Island of the Corpse-Eating Butterfly: Epilogue

The morning of the twenty-third, following the dawn of the twenty-second.

"I wonder where that guest went. They left all their luggage behind."

The landlady of the inn muttered this while packing up Yasu's belongings in the guest room. She spoke while looking at the empty futon, a dirty book filled with scrawled handwriting, and some scraps of paper that looked like a map.

"They just suddenly disappeared and haven't come back."

The young part-time worker, who had been listening to the landlady's grumbling nearby, spoke with a serious expression.

"You don't think they committed suicide, do you?"

"Don't say such foolish things!"

"But they left their wallet and everything else behind, didn't they?"

"There's no suicide note... no one answers when I call the guest's home... the smartphone is password-protected... I don't know who I'm supposed to contact."

The landlady sighed, looking completely at a loss.

Under a clear blue sky, the owner of the Aquamarine shop stopped by Shijiki Shrine for his daily morning routine.

As usual, the Shinto priest was sitting idly on the edge of the worship hall, looking out over the sea visible through the pine branches.

"Good morning."

At the shop owner's greeting, the priest turned and bowed his head.

"Good morning to you. Thank you for your hard work every morning."

"Oh, it's thanks to you that I'm able to pray to the gods for prosperous business every day."

"Come to think of it, it seems the Hiruko didn't appear this year either."

"Indeed. I hope years like this continue."

"Truly. It seems the Shijiki butterflies are flying again, up around the Blue Cave."

The shopkeeper smiled.

That sounds good. The customers will be happy. The corpse-eating butterflies are beautiful, after all.

Facing the main hall, the shopkeeper placed the offering he had brought into the offering box, clapped his hands twice, and bowed his head. He kept his hands pressed together, likely praying for business prosperity.

I wonder if that man was able to catch a corpse-eating butterfly...

The Shinto priest muttered, remembering Yasu.

Huh? Who?

The shopkeeper, having finished his prayer, asked back.

You know, the person who was going around asking about the corpse-eating butterflies everywhere.

Ah.

The memory was still fresh for the shopkeeper as well.

He was a bit of an unusual person, wasn't he?

He must have been passionate.

The Shinto priest seemed to have accepted Yasu with generosity.

This year, too, many tourists came to see the rare butterflies known as corpse-eating butterflies, climbing the cliffs of the Blue Cave and pointing their lenses at the bright red butterflies dancing in the sky.

They're beautiful, aren't they?

A mother spoke to her daughter, who was about seven years old. The girl chased after a butterfly, saying she wanted to see it closer. She bumped into a sign warning of danger, but was caught by an adult nearby and managed not to fall.

This place is full of holes and dangerous, so please be careful.

A young woman gently warned the girl.

Okay!

She seemed surprised as she nearly tripped, but she quickly regained her composure. Looking up at the sky, she followed with her eyes the red butterfly that stood out vividly against the deep blue.

"So pretty."

The girl's eyes were sparkling. Reflected in her pupils were the corpse-eating butterflies, fluttering and dancing in the wind.

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