Chaotic Gremlin

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1

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The dining hall was blanketed in heavy atmosphere—

No sunlight came through as the rain poured continuously, filling the space with humidity, but that wasn’t the main reason.

There had been a landslide at the only road connected to the inn, rendering them unable to leave the place.

“This feels like the sort of situation that often happens in mystery novels,” Haruka was reminded of the novel by Agatha Christie she had once read, voicing out the fact to Yakumo who was beside her.

“A closed circle, you mean?” Yakumo gave an answer as if boasting about his terrible mood.

“Ah, yeah, that.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but this situation is far from being a closed circle.”

“Is that so?”

“A closed circle is formed when contact with the outside world has been cut off completely. In this day and age, it’s difficult to replicate such a condition.”

“How so?”

“Because there’s this.”

Yakumo took out a phone out of his pocket.

He had a point. Nowadays, nearly everyone has a phone. They could be used across all of Japan and only a few areas were completely out of network coverage.

Even with the road blocked off, they remain connected to the outside world as long as they have a phone.

Eh? But right now the signal’s… Haruka held back the words she had nearly said.

Right now they had no phone signal. Though, according to Natsumi, this could happen every now and then. In other words, this was only temporary and the signal would likely be restored later on.

“Besides, there’s also the landline. Katsuragi-san went out to get help, didn’t he?” added Yakumo.

“You’re right.”

The owner of the inn, Katsuragi, was in the middle of contacting the fire department using the landline at the staff room. Though the severity of the landslide remained unclear, the road should be accessible again at some point.

As Yakumo had pointed out, it was an exaggeration to declare the situation as a closed circle.

”Rather than that, the issue is more about her—” Yakumo muttered as he glanced towards the neighbouring table.

Now present at the dining hall were Haruka and Yakumo, as well as Amatsuka Mafuyu; no more than the three of them.

Natsumi had left to usher her visiting friends—Kiyomiya, Yoshida, and Jurina—towards their rooms.

A gaudy patterned shirt and tight black skirt. Mafuyu had wavy hair and wore rugged accessories; the kind of flashy appearance reminiscent of Japan’s bubble era.

She was the person who had made the prophecy that three souls will fall into hell, and her appearance roused suspicion.

Mafuyu was in the middle of wiping her wet hair with a towel, but perhaps she noticed Yakumo staring, so her hand paused and she turned in their direction.

”Why did you two come to this inn?”

As she threw that question, Mafuyu took out a lipstick from her purse and slowly applied it to her thick lips.

Her lips were now dyed a deep shade of red.

Her makeup had been ruined from all the water. If she wanted to fix it, she should have thoroughly cleaned it beforehand. The fact that she only applied lipstick felt odd.

“Do we need to have a reason to be here?” Yakumo replied flatly.

“You knew about my prophecy, no?”

“What prophecy?”

“No point acting clueless. I could tell when watching your reactions earlier. You two were frowning when hearing my name. You must’ve made those faces because you’ve known about my name and prophecy beforehand, have you not?”

Mafuyu was putting on mascara even as she spoke.

Her antics may be strange, but her logic was sound. Her observations were rather sharp, too.

”It’s just as you said. We’ve known about your prophecy ahead of time,” Yakumo snorted a laugh as he replied.

“Why’d you come here if you already knew? The souls that will fall into hell might just be yours—”

A provocative manner of speaking, but Yakumo wouldn’t be shaken by just that.

“From the way you talk, you seem confident that your prophecy will happen.”

“That’s right. It will happen. For sure—”

Now finished with her mascara, Mafuyu lifted her face.

With her overly red lips and sharp, black eyelashes, she appeared like a different person from before. Truly the embodiment of the phrase, a woman transforms with makeupー

“In that case, allow me to ask. With what methods do you conjure a prophecy?”

Yakumo shifted his chair such that his body was entirely facing towards Mafuyu.

“It’s difficult to explain, as I’m not conscious when I get them. I would get visions out of nowhere, such as while sleeping.”

“By that, you mean you can see an event that will happen in the future like watching a movie?”

“It’s not that vivid. I see more of an abstract visualisation.”

“A visualisation?”

“Basically. All sorts of visions playing out like a flashback. Like lumps of metal, or a small fire—and this time around: black water, a red triangle, and something resembling spirits falling down.”

“I see. So you have no idea whose lives will be lost?”

“It’s unfortunate, but I can’t see with that level of clarity.”

“Sounds like a convenient excuse,” said Yakumo.

“Ahaha!” Mafuyu burst into laughter. “You’re an interesting one. So you two are here because you don’t believe in my prophecy, yes?”

“That’s right,” Yakumo nodded firmly.

“Fine by me. But—my prophecy will absolutely happen. No use in denying it as it’s been on the nose many times.”

No matter what others said, her opinion stood unwavering. Mafuyu’s confidence seemed resolute.

“If so, let me ask you the same question.”

“What?”

“You don’t know who’s going to die, so it could also be you, right?”

“Of course, that’s how it ends up being.”

“Why then, did you come to this place knowing that you might die?”

Yakumo’s gaze grew sharper.

Haruka thought Mafuyu would be a little shaken, being at the receiving end of such a hostile look, yet she showed no signs of it. She seemed to have some guts herself.

“I said it when I arrived earlier. I’m here to prevent my prophecy from happening.”

“To prevent it?”

“Yes. Why is it that I end up with this prophetic ability? I didn’t know at first. But now I understand the reason. It’s because my duty is to stop it.”

So her motive wasn’t to save others. Rather, Mafuyu appeared to be drunk in her own heroism.

Her desire to be the center of attention might be just as strong.

“I thought you said your prophecies will always happen?” Yakumo questioned with cold eyes.

“So far, yes.”

“Not this time—is that it?”

“Yes. All this time, I’ve never been present at the scene. But right now that isn’t the case.”

“Even though you’ve only been seeing abstract visualisations, how come this was the only time you could discern the location? Not to mention the day of?”

Yakumo’s eyes were filled with suspicion.

At the mention of the fact, it did seem out of place. All of Mafuyu’s past prophecies had no exact time of event. That way, even if the prophecy had been off, she could cover it up with an excuse.

Yet this time, the prophecy’s expected date of occurrence was limited to the last day of July.

“I don’t know why myself. But I do think it was because my ability’s becoming stronger. The once vague visions are becoming more concrete.”

“I see—” Yakumo nodded, but his expression made it clear that he didn’t believe Mafuyu’s story in the slightest.

Of course, Haruka felt the same way. Mafuyu’s words couldn’t be believed one bit.

“Next, it’s your turn to answer my question.” Mafuyu spoke as she slicked back her damp hair.

“Your question?”

“I get that you don’t believe in my prophecy. I have no intention to criticise that. But that means you have your reasons to be here, yes? You two don’t seem like guests here.”

How did Yakumo plan to answer? Haruka turned to him and found strength within his eyes.

“We were called here to investigate the spiritual phenomena taking place at this inn.”

“Oh? A ghost appeared here? And you’re so young, too. To think that you’re a medium.”

Mafuyu pulled her body backwards. Done with such exaggeration, it gave the impression of an act of mockery.

“It’s a little different from being a medium. Unlike you, I don’t have any special abilities.”

Yakumo purposely emphasised the word ‘special’. Even Mafuyu should be able to tell that it was an insult, but she remained unperturbed.

“Then, how do you plan to investigate?”

“I have my ways,” Yakumo gave a vague reply.

“Oh? You bombard other people with questions, yet your lips are sealed when it comes to yourself.”

As Mafuyu said all those with a tone of disbelief, they heard an angry yell.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

-

2

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The yelling came from upstairs.

Haruka and Yakumo exchanged glances. Even without a word, they knew what to do next. The two stood up, left the dining hall, and ran up the stairs.

Arriving at the second floor, they could see Natsumi on the right side corridor. She was right in front of room 202.

Natsumi shrunk with her shoulders raised, her gaze falling to her feet. In front of her was the man who was supposedly here on a long-term stay.

“I never heard of something like that happening! What’s the meaning of this?! Do something about it now!”

The man vented his anger at Natsumi, his face beet red. What had happened was unclear, but he’d gone overboard regardless.

Apparently he had previously been a member of the parliament. Perhaps due to having once held a position of power, he was under the illusion that he could get away with being self-centered.

“Don’t just stay silent, say something!” The man shoved Natsumi’s shoulders.

Natsumi couldn’t hold her footing and ended up staggering backwards until she crashed against the wall.

“Please stop this,” Haruka put herself between the two to protect Natsumi.

“Who the hell are you?” The man said arrogantly with a glare.

Though afraid, Haruka refused to give in to such a tyrannical human being, so she glared back.

Maybe from overhearing the noise, Natsumi’s three friends—Kiyomiya, Yoshida, and Jurina—also turned up in succession.

“What’s with the commotion?”

“Natsumi-chan, what happened?”

“Are you alright?”

With their arrival, Haruka felt like she was getting reinforcements.

“Hey, Uncle. What have you done to Natsumi-chan?” Kiyomiya urged the man.

Now that the number of people against him had increased, the man stopped acting violent. He adjusted his behaviour to the situation. Truly the lowest of the low.

“I didn’t do anything. I merely asked her to explain the situation.”

“What situation?” asked Kiyomiya.

The man let out a small sigh as if finding it troublesome, before opening his mouth, “Just now this woman came by and told me I can’t leave this place because of a landslide. That’s why, I wanted a more detailed explanation about the fact.”

Listening to this, Haruka could deduce what might have happened.

After showing Kiyomiya, Yoshida, and Jurina into their rooms, Natsumi had reported about the landslide to this man, who hadn’t been present at the hall.

Hearing the news seemed to have angered him.

Still, Haruka didn’t understand. The man stressed that he only wanted an explanation, but earlier he had demanded Natsumi to do something about it at once.

No human could prevent landslides, or any natural disaster for that matter. In reality, he likely had just been letting out his anger by blaming others.

“If you only wanted an explanation, then I think using violence isn’t necessary.” Haruka spoke, unable to hold back anymore.

“Huh? What do you mean by violence? If that’s true, I’m not letting this slide,” Kiyomiya threatened with a glare.

Yoshida and Jurina altogether said, “Are you alright?” and “You good?” whilst they peered at Natsumi's face with concern.

The man glanced at Haruka, clicking his tongue. It’s gotten troublesome thanks to your blabbermouth—was written all over his face.

“Stop with your accusations. I didn’t do anything violent. I merely put a hand on her shoulder. She was the one who started staggering all by herself.”

What absurd reasoning. He refused to acknowledge his mistakes entirely and made up stories to justify his actions. The worst type of person.

Even so, being told that, Haruka didn’t know what to reply.

“Everything will be settled if you would just apologise,” said Yakumo, who’d been silently observing the situation since earlier. He remained composed, showing no signs of hostility unlike Haruka and the others.

“Why should I apologise? I didn’t do anything.”

The man’s gaze shifted towards Yakumo.

“I’m not buying that excuse. You obviously shoved Natsumi-san earlier. If you refuse to agree, let’s call the police now.”

“What—?!”

“There are two witnesses. No, three, even.”

After looking at Haruka, Yakumo turned towards Mafuyu who stood behind him. Mafuyu responded to him with a nod.

“P-police, you say...”

“I’m sure you’re aware that committing an assault is punishable by a fine of up to three hundred thousand yen or prison time of up to two years. I suppose you’re someone of notable standing. If you were to be arrested, your name would appear in the news. That would put you in hot water, wouldn’t it?”

“Ugh...”

As Yakumo presented the facts to him without faltering, the man finally ran out of words.

“Rather than causing a commotion, I think it would be better for you to settle things with an apology,” Yakumo repeated the request.

He was indeed skilled at cornering people. The man was on the losing side of this argument, now looking dispirited.

“That’s right. All you need to do is apologise. At your advanced age, are you unable to do something as common as that?”

Mafuyu stepped forward to face the man and delivered the final blow riddled with insults.

However, even Haruka could tell that Mafuyu’s words only infuriated the man.

As suspected, the man’s anger was all fired up again.

“What exactly do you want? If you want to call the police, go ahead!” he yelled with his face all flushed.

“What now, acting all high and mighty again now that you’re going against a woman? Aren’t you embarrassed of yourself?”

“Shut up! A crude woman like you is in no place to insult me!”

The situation became heated again. Yakumo also frowned, possibly in disbelief over Mafuyu’s unneeded act of provocation.

That was when the door to room 202 opened, and an elderly woman emerged. Her appearance was tidy, giving the impression of intellect and elegance. Perhaps she was this man’s wife.

It was clear that her arrival had put out the man’s anger.

The man was arrogant and violent to outsiders, yet unexpectedly seemed like he would be docile at home.

“There’s no need to be so loud, right? You should apologise,” the woman reprimanded.

With a stiff expression, the man said in a low voice, “My apologies—” before heading back inside his room.

“I’m his wife, Mitsue. I also would like to apologise on his behalf. Sorry for troubling you all.” The woman bowed and lowered her head deeply.

A gesture so elegant that it entirely transformed the once tense atmosphere of one part of the corridor.

“Not at all. We’d also like to apologise...” said Natsumi.

Where the situation stood, Haruka didn’t think Natsumi had anything to apologise for, but the woman’s integrity must have gotten to her as well.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” The woman looked at Natsumi with concern.

“No. I’m alright.”

“Thank goodness. Pardon for all the ruckus. My husband didn’t use to be that way, but lately he’s been quick to get emotional—but I suppose this isn’t a valid excuse. Please forgive him.”

The woman bowed for one more time. Her leg seemed unwell; she returned to her room whilst lightly dragging her left leg.

“Hey. Wasn’t that Takabe just now?” Jurina mumbled as she watched the closed door.

“You know him?” asked Haruka.

Jurina nodded. “He’s a former member of the city council. But before that, apparently he used to be a principal at our high school,” she said.

“Ah!” Kiyomiya and Yoshida made a face of realisation. “That Takabe!”

“Seriously? Wasn’t he more overweight before? He was so skinny just now.” Kiyomiya and Yoshida commented.

“He really is Principal Takabe...” Natsumi, who’d been scared since earlier, spoke in a hoarse voice. Her eyes seemed to carry some sort of anxiety.

“I see—”

Interrupting Haruka’s surprise over the unexpected coincidence, Mafuyu spoke, “Hold on a minute. You guys went to the same high school in the same academic year, and that man was the principal?”

At Mafuyu’s question, Jurina reiterated their relations to one another.

For a moment, Mafuyu seemed to gaze at the distance, appearing lost in thought, before her expression turned serious and she pulled her chin inward as if she had understood something.

“You aren’t gathered here by mere coincidence. This must be fate—”

Just what sort of fate, Haruka had no idea of, but her chest rumbled. She felt a premonition—that something awful was about to come.

Turning towards Yakumo, she found him standing there without a trace of expression.

-

3

-

“Can we speak for a moment?” said Mafuyu.

Natsumi, Kiyomiya, Yoshida, and Jurina then gathered at the dining hall. Haruka and Yakumo weren't explicitly invited, but decided to join nevertheless.

Maybe having expected that Haruka and Yakumo would also be present, Mafuyu simply nodded without a word.

“So, could you tell us about that Takabe person from earlier?”

Mafuyu crossed her legs with a movement that could be described as elegant as she observed the faces of those present.

“Jurina had said it before, he was a principal at the high school we attended,” Yoshida was the first to speak.

“During which school year?”

“If I recall correctly, it was in our first year. He went into early retirement that year.”

“Not because he was of retirement age?”

“No. From what I know, he became a candidate for the city council, was elected, and became a member of the parliament. He only served for one period and didn’t come forward as a candidate for a second period. Because of his wife’s health recovery.”

“You sure know a lot.” Mafuyu narrowed her eyes.

In truth, few students would know what the principal who had served in their first year of high school would be up to in the present.

From a high school student’s point of view, the principal was someone with a position of power whom they rarely interact with. Haruka too couldn’t recall the exact name and face of her former principal.

“My father is also a parliament member,” Yoshida explained in a reluctant tone.

So that was how it was—it now made sense. Yoshida had all that information because of his father’s occupation. At the same time, Haruka understood the origin behind the refinement that the man emanated; he had a decent upbringing.

”Do you remember what he was like as a school principal?” asked Mafuyu.

Yoshida frowned in confusion. “I don’t really remember. I heard about him because of his connections with my father, but that was after he became a parliament member. I don’t think he ever spoke about his time at the school. Isn’t that just how principals are?”

Mafuyu nodded satisfactorily at Yoshida’s answer, then threw a question at Jurina, “How about you?”

“Eh? Me? Even Hikaru-kun had no idea, let alone myself.”

Jurina shrugged her shoulders jokingly.

”And you?”

Mafuyu’s question now landed on Kiyomiya.

”I can’t recall much either. But he didn’t seem like a decent person.”

”Isn’t that just because you saw how he was acting earlier?” added Jurina immediately.

”It’s not that,” Kiyomiya denied, but since there was no substantial basis to the claim, Jurina’s argument may be right.

”How about you?” Finally, Mafuyu asked Natsumi.

”I-I also don’t really recall…”

The same answer as the other three, but something felt off. There was a pause before her reply, and her words came out weak.

Mafuyu seemed to have noticed as well. “Is that so—” she replied, yet whilst giving a look of suspicion.

”You really don’t remember?” Mafuyu asked again.

”Yes.”

”You knew that he was your former principal, though?”

”Well, yeah…”

”Did you tell him? That you used to be one of his students.”

”No. He doesn’t remember me, so I thought there’s no use telling him on purpose—”

Dissatisfied with Natsumi’s reply, Mafuyu placed a hand on her red lips, pondering over something, and suddenly turned towards Yakumo.

”What do you think?”

Why did she direct the conversation towards Yakumo at a timing like this? All despite Yakumo and Haruka being outsiders.

”Beats me. Even if you ask for my input…”

At such an answer from Yakumo, Mafuyu became disappointed. “Right,” she mumbled.

”Um, why are you so curious about that person?” asked Jurina.

Mafuyu’s lips turned into a curve. No, rather than a curve, she was laughing. A laughter filled with mockery—

“I’m not just curious about him.”

”What do you mean?” Yoshida demanded an explanation.

”You guys knew about my prophecy, no?”

The four of them nodded.

“Sins of the past shall be shed to light. If without repentance, three souls will fall into hell—I had foreseen as such, but what sin was being referred to here exactly? That I do not know. However, you guys went to the same high school in the same academic year, and your principal from that time is staying here. Putting those facts together, the answer will naturally reveal itself.”

Mafuyu stopped talking and took her time observing the faces of Yoshida, Jurina, Kiyomiya, and Natsumi in turn.

Haruka thought she was about to say something, but there was not a word out of Mafuyu’s mouth. She merely flashed a smile rich in meaning.

”What’s with you?”

The moment Jurina voiced out her complaints, Mafuyu finally opened her mouth, “I said so earlier. The fact that all of you gathered today in this inn is not by coincidence, but fate. In other words, the sin that needed repentance lies somewhere in your high school days.” 

”Us?” Kiyomiya made a dubious expression.

”That’s right. You four are hiding some sort of sin. Am I mistaken?”

”What sin? I didn’t do anything,” Jurina refuted in anger. While Yoshida snorted into a laugh, perhaps finding the whole thing ridiculous.

Among them, Natsumi was the only one whose face became pale as a ghost.

“By sin, could it be...” she said in a hoarse voice.

“You know something about it?” Mafuyu urged her.

“No. It’s not like that… but…”

“But?”

“A classmate from that time came to mind...”

“And who might that be?”

“No. As I thought, nevermind.”

Natsumi bit down on her lips, shaking her head. Anyone could have seen that she was hiding something.

“If there’s something you guys need to repent about, it’s best to speak up now. It might be your only salvation from my prophecy—”

Mafuyu gazed straight ahead towards Natsumi.

Despite the fear in her expression, Natsumi opened her mouth to say something. However, Jurina stood up to interject.

“There’s no use talking about something this absurd. Besides, there’s no way that prophecy will happen. Come on, no need to entertain this auntie. Let’s just go,” Jurina pulled at Yoshida’s hand.

“Right,” Yoshida agreed straight away and stood up, before the two made their way out the dining hall.

“I’ll be leaving too,” Kiyomiya similarly got up from his chair and walked away.

Natsumi appeared to hesitate at first, but soon after she said, “I’ve got work to do...” and left.

“I’ll ask again. What do you think?”

After watching the four of them leave the dining hall, Mafuyu turned to Yakumo once more.

“About what?” Yakumo returned the question with a bitter chuckle.

“My analysis. I believe that the sins of the past that will be shed to light had to do with those four and that principal. If the truth is revealed, this might just end without anyone having to die,” Mafuyu spoke as if to ascertain her each and every word.

“Even if you tell me that...” Yakumo replied as he ruffled his mess of a hair.

“What’s wrong? I’m truly interested in what you think about all that information.”

“Your analysis was built on the belief that your prophecy will absolutely happen. On the other hand, I don’t believe in your prophecy even one bit.”

“Still, it was obvious they were hiding something, no?”

“I don’t deny that fact.”

“In that case, shall we cooperate? It might just be related to the spiritual phenomena you’re investigating.”

Haruka didn’t expect Mafuyu to come up with that proposal.

“Our ways of thinking are fundamentally different. I think it would be impossible for us to cooperate,” Yakumo flat out rejected.

“Right—” Mafuyu laughed in defeat and agreed, before she rose to her feet and saw herself out the dining hall.

The moment she was no longer in sight, Yakumo exhaled a long sigh. Unusual for him, his face showed a look of bewilderment.

-

4

-

“Oh dear, this is really, really bad—”

In place of Mafuyu, Katsuragi returned to the dining hall.

“Did something happen?” asked Haruka.

Katsuragi frowned and laughed bitterly, “I tried to contact the fire department, but they said they wouldn’t be able to act until the rain has calmed as they feared another landslide might happen.”

“I-is that so?”

“It’s unfortunate, but the road won't be cleared up for some time. I’m truly sorry.”

Katsuragi politely bowed.

“There’s no need for you to apologise, Katsuragi-san,” Haruka said in a hurry.

There was no point complaining about a natural disaster. Doing so would make them no different from Takabe.

Furthermore, though they had been called over by Natsumi, they had come here out of their own volition. This was their own responsibility to bear.

“What a good kid you are.”

“Not at all,”

“I’d feel bad if you two remained here. I had a room prepared. Feel free to use it as you like. Of course, it’s on the house, so don’t worry about paying.”

Katsuragi handed a key with a room number block plate attached.

“Thank you very much.”

Haruka accepted the key, and Katsuragi began heading for the kitchen.

“Excuse me—” Yakumo called out to Katsuragi.

“What is it?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask…”

“Sure, if I’m able to answer it.” Katsuragi smiled, narrowing his eyes in a friendly manner.

“Since when has Natsumi been working part-time here?”

“The summer of this year.”

“How did you end up hiring her?”

“I didn’t hire her. Previously, she had stayed here and really seemed to like the place. She was the one who asked whether I was looking for any part-timers.”

“I see—then, one more thing.”

“What?”

“I heard that a guest named Takabe-san is staying here for some sort of health recuperation. Is it for his wife’s recovery or his own?”

“His wife’s, if I recall. Some sort of mental illness, was it? Depression, perhaps…”

Haruka jogged her memory of Mitsue, Takabe’s wife. The woman had an elegant and assertive air to her and didn’t seem like she was suffering from mental illness. Even so, Haruka had heard that depression was a condition with ups and downs. Not something one could identify within such a brief encounter.

“Is that so,” Yakumo replied as he made a mess of his tousled hair in frustration.

“Well then, I shall be preparing dinner,” Katsuragi was about to go to the kitchen when the aforementioned Takabe appeared with his face all flustered.

“Hey! You! Cut it out already!” Takabe said harshly whilst urging Katsuragi as if he was about to hurl at him.

“P-Please calm yourself. What happened that made you so angry?”

Albeit confused by the sudden threats, Katsuragi tried to calm Takabe down.

Yet Takabe’s anger did not subside one bit.

“What—you say? You’re playing some kind of prank with me.”

“Prank?”

“Yes! You’re threatening me with something strange. What are you trying to do?”

Takabe was merely spewing forth his anger that they couldn’t get the gist of what made him so mad in the first place.

“What happened?”

The one who stepped in to mediate the conversation was Yakumo.

“You’re butting in again.”

Takabe glared at Yakumo.

By again, he was probably referring to their encounter in front of his room.

“My apologies. This is just my disposition. Rather than that, could you please calmly tell us what happened? If we could just understand what sort of prank you mentioned, Takabe-san, there might be something we could do to help.”

Likely in order to pacify Takabe, Yakumo was talking at a slower pace than usual. Having encountered many difficult situations, he knew exactly how to handle an agitated person.

“Someone was peeking at me from my room window.”

With his breathing irregular from temper, Takabe finally spoke of what had happened.

“From outside the window?” Haruka blurted in surprise.

Takabe’s room should have been on the second floor. It was strange to think that someone would be peeking through the window.

“You’re doubting me?” Takabe glared.

“Ah, I wasn’t...”

“Did you see the person’s face?” Yakumo asked whilst signalling at Haruka to be quiet with his eyes.

“No. I couldn’t see it because it was dark, but it was probably a woman.”

“Was she just peeking through? Did she not say anything at all?”

“She said something strange.”

“What was it?”

“Remember your sin—repent yourself—she said something along those lines.”

Eh?

Haruka nearly made a sound, but thankfully she covered her mouth just in time.

She was certain that the voice Takabe heard had been referring to Mafuyu’s prophecy. If that were truly so, one of the souls in need of repentance would be Takabe.

No, in Takabe’s room there was also his wife, Mitsue, so there remained the possibility that the words were directed at his wife.

“May I take a look at your room? Perhaps I could find some evidence that could lead us to the perpetrator,” Yakumo suggested as he slowly stood.

However, Takabe’s reaction was less than favorable.

“What could a brat like you even figure out?”

An infuriating way of speaking as always.

Haruka knew of Yakumo’s unique ability and his outstanding observational skills, but that wasn’t the case for Takabe, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Of course, I don’t know anything.” Yakumo formed a smile.

Haruka thought he would start arguing, yet his reply was beyond expected.

“Then there’s no reason for me to bring you inside my room.”

“Please don’t rush into conclusions. I can’t do anything on my own. But I know a friend who’s a police detective. He’d be able to investigate things if I could just provide him with some information.”

“Police detective?”

“Yes. Chief of Setamachi Police Investigation Division One, Superintendent Gotou.”

Gotou was not the chief of a police investigation division, nor was he of superintendent rank. There were limits to exaggeration, but Haruka felt that this was the appropriate course of response.

For someone like Takabe, who was fixated on people’s hierarchy, this fabricated position would certainly have a positive effect.

As suspected, Takabe said, “If that’s the case—” and began walking into his room.

Haruka followed him alongside Yakumo. Katsuragi, too, followed with a concerned look on his face.

As the owner of this inn, surely he wasn’t able to ignore this, either.

“Don’t tell me this is connected to the prophecy?” Haruka asked Yakumo in a low voice as they climbed the stairs.

“There’s that, and I’m also concerned about the spiritual phenomena,” Yakumo replied as he made a mess scratching his bedhead.

True. Haruka’s mind honed in on the prophecy, but if Natsumi’s accounts were true, then this inn was also troubled by spiritual phenomena.

The woman peeking through the second floor window might just be a ghost.

Takabe opened the door to room 202 and stepped inside. “Excuse me,” Haruka said as she went in after him.

Within the twenty tatami sized room were two beds, a round table, and a sofa. Sitting on the sofa was Mitsue’s figure with her back hunched.

The dignified appearance seen in front of the room earlier remained, yet this Mitsue appeared incredibly listless.

She seemed like a different person entirely.

“From that window, was it?”

Yakumo pointed to the window inside the room, to which Takabe nodded, “Yes.”

The sun was close to setting, so it was getting dark outside. Not to mention that the window was covered in raindrops that obscured the view. Even if someone was outside, their face wouldn’t be visible.

Haruka grew fearful and unable to take a step further at the thought that someone might be outside that window, but Yakumo walked forward without a care.

“When did you notice that there was a woman outside?” asked Yakumo as he approached the window, carefully examining it.

“It was my wife who noticed. She said that someone was outside—”

“I see. So, what did you do afterwards?”

“I looked at the window to check, and there really was a woman standing there.”

“Did you come closer and open the window?”

“I didn’t. I was going to come closer when I heard the strange voice I mentioned earlier,” said Takabe, and Yakumo made a face as if he had a revelation.

“Could it be that the voice had come from inside the room?”

“That’s right. How did you know?” Takabe asked with suspicion in his eyes.

He must be thinking that Yakumo had been behind the prank, being able to correctly guess the situation at the time.

“Simple enough. If the voice had come from outside, you had to have approached or opened the window.”

Indeed, that was true. Takabe had believed it to be someone’s prank from the start, so it could be understood that he wasn’t scared of the prophecy nor ghosts of any kind.

If the woman outside had spoken, he had to have come closer to the window.

Afterwards, Yakumo slowly cast his gaze across the room before saying, “Thank you. I’ve learned a number of things—” and leaving the room.

“You’ll actually be able to find the culprit, right?” Takabe said cynically.

His gaze was directed not at Yakumo who had left the room, but to Haruka.

“Ah, um. It’ll work out. Probably...”

Getting blamed would be troublesome, so Haruka rushed out of the room after quickly saying that.

-

5

-

When Haruka exited into the corridor, she found Yakumo leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, appearing lost in thought.

“How was it?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo lifted his left eyebrow. “As always, you never think for yourself.”

“I’m thinking about it, though.”

“Then, you would’ve understood without asking me.”

He dodged the question. Haruka was about to ask one more time when Katsuragi came out of the room.

“I think they just mistook what they saw,” Katsuragi held his head on his head, looking troubled.

That might be a possibility. However, even if they had been mistaken in seeing the woman in the window, it didn’t explain the voice they had heard. Though she had no basis for it, Haruka didn’t think that it had been a hallucination.

“Katsuragi-san, I have one request,” Yakumo called out to Katsuragi, who was about to descend the stairs.

“What is it?”

“I’d like to borrow the landline, is that alright? Our phones aren’t getting any signal—” Yakumo said as he took out his phone.

“If it’s about the fire department, I’ve already contacted them earlier...”

“That’s not it. Since my plans have drastically changed for the day, I’d like to inform my acquaintance.”

“The staff room isn’t locked, feel free to use it,” Having said that, Katsuragi went down the stairs and disappeared into the dining hall.

Yakumo then headed for the staff room. Haruka followed after him.

“Hey. Who are you going to call?” Haruka asked against Yakumo’s back.

“Gotou-san,” Yakumo mumbled as he walked past the hall.

“About the incident in Takabe-san’s room just now?”

He must be planning to contact Gotou like he had told Takabe.

“Honestly, I could care less about what happened in that room.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Rather, there’s something else I want to confirm.”

“And that is?”

Ignoring Haruka’s parading question, Yakumo briskly entered the staff room.

He could’ve just answered, but if Haruka were to press him any further, she’d be met with colorful insults.

Haruka relented and went into the staff room after him.

Yakumo reached for the landline receiver, pressing the numbers in quick succession whilst looking at the address book in his phone.

“Please amend how you answer phone calls—you can tell even without me needing to state my name, no? This is Yakumo. Goodness, what an unruly bear...” Yakumo spoke, sounding extremely displeased. 

Even Haruka, who wasn’t holding onto the receiver, could hear the sound of Gotou yelling, <Who are you calling a bear!>. Despite all the times that this had played out before, Gotou seemed enraged by Yakumo’s manner of speaking.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll keep things brief—” Yakumo began, before mentioning the names of everyone present at the inn and requested Gotou to look into their backgrounds.

Only Amatsuka Mafuyu might not be using her real name, so Yakumo asked Gotou to identify the person who had been using that name on the internet.

Next, Yakumo asked to check if anyone had died in a case or an accident around the guests and everyone else at the inn.

What the intention was, Haruka didn’t know, but Yakumo undoubtedly had a plan in mind.

“This number showed up on your phone, right? Once you know, please call this number back and… hm?”

Yakumo stopped mid-sentence before staring at the phone receiver, his expression perplexed. He then pressed the dial button and placed the receiver back against his ear. After repeating the act many times, he finally sighed.

“What’s wrong?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo slowly put down the phone receiver. “The call got cut off.”

“Maybe Gotou-san’s phone signal was bad? Why don’t you call him once again?”

“It’s not the phone signal that’s the problem. This telephone is. The line seems to have disconnected.”

“No way—”

Had the line gone out from the heavy rain? Or had someone done it deliberately? Whichever it was, the landline that had been their last hope was now unusable. Which meant the closed circle had now formed—

“So you two are here.”

The door suddenly opened and a voice could be heard.

Who?

Haruka turned to find Mafuyu standing in the doorway.

“You weren’t in the dining hall when I returned, then Katsuragi-san told me that you’re here.”

Without being asked, Mafuyu had stated the reason for her arrival in this room. One that sounded made up.

“What business do you have?” Feeling a bout of suspicion, Yakumo frowned.

“There’s something I forgot to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“You said earlier that you came upon request to investigate a spiritual phenomena. Who requested you?”

“You should know even without asking, right?” Yakumo scratched his messy hair as he exhaled a fed up sigh.

“Oh, and why is that?”

“It couldn’t have been a guest that requested a spiritual phenomena investigation. That leaves you with two candidates.”

Yakumo’s argument had some truth to it, yet unexpectedly, the average person wouldn’t be able to reach that conclusion straight away.

“That may be so. But I’ve come all the way here. So can you tell me who requested you?” Mafuyu asked as she formed a bitter smile.

“It was Natsumi-san—”

As if interrupting Yakumo’s brief answer, the sound of a scream could be heard.

What followed was loud thuds like the floor being hit repeatedly.

What?

Amidst Haruka’s confusion, Yakumo quickly ran off.

Without knowing anything, Haruka went after him.

As they arrived at the hall, she screamed without thinking, “Aaah!” and halted her steps.

A man was lying at the bottom of the stairs. His head appeared to have been hit with heavy impact; red blood seeped into the wooden floor.

The man’s startled expression remained frozen in time, facing up to the inn’s ceiling. It was Takabe—

If without repentance, three souls will fall into hell.

A line from Amatsuka Mafuyu’s prophecy came into Haruka’s mind. Could this mean that her prophecy had become reality?

Haruka didn’t want to believe it, yet the truth was before her eyes—

“Call Katsuragi-san now—” said Yakumo sharply, before he hurried to examine Takabe’s breathing and pulse.

Haruka also came back to her senses and ran towards the kitchen.

They could worry about the prophecy later. Right now, they needed to prioritise getting help.

“Katsuragi-san!”

Haruka ran inside the kitchen right as Katsuragi turned on the stove to make a stir-fry.

Katsuragi, who had been working in the kitchen, was unaware of what was happening. He gave a nonchalant reply, “What is it?”

Though panicking, Haruka realised the situation wouldn’t improve if she spoke frantically. After taking a breath, she finally explained in a concise manner that Takabe was lying in the hall, bleeding.

“Oh my goodness,”

Katsuragi instantly turned the stove off and pushed Haruka aside to go to the hall. Haruka also followed him.

Having heard all the noise, Natsumi, Kiyomiya, Yoshida, and Jurina looked downward from the second floor corridor.

“Takabe-san! Please hang in there!” Katsuragi called out in despair, crouching as he tapped on Takabe’s shoulder, but Takabe seemed to have lost consciousness and was unresponsive.

“What about the ambulance?” Katsuragi asked as he faced Yakumo.

“Mafuyu-san went to the staff room just now to call. But there’s a bit of a problem,”

“Problem?”

“Yes. Earlier when I was using the landline, the call got disconnected midway. Most likely that’s still the case even now—”

Hearing Yakumo’s report, Katsuragi's expression hardened.

“It’s no use! The call wouldn’t connect,” Returning from the staff room, Mafuyu delivered the final blow to the direness of the situation.

“He needs to go to the hospital right away. Let’s get him into the car,” Natsumi said as she descended the stairs.

“As much as I want to do that, with the current road conditions, there’s nothing we can do...” Katsuragi shook his head regretfully.

The road was presently closed due to the landslide. Even if they got Takabe inside the car, they wouldn’t be able to drive him to a hospital.

“That’s true, but I think we might as well try to go,” Natsumi emphasised with dissatisfaction.

“Nothing would change even with us leaving. In fact, it’d be more dangerous to leave in these weather conditions,”

“Now isn’t the time to say something like that. There is a human life at stake!” Natsumi yelled in anger.

Haruka was taken aback as she had been giving the impression of a meek person. Katsuragi felt the same; his eyes went wide.

“It’d be best to follow Katsuragi-san’s words now—” Someone interrupted the two’s debate; it was Yakumo.

“B-but, then this person will...”

With his gaze, Yakumo halted Natsumi’s dissatisfied rebuttal.

“Unfortunately, even bringing him to the hospital now would be too late. Takabe-san has already passed,” Yakumo shook his head lightly. After discovering Takabe lying on the floor, Yakumo had examined his breathing and pulse. That meant Takabe had died by then.

Katsuragi checked Takabe for signs of breathing and pulse one more time, but to no avail. He shook his head lethargically.

The hall was smothered in silence.

A person who had just been alive earlier had now become a motionless corpse before their eyes. Such a reality would send anyone present into a shock.

“What is going on?” A voice broke the silence.

They turned to find Mitsue, Takabe’s wife, standing in the second floor corridor. She must have gone out of her room after hearing all the commotion.

Explaining the situation to Mitsue felt like a heavy task. Haruka wasn’t alone in that thought, seeing not a single person had opened their mouth.

After some time, Mitsue’s eyes stopped at the sight of her husband lying at the bottom of the stairs, and she gasped.

“Oh… my goodness...” Mitsue’s voice was hoarse as she fell down weakly in place.

“Are you alright?” Haruka ran to approach Mitsue.

“Yes.”

Despite her answer, anyone would be able to tell that she wasn’t alright. Even though she had come here to recover from her depression, she ended up losing her husband in such a place; it was too pitiful.

“Everything is just as prophesied—” a voice said, seeming out-of-place.

It was Mafuyu.

The gazes of everyone present were directed at her.

“You cannot escape from the prophecy. If you do not wish to die, confess your sins and repent!” Mafuyu yelled in a high pitched voice, as Yakumo watched her figure with cold eyes.

-

6

-

Together with Natsumi, Haruka carried Mitsue, who couldn’t move from the shock, into her room.

“Thank you,” Mitsue whispered when Haruka and Natsumi sat her down on the bed inside room 202.

“Are you alright?” Haruka crouched in front of Mitsue.

Watching her hold herself together pained Haruka.

Her husband had died. There was no chance she would be alright. Haruka wished to say something more considerate, yet nothing came to mind.

“Yes. I’m fine now. Thank you.” Mitsue narrowed her eyes and gave a gentle smile.

However, Haruka could easily tell that it was a smile she had forced herself to make.

I won’t leave things as is. Haruka knew all too well that she was being overly meddlesome, but she couldn’t get up and see herself out of the room just like that.

Tears fell down from Mitsue’s eyes.

“All this seems to be making my feelings overflow,” she said with a laugh.

Haruka had no way of imagining what sort of life they had led as husband and wife. Still, the partner whom she had spent years together with had lost his life in such a manner. She must be engulfed in deep sadness.

“Would you like something to drink? Perhaps drinking something warm will calm your feelings,” said Haruka.

“Right. Thank you,” Mitsue replied.

Natsumi was quick to react, “I’ll go and bring some,” before leaving the room.

“Your complexion seems a little poor. I think you should lie down for a bit,” Haruka suggested as she gently placed a hand on Mitsue’s back. She responded, “Thanks. I think you’re right,” and slowly laid down on the bed with Haruka’s assistance.

The sight of Mitsue’s back, appearing small and frail, further emphasised her sadness.

To be frank, Haruka didn’t have a very good impression of Takabe.

Even so, seeing Mitsue’s figure grieving in silence like this made her realise that she had only seen one side of Takabe.

“You’re here for the sake of your recovery, I heard?” Haruka mentioned in passing. Mitsue was supposedly staying here to recover from her mental illness.

“Yes. Various things happened. I ended up no longer wanting to live anymore.”

“That’s...”

“Well, it’s a little different actually. I… lost my purpose of living.”

“Purpose?”

“Yes. A few years back, my grandchild passed away—” Mitsue muttered before looking out the window, where the rain was pouring heavily.

The sun had set and it was pitch black outside, but perhaps the woman’s eyes were seeing something else.

“Is that so...”

“After that, my daughter also passed away shortly after. I lost the motivation to do anything ever since. Even being alive felt like a chore...”

The reason behind Mitsue's aching heart was painfully conveyed. To Mitsue, her grandchild and daughter had been her purpose to live, yet she had lost them suddenly.

With no children of her own, Haruka could only imagine what it was like. Still, she understood how intense of a despair Mitsue was feeling.

And this time around, she had also lost her husband in such a manner. The sense of loss she experienced must be indescribable.

“Mitsue-san...”

“You’re crying? For my sake?”

Mitsue’s words made Haruka realise that she was crying herself.

Not even Haruka understood why she cried. Perhaps out of sympathy, but other feelings seemed to get caught in the mix.

The face of her older twin sister, Ayaka, crossed her mind for some reason.

“Sorry,” Haruka wiped her tears in a hurry and formed a smile.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Haruka. Ozawa Haruka.”

“What a nice name. If only my daughter were as kind as you, things might have turned out differently...”

Haruka wondered what would be different exactly, and was meaning to ask when Natsumi returned with a cup of tea.

“Here you go,” Natsumi offered the teacup.

“Thank you. Please put it there,” said Mitsue.

Looking somewhat confused, Natsumi placed the cup on the table.

“Haruka-san—” Natsumi called with a whisper.

“What is it?”

“Saitou-kun was asking for you just now.”

“Ah, okay...”

Perhaps he had something to discuss about the case.

Haruka too was curious about a number of things, so she wanted to quickly go and meet him. And yet, she was reluctant to leave Mitsue after all.

“I’ll accompany her here, so don’t worry,” Natsumi said to encourage Haruka.

“Thank you,” Haruka finally thanked Natsumi, and told Mitsue, “I’ll be back,” before leaving the room.

Arriving at the corridor, she found Yakumo standing near the staircase.

“Yakumo-kun. How was it?” asked Haruka.

Said man ruffled his hair with a sour look.

“We have to preserve the scene until the police come, but since we don’t know when they’re arriving, I did what measures I could in the meantime.”

Yakumo turned to the bottom of the stairs.

There was a white bedsheet covering the area where Takabe laid. His toes were sticking out a little from underneath.

He must have deemed it inappropriate to relocate the body before the police came, and had settled with covering it with a sheet to keep it out of sight.

“You’re still unable to contact the police?”

“Yeah. The landline can’t be used. Maybe the wires got disconnected somewhere. And phone signal’s still out like before.”

Even if they wanted to call the police over right away, the road was currently inaccessible from the landslide. The reality of being in a perfectly constructed closed circle made Haruka a little fearful.

“Was it an accident? Or...” Haruka peered at Yakumo’s side profile.

The situation would change depending on the answer to that question.

“It’s still too early to tell right now,” Yakumo shook his head.

“So there’s a possibility that this is a murder?”

“Usually, this would be treated as an unfortunate accident where the victim had slipped on the staircase and fell. However, we need to consider other possibilities as well.”

“You're saying that someone might have pushed Takabe-san down to kill him?”

“Yes. But it would be really troublesome if that were the case,”

“Why?”

“All the culprit needed to do was push his back slightly as he went down the stairs. It’s too easy of a killing method. So long as there were no witnesses, it’s difficult to prove that someone deliberately pushed him to his death.”

“Right...”

Yakumo had a point.

A simple murder, yet one whose truth was difficult to uncover.

“But if someone did it intentionally, shouldn’t you be able to narrow down the suspects?”

“I don’t have enough information to do that at the moment.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. When Takabe-san fell, the two of us and Amatsuka Mafuyu were in the staff room, so we can rule us out. Katsuragi-san, who was cooking in the kitchen, can be ruled out as well. Based on his position, if he had pushed Takabe-san down, he would have to go down the stairs and move to the kitchen. He could’ve bumped into us midway and stepped on the blood, leaving footprints in the process.”

“You’re right,”

If the culprit had been someone present on the first floor, said person would need to ascend the stairs, then walk past the bloodied corpse.

The three had rushed over as soon as they heard the noise, so there was a high possibility the culprit would have been seen by them.

On the contrary, everyone who had been on the second floor could be the culprit. Kiyomiya, Yoshida, Jurina, Mitsue—and finally, Natsumi was also on the second floor at the time.

“Though, if this is a murder case, there’s something I don’t get—” Yakumo spoke with a serious expression.

“Something you don’t get?”

“Yes. First of all, was this closed circle situation on purpose by the culprit?”

“Landslides are a natural disaster, so I don’t think it can possibly be on purpose...”

“I feel the same. But in that case, I don’t understand why the culprit would carry on with their crime.”

“Eh?”

“Suppose you are the culprit and have planned for Takabe-shi’s murder ahead of time. However, if this inn were to become a closed circle because of the heavy rain, what would you do next?”

“Put my plans on hold,” Haruka replied.

“Exactly,” said Yakumo with a snap of his finger.

Haruka knew the reason without saying.

In a closed circle, the culprit’s identity was restricted to those present at the inn.

In other words, the culprit would also be under suspicion.

It would be a more favorable situation for the culprit to create the impression that there had been an intruder. To further add, outsiders being prevented from entering also meant the culprit themselves were unable to leave. If their crime was discovered, they had nowhere to escape.

“A closed circle makes for an interesting mystery fiction, but in reality, crimes are easier to unravel in such a circumstance compared to other situations. Especially once the police are involved and everyone is asked to provide a statement.”

“You’re right,”

“Also, if the culprit was suspected to be someone on the inside, their target would become alert, and their success rate drops.”

“Meaning, Takabe-san wasn’t murdered, and it was an accident?”

“That is the more appropriate line of thinking for now, but one thing’s still odd.”

“Could it be the prophecy?” Haruka said, and Yakumo nodded firmly. “If someone really committed a murder, then the prophecy is no longer a prophecy—” Yakumo spoke with a more sullen expression than usual.

“The prophecy is no longer a prophecy? What do you mean?” asked Haruka.

With a look of contemplation, Yakumo placed a hand on his narrow chin. “If someone died in accordance with the prophecy in a situation where the individuals are confined such as this, then it is not a prophecy anymore.”

“Then what is it?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I don’t, so I asked.”

“This is...”

As if interrupting Yakumo, a scream could be heard.

-

7

-

“Just now, that was...”

When Haruka turned to the source of the scream, the door to room 204 burst open and Jurina emerged from inside. She ran over with a terrified look on her face.

However, before she could make it to where Haruka and Yakumo stood, the woman tripped and fell.

“A-are you okay?”

Haruka rushed over to Jurina.

The woman’s eyes went wide, the color had drained from her face, and her body was trembling.

“I-it appeared...” Jurina said with labored breaths.

“What appeared?”

“A-a ghost! A black shadow went past the window! And I heard a strange voice talking about a sin or whatever...”

Hearing Jurina’s story, the first thing that came into Haruka’s mind was Takabe’s accounts before he had passed.

Takabe had believed it to be someone’s prank, but just like the present Jurina, they had witnessed someone outside the window and heard words similar to the prophecy.

“Don’t tell me...”

Haruka turned to Yakumo who was walking over.

However, before Yakumo could open his mouth, Yoshida appeared from room 204 and walked in their direction.

“Jurina. It’s okay. There’s nothing there,”

Completely opposite of the frightened, panicked Jurina, Yoshida appeared composed.

In any case, if he had been in the same room as Jurina, he should have seen and heard the same things.

“Um—I heard that a ghost appeared?”

At Haruka’s question, Yoshida pushed up his glasses before snorting into a laugh as if mocking them.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“B-but...”

“I did see a shadow resembling a human figure outside the window, but I’m sure it was just tree branches or something.”

“Then what about that voice I heard?” Jurina rejected Yoshida’s answer. Although tears pooled in her eyes, she glared sharply at Yoshida.

“I’m saying that it was just the vents creating noise from the wind that happened to sound that way. You’re just tense because we’ve been talking about the prophecy and spiritual phenomena earlier,” Yoshida said flatly. He appeared to be the type that wouldn’t be so easily shaken up, similar to Yakumo.

“But… Takabe-san did die. It might have something to do with the ghosts,” Jurina spoke quickly.

“Right now, I can’t say anything for certain...” Yakumo said vaguely.

“Then it’s related to the prophecy? That must be it. Takabe died by the power of the prophecy,”

Jurina’s panicked voice pierced through the eardrums.

The line, ‘Takabe died by the power of the prophecy’ was especially stuck in Haruka’s ears.

Even though prophecies were only supposed to foretell events happening in the future, Jurina spoke as if the prophecies themselves held some sort of power.

“I don’t believe in the prophecy. For now, there’s nothing I can say,” Yakumo said in a polite, yet expressionless manner.

“But it was a fact that Takabe died. Isn’t that because of the prophecy’s power?” Jurina became even more insistent.

She should have been terrified from the spiritual phenomena, yet the conversation took a strange turn. Perhaps in her panic, her line of thought had become a mess.

“Cut it out already. The prophecy isn’t a thing,” Yoshida’s voice sounded fed up.

“But what if it’s true? What if we’re going to die next?”

Haruka, too, became fed up with the word ‘but’, as it was repeated over and over with heightened emotions.

“It’s not going to happen,” Yoshida refuted firmly, yet Jurina wasn’t finished.

“How can you be so certain?”

“We don’t have any sins that we need to repent over, do we?”

“What?”

“What the prophecy said. Sins of the past shall be shed to light. If without repentance, three souls will fall into hell—In other words, even if the prophecy became reality, only those bearing the aforementioned sins will die.”

“Uh-huh.”

“There are no sins that we need to repent over, so we’ll be fine,” said Yoshida, patting Jurina on the head.

“I see...”

Jurina finally nodded with a smile. Haruka felt her expression was unnatural.

Her smile didn’t seem to come from the bottom of her heart. A man might not have noticed, but women were more sensitive with one another’s expressions.

“Saitou-kun, you think so too, right?” Yoshida asked, turning to Yakumo.

Yakumo did not reply for some time, finally opening his mouth, “Is what you said just now really true?”

His tone was heavy as if reverberating in one’s stomach.

“What do you mean?”

Yoshida was clearly confused.

“Is it really true that the two of you don’t have any sin from the past?” Yakumo said, glancing at Yoshida and Jurina in turn.

The two had different reactions. Yoshida stared blankly as if he had no clue. While Jurina directed her eyes from Yakumo to Yoshida, seeming to expect something.

“None at all,” Yoshida said in a joking manner after he went silent for a while.

“Even if you think you two haven’t done anything, that might not be the case from another’s perspective.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly that. There are many instances where little things that one doesn’t think of as a sin may not be the case from the perspective of others involved.”

Haruka thought Yakumo was right.

A trivial action one did could sometimes hurt others deeply.

That could be interpreted as there being not a single person capable of claiming themselves free of any sin.

“It’s troublesome when you put it that way,” Yoshida scratched his head in bewilderment.

“But if you said so, then the two of you aren’t free of sin either, no?” Jurina interrupted. Entirely different from before, her tone now seemed accusatory.

“Of course,” Yakumo calmly replied.

“In that case, the two out of three people who will fall into hell might just be you or your assistant.”

Hearing Jurina’s words made Haruka shiver.

They had come to this inn upon request, so she had been assuming that the prophecy had nothing to do with them. Yet she wasn’t so certain now. Perhaps they might be the ones who needed to repent.

“I don’t deny that possibility.”

As Yakumo acknowledged the fact so easily, Jurina went silent, appearing at a loss of words.

“Um—what about the spiritual phenomena then?”

Sensing that the conversation had ended, Haruka returned to the main topic at hand.

Everything had started over Jurina being scared of the spiritual phenomena and leaving her room, yet at some point their conversation had gone off to an unexpected direction.

“Right! I don’t want to go back to that room anymore!” Jurina yelled in a trembling voice, recalling the spiritual phenomena that had transpired there.

Truly a woman whose emotions could shift at the blink of an eye.

“What’s with all the ruckus?” Walking to approach them was Kiyomiya.

“No, it’s nothing important—” Yoshida replied, who explained the situation in detail to Kiyomiya.

Haruka thought Kiyomiya would deny the situation just like Yoshida, but as he continued on, Kiyomiya’s expression grew tense.

When Yoshida was finished with his story, Kiyomiya muttered quietly, “Me too—”

“Eh?”

“The same thing happened in my room,” said Kiyomiya.

Yoshida became at a loss for words and stood fixated in place.

The person who broke the heavy silence was Yakumo.

“Understood. May I take a look at your rooms?”

Not a single person objected to Yakumo’s suggestion.

-

8

-

First, they examined Yoshida and Jurina's room.

Inside were two beds and a table. A more cramped room than Mitsue’s, but still enough space for two people to stay.

Yakumo carefully examined the room, starting by looking out the window, turning upwards to the ceiling, also peering underneath the bed.

Meanwhile, Haruka and Kiyomiya, as well as both Yoshida and Jurina, stood outside the door that had been left open.

“There doesn’t seem to be an issue,” Yakumo nodded before leaving the room.

“Really? Because I’m certain there was a ghost...” Jurina’s high pitched voice was comparable to screaming.

“I know. No one’s saying what you saw was a lie nor an illusion. All I meant was that currently there aren't any ghosts in this room,” Yakumo said in a soothing tone.

People who had seen a ghost would often get agitated when not believed over what they had witnessed. Yakumo had given an explanation with that in mind.

“What should I do?”

Jurina’s turned to Yakumo with a reliant gaze.

“As I said earlier, there aren't any ghosts in your room now, so you can carry on with your activities as before.”

“B-but...”

She must be scared of entering the room after seeing a ghost there. Haruka understood that feeling well.

“Ghosts are like clusters of emotions of someone who have passed.”

“Clusters of emotions?”

“Yes. Which is why, even though you can see and hear them, they won’t be able to physically harm you.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yakumo-kun’s right. Please believe him,” Haruka said to Jurina with strength in her words. She had repeatedly heard Yakumo’s theory of ghosts to the point of boredom, and she had experienced it herself to add, so she could attest to its validity.

Yet Jurina remained unconvinced, so she eventually went silent with her head lowered.

“You can ask Katsuragi-san to prepare a different room, but I don’t think there’s any point in doing so,” said Yakumo.

“W-why?”

“The ghost didn’t just appear in this room. A similar phenomenon had occurred in Takabe-san’s room earlier. Natsumi also claimed that she had seen a ghost in the basement and in the staff room. Besides, it also appeared in Kiyomiya-san’s room, right?”

Receiving Yakumo’s gaze, Kiyomiya then nodded, “Yes.”

“It’d be the same even if you were to change rooms. Not to mention that the ghost was not seen inside the room, is that not so?”

“Yes.”

“Then the ghost is likely to be outside. It would be safer to remain inside the room.”

“......”

“If you’re still worried, I’ll place a barrier in this room later,” Yakumo offered, finally convincing Jurina to return into her room with Yoshida.

Even with no explanation, Haruka understood that barriers and the like were mere placebos. This must be his way of giving Jurina assurance.

Next, they went to investigate Kiyomiya’s room.

Performing the same steps as he had done before, Yakumo said “Everything looks alright,” and exited the room.

Unlike Jurina, Kiyomiya did not argue much and obediently returned into his room.

“Things have gotten complicated,” Exhaling a heavy sigh, Yakumo walked towards the staircase.

It really has. Haruka replied in agreement within her mind.

Not only had Takabe fallen to his death on the staircase, spiritual phenomena were happening in the guests’ rooms. Her head became a mess from so many things happening in tandem.

“Why is it so noisy?” a voice spoke as Haruka was about to descend the stairs.

It was Mafuyu—

Glancing at Takabe’s corpse, covered in sheets on the bottom of the staircase, she slowly climbed upstairs.

“Nothing serious. It’s all wrapped up now.”

“I see. But things sure have become dire,” said Mafuyu.

Contrary to her words, Mafuyu seemed to be enjoying the situation. Someone had already died, yet how could she still make such a cheerful expression?

Haruka wasn’t the only one questioning that fact. Yakumo similarly observed Mafuyu’s movements with a dubious look.

“With this, have you come to believe my prophecy even if just a little?” Mafuyu said with a victorious attitude the moment she arrived at the top of the stairs and stood before Haruka and Yakumo.

Ah. So this was why Mafuyu appeared so pleased—Haruka now understood. She thought that Takabe’s death had proven her prophecy.

An inappropriate way of thinking, and one which implied how little the value she placed in a human life.

“Right now, I can only chalk it up as a coincidence,” Yakumo gave a firm response.

“Because two more people still remained—is that it?”

Haruka might be imagining it, but Mafuyu’s words sounded like provocation.

“It’s not just that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your prophecy didn’t just state that three souls will fall into hell. Prior to that are the words ‘sins of the past shall be shed to light’ and ‘if without repentance’—”

Unable to grasp what Yakumo was trying to convey, Mafuyu urged with a dubious expression, “So?”

“Suppose your prophecy was right, it’s currently unclear whether the sins of the past have been shed to light. At the very least, the fact isn’t known to us.”

“Well, you’re right.”

“Besides, there is no evidence pointing to Takabe-san as one of the three souls that will fall into hell. What’s more, we don’t know whether or not Takabe-san has repented.”

“You sure are cautious. I thought you’d be more of the daring type.”

“Is that so? I think this is a perfectly normal reaction.”

“But well, I suppose your words do have a point. Fine. So for now, I see that you still don’t believe in my prophecy—”

Mafuyu shrugged in an exaggerated act.

“May I also confirm one more thing with you?” Yakumo looked at Mafuyu as he spoke in a formal tone.

“Sure.”

“You’re here to prevent your prophecy from happening, yes?”

“That’s right.”

“If so, then why do you appear so elated?”

“What do you mean?”

“If your objective in coming to this inn is to prevent your prophecy from happening, shouldn’t you be troubled if someone died?”

Upon hearing Yakumo’s sentence, the smile finally disappeared from Mafuyu’s face.

Haruka had been questioning the same thing this entire time. Even though Mafuyu had said that she had come to prevent the prophecy, in reality she only seemed pleased at her prophecy becoming true.

“You sure hit on a sore spot.”

Mafuyu’s voice wasn’t as cheery as before.

“A perfectly normal response, if you ask me,” Yakumo responded, devoid of expression.

“You’re right. I’m a little irritated since you don’t believe in my prophecy. Which was why when he died, I felt a sense of victory and may have been too absorbed in that feeling.” Unexpectedly, Mafuyu was quick to admit her fault.

Haruka couldn’t discern whether those words were her true feelings, or something that came from elsewhere.

“Perhaps it had led you to misunderstand, but I have in fact come here to prevent the prophecy.”

The woman slicked her hair upwards as she stared at Yakumo.

“Is that so?”

Hearing Yakumo’s listless reply, Mafuyu might have deemed it futile to say anything more, finally walking past Yakumo and Haruka further into the corridor.

Where is she going? Haruka wondered, but then Mafuyu stopped in front of room 205 and inserted a key into the doorknob.

Katsuragi must have prepared a room for her as well.

Mafuyu opened the door, about to head inside when Yakumo called out, “One more thing—”

“What?”

“Should the police get involved in this case, you’ll be the first person under their suspicion.”

At those words, Mafuyu’s eyes went wide. “How so?”

“I’m not the only one who doesn't believe in prophecies. The same goes for the police. Unfortunately, so long as it isn’t something that can be proven scientifically, it’s not going to be valid evidence in a trial.”

Yakumo’s words were spoken from experience.

All this time, he had been involved in a number of cases through spiritual phenomena. However, not once had a ghost’s testimony been used as evidence. Without accumulating tangible evidence, his words would only be regarded as nonsense.

“I get what you’re trying to say, but why would I end up under suspicion?”

“Do you not get it?”

“I don’t, no.”

“Simple enough. For the police who don’t believe in prophecies, what sort of interpretation would they make upon hearing your prophecy?”

“What sort of interpretation?”

“A death threat.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a possibility that they would deem your prophecy as an advance warning for a murder you yourself had planned to carry out. Since the police don’t believe in coincidences—"

Yakumo was right.

The police wouldn’t believe that someone could die in accordance with a prophecy. If the case were to progress aligning with Mafuyu’s prophecy, they would have deemed it as a death threat.

“Do you think so as well?”

Haruka thought Mafuyu would be a little shaken at least, yet she sounded perfectly calm.

“I’m considering it as a possibility,” Yakumo answered.

Mafuyu snorted into laughter.

“Enough joking. Do I look like an idiot who published a death threat yet announced the fact by purposefully coming to the scene of crime to you? If I wanted to kill someone, I would’ve done it in secret without warning.”

Mafuyu’s argument was right.

If her prophecy had been a death threat, she would have alerted her target, no different from declaring that she was the perpetrator.

“Well, you’re right. But there might just be a reason that forced the course of your actions,” Yakumo replied.

“Your suspicion of me runs deep, huh?”

“I won’t be able to see the truth if I don’t consider every possibility.”

“You sure talk like you know it all. You came here to resolve spiritual phenomena, not to play policeman, no?”

“Certainly, this is beyond my scope of expertise. I merely answered because you asked.”

A reply that was sure to tear someone apart.

Mafuyu might have judged it pointless to debate any further, finally entering her room without another word.

The door closed with a thud.

“So what now?” Haruka asked with a sigh.

“What now? We can’t go home anyway, so we’ll continue investigating the spiritual phenomena,”

Yakumo made a mess through his dishevelled hair.

-

9

-

“You’re really going outside in this heavy rain?”

In the staff room, Katsuragi went wide-eyed in surprise.

“Yes. There are a number of things I wanted to check. Apologies for troubling you, but it’ll be a lot of help if you could lend me some raincoat or an umbrella. Also, I’d be really thankful if there’s a flashlight,” Yakumo said calmly.

“Not that I mind lending you those, but in the middle of this rain… and after an incident like that had happened...”

It needed no explanation that the incident Katsuragi had mentioned was about Takabe.

As the owner of the inn, it was understandable of him to not want any further problems to happen.

“Rest assured. I won’t be going anywhere far. I’ll only be examining the inn’s vicinity.”

“What for?” Katsuragi made a troubled frown.

Haruka was similarly curious about the fact. Yakumo said he would be investigating the spiritual phenomena, but he hadn’t given the reason why he needed to go outside.

“Natsumi-san claimed to have seen a ghost outside this room. Before he passed, Takabe-san had also said the same thing. Besides, Yoshida-san, Jurina-san, and Kiyomiya-san also stated that they saw a shadowy figure outside the window.”

Yakumo pointed at the window.

“At a time like this, I don’t think you need to look into the spiritual phenomena anymore,”

It couldn’t be helped that Katsuragi said so.

Outside, the rain was still pouring quite heavily. Apart from causing the landslide, it also disconnected the landline such that they had no way to contact the outside world.

If something were to happen, they wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“I can’t do that,”

“Why do you care so much about the spiritual phenomena?”

“What if the spiritual phenomena, the prophecy, and Takabe-san’s death are all interconnected?”

“No. Please stop with that already. Takabe-san passed away from an unfortunate accident. It has nothing to do with any prophecy.”

Katsuragi clearly sounded exasperated.

Troubling incidents had happened one after another. He must be fed up by now. Though, Yakumo wasn’t about to back down easily.

“I understand your concern. But in order to prevent any further incidents, there’s something I needed to confirm. If you still refuse to help me, I’ll be heading out without any equipment."

Yakumo’s final sentence seemed to have landed an impact, as Katsuragi finally said, “If you say so,” and despite his reluctance, handed some raincoat and a flashlight.

The two left the staff room, and after putting the raincoat on at the hall, opened the front entrance with the flashlight on hand.

At once, the sound of pouring rain burst through.

The rain was heavier than imagined. Not only was it already dark, this rain also caused them to have a terrible field of vision.

The moment they stepped outside, the ground was soaking wet that their boots sunk in.

Despite wearing a raincoat, it didn’t shield from the rain entirely, causing the whole body to feel drenched still.

“By the way...” Yakumo suddenly spoke and stopped walking.

Because of the rain, his voice wasn’t audible, so Haruka brought her face closer as she asked back, “What?”

“Why did you come too?”

“Eh?”

Why—she didn’t know even if asked.

She wasn’t given any instructions in particular, so she had assumed she would be coming along with Yakumo.

“Just me alone will do.”

You should've said that earlier!

Haruka was upset, yet having gone all the way here, it felt odd to turn back now.

“Isn’t it fine if I come along too?”

Despite her irritation, Haruka followed after Yakumo.

Yakumo turned on the flashlight on his way to walk towards the lake, when he stopped and crouched in place after just a few steps.

“What’s wrong?” Haruka said loudly as to not get her voice drowned out by the rain.

“Strange...”

“What is?” asked Haruka, but Yakumo gave no answer.

The man simply stared intently at the footprints on the ground. What exactly caught his attention?

While Haruka was lost in thought, Yakumo stood up, this time shining a light around the bottom of the building’s eaves.

Nothing in particular seemed odd, but Yakumo seemed to have understood something, mumbling, “So that’s it—”

Just what did Yakumo discover?

Haruka wanted to ask again, but she stopped the thought. At a time like this, Yakumo wouldn’t give an answer no matter how many times one asked.

Next, Yakumo approached a grey minivan parked next to the inn, examining its interior through the windows.

Haruka similarly peeked next to him.

On the backseat were a pile of tools and a chainsaw, but apart from that, nothing stood out.

Seemingly lost interest, Yakumo said nothing as he walked towards the lake. Haruka also carefully followed, whilst paying attention as to not trip her foot on the wet ground.

They hadn’t even walked five meters when Yakumo stopped again, turned around, and shone a light around the roof of the inn’s second floor.

Right around where the telephone line went in.

Yakumo went silent for some time, then continued to walk again without a word.

Haruka was entirely clueless as to what the man was thinking. Despite her dissatisfaction, she decided against expressing it. Knowing that if she were to say something, Yakumo would blame her for coming along out of her own volition.

“This might end up becoming quite the problem...” Yakumo muttered out of nowhere as he walked.

“What do you mean?”

“Just my speculation for now.” Yakumo shook his head lightly.

He was being careful as always. Well, that was just how Yakumo was. Being in the dark about it was frustrating, but from Yakumo’s response, he seemed to have reached some sort of hypothesis.

It wasn’t long before they arrived near the lake.

When they first arrived, they had only been passing through and hadn’t taken a closer look like this.

Since there was no sunlight and it was raining, the surface of the water appeared dark just like the name of the lake, Kurosawa—black marsh.

With the flashlight, Yakumo shone a light against the signage next to the lake. The lake’s diameter and depth was stated there. According to it, there were forty meters to the other side of the lake from where they stood. Meanwhile, its depth was eight meters deep.

“Won’t the lake overflow from the rain?” Haruka expressed a concern that suddenly came to her mind.

It would be bad if the rain caused the lake to overflow towards the inn.

“Well, there’s a possibility that it can happen,” Yakumo said casually.

“Goodness… don’t say something so scary.”

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

“I guess so...”

“Wait,” Yakumo interrupted Haruka’s sentence.

Eh? What?

Ignoring the confused Haruka, Yakumo suddenly crouched in place.

Near the lake, three small flowers were scattered.

The flowers didn’t grow there. It was also unlike the sort one would buy at a shop. As if someone had picked the flowers somewhere and placed them here.

Yakumo stared at the flowers for a moment, then stood up abruptly as if sensing something.

He stared intently at the lake.

Haruka could only see the countless rain droplets and the water surface of the lake that rippled from those very raindrops.

However—

Yakumo was different. With his ability to see spirits of the dead, he seemed to be looking at something Haruka couldn’t see.

Haruka watched the lake in silence so as to not interfere with Yakumo’s focus.

Just how much time had passed? Next to her, Yakumo finally let out a small sigh.

“Did you see something?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo nodded. “Yes. A ghost do exist within this lake—”

Yakumo’s words left a ripple in Haruka’s heart, melting itself with the falling rain.

Haruka looked in the same direction as Yakumo, yet the only thing she saw were raindrops bouncing off the water surface and the dense forest just ahead of it.

Nothing was caught in Haruka’s vision, but since Yakumo had said so, there was no mistaking that a spirit of the dead—a ghost—existed there.

A ghost that wandered around the inn and might be connected to the prophecy—

Some time later, Yakumo exhaled a long sigh, and all the tension left his body.

“So there’s really a ghost there?” asked Haruka. Yakumo pulled his chin, dripping from the rain.

“Yeah. I don’t know the reason, but the ghost wandered around this lake. As if searching for something—”

After saying that, Yakumo momentarily grimaced.

He might not put it into words, but he must be feeling ashamed of himself. 

His red left eye could see ghosts and allowed him to communicate with them. Still, it was different from interacting with a living human being. He had once said that the interaction was especially unstable.

For that reason, there were times where he couldn’t do anything.

Yakumo once voiced his frustration over merely being able to see. Such kindness was what made Yakumo, Yakumo.

“What is it looking for?”

“I don’t know that much. Though, something felt different.”

“Different?”

“Something doesn’t add up about the testimony.” Yakumo turned away from the lake, now facing the inn with a triangular roof.

“You’re saying...”

Interrupting Haruka’s words, Yakumo stepped forward once, appearing to be contemplating something, hand placed on his chin.

“Strange.”

“What is?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo pointed to the bottom of the triangular roof.

“Do you know what that is?”

Haruka stared at the part Yakumo was pointing at.

“That’s where the power line goes in, right?”

“That’s right. Same goes for the telephone line.”

“So then what?” Haruka asked, and Yakumo let out a long, fed up sigh.

“To think that you somehow lived to this moment, the way you are.”

“What’s with that?”

“I’m saying that you’ve got a screw loose in your head.”

Ugh!

Nevertheless, his words had gone too far.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly as I said. You’ll get it if you just think for a second.”

“I don’t know, that’s why I asked! To think that you somehow lived to this moment with that eccentric behaviour of yours!”

Even though he could have just said it if he had known, instead of acting all mighty. Although typical of Yakumo’s character, it honestly irritated Haruka.

“I never thought I’d be labelled eccentric by someone stubborn like you.”

Always with the unnecessary remarks.

“Come on. Just hurry up and tell me already.”

“Simple enough. From what I saw, not just the power line, the telephone line shares the same point of entry.”

“Seems so.”

From what she could see, there were three cables going in.

“You still don’t get it even after I said all that?”

“I don’t!”

“Why just the telephone line went down? Even though the power is still running...”

“Maybe because the cable broke off somewhere? Since they said there was a landslide.”

“The cable shares the same path as the power line. If it had broken off from the landslide or the wind, the power line would have broken off as well.”

Just like Yakumo said, it was a little strange that only the telephone line went down even though the cable was passing through the same poles as the power line, but such instances do occur.

“I heard that power lines are thicker and stronger than telephone lines, so I don’t think it’s all that strange...”

“How nice to be optimistic like you.”

“What’s with that?”

Haruka understood Yakumo’s irritation over this case, but if she were to be continuously mocked like this, it would send her into depression.

“That isn’t the only thing that’s odd.”

“Eh?”

“I felt strange about it this whole time. Why did the phone signal disappear suddenly?”

“Natsumi-san did say it happens sometimes.”

“Right. Sometimes. And she said that the signal will eventually recover after a while. Yet right now, there are no signs that the signal will be restored.”

“Maybe because of all this weather?”

“Well, I don’t deny that possibility. Still, something felt out of place.”

Yakumo’s gaze at the inn building was like a piercing glare. What exactly was bothering him so much?

“What are you really trying to say?” Haruka asked, and Yakumo shook his head in exhaustion. “I envy you.”

“Huh? You’re not answering my question.”

“That is the answer. You’re not thinking for yourself, just continually asking this and that. I’d like to be in that position as well.”

Ugh!

A spicier way of speaking than usual. Despite that, Haruka refused to admit defeat.

“Then I’ll gladly give my position to you!”

“I refuse!”

“Ha?”

“If I become reliant on others’ opinions like you, my brain will deteriorate.”

Having said all that, Yakumo briskly walked towards the inn.

Haruka wanted to run and kick said man on the back, but she held herself from doing so.