After explaining the situation to a hesitant Sui, they made simple preparations for the journey and set off for Miya Province together. Arai and Sui both changed into their tiger forms; it was probably the most comfortable way for them to travel. Yae rode on the golden tiger’s back, and the brothers entrusted their swords to her.
Just as she’d suspected, Hoodori and Akanagi had horses fastened to trees on top of the cliff. They said they could reach Miya Province in less than half a day if they rode without rest, but as the matter was not so urgent, they did not want to push the horses in a way that would shorten their life spans. Horses were difficult to raise on the rough terrain of Izumo. They were a valuable means of transportation, and Miya Province with its many warriors took especially good care of them.
Yae didn’t talk to the men much during their journey. They camped near a stream after sunset and got moving again early the next morning. They stopped to rest several times along the way, and when the setting sun began to paint the contours of the distant mountains red, the group arrived in Miya Province.
Miya Province was located on the north side of Mount Yagi. It was a relatively large village situated in the valley between Mount Yagi and Mount Mebiro. In contrast to the terraced fields that climbed the slopes of Yae’s hometown, this place was surrounded by rocky cliffs, meaning there were hardly any fields in sight. The villagers here were mountain people, and they lived in houses made of stone and timber built on different levels of the rock face. There were rope ladders and stairs built into the cliffs.
The village might have sounded primitive and dull by that explanation alone, but most of the buildings had a dignified elegance to their exteriors. Pillars rising from open verandas supported hipped roofs. The outer walls were painted a variety of colors, including white, red, and green, and the roofs were decorated to match. The cliff face and its many buildings looked like the abode of gods, serving as visual proof that the elders truly did place great importance on divine will.
There aren’t many mysteriums here. Yae was studying the province’s structure closely. She found the moss-covered faucet poking out from the cliff kind of funny, but that was the only mysterium she saw. A large river ran through the valley, and there were storehouses on stilts dotting its edge. She saw river fish being dried on straw mats next to them. It seemed like the buildings down there were used to process food. The width of the river’s bank on the Mount Mebiro side was narrow, and a thick forest ran from it to the foot of the mountain. The side facing them with the storehouses was a little wider and only featured sparse trees.
Yae was astonished by how much one village could vary from another. The golden tiger beneath her seemed to take no interest in the makeup of the village, and his ears twitched in boredom. Sui, meanwhile, was carefully watching the villagers as they emerged from buildings and gazed down at the visitors.
On the whole, people have more rugged builds here than in Kaki Province… Nature had a big influence not just on personality but also on appearance. Wild Natures made up the majority of Miya Province’s population, and the people here possessed large frames, regardless of gender.
Hoodori and Akanagi rode to the riverbank and dismounted. The young boys who ran up to them looked in surprise at Yae and the golden tiger she was riding, then took the horses’ reins and led them below the cliff. It looked like there was a stable over there.
“I apologize for rushing you,” Hoodori announced, “but I would like for you to meet with the elders before you rest from the journey.” He started walking toward wooden stairs built into the cliff face. Yae followed him and Akanagi without getting up from the golden tiger’s back. The younger brother remained in his tiger form as well and followed the others.
“The elders are in a shrine on top of the cliff.” Hoodori turned around to explain. That was when it began. A booming, rumbling noise reverberated through the area. Yae saw flocks of birds take off from the trees, fleeing.
She started. Arai also stopped and looked around as if on edge.
“Is the mountain rumbling?” she asked, and Hoodori and Akanagi made pained expressions.
Another ominous rumbling sound echoed. It sounded like the mountain was roaring. As soon as that thought crossed Yae’s mind, a section of the forest on the Mount Mebiro side truly began to creak and shake.
“Huh…?!” Yae exclaimed loudly, forgetting all modesty, and watched closely. But she could see no cracks in the ground from the rumbling of the mountain. Instead, she saw a giant creature dozens of meters long fixed to the ground with rope. The rumbling noise seemed to be coming from the creature as it struggled to get up. It was as big as a dinosaur. Its body was coated in green, and giant trees grew on its back. She guessed from its build that it was some kind of wolf.
“Is that a villager from Miya Province…? Has the deformation gotten that bad?” Yae asked, startled. Deformation was an illness that led to death. Even if the victim lost themselves and transformed into a grotesque shade, in the end, they regressed and passed just like a person dying from old age. Death was peculiar in this world. The bones turned to wood and stone, and corpse bugs settled inside them. The body eventually became a part of nature. “Is the one with deformation the elder?”
“Yes,” Akanagi answered. He spoke calmly, the evening sun reflecting in his red eyes. “That swollen monster is Hotaru, the elder of my family. He’s old, but he was the picture of health, and there was no reason for his body to decline. Out of nowhere, he suddenly developed the symptoms of deformation and rapidly changed into that thing. We’ve tied him down, so he won’t cause any damage… And now, other elders are showing signs of deformation, too.”
“Other elders, too?” Yae repeated, surprised. Akanagi and Hoodori both nodded gravely. This is really serious… This explained why Hoodori was ready to give his life to bring her here. She doubted anyone had believed at the beginning that Hotaru caught deformation because some medium had been left to die. But the series of calamities had everyone in shock and trying anything they could think of. They must have been grasping at straws when they began searching for Yae.