed to drink too much."

I pressed a 100-yen coin into the girl's hand and quickly made my escape.

At the rooftop smoking area, I lit a cigarette and watched the purple smoke melt into the summer clouds.

From the cityscape below came the annoyingly cheerful music of a garbage truck. A carefree town, completely unaware that people were arguing over what to do with a god.

The door to the emergency stairs opened, and Kirima appeared, not a trace of carefreeness in sight.

"Uyu, there you are. We're done for today. We're heading out first thing in the morning."

Kirima's sunburnt face was furrowed with a deep frown.

"Where to this time?"

"Another damn god-infested village. Same as always."

He was clearly irritated. Best not to provoke a god. I decided not to pry any further.

We were about to go chase down a god.

Kirima's profile as he pulled a cigarette from the pack reminded me of something I'd seen earlier.

***

Before dawn, we were put on a bullet train. After arriving at the station, we had to transfer buses multiple times.

The bus was so old it was a wonder it still ran, and every little pebble on the roadside made it rattle.

The warm sunlight stained the windows a sickly yellow, like a sick person's mucus.

"First time riding the bullet train."

"Yeah, so?"

Kirima responded curtly to my mutter. His gloved left hand was flipping through documents busily.

"There was a fight yesterday, right?"

Kirima's hand stopped. I expected a shout or silence, but instead, he closed the file and let out a heavy sigh.

"It was a proposal about how to make effective use of the God in the Fire."

"What? That incomprehensible thing?"

"That's the normal reaction."

The frown between Kirima's brows eased a little.

"Apparently, the higher-ups are looking for ways to incorporate Territorial Divine Offenses into everyday life. It's a god that protects the village by erasing those who know about evil spirits. They think if used right, it might neutralize even more troublesome gods."

"Are they insane? That's the kind of idea you get when you've never seen the real thing."

"Even those who have seen a god think that way. It's hopeless."

I shrugged.

"Ryoko-san seems to be in favor too. Even though she's got such a little daughter..."

"Daughter?"

"I saw her yesterday. She was waiting in front of the response headquarters."

"Didn't hear she had a kid."

Kirima tilted his head.

The bus entered a mountain road. The only sound inside was the engine; it was otherwise empty.

"Hey, are you married?"

"Where did that come from?"

Kirima opened the file again.

"...I am."

"Seriously?"

With a husband that grumpy, home must feel like a prison. That's one unique woman.

"I married into her family, though."

The unexpected answer made me laugh.

"So, your wife wears the pants at home?"

The corner of a file jabbed me in the temple. I couldn't imagine a violent cop's married life.

Outside the bus window, the trunks of trees passed by like an endless stream.

We arrived at a small village that, contrary to expectations, looked like a tourist spot.

Getting off the bus, I stretched my body, stiff from the hard seat and constant rattling, and caught the scent of the river.

The water, full of mud and grass, warmed by the sun, smelled like a nostalgic summer in the countryside.

Beyond the sparse shops and houses, a red bridge came into view.

It was an extravagant bridge, like something out of a picture book castle under the sea.

"Looks like the most decent village we've been to so far."

As I muttered while walking, Kirima shook his head gloomily.

"I hope so."

I heard the sound of bells ringing. Probably a wind chime hanging somewhere.

Up close, the bridge looked absurdly huge.

Kirima stopped in front of the bridge. His gaze fell on an old wooden signboard.

The ink was too smudged to read clearly, but it seemed to have the bridge's name written on it.

"Suzunari Bridge..."

The sound of the wind chime grew closer.

"Does it interest you?"

Startled by the sudden voice, I turned to find a tiny old woman, barely reaching Kirima's waist, standing there.

"Are you tourists?"

Her apron, stained with soy sauce, had 'Omokage-ya' written on it. Probably a diner or souvenir shop.

Kirima softened his expression and turned to the old woman.

"Yes, my brother... it's also part of his university fieldwork. He's majoring in folklore."

"Oh my, this young man?"

The old woman seemed impressed, as if noting that people can be deceiving.

Kirima was honest, but he was terrible at lying.

"Well then, please take a good look. After all, this bridge has a distinguished history dating back to the Edo period."

Kirima immediately dropped his forced smile and spoke with a serious face.

"I heard there's a Human Pillars legend about this bridge."

The old woman looked slightly surprised, then quickly smiled.

"It's not a scary story like people might think. It's more like a circle of people, or maybe you'd call it a chain of compassion."

The words didn't match the ominous image of Human Pillars, and Kirima and I tilted our heads.

"The young woman under this bridge was originally a traveler from another place, very poor, and the landlord's son, unable to ignore her plight, took care of her along with her parents."

I stretched up a bit and whispered into Kirima's ear.

"He probably wanted to make her his mistress."

I nearly toppled over after getting kicked in the calf.

The old woman laughed, saying, "You two get along well." Even if she were senile, I doubt she'd think that.

Kirima cleared his throat and continued.

"That girl became a Human Pillar?"

"Yes, she wanted to repay the village that helped her. The landlord's son was saddened, but gave in to her strong will and prepared everything for the Human Pillar. Then, the girl entered the stone chamber under the bridge herself, carrying the Bells her parents had given her."

The old woman raised a hand to her ear as if trying to hear something.

"Even now, the girl rings the Bells. It's proof she's still protecting the village from floods."

"So that's the sound of the Bells?"

"Yes, even tourists sometimes say they've heard it. Those people are surely blessed."

I gazed at the bridge, painted a vivid red with fresh paint.

"For something that's been around a long time, it looks pretty new."

"It's been repaired many times. It started as a small bridge and gradually became more luxurious. All of that was done by the landlord's descendants over the generations."

"Huh..."

The base of the bridge was reinforced with hard stone. It was a rough and sturdy support that didn't match the elegant bridge.

I could see a girl in a school uniform walking from the other side of the bridge.

At that moment, a violent sound of Bells, loud enough to burst my eardrums, rang out.

It sounded like a wind chime left out during a typhoon, thrashing wildly in the wind.

Kirima and the old woman continued their conversation calmly. Even though the sound was loud enough to drown out the words.

"Again, it's just me...?"

As I shook my head at the sound and tried to cover my ears, I realized something.

I wasn't the only one. A high school girl in the middle of the bridge was also covering her ears and crouching down.

She looked up for a moment and our eyes met.

The girl glared at me, then stood up and ran across the bridge in a flash.

As she brushed past me, she muttered something.

Even with the sound of the Bells, I heard it clearly.

You too?