落とし穴番外：夏の夜 (Part1)
Pitfall Side Story: Summer Night
Side: Yuki
*Swish… swish…*
The night at the seaside was filled with the gentle, rhythmic sighing of the waves. The children, exhausted from a day of play, had long since drifted off to sleep, leaving the adults to enjoy the quiet hours of the night.
"My, that was fun. What shall we do tomorrow?"
"Indeed. Perhaps we should go fishing?"
"That sounds lovely. Let’s catch some octopus."
"I agree with Milly. They are quite delicious, after all."
Seraria and the others chatted away, planning the next day’s itinerary over drinks. Everyone was tanned to a beautiful, golden bronze, lending them a different, more alluring charm than usual. Still, it was amusing that their first priority for tomorrow was securing snacks.
"Speaking of which, Yuki-san, I heard Luna caused some trouble again during the day?"
"Ah, yes, that did happen. I heard you and the others went to investigate—was everything alright?"
"Oh, I want to hear about that too! Luna-san said she created a place where we could relax."
"I’m quite curious, myself."
"…Yuki, is that place actually safe?"
"Big Brother, I want to hear!"
"We want to hear it too!"
At Ratz’s prompt, every gaze in the room converged on us. That bastard Luna; she must have been whispering about it to everyone behind our backs. The group of us who had gone on the investigation exchanged a look before I, as the representative, answered.
"Ah, there were no particular 'problems.'"
However…
"That’s a lie. If that were true, why didn't you guide us there?"
"Well, the facilities were a bit…"
I sent the data on the houses we had surveyed to everyone’s devices.
"Let’s see… what’s this? 'Facility renovations required'?"
"The toilets are Japanese-style, 'drop-type'? I don't quite understand the meaning of the words—what does that imply?"
"Hmm. It says here there are many items left behind, aside from the toilets."
Rurua, Shera, and the others, including Yuyu, tilted their heads in confusion as they scanned the data. Ah, right—"Japanese-style toilets," especially the pit-latrine variety, were not used in Weed. It would be impossible for them to imagine it from the text alone. I sent over the 3D data next.
"I see. This is… a bit much, isn't it?"
"The posture required to use it. It looks surprisingly exhausting. And besides…"
"At this rate, if you’re not careful, you might fall into the waste."
Samantha, Cleena, and Ria had all recently given birth; it was only natural that they would want to avoid such unsanitary and dangerous conditions. And for children like Sakura and Sumire, who were in their prime of curiosity, the danger was magnified. The possibility of falling into a cesspit and drowning was not zero.
"Setting aside us adults, it is far too dangerous for the children. We certainly cannot use it without renovations. Moreover, looking at the data, it seems Luna’s restoration work utilizes a reversal of time. That is why the personal property of the people who lived there before it became a ghost village remains."
"That’s right. Comet and I went to see it, and it was still full of the remnants of daily life. We have to start by sorting through all those belongings. Right?"
"Yes. To the people who lived there, the arrangement likely followed a specific logic, but to us, it’s a chaotic state where we don't know what is where. Setting aside us adults, I think it’s dangerous to let the children go there. After all, there were farming blades and such left in the most peculiar places."
Exactly. There was a mountain of items we had never touched before, and many were hazardous—sharp blades and heavy agricultural tools that could cause serious injury if handled carelessly. Simply telling the children "don't touch" was easy, but expecting them to suppress their curiosity and obey was far too optimistic. If we were to use the place, it was vital that we, the adults, took precautions first.
"I see. We can't let Sakura and the others go until we've properly tidied up. By the way, were there any apparitions or ghosts? Souta-san and the others went too, didn't they?"
Seraria, while convinced, seemed to understand exactly who needed to be watched out for, and checked with Souta-san regarding the presence of spirits.
"No, there was no sign of ghosts whatsoever. There was no malevolent energy, so I don't believe there are any issues."
"Above all, Amaterasu-Omikami-sama has stated that there is no problem. There can be no mistake in that."
Souta-san was one thing, but the fact that the water spirits placed such absolute trust in Luna was, to me, a complicated feeling. I believed there was no one less trustworthy than Luna. It was true that she wouldn't do anything that would cost human lives, but she was a "god" who operated on a standard entirely different from humanity—a fickle being who believed that as long as something was fun, anything went.
Still, there was no reason to insult Luna’s nature and hurt the feelings of the water spirits who were kindly cooperating with us, so I didn't touch on that.
"There was one thing I found strange. This."
I sent a photo of the "dolls and miniature shrines" that were present in every house in the village to everyone.
"What is this? A Japanese doll?"
"As Ratz said, it’s likely a Japanese doll."
"Likely? Is that so?"
Rurua tilted her head, asking back with a puzzled expression.
"I’m no expert on dolls. Besides, the appraisal result from my skill simply returned 'doll'."
"Come to think of it, it doesn't say where it was produced, does it?"
"Even if it’s from Japan, that doesn't necessarily make it a 'Japanese doll' in the traditional sense, nor does it mean all the materials are Japanese-made. Still, it was a doll wearing Japanese clothing found in a village pulled from the deep mountains of Japan, so 'Japanese doll' is probably fine. If I had to add anything, it might be a doll unique to that village. I’ve never seen a doll crafted like this in my memories."
Well, it had the structure of a doll, at any rate. But the design was a bit far removed from the classic Japanese dolls I knew. It was a cloth human-shaped figure dressed in handmade Japanese clothing, with the hair represented by fabric. If anything, it reminded me more of a stuffed prize from an arcade. Moreover, the craftsmanship was, to put it politely, crude—clearly handmade, not a mass-produced item.
"But, now that I think about it, Ratz, why did you think it was a Japanese doll when you saw it?"
"Hm? Oh, well, the appearance mimics a Japanese doll, doesn't it? And considering its age, I thought it might be a type of one."
"Ah, I see."
It certainly did have the feel of something trying to be a Japanese doll.