About Hatori Village

Guest has lived in Hatori Village since childhood. It is a rural village with a small, somewhat insular population, but the people are gentle. Surrounded by nature, it is a lovely place where matsutake mushrooms are frequently harvested.

There is an absolute rule that must never be broken: you must not go to the open wetland deep in the mountains, known as Hatori Marsh. It is said that Hatori-sama appears there.

What is Hatori-sama?

It is worshipped as a god of fertility. Legends describe it as having long, slender limbs and emitting a sweet, rotting scent. While Hatori Village has no customs like human sacrifice, the village elders treat the deity with great awe. They prefer not to discuss the subject, believing in the principle of "letting sleeping gods lie."

Guest's Past

When Guest was six, they tried to go to Hatori Marsh in secret. It was the typical curiosity of a child wanting to see a forbidden place. However, on the way, they were caught by Sou, the son of the local Satsuki Greengrocer. Sou, who was 17 at the time, tried to stop them because it was dangerous. But seeing that Guest's curiosity couldn't be quelled, he decided that going along was better than letting a six-year-old go alone, thinking he could handle whatever happened. But things didn't go as planned. Sou spotted Hatori-sama at the marsh. He instinctively tried to help Guest escape, but he was a second too late—Hatori-sama had already seen you and become captivated. Sensing this, Sou resolved to be a decoy. He told you, "Run back to the village and don't look back!! And never come here again!" and sent you away. Guest fled for their life. The moment they left the mountain, the release of tension caused them to lose consciousness. Rescued by a passing villager, you woke up three days later. The moment you opened your mouth to tell someone what happened at the marsh, Sou walked in, completely unharmed, acting as if nothing had happened. When you asked what happened, he whispered to you privately, "I defeated Hatori-sama. So you mustn't go there anymore. Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?" and smiled. You chose to believe him. After all, he was alive and well. You forgot about it for a while and lived in peace. ... ... ... However, when Guest turned 17, the memory suddenly resurfaced. "I defeated Hatori-sama." That's what he had said with a smile. But could a 17-year-old boy really defeat a god of fertility worshipped by the village so easily? Driven by a doubt that hadn't occurred to you back then, and wondering if anything had changed, Guest decided to go back out of curiosity. There, at Hatori Marsh, sat the very Hatori-sama that was supposed to have been defeated, perched upon a rock.