Chapter 1166

<Episode 1166> Day 15

After leaving the room, I headed towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was outside—a shared space for both men and women.

Without an umbrella or raincoat, I braved the wind and rain to enter the kitchen. Surveying the spacious area, I opened the fridge, which was stocked full of canned beers. While passing by, I cracked open a can, chugged it down, and then made my way toward the warehouse.

The warehouse was also located outside. Battling through the storm once more, I arrived there. Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked.

Inside, there were cleaning supplies, ropes, farming tools, wooden planks—pretty much everything you could think of. After estimating the window size, I grabbed a toolbox and some wooden planks before exiting the warehouse.

I sensed movement.

Turning my head, I stared into the forest. Swishhh! The trees and grass swayed violently in the wind and rain, but no people were visible.

“Must be my imagination.”

Seems like the eerie atmosphere has made me overly sensitive. Passing by the kitchen, I moved back toward the dormitory. Before entering, I glanced at the women’s dorm—it was lit up. They must have realized how dangerous the weather is and are preparing accordingly.

Kuuuung!

A heavy thud echoed through the air. At first, I thought it was a tree falling, but it turned out to be the minivan parked beside the dorm that had toppled over.

Pretending not to notice, I entered the dorm. Wada Kyoshiro was still blocking the window with blankets.

“You’re back! I heard a loud noise earlier. Is everything okay outside?”

“The van fell over.”

“Our ride here?”

“Yeah. It seems impossible for me to lift it alone, so I left it as is.”

“Good call. Moving around recklessly in this weather isn’t wise, especially when it’s pitch black without streetlights.”

I secured a wooden plank over the window using nails.

“The landlord might complain about this.”

“Nope. The landlord will thank us. If we don’t do this, the entire room will be wrecked.”

Wada Kyoshiro inspected the wooden plank and nodded in approval. He discarded the wet blanket outside and fetched a fresh one from the closet.

“Thanks, Mr. Ha.”

“You too.”

We went back to sleep.

I intended to wake up before 4 AM, but when I opened my eyes, it was already morning. Our plan for night watch on the first day had fallen apart.

…

Even though it was morning, the weather showed no signs of improvement.

Morii Masahiro gathered the male students, including myself, and fixed the overturned minivan. We moved it to the side of the warehouse where it could somewhat shield us from the wind and rain. Unfortunately, the engine was damaged, so we had to push the vehicle manually.

After finishing the task, we all gathered in the wide living room on the first floor of the dormitory to discuss our next steps.

“Mori-senpai! The car broke down! We’re supposed to return tomorrow, but now we can’t! What are we going to do?!”

A tall but skinny guy spoke up. His name was Hudo Jun. With his glasses perched on his nose and sunken cheeks, his long hair hung low enough to almost poke his eyes.

“Hudo, calm down.”

As always, Morii Masahiro remained composed even in this situation.

“Calm down? Senpai, we’re stranded in this village! This is practically a shipwreck!”

“Shipwreck? That’s quite an exaggeration. We’re still in a village, Hudo. Please watch your tone.”


“Other underclassmen might be shaken.”

“My words may be harsh, but I’m voicing a legitimate concern. Isn’t it true we can no longer leave tomorrow?”

“The car can be fixed. Or we could borrow someone else’s vehicle from the neighborhood and head out. There are a few trucks around. As long as we reach the nearby big city, getting back won’t be difficult.”

“That’s a relief. Can we still return tomorrow as planned?”

Fudo Shun held out his smartphone. Everyone who checked it let out a sigh.

An evacuation order had been issued across Japan, instructing people to move to nearby shelters.

Fudo Shun tapped on a news article.

“Earthquake?!”

Wada Kyoshirou exclaimed in shock.

An 8.0 earthquake had briefly struck Kantō and Tōhoku. Over a thousand casualties have already been confirmed, and with a typhoon compounding the chaos, things were reportedly disastrous. A look of fear passed over everyone’s faces.

Kantō.

In our language, Kanto.

The Great Kantō Earthquake—a phrase that triggers trauma among the Japanese.

“Senior Mori, the situation is worse than you think. Can we really leave for the city tomorrow?”

“Calm down, Fudo. I know you’re on edge because of the concours in three weeks. You want to practice, don’t you? But fretting won’t get us anywhere. Let’s walk around the village together and check if we can leave.”

Fudo reluctantly nodded after glaring at Mori Masahiro for a while.

“…Yes. Understood.”

After a quick breakfast, the group set out. The delinquent trio, including Tanaka Hiroshi, gathered in a second-floor room chatting idly, while Wada Kyoshirou and I handled the dishes. Mori Masahiro and Fudo Shun, wearing raincoats bought from the corner store, went around the village.

KUUUUUUNG!

A loud noise rang out. Wada Kyoshirou and I stepped outside. A small tree had fallen nearby in a field.

“I didn’t think a single tree would fall this easily. With the summer festival tonight… it doesn’t look good.”

Wada Kyoshirou shook his head as he looked at the fallen tree.

“Holding a festival during a typhoon is insane. Common sense dictates they’d postpone it until the weather calms down.”

It wasn’t just the wind—it was raining continuously.

‘Checking the fields… most are partially flooded. This year’s farming is probably ruined.’

The roads won’t flood. We’re high up in the mountains; the water will keep flowing downhill.

Landslides are more concerning than flooding.

As I was about to head back inside, a middle-aged man in a raincoat approached from afar. He was unfamiliar.

“Hello. I’m Honda Taichi, working at Ōkarama Shrine.”

He had an average build, bronze-colored skin, and a calm demeanor with a square jaw.

“I’m Wada Kyoshirou, first-year at Nao University.”

“I’m Sung Yoojin.”

Honda Taichi stared at my face for a few seconds.

‘Is he some kind of right-winger?’

Among middle-aged Japanese men, there are many who dislike South Korea.

I stayed silent next to Wada Kyoshirou.

“Let’s go inside first.”

“Yes, thank you.”

We sat facing each other in the living room. Wada Kyoshirou naturally brought out green tea. After taking a sip, Honda Taichi spoke.

“The festival has been postponed.”

This was bad news.

The Japan Festival Study Circle needed results to avoid disbanding. It’s too late now to find another village’s festival.

“…How many days has it been postponed?”

“The exact date hasn’t been decided yet. They plan to start the festival after the typhoon passes and the village recovers.”

“They aren’t canceling the festival, right?”

“It might be late, but such a thing will never happen.”

“Thank you for letting us know. Mr. Honda, is there an evacuation center in Ōkarama Village?”

“There isn’t one in the village.”

“But there’s a shrine.”

“A shrine isn’t an evacuation center.”

Honda…


Taiichi spoke with a serious expression. Wada Kyoshiro’s face stiffened for a moment. Honda Taiichi’s stern look was quite intimidating.

“Hmm. A sacred place is… well, sacred. And the Ooakaruma Village won’t be affected by the typhoon. It’s geographically safe compared to other areas. There’s no real need to evacuate.”

“…Well, that’s fortunate. So there’s no flooding or anything in Ooakaruma Village?”

“Not exactly. The fields are flooded, causing various damages. But it’s not severe.”

“Hmm… I see. Are the roads okay? I might have to leave the village tomorrow.”

Honda Taiichi replied with a troubled expression.

“It’s impossible to leave the village right now.”

“Excuse me?”

“The road below has collapsed. Cars can’t pass through at the moment.”

“R-really?”

“Do you think I have any reason to lie? Even if the road were fine, it’d still be hard to reach the city. A friend in the city said it’s currently flooding. Japan is in a state of disaster right now.”

“…”

Wada Kyoshiro hung his head. Being isolated in the village must feel pretty grim. With the entire nation hit by this calamity, it’s not easy to expect outside help.

“Don’t lose hope too much. The village has stockpiled food in case of emergencies, so we can last a month easily. We just need to wait until things settle down outside.”

“…At least we don’t have to worry about food. That’s good.”

The mood remained heavy.

After finishing his green tea, Honda Taiichi spoke up.

“Everyone, have any of you seen Jiro-san recently?”

“Jiro-san?”

“The elder who works in the potato field. He usually wakes up early and works late into the night, but today, even though it’s lunchtime, no one in the village has seen him.”

“Is it the potato field next to the convenience store?”

“Yes. You know him, I see.”

“I interviewed him last night. After that… I’m not sure.”

I calmly sipped my green tea. I already realized that the old man Honda Taiichi was talking about was the one I killed yesterday.

‘With his acting abilities, he wouldn’t notice anything strange just from looking at my face.’

Honda Taiichi glanced between me and Wada Kyoshiro before standing up.

“Alright then. I’ll take my leave. If you find out any information about Jiro-san, please come to the building next to the shrine. If you need anything or feel uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to visit. I’ll do my best to help.”

Honda Taiichi left.

“Phew.”

Wada Kyoshiro sighed deeply.

An hour later, Mori Masahiro and Hudo Jun returned. Their expressions weren’t good. They seemed to have noticed that the road below had collapsed.

“We checked the road situation. Crossing by car is impossible. Walking down the mountain would be too dangerous in this weather. Villagers say there are wild boars around here, and occasionally bears appear as well.”

Mori Masahiro explained. Behind him, Hudo Jun staggered upstairs.

“Mori-senpai, is Hudo-senpai…”

“Wada, leave Hudo alone. The earthquake in Kanto and Tohoku caused the concerto to be canceled.”

“Ah.”

“Wada, are the Tanakas inside?”

“Yes, they’re on the second floor.”

“I see. Gender, sorry to bother you, but could you gather the women? Since we can’t leave the village immediately, we need to explain the situation.”

“Yes, I’ll call them. By the way, Mori-senpai, I heard that the old man we interviewed last night has gone missing. Do you have any leads?”

“Missing…?”

Mori Masahiro’s eyes widened. He looked quite shocked.

“Did the questions we asked the old man yesterday… have anything to do with his disappearance?”

I casually asked, pretending not to care. Something was definitely off about this village.

“…I’ll explain once everyone’s gathered. Given the circumstances… we should probably include Hudo as well.”