"Now then..."
She lowered her voice to speak confidentially. The woman, who was wearing a navy blue outfit, leaned forward, causing the sofa to creak. 'Now then,' she repeated once again,
"Please report the contents of the investigation."
"What investigation are you on about?."
"Oh come on Mai! Don't you think Naru is really secretive? Don't you want to know more about him? We do!"
"I already know all his secrets and they're none of your business at present."
The woman crossed her legs. After briefly looking up to the ceiling in thought, she said,
"So not fair."
"What did you expect me to say, Ayako? I'm his girlfriend. Of course I'm going to keep my mouth shut."
"Seems like it, right?"
When the woman nodded, the man, who had been silently listening to the conversation, cut in.
"So you won't tell us anything?"
The woman glared at the man while Mai grinned in amusement.
"Nope. If you want to know about Naru, ask Naru."
"When did you become so tight-lipped.." The man pulled on Mai's cheek in punishment.
"Owww! Bou-san that hurts!"
"Serves you right for not talking." Ayako muttered.
"What else? What about the assistant? Did you find out his real name?"
"Lin Koujo is his real name and again, if you want to know more about Lin, ask Lin."
Mai crossed her arms. She was getting annoyed about this ambush into Oliver's and Lin's personal information.
"Now, if there is nothing else, please leave. I have work to do."
Mai stood from the couch and readied back to her desk. She wasn't joking. Her desk was piled in work.
Yuuko looked in Kasai's direction. Kasai lightly shrugged her shoulders,
"He's hiding, so doesn't that mean don't look?"
"...Yeah."
"The story says, if you forcibly look at the one who said, 'Don't look', they might return to the mountain."
"What… is that?" Ayako asked.
"The Crane Wife. It means the other cannot help here anymore if their identity is discovered. Don't you think that's it?"
"No way..."
"But, you mustn't declare things, right? For example, the boss is a wealthy heir and his parents oppose, so he hides and runs the office secretly. I think it's quite possible that, after Ayako finds his house and carelessly visits, everything will be leaked to his parents and he will have to close the office."
"That's not particularly the reason for the secrecy." Mai looked up giggling.
Chiaki lightly sighed.
"If nothing else, such a good part-time job won't come again."
"Wouldn't you be worried?"
"...Not particularly. Even when his secret is finally out, we'll still be continuing to work here."
Takigawa, who was listening to our conversation with interest, cut in.
"Is the part-time pay here good?"
Yuuko nodded.
"Yeah. Better than the general public. Even I, as the secretary. Mai is better because she's sort of an investigator. On average, an office lady gets much less."
Takigawa tilted his head in confusion.
"Something wrong?"
"No. Before, when I asked why he hired Mai, Naru-bou said, 'I hear she's hard working and it's cheap.'"
Yuuko also tilted her head in confusion.
"It isn't cheap, right?"
"Pft, did you really expect anything other than a sarcastic answer, Bou-san?"
Ayako made a disgruntled noise.
"What's this? You have such a sweet part-time job? Will you also get paid for talking to this idiot?"
"Even if I'm talking to you, I'm still working. I get paid to greet guests. Even if they aren't really guests."
Yuuko nodded.
Takigawa tilted his head even more.
"It doesn't seem like such difficult work."
"Have you ever held an office role Bou-san? And investigation work is fairly dangerous. Especially the cases we go on."
"Err, no? And that's true I guess."
"What about right now?"
"Mai is supervising while Lin-san's and Naru is on lunch break."
Takigawa rested his chin on his hand with a serious expression.
"The phone rang repeatedly for some time."
"It tends to do that. That's why the answering machine is on place."
"An answering machine does the job, but you don't answer the phone?"
"I check the messages afterwards and sort out the most important ones. That way there is a record of it other than my notes if Naru or Lin needs to refer back to them."
"Doesn't that fill up a tape?"
"Yes, so the tape is changed every day and marked with the date and time of the change. The tape is then stored into the filling room with the relevant files for future reference."
"What about the post?"
"The mail-box downstairs requires a key, and only the boss, Mai and Lin-san have the key." Yuuko answered.
"And only Mai is allowed to clean the boss' office. It shouldn't be entered without permission." Kasai added.
Takigawa and Ayako amicably held their heads between their hands.
"What kind of financial sense is Naru using?"
"Right? If it was me, I wouldn't pay for such part-time work."
"Since this isn't your office and you are interrupting our work..." Mai intervened then.
"You do realise that the girls can't proceed with their normal work because you two are here?"
Yuuko puffed her cheeks.
"That's right. Boss said we're not allowed to do anything but attend guests when guests are here."
"Right. He said that."
"In exchange for a comfortable job, we also face difficulties with human relations."
Takigawa crossed his arms.
"Worse is the management of his money. There aren't that many clients and most are declined. How could he set up this lavish office and the like in this prime location with that work style? On top of that, he has two part-timers for hardly any work. And in addition, the part-time pay is good."
"Money isn't really an issue for Naru. Or Lin for that matter." Mai commented nonchalantly.
"Although there are also rich university professors, it's still not as lucrative a business as to say, 'definitely.' "
"Well, it could be a family originally from a wealthy house. Surely, the son's upbringing is the cause of such an arrogant personality. Uh-huh."
"The truly rich are gentle and calm."
"You know, that's a case of to each his own..." Mai spoke.
As that was being said, the door opened and Lin and Oliver returned.
Overlooking the inside of the office, Lin seemed to very lightly nod in the direction of Takigawa and Ayako.
"Sorry to bother you." Ayako said as she leaned forward.
Lin nodded before he went towards the resource room. On the way, he signaled to Kasai with his eyes. She was still PK training with Lin and it was time for her next session. For a long time it had passed, but recently, there were visible signs of a revival of her spoon bending.
Oliver placed a kiss on Mai's cheek, requested a cup of tea and headed into his office. He completely ignored the non-guests on the couch.
Takigawa muttered quietly. "What is Naru-bou thinking?"
"Whatever he's thinking, it's none of your business." Mai threw over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen.
When Mai entered Oliver's office, she placed his cup of tea onto his desk. She had already brought a coffee to Lin and a tea to Kasai. Oliver pulled her into his lap and greeted her more affectionately than he did in the outer office. Both their cheeks were red and their breathing erratic when done.
"Naru, there's one of those clients coming into the office in about an hour. When they've left, we really need to talk about this case."
"Is the case going to be that big?" Oliver asked concerned.
Mai looked away. "It could be a lot quicker, if you take the information I give you and deal with it quickly rather than a full investigation. But it would be better to discuss this after the client has been and gone, not before."
Oliver pulled Mai's face back to his own, searching in her eyes. He could see the slight fear and concern in them. Placing a light kiss on her lips, he agreed to her request.
"Very well, once the client has gone, we'll talk about this case and go from there."
Mai nodded and then got up off Oliver's lap and headed back to the outer office and her desk.
Takigawa, Ayako and Yuuko continued to chat quietly as Mai worked at her desk.
After an hour, Mai got up and entered the kitchen. She soon came out with numerous cups of tea or coffee and one small cup of hot chocolate. She knocked on Lin and Oliver's door and requested their presence in the outer office
The others looked confused at the number of cups that Mai placed on the coffee table. But watched stunned as she walked across the room to the door and opened it.
Standing at the entrance stood a man of about twenty years of age and a girl around kindergarten age.
"Please come in."
Mai switched to a business smile as she opened the door.
"Excuse me, I don't know how I should say this, but… you're spiritualists, right?"
Pulling the hand of the girl, he came into the office. He had a very quiet voice.
"We're a little different from spiritualists. But we'll help your family's particular curse. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your nieces and nephew. Especially this little cutie."
Mai crouched down beside the girl.
"There's a lovely cup of hot chocolate on that table over there for you. Why don't you go have a seat and drink it."
For the first time since entering the office the little girl smiled before running over to the table.
"I also made a coffee for you. Please come sit down and drink it while we wait for my boss."
Mai said to the man as she stood up again.
The man looked across at the girl who was now happily drinking her hot chocolate.
"I would like you to examine this child."
The girl was wearing a shirt with a sailor collar, and her neck was bandaged.
Oliver and Lin had joined them by this time.
Mai looked back at Oliver and nodded.
Oliver stood up.
"Is there an illness?"
"No."
"Naru, please look at her. It is a death curse." Mai cut in quickly before Oliver could say anything.
"It's alright Mai, I agreed to listen to this case remember? We'll examine her." Oliver smiled briefly at Mai before turning to the girl.
Everyone sat down on the couches as the man began his story.
The man's name was Yoshimi Akifumi. The girl's was Yoshimi Hazuki. She is his niece. After introducing himself, he began to unwind the bandage that was around Hazuki-chan's neck. From beneath the gauze appeared a sort of red eczema on her throat. It was simply a red line straight across the middle of her throat. Blood lightly seeped out of the sore skin.
"It looks like a skin disease."
When Oliver said that, Akifumi turned Hazuki sideways.
"It's around her entire neck."
True to his words, the line went around her neck. A band of eczema, the width of about a centimeter, was around her neck. It was somewhat creepy. It looked like a wound. As though to cut the neck directly horizontal.
"It doesn't seem painful at all, and it seems there's no itch."
"It's not a rash from something?"
Akifumi shook his head. "No."
"If it was only that, I would have taken her to the hospital, but it's also on her back."
After he said so, Akifumi turned to Hazuki.
"Hazuki, excuse me."
After speaking, he opened Hazuki's shirt and dropped it from her shoulders.
Similar to the eczema that was on her neck, there was a line on her back. Something like this can't possibly be a skin looked like nothing but characters. As if written with a brush, there were the kanji, '喘月院落獄童女.'
"...that's terrible."
It was Takigawa who said that in a low voice.
"What?" Ayako asked.
"This is… a Kaimyou, isn't it?
"Kaimyou, isn't that a name given to a dead person?"
Takigawa made an unusually serious expression.
"Right…. this guy is malicious."
"Malicious?"
"'喘月' means the foolishness of fearing something too much. '落獄' would mean descend into hell. —Yoshimi-san, please dress the young lady.
童女' is given to girls. It's a Kaimyou someone made with malicious intent. —It means, 'This foolish child will descend into hell.'"
"No wonder you called it a death curse, Mai." Oliver muttered.
...
Much later after everyone else had left, Oliver, Lin and Mai sat around Oliver's desk. Each held a cup of tea between their hands as they reviewed the case they had accepted that day.
"So, you said this was one of those cases, Mai?" Oliver began after reading through his notes.
"Yes, it is. One of our scariest ones yet. Although, last time, you weren't even there for most of it..."
"What do you mean by that?"
Mai put down her cup and folded her arms, glaring at Oliver. "Mr Intelligent himself decided to put himself in the way of a fox spirit and got himself possessed. Lin had to use his shiki to keep you in a deep sleep and to monitor you."
Both Lin and Oliver looked horrified at that.
Mai nodded. "That was the least of our worries. On top of that, we have a spiritualists revenge death curse, triggered whenever the owner of the land changes hands and a "god" which uses the natural birth canal life cycle of its temple to create zombies. Since this place is right next to the cove, the are hundreds and thousands of spirits that the "god" can call in.
The last time we went through this, Ayako finally used her tree priestess powers to clear away all the spirits that the "god" was holding captive as servants, which finally released Naru from possession.
We then went up against the god, however everyone failed to destroy it until Naru used his PK to smash it. At least take your mirror this time and work with Gene.
We also need to get this done before two people die."
It was a lot for Oliver and Lin to take in so they took their time processing it all.
"So how would you go about dealing with all this?" Oliver finally asked.
"By the time we arrive, five people including two children will have already been possessed and begin causing accidents the night we arrive.
I would arrange for Ayako to use her priestess powers right off the bat. There is an appropriate shrine and the trees surrounding it there are suitable for her needs.
However, the god will need to be dealt with separately and almost straight away before it can build up anymore spirit captives.
That's assuming you are happy to just follow my advice in this case without bothering with the investigation side of things."
"Well, we can always record Ayako's ceremony. Who do we need on board?"
"If we do all this as soon as we arrive? Just Ayako and yourself mostly. John to deal with possessions if we don't do this straight away. Ayako will need to write up some charms for the family members. Takigawa and Lin for the zombie spirits of we don't clear them first before the god can gather more.
Yasu was brilliant at the research side of things. There is a lot of history in that land and more than one version of the myth and legend surrounding the curse origins and the god."
...
It was the evening of the following day when they arrived at the Yoshimi house, which was in Noto.
In the end, it was decided that Takigawa, John, and Ayako would accompany them. So as usual, they crossed the simmering Japanese archipelago in two cars.
The Yoshimi house was located on a cape overlooking the Sea of Japan. From the road along the coast, a narrow side road extended through the forest to the seaside. Entering the road, an impressive building of Japanese construction immediately appeared. This was the Yoshimi house, a Japanese-style restaurant, which Akifumi's family runs.
Akifumi, who had come back the previous day on an airplane, welcomed them and they were guided to the main building where the family lives. In the main building, which is connected to the restaurant by a corridor, was a tatami mat room in the very back.
In there, an old woman was sitting on a futon waiting.
"Grandmother, they've arrived."
Saying so, Akifumi lead them into the tatami mat room.
"This is my grandmother."
She was an old woman like a small guardian deity of children. She neatly placed her hands on top of the futon and deeply bowed her head.
"My name is Yoshimi Yae. I humbly beg you to look into our case."
The grandmother is the actual requester— Akifumi and Hazuki were the ones who came to the office of 'Shibuya Psychic Research.'
"In truth, I should have gone to make the request, but as you can see, my health is somewhat impaired, so my grandson was sent as my proxy. I think even this was impolite, however, please pardon it."
After Akifumi introduced everyone to his grandmother, there came a calm seeming man and a woman wearing a kimono who waited with tea. The man was Akifumi's father Yoshimi Taizou, and the woman was his mother Yoshimi Hiroe.
The pair politely greeted them, and Oliver lightly nodded in return.
"—I'd like to hear the details of the request again from grandmother."
The grandmother nodded, pursing her mouth.
"...Where should I begin?"
Slightly tilting her head, she began talking.
"You'll probably think this is foolish, but this house is cursed. A few days ago, my husband passed away..."
"My condolences."
"No. He lived a long life. ...At any rate, there is a disquieting legend in the house of Yoshimi. It is said that accidents occur whenever there is a change of ownership..."
The grandmother frowned after saying this.
"It was also true in the previous generation— when my father passed away and my husband took over the house. After the death of the previous head, corpses from the family began appearing one after another. Gathered in a big house, relatives had been living merrily, then just like that the number of people had decreased and the house was empty."
"Is that type of thing also happening now...?"
When Oliver asked, the grandmother nodded.
"Yes. It was the same thing when the house was ceded to the previous generation from the generation before. Although, I don't remember much since I was young at the time. However, among my six siblings, I alone survived. Because of that, I did not become anxious. Actually, that eczema began to form on Hazuki immediately in response to my husband's death and in less than one week, it has become as it is now. Considering this, it doesn't seem like an ordinary case. With regards to the bruises on her neck as well as the Kaimyou on her back, it seems as if someone is saying they'll cut off Hazuki's head."
Saying so, the old woman fixed her gaze on Oliver.
"Just as I had thought there was no option but to rely on people from another profession, I received a referral to you by a guest named Ohashi-sama."
Ohashi was the man who came with the request of the Urado case.
While Oliver took notes, he said,
"I'd like to hear about when the predecessor, your father, died. When was it?"
"It was thirty-two years prior to now."
"Several people seem to have passed away, but do you remember the number and the causes of death?"
The grandmother nodded.
"There were eight people from this house. The five youngest of the seven children of this house, the oldest grandchild, my cousin, and my uncle. Half died in accidents, and the rest from illnesses with unknown causes."
Mai looked around the Japanese-style room, which had begun to darken. There was a large Buddhist family altar by the grandmother's bedside. Eight people from within the family. The heavy number of eight.
"From this house —that is to say, there are people who died in addition to the family?"
When Oliver asked, the grandmother nodded.
"Two restaurant customers, in accidents..."
When Oliver looked down at his notebook to brood, Akifumi's mother Hiroe, who had been silently sitting beside the futon, spoke up.
"Mother, wouldn't it be better to tell them everything?"
The grandmother looked down. Oliver stared back at Hiroe.
"My mother… is worried whether all of you will return from here."
"Why do you say that?"
"Three spiritualists died."
'I see,' Takigawa muttered quietly.
"We invited two people from a spiritualist company, however, when they began their prayer, they soon died in accidents. The person we also invited after that died in an accident, too."
When Hiroe said this, the grandmother nodded while still looking down.
"We would very much like your help, but considering the risk, it's unreasonable..."
Takigawa interrupted Hiroe.
"If it's too dangerous, we'll desist and leave. We understand what's involved. However, I'm not so cowardly that I'll leave without seeing what I'm up against."
"...Thank you."
Takigawa smiled at Hiroe, who completely bowed her head.
"However, Naru-chan, it'll be troublesome if customers are also in danger."
Oliver nodded. He spoke to Hiroe, "Right now, are there any customers in the shop?"
"There aren't any here. The restaurant has been closed since my father died. Mother..."
Hiroe stared at the grandmother.
"She absolutely insisted. Employees were also asked to take a vacation after the funeral ended. Only the family is in this building now."
"I think that's a sensible action."
Oliver nodded lightly. "Have you experienced any incidents, or seen anything strange?"
The one to reply was Akifumi.
"After grandfather's funeral, it started with the death of grandmother's hill myna, and over about three days, all the birds and dogs we had raised died. There were the two canary birds my niece had raised and the three dogs. The birds died in their cages, but the dogs were found washed up on the shore."
"Other than that?"
Akifumi looked at his mother. Hiroe replied,
"Some of the employees said they saw a ghost in part of the restaurant. It was peeking into a room from the window."
"Is it a definite location?"
"No. I think it was perhaps the cove side room, but..."
"Cove side room?"
Hiroe nodded.
"I think you'll understand when we show you around afterwards, however… since there's only the cove side, it's a strange location for someone to peek in from outside... "
'I see,' Oliver muttered as he closed his notebook.
"For the time being, we'll decide where to put the equipment. Did you prepare a room?"
Akifumi stood up. "Certainly. I will guide you."
...
They walked in succession down a long corridor following Akifumi.
Walking in the shop's corridor, they went down a straight hallway and turned one corner. There were white walls on both sides, and lattice doors lined up here and there.
"Here it is."
Akifumi stopped and opened a lattice door. Behind the lattice door, there was ordinary entryway.
"Unfortunately, it isn't a Western-style room."
Akifumi opened the sliding front door. It was three continuous rooms. It went immediately into a small four tatami mat sized room. Behind that was an eight tatami mat sized room. Additionally, another eight tatami mat sized room could be seen through an open sliding door on the left.
"It's huge!" Ayako cheered.
In front of the two side-by-side eight tatami mat rooms was a paper sliding door that opened both ways. Akifumi opened it, and beyond was a wide veranda. Simple, Ryokan-style tables and chairs were placed there, although the ones here were three times as wide. It had the overall appearance of a simple wooden floored room.
"It's fine if the sliding doors are removed. It's a room where customers stay, but will it work?"
Akifumi asked Oliver, who was overlooking the room. There are a number of beautifully made low tables placed against the wall, which seem a little too good for placing equipment on.
"It's more than enough."
"It's small on the inside, but there is a bathroom. In addition to this room, we've prepared the rooms on both sides, so please use them for rest."
"Thank you."
While casting a side glance at Oliver, who lightly bowed his head, Mai approached the window of the veranda. Looking out the window, Mai raised her voice.
"Amaazing!"
Oliver came to join her. Under the window was a small round cove. In front of the window, the opposite shore of the cliff could be seen nearby. The cove directly below looked very deep. The entrance to the sea was narrow and there was also no crossing. The thick, dark colored water was hauntingly calm.
"This is the cove side room."
Oliver understood. Certainly, it would be abnormal to see a person from outside this window. This room is built so that it projects from the cliff facing the cove. There is nothing under the window until the surface of the water. The distance is approximately four floors, or perhaps more.
"Do you understand now?"
Without noticing, Akifumi had appeared next to Mai. But it wasn't just Akifumi. Everyone was looking out from the window.
"Yes, I understand. It's impossible to look in from outside."
"That's right."
"This cove, can you swim in it?"
"If you're good at swimming. It's very deep."
"Ah, indeed?"
"If you want to swim, you can swim at the beach on the opposite side." Akifumi pointed back.
Oliver asked, "Yoshimi-san, is there a floor plan of the building?"
"I think there is. I'll bring it afterwards."
Takigawa gave a wry smile. "That would be helpful."
Akifumi smiled.
"Since it's not such a complicated building, I think you'll become familiar with it immediately."
"I hope that's so. Incidentally, I'd be happy if there's also a map of the building's surroundings."
When Takigawa said this, Akifumi smiled and raised his right hand.
"Please make a circle with your right thumb and index finger."
"An OK mark?"
"That's right. The circle is the cove. Where the thumb and index finger join is the entrance of the cave. The shop is around the base of the index finger. The opposite shore is where the thumb appears opposite now. The garden over there has a tea house."
Everyone other than Mai stared at their right hand. Mai continued to stare down the cove in the direction of the stairs down to the cave. She could see the faint lights of spirits being dragged down towards the cave tunnel. Previously she could only see them in her astral plane. But apparently this time around she could see them while awake.
"From the place around the wrist, the main building is where you enter from the road towards the index finger and the shrine is where you enter towards the thumb."
"There's a shrine?" Ayako asked.
"Yes, right next door. The middle finger is the beach. A small fishing port is on the far point.
And there is a small cave on the part of the nail of the index finger."
"A cave?" Oliver asked alert.
"Yes. It's a marine erosion cave. Waves hollow out the cliff and a cave is made. It's only from the pointing part of the fingernail, it's missing from the cove."
"Can we see the cave?"
"Yes. Since today is too late, I'll show you tomorrow if that's alright with you."
"But Yoshimi-san," Takigawa raised his voice.
"I realize the building is splendid and the location is good, but is a restaurant really profitable in the middle of nowhere?"
"We're a little different from an ordinary restaurant. If I told you it's a member's only restaurant, would you understand?"
"Amaazing. Isn't this great for you, Mai, John and Bou-san."
Ayako put her hand on Mai's shoulder.
"What?"
"You certainly wouldn't be able to come to a place like this in your entire life. Aren't you lucky to have this lucrative job?"
"Mai has been a guest to member only places before, Ayako. Or are you implying that I am not a good boyfriend?" Oliver stared coldly at Ayako for insulting Mai.
"Ah..." Ayako flushed with embarrassment, John covered a grin and Takigawa outright laughed.
Mai shook Ayako's hand off her shoulder where it had been getting tighter with embarrassment. She glared at her while rubbing the sore spot.
"Please refrain from giving me more bruises. I get enough from the spirits while on a case as it is. I don't need the human variety added to it."
"Oh! Sorry Mai. I didn't mean to do that."
"Yeah. Yeah. It's fine."
Ayako suddenly pointed a finger at Akifumi.
"That's right. How old are you, Yoshimi-san?"
Akifumi had a blank look.
"I'll be twenty soon."
Mai began laughing. "Sorry Ayako, looks like he's too young for you to try and marry."
While Mai was laughing, Oliver spoke from behind her. "Mai, can you help set up please."
"Coming Naru~" Mai responded in a sing song voice.
...
Akifumi helped Mai and John carry the large amount of equipment to the base.
"Put the equipment in the center of the shop. Bou-san and Matsuzaki-san, go to Hazuki-chan. For the time being, prepare talismans to ensure her safety."
Mai and John began setting up the equipment where Oliver indicated.
"Somehow, you don't seem very much like spiritualists." Akifumi said while he carried equipment into the empty room.
"Yes. Please call us ghost hunters. Excuse me, could you please grab the cable with the yellow tape on it?"
"So, you also handle this kind of machinery, Taniyama-san? —Um, cable?"
"It's a cord. — Somehow, I have developed some knowledge in the use of it."
"I feel even some knowledge is incredible. I'm not very good with machinery."
"Not very good?"
"When I touch machines too much they seem to break. When face to face with machinery, I'm the type that gets nervous."
"Um, Yoshimi-san..."
"I don't mind going by Akifumi."
He gave Mai a smile.
"All the family members are 'Yoshimi-san', so please feel free to be less formal with me."
"Then excuse me, Akifumi-san. You said you're twenty years old, are you a college student?"
"Yes. I go to the University of Tokyo."
"So that means you don't usually live here, right?"
"That's right. But I try to come back to visit as much as possible during holidays."
"Do you help in the shop still?"
Akifumi smiled and shook his head. "My grandmother gets lonely. Since the family members are too busy with the shop."
"Do all the people of the house work in the shop?"
"That's right. But my youngest elder brother is a government worker."
"Youngest elder brother— so you have two or more brothers?"
"Two brothers and two sisters. I'm the youngest of five siblings."
"Five… that's a lot of people."
Akifumi gave a somewhat mixed smile.
"If you die a lot, you have to have a lot of people or your house will become extinct."
"Hmm... and along with your parents and grandmother?"
"Plus, my oldest brother and sister have children with their spouses. Three children in all. My brother has two children, and my sister has one child. Hazuki is the youngest child of my brother."
"And they all live here?"
"Except me."
"Thirteen people. That's impressive."
Akifumi gave a pained smile.
"Nevertheless, if eight people die, not even half will remain."
"We'll do our best to prevent that from happening this time."
Akifumi bowed his head a little.
"...I'm sorry. It's a dark conversation."
"No, it's I who should say sorry."
"Taniyama-san, what about your family?"
"Oh. I'm on my own."
Akifumi looked surprised.
"...I'm sorry, that was inexcusable. I spoke callously."
"It's natural to ask if you don't know."
"But…"
"Please, don't trouble yourself. There's a lot to a person, and that means there's also a lot to me."
"Indeed… "
"Besides, if I had parents, they wouldn't let me have this unusual part-time job. Then I wouldn't have been able to come to such a luxurious restaurant and—."
"...is that so?"
"That's right. It's easier like this. Especially, when I think my friends would quarrel with my family, among other things. No, it doesn't necessarily mean that I think it's good to have dead parents."
"Perhaps that's true."
"Hmmm. Of course, it's also lonely."
Akifumi smiled.
"Add me and Taniyama-san and divide by two and the number is exactly right."
"Please refrain from flirting with my girlfriend, Yoshimi-san." Oliver's curt voice sounded from the monitors against the wall.
Akifumi blinked his eyes in surprise. "...I'm sorry, that was inexcusable of me. It's not a surprise to find Mai is already dating someone."
"Well, that's true. She is an attractive girl." Oliver wrapped an arm around Mai's waist and pulled her close. Placing a light kiss on Mai's temple, he stared at Akifumi with particular meaning.
Akifumi blushed and excused himself from the room, though not without issuing an invitation for SPR to join his family for dinner.
...
Returning to the base, the rack was assembled on the veranda in the front room. When Ayako and Takigawa returned from seeing to Hazuki's well-being, the pair also helped carry the large amount of equipment. While they talked idly, by the time they finished the setup and check, it had become quite dark outside.
Afterwards, Akifumi guided SPR to a tatami mat room in the corner of the shop. When they were shown inside the wide, elegant room, four men were seated at a long table. One of them was Taizou, the father they had met with the grandmother. Taizou was wearing white chef's clothes. That night's meal had been made by him.
"Please, make yourself comfortable. It would be greatly appreciated."
He politely bowed his head and guided them to the head seats. They sat at a table with recessed floors for their legs.
Taizou introduced them to the men who were there. The somewhat older, plump man wearing a suit was Kazuyasu, the eldest son. The burly man wearing jeans and a t-shirt was Yasutaka, the second son. The man wearing the same chef's clothing as Taizou was Eijirou, the son-in-law. They all seemed to be just past thirty. They're all somewhat depressed looking, but them sitting here in descending order of sizes large, medium, and small was a little funny.
Four woman carrying dishes came in then. The brisk woman wearing a kimono was the mother, Hiroe. The calm seeming woman was Youko, Kazuyasu's wife. The really strong-willed looking woman, third from the front, was the eldest daughter, Teruka. The fourth cool seeming, young woman, was the youngest daughter Nao.
"Shibuya-san, would you like sake?"
Taizou asked Oliver.
"No. Neither Lin nor I drink."
"Takigawa-san and Matsuzaki-san, is it okay?"
Hearing this, Takigawa smiled.
"It's greatly appreciated."
"Taniyama-san?"
"No, thank you."
SPR questioned the male and female camps about various things, however, not being able to gather anything, they withdrew to the base. In the base, the data that was being sent from the equipment in various places was shown by the lonely monitors.
"Abnormalities?"
Oliver asked Lin, who sat in front of the equipment.
"Currently, there are none. I'll check the previous results."
Shown by the monitor screens were the corridor of the main building, Hazuki's room, the shop corridor, the cove side spare room, and five locations in the coast side spare rooms. There were no abnormalities in any of the videos.
"You may want to get John to remove a possession very soon, Naru. Before Eijirou-san breaks."
The others stopped to look at Mai. "Mai?"
"Eijirou-san is one of the possessed people. He's been fighting the urge to kill all night and he's getting to the point of desperation."
Oliver nodded, then looked towards Takigawa. ". —Bou-san."
"What's up?"
"Set up a barrier around Hazuki for the night. Matsuzaki-san, please prepare some charms for us all to prevent possession. John..."
As he started to say that, Akifumi came in with tools for making tea.
"Thank you for your hard work."
He had arranged the teapot and electric kettle for them. While he was making tea, he said,
"Taniyama-san, that was unfortunate."
"What is?" Mai responded.
"Thirteen people. Were you disappointed by the small number of people?"
"Well, not really. Outside of the current situation I assume it would usually be more lively."
"Normally, my brothers alone are more lively, but… recently they've been really gloomy."
"Of course, when there is worry, you'll definitely become gloomy, right?"
When Mai said that, Akifumi gave a mixed smile.
"Who was the son-in-law, again? Eijirou-san? He seemed like he was in somewhat of a bad mood, didn't he?"
"I agree. I wonder what happened, suddenly."
"Suddenly?"
Akifumi nodded. "It may be nothing, but… Both Kuzu-niisan and Eijirou-niisan help with the shop, so they generally have good manners since manners are essential for the business. That was the first time I saw Eijirou-niisan with such a sullen expression."
Oliver frowned. "In other words, Eijirou-san generally isn't the sort of person to have such a sullen expression in public?"
"Yes. He might get angry, but until now, he's never shown it in his expression. At least, that was the first time I had seen it on his face."
"Kazuyasu-san, also?"
"Yes. Kuzu-niisan has seemed on edge these past two or three days. Yasu-niisan seems so also. Yasu-niisan is probably the worst. When he's in public he restrains himself a little, but by nature he's a very cheerful man. To the extent that he used to be scolded by our parents."
"How long has Yasutaka-san's personality been different?"
"I think since the day of grandfather's funeral. Even though I asked why, he won't say."
"Is there anyone else with changes in their personality?"
Akifumi was thoughtful for a moment.
"Youko-neesan."
"The strong-willed looking one?"
"No, that's Teruka. Teruka-neesan is the most strong-willed in nature of the family."
"Then, the calm seeming one?"
"Yes. No, she's a calm person by nature, but..."
"But?"
Asked by Oliver, Akifumi replied,
"If I were to say whose personality changed the most of the family, it would be the children above all. There are another two in addition to Hazuki. Katsuki and Hazuki are the children of Kazu-niisan. Teruka-neesan's child is Wakako. Katsuki and Wakako are strange. The pair are being secretive lately."
When Mai tilted her head to the side, Akifumi smiled in a troubled fashion.
"How can I say this… Originally, they weren't like that, however, recently they've been sticking close and won't be separated from each other. On top of that, the pair talk secretively between themselves all the time. When I ask what they're talking about, they exchange looks then run away...
This has also been about since grandfather's funeral. The funeral was so hectic, there wasn't time to be concerned about the children. In the last two or three days, it's suddenly gotten to a state to be concerned about."
"I see..."
Oliver contemplated the situation. "John, as soon as Matsuzaki-san is done with the charms please tend to Eijirou-san's possession."
...
Soon after, Mai was asked to fix the angle of a camera that was placed in a room on the coast side, and she left the base. Upon entering the corridor, it was pitch black. Farther down, the light from the emergency lamp could be seen, which meant all of the electricity was off.
"The kids, huh."
It was when Mai had walked half-way that she could hear a faint voice came from somewhere along the dark and long corridor. Mai stopped and looked around carefully. She spotted the lump on the corridor wall a short distance away towards the corridor of the main building. The lump was around waist height and about the size of a soccer ball.
"...san"
A quiet, secretive voice reached Mai's ears.
"Are you two going to continue hiding or come out?"
Something thin extended from the lump, beckoning several times.
"...Oneesan."
"...Oneesan..."
Mai began to walk toward the children.
"Yes children? What is it?"
One of the children was beckoning. They came out into the corridor. A boy and girl dressed in summer pajamas. They were either first graders in elementary school or below.
"What's wrong? You're Katsuki-kun and Wakako-chan, right?"
When Mai calmly stopped in front of them and asked, the pair stared at her. They whispered something to each other secretively.
Then Wakako said, "...how many of you are there?"
"There are five of us." Mai smiled.
The pair began whispering again.
"...five people..."
"That's a lot..."
"...that's bad..."
They continued discussing something secretly. Then, they abruptly turned away in unison. They began to walk toward the main building. Laughing quietly, they scurried away.
Calmly, Mai vacantly watched the direction where the pair had disappeared for a short while.
"We won't let you win, you dried up piece of wood."
Mai continued on to go fix the camera angle. That was when it happened.
—Screams could be heard from the end of the corridor.