Ishimori was not a person. Having power that surpa.s.sed human knowledge, Suga thought that Ishimori might be something close to a G.o.d.
In fact, Ishimori himself might have been the one in the past who saved the village. However, only the most basic points that made up the outline of the folktale "Kotori Obake and Ogami-san" remained, making it no more than the remnant of the oral tradition. That was why even the main points were vague, and the parts that were difficult to understand were many.
This was especially the case with Ishimori. Why didn"t the folktale talk about his existence at all? The fact that his existence was covered up, while the Ogami-san who had merely received the night-glowstone was treated as the hero who saved the village was strange, even considering Ishimori"s personality.
(….Maybe there was a reason to stay hidden from everyone except to people in the know?)
But when Suga had asked him if he was a G.o.d, he didn"t seem so displeased at the comparison, and in addition there was the small household shrine in the workshop. Among the night-glowstone workers, he was a being to be worshiped.
—-but even so, his existence was hidden in the folktale.
Unexplainable elements were not limited to just this instance.
Example number one. The reason why the Kotori Obake wanted children.
Example number two. Why hadn"t the Kotori Obake attacked the first generation Ogami-san?
The former was a completely hopeless situation. There wasn"t a single doc.u.ment left.
But as for the latter, Suga had an important hint. The Kotori Obake had originally been close with the Kanzaki family that had become the Ogami-san. This was something that old notes from the past had made clear. But Suga thought that even knowing something like that now wasn"t of any use.
Because as of now, the Kotori Obake had made a promise with the Ogami-san"s descendant, Kanzaki Shiori, which meant that she would eventually claim Shiori"s life.
(It might be a reasonable guess to think that the Kotori Obake really wanted her because she was of her own blood…)
Even if he knew that, what was the use?
Even if they knew that it was easy for her to be targeted from the start, why had they tried to raise Shiori in this house? It was probably for some stupidly obvious reason, like personal finances or the like, but Suga still found it hard to understand.
And since the worst had already come to pa.s.s, it was useless to say anything more.
(Even so, the vagueness of the folktale and the lack of doc.u.ments about this is kind of strange…)
So why? From the start, the Kanzaki family had been bound by the role of Ogami-san and had had to go through many troubles since then. Didn"t anyone question it? What had the past Ogami-sans been doing? Was there anyone who had researched this?
—- There was no way that there wasn"t anyone who had.
He had once asked Keiichiro about this. But the answer was a persistent "I don"t know."
Keiichiro along with Kenji partic.i.p.ated in the local festival as "Ogami-san," and even after Kenji left Keiichiro continued along on his own. However, Keiichiro"s father had named his grandson, Kenji, as his successor, making Keiichiro only an intermediate successor until Kenji could take over as Ogami-san.
Keiichiro had said that he didn"t have the qualities of an Ogami-san, meaning normally he wouldn"t have been qualified for the position.
"But my father had said it was something to be celebrated. That not being able to hear the one who you call Ishimori, or the voices of the ghosts of the children, or the Kotori Obake, not being able to see them, was not something I needed to know, and that I was happier not knowing. It was the same with Kenji. My father grieved when he found out that Kenji had the ability. "Why didn"t Kenji take after you," is what he always said."
Keiichiro heaved a sigh. It was just as Suga thought.
For generations, the Kanzaki family had been revered and highly treasured as Ogami-san, but the reality was that Keiichiro"s father didn"t see the position of Ogami-san very positively.
He had probably seen it as a burden. The opponent was a monster who stole children, who was able to take people"s voices with a strange power.
Having to suppress and revere something like that surely must have caused him no little amount of worry.
—– Then, wouldn"t he have tried to figure out how to get rid of such a monster?
"I"m sorry I can"t be of help. Kenji had been researching hard, but as for the results, he didn"t talk about them much. ……He must have thought I wasn"t capable of helping."
Saying so, he seemed lonesome as he went on, muttering "If only there were a way to get in contact…"
After being reminded he had taken away his entire family, Suga couldn"t say anything more.
(Kenji certainly did seem to know a lot….)
(Everything is so confusing. In the first place, what"s the curse of the night-glowstone anyway?)
Having realized his thoughts were stuck in a loop, Suga sighed. Stretching out his legs, he leaned his head against the wall. He felt a bit jealous of the village caretaker who could forget his duty and snore, absorbed in a peaceful slumber. The fact that the boy next to him was seriously agonizing over the ghosts that lived in the forest probably didn"t occur to him even in his dreams.
(…..Honestly. If only there were some way to get in contact with Kenji…..)
Or, if there were some way to get in contact with retired night-glowstone workers.
But he had already heard from Keiichiro that that was impossible. The stone workers decreased year by year. With the excessively self-important, disagreeable, and cruel Ishimori as company, Suga didn"t think it was surprising.
In addition, he had already lost his voice when he first heard this. Coming from Kenji, who had been the last one before him, calling meeting Ishimori a curse was understandable.
(Maybe, because he knew that there wasn"t a way to get in contact with them, he made it easier for me to research by making this into a historical archive….)
Suga chuckled suddenly, remembering the words of Keiichiro lamenting from his sickbed.
"…..Right, don"t try to take on too much, Koutaro. A time will come when you, just like Kenji will want to leave this place. People are just like that. I don"t think that"s a bad thing. ……..This is something like a curse of the Kanzaki family. Even so, someone unconnected like you got tangled up in this curse. I"d like to apologize to your father too. I regret that even now…"
He didn"t feel like he"d gotten dragged in. He shook his head, rather, he felt like he was the one who gotten mixed up. Seeing this, the Keiichiro who had lost weight from his long battle with illness at home laughed and showed him a smile.
"That"s true, blood doesn"t mean a d.a.m.n thing anyway. ……..I"ll ……. try …… in you…… if it"s you, you …….. might be able to……. after, all….."
His hoa.r.s.e voice as he drifted off to sleep made it difficult to make out the words.
But, if his words were "I"ll try believing in you…"
It felt like his worry and determination to protect his childhood friend had finally been recognized.
(…… Thank you, gramps, for leaving behind that will.)
He could recite its contents from memory. It wasn"t something that Suga as the inheritor decided, but it was enough. It made the mansion into a history museum and archive with Suga the manager.
"The above personal effects and real estate are hereby to be known as a "Library of Historical Records" and are entrusted entirely to be looked over by the manager. In addition, if no further heirs come forward, my personal effects and real estate are to be donated to the village.
xx year of Heisei x month xx day Kanzaki Keiichiro"
Suga spoke to the Keiichiro who now lay quietly.
(…… I"ll be fine. That day, the day that Shi-chan and everyone left, I made a promise. That I would protect her. I will definitely make sure to find something and save her.)
A way to lift the curse, the promise that had been made that day with the Kotori Obake.
This time it was Suga"s turn, in order to fulfill the promise he made that day to his childhood friend.
(It"s my turn now. ——- I will protect Shi-chan. )
—— In order to do that, he had to exorcise the Kotori Obake.
As the manager, he had to search for and collect doc.u.ments, read them carefully and a.n.a.lyze them. In order to make sure that the Kotori Obake couldn"t move freely, he had to use the night-glowstones and keep watch. It would be hard to with that Ishimori, but he had no choice.
The necessary preparations had been made for him. After that, it was all up to Suga"s efforts.
Filled with determination, he sighed deeply. At the edge of his vision, he saw the candle flicker.
Suga reflexively looked at the body of the deceased. Of course there was no sign of movement. But he still sat up straight and bowed his head. So that Keiichiro"s soul would at least be able to depart to the next world in peace.
(….I"ll be fine, so you don"t need to worry about me.)
He could hear the village caretaker snoring. Even now, he could hear the curses of the children ghosts in the distance.
In the corner of the building that had yet to be completely set up as the historical archives, in place of a candle"s flame, the night-glowstones placed in the lanterns glowed softly in the dark, emitting a soft blue light.
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Changed the spellings of Keiichirou to Keiichiro and Koutarou to Koutaro, may go back and edit previous parts!