That very night.

The head of the Furude family, the priest, gathered his wife and Rika together for a family meeting.

In Hinamizawa, it was tradition for the Three Families to gather and discuss the village's issues.

So it was hardly unusual for big families like the Sonozaki family and the Kimiyoshi family to have meetings beforehand to sort out opinions among themselves.

...However, the Furude family had lost its branch families, so there were only three of them left.

So until that day, they had never had a family meeting at all.

"What is it? You're being so formal.

Is it about the dam construction?"

The dam was the most important issue in the village at the moment.

The wife naturally assumed the priest wanted to talk about the dam.

For him to gather all of them together like that, it must be a huge decision he had to make.

Perhaps he was going to talk about joining the pro-evacuation camp.

"......No, it's not about the dam...

But it's about something extremely important which concerns this village, and perhaps all the ancestors of the villagers too."

The Furude family had served in the priesthood of Oyashiro-sama, the guardian deity of the village, for generations.

So for him, the head of the family, to start out that way, it must be something extremely important.

Yet, he said it wasn't about the dam. So what could he want to talk about?

"I married into this family,

so I want you and Rika, who carry the true blood of the Furude family, to listen very carefully.

.........You two aren't normal human beings."

"......I'm the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama, right?"

"Rika, you shouldn't say such things!

Dear, let's talk about things like that without her.

She's heard enough nonsense from the elderly people at the village hall already."

"What she just said, about her being the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama...

That appears to be true."

"What...?!"

"...It's a rather long story.

Please, just sit tight and listen to me."

The wife had a dumbfounded expression on her face, not knowing what he was going to say, but Rika was completely relaxed, wearing her usual carefree expression.

The priest started to talk after his wife calmed down.

"There is a disease in this village that has been here for many years.

It's a special disease which only exists here in this area.

Everyone who lives in this village has the disease.

Not only the people who live here now,

but all the people who ever lived here had the disease."

"What...?

But we're all perfectly healthy.

I've never heard of a disease exclusive to this village...!"

"Calm down.

As long as we are here in the village, the disease won't cause any problems.

But once you move away from this village, that's when it starts to act out.

Do you understand?"

"How... How can you expect me to understand such a thing? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"......It's the same as the curse of Oyashiro-sama."

Rika said it so calmly while her mother became frustrated.

"That's right.

They say that when you leave this village, you're cursed. It's just like that.

In other words, the curse of Oyashiro-sama, which our ancestors have feared for generations, is actually a disease that only exists in this village."

"How could that be possible?

We've left the village before.

Other villagers, too. Some have gone on business trips, and some even traveled to foreign countries!"

"True.

But that's probably because the disease has weakened over a long time.

So it was going to disappear eventually.

...But the business with the dam disrupted that process.

...Everyone knew that during the dam war, the entire village was aflame with agitation.

Such excitement and emotional instability makes the disease stronger."

"I still don't know what you're trying to say.

What we thought was a curse all this time was actually caused by the disease?"

"That's right.

All the rules Oyashiro-sama came up with were to protect the villagers from the disease."

"...No way...!!

Then Oyashiro-sama's actually a disease... not a god?!

How could that be?!

How can I explain that to the Furude family ancestors?!"

"Calm down.

The faith in Oyashiro-sama won't change.

The fact that Oyashiro-sama is watching over Hinamizawa will remain the same...

...It just means the disease producing Oyashiro-sama's curse was in this village since long ago, that's all."

"I won't accept that!!

How can I explain that to our ancestors?!

This is a desecration of the Furude family's age-old traditions.

No, this is a desecration of Oyashiro-sama!!

Who told you such a thing?!

This isn't acceptable!!

In the first place, can you prove such a disease actually exists?!"

"......I can!"

"What kind of proof?

Who gave it to you?"

"The people from the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Infectious Disease Prevention.

They've already found the pathogen, and they are searching for a cure right now.

I saw the documents and the samples last week.

The people at the Ministry of Health call it 'Hinamizawa Syndrome'."

"No way..."

"As long as you lead a normal life, the syndrome is harmless.

But once you go far from Hinamizawa, or if you become emotionally unstable, it's easy for the disease to manifest itself.

When the disease acts out, you can be possessed by your own delusions and, in the worst-case scenario, you can go mad.

They discovered this disease during the war.

A distinguished scholar noticed that only the soldiers from Hinamizawa came down with an abnormal disease, and he has been researching it all these years.

They explained some details of this research, but I'm sorry...

They are too complicated for me to explain.

If you don't believe what I'm saying, why don't you go listen to them yourself?

...At first I was indignant too, wondering how they dared to blaspheme Oyashiro-sama and spout such nonsense."

"............."

"The Irie Clinic was built to study the syndrome.

It appears to be just a clinic on the outside, but it's actually a secret research center for studying the syndrome."

"Secret research? That's ridiculous!!

If it's actually backed by the Ministry of Health, why aren't they doing it out in the open?"

"Well, I guess they can't.

For example, think about leprosy victims who were misunderstood and exiled. They are still misunderstood and discriminated against even today, in fact.

If the whole country finds out about this and thinks that everyone in Hinamizawa who has contracted this weird disease can go mad at any moment, it'll turn into chaos.

The Ministry of Health has taken that into consideration and is working on developing a cure while keeping the disease a secret.

Don't get me wrong, though. They aren't trying to put us on display or anything.

They are trying to eliminate this disease and free this village from it.

It was a different story long ago when we supported ourselves, but nowadays, it's impossible not to leave the village.

If a simple act of leaving the village can trigger the disease, you realize how dangerous it is for the villagers, right?

...I'm repeating myself now, but in the recent dam protests, the whole village entered a strong excited state, which is very bad for the Hinamizawa Syndrome."

"...If some villagers go crazy and do something horrible, it'll be all over the media."

"That's right.

If that happens, it'll be too late."

".........But...

how can I believe this?

Are you sure we're dealing with people from the government?

Are you sure you aren't being tricked?"

"I don't blame you for not being able to believe it...

They said we can come take a look at their facility anytime.

I've seen it before and I know that no mere fraud could have set up something like that...

Even the big hospitals in Gogura don't have such large-scale equipment.

If you can't believe what I just told you, you should go to the research center yourself and ask questions.

They can explain it better than I can.

They said if their explanation isn't good enough, they can explain it to you at the National Research Institute in Tokyo, or even at the Ministry of Health's main office."

"............

Whether I believe it or not, ...how are we related to that?"

"It is said that the Furude family inherited the blood of Oyashiro-sama.

And it is also said that if a girl was born for eight continuous generations, that eighth generation girl would be the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama."

"......Meep."

"That's right.

I'm the seventh

and Rika is the eighth generation.

But what does that have to do with the disease?"

"Hmm.

...This Hinamizawa Syndrome is caused by a type of parasite.

Although they're very tiny.

You can't even see them with the naked eye.

...They say there's a sort of leader among these parasites."

"A-

Are you saying...

that's the Furude family?"

"It appears that the leader of these parasites is passed down through the generations only by people with a direct bloodline to the Furude family.

In other words, in the previous generation, it was you

and now it's Rika."

"......Meep."

"Th-That's ridiculous!!

That's absolutely ridiculous!!

Why would it be something as disgusting as parasites in the first place?!"

"Calm down!!

I'm not good at explaining things.

Please have the experts explain it to you.

According to them, studying this parasite leader is necessary in order to research the disease."

"No!!

I won't have anything to do with such suspicious research, and Rika won't either!!"

"I'm telling you to calm down!!

They think that Hinamizawa Syndrome acts out when separated from the parasite leader, not the village itself.

...When you were little, do you remember villagers telling you that you had psychic powers?

You were able to cure elderly people who got migraines after taking a long trip.

That's the proof that you were carrying the parasite leader.

The Furude bloodline has the power to cure people with the disease.

To discover a cure, it's extremely important that we participate in their research."

"......If they study me, will the villagers be saved?"

"That's what they say."

"......And all the villagers are infected?

Me?

Everyone else?

Satoko, too?"

"......Yes.

Not only the people who live in the village, but their relatives in Okinomiya too.

We're talking thousands of people.

That's why the Ministry of Health spent so much money to build a specialized research center."

"I-I object!

How can you let Rika be a sacrifice for something that suspicious?!"

"......I don't mind.

If Satoko can be saved, I don't mind being a sacrifice. I really don't."

"You be quiet, Rika!!

I absolutely refuse!

I'll go talk to them and refuse them directly.

I won't let them kill Rika in some crazy experiment!!

Besides, Rika is the one and only heir of the Furude family!!

What if something happens to her? The Furude family will die right there. Don't you see that?!

You need to think more about our family!!

That's why the villagers call you an opportunist.

After all, don't you think it's odd?!

The Ministry of Construction is trying to submerge the village

and the Ministry of Health is trying to cure a disease.

What in the world is going on?!"

"The Ministry of Health has warned that this disease could be triggered by a change in environment. So they're actually trying to have the Ministry of Construction stop the dam construction plan.

...You really should go to the research center.

Why would they build such a huge facility in a location that could be submerged?"

"......Hwaaaaaah..."

Rika let out a big yawn.

It was long past bedtime for a little girl like her.

"......I'm going to bed now.

Dad, please let them know I'm willing to participate, okay?"

"R-Rika!!

You can't make such a decision without consulting me!!!

Rika!

Wait, Rika!!!"