gothicavenue - Tumblr blog

gothicavenue · 8 months ago

Text

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo Another Files - Lamenting Doll - file 01

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Another Files - Lamenting Doll file 01 - cries of the dead

- 1

- Scratch.

Scratch— Such noises could be heard.

They were strange noises, akin to sharp nails clawing against a wooden board. Shizuko couldn’t tell whether those sounds were merely a dream or reality.

Yet soon enough, Shizuko slowly opened her eyes as she remained lying in bed. Cold, bluish moonlight shone through the window and into the dark room.

Scratch. The noise continued.

So it wasn’t a dream after all. What was that noise?

Shizuko held her breath as she listened carefully. Scratch scratch.

It sounded like it came from below the veranda, but it also seemed like it could be from the ceiling. Perhaps some kind of rat or pest eating through the boards.

Let’s just check it tomorrow. She rolled over to lie against her back. At that moment, something touched the tip of her nose.

What? Shizuko opened her eyes in reflex.

A black shadow appeared to have hovered over her. The shadow resembled a human figure wearing a kimono, its obi hanging loose.

Then— Two eyes gazed intently towards Shizuko from above.

Widely opened, they were the colour of blood. Shizuko wanted to scream, but her voice refused to come out.

Her body froze and she couldn’t get up. She could feel the weight of the shadow across her entire body. Shizuko’s forehead flooded with sweat.

Her hairs stood on end, back shivering. Those eyes—they remained locked on Shizuko.

Except for its eyes, its body appeared entirely black, as if painted over, making it impossible to tell whether the entity was young or old, male or female. “O…er…ere…” said the black shadow.

Shizuko couldn’t understand what it had said. Even so, the words sounded terrifying against her ears. What on earth—?!

Shizuko concentrated on her throat, desperate to let out her voice. Yet somehow, her voice refused to leave.

Her body was stiff, entirely unable to move a muscle as if she was being crushed by something. The black shadow stared at Shizuko for some time before disappearing moments later.

That instant, Shizuko’s body relaxed, as if the stiffness she had just felt had never happened in the first place. At last, Shizuko could finally sit up. She turned to the direction the shadow had disappeared to.

The shadow went into the parchment scroll hanging on the wall and vanished without so much of a sound. The eyes of the person depicted in that parchment appeared to overlap with the eyes that had been looking at Shizuko earlier.

Shizuko could only remain dumbfounded. -

2 -

The gently blowing wind felt humid. Having finished her afternoon class, Ozawa Haruka walked past the back of Building B with light-footed steps.

She was going to see Saitou Yakumo. Not that she had any business in particular. Tomorrow marked the start of their long university break, so Haruka thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show her face beforehand.

Come to think of it, this was an amazing progress. Just not too long ago, Haruka had only ever come to see Yakumo if it had something to do with a case.

Because of that, Yakumo had labelled her as a troublemaker. It was only recently that she was able to visit the man with no hesitation despite lacking any reason to do so. Well, Haruka was probably the only one who didn’t mind, while Yakumo would feel annoyed. Even so, nothing would change if she kept worrying over such things.

Moments later, a two-storey prefabricated building came into sight. Each floor of the building had a row of ten or so rooms the university lended out as circle clubrooms.

Yakumo practically lived in the room situated at the very end of the first floor, a clubroom labelled the <Movie Research Circle>. To begin with, the Movie Research Circle didn’t actually exist. No, to be more precise, Yakumo and Haruka were the only actual members of the circle.

The other members were merely names Yakumo had borrowed to fulfil the requirements when submitting paperwork to the student affairs office. Yakumo had cunningly tricked the university to get the room all to himself.

“Hey—” greeted Haruka as she opened the door to the Movie Research Circle clubroom. “Oh, it’s you,” replied Yakumo. He sat on his usual chair as he acted all troubled.

He had a fair complexion and a good-looking face, yet his eyes always looked sleepy, his hair unkempt as if he had just woken up, making him appear disorganised. Haruka had first known Yakumo due to a spiritual case.

Though he usually hid it with a black contact lens, Yakumo’s left eye was actually a vibrant red colour. It wasn’t just red, the eye also had the ability to see spirits of the dead—in other words, ghosts.

With that ability of his, Yakumo hadn’t only resolved the spiritual case Haruka had brought, he had even brought a previously undiscovered murder case to light. Ever since then, they had been involved in a number of spiritual cases together.

Unfortunately, a significant number of said cases had been brought by Haruka. Thanks to that, Yakumo kept calling Haruka a troublemaker and constantly voiced his complaints whenever he had the chance to. “What kind of reaction was that? Even though I came all the way here,” said Haruka with a displeased tone on purpose. But Yakumo wasn’t the type to be perplexed by Haruka’s actions and make an attempt to lighten her mood.

“I never asked you to,” said Yakumo unabashedly, staring at Haruka through half-lidded eyes. Even without putting it into words, Haruka knew those eyes were questioning her, ‘what sort of trouble are you bringing this time?’

“Just so you know, I’m not bringing you any trouble today,” said Haruka as she sat on a chair across from Yakumo. “If not for trouble, why did you come here?”

“No reason. I’m just curious what you’re up to.” “It’s really unpleasant having to be watched by you.”

A harsh thing to say, but Yakumo had always been acting this way. Haruka had used to be unhappy about it in the beginning, but she had gotten used to it now. She wouldn’t be able to respond to Yakumo’s banter if she were to be offended easily.

“Well, sorry about that.” “If you knew that much, why don’t you hurry up and leave?”

“What even?” “I said, I don’t have time to entertain the likes of someone who has nothing to do,” grumbled Yakumo before glaring at the chessboard on the table.

“What are you doing?” asked Haruka. Yakumo raised his left eyebrow and pointed at the chessboard. “What do you think this is?”

“A chessboard.” “So you do know?”

“Anyone would’ve known that much.” “Then I ask you this: what idiot would use a chessboard for something other than to play chess?”

He could’ve just said that he was playing chess, yet he had to twist his words in that manner. Furthermore, that wasn’t what Haruka had intended to ask.

Could chess even be played with one player? That was what she had meant. Haruka wanted to emphasise the fact, but she was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

She turned to find a face she recognised. “Isshin-san!”

“Haruka-chan. It’s been a while.” Standing there with a compassionate, Buddha[1]-like smile was Yakumo’s uncle, Isshin.

He was the person who had chosen Yakumo’s name as well as raised him. Clad in monk robes, his dignified appearance and wise manner of speech gave him the impression of someone much older, despite only being in his thirties.

Since Yakumo’s mother had disappeared, Isshin had had to become the one to raise Yakumo. He had been in his twenties at the time, so he had to have struggled to do so in place of Yakumo’s parents, yet he hadn’t let it show. Furthermore, Isshin’s left eye was also red, just like Yakumo.

Even so, the colour wasn’t genuine. The opposite of Yakumo, he wore a red contact lens on purpose. It was concrete proof of the depth of Isshin’s love. He had purposely made himself be seen strangely in an attempt to understand Yakumo’s feelings, even if just a fraction of it, by experiencing the same suffering as Yakumo.

“You two get along well as usual,” said Isshin as he nodded repeatedly. Haruka felt flustered over being described so warmly, vaguely responding, “No, that...”

On the other hand, Yakumo began to complain, “Never have I ever thought that I would be mistaken to get along well with the likes of her,” Haruka felt like crying over the difference between her reaction and Yakumo’s.

“So, what did Uncle come here for?” asked Yakumo lazily. While she felt Yakumo’s words were unbecoming towards the uncle who had raised him, Haruka had more or less the same thought. It was in fact unusual for Isshin to come visit Yakumo in his room like this.

“Hm,” Isshin nodded, taking a seat next to Haruka before opening his mouth. “Actually, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you—” How rare for Isshin to have something to discuss with Yakumo.

Unlike Haruka, tilting her head over what subject the man could possibly have wanted to discuss, Yakumo had a sour look on his face as if he knew what was up. “Someone from the families supporting the temple probably experienced a spiritual phenomenon, so Uncle wants me to settle it—something along those lines, right?”

Resting his chin on one arm, Yakumo made an annoyed expression. That mannerism somehow looked adorable.

“You certainly are well aware,” said Isshin in surprise, while he maintained his composure. “Uncle isn’t great at hiding things, after all. It all shows on Uncle’s face.”

“Perhaps you are right.” Isshin scratched his head with a troubled gesture as he laughed bitterly.

“Just what sort of spiritual phenomenon was it?” asked Haruka. Yakumo immediately interrupted, “Don’t ask unnecessary questions.”

“Why?” There shouldn’t be any harm in hearing him out first.

“After listening to it, I’ll definitely have no choice but to help.” —Right.

Yakumo didn’t actually like getting involved in supernatural affairs and would make all kinds of excuses not to do so, yet he had a trait of being unable to ignore those who were troubled. Such was the reason, despite numerous complaints each time, in the end he would reluctantly move and accept the request.

Not to mention that it was Isshin’s request, he certainly wouldn’t refuse after hearing the story. “Isshin-san, what happened?”

Yakumo let out an audible sigh and held his head. He didn’t try to stop Haruka, so Yakumo had probably intended to accept Isshin’s request from the start.

“So the truth is—” Isshin calmly opened his story, “along the Fuji River in Yamanashi Prefecture, there’s a sake brewery that has been passed down for generations since the Edo period.” “Yamanashi Prefecture?” asked Yakumo, his expression filled with suspicion.

“Yes. One of the families supporting my temple has an acquaintance from that sake brewery and they asked for my assistance,” Isshin replied calmly. “What happened there?” asked Haruka.

“Hm,” Isshin nodded once before continuing. “Apparently, as of late the woman called Shizuko-san who inherited that sake brewery is being disturbed by strange noises every night.” “Noises—”

“Yes. She said that at night as she slept, she would hear some sort of scratching noises.” “Couldn’t it just be a rat or something?” said Yakumo lazily.

“If it was nothing more than a noise, she might have the same idea. Shizuko-san did think it came from a rat at first, but—” said Isshin, briefly pausing his sentence. He probably meant nothing by it, yet Isshin’s tone of speech, light, slow, and overcomplicated, sent shivers down Haruka’s spine just by listening.

It felt more terrifying than the ghost stories she had watched on television. “She said that suddenly there was a shadow of a person standing beside her bed, whispering something to her.”

“If no one’s getting hurt, just leave it be,” said Yakumo as he held back a yawn. If a shadow were to stand beside her bed every day, Haruka wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully out of fear.

Yet to Yakumo, who could see ghosts all the time, ghosts that came and went were nothing more than a routine he had to go through. “Even so, something is definitely strange,” Isshin said with a troubled frown.

“Strange?” replied Yakumo with a question. Isshin nodded before continuing. “According to Shizuko-san, after the shadow whispered something to her, it always disappeared into a parchment scroll hanging on the wall.”

“Parchment scroll…?” “That’s right. In Shizuko-san’s room, there’s a parchment scroll hanging on the wall and there is a painting on that scroll.”

“In other words, the ghost came from that painting?” asked Haruka enthusiastically. “It’s yet to be confirmed. But from Shizuko-san’s story, I think it’s likely…” said Isshin before turning to Yakumo.

Lifting the left side of his lips, Yakumo grinned. “There’s nothing I can say just from the story…Besides, what was the strange thing that Uncle referred to earlier?” asked Yakumo. Isshin nodded in understanding. “Yesterday, I asked Shizuko to send a photo of the painting. Something felt off about the painting.”

“There’s something peculiar about the painting?” asked Yakumo, seemingly uninterested. “It’s an ancient Japanese painting, perhaps painted during the Edo period, but…well, rather than explaining it in words, it’ll be easier to understand if you see it for yourself,” said Isshin as he took out his phone and displayed the photo on the screen.

Yakumo stared at the screen. Hesitantly, Haruka also took a peek at the photo. “Eh?” blurted Haruka unintentionally as soon as the painting came into her field of vision.

Even the usually composed Yakumo was stunned, frowning his forehead, mouth half agape. The painting was of a man wearing a white kimono.

Despite the painting’s creation being estimated to date back in the Edo period, his hair appeared to be in disarray instead of tied into a bun. Standing still, the man could be mistaken for a ghost. Carrying a kongozue[2] over his shoulder, he gazed sharply forwards.

The mysterious painting emanated a powerful and daunting atmosphere, yet simultaneously a somewhat melancholic feel. What stood out in particular were the eyes of the man in the painting.

His eyes were dyed a bright red colour, almost like blood. “This...” Haruka muttered, yet she couldn’t find the words to continue.

“Either way, something is indeed strange about the person depicted in this painting. Hence I came to discuss it with you,” said Isshin, ending his explanation. Yakumo gave no reply, merely continuing to stare at the ancient looking painting.

Perhaps his thoughts were all over the place. If the ghost had really come out of the painting as Isshin had said, then it might have been the ghost of the figure in this painting.

Yakumo possessed a red left eye capable of seeing spirits of the dead. He had inherited this trait from his father. Even so, surely Yakumo’s father’s eyes hadn’t just turned red out of nowhere at some point.

To discover the identity of the person depicted in this painting might just be the same as unravelling Yakumo’s own origins. “So? Do you think you could look into the matter Shizuko-san is going through?” questioned Isshin as he threw a curious look towards Yakumo.

After a long silence, Yakumo exhaled a deep sigh. “I don’t mind looking into it, but I couldn’t tell anything without going directly to the scene.” “Can’t you tell anything just from this?” asked Haruka, and Yakumo grimaced.

“I can’t even tell whether a ghost is genuinely present just by looking at a photo of the painting.” “Well, that’s true…”

As Yakumo had said, he couldn’t tell anything without seeing things in person. “In that case, why don’t we go there to have a look? I’ll contact them,” said Isshin with a smile.

“I’m curious too, so I want to go,” said Haruka. Luckily, the university break starts tomorrow. Besides, she didn’t have anything planned. Her schedule was completely blank.

Travelling like this every now and then wouldn’t hurt. “Don’t tell me you’re coming too?” asked Yakumo to Haruka with a sour expression.

“It’s fine, right, Isshin-san?” Instead of Yakumo, Haruka turned to Isshin for approval.

As expected, Isshin responded lightly, “Of course.” Yakumo appeared displeased, yet he didn’t protest any further. “It’s fine if we go, but how are we going to get there?” said Yakumo, folding his arms.

They merely heard that the place was situated in Yamanashi Prefecture and had no idea of its exact location, but it had to take a long time to reach there. “That is certainly a problem. My car is currently under repairs since it broke...We could get there by train, but afterwards we would have to walk forty minutes from the nearest train station to the sake brewery.”

When living in the metropolitan area, travelling with trains would be a regular and convenient method. However, that wasn’t the case in the countryside. Many areas were hard to reach by public transport. Even merely going shopping became troublesome in the absence of a personal vehicle. Haruka’s hometown was no different.

“Perhaps we could rent a car?” suggested Haruka. “And you’re going to drive?” asked Yakumo, narrowing his eyes.

“Impossible...my driving licence is just for show...Ah, why don’t you drive, Yakumo-kun?” “I’ll have to pass.”

“Why?” “Ever since someone caused trouble along a mountain road, I refuse to drive.”

Fine, the someone Yakumo had mentioned was none other than Haruka. They had a bit of a dispute over a ghost that had appeared inside a tunnel along a mountain road. Come to think of it, Haruka had in fact never seen Yakumo drive since then.

“Well, it couldn’t be helped. I’ll drive instead,” said Isshin, but Yakumo stopped him. “Seems like that isn’t necessary.” “Hm?”

“Our driver is here.” Just what did Yakumo mean by that?

Haruka and Isshin tilted their heads when the door opened with a thud. “Pardon the intrusion.” A voice could be heard arriving with the sight of Gotou entering the room—

- 3

- “Dammit. Why do I have to send off and pick you guys up?” Gotou grumbled as he manipulated the steering wheel in the driver’s seat.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Aren’t you free anyway?” Yakumo shrugged, sitting in the back seat acting as if he was the owner of the car. It was true that Gotou had a lot of free time.

Gotou was part of the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division, which fell under the Criminal Division. They were responsible for handling unsolved cases, often referred to as cold cases. It might sound promising, but Gotou’s true responsibility was to sort through documents of old cases. He would get called as backup if a high profile case was underway, but such chances were incredibly rare.

In other words, he was a member of the outcast. His partner, Ishii, must be diligently carrying out their duties at this moment, but to Gotou, their work was extremely boring.

Getting fed up over days of sorting documents on end, he came to visit Yakumo for a change of pace. The man hadn’t imagined that it would result in being asked to drive around like this. Since they haven’t gotten any proper cases lately, he didn’t mind so long as he didn’t get bored. Regardless, Gotou didn’t like to admit it out loud.

“Despite what it looks like, I have things on my plate too.” “Doesn’t look like it.”

“What did you say?” “Besides, it’s impossible for a bear whose only strength is to wander around like Gotou-san to be assigned work significant enough to keep one busy.”

Whenever Gotou opened his mouth, this always happened. After taking advantage of him as a substitute for a taxi, forget apologising, Yakumo was mocking him instead.

“If you don’t like it, you can get off here.” “Fine by me,” Yakumo calmly replied.

“What?” “But I won’t accept any more requests from Gotou-san. Just so you know.”

He always poked at other people’s weaknesses. So far, Gotou had borrowed Yakumo’s assistance for solving cases countless times.

All because Yakumo’s red left eye that could see spirits of the dead—ghosts—had come in handy amidst investigations. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason for Gotou to drag Yakumo to get involved in cases, but there was no point in debating that here.

“Fine, I understand. We’ll go, alright?” “Good to know that you understand,” Yakumo calmly nodded.

Haruka, who sat next to Yakumo, suppressed a laugh as she watched them banter. Gotou wanted to ask what was so funny, but decided not to. “So, where are we going?” asked Gotou towards Isshin, who sat on the front passenger seat.

Despite being asked to drive them to their destination, he hadn’t been informed of its location. “Make a turn just ahead, and proceed into highway 20.

Gotou turned at the crossroad Isshin had pointed to, and entered highway 20. “And then?”

“Ahead there will be the Chofu interchange, from there go towards Chuo—” “What?”

Gotou spontaneously raised his voice. “The Chuo expressway. Please take the descending path. Afterwards, go down at the Kofu Showa interchange...”

“Wait wait wait. Where on earth are you guys actually going?” They were roughly a hundred kilometres away from the Kofu Showa interchange.

“Where to? If we’re going down the Kofu Showa interchange, obviously we’re going to Yamanashi Prefecture,” said Isshin with a friendly smile. “I wasn’t aware that we’re travelling that far,” Gotou immediately protested.

Yet Isshin’s expression remained unchanged. “Is that so? I thought you already knew...” What nonsense.

Isshin and Yakumo were probably conspiring with each other, purposely keeping silent about their destination until Gotou agreed to drive for them with his car. His appearance may be all smiling and friendly, yet this man was actually cunning.

“So? Should we stop?” said Yakumo as he stretched his body. “What?”

“If Gotou-san refuses, we could simply take the train there. That said, I wouldn’t forget the treatment I got.” His words were borderline threatening.

Yakumo was practically declaring that he wouldn’t stop mocking Gotou if the detective refused now. “Fine, let’s go. Happy?” Gotou swore as they passed through the Chofu Interchange.

Pressing deeper on the gas pedal to accelerate the car, Gotou asked Isshin next to him, “What about your daughter?” Isshin had a seven-year-old daughter. Was it alright for him to travel so far, leaving her behind?

“Yes. Among my mentors, there’s a monk called Eishin who likes to care for people. I asked him to help.” “Does this happen often?”

“Because of my work, I often had to be away from home. Nao is used to it, too.” Contrary to his words, there was a hint of melancholy across Isshin’s face.

Unexpectedly, monk duties often demanded one to be away from home, such as carrying out funerals and memorial services. While it couldn't be helped, there had to be a part of him that felt dissatisfied. Not to mention Isshin’s daughter—Nao—aside from having hearing impairment, also had a complicated background.

Deep down, Isshin must have wanted to be by her side as much as possible. “In that case, let’s quickly settle things and come home,” said Gotou right as his phone rang.

He picked up the call with a hands-free device. “Who?”

<Ah, it’s me, Ishii Yuutarou.> Ishii’s hesitant voice could be heard.

Gotou came this far out of persuasion, but he had only just remembered that he hadn’t said anything to Ishii. “I know.”

<Uh...Detective Gotou. Where are you right now?> “I’ve just left Chofu, now going into Chuo.”

<Eh?> “Didn’t you hear me? I said I’ve just entered Chuo expressway from the Chofu interchange.”

<Eeeh? Why are you there? It’s still working hours, isn’t it?!> “You go and work instead. Goodbye.”

Ishii sounded like he still had more to say, but Gotou ignored him and ended the call. Despite this sudden development, perhaps Gotou could take advantage of it to kill his boredom rather than having to sort documents with Ishii. With a change of heart, Gotou stepped on the gas pedal even further.

- 4

- They reached their destination after an hour and a half drive.

It was closer than expected, but come to think of it, Yamanashi Prefecture was indeed close. The prefecture was located next to Tokyo. Compared to Haruka’s hometown in Nagano, this was much closer. Gotou parked his car at the sake brewery carpark.

Haruka was about to exit the car when she saw Yakumo, next to her, still asleep with his hands folded over his stomach. These chances are rare, thought Haruka.

Haruka poked Yakumo’s side with a finger. Startled, Yakumo was shot awake. Right at that moment, his head bumped against the car window.

Haruka thought it was funny and couldn’t help but laugh. However, Yakumo didn’t appear pleased, glaring sharply at Haruka.

“What are you doing?” “What is it? I don’t know anything.”

Haruka pretended to be clueless. Not that she thought she could fool Yakumo, but if she were to admit the truth, one could only imagine what insults Yakumo would throw at her.

“Your fault for snoring carefreely despite asking someone else to drive,” complained Gotou, already outside the car. Yakumo looked like he wanted to retaliate, but perhaps his head wasn’t working properly yet after having just woken, so he merely sighed and exited the car.

Haruka followed suit. They were greeted by the sight of lush greenery surrounded by tall mountains. Not too different from Haruka’s hometown in Nagano.

If the weather was decent, they might even get to see Mount Fuji. Unfortunately, they couldn’t as of now as it was covered by thick clouds. “Aren’t there any onsen around here?” said Gotou, lighting his cigarette.

“Would be nice if there were. A secret spring hidden by Takeda Shingen, or something. Ah, since we came all the way to Yamanashi, I want to eat some hoto,” said Haruka excitedly. She had often heard of hoto as a popular dish from Yamanashi, but she had never tried it before. Since the opportunity presented itself, Haruka ended up wanting to give it a try.

“Apparently torimotsu is good, too,” said Gotou with a gleeful smile. “That doesn’t sound bad either,” Haruka replied in agreement.

Witnessing Haruka and Gotou’s enthusiasm, Yakumo threw a cold gaze at them. “You two came here to play around?” That singular line brought them into realisation.

They hadn’t come all the way to Yamanashi for onsen, hoto, nor torimotsu. Their objective was to solve a spiritual case. Now wasn’t the time to be excited.

“Once all is said and done, I’ll treat you all as thanks. Before that, let’s go here first. I’ve informed them of our visit,” said Isshin, encouraging them. “Right,” said Haruka, walking alongside Yakumo. Gotou quickly went after them as well.

Their destination, the sake brewery, was an old-fashioned architecture that evoked the atmosphere of the Edo period, with an indescribable charm to it. “The view isn’t so bad,” commented Gotou in awe.

“Mhm. This sake brewery is famous among locals and has been in operation since the Kansei era.” “Amazing,” blurted Haruka upon hearing Isshin’s explanation.

“Excuse me,” Isshin called out, having stood before the entrance. However, his voice was cut off by sounds of a man and a woman arguing from within the house. “You killed him, didn’t you!”

“Stop accusing me! On what basis are you even saying such things to me?” “Nonsense! I know about everything!”

“Please, just leave already!” “Shut up! I’m going even without you telling me!”

With that line, the door opened with a thud and a man who appeared to be in his forties exited the house. From his flustered face, they were able to tell that this was the man who had been arguing just now.

“Who are you people?” said the man after scanning and evaluating the faces of everyone standing before the door. “We are here as we have some business with Shizuko-san who lives here. My name is Isshin,” Isshin replied politely.

“Ahh,” the man responded with an irritated tone. “She’s inside. Maybe.” “I see.”

“I don’t know who you people are, but you better be careful with that vixen.” said the man, turning to the door with a sharp gaze. “What do you mean?” asked Isshin.

The man smiled cynically. “Since that woman is a murderer.” Having said that, the man left in a rush.

“What was that about just now?” With a serious expression, Gotou observed that man until he went out of sight. Haruka had the same thought as Gotou. She had no idea what was up, but she felt it was inappropriate to act arrogantly towards people you had only just met.

On top of that, the man’s attitude of calling another a murderer wasn’t very pleasant. “I deeply apologise for all the commotion—” a voice spoke as Haruka stood there half agape. She turned to find a woman standing behind the door. She seemed to be in her mid-thirties.

The woman didn’t appear to have any makeup on, yet she had sharp eyes and a well-defined face. A beautiful woman befitting her dark blue kimono.

“Could you perhaps be Isshin-san?” asked the woman politely. “Yes,” replied Isshin.

“I’m Shizuko. Apologies for troubling you. Please come in—” Shizuko bowed respectfully. She had a dignified presence, with a warm smile on her face.

However, Haruka sensed something was amiss. Judging from the situation, the person who had been arguing with the man from earlier had to be Shizuko. Yet she could smile like this now. The drastic transformation felt unnatural.

Although Haruka didn’t immediately believe what the man had said, the word ‘murderer’ echoed within her mind still. Haruka had tagged along out of curiosity, yet now she couldn’t help but think she might have gotten herself involved with a dire circumstance.

Haruka’s body shivered at the thought— -

5 -

Gotou and the rest were led by Shizuko to a Japanese-style room that appeared to be the living room. Just like the exterior, the interior too felt aged, yet it gave the appearance of having been thoroughly cleaned regularly. Shizuko seemed to be surprisingly meticulous.

They were served tea and as the situation had calmed, Shizuko kneeled and bowed once more. “Thank you for coming all the way here.” “Not at all. Even if not by much, I thought I could be of some help,” replied Isshin with a friendly tone.

“Um...” said Shizuko hesitantly upon seeing the faces of everyone in the room. She likely hadn’t expected this many people to come. “Ahh, apologies for the late introduction. This is my nephew, and his friends.”

“I see, your nephew—” said Shizuko, peering at Yakumo. Whilst left unsaid, she was clearly questioning why his nephew had to come along as well.

“Truthfully, when it comes to spiritual phenomena, they’re more knowledgeable than me,” said Isshin, as he glanced at Yakumo. “Is that so...”

Shizuko continued to observe the faces of those present in the room. One couldn’t tell whether she actually believed Isshin’s explanation. “Either way, this sake factory sure is big,” Isshin said while nodding.

“No. This factory’s sole advantage lies in its old age...Since we couldn’t compete against major companies with mass-scale production, it hasn’t been doing well.” Shizuko shook her head listlessly.

“Even so, quantity can’t replace quality.” “I’d like to do that too, but we are facing a number of problems, so business isn’t running the way I wanted it to…” Shizuko began to ramble.

The sight from earlier reappeared in Gotou’s mind. He didn’t know the details, but there seemed to be no mistaking that this woman was dealing with some trouble. “Does that problem have anything to do with the man we encountered at the entrance?” asked Gotou, curious out of habit due to his line of work.

“Right. Since we fought that loudly, obviously we could be heard from outside. How embarrassing…” Shizuko smiled sadly before turning away. “Who was that man?”

Shizuko inhaled deeply before facing her guests, “He’s the son of the previous generation’s owner.” “The previous generation owner’s son? So he’s your sibling?” asked Gotou again.

Shizuko frowned with a troubled expression. “No, that’s not it. He and I are step-siblings.” “Step-siblings?”

“I…was adopted.” “Adopted?”

“I’m the illegitimate child of the previous generation owner—” said Shizuko, her head hung. Gotou finally understood why Shizuko had been talking in circles just now.

In other words, Shizuko was the child born to the mistress of the previous generation owner— “Is that so…”

“I used to live with my mother, just the two of us. Sometimes Father would come home, but even as a child, I understood that our family was different from your average family.” “You must have gone through a lot,” Isshin looked at Shizuko empathically.

Yet Shizuko merely displayed a glimpse of sorrow before she regained her dignified demeanour and continued her story. “When I was ten years old, my mother passed away from a heart attack. My grandparents also had already passed and since Mother had no relatives, I was going to be sent to an orphanage. However, the previous owner felt sympathy and decided to adopt me.”

“It must’ve caused a huge disagreement,” said Gotou spontaneously. “Yes. His legal wife was completely against it, but the previous owner was insistent and eventually I was brought here.”

So that was how it was. The situation was more complicated than what Gotou had originally thought.

While Shizuko had talked about it casually, she had to have had suffered as a child. When a parent passed away, relatives often fought over matters such as inheritance and the like. All the more so when the situation was complicated.

“That man—Kenzou-san—after graduating high school, he left home upon declaring that he refused to continue the family business.” “How irresponsible,” commented Gotou.

Shizuko shook her head. “My step-mother had just passed away at that time, so Kenzou-san must have had a lot in his mind as well.” “Sounds like a tough situation,” Isshin nodded.

That was all Isshin did, yet the gesture felt warm enough to melt away a frozen heart. “No. I didn’t do anything. I simply tried to make sake together with the previous owner.”

“Then, what business did that Kenzou, who was supposed to have left the family come here for?” asked Gotou. “When the previous owner died three months ago, Kenzou suddenly returned and stated that he was going to inherit this sake factory.”

“So that was why you two were arguing,” understood Gotou. Inheritance disputes that often occurred tend to end badly. Add in their complicated circumstances into the mix, and their situation was certainly even worse.

In times like this, everything could be resolved legally with the existence of a will. However, if one didn’t exist, things could escalate to the point of crime. “I truly apologise that all of you had to listen to such an unpleasant family story right upon your arrival,”

“No, no problem at all. Thank you for telling us,” said Isshin, bowing politely. Shizuko shook her head. “No, that’s...”

Gotou turned towards the window and noticed the large droplets of rain beginning to fall. “I think it’s about time we get into the main topic?” Yakumo began to speak after the previous topic had ended. He rubbed his eyes as if saying that the previous conversation was boring.

“Right…” said Shizuko with a serious expression. “Supposedly, the ghost came out of a painting…?” Yakumo peered at Shizuko.

“I didn’t see it come out of it. Only that I saw it seemingly disappear into the painting on the hanging parchment scroll,” answered Shizuko, slowly moving her vision as if visualising the event. “I see. May we take a look at the painting?” asked Yakumo.

Shizuko nodded. “Of course.” The conversation progressed just like that, leaving Gotou unable to follow. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t been informed about what sort of spiritual phenomenon was happening in this house.

“What do you mean by painting?” with a small voice, Gotou asked Yakumo. Yakumo threw a mocking look. “So you don’t know anything.”

“You guys were the ones who dragged me with no explanation.” “Please tone it down. You’ll see eventually,” said Yakumo with a shrug.

The man seemed to have no intention in explaining things properly to Gotou. Well, perhaps like Yakumo had said, he would know once he saw it. “Let’s go. This way—”

Shizuko stood from where she had been sitting and ushered them to follow her out of the living room and walk along the corridor. The rain had progressed into a full-on downpour now. For those driving, this was troublesome weather.

They were led by Shizuko to enter a space two rooms ahead. A Japanese-style room the size of roughly six tatami, normally used as Shizuko’s bedroom. It was a simple room with nothing but a dresser. A few droplets could be seen on the tatami.

“That one—” said Shizuko, pointing towards the tokonoma[3]. There was a painting on the parchment scroll hanging over the wall.

“Wha—?!” Gotou exclaimed reflexively upon seeing the terrifying painting pointed by Shizuko. An ancient Japanese painting depicting a man in a white kimono, carrying a kongozue on his shoulder.

And— Both of the man’s eyes were bright red.

- 6

- Yakumo walked straight towards the painting hanging at the tokonoma.

Somehow, Haruka was the one who grew tense. Without saying a word, Yakumo bowed in front of the painting, observing it with a serious expression.

What could Yakumo be thinking about right now? Haruka tried to picture it, but she wouldn’t be able to arrive at the answer.

Both eyes of the model this painting was based on were red in colour. Perhaps the person depicted here had some kind of connection to Yakumo.

“I see—” mumbled Yakumo after staring at the painting for some time. “Did you find something?” asked Gotou enthusiastically.

However, Yakumo threw a cold gaze at Gotou. “No. Nothing at all—” “What’s with that? Getting people to expect something for no reason,” Gotou clicked his tongue.

“Gotou-san is the one who was expecting something all by yourself. Besides, you have no idea what’s happening here, don’t you?” “You were the one who didn’t explain anything!” said Gotou in anger.

Yet Yakumo appeared unfazed, instead further baiting Gotou’s temper. “Explaining to someone barbaric like Gotou-san is merely going to be a waste of time.” “What did you say?!”

Gotou grabbed Yakumo’s shirt by the collar. He seemed like he would hit Yakumo right then and there. “There, there,” said Haruka, mediating the two.

Gotou seemed like he still had more to say, but Haruka reminded him, “There’s no use taking Yakumo-kun’s words to heart,” to calm down his anger. “So, how was it?” Isshin asked Yakumo after the situation had calmed.

“How was what?” asked Yakumo back, acting clueless. “Is there a ghost here?”

Yakumo peered at Isshin, opening his mouth to say something. Right that instant—

A flash of bluish white light, followed by rumbling thunder moments later. After the lightning, the rain seemed to have gotten heavier.

Haruka turned towards the window, where large droplets of rainwater were hitting against the glass. “The rain sure is heavy. Hopefully there won’t be any landslides...” grumbled Gotou.

Yakumo laughed with a seemingly mocking tone. “You’re concerned over the wrong thing.” “What?”

“This sake factory is located next to a river. It’s not landslides that are a cause for concern, but the river overflowing.” Yakumo was right. Though annoyed, Gotou could only stay quiet.

“Are floods common around here?” asked Isshin. Shizuko shook her head. “This place is Takeda Shingen’s hometown, so it’s well prepared for flood damage.”

Hearing Shizuko’s answer made Haruka recall and said, “If I recall correctly, Takeda Shingen also put a lot of effort into flood prevention, right?” “So you knew about it too,” said Shizuko happily.

“Whatever, but the conversation’s getting sidetracked,” said Yakumo, yawning out of boredom. Right. They were supposed to be discussing the ghost and the hanging painting with red eyes, yet the topic somehow became flood prevention and Takeda Shingen.

“Anyway, to sort the information, how about we return to the room from earlier?” suggested Yakumo. Isshin and Gotou then decided to return to the living room, led by Shizuko.

They left the room in succession. However, when Haruka was about to follow the four of them, something cold slithered across her back. The sensation felt like a block of ice sliding down along her spine.

She stopped and turned around. Nobody was there.

Only the painting that they had been discussing earlier. Now wasn’t the time to space out here. She had to promptly go after the rest.

Haruka wanted to move her legs to leave that place and follow everyone else, yet for some reason she was unable to move. Even though she was able to draw in a breath, she couldn’t exhale it back out.

Why? As Haruka thought that, lightning struck once again.

Alongside the sound of thunder that arrived later, the room lights went out. Amidst the dark room, Haruka could see a portion of shadow thicker than the rest. Upon further observation, the figure appeared humanlike.

Its face wasn’t visible, as if painted over by black ink. And yet, its eyes stared at Haruka whilst emanating a fiery light. -

7 -

“So, was there a ghost?” asked Gotou to Yakumo as they walked along the corridor after leaving the room where the painting was hung. Yakumo stopped walking, but he didn’t utter a single word.

As he listened to the pouring rain, Gotou anticipated the words from Yakumo. It wasn’t just Gotou. Isshin, along with the sake factory manager as well as the client for this case, a woman named Shizuko, also stood without a word.

The painting that Gotou had just seen returned to his mind. The painting of a man clad in white kimono, shouldering a kongozue.

Gotou wasn’t one to appraise the arts. Despite that, he had sensed a strange aura from it. The main factor that had made him feel that way were the eyes of the man depicted in that painting.

His gaze might be sharp, yet his eyes were incredibly sad. Most importantly, both his eyes were red like a blazing flame. Gotou couldn’t help but relate it to Yakumo’s red left eye.

Had the person in that painting really existed, he might have had some kind of connection to Yakumo. Perhaps that connection could give them some information about the origins of Yakumo’s unique trait. Despite his indifferent act, Yakumo had to be curious about that fact as well.

“Oi, did you hear me?” said Gotou in frustration as Yakumo had yet to give a reply. “What an impatient bear,” Yakumo sighed with a fed up attitude.

“Who are you calling an impatient bear?” “Is there anyone else besides Gotou-san?”

“This brat...” “I still don’t know the details. It’s too early to draw a conclusion...” said Yakumo, laughing bitterly.

His manner of speech. Gotou recognised it all too well from years of knowing him. He was merely avoiding having to answer. “What are you saying? You can see ghosts. You should be able to tell whether a ghost was present or not there without having to think about it,” emphasised Gotou.

Yakumo snorted into a laugh. “Wow. Must be nice to be a simple-minded bear,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Judging by the attitude of the young man next to him, Gotou could tell that he already had some speculation. Even so, Yakumo wouldn’t open his mouth even when pressed further than this.

Gotou gave up and intended to walk ahead, but he stopped. “Huh? Where’s Haruka-chan?”

Haruka, who had been around earlier, was nowhere to be seen. Isshin too looked at his surroundings and said, “Now that you say that...”

“She’s slow, after all. Incredibly so,” said Yakumo partly in disbelief, turning his gaze back towards the sliding door. Perhaps she was still looking at the painting and didn’t realise everyone else had left. As Yakumo thought so, a bluish light flashed.

With the boom of a thunder, the light that had been illuminating the corridor went out. “Maybe the lightning struck an electrical pole,” said Isshin, looking at the lightbulb hanging over the corridor.

They could easily restore the power if it merely had been a blown fuse, but it would be much more troublesome if the lightning had struck an electrical pole as Isshin had said. It would take some time before the power could be restored.

Right now, they were still able to see although dim, but night time was soon approaching. Hopefully the power would be back before it got dark— “Aaaah!”

A deafening scream could be heard. They immediately recognised the owner of that voice.

Haruka— Partly in reflex, Gotou turned his heel and returned to the room where the hanging painting was located.

“Wha-?!” shouted Gotou spontaneously at the sight before him. Haruka had collapsed face down around the centre of the room.

Yakumo’s expression changed, and by the next second he was already running towards Haruka. “Oi! Hang in there!”

Now was not the time to stand bewildered. Gotou followed suit and ran to where Haruka had collapsed. From a brief glance, her breath and pulse appeared to be present.

Haruka seemed to have merely lost consciousness. At that moment, Gotou felt like he was being watched by someone and turned in the direction of the gaze.

Therein hung the problematic painting. The man in the white kimono stared intently at Gotou with his pair of red eyes.

Could a ghost have left the painting and attacked Haruka? — No, that’s impossible. Gotou discarded the wild thought that had emerged in his mind.

- 8

- Haruka gradually opened her eyelids—

Across her field of vision were boards of ceiling unfamiliar to her. Her head felt heavy and incapable of holding a thought.

“You’re awake?” a gentle voice asked. Haruka recognised that voice.

It was Isshin’s. Isshin observed Haruka’s face and smiled in relief.

“I...” Haruka slowly lifted her body to sit up. She felt a little dizzy.

Haruka rubbed her eyes and looked at her surroundings. A mattress was laid in the middle of a Japanese-style room the size of around six tatami. And she was on that mattress.

Aside from Isshin, Yakumo and Gotou were also present in the room. “Haruka-chan, are you alright?” asked Gotou, crouching next to her.

After Haruka responded with a nod, she turned towards Yakumo, who stood leaning against the wall. “Good grief. Not only are you a troublemaker, but you’re also making people panic.” Hands crossed, Yakumo frowned angrily.

Despite that, Haruka could tell from his eyes that he wasn’t genuinely angry. It turned out that Yakumo was worried about her. “Why am I here?“ asked Haruka.

“You don’t remember?” asked Yakumo back. While her vision had gotten clearer, her mind was still foggy that she couldn’t recall what had happened.

“After leaving the room, we realised that you weren’t with us when we were walking along the corridor. As we were just wondering what was up, we suddenly heard your scream and hurried back. We found you collapsed inside the room with the painting,” Isshin helped explain to a dumbfounded Haruka. However, his story came from the perspective of Isshin and the rest so Haruka still didn’t understand what had happened to her.

“Scream…collapsed…” mumbled Haruka. “Yes. You were passed out. Although only for a short while, about ten minutes or so,” said Isshin with a smile, as a light flashed from outside the window.

Thunder then followed and shook the window pane. As if responding to the fact, a piece of memory surfaced in Haruka’s mind.

“The ghost from the painting…” said Haruka, uttering the sight that came to her mind. “What?” said Gotou, eyes widened.

“I saw it. Before leaving the room, I sensed something and turned around. Then, I saw a black figure standing there...” “And then?” asked Isshin.

“I was so terrified I couldn’t move…” said Haruka, touching her forehead. Even though she hadn’t been able to recall anything earlier, her memories were now quickly returning.

“That was a ghost?” asked Gotou, demanding answers. “Maybe, I think so. The ghost was silent for a while, but the moment I tried to run, it suddenly attacked me...”

The harrowing moment returned so vividly into Haruka’s mind it made her shiver. “What happened afterwards?” Yakumo lowered his chin and stared at Haruka.

“I’m not sure how, but I was knocked away…and then...” said Haruka, starting to doubt. That was as far as her memories went. Before she knew it, she was already in this room.

“So a ghost really came out of the painting after all…?” said Gotou in a bitter tone whilst turning towards Yakumo. However, Yakumo appeared to be thinking about something. He placed his hand on his pointed chin and gave no answer.

“Yakumo-kun, this—” said Haruka when the sliding door opened. Shizuko entered the room. The woman brought a tray containing a wet towel for compress and a glass of water.

Upon seeing Haruka, already in a sitting position, she said “Thank goodness you’re now awake.” “Ah, yes.”

“Does it still hurt?” “A little, but it’s alright. Sorry for all the panic,” replied Haruka.

With an elegant gesture, Shizuko sat down whilst shaking her head. “Not at all. Rather, it seems you’re the one who got into danger because I requested your help...” she said, closing her eyes, looking as if she felt guilty. I wonder why?

Haruka felt something was odd with the woman’s face. Shizuko’s expression didn’t seem to be solely out of concern for Haruka. To her, Shizuko seemed to be living life whilst repressing a much bigger sadness.

“Sorry, may I ask you about one thing?” Isshin began to speak. “About what?” Shizuko lifted her head.

“Could you tell us the story behind the painting in that room?” asked Isshin. “Story? What do you mean?” Shizuko asked in return.

“I thought you might have a reason to deliberately hang that painting in your bedroom.” Isshin’s question made sense.

It was typical to display artworks such as flowers, butterflies or birds in one’s bedroom. Yet that painting was vastly different from the sort of artworks commonly used to decorate bedrooms. After thinking quietly for some time, Shizuko slowly began her story.

“According to the previous owner, his grandfather owed his life to the man in that painting—” “Owed his life...” Isshin responded before mumbling in awe.

“Yes. Apparently the previous owner’s grandfather had been disturbed by a strange spiritual phenomenon. Because of that, the business couldn’t operate well.” “Spiritual phenomenon—” said Haruka without realising.

Yakumo and Gotou exchanged glances as well. “Yes. I don’t know what happened exactly, but it was said his life had even been in danger.”

“Is that so,” responded Isshin. “At that time, he happened to meet a young painter and the man in that painting. Supposedly the person in that painting was a purification expert.”

“Purification expert?” asked Haruka. “Simply put, he’s some kind of spiritual medium.”

“The purification expert in the painting apparently managed to properly resolve the spiritual trouble. His business ran smoothly again ever since. The previous owner’s grandfather then put up that painting as a form of guardian spirit—” “Is that so,” Isshin nodded in understanding.

Shizuko stared intently at Isshin. Isshin’s left eye was red. That was because Isshin was wearing a red contact lens, but Shizuko, who didn’t know that, assumed he was born with that red eye and might be thinking that Isshin and the man in the painting had some kind of connection.

Haruka had the same feeling. From Shizuko’s story, the person in that painting had resolved a spiritual case. Perhaps he had been capable of doing it because his red eyes had been able to see spirits of the dead—ghosts—just like Yakumo.

Following that thought, the person in that painting might have been Yakumo’s ancestor. Haruka glanced at Yakumo and saw him forming a smile on his face.

What meaning could be behind that smile? Haruka wanted to ask, yet Yakumo had gone back to being serious and turned towards Shizuko again. “Could I also ask something?” requested Yakumo.

Shizuko replied, “Yes.” “I heard you are currently the one running this sake factory, but was that what the previous owner wanted?”

Hearing Yakumo’s question, Shizuko’s face instantly hardened and lost its colour. Haruka didn’t know why Yakumo asked that question.

After their conversation in the entrance, Shizuko had explained how there was an ongoing inheritance dispute between Kenzou, the legitimate son, and Shizuko, the adopted daughter. They hadn’t known whether that had anything to do with this spiritual phenomenon, and Kenzou’s words that had claimed, ‘That woman is a murderer’ couldn’t be ignored either.

Shizuko was frozen stiff with a tense expression for some time, before giving in and letting out a long sigh. “The previous owner said he was going to entrust this factory to me when he was alive.” Shizuko’s eyes were slightly tearful; perhaps she was reminiscing about that time.

“Did he leave a will or the like?” asked Yakumo. With her fingers, Shizuko pressed on the corner of her eye, inhaling back her snot before saying, “He didn’t leave a will or anything. I merely heard him say it.”

“Was Kenzou-san able to accept that fact?” interrupted Isshin. “No. Once the forty-nine days of mourning was over, Kenzou-san came and demanded that this place be handed over to him.”

“Is that so...” Isshin gave a look full of sympathy towards Shizuko. “Excuse me, but Kenzou-san said that you’re a murderer...” said Yakumo, staring at Shizuko with a challenging look.

Shizuko’s eyes widened in surprise, before sighing deeply again. “I’m no murderer. But Kenzou-san spread rumours that I killed the previous owner because I wanted this sake factory.”

So that was how it was. After Shizuko’s explanation, Haruka finally understood the meaning of the conversation with Kenzou.

“I’m the child of a mistress. If Kenzou-san wishes to inherit this factory, I could hand it over to him anytime, but...” said Shizuko who then covered her face. “But…why?” asked Isshin, urging her.

“Seems like Kenzou-san intends to close down the sake factory and sell this place. That’s why I can’t hand it over.” Haruka’s chest ached upon hearing Shizuko’s words.

Shizuko’s feelings about her origins were complicated. Perhaps somewhere within her heart, she was denying her own existence. As a result, she wasn’t able to find worth in her existence apart from protecting this sake factory. That was what Haruka felt.

However, Haruka didn’t think Shizuko should bear that responsibility. Even so, Haruka didn’t say that out loud.

She didn’t know how to convey it, and she felt that anything said by a youngster like her wouldn’t be able to touch Shizuko’s heart. “Is it really true that Kenzou-san wants to sell this place?” asked Yakumo.

Shizuko’s face hardened momentarily. “Kenzou-san said he wanted to inherit this place, but I don’t trust him. He hasn’t returned to this house for so many years...” Shizuko’s words were filled with thorns.

Yet Haruka understood why she became that way. She may not know the details, but running a sake factory mustn’t be so easy that it was possible to take over overnight. If Kenzou, who had never come home until now, said he wanted to inherit the factory, one wouldn’t be able to trust him at all.

“May I ask one more thing?” said Yakumo, staring straight at Shizuko. “Yes.”

“If this sake factory were to be sold, what would the price be?” Shizuko scowled at Yakumo’s rude question, but she answered, “I don’t know. But I don’t think it’ll be much. To be honest, I can’t say business is going well. Especially ever since the previous owner passed away...”

Shizuko grew hesitant to continue. Come to think of it, Shizuko had already mentioned that business was bad as they hadn’t been able to keep up against larger companies.

Perhaps that was precisely why Kenzou wanted to quickly sell this place to obtain some money, even if not much. On the other hand, Shizuko wanted to protect this sake factory. Their line of thinking were polar opposites.

“I’ve understood the situation,” said Yakumo as he stood up, and exchanged glances with Isshin. Isshin responded and left the room with Yakumo. The two seemed to be discussing something.

“What are those two up to?” mumbled Gotou, voicing out what Haruka was thinking. Unfortunately, Haruka could only shake her head, saying, “No idea.”

Moments later, Yakumo and Isshin returned to the room. Haruka wanted to ask what they were up to, but Yakumo had begun speaking, “Gotou-san. Could you follow me for a while?” “Fine by me, but what for?”

“Come along and you’ll know,” said Yakumo before leaving the room again. Gotou sighed in dissatisfaction, but he eventually followed Yakumo out of the room.

“What were you guys talking about just now?” Haruka tried asking Isshin about it. “I wonder?” Isshin said with a smile as if he had nothing to do with it.

- 9

- Large droplets of rain bounced against the ground.

Despite using an umbrella, his legs were drenched in an instant. His shoulders were also soaking wet out of water that dripped from the umbrella. The rain really is heavy—

“Oi. Yakumo. What are we going to do?” Gotou called loudly—as to not get his voice drowned by the rain—towards Yakumo’s back. “Don’t you feel strange about it?” said Yakumo as he walked towards the back of the building.

“About what?” “Her testimony.”

By ‘her’, he was referring to Haruka. From his way of speaking, Yakumo seemed to be sensing something off from Haruka’s story.

However— “I don’t think Haruka-chan was lying.”

“I know that. She’s bad at lying, after all.” Well, Yakumo was right.

Haruka wasn’t the type to lie smoothly. “In that case, what was strange about it?”

“This is why I’ve been saying Gotou-san doesn’t cut it as a detective.” “What are you—!”

Gotou reached for Yakumo’s shoulders. “Do you really not know?”

“I’m asking because I don’t.” “What an incompetent bear.”

Yakumo made an exaggerated sigh. Truly an annoying bastard. Gotou wanted to raise his fist at him, but held himself back.

“Whatever you say. Rather than that, what’s strange about it?” “If her testimony was correct, then the incident had gone against my theory.”

That one sentence made Gotou realise what Yakumo was suspicious of. Based on his personal experience of seeing ghosts through his red left eye, Yakumo defined ghosts as clusters of emotions of the departed, incapable of physical influence.

Having been involved in a number of cases with Yakumo, Gotou too believed in his theory. And yet—

This time, Haruka claimed she had been attacked by a ghost and had gotten knocked over. “But if Haruka wasn’t lying, then her story wouldn’t add up.”

“That’s where the problem is—” Yakumo stopped his steps and turned around.

“You have a suspicion in mind?” “Gotou-san, you really didn’t notice anything?”

“Huh?” “I’m asking, did you not realise anything after looking at the scene?” said Yakumo impatiently.

Gotou tried to jog his memory of the scene, yet he didn’t understand what Yakumo was trying to say. “Was there something strange about it?”

As soon as Gotou said that, Yakumo shook his head in disbelief. “Do you have holes for eyes?” “What did you say?!”

“Judging from the situation, there is only one possibility.” Yakumo’s way of speaking—it was as if he had known everything about this case.

“If you already knew, then tell me.” “I refuse,” said Yakumo, turning his face away.

“You little—” Gotou approached closer in anger, but Yakumo ignored him and walked away.

How irritating. Knowing Yakumo, he’d close his mouth shut like a clamshell and give no answer no matter how much Gotou made a fuss. Gotou gave up and followed after him.

As they reached the vicinity of a wall facing the room where Haruka had collapsed, Yakumo crouched and began observing something. “What are you looking at?”

“I thought there would be some evidence left behind, but this rain has proven it difficult…” Yakumo replied with a sour face. “Evidence? Evidence of what?”

“After everything that I’ve explained, do you still not know?” “I—told—you...I’m asking because I don’t.”

“Please don’t be proud of your own incompetence.” Yakumo stood up and threw a condescending look in Gotou’s direction.

He’s making a fool out of me! “Cut it out and tell me already!” Gotou retorted, clicking his tongue from annoyance.

Yakumo faintly smiled. “Then, here’s the hint.” Hint? What is this, a quiz?

Gotou felt irritated as Yakumo tried to test him, but tried to hold back. “Think about it with my ghost theory as a basis. If she really was attacked by a ghost, then there was something very unnatural in that room.”

“Ah!” Gotou exclaimed spontaneously. So that was how it was—Gotou had only realised now. It was pathetic of him, having not realised such a thing. No wonder he had gotten mocked for having holes for eyes.

“That means, at the scene…” Gotou swallowed his sentence midway. He felt the eyes of someone staring at them.

Gotou quickly scanned his surroundings. There!

He saw someone standing around ten metres away from their location. That person was hiding behind a building, gazing intently at them. Had it not for the umbrella, perhaps Gotou wouldn’t have noticed.

“Gotou-san,” said Yakumo, signalling through his eyes. Even without Yakumo asking, Gotou walked straight in that man’s direction.

In response to Gotou approaching him, the man began stepping backwards. Eventually, he turned his back against Gotou and hurriedly ran away. “Oi!” called Gotou.

The man jolted and stopped. “What are you doing at a place like this?” asked Gotou, when the man discarded his umbrella and ran as fast as he could.

Dammit! “Wait!”

Gotou discarded his umbrella as well, kicked against the ground, and ran in pursuit. Droplets of rain hit his face until his eyesight turned into a blur.

Despite that, Gotou didn’t lose speed one bit. He ran with all his strength after that man’s back. Luckily, the man’s legs weren’t too swift. If this continued, he would soon catch up with him.

Even so, Gotou couldn’t let his guard down. He wasn’t familiar with the area. If the man were to run into an alley, there was a high chance he’d lose him. He had to catch him soon.

Gotou roared as he picked up his pace and lunged at the man’s waist. They fell down whilst entangled together.

“P-please stop! What did I even do?” the man yelled whilst struggling. When Gotou reached for his arms and pinned him, the man relaxed as resistance became futile.

Seeing the man’s face, Gotou exclaimed, “Eh? Who are you?” pouting his lips without realising. He only just saw the man’s face for the first time. He had thought that this man was Kenzou, so he felt disappointed.

The man had a slim face with silver framed glasses. His timid expression was similar to that of Ishii, Gotou’s partner. “What on earth is this about…?” said the man with a trembling voice.

When asked that way, Gotou had trouble answering. Gotou himself had chased after him without a clear reasoning. “Because you ran,” urged Gotou, knowing full well he was simply making excuses.

“Even if you say that, I was suddenly chased after all,” the man said, looking at Gotou in fear. Putting it that way made Gotou appear to be the one to blame.

“Didn’t you run away out of guilt?” “N-no.”

“What do you mean no?” “Fair enough. Anyone would have run away if they were suddenly chased by this bearlike man,” Yakumo said nonchalantly as he walked over.

Gotou felt incredibly annoyed at the sight of Yakumo casually walking over, seemingly arrogant with an umbrella, whilst Gotou himself was drenched. “What kind of comment was that?”

“Nevermind that, please let go of that man right away,” said Yakumo as he ran a hand across his messy hair. “You sure?”

Though unspoken, Yakumo had signalled with his eyes for Gotou to chase after this man, right? “Yes. No problem at all.” replied Yakumo, shrugging.

Gotou wasn’t satisfied with his explanation, but he eventually let go of the man. “Are you alright?” said Yakumo, extending a hand towards him.

Despite his dumbfounded look, the man reached out for Yakumo’s hand and stood up. He was even more drenched than Gotou as he had fallen onto the ground. “Apologies for the suddenness, but may we ask you a few questions?” asked Yakumo politely.

The man closed his eyes as if in defeat. -

10 -

“How about we go and take a look at the painting in that room once again?” suggested Isshin. Scary.

Haruka genuinely felt so. Having gone through what had happened to her, she didn’t want to go see that painting again.

But this case wouldn’t get resolved by staying put, and she felt bad if she were to do nothing until Yakumo and Gotou return. Perhaps they might discover something by making use of this time to reexamine the painting.

“Right. Let’s go,” replied Haruka, holding back her fear. Shizuko too replied, “Understood,” and the three decided to visit the room with the painting once again.

The power hadn’t returned, so the interior of the room felt like it was swallowed by darkness. The problematic painting hung eerily amidst the dark room.

Imprinted on the old parchment, the pair of red eyes were wide open as if conveying a message that transcends time. “Now—let us begin,” said Isshin, rubbing his hands together.

“Begin—there’s something you want to do here?” asked Haruka. Isshin smiled. “Yes.”

“Do what?” “Following Yakumo’s style, you could say it’s time to solve a mystery.”

“Solve a mystery?” Hearing the unexpected words coming from Isshin’s mouth, Haruka was left agape.

To solve a mystery meant Isshin had already known the truth behind this case. “Well, the mystery I meant isn’t a big deal to solve,” said Isshin, scratching the back of his neck shyly.

Someone mature like Isshin suddenly appeared childlike. This gap was perhaps part of his charm. Even so, whether Isshin could actually solve the mystery was another story.

“Is it really alright?” said Haruka spontaneously. “Well, I feel like I could handle a mystery of this level,” said Isshin casually.

“I-is that so?” “Firstly, there are a few things that need to be clarified,” said Isshin, facing Shizuko.

Haruka felt that movement of his was similar to that of Yakumo’s. “About what?”

“Shizuko-san. Since when was this painting in this room?” asked Isshin as he pointed at the painting. “Before the previous owner passed away, this painting had been in his room. After he had passed, the painting was relocated to my room.”

“I see. Did you hear anything about a ghost coming out of the painting from the previous owner?” “Never.”

Satisfied with Shizuko’s reply, Isshin nodded, “Hm.” “There’s something I’d like to ask Haruka-chan as well,” continued Isshin, now turning towards Haruka.

“About what?” “Did the ghost you saw have red eyes?”

Upon Isshin’s question, Haruka began searching through her memories. The black shadow vividly flashed into her mind, it made her shiver. At the same time, she found the answer to Isshin’s question. Her chest began to pound.

“No.” The pair of eyes that had stared intensely at Haruka might have felt terrifying, but now that she recalled, those eyes hadn’t been red.

“How about the clothing?” “I couldn’t remember clearly...but I think the ghost was wearing a dark blue kimono.”

“Not white?” “Yes,” replied Haruka.

Isshin nodded firmly. “In other words, the ghost had nothing to do with this painting,” he said, touching his chin. “Right,” Haruka responded in agreement.

During Isshin’s explanation, she had also arrived at that possibility. She had been confused and had said that the ghost had come out of the painting, but thinking about it calmly like this, the painting and the ghost were likely two separate things.

“When the ghost appeared before Haruka-chan, did they say anything to you?” “No, not at all...” Haruka shook her head.

Yakumo might be able to get information from the ghost, but Haruka couldn’t. It felt frustrating. “Even if they didn’t say anything, did they appear to be attempting to convey something?” Isshin threw yet another question.

“Attempting to convey...” “Yes. Such as through expression, movement, anything.”

“Expression…movement…” said Haruka as she retraced her thoughts. Was there something—At first, Haruka couldn’t think of anything. However, it was as if something suddenly clicked.

“Looks like you recalled something,” Isshin narrowed his eyes from reading Haruka’s expression. “Yes. Their hand was pointing like this.”

Haruka lifted her arm parallel to her chest as she pictured the sight from back then. Her finger pointed towards the painting on the wall. “So this painting really was—” mumbled Isshin.

“Did you get something?” asked Haruka. The corners of Isshin’s mouth lifted into laughter. “If my instinct was right, the ghost Haruka saw hadn’t come out of the painting, but instead wanted the painting to be seen.”

“What do you mean?” “Most likely, the ghost that appeared in this room was the ghost of the previous owner. I think the previous owner wanted Shizuko-san to look at this painting.”

Isshin’s line of thinking sounded logical and made sense. And yet, there was still one thing Haruka didn’t understand.

“Why did he want her to see the painting?” Even without being asked, Shizuko used this room every day, so she would see the painting whether she wanted to or not.

“What he was trying to show was not the painting itself, but something hidden in that painting,” said Isshin as he took down the painting’s parchment scroll and placed it on the tatami before closely observing it. “What’s being hidden here?” asked Haruka, looking at the painting.

“Look over here—” said Isshin, pointing at the bottom right corner of the painting. Haruka glanced to find that the area pointed by Isshin was slightly folded. The paper of the painting also appeared to have peeled off from the parchment scroll.

“This...” muttered Haruka. Isshin nodded firmly. “Yes. Most likely, this painting had been removed from the scroll before, and then reattached.”

“But why do something like that?” “Rather than explaining, it’d be easier if we confirm it. Shizuko-san, may I?” Isshin asked, requesting permission.

Shizuko went silent for some time from hesitation, before eventually replied, “Yes, go ahead.” Isshin carefully peeled the painting away from the parchment scroll to avoid tearing it.

After it was completely removed, Haruka spontaneously said, “This...” An envelope was tucked between the parchment scroll and the painting paper.

Isshin took the envelope and handed it to Shizuko. “Here you go.” Shizuko accepted it, but she didn’t check the contents straight away. Instead, she threw a dumbfounded look at Isshin.

Even without saying, Haruka knew the woman must be wondering why something like this could be in such a place. “Most likely, the one who hid that envelope here was the previous owner.”

Hearing Isshin’s explanation made Shizuko’s expression turn serious. “The previous owner? Why so?” asked Shizuko.

Isshin made a melancholic expression. “I think he wanted you to see it.” “Me?”

“Yes. Inside it is probably a will.” said Isshin blatantly. Haruka stared at Isshin in awe.

When Isshin had said he was going to solve the mystery, Haruka had equally believed and doubted him. No, rather, she had thought it would have been impossible for him. However, Isshin managed to deduce that the ghost had been trying to inform the location of the will and located it based on what little information he had obtained from Haruka and Shizuko.

As expected of Yakumo’s uncle. No, Isshin couldn’t even see ghosts. And yet, he managed to reveal the truth this far, so perhaps he was even more superior than Yakumo.

“You heard it, right? How about you come out now?” Isshin said suddenly, as if talking to someone. Who is he talking to?

As Haruka was wondering, Isshin continued, “It must be stifling, hiding in a place like that.” Isshin spoke even louder than before.

His gaze was aimed at the closet. Could there be someone inside?

There was no reply, the closet door remained closed, and they could only hear the sound of pouring rain. Haruka could only remain quiet and observe what would happen. Shizuko stared at the closet as well, stiff as a stone.

“You’d like to know the contents of the will too, right? That’s why you’re trapped, hiding yourself in there. What do you think? Don’t you want to confirm the contents together?” said Isshin for the third time in the direction of the closet. There was no response for some time, but the closet door eventually slid open.

A man emerged from inside. His entire body was drenched, and water dripped down from his hair. Haruka had seen him before. That person was—

“Kenzou-san,” said Shizuko in surprise. “Why is he here?” Haruka looked at Isshin, demanding for an answer.

Isshin appeared to have known all along that Kenzou had been hiding inside the closet. Therefore, he had to have known the reason why he had done so as well. “Simple enough. Following the water spots that formed on the tatami, we could clearly tell someone was hiding there,” Isshin explained as he pointed at the water spots on the tatami.

They may seem to be water that had fallen randomly at first glance, but after Isshin’s explanation, Haruka realised that the spots were directed towards the closet. “Furthermore, from Haruka-chan’s story, it became obvious that someone else had been in the room aside from us,” continued Isshin.

“W-what do you mean?” asked Haruka, and Isshin smiled. “Haruka-chan, you said that you had been attacked by a ghost.”

“Yes.” “That was unnatural.”

“I wasn’t lying,” Haruka denied vehemently. Isshin shook his head. “I wasn’t accusing you of lying. But try to remember the theory Yakumo always said.”

Isshin’s words made Haruka come into a realisation. Right. Yakumo had always said that ghosts were clusters of emotions of the dead, with no capacity for physical influence.

In other words, even if Haruka were to encounter a ghost, the ghost wouldn’t be able to put Haruka in harm’s way. Despite having understood that, Haruka wasn’t entirely satisfied. Because—

“What I saw was clearly a ghost.” Haruka thought she was about to get refuted, but Isshin immediately agreed. “Yes.”

Haruka became confused. “Haruka-chan, you did see a ghost. There was no mistaking that. However, that ghost and the one who attacked you are different people.”

“Different people?” “You should be able to deduce it by now. It more or less went like this—” said Isshin as he began his explanation.

Based on Isshin’s explanation, after encountering Haruka and the others at the entrance, Kenzou hadn’t left. He had opened the window from outside and had entered this room. He had thought Shizuko wouldn’t return to her room until her guests had left.

And yet, Yakumo and the rest had gone inside to see the painting. Kenzou had hurriedly escaped into the closet to hide.

Moments later, lightning had struck and the room became pitch black. Unaware of the situation, Kenzou thought everyone had left the room and he had gone out of the closet. Not noticing Haruka, still standing frozen inside the room from seeing the ghost. Kenzou had spontaneously pushed Haruka and she had screamed. Hearing footsteps of everyone returning to the room, Kenzou once again had quickly hid inside the closet.

Then, because the figure of the ghost Haruka had seen had overlapped with Kenzou’s figure, Haruka had thought she had been attacked by a ghost. Despite his calm tone, Isshin’s words were sharp.

Haruka was impressed after witnessing a new side of Isshin capable of analysing brilliantly. Yet thinking about it calmly, there was still a point she didn’t understand.

“Why didn’t Kenzou-san escape from the house after pushing me?“ After Haruka had collapsed, she had been relocated to the neighbouring room and everyone had left the room where Kenzou had hid. The man should have had the opportunity to escape from the room then.

“He couldn’t escape.” “Eh?”

“He couldn’t leave from the entrance. It would spell trouble if he were to be discovered. He could’ve gone out from the window, but he must’ve been confused from panic and was unable to think straight.” Haruka could accept that theory, yet there was another thing she didn’t understand.

“Why did Kenzou-san snoop into the house?” Upon Haruka’s question, Isshin turned to look at the will held by Shizuko.

“I see. So Kenzou-san secretly went inside the house to search for the will,” said Haruka. Isshin nodded firmly. “Yes. Kenzou-san, thinking the will’s contents were against his wishes, attempted to search for the will and steal it.”

“Why does he need to steal it?” asked Haruka. Isshin closed his eyes sadly. “What if, the contents of the will dictates that the rights to the sake factory are to be exclusively handed over to Shizuko-san?”

Hearing Isshin’s explanation made Haruka understand. Kenzou must not have wanted everything to be snatched by Shizuko.

Not to mention Shizuko had seemed to be unaware of the existence of a will, so he had wanted to find it first and steal it, such that the inheritance could be dealt with by law and split across his descendants. While that wouldn’t make him receive everything, at least he would get a portion of it.

“I’m not handing over this sake factory to you,” said Shizuko firmly. Her eyes were filled with resolution. Yet they hinted at sadness at the same time.

What was with that glint in her eyes? “Stop joking! What do you know about what I had to go through because of you?” cursed Kenzou.

“You went about as you pleased and ran away from home because you didn’t want to inherit this sake factory. So why now—” Shizuko glared at Kenzou. “What are you saying? I left because you were there! Father was always looking after you, that he wasn’t acknowledging me at all!”

“You’re wrong!” “What am I wrong about?”

“The previous owner really wanted you to be the one to inherit the factory, not me...” Tears pooled in Shizuko’s eyes.

“Impossible!” “It’s true. When he was still alive, the previous owner said if Kenzou returns, then I’m free to live as I like…” Shizuko said with tears rolling down her cheek.

What cruel words. Haruka felt like her chest was being stabbed. It was as if the previous owner had said that Shizuko was merely Kenzou’s replacement and nothing more. To Shizuko, who had low self-esteem from being the daughter of a mistress, that must have torn her heart apart.

“But you never returned until the previous owner passed. That’s why I swore to protect this place,” said Shizuko, clutching the will against her chest. From Haruka’s eyes, it was as if Shizuko was holding back pain.

“Don’t mess with me! It’s too late for that!” Kenzou lifted his fist to strike at Shizuko.

“Watch out!” Haruka screamed with all her might. Kenzou’s punch went in Shizuko’s direction, but it hadn’t hit her.

Something launched into the room with incredible speed, pushed Kenzo until he fell, pinning him against the tatami. That something turned out to be Gotou.

“Looks like you guys are safe,” Gotou, who was soaking wet, said in satisfaction. “Good grief. So Uncle wasn’t able to close it up properly,”

Grumbling as he entered the room was Yakumo— -

11 -

“Yakumo-kun!” Haruka exclaimed in relief. She had briefly wondered what might happen as Kenzou attacked Shizuko. But since Gotou had him held down, one problem was out of the way.

“My apologies, but the two of you will have to follow along with me for a little more,” said Yakumo, throwing a gaze at Shizuko and Kenzou. He spoke as if the case wasn’t over yet, even though the full story of the case had become clear. What did Yakumo intend to do?

As Haruka was lost in her thoughts, Yakumo walked towards the centre of the room and clapped. From that alone, Yakumo managed to seize the entire atmosphere of the room, despite his recent arrival.

With bated breath, Haruka watched him intently. “The goal and motive behind Kenzou-san hiding in the closet is mostly as Uncle explained.”

Haruka grew puzzled from Yakumo’s explanation. “Don’t tell me, you heard?”

“From the middle,” said Yakumo nonchalantly. “Then why didn’t you come right away?”

“I wanted Uncle to take the spotlight. Well, the closure was lacking, though.” “Don’t say that. I’m not used to it,” said Isshin, touching his head with a troubled gesture.

“The closure was lacking? What do you mean by that?” Yakumo had said something similar as he had entered the room. Haruka didn’t understand what that line was referring to.

“Kenzou-san has no intention to sell this sake factory,” said Isshin. “What, so Uncle already knew,” said Yakumo in disbelief as he messed with his dishevelled hair.

“What do you mean?” asked Haruka, leaning her body forward. From Shizuko’s story, Kenzou had left home after graduating high school as he had been unwilling to inherit the family sake factory—

“Exactly as said. Kenzou-san has never once thought about selling this sake factory for the money.” “What are you saying? This person...” denied Shizuko immediately, but Yakumo interrupted her.

“I understand your feelings. However, you’re mistaken. Isn’t that right, Kenzou-san?” Lying on his stomach, Kenzou bit his lower lip. “I hated Shizuko. Ever since she arrived, Father only paid attention to her and never acknowledged me even if just a little. That was why I ran away from home.”

With tear filled eyes, Kenzou continued, “For the first few years, I wandered aimlessly whilst working part-time to put food on the table. Eventually I felt that I shouldn’t keep on going like that and began working at a sake factory in Tokyo. I studied there in hopes that someday Father would acknowledge me…” “Lies...you never said anything about that. Besides, if that was true, you should’ve told that to the previous owner.” Shizuko responded, criticising him.

“He couldn’t tell him. Kenzou-san intended to return after studying business management and acquiring sufficient knowledge to be acknowledged by his father,” Yakumo explained. “Eh?” exclaimed Shizuko.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t make it in time. The previous owner passed and Shizuko-san took over the place,” ended Yakumo. “In the end, Shizuko inherited this place. Father never cared about me to the end...” Kenzou said with trembling fists.

“Is that really the case?” mumbled Yakumo. “That’s why Father entrusted this factory to Shizuko, right?” said Kenzou, glaring at Yakumo.

Yakumo accepted his gaze head-on and went silent for a while before turning towards Shizuko. “Shizuko-san. Please check the contents of the will,” he said.

Despite appearing confused, Shizuko then took the will out of the envelope and read the contents. Shizuko’s face instantly hardened, before falling to her knees on the tatami.

The contents appeared to not be what Shizuko had expected. “What was written there?” asked Yakumo.

Shizuko lifted her face with lifeless eyes. “Assets such as cash and bank accounts are given entirely to me—” said Shizuko in a hoarse voice. “That was why you had Father die. After all, you were aiming for the assets...”

“Wrong! The previous owner had a heart disease. Since before Kenzou-san even left...but he didn’t say anything.” “What did you say!?” Kenzou yelled in anger, only for Gotou to hold him back. “Be quiet.”

“What else was written in the will?” asked Yakumo, urging her to continue. “All rights concerning the sake factory are given to Kenzou—”

Shizuko’s voice trembled. All this time, Shizuko had fought to protect her family’s sake factory. And yet, the sake factory was about to become Kenzou’s.

Surely she felt unwilling to accept that fact. As it turned out, Kenzou hadn’t expected the contents of the will either. “Really?” he said, voice filled with confusion.

“How cruel. Even though Shizuko-san has been protecting the sake factory all this time...” “You’re mistaken,” Yakumo blatantly denied Haruka’s words.

“What do you mean?” “Shizuko-san, the truth is, you actually feel relieved, right?” said Yakumo towards Shizuko.

“What are you saying?” “At the very least, the previous owner was aware of your low self-esteem and feeling of inferiority caused by your origins.”

“I...” “That was why the previous owner had paid more attention to you from the start. He must’ve felt guilty that the inferior feeling within you had been caused by him.”

“But...” “Though illegitimate, to the previous owner, you were still his child. So he suffered having to watch you help out the business just to find some worth in your existence.”

“That’s impossible...” “Do you know why the previous owner wrote the will to hand over the sake factory to Kenzou-san?” asked Yakumo.

Shizuko shook her head. “He knows about him...”

As if signalled by Yakumo’s words, a man entered the room. Despite being drenched head to toe from the rain, the man appeared lean and intelligent looking.

“Kazuo-san—” said Shizuko spontaneously. “Shizuko-san…I’m sorry. I can’t give up no matter what...” said the man called Kazuo with his head hung.

The sudden development made Haruka unable to understand the situation. “What’s going on?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo sighed and began his explanation. According to him, Kazuo was a banker in charge of the bank loan lent to the sake factory. After a few visits, he fell in love with Shizuko.

However, recently, it had been decided that Kazuo’s employment was going to be transferred. Because of that, he had proposed to Shizuko, to which she had rejected. The reason had been obvious.

If she were to marry Kazuo, she would have to be willing to follow him to his location of transfer. In doing so, she wouldn’t be able to protect the sake factory. “Don’t tell me, the previous owner had been aware of this, that’s why he intended to hand over rights to the sake factory to Kenzou-san so they could move forward with the marriage?” said Haruka.

“Correct. He thought eventually the day would come to set free Shizuko-san, who had tried to inherit the sake factory due to her feelings of inferiority. Luckily, Kenzou-san had intentions to take over the sake factory as well. In reality, the previous owner had wanted to express his intentions directly. Unfortunately, he passed away before he had the chance to do so. That was why he tried to convey his wishes by showing the location of the will he had hidden just in case.” Haruka understood after Yakumo’s explanation.

The situation wouldn’t have gotten this complicated if only they all had expressed their feelings honestly, but such was often not the case within families. Hence, inheritance disputes became a common occurrence.

“You’re joking with me. In the end, everything was for Shizuko’s sake. I was never acknowledged…” said Kenzou with a bitter look on his face. Tears fell from his eyes. Kenzou had practically decided to leave home because his father hadn’t acknowledged his existence. The fact that he was going to receive the sake factory in order to set Shizuko free—surely he couldn’t accept it.

“You misunderstood,” said Yakumo firmly. “What do you even know?”

Kenzou threw a challenging look at Yakumo. “To the previous owner, both you and Shizuko-san were his own flesh and blood. Not just Shizuko-san, you were both dear to him.”

“If so, then why didn’t Father look my way?” “He looked at you and watched over you closely. Did you think the previous owner decided to have you inherit the sake factory with no basis?”

“Eh?” “The previous owner often visited the place where you were studying sake brewery.”

“No way...” “Even in the sake production industry there are connections and acquaintances. The previous owner and the owner of the place you studied at were old friends. He frequently came by, but merely observed without reaching out to you to be considerate of the goal you were aiming for.”

“How did you know all those things?” asked Kenzou, voice trembling from emotion. “I asked the previous owner about it. His ghost is over there at this moment. You can see him too, don’t you?”

Yakumo pointed at the spot where the painting used to hang. While faint, Haruka could make out a dark shadow over there. Kenzou should be able to see it too. He kneeled down and sobbed loudly.

Kenzou and Shizuko, siblings from separate mothers. Various misunderstandings had occurred due to their complicated family circumstances, but they finally discovered the intentions of the previous owner. After this, they could slowly talk it over between the two of them.

Haruka stared at the painting laid atop of the tatami. The pair of red eyes appeared to be hinting at a gentle ray of light—

- 12

- “Hey, do you think that painting was of your ancestor, Yakumo-kun?” asked Haruka once they had returned to the car.

Apparently, the man with red eyes in that painting had been a purification expert. When Haruka had seen the painting for the first time, she couldn’t help it that the man with two red eyes—Yakumo’s father—had flashed into her mind. Even so, from what she had heard, supposedly the man in the painting had used his ability for the sake of others.

Just like Yakumo right now— “Who knows. I don’t know the details. Just that—” said Yakumo, turning to look beyond the window, where pouring rain continued still.

“Just that what?” “If that person’s eyes were both red and could see spirits, his life must’ve been much more difficult than the life I’ve led in the present.”

“Yeah...” What Yakumo said was right.

Right now, Yakumo was hiding the colour of his eye with black contact lens, but there was no such thing back in the Edo period. Discrimination at the time had to have been worse as well. The man in white kimono had to have lived in suffering from the odd and disgusted looks from other people.

“And yet, that person worked as a purification expert—” “Right.”

“He must’ve had an incredible amount of resolve. No, perhaps...” said Yakumo before muttering under his breath. “What?”

Haruka wanted to ask, but Yakumo evaded by saying, “Nevermind,” and said nothing further. Haruka had no idea what Yakumo could be thinking of at that moment.

Even so, after having encountered that painting, she felt that a peculiar fate had unravelled. “Anyway, the case is over. Let’s head back quickly,” said Yakumo whilst leaning against the car seat.

Gotou, who sat in the driver’s seat, and Isshin, who was in the passenger seat, turned their backs simultaneously. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it’ll be possible to head back,” said Isshin with an unusually troubled look.

“Not possible?” asked Yakumo, lifting his left eyebrow. “The roads are closed due to a landslide at the Chuo expressway,” Gotou sighed.

“It appears that we have no choice but to find somewhere to stay overnight,” Isshin continued. Having suspected the situation, Yakumo exhaled a long sigh—

- Translation Notes

[1] To be more specific, he was being compared to Bodhisattva Maitreya. [2] Kongozue (金剛杖), a type of pilgrim’s staff made of wood, with a square or octagonal cross section, most notably used for the Shikoku Pilgrimage.

[3] Tokonoma (床の間), a raised area in a Japanese-style room where artworks and important items are displayed.

91 notes · View notes

gothicavenue · 1 year ago

Text

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo Another Files - The Dead’s Wish - file 02

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Another Files - The Dead’s Wish

( file 01 ) file 02 - curse of the guardian spirit

- 1

- A shadow was after him.

Had the shadow in question been his own, it would have been an unremarkable and unsurprising detail. However—

That shadow clearly didn’t belong to him. He only realised the fact as he entered the quieter neighbourhood area after leaving the train station gantry.

Across the fences, as well as around the corners of the street, a shadow that wasn’t his repeatedly appeared and vanished. Could someone be following him?

He tried to turn around several times, yet there was no one to be seen other than himself. He thought the person might have been quick enough to hide themselves swiftly, but upon inspection of his surroundings, there was nowhere to hide along the narrow road of this neighbourhood area.

Besides, why would anyone be following a broke college student? Probably just my senses.

He shook his head and continued walking. Despite that, he could in fact see a shadow materialising every now and then.

As it continuously occurred, over and over, fear began to creep within the man. The words he had heard yesterday crossed into his mind.

I’m cursed, said that woman. At the time, he thought the woman had merely lied in order to reject him.

Even though he had mustered all his courage to express the feelings that he had buried deep down the entire time, he had never dreamed that he would get rejected in that way. The woman then continued.

If you get close to me, you’ll be cursed too. Why did he have to remember that now? Furthermore, here of all places?

Perhaps the woman hadn’t been lying. In that case, the shadow following him now…

“Impossible...” he said with a laugh. Saying that had been an attempt to get rid of his strange thoughts. And yet, the result was the opposite of what he had hoped for.

By putting it into words, he gave a concrete form to the otherwise vague belief from earlier. If this was truly a curse from approaching that woman—he knew he had drawn too far a conclusion. However, once he thought about it, the idea refused to leave his mind.

Urged by growing anxiety, he accelerated his strides. Even so, the shadow continued to chase him.

As he realised what was happening, the distance between them felt as if closing in. The man finally started running.

Just another fifty metres before he would reach his apartment room. He hurriedly ascended the external stairs, opened the door to his room on the second story, before slipping inside. Closing the door behind him, he exhaled.

The man turned the lights on and upon seeing the familiar sight of his room, his fear instantly vanished. Being in a place where he had spent his day-to-day activities—his own room—swiftly put an end to the strange thoughts plaguing his mind. Given some thought, he hadn’t needed to be so terrified from merely seeing a shadow.

It had been nothing but a shadow. Street lights, vending machines, light out of windows; various sources of light emanated from all sorts of directions. As it wasn’t daytime, not just a single shadow would form.

Perhaps the shadow had been his own after all. The man laughed bitterly as he entered the room and unloaded his belongings, before rolling on the bed.

His body felt heavy. Since the campus festival was approaching, his club activities had gotten busier than usual. He might have gotten worked up over strange things out of exhaustion.

As he thought that, the sound of dripping water could be heard from the kitchen area. Maybe the faucet wasn’t properly turned off.

Drip— Water dripped once more.

Wanting nothing but to sleep, he closed his eyes shut. Drip—

The dripping sound continued. Drip, drip—

As soon as he paid any attention to the sound, it became increasingly bothersome to him. Lazily, the man got up and walked towards the kitchen. The faucet was turned off.

However you looked at it, there was no water that was leaking, nor was there any marks typically left by dripping water. Perhaps it had come from the bathroom. He opened the folding door and peered inside. The washbasin faucet was turned off and the toilet bowl water line seemed fine.

Did I mishear? As the thought crossed his mind, the dripping sound returned.

It came from right behind him. He turned around. Even so, there was nothing there.

The man exhaled, believing he had misheard after all. Yet when he accidentally looked at the mirror—

He held his breath. Reflected on the mirror was a face that wasn't his own.

The pale, bluish face of a man was reflected there. He was drenched, as if his face had just emerged out of water. Water dripped from his hair and the tip of his chin.

“I won’t allow it.” A voice could be heard in his ear.

“Uwaah!” Terrified from hearing the voice of hatred mixed with anger, he screamed and frantically left his room— -

2 -

Ozawa Haruka unconsciously held her breath at the sight before her— Every year, the orchestra circle Haruka was in would hold a recital during the campus festival. Thanks to that, her circle’s rehearsal today ran quite late into the night.

Although they were going to play classical music, they always included popular songs into the playlist so that more students would come to watch the show. On top of that, they had included some light dance routines as part of the rundown, so the rehearsal was rather exhausting.

The autumn season was now at its peak, to the point that the wind hitting her felt painful. Haruka hastily walked whilst cowering her body, and as she reached the courtyard of the campus area, she stopped her tracks at the sight of someone she recognised.

Said person was sitting on a wooden bench lit by the streetlight, head hung towards his feet. It was Saitou Yakumo—

His appearance was as usual: messy hair, white shirt, a pair of jeans. As expected, Yakumo’s red left eye was also hidden with black coloured contact lens.

Not just red in colour, his eye had the unique ability to see the spirits of the dead—in other words, ghosts. All this time, Yakumo had solved various spiritual cases by putting that ability to use.

Haruka, too, had been able to meet Yakumo all because of a spiritual case. Since then, they had often crossed paths with one another. What is he up to?

Haruka was about to greet him, but stopped herself. A woman was sitting next to Yakumo.

Haruka couldn’t see her face clearly, but she could see that she had long, black hair, with a tall, slender body akin to a model’s. The way she sat next to Yakumo seemed like it was already second nature to her. Despite that, the atmosphere between them seemed sorrowful.

Like a couple in the middle of discussing their separation. Who is that woman? Haruka thought absentmindedly.

She may have encountered many cases with Yakumo, but that was all. Aside from that, she didn’t know anything about his personal life. Maybe that woman was someone special to Yakumo.

Haruka’s chest felt so painful at the idea, she couldn’t take any further steps to approach Yakumo. While Haruka’s thoughts were all over the place, the woman who was with Yakumo slowly stood up.

Her black hair fluttered from the wind. The woman appeared to wipe the corner of her eye, then said something to Yakumo before walking away.

Is she crying? Haruka’s feelings grew complicated.

Perhaps sensing Haruka’s gaze, Yakumo, who remained seated, lifted his face. Haruka reflexively turned around and ran away. Even she didn’t understand why she acted that way.

If she was curious, she could have just directly asked about the woman’s identity. However, Haruka couldn’t do it.

She was scared of hearing Yakumo’s reply. Why was she scared?

Haruka questioned that fact, but she had no intention of finding out the answer. If she were to find it, she would discover the true form of the feelings she had kept deep within her heart so that not even she herself could know.

The corners of her eyes grew hot from the dry wind. Haruka walked as she tried to tell herself that.

“Ozawa-san.” Someone called out to her as she arrived at the front gate.

For a brief moment Haruka thought Yakumo had chased after her, but she quickly got rid of the idea. The voice sounded entirely different, and besides, Yakumo never called her ‘Ozawa-san’. Haruka turned to find a man standing there.

It was Watanabe Yuu, from the same circle as Haruka. Watanabe had a tall stature and broad shoulders. He played the oboe, unbefitting of his figure.

His rather sharp eyes combined with the downward corner of his mouth made him appear constantly glum. Even so, despite his appearance, upon striking a conversation, he would come off as a kind person who was caring towards others.

“Yes?” asked Haruka. Hearing that, Watanabe quickly walked towards Haruka. The man’s lips were sealed shut as he stared intently at Haruka. The look on his face seemed like that of anger. However, Haruka knew that he wasn’t actually angry.

“Um…” he said as his head hung. Haruka didn’t know what had happened, but he had a different air from usual. He seemed overly tense. The way he was curling and relaxing his fists over and over was proof of that.

Why did Watanabe call out to her? Also, if he had any business with her, he could have discussed it in between rehearsals rather than purposefully approaching Haruka like this. Now that she recalled, Watanabe’s performance today had been rather unmotivated.

The conductor had repeatedly called him out on the same parts and by the end of the rehearsal, his performance hadn’t improved. As if he hadn’t been focused on the rehearsal. Perhaps the reason Watanabe couldn’t focus had something to do with the rumours surrounding him that people had been whispering about recently.

Don’t tell me— At that moment Haruka realised the reason why Watanabe had called out to her.

Nevertheless, it was nothing but her own suspicion. It was probably best not to say anything until Watanabe spoke up. “What’s the matter?” asked Haruka, trying to look as natural as possible.

Watanabe was still hesitating; looking downwards without moving an inch. After moments of waiting, Watanabe finally firmed his resolve and slowly lifted his head. His gaze pierced straight at Haruka.

“Ozawa-san, the truth is...there is something I want to discuss with you,” said Watanabe after much struggle. “Discussion?” said Haruka. So that really was it.

“Yes. So, about that...could we talk for a moment?” requested Watanabe. Haruka could turn him down. In reality, it was better for her to turn him down. However, being unable to was already a bad habit of hers.

That was why Yakumo had mocked her, calling her a troublemaker. With that thought, the sight of the woman from earlier flashed into her mind. The woman wiping her tear, her long black hair fluttering against the wind—

She grew mildly frustrated at herself for recalling that now. “Alright,” answered Haruka while her thoughts were still all over the place.

Watanabe’s face soon loosened up from relief. A complete opposite from the typical glumness on his face, it gave him a childlike impression. Haruka went to the campus cafeteria with Watanabe and they sat across from each other at an available table.

Haruka had briefly glanced at her surroundings as they had gone past the courtyard, but she hadn’t caught a glimpse of Yakumo or that woman. Even if they were to meet, she wouldn’t have the courage to talk. The contrast between her actions and thoughts even made her feel disgusted at herself.

“So, what do you want to discuss?” Haruka spoke up after pretending to be composed. “Actually...about that...Maybe you’ll think I’m strange to say this so suddenly, but...” said Watanabe hesitantly.

Perhaps he feared being doubted and mocked upon. “What is it?”

Haruka threw a serious look at Watanabe. “I…have been followed by something strange recently...” he began, before his eyes wandered left and right.

“Something strange?” “Maybe you won’t believe me, but...I’m being followed by a ghost...”

Of course. That was Haruka’s immediate thought.

Recently, she had heard rumours that Watanabe was being followed by a ghost. That was why, as soon as she heard that he had wanted to discuss something, she could immediately guess that this had to do with a spiritual phenomenon. To make matters worse, rumours had been floating around campus that Haruka was an expert on spiritual cases.

While it was true that she had been involved with a number of spiritual cases, the person who had actually resolved those cases had been none other than Saitou Yakumo. Haruka had merely been witnessing from close proximity, and nothing more.

Somehow, the rumours had strayed from the truth. “I want you to help me,” said Watanabe, gazing at Haruka with pleading eyes.

Haruka didn’t know the specifics, but Watanabe seemed to be deeply suffering. It had already become a weakness of Haruka’s, being unable to ignore people in this sort of predicament even though it was going to lead to trouble. If only she could help, she would immediately agree to the request. However, she didn’t have the ability to resolve a spiritual case. There was nothing she could do as long as Yakumo didn’t step in to help.

The truth was she could simply ask Yakumo for his help, but… Right now, she didn’t feel like seeing Yakumo—

- 3

- After finishing morning class, Haruka paid a visit to the two-storey prefabricated building behind building B.

This building had been partitioned into a number of smaller rooms and was being lent out to use as clubrooms by the university. Haruka stood in front of the door with a plate that read <Movie Research Circle>, located at the end of the building's first storey.

While it was called the Movie Research Circle, that was nothing more than a name. Yakumo—to put it literally—lived here.

He had submitted minimal paperwork to the student affairs office all to establish a fake circle and convert the space into his personal room. Normally Haruka could open this door with no effort, but today her body wouldn’t budge so easily.

Perhaps it was because she had seen Yakumo with a woman she didn’t recognize the night before. Why am I even anxious because of something like that?

Although she tried to think about it, she couldn’t find the answer. Besides, so what if Yakumo was with a woman? It wouldn’t be strange for him to have a lover or a friend Haruka didn’t recognize.

Furthermore, her relationship with Yakumo was nothing more than friends, so Haruka had no right to comment. No, they had merely solved a few cases together, so from Yakumo’s perspective, perhaps they weren’t even friends.

Haruka ended up feeling a little disheartened. Even so, since their relationship wasn’t that deep, she shouldn’t have been overthinking about it. Her mind might have understood that, but the weight growing in her heart refused to leave. Haruka became troubled by it.

Well, either way, nothing could be resolved just by standing around here. Haruka firmed her resolve and knocked at the door.

There was no reply. “Hey—” greeted Haruka as she opened the door.

The dimly lit room was filled with silence. Even though she had gotten all worked up, her worries were all for nothing. Unfortunately, Yakumo wasn’t present—yet she also felt a little relieved.

She considered coming back another time, but if she were to do so, she felt that the courage she had prepared to come all the way here would disappear. In the end, she decided to wait until Yakumo returned—thankfully, she had no afternoon classes today.

Haruka went inside and sat on a folding chair. Inside the room, there was a table and a fridge placed further inside. Laid next to a wall was a sleeping bag.

This barren room felt even more deserted with its owner’s absence. As Haruka let out a small sigh, the door opened and Yakumo entered the room.

He stared at Haruka with a sour expression as usual, before messing his already tousled hair in annoyance. “Why are you spacing out in someone else’s room?” said Yakumo listlessly.

“I-I wasn’t spacing out.” “An empty gaze and a half-opened mouth; what else would it be called if not spacing out?”

“I-I didn’t look like that!” Haruka immediately protested, but she reached for her face just to make sure. She felt incredibly embarrassed at the thought of Yakumo having seen her in that manner.

Yakumo sat on his usual chair, narrowing his eyes before saying, “So, why did you come here?” “Why? About that...” Haruka stuttered.

She had actually come to ask Yakumo to help resolve Watanabe’s spiritual case, but Yakumo was speaking as if he had seen through Haruka’s intentions. If she were to speak up about Watanabe’s case, Haruka felt that their relationship would truly become mere acquaintances solving cases together.

“That is what?” said Yakumo, landing a cold gaze. “I just…had a bit of free time, so I came by to hang...”

Haruka formed a smile to appear natural. However, she didn’t have to look at the mirror to know that her smile was incredibly stiff. “You really are a terrible liar.”

Of course, Yakumo could immediately tell. Haruka felt annoyed at having to admit the fact.

“I wasn’t lying.” Her defying voice sounded small from her lack of confidence.

“Is that so? If you have no business being here, please leave immediately,” said Yakumo, waving his hand to drive her out. His way of speaking was as if he didn’t want Haruka to come if she didn’t have any business to. To be honest, Haruka felt sad as she had thought the distance between her and Yakumo had gotten a little closer.

Perhaps she should just get up and leave. Even so, if she were to do that, it would mean abandoning Watanabe’s request.

After wrestling with her own thoughts, Haruka finally decided to raise the white flag. “Truth is, there’s something I want to discuss with you...” Haruka spoke up.

Yakumo sighed. “You should’ve said so from the start. Don’t get stubborn over strange things,” scolded Yakumo like a nagging mother would. Haruka grew frustrated from being reprimanded over something she had already understood. Still, she swallowed back her anger.

“Sorry...” “So, what kind of spiritual phenomenon was it?” asked Yakumo idly.

“You’re willing to listen?” said Haruka in surprise. Yakumo hardly ever willingly agreed to assist with spiritual cases. No, perhaps this was actually the first time.

Normally he would’ve found ways to evade such conversations. “My expenses pile up in this kind of season.”

Ah, so that was how it was. Yakumo was being uncharacteristically cooperative to hear her out because he was aiming for compensation.

“It won’t be much, but he did say he’d be willing to compensate, so I think you’ll be fine.” Haruka had talked about compensation with Watanabe. Since Yakumo would certainly ask about it, Haruka had already mentioned it ahead of time.

“How much?” “As for that, you can negotiate yourself,” emphasised Haruka.

Yakumo shook his head in disbelief. “Can you even call yourself an assistant?” “What? I never recalled becoming your assistant!” said Haruka, raising her voice out of irritation.

As it turned out, Yakumo viewed her as an assistant. Haruka felt exasperated as it was as if Yakumo had drawn a line that they weren’t even friends. “You accepted this case. Naturally, you should be the one negotiating the compensation.”

“That so?” “Yes. Since you’ve acted as the intermediary, you have a responsibility as an agent.”

Now she was treated as an agent. Would an agent’s position be higher than an assistant? Or rather, below it? Haruka questioned that fact, but bringing up things like responsibilities made her feel like it was her job to do it after all.

“Fine,” Haruka replied, sulking. She felt like Yakumo merely argued to validate his own point. “So, what’s the spiritual phenomenon like?” asked Yakumo, hand supporting his chin.

Haruka nodded, before she began explaining the spiritual phenomenon experienced by Watanabe. Apparently Watanabe had been followed by a strange shadow since roughly a week ago. He had thought he had mistaken it at first. Yet, the presence of that shadow gradually became stronger.

Until it had finally revealed its form. As she spoke of the drenched man reflected in the mirror, Haruka unconsciously began to shiver. Had she witnessed something of that nature in her own room, she would have refused to return to her room out of immense fear.

It wasn’t surprising that Watanabe kept making mistakes during rehearsal. “What do you think?” asked Haruka once she had finished with her explanation.

“About what?” asked Yakumo back whilst holding back a yawn. “Can you resolve it?”

Hearing Haruka’s question, Yakumo made an unpleasant look on his face. “You are still a fool no matter what, aren’t you.” It may be true that Haruka couldn’t multitask on things like carrying a conversation whilst analysing the situation like Yakumo could. But—

“Don’t you think calling me a fool was a little too far?” “I don’t, that’s why I called you one.”

How annoying! Haruka wanted to slap him badly, but scrapped the idea in order to maintain peace.

“Explain so that I can understand.” “I can’t draw any conclusion solely based on that explanation.”

“Why?” “It isn’t clear whether the ghost is following Watanabe or is haunting his room instead. Besides, there has to be a reason why he’s being followed by a ghost, which we don’t know.”

“Well, that’s true.” “In that kind of situation, only a fool would attempt to draw a conclusion,” said Yakumo firmly.

“You’re right...” Haruka reflected on herself a little.

Yakumo often told her not to rush to a conclusion. And yet she did so anyway, hoping for an outcome by asking if Yakumo could resolve it before they had a chance to understand the situation. “Well, either way, firstly I need to meet that person named Watanabe,” said Yakumo with a sharp gaze as he placed his index finger between his forehead.

- 4

- “Hey, is the Movie Research Circle going to do something for the campus festival?” asked Haruka to Yakumo, who sat next to her.

Afterwards, they had contacted Watanabe and had agreed to meet at the campus cafeteria. They had taken a seat at a table near the window. “Why are you asking that?”

Yakumo stared at Haruka, puzzled. “No particular reason. I’m just curious.”

Despite being in the same university, Haruka and Yakumo had only ever talked about spiritual phenomena and the topic of university life had hardly ever been brought up. Thinking about it further, it was clearly unnatural.

Perhaps Yakumo’s presence felt distant whenever they met because they had never discussed their daily lives. “Nothing,” Yakumo replied as he held back a yawn.

“What do you mean?” “I said, I’m not going to do anything.”

“Even though it’s the campus festival?” “Yes. Honestly, there's no point anyway. Besides, the Movie Research Circle is merely an excuse. The true member is just me alone, so there’s nothing I can do.”

That was the truth. The Movie Research Circle was a fabricated circle that Yakumo had submitted so that he could turn the clubroom into his own room. There was no reason for him to do something for the campus festival.

“That’s true...” “Basically.”

“Have you ever participated in the campus festival?” “Never.” answered Yakumo instantly.

Well, Haruka couldn’t imagine Yakumo having a blast in a campus festival, either. His answer was to be expected. “Haven’t you ever thought that you should enjoy your campus life a little more?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo lifted his left eyebrow and threw a cold gaze. “University is a place to study. Not to enjoy one’s youth,” he said firmly. That instant, the sight of the black-haired woman came into Haruka’s mind. Her chest hurt, as if she was being stabbed and something was clawing out from within.

“You say that, but you seem to be enjoying it quite a bit,” Even though she didn’t mean to say that, the words just came out of her mouth.

“What are you talking about?” Yakumo frowned. His reaction couldn’t be helped. With this, Haruka had become a disgusting woman who was jealous, controlling, and fussy.

More precisely, that was the sort of person Haruka had turned into. If she wanted to know the identity of the black-haired woman, Haruka could’ve just asked directly without going in circles like this. Even so, for some reason she just couldn’t do it.

While she sighed, Haruka saw Watanabe walking in the direction of where she and Yakumo had been sitting. As Watanabe saw the two, he nodded and briskly walked towards them.

“Watanabe, this is Saitou Yakumo. Yakumo-kun, this is Watanabe-kun from the same circle as me,” said Haruka introducing the two. Watanabe bowed his head towards Yakumo and said, “I’ll be in your care.”

Despite that, Yakumo didn’t respond. ��Anyway, please have a seat—” Haruka ushered Watanabe to sit across from them.

Yakumo remained expressionless as usual. Yakumo wasn’t a shy person, but he acted like this from time to time when meeting someone for the first time.

Haruka herself couldn’t understand why. Perhaps Yakumo was sensing something that only he could. Whatever that was, nothing would progress if they remained silent like this.

“Are you still being haunted?” asked Haruka. Watanabe nodded firmly. “Even yesterday he was following me home the entire time. Afterwards he also went into my room...I don’t know what else I should do...” said Watanabe as he held his head.

Likely out of fear, his voice was trembling more than yesterday. “Yakumo-kun,” said Haruka, turning towards Yakumo.

Yakumo stared intently at Watanabe as if assessing him. After a long silence, Yakumo mumbled, “A man in his forties—”

“Eh?” Watanabe lifted his face. “He’s standing behind you,” said Yakumo pointing right behind Watanabe. Watanabe half stood up from the chair, hurriedly turning his head around.

Haruka focused her gaze behind Watanabe as well. She couldn’t see anything. However, Yakumo was different. While hidden with a black contact lens, that red left eye of his with its ability to see ghosts must be looking at something right now.

“There’s a ghost following Watanabe-kun?” asked Haruka. Yakumo let out a small sigh. “That’s what I’ve been saying,” he said coldly.

Ghost sightings might be an unusual experience for the average person, but not for Yakumo. He had always been able to see ghosts. Thanks to that, he didn’t panic over the sight of one.

“A man in his forties?” Watanabe asked hesitantly. “Yes. Exactly right behind you.” Yakumo narrowed his eyes.

“He’s still there even now?” “He is,” said Yakumo blatantly.

Watanabe’s face immediately lost its colour. Droplets of sweat formed on his forehead. He appeared rather shaken by the fact.

“P-please help me. I beg of you.” Watanabe bowed until his forehead met the table.

“In order to help you, please answer my question,” said Yakumo coldly. “A-about what?”

“As I mentioned previously, the ghost following you is a man who appears to be in his forties. He’s thin and has a sharp facial profile. Any idea of who he is?” “No,” Watanabe shook his head.

“Have you been to any haunted places lately?” “No, I dislike those kinds of things...”

“In that case, I’ll rework the question. Have you done anything that has the potential to invoke others’ hatred?” “Invoke hatred? No...”

“Really?” Yakumo stared at Watanabe with eyes full of suspicion.

“R-really!” said Watanabe, leaning his body forwards. “That’s right. Watanabe isn’t the type of person to be hated on,” said Haruka in agreement.

Yakumo made an uneven smirk, looking mildly displeased. “What do you even know about him?” “Eh?”

“The person you know him as is the person that is your fellow circle member. In that case, you wouldn’t know what he’s like off campus, or in the past.” “That’s true...”

“There has to be sides of him that you’re entirely unaware of. Often in murder cases, the people around the culprit would say they had never thought the culprit could have done such a thing, right? It’s the same as that. Humans always have a side to them that others couldn’t imagine,” Yakumo explained logically, leaving no room for Haruka to find words to deny it. Even so, it didn’t mean she agreed with Yakumo’s opinion completely. While she didn’t know everything, there should be some things that she did know.

Unfortunately, Haruka didn’t have the ability to express it into words properly. “You’re trying to say that I’m a murderer?” said Watanabe, dragging out his voice.

Yakumo’s explanation earlier might have been an example, but Watanabe had taken it too literally. Nevertheless, Haruka could understand Watanabe’s feelings for thinking that way. “Are you a murderer?” asked Yakumo calmly.

“No! Why would you ask such a thing?” Watanabe’s once friendly voice turned crass.

“The ghost following behind you harbours an immense outrage,” said Yakumo, composed, completely the opposite of Watanabe. “Outrage?”

“Yes. He’s deeply angered. That anger is directed solely towards you,” said Yakumo, pointing at Watanabe’s face. “Solely towards me...”

“Yes. You must have done something that angered this ghost.” “I-I don’t know,” answered Watanabe, eyes wide open.

“Really?” “Really.”

“Please stop lying. The ghost is angry at you because something happened.” “I really don’t know anything!” yelled Watanabe as he stood up.

He and Yakumo glared at each other for some time. Their eyes met with sparks of fire. The silence continued, before Watanabe became the first to look away.

His head hung as he bit his lips, seemingly wanting to say something, before finally leaving without a word. -

5 -

“Why did you say such a thing?” asked Haruka to Yakumo after waiting for Watanabe to be out of sight. “Shouldn’t you go after him?”

Yakumo slouched on the chair with a guilt-free expression. He didn’t answer Haruka’s question at all.

“Please answer my question,” said Haruka firmly. Yakumo shuffled his messy hair in annoyance. “The spirit attached to him isn’t the kind of ghost that lingers in a location. That ghost is following him with a clear intention.”

“You mean like a haigorei[1]?” “How surprising.” Yakumo’s eyes widened.

From his reaction, perhaps— “Am I right?” said Haruka gleefully.

As she was often made fun of, Haruka thought it wouldn’t be so bad if she could surprise Yakumo by being right once in a while. “Completely off the mark,” said Yakumo, sighing.

“Eh?” “I was surprised by how simpleminded you are.”

“What?!” “Don’t yell.”

With his fingers, Yakumo plugged his ears to show how noisy Haruka was. “What are you calling me simpleminded for?”

“As I said. Don’t tell me you thought that just because the ghost stood behind, it had to be a haigorei?” “That’s...”

Truth to be told, she had in fact thought that way, but based on Yakumo’s way of speaking, her understanding seemed to have been wrong. “If a ghost standing behind one’s back is a haigorei—a rear ghost, would a ghost standing ahead of someone be a front ghost? If it’s standing next to the person then it would be a side ghost. If it’s standing across on the front right side it becomes a front right diagonal ghost.”

“Sorry. I was wrong, I’ll admit it. So please stop it already,” said Haruka, hiding her face, unable to bear it anymore. Her face was bright red from embarrassment. Yakumo may be right, but he didn’t have to take things that far, as if pouring salt into the wound—

“Besides, haigorei is often referred to as a guardian spirit, and it is said that everyone is followed by one. In most cases, the identity of the spirit is the ancestor of the person it followed. Its goal being none other than to watch over that person,” explained Yakumo in a calm tone. “Is that so...”

“Nevertheless, that is merely the definition based on spiritualism beliefs. From my experience, I’ve never seen a guardian spirit before.” “So, it isn’t a thing?”

“Ancestral spirits that look after their descendants might exist somewhere, but to say that it applies to everyone, I highly doubt so.” “I see,” Hearing Yakumo’s explanation impressed Haruka.

There were many beliefs surrounding spirits or ghosts, but the words of someone like Yakumo who had the ability to see them carried the weight it took to convince others. “Our conversation is getting sidetracked...” said Yakumo, clearing his throat.

“That’s true.” Besides, the question hadn’t been about what haigorei was, but of why Yakumo had thrown such a harsh question towards Watanabe.

“As I mentioned earlier, that ghost is following him because he has a strong outrage towards him. Do you think ghosts would do something like that for no particular reason?” “No,” responded Haruka immediately.

“Basically. That friend of yours must have done something to anger that ghost.” Yakumo had always said that ghosts weren’t evil apparitions or a novel type of being, but rather something that had used to be living humans. In other words, he saw ghosts as people.

Yakumo thought the ghost wouldn’t be following Watanabe without a reason. “But, Watanabe-kun said he didn’t do anything...”

“He must’ve been lying,” said Yakumo blatantly. “Why?”

He had been so terrified he had to ask for help; why would he be lying? “Why, you say? Your head sure is filled with nothing but a flower garden, huh?”

What a cruel thing to say. “It isn’t!”

“Then, you should understand, right? Humans lie to cover up things that would disadvantage them.” “Why do you think that Watanabe-kun was lying?”

From Haruka’s eyes, Watanabe didn’t seem like a person who would lie. “Simple enough. When I questioned him, he appeared anxious and his gaze was all over the place. That wasn’t all. His speech faltered and his voice was clearly irritated. So naturally, I interpreted that as panicking.”

Putting it that way, Haruka began to feel that had been the case. Yakumo had been able to solve numerous spiritual cases thus far not only thanks to his ability to see ghosts, but because he was perceptive and possessed exceptional analytical skills.

“But if that were the case, what is Watanabe-kun hiding?” “Who knows.”

Yakumo then stood up and walked away. “Hold on. Where are you going?” Haruka called out hurriedly.

“Where? I’m going home, obviously.” “But what about Watanabe-kun?”

“Dunno.” “Don’t act so irresponsibly like that.”

“Irresponsible? If the person himself isn’t willing to tell the truth, I can’t do anything to resolve the problem. Also, he was the one who left first,” said Yakumo, shrugging. Yakumo did have a point. They couldn’t do anything if they were being lied to, and Watanabe had simply left without saying anything further about his request.

Haruka knew that, and yet— “Can’t you do something?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo tilted his head, perplexed. “What are you talking about?” “What? About Watanabe-kun. I can’t just leave him be,” Haruka emphasised.

Yakumo let out a long sigh. “At this point, you’re no longer just meddlesome, but stupid.” “Stupid...”

“What sort of reason made you willing to go that far for him?” asked Yakumo, frowning. From past experience, Yakumo perceived human feelings as either give or take. Hence, he would find a concrete reason before doing something.

However, human relationships weren’t that simple. While it may be a naive way of thinking, there were times people would do things for others’s sake despite the absence of a reward. On top of that, Haruka wouldn’t be able to sleep well if she had simply let Watanabe be after listening to his request.

Once Haruka had expressed all of that with cluttered words, Yakumo clicked his tongue out of annoyance. Despite his attitude, Yakumo wasn’t the type that could abandon others in trouble either.

Haruka trusted that trait of Yakumo and waited for him to open his mouth. “I’ll see what I can do,” said Yakumo while looking displeased.

“Really? Thank you!” Haruka gleefully jumped up.

This was the good side of Yakumo. Despite complaining left and right, he could be relied on. “In exchange, I’ll be asking the compensation from you instead,” said Yakumo, patting Haruka’s head.

No way! Why me? She wanted to protest, but Haruka decided to stay optimistic as Watanabe should be willing to compensate if the issue was resolved.

- 6

- Haruka sat on a chair in the Movie Research Circle clubroom.

Yakumo had requested for Gotou and Ishii to come over the phone and had left campus grounds in their car. Gotou and Ishii were police detectives from the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division.

The men were two among the few acquaintances aware of Yakumo’s unique ability and had resolved a number of cases together with him. They too had a give and take relationship going on.

Apparently Yakumo was trying to uncover the identity of the ghost following Watanabe through the list of past murder, suicide, accidents, and missing persons cases with the help of Gotou and Ishii. Meanwhile, Haruka had been tasked to investigate a number of things surrounding Watanabe.

Upon asking around to the circle members, what she had gotten so far was that Watanabe’s parents lived in the Yamanashi Prefecture, and he currently lived alone. His parents were healthy and had a fruit garden back in his hometown. He had no lovers. Had never caused any significant trouble. That was all. All rather useless information, Haruka felt.

After hearing Yakumo’s words, she had briefly thought she might discover an unexpected side to Watanabe, so she was frankly disappointed. Would they be able to solve the case with this sort of information?

As Haruka thought that, there was a knock and the door opened. Haruka instantly turned around as she thought Yakumo had returned. Instead, her eyes widened at the sight of the person standing in front of the door.

The long-haired woman. She had a beautiful face, but with a melancholic impression as if devoid of happiness.

That night, she had been with Yakumo. The woman appeared mildly surprised by Haruka’s presence. Regardless, she quickly put on a serious expression before asking, “Um...Where is Saitou Yakumo-san?”

“Ah, that…he’s currently not in,” said Haruka as she stood up. This woman was indeed tall. Haruka had to tilt her head a little.

“Is that so...” The woman closed her long lashes shut. She radiated a rather peculiar aura. As if she was walking around carrying a lot of sorrow.

Could she be Yakumo’s lover and Haruka had come across the two of them together last night? However, Haruka hadn’t sensed the presence of a lover from Yakumo this entire time.

Or perhaps, Haruka was the one who had convinced herself of the fact. Besides, even if Yakumo had a lover, Haruka had no right to say anything. “Um...what brings you here?” asked Haruka, and the woman lightly shook.

A sweet aroma could faintly be smelled from the gentle sway of her long hair. “Nothing. I’ll come back later,” she said before she turned away from Haruka, about to leave the room.

“Please wait,” Haruka unconsciously called out to stop her. The woman turned to look at Haruka. Sure enough, there was a dark shadow within her eyes.

“What is it?” The woman asked back. Haruka couldn’t reply right away. Of course. She didn’t quite understand why she had stopped her either.

Even so, Haruka had suddenly gotten the urge that she had to do it. “If it’s alright for you, why don’t you tell me about it?” said Haruka after much contemplation.

What am I even doing? That question popped into her mind.

Even if she thought that way, she couldn’t take back the words that had already been said. “There’s no point even if I told you,” the woman said calmly.

“How so?” “Because I’m cursed...” mumbled the woman as she narrowed her eyes, gazing into the distance.

As her words were entirely unlike what Haruka had expected, she needed some time to digest it. “Cursed…what do you mean by that?” Haruka frowned.

It seemed that the ‘curse’ the woman had mentioned hadn’t been a mere figure of speech. But that was precisely why Haruka now understood even less. “Exactly as I said.”

“You mean…” “Even if I told you, you probably won’t believe me. He was like that too...” she said before laughing as if mocking herself.

“By him, you mean Yakumo-kun?” “Yes.”

“Um...” “It’s fine. Besides, it's pointless for me to live,” she said indifferently as she closed her long lashes and lowered her gaze. Her face looked strikingly beautiful.

Yet at the same time, she appeared short-lived, as if she was about to disappear any moment now. After a period of silence, the woman fluttered her long hair, before turning her back towards Haruka and reached for the door to leave.

“Please wait,” called Haruka. It's pointless for me to live.

The woman had said so earlier. Haruka didn’t know the details of what had happened, but she couldn’t find it in herself to ignore a person who spoke of death before her eyes.

She knew she was being meddlesome, but— The woman briefly turned towards Haruka, then opened the door and left without saying a word.

With a thud, the Movie Research Circle clubroom returned to silence. Would it be alright to let her leave just like that?

Before finding the answer, Haruka had already jumped out of the Movie Research Circle clubroom, quickly scanning her surroundings to find the sight of that woman. There she is!

After spotting the black haired woman walking briskly, Haruka immediately started running. When she had seen the woman sitting with Yakumo at the courtyard bench the day before, she had thought the woman might have been Yakumo’s lover.

She thought they had been talking about parting ways with a serious expression— Hence, when the woman had come to the Movie Research Circle clubroom which was Yakumo’s hideout, she had thought it had been the follow up of their conversation the day prior.

However, the woman’s words turned the idea within Haruka’s mind around. Because I’m cursed.

From her words, Haruka suspected that the woman had experienced some spiritual phenomenon and had met with Yakumo to seek assistance. That wasn’t all. She had also said it was pointless for her to live. Whatever spiritual phenomenon she was facing, she must have felt cornered to the point of contemplating death.

Haruka couldn’t just let her be. “Please wait!” Haruka yelled as she approached the courtyard.

The woman halted her steps and slowly turned around. As their eyes met, she seemed rather taken aback. She must have thought that Haruka wouldn't go after her.

“Um...Wouldn’t you tell me about it?” said Haruka, catching her breath. “Why?”

The other woman made a sceptical expression. It was to be expected. From her point of view, she didn’t even know who Haruka was.

“I’m Ozawa Haruka. I’m Yakumo-kun’s friend...well, assistant...” said Haruka, emphasising on the word assistant. If her prediction was right, it would be more effective to introduce herself as an assistant rather than a friend of Yakumo.

“Assistant...” “Yes. You’re being troubled by some spiritual phenomena and wish to consult with Yakumo-kun about it, right?” said Haruka quickly.

She didn’t answer, nor did she deny it. Haruka’s prediction seemed to have been right. “If you don’t mind, could you tell me about it?” asked Haruka.

If Yakumo were to watch this scene, he would’ve made fun of her being a troublemaker again. Even Haruka knew all too well that she was doing unnecessary things. Yet, there was no way she could ignore this woman after witnessing her sorrowful expression earlier.

She also wanted to set things straight after having suspected the nature of this woman’s relationship with Yakumo. “I’ve been rejected already,” said the woman.

“Eh?” “I’ve discussed it with Saitou-san, he said it was just my own feelings...” she said, lowering her gaze dejectedly.

This discussion was likely what Haruka had seen yesterday on her way back from rehearsal. After Yakumo had completely denied the spiritual phenomenon she had been going through, the woman had left, hopelessly. Despite that, she refused to accept the outcome and paid another visit to the Movie Research Circle clubroom, where Yakumo stayed.

That signified just how dire her situation was. “Yakumo-kun, he…isn’t good at being honest,” said Haruka, slowly.

“Hm?” mumbled the woman as she tilted her head. “Ah, that...he tends to be irritable and refuses before even hearing out what the other party has to say.”

“Why are you this desperate?” The woman frowned. She must be at a loss at how to take Haruka’s words.

“I don’t understand it either. But...earlier you said there’s no point to being alive...such a line of thinking is simply too heartbreaking,” said Haruka. In that instant, the woman’s face hardened. “What do you even know?”

“I don’t know anything. That’s why, please tell me about it,” said Haruka once more, and the woman shook her head, giving in. -

7 -

Haruka sat on a bench in the courtyard. Next to her sat the black-haired woman.

Yesterday, Yakumo had been the one sitting here. Haruka felt strange thinking about it. “Um...may I have your name?” asked Haruka to begin.

“Aki,” she replied. “Aki-san—what do you mean by you’re cursed?” asked Haruka again after licking her lips, chapped from being tense.

Despite sitting next to each other, Aki’s gaze dropped to her feet, still undecided on whether to talk about it. Her suffering could be seen from the profile of her face.

“Please tell me,” Haruka urged once more. Aki briefly sighed before opening her mouth. “It started with my father...” she spoke weakly.

“Your father?” “Yes. When I was ten years old, my family went on a holiday trip to Enoshima. It was an enjoyable trip. But...” said Aki before biting her lips.

From the way she spoke, Haruka could imagine that something terrible had to have happened then. If possible, she didn’t want to reopen the wounds in Aki’s heart. However, there was nothing she could help with without knowing anything.

“What happened?” “I…drowned…because I wanted to show Father a nice spot. I was swimming excitedly, before my leg suddenly cramped, and I began to panic...that was why Father jumped into the ocean to rescue me...”

Aki covered her face with both hands and sobbed. Haruka could only watch her in silence. Moments later, Aki slowly lifted her face.

Her face was as pale as a corpse. “I was the only survivor…” Aki said heavily.

Haruka’s chest ached as if she was being stabbed. The face of her older twin sister that had died in a traffic accident flashed into her mind. It’s pointless for me to live.

Haruka felt she could finally understand the true meaning behind Aki’s words back then. Aki felt responsible over her father’s death. She thought it was better for her to die instead of her father—

“It wasn’t your fault,” said Haruka. Aki glared at her with an enraged look on her face. “What do you even know? Someone I loved passed away because of me.”

“I know. Me too...my older sister passed away,” Haruka spoke. “Eh?” Aki blurted in surprise.

“When I was little, I was jealous of my older sister who was capable of everything, and one day I purposely threw a ball too far to prank her. My sister went to retrieve it...and got hit by a car…” The sight from back then replayed within Haruka’s mind.

Her older sister, Ayaka, had died because of her—Haruka had been trapped by that spell for a long time. Perhaps Aki was the same. Her father had died because of her. She continued to live whilst questioning if she was allowed to keep on living.

“Is that so...” muttered Aki. “Sorry. The conversation got sidetracked. Please carry on,” said Haruka after sorting her feelings.

Aki faintly nodded before continuing, “Ever since then, strange things began happening around me.” “Strange things?” asked Haruka.

Aki nodded. “A female classmate suddenly stopped coming to school, a male friend of mine got injured from falling down the stairs...” “That was the curse?”

“Yes.” “It wasn’t just a coincidence?”

That was Haruka’s genuine opinion. Trapped by the spell that her father had died to save her, Aki had led herself to believe that all the incidents around her were her fault. Haruka felt that was the case.

“You said the same thing as him,” said Aki. Her eyes were clearly filled with hopelessness. By him, Aki must have been referring to Yakumo.

Yakumo hadn’t rejected Aki’s request without hearing her story. As it turned out, the man had reached the conclusion that it had all been Aki’s own perception after having listened to her till the end. “But...”

“This isn’t just my perception. Everyone who gets involved with me will fall into misfortune.” “I think you’re overthinking it...”

“Wrong! Everyone said they saw a ghost! They all said they were threatened to be cursed!” said Aki crudely whilst standing up. “Aki-san...”

“I was always labelled as the cursed woman. If someone else were to die because of me like Father did...” said Aki, cutting off her sentence. Her line of sight wandered restlessly and with a sob, she whimpered, “I can’t take it anymore...” Hurts—

Something stung within Haruka’s chest. Perhaps it was a fraction of the anguish this woman was going through. “The people who suffered from misfortune, all of them mentioned they saw a ghost?” asked Haruka, and Aki nodded lightly.

Haruka didn’t know for certain, but if Aki’s words were true, perhaps she was indeed cursed. However, did such a thing really exist? “Misaki-san…”

Half spaced out, a voice reached Haruka’s ears. Facing the direction of its source, she found a man standing there. It was Watanabe. Aki responded hoarsely, “Watanabe-kun...”

Misaki seemed to be Aki’s last name. As it turned out, the two knew each other. They looked at each other in silence for some time. Aki then remembered something, took out an envelope from her bag, and forcefully shoved it at Watanabe.

“Sorry. But I can’t go. Don’t involve yourself with me ever again,” said Aki quickly, glancing at Haruka before leaving. Haruka could only watch Watanabe in silence, standing frozen in his spot, surrounded by dry gusts of wind.

- 8

- After Aki left, Haruka greeted the dumbfounded Watanabe and they decided to talk briefly. They sat next to each other on the bench where Haruka and Aki had just been earlier.

Back during the conversation with Yakumo, the continuation of Watanabe’s request had become ambiguous, but there was also another thing Haruka wanted to confirm. “Sorry about earlier,” Haruka began with an apology.

“Eh?” Watanabe frowned in confusion. “The atmosphere grew uncomfortable while we were discussing the spiritual phenomena you’re going through…” said Haruka, and Watanabe finally understood.

“Ahh, don’t worry about it,” he responded with a smile on his face, but his expression appeared stiff. As expected. Upon consulting about a spiritual trouble, not only had he been called a liar, he had even been questioned about being a murderer.

It wasn’t surprising for Watanabe to be displeased. “Yakumo-kun didn’t have bad intentions. Just, how do I say this…He talks pretty straightforwardly. On top of that, he isn’t great at socialising…But I promise you he isn’t a bad person,” said Haruka quickly.

Watanabe laughed faintly. ”You sure are working hard for your boyfriend.” “Boyfriend?”

“Yeah. That person is your boyfriend, right?” “T-that’s wrong!” denied Haruka in panic.

“Eh? Wrong? I instantly thought he’s that rumoured boyfriend of yours.” “He isn’t! What do you mean by rumoured anyway?”

“Well, you two are often together, right? Even other circle members thought that man was your boyfriend, too.” The fact that she was often with Yakumo was indeed true.

Despite that, their relationship wasn’t as sweet as people imagined. Their time had mostly been spent working on spiritual cases and making a move together, that was all. Even worse, forget being a lover, Yakumo didn’t even view her as a friend.

“That’s not it. I’m, well…something like his assistant.” “Is that so?”

Watanabe seemed unconvinced. Regardless, there was no point in elaborating this and that about her relationship with Yakumo.

“R-rather than that, you know Aki-san?” asked Haruka, running away from the topic that made her uncomfortable. From their conversation just now, Watanabe seemed to have known Aki from way back. Haruka thought to ask a few questions if Watanabe knew something.

“Ah, yes,” answered Watanabe as he lowered his gaze and stared towards the ground. Whatever he might be thinking of, it appeared to be complicated.

“What’s the relationship between you two?” asked Haruka. Watanabe lifted his face. “Why do you want to know about her?”

Watanabe visibly had a suspicious look on his face. His reaction was understandable. While hesitant, Haruka began summarising her meeting with Aki based on Aki’s words: saying that she was cursed.

At the end of Haruka’s explanation, Watanabe let out a long sigh. “Misaki-san and I came from the same hometown, and we have gone to the same schools since elementary school…” said Watanabe.

“So that was how it was.” Haruka had suspected that they had known each other, but she hadn’t thought that they had known each other for that long.

In other words, they were childhood friends. “She used to be really cheerful, but she became depressed ever since an incident happened...”

“Since her father passed away in the ocean?” “That too, but strange rumours began to emerge around Misaki-san.”

“About her being cursed?” said Haruka. Watanabe nodded. “It was said that anyone involved with Misaki-san would fall into misfortune...”

“Was that really true?” “I don’t know...However, a classmate who used to make fun of Misaki-san did go mad, saying she saw a ghost...And a boy who was close to her got injured from falling down the stairs…Those things did happen.”

“And Aki-san thought it was the curse’s doing...” “I think so. Hence she shut herself away, saying it was better for her not to get involved with anyone...”

“I see...” Her father’s death, and the strange phenomena that happened to her friends—

Earlier, Haruka had told Aki that it might have been her own perception, but given some thought, it was understandable that Aki had suspected them to be the work of a curse. “She isolated herself completely throughout middle school and high school. Even when she entered university, she refused to befriend people and remained solitary.”

Aki seemed to be a kind-hearted woman. Hence she had chosen to live a lonely life so that others wouldn’t suffer from the curse she bore. Even so, that was such a pitiful thing.

If she continued to live whilst cornering herself that way, one day her heart would be crushed. “She must be in a lot of suffering,” said Haruka, feeling the ache in her chest.

Watanabe nodded firmly and continued, “I desperately wanted to do something for her, but I don’t know what I should do. In the end, I couldn’t do anything...” he said, curling his fists tight. Haruka didn’t know whether Watanabe was curling his fists out of anger or frustration. Even then, she could sense that Watanabe’s feelings towards Aki was more than of a childhood friend’s.

“Right. I also want to do something for her.” Aki’s words reappeared within Haruka’s mind.

It's pointless for me to live. Putting aside whether she was genuinely cursed, Aki was already cornered to the point of saying something so sorrowful.

I want to do something for her—a strong will was born within Haruka. Suddenly, powerful wind shook the branches of the ginkgo trees.

Watanabe stood back up and casted a gaze along his surroundings, as if sensing something. “What’s wrong?” asked Haruka. Right at that moment, she saw a deathly pale man standing behind Watanabe.

His entire body was drenched and his eyes were bloodshot. Yet, the figure could only be seen briefly before disappearing.

- 9

- The next day, upon finishing her morning classes, Haruka quickly went to the Movie Research Circle clubroom.

Yesterday, she didn’t get a chance to meet up with Yakumo again. She had wanted to know how Yakumo’s investigation had gone, and there were many things she had wanted to share from her end as well.

“Yakumo-kun—” greeted Haruka as she opened the door. However, the room was silent and Yakumo wasn’t sitting on his usual chair.

Is he away right now? Haruka sat listlessly on the chair. She felt silly for having rushed to come over.

But the moment she sighed, something moved and rustled, startling Haruka. Suddenly, something black rose at the corner of the room.

“Hya!” she yelled in surprise. “Noisy.”

Haruka came to her senses upon hearing the familiar voice. “Yakumo-kun?”

What had risen at the corner of the room turned out to be Yakumo, covered in a sleeping bag. “Good grief. Even though somebody was peacefully sleeping, you had to come and make a ruckus. Don’t you have any manners?”

Yakumo got out of the sleeping bag whilst messing up his tousled hair. “Sorry,” apologised Haruka sincerely.

Yakumo sat on the chair across from Haruka and yawned. Wearing a sweatshirt, it gave an unusual, refreshing look to his figure. Since he had just woken up, he wasn’t wearing a black contact lens, his red left eye seizing Haruka’s attention.

It was indeed beautiful— “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yakumo gave Haruka a side glance. “N-nothing,” denied Haruka, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Whether Yakumo noticed Haruka’s feelings or not, he yawned yet again and stretched his body. “You sure wake up awfully late,” commented Haruka.

Yakumo frowned in displeasure. “Some audacity for you to say that, whose fault do you think it is?” “Eh? This is my fault?”

“Obviously. Last night I was going over documents until late.” That was true.

Yakumo had been looking into the list of people who have died through accidents and cases with the help of Gotou and Ishii—who were members of the police force—in hopes of finding any clues about the spiritual phenomenon experienced by Watanabe. “Then, did you find anything?” Haruka asked.

Yakumo shrugged. “You could tell just by looking, no?” Right. If Yakumo had discovered something, he would have had a different reaction.

“That so...” “Then, what about the task I assigned for you?” asked Yakumo, raising his left eyebrow.

“There was such a thing?” Haruka tilted her head. Yakumo let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”

“What was it anyway?” “I should have asked you to look into that man named Watanabe.”

“Ah, that?” Haruka clapped her hands. She hadn’t forgotten. Her mind was occupied by something else that she hadn’t processed Yakumo’s words in time.

“Ah, that? You were the one who brought on this case, remember?” Yakumo showered her with a cold gaze.

“I know. I’ve already looked into it,” said Haruka before explaining what she had found out about Watanabe in detail. Despite that, it didn’t mean she had gotten any significant information. To her, this information wouldn’t lead them towards solving the case—but that was merely Haruka’s opinion.

More than once, Yakumo had discovered the key to reveal the truth of a case amongst information that didn’t appear to be of any note at a glance. Now finished with her story, Haruka stared at Yakumo with anticipation.

Yakumo reached the tip of his chin, lowering his head, appearing to be deep in thought. Moments later, he suddenly lifted his face.

Their gazes met. White skin, sharply defined face, eyes half-lidded as usual. Even so, Yakumo’s eyes emanated a piercing glint.

“Did you find anything?” “Nothing—” Yakumo spread out his arms whilst shaking his head.

“Really?” asked Haruka, throwing a suspicious look. It had often been the case that Yakumo would say that he hadn’t found anything, despite already discovering the truth.

That was likely to be the case this time around, too. “Really.”

“You’re actually hiding something, right?” “No way,” Yakumo shook his head.

He seemed not to know anything after all. “Is that so...” “Rather, you’re the one seemingly hiding something, right?”

Yakumo gazed at her sharply. That instant, Haruka’s heartbeat raced.

Yakumo was indeed sharp. No, perhaps it was Haruka that was too simple to read. “I did plan to talk about it after this.”

“So?” “Actually, there was a woman looking for you yesterday while I was waiting here.”

“A woman?” “Yes. She was tall with black-hair—”

“Aah, that woman...” said Yakumo, clicking his tongue. From his reaction, Haruka realised Yakumo didn’t have any particular feelings towards Aki.

Haruka felt pathetic about herself. How could she have suspected their relationship based on the situation alone? “So, I talked to her for a little bit—” said Haruka.

Yakumo immediately held his head. “What for? You really like sticking your nose into trouble, do you.” Haruka couldn’t deny that it was a trait of hers to stick her nose in trouble, but that wasn’t important right now.

“I want you to hear me out for a while,” pleaded Haruka, clasping her hands together. Yakumo made a sour look in his face and pulled his body away. “Don’t make such an eerie looking face.”

“Eerie? Aren’t your words over the line?” “Is there a different way to describe it?”

“Ugh...” Being responded in that manner made Haruka at a loss for words.

“Fine, whatever you say. Just hear me out first,” Haruka swallowed her irritation and began to speak.

Yakumo clearly looked displeased, but listened nevertheless. “I’ve heard that story directly from the person herself,” said Yakumo lazily after listening to Haruka talk about Aki.

Aki had mentioned that Yakumo had refused to help her. Yakumo seemed to have concluded that Aki had merely been mistaken, but Haruka wanted to know the reason. “It’s really not a curse?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo shook his head. “No.” “Why do you think so?”

“Nothing was following her. If she was really cursed, something had to be possessing her, otherwise it wouldn’t be logical.” Yakumo’s explanation made sense, but Haruka felt he merely elaborated a reason to excuse himself from something troublesome.

“That may be true…but apparently people who suffered misfortune for being around Aki do exist.” “She’s suffering from persecutory delusions[2].”

“You’re saying...” “It’s a fact. Well, in that definition, perhaps she’s indeed cursed.”

“What do you mean?” “I’m saying—she believed that she’s cursed; and that became the curse. Because of that, she limited her actions, and whenever something bad happened, she would connect everything to a curse. As a result, she had herself bound.”

Haruka understood what Yakumo was trying to say. In other words, this was a matter of Aki’s own feelings, and she was the one who had cursed herself.

This was why Yakumo had concluded that it had been Aki’s own perception. However, Haruka felt that this case was a little different. “But, the things that happened around Aki-san were also a fact.”

“How can you be so certain?” said Yakumo, hand on his chin. “I heard it.”

“From her?” “No. From Watanabe-kun whom we met yesterday. Turns out he’s Aki-san’s childhood friend.”

The moment Haruka mentioned that, Yakumo’s expression turned serious. “Continue,” he urged. Nodding firmly, Haruka explained the information she had heard about Aki from Watanabe in detail.

“So that’s how it is…” said Yakumo whilst standing up after listening to Haruka’s explanation. “Did you find something?” asked Haruka enthusiastically.

“Wait for a moment,” said Yakumo. He took out his phone and made a call somewhere as he exited the room. Haruka was left to herself in the room.

Even at this point Haruka still didn’t understand what had happened, but Yakumo seemed to have discovered something. She wanted to hear the answer right away. Despite that, there was no point in rushing.

Haruka calmed her feelings down and patiently waited without a protest. Not long after, Yakumo returned.

“Who were you calling?” asked Haruka. Yakumo grinned. “Makoto-san.”

“Makoto-san—” As it turned out, the person Yakumo had called was Hijikata Makoto, a newspaper journalist.

Just like Gotou and Ishii, Makoto knew about Yakumo’s abilities, and Yakumo had often made use of her connections as a newspaper journalist to assist them over cases. The question was, why had he contacted Makoto at a time like this?

As Haruka asked that question, she was met with the answer, “For things like this, a newspaper journalist will do it faster than the police.” Haruka was led into more confusion.

“If my suspicion was right, then most likely...” said Yakumo before trailing off his words. “What?” urged Haruka.

Yet, Yakumo shook his head, laughing bitterly. “The results aren��t out yet.” “What result?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” “What even?”

Haruka felt dissatisfied, but at this stage, Yakumo would refuse to answer her until whatever result he was referring to emerged. All Haruka could do was sit and wait uncomfortably.

“Either way, you should lend a hand as well,” said Yakumo with a sharp gaze towards Haruka. “Yes,” Haruka answered.

Even so, she felt an ominous feeling. This was a trouble that she had brought up. She would offer whatever help needed. That said, she felt restless for not knowing anything still.

- 10

- After searching all over the campus, she finally found that woman.

On the rooftop of building B. Normally, the door to the rooftop would be locked, but it was currently left open to let event organisers hang the banner for the campus festival.

The person she had been looking for leaned her body against the railing whilst staring at the view underneath with a blank expression. Her black hair fluttered freely in the wind.

The excitable sounds of students occupied with preparations for the campus festival could be heard all the way from the rooftop. With what kind of emotion did she—Aki—witness them?

Perhaps Aki, too, longed to enjoy moments between campus festival preparations together with friends. But because of the curse, she took a distance from others and walked in solitude.

That situation of hers was somewhat similar to Yakumo’s. Yakumo had also cut off relationships with others due to his red left eye that could see the spirits of the dead. Once again, Haruka felt that she wanted to do something for Aki.

After having messaged Yakumo about Aki’s whereabouts, she called out to the woman. “Aki-san—” Aki, who slowly turned towards Haruka, didn’t appear surprised at all. Perhaps she had known that Haruka would approach her.

“You’ll get cursed if you involve yourself with me,” muttered Aki, closing her long lashes. “I’ve come to destroy that curse,” said Haruka, and Aki lifted her face, taken aback.

Haruka didn’t merely say baseless words. Yakumo was the one who had instructed her to say that to buy more time. “I thought you didn’t believe me?” Aki gritted her teeth.

“I’m sorry. I said something inconsiderate without thinking about your feelings,” said Haruka, lowering her head. It was true that Haruka had looked at her with suspicion the day before. Apologising at this point may not sound convincing at all.

And yet— Whether or not there was a curse, Aki had actually thought that she was cursed. As Yakumo had said, that became the curse.

Haruka wanted to help Aki. She knew she was being meddlesome, but it felt incredibly pitiful for Aki to keep isolating herself for fear of a curse. “Enough already. Even if you apologise, nothing will change...” Aki closed her eyes shut once again.

“That’s not true,” Haruka retorted firmly. Haruka had the same thought back then. She had felt that her sister’s death was her fault and had been confined by that spell.

However, in reality, no one wished for her to continue living her life being haunted by that. Especially not herself— The person who had saved Haruka from that confinement had been none other than Yakumo. By finding out the truth about her sister from Yakumo, Haruka could finally move forward.

That was why, this time around, too— “Maybe I should just die...” Aki casually said in a light tone, as if saying that she wanted to go on a stroll.

It might have sounded light, but her words felt like they were imbued with all the suffering she had endured thus far. “No!” yelled Haruka, unable to take it anymore, before grabbing Aki’s arm.

But Aki quickly shook her off. Now directed at Haruka, Aki’s eyes gave the impression that the light had completely disappeared from them.

They were akin to the eyes of a deceased person, already missing its life force. Proof of just how exhausted Aki’s heart was. “What do you even know? I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore! Because of me...”

Intermingling with her sobs, her trailing words became incoherent. The sight of Aki kneeling weakly, tears flowing with trembling shoulders, made Haruka want to do something for her. Unfortunately, Haruka couldn’t find any words to say to Aki.

Right now, no consolation words would likely be able to reach Aki. “Misaki-san—”

While in a daze, a voice could be heard in Haruka’s ears. She turned to see Watanabe. Yakumo was next to him. It seemed that he had brought Watanabe here.

But, why? Haruka threw a questioning look, but Yakumo simply nodded without a word.

Whatever the reason, Yakumo had to have some intention in bringing Watanabe here. Yakumo slowly approached Aki.

“I’ve come to destroy your curse.” Yakumo’s voice echoed throughout the dry rooftop air—

- 11

- Aki exclaimed, “Eh?” lifting her face, now wet with tears, and frowned.

At the sight of her expression, Watanabe bit his lower lip in sorrow. “But didn’t you say it was merely my perception…?” Aki gave Yakumo an accusatory gaze.

Yakumo messed with his dishevelled hair with a sour expression. “That was my judgement at the time, but it’s different now. As an apology, I’m going to try and destroy your curse.”

Yakumo didn’t bow his head and his apology sounded arrogant, but that sort of attitude was typical of Yakumo. “H-how?” asked Aki, eyes filled with anticipation.

Haruka also turned to Yakumo with the same look in her eyes. She hadn’t gotten any explanation as to what was happening. Had Aki been cursed after all? Why did he call Watanabe out here? Furthermore, how were they going to destroy the curse? Her mind was filled with questions.

“In order to destroy the curse, something needs to be clarified first,” said Yakumo. “What is it?” asked Haruka.

“I’m just about to explain,” Yakumo replied. He turned to face Aki once more and asked, “You believed your father’s death was caused by your cursed self. Correct?”

Aki nodded, “Yes.” and slowly stood up. “That was wrong,” Yakumo firmly denied.

“But, you just said you were going to destroy the curse...” Aki’s expression became puzzled.

Haruka felt the same way. She felt that Yakumo’s explanation seemed to contradict himself. “Yes, I indeed said so. I’m saying that your father’s death wasn’t caused by a curse. But I’m not denying the phenomena that happened around you afterwards.”

“In other words, Aki-san’s father’s death had nothing to do with the curse?” asked Haruka. Yakumo shook his head.

“Not like that.” “Then, what do you mean?”

Not understanding anything, her voice was hinted with frustration. “Simple enough. The various phenomena that happened around you—the cause was none other than your father,” said Yakumo sharply.

Everyone present was at a loss for words. “That…what do you mean?” Haruka forced her voice out after a period of silence had passed.

“I meant nothing else. Exactly as said,” Yakumo spoke calmly. However, Haruka couldn’t accept that answer.

“But that would mean Aki-san’s father cursed his own daughter.” There was no reason for him to do such a thing.

Yet Aki’s way of thinking seemed to have been the opposite of Haruka’s own. “I see...so Father hates me. Since he died because of me...that’s why...” said Aki before she covered her mouth and swallowed what she was about to say.

“Wrong, I’m sure that wasn’t the case,” denied Haruka. She had no basis to say so. Those words merely came out of her own hopes, refusing to believe something like that to be a fact.

Aki’s father had died to save his daughter from drowning. It was hard to believe he would hate the daughter he had lost his life to protect. “That’s right. Your father doesn’t hate you,” said Yakumo, nodding faintly.

“But...you said my father was behind all those strange phenomena...” said Aki, breathing heavily. The conversation may be progressing, yet she still didn’t know the truth, so she felt like her feelings were being toyed with, and that led to her confusion.

“While it was true that your late father was responsible for the strange phenomena that happened around you, it wasn’t motivated by hatred.” “...”

“It was all out of his deep love for you,” Yakumo said confidently. Haruka still didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

“It can’t be helped if someone as simpleminded as you doesn’t understand something like this.” Yakumo gave a mocking stare at Haruka. Despite that, Haruka wasn’t the only person who didn’t understand. Haruka wanted to protest, but decided against it.

Rather than that, obtaining the answer to her question was more important. “Explain so that even a simpleminded person can understand,” urged Haruka.

Yakumo shook his head in disbelief and began. “Her father was trying to protect his daughter.”

“Protect?” “Yes. The classmate that went mad had been bullying her, right?” said Yakumo, turning to Watanabe.

As the conversation was suddenly directed at him, Watanabe quickly nodded in surprise. “Yes. That was right.” “So was the case.” Yakumo shrugged.

Haruka understood what Yakumo was trying to say. Yet she still didn’t understand it completely. While she could understand the ghost of Aki’s father appearing and threatening a classmate of Aki that had been bullying her, there was no reason for him to endanger a boy that had been close to her as well.

As Haruka emphasised the fact, Yakumo scratched the nape of his neck with a bitter look on his face. “Do you really not understand?” “I’m asking because I don’t understand.”

“The boy that got injured liked her, right?” asked Yakumo, and Watanabe nodded once more. So that was how it was.

In order to chase away the boy which he had deemed a pest from approaching his daughter, the father had gotten him injured. But—

“Didn’t you say that ghosts have no way to exert physical influence? How can he possibly have hurt a human?” Ghosts were mere clusters of feelings from a person who had already passed and had no ability to exert physical influence—this was a theory Yakumo often mentioned, based on his own experience.

“You didn’t pay attention when you listened to the story, that’s why you don’t understand,” said Yakumo, looking fed up. “I did listen to it though.”

“Then, you should’ve understood, right? The boy was injured from falling down the stairs. He had probably startled himself from seeing the ghost and fell.” “Aah,”

It was true that she should’ve known that, had she listened to the story properly. The ghost hadn’t directly harmed the person.

“That can’t be…” said Aki weakly. She must’ve not known how to react. Her expression was complicated, as if both crying and laughing.

“But, how could you know that?” Haruka spoke out the question that popped in her mind. She didn’t know what basis had led Yakumo to reach that conclusion.

“When listening to the story I heard from you, I connected it to his case,” said Yakumo pointing at Watanabe. “Watanabe-kun’s case?”

“That’s right. The ghost following him is a man in his forties, with his body completely drenched. And the ghost said before, ‘I won’t allow it’[3].” “Yes.”

“On top of that, although he tried to hide it, he actually had some idea as to why he’s being followed by a ghost. Connecting this information with the story from you led me to this suspicion.” “But if that were the case, there’s still no evidence, right?”

“That was why I contacted Makoto-san previously, to obtain the evidence.” “Eh?”

“I requested Makoto-san to help find an article about her father’s accident among old newspaper articles to compare the facial portrait used in the article.” “To compare with what?”

“With the ghost following him,” said Yakumo, facing Watanabe. Precisely. A number of things had happened, so Haruka had momentarily forgotten, but Watanabe had been followed by a ghost.

“In other words, that means...” “Yes. Watanabe probably has had feelings for her for a long time. He was hiding his feelings the entire time, but now he made up his mind to ask her out on a date. As a result, he angered the spirit of the father who had been watching over his daughter.”

So that was how it was. Haruka finally understood everything.

Thinking back, when she and Aki had met Watanabe at the courtyard, Aki had returned an envelope to Watanabe. Perhaps it had been a concert or a movie ticket, something similar. Besides, for a mere childhood friend from the same year, Watanabe seemed to know a lot about Aki and sympathised with her deeply.

Just from hearing his story, Yakumo had been able to sense Watanabe’s feelings. Because of that, he had managed to find the truth. And yet.

“Watanabe-kun isn’t a bad person.” Watanabe was a good natured person. He would never do anything that would make Aki cry.

“From her father’s perspective, he doesn’t care what type of person he is,” Yakumo let out a bitter laugh. “Eh?”

“No matter who, any man who approaches his daughter is an enemy. While not all of them are like that, that’s just how fathers are.” “Is that so...”

Having said that, it was probably true. Haruka’s father would certainly also be furious if Haruka were to bring a boyfriend home regardless of who the person was, or would harass him in some way.

”With this, you should understand by now, right? Your father doesn’t hate you. Rather, because he loves you, he hasn’t stopped watching you even after his death. Not just that, he tries to get rid of anyone who might hurt you,” said Yakumo lightly. “Father—” said Aki in a voice filled with sorrow, before falling to her knees.

Droplets of tears began to fall from her eyes. Unlike her sobs from earlier, the tears that came out felt warm. “Now then, you’re next,” Yakumo turned towards Watanabe.

No, to be more precise, the one Yakumo was looking at right now wasn’t Watanabe. He was staring at the area behind Watanabe—in other words, the spot where Aki’s father’s spirit had been standing.

“Your intention is to protect your daughter. But as a result, she now believes that she’s cursed, keeping a distance from others, and living a solitary life.” Yakumo had a gentle tone, unlike usual.

It hinted at the sort of kindness he normally would never show. “Your love has become a curse. Will you have this curse continue on?”

Yakumo was right. Haruka could understand his feelings of wanting to watch over and help his daughter. But, should those feelings become overpowered, he would force his daughter into a corner.

After all, Aki was now all alone. “Aki-san loves her father deeply. Even now that’s still the case. So precisely because of that, please don’t turn it into a curse. If you truly care for Aki-san, please—” pleaded Haruka.

Listening to her speak, Yakumo nodded with a faint smile. At the end of a long silence, the wind suddenly blew.

Yakumo directed his gaze to the sky as if following that wind. “How is it?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo slowly closed his eyes. “He has departed.”

I see. He was able to understand. Haruka felt glad, but sad at the same time.

It must have been painful having to leave the daughter that he had been protecting all this time. Perhaps Aki’s father too had realised that his daughter became all alone due to his actions—

Even so, that realisation had been overpowered by his desire to never stop watching over his daughter, preventing him from leaving her. Haruka’s chest grew painful just by thinking about it.

She turned to see Aki, still kneeled in a daze. She might have not fully digested the situation. Haruka intended to call out to Aki and comfort her, but Yakumo stopped her.

“It’s not our duty to console her,” said Yakumo, glancing at Watanabe. “But...”

“She believed herself to be cursed and chose to live a solitary life.” “Yes.”

“And yet, why do you think she tried to consult with me now out of all times?” Confused by Yakumo’s question towards her, Haruka tilted her head. “Eh?” That was in fact still a mystery.

“This is merely my own assumption. But I think it was most likely because he had approached her.” Yakumo glanced in Watanabe’s direction once again.

So that was how it was—thought Haruka, finally understanding. Chances were Aki also had feelings towards Watanabe, her childhood friend. That was why, when Watanabe had started approaching her, she had reawakened the feelings she had long since ignored and had come to consult Yakumo.

Yakumo approached Watanabe and said straightforwardly, “That is all from me. No ghost is following you anymore now. The rest is up to you.” To Haruka, despite being freed from the curse, Aki likely wouldn’t open her heart so easily. Even so, Watanabe, who had been watching over Aki for a long time, might be able to do something.

“Yes.” Having witnessed Watanabe nodding firmly, Yakumo then walked away.

Haruka also bowed at Watanabe before following after Yakumo— When she had seen Yakumo sitting with Aki at the courtyard a few days ago, Haruka had been incredibly depressed, but right now she felt a lot more refreshed.

“What are you grinning like that for?” asked Yakumo when he turned around towards Haruka. “Nothing at all.”

Haruka replied with a smile before giving Yakumo a poke to the side. “Ugh,” groaned Yakumo with a raised voice as he contorted his body before glaring at Haruka. However, Haruka paid no heed and walked away.

If she were to introduce Yakumo to her father, just what kind of face would her father make? The thought suddenly came into Haruka’s mind.

Translation Notes

[1] Haigorei (背後霊) is a type of spirit that follows a human, watching their every move, influencing the fate of the human being followed. 背後 literally translates to behind/rear, hence Haruka’s assumption.

[2] A type of delusional disorder that leads someone to believe that they are a victim of someone or something following them, mistreating them or attempting to cause them harm. [3] What the ghost originally said in Japanese,「許さない」has multiple interpretations, some of which translates to 'I won’t allow it' but also 'I won’t/can’t forgive you/unforgivable'.

I feel that the multiple meanings were the basis of the mixed interpretation of the ghost's intention that is at the centre of the case, yet one that was lost in translation. Yakumo, combining this sentence with his ability to feel the ghost's emotions of anger/hatred, led him to suspect Watanabe had already done something terrible enough to be considered an unforgivable act (hence the murder example). But based on the conclusion of the case, I felt that 'I won't allow it' aligned more with the ghost’s intention, as in reality Watanabe had done nothing but a (relatively harmless first step) move on Aki. Rather than this 'first move' being the thing that is unforgivable to the ghost, the ghost refused to allow the whole situation (Watanabe, a man approaching/trying to get close to Aki) to continue.

92 notes · View notes