Chapter 492: Inarishika Village
Soon, the girls and I arrived at Inarishika Village. The walk took quite a bit and had to have at least been a couple kiloters, but thanks to the forest’s restorative qualities, we didn’t feel tired at all. In fact, when we finally reached the wooden gates of the village, we almost felt a bit sad at having our relaxation ti in nature cut short.
Still, we had a mission to complete, a goal to fulfill. Until that was complete, we couldn’t afford to rest.
As we approached the village, however, we ca across a strange sight. There were no guards at the gates, and what’s more, the entire town was pretty much silent, especially when compared to the liveliness and cheerfulness of the previous one, Hirokita Village.
“… Sothing’s off,” I muttered.
“Gee, thanks, genius.” Lin Luo rolled her eyes, then drew her godly blade of lightning in preparation for any danger, but i Gui shot her a glare.
“… Don’t draw your blade. I can still detect signatures of life in here, and they aren’t hostile.”
“Lorelei can feel them as well,” the fox on my shoulder said into my mind. “However… they appear to be scared of sothing. Approaching with caution is advised, Master.”
“… Let’s go,” I said, and slowly pushed open the unlocked wooden gates.
*****
The inside of the village was, as expected, completely different from Hirokita. Not only did it not have the liveliness, children running around on the streets, and smiling citizens, but the entire place was a ss. Trash lay littered on the streets, dust was thick in the air, and all color seed to have been drained from the town.
And… the citizens. According to Amane, the ‘Inari’ part in Inarishika ant sothing along the lines of ‘fox’. And as expected, all the citizens were foxhumans.
They huddled each in their own hos, terrified expressions on their faces as they stared at us, the newcors. When we t their gazes, they would hurriedly shut the door and windows to their hos, as if we were so kind of monsters. Compared to the rest of the forest, the aura of death was nigh here, and it most definitely did not give a good feeling.
“Xuan Kai, look,” Feng Mian suddenly said, pointing to what seed to be a red pamphlet on the floor. She was crouched down and was staring at it intently, and the other girls and I moved closer to see what the fuss was about.
When Qing Yue saw it, her eyes widened.
“This is… sothing to celebrate Chinese New Year. It looks very old, though, so it must’ve been dropped here quite a while ago. If I had to guess… I would say soti earlier this year.”
“In other words… this town used to be just as lively as Hirokita Village, what with the celebrations and whatnot…” Yu An Yan gasped. “Just what happened…”
“Soti earlier this year, hm…?” I murmured, narrowing my eyes. “I have a few theories, but… I’ll need more information to conclude them, and just standing around here isn’t going to get us anywhere. Let’s ask the locals.”
“Easier said than done,” Lan Xiao Su sighed. “They are like how I used to be, but amplified hundredfold. They are terrified of any strangers, not just us, by the looks of it. It will be hard for us to even et them, much less get so useful info.”
“Hm… in that case…” I grinned, then reached into my soul and called upon a certain boy.
“Hey, Yami. It’s your ti to shine.”
“W-Wha? What do you an?” A young boy’s voice replied, and I smirked.
“Listen. The residents of this village are all foxhumans, much like yourself. Since you’re a kid as well, they’ll be more likely to open up to you. I need you to convince them to talk to us. Simple enough, right?”
“Uh, no! First of all, don’t compare re foxhumans to Soulfoxes like !” He cried. “And also… I-I’m not good at talking to strangers! Give a fight or sothing! That would be a lot better…”
“C’mon, Yami. Don’t be a wuss. You know what people call a person who can only fight but can’t do anything else? A athead.”
“N-No! Not doing it!”
I sighed. “This is why I hate dealing with kids…”
“… Do it,” a third voice suddenly interjected, soft but stern. “As your Queen, I command you to follow master’s orders.”
“E-Eek…”
“You heard her,” I chuckled. “Get on with it.”
“A-Alright, alright, fine!” Yami said at last. “I just gotta convince them, right? I’m on it!”
In a bright flash, he exited from my soul and turned into his human form, a short boy who was anything but cute. He folded his arms and glared at , then raised an eyebrow.
“So? What do I say?”
“Hm…” I fell into thought. “How about sothing along the lines of… uh… er… guys? So help here?”
The girls stared at for a mont, then collectively let out sighs of exhaustion.
“Good grief… you rely on us at the most unexpected tis,” Feng Mian muttered, then shut one eye. “Hm… let’s see. Since you look identical to a foxhuman in this form, how about telling them you were originally from this village and left at a young age, and have now ca back to ho in search of your family or sothing?”
“That could work, but… the family part doesn’t make sense,” Qing Yue said. “If he ca back here to look for his family, who took him away from the village in the first place? He couldn’t possibly have left on his own at such a young age and survived out in the wilderness.”
Feng Mian pursed her lips and frowned. “True…”
“In that case, how about sothing like this?” Yu An Yan cleared her throat and continued. “Yami was a young boy taken away from the village by his family at a very young age for reasons he doesn’t know, but has since then lost his parents. As a result, he decided to co back to the place he was born in to find a place to stay, but instead found this.”
“And on the way… he t us… who found him lost,” Yu An Xue added. “Therefore… we decided… to help him.”
“Ooh, that could work!” Qing Yue exclaid happily. “Let’s give it a try!”
We all nodded, and I glanced at Yami.
“You catch all that?”
“Hmph, who do you think I am?” The boy snorted arrogantly, then turned around and began heading towards one of the houses—the closest one. The girls and I exchanged glances, then decided to hide for now while we wait to see what happens.
After several series of knocks and a while of anxious waiting, the door finally opened, ever so slightly. The face of an old woman peeked out from behind it, and fear was written all over in her eyes as her body trembled, including the staff she gripped oh-so-tightly in her hand.
“Y-You… who are you…?” She asked faintly, voice raspy and quiet.
“I… uh…” Yami glanced back at where the girls and I were hiding for help, and I gritted my teeth.
Don’t look at us, idiot!
As if he had received the ssage, he hurriedly turned back to the woman.
“A-Ahem… I’m, uh, soone who was born here. After being born, though, I was diagnosed with, um, terminal cancer, and so the village didn’t want and cast away. My parents followed though, until they died recently in a car crash… and now I’ve co back in search of a ho… and uh, my cancer’s been cured, so like…”
Oh. My. God. He included so many details that were unnecessary! Great… now our plan is exposed. It’s as clear as day he’s lyin-
“Oh… oh… oh, my sweet boy…”
The old foxwoman began trembling even harder than before, but not of fear. She let go of the long wooden staff in her hand and let it fall to the floor before suddenly pulling Yami into a tight hug.
“Oh, you are finally back… my dear grandson… I’m so sorry…”
“W-Wha…! H-Hey! Argh-!” Yami struggled to break away, and the old woman hurriedly let go.
“A-Ah… I’m sorry…” The old woman wiped her tears and backed away, picking up her staff once more. “It’s just… after so long… I can’t believe it… you’ve co back…”
Yami only stared at her, still shocked, and anwhile, the girls and I had the exact sa reaction. We stared, slack-jawed, at what had just happened, and were left in simple disbelief.
“No way… that lie… actually worked?”
“You’ve got to be kidding …”
“That is so insane luck…”
Then, the old woman shot a glance our way, and we realized we were out in the open. Our hiding wasn’t working at all, as we had all been so shocked by the outco of the situation that we forgot to duck back down.
But then, the old woman made a beckoning gesture, as if calling us to go closer. The girls and I exchanged glances, and headed her way hesitantly.
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