9. The Village Where Children Disappear (1)
Hilda, the little girl, disappeared.
The news stirred up quite a commotion in the city.
Of course, not the entire city was turned upside down, but rather it was a matter of concern for the parents who lost their daughter and those who knew her.
People generally don’t take much interest in others’ affairs. A little girl disappeared? What a pity. That’s usually the end of it.
Why?
Because they are not the ones who have suffered the loss.
It’s not my child.
My child is safe.
In the remote village in the mountains, where children die almost daily, the disappearance of a child is so common, that no one except the child’s parents would care.
In that sense, Ruben was somewhat better. Although it was just one child, quite a few people moved when she disappeared.
Even late into the night.
Is it because of their good nature? Or is this city special?
Well, what does it matter either way?
The child has already disappeared.
– Hilda! Where are you, Hilda!
– I won’t scold you, come out!
– Where are you, Hilda!! Come out now!!
Listening to the voices of parents and friends looking for the child outside the window, I put a cookie in my mouth.
The sticky and sweet jam filled my mouth with the scent of strawberries.
“Mmm~! This is delicious.”
“It’s a well-baked cookie. I think it’s a masterpiece that’s hard to believe it’s a child’s work.”
The demon also agreed with my words, nodding her head and picking up a cookie to eat.
She’s good with her hands… I should make a note of that.
I scribbled on a piece of paper and recorded it, then put another cookie in my mouth.
The taste was still good, but as expected, a cookie is a cookie; it was pretty chewy.
It would be nice to have milk, but it’s a bit disappointing that there isn’t any.
With that thought, I shoved the remaining cookie into my mouth and leaned back in my chair.
“Who should be next?”
“Hmm… It would be fine if it’s a child with no big relation to you.”
“Is that so?”
Nodding my head, I scanned the remaining names on the paper and grinned.
*
*
*
A week had passed since Hilda disappeared.
It was a sad event for Hilda’s parents. Still, as it was unrelated to their children, they couldn’t take days off. Hence, the city quickly returned to its original atmosphere.
Of course, Hilda’s parents, who still hadn’t found their child, were spending their time wandering around the city or submitting requests to the guild.
Seeing Hilda’s parents, others couldn’t help but feel sorry for their increasingly haggard appearance.
On the one hand, they thought, ‘Such a thing won’t happen to our child,’ complacently.
On reflection, it’s not complacency at all.
In a place functioning as a normal city, it’s normal for children not to disappear.
If it were normal, that is.
Philip, the father of a young child, was returning home from another hard day’s fishing.
Despite his aching shoulders and limping knees, he smiled, thinking of his daughter’s happy face, until he saw a figure in the distance and furrowed his brows.
“Hilda… Have you seen Hilda…?”
It was Miel, Hilda’s mother, who had disappeared overnight. She had searched for her child for several days in the same spot, but no one had seen Hilda.
“Tsk… Such a pitiful woman…”
She had become unrecognizable in just a few days, probably due to the immense mental strain. Philip, looking at Miel, shook his head and took a slight detour to avoid her.
‘I don’t want to get involved and end up troubled.’
It’s not normal for a child to disappear overnight, or rather, suddenly vanish like a ghost. While it wasn’t Miel’s fault that her daughter had gone missing, he didn’t want to get involved if he could help it.
Pity is pity.
Apart from that, ominous is ominous.
Being a sailor sensitive to superstitions, he was even more convinced of this. Shaking his head, Philip, who had arrived home before he knew it, blew away all the ominous thoughts he had been having.
Even a rough sea man always wanted to show only the good to his child and tell only good stories. After a quick sniff to make sure he didn’t smell of alcohol, Philip nodded and opened the door to his house.
“Olga! Daddy’s home!”
When his daughter, who would usually run over with her short legs and hug him, was nowhere to be seen, Philip blinked his eyes. A very brief, ominous thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head and entered the house.
He remembered a few days ago when his daughter had hidden with her mother and surprised him.
Yes, it must be the same this time.
Philip smiled inwardly and pretended not to know, looking around the house.
“Hmm, where is our Olga? Is she here? Strange, why can’t I see her?”
It’s strange.
Why can’t I see her?
He was speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard anywhere in the house, but there was no sound of suppressed laughter from anywhere.
Wondering if she had fallen asleep while hiding, he checked every possible hiding place, but she was nowhere to be seen.
What was even stranger was that his wife was nowhere to be seen either.
If she was putting the child to sleep, she should be in the bedroom, but she wasn’t there either.
The warmth of the house hadn’t circulated, suggesting no one had been there for a while. As time passed, the details he had been trying to ignore began to stand out.
Suddenly, he remembered what he had seen on his way home.
“Hilda… Have you seen Hilda…?”
Philip recalled the face of the woman desperately searching for her child, and he shouted in denial.
“Olga! Mary! The joke’s over; come out now!”
But no matter how much he called for them, there was no response. Philip, his fist clenched so tightly that it trembled, searched the entire house for the two of them.
But he couldn’t find anyone.
The vague anxiety had now approached him closely.
“No… It can’t be…”
The image of Miel, Hilda’s mother, who had been wandering around looking for her child, kept popping up in his head. The way she bit her lips and tore at her hair.
Creak–
A door opened in the eerily quiet house. It was a subtle sound, but Philip, panting heavily, immediately lifted his head and ran towards the entrance.
Standing in front of him, just entering the house, were his wife and daughter. A mountain of emotions hit him all at once, momentarily blinding him, but soon he covered his face with his hand, a relieved smile on his face.
“Hey! Daddy! It’s Daddy!”
“Yes…”
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so tired?”
“No… It’s nothing.”
Philip, who had lost all his energy briefly, lifted Olga into his arms with a weary smile. The small but warm presence in his arms swept away all his worries.
“Hehehe, Daddy smells like alcohol!”
“What? You, did you drink again!? I told you not to drink!”
“No, no! Olga, Daddy doesn’t smell like alcohol, right?”
“Don’t ask the child that! If she says you do, then you do!”
Seeing Mary, who seemed to have been to the market, pulling a pumpkin out of the basket with one hand, Philip quickly stood up with Olga in his arms and ran away.
“Eek! We’ve been caught! Let’s run, Olga!”
“Kyahaha! Higher, higher!”
“Really… You’re hopeless.”
Mary, too, wasn’t truly angry, so she chuckled and put the pumpkin back in the basket.
I should tidy up. With that thought, Mary entered the living room, only to drop the pumpkin she was holding at the sight of the house turned upside down.
“Phiiiliiip!!!”
At her furious voice, Philip shivered, and Olga cheerfully patted Philip’s back. It was sad to be scolded by his wife and banned from drinking, but Philip was happy just to be able to spend the day as usual without any problems.
“Daddy, cheer up!”
“Yes, Daddy will cheer up.”
With his adorable daughter, who he wouldn’t even feel pain if she were to poke his eye, how could he say he was having a hard time? …Although not being able to drink was a bit tough.
And the next day.
Olga disappeared.
*
*
*
―Olga!! Olga!! Please come out, Olga!!
―Can you hear Mommy’s voice!? Olga!!
Today, it was Olga.
Hearing the sound from outside, I smiled and drank my tea.
Looking at me, the demon chuckled and shook her head. I tilted my head at the sight of the suddenly laughing demon.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“No, I just thought you were quite a wicked person. Giving despair, then hope, and then completely crushing it.”
“It’s part of the experiment. An experiment to find out how to make people most desperate.”
Saying so, I put down my teacup and continued speaking, looking at the nodding demon.
“But isn’t this a method that demons often use?”
“Hmm? Oh, it seems you have a misunderstanding about demons. Demons were once gods. They just became demons because they couldn’t find their place and hid. Therefore, demons only ask for a price from the humans who come to them and give them power; they don’t do anything more.”
“So they’re the same as gods?”
“It’s different. Gods give power to humans without a price, and demons give power to humans in exchange for a price.”
I see.
I learned something new.
With that thought, I drank my tea.
The scent of lavender was quite pleasant.
Thanks.