Volume 4, Chapter 9 – Otae Fuchi

“What!? A ghost came last night?”

“And you’ve already sent them off?”

“Whoa…”

Those reactions came from Lu-chan, Chris-san, and the landlady, respectively.

Lu-chan had a look on her face as if she wanted to say she wished she had seen it.

Chris-san, on the other hand, looked relieved, as if she was glad it was over.

As for the landlady, it was probably just pure surprise? Somehow, I felt like that was the case.

“By the way, do you happen to know anyone named Yashichi or Hinatsuru?”

The landlady’s eyes widened in shock.

“H-how on earth do you know those names?”

“The ghost who visited last night introduced themselves as such.”

“I-I see…”

The landlady seemed to think for a moment. Then, she slowly began to speak.

“The two of them were from this village. Yashichi was a very capable man. Hinatsuru was his childhood friend, and it seems they were lovers. But one day, Yashichi left the village alone, saying he would make a name for himself in Miyako, and he never returned. Hinatsuru waited for him for a long time, but in the second winter after Yashichi disappeared, Hinatsuru vanished too. I wondered if Yashichi had secretly taken her away, but to think she’d appear as a ghost…”

It seems the story I heard from Hinatsuru-san yesterday was correct.

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The landlady looked sad as she answered, but her eyes seemed to wander slightly.

Perhaps she felt a little hesitant about telling outsiders like us about the village’s troubles.

“I see. By the way, is it easy to get your hands on Miko attire?”

“Hmm? Miko attire? Oh, do you want to try wearing some, little miss?”

Perhaps because I changed the subject, the landlady’s tone of voice jumped up a notch.

“No, it’s not that, but I wanted to know if it’s something easily obtainable in this village.”

“Well, I’d say it’s probably impossible. Only the Miko of the shrine are allowed to wear that attire.”

“Is there any possibility that Hinatsuru-san had some?”

“I don’t think so. I never saw her wear any. Why do you ask?”

“No, I was just a little curious. In that case, do you know where Yashichi-san is now?”

“I’d like to know that myself. Can’t you find him with your powers, little miss?”

“If I could do that, I would have found my friends long ago.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

With that, the landlady laughed boisterously.

“Still, thank you for praying for Hinatsuru’s soul. Also, if you go to Miyako and happen to run into Yashichi of Matsuhata Juku, give him a good punch for me.”

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“Haha, I’ll take on that role.”

Chris-san, who had been listening beside me, volunteered for the punching duty.

But if Chris-san punches someone, wouldn’t an ordinary person be in serious trouble?

As we were talking, a young man approached us and spoke bluntly.

“Hey, which one’s the foreign cleric?”

I could tell that Chris-san’s alert level spiked instantly.

She glared at the man with a look that seemed like she was about to kill him.

“Now, Jinta! Don’t be so rude! They’re kindly offering to pray for the deceased!”

“B-but—”

“What are you talking about? Apologize!”

With that, the landlady grabbed the man called Jinta by the head, forced him down, and gave him a powerful knock on the head with her fist.

“Ow ow ow! I’m sorry. So, which one is the cleric?”

“Hey. If you’re going to ask something, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”

Chris-san intimidated Jinta-san with a voice laced with anger.

Only after the landlady’s fist descended once more did he finally introduce himself.

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“I-I’m Jinta. Ow!”

“Use polite speech!”

The landlady’s fist fell again.

“I am Jinta. I will guide the cleric—no, I mean, the cleric person.”

He kept glancing nervously at the landlady. This landlady seems to be quite a powerhouse.

“That’s me. I’m Fiene Argentata.”

“A-ah. Right. Then, you come this way. Ah, the others—I mean, everyone else, please stay here.”

“Wait. I cannot let Fiene-sama go alone. If this is a matter of custom and absolutely necessary, then we shall consider this entire matter void. Fiene-sama has already sent Hinatsuru-dono’s spirit to the gods last night.”

Jinta-san’s eyes widened at this.

“What!? I thought it was Otae who was haunting the place!? Why was it Hinatsuru-neesan?”

“The ghost I met yesterday said so herself. She was lamenting that she couldn’t meet her lover, Yashichi.”

“No way…”

Hmm? What is going on here?

This is starting to feel like a hassle.

I’ve already sent off the ghost that was Hinatsuru-san, so I feel like I don’t necessarily need to go.

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“Um, if we don’t have to go, we’re going to head toward Kusane now?”

“Wait! Jinta!”

“A-ah, yes. Uh, please. Uh, the other peo… everyone can come too.”

Thus, guided by Jinta-san, who had suddenly changed his tune, we arrived at the cliff overlooking Otae Fuchi.

It was about a ten-minute walk from the inn, and Jinta-san broke a path through the snow for us.

I asked for more details along the way. Apparently, Hinatsuru-san threw herself off the cliff five years ago.

Jinta-san had lived next door to her, and since he was five years younger, he had played with her ever since he was a child.

At the time she went missing, she was 17 and Jinta-san was 12.

Incidentally, Jinta-san had no leads regarding the Miko attire either; he only shook his head when he heard my story.

“That… is the Suicide Rock.”

There stood a massive, pitch-black boulder, jutting out about a meter from the cliff edge.

From there, the pool at the bottom of the cliff looked to be about 50 meters down.

I see. It certainly is a prime spot for committing suicide.

But still. Why on earth am I sensing strange Mana coming from that rock?