Chapter 88

2. The God with a Child

"Miyaki-chan, are you okay?"

I snapped back to myself at Umemura-san's voice.

"Yes, it was just an unusual statue, so I got a little curious..."

The elderly man, who was apparently the vice principal, smiled with satisfaction.

"I'm grateful that young people like you are taking an interest in our village. We were just talking about this, but there's going to be a folktale gathering at our school. Would you all like to join?"

I nodded, thinking it was a welcome opportunity.

Umemura-san started walking with the old man. Only Akitsu remained motionless, glaring at the statue and staring at the droplets falling from the girl.

We were led to a wooden school building.

In the schoolyard, white lines blurred by out-of-season frost were drawn, and the flower beds were bare, likely due to replanting season, with dug-up soil spread out.

Guided by the vice principal, I walked down a corridor scented with camphor.

When we entered the gymnasium, the smell intensified due to the heat from the daruma stove.

The hall, covered with blackout curtains, was dyed orange by the firelight. There were fewer than forty students sitting cross-legged, and despite the roaring fire, the atmosphere felt chilly.

It seemed the folktale session had already begun. Akitsu, Umemura-san, and I held our breath and stood pressed against the wall.

On the stage, an elderly woman in a kimono sat kneeling.

Her low, hoarse voice echoed.

"A girl named Oyuki was an abandoned child. At the end of spring, she was left behind by her parents and found crying in the mountains by a hunter. The village was poor, and everyone struggled to support their families. So, when extra hands were needed, they would call the girl, offering her food and a place to sleep in return."

I realized it was the story of the girl who had become the statue.

"Oyuki was good-natured and hardworking. The villagers would intentionally leave work undone to call her over, serve her meals, and let her sleep in a warm bed. Every child Oyuki babysat adored her like an older sister. Everyone cherished Oyuki as a member of the village."

Umemura-san narrowed his eyes. Was he remembering his own child's early years? I, too, smiled as I watched the students listening intently, their cheeks tinged orange from the reflected light.

"But one day, Oyuki went to gather wood for firewood. It had been sunny in the morning, but a sudden mountain wind brought a terrible snowstorm. The hunters went to search for her but couldn't find her. The village women comforted the downcast men, saying, 'The mountain god will bring her back.'"

Akitsu muttered in a stifled voice.

"Where would they deliver a child with no home or parents?"

A chill ran down my spine, as if a lump of snow had been thrown down my collar.

"That night, as the villagers lay sleepless, the howl of a wolf mixed with the blizzard from somewhere. Everyone rushed out in their nightwear and flung open their doors, but neither the wolf nor Oyuki was anywhere to be seen."

The old woman swallowed and fell silent. A long pause, as if time had stopped. The children began to stir uneasily.

"Two years passed after that."

The old woman suddenly spoke, and the students flinched.

"The youngest child in the village got lost in the mountains, just like that day. While the parents searched all night, the child returned at dawn. When the mother, frantic, asked what happened, the child said, 'The wolf and the babysitter lady brought me back.' The villagers all thought the same. Kind and hardworking Oyuki had been favored by the god and chosen as its envoy. Since then, Oyuki has been worshipped alongside the mountain god."

The old woman bowed deeply, folding herself. After a moment of silence, awkward applause rang out, followed by a wave of clapping from the students. The uneven applause echoed through the gymnasium.

After thanking the vice principal, we left the school.

Once the vice principal waving at the school gate was out of sight, Akitsu suddenly spoke.

"What did you think?"

Umemura-san scratched his head.

"Well... the mountain god is probably the God with a Child, no doubt. But even so, it felt too much like an ordinary folktale. What about you, Miyaki-chan?"

"I thought the same. For a case of Territorial Divine Offenses, the damage and uniqueness seem too minimal..."

Akitsu nodded with an expression that could be taken as resignation or agreement.

"But since it's a case of Territorial Divine Offenses, there must be something unique. We're probably just overlooking it."

"Now that you mention it, there was one thing that bugged me."

Umemura-san said, glancing sideways at the school building.

"The condition for seeing the God with a Child. We know it's children under fifteen. That's the age before adulthood, like the old coming-of-age. But why include the parents too?"

"In folktales, you often see spirits or monsters that only children can see, but it's rare for the parents to see them too."

I unconsciously muttered the next words.

"It's like greeting the parents..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

While Umemura-san chuckled lightly, Akitsu had a serious expression.

"Maybe Oyuki becoming the god's envoy was actually the other way around."

"The other way around?"

Akitsu looked startled, then quickly erased the expression.

"Just talking to myself. I have no proof, so forget it."

Umemura-san let out a sudden sigh.

"We've been handed a weird case. There are too few leads. Kirima said to start by focusing on the god's name, but 'God with a Child' is just too on-the-nose."

I returned a wry smile.

"Come to think of it, the name 'Territorial Divine Offenses' sounds like a pun. It's kind of strange."

"Oh, so Miyaki-chan and the others didn't know? It was originally a code. Back in the early days when gods were barely recognized, the government used it to share information about unknown entities."

"So it sounds like 'territorial violation' in fishing zones without government approval."

"Exactly. It refers to beings that invade and threaten human living spaces."

"There's another origin too."

Akitsu interjected calmly.

"Territorial Divine Offenses are gods whose nature is incomprehensible and who exist like invaders overturning fundamental assumptions."

"...What do you mean?"

"Normally, gods gain power through faith, right? But some Territorial Divine Offenses maintain immense power while hiding their existence and nature. Examples include the God in the Fire from special investigation division records, and the God of Vestiges, who wasn't even worshipped."

Akitsu's words sounded prophetic.

"They're entities that seem to have emerged supernaturally, without conforming to conventional religious concepts—that's what Territorial Divine Offenses are."

I was speechless. Umemura-san let out a dry laugh.

"Akitsu-chan, who told you all that?"

"I saw it once in a record. I just have a good memory."

"That's impressive..."

The light had vanished from Umemura-san's eyes.

As if to break the ominous mood, a voice chanting sutras echoed from somewhere.

The three of us turned around instantly. In the shadows of the cherry blossom trees lining the path from the school gate stood the old woman who had told the folktale.

She was even more hunched over than before and was fervently chanting sutras. Her wrinkled palms rubbed together, making a sound like dry leaves.

At the base of the cherry trees, small feet peeked out.

From beneath the frayed, reddish-brown kimono hem, the thin legs of a girl could be seen.

They were bluish like a corpse, with only the toes tinged red as if blood had seeped through. The heels were blackened and hardened like rusted iron, as if she had walked without rest for months.

Mixed in with the sutras, the howl of a wolf could be heard.

It was a triumphant howl.