Somewhere in the upper reaches of the Underworld, the sky was thick with dark clouds, dim and gloomy. Beneath this deathly silent sky, where the sun never shone, a river flowed quietly. A dense mist drifted over the water, and various river lanterns floated along with the current, dotting the surface. Upon this mist-covered river, a small wooden boat moved slowly. At the bow stood a black-haired girl wearing a black kimono adorned with intricate floral patterns. With an indifferent expression, she paddled through the tranquil water, slowly guiding the light vessel forward.
Enma Ai, the Hell Girl, was performing her duty as usual, resolving the grudges of those who had made a request. At this moment, the task had reached its final step: Hell Exile.
Now, Enma Ai only needed to deliver the person on the boat to Hell for the contract to be fulfilled. Over the centuries, she had repeated this process countless times. Through this endless repetition, Enma Ai's heart had long since grown numb. Having seen the myriad entanglements of love and hate in the mortal world, she believed her heart was no longer capable of being stirred. However, this time, things seemed different.
"Phew... I finally made it down here... It wasn't easy." Miketsu sat at the stern of the boat in a rather relaxed posture. She held a half-eaten bento in one hand while surveying the surrounding scenery. Looking at the mist-shrouded river dotted with lanterns, she nodded thoughtfully.
"I see. It looks like this is a hidden tributary of the Sanzu River. Is this where you usually take the resented ones to Hell?"
Miketsu spoke slowly, but Enma Ai, standing ahead of her, did not answer. She continued to row the boat forward in silence.
Although Enma Ai was naturally stoic and detached, at this moment, she simply didn't know how to respond to Miketsu. Even though she had rowed this path thousands of times, she knew nothing about the distinction between main streams and tributaries of the Sanzu River.
"Don't want to answer? Fine then... In that case, I'll finish my bento first." Miketsu began to focus on the remaining food in her hand. As she ate, numerous dark shadows slowly approached the boat beneath the calm surface. Upon closer inspection, they were water ghosts with bloated, rotting skin and hideous faces.
Attracted by the activity on the surface, the water ghosts that had been slumbering at the bottom of the Sanzu River swam upward, gathering toward the solitary boat. In an instant, the water beneath the wooden vessel was crowded with them. Faint blue points of light flickered under the surface—the glowing eyes of the water ghosts.
The water ghosts swarmed around the boat, reaching out to slap against its sides, seemingly trying to climb aboard and drag the passengers into the water.
Seeing such a large number of water ghosts, Enma Ai's indifferent expression finally faltered, her brow furrowing slightly. She turned her head to look at Miketsu, who was still eating her bento.
"The food from the living world attracted them. Throw it away quickly, or it will be dangerous."
Hearing Enma Ai's words, Miketsu paused just as she was about to put a piece of sausage into her mouth. She looked at the water ghosts swarming the boat, then down at the remaining third of her bento. Her expression suddenly became stern as she spoke to Enma Ai.
"Wasting food is a shameful act! Rice has a soul. Throwing it away so carelessly will displease the gods!"
Miketsu's expression was serious and earnest, her tone carrying a sharp warning. Seeing the girl's attitude shift so drastically, Enma Ai was momentarily stunned.
Enma Ai couldn't understand why the girl's demeanor had suddenly changed from relaxed and lazy to so incredibly serious just because the topic of food had come up.
Though she couldn't fathom the reason, Enma Ai continued to speak as more and more water ghosts gathered around the boat.
"You don't have to throw it all out. Perhaps you can throw a little bit to distract them."
"Just a little bit, then." Miketsu nodded at Enma Ai's words. She bit off more than half of the sausage on her chopsticks and then casually tossed the remaining tiny piece into the Sanzu River.
Miketsu's sausage fell into the water, but only a few water ghosts swam toward it. Seeing this, Enma Ai spoke again.
"That's too little. You need to—"
Before Enma Ai could finish, a sudden change occurred. The originally calm Sanzu River began to bubble everywhere. Countless bubbles rose from the riverbed to the surface, increasing in number. Along with a gurgling sound, a wave of hot, humid steam began to rise from the water. Enma Ai could clearly feel the temperature and humidity around them spiking rapidly.
"The Sanzu River... it's..."
To Enma Ai's astonishment, the entire surface of the Sanzu River began to boil violently, as if it were being heated by some immense force. The originally bone-chilling waters of the Underworld turned into scalding liquid in an instant. The water ghosts submerged within let out a collective, agonizing wail, struggling desperately in the boiling current.
'The Sanzu River... is boiling?'
Enma Ai thought in shock, witnessing a sight she had never seen before. The small wooden boat began to rock wildly due to the turbulent, boiling water, threatening to capsize at any moment. Enma Ai quickly used her oar to stabilize the vessel, trying to keep her passenger from falling into the scalding water.
On the other side, looking at the boiling river, Miketsu lightly slapped her forehead.
'...It seems that sausage had some of my saliva on it. It literally boiled the river... I hope this doesn't affect the main channel of the Sanzu River.'
Miketsu realized exactly what had happened. After the piece of sausage she had bitten was thrown into the Sanzu River, the Demon-Slaying Power contained in her saliva reacted violently with the accumulated filth and evil in the water. The resulting high heat had boiled this entire section of the river.
Realizing her mistake, Miketsu rubbed her chin sheepishly. She then bestowed a blessing of luck upon Enma Ai, who was desperately trying to keep the boat steady, allowing her to maintain balance on the boiling surface.
A short while later, after the water ghosts had been boiled and were floating on the surface, the boiling of the Sanzu River finally began to subside. The river lanterns that had dotted the surface were scattered by the churning water. Thick steam filled the entire area, several times denser than the previous mist. The high-temperature steam made the surroundings feel like a sauna.
Standing on the boat, Enma Ai breathed a sigh of relief as the Sanzu River calmed down. She used her power as a ghost to summon a cold wind, blowing away the steam and lowering the temperature. Then, she looked straight at Miketsu, who had finished her bento and was now leaning over the side of the boat, admiring the large number of cooked water ghosts.
"I don't know who or what you are exactly, but please pay a little more attention to boating safety. Do not do such dangerous things again..." Enma Ai spoke in her usual indifferent tone, but there was a trace of almost imperceptible anger in her voice. Though her face didn't show it, she had clearly been startled by the situation.
"...Well, that was just an accident. I didn't do it on purpose. I'll be more careful from now on. For now, please continue rowing."
Miketsu scratched her head with a smile. Looking at the smiling girl, Enma Ai found herself speechless. She could only silently turn around and pick up her oar, guiding the boat forward once more.
At this moment, Enma Ai's only thought was to quickly deliver this mysterious and troublesome guest to Hell and end this contract. Although she felt that Hell might also end up in a mess because of her...
'Regardless, let's just hurry and get there.'
With that thought, Enma Ai rowed the small boat forward across the Sanzu Hot Spring.
Rate on N.U.
