Kamiyakawa got off the ferry. The bumpy sea journey that lasted for several hours made his face look not very good.
I stood on the shore and took several deep breaths with the breath of Ah Mo. The fresh and fishy coastal air filled my lungs, and I slowly regained my composure.
“While I was at sea, I could see Ouri Island right in front of me, but it took me several hours to get there by boat. This was so tortured.”
Taking a boat seems to be close to your destination, but it actually takes a long time.
The ferry we took on the Kamiya River in the afternoon actually arrived at Ourishima Island at dusk.
You can see that the sun has half-diminished to the point where the sea and the sky meet in the distance, and the sea surface in the distance is reflected dimly.
A few seabirds of unknown species, with the remaining light of the setting sun on their backs, the gaps between their feathers slightly shining, screamed and plunged into the forest on the island without a trace.
Beside the pier, there is a fishing boat moored.
It looks like he just returned from a trip to sea.
Several sailors wearing leather aprons were carrying the catch from the boat to the shore in large red and blue plastic baskets.
Marine fish of different sizes, colors, and types were packed into plastic baskets. There were about five or six baskets.
Many fish looked like they had been dead for a long time and had a strong fishy smell.
Beside the fishing boat, a man who looked like the captain, in his forties or fifties, with a wrinkled face, was talking to others.
"Captain Iwashita, this time you went out to sea, you only caught so little? And it seems that most of it is stale."
"There's nothing I can do. I caught such a small amount in just two days at sea. I thought before that if I only brought this small amount of catch back, including the manpower and material resources of going to sea, it would be a total loss. So I simply took a gamble and sailed the boat to
Further away, but still, I still haven't encountered any decent fish. Moreover, I have gone further, delaying my return, and most of the few fish I originally caught have died."
"Sigh... this year's harvest is really not what it looks like."
"Yes, if this continues, I really don't know what to do."
"..."
Several men beside the fishing boat lit up cigarettes and continued to discuss this year's worrying catch with sad faces.
The sky on the coast turned dark and turned into a misty blue-gray.
A few cigarette sparks flickered brightly and dimly in the cold and wet sea breeze.
…
Kamiyagawa was walking on Ouri Island and saw that the sky was getting very dark, so he wanted to find a place to stay first.
Then we will officially start investigating the relevant information about Lord Red Ray.
This was a fishing village thirty years ago, but now it is considered an island town, although the town is not too big.
Kamiya opened the map on his mobile phone and looked at it. There seemed to be only one small hotel in Oali Town.
He planned to stay there.
Holding his cell phone, he walked along the not-so-wide road in the town for a while. When he passed a street lamp, Kamiya stopped.
He suddenly turned around, and his pupils shrank slightly at this moment, becoming dark and deep.
At the same time, his right hand had pressed against the handle of the [Banshee] gun in the [Mirage Bag].
The location Kamiya was looking at was a corner of the street behind him.
And after he turned around, the figure at the corner flashed, and there was the sound of small leather shoes stepping on the ground. His footsteps were panicked and he gradually moved away.
"It's just a person."
Kamiyakawa felt a little disappointed.
Although the person at the corner moved very quickly, Kamiya could easily see the other person's appearance with the help of the [Autumn Hair Cut] technique to strengthen his eyesight.
She is a girl, she looks like a junior high school student, with short hair, wearing an autumn and winter sailor suit with a jacket, probably a school uniform.
"So why are you running? If you weren't in such a hurry, I could simply ignore you as a little girl spying on a strange and handsome older brother out of curiosity."
Kamiyagawa did not go after that JC himself.
Instead, he took out the bird's copper set.
"Aba whined."
A whole purple ghost was lingering, and the little old man appeared.
Kamiya moved his chin towards the corner just now.
The little old man understood immediately and summoned his outer body by shouting and jumping.
Then the clone chased him out like a strange creature, and the little old man's body returned to the bird's bronze pair.
After doing this little thing, Kamiya navigated according to the map again and continued to find the hotel in the town.
It probably took another ten minutes or so.
Kamiya found the hotel in the town.
This hotel has no name, only a wooden plaque saying "Medieval House".
The house is entirely made of wood and looks to be old.
The owner of the hotel is a hunchbacked old woman with a kind face.
Kamiyagawa simply checked in here.
The cost of accommodation is not expensive, 2,000 yen per night.
After taking the key, Kamiya was led by her mother-in-law to the second floor of the hotel.
The hotel room is not big. It may have been converted from an original residential room. It has a small bed.
Like the hotel itself, the rooms are a bit old, but they have private bathrooms and have been cleaned carefully, so they look quite clean.
Kamiya is not picky.
Living in an island town, it would be nice to have this condition.
"Young man, this room is yours. I'm downstairs. If you have anything to do, you can come down and talk to me directly." The mother-in-law of the hotel said, and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute, mother-in-law."
"What's wrong?"
"Um, I want to ask about the red stingray-sama on Ouri Island. It is said that a red stingray festival was held here decades ago."
Kamiyagawa didn’t beat around the bush at all and got straight to the point.
According to the age of the inn's mother-in-law, she must know about the affairs of Lord Red Ray on Ouri Island.
"Why do you ask?"
The mother-in-law asked rhetorically, but her expression did not reveal much vigilance, but more confusion.
"Oh, that's it." Kamiya smiled, put one hand into his pocket, and pinched the [Thousand Silver Needles], "I am a student at Kyushu University, majoring in monster studies. I am still learning folklore.
Scholar. This time I came to Ouri Island to collect the customs and customs related to Red Ray-sama. This is the topic I want to do this semester."
[Thousand Silver Needles] This item has basically no effect on ghost stories and exorcists, but it is very useful for deceiving ordinary people.
Generally speaking, ordinary people may believe "lies" that are extremely inconsistent with the facts and completely illogical.
But I guess it won't be long before I wake up afterwards.
The more outrageous the lie, the faster you will wake up.
However, lies like the one Kamiyagawa is telling now have no logical flaws and are more reasonable.
Moreover, he is already a senior in high school. When he is not wearing school uniform, there is no big difference in his appearance even if he is a college student.
In addition, the lie itself does not harm the interests of the person you are talking to.
When these elements are combined, unless someone steps out and takes a photo of Kamiya's student ID card to prove that he is still a high school student at Karin High School, this lie may not even be discovered at all.
It can only be said that Kamiyagawa has a very strong understanding of the item [Thousand Silver Needles].
Nothing but familiarity with your hands.
"He's a college student who studies." The mother-in-law at the hotel looked at Kamiya's face and was in a daze for a few seconds. "No wonder he came to a remote island like ours at this time."
In fact, the mother-in-law didn't understand many of what Kamiyakawa just said, but under the guidance of [Thousand Silver Needles], the old man still recognized and accepted Kamiyakawa's new identity to the greatest extent according to his own understanding.
"Hmm, so does mother-in-law know about Lord Red Ray?"
"Of course I know. Lord Red Stingray is a very powerful and benevolent god, and he will bless us with a good harvest." The mother-in-law of the hotel nodded.
This statement is similar to what is provided in official information.
"Is there anything else? For example, how the red stingray festival was done in the past."
"Others? None. As for the sacrifices, they existed when I was young. I just remember it was quite lively. Many people went to worship at Akira-sama's shrine. After the sacrifices, everyone would eat sea bream together.
When this was still a village, the sacrifices were conducted by the priests in the village. But the last priest died of illness decades ago."
"That's it."
Kamiya didn’t think the inn’s mother-in-law was lying to him.
For most ordinary people, they only know what benefits worshiping the gods will bring to them.
As for the background of the gods and related customs, it is difficult to explain them in detail.
"Where is Lord Red Ray's shrine?" Kamiya asked again.
"It's deserted now. It's in the woods to the east of the town. The road there is not easy to walk and it's dark. If you want to see it, young man, you can go tomorrow."
The hotel mother-in-law responded like this, and also gave me a kind reminder.
"I know, mother-in-law." Kamiyakawa smiled.
"Hey, maybe it's just that Ouri Island hasn't worshiped Lord Red Ray for a long time. Lord Scarlet Ray is angry, and that's why this year's catch is so bad." Because of the conversation with Kamiya, the mother-in-law at the hotel sighed like this, and then slowly
He raised his head and said, "Young man, do you have anything else to do?"
"Oh, one more question - mother-in-law, which restaurant on the island is better? I haven't had dinner yet."
"You've asked the right person about this. Go southeast from my place, and the Yoshizawa family's restaurant is over there. This year's fishing harvest is very poor, but there are still conches and sea bream in Yoshizawa. He
It’s delicious.”
"Okay, thank you, mother-in-law."
…
Asakawa Hanpei, 10 years old, is an ordinary primary school student in Ouri Town Elementary School.
His father, like many men on the island, is engaged in the fishing industry.
The conditions of the Asakawa family are pretty good, at least not bad on Ourijima Island.
Hanpei Asakawa has been raised fat by his family since he was a child, making him slightly richer than other people of his age.
That night, Banping finished his homework, washed up and went to bed early.
There are no entertainment activities on the island, and primary school students go to bed very early.
Asakawa Hanpei had a dream.
He dreamed that he and a few friends were playing hide and seek on the beach.
Adults always give orders to children not to play on the beach, but these little devils always turn a deaf ear.
After the game started, Banping hid behind a rock.
After hiding for a long time, his ghost friend still couldn't find him.
Asakawa Hanpei looked around boredly while waiting. Suddenly, he saw a strange thing——
At the shoal not too far away from him, the waves were hitting the black rocks and splashing white foam.
There was a bright red thing floating back and forth in it.
After several rounds, the bright red color got closer and closer to the coast, and slowly stood upright.
Only then did Asakawa Hanpei see clearly, it was an old man wearing a beautiful red kimono.
The old man had a long white beard and was standing on the beach, with the water dripping down his brightly colored kimono.
"Come."
The old man waved to Asakawa Hanpei.
Banping's dream ended temporarily here. He turned over on the bed and seemed to have fallen into a deeper sleep.
But in fact, Banping's experience in the dream was not entirely false.
Two days ago, he and a few friends were actually playing on the beach in his dream, the beach to the west of Ouri Island.
They are also playing hide-and-seek and hiding behind rocks.
But Asakawa Hanpei doesn't remember what happened next.
During the hide-and-seek game two days ago, he fainted.
When I woke up again, I was already lying on my bed at home.
It was his friends who were playing together who found him passed out on the beach and promptly informed the adults.
No one knows why Asakawa Hanpei fainted.
Even he himself doesn't know.
The adults just thought Banping was playing on the beach and accidentally hit his head.
For this reason, these little devils were scolded.
I have told you several times that you cannot go to the beach.
How dangerous.
"Hmm..."
Banping on the bed murmured vaguely in his sleep and began to dream again.
This time, he still dreamed that he was on the beach.
The surrounding environment is very dark.
A bonfire was lit on the beach, and the flames burned high and pointed straight into the dark sky.
It's like burning a hole in the sky.
Asakawa Hanpei was standing at the edge of the bonfire, surrounded by about a dozen adults.
The clothes of the adults looked a bit old and very different from the current style.
They held hands, gathered and dispersed.
The leader of the group was still whispering from time to time, not knowing what he was talking about.
Hot... so hot.
It's so hot it's almost melting.
Banping felt uneasy, and he followed the light of the bonfire and looked towards the sea.
In the dark sea water, there is a group of extremely bright red, which is constantly floating up and down with the waves.
After several trips back and forth, the red color got closer and closer to the coast.
Turn into an old man wearing a beautiful kimono and a white beard.
The seawater dripped down his wet red kimono and spread out in a splashing color, as bright as blood.
"Come."
The old man waved to Asakawa Hanpei.
Banping walked over in a daze.
The adults around him began to whisper in unison, piously and solemnly.
After getting closer, Asakawa Hanpei could clearly see the face of the old man in kimono. He was a very, very kind and kind old man.
The old man raised his hand and rubbed his half-flat head.
Then--
Hiss!
A large bloody hole was torn out of the old man's face and chest at the same time, and red hollow tubes wriggled out from his face and chest.
The lumen surged towards Banping, piercing into his tender, white and fat skin, pulling out the barbs and fixing them firmly in it.
Gurgling.
Those red lumens were squirming, as if something was constantly flowing inside.
It flows from the half-flat body to the body of the old man in kimono.
The old man let out an old but pleasant groan. On his cracked face and chest, there was some greasy white-yellow fluid flowing downwards from the ends of the red lumens that were constantly crawling.
"No, no!"
Banping was so frightened that he howled.
It hurts... it hurts so much.
At this juncture, Asakawa Hanpei, who was so frightened that he leaked urine, seemed to hear a strange sound.
"po~po~po~"
The sound was very strange, like the sound made by someone sucking their lips together hard, then letting go and letting their lips pop out.
And for some reason, Asakawa Hanpei had a feeling.
It was as if the strange voice that sounded in such a terrifying scene was far away from him and did not belong to the present moment.