Chapter 69: …I Can Hear the Festival Music
“But Gouto-kun does have one weakness… or maybe it’s more accurate to call it a bad habit. If we exploit that, we might actually be able to get through this village peacefully.”
“Oh?”
At this point, it was almost certain.
Whether they liked it or not, they were about to be dragged into a full-fledged summer test of courage in this village.
And the one orchestrating it behind the curtain…
Without question…
Was her childhood friend.
Having laid out her prediction of Gouto’s current position and what she believed he was trying to accomplish, Meiko finally revealed what she considered his greatest flaw.
“Gouto-kun is weak against things that exceed his expectations.”
“…Yeah.”
Taketsuru slowly nodded.
“I can kind of see that. Back during that… Doggaki—”
“There’s no such person.”
“…Right. Anyway, during that incident, he definitely gave off that sort of impression.”
Of course…
That weakness wasn’t exactly unique.
Everyone lived by making predictions about what lay ahead.
As long as someone wasn’t wandering through life without thinking about tomorrow at all, unexpected developments naturally threw them off balance.
It was a weakness shared by virtually every human being.
But after bringing up such an ordinary observation…
Meiko continued.
“The thing is, if reality falls below Gouto-kun’s expectations, he just gets irritated. That’s not the important part. What really matters is when something exceeds what he imagined…”
“…Then what?”
“He admires it.”
She smiled knowingly.
“And once he admires it… he’s satisfied.”
She searched for the right comparison.
“It’s like the mastermind behind a death game becoming so impressed by the participants that he voluntarily ends the game.”
“…So he really is the mastermind.”
Taketsuru deadpanned.
The two of them continued talking about him however they pleased.
Still…
There was some truth to the idea.
If someone envisioned one happy ending…
And another person presented an ending that was objectively even better…
Then anyone with common sense ought to abandon their original plan.
Someone who stubbornly rejected the superior outcome simply because it wasn’t their idea…
Was choosing pride over results.
That wasn’t conviction.
It was narrow-mindedness.
“So…” Meiko concluded, “if we can reach the answer faster than Gouto-kun expects—if we surpass the scenario he’s prepared—I have a feeling he’ll simply give up on forcing us through the test of courage. That’s probably what we should aim for. Honestly…” She sighed. “I’d rather not come back from summer vacation completely exhausted…”
“Makes sense.”
Taketsuru folded his arms.
“So… any idea what Gouto’s expecting? Or how we’re supposed to exceed it?”
“No clue.”
She laughed helplessly.
“Maybe he wants us to solve the mystery. Or maybe he wants us to get scared out of our minds. Oh! How about this? Taketsuru-kun draws the Holy Sword and cuts down this local guardian deity.”
“I’d rather avoid killing a god who’s done absolutely nothing to deserve it.”
Apparently…
Even Taketsuru had no desire to spend his modern-day vacation becoming a one-man massacre machine.
As for Meiko…
Her true feelings were considerably simpler.
Forget haunted villages.
Forget traditional customs.
Forget tests of courage.
“Can’t I just have one peaceful summer vacation?”
She understood perfectly well what her childhood friend wanted.
Even so…
She wished he’d allow her a little time to rest.
It was less the complaint of a carefree university student…
And more the weary sigh of an overworked office lady desperately wishing for a proper holiday.
Which, in its own way…
Spoke volumes about how stressful her everyday life had become.
“Taketsuru-san! Meiko-san! There’s something I want to tell you!”
The voice belonged to Kuwajima.
She had been happily splashing around in the stream until moments ago.
As Taketsuru and Meiko approached, Kuwajima smiled brightly while holding hands with Miya, the village chief’s granddaughter.
Apparently, the two had become surprisingly close.
“We got some important information from Miya-chan.”
“Oh?”
“This village has worshipped a local guardian deity for generations. Miya-chan said her family has served that deity for a very long time. Even the Bon Festival…” She looked toward Miya for confirmation. “…is actually held in honor of that god.”
“…Ah.”
Meiko rubbed her forehead.
“So this really is looking like the genuine Traditional Customs Village route.”
One more piece had fallen into place.
Whatever role the villagers were performing…
There was now a strong possibility that something genuinely supernatural existed in this village.
Taketsuru, however, reacted very differently.
“…I see.”
His expression grew thoughtful.
“So… the one Kirishiro took with him earlier… was probably the guardian deity.”
Meiko blinked.
“…Huh? What do you mean? You noticed something?”
“…Well…”
Taketsuru scratched his head awkwardly before speaking in a quieter voice.
“When Gouto said he was splitting off… The granddaughter he took with him… I don’t know… She just felt… kind of… not human. It wasn’t anything definite. I just had this vague feeling. Like… her presence was somehow different. But I’m terrible at sensing those kinds of things. So I figured I was imagining it.”
Inside her own head, Meiko groaned.
Taketsuru-kun really does act like the protagonist sometimes…
You could’ve mentioned that sooner…
Then again…
It wasn’t exactly fair to blame him.
Without absolute certainty…
Who could possibly ask the village chief,
“Excuse me, but is your granddaughter actually human?”
Anyone who did that would immediately be branded the village lunatic.
After all…
The truth and the socially acceptable answer weren’t always the same thing.
“So then, Tae-chan. Anything else about this guardian deity?”
“Miya-chan said people call it…”
She looked down at the little girl.
“…the God of Mori, right?”
“Uh-huh!”
Miya nodded energetically.
“I secretly listened when Grandpa was talking. He kept saying something about mori. And the nursery song is about that god, too!”
As expected…
The nursery rhyme remained the key.
The one who spoke up this time was Niwashita-san.
“…’God of Mori,’ huh… If you take it literally, you’d think it means ‘God of the Forest.’ But…”
She frowned.
“The lyrics don’t really match that interpretation.”
“Sumire-neesan, did they give you a copy of the song?”
“No. So I asked Miya-chan to sing it. I couldn’t remember every line perfectly, but if I had to summarize…”
She thought for a moment.
“It’s about… ‘A land where one may finally rest. You no longer need to suffer. Wounded souls return home.’ Something along those lines. It’s less about giving thanks for nature… and more like… a place of peace after war… Mori…”
Taketsuru murmured.
“What if it isn’t 森—‘forest’—but 守り—‘protection’ or ‘guardian’? Like sakimori or mamoribito. If it’s a god that grants strength to protectors… then it’d be pretty troublesome if we ended up opposing it.”
He grimaced.
“War-related gods… never make easy opponents.”
Among everyone present…
Taketsuru alone possessed firsthand experience with genuinely supernatural beings from another world.
He understood better than anyone how dangerous such an existence could become if it stood against you.
Making a powerful warrior even stronger wasn’t especially frightening.
That merely amounted to giving someone better equipment.
But…
Turning ordinary villagers…
Into trained soldiers…
That was terrifying.
Wars were almost never decided by single combat.
They were won through numbers.
And anything capable of instantly multiplying the number of capable fighters on one side…
Was monstrously unfair.
“…If the worst happens… and every villager suddenly becomes soldier-level… can I protect Sumire-neesan by myself?”
He let out a breath.
“No… I’ll just have to.”
“Taketsuru-kun, calm down.”
Meiko quickly interrupted.
“We haven’t entered a route where we fight the villagers. We haven’t even spent one night here yet. Even if something’s going to happen… we should at least be safe until the festival.”
“Oh!”
Miya suddenly raised a finger.
“Grandpa also said… They won’t offer the sacrifice until the festival.”
“…Hahaha.”
Meiko forced a smile.
“Thanks for making this village sound even more like a Traditional Customs Village, Miya-chan.”
For a brief moment…
Both she and Taketsuru seriously wondered.
Could this actually be a real Traditional Customs Village?
Even if it was…
There remained one comforting thought.
If nothing would happen before the festival…
Then, conversely…
They should be perfectly safe until then.
If the villagers truly planned something during the festival…
They would probably continue treating their guests with impeccable hospitality beforehand.
That was the reassuring conclusion both of them had just managed to reach.
Then…
Kuwajima ruined everything.
“But…”
She tilted her head innocently.
“Isn’t Kirishiro-kun currently doing everything he can to move the festival forward?”
“…”
Meiko slowly covered her face.
“…Please stop, Tae-chan.”
“I suddenly have a really bad feeling.”
“…Even he can’t possibly manage that.”
Taketsuru laughed awkwardly.
“…Right?”
The three of them exchanged painfully forced smiles.
Then…
The person among them with by far the greatest knowledge of folklore quietly muttered:
“…Even if they can’t hold the entire festival… they could probably perform only the essential ritual. That wouldn’t take very long.”
“…Please stop, Sumire-neesan.”
Taketsuru groaned.
“My bad feeling just shifted into top gear and blasted down the back straight.”
“…Mine too.”
Kuwajima hugged herself.
“My back is already getting cold…”
“…Sorry.”
Sumire laughed sheepishly.
Seeing the mood sink lower and lower…
Kuwajima hurriedly tried to brighten things up.
“W-Well! Why don’t we calm down by listening to the nursery rhyme? Miya-chan sings it really well. Right, Miya-chan? Would you sing it for us?”
“Ehh?”
Miya grinned.
“One hundred yen per performance.”
“…You charge?”
No.
She refused to undersell her art.
The twins of this Traditional Customs Village possessed admirable professional pride.
After Kuwajima promised,
“I’ll pay you once we get back to the inn,”
the deal was struck.
And so…
Miya began to sing.
Clearly.
Softly.
The old nursery rhyme echoed gently through the forest.
“…You know…”
Taketsuru let out a quiet breath once the song ended.
“It feels less like a song about war… and more like a requiem. It actually calmed me down.”
“Exactly.”
Meiko smiled.
“I knew it. There probably isn’t some route where we end up fighting the entire village.”
“…You’re right.”
Kuwajima yawned.
“It was so soothing… I’m actually getting sleepy.”
The group felt a little embarrassed.
Only moments earlier, they’d been imagining the worst possible scenarios.
But the song wasn’t threatening.
It soothed.
It comforted.
It gently whispered that fighting was over.
That there was no longer any need to struggle.
Even if the guardian deity turned out to be something less than wholly benevolent…
The song still made one feel…
That picking a fight from the very beginning would be the wrong approach.
“…We should head back.”
Taketsuru looked toward the sky.
“It’ll be getting dark soon.”
Everyone agreed.
The relentless chorus of cicadas that had filled the summer afternoon was gradually fading into the distance.
They had just emerged from the forest…
When Meiko suddenly stopped.
“…Hey. Do you hear that?”
“…Hear what?”
Kuwajima blinked.
“I don’t hear anything.”
“You don’t mean the cicadas, do you?”
True to her usual self…
Kuwajima noticed nothing.
Even Sumire simply tilted her head.
But there was someone else here whose senses rivaled Meiko’s.
“…Festival music.”
Taketsuru answered quietly.
“I can hear it.”
“…Taketsuru-kun.”
Meiko stared.
“You’re joking…”
“I’m not.”
“Tae-chan… it’s really there.”
“…Ehh…”
Kuwajima looked completely bewildered.
“Kirishiro-kun…”
“…No way…”
Yet both Meiko and Taketsuru heard it unmistakably.
A heavy drum echoed somewhere in the distance.
Once they focused…
A flute joined it.
The unmistakable sounds of a festival in full swing.
Not a small village celebration.
Something grand enough to sound as though the entire village had gathered together.
“…Let’s go.”
Taketsuru made the decision.
Meiko nodded.
Sumire remained as relaxed as ever.
Only Kuwajima protested.
“Um… I still have no idea what’s happening… Shouldn’t we just run away? It’s summer. The worst that happens is we spend the night outdoors. We won’t die.”
“…I’d love to.”
Taketsuru sighed.
“But Kirishiro’s definitely plotting something. And if there’s even the slightest chance… I can’t just leave him behind. If anything happens… We’ll have to save Gouto-kun too.”
Meiko smiled gently.
“Tae-chan… If you don’t want to come… you can run.”
“…N-no way!”
Kuwajima immediately shook her head.
“Being left alone here sounds way scarier!”
Having made up their minds…
The four of them began walking.
The cries of the evening cicadas gradually replaced those of the afternoon ones.
The summer sunset painted the forest gold.
Sweat beaded across their foreheads.
Step by step…
Taketsuru.
Meiko.
Kuwajima.
And Sumire.
All headed toward the guesthouse where they were supposed to be spending the night.
At the entrance to the village…
Rows of red lanterns hung beneath the eaves.
The festival music had grown loud enough to feel almost within arm’s reach.
Countless villagers crowded together as though celebrating the liveliest festival imaginable.
The delicious scent of sweet treats and savory sauces drifted through the evening air, teasing their empty stomachs.
For one fleeting moment…
The words Traditional Customs Village…
And test of courage…
Almost disappeared from their minds.
They stood…
Right before that dazzling scene.
And waiting there for them…
Was—
“Took you long enough. As you can see… The festival is being held today. So first… enjoy yourselves to your heart’s content… at this village’s final festival.”
Yes.
Me.
Allow me…
To welcome you properly.
This night…
Marks the beginning of the test of courage…
Prepared especially for all of you.
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“My Clairvoyance (Village) Isn’t Meant for Peeping, You Know!”
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【Me @ Apparently Appraisal Skill★】
Comment: So all of everyone’s inner monologues up to this point were basically just voice-over narration…?
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I may not understand what society calls a “normal person.”
That doesn’t mean I’m incapable of logically imagining how other people think.
Quite the opposite.