NOVEL WEB Chapter 50
But I have an appointment on Thursday.
If you called me, it means Yuuki had no choice but to, right?
Even though it was in a “20,000 yen per job” contract, Yuuki hadn’t called me separately, so I wondered if no other jobs were coming in.
Even when we caught the Nue, I just went on my own; Yuuki didn’t deliberately call me to go.
Thinking back, I didn’t think the Nue case would be of much value to Yuuki anyway. There were no clients who specially requested it.
Well, it’s probably just something Yuuki and his family thought of doing. There must be some way to earn money.
They might also have something like a shrine or be selling something inside the shrine.
After getting the call from Yuuki, I washed up and got ready to leave.
I contemplated what to wear and decided on my usual slightly wrinkled outfit.
I can assure you, I’ll likely end up back at the hospital this time too.
…It’s pretty ridiculous that I’m already having these thoughts, but based on my experiences so far, that seemed to be the case.
But even if I end up in the hospital, I’ll be discharged soon anyway.
Alright. I’ve decided what to wear… um.
I deliberately looked at the white dress I had hung out in my room.
It was the dress Yamashita gave me last week.
I hadn’t worn it since I washed it once. It was so white that I was afraid it’d get stained if I wore it.
I had been saving this dress to wear to watch the fireworks.
After thinking for a moment, I opened the drawer.
I pulled out the shopping bag I brought when I came home last time. I was glad I didn’t throw it away; it was the only bag at home that wouldn’t crumple up the dress.
I folded the dress carefully and put it in the shopping bag, making sure it wouldn’t get wrinkled.
Just as I finished that, my phone rang again.
It was Yuuki.
“Yeah.”
[I’m almost there.]
“Got it.”
I stood up and grabbed the shopping bag.
[Um… ]
“Yeah.”
[…I’m really sorry.]
“Eh?”
[I’m asking you because I know it’s painful for you to use your abilities.]
“…”
At Yuuki’s words, I paused for a moment in silence before slowly opening my mouth.
“It must be urgent, huh?”
Yeah. If Yuuki went out of his way to call me, it must be something urgent. A matter not described in the original.
It’s probably because Yuuki prevented something “from behind.”
Perhaps it all started getting entangled with the church from here.
In Volume 1, the church wasn’t mentioned, but in Volume 2, it appeared not to get along well with Yuuki.
[…Yeah.]
Yuuki hesitated but answered.
“It’s okay. I won’t do it for free either.”
I tried to joke about it deliberately, but I failed to inject humor into my voice. I hadn’t made jokes in years. Even attempting to be funny now ended up being in vain.
[…I’ll make sure to take care of it.]
Yuuki’s serious tone over the phone sounded even more like a joke.
*
It hadn’t even been a minute since I stepped outside with the paper bag when Yuuki’s minivan arrived.
Yuuki’s grandfather was in the driver’s seat, and Yuuki was in the passenger seat.
I opened the back door and climbed in.
“My dad went to search the other side.”
“Other side?”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mention it over the phone? It’s a bit of a sensitive topic.”
As I tilted my head in the back seat, Yuuki’s grandfather spoke up.
“It’s Kudan.”
“Kudan?”
“It’s written like this in kanji.”
Yuuki opened his phone and sent a mail.
[件]
It was the character for ‘item’ (物件).
“Are you asking to find something?”
“No, it’s not ‘item.’ Look carefully at the character. It’s made of human and cow.”
Ah, so it’s a pun name. It’s written as 件 and pronounced as ‘Kudan,’ meaning it’s a mixture of ‘person’ and ‘cow.’
It must be a Yōkai. A creature that has the shape of both a human and a cow at the same time.
……Minotaur?
“It’s a Yōkai with a human head and a cow’s body.”
Ah, I was completely off from what I thought.
But there’s also the Jinmenken and Jinmen-uo, so it wouldn’t be strange if there was a Jinmen-ushi.
“It’s said to predict disasters before being born and die.”
“……”
Hmm, I understand why they want to catch it.
“The problem is they observed its birth but missed the prophecy before it could be heard.”
“Near Tokyo?”
“Chiba Prefecture,” Yuuki answered.
I glanced at Yuuki, who seemed genuinely sorry as he turned in his seat to look at me.
“…It’s such an important matter that they probably called everyone who could start nearby. If we’re not careful, we might not know what the disaster is and it could end before we realize it.”
I see.
It seems difficult to catch it with just one person. If it were as simple as searching and finding it, they wouldn’t have needed to call me.
“Since it’s a cow that predicts and dies.”
Yuuki seemed to read my mind when he said that.
“If it speaks, it dies, but if it doesn’t say anything…”
It can continue to prophesy and live.
…Shouldn’t we just leave it be? It’ll probably avoid people and hide itself naturally. If it can predict where we’re going, doesn’t that make it meaningless for us to search for it?
“I heard there are two Kudans born this time.”
Yuuki’s grandfather said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
“Until now, all the places where Kudans were born have been Shikoku or Kyushu. The widely known method to avoid the Kudan’s prophecy is to listen to the opposite prophecy from another Kudan, because one will predict good fortune and the other bad fortune when two are born.”
“One was discovered in Kumamoto Prefecture. This one is female.”
“…Did it leave a prophecy?”
“Yeah.”
Yuuki nodded and said, “It said to think it over again.”
“……”
What does that mean? Is it a prophecy?
“It’s strange, right? That’s why we’re chasing the other Kudan desperately. If this is a prophecy, we need to avoid it, but if it’s a good fortune prophecy, we need to know what the opposite side is.”
I see.
If they had just said something straightforward like, “This year will be a bumper harvest,” it would have been simpler. Finding another Kudan wouldn’t be necessary.
But since it sounded almost prophetic, it seems like the identity of the request is to find the cause of it.
Perhaps the request came from a high-ranking person in the country?
“I understand.”
I nodded and relaxed back in my seat.
Anyway, let’s aim to find it quickly and return to Tokyo. Fortunately, Chiba Prefecture wasn’t that far from Tokyo.
It’s already night. Whether it’s a thought to search all night or go, sleep, wake up, and search later, as long as we catch it before Wednesday is over, it should be fine.
Even if I get hurt, staying overnight at the hospital should make me right as rain. I’ll be able to keep my appointment.
“But what’s that shopping bag?”
Yuuki asked carefully. I guess he had been curious about it when I got in the car earlier and was waiting for the right moment.
I thought for a moment and decided to tell him the truth.
“I have an appointment on Thursday. Just in case.”
“……”
The inside of the car fell into silence.
I wonder if he’s trying to guess what kind of schedule I have on the 29th?
“I’m sorry.”
Yuuki apologized again.
“It’s okay.”
I responded that way, but Yuuki’s expression hadn’t improved at all during our drive to the destination.
*
We crossed over to Chiba Prefecture via the Aqua Line. After another 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at a ranch spread out over a gentle hill.
I wondered if there was something in the underwater tunnel, but there weren’t any windows. After all, submarines don’t have windows, so there wouldn’t be any in an underwater tunnel. It just felt like going down and then coming back up in a slightly long tunnel.
Still, driving over the sea in the middle of the night was quite enjoyable.
I think I’ll get my driver’s license after graduating school. In Korea, you can find plenty of old cars for under ten million won, but I’m not sure about Japan.
If I weren’t heading to catch a Yōkai, I might have felt a little more joyful.
After exiting the underwater tunnel, we drove for quite a while.
Only after the name of the city changed twice did we finally reach our destination, a sprawling ranch on a hill.
When you think of a ‘tourist ranch,’ it had that typical Baroque image. It was dark around, so I couldn’t see well, but the scenery in the distance was definitely a mountain with trees sprouting up. In the midst of such overlapping mountains, there seemed to be a very large pasture covered almost entirely by the ranch.
…All the cows here seemed to be dairy cows. Isn’t that mostly the kind of cows raised in places like this?
By the way, what kind of cow breed often appears in folkloric stories in Japan? I doubt it’ll be the classic black-and-white spotted dairy cow.
Wagyu?
No, that’s just the image of delicious beef, I suppose.
While I was thinking of such trivial things, the door of the backseat where I was sitting opened.
Since it was a minivan, the doors were sliding.
“We’ve arrived.”
I nodded and got out of the car. I left the shopping bag inside. I wouldn’t need to carry it around while wandering.
In the center of the dimly lit ranch stood a quite beautifully built log house. It felt more like a place decorated to receive tourists than a place for actual human habitation.
Following Yuuki and his grandfather up a gentle slope, people were gathered in front of the log house.
Whether it was expected or surprising, there was not a single person wearing shrine maiden attire or priest robes. Everyone was dressed in comfortable clothes that could be easily moved in. Well, Yuuki was also wearing gym clothes from top to bottom.
Since it was now almost August, the weather was pretty humid and hot. By the time we reached the top of the hill, my back was slightly damp.
“Yuuki-san.”
Among the people who were waiting, a middle-aged man stepped forward and extended his hand toward Yuuki’s grandfather.
“Sato-san.”
Yuuki’s grandfather nodded and shook the outstretched hand lightly.
“My son is currently handling something else; I came with my granddaughter.”
“I see.”
Yuuki lightly bowed his head, and the middle-aged man nodded lightly in return.
Then, he looked at me.
“This child is working with us. He’ll be a great help if the old man is this impressive.”
The grandfather mentioned it as if there was no need to introduce names.
The man slightly bowed his head to me, so I did the same.
The gathering consisted of people of various ages, each wearing different clothes. Middle-aged women, men. Women and men in their twenties who looked a few years older than us, and people around the same age as Yuuki’s grandfather.
Among them, some were completely bald, so it seemed like they had sent someone from a temple.
Despite the diverse attendees, everyone was serious and wore solemn expressions without even a hint of a smile.
“I believe we all received the purpose of our gathering. You may use any means necessary, but please ensure that the existence of the Kudan does not leak to the outside. The best method is to capture it before dawn.”
The man looked around once more before continuing.
“Even if you miss it, just let it go. If the Kudan dies before hearing the prophecy, it’ll be a big problem.”
At Sato’s words, everyone nodded.
“Alright. Each of you has been assigned a zone. The Kudan cannot move faster than a cow, and there have been no reports of anyone seeing a cow with a human face in the area, so I believe it has not left the prefecture. Given its physiology, escape should be difficult.”
As he spoke, the man handed a slip of paper to everyone gathered.
Yuuki’s grandfather also received a slip and looked it over slowly.
“Then… we’ll begin the search now. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.”
Everyone shook their heads.
Was it just a formality to ask, or did they honestly know the facts and didn’t need to ask anything?
“Let’s go.”
With that, the grandfather turned and I followed behind him, somewhat perplexed.
“…Is it always like this?”
“Well… pretty much.”
Yuuki nodded at my question.
“They mostly don’t have the intention to be friendly. If there’s no one to mediate in between, fights can break out over territories and such.”
Ah, I see.
And considering that there are people with completely different beliefs there, this might be a more sensitive topic.
…It’s like a turf war for Yōkai hunters.
I definitely don’t want to get involved.
“So it’s better for us to finish our business quickly and go back.”
The grandfather said while heading to the car.
“…So, can I borrow your strength a bit?”
I nodded.
*
I made a cut on my wrist in the car.
I couldn’t put into words how I felt, but there was a first aid kit and plastic sheets prepared in the car.
I cut my wrist with a utility knife while wearing a clear plastic sheet like an apron, with a broad and deep bucket placed under my arm.
The atmosphere was… how can I say it?
It was very awkward and uncomfortable in many ways.
If we were standing a bit farther apart, like on a playground, it might’ve been fine, but trying to do it in such a confined space made it seem like it might not work well.
“Do it when you feel at ease…”
Yuuki’s voice was filled with guilt.
The grandfather remained silent, mouth tightly shut.
I looked at my wrist.
A clear pentagram was still drawn there. If I looked at it from my perspective, it was an upside-down pentagram.
I bit down and pressed the tip of the knife against my wrist.
I felt the blood oozing slightly and then dragged it sideways.
No matter how many times I saw the sight of skin splitting, it was never pleasant.
The straight wound opened up like an eye being opened, and my left hand moved as if to hold something above.
Thud thud.
As the red blood dripped into the bucket, time came to a halt.
“What an interesting situation. A prophecy, huh.”
In my perspective, Jjapgurasu would definitely be able to do prophecies or similar things. Every time I asked her something, it was like she knew exactly and would casually direct me.
“Are you going to help?”
I asked.
“You want me to help, huh?”
In a slightly teasing tone, I nodded without saying anything.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what this woman wanted at all.
In fact, what Jjapgurasu wanted probably wasn’t that important. Regardless of what she wanted, if she felt it was necessary, she would just go ahead.
What was more dangerous was Kagalami, who followed this Jjapgurasu and the cult, especially since it was related to my future.
“You want to know where that kid is?”
“…Yeah.”
I was about to nod, but even that was stopped, so I just made a short sound to respond.
“If so, I have one favor to ask of you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Please listen to the last words of that child until the end, for my sake.”
“That’s natural—”
“All by yourself.”
“……”
I tried to shift my gaze to see Yuuki, but my body wouldn’t move as expected.
In fact, even the pouring blood had frozen in mid-air, so it’d be strange for me to make a sound. This just meant this being was extraordinarily transcendent.
“Don’t worry too much. You won’t need to try hard for that, I think.”
Jjapgurasu spoke in a voice filled with laughter, as if she had foreseen it.
“After that, it doesn’t matter if you tell others what you heard from that child.”
After happily saying that, Jjapgurasu added.
“But can you really do that? I’m curious.”
With a giggle, something sticky and unpleasant fell into the bucket with a plop sound.
“Kurosawa, are you okay?”
“…Yeah.”
Honestly, I’m not getting used to the pain. It still stings enough to make me frown. It hurts.
I opened the kit and took out some bandages.
“Stretch your arm forward. I’ll do it for you.”
“It’ll stain the car.”
“You can just put the bucket forward.”
With the bucket placed between the driver’s seat and passenger seat, I stretched out my arm, and Yuuki wrapped the bandage around my wrist. It immediately soaked with blood.
Since we hadn’t set off yet, it was doable.
“Hmm?”
As Yuuki was wrapping the bandage, he seemed to discover something wriggling in the bucket and sounded a bit flustered.
Ah, right. Yuuki probably didn’t see the creature earlier. It was on my shoulder under my clothes. After fulfilling its purpose, it just turned into blood and flowed out.
“What’s this…?”
“I call it Chie.”
“Chie…? Is that blood, by any chance?”
Is the name too straightforward?
“This tells us the destination?”
“Yeah,”
I cautiously reached into the bucket with my left hand and lifted Chie up.
Aside from the fact that it was completely the color of blood, it actually looked pretty cute. It had eyes and a mouth.
“Kyuu?”
“……”
Yuuki and the grandfather were left speechless, staring at the cute but grotesque creature making a sound on my hand.
Then they quickly exchanged glances as if deciding not to evaluate this creature.
Well, to be honest, it looked like something a strange cultist would create as an offering.
It’s not entirely wrong if you think about it.
Click.
Yuuki fastened his seatbelt.
“So, how… does it guide us?”
“First, once we start, I’ll let you know.”
I placed the bucket on my lap and pulled it close.
Carefully holding Chie, so it wouldn’t stain the seat with outpouring blood, I said that, and the grandfather started the car.
Thus, our late-night drive began.