Hokkaido, an ordinary, underdeveloped village backed by mountains and facing the sea.
After watching the bus drive away, Shinsuke Kiyosake, traveling light, turned his gaze toward the rugged path ahead.
He was the only person from Kiyosake Village who had left the seaside and made it into university. After successfully graduating from the University of Tokyo, his first thought was not to stay in the big city, but to return home and guide everyone toward a better life.
The village had only a few hundred residents, most of whom survived by fishing and hunting. In recent years many young people had also left to try their luck outside. Perhaps after seeing the world beyond, almost none of them ever chose to return to this remote, cramped place that constantly smelled of salt and fish.
Yet since Shinsuke Kiyosake came back, the situation had already begun to change. In just a few weeks he reorganized the fishing methods and tools, selecting far more efficient techniques. Now he was thinking about road planning and whether it might be possible to produce sea salt locally, hoping to create more convenience and side businesses for everyone.
"Click~"
After returning to his somewhat shabby house, Shinsuke Kiyosake sat down on a homemade chair and finally took a moment to rest.
"Shinsuke! Shinsuke!"
Hearing the familiar voice, he quickly stood up.
"Village Chief, slow down. What happened?"
"Akio from the east side of the village is about to die!"
Hearing this, Shinsuke immediately followed the Village Chief. He pushed through the crowd of curious onlookers and hurried into Akio's house.
On the bed lay a young man covered in blisters and red spots. His breathing was shallow and rapid, and from time to time he let out a cough so faint it was almost impossible to hear.
The moment Shinsuke saw him, his pupils shrank. He instantly locked onto the most likely diagnosis.
"Smallpox..."
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he quickly told everyone in the room to leave.
"Everyone stay calm. Report this to the CDC and cooperate with treatment. This disease can be prevented!"
A middle-aged man frowned.
"You said prevented? Then what about Akio?"
Shinsuke sighed.
"Uncle Sawaki, there's still no completely effective treatment for smallpox. We need to send him to the hospital as soon as possible for fluids and fever reduction..."
"It's almost a full day of rough travel from here to the hospital. Will Akio even survive the trip?"
Shinsuke fell silent for a moment.
"Let Akio's parents take him for treatment first..."
As soon as he said that, the surrounding villagers lowered their heads and began mumbling awkwardly among themselves, none of them speaking clearly.
The Village Chief walked over, his beard twitching stiffly.
"Akio's parents died from the illness four days ago..."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Sawaki Kiyosake glanced at the others, then looked up at Shinsuke.
"Weren't you busy making new fishing tools for the village at the time? That was more important."
Shinsuke rubbed his aching forehead as he looked at the villagers around him, lowering his head in silence as if lost in thought.
"Then that settles it."
The Village Chief spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Since Shinsuke's so-called knowledge can't save Akio, let's invite the priest. He's the only child left in that family."
The Village Chief's wording made Shinsuke somewhat uncomfortable, but he didn't try to stop him. After all, whether the so-called "priest" was actually useful didn't matter. If Akio believed in it, his will to survive might grow stronger, which could improve his chances of survival.
And if that happened, it would indeed be a genuine kind of help.
...
"This is the priest who worships Konohanasakuya-hime."
Shinsuke blended into the crowd, watching as the village chief respectfully escorted out a priest in his fifties, faint wrinkles lining his face. Perhaps because Akio was the family's only child, the village had managed to bring the priest over with remarkable speed...
"Konohanasakuya-hime? Shouldn't it be Ōwatatsumi?"
The priest paused for a moment, then scanned the crowd until his gaze landed on Shinsuke Kiyosake, who had spoken up. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied him.
"My friend, you shouldn't say such things. The Great God of Asama oversees the prevention of fires, as well as navigation, fishing, agriculture, and weaving. Naturally, He also watches over a fishing village like yours."
As he finished speaking, the robe that had been resting on the seat beside him suddenly floated up on its own and settled over his shoulders.
The villagers immediately dropped to their knees, one after another, hurriedly apologizing and begging the Great God not to take offense. They insisted the disrespect came solely from Shinsuke...
Seeing that no one around him questioned the priest and that everyone eagerly echoed his words, Shinsuke quickly lost interest and prepared to leave.
But as he turned away, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Beneath the priest's robe, there seemed to be something faintly supporting it from underneath.
That single glance, however, was enough for the priest to notice him.
From that moment on, the priest's gaze locked firmly onto him...
...
The wind brushed against Shinsuke Kiyosake's cracked lips.
Puddles on the ground reflected the sky like mirrors, showing the crimson yet gentle sun overhead and the rows of low houses surrounding the area. Everything looked peaceful.
But Shinsuke's face was deathly pale.
He had been kneeling here for over a day. His limbs, tightly bound, had long since gone numb. By now, he could barely feel his own body.
This place was an abandoned construction site.
It seemed the project had been halted after a mistake in soil surveys, combined with the nearby residents of Shimizu Village being a little too "enthusiastic." At some point, the construction company had simply packed up and left.
Out of ten floodlights, only two had still been working earlier. Now even those had gone dark.
Aside from that, all that remained within sight were abandoned structures and distant mountains. The silence was suffocating.
"Plap."
A soft sound shattered the stillness.
A straw sandal coated in yellow mud stepped into a puddle. The clear water instantly turned cloudy as the mud stirred.
"Plap. Plap. Plap..."
More footsteps followed.
In Shinsuke Kiyosake's despairing gaze, the number of footsteps increased, splashing through the small puddles scattered across the ground.
A group of people approached.
They were dressed in mourning clothes, white headbands tied around their foreheads. Some carried framed photographs, each holding a black-and-white portrait of someone.
Dozens of people held these frames, and most of them were young.
Their expressions and the heavy grief in the air made one thing unmistakably clear.
This was a funeral procession...
They were mourning those who had died of smallpox over the past few days...
Behind the village, rows of gravestones had been hastily erected along the hillside, somewhat uneven and disorderly.
There were no bodies buried beneath them.
The corpses had already been cremated.
Although that technically violated national regulations, this place was remote...
For villagers who survived by fishing at sea and hunting in the mountains, death was not something unfamiliar.
But this time was different.
Not long after Shinsuke Kiyosake returned from finishing his studies outside the village, people began developing sudden fevers and headaches. Red spots appeared on their bodies, and within a few days the spots began to fester with pus.
Most of them never made it through.
They died in this strange and horrifying way...
Shinsuke Kiyosake was the only person from the village who had ever left, successfully graduated from university, and returned with the hope of revitalizing his hometown.
Unfortunately, his luck was terrible.
The outbreak of smallpox happened to coincide exactly with his return.
But worse luck followed.
The man claiming to be a priest took advantage of the villagers' ignorance, had Shinsuke tied up, and dragged him to this abandoned construction site.
The villagers cared only about what was happening right now.
And the priest had already shown them several so-called "miracles."
"Why did you tie me up?"
"You're the one who brought down the wrath of the gods."
"That's complete nonsense."
"Then explain this. Why did the first case appear right when you came back?"
"A coincidence doesn't mean there's a connection."
"Then prove it to us. It's going to rain tonight. If you're still alive and kicking after kneeling here for a full day..."
"Then we'll know you're not the problem."