Not a detective

Page 137

"Bless the village...?"

Having finally steered the conversation to a suitable topic, Asakawa Riku didn't let it go and immediately shifted the focus:

"Is it really a blessing? In my opinion, this village should be cursed by the red stingray."

"What did you say!" Kato Mio not only frowned, but gritted her teeth and rebuked, "You rude person!"

Asakawa Riku, head held high, circled the stage, addressing not only the village chief but also everyone below:

"In my eyes, this is the truth. This village does not have the peaceful and serene atmosphere that comes with divine protection. On the contrary, it has an ominous feeling. Otherwise, why do you see that all of the nearly two hundred villagers here are such young boys and girls? Even the village chief is not very old. The only adults are these few elders. Don't you find that strange?"

"……Well."

The elders who were called on stared wide-eyed, unsure how to respond.

Asakawa Riku revealed an even more sarcastic smile:

"This means that no one in this village lives to adulthood, there isn't even a single elderly person or infant. How can this be considered a blessed village?"

"...What nonsense are you spouting! You damned bastard!"

This remark not only angered the village chief, Kato Mio, but also the villagers below the stage, who became even more furious with their insults and some even threw stones at him.

However, Asakawa Riku maintained a calm and indifferent attitude, easily dodging each stone by turning his head, and occasionally catching them with his hand, without being hurt in the slightest.

“If you can answer me, answer me with faith and prophecy. Fighting me with violence will only make me more certain that this village is cursed.”

He used clever rhetoric to further block the villagers' space for resistance.

Under immense pressure, Kato Mio had no choice but to step forward.

"This...this is because of Lord Akira's arrangement."

"Oh? Then where did your parents go? Why did they disappear? Or were you all born from the sea? Was this also Lord Red Ray's arrangement?"

"……this……"

"Why do all the villagers live alone in their own houses? Don't you have any brothers or sisters, or spouses or lovers? Isn't this kind of society strange?"

"I don't know what you're talking about... what kind of social structure... our village has always been like this!"

"Is it right to always do things this way? Then let me ask you, do you know the meaning of the ritual? After the ritual, do you know what you are supposed to do tomorrow?"

"tomorrow--?"

"Can't figure it out? Is it because the program didn't include tomorrow's events? Is it because tonight's ceremony is the end of everything, and all the villagers must offer sacrifices here as a conclusion?"

Asakawa Riku sneered, exposing all the irrationality and lies here:

"Is the god you worship truly a worthy object of respect, you cursed believers? Why won't you wake up?"

Summer of the Crimson Stingray: Chapter Forty-Three - Collapse

Asakawa Riku's words were like thunderclaps from a clear sky, resounding in people's hearts.

After a long silence, the anger of the ignorant believers naturally erupted. They cursed Asakawa Riku with the filthiest words and threw stones at him.

But even among this crowd, a glimmer of hope will appear.

"Don't attack my best friend!"

Hirata Hirokichi shouted loudly, his booming voice actually drowning out everyone else's, it seems that his usual training in the baseball club has paid off.

He grabbed the hand of a villager who had been throwing stones at him, glaring at him angrily:

"Like he said, if you're wrong, just argue with him. What kind of method is violence! If you want to attack him, you'll have to get past me first!"

Meanwhile, in another corner, Kasahara Shizue also shouted loudly:

"I'm willing to believe Mr. Asakawa's words...! He's kind; he must want to help us. He hasn't retaliated against you all, has he? He's definitely not a bad person!"

He waved his hands frantically, trying to persuade the surrounding villagers to join Asakawa Riku's camp.

Kasahara Shizue's slender figure made her look like a girl, and she didn't have the same intimidating presence as Hirata Kokichi. She seemed rather weak, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many people.

"You bastard...you've betrayed Lord Crimson Ray!"

"Get him out! That traitor!"

The devout villagers surrounded him, intending to harm him. Kasahara Shizue was no match for so many people, and just then—

"I already said that violence is prohibited at the ceremony venue."

Miyazaki Tatsuno appeared, grabbed the guy who was leading the bullying of Kasahara Shizue, pulled him over, and kicked him to the ground instantly, disrupting his balance.

Before they started, Asakawa Riku taught him two simple moves. Although they were just basic techniques and he thought they were full of mistakes, they seemed to be enough for this situation.

Miyazaki Tatsuno is stronger than his peers and can fight, so the intimidation he creates is on a completely different level.

"Anyone who dares to cause trouble here will have to face my fists first!"

He roared as he swept his gaze across the crowd, and the villagers fell silent, retreating in fear and daring not to utter a word.

In addition, his henchmen, who were also among the crowd, effectively stopped those who were cursing and throwing stones.

……very good.

With just a dozen or so people, they were able to effectively maintain order, which perfectly matched Asakawa Riku's plan and greatly pleased him.

This was the result of his prior preparations. Of course, he could have forcibly suppressed the situation and taken down all the villagers who resisted him, but if he did it himself, the nature of the situation would be completely different. As an "outsider," he could easily arouse the villagers' collective consciousness, and they would unite to resist him, making things even more difficult.

Only if "Miyazaki Tatsuno" and his people do this can the best results be achieved, while he remains hidden behind the scenes, presenting himself as a benevolent person who does not resist.

That is, to divide the wholeness of the villagers.

The example of "sensory psychosis" inspired him. If people are in a group environment, they are easily swept up by the atmosphere around them. If one person becomes fanatical, it may not have much effect, but if many people become fanatical at the same time, they will become unsociable if they remain calm. However, when order is re-established and madness is no longer allowed, reason will unconsciously return to people's hearts.

"Will..."

"Could it be that……"

"Really... I sensed something was wrong a long time ago..."

"Why is this village... so strange..."

The villagers began to whisper among themselves, their brows furrowed, finally daring to express their doubts and confusion.

Especially what Asakawa Riku had just said, which made them feel even more incredulous and incomprehensible. Hirata Kokichi and Kasahara Shizue were also among them, telling the people around them what had happened. The villagers who had witnessed the conversation had long sensed that something was wrong, and now they wanted everyone to discuss it together. As a result, chaos erupted below.

This is the "time bomb" that Asakawa Riku prepared. As long as the seeds of doubt are sown in advance, this is the best time for a series of explosions.

The word spreads from one to ten, from ten to a hundred... and just like that, the atmosphere of piety gradually turns into an atmosphere of doubt...

The brainwashing here is not without flaws; on the contrary, it leaves many contradictions, but the villagers just can't see them.

Popping this bubble is dangerous, but Riku Asakawa was well prepared this time, and Yukie's trust and goodwill gave him important inspiration, which enabled him to achieve this result.

"How is this going……"

Kato Mio, standing beside her, said tremblingly, looking at everything below the stage, which was beyond her expectations and understanding.

Therefore, she naturally attributed everything to this troublesome outsider:

"It was you...you bewitched the villagers, you made them turn their backs on Lord Crimson Ray..."

As the village chief, she was perhaps the most deeply brainwashed, and she couldn't easily break free from this illusion.

Asakawa Riku reached out his hand to her.

Kato Mio was startled. She instinctively thought she was about to be hit, so she shrank back and closed her eyes, but there was no pain as she had expected.

"……Um?"

Asakawa Riku took the thing off her nose and asked, "What's this?"

"……Glasses."

Kato Mio stared blankly, then subconsciously uttered the name of the item.

"What are glasses...?"

"What is it... I don't know, how would I know about this... when did it get stuck in my eye..."

She stammered in a panic, groping with her hands, looking at the blurry scene before her, feeling lost.

In fact, not only Kato Mio, but also many of the villagers in the audience were students wearing glasses, but none of them realized that this thing existed.

This is proof of brainwashing.

Asakawa Riku didn't deliberately try to keep her on her toes with the glasses; instead, he carefully handed them back to her.

But instead of helping Kato Mio put on her glasses, he held her head and looked down at the audience—

"Take off your glasses and look with your real eyes. Those aren't villagers; they're your classmates... and you're one of them too. That's right."

"Excuse me...am I...a classmate too?"

Kato Mio murmured, her vision growing increasingly blurry. For some reason, something warm suddenly brushed against her cheek.

Those were tears; tears had blurred her vision, making it hard to see her clearly. Yet, she longed to step down from the stage and embrace the villagers…

Asakawa Riku watched her thin shoulders tremble as she cried, and thought to himself...

Actually, Kato Mio isn't a village chief; she's just a girl her age.

He crouched down, leaned close to the other person, and said earnestly:

"Squad leader, it's okay if you can't imagine what tomorrow will be like, but please believe me. I can guarantee that you will see the sun rise tomorrow."

“…………Is that so?” Kato Mio sobbed. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. As if she had lost all her strength, she collapsed onto the stage.

Finally, in the village chief's voice, an important announcement was made:

"Then, let's cancel today's ceremony."

Summer of the Crimson Stingray: Chapter Forty-Four: Dawn

"Brother, brother~"

In my dazed state, I heard a sound.

"Good morning! Time to get up!"

Asakawa Riku opened his eyes and saw Yuki in front of him, gently touching his forehead and calling him to get up.

It felt so familiar; for a moment, he thought he was back home. But unfortunately, when he got up and looked around, it was still the same primitive village.

Although it's a dilapidated house, at least I have a bed to sleep in today...

"Good morning!"

She greeted everyone with great enthusiasm.

Asakawa Rikuya smiled and said, "Good morning."

It turned out that Yukie's phantom hadn't disappeared yet, but that was alright. Seeing the girl's healing smile was his greatest comfort and sense of security.

He stood up and said with emotion:

"I never expected... that I would actually see the sun rise the next day."

...

Yes, it's already June 15th. I've broken through my previous limits and conquered the hellish difficulty dungeon, "Red Stingray Festival." I actually survived until this day on the island.

After launching that mini-coup last night, he was treated like a guest and spent the night resting in the village.

No accidents occurred during this period, and there were no attacks from the villagers, nor did those villagers turn into fanatical zombies again.

This shows that as long as the "ritual" can be stopped, the development of that bad ending can be avoided.

"Or, to be more precise, it is by interfering with their [faith] that this can be done."

Asakawa Riku rationally analyzed the situation from last night. He did not let his guard down because of his joy, but remained calm as he reviewed the events.

Chizuko-senpai gave him important insights, not just referring to the "senpai phantom" that appeared last time, but also to their experience last autumn when they solved the "Seven Mysterious Events on Campus". At that time, they fabricated fictional reasoning in the school magazine and used scientific methods to explain the ghost stories in order to eliminate rumors and blind faith among students, thereby solving the problem of Aoandon.

The power of the blue lantern originates from people's "belief," which is similar to the power of the gods coming from "faith." Therefore, it can also be resolved in the same way.

Asakawa Riku followed the same method as before, disrupting the villagers' camp, winning over and bringing some of them closer, thus making it easier for suspicion to seep into their minds.

What makes this village so terrifying is its isolation and blind faith, which fostered the terrifying power of the gods, even capable of turning ordinary villagers into monsters that Asakawa Riku could not handle.

But conversely, once this atmosphere is broken, there's nothing to be afraid of.