Shirou Enters the Cave / The Monster in the Cave

"What are you doing!" The voice came from behind Shirou. Another person appeared. Shirou didn't need to turn around to know who it was, so he shrugged and turned to look at Akechi.

"Mr. Emiya, you've come back again."

"I have some things on my mind, so I came back to see you." Shirou also raised his palm towards Akechi, so now he was blocking Akechi with his right hand and looking at Hatano with his left, almost like holding two guns to restrain two enemies.

"What exactly happened?" Akechi asked Hatano.

"Watch out! This person is Magecraft. His previous peeking into the cave was highly suspicious."

"Even so, there's no need to hit someone with something like that. I meant no harm." Shirou sheathed his iron sword to show that he meant no harm, and then pointed to the wooden stick in Hatano's hand.

Hatano and Akechi exchanged a glance.

"In short, don't interfere in our village's affairs. There's no need to come all this way to this remote and impoverished place to meddle," Akechi said calmly, his face expressionless.

"I didn't want to come here looking for trouble."

"If that's the case, why don't you leave our village?"

How should he answer? Of course, Shirou knew exactly what to say, but he hesitated. Should he be direct or tactful? Should he start with the conclusion or explain the whole story? Shirou glanced at Hatano. The fact that this man was here meant that Shirou's first deduction, 'Akechi attempted to kill Hatano,' was not true, so only one deduction remained.

"As for me," Shirou said, pointing to the cave, "If you need anything, go to Kameda inside. He took something dangerous, and I'll take care of getting it back."

Hatano's expression immediately changed.

"Why do you think that?" Akechi asked, his face remaining stern.

"It's just a guess. I came to the cave to find Kameda, but he's not here; and then, Hatano, who should be in the cave, is there, which means there's someone else in the cave now, maybe even Kameda? It's not surprising to have such suspicions, is it? Consider it a riddle, or a guess."

Akechi didn't respond, and Hatano bit her lip tightly, remaining silent.

Shirou then continued with his speculation, "You're using these caves to make deals with Magecraft, right?"

The notebook in Akechi family's safe was filled with what looked like an appointment schedule, and Kameda's name appeared in it. After comparing it with the deposit records in his bankbook, Shirou thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that Akechi had accepted a request from someone outside the village to do something.

"I'm not a police officer. Although I do detective work, my only goal is to retrieve what I found. I never intended to cause any harm to anyone," Shirou continued. "Right now, I'm just stating my personal assumptions to confirm whether I'm right or wrong. This should be harmless, right?"

The two Akechi men remained silent.

"Modern magic has withered away, and the power that Magecraft can wield is negligible. Technology can basically replace it. However, there are still some remaining sacred sites. Using Magecraft in these places, one might be able to trigger some great miracles. And the cave in God Manifest Town is one of them, right?"

Chapter 1164 Shirou Enters the Cave

"Although I don't know how Kameda intends to use this sacred land, it seems like he's planning something extraordinary. He might even want to use it against us, or at least he believes he can protect himself here," Shirou speculated.

"Hmph, what a hypocrite! It was you who came here without permission. I advised you to leave as soon as possible," Akechi said with a sneer.

Indeed... Kameda likely encountered some problems during this process.

"Anyway, he found out about this place and got in touch with you," Shirou continued.

"And you decided to start a business, so you rented out spiritual land in exchange for money. No, you've been doing it for a while now, haven't you?"

"What does that have to do with the sacrifice in the cave?" Akechi's voice was extremely cold, and upon first hearing it, Shirou couldn't help but wonder if he had guessed wrong.

"Perhaps it's a necessary ritual for Magecraft, and also to keep things under wraps. Magecraft is all about maintaining mystery, isn't it? It's just that hiding people in a village would be too easy to be discovered, so a sacrifice is performed. During this time, it ensures that no one will approach the cave, and with the divine messenger in charge, food and drink won't be a problem. There's no more perfect solution."

"But you may have heard that the sacrificers are chosen through a rosary," Akechi said.

"Although it's just my intuition, I think you're manipulating the lottery behind the scenes, aren't you? Of course, you don't always choose the sacrificers. You only intervene in the selection of sacrificers when you receive a request once a year or every few years," Shirou analyzed.

In this world, Magecraft are already a rare breed, but precisely because of this, they stick together and are very careful to hide, so it takes Shirou and Holmes quite a bit of effort to find them.

"Human intervention in the selection of sacrifice participants?"

"Like, tampering with the dice, or something like that." Shirou couldn't bring himself to break into someone's house and open the safe, so he considered this his own deduction. Shirou imitated Holmes' calm and collected demeanor, smiling as if he understood the truth of everything. (Monthly membership group 694936135)

"Oh yeah, and then what?"

"In order for outside clients to enter the cave, the legitimate sacrificer who draws the lot must have to give up the cave, right? In other words, the person who draws the lot must be someone who knows the inside story, and the sacrificer must be an accomplice." Shirou said, glancing Hatano at Hatano, "And that's your part."

Hatano had put down the wooden stick and stood quietly with a resolute yet gentle expression.

It makes sense that Akechi didn't deliver the food box he received from Granny Songbai, but instead placed it on the ground.

A thought suddenly flashed through Shirou's mind. "That's right, the Nobunaga Incident is also related, isn't it? You guys agreed to hide someone, but something went wrong, and it wasn't Hatano who was chosen that time, but Nobunaga."

"Everything is prone to error."

The Akechi voice seemed to shake the bare branches of the forest.

"Was there a problem with the dice? Or was there a problem with the seating arrangement?" To Shirou's question, Akechi simply smiled and did not answer.

"I guess you wanted to recruit Nobunaga as an accomplice. Nobunaga agreed to cooperate and left the cave through a secret exit, but something went wrong inside? Is that right?"

"No, that man, Nobunaga, was too greedy. I explained the rules to him repeatedly, but he still broke them and suffered the consequences." Akechi finally spoke, but his words and tone were so calm that it seemed less like he was acknowledging Shirou's conjecture and more like he was simply pondering various conjectures and enjoying it. Perhaps it was because the people in the village were too simple-minded that he rarely had the opportunity to play a game of deep reasoning with others.

"Backlash? How did you talk to him about it?"

"Money, freedom, Magecraft —aren't those enough?"

"Akechi, stop talking!" Hatano said sternly.

"Don't worry, I'll forget everything I hear here as soon as I step off that gravel road." Shirou raised his eyebrows.

"Do you think I'd believe you?" Hatano asked, tilting his head.

"I hope you can believe me," Shirou replied. "So, Kameda in that cave now? You took the money, so you're responsible for hiding him, right?"

Akechi didn't answer the question, remaining silent with his lips tightly pressed together. Hatano glanced at Akechi with concern.

"Let me see inside the cave, and then all the mysteries will be revealed," Shirou said, looking directly at the two of them.

"Okay, please take a look." Akechi readily agreed.

Shirou was surprised.

The confirmed result was that the cave was completely empty.

Akechi and Hatano skillfully removed the stones and branches, moved the large spherical rock, and said to Shirou, standing in front of the cave entrance, "Please go in and check."

A pungent stench, a mixture of sweat and earth, hit him, but the cave interior was cleaner than he had imagined. Shirou bent down and cautiously stepped into the cave.

The cave is surprisingly spacious; an adult could stand upright without bumping into the rock wall above. It is not narrow and is nearly ten meters deep. Moreover, it is warm inside, probably because the wind cannot blow in.

"You can tell at a glance that there's no one left." Akechi called out to Shirou was about to walk deeper into the area.

It was morning, and bright sunlight streamed into the cave, illuminating even the ground at the far end. Of course, there was no Kameda, who was either tied up or lying on the ground.

"Indeed," Shirou could only agree, "There's really no one here."

"It's better not to go in," Hatano advised.

"Because you don't want me to discover the secret inside?"

"That doesn't matter. Look, there are those stones piled up around here. Move the stones and you'll find the Magic Circle inside, which is the secret of this place." Unexpectedly Hatano confessed so easily. For them, the declining magic path no longer mattered much.

Shirou looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that each pile of pebbles was like a small mountain. An uninformed person would probably not think to move the pile of pebbles, since some of them looked like simple graves, making one wonder if they might dig out a pile of white bones from them.

"Why do you want me to stay away from going deeper into the area?" Shirou asked again.

"The rituals are different now, but in the past, they really used living people as offerings." Akechi's voice echoed coldly in the cave.

Shirou nodded; he knew what they wanted to say.

The remains of those who were captured and sacrificed alive still remain deep within the cave. The scratches left by the living sacrifices on the cave walls with their fingernails, the resentment written in blood, and even the heavy atmosphere of deep resentment and hatred that remains invisible to the naked eye—these must still exist in the deepest part of the cave. Perhaps all sorts of gloomy thoughts of people have long since seeped into the dampness on the walls or into the fragments of collapsed rocks.

If you weren't part of this system, you'd probably be attacked by the collective vengeful spirits within or the 'gods' summoned by the entire village.

Shirou recalled the groans he had heard through the crack in the hole. Was it just his imagination? Or was it the lingering energy of years of dark resentment accumulated within the cave?

A sudden chill ran through my body.

"Since there are no problems, let's go out," Akechi said to Hatano.

"Wait!" Shirou called out to the two of them.

Chapter 1165 The Monster in the Cave

A gust of wind swept through the cave, making a whooshing sound, like a hidden 'god' lurking deep within, demonstrating against Shirou, this uninvited guest.

However, Shirou remained unmoved; his most important purpose for coming here had not yet been achieved. If the 'god' here wanted to fight, Shirou would not back down in the present moment.

Akechi also sensed something was amiss and urged Shirou, "Mr. Emiya! Now that you've seen it, let's not disturb our sacred place any longer. Let's leave!"

"Wait, what I'm looking for might still be here." Shirou reached out and picked up the pendant around his neck. The white crystal of divine power attached to it shone with a dazzling seven-colored light in the cave.

Then, a similar light shone from Akechi's pocket, only much smaller.

"Is this it? Here, take it back."

Akechi took something out of his pocket, and without hesitation, tossed the small Gem Shard at Shirou.

"Can we go out now?"

With that, the two men turned and walked out of the cave. Now that they had the fragment, Shirou had no reason to linger any longer. As for Kameda, he was no longer important.

Shirou turned and walked out of the cave. Deep inside, a pair of large, reddish-golden eyes glared at Shirou, blinked, and then disappeared into the darkness.

After Akechi and Hatano Shirou emerged from the cave, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For Akechi, nothing seems as important as the village's traditions as magic or gems with magical powers; he simply wants to keep the village going. So, Akechi here is more of a village chief than a Magecraft.

"You two, why..." Stepping outside into the glaring sunlight, Shirou squinted as he looked at Akechi and Hatano, "Why are you pretending to have a bad relationship?"

More than thirty years ago, these two people played the role of adversaries, neither looking at nor speaking to each other, and this act lasted for more than thirty years.

"It wasn't an act." Akechi lowered his eyes slightly, then raised his head and said.

"That's right. Our village is so small, if it were an act, it would be exposed immediately," Hatano said, but a hint of loneliness could not be hidden in his eyes.

"However, the villagers say you haven't exchanged a single word in thirty years, yet now you're having a very normal conversation, aren't you?"

"I'm curious too," Akechi's eyes seemed to become tree hollows in an instant, and his whole person was like a plant rooted to the ground. "What's it to you?"

"It's none of my business," Shirou said frankly, "But..."

"Only?"

"Precisely because it's none of my business, it doesn't hurt to tell me. Don't you think so?"

A slow, gentle smile played on Akechi's lips, as if a tightly wound thread were being loosened. It took Shirou a moment to realize—was he smiling?

"Mr. Shirou, let's assume what you just said is true. I'm trying to earn some income from the custom of sacrificing in the cave from time to time. Of course, it's all from the village's funds. Our village has no special products, and our agriculture is declining. We really need money. No, to be precise, it should be 'our village.' I can't let this village, which my ancestors have protected all the way to the present day and which raised me to adulthood, disappear."

Why can't we make it disappear?

Shirou's question Akechi.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shirou quickly said. "This must be perfectly normal for you, please continue. You said you couldn't let the village disappear, so you used the custom of entering the cave to earn money. But, is the village really that short of money?"

"Money is never a good thing; both sides have their complaints. Strictness invites humiliation, while leniency invites contempt. To successfully govern one's people, one must maintain a balance between the two sides. In other words, it's best to have both a strict and a lenient approach; one side is the strict person, and the other is the one who listens to complaints."

Shirou looked at the two of them, feeling utterly incredulous. Wasn't this a bit too extreme? Akechi genuinely thought so, but Shirou felt something was a bit too extreme.

"This guy is smart," Hatano said quietly, "And he cares about the village more than anyone else. So, for the good of the village, we gave up."

"Give up?"

"Give up on being friends."

Shirou couldn't understand it at all. Besides, he didn't know if this approach would even be effective. Was it really necessary to go to such lengths for the sake of the village's survival? Moreover, he didn't think it was necessary to seal their friendship for over thirty years and offer their friendship as a living sacrifice to the entire village.

"Consistent all along." Hatano gaze softened. "Akechi has been planning for this village since he was a child. One day, he mentioned to me his plan to earn money by using the cave-entry custom."

The Akechi suggestion is that, to ensure the plan goes smoothly, they should become enemies with each other.

"I heard your lover committed suicide, and that's when you two stopped speaking to each other."

Hatano lowered his eyes. Before him, the wrinkles on his face seemed to gradually disappear, and his skin regained its luster, instantly returning him to the teenage boy who was mourning the death of his lover.

"Hatano and I are truly best friends who grew up together, wearing diapers since we were little. If two people like us suddenly stop talking, it will only cause the villagers to speculate wildly. So we need an explanation that can convince the surrounding villagers."

"You wouldn't kill that girl because of this, would you?" Shirou had barely finished speaking when Hatano rudely replied, "How could that be!"

"No," Akechi calmly denied. He said it was absolutely impossible for him to do such a thing; it was against all reason. "However, I was the one who suggested using that incident as the reason for the falling out. Faced with my grief-stricken best friend, I was just coldly calculating and plotting." His tone was self-deprecating.

"That's not true!" Hatano said briefly, but kept repeating in a low voice: That's not true...

"It seems everyone in the village thinks you're the one who hired someone to bully that girl. Akechi."

Akechi laughed, "I've never been very popular in the village. As soon as I spread those kinds of rumors, everyone immediately believes them. News doesn't reflect truth or evidence, but rather the needs of the recipient."

"So, the news about the girl being bullied was also fabricated?"

"No..." Akechi hesitated, considering Hatano.

"That's true." Hatano's words seemed to float gently into the forest, causing his heart to clench like an invisible fist, twisting into a knot.