Chapter 125
2. The God of Hot Spring Cures
"A prosthetic, huh? So that old lady actually believes her own hand healed?"
I shuddered, recalling the innkeeper's delicate smile. It was the face of soone who didn't think there was anything strange about herself or her surroundings. I realized this was a common occurrence in the village we had investigated.
"Umura, are there really patients who believe they've been cured of illness or injury?"
"There's the placebo effect—like when soone takes a vitamin thinking it's a miracle drug and starts feeling better—but I've never heard of soone believing a missing arm has grown back."
Esato said while fiddling irritably with her tie.
"A relative of mine once got his leg caught in a fishing boat's propeller and had it amputated. He used to say he could feel pain in the missing leg on rainy days. Is it like that?"
"That's phantom limb pain. But in that case, they're still aware the limb is gone."
"So the innkeeper's just ntally unstable?"
"Esato, that's a bit harsh."
Umura gave a wry smile.
If Kirima were here, he might have dug deeper into the issue. If Ryoko were here, she might have theorized based on her knowledge of folklore.
The one left behind with nothing was .
I shook my head. If I was the one left, then I had to work for the ones who'd disappeared.
"Umura, Esato, let's continue the investigation. Let's see if there are any other residents like that."
I lowered my voice and straightened my posture. Without checking what kind of expression the two made in response to the real Kirima, I started walking quickly.
I saw a young man in a work robe wiping down a stone monunt that recorded the history of the hot spring town. When we called out to him, he dutifully stopped and turned around.
"Tengu's Spring, right? The effects are real. My severe atopic dermatitis from childhood cleared up in just one day."
The skin peeking from the collar and sleeves of his robe was covered in scabies that looked like red petals had fallen on it.
In front of a soba shop at the corner of the alley, a woman parked a rusty scooter. She took off her helt with one hand and answered our question.
"A hidden spring, huh? Honestly, I had no choice but to believe. There was a ti I was so stressed I couldn't eat anything. Sounds unbelievable, right? Now I've got all this at on ."
The hand the woman held out looked so thin it seed like only skin stretched over bone.
The more we asked around, the heavier I felt.
The village, constantly shrouded in steam, felt like it was wrapped in a hallucinatory mist. The people here lived believing their illnesses and injuries—ones that should not be healed—were cured.
The three of us entered the soba shop from earlier and sat at a scarred wooden table.
Umura downed so roasted green tea from a sand-colored cup and spoke in a gloomy voice.
"As a d student, I'm getting fed up. But maybe if it can instill this strong a belief, it could be useful for end-of-life care."
"You're thinking of using a god?"
"Just joking. Gotta joke or you won't survive this."
As I sat on the painfully hard wooden chair and adjusted the thin cushion, tempura soba was brought to the table.
Esato muttered as she pressed the chrysanthemum tempura into the broth with her chopsticks as if drowning it.
"Kirima, is it safe to conclude that the god here makes people misperceive their illnesses or injuries as healed?"
"If that were all, no one would've asked us to investigate. Soone saw this place's Territorial Divine Offenses as dangerous and called for our help."
"I think that's danger enough. What if soone without legs thinks they can swim and jumps into a river?"
I couldn't argue and slurped my soba. I knew sothing was wrong. But I couldn't grasp the whole picture. I hadn't seen anything particularly strange since entering the village.
If the Territorial Divine Offenses were present, we should've seen sothing.
Just as the sound of slurping soba began to fill the quiet shop, the emaciated woman from earlier appeared from the kitchen.
"Oh no, if I'd known you were custors, I would've treated you more politely."
When the woman smiled, her thin skin stretched, revealing the shape of her cheekbones.
I averted my gaze and asked,
"How many tis have you been to Tengu's Spring?"
"Just once. That greedy couple monopolizes it."
"You an Tengu-an?"
"You've already heard, huh? Yeah. That couple charges outrageous prices for lodging and only caters to rich folks from far away. Us long-ti locals haven't been allowed in since."
Spitting the words out, the woman placed a floral pot of soba broth on the table and left.
I pulled the ashtray closer.
"I guess we have no choice but to go to Tengu-an..."
"I wonder if our budget will cover it."
"We can at least ask around. We'll probably have to stay overnight anyway. Let's get a place nearby and observe the situation."
"Sounds like industrial espionage."
Umura poured soba tea into the sand-colored cup and passed it to Esato. Esato gave a slight nod and looked at .
"You've still got soba left."
"I'll eat it later, leave alone."
I bit down on a lit cigarette. Esato kept staring at with a dark gaze.
As the day-trip hot springs opened, the plastered walls and stone pavents of the inns began to gleam as if coated in varnish from the moisture.
Tengu-an was apparently located at the top of the hill.
Passing a coin laundry advertising bleach detergent on an enal sign and an inn decorated with lanterns and oleander, we saw a particularly large inn co into view.
The three-story wooden building looked like an ancient castle, with red lanterns and a giant Tengu mask displayed at the entrance. The red, glowing against the white steam, looked eerie enough to give you chills at night.
Umura gave a wry smile.
"At least it's easy to find."
A villager passing by on the slope glared at the gaudy Tengu-an with eyes full of hostility and contempt.
As we stood there for a while, we heard footsteps behind us.
A well-dressed young couple and a girl, clearly from out of town, were climbing the hill.
The couple wore finely tailored coats and held the girl's hands.
The girl had her hair in twin tails, wore a rabbit hair ornant, and had a pink poncho draped around her.
She looked to be the sa age as Rei.
Her smile, oblivious to the idea that her parents holding her hands might one day disappear, made my chest ache.
"Tengu!"
The girl let go of her parents' hands and ran off. Before the couple could stop her, she was already approaching us—when suddenly, she collapsed.
I instinctively reached out. The girl I caught felt as light as a paper doll.
The father rushed over in a panic and gave a nod.
"That was dangerous. What if she'd gotten hurt again... Thank you."
I gave a slight bow in return. The mother, pale-faced, hugged the girl tightly.
"Are you okay? You're not bleeding anywhere?"
"I'm fine!"
The girl answered cheerfully, though her face looked a little pale.
Umura's eyes widened.
"Your daughter..."
The girl's mother nodded awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, she's physically weak. She has a condition where her blood doesn't clot easily..."
"There's a bruise around her elbow. Is it hemophilia?"
"You're very knowledgeable."
I patted Umura on the back and said,
"We're d students. Just returning from a conference."
The mother let out a voice of admiration. Esato muttered 'fraud' with an exasperated look. I pretended not to hear.
The couple lowered their brows.
"Doctors might find it ridiculous, coming all this way for a spring that supposedly cures all ailnts..."
"Even overseas hospitals couldn't help. We've tried everything we could."
Perhaps sensing her parents' anxiety, the girl looked at them worriedly. Rei's sobbing voice from the day Kirima didn't co back echoed in my ears.
I forced a calm tone.
"There's nothing ridiculous about it. The desire to help your family is the most important part of healing."
The girl tugged on my sleeve with her small hand.
"Once I'm better, I'm going to dance!"
"Dance?"
"My mom's a Japanese dance teacher—one of the few in the country. I'm going to inherit her dance style."
Her parents smiled warmly. I stroked the girl's fine hair.
"Then you better get well soon and practice a lot."
The girl nodded enthusiastically. Her knees, peeking from under her skirt, were discolored with reddish bruises.
The family passed through the inn's gate.
At that mont, a faint light flickered in the steam—red and hazy, like the face of a Tengu mask.
The sound of boiling water erupting with force could be heard from sowhere.
"God of healing..."
I turned back to face Umura and Esato.
"If that child and her parents lose the ability to recognize the illness, it could be fatal. We're going to investigate Tengu-an."
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