"And what about those who object?" the village chief continued to shout.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One hand after another was raised.
The village chief glanced at it briefly, then raised his eyebrows slightly.
Hmm! Even fewer than before!!
The village chief called out from above, "May I ask your reasons for objecting?"
The scene was completely silent.
"Say something already! What are you pretending for?" Koji shouted angrily when no one spoke.
After hesitating for a moment, a woman finally spoke:
"I'm sorry, but I simply cannot accept having my child serve a goddess!!"
Before the village chief could even speak, Koji started talking on his behalf.
"Hey, Masami, you have four children, right? Did you ever have enough to eat? What if there was a famine? Would you let them starve to death?"
"Can..."
Masami wanted to say something more, but Koji had no intention of letting her back down.
"What do you mean, 'but'? Serving the goddess isn't sending them to their deaths!! Or are you worried about not having children to support you in your old age? Don't worry!! We can't possibly expect you to dedicate all your children to her!!"
Koji wanted to say something more, but was immediately interrupted by the village chief.
The village chief spoke first, "I know what everyone is worried about!"
"How about this, my family will provide the first child to be offered up!"
"My Kenta, is nine years old this year, which just meets the requirement!"
"From now on, the selection will be decided by drawing lots. The families selected will not need to participate in the lottery again for five years. Is that alright?"
No one spoke.
After looking around, the village chief asked again:
"Okay, let's start voting again!"
"Raise your hand if you support changing it to a goddess of worship!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One hand after another went up, more than before, but still less than half.
The village chief frowned and said again:
"Now, raise your hand if you object!"
This time, there was a noticeable change; only seven or eight hands were raised in the crowd.
Soon, under the watchful eyes of their supporters, those hands withdrew intermittently.
Teiichi slowly reached out and held my gentle teacup, then lifted it with a little force, brought it to his lips, gently blew away the rising steam, and then took a small sip.
As the warm tea slid slowly down my throat, the words Delia's mother had just said came to mind.
Partial support, minority opposition, and the silent majority?
Moreover, serving the goddess?
Are they trying to move this matter forward by withholding some key information?
Once this matter is pushed forward, it won't be something that can be stopped so easily...
Also, will you take the lead and send your own grandson there first?
Teiichi couldn't help but recall the image of the village chief he had seen a few times in the past few days.
This village chief is a ruthless guy!!!
"So... that's the decision we made afterward?" Kanae trembling slightly.
Delia's mother nodded gently and said:
"Well, after all, they weren't completely against it; they were just a little worried about their child being chosen!"
"Now that the village chief has taken the lead, they can't very well refuse!"
"Moreover, those selected don't need to participate in the lottery again for five years, so they can just have more children. Even if they are selected for only one child, they don't need to worry too much!"
Delia's mother's words made Kanae feel dazed. Her body seemed to lose its support, and she involuntarily sat back, no longer sitting upright as before.
What does it mean to say that it would be better to have more children?
Can having more children solve this?
Those were all their own children!!!
Why were they able to send their children there so casually?
She suddenly didn't understand the meaning of all the years of fighting.
So, not everyone gets angry when their family members are eaten by ghosts?
Besides this village, perhaps in some other parts of the world, there are also those who offer their family members up to be eaten by ghosts?
Then what was the point of all those years of fighting so desperately with myself and the Demon Slayer Corps?
Kanae's mind was in a daze, as if she had fallen into an endless dark abyss, unable to find direction or see any hope.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
Delia and her mother were just talking about going to serve the Goddess of Harvest!!
Instead of sending it to ghosts to eat!
So, they were actually scammed?
Did they really believe their children were being sent to serve the Goddess of Harvest, and not to be eaten by demons?
Thinking of this, Kanae's Kanae lifted slightly, and she stared intently at Delia's mother.
"So you really believe the child was taken to serve... that Goddess of Harvest, is that it?"
Delia's mother paused slightly upon hearing this, then looked back at Kanae.
Her lips trembled slightly; she opened her mouth as if to say something, but something seemed to be blocking her way.
Finally, seemingly worried that his concealment might lead to Delia being captured and sacrificed, he glanced at Teiichi and Kanae's faces one by one, then asked with some uncertainty:
"Do you... know about ghosts?"
"Yes, we're from the police department, specifically here to deal with ghosts!" Teiichi, his expression unchanged as he agreed.
I knew it!
Delia's mother nodded, then said with a wry smile:
"At first we didn't know. At first we really thought the child was being taken to serve the Goddess of Harvest! Until last year..."
Last year, a family changed their minds at the last minute, and then...
At this point, Delia's mother stopped, as if she had remembered something terrible.
"And then?" Kanae continued to ask.
Delia's mother said tremblingly, "Then... then, the next day, that ghost came looking for us! And then the whole family was killed! And not only that, it also killed the two families next door!"
So that's why the temple behind it was abandoned? And with a big stick in one hand and a candied date in the other, this guy's got some nerve!... Teiichi.
Kanae said, "Since you already know that the other side is a ghost, and that the child you sent there will be eaten by the ghost, why don't you call the police?"
Delia's mother explained, "Because the village chief will have people watching at the village entrance, the selected families can't leave until the child is sent there! That's why I chose to ask you two for help when I saw you!"
Kanae retorted sharply, "But you could clearly have joined forces! That way, this whole thing would have been over! There wouldn't be Delia, Yuta, and all those other kids!!"
Delia's mother opened her mouth as she heard this, but in the end she said nothing and silently lowered her head.
Her silence was like a silent protest, or perhaps an acceptance of this helpless reality.
Receiving no reply, Kanae stared intently at Delia's mother and asked, somewhat suppressed, "..."
"So what exactly are you thinking?"