The Fog of Mutobashi and the Trap of Penalties
The world blurred as the dark, elongated tunnel spat them out into a vast expanse of rice paddies stretching endlessly under a thick, oppressive fog.
“Sakaha… are you alright?”
“What?”
“What do you mean ‘what’?! The atmosphere here is just like it was on Mount Taeo!”
Sakaha remembered the crushing humiliation she had suffered on Mount Taeo. This Mutobashi Village mirrored that world in every disturbing way: buildings of wood and clay, rice paddies dominating the landscape, and skin the color of baked clay. People looked similar. Civilization felt familiar. Yet it was a different world entirely—different people, different customs. Lily had no experience to tell them apart.
“As the Lord commanded, guests have arrived. This old servant will not linger long.”
“Wah! You startled me!”
“Calm yourself. This is a mere mortal.”
An elderly man with a hunched back and prematurely gray hair suddenly emerged from the shadows in the corner of their vision. It was no teleportation spell—just the height of the man and how deeply he had been sitting in the gloom that had hidden him.
“Welcome to Mutobashi Village. I am Village Chief Satoshi. Who are you two?”
“…Sakaha.”
“Lily.”
Brief introductions were exchanged as they sized each other up. Sakaha and Lily raised their guards, scanning the chief who introduced himself with calm, steady eyes.
“Have you looked your fill?”
“The other side of that has too.”
“Haha. This old man seems to have briefly lost his sight in his youthful vigor. Shall we continue our discussion then?”
There was no reply.
The old man interpreted the silence as assent and cleared his throat.
“Hrmm. I will not inquire about your deeds beyond this world or the life you led. It is only the guidance of Oomutoyosuke, Oobaranubio, and Ooshishinoa that has brought you to this village. You have reached paradise.”
Paradise. The ultimate ideal, the utopian realm. In some religions it denoted the very step below heaven itself.
Uttering the word “paradise” about an elderly man who claimed even death tomorrow would be a pleasant dream, built of wood and clay, was disturbingly grotesque.
“We have simply lost our way. We have no intention of staying long. If you aid us with lodging for now, we shall reward you handsomely afterward.”
Sakaha drew a clear line.
“Whether one stays a day or a week, or a hundred—it makes no difference. Stay as long as you need, provided you obey the village rules. Nothing will vex you here.”
“…Thank you, elder.”
The old man spoke with dignity and quiet grace. The village’s bizarre rules and atmosphere should have been enough to raise alarms, yet the representative himself carried such refinement—how eerie for Sakaha and Lily to feel.
“Night has fallen. I will guide you to your quarters at once. Tomorrow morning someone will come to accompany you on a tour of the village.”
After those words, the chief turned and led them in silence to an empty house. It had been prepared with two portions of food and bedding, as if he had known guests were coming.
“Welcome again to Mutobashi Village. May your sleep be peaceful.”
The old man closed the shoji door behind him and departed.
“…This feels off. The atmosphere is wrong.”
“Huh? What do you mean? Sakaha, eat first. It looks better than it smells.”
“…Ugh. You finish it.”
“No appetite? Thank you all the same!”
Lily finished the two portions in a few hearty bites. She then gulped down a large mug of water and lay down, stretching her legs and closing her eyes.
“Sleep well!”
“…Hah. Sweet dreams.”
Sakaha did not lie down. She leaned against the wall, one hand resting on the hilt of her sword, eyes fixed on Lily—ready to react the instant any small sound disturbed her sleep.
Even I can’t sleep… I’m too tired. That naive Lily lives without a care in the world. Bold or foolish, I can’t tell anymore.
She could not afford to sleep.
Yet after a full day of wandering through the fog, her body—reduced to that of an ordinary person—felt as if it would collapse.
Her eyelids grew heavy again and again; opening them felt impossible.
…I can’t hold on anymore.
Just before sleep claimed her, the thought crossed Sakaha’s mind.
Wait. Were there only two of us?
One more member had been in the party, hadn’t they? Or had she misremembered?
Thoughts drifted and failed to connect.
Sakaha’s consciousness sank into deep slumber. She did not even recall the dreams that followed.
Basic image of the ribbon that weaves fate.
Daylight returned. Nothing had happened in the night.
Sakaha rose, her body still weary.
She splashed water from a jar across her face, washing away the clinging grime of fatigue and lingering sleepiness.
—Knock, knock.
“The Village Chief has sent someone. Are the two of you awake?”
The messenger had been forewarned; Sakaha was unsurprised.
She opened the door and checked the visitor’s face.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The three exchanged glances and simultaneously lost their words.
Handsome.
Even if one loved heroes, it was not true that heroes were always the most attractive men in the world while others resembled octopuses.
The man before them was handsome. Well-proportioned features, a sturdy build, and a neatly trimmed beard that enhanced his masculine charm.
Slightly more attractive than the hero himself.
Yet the hero’s appeal was far more than mere looks. In this grotesque rural village, simply having such a man appear out of nowhere was shocking enough.
“Are you the one who will guide us through the village?”
“Ah, yes! Forgive me. I am Noki. The Village Chief has explained everything. You must be Sakaha and Lily?”
“That’s right.”
“Ah… We are deeply grateful for the benevolence of Mutobashi. I will guide you through the village. Please follow me.”
It could do no harm to learn the geography of the village.
Sakaha and Lily followed Noki, committing the terrain to memory.
“How much of the village’s history did the Chief tell you?”
“He said this place is paradise and nothing else—just that we must obey the rules.”
“He didn’t speak of any other details. Well… that’s actually the full truth in this context. Mutobashi Village is nothing more than that.”
“…Do all of you speak like that?”
“Huh? Like what?”
“Like that—prolonging every sentence, stripping the meat from it. Can’t you be more concise?”
Noki fell silent for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha! Sakaha has an unquenchable fiery charm. Very well, I will explain the village as concisely as I can. Though my knowledge is limited.”
Noki began with the legends.
One day the fog descended and the civilized world above was wiped out.
The three great beings who should have lived eternally in the heavens had descended to this land, granting it to mortals.
Oomutoyosuke. Oobaranubio. Ooshishinoa.
Mutobashi Village was the land guarded by the three great gods.
Here, humans never aged, never starved, never fell ill, and never died.
Ah… Mutobashi Village was paradise.
We serve the three great gods and enjoy eternal bliss.
We will hold festivals in gratitude for them.
You, who have reached this village, are also blessed.
Enjoy the endless life bestowed by the gods, and labor in the festivals of gratitude.
“…”
“How do you find it?”
“What?”
“The faces of the people. Not a single soul looks sad or suffering, do you not agree?”
“But there are none who appear joyful or laughing either.”
“Haha… it is low labor hours, so it cannot be helped. We brew sake from the rice we grow and hold a modest banquet at night. People laugh, talk, drink, and find happiness there.”
Noki walked them around the village for roughly four hours. About five hundred houses dotted the landscape. To the north flowed a clear river; the entire village was dedicated to rice farming.
Men worked the fields; women brewed the sake.
Despite the uncanny rules and eerie atmosphere, the village felt incredibly peaceful—more like a paradise from a tale.
“May I ask a few more things?”
Lily spoke quietly as they walked.
“Ask anything. If I know it, I will not hide the answer.”
“How long has this village existed?”
“Unfortunately, no concept of time flows here. No one records the passing of time.”
“Then when are the festivals held? Without a sense of time, they could be held whenever we pleased.”
“Haha… that is correct. The festivals are not held on our schedule. They are prepared when the gods descended and sent away.”
Lily wanted to ask about the gods themselves.
But inquiring of gods about gods invited unexpected calamity.
“You said people in this village never age. What about the Village Chief and the other elderly people we met at the beginning? How did they become like this?”
“Ah. In this village people do not age, but those who entered as the elderly do not become young again.”
“They must be suffering. Living eternally as old bodies that can never die.”
“Hehe. I once asked the same of the Chief when I was young. He answered, ‘As an old body, it is actually better. I get to live without work and people still respect me.’”
“I see.”p>
“One last question. Everyone here is strikingly handsome or beautiful. Is there a special reason?”
“Hmm. More importantly, Lily, you are beautiful enough to outshine any woman in this village, so hearing you say that is rather amusing.”
“Hehe. Thank you. You worked hard today.”
“Feel free to spend the day as you wish. Oh, yes! Tomorrow evening there is a banquet to open the new sake—please join us!”
“Is it mandatory?”
“Not at all. But as the first guest, you will receive the clearest sake of all. It is not intoxicating and has an incredibly deep aroma.”
Before leaving, Noki bowed deeply.
“Please treat us well from now on. We are comrades living in the same paradise!”
Noki departed, leaving only Sakaha and Lily.
After a full day of walking and sweating through the village, their hunger and thirst remained strangely mild.
“…Sakaha. What do you think?”
“What?”
“I’ve heard many stories of transcendent beings tormenting and mocking human lives, but this case… it’s hard to judge.”
People who regarded this land as paradise—living without death, worshipping the gods, and holding festivals.
Sakaha and Lily had not yet met the gods and knew nothing of the festivals.
“I don’t know. We only need to last fourteen days. Once our strength returns, those three long-named gods will be no match for us. We can decide then whether they are good or bad.”
Sakaha remained optimistic.
Those who lived without death had already been here two days. Adding the time lost wandering the fog outside, perhaps three days had passed.
Strength would begin returning after seven days; full recovery would come on the fourteenth.
With that power, the hero party had once defeated the Demon King—a true transcendence.
Three gods worshipped here could not possibly be Demon King level.
So they only needed to endure fourteen days.
But…
In reality, barely twelve hours had passed since the hero party had crossed into this world.