Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Interlude: The Bat God, Part One (Investigators: Katagishi Daigo, Umemura Mamoru)
"But the craziest thing lately was that occult magazine. It said some high-ranking government officials were possessed by divine messengers. Totally insane, right? And when I checked what it actually said, it was like, 'We'll sell you glasses to identify them for a hundred thousand yen.' Total scam. I freaked out for nothing. In the end, people are the scariest, don't you think? Don't you agree, Katagishi?"
The endless stream of words from Umemura, sitting in the passenger seat, finally came to a stop, and Katagishi nodded vaguely.
"Yeah..."
"You seem down."
"No, I just try to stay focused while driving... Especially since I've got you with me, Umemura-san..."
"You don't have to be so uptight. We're partners today. Let's just relax."
"I can't really do that..."
Katagishi wiped the sweat from his hands off the steering wheel with his shirt sleeve and sighed. There were faint droplets on the windshield.
How did it come to this? It all started with the recent investigation into the Unseen God that he conducted with Miyaki.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the higher-ups had finally decided to launch a large-scale search for the missing persons.
For someone like Misaki, it was a welcome development, but it was unexpected that the higher-ups would personally join the investigators for on-site fieldwork.
As a result, as a sort of rehearsal, Katagishi ended up accompanying Umemura Mamoru, a founding member of the special investigation division, to check a record of a certain Territorial Divine Offense.
"They really come up with troublesome ideas..."
Katagishi muttered so that the man beside him wouldn't hear. Umemura wasn't the arrogant and pompous superior he had imagined. On the contrary, he looked surprisingly youthful for someone in his mid-forties, talkative, and cheerful. Still, being talked to nonstop during the ride by a superior with such a different background and rank was exhausting.
It made him feel nostalgic for the awkward silence he once shared with Rokuhara during an investigation.
Before Umemura could open his mouth again, Katagishi spoke.
"So, what's this village's Territorial Divine Offense?"
"Didn't I tell you? It's the Bat God."
"I only heard a little. What kind of god is it, exactly?"
"Ah, it's one that escaped from our place about twenty years ago."
Katagishi's eyes widened.
"Escaped!? What do you mean? Wait, we had a Territorial Divine Offense?"
"Ah, I didn't mention that either? That's bad. Kirima's gonna be pissed later..."
Umemura scratched his forehead and spoke haltingly.
"Back in the day, there happened to be a Territorial Divine Offense near what would become the countermeasure headquarters, so we did a little investigating."
"Happened to be? A Territorial Divine Offense in Tokyo?"
"Don't dig too deep. In the end, things went south in all kinds of ways. We don't do that anymore. Kirima decided the special investigation division's policy is 'record only.'"
"So the current policy is based on regrets from the predecessor, huh."
"You said it. Yeah, something like that. A lot happened, really."
Katagishi sighed again. He sensed a sudden shadow in Umemura's tone and couldn't bring himself to pry further.
"Then just tell me what kind of god it is. Does 'bat' mean the animal?"
"No, not that. Kids these days probably don't get it, but 'bat' used to mean umbrella. It's actually a huge umbrella, just the frame. Probably close to three meters."
"Then why not just call it an umbrella? Why go out of your way?"
"Apparently, that's just what it's been called around here for ages."
"Umemura-san, you said it was a god in Tokyo, right?"
"Pretend you didn't hear that. That's an order from your superior."
Umemura shrugged.
The droplets on the windshield increased, and when Katagishi wiped them with the wipers, clear trails ran across the glass.
"This is going to be rough..."
Katagishi muttered and tilted the rearview mirror. Umemura said,
"If it's an umbrella god, maybe it'll come in handy. Looks like it's going to rain more."
but Katagishi pretended not to hear his laugh.
The road widened, and the houses lining both sides grew sparse.
The pale green of the roadside grass and the dark brown of the wooden houses all looked a shade duller under the shadow of the rain clouds.
When the clouds at the edge of the sky turned pitch black, Umemura in the passenger seat raised his voice.
"Ah, isn't that it?"
"What is?"
Katagishi slowed down and glared in the direction Umemura pointed. There was an old, weathered stone monument.
When they stopped the car, it was as dark as night. Though the rain wasn't heavy, the air was chilly. The sound of the wind echoed loudly.
Katagishi got out of the car first and headed toward the stone monument jutting out from the grass.
The rough surface of the stone was carved with "Bat Pass." On the back, there was a small inscription. It seemed to be a prayer for descendants' prosperity and children's longevity, but most of it was worn away and unreadable.
When he turned around, Umemura was still in the car.
Katagishi clicked his tongue and shouted loudly.
"Come on already. This might be a clue about the god here."
Umemura leaned out of the car window. Even from a distance, Katagishi could see he was breaking into a cold sweat for some reason.
"We might not need any clues..."
"What are you talking about?"
"The real thing's already here."
The pale-faced Umemura pointed upward.
Katagishi followed his gaze and gasped.
What looked like a rain cloud was floating above them.
A massive umbrella, about three meters in size, had a skeletal white frame like bones and a thin layer of black fabric stretched across it.
It was a giant umbrella.