Chapter 241

## The Kamuy That Vanished

**The Kamuy That Vanished**, or **The Missing Kamuy** (消えたカムイ, *Kieta Kamui*) is the 241st chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

Sugimoto and Asirpa take in the flowers of the beautiful Ezo Mountain Cherry Tree, which Asirpa reveals is a sign that the deer are molting, changing their coats, and their meat is becoming more delicious. Asirpa then gives Sugimoto a lesson on how to craft various tools from the *Kuneni* and *Kasupni* trees in the region, which Sugimoto notes as being an important tree.

Nearby, Boutarou comments on how Sugimoto always seems to stay by Asirpa's side, but Shiraishi says that Sugimoto is just giving her some respect since she is a really good hunter. Boutarou says that he still cannot understand why Shiraishi teamed up with them to search for the buried gold, since he knows that Shiraishi will run for the hills when going up against dangerous groups like the 7th Division and Hijikata's men.

Shiraishi shrugs off Boutarou's words, saying that it is how things ended up and that the smaller the group of people gambling, the bigger the payoff. Boutarou wonders if there is something that makes him think he's got a real chance of winning before exclaiming that Asirpa has the same deep blue eyes as Noppera-bou. Once again, Shiraishi tries to brush it off, saying that Ainu people with Russian blood in them aren't all that rare.

Boutarou notes that neither of them can trust each other, but if they are going to team up, then they should share all the information they know, otherwise why should they put their lives on the line. Shiraishi thinks back to when he asked Sugimoto if Asirpa had already figured out how to solve the code and if she had told him, only to be denied by Sugimoto. He then tells Boutarou that he does not believe that Sugimoto and Asirpa trust him all that much.

Boutarou hands Shiraishi an engraved coin, revealing that it was lying at the bottom of Lake Shikotsu along with the gold dust and that it looks very similar to their tattoos. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and Asirpa finds an Ezo momonga, which the Ainu call an *At Kamuy*, and Asirpa tells Sugimoto that the animal is a *Kamuy* that watches over children and helps people. Asirpa states that a *Horkew Kamuy* is the same as the *At Kamuy* and that there are stories of *Horkew Kamuy* joining the side of humans and fighting for them.

Asirpa reveals that she found Retar as a cub in the woods they are in right now and thinks back on learning about constellations with Wilk. When Wilk shows her the *Horkew Kamuy*, Asirpa asks what kind of Kamuy it is, with Wilk explaining that it is "the Kamuy that vanished". Despite this, Asirpa met Retar after spending time with her father. She expresses hope that the children who will be born in the future will be able to see the *Horkew Kamuy* in some form or another.

Asirpa thinks about Wilk's Ainu name, certain that it is the key to solving the code, but she wonders if Kiroranke really killed her father for murdering the Ainu and stealing their gold dust. She laments that Wilk and Kiroranke had to die and ponders if she will find the answer upon reaching the gold. Asirpa notes that not just Wilk and Kiroranke, but everyone's fates have been twisted by the buried gold. She speculates whether finding the gold is the right thing.

Asirpa believes that she can become a ward for Sugimoto so long as she does not tell Sugimoto the key to solving the code and keeps him by her side so that things can keep going on as they are now. She turns to Sugimoto and asks him what he would do if he found the gold, wondering if he would go back to his home and live with the person he said that he loved. However, Sugimoto is distracted by something in the distance, pointing at a notch in a tree nearby.

Sugimoto and Asirpa look around, noting that every trees in the area also have a notch in them. Asirpa suggests that they get out of the area immediately, but before they can make their move, several trees falls over and crash into the ground. Sugimoto and Asirpa make a run for it, with Sugimoto noticing that the trees are falling in their direction.

## Character Appearances

* Saichi Sugimoto
* Asirpa
* Fusatarou Oosawa
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Umeko Kenmochi *(Mentioned)*
* Wilk *(Flashback)*
* Retar *(Flashback)*