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Rohan gently interrupted Maisen, saying that was sufficient explanation. Otherwise, the strange sight of everyone praying together while looking at the sky in an empty place might have continued for several minutes.
Arpel’s eyes cooled as he stared at the village chief’s back. It was obvious who had actively led the unsettling atmosphere in the village.
Such thoughts didn’t last long, however. The scene before their eyes captured their attention.
“This place…”
A faint bewilderment tinged Rohan’s voice.
Among the modest wooden buildings lined up somewhat regularly, if not densely, one space stood unnaturally empty.
Judging by the traces left at the edge of the site, it seemed that rather than intentionally not building there, a building had been demolished to create an empty lot on purpose.
In the center was a stone coffin. It was large enough to fit five or six people, and the absence of even a single common flower made it eerie, making the space feel desolate.
“This is a place to honor those who have entered eternal rest after receiving punishment from the god. We pray for the souls of the dead, and also help them atone for sins they couldn’t repay even in death. Once a week, we all come here to beg the Fox God for forgiveness on behalf of the dead.”
In their terms, if one incurs the god’s wrath, they are cursed, and if the curse persists for a long time, they die.
That coffin was where they gathered and burned the bodies of the dead, storing the remaining bones. Without even placing a single flower to pray for the deceased’s peace.
It was incredibly irritating to see them make sad faces, saying this was the only way because they had sinned.
Afterwards, Maisen immediately took the two to the house where they would stay. It didn’t take long, but… considering the route they took from the village chief’s house to arrive, it wasn’t a matter to be taken lightly.
“It’s been an empty house for quite a while, so there’s a lot of dust. Will that be alright?”
This man, pretending to be concerned in front of them, had taken them around the village. To show them that ‘grave’ place earlier.
It was certain he had ulterior motives. To be precise, it was one of two things. Either they were heretics who had unwittingly become involved in specter matters, or they had been involved with both heresy and specters from the start.
Either way, the fact that the nature of the crime was bad remained unchanged. Although the latter was incomparably more vicious.
“Tomorrow, I plan to introduce you to an altar where you can make small offerings to the god. According to the stories passed down in the village, if you offer something that pleases the god and gain favor, your wish will be granted once.”
In short, it meant if you want to fulfill that ‘wish’, show sincerity. Arpel’s eyes, staring blankly at Maisen, sank into memories of the distant past.
The behavior of mentioning unverified stories and demanding a little ‘sincerity’ based on the other’s belief felt somehow familiar. It seemed that even in a different world, the tricks were predictably similar.
“I see. Would something like this be alright?”
“Ho ho, he will be very pleased.”
Rohan diligently played along with these tricks. He slightly showed a pouch filled with gold coins that he had been carefully keeping inside his clothes. Although he answered calmly with a faint laugh, the slight gap shown at that moment did not escape the eyes of the two.
Maisen’s eyes, which had slowly turned following Rohan’s gesture, gleamed strangely for a brief moment. What was darkly lingering was greed and desire to get hold of the shining gold coins. Although he quickly erased the emotion in his eyes, Arpel could clearly see the black greed that had sprouted deep in his heart.
“Then, I’ll take my leave…”
“That altar place, can’t we go there now?”
After wrapping up the conversation with various additional words that were all trivial guidance, just as Maisen was about to leave the house with a brief farewell, a voice stopped him. Arpel, who had been keeping his mouth shut all along, opened it.
“The altar… you say?”
As if it was strange that he had spoken, Maisen stared blankly before belatedly composing his expression. As a bonus, he cleared his throat awkwardly, along with his voice that had subtly risen in tone.
“That won’t be possible.”
“…Is there a reason? It doesn’t seem that late.”
The glance towards the outside was peculiar. It seemed like he was asking out of genuine curiosity, but on the other hand, it also seemed to be urging for a reason to be given quickly. Maisen felt it closer to the latter, and frowned at the feeling of being interrogated. No, he was about to frown. Until their gazes met exactly.
This was the first time he had directly met Arpel’s eyes. He hadn’t spoken much all along, and had been so obedient to the man who came with him, that he hadn’t felt the need to do so, to be precise.
So it was inevitable that this was the first time he noticed that no common emotion could be read in those black, dark eyes. A chill ran down his spine at those alien eyes that were on a different level from ordinary people.
“I-it’s a village rule… The altar is in the forest, and the god dislikes people entering the area late at night.”
Living beings tend to fear the unknown. Maisen was no exception, and an emotion close to terror slightly raised its head, instantly evaporating the suspicion he had felt towards Arpel.
Rohan subtly covered his mouth at the voice that, although pretending to be calm, couldn’t completely hide a faint trembling. The fact that the corners of his mouth under his hand twitched was a secret known only to the two of them.
Afterwards, Maisen hurriedly left the house. It was a quick movement that could be seen as running away. Only after his wobbling figure had completely disappeared did Rohan burst into laughter and turn to Arpel beside him.
“Why did he suddenly act like that? What did you do?”
“…I didn’t do anything.”
But all that returned was a blank blink. Even seeing Rohan’s eyes sparkling as if saying ‘I’m curious’, he couldn’t think of anything to say. Because he really hadn’t done anything.
He had just asked because it seemed strange to postpone until tomorrow when it wasn’t that dark, and that was all he had heard in response.
He couldn’t even imagine that the other had unilaterally become frightened and run away due to his emotionless eyes, and this remained one of the few mysteries in Arpel’s mind.
***
Whether it was true that it had been empty for a long time, small dust particles were floating in the air, starting from the floor. With each step, footprints were clearly imprinted on the thickly accumulated dust.
“…Well, we should clean up first, right?”
There were brooms and rags, and the water supply wasn’t broken, so cleaning should be possible. It was just difficult to find the motivation to start cleaning.
Since they might stay in the village for several days, it would be better to clean at least the living areas they would use frequently, if not spotlessly.
Although it was good that they had safely obtained an empty house, Rohan seemed displeased at the prospect of cleaning, making a disgusted expression. His face clearly showed how much he disliked cleaning. Sighs kept escaping between his protruding lips.
“I… I can do it. Arpel, you should re-rest.”
Yet he reluctantly found a broom and grasped it, offering words of consideration. Unlike usual, his voice trembled, and his slow speech suggested that somewhere in his heart was wavering. Though he tried to appear composed, his wavering eyes were full of undisguised reluctance.
A child who doesn’t like cleaning or tidying up, nor is he particularly skilled at it. How could it not be endearing that such a person, unable to hide his reluctance, would at least offer these words?
“Really?”
At the small questioning, his already protruding lips stuck out even more. The rolling gaze, the fidgeting hands holding the broom, and the vague hesitation before finally nodding slowly all caught Arpel’s eye, involuntarily curling up the corners of his mouth.
Instead of adding any words, he grabbed Rohan’s hand and raised a shadow. What began to darken the floor soon started to ripple gently. As something reminiscent of soft waves brushed past the wooden floor, the thickly accumulated dust disappeared without a trace.
The shadow climbed up the furniture, wriggling and nibbling away the dust bit by bit. Then it went to the window and even spat out the gathered dust. The dusty interior of the house became clean in an instant.
Faced with this shadow usage method he had never imagined, Rohan could only blink blankly. Until Arpel’s fingertips, which had come close, touched his lips.
“Were you upset?”
Focus quickly returned to the dazed eyes. He belatedly realized he was being teased by the strangely amused voice. Heat gradually rose to his face.
“…Don’t tease me.”
“Okay. I won’t tease you.”
The immediate response seemed to contain not a grain of sincerity. A little indignation rose at that… but that was all.
His flushed eyes fell on Arpel’s face, which was wearing a faint smile. The touch of his hand, still fiddling with the corner of his lips, left a persistent sensation. As he recalled all of this, the feeling of indignation completely disappeared.
The broom, having lost its support, fell to the floor with a thud, thud sound. It was a natural and inevitable occurrence as Rohan, who had been holding the broom all along, embraced Arpel’s body.
