Hirano is located in Chiba Prefecture, southeast of Tokyo, and is a town that makes a living from fishing.
When Haruto arrived, the atmosphere in the town was completely different from what he had imagined.
Everywhere were hot spring inns and seafood shops, with many residents and tourists coming and going.
There were no closed doors and windows, no fear and trepidation. The fishermen went out fishing with their gear on their backs, and the conversations between them were very relaxed and peaceful.
"Missing fishermen?" The owner of a hot spring inn was a little surprised to learn of Haruto's purpose.
"What missing? They all ran off with those low-class geisha."
An old woman sitting in the inn scoffed at this: "They don't even care about the children at home waiting to be fed, leaving their newly-married wives and running off to Tokyo to fool around with geisha."
"Ran off?"
"There was a festival event some time ago, and many low-class geisha came from Tokyo. It's like this every year... it's just that there are more this year."
The owner shook his head: "Men, how can they be a match for these geisha? They are tricked out of their money in no time, and they even have to risk their lives to go to the big city to make a living."
"Well, they don't even care about their wives and children at home, can these people still be considered men?"
The old woman was very disdainful: "That Yuuki from the Arai family, he usually acted like he loved Saori so much, but in the end, he ran away without a trace, didn't he?"
"Hmm..." Haruto nodded thoughtfully. Was it related to the festival event?
Or was the festival event just a coincidence?
"Excuse me, have any swordsmen dressed like me come here recently?"
The owner looked him up and down: "There are wandering swordsmen, but I haven't seen anyone as well-dressed as you."
"Thank you."
After asking the old woman again about the location of the Arai family she mentioned, Haruto looked reluctantly at the fresh sea bream and lobster displayed on the cabinet of the hot spring inn, wiped his saliva, and left.
He should seize the time to catch the possible evil spirit first, and then have a big meal as a celebration after the matter is over!
He found the Arai family mentioned by the old woman, but there was no one at home.
The neighbor told him that Arai Saori had gone out fishing early in the morning and had been doing so for many days.
"She just gave birth, didn't she?" Haruto was stunned.
"Well... that's life." The kind neighbor shook his head: "Her man ran away, and there's not much food left at home. If she doesn't go fishing, she won't even be able to afford food.
Saori is also a stubborn person and doesn't want to accept our food, saying that she will always find a way.
You are dressed very well, are you some relative of Saori? I heard that her family used to live near Asakusa and were in business."
Haruto politely prevaricated a few words, feeling a little heavy in his heart.
The outside wind was damp, with the salty smell of seawater. Such an environment would cause great harm to the body of a woman who had just given birth.
Moreover... He looked up at the gradually darkening sky and quickened his pace of searching.
Finally, he found Arai Saori among the returning fishermen.
She was a very young girl, with a hemp headscarf, a beautiful face but pale complexion, and a basket on her back.
In front of her chest was tied a cloth bag, and the weak cries of a baby could be faintly heard.
She was wearing a pair of worn-out clogs, and her feet from her soles to her calves were soaked white and scarred.
The basket only contained a shallow layer of shellfish, but even these had exhausted all her strength.
She passed by Haruto, dragging her tired body home.
The people around her gave her pitying expressions, which made Saori clench her fists.
Opening the door of the Arai house, the room was as deserted as ever.
She put the basket in the corner and first took Rika out of the cloth bag on her chest.
This was a well-behaved girl. Yuuki was very happy after she was born and spent a long time looking through the dictionary to get this name.
But people would say in private that Yuuki ran away with the geisha because she gave birth to a daughter... Really, what do they know!
Yuuki, Yuuki will never abandon her and their child!
She and Yuuki... when they escaped from Asakusa, they made a vow to the God!
Tears streamed down the woman's delicate cheeks, dripping on the baby's face.
The extremely hungry baby stretched out her tongue to lick, but could not satisfy her hunger, and then let out a cry like a kitten.
Saori woke up, but... but she hadn't had enough to eat for a long time, and even her milk was insufficient.
Just then, someone knocked on the wooden door of the Arai house.
Saori looked up and saw a white-haired boy with a knife hanging from his waist and an extraordinary handsome face.
Behind him was a backpack, and he lowered his eyes as if to avoid suspicion: "I'm sorry, I'm disturbing you."
Well-dressed, with an outstanding appearance... Saori suddenly jumped up from the ground, her face filled with endless despair and fear: "You found me here? From Asakusa—to Hirano?" She scurried around in the yard, throwing everything she could see at him.
Haruto inexplicably dodged those sundries: "Asakusa? No, I'm from... Anyway, I'm not from Asakusa."
He raised the paper bag in his hand: "Would you like something to eat? Even if you don't want it, your child probably needs to eat something."
Mentioning the child, Saori's sanity seemed to have temporarily returned. She stared at Haruto warily, this beautiful face always reminded her of some bad memories.
"I don't need pity."
She replied through gritted teeth.
She's really stubborn. Even if such a person dies and is pushed into the furnace, what is pulled out will still be two complete lip flaps.
Haruto sighed inwardly, but said: "This is not pity, it is a transaction.
I want to know about your missing husband. If you don't mind, these things—including this bag of baby rice flour—are the reward.
Adults can withstand a few days of hunger, but children cannot."
Saori lowered her eyes and glanced at Rika in her arms, and after a moment, she replied: "Please come in."
Haruto pushed the door open and walked in, not closing the door to avoid suspicion.
He put the rice flour and some cooked food he bought from the town store in front of Saori, then sat far away and took out his lunch box to start eating.
Chiba is indeed a seafood paradise. The eel produced in this place has a special milky aroma.
After being simply pan-fried, it is neatly placed on the sweet potato rice, with a golden and tempting color.
Haruto ate sweetly, and Saori's throat also rolled.
She first made rice flour for Rika, fed her with a wooden spoon, and then picked up the same eel rice in front of her and began to swallow it in large mouthfuls.
Well, even in a state of hunger, she still covers her mouth with her sleeve in a dignified and generous manner, plus the terrified expression she showed when she mentioned Asakusa just now... Perhaps, it was not the geisha who hooked away the souls of the fishermen, but the fishermen who won the hearts of the geisha.