Chapter 83

1. The Slumbering God

Never forget your manners, no matter who you're dealing with.

The wish embedded in my name, "Rei," has helped me even in facing the Territorial Divine Offenses.

Whether benevolent or evil, gods are born from human desires. It's important to judge them without prejudice.

I like my name now, but I used to hate it. It sounded like a boy's, and back in elementary school, I was teased for being ghost-like because of it.

I wonder what my old classmates would say if they knew that now I deal with things even more incomprehensible than ghosts.

There's just one thing I can't remember—who gave me this name.

It wasn't my mother or grandfather. When I once asked Kirima, he looked down and said, 'It was your father.'

Whenever I talk about the father who disappeared before I was born, Kirima always looks like he's suppressing pain. In those moments, I feel a dull ache deep in my chest, like being gouged with a wooden spoon.

I've forgotten something important. And I can't remember what it is.

***

Though spring was near, a bleak and desolate mountain loomed before us.

As we stepped off the bus, we were greeted by cold wind and the scent of earth. The sun was already high. My watch read 12:30.

I turned to the two behind me and said,

"I'm glad we made it while it's still light out!"

Katagishi immediately lit a cigarette and shook his head.

"We were supposed to arrive early in the morning, though..."

"I'm sorry. I booked the wrong bullet train ticket."

Akitsu answered flatly. Her voice was mechanical and devoid of emotion. Katagishi made a bitter face.

"No, it's my fault for leaving it all to the newbie. Miyaki, the village is straight ahead, right?"

"Yes, according to the documents, it's just down this road."

Katagishi gave a small beckon. When I approached, he lowered his voice and said,

"Sorry, but can you keep an eye on Akitsu?"

"Didn't Kirima say it's the senior's job to train the newbie?"

"I know, but that type is tough to handle. You're better with people than I am."

With the cigarette still in his mouth, Katagishi started walking briskly.

As I hurried to catch up, Akitsu had somehow come to walk beside me.

"Do you think Katagishi hates me?"

I quickly waved my hand.

"It's fine! Katagishi is kind at heart. He wouldn't blame you over one mistake."

"But he left without making eye contact even once."

I gave a wry smile.

"Maybe he's just nervous around newbies. It might help if you tried smiling at him."

"I'm not good at smiling..."

I glanced between Akitsu's downcast profile and Katagishi's back. Akitsu was hard to read, and Katagishi's bluntness often led to misunderstandings.

Being stuck between these two might be a challenge.

I looked up at the colorless mountain where cold wind descended.

As we walked along the farm road, Katagishi muttered from the front.

"This time's Territorial Divine Offense was the Slumbering God, right?"

"Yes. It's said to be a god shaped like a round window, like those in traditional Japanese houses."

"Slumbering because of the round window, huh? That's a pun."

"That too, but it also seems to have the ability to show dreams. Records say it tests people by showing them visions of deceased loved ones as they were in life."

"...What a nasty god."

With that insult, a puff of smoke escaped. Maybe he imagined seeing his missing wife.

I jogged up beside him.

"But it might be a good god! According to legend, a grieving mother was able to reunite with her deceased daughter thanks to the Slumbering God."

"Sounds like a convenient fairy tale."

"That could be true too."

Akitsu, walking at the rear, suddenly spoke up. She began speaking like a printer spitting out sheets of paper.

"The Slumbering God first appeared in 1831. That record only mentions a round window and a daytime vision of the dead. Other records from 1599 and 1921 also mention what seems to be the Slumbering God, but all are similar. Mentions of reunions with the dead only appear starting in the Showa era. It's possible the god's nature changed, or the recorders' intentions influenced the stories."

After finishing, Akitsu glanced at our stunned faces and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me..."

"No need to apologize. That was amazing, Akitsu!"

"You memorized all that material in such a short time?"

"I have a good memory. It's the reason someone like me, who's not fit for society, can still work as a civil servant."

Katagishi turned back and patted Akitsu on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. We've got someone way more socially unfit than you in a top position."

"You mean Rokuhara?"

"Don't say it out loud. What if he shows up?"

I furrowed my brows.

"He's not some kind of monster."

As we closed the distance and resumed walking, houses began to appear on either side of the farm road.

Each was an old-fashioned home with stone walls and tiled roofs.

The plots, fenced to keep out wild boars, seemed to have small gardens.

There were no crops, and thawing frost was pushing up the soil. Faded purple trees surrounded the area, making the scene look like a dark pastel painting.

A shadowy figure peeked out from a hedge of one house.

"Looks like we finally found a resident. Should we go say hello?"

I crossed the gravel path and approached the hedge. Through the plastic-like shiny leaves, I glimpsed strands of hair.

"Excuse me, we're from Tokyo..."

As I spoke, I stepped back. The person behind the hedge had an unnaturally white face. It was flat and wrinkled like old cloth.

"It's a scarecrow."

Akitsu, now beside me, said. I heard a small chuckle from Katagishi.

"Sorry, I jumped to conclusions..."

I rubbed my reddened cheek and stepped back.

"But why is there a scarecrow here? They're usually placed in fields."

"Yeah. And it looks a bit strange."

Akitsu craned her neck to peer into the hedge. Being a head taller than me, she could see the yard well.

"It's wearing a woman's dress, and the hair is a proper wig. It's like it's meant to look human."

"It's more like a mannequin than a scarecrow."

Akitsu and I walked back toward Katagishi.

I expected him to make a joke or tease us, but Katagishi's face was serious.

"What's wrong?"

"Miyaki, look at that..."

He pointed at a house with a tense expression.

In the center of the faded hedge, there was a hole like something had been gouged out.

There was a round window, like what you'd find in an old temple or inn hallway—something that shouldn't have existed there.

The window frame had patches where the lacquer had peeled, and bamboo lattice bars were evenly spaced. It had appeared out of nowhere.

That wasn't all. If there was a hole in the hedge, we should've seen the garden and house—but through the lattice, we saw a cityscape of buildings.

The glass reflected intense sunlight and was foggy. It looked like a sweltering summer day, with heat haze shimmering.

As Katagishi and I stood dumbfounded, a sliding door opened with a clatter, and a middle-aged man stepped out.

I gasped.

The man glared down at us with piercing eyes, then turned from the hedge to look at the mannequin-like scarecrow.

The middle-aged man's dry lips moved.

"It's dead. It's dead..."

Muttering like a delirious person, he disappeared back into the house.

The cold wind snapped me back to reality. The round window had vanished.

Katagishi's cheek twitched.

"Miyaki, you saw it too, right?"

"Yes..."

All I could do was nod. We'd barely arrived at the village and already encountered a god.

Katagishi called out to Akitsu, who was still standing in front of the hedge.

"Did you see it too?"

Akitsu moved only her head like a robot.

"Yes, I saw it. There was a woman inside that round window. She had the same hairstyle and clothes as the scarecrow."

Katagishi and I looked at each other.

"I didn't see that much..."

Akitsu turned on her heel and walked over to us.

"Let's go. If we don't investigate quickly, it might become troublesome."

Her pale-colored eyes reflected my frozen face.