Chapter 469: Omi Town
Chapter 469: Omi Town
There wasn’t any fence around this town. This was a town without walls in a place where death and ash were everywhere you could look.
It was strange. Why was this town still standing? Had the plague not reached here? Was this place just exempt because of its location, or were there secrets hidden beneath its surface?
Godfrey pondered, his foot sinking into the snow as he approached the city with Ken and Ema. They had all retrieved their summons and walked toward the city like normal people.
This was the first time they were meeting mankind in a dungeon. No one knew how they would react, but the few people who walked alongside horses carrying two-wheeled carts, and some walking in pairs on the same path leading to the road, didn’t act strangely.
They only looked at them because of their strange dressing.
"My Lord." Some of them greeted Ken with a bow, causing Ema and Godfrey to glance at the seventeen-year-old whose face was hidden behind his mask.
"They think you’re a samurai," Godfrey whispered to them.
"So we’re going to meet samurais? That’s quite cool." Ema’s eyes brightened, but Ken shook his head.
"Not likely." All three of them walked into the town without a problem. It was quite late, but there were lanterns on ropes above the street and lots of noise and people moving around. From what the group could gather, these people were preparing for a festival.
"Visitors from far away!" A man suddenly called them and gestured for them to approach with a wide smile.
Godfrey’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he still came close, his eyes covered properly by his hoodie.
"You three must be confused. Tonight, the Two-Faced Lady will be visiting. She’s the reason this city is safe from the plague." The thin man, wearing a straw hat and a beast jacket because of the falling snow, said calmly.
Godfrey lifted an eyebrow.
"There are people watching us," Ken whispered. Godfrey and Ema tilted their heads a bit and saw some people in black watching them from alleys and rooftops. All of them had one hand resting on their katana.
Godfrey lifted his head a bit, revealing his Black Out eyes. The moment the thin man saw it, he forced a calm smile.
"I’ve seen someone dressed like you who came a day ago. I have no ill feeling toward you, but you can take shelter for the night in my inn. The festival for the Two-Faced Lady is not really friendly to strangers."
He went straight and slid the shoji door, which was a door made of wooden lattice and tough, translucent washi paper, revealing a spacious room within.
"I’m Kazuo."
Ema walked straight in, Ken followed, and Godfrey, after taking a deep breath, walked into the building. The shoji door was closed.
Kazuo pointed at a ladder that led to the first floor. "The beds are up there..."
"But..." Godfrey probed.
"It costs quite a little to stay the night," the man said with a bow.
"We don’t have money." Ema responded.
"Anything can be of use." Kazuo bowed lower. Godfrey saw through the corridor a woman at the other end holding a wooden bowl. She didn’t even glance at the corridor as she went past.
He dipped his hand into his backpack and brought out a golden mask. The mask he had gotten from the dungeon where Dirge first fought for him.
It looked ornate.
"Have you ever heard of orcs?" Godfrey tilted his head as Kazuo eyed the mask. Kazuo’s eyes went to the left, then to the right, then he slowly shook his head.
"It’s a different word for Oni. I took this mask from a powerful Oni I killed. It has the power to cause fear to whoever sees the wearer."
Hearing that, Kazuo’s eyes widened as he received it with shaking hands and wide, gleaming eyes. Jackpot!
"I’ll also get you something to eat. We also have drinks and..."
"It’s alright," Godfrey waved his hand.
"No, I must make sure my guests are treated well," Kazuo said firmly as he clutched the mask tight.
"If you must," Godfrey didn’t bother pushing it and went to the first floor with Ken and Ema. They saw straw beds with quilts on a clean wooden floor. There were two wide windows, big enough for a man to go through.
As they chose a bed, Ema sat and tilted her head at Godfrey. "I felt like you were lying when you spoke about that mask."
"It was from a demon orc, which, if put in a different category, could be an Oni. And if you see anyone in the dark wearing that mask and coming at you, you’ll at least feel threatened," Godfrey replied while he examined his bed, then he sat, leaning, placing his folded arm on one knee.
"You see... I wasn’t lying."
Ema closed her eyes and shook her head a bit. "The more I look at you, the less I see."
"Stop looking then," Godfrey replied and laid down.
Ema scoffed, then her eyes went to Ken, who leaned on the windowsill, watching the streets. "That man, Kazuo, said someone dressed like us came here a day ago." His voice rang, and he turned to face them.
"I think it’s Hinata."
"Hinata?" Ema sounded confused.
"A captain that came here with me and the first team. If she’s here, that means she either escaped the plague or is here with it and is about to spread it to these people."
Ema laid down. "Didn’t you hear about these people’s Two-Faced Lady? She protects them."
"You believe that?" Ken retorted.
"No one cares if I believe it or not. These people are safe. Not one case of an infected here, and they know fully well about the plague. Don’t you think something is keeping them safe?"
Ken faced the windowsill. "Hinata is in this town with us. The only problem is we don’t know where or what she’s doing."
***
Two men opened a bamboo cell and walked in. Within it was a woman covered with dirt, with messy hair and rotten food all around her. Her eyelids were almost closed, and she looked barely alive.
"Tonight is the festival. And our sacrifice can’t be presented to the Two-Faced Lady looking like this," one of them said.
"You need to eat and look healthy," the other chuckled as a huge man’s shadow blocked the moonlight from entering the cell.
Hinata’s eyes narrowed as the man stormed toward her, grabbed her throat, and forced her mouth open.
The first man poured water into her mouth. "Drink water! You look like you could die with one step."
Hinata struggled, water spilling from her mouth, but the other man quickly stuffed food into her mouth, and they flushed it down with more water.
Once they were done, all three men left the cell, and ladies came in. They dragged Hinata out of the cell, her feet scraping the dirt floor, leaving a trail.
Hinata’s eyes were dark. She had wept for an entire day after they forced her to consume food she suspected was loaded with centipede eggs. The itching confirmed it.
Today, she managed to gather mana but refused to use it. She was already infected, more centipede eggs made no difference.
Her eyes glowed softly. ’Two-Faced Lady.’
That was her target because she believed that could be the boss.
In silence, Hinata allowed herself to be thrown into a scented pool and was bathed. All the dirt was washed off, and her skin was scrubbed like a bride being prepared for the groom.
But she knew what she was being prepared for.
After the bath, Hinata was taken to a room where two women dressed her in a white kimono, tied her hair into a bun with a golden hairpin.
Then, they beautified her face with their cosmetics.
Hinata remained looking broken externally, but internally, her heart was set to finish the mission. The flute that would seal her fate could be blown at any moment. There was no life after this.
Killing the Two-Faced Lady would be her final task.
After everything, she was chained, and the women left the room. The door was closed, shutting her in darkness.
***
Back at the inn, Godfrey laid on his bed, staring at the rafters. He was exhausted from over ten hours of movement but still couldn’t sleep, as this mission might be his last before he would confront death.
Humanity’s freedom from the Ruination was right at the horizon, but so was his ugly fate.
"It’s too silent and awkward here. What we usually do when things are this awkward is tell stories about our past. I mean, there’s got to be good stories. I’m sitting with one of the greatest and most infamous talents and a new one said to be able to rival the first."
Ema looked at both of them with bright eyes.
Ken turned and looked at Godfrey.
"So, boys. Let’s have a talk. Let’s get to know each other. We might only have tonight. This is the time we form camaraderie."
"How about you talk about yourself first?" Godfrey sat up. Meanwhile, downstairs, Kazuo stood behind the woman Godfrey had seen.
He leaned close as she shivered but acted like he wasn’t there.
"Don’t fail me, Yuna." He grinned, the tip of his tongue grazing her ear. Yuna’s face contorted in fear and disgust, but she nodded several times.
"I won’t, Master Kazuo," her voice was no different from a soft whisper. Kazuo walked away to his room, sat down, and stared at the mask placed on a wall, right next to a pistol.
The pistol was from his first foreign visitor. These ones were different, so he wouldn’t play the same game.
But he knew they would not end well regardless.
"Welcome to Omi Town." Kazuo grinned as he took the mask and slowly covered his face. His voice sounded ghostly as he danced around in his room.
Jackpot... once more!
The business was in full bloom!
"Praise the Two-Faced Lady!"