Chapter 58
Chapter 58
3. The God of the Calling Tide
Apparently, the festival preparations were being held in the forest with the cracked stone and pillar. The thought of meeting the villagers again made me feel depressed.
The three of us walked along a path bathed in the thick glow of the setting sun.
The scenery of the village, which we hadn't seen when surrounded by villagers, was now clearly visible. Old houses, utility poles, and rusted debris by the roadside were all dusted with white salt.
When we reached the end of the overgrown forest path, the villagers were already gathered.
"There's no portable shrine or lanterns?"
Just as Reizei said, there was nothing that resembled a festival. The villagers were sitting on the ground, twisting white ropes. Maybe because many of them were fishermen, their hands moved skillfully as they worked the thick ropes like giant serpents.
The villagers noticed us and stopped what they were doing. Their whites of the eyes stood out against their dark faces, staring at us with murky glints. Their gazes asked, "Who are you?"
Before I could say anything, Kirima stepped forward. The villagers murmured.
"Ain't that Kirima's son?"
"Bringing some weirdo along."
Kirima stood utterly still like a stone statue. A skinny man stood up.
He looked too weak to fish—gaunt and gloomy—but like the others, his skin was dark.
"Back now, after all this time?"
"Esato......"
Behind the man was a pillar engraved with the same surname that had just been called. So he was one of the four great families too.
"Kirima's turn to serve as Ouzu-sama hasn't come around for a while, so you came back feeling safe, huh?"
"No, I came back for work......"
"A detective? Who're you gonna arrest? Everyone?"
"It's just an investigation."
"We're the culprits, and the villagers are the victims. You haven't forgotten what our ancestors did, right? We found the god. We have to take responsibility for that."
Reizei, who had been standing in the corner, narrowed her eyes.
Esato crept closer, and Kirima stepped back.
"Kirima, man up. You know what? Ueto's parents died at sea. It's her turn to be Ouzu-sama, but at this rate, her family line will die out."
Kirima turned pale. I stepped between them. When I pushed Esato's bony stomach, he staggered easily.
"Uyuu, stop!"
I brushed off Kirima's attempt to stop me. Esato glared at me with hostility.
"Outsiders shouldn't butt in. You don't even understand what we're talking about."
"I don't. But I don't like your attitude."
"Uyuu!"
"Stop, before the festival......"
A quiet woman's voice rang out. A woman stood leaning against a pillar. Her skin, peeking out from her indigo-dyed blouse and skirt, was a bit lighter than the other villagers.
Kirima murmured softly.
"Ueto......"
The woman smiled weakly. Esato shook his head in resignation and walked away.
Reizei approached instead.
"Uyuu, that was amazing. Like a thug. But it was kinda cool."
Reizei gave a thumbs-up. What a hopeless woman.
I lowered my voice.
"Ueto's the next Ouzu-sama, right?"
"Yeah. Something about her family line dying out."
"You've got sharp ears, huh."
Kirima and the woman stood facing each other. Kirima looked awkward and lowered his head, while the woman called Ueto silently fiddled with her sandals.
"There's a weird vibe between them."
"Maybe she's an ex."
"Seriously?"
I felt someone's gaze and turned around to find Esato and the villagers glaring at me like they wanted to burn a hole through me.
Reizei had already moved toward the pillar and was boldly inspecting the stones and ropes.
Of all places, Kirima's was the most comfortable. I ignored the villagers and headed over there.
"Renjirou, how many years has it been? I thought you'd never come back."
The woman called Ueto smiled shyly. Was she really an ex?
"Yeah... About your parents, is it true?"
"Yes, the boat capsized. We had outsourced the fish processing and were leaving the village on our own boat. They were used to bad weather and let their guard down. My younger brother was with them too."
"I don't know what to say... Are you managing okay?"
"Everyone's helping me. Because I'm from the Ueto family."
Ueto's sandal slipped off and flew toward Kirima. He bent down to pick it up and handed it back to her.
"You didn't have to."
Ueto placed her bare foot on the ground and stared down at the sandal in her hand.
"You heard, right? I'm the next Ouzu-sama. That's fine. It's something we have to do. But..."
The woman tossed the sandal aside and clung to Kirima's arm.
"Renjirou, are you going back to Tokyo again? Won't you stay here?"
Ueto had her back turned to me, so I couldn't see her face, but from her trembling voice and Kirima's flustered expression, I could tell this was serious.
"If I become Ouzu-sama, our family will end. But if I have a child, maybe they'll let us wait."
"What are you saying......"
"Please, Renjirou. We're the same, right? Even if we go to Tokyo, we're together. All of our families are..."
I thought I heard the word "sinners."
I tripped over something at my feet and fell flat on my face.
Damn it. It was a sacred rope. The villagers must be glaring at me again.
Kirima and Ueto looked over in surprise. I gave them a foolish grin.
"Hey there......"
The woman let go of Kirima's hand and quietly stepped back.
Around us, people began lighting bonfires, and the sparks drifted in the wind.
Kirima sighed in exasperation.
"Can't you sit still for even one second?"
The sleeve of my dress shirt was wrinkled in the shape of the woman's hand.
"Pull yourself together, Dad. I'll tell Rei."
Kirima smacked me hard on the back.
As I stumbled forward, Ueto was still there, and I flinched.
"So you have a child."
The woman smiled. Backlit by the bonfire, she looked like a ghost.
"That doesn't change anything, does it?"
Reizei spoke, looking up at the stain on the ceiling.
We had returned to Kirima's house and were gathered around a table in the guest room. It felt like we were holding a strategy meeting in enemy territory.
"We're counting on you, folklorist."
"I really don't know."
Reizei grabbed one of my cigarettes like it was hers.
"Normally, serving the god would be considered an honor, no matter the pretense. But with Ouzu-sama, that sense is completely absent. It looks more like a punishment or a duty someone has no choice but to accept."
"A punishment, huh......"
The rope entwined around the stone really did resemble something meant to bind a sinner.
"Kirima, why does your family hold power in the village?"
Kirima sat with a sullen face, arms crossed.
"Our four families, including mine, were originally outsiders who moved here."
"Outsiders became noble families?"
"It's a story from the Edo or Meiji era. I don't know the details."
"Was Showa the era after Meiji?"
When I cut in, Kirima shook his head and said, "Idiot."
Reizei jumped in right after.
"What came after Showa again?"
"Don't you start too. How would I know the name of a future era?"
Brushed off by Kirima, Reizei looked genuinely shocked. She was a strange woman.
"Anyway, it seems our ancestors drifted here and taught the village techniques and fishing methods it didn't have. The village prospered, and the four families were celebrated. That's why they grew arrogant."
Kirima crushed his cigarette in the glass ashtray.
"They even stepped into the forbidden cave among the rocks, a place the villagers never entered. That's where the God of the Calling Tide was."
At some point, my mouth had opened. My tongue and lips were dry.
"Just like Reizei said, the God of the Calling Tide is incomprehensible. Apparently, someone is needed to receive divine revelations to probe its will and see if it poses a threat to the village."
"So the responsibility of finding the god rotates among the four families?"
"What a messed-up story. No matter what the parents did, the kids shouldn't have to bear the blame."
Kirima didn't answer and stared down at the cigarette butt crushed like a caterpillar.
Reizei crossed her legs.
"Anyway, it seems the only way to get to the truth is to participate in the festival."
Just as Kirima's face darkened further, the sliding door of the guest room opened. Kirima's mother was standing there.
"Renjirou, Ueto's daughter didn't make it."
"What?"
"She hanged herself at home. By the time the doctor arrived, she wasn't breathing."
Kirima's lips trembled on his pale face.
Lit by the fluorescent light, Kirima's mother wore an expressionless face like a Noh mask.
I never expected any real emotions from these people. But wasn't Ueto supposed to be the next Ouzu-sama? Why is she so calm?
Reizei broke the silence.
"Then, what about the festival?"
She really doesn't hesitate to ask the hard questions.
"About that,"
Kirima's mother moved her head without changing her expression.
"Is there someone named 'Reizei' among you?"