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Feb 14, 2025

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Shinrei Tantei Yakumo volume 11 - file 02

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Volume 11 - Worth of a Spirit ( prologue | file 01 )

file 02 - regret

1 -

“To think we’d end up finding a corpse...” Haruka muttered as she gazed at the warehouse, now standing out in the darkness illuminated by the red lights of police cars. “Right,” Standing next to her, Makoto nodded, her expression appearing deep in thought.

When they had entered, the atmosphere had been quiet with no signs of activity, but it had completely changed now. Yellow tapes stating ‘DO NOT CROSS’ were plastered around the warehouse, and police personnel walked about the place. Curious onlookers began to gather round, and some even seemed to be from the press.

It felt like she had set foot where she shouldn’t have. “How could there be a corpse in that box?” Mentioning that, the sight Haruka had seen back in the warehouse flashed into her mind.

The corpse they had just discovered had rotted and had been in the process of mummification. It seemed to have been abandoned for a fairly long time. The question now, just whose body was it? And how could it end up at such a place?

Not to mention the absence of a head from decapitation. Why would it have to be decapitated? Furthermore, where was the missing head?

The mystery grows deeper the further she wondered. “I have no idea at all. But… I feel that something bad’s about to happen.”

Makoto’s words echoed in her head. Haruka didn’t want to think about terrible things, yet she too could sense the anxiousness Makoto felt.

A baseless and ambiguous thought. Yet, Haruka felt something far unlike before was going to happen. “Until when are you planning to space out there?” asked Yakumo in an unenergetic tone as he walked closer.

The man didn’t appear to be shaken. Such was the difference of someone who was experienced with various cases. “I’m not spacing out. I just thought things are turning into a bigger problem…” said Haruka.

“Right,” said Yakumo, staring at the box-shaped building swarmed by police presence. “I think it’s better for us to leave the rest to the police now.”

Since a corpse had been discovered, the police would be treating this case as the abandonment of a corpse. In that case, that would be the end of their role. “How carefree of you,” said Yakumo, throwing a mocking look at Haruka.

“I’m not really being carefree.” “Seems carefree however I see it.”

“How did it even come to that?” As the case had developed into that of an abandonment of a corpse, they were no longer in any position to interfere.

“The spiritual case isn’t resolved yet—” said Makoto, answering Haruka’s question in place of Yakumo. “Ah!” Haruka blurted unknowingly. Couldn’t be helped that Yakumo had mockingly labelled her carefree. Their original goal hadn’t been to find a corpse.

Their purpose of coming here was to resolve the spiritual case Makoto had accepted from a woman. They had just happened to find a corpse in the process. That wasn't all. The matter concerning the ghost of a woman seen by Yakumo hadn’t met any progress, either.

Putting it another way, they still had two spiritual cases in their hands. Since the sex of the found corpse hadn’t been identified, there wasn’t much to say about it, but the body might have something to do with one of the two spiritual cases.

With that, there were still things they needed to do. At this point, Haruka began to wonder about one thing. “Yakumo-kun, did you see any ghosts back there?”

“I’m curious about that too,” added Makoto. Upon the intense stares he received, Yakumo gazed at the sky as if deep in thought before shaking his head.

“No. There wasn’t any back there.” “Is that so…”

Haruka thought if Yakumo had seen a ghost, they might be able to find a hint to solve the case from there, but she turned out to be mistaken. Makoto appeared slightly disappointed as well.

“Well, I’ve known from the start that there were no ghosts in that place,” said Yakumo. He didn’t seem to be making things up.

“How did you know?” “According to Makoto-san’s story, your client has been followed by a ghost since opening that box there, right?” reminded Yakumo, and Makoto’s face changed in realisation.

Haruka was the same. If the ghost had been following the woman who sought help, that meant the ghost had already left from that place.

“But if that’s the case, isn’t it better to meet that woman first?” Haruka popped the question, and Yakumo smiled. “That’s one way to do it, but the warehouse in question just happens to be close to my place.”

“That’s true.” Shorter distance aside, perhaps Yakumo had wanted to investigate the scene before meeting the woman who had seen the ghost.

“Well, the night’s getting late. While waiting for official autopsy results from the police, why don’t we meet up with Makoto-san’s client tomorrow to hear the story directly from her?” Yakumo suggested. Makoto nodded. “Alright.”

Haruka agreed as well. Surely there would be things they could gather by hearing that woman’s story in detail. “In that case, let’s head back,” said Yakumo, walking away.

Haruka was about to walk following him when she saw someone running over with incredible speed. She recognised that comical way of running whilst flailing one’s hands and legs.

“Ishii-san,” Haruka called, right as Ishii tripped over something. Said man fell—

Ishii seemed to have fallen with his face hitting against the ground. It appeared rather painful. Is he alright?

While thinking that, Ishii stood back up and continued running over in panic. It was almost like Ishii couldn’t see Haruka’s presence; he ran past her until he was in front of Makoto.

“Ma-Makoto-san! A-a-are you alright? I heard you were there when the corpse was found, so I...” Out of breath on top of panicking, he was incapable of continuing his sentence.

Regardless, the reason why Ishii was in such a panic was conveyed bright and clear. He must have been worried about Makoto.

“Compared to me, you look worse. Your nose is bleeding,” said Makoto as she placed a handkerchief over Ishii’s nose. “No, I’m fine. Rather, Makoto-san...”

“Hold on, don’t move. The blood…” Makoto had told Haruka earlier that she and Ishii had seen no progress, yet seeing their interaction at this moment, they were already painting the picture of an affectionate couple.

Makes me envious. Haruka thought as her sight was naturally drawn to Yakumo. Haruka assumed Yakumo would be wearing a sour look, yet to her surprise, he smiled warmly at the sight of Ishii and Makoto.

Though, he seemed to have noticed Haruka’s stare, so the man suddenly withdrew his smile. “What are you looking at?” Yakumo asked curtly.

“Nothing,” replied Haruka before poking his side. His startled figure, scrunched like a shrimp as he jumped away, looked somewhat adorable.

“You…” “What are you two up to flirting like that?” A voice interrupted Yakumo’s sentence. It was Gotou.

He was walking in their direction whilst using crutches. “Gotou-san. You’ve been discharged from the hospital?”

“Yeah. That was nothing but a scratch,” Gotou laughed in embarrassment. He had been unconscious and in critical condition. Nothing one could call a scratch at all. Even now, said ex-police detective was still wearing a cast.

Still, it was typical of Gotou to be acting tough like that. ”Gotou-san is here too? This is giving me a bad feeling,” Yakumo said, mixed with a sigh.

- 2

- The Movie Research Circle clubroom that was Yakumo’s hideout now became cramped.

In this room that was only four and a half tatami wide, starting from Gotou, then Ishii, Yakumo, Haruka, and Makoto, five people gathered there, so it was to be expected. Or perhaps he felt even more stuffy because of his crutch and cast.

Gotou’s decision to send Eishin and Miyagawa to handle matters elsewhere seemed to be the right one. “Good grief… to think this much trouble has accumulated…” Yakumo said in displeasure, propping his chin on one hand.

Normally Gotou would’ve thought of him as being narrow-hearted, but this time around, he could understand Yakumo’s response. After Gotou and Ishii had bumped into each other, upon questioning, Ishii had said he had seen a ghost at the abandoned house.

Gotou himself was in the middle of investigating a spiritual case requested by Eishin and he had just thought that they were struggling to resolve it on their own. Following a discussion, they had decided to consult Yakumo together and had made their way to Meisei University.

And yet— There had been a commotion upon their arrival at Meisei University. Inquiring about the situation from one of the officers acquainted with them, Gotou and Ishii had come to learn that a body had been discovered.

On top of that, after learning that the people who had discovered said body had happened to be Yakumo, Haruka, and Makoto, they had rushed to the scene. Having met with everyone, they had gathered in the Movie Research Circle clubroom to sort the situation, leading to the current predicament.

As it turned out, Yakumo’s discovery of the body had all started because of the spiritual case brought by Makoto. Not only that, Yakumo himself had seen a ghost in this room and had been looking into that matter as well.

Amidst that situation, Gotou and Ishii had come to consult spiritual cases of their own. Altogether, they had simultaneously gathered four spiritual cases in total. This seemed to be a new record.

It was understandable for Yakumo to be upset. Even so, while they have brought the cases themselves, considering how the cases have piled up from many people, Yakumo might as well be attracting trouble himself. Whichever it was—

“Everything has happened, so it can't be helped,” Gotou said firmly. Yakumo sighed deeply, making a blatant display out of it. “That’s just self-justification.”

“I know.” “If you’re still saying that even though you’re aware, you’re either an idiot or a bear incapable of comprehending language.”

“Who’s a bear?” “Don’t you know? In that case, I’ll tell you. The bear is you—Gotou-san.” said Yakumo, pointing at Gotou like a detective pointing to a culprit.

What an irritating bastard. Gotou had thought the previous case had straightened the slightly bent personality of the man before him, but he appeared to be gravely mistaken.

“Shut the blabbering already! Anyway, help us out!” pressed Gotou. Yakumo shook his head in disbelief.

“How many times do I have to say it for you to understand? When asking for someone’s help, what should you say?” said Yakumo, offering his ear in Gotou’s direction. Gotou was desperate to grab said man’s collar and send him flying, yet he was forced to hold himself back.

“I beg of you. Please lend us a hand.” Gotou bowed as he swallowed the feeling of humiliation. Yakumo clapped his hand lightly and said, “Good job.”

Gotou was infuriated by the man’s attitude, yet he felt something was missing. Normally after being scolded to no end by Yakumo, said man would still say, ‘I refuse’. For some reason, he was fairly amiable today. Perhaps Yakumo’s eccentric behaviour had been improved somewhat after all. Either way, he must take action while Yakumo was still willing to offer his assistance.

“Alright! Let’s get down to business!” Gotou shouted excitedly and was about to stand up, yet he had completely forgotten that his leg was still in a cast. As a result, he lost his balance and slid right off the chair.

Yakumo burst into laughter. Haruka and Makoto said in unison, “Are you alright?” yet it was obvious that they were holding back their giggles.

Ishii was the only one who extended his hand, asking him, “Are you hurt?” with a concerned look. At this point, Ishii’s behaviour only ended up irritating Gotou.

“I’m fine. Don’t say something so pathetic,” Gotou stood up whilst hitting Ishii’s head when the latter tried to help him stand. “Wh-why me…?” Ishii whined in surprise, but Gotou ignored him.

Now seated on his chair once more, Gotou said, “Anyway, let’s go!” Yakumo held his head and sighed as if displeased with something.

“It’s fine to be fired up and all, but where do we start? There’s only one of me.” “Well…”

A troublesome predicament. There were four spiritual cases in total that needed resolving.

It would be impossible to handle all of them at the same time. Even if they had to prioritise, how should they even order them? Gotou aside, the rest appeared to be at a loss as to where they should begin the conversation, sharing the same troubled look on their faces.

A long silence ensued before Yakumo sighed. “I have a suggestion so that we can solve the cases efficiently—” Yakumo briefly paused his sentence.

After waiting for everyone’s attention to turn to him, he continued, “Why don’t we help each other out using our individual expertise, regardless of whose case it is for? I’ll be the one sorting out the priority and splitting up the tasks.” I see.

All the cases were treated as everyone’s problem, with Yakumo as the one in charge. “Not a bad idea,” said Gotou.

“Of course. I don’t mind,” added Makoto right away. Ishii nodded as well. “I’ll cooperate too.”

“Alright then. In that case, let’s go with this approach.” Hearing Yakumo’s words, Gotou stroked his chest in relief.

“Anyway, the day’s getting overly late, and I’d like some time to sort my thoughts as well. Let’s call it a day and get things started tomorrow,” said Yakumo. Staring up onto the ceiling, Yakumo’s figure looked unusually exhausted.

- 3

- After leaving the Movie Research Circle clubroom that was Yakumo’s quarters, Ishii was sending Gotou and Makoto off with his car.

He had sent Gotou off first, and then Makoto next, solely because of location proximity and definitely not because he wanted some time alone with her. To whom was he making these excuses anyway?

Thinking that made him grow restless. “If the situation’s that serious, you could’ve discussed it with me…” said Ishii to deceive his feelings as he glanced at Makoto, sitting in the front passenger seat.

The same as ever, Makoto wore a gentle expression. Ishii had gone to Meisei University to consult a spiritual case to Yakumo. Yet at his arrival there, the news of a body being discovered had caught him by surprise.

Furthermore, upon learning that it had been found by Makoto and the others, his mind instantly blanked out. Anxiousness had then slowly crept at his heart.

Even though he hadn’t known the exact situation, his head had been filled by horrible thoughts, sending him into panic. Ishii was deeply relieved that nothing had happened.

“I never would have guessed we’d find a corpse. In the beginning, since it was a spiritual case, I simply thought it was Yakumo-kun’s expertise.” Makoto’s explanation made perfect sense.

Since it had begun as a spiritual case, it was logical that she'd discuss it with Yakumo. However—

For some reason, Ishii felt a little lonely. No, it was quite different from loneliness. An uncomfortable feeling piled within his heart. “I-is that so...”

“If I knew things would turn out like this, I suppose I should've relied on you from the start,” Makoto let out a childlike laugh. A laughter that sounded so sweet, it made Ishii smile as well. At the same time, he came to realise the true form of the uncomfortable feeling inside of him.

Ishii wanted to be relied on. He wanted him to be the first person Makoto could think of to discuss with in the face of trouble.

In the end, it was nothing but wishful thinking. Even if Makoto were to consult with him, Ishii unfortunately couldn’t do anything. Not because he couldn’t see ghosts the way Yakumo could, but because Ishii wasn’t a man worthy of being relied on.

Even if he were to be depended on, he was a cowardly man. In helping out, he wouldn’t be able to give sound advice and would merely get confused. Well aware of the fact, he felt dejected. “Sorry,” Ishii said without realising.

“Why are you apologising?” Makoto frowned in confusion.

“If only I was more dependable, I’d be able to help you out a little…” said Ishii, stopping his car at a red light. His heart withered at how pathetic he was.

“Why are you saying that?” Makoto stared intently at Ishii. Her eyes hinted at a profound sadness Ishii had never seen before.

“Because I feel like I’m pathetic,” said Ishii, facing forward as he couldn’t bear receiving Makoto’s stare. “You’re not pathetic.”

Makoto was a kind person. That was why she said those words of consolation. And yet, that only made Ishii feel even more pathetic. “I’m a sorry excuse of a man. Always failing, no self confidence, and easily swayed.”

“Is that so? To me, that seemed like gentleness.” “I’m not gentle. I’m just weak.”

“I think someone who can admit their weakness is actually a tough person.” “That’s not true. I...”

Ishii couldn’t follow up his sentence well. Ishii admired Gotou. He wanted to become tough like him. Someone who could jump into things at any moment without steering away from their principles. Such an ideal was Ishii’s goal.

And yet— His strength would refuse to come out in critical situations. Although his mind understood, his heart couldn’t keep up. As a result, he became an embarrassment of a human being, far from his ideals.

He hated himself for always running away. “Ishii-san, do you hate yourself?” asked Makoto.

Ishii didn’t have the courage to confirm what expression Makoto had while asking that question. Hence, he dropped his gaze and as he stared at his hands on the steering wheel, he replied meekly, “Yes. I hate myself.”

From the moment he was born, Ishii had never liked himself even once. He felt like he had always been living in denial of his own existence. He tried his best whilst thinking he’d change someday, but all of that effort seemed to be in vain.

Makoto placed her hand over Ishii’s, still grasping the steering wheel. Her hand was soft and warm. Startled, Ishii turned to Makoto in reflex.

Makoto smiled. Her eyes narrowed, and she gave a warm smile so tender and affectionate. “For me, I do like—”

Makoto’s words, spoken quietly, almost felt like they echoed within the car’s cramped interior. That word like just now—just what could it mean?

The more he thought about it, the beating of Ishii’s heart grew even harder. His breathing struggled and his mouth gasped in search of oxygen. “U-um...”

When Ishii firmed his resolve to ask, his car was being honked at loudly. Apparently the traffic light had turned green.

Ishii hurriedly stepped on the gas to start the car. For some reason, Makoto laughed out loud at the sight of him.

- 4

- “Somehow things had gotten serious,” Haruka spoke as she digested the fact.

Since it was getting late, the investigation would begin the next day, hence Gotou and the rest had gone home. Not just the matter Yakumo was faced with and the case Makoto had brought, Gotou and Ishii too had brought cases of their own.

A single case in itself would be tough, let alone four at the same time; it was obviously overwhelming. “Well, it’s always like this,” Yakumo said lazily as he supported his chin with one hand.

What he said was true, they always ended up getting tangled in troubles complicated and strange. Even so, Haruka felt that Yakumo’s expression appeared slightly different from usual. In this situation, Yakumo normally would’ve made a face like the world was about to end, but oddly enough, right now his expression looked somewhat content.

Come to think of it, Yakumo’s own case hadn’t been someone’s request, but something he had gotten involved out of his own volition. Looking back thus far, it was like the impossible happened. Indeed, the previous case seemed to have brought a drastic transformation on Yakumo’s psyche.

Yakumo had always had a side to him that hated himself. It was the reason he had often taken actions that would put his life in danger. Hence, it was by no means an ordinary feat for Yakumo to have accepted his own existence.

Not to mention the existence of the man with two red eyes, Yakumo’s father. Accepting himself meant accepting said man’s presence, too. Right now, Yakumo chose to walk forward.

If Yakumo had really changed, it might be good for Haruka to summon her courage and voice out what was within her heart. Thinking that far made her face heat up.

She tried not to think about it, but the events that had unfolded in the previous case would resurface in her mind from time to time. The events in which Haruka had spontaneously confessed her innermost feelings to Yakumo. A part of her wanted to savour their current relationship, yet on the other hand she felt like her time was running out as graduation drew closer.

No, it wasn’t merely because of graduation. In this life, no one could predict what might happen. For all she knew, she could get into an accident after this and lose her life as a result.

In fact, through various cases she had faced so far, Haruka had seen countless people who had abruptly lost their lives without having a chance to convey their feelings. Keep this up and her life might just be over without ever knowing how Yakumo felt.

Since it was just the two of them right now, perhaps she could ask for his answer in regards to back then. “What’s on your mind?” Yakumo’s sudden question brought Haruka back to her senses.

“Eh?” “It’s unusual for you to make a troubled expression. What are you thinking about?”

“O-obviously about the cases,” Haruka blurted in panic. Crap.

That should’ve been the appropriate timing to ask for Yakumo’s answer. She should’ve just replied in earnest that she was thinking about that time, yet why had she evaded the topic instead?

Surely it had been out of fear. Even though Haruka thought she’d regret not finding out Yakumo’s reply, she too feared that it would destroy their relationship.

Perhaps she should have confessed to Yakumo much earlier. Their distance had gotten far too close to tear apart now. Yakumo had become far too significant of a presence within Haruka.

So this was what it meant to have missed the timing— “What do you think?”

“About what?” “About what—the cases. Aren’t you thinking about it?”

Right. Haruka had said she was thinking about the cases, so it was natural for the conversation to flow in that direction.

That might be so, yet since her mind was mulling over something else in reality, there wasn’t anything she could say. Though upon hearing the stories of Gotou and the rest, there was one thing she became curious about.

“We still don’t know anything about them, but… could it be that these cases are related?” That was what bugged Haruka’s mind.

Each of the cases took place in different locations. Yet since they had all occurred at the same time, she couldn’t help but suspect they had some connection with one another. “For the time being, I don’t think there’s a connection between them. Still…” Yakumo crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling.

“What is it?” “There's something bothering me.”

“So what is it then?” His almost dramatic, roundabout way of speaking made Haruka curious about what was to follow.

Haruka fell silent, awaiting Yakumo’s subsequent words, yet in the end Yakumo shook his head without saying a word. Almost like he had forcefully gotten rid of his thoughts. “Let’s end this conversation.”

“Why?” “It’s best not to make unnecessary assumptions right now.”

Yakumo’s tone was as if he was giving himself a reminder. At this point, Yakumo wouldn’t voice out his thoughts however you urged him to.

“Well, let’s think about it after the investigation begins tomorrow,” Yakumo put a stop to the conversation. Though dissatisfied, as Yakumo had told, they would surely discover a number of things when the investigation began.

“In that case, I’ll be going home,” Haruka stretched out her body as she stood up. Even though she had merely intended to make a brief visit to Yakumo, she had gotten herself involved in cases yet again. Not that she was disappointed about it.

It might be inappropriate of her to put it this way, but she enjoyed investigating cases with Yakumo. Besides, perhaps this case might just be the last. “Is it alright?” said Yakumo as Haruka was about to leave the room.

“What is?” “I mean… it’s getting late...”

His words seemed uncertain, unlike the usual Yakumo. Not to mention he was turning his face away. What’s up with that?

“It’ll be fine,” Haruka replied. “Is that so,” Yakumo gave a short reply before closing his mouth.

He seemed like he had something to say, but they’ll be meeting again tomorrow after all. Haruka gave a parting greeting, “Then, I’ll see you—” before leaving the room. Her body trembled slightly from the cold wind. Closing the door to Yakumo’s room, she began to walk.

Haruka left the campus grounds and walked all the way to the bus stop. After checking the bus schedule, it turned out she needed to wait around twenty minutes before the next bus arrived. Like this, it might be faster to go home on foot.

As she slowly walked, the image of Yakumo’s face from earlier flashed into Haruka’s mind. Thinking back on it now, the man seemed to appear flustered.

Could it be that Yakumo had wanted to accompany Haruka home earlier? No way Yakumo-kun would do that, Haruka immediately denied.

Not once had Yakumo ever had the intention to accompany Haruka home. There was no way he would say something like that out of the blue. But—

Haruka could feel that Yakumo had changed since the last case. If the man had really wanted to accompany her home, Haruka would happily accept. Though it was the mere act of sending her home, it would surely become an unforgettable memory to her.

Furthermore, it would be her chance to ask about the feelings within Yakumo’s heart she had always wanted to know. Still, it’d be odd for her to go back now.

Besides, if it turned out that Haruka had misunderstood, she’d be showered with colourful mockery, “Are you sleeptalking?” and the like. As Haruka laughed bitterly inside, someone called out to her. “Um...”

She reflexively halted her steps and turned around. Someone stood right behind her. The person’s face wasn't clearly visible as it was dark, but they seemed to be someone Haruka didn’t recognise.

“Ozawa Haruka-san, right?” said the person, pronounced loud and clear. Haruka immediately went into a state of alert.

How did this person know her name? She couldn’t find an answer to that question.

Awful premonition immediately came over her. An emotion, similar to that of fear, crept up from her feet. “You’re wrong,” Haruka said firmly and immediately ran for it.

Galloping footsteps chased right behind her. Unfortunately for her, Haruka wasn’t particularly great at running. It was only a matter of time before the other party would catch up. Mid running, Haruka shoved a hand into her bag to find her phone.

She wanted to call and ask for help. By poor luck, right as she managed to take her phone out of her bag and was about to make a call, her arm was caught.

“Let go,” Haruka tried to shake off that hand, yet she couldn’t as her opponent’s strength was too great.

Her phone slid right off her hand. The eyes of her pursuer glinted amidst the darkness.

- 5

- Yakumo stared at the low ceiling and exhaled a long sigh—

His chest had been rumbling with unease since earlier. At this moment, his heart was mostly filled with an indescribable sense of anxiety. A vague anxiousness that something terrible was about to happen. As Haruka had been leaving, he had actually wanted to say, “Let me accompany you back.”

All because that woman’s—the fugitive murderer Nanase Miyuki’s—words from the previous case came to his mind. I’ll be taking away the person most important to you next.

Even without saying, it was clear who she had been referring to. There was no mistaking that Nanase Miyuki was after Haruka. The various spiritual cases that happened today—

Surely it had to be no coincidence that this many cases had occurred one after another. Perhaps this had been the work of an orchestrator. On top of that, there had been a reported sighting of a man who seemed to be Unkai in the basement. It was likely that this array of cases had been part of their plan.

He hadn't dared to put it into words when speaking to Haruka earlier, but Yakumo had been thinking of that possibility. He should’ve explained the situation and accompanied Haruka all the way to her place.

Yet somehow, when he had the intention to say it, a sense of embarrassment emerged. Yakumo was baffled by feelings he’d never experienced before. He couldn’t understand why he could be in such a wavering state.

No, that’s not it— The truth was he knew.

Although he thought he’d accepted his own existence, things couldn’t change as easily as flipping a switch. In the end, he’d only managed to utter something vague.

And now, he was enveloped by the feeling of anxiety. If he were this worried, he should’ve immediately chased after her earlier. That should’ve been the way to go, yet somehow his body hadn’t been able to move.

Ever since the last case, he’d become increasingly aware about Haruka’s presence. Surely it had to be because a part of him understood well what her existence meant to him.

In reality, he’d known the fact since way back. He merely hadn’t acknowledged it. To be more precise, it was something beyond his consideration since he’d been denying his own existence. Yakumo sighed a few times before he took his phone out of his pocket.

Even if he wasn’t going as far as chasing her, he could give Haruka a call to confirm that she’d arrived home safe. Though if he were to make such a call, just what sort of reaction Haruka would make?

The thought bothered him. He couldn’t help but grow restless over suddenly doing something he’d never done before.

Still, he’d be all the more restless if he had to wait until tomorrow in a situation such as this. While he wrestled over various thoughts in his mind, his phone rang all out of a sudden. On the screen displayed the word ‘restricted’.

“Yes,” Yakumo picked up the call despite his suspicion. Suppressed laughter could be heard from the other side of the call. The voice of a woman he recognised.

His body shivered and it was almost like all his blood had been drained out. <It’s been a while.>

Treading carefully to not make his wavering heart noticeable, Yakumo spoke the name of the woman on the opposite end of the call. “Nanase Miyuki...”

<Correct. You sure know well,> said Nanase Miyuki, her voice rang of mockery. That woman was always like this. A condescending, almost tyrannical, and arrogant way of talking.

“What business do you have?” asked Yakumo, trying to sound as calm as possible. Nanase Miyuki wasn’t one to call him for no reason. Well aware of the fact, his anxiety grew larger.

<My warning from back then—do you remember?> Nanase Miyuki’s delighted voice was like the equivalent of a death sentence for Yakumo.

He felt a sense of furiousness enough to drive him to madness, but Yakumo held it back with all his might. Losing his composure here would be like handing over victory to his opponent. “What did you do—to her?” asked Yakumo.

Nanase Miyuki laughed once more. She put an emphasis on the word I.

“Do you think you can deceive me?” <I’m not deceiving you. Really. I, didn’t do anything. If something happened to her, it’d be someone else’s doing.>

“What are you trying to say?” <Surely you understand. I’m merely acting out of kindness to let you know that she’s in danger—>

“DON’T JOKE WITH ME!” He’d begun yelling without even realising. The anger he’d been suppressing had far exceeded its limits and eventually exploded.

<I’m not joking. If you want to save her, you should hurry up and solve the mystery.> “Mystery?”

<That’s right. This is a game. Will you be able to solve the mystery and save her? Or will her life come to an end first—> “Why are you doing something like this…?”

“I have no intention to understand your feelings.”

<Just how long will you be able to keep up that tough facade? I’m curious, just what will you sacrifice for the sake of your loved ones—> said Miyuki who then hung up. “Damn it!” Yakumo cursed as he rushed out of his room.

Would he still make it if he were to run now? The thought crossed his mind. Nanase Miyuki wasn’t a woman who’d call to warn him out of goodwill. As she’d contacted Yakumo, it could only mean that it was already too late.

Yakumo understood the fact in his head, yet he couldn’t just sit still. Perhaps—

Yakumo ran whilst hanging onto the possibility. Exiting the campus grounds, he stopped as he cast his eyes all over his surroundings as he reached the bus stop. Yet there were no signs of Haruka.

Had she not taken the bus and walked home instead? Yakumo began running along one road that extended from the university.

Regret surfaced from the bottom of his heart, tormenting him. Why hadn’t he accompanied Haruka back? Yakumo continued to run as if escaping from that regret.

Moments passed before he reflexively halted his footsteps as he spotted a dropped phone on the side of the road. He recognised its phone strap.

There was no mistaking that it belonged to Haruka— Having confirmed it, Yakumo felt a sense of hopelessness like he’d been shoved down the depths of hell.

“Damn it...” he cursed in frustration when he felt the eyes of someone on him. As if drawn to its direction, Yakumo turned to find a man standing in the darkness.

The man wore a black suit and his long black hair was swept back. And—

His eyes shone bright red like burning flames. Said man was Yakumo’s biological father, Unkai.

A man who had lost his physical body and only his spirit remained in existence. And yet it only fueled his obsession to live and wander in search of a body he could use as a vessel for his spirit. As someone who was related to him by blood, Unkai had been relentlessly chasing after Yakumo, in hopes of making Yakumo a replacement for his body.

Still, Unkai should’ve understood himself. The body that had been lost would never come back, and he wouldn’t be able to live long by using someone else as a vessel.

Especially after what he’d gone through in the previous case, Unkai’s heart had undoubtedly begun to waver. Unkai’s presence before Yakumo’s eyes at this moment, partially blending into the surroundings, was proof of the fact. The pressure he once held was nowhere to be found.

The man seemed to be having difficulty maintaining his existence as a spirit in this world. “Where did you take her?” asked Yakumo.

Unkai narrowed his eyes slightly and the muscles around his mouth softened. He laughed?

It was different from the cold smile he’d displayed countless times before. Yakumo sensed there was another meaning behind that laugh. “Will you be able to stop her? That woman—” Unkai whispered.

A line he’d typically use as means of provocation, yet Yakumo didn’t feel any such intention this time. There was something else— “You...” Yakumo spoke before swallowing the rest of his words.

Unkai’s presence that had once been there now disappeared. Yakumo could only stand there, frozen still in bewilderment.

- 6

- “Ishii! What’s the meaning of this?”

The moment he stepped into his former office, the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division, Gotou immediately made demands upon finding Ishii sitting on his desk. With a confused look, Ishii merely moved his mouth repeatedly with no words coming out of it.

“I’m asking you what’s the meaning of this! Speak up right now!” Gotou yelled, grabbing Ishii by the collar and shaking him. With his head bobbing back and forth, Ishii merely gave a vague reply, “Um, that...”

“I told you to say it, so say it!” yelled Gotou once more, but someone grabbed his arm. It was Miyagawa. “Calm down a little. Like this, even if he wanted to answer, he won’t be able to.” Being scolded by Miyagawa, Gotou was able to ease his nerves a little.

Certainly, he’d been overly panicked. Gotou released Ishii, and let himself fall on a nearby chair. Only now he came to feel the pain on his leg, though he didn’t have the time to worry about it.

“Is it true that Haruka-chan was abducted?” asked Gotou again whilst glaring at Ishii. When he’d received a call from Ishii, he honestly hadn’t believed it. He couldn’t understand why things had suddenly turned this way.

However— Nanase Miyuki’s words soon crossed his mind.

During the previous case, Nanase Miyuki had signalled that Haruka would be her next target. Gotou didn’t want to think about it, yet it would make sense for her to be the one behind Haruka’s abduction. Gotou, who had gone home and was about to crash out for the day, had immediately barged out of the house and took a taxi all the way here.

“According to what I heard from Yakumo-shi, it appears to be true,” Ishii said as he adjusted his crooked glasses and dishevelled white shirt. His voice was almost like a whisper, yet hearing it once more from Ishii’s mouth shook Gotou to his core, his brain felt like a trembling mess.

“Yakumo didn’t see the scene?” “Seems so. Apparently he received a call from Nanase Miyuki, and the conversation implied that Haruka had been abducted.”

“A call?” “Yes. Yakumo-shi immediately went to run after Haruka, but she was already nowhere to be found, and only her phone was left dropped on the roadside—”

Goodness. Uncontrollable rage emerged from within Gotou.

Yet no amount of yelling would solve any problem. He needed to get himself together and immediately prioritise finding Haruka as soon as possible. “The police are conducting a search, right?” said Gotou.

Ishii’s expression grew complicated. “Of course we are searching. But… there isn’t much of a lead...” Ishii’s voice quickly died, the end of his sentence wasn’t audible.

“What’s with you, getting all pessimistic? Whatever it takes, we have to find her,” Gotou grasped at Ishii’s collar yet again. Haruka’s life was on the line. Now wasn’t the time to sit still from the mere lack of any leads.

“I-I know. But...” “No such thing as buts! I said to find her!”

“She won’t get found by making a ruckus here,” Entering the room with the sound of the door opening was Yakumo.

“Where have you been at a time like this?” Gotou said harshly. With a sour look, Yakumo deeply sighed. “I’ve just explained the situation to the police officer in charge so that the search operation can begin.”

“I see,” Yakumo’s explanation made Gotou understand, yet at the same time, he felt it was strange for Yakumo to be so composed despite the whole situation. Pointing that out to Yakumo, the man’s eyes became sharp.

He shot a gaze that carried with them such intensity of emotions, one Gotou had never seen from him before. The pressure was so overwhelming it left Gotou at a loss for words. “You’re trying to say that I’m fine?” Yakumo muttered.

Gotou’s chest grew heavy. “Sorry.” He needed to apologise here.

There was no mistaking that Yakumo was the one whose heart was the most affected by this whole ordeal. Not Gotou nor Ishii. The fact that Yakumo could speak calmly like this had to come from his firm determination to find Haruka by any means necessary.

“Um… Is Haruka-chan safe?” asked Ishii, his voice almost fading away. Haruka’s safety was their utmost concern. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t find the answer to that question in this place.

In this situation, they were forced to assume the worst case scenario. “I think she’s probably safe,” said Yakumo.

His tone didn’t sound like he was uttering baseless, wishful thinking. Instead, he seemed certain of the fact. “How do you know?” asked Gotou.

Yakumo ran a hand over his dishevelled hair. “She—Nanase Miyuki said so.” “Said what?”

“She said that this is a game. Whether I’ll be able to solve the mystery first, or she’ll be the one who dies first—” Yakumo sounded fed up as he spoke, biting down on his lip. Gotou felt the same way. To think that woman would orchestrate a game that treated others’ lives like playthings; how blatantly sadistic.

“What game. That bastard of a woman.” “I feel the same. But now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to win that game,” emphasised Yakumo.

Yakumo seemed to have steeled his resolve. Or perhaps to be more accurate, they didn’t have any other choice. Still, one thing bothered him.

“Is Haruka-chan really fine? There’s no guarantee Nanase Miyuki will play fair.” Gotou didn’t want to think about it, yet it was possible that Haruka was already dead.

This was a game that would certainly be won by Nanase Miyuki. “I think it should be fine.”

“How can you be certain?” “It’s part of her personality. Despite everything, she adheres to her own rules. Besides that, her pride and desire to be the centre of attention are high.”

From Yakumo’s words, Gotou came to understand. The woman’s high sense of pride was all too familiar to them. Furthermore, one could say her sense of rivalry towards Yakumo far exceeded reasonable bounds.

Hence, it was likely for that Nanase Miyuki to want to win against Yakumo following the rules of a fair game, all for the sake of getting swept away by a feeling of superiority. “But, how do we plan on finding Haruka-chan?” Ishii sounded discouraged yet again.

“We have no choice but to search everywhere,” said Gotou as he stood up. While time consuming, it was the only remaining effective method, considering the lack of clues.

“Gotou-san’s an idiot as always,” said Yakumo whilst landing a ridiculing look. “What did you say?”

“It’d be impossible to find her by searching blindly all over the place.” “I guess so...”

“Also, it will be more efficient to entrust the police with the exhaustive search, who have the manpower to do so.” Yakumo was right. However—

“In that case, what do we do?” “Nanase Miyuki said her life would be lost if I didn’t solve the mystery.”

“What mystery?” “She never mentioned it explicitly. But for now, the spiritual cases happening around us are all we know of.”

I see. The spiritual phenomena which Yakumo, Gotou, Ishii, and Makoto had encountered hadn’t been mere coincidence, and instead had some connection to Haruka’s abduction.

Unlike Gotou who could only panic, apparently Yakumo had judged the situation whilst remaining cool-headed. That led him to conclude their next course of action. What a remarkable guy, Gotou was briefly impressed.

Though he was acting calmly, Yakumo’s face had a terrible complexion. His expression appeared stiff as well. He had to be holding onto his sanity for dear life out of a strong desire to rescue Haruka.

Just what might happen if Yakumo were to lose Haruka? Gotou shook his head to chase away the awful thought. Now wasn’t the time to think of unnecessary thoughts. The only thing needed doing now was to solve the mystery to find Haruka.

“Then, what should we do now?” asked Gotou. Yakumo’s brows furrowed slightly. “You’re planning to help out with that leg?”

It was typical of Yakumo to not be honest even though he wanted the assistance. “I told you this is just a scratch.”

“It might get worse, you know.” “For the sake of saving Haruka-chan, I don’t mind sacrificing a leg or two,” Gotou spoke as he patted his cast, and Yakumo exploded in laughter.

“Thank you,” said Yakumo, although his voice was closer to a whisper. For some time now, the man had grown to be more sincere. Either way, it was good. Now wasn’t the time to be stubborn. They have to find Haruka no matter what.

“I’d like to ask for Ishii-san’s assistance as well, is that alright?” Before Yakumo could finish his sentence, Ishii had already puffed out his chest, exclaiming, “Of course!”

- 7

- Leaving the police quarters together, Ishii and Miyagawa walked towards the hospital—

Their objective was to inquire about the autopsy results of the body that had been discovered at the university warehouse, per Yakumo’s instructions. Never would he have dreamed that things would take such a turn. He struggled to breathe and his chest felt like it was being crushed at the mere thought that something might happen to Haruka.

His attraction and feelings towards Haruka as a woman have reduced now. Still, Haruka remained an important person to him. He had lost count of how many times he’d been saved by Haruka’s presence.

If not for Haruka’s kindness, Ishii might have lost confidence a long time ago and would have withdrawn from the police force. Therefore, now was his turn to help. He needed to save Haruka no matter what.

Yakumo had said that solving the mystery behind the spiritual cases would be the key to saving Haruka, but to be honest, Ishii didn’t understand why that would be so. Be as it might, they undoubtedly had no other way to look for Haruka.

He had no choice but to proceed onwards following the path Yakumo had pointed. It was late into the night. The hospital front entrance had been closed, so they headed towards the side entrance. After showing their police badges to the security guard, they went inside.

Ishii wasn’t great with hospitals at nighttime. The combination of green emergency lights illuminating the dark further intensified the eeriness.

They descended the stairs down to the basement and walked to the end of the long corridor. Nodding to each other with Miyagawa, who stood next to him, Ishii knocked at the door. “It’s not locked,” The raspy voice of an old man called from within.

“Excuse us,” greeted Ishii as he opened the door hesitantly. “Oh. So it’s you two.”

Hata Hideyoshi, sitting on his chair as he wrote on some documents, slowly lifted his face. Said man was an ageing forensic doctor with bulging eyes. His appearance could be likened to that of a demon. Furthermore, he was a perverse man who unabashedly admitted to his work being a hobby.

“Sorry for coming over this late,” said Ishii, apologising. Hata let out an eerie chuckle. “Better than coming in the morning. I’m a night owl after all.”

“A disgusting fraud of a doctor, as usual,” Miyagawa added. “I wondered who it was, but it turned out to be an Umibozu[1]. I heard you got demoted?” Hata said mockingly, followed by another terrifying laugh.

“Shut up! What a demonic old man.” “On the topic of demons, umibozu is one, too.”

“What did you say?” “Miyagawa-san, please calm down,” Ishii hurriedly tried pacifying Miyagawa.

They wouldn’t win a verbal fight against Hata. Besides, Miyagawa shouldn’t have taken the words of an eccentric like Hata too seriously. Most importantly, it was an utterly unproductive discussion, with all the mention of demonic old man and umibozu.

Though clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction, Miyagawa decided that solving the case took priority and shut his mouth. As the situation grew calmer, Ishii brought up the main topic. “Actually, there is something we’d like to ask.”

“Aah. About the corpse that was discovered at the university, right?” said Hata, reading their minds. Ishii couldn’t hide his surprise. “How did you know we were going to ask that?”

“Nothing much really. From the timing, it had to be about that corpse. Furthermore, wasn’t the discovery made by that young man with a red eye?” It made sense to Ishii after that explanation.

Judging based on the circumstances, the answer would come forth naturally. It would speed up the conversation since Hata had understood that much. “So, how was the autopsy results?”

“How impatient. I couldn’t have known that easily. Besides, the corpse is fairly aged and rotting. The fact that it’s a male corpse is pretty much all I’ve found.” “I-I see...”

Certainly, that was true. Said corpse had only been discovered merely hours ago. One wouldn’t have to struggle so much if it could be identified in such a short period of time.

“I don’t know much yet, but there are a few things that caught my attention,” said Hata, scratching his nape. “R-really!?”

“Don’t yell.” “S-sorry.”

Hata exhaled in disbelief before continuing, “As I said earlier, the corpse has long since rotted, so I could no longer identify the cause of death.” As he listened to Hata’s explanation, Ishii felt something was amiss.

“Um… I heard that the head was decapitated. Was that not the cause of death?” “Don’t be hasty. It could have been decapitated after death.”

“R-right,” What Hata said was correct. Ishii seemed to have rushed into conclusions.

There may not be obvious external injuries to the body, but in place of its head was a stump. The head could’ve been fatally hit by blunt force before it had been decapitated. “The cause of death may be unknown, but the area of the neck where it was cut off was quite neat.”

“Neat?” “Yes. Human necks can’t easily be cut off. There are bones underneath. If an amateur forcefully tried to cut through, it would make for a sloppy cut. Yet this corpse’s neck was severed cleanly.”

“I see,” Miyagawa, who was frowning earlier, nodded as if he suspected something. “Did you get something?” Ishii asked with enthusiasm.

“You’ll understand if you think about it calmly. The corpse’s neck was thoroughly cut. What do you think that means?” Miyagawa’s explanation made Ishii come to a realisation. Had the head been sliced with the intent to kill, the wound would have been messy. In other words, it had been cut off after death.

That left them with the question of why someone had gone through the trouble of cutting off the head after the person had died. Even so, Ishii could more or less arrive at the answer.

“Was the head taken away to hide the corpse’s identity?” Though expressing it as a question, Ishii said it quite confidently. However, Hata immediately refuted his opinion.

“That way of thinking might work if this incident was from decades ago, but scientific investigation is much more developed now. One wouldn’t be able to obscure a victim’s identity just by removing the corpse’s head.” Hata’s explanation made Ishii realise yet again that he wasn’t thinking with enough composure.

Even with the head taken away, starting with DNA testing, there were various ways to identify a body. If the culprit truly intended for the corpse’s identity to be hidden, the corpse itself had to be destroyed. But if such were the case, Ishii became confused.

“Why would they only take the head away?” With a smile full of meaning, Hata responded to the question Ishii had muttered.

This response—could it be that Hata had already known the reason? “I myself don’t know why only the head was taken. Still—don’t you two have an idea, just which woman has been faithfully carrying around a human head?” Hata spoke as he stared at Ishii with his bulging eyes.

Ishii didn’t know which peculiar individual would be walking around with a human head in their possession. Besides, what would be the benefit of walking around carrying such an object—no, that wasn’t it. He was mistaken.

He knew of one person. A woman going around carrying a human head—

“Nanase Miyuki,” Ishii said the name in horror, to which Hata gave a satisfied nod. -

8 -

Gotou looked up at the grandiose house— Overgrown trees obscured the moonrays, until this building alone appeared to be swallowed by darkness.

“Does this place really have a connection to all this?” Gotou couldn’t help being doubtful.

Ishii and Miyagawa had come here from constant reports about ghost sightings seen within the vicinity of this house. Ishii too had stated that he’d seen a ghost here. Despite that, Gotou still felt this was a matter unrelated to Haruka’s abduction.

“We came here to confirm that,” Yakumo replied as he messed up his dishevelled locks. “Do we have time for that? While we’re in the middle of this, Haruka-chan—”

“I know that!” Yakumo exclaimed as he glared at Gotou with a sharp look. Witnessing those eyes, Gotou was once again met with the realisation that Yakumo had to be the most restless compared to anyone else.

“Right now it’s necessary to correctly tell apart what’s related and what’s not. If we were to decide that something’s unrelated right away without confirming it, we might be unable to see the truth.” Gotou could clearly tell that Yakumo was forcefully suppressing his emotions.

He was right. They would miss the truth if they were to make careless decisions. If that were to happen, Haruka would really be beyond saving.

Though pressed by time, circumstances left them no room for mistakes. “I’m sorry.” Gotou apologised sincerely.

Yakumo made a sour look. “Please don’t do things unbefitting of yourself.” “What do you mean?”

“Anyway, let’s go,” Ignoring Gotou’s demand for an answer, Yakumo stepped into the grounds of the house. His strides may be confident, yet his back seemed weak and vulnerable.

Yakumo might not put it into words, but the worst case scenario must have crossed his mind. With every reminder, he was surely tormented by despair. Nevertheless, he continued to motivate himself out of the desire to rescue Haruka. He must have gone through that over and over again.

Without a doubt, the burden within Yakumo’s heart was unimaginable. It’s alright. Surely, we’ll be able to save Haruka-chan. Gotou mumbled in his heart as he watched over Yakumo’s back. Those words weren’t directed at just Yakumo, but at himself as well.

He wouldn’t be able to press forward without believing so. Everything will be over if he were to lose all hope. Still using crutches, Gotou went after Yakumo.

Already standing before the front door of the house, Yakumo slowly turned the doorknob. With a push from Yakumo, the door finally opened, its rusty hinges rubbing against each other with a high-pitched squeak.

The interior of the house was dark. Pitch-black void as if blotted over with black ink gaped open before them. There was an eeriness to its appearance, almost bridging to another dimension. Yakumo turned on a penlight and entered the house relying on said source of light.

Gotou too stepped inside after him. The first room they went into seemed to be a living room.

A sofa and a table still remained. Though covered in dust, Gotou could tell that these items were rather expensive. “They said a woman used to live in this place?” asked Yakumo after he’d walked all the way until he was in front of the fireplace on the living room wall.

“Yeah.” That was the information Ishii had provided.

“It appears we might need to look into that again more closely,” said Yakumo as he picked up a picture frame set atop the fireplace. “What do you mean?”

“This—” Yakumo handed over said picture frame so Gotou could see it as well.

Framed within was a photograph of four people. Among them was an old woman that appeared to be the head of the household. Standing on either side of her was a middle-aged man and woman.

And there was one more person. A young girl of around middle school age stood with a bashful smile. One had no way to tell when this photo had been taken, but from the background behind them, it might have been taken at this living room.

This photo could’ve been shot when the family who had lived separately had come home for a New Year's visit. But as Yakumo had said, they might need to investigate the familial connections once more. Yakumo returned the picture frame to its original placement, stepping outside the living room before opening the door to the room across from it.

Unlike the previous room, the room they stepped into this time was a Japanese-style room about eight tatami in size. The room might have been unused when the owner had used to live here; not a single object was left inside.

Yakumo might’ve judged that nothing of note was there as he immediately exited and walked straight across the corridor. At the end of this corridor should be the room where Ishii had seen a ghost.

Gotou’s body naturally tensed up at the thought, and his palms began to sweat. He thought he had grown used to these things. Yet perhaps he felt terrible because he had sensed something unusual from the gloomy atmosphere of this house.

Unlike Gotou, Yakumo maintained a nonchalant look on his face and opened the door without hesitation. The room beyond the door was covered in carpet. At the centre of the room was a hospital bed, with medical equipment next to it.

There was also a wheelchair on the other side of the bed. Everything was covered in dust after having been abandoned for a long time.

Yakumo approached the side of the bed and stroked the rails of the bed, as if confirming something. Next, he moved on to the bookshelves on one side of the room walls. Rows of books were neatly arranged there.

Yakumo traced the spines of those books with his fingers, starting from the top. Gotou too began tracing the spines with his eyes. Not a novel or essay in sight, all were fairly difficult technical books.

Crouching, and having traced the spines until the lowermost row of books, Yakumo stood up, scratching his head in frustration. He likely hadn’t found anything of importance. Yakumo was about to head for the window next, when he halted his steps midway as if he found something.

“What is it?” Paying no attention to Gotou, Yakumo crawled on the floor and took out a single book from underneath the bed.

“What book is it?” asked Gotou. Yakumo stood back up and shook his head whilst flipping over the pages. “This isn’t a book.”

“Not a book?" “Yes. I believe this is some kind of schedule notebook.”

Gotou had thought it was an antique book since the cover was made of leather, but after seeing its pages, it indeed contained handwriting. If Gotou were to attempt using a schedule notebook, he’d certainly give up within three days. Yet the person who had used this notebook seemed rather diligent.

This person’s neat penmanship filled the pages of said book. “Does it have something to do with the case?” asked Gotou.

Yakumo’s face was that of extreme displeasure. “I don’t know. We have to read it to know for certain,” he said in an uninterested tone. His reaction couldn’t be helped. Gotou might have overly rushed into things.

Suddenly, Yakumo turned in the direction of the doorway. He seemed to have sensed something. Gotou turned to face the same direction.

Nothing came into Gotou’s field of vision, save for the dark corridors ahead. But Yakumo was different. Yakumo, in possession of his red left eye, should be able to see a different world that Gotou couldn’t. “You are…” muttered Yakumo.

So someone was at the doorway after all. Gotou grew curious, but he shouldn’t act rashly and let this opportunity become a waste. Holding his breath, Gotou watched over the situation.

“Why are you here? Just what are you...” Cutting off his sentence, Yakumo placed his hand on his head, exhaling a long sigh. After a pause, Gotou asked, “Was someone there just now?”

“Yes. She must be the one Ishii-san saw.” “Was the ghost a young girl?”

“Yes.” “Don’t tell me it was the girl from the photo earlier?” Gotou asked, following his thoughts.

Yakumo frowned and gave a faint nod. “It appears we really need to get Ishii-san to investigate this house one more time,” Yakumo narrowed his eyes as he stared in the direction of the doorway.

- 9

- Should the depths of love be measurable, it’ll surely amount to the price one is willing to pay in the name of that love—

Love can only be proven by what one can sacrifice for the sake of acquiring said subject of affection. Be it wealth, or one’s own life. Or perhaps something else entirely—

I’m prepared to offer up my life. And it doesn’t end there. I shall return the life I’ve lived thus far in its entirety, back into nothingness. If anyone were to criticise my actions, I’d like you to ask yourself.

What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of your loved ones? Anyone who can still bring up societal norms, common sense, morality, and such ideals over this question, can’t be said to have genuine love.

Yakumo lifted his face from the leather-bound book and looked up the narrow ceiling— The lines written in this book were incredibly powerful. Not merely because it had been written with bold pen pressure and stiff letters. Something else seemed to play a part.

It was unclear what the writer of this passage had intended to do. Still, the strength of their emotions were far from normal. Just what is it?

What exactly did the writer sacrifice, and what was acquired in return? Besides, did this notebook have anything to do with the ongoing cases?

Yakumo felt something was amiss as the lines within this book implied within them too deep of a meaning. Yet, perhaps they bore no connection to the case. Nanase Miyuki might have intentionally left them behind as a red herring to throw off Yakumo.

He looked out the window. It was getting brighter out, and soon morning will arrive.

Time felt like it was marching awfully fast. It had to be because Yakumo himself had grown restless. Right now, at this second, she—just what state was Haruka in? The mere contemplation sent his chest into chaos.

Yakumo knew he had to maintain his composure, yet terrible visions kept invading his thoughts in droves, taking over his headspace. In fact, it was happening right now.

The sight of Haruka, lying whilst blood poured out her body, crossed into his mind. Even with desperate efforts to get rid of the image, he felt it grew further the more he tried to push it away.

Yakumo landed a fist against the table. The pain on his hand spread, yet the terrible visual wouldn’t leave his head.

If only I had accompanied her home back then. Since learning about Haruka’s abduction, he’d been blaming himself constantly.

Truth was, even if Yakumo had accompanied Haruka back, Haruka would still get abducted at some point. This case was unlike an accident lacking in intent. Haruka had already been targeted. Even if Yakumo had been with her at the time, that fact would merely change the time of abduction.

Still— Nevertheless, such arguments brought upon a sense of dissatisfaction.

Yakumo held his lowered head. Whatever happens, I have to save Haruka.

For that sake, he needed to regain his composure and solve the mystery. He understood just how important it was to be level-headed at this time. Despite that, his heart refused to calm down. Can the mystery truly be solved by doing all this?

Besides, solving the mystery like this may very well be meaningless. It’s entirely possible that Haruka had already passed, while Yakumo had been trying to fight back without knowing the fact. Then, Miyuki Nanase might be pleased to imagine Yakumo in such a state. It wouldn’t be strange for that woman to take pleasure in doing so.

Oh no. His mind was being drawn into negative thoughts again. Yakumo yanked at his dishevelled head of hair, then gave himself a slap to the cheek to pull himself together.

Let’s rethink everything from the beginning. Everything started when the ghost of a woman had come to visit Yakumo. Followed by the spiritual case brought by Makoto—

When they had gone to investigate the case, they had discovered a headless corpse that had been stored in a box. When he had contacted Ishii to seek confirmation, apparently Hata had thought that the corpse’s identity could be the man who had red eyes and was Yakumo’s father—Unkai.

They had to wait for the DNA test results, but the possibility was fairly significant. Still, if that were the case, why had the corpse been abandoned in an isolated place, not to mention had been put into a box?

Actually, had the corpse really been abandoned? The corpse had been inside an old casket made out of metal, not to mention plastered with countless talismans. There might be a meaning behind that.

The problems didn’t end there. The ghost Ishii had seen. Earlier, Yakumo had gone to the house in question, and there had in fact been a ghost of a girl there.

As she had disappeared immediately, Yakumo had no idea why the girl had been wandering, and why she had passed. He had requested Ishii to look into it, so he would surely know something once the investigation results came out.

Of course, the notebook found at the house couldn’t be ignored either. Considering the passage that was deep in meaning, this notebook should have some ties to the case. Not to mention the spiritual case Gotou and Eishin had been investigating about the ghost of a drenched girl—

At a glance the cases appear to be unrelated, but they have some sort of connection. That had to be the mystery Nanase Miyuki had meant. However—what if he was mistaken?

What if the cases were in fact completely separate? This might just be a trap laid by Nanase Miyuki to confuse Yakumo. If so, that meant he was wasting his time and everything might have been too late.

The image of Haruka in a tragic state flashed in Yakumo’s mind yet again. I have to do something!

His heart grew all the more restless the more he fixated on the thought. Calm down. This was like walking on a tightrope. No other path aside from going forward one step at a time, steadily and carefully. What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of your loved ones?

A line written in that notebook crossed his thoughts. Just what was he about to sacrifice in exchange for Haruka?

- 10

- Ishii, who had been sleeping with his head on his desk, was awakened by the ringing of his phone—

He felt around for his glasses and picked up the call after putting them on. “Yes. Ishii Yuutarou here.”

<Sorry for contacting you so early. This is Yakumo.> Yakumo’s voice from the other side of the call instantly shot his consciousness awake from its prior half-asleep state.

Ishii turned to the clock next to his desk. It was nearly six o’clock. He seemed to have fallen asleep for about thirty minutes.

On the desk across from him was a snoring Miyagawa, sitting on the chair with his legs outstretched. Yakumo must be calling because he wanted the results of the investigation he had requested for last night.

“About that matter, right?” Ishii replied as he pulled a notebook lying nearby. “Yes.”

“Because of the timing, I couldn’t really ask around…” Yakumo had requested the investigation when it was already late into the night. Ishii had wanted to gather information by asking neighbourhood locals, but since it was late, he could only reexamine documents. Not a task that demanded him to travel about, yet the job had been draining regardless.

<That is fine. Did you find something?> “Yes. I was able to discover a few facts—” Ishii took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes before taking another look at his notebook.

“Regarding that house, as Yakumo-shi said, apparently she used to live with her family.”

Before he had gone to investigate that house for the first time with Miyagawa, he had gathered a bit of information and had learned that an old woman named Kawakami Harue had lived alone there, but that had been the most updated information. However, when he had taken a look at the police contact form[2] issued three years ago, Ishii had come to know that Harue had used to live with her family.

“The people who used to live there with her were her own son, Kawakami Kei-shi, and his wife, Ryoko-san. And lastly, her granddaughter Satomi-chan. Four people in total.” <Do you know where that family of hers is as of now?> asked Yakumo.

Even so, his tone sounded like he could already predict the answer. Prior to investigating, Ishii too had had a hunch himself, and it had turned out to be correct.

“Three years ago, the car that Ryoko-san and Satomi-chan rode got into an accident.” <An accident—>

“Yes. A truck driven by someone under the influence had run against traffic and hit their car head on.” <How cruel...>

Though he didn’t utter a word, Ishii felt the same way. Not only had the driver been driving whilst drunk, the truck had gone in the wrong direction; practically no different from a murder. The truck driver might have been prosecuted with the charge of careless driving causing death and was currently held in prison, but the lives that had been lost could never be brought back.

Ishii swallowed his anger before continuing, “Ryoko-san, who was in the driver seat, died on the scene. While Satomi-chan who rode in the front passenger seat was saved at first, but was eventually declared brain dead—” <Brain dead...>

Yakumo’s tone shifted. Perhaps he was reminded of his uncle, Isshin. Isshin too had been declared brain dead after being involved in a case.

Yakumo must have painfully understood what brain death was like. Following a brief pause, Yakumo asked, <How is Satomi-chan now?>

“She’s already passed,” Ishii spoke as pain emerged in his chest. Brain death would render the patient unable to breathe on their own, and whilst uncomfortable to say, their hearts were merely able to continue beating through borrowing the assistance of various medical equipment.

Forget eating, they couldn’t speak, hear, or see either. The brain as their body’s centre of control stopped working, so they couldn’t so much as think. Having learned all this information, Ishii came to understand the identity of the ghost he had seen.

Likely, the ghost had been the granddaughter, Satomi. Though her life had been saved from the accident, she had become brain dead afterwards, and had left this world from the incurable state.

Satomi might have yet to understand that she was already dead. For that reason, she wandered around the house she had been raised in; such had to be the case. At the time, she must have not called out to Ishii with the intention of scaring him.

Ishii felt guilty for having screamed and running away. Still, there wouldn’t be anything he could do even if he had stayed back there.

“About that...” Ishii grew hesitant. Normally, the police wouldn’t have known of the aftermath, yet unexpectedly a record had been left behind.

<Did something happen?> “Yes. Actually, three months following the accident, he disappeared.”

<Disappeared?> “Yes, as Harue-san submitted a missing person’s report to the police.”

One couldn't help but say how puzzling the situation was. <Did the police conduct a search?>

“No, about that… according to information from Harue-san, Satomi’s father had left her a message that he will be going away for a while, no need to worry about him.” “Is that so...” muttered Yakumo, seemingly having predicted the gist of that explanation.

The message Kei had left for Harue could be interpreted as his farewell to a relative. In other words, he had disappeared out of his own will. So long as a criminal case wasn’t involved, police wouldn’t conduct a large-scale search over a missing persons case such as this.

Often, there were cases where someone who grew tired of their present life would disappear to escape. Those people often end up becoming homeless. All the more those plagued by hopelessness such as Kei. The police must have had that idea, so the case had ended by merely filing him as a missing person.

In regular circumstances, showing police documents to a civilian university student would’ve been inappropriate.

However, it was too late for that now. They had received countless assistance from Yakumo to resolve cases.

Furthermore, this time Haruka’s life was on the line. “Of course.”

<Thank you.> Considering this was Yakumo, it was unusual for him to immediately express genuine gratitude.

After all, Ishii didn’t feel like he needed to thank him as Yakumo wasn’t the only one who wanted to rescue Haruka. Haruka’s existence was important to Ishii as well. He wished to save her whatever sacrifice it may take.

Ishii was about to end the call when Yakumo called out to stop him. <Actually, I have one more request...>

“What is it? I’ll do anything as long as I’m able to.” After jotting down instructions from Yakumo into his notebook, Ishii finally ended the call.

<So much ruckus this early,> The voice that spoke was Miyagawa. Although he’d been snoring loudly across from Ishii earlier, Ishii’s phone call seemed to have awakened him.

“S-sorry.” “Well, whatever. What are we looking into next?” said Miyagawa, his figure looking dependable as he stood up.

- 11

- Makoto opened the door to the Movie Research Circle with force.

The owner of this room, Yakumo, was sitting in his usual chair. His eyes were a little red from exhaustion and lack of sleep, but he didn’t appear shaken. It made Makoto’s state of panic feel almost laughable.

No, that wasn’t it. Perhaps right now Yakumo was merely pretending to be calm, when in reality unimaginable turmoil stirred within him.

“Is it true that Haruka-chan was abducted?” asked Makoto to start, after exchanging basic greetings. “Yes. Unfortunately,” replied Yakumo.

Strength left Makoto’s body and dizziness came over her. “I see...” she mumbled before sitting on a chair in front of Yakumo.

She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted someone to tell her it had merely been a lie. Yet she was hit by the realisation that it was all a baseless wish. “Why Haruka-chan…” she said unbearably.

Truth was, her initial impression towards Haruka hadn’t been all too great. She had seemed like a well-natured university student you’d find anywhere, putting up a facade for herself. Thinking about it now, the feeling might have come from Makoto’s jealousy over Haruka’s naivety.

Like an unreasonable hate towards the class honour student, it had to be the manifestation of jealousy towards someone who possessed something they didn’t. Yet after getting to know Haruka, Makoto’s view of her began changing.

Haruka hadn’t been pretending to be a goody two shoes, nor had she been acting innocent. She hadn’t been trying to flatter people either. It had simply been part of her nature.

Something that was brought upon naturally, like a spring water source free from impurities. It was thanks to that existence of hers, that Yakumo’s heart, having constantly hated himself, could be saved.

There was no reason for Haruka to go through something like this. “Simple enough reason. That woman wanted me to experience despair,” Yakumo explained. In his red left eye appeared to reside a powerful light.

“Such a thing…” Makoto bit down hard on her lip. The woman Yakumo had referred to was Nanase Miyuki. Come to think of it, in the previous case she had indeed signalled that Haruka would be her next target.

Nanase Miyuki was the sort of person who could trample over others’ hearts without breaking a sweat. Rather, her sadistic tendencies would in fact make her enjoy doing so. It was likely that she had abducted Haruka, the most important person to Yakumo, for the sake of cornering him.

If only they had paid closer attention to her words, they wouldn’t have left Haruka by herself. Still, regret wouldn’t change the reality they were facing.

Furthermore, the regret Yakumo experienced must be far greater than Makoto’s. The last person who had been with Haruka last night was Yakumo. He had to be blaming himself for leaving Haruka alone. “Whatever happens, we have to find her before it's too late,” said Yakumo, gritting his teeth.

Yakumo must be capable of maintaining his composure thanks to his strong resolve to save Haruka. Yakumo was able to motivate himself, overcoming all the depressing feelings and regret in order to face forward.

However— What would happen to Yakumo if he were to actually lose Haruka?

It wasn’t enough to describe them like lovers. Their existence was like soulmates, bonded together on a deeper level. To Yakumo, losing Haruka must be equivalent to having half of his body ripped away from him.

Should that happen, would Yakumo be able to retain his sanity? Perhaps that was precisely Nanase Miyuki’s objective.

If that was the case, perhaps Haruka was already—no. She shouldn’t think about that now. “Is there something I can help with?” said Makoto.

Yakumo responded with a small nod. “Actually, I’ve called you as there’s something I needed your help for, Makoto-san.” “Just say the word. I’ll do anything that I can.”

At any rate, they needed to make a move now. “Thank you. Firstly, can I meet with the woman who claimed to have experienced a spiritual phenomenon at the warehouse?”

“Hold on,” Makoto interrupted. “Shouldn’t locating Haruka-chan be our priority?” The spiritual case did concern her, but now wasn’t the time to look into that matter.

“That woman told me she would die if I fail to solve the mystery. By that, I think she meant for me to resolve the spiritual cases before my eyes.” “But why such a thing...”

“She said this is a game.” I see.

It was entirely plausible for Nanase Miyuki to pull something like this. She must have gone through the trouble of setting up this game out of her incredible sense of rivalry towards Yakumo. “Alright. I’ll quickly contact them and arrange a meeting,” Makoto nodded.

If so, they had to solve this case as soon as possible. “Also, I’d like you to look into whether there had been similar phenomena at that location.”

“Leave it to me.” Gathering rumours may not be easy, but by utilising social media well, she should be able to gain some information.

“Thank you,” Yakumo bowed his head deeply. He shouldn’t need to thank her. Even if Yakumo hadn’t asked for help, Makoto would still put her own efforts to find out Haruka’s location.

Yakumo wasn’t the only one who treasured Haruka. “Just like you, Haruka-chan’s important to us as well. Doing all this is a given.”

Yakumo was surprised by Makoto’s words, but eventually smiled bashfully. The door suddenly opened with a bam and Gotou entered the room. “Oh. It’s the newspaper lady,” he said as he took notice of Makoto.

“We just met yesterday, didn’t we?” “You’re helping out too?”

“Of course. I want to save Haruka-chan, whatever it takes.” “Thank you.” Gotou bowed his head deeply.

From his conduct, Gotou also seemed to be doing what he could in the search for Haruka. Even though his injuries hadn’t fully healed, he was surely unable to stand around doing nothing. The same as Makoto, Gotou was desperately putting his efforts not solely because of Yakumo’s request for help.

He wanted to save Haruka and help Yakumo out of his own volition. “Oi, Yakumo. The preparations are done. Let’s hurry up and go,” Gotou, signalling at Yakumo with his hand.

The two seemed to be heading somewhere to investigate. “I’ll contact you once I’ve made an arrangement,” Makoto stood up before leaving the room.

Yakumo followed outside and bowed down as he said, “I’ll leave it to you,” before walking away with Gotou. It’s alright. We’ll find her for sure, Makoto said in her heart as she sent the two off.

Though baseless, she wouldn’t be able to press forward without believing so. -

12 -

Gotou went into the driver seat of the car parked in front of the campus gates. Upon opening the door to the front passenger seat, Yakumo made a doubtful expression. “Gotou-san, what happened to your cast?” he asked.

Yakumo, who was incredibly perceptive in normal circumstances, had only realised that Gotou wasn’t wearing his cast—he must be more exhausted than he appeared. “It was getting in the way, so I took it off,” Gotou said so blatantly.

He had forcefully taken it off the night before. He wouldn’t be able to run wearing a cast and a crutch; let alone drive.

He had thought his wife Atsuko would stop him, but after explaining the situation, she had helped him remove it instead. Likewise, Atsuko must be deeply worried about Haruka. Of course, the same could be said for Nao. Haruka’s existence was already like family to them.

“Will you be able to drive in such a state?” Yakumo threw an unconvinced look. “Because it’s fine, I managed to come all the way here, didn’t I? Cut the small talk and hop on quick,”

It would be a lie to say that it didn’t hurt. Nevertheless, right now they had no time to lose in the slightest. If they always had to call a taxi to get around, they would be wasting their time. As he had worded out the previous night, Gotou didn’t mind sacrificing a leg or two for the sake of saving Haruka.

Yakumo let out a sigh of disbelief before getting into the front passenger seat. With the closing of the door, Gotou then started the car.

“So, any new information?” he asked Yakumo as he manipulated the steering wheel. “Thanks to Ishii-san, I gained plenty of information about the house we went to last night.”

“Which are?” Gotou demanded the continuation, and Yakumo shared the information he had gotten from Ishii in detail. Gotou’s feelings grew unbearable. Having lost his wife in a traffic accident, and his daughter having been declared brain dead, Kei had to be suffering greatly.

As if without warning, the man had suddenly been pushed into hell’s abyss. At the thought of the same thing happening to Atsuko and Nao, Gotou’s chest felt like it was being crushed and his breathing grew laboured.

And yet, Kei, who had actually gone through it, had to be suffering pain a hundredfold worse. “So the father’s—Kei’s—status became unknown afterwards, huh?” Gotou asked, and Yakumo gave a nodding affirmation.

“Could that man who's in hiding be the perpetrator behind our case?” A thought with no basis. Gotou was merely voicing the question that suddenly came to mind.

“I can’t refute that possibility,” Yakumo responded with a serious expression. “Really?!” Although it was his own line of thinking, he exclaimed in surprise as Yakumo gave his approval over it.

“It’s nothing more than a possibility…” He might be vague and would go about in circles, but unlike Gotou, Yakumo had a basis for every statement, even when expressing possibilities.

“What possibility were you referring to?” “The notebook we found back there.”

“Notebook... ” Indeed, Yakumo had taken out a notebook from under the bed back in that place.

“What was written in it?” “Mostly it was an activity schedule. Related to his work, or what time he was meeting someone; fairly normal entries. But—”

“What?” “The writing stopped after his wife and daughter went into an accident—”

Gotou understood what the man had felt. Working, or doing anything at all for that matter, had to be impossible after the man’s family had had an accident.

But that shouldn’t be everything that was inside said notebook. Something had to be written there that led Yakumo to consider the possibility of Kei being the perpetrator. “And then?” asked Gotou.

Yakumo crossed his arms and closed his eyes shut. As if deep in thought, he stopped moving for a moment. Before long, the man slowly opened his eyes.

“Something strange was written on the last page.” “What is it?”

“Some sort of declaration of resolve.” “What even is that?”

“What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of your loved ones?” “Ha?” Gotou tilted his head in confusion.

“That was one of the lines written in there.” “What’s that even mean?”

“Probably in a literal sense. I think the phrase ‘loved ones’ here refers to his wife and daughter.” “Then, what’s the sacrifice about?” asked Gotou.

Yakumo shook his head. “I have no clue either.” “No clue...”

Something that was beyond Yakumo’s understanding was all the more puzzling for Gotou. Just why would he leave behind a sentence like that? And why had that man called Kei hidden his whereabouts?

He might not understand, but Gotou sensed a deep darkness extending ahead of that fact. “If it were Gotou-san...” Yakumo glanced slightly at Gotou.

“Ah?” “If it were Gotou-san, what would you sacrifice for your loved ones?”

At the sudden question, Gotou was incapable of giving an immediate reply. To be honest, he had no way of knowing before encountering said predicament.

In the previous case, Gotou had jumped into a road to shield Nao who had been about to get hit by a car. Yet at the time he had lost his reason and hadn’t thought of whether he was going to sacrifice his own life or the like.

Thinking about it calmly, he unexpectedly didn’t arrive at the answer. “I think this Kei person had prepared himself to throw away everything for the people he loved. Hence the reason why he had left that passage behind,” said Yakumo with a sullen voice.

His eyes weren’t present; as if they were drifting off somewhere in the distance. Yakumo seemed like he might go off somewhere beyond reach, should things be left as they were. “What exactly are you trying to say?” Gotou asked, and Yakumo raised his index finger between his forehead and said, “Do you not understand?”

“I’m asking because I don’t.” “The man called Kei has already lost the people he loved. Yet he still wanted to sacrifice something, even though there’s nothing for him to obtain...” said Yakumo.

His voice was like sharp edges poking at Gotou’s heart. Though faint, Gotou slowly came to see what Yakumo had in mind. Along with the reason why he refused to put it into words—

“Either way, Kei-san disappeared three months after the accident.” “Disappeared?” Gotou raised his voice unknowingly.

“Yes. But according to the statement made by Harue-san, who reported his disappearance, the police isn’t treating it as a case as Kei-san seemed to have gone into hiding on his own will.” Even if he racked his brains for a reason, Gotou was completely clueless as to why Kei would go into hiding. Still, he couldn’t help but sense a whirl of emotions behind it.

What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of your loved ones? The question itself ended up feeling like some sort of curse.

- 13

- “He truly was a wonderful doctor—” The nurse sitting before him said so in earnest.

She was Satou, a woman in her mid forties, and her appearance as well as the tone in which she carried herself gave her a friendly impression. Yakumo had asked a favour of two things.

The first was to find out about the Kawakami family’s reputation by asking around the neighbourhood. While the other was to gather information on Kawakami Kei at his workplace. Following a discussion with Miyagawa, they had decided to split ways in the absence of time. Miyagawa would gain information around the Kawakami family residence, while Ishii would pay a visit to the hospital where Kawakami had used to work.

Kawakami had used to practise internal medicine. Ishii promptly contacted his former workplace and met with a nurse named Satou, an acquaintance of Kawakami as well as the one who had been in charge of Kawakami’s daughter who had undergone brain death.

Thinking how he was back in this hospital despite only having visited last night, Ishii was left with a peculiar sense of fate. Eeriness overtook him the night before, yet as it was now morning still, along with the fact that he was now at the cafe next to the hospital entrance, made him feel like he was in a completely different location.

“I see,” Ishii muttered as he jotted things down. “There are two kinds of doctors.”

“Is that so?” “Yes. Doctors who examine patients since it is their duty, and doctors who do so out of the desire to serve and help people.”

“And Doctor Kawakami was the latter?” asked Ishii, and Satou replied, “Obviously,” as he had expected. “Honestly, it was tough for us to work under someone like Doctor Kawakami, as the more enthusiastic he got, our workload would pile up even more.”

“What do you mean by that?” “As he would always go out of his way to do things that weren't required to be done, we would get caught in the middle of it as well.”

“Ah.” That might be true.

Not just for doctors, in any line of profession, the mindset of treating customers as kings would inevitably increase the amount of tasks to complete. “The young nurses would often complain as a result. Not for me though, I liked it. Every hospital needs someone like Doctor Kawakami.”

“That’s true,” Ishii responded as he demanded the continuation. “If only that accident didn’t happen… not only did he lose his wife, his daughter was even left in such a state. It was simply too much.”

Ishii could sense that this was no surface-level feelings, but one that genuinely came from the bottom of her heart. “Was he extremely depressed over the fact?”

“Obviously… Doctor Kawakami was a friendly person who would greet everyone, even nurses like us. But ever since the accident, he became less talkative and worn out.” With no wife or children of his own, Ishii could only picture the agony of losing both at the same time.

His heart cried out at the mere thought. Kawakami, to whom it had actually happened, must have suffered beyond imagination. “I felt bad watching him and have always wanted to call out to him first, but honestly, I didn’t know what to say...” Satou sighed, shaking her head.

That was to be expected. Put in the same position, Ishii himself wouldn’t know what to say towards someone in the depths of despair. “After the accident, were there any unusual changes about him?” asked Ishii.

Satou’s expression grew troubled. “Some time after the accident, he kept staying beside his daughter. He seemed to be calling out for his unconscious daughter to come back. But...” Satou halted her words.

She seemed to hesitate in saying what came next. “What is it?” Ishii urged, and after steeling her resolve and nodding, Satou opened her mouth once more. “After his daughter was declared brain dead, his visits became less frequent.”

“Why so?” Ishii leaned over. Thinking about it, to disappear when his daughter had been declared brain dead felt unnatural.

“Though from a different specialty, he was a doctor himself. So he understood well what brain death meant,” So that was it.

Once declared brain dead, chances of recovery were close to zero. That wasn’t all. Since their brain functions were stopped, patients would be unable to sense the presence of those who came to visit.

Being a doctor, Kawakami understood way more than the average person that there was nothing else that could be done. And yet—

Shouldn’t a parent still wish to see the face of their child? Ishii felt something off about the fact.

“I heard Doctor Kawakami disappeared the day before his daughter passed...” Upon investigation, one day after Kawakami had left a message for his mother and disappeared, his daughter’s condition had taken a worse turn, drawing her last breath.

Ishii couldn’t help but think something was behind that timing. “Apparently so. Perhaps he sensed that his daughter couldn’t hang on any longer—”

“Was his daughter’s condition weakening?” “Yes. She was getting worse. The doctor in charge of her even said it was only a matter of days...”

“......” “The doctor in charge seemed to have delivered the news to Doctor Kawakami himself. But a slight commotion happened at the time.”

“A commotion?” “That’s right. Doctor Kawakami claimed that his daughter had spoken. Thus, he requested them to reexamine whether she was actually brain dead. It was the first time I’ve seen Doctor Kawakami that way. Though his mind understood, his heart seemed to have yet to accept how things are…”

“Is that so,” Ishii said out of sympathy, yet the thoughts in his mind travelled elsewhere. The timing felt unnatural. Even so, Ishii didn’t understand what made him feel that way.

“Did anything else catch your attention?” Ishii later inquired, and Satou’s eyes wandered as if tracing her memories. It wasn’t long before her expression changed, signalling that she had recalled something.

“Is there something?” Ishii asked again. “I’m not sure if I should say this...” Satou spoke hesitantly.

“What is it?” “Actually… after the accident, a woman often came to visit Doctor Kawakami.”

“A woman?” “Yes. A young, beautiful woman in her twenties.”

“Any other defining features?” “Right… I wonder. I’ve never spoken to her, so this is merely my intuition, but she seemed quite tough.”

That woman might have something to do with Kawakami’s disappearance. Depending on the circumstances, they could try making a sketch of her face. “Do you know what her relationship was with Doctor Kawakami?”

“As for that, I don’t know. She wasn’t a patient, nor someone from the pharmaceutical companies...” “Sounds curious.”

Could that woman be Kawakami’s mistress? Though baseless, the idea emerged in his mind anyway. “I’m sure the relationship wasn’t anything like what you have in mind, Mr. Detective,” Satou spoke as if she had read Ishii’s mind.

“Eh?” “Doctor Kawakami loved his family dearly. He wasn’t the type to have an affair behind the scenes.”

“Right...” Satou emphasised the fact quite strongly, leaving Ishii no choice but to respond in affirmation. However, his heart disagreed.

That didn’t mean there were no people capable of building a harmonious family whilst having an affair on the side. The woman who had been having an affair with Kawakami might have just made an appearance after the accident.

“Did Doctor Kawakami ever mention anything about that woman?” Ishii asked. Satou’s face frowned into a difficult expression. “The doctor said before that the woman came to consult him about her relative.”

All the more suspicious. At a time when his wife had just passed and his daughter had been in a brain dead state, he shouldn’t have had the time to discuss other people’s matters.

“Um… do you know of anyone else close to Doctor Kawakami in this hospital?” “As for that, perhaps that strange man in the basement.”

“Pardon?” Ishii couldn’t help but turn bewildered at the mention of something that sounded like the title of a B rated horror film.

“My apologies. I suppose you wouldn’t understand if I said it that way,” Satou corrected herself and said the name of the person in question. -

14 -

After leaving Yakumo’s room, Makoto returned to her desk at the newspaper company. There may not be much time, but it was easier to conduct an investigation from her office.

Firstly, she would use the company social media account to announce a request for information regarding the spiritual phenomena that occurred at the warehouse in front of Meisei University’s archival facility. The number of viewers wouldn’t be comparable to using a personal account. There would surely be lots of shares, so information should quickly accumulate. Next, she composed a message of similar content, sending them out to some of her fellow journalist acquaintances.

Whilst anticipating the success of this information gathering, she contacted Maki, who had come to consult a spiritual phenomenon previously. <Hello?>

Maki picked up the call with a frightened voice. Thankfully the call directly went through. “Actually, I’d like to confirm a few things about the spiritual phenomenon you experienced at the warehouse. For the sake of resolving this case, may I ask for your cooperation?”

<You believed me?> asked Maki. Makoto was no stranger to gathering information on spiritual phenomena, and what was most troubling for people who experienced such incidents was the fact that no one was willing to believe them.

“Of course.” <Thank you—>

Maki’s voice quivered. Rather than from fear, it seemed to be out of delight. “Since it’s hard to convey through a phone call, I’d like for us to meet in person once again and talk about it, would that be possible? I have an acquaintance who’s an expert on spiritual phenomena. I want him to come along as well.”

<Well, that is...> Maki’s tone hinted at a sense of vigilance.

As it turned out, the mention of an expert on spiritual phenomena hadn’t been the correct wording. Maki might be assuming she would be demanded to pay a hefty reward. “Rest assured. He’s still young, but he’s been assisting the police in solving various cases so far. He won’t ask you for payment in return, so there’s no need to worry,” Makoto said so firmly, and Maki then replied, <Alright.>

“Then, without further ado, do you have some free time today?”

“Understood. After confirming with the other party, I’ll reach out to you again.” Makoto ended the conversation and called Yakumo this time.

<Yes. Saitou speaking.> It sounded like he was still on a car ride, as a faint hum of the engine could be heard.

“This is Makoto. I’ve contacted the woman who experienced the spiritual phenomenon. She’s fine with meeting anytime, so we can regroup once you’re finished on your end.” <Thank you. Once we’ve wrapped things up, I’ll contact you.>

“Got it.” Following the end of her call with Yakumo, Makoto returned to face her laptop.

She was looking up spiritual phenomena at Meisei University on the internet. A few results seemed to match. Information pertaining to the corpse that had been found at the university warehouse last night had spread that rumours surrounding the fact were now abundant. From testimonies stating they had seen a ghost onsite, followed by a variety of other claims: that satanic rituals were once performed there; or that the place had really been the base of a religious cult; or how spirits from wartime wandered in the area.

At this rate, the number of people writing out of jest would increase and she would struggle to find reputable information. How troublesome, Makoto thought, right as she received a private message from an unknown sender on social media.

Since Makoto’s request for information had been shared at random, people would likely send in messages as a joke. Keeping her expectations low, she opened the message. Written there was the following:

<I’m a Meisei University graduate. During my time as a student there, I’ve been to that warehouse for a test of courage. Nothing in particular happened then, but a few days later, my friend who went along the test of courage with me disappeared. That friend’s whereabouts remained unknown to this day—>

Makoto held her breath upon reading it.

It was her own instincts talking, yet she felt that this message was genuine and decided on replying straight away. There were many things she wanted to ask. However, exchanging messages like this would be time consuming.

‘Can we speak directly? Phone call is fine too’ she typed, including her contact number in the message before sending it. It wasn’t long until there was an incoming call from an unknown number to her phone. Probably the sender of that message earlier.

“Yes. This is Hijikata.” <Hello? I was the one who sent a message just now. My name is Nagaoka Momoka.>

So it was the person who had sent that message after all. “Thank you for calling. I will call you back.”

<It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,> Momoka said so firmly. “Is that so… then I’ll get straight to the point, there are a few things I’d like to ask. When did you go to that location?”

<About three years ago.> “You didn’t see any ghosts or the like at the time?”

<That’s right. But...> “What is it?”

While she hadn’t experienced any spiritual phenomena there, the subsequent turn of events of being followed by a ghost was similar to Maki’s.

“Did she say that she had seen the ghost?” <She did. Apparently the ghost stood outside the window, staring at her.>

“Was she able to tell the gender of the ghost?” <She said it was a male ghost… I didn’t really believe her at the time. I thought she was just mistaken, but...>

Momoka’s tone grew frail in an instant. “Tomoko-san disappeared afterwards...”

<Yes. It was really out of nowhere. She didn’t show up on campus, and her phone was out of reach...> “Have the police been notified?”

<They have. I’ve even submitted a missing persons report, but there was no development afterwards, and time went on...> “And Tomoko-san’s whereabouts are still unknown until now?”

<Yeah. Her parents have passed away and she entered university with a scholarship program. Even though she was such an earnest person...> What followed in exchange of words were sounds of sobbing.

Whether Tomoko’s disappearance had anything to do with ghosts remained vague, yet at the very least, Momoko seemed to be living her life whilst concealing her regret all the while. Even after thanking her and cutting off the call, Makoto was left with a sense of unease.

Perhaps she needed to verify the truth of the matter. Makoto then contacted Ishii. <Yes. This is Ishii Yuutarou,> Ishii promptly answered with a crystal clear voice.

Despite the direness of the situation, hearing Ishii’s voice instantly softened her once hardened heart. “It’s Makoto.”

<M-Makoto-san! Actually, something terrible came up!> Ishii spoke in a panic. “I know. I’ve heard it from Yakumo-kun. Apparently Haruka disappeared, right?”

<You knew?> “Yes. Things really took a worse turn...”

<Right.> Ishii’s voice rapidly sank.

Makoto had long since known that Ishii had feelings for Haruka. Anyone would be able to tell how much Ishii brightened in front of Haruka. He’d been holding back as of late, probably admitting defeat after seeing how there was no place for him to get in between Yakumo and Haruka.

Surely Ishii was also among those working tirelessly for the sake of rescuing Haruka. “Truth is, I wanted to ask you to investigate something in relation to that.”

<What is it?> “Regarding a woman named Ikuta Tomoko-san.”

<Who is that exactly?> It was understandable for Ishii to question the fact.

After a brief explanation of the situation from Makoto, Ishii promised to look into the matter after his return to the police headquarters following the information gathering he currently was in. “Sorry for the trouble. I’ll leave it to you.”

<Of course. Whatever it takes, we have to find Haruka-chan—> “Yes.”

After hanging up, a small question emerged in Makoto’s mind. If Makoto were to disappear, just how desperate would Ishii go in search of her?

Makoto sighed without realising, having had enough of just how narrow-hearted she could be to question that at a time like this. -

15 -

Gotou parked his car in front of the house they were headed to. Stepping out of the car, the figure of a man he recognised came into view, standing before the entrance. It was Eishin.

“You’re finally here. I got tired of waiting,” Eishin said so openly. It might have been a trait of his to not be satisfied without complaining.

“Shut up,” Gotou clicked his tongue when he arrived in front of Eishin. At the sight of Yakumo following behind Gotou, Eishin’s expression stiffened.

“Things certainly have gotten worse,” he said in a friendly tone unlike how he’d spoken to Gotou moments before. Eishin wasn’t closely acquainted with Haruka, but he was well aware of how much her existence meant to Yakumo.

He had to be thoroughly considering what sort of impact this case might bring. “Right. Anyway, can you quickly take me to the girl who experienced a spiritual phenomenon?” Yakumo said in haste.

“I know. I’ve informed them in advance. Let’s go.” Led by Eishin, they headed inside the house, and ascended the stairs next to the entrance towards the room situated on the second floor.

Though he had managed his way on flat surfaces, Gotou’s leg stung as he climbed the stairs. Regardless, there was no time to complain. As Eishin knocked on the door, a voice could be heard from within, “Come in.”

Everyone nodded to one another, and Eishin slowly opened the door. The state of the room was no different from yesterday, with every crevice covered up that it remained in darkness despite the day not being past noon yet.

Standing in one corner of the room, Sana appeared all the more lethargic compared to the day before. It wasn’t surprising, considering she had trouble sleeping out of fear from ghosts.

“I’ll cut to the chase, could you talk about the spiritual phenomenon you experienced one more time?” Yakumo brought up the subject matter after some basic greetings. Yakumo’s red left eye took Sana a little by surprise, but she soon got rid of the impression and opened her mouth. She spoke of how she had seen a drenched ghost on the Tama riverbank, and the way the ghost had drawn nearer to her house day after day.

Her voice was shaky, and she struggled to find her words from time to time. Gotou felt pity at the mere sight of it. “I see… you mentioned that the ghost gets closer and closer every day. Is that the case even now?” Yakumo asked whilst casting his gaze across the room.

Gotou and the rest couldn’t see a thing. But such wasn’t the case for Yakumo. Reflected in that red left eye of his was a world unlike this one. “Yes.”

“Speaking of, since when have you put up these cardboards over your windows?” “Since about four days ago. I’m too scared...” Sana replied, teary eyed.

“You saw the ghost a week ago, is that right?” asked Yakumo to confirm. Sana nodded with a thin voice, “Yes.”

“You said you saw the ghost come closer through the window, which window was it?” “That one.”

Sana pointed at the largest window in her room. “Can I take a look at it?” Yakumo asked, and although Sana nodded, fear made her cover her face with both hands and face away from the window.

Yakumo opened the curtains and pulled apart the tapes and cardboard that had been obscuring the window. Light from outside filled the room, turning it bright.

“Which road did you see the ghost on?” Yakumo asked as he remained fixated on the view outside the window. “The one right in front of my house.”

“Did you see it during a specific time? Such as throughout the day or nighttime...” Sana shook her head at Yakumo’s question. “Day or night, she was always standing on that road whenever I looked out of this room.”

“Were you looking out from where I’m at right now?” Sana set aside the hands that had been covering her face, and after confirming Yakumo’s position, she nodded over and over.

“Yes...” “I see...” Yakumo replied as he opened the window.

Outside breeze blew in. Gotou took a deep breath. The once gloomy atmosphere took a turn and he became slightly relieved. On the other hand, the girl shrank. After all, she must be scared.

After glancing in Sana’s direction, Yakumo exhaled a heavy sigh and leaned his body over to look down the window. What is he looking at?

Following Yakumo, Gotou poked his head out the window and peered downwards. Over there was—

A girl walking along the road directly in front of the house. Aligning with Sana’s testimony, the girl was wearing a uniform. “Not her,” Yakumo said to ease Gotou, who was in shock.

Gotou turned to find Yakumo covering his left eye using his palm. The girl seemed to be visible still just with his right eye, so she must be a living human being. Yakumo sighed and faced Sana's direction again.

“Please be rest assured. The ghost outside won’t be able to enter this room,” Yakumo gently pacified her. “Eh?”

Sana stared at Yakumo. “That ghost was just lonely.”

“R-really?” “Yeah. So there’s no need for you to worry. If you’re still uneasy, you can pour some salt on all four corners of the room. That way, she won’t be able to get in.”

“......” Sana’s expression was overcome with relief and she fell down to her knees listlessly.

Her fear seemed to have disappeared without a trace. “Then, I’ll excuse myself,” Yakumo bowed and walked towards Eishin, whispering something to him before exiting the room.

Though unsatisfied with the way things were, Gotou chased after Yakumo. “What you told that girl, was that true?” he asked once they went in the car.

“It was a lie,” Yakumo said nonchalantly. “What?”

“We wouldn’t have to struggle if ghosts could be sent away by pouring some salt.” “You… in that case, the ghost might just appear in that room, then?”

“There were no ghosts in that room. Of course, same goes for the road in front of that house—” He had probably said something random to close the case since he couldn’t see any ghosts around.

However— “Maybe it just wasn’t there earlier?”

Yakumo himself had often spoken of how ghosts didn’t always stay in the same location. “Please think about it carefully. She was terrified because the ghost got closer to her house day after day.”

“Yeah.” “How could she have known that?”

“How… well, because she witnessed it from her window.” “She had covered all the windows in her room with cardboard. She shouldn’t have been able to look outside.”

“Ah.” Gotou only just understood.

Thinking back, Yakumo had confirmed when the windows had been taped over with cardboard, and the girl had replied that it had been from four days prior. In other words, she hadn’t been able to look out the window since then, making it impossible for her to have seen the ghost.

“Furthermore, if she merely stood in front of the window, she wouldn’t be able to see the road right in front of her house.” Indeed, that was true.

Without poking one’s head out the window and looking down, the road in front wouldn’t be visible. “So she made up the fact that she saw a ghost?”

“No. I think she might have actually seen one at the riverbank. Though, out of immense fear, she began hallucinating that the ghost was getting closer every day. Well, it’s something like a mental disturbance.” I see.

If they had told the frightened Sana that she was merely hallucinating, she wouldn’t believe them. Thus, Yakumo had consoled her by saying that the ghost wouldn’t come after her anymore and instructed her to handle it by sprinkling salt.

He must have conveyed the fact to Eishin before leaving the room earlier— Having understood things, Gotou’s thoughts were led in a different direction.

“So we came here for nothing…?” It was crushing for them to be wasting time while Haruka’s whereabouts were currently unknown like this.

“At the very least we can eliminate it as an unrelated case. Next, we shall regroup with Makoto-san.” “Right,”

No use in regretting now. As Yakumo had said, they could treat it as having eliminated the case out of the way. Without any further thoughts, Gotou started the car.

- 16

- “So you came again—” Hata sounded fed up at the sight of Ishii’s face visiting him.

Such a reaction couldn’t be helped. He had only been last visited by the aforementioned police detective in the dead hours of the night before. Frankly, Ishii had feared that Hata might have already gone home, so he was glad that they were able to meet like this.

“M-my apologies,” Ishii entered Hata’s office whilst wording his apology. “Too bad, but if this is about the autopsy result, as I mentioned last night, I still don’t know myself,” Hata reminded.

Of course, Ishii was aware of the fact. Even he knew the situation wouldn’t change in a matter of hours. “Actually, I’m here for a separate matter...”

“A separate matter? Well, whatever. Don’t just stand there, why don’t you take a seat?” Ishii bowed repeatedly and sat on the nearest chair.

“You’re not with that Takobozu[3] today?” Hata asked whilst turning his head to look around. The takobozu he had referred to was Miyagawa, of course. Even though Hata had dubbed him umibozu the night before. Ishii was briefly confused by the inconsistent nicknaming.

“Yes. He’s currently gathering information elsewhere.” “So, what is this separate matter you wanted to ask?” Hata asked as he sipped his tea.

“Y-yes. I’d like to ask you about someone...” “Who?”

“Do you know of a Kawakami Kei?” When Ishii spoke of the name, Hata’s bulging eyes flickered. He looked astonished at the sudden mention of it.

Even so, Ishii himself had been surprised upon hearing Hata’s name come up as the name of the strange man in the basement who had been close acquaintances with Kawakami, according to Satou. “Why are you suddenly asking about Kawakami-kun?”

It was no surprise for Hata to question the fact. Ishii then explained how the spiritual phenomenon at Kawakami’s residence might be connected to a string of cases, including the corpse discovery by Yakumo and the others.

“I see—” Hata nodded after hearing the story to finish, lost in feelings. “Kawakami-kun was a truly diligent man...” Hata narrowed his eyes as if reminiscing the past.

“Were the two of you close?” “Since I’m like this, there was lots of prejudice from other doctors. They’d mock me behind my back, calling me a demon and such.”

Whatever it was that Hata found amusing, he giggled an eerie sounding laughter. Ishii felt it was natural for others to not be fond of Hata when he behaved like this, but he didn’t put it into words.

“Kawakami-kun was the only one who didn’t act that way.” “I see...”

“He might be diligent, but Kawakami-kun himself was a peculiar man.” “Peculiar how?”

“When you become a doctor, you’ll bear witness to human mortality until you get sick of it. Even my job is to handle death itself. Anyway, in such an environment, you eventually get used to death.” “It’s possible to get used to such a thing?” Ishii expressed his doubt. He felt like death was an exceptional occurrence no matter what.

“It’s possible. You guys too have seen more deaths than those working in other fields, do you not? And you get used to them before you know it,” “Oh...”

Thinking back, Ishii had screamed and made a fuss when he had seen a corpse for the first time. Yet he could endure it now. He had built up a resistance. In other words, he might have gotten used to it.

“Being used to it is terrifying. Left the way it is, we could just become indifferent to death.” “Right,”

“But Kawakami-kun was different. He often came over to my place whenever his patient passed away.” “Why so?”

“Who knows. It’s just that I often had discussions on the topic of death with Kawakami-kun.” “On the topic of death?”

They hadn’t been taking enjoyment in discussions about movies or music, but had instead discussed death as a conversation subject, something Ishii didn’t view as appropriate. Ishii stated the fact, and Hata shook his head in disbelief.

“What’s not appropriate about it? Humans, no matter who they are, will die eventually. Yet no human can explain what death would actually be like.” “Aren’t doctors capable of explaining that?”

“When it comes to the death of the flesh, sure. But humans have spirits. Even if there’s no way to prove its existence, spirits indeed exist. Since you guys are with Yakumo-kun a lot, you should know that.” “I suppose so—”

Like Hata said, death of the flesh was simple enough. Add spirits into the equation, though, and he was entirely clueless. If the spirit continued to exist despite the physical body ceasing its function, then what was death exactly? He hadn’t been thinking about it too deeply thus far, but being asked like this made him realise the complexity of the subject matter.

If there ever was someone capable of proving it, it must be people like Yakumo who could see ghosts. No, perhaps, Yakumo already knew the answer to it.

Come to think of it, Hata had been curious about the structure of Yakumo’s red left eye since way back. That curiosity might have stemmed from his extraordinary interest towards death. “Our conversation got sidetracked,” Hata mocked himself, scratching at his cheek.

Indeed, their conversation had gone off course into the views surrounding death for quite some time. “Could you tell me what Kawakami-sensei was like in the days leading to his disappearance?” Ishii returned to the main topic at hand.

It was what he had wanted to ask Hata the most. Perhaps the answer could serve as a clue to the reason behind Kawakami’s disappearance and his whereabouts. “You’ve heard about Kawakami-kun’s wife and daughter, haven’t you?”

“Yes.” “Since that incident, Kawakami-kun’s condition indeed became strange.”

“Strange in what way exactly?” “He began thinking about death more seriously. Especially pertaining to his daughter’s condition.”

“If I’m not mistaken, his daughter was declared brain dead...” “That’s right. Humans in a brain dead state can’t move or speak out of their own will. Without relying on medical equipment, they can’t even so much as breathe.”

“Right.” Ishii understood the fact as such had been the case for Isshin as well.

“But medically, they’re still alive. Even so, can we truly consider a human who can no longer move or even think for themselves as being ‘alive’?” “Well...”

“If spirits do exist, then where are the spirits of people who are brain dead?” “......”

“Because of his daughter’s condition, Kawakami began mulling over such matters more than before.” “And then he disappeared…”

“Pretty much. Though there’s one thing I can’t wrap my mind on,” Hata looked sharply at Ishii. “What is it?”

“One day after Kawakami-kun disappeared off somewhere, his daughter drew her final breath—” “Right.”

“Which meant when Kawakami-kun disappeared, he left behind his daughter in a brain dead state. However I thought about it, this feels off to me.” Hata’s words felt heavy.

The odd feeling that had been bothering Ishii since hearing Satou’s story earlier now led him to a certain deduction. Perhaps Kawakami hadn’t hidden himself and left his daughter in her brain dead condition. Instead, he had punished himself by disappearing as he had been the one who ended his daughter’s life.

The time difference might just be from killing his daughter by administering medication. However, Ishii couldn’t utter that analysis out loud.

- 17

- Right as Makoto arrived at Maki’s apartment building, a car slid to a stop.

Exiting the car were Yakumo and Gotou. How’s the investigation going?

Makoto swallowed the question she wanted to ask. The two looked visibly more distressed compared to when they had met this morning. Even without asking, Makoto could tell that the investigation didn’t go the way they had hoped.

“Let’s hurry up and go,” Gotou wanted to get inside straight away, but Makoto prevented him. “Actually, one testimony caught my attention when I was looking into spiritual phenomena at that location,” Makoto prefaced, followed by a brief explanation of a similar case in the past and how the woman who had claimed to be followed by a ghost after the fact had been reported missing.

“Did something like that really happen?” said Gotou while feeling uncertain. There was no helping his reaction. Makoto herself held a similar doubt.

The reason being the theory Yakumo had mentioned many times. Ghosts were clusters of emotions of those who had passed, bearing no physical influence of their own. Following that theory, it’d be impossible for someone to be dragged away by a ghost as seen in horror movies.

And yet— “The ghost may not be able to do something directly, but if we were to assume that the figure mistaken to be a ghost was actually a human, something like that might just happen.”

That was Makoto’s line of thought. Tomoko, who disappeared, had seen something at the location of the spiritual phenomenon, and someone who had somehow felt the situation was less than ideal had her kidnapped—an entirely plausible scenario.

After all, they had discovered a corpse packed into a box at that warehouse. And now, Maki was experiencing something similar to Tomoko. There might have been something they weren’t supposed to find out at that location.

Haruka might have been kidnapped for the very same reason. “A very intriguing story,” Yakumo placed a hand over his angular chin.

“I thought it needed some supporting evidence, so I asked Ishii-san to confirm whether there had really been a missing persons report filed to the police.” Makoto added. “As expected of Makoto-san. You’re helping me by acting so quickly,” Yakumo nodded.

“But does that old case really have something to do with all this? If it turned out like just now...” “To know that for certain, let us go,” Yakumo interrupted Gotou’s expression of doubt.

Makoto agreed with Yakumo’s perspective. There were various things that concerned them, but firstly they needed to meet with the related parties. “Got it. Let’s go.”

Makoto led them through the apartment building entrance and pressed the buttons for Maki’s apartment number. “Come in,” A voice could then be heard, and the automatic door lock opened.

They went past the automatic door into the elevator, and ascended to the fourth floor where Maki’s apartment unit was located. Upon reaching the door to the apartment unit, Makoto pressed on the intercom.

The door instantly opened, and Maki came out. Makoto briefly introduced Yakumo and Gotou. Since she had mentioned she was coming with experts on spiritual phenomena, Maki readily accepted them.

“Over here—” They were ushered into the apartment.

The unit consisted of a kitchen and a bedroom typical of a one person apartment. The room was filled with feminine looking items carefully placed and arranged. Maki’s personality was well-conveyed through her room.

Yakumo stepped inside and immediately looked around with a sharp glint in his eyes. Makoto tensed at the sight of him. If Maki had in fact been followed by a ghost as she had claimed, Yakumo’s red left eye should be able to see it.

It was of no exaggeration to say that the credibility of Maki’s testimony was currently being measured. “About the spiritual phenomenon you experienced, what was it like exactly?” Yakumo asked without changing his expression.

At the suddenness of it, Maki was left agape, not realising that the question had been directed at her. “I heard you’re being followed by a ghost. Did you see its figure? Or perhaps you didn’t, yet you sense its presence?” Yakumo asked again, now staring at Maki.

“Erm… I did see the ghost. But it had a black, shadow-like appearance...” Maki spoke with a stiff expression. She might have been frightened by Yakumo’s red left eye.

It was perhaps inevitable, as the ghost she had seen at the warehouse also had two red eyes. Understandably, she might have drawn a connection between it and Yakumo’s red left eye. “On what occasions did you see that ghost?”

“On the streets when I’m heading home from class, or when I looked out the window, he was standing across the road below...” Hearing Maki’s explanation, Yakumo slowly walked towards the window.

“Have you ever seen the ghost here indoors?” asked Yakumo. Maki’s gaze drifted as if deep in thought. “No. I don’t think I’ve seen it inside before.”

“In that case, I’d like to confirm what happened at the warehouse.” “Yes.”

“You and your friends opened the box there, didn’t you?” Maki replied to Yakumo’s question with a nod. “We did open it.”

“And you didn’t see the contents at the time?” “Yeah, since it was dark. Besides, that man suddenly appeared in the darkness...” Maki said with a trembling voice, turning her face away from Yakumo.

Indeed, the sight of red eyes was seared into her mind as something terrifying. “Please tell me in detail about the man you saw there.”

Perhaps in an attempt to soothe Maki, Yakumo spoke in an incredibly gentle tone. “Okay.”

“I heard the eyes of the man who appeared before you were red just like my left eye, are you certain of it?” Maki took one look at Yakumo and turned away before giving an affirmative reply. “Yes.”

“Is the shadow following you the same as the man at the warehouse?” “I think so...”

“Alright. One more thing.” “Yes.”

“Your other friends who went to the warehouse with you saw the man with red eyes too, right?” “That’s right.”

“Is no one else being followed by a ghost?” “I think I’m the only one,” Maki replied faintly.

She was gradually doubting what she had really seen. Such was the impression Makoto had. It was an inevitable outcome, though. At times, memories would fade even more the more it got questioned.

“Your information has been helpful. Thank you,” Yakumo then turned away from Maki. “Um, so, what should I do…?” Maki said in a pleading voice.

“Makoto-san, Gotou-san, one moment?” Yakumo called out looking at them, leaving the room shortly after. Makoto and Gotou exchanged glances and followed Yakumo out of Maki’s apartment.

With the door now closed and their eyes meeting in the halls outside, Yakumo spoke in a low voice, “No ghost is following her, and there was nothing of the sort inside her room either.” “So she was just mistaken?” asked Makoto, who had somewhat guessed it from Yakumo’s reaction back in the room.

“I can’t say that either. Since it’s just a matter of nothing’s there right now.” Certainly, that was true.

It would be too risky to write everything off as a false alarm solely from the fact that the ghost wasn’t present at this point in time. Ghosts didn’t always stick around the same spot. “Still, something’s bothering me a bit,” Yakumo placed his index finger between his forehead.

“What is?” “Suppose she was telling the truth, why was she the only one affected by it when there were others on the scene? Well, it could just be a matter of compatible wavelengths—”

“Right,” “And one more thing. I’m curious whether the person she saw at the warehouse and the shadow following her were indeed the same.”

“You’re saying they’re different?” Gotou interjected. “Just a hunch, but I think that we need to factor in that possibility,” said Yakumo, putting a stop to the discussion.

In other words, nothing seemed certain to them for now. Makoto was aware they shouldn’t panic, yet uneasiness spread throughout her chest. “What should we do after this?” asked Makoto.

Yakumo’s face turned bitter. “Right. Makoto-san, please inform her to observe the situation a little longer. Tell her to reach out immediately if any ghosts appear later on—” “Got it.”

“Then, can I ask one more thing from you?” “Sure.”

“I’d like you to gather a little more information on the past spiritual phenomena at that warehouse.” “Leave it to me,” Makoto responded, yet she felt that instruction from Yakumo was irrelevant.

Perhaps in the face of panic, Yakumo was looking in the wrong direction— -

18 -

After leaving the hospital where Hata worked, Ishii headed directly back to the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division room. He planned to look into Makoto’s request.

With a search through the database, Ishii was immediately met with matching results. Three years ago, there had in fact been a missing persons report with the name of Ikuta Tomoko filed to the police. With no further delay, he requested for the documents.

In her fourth year as a student in Meisei University, a friend of hers had submitted the report. Some investigation had been performed. According to it, Tomoko had suddenly disappeared with no warning whatsoever.

There had been no signs of struggle nor damage at the campus dorm where she had lived alone, and the furniture had been left as it is. Since insufficient evidence had been found and there hadn’t been any witnesses, the case had become forgotten with time.

In reality, this happened often. Ishii promptly contacted Makoto on his phone.

<Hello?> “This is Ishii Yuutarou.”

Makoto replied, stifling out a laugh. This sort of banter had seemed to become a routine between them.

“About the matter you requested...” <You’ve found something?>

Makoto’s tone raised in an instant. “Yes.” Ishii then shared the result of his investigation with Makoto.

Finished listening to Ishii’s explanation, Makoto mumbled, <So it was true after all—> “Does the missing person case from three years ago have something to do with the current case?” asked Ishii.

Makoto gave a pause as if thinking. “I suppose so...”

<Anyway, I’ll let Yakumo-kun know about this fact.> “Ah, about that, let me contact him. There are other things I need to report to him as well.”

<Alright. Please do.> After ending his conversation with Makoto, Ishii was about to make a call to Yakumo right as Miyagawa returned.

He must have been running all over the place. The exhaustion on his face was apparent. Ishii would like to let his superior catch a break, yet he was interested in what information Miyagawa had managed to obtain. “Um...” Ishii began.

“I know,” Miyagawa replied as he crashed on his seat. “I’ve asked a bunch of neighbours around that house and apparently ever since the accident, the family hardly interacted with their neighbours.” “Is that so...”

Instead of cutting off contact deliberately, the more probable reason would be the lack of free time as they had to scramble around following the accident. “After her son’s disappearance, Harue lived by herself there, but she quickly fell ill and became constantly bedridden.”

The hospital bed in the room where Ishii had seen a ghost materialised in his mind. Most likely, Harue had drawn her final breath on that bed.

Thinking about it, Harue had lost so much in so little time. Her daughter in law. Granddaughter. And finally, her son— Ishii’s chest grew tighter, imagining the time she had spent in that lonely hospital bed after a string of constant loss.

“Well, the point is, I didn’t manage to find out anything useful,” Miyagawa laughed mockingly at himself. No, that wasn’t the case. Hearing that information just now, Ishii came up with a way to investigate the Kawakami family.

The hospital bed had belonged to Harue. In that case, there should be a caretaker or someone who would be going in and out of that house prior to her passing. They might be able to learn something from there.

“Weren’t you going to call someone just now?” Miyagawa brought Ishii to his senses, phone still in hand as he had intended to call Yakumo earlier. “Ah yes, excuse me for a bit,” Ishii took his phone out to the hallway and called Yakumo.

<How are things?> Yakumo quickly spoke as soon as he picked up the call. He was acting composed, but the restlessness in his heart slipped through at times.

Ishii himself was actually panicking too. Haruka’s safety was in his mind the entire time. “I managed to learn a number of interesting things—”

Setting aside his awful thoughts, Ishii went straight into telling everything he had heard from the nurse Satou and Hata, as well as what information Miyagawa had gathered. Yakumo showed interest in Hata’s story in particular, inquiring about it in more detail in terms of nuances and such.

The conversation back then had remained fresh in Ishii’s mind, and he tried to describe it as accurately as possible. At the end of it, Ishii hurriedly called out to Yakumo who was about to hang up.

He nearly forgot to share something important. Ishii then told him about the investigation Makoto had requested, that a missing person report for a woman named Ikuta Tomoko had in fact been filed to the police three years ago.

<Is that true?> Yakumo’s response to that information was clearly unlike the rest. He seemed to think that this fact was rather crucial.

“Yes.” <Can I have a look at the documents?>

“Yes. I’ll bring it over.” <Please do. Ah, before that, if there are any photos of that woman, I’d like to have it sent over by email or something.>

“Understood.” Ishii should be able to handle something that simple.

<Little by little, I feel like I’m starting to see the outline of this case,> Yakumo mumbled. “Eh? Really?” Ishii sounded much louder than he had imagined that he took himself by surprise.

Even so, there was no chance he wouldn’t be surprised over this. <Yes. I don’t have any proof yet, but we might be able to find her.>

“Thank goodness,” Ishii stroked his chest in relief. Since those words came from Yakumo, who had resolved many cases until now, he should be able to believe it.

<But we shouldn’t let our guard down. Considering how that woman operates—> Yakumo’s words seemingly echoed in layers within Ishii’s ear canal.

He was right. They shouldn’t lower their guard. There was no mistaking that Nanase Miyuki was somehow involved in this array of cases. Ishii hardly thought that woman would let her tail get caught so easily, either.

The woman’s cold, sadistic smile made its way into Ishii’s thoughts. -

19 -

Gotou turned to see a concrete building in view. The structure itself, with its flat concrete roof illuminated by bluish white moonlight, gave the impression of a box.

The corpse inside a box had been discovered in this location. Right afterwards, Haruka had been abducted. They weren’t mistaken in thinking that the place bore a connection to Haruka’s case. Hence, they decided to investigate the site once again.

Gotou took a glance at Yakumo next to him. His face was as expressionless as ever, but deep inside he must be going through a level of anxiousness he had never experienced before.

To Yakumo, Haruka wasn’t merely a woman he had feelings for. Yakumo had constantly denied his own existence and walked amongst the dark. Towards someone like that, Haruka had been the one to shine a light over and reach out to save him. It was thanks to Haruka that Yakumo could finally accept his own existence.

Should he lose that light, Yakumo would certainly fall into darkness to the point of no return. And that was precisely Nanase Miyuki’s objective.

I definitely won’t let that happen. That strong resolve was born within Gotou. ”Please stop staring at me like that. It’s gross,” cursed Yakumo.

He might be acting normally, but the absence of composure in his words was obvious. Despite that, Gotou didn’t point it out. Yakumo was well aware of the fact, more than anyone else.

“Shut up. Anyway, let’s go.” Gotou began walking in vigour, but Yakumo called to stop him. “Wait a moment.”

He turned around to find Yakumo looking at his phone screen. Peering over, he saw a photo of a woman displayed there. Someone he didn’t recognise.

“Who’s that?” “I asked Ishii-san to send it over.”

“Aah.” Hearing that, it all made sense to Gotou. He had overheard Yakumo’s conversation with Ishii moments ago. It must be the woman who had disappeared after visiting this warehouse three years ago.

“That woman is connected to this case?” “Yes. I’m certain after seeing the photo,” Yakumo said so firmly.

“What’s the connection?” “She’s the one—”

Yakumo’s red left eye had a sharp glint to it. “Of what?”

“The female ghost who came to my place.” “What!?”

Gotou finally understood. They were investigating a total of four spiritual cases this time. One of them being the female ghost who had appeared in Yakumo’s place.

To think that the identity of that ghost was the woman who had disappeared three years ago— It felt as if a piece of the scattered puzzle had finally found its way to its rightful placement.

“In any case, that means we really gotta check inside this warehouse one more time,” Gotou stared at the building right in front of him. Perhaps with the acquisition of new information, the building seemed to emanate an aura far more terrifying than before.

“Anyway, let’s hurry and go,” Gotou was about to make a move, but before he had the chance to, Yakumo stopped him once again. Not with words this time, but by catching his arm. Yakumo was no Ishii, so it couldn’t be that the man got cold feet at the last minute.

“What’s wrong?” Gotou asked, but Yakumo gave no reply. Still, he was staring straight into the building—no, that wasn’t it. Yakumo was looking even further away.

Towards the densely populated little forest just ahead of the building. “You…” Yakumo mumbled as he began walking. He passed the side of the building, cutting through weeds as he stepped forward.

Where is he going? Gotou chased after Yakumo whilst questioning the fact.

The density of the trees obscured the moonlight that the further in, the darker it became. Roughly thirty metres away from the building, Yakumo halted his steps and crouched to inspect something on the ground.

Is something there? Now caught up to Yakumo, Gotou peeked over from behind his back.

Over there— —was a box.

It appeared to be a gigantic cooler box, old and brownish in colour. Since when was this box placed here? Normally, no one would have gone this far in, so the box must have been sitting here for a long time.

“This was dug up only recently,” Yakumo said as if he had read Gotou’s mind. “How’d you know?”

“Take a look at this,” Yakumo traced the surface of the box with his finger. The dirt covering the box’s surface came off following the trail of Yakumo’s finger. After which, the original colour of the box was revealed to be white underneath.

I see. The box had a brownish appearance from all the dirt stuck to it. In other words, as Yakumo had stated, the box hadn’t always been placed here, but had been dug out recently by someone.

Still, something didn’t make sense to him. “What is this box exactly?” Gotou questioned, and Yakumo exhaled a long sigh, briefly turning his gaze at the sky.

Winds blew, shifting the tree branches back and forth. After giving a brief pause, Yakumo looked at Gotou. The darkness lurking within his eyes was indescribable.

“We’ll know once we open it,” Yakumo said calmly, and slowly opened the box. Its contents were hardly visible in the dark. Gotou switched on the flashlight he brought and shone it over the inside of the box.

Within laid a woman with long hair, curled into a foetal position. Her body had long since rotted. She must have been deceased for quite some time. “What on earth is this...”

“Ikuta Tomoko-san who disappeared three years ago,” said Yakumo, who then closed his eyes quietly. -

Translation Notes [1] Umibozu (海坊主) is a bald, humanoid sea-spirit creature from Japanese folklore.

[2] Police contact form (巡回連絡カード) is a form one fills out with contact information for the police to use in the event of emergencies.

[3] Takobozu (たこ坊主) is a word for someone with a bald or shaved head, perhaps like calling someone ‘baldy’, but I left it untranslated as to not lose reference to the prior Umibozu nickname.

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