Chapter 93 The People of the Settlement
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Our plan for tomorrow was to choose souvenirs. There would be a small event to try a fun but safe mystical object (magic item) from the Valley of the Uncanny. Trinkets and toys were on the second level, and food items came from the third.
There were many things, from useful mystical objects to silly goods that looked like jokes sold in a city mall.
I could pick anything I liked with my own sense, test what people wanted, then send a chest full of gifts back to the surface with a bodyguard. It sounded easy to think, “It is only one more day to endure,” but we could not stop the rescue plan. If Himawari or the Three changed their mood or if the situation shifted, they might keep me here.
On the way back from the container where the baby had been, the sun sank like a red fireball behind the mountain peak. The orange light spread from the top like a hat on the ridge, and the sky turned deep red. Below, the mountain’s shadow brought night early. I saw the town people heading to their poor homes.
As they walked home, they looked like a small herd of black goats moving slowly along the foot of the mountain.
More than ten people lived in one small house, but it was still not enough. Since the weather never changed, many slept outside on a mat and shared space under the open sky. They could not afford to cook or light each home, so they would likely share one big pot of food and eat together as they looked at the stars.
I pulled Flatty-chan’s sleeve. She looked sad after seeing the sick man lying in bed.
”Can we take a little side trip?” I asked.
”I think it is fine… Did something worry you?” she said.
”Yes. The people who escaped with us. They looked tired. I want to see if they’re okay now.”
I looked at the small settlements scattered in the mountain’s shadow. A sudden wish rose in me to see their lives up close. Some had prayed to me before, and we had met on the surface.
Tomorrow was full. If I left here, I might never see them again.
”I won’t visit the Valley of the Uncanny again, and they can’t return to the surface. I want to see their faces one last time. Is that wrong?”
I also wondered if they felt something about becoming people of this new town.
I would follow Flatty-chan’s call. She got food from the town folk and picked up rumors, so she knew if it was safe to meet the settlers.
After she heard my idea, her voice gained strength again.
”You want to do this, Young Master? Then let us do it!” she said brightly.
”Are you sure?” I asked.
”Yes. I’m also curious about the hut, and the town people will be happy to see you.”
”Good. Then let’s go, just the two of us.”
We took permission and left Himawari and the others. They were busy moving between levels, talking with Kujukuri Town, and getting ready in case a fight broke out.
Guards watched us from far away, but they believed they could call us back with a speaker mystical object, so they let us move freely. It was just right, since I didn’t want to shock the town people by bringing an important person with us.
Flatty-chan and I talked about the strange feeling we had in the woods earlier as we came close to the busy settlement.
”It’s dinner time. They are cooking together. Maybe… we should go quietly so we can see how they live,” I whispered.
”Understood,” she said.
We slipped into the town’s evening rest. The sun had fully gone behind the peak.
Still, we stood out. An Imperial Guard and her master.
”Maybe we should only watch from far. I don’t want to interrupt,” I said.
We had to avoid pity. Still, walking past and looking from a distance would not hurt.
If I came forward, they would kneel, lower their heads, and stop eating to serve me. It would be like a noble walking into a small hometown cookout without warning. Even if a male came, they might worry what order he would give. My status was that different. It would cause trouble.
As I thought of saying my goodbye in my heart, Flatty-chan spoke softly. She seemed to have an idea.
”Please wait. Ah—there. Good. Excuse me,” she said.
She ran to a town woman passing by and took her clothes. Then she wrapped a big coat around me. She folded a cloth into a head wrap and tied it around my head.
In a moment, I looked like a child who had lost his home in an air raid.
”There. Done!” she said, and tied the cloth under my chin. Flatty-chan smiled with great joy.
”A sweet little charm! A heavenly beauty! You look cute in anything! I could just hold you close! A total mystery… Ah, no, I mean, it suits you very well!” she said.
”Will that woman be okay without her clothes? Well, at least they won’t know I’m a boy like this,” I said.
Flatty-chan never hesitated to take things from town people if it was for a noble’s sake—like my food earlier. Maybe she paid them, but it felt almost forced. She was strict, but like a big sister I could rely on.
I had stopped feeling bad about it. When they knew it was for a male, they even felt happy to help.
”I do not mean a town person’s clothing is right for you,” she said quickly. “You look good no matter what you wear. And your face is hidden, so if you stay quiet, it will be fine. I am sorry it is second-hand, but it has no bugs.”
”I don’t mind. I’m fine,” I said.
She kept trying to explain, but her eyes shone. Wearing town clothes was almost an insult for someone like me. Still, I knew she was taking a little mental picture of me for her memory. I was glad she would have something nice to remember.
Another Imperial Guard would never do this.
She wore a rough kimono like an older sister, and I wore her hand-me-down like a younger one as we walked down the hill.
This level now had more than three thousand human beings after many moves. The place we visited had a few hundred, mostly people who came here recently, some who escaped with us yesterday.
”It’s not very lively,” I said.
The town people ate in silence, moving their food to their mouths like they had no choice. A dark mood hung over them.
”No wonder,” I whispered.
The view was strange, and the food was new. The people of Isumi town were full of old beliefs, so even good new things were hard to accept.
And the war they ran from might not be far behind them. I was here like a tourist, but for them, this was the first step into a future that would decide the town’s fate.
Their joy at arriving had already turned into fear for what came next.
As we walked past the townspeople, I felt more than just worry about the future—a strange, familiar lethargy, like the one I’d seen in the Three.
Every so often, as if sensing my unease, some of the townsfolk would suddenly brighten, their friendliness oddly forced. But the moment I looked away, they reverted to a dull, lifeless crowd.
Red-black butterfly monsters fluttered in the night air, and even they felt strange.
”Hey… what happened to everyone? They feel very different from when we escaped together,” I whispered.
Flatty-chan did not answer.
”Flatty-chan?” I asked.
”Young Master… let us go over there,” she said at last.
She had been watching the people with a troubled look. She pointed to a small group sitting around a fire.
They were not eating food from this level. A few old women were slowly chewing on the dry, familiar rations they had brought from the surface. Their faces were tired, but they did not act the same as the other women with their odd, forced moods.
”You came here too, eh?”
At first, I could not tell who spoke. Surprised, I turned. Flatty-chan was speaking to an old woman who stirred a brown soup in a pot. The smell of burning dry cow dung rose under it.
The woman filled a bowl with the thick soup and handed it to Flatty-chan.
”Thank you, thank you,” Flatty-chan said, then drank it with a happy slurp.
It seemed like miso stew with mixed grains. I smelled miso too, though a little like compost.
When the old woman saw Flatty-chan eat her food, her wrinkled face bent into a warm smile. She now saw us as friends.
Her words came out in a very heavy country accent—so strong I had never heard anything like it. Even poor old women in the south of town did not sound like this.
Guessing the meaning, I thought she had said: “I’ve never seen you before. Where are you from? Tokyo, maybe?”
Tokyo… the Imperial Capital? Was she asking if we came from Tokyo? I had no idea what the last part meant.
Flatty-chan shook her head.
”No. We came to town only lately. Big trouble, you know. And… how is life here?” she replied in the same dialect—smoothly.
Her accent was perfect. The old woman’s face scrunched like a dried plum, but she understood every word.
”I see. You’re a funny one. This place is good, but it’s also heavy on the heart,” the woman said.
”Right. I see,” Flatty-chan answered.
The old woman went on. “Suddenly everyone changed at once. They all came back fresh. After one night, they were fully fine again. And then…”
”How about yesterday?” Flatty-chan asked.
”I used a lot of mint oil, so smell and monsters stayed away. You should do that too.”
I almost lost my balance. Their words felt like a strange story from another world. The women around us nodded and spoke in the same thick dialect.
This must be a dialect from the southern coast. I had heard that older women who never trained to speak with males could not use standard language. Seeing two people talk like this felt like watching a friend return to her hometown and suddenly speak strong local speech.
Fine. I decided to enjoy this as a little culture lesson. Long ago, the government tried to erase local speech, but letting these fading words stay in memory was no sin.
When the talk paused, the old women looked at me. With my face wrapped up, they thought I was a girl.
”That child yours?”
”No, not mine. A little lost one, eh?”
Flatty-chan waved a hand as if shy.
The old woman looked at me with soft, sad eyes, then gently patted my head through the cloth.
”Looking after this one, are you?”
”Just washing her, is it?”
”Oh, that’s a lot of work.”
Her hand was wrinkled and rough, and it smelled of the sea. Somehow, that touch made me feel safe.
”Take this and go. Go home now,” she said, giving me a bowl of miso porridge.
As I slurped it quietly, smoke stung my eyes. Before I knew it, the women had moved on to talk about dirty jokes. They shared memories of the one time they had been with a male many years ago.
Flatty-chan and I ran away in a hurry.
”Why do old country ladies love dirty talk no matter the world? I feel like it always turns into that,” I said.
”I did not want you to hear such rough country words, Young Master,” she sighed.
”It was funny, though. The porridge was a bit salty,” I said.
Flatty-chan seemed upset that I had seen a side of her she did not want to show.
”What were they saying?” I asked.
”Well… I have been asking the town people since yesterday whenever I could,” she said.
Flatty-chan could translate from Japanese to English and even switch to the local dialect if needed. She was truly a region-born guide.
She explained that the old women’s long-time friends who came to this level earlier had changed in personality. Rumor said everyone lived calmly at first, but when the items from the surface ran out, they changed suddenly. The worst change came when the mint oil—the same one I got to keep bugs and monsters away—ran out.
Still, it was not a huge personality shift. People had trouble explaining what was wrong.
The old women felt the same strange mood in the people here as I did. But they could not do anything, and they did not plan to. They had raised their children and seen their grandkids. They just wanted to live as life carried them.
My wish to silently say goodbye to the town people vanished completely.
And the strangeness was not only in the people around us. Since lunch, Flatty-chan had felt worse after eating food from this level. The problem was, neither of us knew the cause.
”Because of my official duty, I know poisons well… but this is not poison. Still, something is wrong,” she said.
Her face really looked pale. A little drool ran down from her mouth, but she did not notice.
”Flatty-chan…”
”We must leave. This place is bad,” she said.
”Okay. Are we ready?”
She nodded. It seemed she had already planned for this.
Her eyes were filled with worry. She didn’t know the specifics, but if she insisted we couldn’t wait until tomorrow, time must be critical. Perhaps she’d picked up on something from the old women’s conversation.
We moved through the lifeless crowd, trying to slip away unnoticed.
”Can you contact Trash once? Tell her we’
re ready to leave,” I said.
”Okay. Falling down here would look strange, so should we wait until we’re back at the hut?” she replied.
If I used my Psionic Power, my real body would faint. Flatty-chan held my hand and thought for a moment.
”There is still surveillance from the hill… and the hut is far… then, we should pretend to lie down to rest…”
The firelight lit her profile. Her face was stiff. Sweat stuck her bangs to her forehead, and her hand pulling mine felt hot.
”No, here. Leave the rest to me,” she said firmly.
Even if I passed out, time mattered more. If she chose this, I would trust her.
”All right. I avoided asking before, but… can I get some details about the rescue team? I don’t know anything.”
”As you wish. They are not ones I want you to hear about… but please say we want to escape as soon as possible. We plan to leave before the night ends.”
The rescue team was with Trash-san, so we could reach them anytime. My Psionic Power could cross the dungeon doors; very few things here could do that.
I should have used it on her earlier, before things turned strange. With the odd behavior of the town people and Flatty-chan’s sickness, my mind form could have seen past illusions and found clues. But it was too late now.
Back then, after the bridge on the second level, I had avoided using Psionic Power without reason. Also, knowing less sometimes saved me from traps.
Those old women… and many others stayed here. If something was wrong with this level, I should warn them. But the heat in Flatty-chan’s grip told me not to speak. My safety came first. Nothing else mattered now.
”If Trash handles it… maybe monsters affect personality… no, I still don’t—”
”A butterfly is flying near your head,” she said.
”Oh— yes.”
A red-black butterfly danced beside Flatty-chan’s face. She tried to brush it away.
”Oh!”
”Ah!”
It burst too easily. A red liquid like blood splashed, and sticky bits fell into her long black hair. A raw smell hit us, like a warm, wet scent from a split animal.
It was bloody, foul, and damp.
”What… what was that?” I gasped.
She had killed the butterfly monster. At once, everyone around us stared. They had shown no interest in others before, yet now, they all watched us together.
Even those who could not have seen it—people sitting at angles that should hide the scene—turned their blank eyes at us. Those on the ground stopped eating mid-bite.
”Young Master… this looks bad. Why are they so angry?” she whispered.
”Should we run?”
”Y-yes. Excuse us, let us pass… We didn’t mean to crush the harmless monster, it was an accident…”
We were scared. What was this mood? Who were these people?
They stayed still, silent, only watching.
”Stop staring like that! Say something!” Flatty-chan cried, voice shaking.
She walked slowly, close to tears. I was afraid too, but so was she.
”No matter how far we go, their gaze follows. People who couldn’t see it still look at us,” she said.
”D-don’t say it. Let’s keep moving.”
We cut through the colorless crowd like pushing through curtains. Along the way, I saw a familiar face — someone who had no reason to be here.
”That’s strange. Am I seeing things?” I muttered.
I looked again. She also stared, eyes wide. Even with my face covered, she knew me. I stopped in shock.
”Well, long time no see. You came here too,” she said.
”Huh…?”
Flatty-chan pulled my hand, then stopped as well and turned.
”I never believed the old saying about whales in sardine nets, but sometimes it is good to let the night take you where it wants,” the woman said.
”No way…”
For a moment, I thought she was scolding us for crushing the butterfly. But I could not believe the voice that spoke to me. I was sure I would never meet her again.
”…Neiko. Why are you here?”
She stood with a graceful air. She was the Psionic Power user who could change shape—the one who kidnapped me. She no longer carried the Karakasa Umbrella, but the same wooden clogs from the gorge in the Valley of the Uncanny tapped softly as she walked to us.
She looked at my shocked face as if I was the strange one. She moved so naturally that it felt like we had only met by chance on a town walk.
”What is it? You look like you saw a ghost,” she said.
”I thought you were dead,” I said.
”That’s quite the greeting,” she said lightly.
Her soft voice brushed my ear. Though joking, she sounded calm, not angry.
”What is that shabby outfit? I almost thought you were a local child,” she said with a small laugh.
She touched her fingers to her lips and smiled with playful eyes. She looked lively, nothing like the sad face I last saw.
Even dressed as a girl, I could not fool the woman whose power was to change shape. She saw through my disguise in a blink.
”I’m really happy to meet again. You are still full of light and shadow, always changing,” she said.
Her eyes now looked at me with warmth.
She was supposed to be dead. She had used her Psionic Power to turn into me, run out to draw attention, and act as a decoy. Then the people of Kujukuri Town caught her.
”Young Master, you spoke with this umbrella woman before?” Flatty-chan asked, frowning.
She had seen Neiko during the battle with Himawari. She did not know what happened after.
I looked at Neiko again.
”Yes. Neiko… she was the one who kidnapped me. The town people caught her, so after that…”
She had been killed. The kidnappers had confirmed it.
”Oh my, did I ever tell you my name?” she asked, tilting her head.
She lowered her hand from her lips and looked down at me, playing with the ends of her hair behind her back. There was no sign of death on her—she appeared just like any other townsperson, unharmed.
Flatty-chan sensed my fear and stepped in front of me. But Neiko showed no hint of threat.
”No need to be on guard. No one here will harm you,” she said.
She placed her hands politely before her and gave a graceful bow.
”I did not introduce myself properly to the Imperial Guard accompanying you. I am Neiko of the Satomi family. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Flatty-chan did not bow back. She snorted.
”How polite of you. I am Flatty-chan, the beauty of Kujukuri Town. Now back away from the Young Master.”
Neiko smiled in amusement. “What a curious name. Are you joking?”
She seemed to think Flatty-chan’s name was a joke.
…Her name?
Something felt wrong the moment she said it. A tiny glitch. The same strange catch I felt when Himawari spoke the names of her girls. Like the sound reached my ears but didn’t settle—like a word that did not belong in this world.
I was sure I heard “Neiko.” Yet something was off. Many times on this level, I had felt this mismatch, this dissonance in people’s words.
Still, whatever was happening to the town people, and why the three nobles were bedridden—none of that explained this. Neiko being here was impossible.
”Why…?” I whispered.
She was dead. On the list in my mind, her name was crossed out. That mark meant death.
I never wanted to imagine what happened to her after. But by the time I went to Isumi Town, she was already dead. Within half a day of kidnapping me, her name had been crossed out. The Kujukuri Town people killed her.
So I avoided thinking about it.
”Why are you still alive?” I asked.
”….”
Her crime was unforgivable. An Imperial Guard, sworn to protect males, disguised herself as one and kidnapped me. No woman would spare the direct perpetrator of such a crime. She would have been executed publicly.
”Himawari,” she said.
”Himawari?”
”Yes.”
Yet here she stood, showing no sign of lies. She looked and acted exactly as before.
”She wished it. How about that?” Neiko said with a gentle smile.
Her eyes were mild, even playful. She was not panicked like we were.
”That’s impossible. You couldn’t survive that,” I said.
”You cannot be glad to see me again? Understandable, considering what I did…”
Her lips trembled sadly. If she had lived, she might have truly said such a thing.
Could the cross on the list mean something else? Didn’t it mark death?
”To be honest, even I do not know why I am here,” she said softly.
”You shouldn’t have come back. Your companions said you died.”
”I did. I chose not to resist. No need for needless killing. I was struck down. My body was brought here. During the truce, they exchanged the remains of fallen Imperial Guards and noble ladies. I was among them.”
That was impossible. Dead people do not return. You never meet them again.
But this world did not follow such rules.
I stepped back. If something supernatural was involved, talking to her was dangerous.
Neiko looked a little hurt. Her voice became thoughtful, almost tender.
”Himawari wished to let me rest in her new home. She promised to bring me. Perhaps… her way of apologizing for sending me to die. I remember nothing after. I simply awoke among the town people here, and… well… living a simple life with no duty.”
She looked at her humble clothes and laughed.
It was unbelievable. She was killed—no mercy, no mistakes. Yet she did not sound like she was lying.
”Well, that is all I know. Guessing further is pointless,” she said, ending the explanation as if giving up.
”Now, I simply enjoy the life I was given. I lost my Psionic Power, my family name… that is all. At last, I can spend quiet days. I even have a precious memory in my heart. Nothing else matters. My battle is over.”
…No. This was not her.
My Psionic Power always recognized a soul, no matter the trick or disguise. It would hold onto the true person underneath.
But she did not seem fake, either.
If I could use my power here, I could see what she truly was. But my ability needed a target nearby to activate. Without one, it was useless.
The worst possibility was that I was already trapped in something unnatural, and I could not see it. We might be sitting in the audience of a nightmare, believing puppets on a stage were people.
And I had no way to tell who was real.
”Do you hate me now?” she asked.
I stayed silent. She tilted her head sadly. Her face showed the pain of a woman sensitive to a male’s emotions.
”You will not forget, will you? I treasure our memory. I hope we meet again.”
Sensing I did not want to talk, she bowed deeply in farewell. That suited me.
”But even if we don’t, I can remember that day as many times as I like. I can meet you in my dreams,” she whispered.
She left without doing anything. And as soon as we stopped thinking about her, she faded into the gray background like the other women. If I wished for her, she appeared. If I rejected her, she vanished. A stage actor awaiting my cue.
”Who was that? What is happening? A monster? But it wasn’t a stranger… is there a monster that brings someone back exactly as they were?”
”Young Master. Go,” Flatty-chan said.
She still held my hand tightly.
”Leave the rest to me. Go, tell them, and return. That is when we leave.”
Sweat rolled from her forehead, dripping past her hair. Her palm felt burning hot.
Notes:
• Himawari – A one-eyed black oni girl/aberration-type psionic; town leader/face; asks for promotion help; apologizes for killings; sets 2‑day deadline.
• Psionic Power – Mental energy concept in Chapter 35’s lecture. Trash-san teaches it to strengthen the protagonist’s mind after dungeon ordeals.
• Neiko – A Psionic Power user from the Satomi family who previously kidnapped the narrator. Believed dead, she reappears as a seemingly normal townsperson, claiming Himawari ‘wished’ her back to ‘rest.’ She has lost her powers and name but appears content and harmless. Vibe similar to a mysterious, resurrected figure like Yūko Ichihara (xxxHolic), calm and enigmatic.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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