"Disappeared?" Ogata said, "What do you mean? What do you mean they all disappeared?"

"That's the literal meaning." Aiyaka sighed softly, "It disappeared. Even now, there are no people alive or dead bodies."

"It was probably more than 2 years ago, or more than 3 years ago. I don't remember the specific time. In short, it happened a few years ago."

"You and others make a living by farming, and we Ainu make a living by fishing and hunting, so the men will go into the mountains and woods to hunt from time to time."

"But one day just a few years ago, the young men of Qina Village who went into the mountains and forests for hunting never returned."

"The number of missing people is obviously too high. It cannot be that they failed to return to their villages because they failed in hunting and were killed by bears, wolves or other beasts."

"Even if you miss it while hunting, it's impossible for so many people to miss it at the same time."

"So I suspected that there was some kind of disaster, such as an avalanche."

"Avalanches are the most terrifying disaster in winter. Once a large-scale avalanche occurs, unless you have enough strength to grab a strong enough tree, you are basically dead."

"Qina Village sent a large number of people to search for it."

"But after searching everywhere, I couldn't find any sign of an avalanche in any area."

"None of the missing people have been found."

"Neither living people nor dead bodies can be seen."

"Not only were the people not found, but some people who went to look for them suddenly disappeared while looking for them."

"No one was found for a long time, so Qina Village began to wonder if someone had kidnapped someone from their village."

"So they went to your and Ren's territory, that is, the place in the south called the Matsumae Domain, and asked your and Ren's leader if it was you and Ren who were responsible."

"The leader of Matsumae Clan flatly denied it. To prove his innocence, Matsumae Clan sent a large number of manpower to assist the people of Qina Village in searching for the missing people in their village."

"However, even with the help of Kazuo, there is still no gain at all."

"Not long after that, no one disappeared in Qina Village."

"This is the end of the matter."

"The old people in our Kuma village said it was because the gods were angry. The gods punished Qina Village."

"But I don't agree with this view."

Ayaka shrugged.

"The people in Qina Village have done nothing wrong. They have neither destroyed the forest nor killed bears, deer and other animals indiscriminately. Why would the gods punish Qina Village?"

"...It sounds like Kaminakure." A-Machi answered from the side.

"Shen Yin?" Aiyaka tilted his head.

"It's a popular legend here in Kazuto." Atachi responded, "Kamiyaku means 'hidden by gods and monsters'."

"According to legend, the phenomenon of 'divine hiding' mostly occurs in rural areas."

"Certain gods and ghosts often abduct people in the countryside for fun or for other reasons."

"Most of the abductees are children."

"Those abducted children either never come back, or they are sent back by gods after a period of time."

The Japanese legend of "God's Hidden God" - Ogata had read an article related to it in his previous life.

That article was about revealing what the Japanese legend of "Kamiyin" is all about.

According to that article, "Shenyin" sounds like it is full of mystery, but in fact it is just an ordinary child playing outside and accidentally getting lost.

Why does the phenomenon of "divine hiding" mostly occur in rural areas?

Because many rural villages in ancient Japan were built near mountains, when children went out to play, they would often run into nearby mountains and forests, and then accidentally get lost and unable to come back.

Why are most children encountering "divine hiding"?

Because children are much more likely to get lost than adults.

Some lost children are lucky and come back on their own. Some lost children are unlucky and never come back and die in a remote corner of the mountains somewhere.

Most people in ancient times were superstitious about such things. When a child suddenly disappeared, they liked to associate it with things like gods and ghosts.

"It's quite similar to your and human legend of 'The Hidden God'." Aiyaka shrugged, "But there are still some differences."

"The missing people in Qina Village are all those who went out to hunt, as well as some people who went to look for the missing people."

"Since this disappearance occurred, Qina Village has lost more than half of its young people."

"Without a sufficient number of young men, the women of Qina Village have no choice but to go into battle on their own."

"Those women in Qina Village are really strong."

There was more admiration in Aiyaka's tone.

"Many of their fathers, husbands, and sons disappeared in that 'disappearance incident.'"

"In order to support their broken home, they did all the work of men and women."

"Some of them are not inferior to men in terms of archery skills or hunting skills."

"A year ago, something happened that made the female warriors of Qina Village completely famous."

"I've told you before, the gold thieves do all kinds of evil. In addition to digging for gold, they often attack and plunder our Ainu villages."

"Just a year ago, some twenty gold diggers heard from somewhere that there were very few young men in Qina Village."

"So I had evil thoughts and ran to Qina Village, intending to loot the property and women in Qina Village."

"The result - those gold diggers underestimated the power of the female warriors in Qina Village."

"Before they even had time to rush into the village, they were defeated by the random arrows shot by the female warriors."

"It is said that only a few of the more than 20 gold diggers managed to escape."

A-Machi murmured in a low voice: "The female warriors of Qina Village are so powerful... they can actually use bows to this level..."

Atachi is very aware of how difficult it is to use a bow.

Archery may seem easy, but in fact it requires great physical strength and strength.

After all, the arrow must be shot with enough force to injure and kill the enemy. Without a certain amount of strength and stamina, it will be impossible to shoot many arrows.

"Yes." Aiyaka nodded, "The female warriors of Qina Village are so powerful."

"In short - when you arrive at Qina Village tomorrow, you should pay attention to your words and actions."

"Don't mention the 'disappearance'. It's a sad thing for their whole village. Some people in their village understand the Japanese language."

"And don't underestimate the women in Qina Village."

"Their strength and bravery are not inferior to those of men."

…

…

After telling Ogata and Atachi about the "missing incident" in Kina Village and warning them to be careful about their words and actions when they go to Kina Village, Ayaka left in front of them.

The place where Ogata and Atachi slept was the place where Ayaka and his family used to store sundries.

Aiyaka and the others cleaned up the place and made enough space for Ogata and A-Machi to rest.

Atachi seemed to be still immersed in the story Ayaka just told.

"It's really scary when people disappear suddenly..." Atachi, who was lying next to Ogata, said softly.

The quilt the two of them were covering was made of bearskin.

It was a bit hard to get used to using it at first, but now that I have gotten used to covering it, Ogata feels more and more that this bearskin quilt is really a magical tool in winter. I feel that as long as I cover it, I can easily cope with the weather no matter how cold it is.

"Do you think there really is a god at work?" Amachi asked Ogata softly.

Atachi is not like Ogata, a time traveler, who received materialistic teachings from an early age.

A-Machi is a person who has a very devout belief in Shintoism, so A-Machi has always held the attitude towards gods, demons and monsters that "they might really exist".

"Who knows." Ogata replied casually, "Compared to gods and demons, I think it may be caused by humans."

"Why did you kidnap so many young men?" Amachi asked.

"Hmm...human trafficking?" Ogata proposed a hypothesis.

“But isn’t human trafficking mostly involving young girls or children?”

"Perhaps they were sold to work as coolies, and were taken to dig in very dangerous mines or something."

"There is indeed a possibility of this... Forget it, let's not talk about it." A-Machi tightened the bearskin quilt covering her and Ogata, and then squeezed into Ogata's arms, "Ai

Yaka said that as long as we don't go out of town, we will set off early tomorrow morning and arrive at Qina Village near evening."

"You must remember not to talk nonsense and talk about the pains of the villagers in Qina Village."

"Don't worry. I know it myself."

…

…
To be continued...