Somewhere between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost stood a seemingly ordinary village. It was remote and rarely visited, and most of the travelers who occasionally wandered nearby were people who had lost their way.
When these outsiders entered the village, they saw residents who worked hard and welcomed guests warmly. Though the village was small, its people lived cheerfully. Anyone would likely have thought them a simple, honest community.
Yet first-time visitors could never have imagined that these people had another face behind the scenes. Ordinarily, they were hospitable villagers who prospered through hard work, but at certain times, they became fanatics clad in black robes and wielding sharp blades.
These people were the Evil God Worshippers who had vanished without a trace. After the national Purification Movement years earlier, the surviving worshippers had been forced to flee into remote mountain forests. They had hidden there for a very, very long time, emerging only once the danger had passed.
By then, however, openly spreading their faith was no longer an option. Whenever anyone appeared preaching about the Evil God, ninja would come knocking. These surviving Evil God Worshippers could only change their names and find a secluded place to live as farmers.
But they had not abandoned their faith. Instead, they had disguised it, so that even outsiders who occasionally wandered in would notice nothing amiss. The Evil God Worshippers actively promoted their ideas, and if they found someone particularly devout, they would consider welcoming that person into the village.
If they truly could not persuade someone to join, they would let that person leave, provided there were no serious complications. The Evil God Worshippers had no intention of drawing too much attention. But if these outsiders accidentally discovered their true identities, they would not