"Because I am the child chosen by God!!" Delia said softly.
The particularly sensitive words made Teiichi and Kanae's gazes sharpen slightly, and they subconsciously exchanged a glance.
Then, Kanae lowered her head slightly and asked softly:
What does it mean to be a child chosen by God?
Delia blinked her clear yet slightly bewildered eyes and began to explain:
"The chosen children are selected to serve the Goddess of Harvest! Only in this way can the Goddess of Harvest guarantee a bountiful harvest for our village! Only then can everyone have enough to eat!"
" Goddess of Harvest, is the harvest plentiful...?"
Upon hearing this, Kanae murmured softly.
At this moment, however, she did not feel joy at finding a possible clue; on the contrary, a cold feeling was slowly spreading from the bottom of her heart.
The people here are really trading children with ghosts for their so-called harvest!!!
Delia assumed the older girl next to her didn't understand, so she nodded emphatically and began to explain further:
"Our village used to believe in the Inari, but for some reason, a Goddess of Harvest suddenly appeared two years ago, and then the village suddenly switched to believing in the Goddess of Harvest!"
Teiichi listened silently from the side, not finding the situation strange at all.
The Inari doesn't care whether your harvest is good or bad, but the demons really do...
Given the contrast between someone in charge and someone who doesn't, isn't it obvious who to trust?
However, looking at it this way, this ghost isn't entirely useless; at least it...
Yes, we should use her!
At least she actually did the work after she got paid.
It's just that this money is a bit...
"Are all those chosen children?" Kanae continued to ask in a low voice, her voice trembling slightly as if she were trying to control the surging emotions within her.
Delia nodded, and said matter-of-factly:
"Yes, the goddess only likes children, not adults!"
"So... how many children have been sent there so far?"
"Hmm, I don't know!" Delia shook her head. "There might be people I don't recognize who were sent there, but as far as I know, it's Yusuke, Nana, Kazuhiko..."
Delia counted on her fingers, and with each name she called out, Kanae's hand clenched tighter.
After calling out five or six names, Delia stopped, then looked up to see if she had missed anyone, before finally saying:
"Hmm, it seems that's all I know!"
Kanae stood there silently, only nodding slowly, but her heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar, completely chilled.
This place... is truly trading children for a bountiful harvest...
Suddenly, her tightly clenched fist was grasped by a warm hand, and Kanae instinctively looked over.
Teiichi smiled gently at Kanae, a smile as warm as the winter sun, dispelling some of the gloom in her heart.
"It's alright, we're already here!"
Delia seemed to realize Kanae's unhappiness and thought the beautiful older sister was unhappy because of her own experience, so she quickly said:
"Actually, there's nothing wrong with serving the goddess. Everyone says you can eat well and dress well there! Plus, you can hang out with many friends who have been there before! It's just... it's just..."
Her voice trailed off, and tears welled up in Delia's eyes once more.
"It means I might never be able to come back and never see my mother again!"
Nezuko and gently stroked Delia's head.
"It's okay, I'll stay with you!"
Delia looked at Nezuko, who was even shorter than her.
"Is my sister going with me to serve the goddess?"
Nezuko was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly nodded in agreement.
"Um!"
On country roads in the fields.
Teiichi other two followed Delia's steps toward her house.
Along the way, the group learned roughly about Delia's family situation.
Delia was the first and only child in the family.
When Delia was very young, her father passed away from a serious illness, leaving only her and her mother in the family.
Fortunately, she was an only child, and her mother managed to get by on her own.
Speaking of Teiichi can't help but think of Tanjiro's mother.
How did she manage to raise six children all by herself?
Could it be because of the previously meager production?
The group continued walking and soon arrived safely at Delia's house.
Perhaps it was Nezuko's presence that brought Delia a long-lost sense of joy. As soon as she reached her front door, Delia eagerly pushed it open, revealing its somewhat old yet charming design, and shouted excitedly:
"Mom, I'm home!"
There was no immediate response from inside, but Teiichi had good hearing, heard faint footsteps approaching the door.
A moment later, a woman with a rather haggard appearance appeared before them.
The woman forced a smile, but the words "Welcome back" that she was about to utter stopped abruptly the moment her gaze fell upon Teiichi other two.
Her gaze swept over the faces of Teiichi, Kanae, and Nezuko, one by one, before she asked softly, with a hint of hesitation:
"And you two are?"
Teiichi's gaze swept lightly over Delia's mother's slightly haggard face, lingered for a moment, then he turned to Delia and said gently:
" Delia, can you bring Nezuko to your room to play for a bit? Your mom and I have something to talk about!"
"OK!"
Delia, simple-minded and without much thought, happily responded, then excitedly took Nezuko's hand and enthusiastically called out:
" Nezuko- neechan, come on, I have lots of fun things in my room!"
Delia's mother hesitated at first, but after seeing that Nezuko was just a child, she didn't stop her. She just stared at Teiichi and Kanae with a puzzled look on her face.
After Delia and Nezuko left, Kanae took a deep breath, turned back to Delia's mother, and spoke with a solemn and earnest expression:
"Madam, we're here to investigate the matter of the Goddess of Harvest!"
Upon hearing Kanae's words, the woman, whose eyes had previously held a hint of confusion, suddenly brightened with hope and asked with slightly excited emotion:
Are you police officers?
Just as Kanae was about to retort, she was interrupted by Teiichi.
"Yes, you could say that. We specialize in investigating these kinds of incidents!"
In this relatively simple and honest era, there weren't many complicated linguistic traps or intricacies. Delia's mother, fully believing the two people who had arrived were police officers, excitedly said:
"That's wonderful! Please come in, please come in!"
"Then I'll have to bother you!"