Chapter 482 A-cho, who was disliked because of her plump figure [8800 words]
"Disappeared?" Ogata said, "What do you mean? What do you mean they all disappeared?"
"That's the literal meaning." Aiyaka sighed softly, "It disappeared. Even now, there are no people alive or dead bodies."
"It was probably more than 2 years ago, or more than 3 years ago. I don't remember the specific time. In short, it happened a few years ago."
"You and others make a living by farming, and we Ainu make a living by fishing and hunting, so the men will go into the mountains and woods to hunt from time to time."
"But one day just a few years ago, the young men of Qina Village who went into the mountains and forests for hunting never returned."
"The number of missing people is obviously too high. It cannot be that they failed to return to their villages because they failed in hunting and were killed by bears, wolves or other beasts."
"Even if you miss it while hunting, it's impossible for so many people to miss it at the same time."
"So I suspected that there was some kind of disaster, such as an avalanche."
"Avalanches are the most terrifying disaster in winter. Once a large-scale avalanche occurs, unless you have enough strength to grab a strong enough tree, you are basically dead."
"Qina Village sent a large number of people to search for it."
"But after searching everywhere, I couldn't find any sign of an avalanche in any area."
"None of the missing people have been found."
"Neither living people nor dead bodies can be seen."
"Not only were the people not found, but some people who went to look for them suddenly disappeared while looking for them."
"No one was found for a long time, so Qina Village began to wonder if someone had kidnapped someone from their village."
"So they went to your and Ren's territory, that is, the place in the south called the Matsumae Domain, and asked your and Ren's leader if it was you and Ren who were responsible."
"The leader of Matsumae Clan flatly denied it. To prove his innocence, Matsumae Clan sent a large number of manpower to assist the people of Qina Village in searching for the missing people in their village."
"However, even with the help of Kazuo, there is still no gain at all."
"Not long after that, no one disappeared in Qina Village."
"This is the end of the matter."
"The old people in our Kuma village said it was because the gods were angry. The gods punished Qina Village."
"But I don't agree with this view."
Ayaka shrugged.
"The people in Qina Village have done nothing wrong. They have neither destroyed the forest nor killed bears, deer and other animals indiscriminately. Why would the gods punish Qina Village?"
"...It sounds like Kaminakure." A-Machi answered from the side.
"Shen Yin?" Aiyaka tilted his head.
"It's a popular legend here in Kazuto." Atachi responded, "Kamiyaku means 'hidden by gods and monsters'."
"According to legend, the phenomenon of 'divine hiding' mostly occurs in rural areas."
"Certain gods and ghosts often abduct people in the countryside for fun or for other reasons."
"Most of the abductees are children."
"Those abducted children either never come back, or they are sent back by gods after a period of time."
The Japanese legend of "God's Hidden God" - Ogata had read an article related to it in his previous life.
That article was about revealing what the Japanese legend of "Kamiyin" is all about.
According to that article, "Shenyin" sounds like it is full of mystery, but in fact it is just an ordinary child playing outside and accidentally getting lost.
Why does the phenomenon of "divine hiding" mostly occur in rural areas?
Because many rural villages in ancient Japan were built near mountains, when children went out to play, they would often run into nearby mountains and forests, and then accidentally get lost and unable to come back.
Why are most children encountering "divine hiding"?
Because children are much more likely to get lost than adults.
Some lost children are lucky and come back on their own. Some lost children are unlucky and never come back and die in a remote corner of the mountains somewhere.
Most people in ancient times were superstitious about such things. When a child suddenly disappeared, they liked to associate it with things like gods and ghosts.
"It's quite similar to your and human legend of 'The Hidden God'." Aiyaka shrugged, "But there are still some differences."
"The missing people in Qina Village are all those who went out to hunt, as well as some people who went to look for the missing people."
"Since this disappearance occurred, Qina Village has lost more than half of its young people."
"Without a sufficient number of young men, the women of Qina Village have no choice but to go into battle on their own."
"Those women in Qina Village are really strong."
There was more admiration in Aiyaka's tone.
"Many of their fathers, husbands, and sons disappeared in that 'disappearance incident.'"
"In order to support their broken home, they did all the work of men and women."
"Some of them are not inferior to men in terms of archery skills or hunting skills."
"A year ago, something happened that made the female warriors of Qina Village completely famous."
"I've told you before, the gold thieves do all kinds of evil. In addition to digging for gold, they often attack and plunder our Ainu villages."
"Just a year ago, some twenty gold diggers heard from somewhere that there were very few young men in Qina Village."
"So I had evil thoughts and ran to Qina Village, intending to loot the property and women in Qina Village."
"The result - those gold diggers underestimated the power of the female warriors in Qina Village."
"Before they even had time to rush into the village, they were defeated by the random arrows shot by the female warriors."
"It is said that only a few of the more than 20 gold diggers managed to escape."
A-Machi murmured in a low voice: "The female warriors of Qina Village are so powerful... they can actually use bows to this level..."
Atachi is very aware of how difficult it is to use a bow.
Archery may seem easy, but in fact it requires great physical strength and strength.
After all, the arrow must be shot with enough force to injure and kill the enemy. Without a certain amount of strength and stamina, it will be impossible to shoot many arrows.
"Yes." Aiyaka nodded, "The female warriors of Qina Village are so powerful."
"In short - when you arrive at Qina Village tomorrow, you should pay attention to your words and actions."
"Don't mention the 'disappearance'. It's a sad thing for their whole village. Some people in their village understand the Japanese language."
"And don't underestimate the women in Qina Village."
"Their strength and bravery are not inferior to those of men."
…
…
After telling Ogata and Atachi about the "missing incident" in Kina Village and warning them to be careful about their words and actions when they go to Kina Village, Ayaka left in front of them.
The place where Ogata and Atachi slept was the place where Ayaka and his family used to store sundries.
Aiyaka and the others cleaned up the place and made enough space for Ogata and A-Machi to rest.
Atachi seemed to be still immersed in the story Ayaka just told.
"It's really scary when people disappear suddenly..." Atachi, who was lying next to Ogata, said softly.
The quilt the two of them were covering was made of bearskin.
It was a bit hard to get used to using it at first, but now that I have gotten used to covering it, Ogata feels more and more that this bearskin quilt is really a magical tool in winter. I feel that as long as I cover it, I can easily cope with the weather no matter how cold it is.
"Do you think there really is a god at work?" Amachi asked Ogata softly.
Atachi is not like Ogata, a time traveler, who received materialistic teachings from an early age.
A-Machi is a person who has a very devout belief in Shintoism, so A-Machi has always held the attitude towards gods, demons and monsters that "they might really exist".
"Who knows." Ogata replied casually, "Compared to gods and demons, I think it may be caused by humans."
"Why did you kidnap so many young men?" Amachi asked.
"Hmm...human trafficking?" Ogata proposed a hypothesis.
“But isn’t human trafficking mostly involving young girls or children?”
"Perhaps they were sold to work as coolies, and were taken to dig in very dangerous mines or something."
"There is indeed a possibility of this... Forget it, let's not talk about it." A-Machi tightened the bearskin quilt covering her and Ogata, and then squeezed into Ogata's arms, "Ai
Yaka said that as long as we don't go out of town, we will set off early tomorrow morning and arrive at Qina Village near evening."
"You must remember not to talk nonsense and talk about the pains of the villagers in Qina Village."
"Don't worry. I know it myself."
…
…
The next day——
As soon as the genius was revealed, Ogata, Atachi, and Aiyaka were ready to go.
The three people who were ready to go sat on Aiyaka's sled. After Aiyaka shouted "Toha" to the four sled dogs responsible for pulling the cart, the four sled dogs
Then he pulled the sled and ran forward at a speed that could make a person's hair blow in the wind.
In Ezo, only wealthy families can afford to raise sled dogs.
The feed cost for sled dogs alone is an expensive expense.
And Aiyaka's family happens to be that kind of wealthy family.
I don’t know how the four sled dogs raised by their family were raised, but each one is stronger than the other.
It's so strong that it feels like it can be used as a mount for petite women like Rin Kinoshita and Shuu Guashou.
It is precisely because the sled dogs of the Ayaka family are so strong that they can pull the sled very fast.
In recent days, thanks to the Ayaka family's sled and sled dogs, Ogata and the others were able to travel quickly between so many villages.
Ogata also likes doing this kind of dog sledding, which reminds him of the feeling of riding a motorcycle in his previous life.
Ogata liked the feeling of strong wind blowing on his face very much - even though it was a little painful.
"Today's weather is not very good." Ayaka, who was in charge of driving, looked at the sky above his head.
It's a cloudy day today.
The space between the sky and the earth is blocked by layers of thick clouds, which emit bursts of cold air.
"I hope there won't be a snowstorm." Ogata followed Aiyaka and looked up at the sky above.
The horror of blizzards - Ogata and Amachi had already experienced it in the Ou area.
"It's unlikely that there will be a blizzard." Ayaka, as an experienced hunter, has already had his own insights and deep experience in watching the weather. "But until night, the clouds should not disperse."
Ayaka needed to concentrate on driving the sled, so after taking a look at the current weather and briefly chatting with Ogata, he withdrew his attention and concentrated on driving.
"Mashima, Omachi, hold on tight. We've reached a flat area. I want the dogs to speed up a little."
After that, Ayaka, who was holding something like a joystick in each hand, shouted to the four sled dogs in front:
"Toho! Toho! Toho! Toho! (Ezo: Forward)"
After the four sled dogs heard the "Toho" shouted by Ayaka one after another, they immediately increased the speed of the sled by another level, like a conditioned reflex.
…
…
Eyaka had told Ogata and Amachi before - if they set out at dawn and didn't encounter any accidents along the way, they would be able to arrive at Kina Village smoothly near dusk.
So far, it seems that it has taken less time than Ayaka expected.
When the time reached early 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Ogata and the others saw white and light smoke.
"Mashima! Omachi! We're here!"
After loudly reminding Ogata and Atachi behind him, Ayaka commanded the sled dogs to slow down slightly.
"After entering Qina Village, you must be careful in your words and actions."
"Don't mention anything that will remind the villagers of Qina Village of the 'disappearance'."
"Got it!" Ogata had to shout at the top of his voice because of the obstruction of the wind.
Ayaka drove the slowed sled and slowly approached the place where white and thin smoke was rising.
Soon, Ogata and the others saw the shadow of the Ainu village building in front of them.
After moving forward for some distance, Ogata and others finally discovered something strange - there were many people gathered at the entrance of Qina Village.
In addition to people, we also saw a lot of horses.
Looking at those horses, Ogata couldn't help but frown slightly.
These horses are so recognizable.
Because they are too tall and too strong. Japan cannot produce such horses at all.
Ogata had just seen such tall and strong horses in Vasili's camp before.
—It's a Cossack horse...
Ogata muttered in his heart.
Aiyaka also noticed something strange at the entrance of Qina Village. After frowning, he drove the sled dogs to speed up the speed that had already slowed down slightly.
After approaching the entrance of Qina Village, Ogata and the others finally saw clearly what was going on.
It turned out that there were two waves of people confronting each other there.
A group of Cossacks with white skin and deep eyes.
And a group of Ainu people - they are probably the villagers of Qina Village.
The two groups were facing each other, seemingly arguing about something.
After Ogata and the other three appeared not far away, they naturally attracted the attention of both groups.
The two groups turned to look at Ogata and the other three who were slowly approaching on a dog sled.
Only then did Ogata and the others see that standing at the front of the group of Cossacks was a young man with bright red hair.
After seeing the bright red hair and the face of the red-haired young man, Aiyaka exclaimed:
"Skullucci?"
"Huh? Aiyaka?" The red-haired young man also had a look of surprise on his face just like Aiyaka.
…
…
A few days ago——
"As long as you join us, no indigenous settlement will be our opponent."
"How about it? Do you want to come together?"
Vladimir has a bad mouth.
Because he put his lips close to Scrooge's ear, Scrooge could smell very clearly the smell of a dead rat that had been left for half a month.
But Scrooge still maintained a very gentlemanly smile.
Then--
"Vladimir, you are right. It is indeed very satisfying to rob other people's property, wives and daughters."
"It's even more fun to humiliate those women's wives and daughters in front of their husbands and fathers."
Hearing this, Vladimir looked happy.
But the joy on his face only lasted for a short while.
Because what Scrooge said immediately immediately made the expression on his face freeze.
"But you'd better find someone else. I don't really want to participate in this 'fun' of yours."
"Why?" Vladimir frowned, "Can you tell me a reason?"
"Hmm..." Scrooge looked at the sky above his head and muttered, "The reason... maybe it's because I want to spend the Maslenitsa quietly."
"...Skullucci, you are still so weird." Vladimir slowly put away the frozen expression on his face.
"I thought that exploring this inhospitable Far East for so long would change your state of mind a little, and you would no longer adhere to those inexplicable moral principles as before."
"Forget it, forget it if you don't want to participate."
After finishing speaking, Vladimir seemed too lazy to talk to Skulucci anymore. He shook his cloak and turned around to leave.
Skulucci also stopped talking to Vladimir, and returned to the camp where Skulucci and his men were stationed together with Vladimir.
Without saying another word, Vladimir sat back on his horse and led his men away.
After Vladimir left, the freckled young man who had just helped everyone catch 6 fat rabbits - Avger hurried to Skulucci's side, and then cautiously asked Skulucci
:
"Boss Scrooge, what were you talking about with that man just now?"
"I was just chatting about some boring things with that pig-dog hybrid, an idiot before God, a fool who has been eating shit since he was a child and has such a bad mouth."
Scrooge covered his chest and vomited.
"Oh my God, that guy who grew up fucking goats has such a fucking stinky mouth. Why is his mouth so stinky... My ass that hasn't been washed in a year smells better than his stinky mouth."
"It's a pity that Vasili and the others are not here."
"If all my other subordinates are here, I can try to kill that idiot and his subordinates, and use their supplies to have a good Maslenitsa."
"Boss, you are kidding again." Afjie laughed, "Why did we attack the group just now if we had nothing to do?"
Scrooge did not answer Avger's question, but gave him a meaningful smile, then lay back on his hammock and picked up the "Don Quixote".
"Okay! They've left! Put your guns away! Just do what you have to do!"
Seeing that Scrooge was talking so freely, his subordinates put away their weapons one after another and went back to their posts to do their own thing.
Split wood.
Burn the fire, burn the fire.
Rack the pot. Rack the pot.
Handling rabbits Handling rabbits.
"Boss Skulucci." Avger, who was sitting next to Skulucci and skinning a rabbit, said to Skulucci, "It's almost the Maslenitsa. It seems like we are in a foreign country.
This is our fourth Maslenitsa. When can we return to China?"
"God knows." Scrooge, who was holding a copy of "Don Quixote", shrugged. "Maybe after a while, we will receive a recall order. After all, France has appeared.
Big change."
"In order to cope with various changes that may occur, the Tsar may later recall us who have been exploring in the Far East to strengthen the country's military strength."
"France?" Avger raised his eyebrows, "Oh, are you referring to the revolution that is breaking out in France?"
In the middle of last year, 1790, they in the Far East received important news from far away Europe - in the summer of 1789, the people of France captured the Bastille, and a vigorous revolution broke out in France.
"It's already 1791." Avger continued, "Maybe the revolution in France has been put down?"
"It's really hard to say this kind of thing." Skulucci smiled, "It's possible that the revolution is still going on, and the scale of the revolution is even greater."
"On the contrary, I hope that the revolution in France will be as big as possible." Scrulucci, who was lying on the hammock, covered his face with "Don Quixote" in his hand, and then crossed his palms and put them behind his head, "
It would be best if the revolution succeeds and a strong new French government is born."
"So powerful that the Tsar felt threatened and called us Cossacks from the Far East back to Europe."
"Compared to the restless Far East, it is indeed more comfortable to stay in Europe."
"The emperor of France is also a fool." Avger sneered, "Obviously his country's financial situation is not very good, yet he still spends so much money to support the American people's war of independence."
"If the French emperor had not supported the independence of the Milicians, the revolution might have been delayed a few years."
"The Americans really should respect the emperor of France as the father of their country."
In response to Avger's remarks, Skulucci just smiled and then said:
"Okay, let's stop talking about Europe."
"Europe is too far away from us, so we should pay more attention to what is in front of us."
"Afjie, please pass the order for me now - in two days, the map of this area will be completed."
"After we finish drawing the map of this area, we will go back to meet up with Vasili and the others, and then we will have a happy Maslenitsa together."
"Hmph, but I guess that guy Vasili must have started celebrating the holidays in advance."
"Okay!" Avjie nodded vigorously with a happy face.
…
…
Time returns to the present——
After hearing the name "Skullucci" from Ayaka's mouth, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly, and then he quickly cast an appraising look at the red-haired young man.
——Is he the boss of Vasili and the others...
During these days, Ogata, who had been waiting hard for their boss to return in order to buy a gun from Vasili and the others.
Ogata never expected that he would meet Vasili and his boss in Qina Village.
Ogata remembered that Vasily told him more than once that their boss was both a Scot and a Cossack.
After taking a closer look at Skulucci's facial features, Ogata found that Skulucci's facial features were indeed deeper than those of Vasili and the others, and his skin was fairer. In short - more
European feel.
When Ogata and A-Machi were looking at Scrooge, Scrooge was also looking at Ogata and A-Machi.
Looking at the two Kazuto sitting behind Aiyaka, Skulucci raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of curiosity and doubt.
However, he did not immediately ask Aiyaka who the two people sitting behind him were, but first said to Aiyaka:
"Aiyaka, why are you here?"
"The two new friends behind me are looking for two missing people, so I took them to Qina Village to look for clues. What about you? Why are you here?"
"We were planning to go back and meet up with Vasili and the others." Skulucci shrugged, "We passed by this village by chance."
"Since I am so destined to this village, I plan to talk to the people in this village about some things that are quite important to them."
"A very important thing?" Aiyaka raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"It's a long story. I'll tell you slowly later."
"Aiyaka, do you know the people in this village? If so, please tell me about them."
"The people of this village have agreed to listen to what we want to say to them."
"But they don't allow all of us to enter, and only allow up to three people to enter the village."
"I don't want my subordinates to wait for me outside the village in such a damn cold weather. Aiyaka, tell me about them."
As soon as Skulucci finished speaking, an old woman with wrinkles on her face stood directly in front of Skulucci and asked Aiyaka:
"Aiyaka, do you know this red-haired stranger? (Ezo)"
"Well, we know each other, what happened? (Ezo)" Aiyaka asked.
"These strangers suddenly visited our village just now and said they had something very important to talk to us about."
"We're interested though in hearing what interesting things they have to say."
"But we couldn't just let such a large group of strangers into the village, so we blocked them here. (Ezo)"
Hearing this, Ayaka finally understood what the differences were between Skulucci and the villagers of Qina Village.
Although the villagers of Qina Village agreed to hear what "important things" Aiyaka said, they did not want all of Skulucci to enter the village, and only allowed a maximum of 3 people to enter.
Scrooge, on the other hand, wanted him and all his men to enter the village, and did not want his men to stay outside the village in the freezing cold, waiting for him to come back.
"Skullucci." Ayaka turned to look at Skulucci, "The villagers don't want all your men to enter, which is actually reasonable. After all, if so many outsiders enter the village at once, anyone will be scared."
"Can you step back?"
After listening to Aiyaka's advice, Scrooge went to scratch his red hair.
"...Forget it, just take a step back."
After Scrooge shrugged, he turned to his subordinates behind him and shouted loudly:
"Avger! Lev! You two follow me! The rest stay here and wait for us! (Lucian)"
After giving instructions to the subordinates behind him, Skulucci turned his attention back to Ayaka.
"Aiyaka, you won't leave immediately afterwards, right?"
"Probably not." Aiyaka said, "These two friends behind me and I may have to spend the night here tonight."
"That's good." Skulucci smiled, "We'll see you later. I'm quite interested in the two friends behind you."
"I happen to have someone I'm looking for."
…
…
Many people in Aiyaka and Qina Village are familiar with each other.
After briefly talking to the people in Qina Village, the people in Qina Village gave Ogata and his companions a pass.
Ayaka commanded the sled dogs to pull the sled slowly into the village.
As for Skulucci - he just led two of his subordinates, led by some villagers of Qina Village, to the home of the chief of Qina Village.
Go and tell the village chief about the "important things" he just said.
Aiyaka from Kuma Village came to the village with a man and a woman - the news soon spread throughout Qina Village.
Aiyaka is one of the few top hunters in Kuma Village. In Qina Village, which has good relations with Kuma Village, Aiyaka's name is naturally known to everyone.
People who love to join in the fun have no regard for country or ethnicity.
The villagers of Qina Village gathered around to see what the two Kazuto brought by the famous Aiyaka looked like.
Soon, a lot of people gathered around Ogata and the others.
Ogata simply looked at the crowd of onlookers around him - there were really very few men.
The number of young men is pitiful.
"There are really many female warriors in this village..."
Omachi, who was sitting behind Ogata, whispered to Ogata in front of him at a volume that only she and Ogata could hear clearly.
"Yeah." Ogata nodded slightly in response.
The ratio of young men and women who gathered around was about 3:7.
Ogata noticed that many women were carrying bows on their backs. Even if they were wearing heavy clothes, they could feel that the figures of these women carrying bows were very strong and they were not frail people.
When Ogata and Amachi looked at the villagers gathered around them, the villagers also looked at Ogata and Amachi.
The men looked at Atachi.
The women looked at Ogata.
Although the nationalities are different, the eyes for appreciating beauty are similar.
The men surrounding Ogata and the others generally thought that Omachi was beautiful, and they swallowed their saliva involuntarily.
Compared to these men, the reactions of the women who focused their main attention on Ogata were relatively dull...
…
…
Four little girls from Qina Village stood at the outermost edge of the crowd, standing on tiptoes to look at Ogata and Omachi who were not far away - mainly looking at Ogata.
After seeing enough of Ogata's face and figure, these four little girls quickly left the periphery of the crowd and ran all the way to a place where Ogata and the others could not be seen.
These four little girls are all underage, so they have no tattoos on their faces, and their fair and clean faces are full of youthfulness.
Although they are young, all four of them carry bows and arrows on their backs.
These 4 people are wearing different colored headbands on their heads. The colors of the headbands worn by the 4 people are - red, blue, purple and orange.
After the four people ran to a place where Ogata and the others could not be seen, the girl with the red headband couldn't wait to ask the other three people:
"Have you seen that Kazuto male?"
The other three people nodded, indicating that they had seen it.
"It's quite tall." Lan Tou said.
"It doesn't look very strong." The orange headband responded.
"Speaking of which, did you see the expressions of those men just now?" Purple Headband flattened his mouth, "Really, they were staring straight at that Kazuto woman, and her eyes almost popped out. That Kazuto
Are any women so beautiful?"
"I think she's quite pretty..." Orange Headband whispered, "This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful person."
"Beautiful, what's the use of being pretty?" Purple Headband's eyes wandered, "Have you seen this part of that woman?"
Purple Headband patted his chest.
"Wearing such thick clothes, there is still such a bulge there. People with this kind of figure are the most useless."
The purple headband looks like it hates iron.
"It's so loud here that I can't even draw the arrow. Once I let go of the bow string, it will bounce all the way there. It will hurt you to death."
"That's right." Red Headband agreed, "Fortunately she is Kazuto. If she were us Ainu, she would be a guy who can't even draw a bow."
…
…
"Hello..."
Atachi sneezed cutely.
"What's wrong?" Ogata turned around and asked, "Are you cold?"
"It shouldn't be...it's probably just because of the cold wind blowing just now."
After saying that, A-Machi pulled the clothes on his upper body tighter, making the clothes on his chest become more bulging.