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'As long as you can bring me one treasure, I will become your wife.'

Many ears heard these words.

But even the important people from the capital couldn't do it.

There were even five dignitaries from the capital who asked for her hand in marriage, and were only too helpless in the face of her requests.

One of them even lost his life search of the treasure.

After that, even though everyone was still interested in the woman, no one dared to court her.

Scary...

Three brothers, all hunters who lived on a mountain, heard this news and were intrigued.

The eldest and second brother were interested, but the third brother believed it was just a ploy to trick people.

But he couldn't convince his brothers and so he set out with them to travel to the old man's house.

Unexpectedly, the woman didn't turn them away, and instead gave them her requests.

'As long as you can bring me one treasure, I will become your wife.'

Mhmm.

The woman asked the eldest brother for a never-melting ice crystal, from the far north.

From the second brother, she asked for an everlasting flame from the south.

She would marry whoever brought her the treasure first.

Just as the third brother was to listen to his request, the woman fell silent.

Leaving the old man's house, the two brothers found the requests extraordinarily difficult and impossible to complete.

But neither of them were willing to return to a life of hardship in the mountains.

After some discussion, they decided on a deadline.

Three years.

After three years, no matter if they found the treasure or not, they would return to this place.

The third brother told his older brothers not to let the woman bewitch them.

But his pleas fell on deaf ears and his brothers went their separate ways as soon as they had agreed on the deadline.

Feeling resentful as he was confused by his elders, the third brother left the village as well.

So, did they find their treasures?

Three years later, the eldest brother and second brother reunited in the village.

Both of them had found their treasures.

Wow, so they could go and get married!

Over the course of their treasure hunt, the both of them had become famous and important people.

But they had pledged their loyalty to different lords, in different factions.

With their treasures in hand, the two brothers led armies that clashed against each other.

The entire village became a battlefield, and with both sides going on the offensive, they both suffered major losses.

Many of the villagers tried to hide or escape. Refusing to leave their piles of riches, the old couple ended up killed along with the rest of the villagers who stayed behind.

However, there was no sign of the woman.

In the end, the two brothers died on the very spot they made their agreement three years prior.

They're brothers, why did they end up fighting each other?!

After the leaders died, both sides continued to send reinforcements into the area.

Soldiers were deployed, fortifications were built, fortresses were erected.

The war in that place never ended.

The two fortresses were combined together and called Nito-jo.

Between the north and south fortresses lies the ruins of the village...

And countless dead...

Of course, normally only the first few parts are recited in the ceremony. The later parts are only enacted during the great ceremonies once every few years.

As for why the people of Higashi like this story so much, I'm not really sure either.

The third brother and the sky woman don't come up again?

Oh, they do. Let me think.

Hm, there are a few versions of the ending.

One says that after the village was destroyed, someone tried looking for the riches in the old man's house, but he found only bones.

So he told everyone that the woman was a fairy who had descended to Higashi with great expectations of the land below only to see the greed and tyranny of the people. She returned to heaven disappointed.

Another version is that this was a trickster fairy, and it wasn't the first tragedy she caused, and it wouldn't be the last.

After witnessing the fate of his elder brothers, the third brother decided to avenge them by killing the fairy.

But he had no way to travel to heaven, and the fairy taunted him from the sky.

In the end, the third brother became a ghost who wanders around Higashi, forever searching for a way to take revenge against the fairy.

Morte, come here and let me patch you up.

Meow—

Mm...

I think I heard a story like this when I was little...

Really?

Do you know any Victorian fairy tales?

Nope.

I don't know many either...

Let me tell it, then.

Alright, another story!

I hope it's a happy story where no one dies this time.

Ah...

Haha...

(Begins patching the hole in Morte).

The story goes like this——

Ahem...

Once upon a time, there was a rich Victorian kingdom. The king of this country had a pair of twins.

When they were born, the most respected caster in the country came to congratulate the king on the birth of the prince and princess, and offered a prophecy:

'With the guidance of the divine light, both will have bright futures.'

The king was extremely pleased and bequeathed upon the caster many treasures and riches. But when he asked the caster to explain the prophecy, he fell silent and left the castle instead.

Years later, the prince and princess were grown, but the wise king had fallen ill with a terrible sickness and was bedridden. The doctors said it was a terminal illness, and that only the Divine Originium could save the king.

All the warriors from across the land set out to search for the Originium, including the prince and princess, disguised as adventurers.

They had to join the quest to save their father.

The two traveled together, searching the deepest caves and crossing the wildest forests.

(Miss Mousse has a very different way of speaking when she's telling a story.)

They stopped a scheme by an evil witch, they defeated vicious barbarians, all in search of the smallest clue that could lead them to the Originium.

What an adventure!

Finally, they had a lead. Following the clues, the brother and sister climbed up a tall mountain. At the mountain peak, they found a monster——

——And its nest, filled to the brim with treasure.

This monster could soar through the skies. Its scaly armor repelled all manner of weapons, and from its maw it breathed a fearsome flame. The siblings could not even harm it.

(Stops the needle and thread in her hand).

But they were able to use the monster's greed against it, luring it into its own nest.

There, the two fought against the monster for ages. In the end, the brother fell unconscious from his injuries and the sister was left to face the monster alone.

Unexpectedly, the monster did not press the attack. Instead, it opened its huge mouth asked why they had entered its nest.

The princess answered the question honestly:

She needed the Divine Originium to save her father's life.

The monster nodded and pointed to the cave full of treasure, giving her permission to look for the Originium herself.

Not long after, her brother woke up. The monster asked the same question.

The brother gave the same answer as his sister, and the monster let him pass.

But when faced with treasure that dwarfed even his country's wealth, the brother changed his mind.

He stuffed his pockets full of treasure and sneaked out of the cave before his sister could notice.

Bad guy!

The sister searched through the piles of treasures for a long time before discovering the Divine Originium that seemed rather dull amongst the glow of the other treasures. Carrying out the Originium, she realized that her brother had disappeared.

She searched through the entire cave and even worked up the courage to ask the monster of her brother's whereabouts, but the monster merely grinned and said nothing.

If I had a brother like that——!

Calm down, Popukar! It's just a story!