Saving Touma

Chapter 1.D - Mountain Spirits

"Be honest with me. Did you tell him anything?" one, who sounded like the manager, asked the other.

"No, I didn't. And I wouldn't have told him anything because I don't know where that village is," the servant replied.

"Himiko sensei, what's with that village? Why can't we tell them about it?" the other servant asked.

"Do you really not know? Haven't you heard what happened to those hunters many years ago?" the manager asked, her voice raised slightly.

"She wasn't born here, sensei. She just moved here from Harima," the other servant justified.

"I see. Well, let's not talk about it. It happened a long time ago. Besides, no one really knows what happened to those men," the manager held back.

Overcome by his curiosity, Ryo impulsively opened the door, making his presence known. Unsurprisingly, the three were shocked.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he said aggressively.

It took the manager a moment to realize she was cornered. Standing before them was a man who wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You shouldn't go there," she responded cautiously.

"Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. We are not bad people. We just need to go to Tabishiki," Ryo explained after sensing fear from the ladies.

"That place is cursed," Himiko continued.

"What do you mean by cursed?" Ryo asked in a calmer tone.

"There were hunters from Echizen who visited here years ago. I don't know if they are really hunter. One of them wore a metal vest with a fake imperial seal around his waist. They also stayed in this inn," she said hesitantly before pausing to examine Ryo's facial expression.

"Go on," Ryo insisted.

"At the time, I wasn't aware of that village. I didn't know there was a village deep within Minago," she continued.

"So, it's in the mountains, huh," Ryo chimed in, making Himiko regret the slip-up. But she decided to continue, realizing they would eventually find a way to get there, and all she could do now was to warn them of the danger that lay ahead.

"They kept asking about it, so my grandmother, who was still alive told them it was in the mountains."

"Then, what happened?"

"A week later, they found one of them heavily wounded and barely alive, lying on a rice paddy. One of his arms was missing, and he had wounds on his legs that resembled bite marks from a large animal."

"Did he tell what happened? Where is he now."

"That's the problem. He died before he could tell us what had happened. Since then, no one from this village has ever attempted to go into the mountains."

The room momentarily fell silent as everyone tried to make sense of what they'd just heard.

"Well then, I'll heed your warning. But we still need to get to that village. Maybe, whatever attacked those me is no longer there."

"You're crazy. You're going to put the lives of your men at risk?"

"Himiko-san. We've been in the face of danger many times throughoutour journey. Nothing can stop us now. The boys knew the risks."