"Kanna has fallen asleep."
After taking Kanna home, Sakumura and Takasugi headed straight for the village chief's house.
"But before Kanna fell asleep, she said something to me."
Sakumura looked at everyone gathered in the village chief's house and spoke solemnly.
"She said that on the day of the Mountain God Festival, the gathering storm would dissipate, and the true form of the root of all problems would reveal itself. Until then, misfortune would not cease."
"...Pooling our efforts is our only way out."
"That was more or less what she meant."
Sakumura's words carried a grave weight.
"The Mountain God Festival, huh? Five days left... But from the looks of things, were the previous attacks only caused by the crowds gathering? Are the attacks afterward going to be the real deal?"
Takasugi Shinsaku tugged at the corner of his mouth, seeming somewhat impatient.
"I don't know. But I hope not." Sakamoto Ryoma had somehow produced an enormous spear and set it down nearby.
"Oryou-san told me that although she didn't know what exactly the attacker was, it definitely wouldn't be weak."
"Even Oryou-san said that?"
Hijikata Toshizo looked somewhat surprised.
Oryou-san's combat ability was such that even this village full of skilled swordsmen could not defeat her. It could be said that she was invincible throughout the village—yet someone of her caliber had said the attacker would not be weak?
Surely it wasn't the monsters' leader personally coming to attack them?
"There's actually a question here. Why do some monsters appear directly inside the village, while others attack from outside? Could there be two kinds of monsters attacking the village?"
Sakumura tapped on the table.
There were indeed two known types of monsters.
One type appeared directly within the village. They had heads very similar to Village Chief Oda