Chapter 121
Chapter 121
2. The Sukui God
Akitsu opened her mobile device while swaying on the slow train.
It had come to exist quite naturally in this world. In the previous world, where gods hindered technological innovation, such a thing would have been unthinkable.
Akitsu typed into the search bar on the screen.
The Feeding God evil god exorcise term of address
Beside her, Miyaki let out a wry smile.
"This isn't a taxi, you know... They won't just come when called."
The God of Bountiful Harvest crossed his legs on the seat and laughed.
"Don't bother. That flying furball with drumstrings on its head can't beat me."
"They're not drumstrings, they're antennae."
"It came to bother me once, so I took a bite, but it reeked of mulberry leaves and the scales stuck to my throat—I couldn't eat it. I ended up spitting it out."
"You..."
Akitsu glared at the man to her left as if she had bitten into something bitter, then shook her head.
"Miyaki, has Uyuu been okay since then? It seems he gets sick when exposed to the evil god's aura."
"He was still unsteady, so I called my father and had him take Uyuu home."
"Kirima did...?"
"My dad tilted his head and said, 'For some reason, it doesn't feel like it's my first time taking care of this guy.'"
When Miyaki smiled shyly, Akitsu couldn't help but lift the corners of her mouth too.
"I'm glad... Maybe someday, something will trigger his memories. I don't know if that's a good thing, though."
"I think there are a lot of things between my father and Uyuu that I don't know about. I hope the time comes when they can talk properly, but Uyuu probably won't agree to it."
"Yeah. He'll probably say a life lived happily without getting involved with gods is the proper way."
"That's true..."
Miyaki lowered her gaze and rested her head against the windowpane.
The train carrying two gods and one human continued forward. The vintage red leather seats swayed heavily with the uneven tracks bitten by tree roots.
When the three disembarked, dense trees lined up right past the unmanned station gate.
The deep green shadows gave the whole forest a bluish hue, and the cold wind added to the sacred atmosphere, as if cut off from the outside world.
Miyaki looked around and stopped her gaze on an old wooden sign.
"Ketsu, huh..."
Akitsu stood beside her and glared at the faded calligraphy, barely legible.
"Speaking of Ketsu, in ancient China, he was the last emperor of the Xia dynasty. A tyrant known for drowning in wine and flesh, and killing his people. Sounds like someone I know."
"I only like meat. Eating it, that is."
The God of Bountiful Harvest shrugged his shoulders.
"Akitsu, do you know anything about this god too?"
Akitsu shook her head.
"Since the world changed, there are gods I've never heard of everywhere. I think the concept of gods itself has changed, and many are now outside my jurisdiction. Sorry I'm not much help."
"That's not true! Field research was always our main duty. That hasn't changed even if the world has."
"You're right. We have to do what we can."
"This is the perfect time to put to use all those times Katagishi made us do interviews! I'll go check around the sign for any clues."
Miyaki clenched her fist slightly, but her smile carried a faint shadow.
Akitsu watched her back gloomily. Purple smoke brushed against her pigmented cheek.
Akitsu turned her sorrow into anger and glared to the side.
"Bountiful, don't smoke cigarettes in the mountains. What if it causes a fire?"
"Don't worry, I'll put the villagers out of their misery before they're choked by the smoke."
The God of Bountiful Harvest lowered his mask and bared his teeth.
"I'm fair, as you can see. Believers or skeptics, they're all just food to me. But what about you? When a god gets attached to a particular person, it becomes a real mess."
"...Was that a warning, or are you trying to give me a hint about the god here?"
"Who knows?"
Akitsu furrowed her brow and turned on her heel as if to escape the clinging purple smoke.
As she walked down the dim, blurry forest path like an old photo negative, a particularly thick trunk came into view through the gaps in the trees.
Akitsu let out a thin breath.
"That's it."
The three moved forward.
Miyaki kicked off the mud clinging to the toes of her pumps. This sensation was familiar. Katagishi, who always walked ahead to shield her in emergencies without saying a word, wasn't here.
Miyaki quickened her pace, shaking off her distractions.
Beyond the clearing stood a massive tree piercing the sea of deep green clouds.
Its strangeness wasn't just in its size. The trunk was gnarled, and its bumps looked like human abdomens or limbs. The swollen knots and hollows seemed like countless human heads screaming.
And at the top, hidden by leaves, were four branches—two thick and muscular, two thin and frail—stretching out from either side like overlapping arms.
Miyaki looked up and murmured.
"It's... ominous, somehow..."
"Yeah. According to the stories, it hasn't committed any evil acts, but it still feels unsettling for some reason."
The giant tree swayed in the wind and rustled in response.
The God of Bountiful Harvest silently stared at the tree, then suddenly approached its base, bared his fangs, and bit into the trunk.
"What are you doing?! That could be a sacred object!"
"That's why I'm checking."
The rustling of the trees grew louder. The sound of branches rubbing together echoed like low thunder.
Akitsu grabbed Miyaki's shoulder.
"Let's go. I don't care if he gets struck by lightning, but I don't want to get caught in it."
"Would a god really be judged by thunder?"
The God of Bountiful Harvest spat out the saliva-soaked bark.
The three stepped back slightly from the tree and opened the report.
Miyaki stared at the fine print and groaned.
"Bountiful... I heard the general outline from Toyoyama, but the Territorial Divine Offenses here are called the Sukui God, right?"
"Is that a character modern humans still use?"
"Not commonly. It seems to be a character used in Buddhist measurements, like carrying or measuring things by hand, but it doesn't really match the legend of this god."
Akitsu nodded in agreement.
"I thought so too. A god's name should reflect its nature. But there's no tale of the Sukui God carrying or measuring anything."
"According to the story, this god protected the village in response to the wish of a girl who was sacrificed, right? It really doesn't fit."
The God of Bountiful Harvest spoke while picking off wood chips stuck between his many rows of teeth.
"Miyamoto, got something on your mind?"
"It's Miyaki."
Akitsu, clearly annoyed, cut in, "He's got low resolution when it comes to individual humans."
Miyaki blinked.
"That might actually be correct."
"Did you change your name recently?"
"No. People often mistake my surname as Miyamoto. Especially on smudged printouts. That sign was faded too, right?"
"Yeah, it's been that way for ages. There was even a time it got linked to mountain-related words like Ketsu or Gatsu."
Miyaki stared down the report.
"When I think of kanji with 'Ketsu,' I can come up with more familiar ones, but none of them match the god's legend. Like Toyoyama said earlier, there might be a link to thunder and divine punishment..."
Suddenly, a man's angry voice rang out from beyond the forest.
"Cut it out already, you idiot! You're so damn slow!"
His voice, filled with contempt and irritation, bounced off the trees. Miyaki and the others flinched.
Stumbling over tree roots, a worn-out woman with disheveled hair approached. A man followed behind, pushing her along.
He looked serious at first glance, but his face was twisted with rage.
"I left work to come here, you know. You don't even earn anything and just get in the way. Who do you think is feeding you?!"
"It's just a little longer..."
"That's all you ever say!"
"Some people came by truck and dumped trash near that tree... I thought it might be a problem since this land is yours now..."
"Yeah, I heard that already! Damn it, I only married a woman like you because I thought I'd get some land, but this backwater's worthless, and now there's illegal dumping too."
"I'm sorry..."
Miyaki whispered to Akitsu.
"Are they a married couple?"
"Probably. That husband gives off a nasty vibe."
"Yes... Did you see any of the trash that woman mentioned?"
"I didn't see anything..."
The woman pushed through the forest and stepped toward the great tree.
"It's here."
"Don't screw with me, there's nothing here!"
As the man shouted, he struck his wife across the face. Her emaciated body, like a withered tree, collapsed to the ground.
"Are you mocking me?!"
The sharp sound of a blow echoed, then turned into the soft sound of torn flesh soaked with blood. The woman trembled with each impact, lying prone.
Miyaki pressed her lips tightly together.
"I'll go stop him."
It happened the moment she took a step forward.
A thunderclap tore through the forest. Pale blue light blinded the surroundings.
Miyaki reflexively shut her eyes.
"Miyaki!"
When she opened her eyes at Akitsu's voice, the lightning had stopped, and a sacred silence returned to the forest.
Not only Miyaki, but Akitsu also swallowed hard.
The man who had been beating his wife at the base of the great tree was gone.
He had vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there.
As Miyaki and the others stood in stunned silence, the woman sat up. Wiping the blood from her nose and the mud from her face, she curled her lips in a mocking smile.
"Goodbye, dear."
Dragging her feet, the woman calmly left the forest.
"That man... disappeared...?"
Miyaki looked around. Her wandering gaze stopped at a single point.
The God of Bountiful Harvest let out a strained laugh.
"I see..."
A new burl had grown on the trunk of the great tree, one that hadn't been there before.
The knot of reddish bark squirmed faintly. The hollow looked like eyes, a nose, and a mouth crying out in agony.
The twisted contours resembled the man who had vanished.