𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓: 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐬
After a two-day journey by carriage, Kami-sama and I arrived in Makeido, the second largest city in the kingdom. We spent a night there before heading to a corner a little away from the city center on foot.
It was a place like a cesspool, full of illegal brothels and shady shops, a so-called pleasure district. It was a city where miners from the nearby Makeido mines indulged in alcohol, women, and gambling with their hard-earned money. The scent of adulterated alcohol and a sour unpleasant smell always lingered in this dump.
Even in such a city, during the day, various stores were closed before business, creating an atmosphere like a tired wake-up.
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“Charlene, hold my hand.”
“Huh?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
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From the collar and cuffs of Kami-sama’s black clothes, a white snake peeks out.
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“Wow.”
“It seems that Charlene is being watched from all around. It’s dangerous. You want to deal with this calmly, don’t you?”
“Thanks for worrying. I understand, so hide the snake. If it’s found out, it’s troublesome.”
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While speaking, I push the snake back into the sleeve and hold Kami-sama’s long-fingered hand.
A mysterious young man in black clothes and an 8-year-old child in a cute dress that doesn’t fit the city. As they walk hand in hand down the main street, it looks like a mismatched parent-child pair.
Passers-by stare at Kami-sama and me, who are dressed cleanly, with puzzled faces. They probably think the man brought the child to sell.
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My steps were light.
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“You seem to be having fun, Charlene.”
“Well, I was born and raised in this city. . . I always thought I would live in this city, and if I were to leave, I thought it would be with my father.”
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When we lived together, my father actively let me help him with his work. He let me do calculations, manage herbs, and assist in making medicine. He even made me a shopkeeper. Naturally, in our life, my father was trying to give me the power to live as a pharmacist.
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My father was a strict person when it came to work, but he was very kind, including that.
As I walk around the city, memories with my father come back one after another.
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The smell of my father smoking herbs wrapped in paper.
The quiet time eating bread I bought in the morning while watching my father’s sleeping face after working all night.
Even though the time we spent together was short, the face of my mother, who died quickly due to the hardships of her days as a prostitute, is still vivid as if it were yesterday’s memories.
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When my father caressed me, he sometimes had a sad look on his face.
My father, who was always strong-willed, was a very lonely person, and he used to recall my mother whenever he saw her in me as I grew up. I want to see him soon and show him that I’m doing well.
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While walking, I occasionally told Kami-sama about my memories.
As Kami-sama listened, he sometimes responded with something like, “Ah, that’s what you were talking about when you were bathing.” It seemed that he really was listening to my stories.
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“If it’s this time, he should be waking up. . . I’ve left Dad alone for a long time. I have to go home soon.”
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I started to walk faster and faster.
I can’t help but wonder what kind of face my father is making as he lives.
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“But I wonder if he won’t recognize me because I look like this now? He’ll be surprised; he probably didn’t think I would come back.”
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Even when Kami-sama stopped responding, I kept talking excitedly.
Just around the corner, there is my father’s shop.
With an urge to run, I turned the corner.
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“Eh. . .?”
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My father’s house, which is around the corner, has become a vacant lot and is now a storage area for the neighboring shops. Only one corner of the shopping street, lined with narrow shops, has a gaping hole.
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“Hey, this can’t be true? Where’s Dad. . .?”
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I catch a passerby who is looking at me curiously and start talking to him.
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“Hey, mister. Don’t you know the Hiraes’ shop that was here? There was a blond man who ran a pharmacy, and he looked a lot like me.”
“Huh? Was there such a shop? As far as I remember, it’s always been an empty lot.”
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The old man twists his neck, his body swaying as if he is drunk. I thank him and rush into a nearby shop.
The shopkeeper’s eyes widen at the sudden arrival of the child.
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“What’s this, what’s this, if you’re selling yourself, this isn’t the place?”
“Hey, what happened to that drugstore over there? As far as I know, about ten years ago, there should have been a man living with his daughter. . .”
“You know quite an old story, kid. I don’t know, but the rumor is that both the shop owner and his daughter died in a fire. They say it’s creepy because nothing has stood there since the incident of the dark pharmacist. . . Hey, kid?!”
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My head goes completely blank.
I run as if I were shot out of a gun. I head back to the site of the store, parting the weeds. The soil at the roots is black.
My heart is pounding hard.
It’s hard. I feel dizzy.
I couldn’t think of anything.
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“Charlene.”
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Kami-sama kneels, looking into my face.
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“I heard a detailed story from the man earlier. . . The grave is behind the church in the pleasure district.”
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The word “grave” hits me all at once.
My body rejects the understanding of the word. My head hurts.
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“It’s a lie, right? They say I died along with him, but here I am, alive. I’m sure Dad’s alive too. I don’t believe it.”
“Charlene. . .”
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I cling to Kami-sama.
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“Hey, Kami-sama. Don’t you know, being a god, whether Dad is alive or not? As a god, you should be able to feel the breath of all living things, right?”
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Kami-sama says sorry in a small voice.
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“I, now, cannot use all the powers of the god you believe in as a doctrine. . . If it’s a soul born on the soil of this country, I can’t say I can’t trace it. . .”
“So you’re saying. . . you can’t feel the soul of a wanderer like Dad?”
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