The Armpit Shrine Maiden (1)
The three great families of Utsuromura — «Kiryuen».
With every step the Kiryuen take, mountains of butchered meat pile up.
One of the three most powerful families in Utsuromura.
The leaders of the night watchmen who hunt down monstrosities.
A lineage of swordsmen born with an innate talent for slicing and killing with bladed weapons.
During the Warring States period, when a massive army invaded Utsuromura, the head of the Kiryuen family slaughtered them all with nothing but a single willow leaf. He then offered their hearts as tribute to his family’s guardian spirit.
Ever since, samurai have feared the Kiryuen’s might and brutality, strictly forbidding anyone from provoking the village.
The people of Kiryuen are exceptionally dry and ruthless.
The night watchmen exist not for the village’s safety, but as little more than the Kiryuen’s private army.
It is common practice for them to deceive their subordinates, expose them to monstrosities, or secretly execute them once they are no longer useful.
They are bitter rivals with the other great family, «Hozure», clashing with them at every turn.
They also look down on the «Akatora» — the priestly family that oversees the village festivals.
The current head of the family is addressed by the title Meakashi-gashira, which means “chief of the night watchmen.”
— Excerpt from Utsuromura Local Culture Museum: “The Origin Legends of Utsuromura”, author unknown.
D-36
“Kaguya-chan and Mary, you two behave and watch the house properly!”
The day after we defeated the tyrant of the pond thanks to Blob-chan’s heroic sacrifice.
‘Eating fresh fish after so long really gives me a burst of energy.’
Fish is an excellent source of protein, after all.
Chewing on the salmon jerky I’d made myself, I headed toward the village office on the south side of town.
“What do you want, Yuuki-kun? Do you still hold a grudge against me?”
()⎚-⎚()
Suzuki-san, who looked even more haggard than two days ago, stared at me in shock.
“A grudge? Come on, we decided we’d be friendly with each other, didn’t we?”
“Friendly…? Urgh. The needles are still…”
He made a show of retching before dramatically spitting out a needle.
As expected, the glasses character who looks so stiff turns out to be an unexpected gag character. That’s just how these things go.
“My stomach hurts. Are you here to ask me to get you out of Utsuromura or something? That’s impossible from the start.”
What? I still have so many things to do. Why would I leave the village?
Even if someone tried to kick me out, I’d refuse to go.
I pulled out the boot I’d fished up from the Waninuma swamp.
“No, it’s not that. I caught this yesterday. This is a lost item, right?”
I’d managed to survive thanks to wearing it by chance, but having only one boot was still inconvenient.
According to village regulations, I was supposed to turn it in.
“You’re touching it with your bare hands… Yuuki-kun, let me see that.”
Suzuki-san took the boot with a gloved hand.
He examined it from every angle, then pushed his glasses up with his middle finger.
“Let’s see… This is the Puka Puka Boot, number 226. It lets you walk on water like a water strider. Only one half of the pair remained in Tokyo’s vault. This must be the missing one. At last, the set is complete.”
Aha. I finally understood.
Suzuki-san’s role in Silent Story.
He was the appraisal NPC who tells you what you picked up or dug out of the ground — the classic healing-game character who identifies items.
“I have safely recovered it.”
I held out my palm toward Suzuki-san, who had placed the boot inside a box.
“What’s that hand for?”
“Don’t I get some kind of reward?”
I brought in a lost item. Of course I should get a REWARD.
Crack~ ≽⎚˕⎚≼
Suzuki-san’s glasses shattered.
“Re…ward? Recovering l-lost items is its own… I see. Yume’s son… to think he’s this… innocent… useless…”
He stopped mid-sentence and rubbed his chin.
Then his entire attitude flipped like a switch.
“To have found the Puka Puka Boots… I must reevaluate you, Yuuki-kun.”
“Really? I’m glad I could be of help to you, Suzuki-san.”
I scratched the back of my head the way characters do in Japanese media when they’re feeling shy.
I’d scored points with a government official. I should milk him for some blind subsidies later.
But Suzuki-san shook his head.
“No. This goes far beyond simple help. Yuuki-kun, you may very well be a genius at finding lost items.”
Eh? Me, a genius at finding lost items…?
Well, protagonists in reincarnation stories are usually geniuses, so of course I am too!
My shoulders unconsciously squared with pride.
“Something like this is no problem at all.”
“Yuuki-kun. How about this — I hereby appoint you as an honorary lost… I mean, lost item management agent.”
My eyes flew wide open.
In a chuuni game, being recognized as an honorary member of an organization is an incredible honor!
And on top of that, it’s a stable government position!
I see. Becoming an honorary agent of the Lost Item Management Bureau.
This has to be a sub-quest from Silent Story!
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it, Suzuki-san!”
“When we’re alone, call me Chief Clerk Suzuki.”
“Yes, sir! Chief Clerk Suzuki! What should I do?”
I gave him a crisp salute.
“Just bring me any lost items you find, like you did today. If any investigation work comes up, I’ll commission you. You’ll receive appropriate compensation, of course. As for me, I can’t walk around the village without drawing resentment.”
Guess even in Korea or Japan, there are always people who file complaints when civil servants slack off.
Working for the country isn’t easy. Yep, yep.
“If you see a paper crane near you, Yuuki-kun, that will be a request from me.”
They even have a secret contact method like this!?
This really feels like being a secret agent.
“The Lost Item Management Bureau is the most classified department in the entire Japanese government. You must keep this a secret from the villagers. Understood?”
Shh— Suzuki-san placed a finger over his lips.
Even if it’s just an honorary position, I’ve become an agent! It’s been my dream since I was a kid!
Wearing a black suit, sipping a gimlet, driving a high-class sports car. And of course, a curvaceous Bond girl by my side.
Ugh. Maybe Utsuromura exists solely to fulfill my bucket list?
‘Though in reality it’s probably just checking village facilities and helping with events.’
That sounds fun too. And it looks like Suzuki-san will even give me pocket money on the side.
Earning my own allowance to buy snacks with is pretty romantic for a Japanese countryside life.
After leaving the office and walking for a bit, I ran into a familiar face.
Tsurugi, dressed in her black sailor uniform, stood there as if waiting for me.
“Mitsurugi-san.”
The girl placed a hand on her hip with an incredibly smug, triumphant smile.
She looked so pleased with herself that her eyes practically sparkled.
“—Natsunashi Yuuki. Notice anything different about me today?”
She asked in an excited, high-pitched voice.
Oh dear. It’s already come to this.
The classic romantic-comedy heroine question: “Notice anything different about me today?”
Rom-com protagonists are fundamentally dense.
If they weren’t, they’d lose their virginity and reach the ending immediately.
Even when heroines aggressively show affection, the protagonist can’t notice — but he must be kind.
That’s why the question “Notice anything different about me today?” exists.
A change that none of their classmates noticed.
Only he picks up on the tiny detail and says, [You changed something today, didn’t you?]
Then the heroine thinks, [I was right to fall for him!] — that’s the cliché.
For a visual-novel veteran like me, this is as easy as eating cold porridge.
Or in Japanese terms, something I could finish before breakfast.
‘Ugh. What changed?’
But finding what was different about Tsurugi wasn’t easy.
The slightly-too-knowledgeable black-and-red sailor uniform, the shape of her navel, even the 40-denier black stockings — nothing seemed different?
‘Think, Yuuki. Think hard.’
It could be the scent of her shampoo. Or her nail polish. The protagonist’s meticulous observation skills need to shine here.
I decided to pick one of those small details and comment on it.
“Your pan—”
“Here, it’s the Katanara. What do you think? A sword perfectly suited for an elite night watchman, right?”
Grinning from ear to ear, Tsurugi drew the katana she carried at her waist.
Of course I already knew that.
‘Hmm…’
It was a katana decorated with a white snake design that had red eyes.
The scale engravings were intricate, and the blade had a beautiful pearly sheen… but something about it felt off.
“The Kiryuen family’s famous blade, Nuretaras! The family head trusted me enough to lend it to me! Along with a top-secret mission! I’ve finally been acknowledged as a first-rate night watchman, just like my parents.”
Whether that was true or not, Tsurugi kept muttering to herself at maximum tension.
Spilling mission details from her own mouth made me want to snort.
I, on the other hand, was perfectly hiding the fact that I’d become an honorary agent of the Management Bureau. Even if I’d only been appointed less than thirty minutes ago.
“Perfect timing, Mitsurugi-san. Are you free right now?”
“An elite night watchman has no time to be free.”
I see. Maybe I should go find Buntaro-san instead.
The moment I heard her refusal and silently turned to leave, Tsurugi panicked.
“W-wait…! You’re not even going to push back a little? Giving up too quickly! I have to follow you because of my mission anyway! Wait!”
And so, the place Tsurugi and I arrived at was a grand staircase made entirely of stone. It was so tall that the top was barely visible.
“Natsunashi Yuuki. This place is…”
“Then, Mitsurugi-san… shall we begin?”
I spread my palms wide open and declared:
“The Game of Darkness — Glico.”