Chapter 57
Chapter 57
2. The God of the Calling Tide
After the madness that felt like it would last forever finally ended, the three of us were invited to Kirima's family home.
I was still in a daze. The screams lingered in my eardrums.
The cracked stones, the pillar with Kirima's family name, the villagers' voices. I've seen plenty of strange gods and humans in bizarre villages, but this is the first time I've encountered such insanity.
Did Kirima really grow up in a village like this?
The woman walking ahead with a calm demeanor had thick eyebrows and upturned eyes that definitely resembled Kirima.
The house we arrived at was a wooden structure that looked damp and clammy. There was a white, dried stain on the roof that looked like semen. Maybe it was the sea breeze.
Looking up at the well-maintained hedge, Reizei spoke.
"Is that a Himeyuzuriha?"
For the first time, Kirima's mother looked at someone other than her son.
"You're quite knowledgeable. Everyone in our village plants it because it's resistant to sea winds."
As the woman rattled the sagging door, Kirima stepped in to open it for her.
"It opens right away when you do it. What an ungrateful door."
The woman's back as she wiped her sweat and entered the house looked like that of an ordinary mother.
The house was unusually spacious. A long, dark hallway stretched from the entrance, seemingly endless. There were countless sliding doors on both sides. As I took off my shoes, my dirty sneakers felt out of place, and I tucked them into a corner.
"Somen's fine, right? Renjirou, you help too. You two, take a rest. There's a guest room."
The woman briskly walked down the hallway and opened one of the sliding doors without stopping. Kirima lightly tapped my shoulder and disappeared into the back with his mother.
The guest room, with its frosted glass windows shut tight, had a stagnant air. It felt like the waiting room of a crematorium—quiet and oppressively heavy.
The only modern and out-of-place thing in the purely Japanese-style room was the air conditioner.
Reizei quickly grabbed a cushion from beside the table and sat down. I sat cross-legged beside her.
"This village is nuts."
"Yes, I had a brighter image of fishing villages."
Reizei spread her skirt and crossed her legs, and I averted my eyes.
"Hey, this house is seriously rich, right?"
"Probably one of the village's influential families. Their name was written on that pillar."
"Like putting up a statue? Though it looked more like a grave tablet."
"True."
Reizei traced the edge of the table and looked at the dirt on her finger.
"Don't act like a mother-in-law."
"Like, 'Oh my, so much dust left'? No, it's sand."
It was indeed light brown sand stuck to the pad of her finger.
"I heard the sea breeze is intense here. Maybe the sand gets in too."
"There was a novel like that, wasn't there?"
"Never heard of it."
"A man visits a desert village, gets captured by the villagers, and ends up living in a pit."
"Don't say creepy stuff like that."
Kirima appeared carrying a glass bowl, and his mother followed with a tray.
Kirima's bowl was piled with somen, and his mother's tray held tempura. The somen was topped with canned mandarin oranges.
"Whoa, fruit on noodles. Rich people do things differently."
"Idiot."
Kirima elbowed me and placed the bowl on the table. Reizei craned her neck to look.
"Where's the lady of the house?"
"No way. She won't eat with outsiders. Gotta wake up Dad too."
Kirima glanced sideways at his mother.
"What about Dad?"
"Taking a nap. There's festival prep tonight."
"When's the festival?"
"Who knows. As soon as Ouzu-sama passes away. Next is Ueto, so we have to inform their side too."
The woman placed the tempura down and quickly turned on her heels.
After handing us chopsticks and bowls, Kirima sat across from us.
"Sorry. This village is messed up."
"It's not your fault."
"So you admit it's weird, huh?"
When I glared at her, Reizei shrugged.
We slurped the somen. Unsure if I should dip the mandarin into the noodle sauce, I did it anyway and regretted the salty-sweet mix.
Reizei bit into the wakame tempura and spoke.
"Can you tell us about the village now?"
Kirima pushed aside the bowl with somen still floating in it and pulled over an ashtray.
"I don't know the details. I ran away without trying to understand the whole picture. That's on me. Plus, there are biases and assumptions you can't see from outside. So don't believe everything."
Kirima struck his lighter, furrowed his brow, and stared at the smoke like in prayer.
"Since ancient times, four families have managed the village rituals. My family, Ueto, Masu, and Esato."
"Those were the names written on the pillar by the stones, right?"
"What are the rituals? You mentioned a festival."
"You probably guessed from your work, but the village worships a god. The God of the Calling Tide. It calms rough seas and brings bountiful catches. A common tale."
"Since it's our job, I guess there's an uncommon part too, huh?"
"There's a priest-like figure who receives the oracle of the God of the Calling Tide. They're called Ouzu-sama..."
Kirima tapped the cigarette on the edge of the ashtray.
"Uzu, like a whirlpool?"
Reizei cut in.
"It can also mean noble or grand."
"Probably both meanings. At the end of the festival, the person chosen as the next Ouzu-sama is taken to the whirlpool. Once they become Ouzu-sama, they sever all ties with the villagers as a servant of the god."
"To preserve the mystique."
"Sounds shady."
Reizei put down her chopsticks.
"So, 'next' means Ouzu-sama is a rotating position?"
"Yeah. When the previous one dies, someone is chosen from the four families. If things haven't changed since I left... it's someone from the Esato family now."
Kirima made a face like he was enduring pain.
The somen swelled in my stomach, and I lost my appetite.
I reached for a cigarette, and Reizei extended her hand from the side.
"May I? I forgot to buy some before we boarded the boat."
"Sure. But this is the first time someone's stolen my smoke. I'm usually the one stealing."
"A valuable experience."
"You're both idiots."
Kirima finally relaxed his brow. He'd looked troubled ever since we arrived in this village. I couldn't think of anything to say.
The air conditioner stirred the smoke from all three of us.
Blowing smoke at the wood grain on the ceiling, Reizei spoke.
"How is the festival carried out?"
"The villagers carry sacred ropes and ring bells as they lead the next Ouzu-sama to the sea cave. Only a select few go beyond that point, so the rest is unknown..."
"That's enough."
Reizei brushed aside her long hair.
"The God of the Calling Tide seems deeply connected to life and death."
"Why do you think that?"
"I heard the village plants Himeyuzuriha. It's associated with generational continuity because it sheds old leaves all at once and grows new ones."
"Just like Ouzu-sama."
"Yes, and the name 'Calling Tide.' The god seems to live in the sea, so it might mean calling it forth. Also, they ring bells during the festival, right?"
"Yeah, I think that's pretty common."
"There's a custom of calling out names or ringing bells near the ears of the dead to revive them."
"And that brings them back to life?"
"Probably just wakes them from a near-death state. They didn't have autopsies back then. That ritual is called 'soul-calling.'"
Ash fell from Kirima's cigarette. A low voice muttered, "I see," echoing through the guest room.
I shake my head.
"But everything still feels blurry. What kind of god is it in the end, and why do we need Ouzu-sama?"
"We don't know at this point. But we will find out. After all, the festival is coming up, right?"
Kirima gave a solemn nod.
"Outsiders aren't allowed, but if I'm there, we might be able to manage."
"Will that really be enough?"
"If it's not, then it's your turn."
Reizei closed one eye.
"You're someone who can see, right?"
"......It's not just seeing."
I didn't say it.
Ever since coming to the Kirima household, the sound of a child's singing heard on the boat had continued to echo.