Chapter 71: I Just Witnessed Terrible Discrimination Against a Local Deity
“I’m annoyed to admit it… but this is honestly just plain fun.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
The speaker in question was Kuwajima, currently armed with a skewer of grilled chicken in her right hand and an enormous cloud of cotton candy in her left.
If she’d been wearing a yukata with fireworks bursting overhead, she would’ve scored a perfect one hundred as the very picture of someone enjoying a summer festival.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t gone quite that far with the preparations.
Even so, the Kuwajima who had been worrying earlier about “being careful not to eat too much” had completely disappeared.
Now she was happily making the rounds with Niwashita-san, whom she’d apparently grown a little closer to over the past hour, and the two of them were fully immersed in the simple joy of eating everything in sight.
Meanwhile, Niwashita-san cheerfully popped takoyaki into her mouth without paying the slightest attention to the flakes of green aonori clinging to her lips.
Two beautiful women.
Smiling beneath rows of glowing lanterns.
Festival music drifting through the warm summer air.
The smoky scent from charcoal grills…
The lively chatter of countless visitors…
Even the inexpensive food sold at the stalls somehow tasted magical when seasoned with the atmosphere of a festival.
There was supposed to be a fireworks show near the villa where we’d originally planned to stay.
As a dress rehearsal for that…
A village of bizarre traditions was surprisingly perfect.
“That’s why I think you two, Taketsuru and Meiko, should stop worrying and enjoy yourselves like those two.”
“If that were so easy, we wouldn’t be struggling.”
“If you really want us to enjoy ourselves, start confessing.”
The two of them merely poked absentmindedly at their shaved ice.
Despite the festive atmosphere surrounding us, their minds were clearly elsewhere.
I wasn’t claiming that nothing would happen.
But it was equally troublesome for them to be utterly convinced that something would.
Well…
I hadn’t wanted to reveal too much of the backstage mechanics, but it couldn’t be helped.
“I want you both to think about this calmly. What exactly do you believe is going to happen during the festival?”
“Well…”
“A human sacrifice ceremony?”
“That’s taking things a little too far.”
If a modern summer festival suddenly included a human sacrifice ritual…
That would be well beyond becoming a police matter.
It would qualify as an outright supernatural phenomenon.
…Though, admittedly, the village police belonged to the side that upheld the village’s strange traditions.
“The truth is, events in a village like this actually take a surprising amount of time to unfold. That’s because traditions aren’t simply rules—they’re rooted deep within people’s hearts. Changing people’s feelings isn’t something that happens overnight. Even after this festival, we still haven’t triggered any of the events connected to those traditions, have we?”
“Well, we only got here today.”
“Exactly. Even for me, pushing things all the way to the point where the villagers decide to offer us as sacrifices in only a few hours would be incredibly difficult. That’s the first thing I want you to understand.”
That was exactly right.
We had only arrived today.
Normally, when outsiders wandered into a village like this, they would spend several days experiencing countless strange incidents, most of which were improvised by the villagers themselves.
At first glance, those incidents appeared completely random, almost as though there were no overarching story at all.
But in reality…
There was always a carefully prepared turning point.
One moment, the villagers treated you with warmth and hospitality.
The next…
Their attitudes abruptly changed.
“At the moment, there are two major taboos in this village.”
I deliberately glossed over part of the village’s true nature as I continued.
“The first is carelessly investigating the true identity of the local deity. The second is destroying the shrine located somewhere on the outskirts of the village.”
“The first one—looking into the deity’s identity—is effectively the same as digging into the village’s history. Looking at the surface-level stories is one thing, but once you start investigating anything connected to the deity, you inevitably uncover darker truths. Sometimes you’d even have to violate sacred taboos to keep digging. Naturally, once the villagers realize you’re searching for information that’s inconvenient for them, they begin distancing themselves.”
“That happens all the time in fantasy worlds.”
“Same with old prestigious families.”
The two of them understood instantly.
More accurately…
They empathized instantly.
Excellent.
That saved me a great deal of explanation.
Perhaps their understanding of these sorts of traditional settings was precisely why they had become so cautious.
Information like that was always hidden.
Trying to uncover it usually involved trespassing somewhere you weren’t supposed to be.
“And then there’s the second taboo. Somewhere on the outskirts of the village stands a shrine dedicated to the local deity. Village custom absolutely forbids anyone from damaging it. Destroying that shrine is considered the same as angering the deity itself. If that happened, the villagers could suffer the consequences as well. Naturally, they’d treat whoever did it as an enemy.”
“Leaving tradition aside, you shouldn’t be smashing shrines in the first place.”
“That’s just common sense.”
Objectively speaking…
They were absolutely right.
Destroying a shrine was simply vandalism.
Still, stories like this often began with someone accidentally damaging one.
Perhaps they launched a ball that struck it.
Perhaps they accidentally crashed into it while driving at night.
Those sorts of coincidences were classic horror-story openings.
Unfortunately for anyone hoping to see events escalate…
We had fulfilled neither condition.
We hadn’t tried to force our way into learning the deity’s secrets.
Nor had we even located the shrine.
Which meant…
“Since we haven’t done anything to make enemies of the villagers, no one has any reason to glare at us during the festival. And naturally, nobody is going to decide we’re suitable offerings to appease the local deity.”
“Yeah, but knowing you, there’s a decent chance you’ve already destroyed the shrine yourself.”
“You split off to talk with the village chief earlier. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if you’d gone straight there afterward. And while you were at it, you probably dug into the deity’s secrets too.”
It was honestly depressing to be distrusted this thoroughly by my best friend and childhood friend.
If anything…
Those two were supposed to be the people who trusted me until the very end.
Resigned, I tried once more to reason with them.
“Think about it calmly. Would an ordinary university student randomly destroy a shrine for no reason? Would they illegally obtain confidential information?”
“You absolutely would.”
“Sometimes Gouto-kun values the event more than common sense.”
“Even if it constitutes property damage? Even if it involves trespassing? Me? The same person who carefully avoids meeting the legal requirements for criminal intimidation by deliberately never making specific threats whenever I intimidate someone? You seriously think I’d commit such direct, obvious crimes that could easily be traced back to me?”
“When you put it that way… somehow it’s convincing.”
“It’s negative trust… but it’s incredibly strong.”
At last, they seemed convinced that I hadn’t intentionally destroyed the shrine.
Exactly.
I had no intention of casually collecting criminal records in a place like this.
If there were absolutely no alternative, that would be another matter.
But if a crime could be avoided…
I would avoid it.
More importantly…
Deliberately committing crimes wasn’t normal behavior in the first place.
“So, as you can clearly tell from how the villagers are treating us, we’re perfectly free to relax and enjoy the festival. Just look at Kuwajima. She’s wearing the face of someone who genuinely believes fried food contains zero calories because all the calories dissolve into the cooking oil.”
“…Sigh. Fine. I guess constantly staying on guard is starting to feel kind of stupid.”
“If something actually happens, we’ll deal with it then. At the very least, it doesn’t look like any crimes have been discovered.”
Thanks to my repeated efforts, Taketsuru and Meiko finally seemed willing to enjoy the festival.
Though I was slightly concerned that both of them had accepted as a given that I’d committed undiscovered crimes somewhere.
Well.
That wasn’t important.
Helping them loosen up was essential.
A haunted attraction only worked properly once people had lowered their guard.
The festival had only just begun.
It was still far too early to spring the trap.
“Rather than investigating the deity’s identity… you literally walked right up and attacked the deity directly. I feel like that’s something anyone would get angry about.”
The Hallucination’s voice echoed through my mind.
Ridiculous.
No villagers other than the chief had been involved in that incident.
I hadn’t committed a single crime.
Besides…
The local deity wasn’t human.
So regardless of what happened, no criminal statutes could possibly apply.
No problem whatsoever.
“I’ve just witnessed blatant discrimination against local deities.”
Roughly two hours passed as all five of us continued enjoying the festival.
Of course, wandering while eating food from the stalls was enjoyable.
But another classic way to spend a festival was buying a variety of snacks, finding somewhere to sit, and chatting together while eating.
If there had been fireworks, we’d probably have spread out picnic sheets to reserve a viewing spot.
Unfortunately…
There weren’t any.
Instead, we simply sat along a convenient stone curb.
Each of us happily worked through our growing collection of festival food.
Yakisoba.
Frankfurters.
Chocolate-covered bananas.
Mini castella cakes.
Candy apples.
Kebabs.
Crêpes.
And many more.
(Niwashita-san had also quietly enjoyed a light beer.)
Festival pricing had done its job admirably, leaving everyone’s wallets noticeably lighter by the time we were finished.
Even so…
We laughed.
We joked.
We chatted without restraint.
“I was all tense earlier… but this really is fun.”
“It pains me to admit it, but for a rural festival… the quality’s surprisingly high.”
“It’s like every food tastes exactly the way you hoped it’d taste.”
“That’s the magic of festivals~.”
Everyone had eaten their fill.
Their shoulders had relaxed.
The earlier tension had melted away.
Moments like these…
Perfectly ordinary moments…
Were exactly the kind that became irreplaceable memories of youth.
But…
If every page of youth looked exactly the same…
Then it could no longer be called ordinary.
It should be about time.
I quietly checked the empty air.
──────────
Festival Grounds
Dominion: 98%
Traditional Custom Influence: 88%
Scenario Progress: 40%
Test of Courage Index: 78
Scream Count: 0
──────────
The familiar illusion appeared before my eyes, almost as though confirming my own intuition.
Everything was ready.
Very well.
Time to begin.
“Well then, once you’ve all finished eating… shall we go watch the festival’s main event?”
“““Main event?”””
All three answered in perfect unison.
When people thought of summer festivals, they usually imagined food stalls.
But this…
…was a village steeped in bizarre traditions.
Naturally, the festivities didn’t end there.
“After the festival music concludes, there’s a small religious ceremony held around the central tower. Since we’ve come all the way here to participate in the village festival, we might as well watch the finale too.”
“…That immediately sounds suspicious.”
“After enjoying ourselves this much, it’d feel kind of rude to skip it…”
“I have a feeling the long-term prognosis would be terrible.”
“I want to go~.”
Niwashita-san.
Excellent assist.
The three who instinctively distrusted anything I suggested immediately deflated at her cheerful comment, each giving a small, resigned shrug.
“I didn’t do anything during the festival itself, did I?”
“Well… that’s true. Fine. Let’s go!”
Though his decision sounded half born from desperation, Taketsuru eventually made up his mind.
And so…
All five of us headed toward the festival’s closing ceremony.
Night had fully fallen.
Summer nights were short.
But they were wonderfully dense.
Together, we made our way toward the large red tower standing in the center of the village, where the festival music had originated.
Standing atop it were the village chief and the twin girls, all dressed in ceremonial robes.
Every one of them had their head lowered.
Their expressions couldn’t be seen.
Around the tower, villagers had gathered in a wide circle.
Every eye remained fixed upon the platform as they quietly awaited the beginning of the ritual.
Smiles filled every face.
They looked like people celebrating the successful conclusion of another joyous festival.
Then…
The instant our group arrived…
The village chief, serving as master of ceremonies, suddenly raised a voice so thunderous it seemed impossible for someone his age.
“My daughter-in-law and granddaughter have been murdered! We found them inside the inn… horribly disfigured! The culprit is—”
His eyes flew open.
He thrust a trembling finger directly toward us.
“YOU PEOPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
The instant he shouted…
Every single villager turned toward us simultaneously.
Like robots responding to a single command.
The life vanished from their faces.
Their eyes became pitch black.
Without blinking…
Without speaking…
They simply stared.
The atmosphere was overwhelming.
Beside me, Kuwajima let out a tiny,
“H… hiii…”
“SEIZE THEM! OFFER THEM TO THE LOCAL DEITY AS SACRIFICES!”
“Sacrifice them!”
“Judgment!”
“Sacrifice them!”
“Offer their souls to the local deity!!”
At the chief’s command…
The entire crowd charged toward us in a frenzied stampede.
“KIRISHIROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
“THERE’S A LIMIT TO HOW FAR YOU CAN TAKE A PRANKKKKKKKK!!”
“I KNEW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO RUNNNNNNNNNNN!!”
“Ahaha!”
The four of them screamed different things at me as they instinctively turned and fled with remarkable speed.
Excellent.
The Scream Counter had safely increased by three.
After confirming that…
I calmly spoke.
“One warning before you go. This isn’t acting. If they catch you, assume they’ll really kill you. Well then… I’ll be taking my leave. Best of luck.”
“Huh?”
“W-wait?”
“WHY?!”
The three of them shouted in stunned disbelief.
But…
That wasn’t my concern.
And then—
Right before all of their eyes—
I literally disappeared from where I stood.
“Good work. Now then… let’s observe how everyone does.”
“You really work your local deity hard…”
“But this is your first time seeing a scenario unfold like this too, isn’t it? Let’s enjoy ourselves and watch carefully. We’ll see whether every one of them manages to survive.”
“Your personality is awful… although… I have to admit, this is a little fun.”