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crimsonstonetranslations · 24 days ago

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Shinrei Tantei Yakumo volume 11 - file 01

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Volume 11 - Worth of a Spirit ( prologue )

file 01 - box

1 -

Along the sidewalk that stretched next to the river, a group of students could be seen riding their bikes, gliding as they cheerfully conversed with one another. Cynically watching the sight of those students some distance ahead of him, a man stood on the sloped riverbank.

Why did it become like this? If only such a thing had never happened, that girl could’ve been part of that group of students.

Yet fate had other plans, and her bright future had been cruelly snatched away. It wasn't just the girl. The man had lost a lot, too. His future had vanished in an instant.

Still, regret wouldn’t bring back time that had passed. He was forced to lead a life he never wanted for himself. The man stared at the water gates visible in the distance. Exhaling a long sigh, he slowly began to walk.

“Hey. You over there—” A voice could be heard out of nowhere.

At first, the man hadn’t realised that those words had been directed at him. Hence, he continued to walk without stopping or turning around. ��Why are you walking away?” said the voice again.

Hearing it the second time, the man eventually realised that the voice had been talking to him. It was the voice of a woman.

The man turned around to find a woman standing there. She was probably in her late twenties. Her hair was long, her body tall and slim, just like a model.

Even so, the man didn’t think of her as beautiful. The aura enveloping said woman felt heavy, perhaps even terrifying.

Besides, looking at her closely, the woman’s left wrist ended in a stump and she was wearing a prosthetic hand. “You’re referring to me?” the man asked back.

“Yes. You—” The woman smiled, flashing her white teeth. The woman was speaking familiarly, yet the man didn’t recognise her. He didn’t understand why this woman reached out to him.

“Um...” “There’s no need to be afraid,” the woman extended her hand and pinched the man’s arm with her fingers.

The man pulled his arm away in reflex. The woman thought the man’s panicked reaction was amusing, laughing in delight. The man suddenly felt embarrassed in response.

“I’ve come to help you,” said the woman. Gusts of wind swayed her long hair. Something smelled sweet. He had no idea whether the smell had originated from this model-like woman's body or it had been carried by the wind from elsewhere.

“Help me? What do you mean?” said the man cautiously. However he thought about it, it was strange for an unfamiliar woman to talk to him like this. This might be the new modus operandi of a sect or some kind of shady organisation.

He knew he should’ve quickly walked away without responding, yet his legs refused to move. Most likely, he was starting to take interest in this woman.

“Right now, you’re trapped in a box,” said the woman. “A box—”

What was this woman talking about? At this point in time, he was moving about freely. He wasn’t inside any box.

“Yes. I’m not talking about physically.” “Then, what are you talking about?”

“About—here.” The woman lightly pressed on the man’s chest with her finger.

Even though she wasn’t using much strength, the man lost his footing and staggered backwards. The place where the woman had touched felt hot. Heat that was accompanied by pain—

“I’ll show it just for you,” said the woman happily as she placed the bag she had been carrying on the ground and swiftly took something out of it. It was a wooden box the size of a cremation urn—

Perhaps made out of kiri wood. The box looked expensive. Just what could be inside of it?

“Would you like to know the contents?” the woman asked as if she could read his mind. At the sight of the woman’s alluring face, the man began to feel rather than as if, his mind was genuinely being read by the woman.

“I’ll show it to you just for a bit,” said the woman, touching the front side of the box. Apparently, the front part of the box was slidable.

After pausing as if to watch his reaction, the woman slowly shifted the front side of the box. The box’s contents became exposed.

However, the man didn’t know what it was at first. Not because it was dark or something.

What laid within the box was beyond his imagination, it took some time before he could comprehend it. Inside the box—

Was a bottle. A large, cylindrical bottle, typically used for brewing homemade plum wine.

Inside, the bottle was filled with liquid. Had that been all, he wouldn’t need to be surprised.

Even so— Within the liquid was a floating human head.

The skin was swollen and while one could recognize that it was a human’s, it was no longer in a state to distinguish whether it was a man or a woman. Long, black hair that belonged to the face inside the bottle swayed inside the liquid.

Is that a real human head? The man immediately got rid of the question inside his mind.

No. That would be impossible. No one would put a human head into a bottle and then carry it everywhere with a box. It was probably just a meticulously crafted doll head. No doubt about it, someone must’ve intended to scare him by doing an excessive prank such as this.

The voice inside his head tried to convince him that way. Despite that, his heart refused to accept it. Not his sense of reason, but his gut feeling telling him that head wasn’t fake. “He is my beloved person—” said the woman with a tranced expression.

Beloved person? In other words, after the person she loved had passed away, this woman couldn’t forget about him and carried his head everywhere she went?

Was this akin to the Abe Sada case, who had murdered her lover and had brought his manhood everywhere with her? “Wrong,” said the woman, shaking her head.

“Eh?” “He isn’t dead yet,” she said.

Again. This woman could read his mind yet again. “Not dead yet?”

“That’s right. He’s still alive—” Reacting to the woman’s words, the eyelids of the head inside the bottle began to move.

The pair of wide open eyes were stained as red as blazing flame— -

2 -

Saitou Yakumo felt the gaze as he read a book in the Movie Research Circle clubroom. A gaze that felt too powerful to be mere imagination.

He sighed deeply while slipping a bookmark into the paperback book he was in the middle of reading. Placing the book on the table, he lifted his face. A woman had been standing at the doorway of his room for an unknown amount of time.

She was frail with a small stature. With her head lowered, her face wasn’t visible, but she appeared to be around the same age as him. There hadn’t been anyone earlier where the woman was now standing. The door was also closed the entire time. Even if he had been engrossed in reading, it would be impossible for anyone to have entered without him noticing at all.

“What brings you here?“ Yakumo tried to ask, but she gave no reply.

The woman simply stood there without moving an inch. Yakumo then tried covering his left eye with his left palm.

Along with it, the woman’s figure disappeared. As if she’d never been there in the first place— With a small sigh, Yakumo put away his left hand and the woman’s figure returned to his field of vision.

So it’s true, he mumbled inside. Yakumo’s left eye had been red from birth.

Not just red in colour, it also allowed him to see beings that an average person couldn’t see. Spirits of the dead—in other words, ghosts. The fact that she was only visible to his left eye meant the woman before his eyes was no living human, but a ghost.

All because of his red eye, Yakumo had endured countless suffering thus far. Humans would feel reassured if they were the same as their fellow peers. They felt safe when obscured within a group.

Yakumo didn’t intend to criticise that fact. For the kind of people who chose to form society based on groups, such a thing was inevitable.

However— Such a decision had another side to it. Without mercy, they would reject those who were different from them.

Yakumo’s red left eye had been a target of that rejection. “Disgusting.”

“What’s with that eye?” “Don’t come any closer, you monster.”

He had no idea just how many hurtful words he had been subjected to because of his red left eye. Having received such a treatment countless times, Yakumo realised he couldn’t be with other people.

Ostracised from the group and forced into solitude, Yakumo had chosen to build a wall around his heart, shutting himself inside as means of self-defence. As he became a middle school student, he had used a black contact lens to conceal his red left eye such that his outward appearance wouldn’t be feared.

Yet, doing so hadn’t put his heart at ease. He had merely been hiding it. The fact that his left eye was different from others had remained unchanged. Besides, the thought that his secret might get exposed kept him anxious.

He couldn’t blend well with others despite already concealing his red left eye. Because he knew that people would ostracise him as an abnormality once they discovered the truth.

In the end, Yakumo stayed away from getting too involved with others and chose to be alone. Of course, his differing appearance hadn’t been the only reason he had suffered.

Being able to see deceased spirits that others couldn’t on the daily in itself was a form of suffering. The world of the living and the realm of the dead—constantly being able to see both caused the barrier between the two to blur, until he himself saw his own existence as something dangerous.

Spirits lingered after their death because they had unusual attachments left in this world, often negative emotions such as anger, hatred, jealousy, or envy. While Yakumo could see them, he couldn’t do anything despite being blatantly exposed to such unpleasant emotions.

It wasn’t something he could handle all by himself. Living while pretending not to see and not to hear was hard enough of a struggle.

Hence, it hadn’t taken long before Yakumo considered his red left eye to be a curse. That eye had made him feel like he was being tied down. During middle school, he had even tried to gouge his own left eye out with a cutter, unable to bear it anymore.

And yet in that state, countless people had saved him. The parents who had raised him, as well as his uncle, Isshin, continued to watch over Yakumo in whatever situation there may be. Without that man’s kindness, Yakumo might have ended his own life ages ago.

Nao, his little sister from another mother who would always greet him with a smile. That sincerity of Nao’s had saved him more than just once or twice. The detective who had rescued Yakumo when he had nearly been killed by his own mother, Gotou, was also among those who had helped him. He had been involving Yakumo in various spiritual cases over and over to help Yakumo in facing spirits of the dead. While his methods could get warped and clumsy, he had always shared Yakumo’s pain.

And— The person who had described the red left eye he hated so much as beautiful, Haruka—

When he had heard that word directed at his red eye, for the first time in his life, Yakumo had felt accepted, that he was allowed to live. That singular word had completely changed his worldview.

Haruka had also been the one who had told Yakumo that his red left eye and its ability to see spirits of the dead hadn’t been a curse, but a light to save others instead. The list goes on. Akemi, his teacher who had passed. Detective Ishii, newspaper journalist Makoto—he had received countless help that it would be impossible to address each and every one.

Yakumo had intended to be solitary, but reality was otherwise. He simply hadn’t noticed all the people concerned for him because of the wall surrounding his heart. He had realised the fact thanks to the drastic transformation of his world caused by Haruka’s influence.

Through all the help he had received, Yakumo had learned to make use of that unique ability of his. Now, he could lead his life without needing to hide his red left eye.

That was why— “Why did you come here?” asked Yakumo to the woman.

Why did the woman before his eyes wander this earth? If he knew that reason, he might be able to save her soul. Will that really save her?

A question emerged in Yakumo’s mind. So far, spirits of the dead would disappear once their ties had been severed. And yet, Yakumo himself had no idea where they disappeared to.

Just where did they all go? What was death like, really?

What would actually become of spirits, or that so-called consciousness? Yakumo could only see the spirits that lingered about this world. He couldn’t so much as imagine what the world beyond that would be like.

Perhaps for those spirits, a wandering existence might just be a happier one. Yakumo shook his head several times to get rid of that thinking.

Save the unnecessary thoughts for later. For now, he should listen to what the figure before him had to say. Yakumo took another look at the woman.

Her head remained lowered, obscuring her face and expression. Was the emotion she harboured that of anger, hatred, or jealousy—he couldn’t identify it well, but he could feel just how powerful that emotion was.

“Help…” said the woman as she lifted her gaze slightly. “Help?”

“Please. Help me…” “What do you mean by helping you?” asked Yakumo.

The woman’s lips showed a slight movement. She wanted to express something, yet her body had disappeared before that. He grew frustrated.

This always happens. Spirits of the dead weren’t present as an object the way living humans do. Their existence was unstable and would become unmaintainable over the slightest change, just like a reflection on a water surface.

But was the instability of their existence really to blame? Perhaps it could be the fact that only Yakumo’s left eye was red. If only both his eyes were red, he might be able to see their existence more clearly.

Having thought that far, the face of a certain man came to his mind. The face of Yakumo’s father, Unkai. Both of his eyes were red and could see spirits of the dead just like Yakumo.

Even so, Unkai hadn’t used that ability to help them. He had taken advantage of others’ weakness, manipulating them, and had led them to destruction. Unkai had passed away, yet he was obsessed with living and had lingered in this world as a spirit, all the while aiming for Yakumo.

He intended to use Yakumo as a replacement for his body that was no longer in his possession. Unkai had defined bodies as a box that could be filled in with a soul. That was how he had come up with such a twisted idea.

Yakumo sighed deeply. He had no idea who that woman was and what she had tried to say. Nevertheless, having known her existence, Yakumo couldn’t ignore her.

He would never have imagined that he would be having thoughts like this. To think that nosy trait of Haruka’s might have rubbed on him—

It made Yakumo smile unknowingly. -

3 -

Gotou Kazutoshi went through the temple gates with a crutch. After passing the main temple, the man continued walking until he arrived in front of the entrance to the living quarters.

He hadn’t been back for three weeks. Hence, as soon as he was home, he felt just how much he had missed it. Gotou had been involved in a case and had been hit by a car. He had been unconscious and had to undergo treatment in the hospital for a while. After he had gotten permission from the doctor in charge, he could finally go home today.

The cast on his leg had yet to be taken off and he was still bandaged all over. Despite that, based on how he could go home by himself like this, he had more or less healed. Even the doctor had been surprised by his recovery.

“I’m back,” said Gotou as he opened the entrance door. That instant, his daughter Nao ran in full speed, jumping to embrace the man. Gotou nearly fell over.

His wounds stung a little, but that pain immediately disappeared. Whilst stroking Nao’s head, he became immersed in the reality that he had come home safely. During the case that had occurred three weeks ago, Gotou had gotten hit by a car after chasing Nao who had then disappeared whilst being possessed.

He had imagined the worst would happen. Therefore, the fact that they could touch each other like this was an incredibly joyous occasion. Nao wasn’t Gotou’s biological daughter. He had adopted her.

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t had any concerns when adopting Nao. Thoughts of whether he could love Nao who had no blood relation to him had come to his mind more than just once or twice. However, that recent incident had made him understand. Whatever blood ran through her veins, to Gotou, Nao was his daughter.

“Oh, you really came home by yourself?” his wife Atsuko said in disbelief. Atsuko had offered to pick up Gotou upon his discharge from the hospital, but that offer had been rejected outright.

The man had felt embarrassed at the idea of a grown man such as him needing to be picked up. Besides, he had wanted to confirm how much he had recovered. “Yeah.”

“Are you really fine now?” “I managed to come home all by myself, didn’t I? Don’t worry, I’m good now.”

“Good grief,” said Atsuko yet again with a smile, still partly in doubt. “There, Nao. If you don’t let go of Dad, he can’t get inside, you know,” she said, pulling Nao’s hand. Nao’s hearing was impaired. Yet despite not being able to hear Atsuko’s words, she seemed to have read the situation and let go of Gotou.

Gotou took his shoes off and smiled as he entered the house. Earlier, Atsuko had referred to him as ‘Dad’. The word which he had just experienced for the first time tingled in his ears.

He never would have guessed the day he would be addressed as such would ever arrive, but he was overjoyed. Gotou entered the sitting room in a good mood, but that feeling was destroyed instantly.

“Looks like you got discharged from the hospital safely,” said the man sipping tea in the sitting room—Eishin. Eishin was a monk and an old man pushing his eighties. Despite this, his sturdy physique didn’t reflect his age and he was in such good health, it was irritating.

A monk of significant position who handled matters in this area, yet to Gotou, the old man was merely a pest. “Why are you here?” asked Gotou in displeasure.

Even though Gotou had been in a good mood just now, Eishin had to make it all disappear. “I have some business with you.” Eishin smiled in satisfaction.

“I have no business with the likes of you,” Gotou denied firmly as he sat on an empty spot. “Don’t be mean like that. How narrowhearted of you.”

“Shut up! Nothing good ever comes out of being involved with you.” The case that had led to Gotou being hit by a car had also come from Eishin.

Without Eishin, the case would’ve happened regardless, but that wasn’t the issue. Not just the last case alone, misfortune had always befell Gotou while being with Eishin. “Go away soon,” Gotou said as he swayed his hand.

Yet Eishin didn’t move. Gotou had known by now that Eishin was thick-skinned. “You sure you want to act like that towards me?” Eishin threatened with a smile rich in meaning.

Gotou felt a horrible premonition. “What do you mean?” he asked in return.

Eishin’s smile grew wider. “Just under whose permission are you living here?” Always the sharp-mouthed grandpa.

Being told that, Gotou couldn’t deny anything. Gotou’s family currently lived in the temple’s living quarters. A place that normally forbade those who weren’t monks, like Gotou and his family, from residing there.

Gotou, Atsuko, and Nao could live peacefully like this thanks to Eishin’s influence. Gotou had only recently left the police force and switched jobs to become a private detective, so his income wasn’t stable. Furthermore, he had no savings, so getting kicked out from there meant the entire family would be out in the streets. “Damn monk,” Gotou could only say so bitterly. While completely reluctant, he didn’t seem to have a choice but to listen to what business Eishin had with him.

Atsuko took the initiative of bringing Nao out of the sitting room. “So, what business do you have?” said Gotou, glaring at Eishin.

Honestly, without asking he more or less had an idea on Eishin's purpose of visit. “Oh, so you’re willing to listen at last?” Eishin clasped his hands together as if he’d just remembered.

What an obvious display. “Actually, one of the families supporting the temple asked for help. Apparently, their daughter is being disturbed by a spiritual phenomena.”

I knew it. As Gotou had suspected, it appeared that Eishin wanted Gotou to resolve a spiritual phenomena.

After quitting the police force, Gotou had been working as a private detective specialising in spiritual phenomena. Maybe he should listen to Eishin’s story with enthusiasm as it practically meant he was getting a job, nevertheless, he couldn’t feel happy about it.

If an incident were to occur like before, he might actually lose his life this time. “I refuse!” Gotou said harshly.

“You should decide after listening,” “Once I’ve listened to it, I won’t be able to ignore it,” stressed Gotou.

“Right,” Eishin put his hands together. “In that case, I should jump straight into telling it.” “I’m saying…” interrupted Gotou, yet his conversation partner ignored him and began speaking. As it turned out, he had unknowingly said something he shouldn't have.

At this point, he was forced to give in. “She’s called Nakamoto-san. She has a daughter in high school named Sana-san. It seems that Sana-san had seen a ghost.”

“The ghost appeared at home?” “No. She said she had seen it on her way home from school.”

“On her way home?” “That’s right. On the sidewalk alongside Tama River, near the water gates.”

“Ah. Over there...” Gotou knew that water gate.

He’d been there previously due to a case. It was impossible for him to forget that place as he had experienced something troubling there. “Apparently she saw a girl standing there.”

“Was it really a ghost?” Gotou spontaneously displayed his doubts. That kid wasn’t Yakumo. If she had merely seen a girl standing, she shouldn’t have been able to tell whether that had been a ghost or not.

“I had the same thought. That was why I asked about it in more detail.” “Then, how was it?”

“In a season like this, the girl she had seen had been drenched from head to toe, even though it hadn’t been raining—” Certainly, that would be strange.

It didn’t seem plausible for someone to jump into a river in the middle of winter such as now. Even if it was summertime, a girl standing around while drenched would still be odd. However—

“Maybe she had seen her after the girl had just got out of the river after falling in by accident?” “Said daughter who had claimed to see a ghost had thought so too at first. Hence, she had asked the girl, ‘are you alright?’ Something along those lines,”

“And then she had disappeared?” asked Gotou. Eishin shook his head. “She hadn’t disappeared.”

“So, what then?” “After asking her that question, the drenched girl had spoken in a trembling voice.”

“What did she say?” “I never wanted that—she said.”

“Never wanted that? Never wanted what?” “I don’t know either. There was still more to the story, though,”

“More?” Eishin didn’t continue his story immediately.

He added a pause to pique Gotou’s curiosity before opening his mouth. “The events at the time had ended there. But ever since that night, she said the drenched girl had been constantly standing outside her window.” “That’s—”

Scary. The image of a drenched girl came into Gotou’s mind.

“Furthermore, the distance grew lesser over time.” “Is that really the case?”

“At first, she had only seen the figure of a human. After three days, she had come to realise that the figure belonged to that girl,” “......”

“She claimed that the drenched girl had now arrived all the way in front of her home.” “Left the way it is, she might eventually enter her room, is that it?” asked Gotou. Eishin nodded firmly.

A ghost that drew closer with each passing day—simply imagining it was terrifying enough. It made Gotou understand why the family had hoped for a monk’s assistance. Even so—

“What will happen if the ghost enters her room?” asked Gotou. Eishin tilted his head. “I have no idea either.”

In horror movies, she might get dragged into purgatory once the ghost entered her room, but those were merely works of fiction. Following the theory that Yakumo had frequently mentioned, ghosts were clusters of human emotions with no physical influence whatsoever.

Put another way, even if the ghost got inside the room, nothing would happen. Still—

Ignoring her would be too pitiful. The girl must be restless out of fear for the ghost that was closing in day by day. It wouldn’t harm her physically, yet her mental state might be burdened.

“Well, that’s how the story goes. So, why don’t we go over there and hear her out directly at least?” said Eishin, grinning wide. “Fine by me, but will we be able to handle it?”

That was the primary concern. “If the case turns out to be tough, we can just rely on Yakumo as always,” Eishin said with no filter.

Gotou disliked the old man’s trait of constantly throwing the responsibility to someone else. Yet he had no way to deny it, as Gotou had begun work as a private detective specialising in spiritual phenomena with the same idea in mind. “Geez. How carefree,” Gotou grumbled as he sighed.

- 4

- Ishii Yuutarou looked up at the house before him, swallowing his saliva until his throat made an audible sound.

A Western-style building two stories high, with brick walls and ornamental decor on its window frames and doors, the house had to be elegant back in the day. There was a reason to say ‘back in the day’.

According to the information, this house had been empty for about two years. With the windows dirty, its interior wasn’t visible, while the front door and rain gutters had rusted into discoloration. Half-dried vines crept up along its walls. Weeds grew lush in the garden to knee-length height. The olive tree next to the house had grown so uncontrollably that its branches covered the entire house.

The house emanated an aura that those who enter would find themselves cursed. Rustle, rustle—

“Eek—!” The abrupt noise going into his ears made Ishii shriek as he jumped. Then came the caws of a crow.

It had been nothing but the sound of a crow flying away from the garden of that house. “So jumpy,” said his superior next to him, Miyagawa Hideya, poking his head lightly.

While small in stature, Miyagawa had a bald head and a sharp gaze. Witnessing his figure dressed in formalwear, he appeared more like a member of the yakuza instead of the police. This place might not be scary for Miyagawa, but it was different for Ishii.

He had a keen interest in books and everything related to the occult: ghosts, monsters, UFOs, UMAs, legends and the like. There had even been times when he became engrossed in such literature during his pastime. Despite that, he merely enjoyed them as reading materials and nothing more.

Having to experience them first-hand was a completely different story. Ever since he had gotten involved with his former superior Gotou, and the university student who could see ghosts, Yakumo, he had witnessed many spiritual cases and thought he had built up a resistance over it by now, but such wasn’t the case after all.

Scary things would remain scary regardless. “B-b-but… if there’s really a ghost…”

“There’s no way,” said Miyagawa, poking Ishii’s head yet again. Why Miyagawa could be so convinced, Ishii didn’t understand in the slightest.

It had all begun three hours ago— A call had connected to the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division, where Ishii and Miyagawa were part of.

They had received consecutive reports of a ghost appearing in the vicinity of a luxury home, so they came onsite to check. Their division was impressive in name alone, as their main workload was to sort the paperwork of old cases, abandoned after they had been left unsolved. Instances where their work had been ridiculed and looked down upon hadn’t been unusual.

As a result, troublesome matters such as this were often handed to them. “Anyway, let’s go check,” said Miyagawa, pushing the metal gates to the house open without minding Ishii’s feelings.

The squeaking noise of rusted metal rubbing against each other sounded unpleasant. Ishii wanted to just wait outside, but doing that would be considered neglect of one’s work. Scraping out all the courage from the depths of his heart, Ishii then walked following Miyagawa.

Weeds brushed against his legs. Upon closer observation, the walls were cracked all over, looking like they might collapse any minute now.

So the saying that houses would turn decrepit in the absence of an inhabitant was really true. However, abandoned buildings such as this weren’t uncommon. In recent times, many houses have become desolate and unmaintained because of inheritance problems or from families choosing to only live with their nuclear family members.

The house Ishii and Miyagawa were about to enter was among those abandoned houses. With a little investigation, they had found out that the woman who had owned the house had passed away about two years ago, and her next-of-kin hadn’t come forward afterwards, so the house had been left as it was.

Strange. Ishii sensed something off.

The old woman used to live here alone. If a ghost were to appear, it should’ve been the ghost of that old woman. Yet the testimonies of witnesses who had seen the ghost had claimed that the ghost had been of a middle school girl.

Thinking in that direction, most likely they had mistaken what they had seen. Ishii convinced himself with said thought to gain his courage. “Let’s go in,” Miyagawa mumbled before reaching for the doorknob of the front door.

He turned the doorknob, pulled it, and the door opened with the creaking sound of something being dragged. The entryway was spacious and across from it extended a long corridor.

It was dark even though it was daytime. Whether the place had been built like this or the overgrown tree branches were in the way of sunlight— Whichever it was, Ishii felt as if time flowed differently inside this house.

“What an eerie place,” Miyagawa grumbled as he went in with his shoes still on. Ishii was briefly on the fence about taking off his shoes, but upon seeing all the dust accumulating on the floor, he immediately went after Miyagawa.

Miyagawa went along the corridor and opened a door to his right. It seemed to be the living room; its floor covered in carpet, along with a sofa, a table, as well as a fireplace.

They must’ve looked luxurious in the past, yet they were all dusty and worn down now. “There’s no one here,” Miyagawa set his eyes across the entire room.

“You’re right. Let’s head back.” “What are you even saying?”

Miyagawa poked his head for the third time. “B-but…”

“No buts. There are still a lot of other rooms. Let’s split up and check them all.” It had been Miyagawa’s strength to maintain his enthusiasm over work despite all the complaints. Unlike Ishii who wanted them to just go home right now.

“I’ll check the second floor. You check the other rooms on the first floor,” ordered Miyagawa before directly ascending the stairs without waiting for Ishii’s reply. Ishii knew it would be more efficient to split up, yet he was afraid of going around the first floor by himself. Still, he doubted he would get away with a mere poke in the head if he continued to stay still at a place like this.

It’s fine! There’s nothing! Reassuring himself that way, he opened the door to the room across the living room.

It was a Japanese-style room with an area of around eight tatami. He would never have imagined there would be a tatami room in a Western-style building such as this. Compared to the living room from earlier, there was nothing here. “Nothing’s here,” said Ishii, closing the door without going inside.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, he walked through the corridor and stood before the door at the end of the hall. He only needed to check this room, afterwards all that was left would be the toilet and bathroom. Ishii slowly pushed the door until it opened.

The creaking noise whenever he opened a door creeped him out every time. The room to which he had pushed the door open was a room ten tatami large. The floor was covered in red carpet, and placed in the middle of the room was a bed that looked like ones used to care for the ill.

Next to it was a wheelchair and a few tools that appeared to be medical equipment, though he had no idea of their exact purpose. The owner of this house had been an old woman. Perhaps she had lived out her final days whilst being looked after in this room.

As he thought that— A strange sound was caught by his ears.

Fu fu fu. He didn’t know what sound it was at first.

Fu fu fu fu. The sound could be heard again.

By this point, Ishii realised what the sound was. It was—

The sound of laughter. He had thought there was a group of people chattering outside at first, but that wasn’t the case. The sound just now had clearly originated from inside the room.

So the stories of a ghost girl appearing around here had been true after all. “Hey—”

In contrast to the laughter from before, this voice sounded crystal clear. I mustn’t look.

That was the command instructed by his brain, yet against the wishes of his thoughts, his body turned in the direction where the voice had come from. “Eek!”

Ishii froze in place. There should’ve been no one just now. Yet he didn’t know how long a girl had been sitting on the bed, staring into Ishii as she swung her legs back and forth.

She was smiling innocently and casually, but Ishii found it extremely terrifying. “Hey, tell me where?” asked the girl with a smile.

Ishii fell sitting down from all the shock. The next second, the girl hopped down from the bed and walked towards Ishii.

I need to run, he thought, yet his body couldn’t move an inch. “Gyaaa!”

Ishii screamed with all his strength. -

5 -

Ozawa Haruka stood in front of the last door on the first floor of the two-storey prefabricated building behind building B. This building was lent out by the university to be used as clubrooms for student circles and organisational activities.

A plate with the words <Movie Research Circle> hung at the door before Haruka. In reality, such a circle didn’t exist.

The owner of this room—a university student named Saitou Yakumo—had filled out some paperwork, tricking the university so that he could turn this room into his place of residence. “Hey—” greeted Haruka as she opened the door.”

“It’s you,” said Yakumo who was sitting on a chair lazily. His face may be good looking, yet his messed up hair and heavily drooping eyelids like someone fresh out of bed made him appear sloppy.

His appearance, paying no heed to the season with the white shirt and jeans, further supported that impression. “You’re so cold even though I came all the way to visit,” grumbled Haruka who then sat on the folding chair in front of Yakumo.

Though Haruka commented on his attitude being cold, there was a vast improvement compared to before. Previously, the words ‘it’s you’ used to be preceded by an unpleasantly said ‘oh’. Yakumo wouldn’t even look at Haruka’s face.

When they had just met, the man had been acting like an unsociable, eccentric character, but he slowly began to change over time. He no longer hid his red left eye with a black contact lens as he had before, and his words towards Haruka had become slightly more amicable.

Especially since the events of the last case, said tendency felt more prominent than ever. On the topic of that case, Haruka had unknowingly said something that resembled a confession towards Yakumo.

After saying such a thing, Yakumo should’ve taken notice of Haruka’s feelings. However, he had yet to give any reply in response.

At some point, Yakumo had seemed to want to express it, though his words had remained vague in the end. Haruka herself didn’t want to forcefully demand an answer.

She was comfortable with the distance they had now: more than friends yet less than lovers. Honestly, though, she was scared of hearing Yakumo's true feelings. If Yakumo were to say he wanted them to remain as friends or that he only saw her like a little sister—Haruka wouldn’t have the confidence to get back on her feet.

“I don’t recall ever asking you to come,” said Yakumo, interrupting Haruka’s daydream. “I don’t recall being asked either,” Haruka puffed out her chest.

Back then she could only quietly endure Yakumo’s insults, but recently she was able to talk back. Perhaps that meant the one who had changed wasn’t Yakumo, but Haruka herself. “You’ve got nothing to do?” asked Yakumo as he held back a yawn.

“Yup. Nothing.” said Haruka straightforwardly. “That’s not something to brag about,” said Yakumo in disbelief, but Haruka felt she had the right to be proud.

She had passed the qualification test to become a teacher and had landed a job that would start in the upcoming April. She had also gained enough academic credits to graduate. Only thing left to be done was to finish her undergraduate thesis. Despite her involvement in various cases, she had proven to carry out her tasks diligently.

When Haruka expressed that with enthusiasm, Yakumo let out a long sigh. “That doesn’t mean you have to come here. You can go on a graduation trip or do part-time work, there are various things you can do.”

Yakumo’s words had a point. Her university days wouldn’t remain for much longer. Spending time with friends was also important. However, to Haruka, the time she spent with Yakumo was just as irreplaceable.

After graduation, she wouldn’t be able to carefreely visit Yakumo like this anymore. While she hadn’t heard of Yakumo’s plans after graduation, whatever it may be, the fact remained that the distance between them would grow wider. This room may be barren with nothing but a table, some chairs, a fridge and a sleeping bag, yet Haruka’s most unforgettable memories throughout her campus life was of this room, where she had met Yakumo for the first time.

If only she hadn’t met Yakumo back then—surely Haruka’s university days would’ve been completely different. And not just her university days. Her life itself would have changed.

Her encounter with Yakumo had led to her involvement in all sorts of cases. Her life had been put in danger more than just once or twice. Yet the truth remained that she had gained a lot from it.

Haruka had also gotten to know people she would never have met, had she led the average university life. Throughout those meetings, she had learned many things and had created memories too many to count.

That was why, as much as possible, Haruka wished to spend what few university days she had left in this room. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got plans to go on a graduation trip. I’ve also been studying in preparation for my job.”

“Good to hear that you have a lot of plans. My bad although you came all the way, but I have things to do as well,” Yakumo held back a yawn as he slowly stood up before putting on the coat that had been hanging over the backrest of the chair. “You’re going somewhere?” said Haruka, to which Yakumo frowned in response.

He appeared to debate whether to talk about it. “I want to investigate something for a bit,” said Yakumo, scratching the tip of his nose.

“Investigate something?” “A spiritual phenomenon.”

Courtesy of Yakumo’s unique ability, he had often received requests in regards to spiritual cases. Haruka too had met Yakumo because she had wanted to ask him to solve a spiritual case.

Ever since then, Haruka had often brought him spiritual cases, earning the label of troublemaker from Yakumo, but lately the number of cases she brought had dropped significantly. “Did Gotou-san ask for your help?”

Aside from Haruka, the person who had often brought spiritual cases to Yakumo was undoubtedly Gotou. “No.”

“Then, was it Ishii-san, or Makoto-san?” “That’s not it either,” Yakumo shook his head.

“So, a new person’s request?” Rumours that Yakumo was an expert in spiritual cases had spread widely enough within and outside the campus.

Someone must have heard about it and had come to seek his assistance. “It’s not a request.”

“Eh?” Yakumo, investigating a spiritual case without being asked? What’s the meaning of this?

Unable to comprehend it, Haruka tilted her head, causing Yakumo to let out a bitter laugh. After going silent for some time, Yakumo scratched his nape and began talking. “Last night, a ghost showed up in my room—”

“The ghost came here?” “That’s right.”

“Who was it?” “The face wasn’t clearly visible. Only thing I know is that it was a female ghost. Just that...”

“What?” “To me, she looked like she was suffering greatly.”

“Suffering...” “Yeah. I don’t know the specifics, but she seemed to be harbouring a deep sorrow—that was how it felt.” Yakumo narrowed his eyes, staring somewhere far.

Maybe he was picturing the image of the ghost that had appeared the night before. “And so you want to do something for her,”

“Well, I might have caught some of your nosiness…” Yakumo turned his face away and ruffled his bedhead hair. Watching the sight of the man before her, the corners of Haruka’s eyes grew hot and without realising, her tears nearly fell.

Is that so— Yakumo could understand the feelings of the ghost he had happened to see and had taken it upon himself to help without being requested by anyone.

All this time Yakumo had always hated his red left eye. He had even deemed his red eye as a curse. That was why he had remained passive over spiritual cases and had refused to be involved. Only after much convincing from the people around him would he reluctantly take action.

Despite so— Now Yakumo was willing to look into a spiritual case without anyone asking him to.

This was a first. During the previous case, Yakumo had called the man with two red eyes, his biological father and subject of hatred this entire time—Unkai—using the word ‘father’.

Perhaps Yakumo might have been able to accept his existence in a positive light ever since. He might have started to believe that his left red eye wasn’t a curse, but rather a power that could bring salvation. Hence, he was willing to face the ghost out of his own volition.

“I’m going too.” Haruka said so without so much as thinking.

- 6

- “Please help…” asked the woman sitting in front of her with a ghastly pale face.

Her hair was unkempt, her eyes bloodshot, and her skin was noticeably dry. She appeared to be exhausted. This woman had reached out to Hijikata Makoto yesterday.

To be more precise, she had sent a message through the enquiry form on the website of the newspaper company Makoto was working for. It contained a request for help over being followed by a ghost.

Normally, a newspaper company wouldn’t have acted upon receiving such a message. They wouldn’t respond or would merely advise the sender to make a police report. Yet for some reason, this case had landed on Makoto’s lap.

The reasoning was obvious. In the office, Makoto had been labelled as an occult lover.

Unfortunately, Makoto hadn’t acquired that label out of love for the occult. She had merely ended up being involved in such cases ever since she had encountered a university student who could see spirits of the dead—Saitou Yakumo.

Because of that, her image at the workplace had become odd, and the person who had seen the message had passed it to Makoto half jokingly. She could’ve just refused, but Makoto had chosen to meet up with the message sender.

It would be easy to dismiss being followed by a ghost as a ridiculous, laughable thing, yet based on her experience so far, such a story could end up becoming an unexpected case. That was the reason she had contacted the message sender and had requested her to come down to her workplace meeting room.

“Could you explain what happened in detail?” asked Makoto, and the woman nodded. Even so, she didn’t speak immediately. Perhaps this woman was still somewhat panicked. At times like this, urging her wouldn’t be a good idea.

Makoto waited until the woman had calmed back down. Some time passed before the woman spoke in a dwindling voice, “I found something strange...”

“Something strange?” “At our university there’s an archival facility that is about to be renovated, so some of the documents stored there are to be relocated to an old warehouse across the road from it,” the woman said in rapid fire out of fear.

But at the sudden mention of ‘our university’ and ‘archival facility’, Makoto couldn’t follow the story at all. She hadn’t even learned the name of this person speaking to her. She might have made a mistake in asking her to talk in detail straight away.

“Wait a minute. I suppose I got the order wrong. First of all, could you introduce yourself?” said Makoto to restart. “Sorry. My name is Yasui Maki. I’m a student at Meisei University majoring in medicine.”

Her voice had grown calmer than before. Meisei University, where Makoto’s acquaintances—Yakumo and Haruka—studied was a university notorious for its difficulty. All the more when it came to its faculty of medicine.

“Majoring in medicine? How impressive,” “Not at all,”

“The archival facility you mentioned, was it the one at the western gate of Meisei University?” Makoto asked, and Maki nodded. Makoto had never set foot at Meisei University’s archival facility, though she knew of the location.

The place had been used as a laboratory by the Japanese ground forces during the war, and according to rumours, weapons and the raw materials used to create them had been discovered there. Among them were objects deemed problematic from the perspective of both humanitarian and international law. Truly a dark relic of the past. Despite that, Meisei University maintained part of the building as an anti-war message for citizens of the future, transforming it into an archival facility.

Aside from the structure that had been made into an archival building, there was another building that had used to be a lab and now became a warehouse. Having been built in the beginning of the Showa era, the building had aged quite a bit. Renovations of the archival facility might have also been planned because the building had weathered from its age.

“So, you were helping to relocate documents from the archival facility to the warehouse for temporary storage, right?” asked Makoto. Maki then gave a nod. It wasn’t uncommon to enlist the help of their own university students to reduce labour costs.

“There were quite a number of items and the work continued until late into the night… That was when someone found a door in the warehouse.” “A door?”

“Yes. Not your typical vertical door on the wall. It was on the floor. Like a basement...” “And then you guys opened that door?” asked Makoto.

Maki’s expression turned worse. “Yes. I was against it, but Shinozaki-kun was insistent…” “Only the two of you went inside?”

Maki shook her head before saying, “No. I think there were six people in total.” “And then?”

“After opening the door, there was a ladder leading down to the basement, and everyone descended there. Down the ladder was a large room.” “What’s the interior like?”

“There were a few shelves on the wall, and aside from documents, there were rows of medicine bottles.” “Like a doctor's examination room?”

“Slightly different from that. There was an old operating table too. It felt like an operating theatre or an autopsy room...” Could it have been one of the facilities used by the Japanese ground forces?

Makoto had that thought initially, but she set the idea aside immediately. If the strange object the woman had mentioned in the beginning had been there since wartime, it had to have been at least eighty years of age. For it to remain there untouched felt unnatural. “I see.”

“Then, there was where we found something peculiar.” “Something peculiar?”

“A box—” said Maki in a trembling voice. “A box?”

Makoto tilted her head in confusion. “Yes. There was a box. It was made out of metal and was rusted here and there, shaped like a coffin.”

“......” “That wasn’t all. The box was covered in lots of talismans.”

A box plastered with many talismans— “Certainly, that would be odd.”

“Furthermore, there were letters carved onto the lid,” said Maki, leaning her body forward. “What sort of letters?”

“Take a look.” Maki took out her phone from inside her bag, and after operating it for some time she handed the phone so that Makoto could see.

The phone screen displayed a single photo. It must’ve been taken using a flash in a dark room. The box Maki had mentioned was captured there with a bluish white light shining over it.

Makoto could also see the countless talismans pasted against the box. Yet the crucial detail that was the engraved letters couldn’t be seen clearly. Maki, seemingly having read Makoto’s mind, operated her phone to zoom into a particular section of the photo.

Indeed, some letters had been carved there.

This box shouldn’t be opened.

The letters had to have been carved using a sharp object. The box was fairly old and the carved area also appeared to have rusted. “Maki-san, did you see the inside of this box?”

Maki grimaced. “I didn’t see what was inside, but…” she said, covering her face with both hands. Just what had she gone through?

The time spent waiting for her answer felt unusually long to Makoto. -

7 -

“So, where do we start?” Haruka asked Yakumo, who was leaving the Movie Research Circle clubroom. Though they intended to investigate the spiritual phenomenon together, Haruka wouldn’t be able to make a move without knowing exactly what she needed to do.

“That’s the troublesome part,” said Yakumo, scratching his head in annoyance. “Troublesome?”

“As I said earlier, I saw the ghost, but her face was unclear. I could predict her age, but that was all.” “So, you wanted to look into the ghost’s identity, but you don’t have enough clues to do so,” said Haruka, and Yakumo laughed.

“What’s so funny?” “You can finally use your head a little,“ said Yakumo as he placed a hand on top of Haruka’s head.

His words just now were implying as if Haruka had never used her head all this time. Though annoyed, Haruka set aside her desire to retaliate. After all, that had indeed been the case from time to time.

There was a part of her that didn’t try to think for herself, always relying on Yakumo to find the answer. However, they’ve investigated many cases together, so she could more or less read Yakumo’s mind.

“So, what are we going to do?” asked Haruka, returning from her thoughts. The main problem was how they were going to find out the ghost’s identity despite not knowing her face—

“Firstly, we can request Ishii-san to show us a list of people who were murdered, got into an accident, or went missing, and then search within that list.” They’ve used that method countless times until now.

Ghosts were spirits who wander from some form of lingering attachment to this world. They often weren’t people who had died naturally from illness or age, but had experienced unnatural deaths related to cases and the like. Murder victims, accidents, and missing persons cases were a good category to begin the search.

“The thing is...” “What is it?”

“I’ve tried calling Ishii-san’s phone, but there was no answer.” Yakumo’s voice sounded disappointed.

Haruka understood how he felt, but it couldn’t be helped. Ishii was a police officer on duty. He didn’t have the sort of free time university students do. “He’ll call back eventually.”

“Right,” said Yakumo with a shrug. Ishii was a meticulous person. As long as nothing was in the way, he wouldn’t simply let their call go unanswered. They just had to wait until Ishii had the time to call them back.

Haruka then felt something was off. “Even if Ishii-san showed us that list, wouldn’t it still be difficult to identify who the person is?”

Yakumo hadn’t seen the ghost’s face clearly. The number of murder victims may not be a lot, but when combined with accident victims and missing persons, it would surely add up to a high number of people.

Over eighty thousand people went missing every year. With simple calculation, there would be eight hundred thousand missing people over the span of ten years. Even if they narrowed them based on gender and age range, it would still amount to a lot. Furthermore, even if they scanned through the list, comparing it to the ghost that had appeared in front of Yakumo felt like it would be difficult.

“As for that, I have a way to narrow down the list, so no need to worry,” said Yakumo with a smile. “How do you plan on doing that?”

“The ghost showed up in my room. What do you think that means?” asked Yakumo. Normally Haruka would have immediately asked, ‘what do you mean?’ without thinking it through, but this time was different.

Even she knew what Yakumo was trying to say. “This is within the campus grounds. It would be unnatural for a ghost that has nothing to do with this university to come to your room.”

Yakumo nodded in satisfaction. “I thought so too. Even if she just happened to come to my room, it feels unlikely for her to be wandering around the campus for no reason.” “So that means the ghost is someone with a connection with this university,”

“Precisely,” Yakumo snapped his fingers. If they were to narrow the list down to that of students, instructors, and staff at Meisei University, then the total number should become fairly limited.

Identifying the ghost Yakumo had seen would no longer be an impossible task. “So we can only wait for Ishii-san to call back for the time being…”

“I don’t want to just sit around and wait,” said Yakumo firmly. “Do you have some other method?”

“Yeah.” “What are you planning to do?”

“Don’t you know?” “I don’t, so I asked.”

“Simple enough. We’ll just ask.” “Ask? As in we go around and ask people who that woman is?”

“Not like that. Before coming to my place, it’s possible she was already wandering within the campus grounds.” At that point, Haruka finally understood what Yakumo was trying to say.

“So there could be other people who have seen that ghost—is that it?” “Basically,” Yakumo said, full of confidence, yet it felt overly reckless to Haruka.

“Don’t tell me you plan to go around and ask the next person you see?” “That’s just how information gathering works,” said Yakumo, as if implying ‘what are you talking about?’— to Haruka.

Gathering information by means of asking around may be effective for larger organisations such as the police, but it felt impossible to gather witness accounts with the two of them alone. Meisei University was a large-scale institution. The total number of students combined could easily reach thirty thousand people. Even the campus grounds were vast in size; there were many buildings Haruka had never been into.

Unfortunately, this method could hardly be considered efficient. Yakumo has a bright mind and he was an expert at making analysis based on what little information was gathered, yet on the contrary, his way of gathering information was often inefficient.

Previously, while investigating a certain spiritual case, he had also retrieved a list of students’ names, and at the time he too had intended to look through them manually one by one. Even though it would’ve been faster to search through the database, he hadn’t thought that far.

“There’s no need to go around and ask, I think it’ll be faster to gather information through social media,” Haruka suggested. Yakumo made a clearly displeased look. “It’s the same as going around and asking, right.”

“It’s completely different. We could ask people to spread it and gather information efficiently.” “Spread… what are you saying?”

Yakumo frowned. What a rigid-minded person, not grasping how convenient the internet could be despite being a youngster himself.

Haruka felt as if she’d discovered Yakumo’s weakness and unknowingly burst into laughter. She sensed a glare aimed at her—

Yet Haruka wasn’t scared at all. Rather, she felt it was adorable. Even so, as Yakumo might get cranky from being continuously made fun of, Haruka eventually cleared her throat and held back her laugh.

“Anyway, let’s try spreading through Twitter that we’re appealing for information. If anyone knows of such a story, we’ll meet them and ask about it, how does that sound?” said Haruka. Yakumo sighed a little as he went back to sit on his chair. While he didn’t give a reply, he seemed to agree with Haruka’s suggestion.

Haruka typed ‘please share’, stating that she was looking for anyone who had seen a female ghost around Meisei University grounds and made a post on Twitter. Aside from that, she also sent the same message in her club and seminar LINE groups. This way, a decent number of people on campus should see it.

“What a boring era,” mumbled Yakumo. -

8 -

Gotou and Eishin visited the residence of Nakamoto Sana, who had claimed to experience a spiritual phenomenon. The house was located within one row of similarly designed ready-to-move houses at a newly built residential area near the Tama River.

From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The roads within the residential area were neatly paved and the buildings were designed without fences between them, giving it a sense of openness.

It made Gotou doubt whether a ghost had truly appeared in such a place. Well, standing around here wouldn’t solve anything. They first needed to meet the girl who had seen said ghost.

Eishin sounded the intercom and the mother who had sought their assistance soon greeted them. As usual, Eishin introduced Gotou with the strange name ‘Kumakichi’. Gotou wanted to protest, but held himself back as arguing here would only be a waste of time.

The mother spoke, “My apologies for consulting about something strange despite your busy schedule,” as she bowed over and over. They were being ushered up the staircase, and walked all the way until they reached in front of her daughter Sana’s room on the second floor.

“Just this far is alright. Leave the rest to me and Kumakichi—” said Eishin. The mother appeared a little puzzled, though she simply said, “I’ll be in your care,” before excusing herself and went down the stairs.

“Well then. It’s time to show off your ability, Kumakichi,” Eishin said with a mocking laugh. “Kumakichi this, Kumakichi that, so noisy. My name isn’t Kumakichi. Besides, I can’t see ghosts like Yakumo, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“Is that something to brag about?” Eishin snorted, laughing. It certainly wasn’t something to brag about. Besides, for what reason would he come here if there was nothing he could do—

Still, he couldn’t go home just like that. Even if he had to seek Yakumo’s assistance, he needed to confirm what had actually happened.

Gotou changed his mood and knocked on the door. No answer.

Is no one inside? No, the mother had brought them here, so surely she wasn’t out at the moment.

As the door wasn’t locked, Gotou turned the doorknob and opened it. That instant—

“Hyaa!” A scream could be heard.

Covered in a futon from head to toe, someone was curled up in one corner of the room. She must be Sana.

Gotou intended to enter the room, but immediately halted his legs upon seeing the odd state of the room. Even though it was daytime, the room was dark.

The curtains hanging over the window were completely shut. That wasn’t all. The windows were covered with tape and cardboard. No wonder it was dark.

Gotou felt around the wall, pressing the switch there to turn the lights on. “No! Don’t turn on the lights!” Sana screamed, covered in futon and trembling.

This level of fear was unusual. “Sana-san, right? You can be rest assured. We came to get rid of the ghost,” Eishin gave a friendly greeting as he crouched in front of Sana.

Responding to Eishin’s voice, Sana finally popped her face out of the futon as she trembled. Her complexion was pale and her eyes were bloodshot.

She seemed to have trouble sleeping out of fear. Witnessing the state the girl was in, it made sense that her mother had gone to consult a monk such as Eishin. “I’m a monk named Eishin. The man standing there is a spirit medium named Kumakichi,” Eishin said, pointing at Gotou.

Kumakichi again! Gotou really wanted to protest, but it felt inappropriate to bicker in front of Sana who was so terrified she ended up in that state, so he nodded in silence.

“In order to get rid of the ghost, we’d like to hear the story in detail, is that alright?” asked Eishin, and Sana gave a small nod. Eishin threw a look at Gotou for him to take over.

“There are a few things I’d like to ask,” Gotou began, attempting to imitate Eishin with the use of a gentle tone. “Y-yes,” Sana answered despite looking terrified still.

“When you said the ghost kept coming closer, what was it like exactly?” “She could be seen from that window. At first I only saw a figure that looked like her in the distance. The following day she was already at a distance that made her clearly visible...The next day, she was even closer than before...” Sana explained as she pointed at the bedroom window. The window was facing out to the road in front of the house.

Gotou approached said window, about to open the curtains when Sana let out a high-pitched scream, “Don’t! She might get inside if you open them…” she said with a voice close to tears. Sana seemed to believe that the ghost would enter the home at some point. Terrified at the thought, she remained guarded and shut herself in her room.

“You don’t go outside?” “How could I go out? If I go out, then that ghost will…”

The words that trailed after were vague. Gotou had often been consulted over spiritual cases such as this. Yet, to be honest, most of his clients had merely been mistaken. Fear had taken control of them to the extent that mere everyday things would seem terrifying.

Though, based on the reaction of the girl in front of him, Gotou felt Sana might have really seen a ghost. “When you saw that ghost, did she say anything?” Gotou landed another question, further fueling Sana’s fear.

“......” “Eh?”

Gotou couldn’t grasp her whisper-like voice. “I never wanted that! That’s what she told me!” Sana yelled.

“Do you know the meaning of those words?” Gotou tried asking again, but Sana merely shook her head. Nevermind that, she even covered her face with both hands and started crying, so they could no longer continue the conversation.

Even if they continued to stay here, there wasn’t much more information they could gain. They seemed to have no choice but to involve Yakumo. Gotou discussed the fact with Eishin and decided to retreat home.

Upon leaving the Nakamoto residence, Gotou and Eishin walked, heading to the location where Sana had seen the ghost. On their way there, Gotou stopped and panted.

Although they didn’t walk too far, his forehead was covered in sweat. Walking with a cast and crutch consumed more stamina than he had imagined. It might have been better for him to refuse.

Gotou stared at the distance, watching the surface of the calmly flowing stream of Tama River. On the opposite side of the river, a few white herons were resting their wings.

Gotou was suddenly reminded of the case from way back. It had been the first case he had handled with Ishii when he had still been working in the police force. I wonder how Ishii’s doing now?

He didn’t spend long sinking in his feelings. They had only met each other several days ago. Gotou didn’t need to be missing his ex-subordinate. And yet, why did he feel this way?

Perhaps what Gotou was missing wasn’t Ishii, but the days he had spent as a police officer. When he had caused a scandal, Gotou had been partly carried away by emotions and resigned.

He never regretted the fact. But— At the time he had been so fired up, rushing into things without giving them much thought.

“What’s wrong? Tired already?” said Eishin who walked beside him in a mocking tone. What an irritating bastard of a monk.

“Shut up. Whose fault do you think that I’m like this?” Gotou clicked his tongue and continued walking. “Proper adults don’t throw responsibilities to other people.”

Eishin’s way of speaking annoyed Gotou, but despite saying that, Eishin seemed to be adjusting his pace to match Gotou who was using a crutch. Even despite that, Gotou had no intention to thank him.

As they approached a large Western-style house that seemed old and abandoned, a scream reached their ears. The unusual scream made Gotou stand on guard.

Eishin stopped as well, looking around to find the source of that scream. What was that just now?

Soon after Gotou thought that, the entrance to the large house nearby opened with a bam and someone burst out from within. “Uwaaa!”

Said person screamed whilst running fast at Gotou’s direction. Gotou wanted to dodge, but he couldn’t react the way he wanted as he was still in a cast. Before he knew it, he was being jumped right from the front and crashed on the spot.

“Ow...” Incredible pain spread through his hips.

Not only that, all the injuries he had sustained from being hit by a car felt painful at the same time. Who is it even?

Gotou pushed, shoving away the person who had crushed him from above. Seeing the face of the person rolling to their back, Gotou’s eyes widened instantly.

“Ishii!” “D-Detective Gotou!”

“Why are you here?” His question overlapped with Ishii, wording out the same exact question.

- 9

- A man sat among the grass near the embankment and gazed to the other side of he river—

He could see two men walking there. What they were talking about couldn’t reach his ears, not even their faces could be seen very well.

And yet— He knew they were different from him.

How did it become like this? That question emerged from the depths of his mind.

Said question had appeared over and over all this time. Searching for an answer wouldn’t change the current state he was in, nor could what he had lost return to him.

Nothing would change no matter how much he tried. That fact tortured him endlessly.

Why was he the only one who had to suffer like this? He hadn’t done anything.

That’s right. He hadn’t done anything. That day, suddenly the person he treasured had been cruelly snatched away. Even though he hadn’t done a single crime, his life force was simply extinguished for no reason.

He was angered and saddened by the fact. However—

That had merely been the start. Society was merciless towards the weak. They would relentlessly stomp on those weaker than them as if taking out their day-to-day frustration.

They could casually ridicule those who were suffering, ruining them without pity. Even screams of pain wouldn’t make them stop their actions.

To them, it didn’t matter who. Anyone would do, so long as they were weak. The man had been out of luck, having to face such a thing. If their positions were reversed, he might also do the same.

He shuddered at the thought. Shouldn't those who picked at the aching heart of another without noticing no longer be called humans?

They didn’t realise that fact; this was what made the man’s heart grow heavier. And that wasn’t the only tragedy.

The man tried closing his eyes, covering his ears, distancing himself from those evil deeds carried out unknowingly as he could protect his heart that way. Even so—

That wasn’t the case for some. There were those who would face such malicious actions upfront, blaming themselves, experiencing regret, reminiscing days that would never come back.

And then— As if inevitable, their hearts were destroyed.

Even worse, that destruction didn’t stop at their own hearts. Gradually, it would influence those around them, eventually affecting the man’s life, further escalating over time.

That had taken away his job, his close friends, and the future he was meant to have. Even though he hadn’t done anything, everything was taken away from him as if they were evil people.

The man tightly clenched his fists. Hands that were covered in dust, rough, and bony. Before everything had happened, his hands hadn’t been like this.

Back then his hands hadn’t been dirty in the slightest, and his fingers could even be considered slender. The life of earning an income from doing day labour was now reflecting on his hands. Not even his tears would come out anymore.

Lowering his head as he growled, he took notice of someone standing behind him. Even without turning around, he had an idea on who it was.

That woman. “I can change your fate—” said the woman.

Those words slid right into his ears, sounding incredibly sweet. However, as opposed to what he felt in his ears, the man’s heart ached. The pain gradually spread, like a long needle slowly being pierced in.

He knew. He should’ve stood up, quickly ran away from this woman, forgotten everything, and let himself live this nonsensical life. Despite that—

“Is that really real?” asked the man, still staring at his fists. “Yes. Really. I’m not lying. You might be able to help the person you love.”

“That’s impossible at this point.” The man shook his head. The face of his loved ones flashed inside his mind.

Even though they should’ve had many happier memories, at times like this, what always came to mind was what he saw of them for the final time. “Is it truly impossible?”

“Eh?” He knew that it was impossible, yet he grew surprised at the woman’s tone, asking back full of confidence.

The man eventually turned around to face the woman speaking to him. The woman formed a thin smile on her red lips.

“You saw it, didn’t you? What’s inside the box—” Indeed, he had seen it.

The human head inside the box— And the state it had been in. Even though it should’ve been dead physically, the head had opened its eyes.

As if it had been alive still. Could that have been a trick? Or—he tried thinking about it, though he couldn’t find an answer in the end.

“You can still make it. You can still take back your future.” Those red lips shifted like they breathed a life of their own.

- 10

- “Ah, what about this one?” said Haruka as she showed her phone to Yakumo.

The screen displayed one of the spiritual phenomena that had been gathered through her appeal in social media. It claimed that at Building B wandered the ghost of a male university student who had committed suicide by jumping a few years back.

“Well, it’s possible,” said Yakumo upon reading. For some reason, there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Something wrong?” asked Haruka. “About what?” Yakumo asked in response with drowsy eyes.

“You don’t seem too enthusiastic.” “A little, I guess.”

“Why?” “Social media may be efficient for gathering information, but I can’t help doubting their credibility.”

“Is that so?” “People could simply type a few lines and send it out. It’s easy for them to lie.”

Yakumo’s words had some truth to it. When it came to information from the internet, including social media, locating the sources could be difficult, thus decreasing their credibility. But— “Even if we asked directly, we could still get lied to.”

“We could easily tell whether they were lying or not through their expression and movement.” “Well, that’s true,”

It was impossible for someone like Haruka, but someone as sharp as Yakumo should be able to see past a lie with ease. “Well, at least I know that this information is fake,” said Yakumo firmly.

“Why do you think it’s fake?” “The location.”

“Location?” “That’s right. The information stated that the ghost appeared at Building B, right?”

“Yes.” The Movie Research Circle that was Yakumo’s room was located behind Building B. Based on the location, Haruka had instead thought it was likely about the ghost Yakumo had seen.

“Furthermore, it said it was of a student who jumped to his death a few years ago.” “Right,”

Reaching that explanation, Haruka finally understood. If the ghost had been haunting around Building B since a few years back, Yakumo would’ve taken notice a long time ago.

“Besides, the gender was different,” said Yakumo, holding back a yawn. “Ah, you’re right.”

Reading it carefully, the information had stated it to be a male student, while the ghost Yakumo had seen was female. As Yakumo had said, there seemed to be issues with its credibility.

She began to think it would be better for them to ask around directly, when a knock could be heard from the door. When Yakumo spoke, “It’s not locked,” the door opened and a woman appeared.

“Makoto-san!” Haruka exclaimed upon seeing her face. She had gotten to know Makoto, a newspaper journalist, from a previous case. Ever since then, they had been involved in a number of cases together.

The woman might have an intelligent and graceful appearance, yet she also held strong beliefs and conviction as well as being especially proactive in taking action. “Good day. I see Haruka-chan is here too,” said Makoto with a smile.

“Yes.” “So, how are things with Yakumo-kun after that?” Makoto whispered in Haruka’s ears.

It was so sudden, Haruka was at a loss for words. “Ah, no, that...” Seeing Haruka panic, Makoto laughed. “Still more than friends but less than lovers?”

Being told that made Haruka deeply embarrassed and her face turned red. “Makoto-san too, how are things going with Ishii-san on your end?” responded Haruka, dejected. She could vaguely sense that Makoto had feelings for Ishii. On top of that, their relationship seemed to have gotten closer as of late.

“We’re in the same boat, are we,” Makoto shrugged. “You guys aren’t dating yet?”

“Well, we both have a lot going on.” “Busy, huh,”

“That’s why we both have to keep going so we won’t miss the timing.” “Yes...” replied Haruka, laughing bitterly.

Honestly, Haruka felt she had already missed the timing. Leaving things as they were, it felt like her relationship with Yakumo would remain unclear and reach its end. And yet, she didn’t dare to breach this subject.

Keeping this up, she would end up graduating from university, parting ways with Yakumo without anything happening, and regretting it all. “So, what’s the matter today?” Yakumo asked, mixed with a sigh.

He might have gotten fed up watching two women chatting in whispers so his gaze turned cold. “Ah, right. Truth is, there’s something I want to discuss,” Makoto opened the conversation in a formal tone after adjusting her posture.

Reading the situation, the thing Makoto wanted to discuss had to be related to a spiritual phenomenon. “Here,” said Haruka, offering her seat to Makoto and then moving to the chair next to Yakumo.

After waiting for Makoto to sit down, Yakumo asked, “So, what do you want to discuss?” From his expression, Yakumo also seemed to have suspected that this had to do with a spiritual phenomenon.

“Actually, there was a woman who asked for my help, saying that she was being followed by a ghost.” As she began telling her story, Makoto’s face turned more serious than usual.

“The ghost didn’t appear out of nowhere, right? Was there anything that caused it?” asked Yakumo. Makoto nodded firmly. “This woman was doing the work of relocating items from an archival facility to a warehouse, and chanced upon a door in that warehouse.”

“A door?” “Yes. The door wasn’t on the wall, but placed on the floor leading to the basement.”

“Then?” “She went down into the basement with the people that were with her, and discovered a room that looked like an operating theatre.”

An underground operating theatre. The mere idea of it made Haruka uncomfortable. “Almost like in a horror movie,” said Yakumo with a thin smile.

“Right. And then apparently, they found a strange object there.” “What object?”

“A box—” “A box—” Yakumo mumbled as he frowned.

Haruka was the same. Even when called a box, they could come in various shapes and sizes. There were donation boxes, boxes for offering, makeup cases too were boxes, even shoe racks could be considered boxes. It was difficult to imagine what this box could be like.

“It’ll be better for you guys to see it for yourself,” said Makoto, reading their minds. She took out a tablet device from her bag, placing it on the table. A photo was displayed on the screen.

It had been taken in darkness using a flash, and as Makoto had stated, captured in the photo was a box. Something was strange about the box—

Like a coffin, the size was large enough for a human to fit in, yet it wasn’t made out of wood, but metal. The box was fairly old; its surface appeared rusty. Strangest thing of all was how the box had a lot of talismans pasted over it.

The owner seemed to have been afraid of the box’s contents and had sealed it in a hurry. “This is…” Haruka turned towards Yakumo.

Yakumo made a troubled face for some time before sighing. “These talismans are for sealing.”

“Sealing?” “Yes. These are talismans used to seal demons in the teachings of Onmyodo and the like.”

“I see,” Haruka replied as she shivered. It would’ve been better if it had merely been one or two talismans, but what exactly was being sealed inside that it had to have that many talismans pasted onto it?

“Don’t tell me that woman and her friends opened this box?” Yakumo threw a probing look at Makoto. “Yes,” Makoto replied.

“What was inside the box?” Makoto didn’t answer Yakumo’s question immediately.

She drifted her gaze here and there as if searching for something, before looking at them with eyes that had lost their hope. “She didn’t see what was inside.” she shook her head.

“Is that so...” Yakumo mumbled as he stared at the photo of the box. “Apparently someone else opened it—” said Makoto, cutting off her sentence and giving it a pause.

The woman merely went silent for a second or two, yet to Haruka it felt much longer. Moments later, Makoto continued her story. “Once the box was opened, a man appeared in the room.”

“That isn’t just one of their friends?” “No. She said she didn’t recognise the man at all. Besides—”

Makoto cut her sentence in the middle yet again. She seemed to be debating whether she should tell the rest of the story or not.

“What is it?” asked Yakumo, demanding the continuation. Makoto firmly nodded as if hardening her resolve before opening her mouth. “Apparently the eyes of the man that appeared were both red...”

Haruka’s back shivered. Only one person came to mind when talking about a man with two red eyes. Yakumo’s father, Unkai.

He had passed away, yet not only had he continued to wander this earth as a ghost, he was also aiming for Yakumo. He was obsessed with living and wanted to use Yakumo’s body as a replacement for his own, which he had lost.

To think he intended to sacrifice his own flesh and blood so he could stay alive; Haruka felt nauseous just thinking about it. Makoto might have been hesitant to proceed with her story as she had thought the man with two red eyes had an involvement in this case.

“I see—” mumbled Yakumo. Neither his expression nor voice appeared to be shaken. Not because he was hiding the wavering of his heart, he was merely accepting the fact the way it was.

“I’d like to confirm the truth of this woman’s story, but I have a bad feeling… so I thought, could you go there with me?” Makoto dropped her gaze to her feet, feeling apologetic about it. She must be feeling guilty as it was possible that this case might force Yakumo to face his father once again, the man with red eyes.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t resolve a spiritual case alone. On the other hand, Makoto couldn’t abandon someone in trouble either. She must have been conflicted about the fact.

“I understand. We can’t ignore this case, especially when there’s a possibility that man might be involved,” answered Yakumo. Tension left Makoto’s expression in an instant.

“Thank you very much,” Makoto bowed deeply. “So, where is the location?”

“The warehouse across the road from the archival facility of Meisei University.” At Makoto’s answer, Yakumo’s facial muscles quivered.

- 11

- The sun was beginning to set—

This archival facility that had used to be a laboratory didn’t have the appearance of a building that had existed before the war began, thanks to renovation work that had taken place a few times. Even now, renovation was underway, so the building was surrounded by a protective mesh sheet and no human figure could be spotted there.

In contrast, the warehouse located on the other side of the road had an unusual appearance. Walls of the flat concrete-roofed building were cracking here and there, its surroundings were covered in weeds, and overgrown trees lined up as if trying to hide its existence.

The windows were also cracked in multiple places, while the metal door at the front had changed into a reddish brown colour from rust. This warehouse had also used to be a research facility before the war, just like the archival facility, but it must have never been renovated.

“It sure feels terrifying,” mumbled Haruka, standing next to Makoto. Makoto agreed completely.

To clarify the truth of Maki’s testimony, she had come here along with Yakumo and Haruka. Until they have gone inside, she shouldn’t make any prior assumptions, but try as she might, she couldn’t rid herself of the terrible premonition she felt.

Even this building itself gave the impression of a large box. It led Makoto into thinking that this building cast by the reddish sunset was like a box sealing away something awful.

She might have felt that way due to the building’s history. “Haruka-chan, have you been to this place before?” asked Makoto as she stared intently at said building.

Haruka shook her head left and right. “No.” Meisei University itself was massive. The campus grounds too were large in its area, and this place was nearly a kilometre away from the prefabricated building where Yakumo lived. It couldn’t be helped that she had never gone here.

Even if she had, the state of this building was obscured by trees. Haruka would surely miss it if she hadn’t paid closer attention. “Are you guys aware of what the archival facility and warehouse used to be for?” Makoto asked another question as she looked interchangeably between the two buildings.

“Yes. I’ve never been here before, but… if I recall correctly, this place used to be a lab for the army, right? How horrifying, even though it was in the middle of the war…” said Haruka, her voice instantly turning glum. Her response was understandable, considering her knowledge of what had transpired here.

From what she had heard, during the war, Japanese ground forces had been developing and researching weapons of war in this place. Biological weapons as well as poisonous gases hadn’t been an exception. One theory stated that they had also performed human experimentation. A brutal act not permissible by both international laws and humanitarian perspective.

“You’re right,” Makoto replied in agreement. On the other hand, the research findings of the time had also contributed to the subsequent development of science and medicine that followed.

Despite so, the fact that their actions were unforgivable remained unchanged— “Yakumo-kun, have you been here before?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo shook his head. “I knew the existence of this place. But considering its origins, this place is rather dangerous for me,” he said, scratching on his dishevelled hair. Hearing the man’s words made Haruka exclaim, “Ah!”

She must’ve thought of the reason why Yakumo wasn’t keen on getting near this place. Makoto was the same.

Without a doubt, many lives must have been lost from the research that had been conducted here. To Yakumo who could see ghosts, casually strolling at such a place was a dangerous thing to do. The ghosts from back then might be wandering about still.

Thinking up to that far, Makoto suddenly felt concerned. Yakumo might be seeing a lot of ghosts at this point in time. “Are you alright?” asked Makoto.

Yakumo laughed bitterly. “Yes. For now—” “Is it alright for you to go in?” asked Haruka, also looking at Yakumo with worry.

“Over seventy years have passed. I don’t think any of them would still be wandering until now.” Hearing Yakumo’s answer made Makoto come up with a question.

“Ghosts will eventually disappear over the years following their death?” If they were to disappear as time passed like melting ice, that would mean all spiritual phenomena would resolve over time.

“I wonder. Honestly, I don’t know that far. Just that, if we were to assume that ghosts are clusters of emotions of the dead, that emotion might change with time.” “So it’s unlikely for them to endlessly hold grudges—is that what you mean?”

“Maybe. But it may not always be the case.” “Since there are people who would keep holding grudges no matter how much time has passed?”

“Yes. In the end it depends on the person. Besides that, the environment can play a factor too.” “Environment?” Makoto tilted her head.

“One’s emotions could never change if they’re continuously left alone at a place with nothing around.” “Right,”

“But this is within campus grounds. Should there be any ghosts wandering after they lost their lives in this research facility, they should realise that the times have changed and the person they hate has also passed.” “So they would give up and accept their own death?”

“Perhaps—I suppose,” said Yakumo with a laugh, as if ridiculing himself. “Could I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?” “Normally we’re unable to sense the presence of ghosts, but as for them—can ghosts sense the presence of living humans?”

Makoto didn’t know why exactly she only became curious about that fact now. No, that wasn’t it. She’d been wanting to know, but hadn't gotten the chance to ask about it before.

She might have avoided the question unknowingly as well. “I think they took notice of our existence. Only thing is, I don’t know how they view us from their end.”

“So we won’t know until we die, huh—” Yakumo may be able to see ghosts, but in the end he was merely a living human being. He had no way to find out what happened after death.

“Thinking about it makes me scared,” said Haruka with a confused look on her face. Makoto understood the emotion Haruka felt.

Instinctually, they felt afraid as it was a realm that no humans or living beings were allowed to enter. “Right,” Makoto replied in agreement.

“Well, what happens after death is better confirmed once we’re dead,” Yakumo joked, turning Haruka’s expression into a serious one. “Stop it. Don’t you dare go and confirm it even if unintentionally,” said Haruka, pouting.

Yakumo then patted Haruka’s head in silence. What a beautiful display, almost like Makoto was watching a youth film. Though, she got rid of the thought right away.

In movies, conversations such as this one were often followed by someone’s death— “Enough talking here. Let’s get inside,” said Yakumo, taking out a key from his pocket and inserting it to the keyhole on the door.

The archival building was closed for renovations, while the warehouse was constantly locked as well, so Yakumo had paid a visit to the educational affairs office and had made up a story of how he’d forgotten his belongings while sorting through the archives yesterday and had borrowed the key. Yakumo then turned the doorknob and opened the door to the warehouse.

- 12

- Haruka entered said building whilst hiding behind Yakumo—.

The interior was spacious; only pillars were present and there were no walls dividing the space into rooms. Boxes were piled messily next to a wall, and parts that seemed to come from old machinery—whatever it might be for—were also scattered about.

Rather than being stored neatly, it gave the impression of piling up unused objects sloppily. Glancing at it like this, she wouldn’t have known that a basement existed.

“Around which area did they find the door?” asked Yakumo. Makoto pointed further into the space. “Apparently it was next to the innermost pillar.”

“Let’s check it out.” Without hesitation nor fear, Yakumo began walking in the direction Makoto had pointed.

Haruka and Makoto walked alongside each other, following after him. Upon arriving in front of the aforementioned pillar, Yakumo crouched to confirm something.

It didn’t took long for him to mumble, “So this is it—” With closer inspection, one could see a square panel made out of metal installed on the floor. Yakumo slipped his fingers into the gaps of the panel and slowly lifted it upwards.

Following the squeaking sound of metal rubbing against each other, a dark, square shaped hole revealed itself underneath the panel. Yakumo took out the penlight tucked in his pocket, shining it upon the hole.

They had no idea what awaited them at the bottom of the hole, but they were able to see a metal ladder attached leading down to it. This door seemed to be connected to the basement.

Normally, people never would have noticed that there was a hole leading to the basement in a place like this. “Looks like we have to get in to check it out,” muttered Yakumo.

Haruka’s body suddenly tensed up, and her hands began to sweat. Indescribable fear crept up at the thought of them getting in there. “You can stay here if you like,” said Yakumo, who sensed Haruka’s feelings.

It was a bad habit of Haruka’s to double down upon receiving such a treatment. “I’m going too,” she said, making Yakumo let out a bitter laugh.

It might have been obvious how she was forcing herself. Even so, having said that, Haruka couldn’t back down anymore.

Nor did Yakumo say anything afterwards. Biting the penlight on his mouth, he slid his body down the hole before descending the ladder. Makoto was next to step down the ladder. After waiting for Makoto to descend, Haruka held onto said ladder.

The metal ladder was cold and rough, probably from rust. She meant to descend carefully while ensuring her footing didn’t miss, but on the final step of the ladder, her foot placement was off.

Haruka lost her balance and nearly fell, luckily Yakumo managed to support her. “T-thanks,” said Haruka, hurriedly distancing herself from Yakumo afterwards.

Her body had merely been touched, yet her temperature shot up immediately and her face flushed. She desperately tried not to let it show. After adjusting her breathing and calming down her feelings, Haruka took a look around the basement space.

Merely relying on Yakumo’s penlight as the light source, one could say she could hardly see anything at all. She couldn’t even gauge how big this basement space was.

Only thing clear was that the air there was cold. There seemed to be a leak somewhere, as the dripping sound of water echoed. Haruka felt as if they were inside a limestone cave.

“I never would’ve thought a place like this existed...” Haruka mumbled, but her voice reverberated across the room. “Right,” Makoto agreed.

Although Makoto was nearby, Haruka could only vaguely see Makoto’s silhouette because of the darkness. A clack sound like a switch being pressed could be heard, and the lights then turned on.

Hung at the centre of the room ceiling was a small lightbulb emanating an orange light. It was by no means bright, yet sufficient to see the room in its entirety. “The lights are working,” said Haruka.

Standing next to the wall, Yakumo nodded. “Seems so. As the power’s running, it means someone might have used it recently,” he said, patting the side of the switchbox installed on the wall. Now that she could see, Haruka then gazed across the entire room.

Unlike the exterior, both the floor and walls were made out of bricks. There was a bookshelf at one corner of the wall, with books and documents alike shoved messily there. On another corner were steel shelves with rows of what appeared to be medicine bottles in them.

Then, what stood out the most was an old table seemingly made out of stainless steel, placed at the centre of the room. No, that wasn’t it. She had seen it before at the hospital where Hata worked. It was an autopsy table.

Why would an autopsy table be in a place like this? While she was in the middle of thinking, Yakumo slowly walked towards the shelf containing books.

Haruka exchanged glances with Makoto before following suit. Yakumo, standing in front of the bookshelf, traced the spine of the documents with his finger, before taking out one document and flipping through it.

Something might have caught the man’s attention as in the next second he stopped his hand partway, his brows furrowed slightly. Just what could be written there?

As Haruka had such a thought, Yakumo brought said archive and moved in front of the autopsy table. “I see...” Yakumo mumbled after staring at the surface of the autopsy table for some time.

“Did you find something?” asked Haruka. Yakumo made a complicated expression. “I think they probably conducted human experimentation here.”

“Eh?” Haruka doubted her ears.

She knew that this warehouse had been a research facility used to research and develop various weaponry under the leadership of the military. However, she refused to accept that said research had included human experimentation. If that had truly been the case, their actions would be unforgivable.

Conducting experiments using human bodies would be far too inhumane. “It was written in this document.”

“How cruel...” Haruka’s voice trembled without realising.

“I thought so too. But our reason for coming here isn’t to discuss that.” Yakumo tossed the document onto the autopsy table, turning to the further parts of the room.

Haruka followed him and turned her head as well. A black shadow was there.

For some reason, she felt that section appeared especially darker than everywhere else. That wasn’t all.

Amidst that darkness laid a box. “That’s…”

“Yes. Seems like that’s the box,” Makoto nodded towards Haruka. Thinking how a spiritual phenomena might happen once the box was opened, the object felt terrifying to Haruka.

As opposed to Haruka, who shrank completely, Yakumo walked towards the box with no hesitation. “So this is the box in question—” said Yakumo, lightly touching the lid.

Haruka was honestly very frightened, but she couldn’t stay frozen in place. She slowly approached the box Yakumo was touching as well. Just like in the photograph, the surface of the box was pasted with numerous talismans.

Someone must have been terrified by its contents, and had hurriedly closed it off and covered it in talismans. The thought of it made the box appear all the more terrifying. Yakumo felt around the lid with his finger as if checking something.

“You’re going to open it?” said Haruka spontaneously. Yakumo stopped the movement of his hand for a moment, letting out a small sigh.

“We won’t find out anything just by looking at the exterior.” Yakumo’s words had a point.

Besides, they had come here in the first place to open the box and confirm its contents. “I wonder what could be inside the box?”

Makoto’s sentence may be a question, but to Haruka, she sounded as if she was expecting something. “We’ll know once we open it—” Yakumo spoke before slowly lifting the lid of the box.

Haruka felt as if something stifling was rising like smoke through the small gap of the slightly opened lid. What is that?

Haruka’s thoughts were interrupted by an odd smell that intruded her nose. Reflexively, she covered her nose and mouth as a smell that made her choke, like that of rotten meat, wafted in front of her nose.

Makoto turned her face away as well, unable to handle it. Meanwhile, only Yakumo who, despite grimacing, continued exerting his strength to lift the box lid until it was open.

Haruka hesitantly turned to look. The contents weren’t visible as it was dark.

Yakumo seemed to feel the same way. He switched on his penlight, shining the contents of the box. Haruka couldn’t make out what object the illuminated form belonged to at first.

However— Gradually, she came to understand what object it was.

It was— A human corpse.

Laid within the box was a human corpse that was missing its head—

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