Merc's Involvement: Sakura Samsara

Chapter 2: Escalation

A couple of had passed since Alex came into contact with the ghost girl.

In the time that had elapsed since then, that was the only thing on the boy's mind as be continued to tour the village.

'That spirit certainly was an odd one. Just who exactly does she want me to free? That grave she appeared in front off, is she the ghost of that grave? The Kanji on the tomb was a little hard to read at first, but eventually I figured it out as, "Yae Rin". Could she be related to Yae Sakura? I should ask her about this once she's done.' Thought the boy.

As he continued to walk about, he noticed that one of the village houses had its sliding door just slightly opened, so to satiate his curiosity, Alex took a peek inside and saw Yae and other village folk, presumably higher ups among the village, all sitting on the floor gathered around one another.

'This must be that meeting that Sakura went to attend.' Thought Alex as he listened in.

"This village didn't have a single problem with monsters until that kid showed up!" Shouted a male.

"That child must be a harbinger of ruin! He must be cast away immediately!" Said another male.

"Those beasts killed my husband! We must make the dark haired boy pay!" Shouted a female.

Alex was naturally confused as to how his appearance apparently caused the village to descend into chaos, though Yae Sakura took all of their comments with a straight face as she gave a response.

"There's no proof that the monster attacks were caused by the dark haired boy." She said which caused the other members to voice their frustrations.

"You must be kidding! There's no need for any investigation! You're the Miko of the village! You're supposed to protect us!" Said another male.

Yae simply bowed in response.

"Please allow me some more time. I'll look into this monster attack and assure you all that it will come to an end." She said.

"Lady Miko, though that boy may have nothing to do with the monster attacks, don't forget that the Day of Offering is fast approaching." Said a male, seemingly the organizer of this meeting, who sat directly across from Yae.

Upon hearing his words, Yae gained a cautions tone.

"Father.........I-I mean, Master, do you plan to use him as an offering?" Asked Yae.

The organizer kept quiet for a bit, before sighing as he resumed speaking.

"The village hasn't received a single drop of rain in three months. It's a sign that the Gods have made their intentions very clear. That boy isn't just a mere passerby. He's a gift from the from the heavens." He said.

"B-But.............." was all Yae could say before the organizer resumed speaking.

"We must satiate the gods in order to avoid disaster. We either offer up the outsider, or we'll have to offer up another young girl from within the village, just like your sister Rin, who gladly gave up her life for the village. Do you really wish for her sacrifice to be in vain?"

Upon hearing the name Rin, Yae lost all her composure, holding her hands up to her head to cover her ears, seemingly hearing voices in her head as she hunched over, breathing heavily and beginning to hyperventilate.

After witnessing this, Alex knew that he had to step in, so in an instant he swung the sliding door open and barged in.

"Alright that's enough!" He shouted, gaining everyone's attention and snapping Yae back to normal.