Alice listened to Dan explain everything that happened the other night via video call. "You won't believe how many bloody cuts I saw on Katie! At least her face was spared!"

So that's the girl who wanted to check out the argument between Hydron and Nurzak. She's here to install fiber-optic internet with Hydron. "But if she's a non-local visitor like Hydron, then what was she doing there instead of staying indoors?"

"Katie said that she forgot something but couldn't find it. Then she got assaulted on the way back, and the rest of us saw that tree shadow on the protective screens. I also learned that Hydron and Katie are staying in separate rooms at a local ryokan. What's really confusing is why the oak tree spirit assaulted her instead of Hydron when he was one showing off his chainsaw. Katie should be out of the hospital by now."

"I forgot to tell you something. Shortly after someone shoved me, I saw Katie in the distance. It looked like she wanted to come over but ultimately left. Maybe the tree spirit is upset that she didn't do anything to stop Hydron."

"Now do you believe in the supernatural?"

Shun sat in front of the redhead's work desk and chimed in. "Dan, she does not. Alice is just explaining that Hydron and Katie are on the same side of this community argument."

"Dude, you scared me!"

The assistant professor flipped through Shiori's old notes. "I wish I had time to ask Mister Frosch if he encountered Shiori-san went she visited Kashiwagi. It looks like she managed to get additional details about the deceased resident from sixteen years ago."

"I want to know! The archived case file wasn't useful at all."

"You might already know that the police ruled that man's death as a suicide, since none of the evidence suggested homicide. Mister Frosch told Shiori-san that the deceased's widow took the rest of her family and moved out of Kashiwagi district altogether. She kept most of the inheritance but gave the plot of land to Mister Frosch for free, even though other people were offering higher prices. The widow also asked him to never give that land away to anyone else. In return, he promised to return the land for free if she came back, but he eventually lost all contact with the widow."

While Dan took a moment to digest the story, Shun asked, "Is there something special about that plot of land that made the widow adamant on giving it to the village chief instead of anyone else?"

Alice flipped to another page and gasped. "You have a point. The bleeding tree that supposedly hosts the oak street spirit is on that plot of land. Dan, maybe you should start investigating the whereabouts of the widow and other family members."

"I'll try... but if the oak tree spirit comes after me for revenge—"

"I guarantee that it won't."

"If you say so. Later!"

After the video call ended, the assistant professor began typing quickly on her computer. "Hey Alice, do you think something's off about Hydron damaging the tree and Katie getting assaulted?"

"I don't know how to explain it yet, but—" A high-priority email caught her attention. "This new semester is passing by too quickly. I just got an email reminding all students, faculty, and staff about the last day to drop classes without record on transcript."

"And then the time will come when you get an email reminder about the last day to withdraw from a class without a letter grade. What's the turnover like for both your classes? You mentioned that all your students are majoring in something else."

"I'll check right now." The redhead compared the current rosters for both classes with a copy of rosters from the first day of instruction. "Some student dropped the class while other new students took the empty spots, so class size for both sections didn't change." Then she continued scrolling between the two lists. "Do the names Ren Krawler and Fabia Sheen remind you of anyone?"

"I remember the village chief asking two people named Ren and Fabia to put folding screens around the old oak tree, but I didn't see what they looked like because of the crowd. Then Katie later got assaulted that night."

"Right...and these two students major in biochemistry and plain chemistry, respectively. I didn't see their faces either. All of this is really strange. I don't know what to think."

"Maybe thinking about something else will clear your mind."

"Like what?"

"Remember on the first day of class when you mentioned something about scaring the new students? I didn't know you were that type of person."

"Shun, if you actually applied to be a folklore studies major, then you'd learn during summer orientation that the 'pranks' used to scare the new students are actually urban legends that happened right here on campus."

"For real?!"

"Unfortunately, Shiori-san went missing, and somehow everyone switched out of folklore studies for something else, which I completely understand. During summer orientation, we used to take the students to some unbelievable locations on campus at night. I can show you around if you'd like, but it's more fun with a larger audience."

"So that's what you meant by scaring the new students... Sorry to hear that you couldn't continue this tradition this past summer. You're so involved in student life."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, the Department of Folklore and its students are a small tight-knit group, so I want everyone to feel satisfied with their higher education experience here. Anyway, I need to reply to some important emails. Do you have any tasks that you're struggling with?"

"Not really. Everything you assigned to me is straightforward. I end up with extra time remaining each day, so I've been attending at least one of your lectures per week to see how far the class is progressing and understand the lecture material better. It definitely helps me be more organized and concentrated with office work."

"I'm glad my lecture material is helpful to you! I know you're curious about how Shiori-san taught classes back then, especially for a subject that you never studied or even took an elective course in. I can't replace her or replicate her lecture style, but I do what I can to spread my love for folklore and keep this department afloat. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Alice."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Several Kashiwagi residents were exercising in the morning when they passed the old oak tree and saw Hydron hanging by his neck from a branch. "What's he doing hanging up there?"

"Isn't that the guy that cut the tree with a chainsaw?"

"That's what I call karma."

Miyoko looked up nervously, and her son just ended a phone call. "Daniel, are you sure you want to invite your friends over to see this?"

"Mom, my friends are very helpful in helping me solve cases. Besides, you don't want me getting too involved with anything related to the oak tree spirit, so I have to call Billy."

"Fair enough."

Arriving on scene was a young navy-haired woman and several other police officers. "Chan, what are you doing here?! I asked for Billy!"

"I already sent Billy to work on another case, Dan. As your supervisor, I'm obligated to know exactly why you're avoiding this case."

"Because my mom is superstitious and doesn't want me to get assaulted like Katie!"

The police madam waved her hand in disbelief and ordered her subordinates to investigate. Arriving later on scene were Alice and Shun, in which the latter asked rhetorically, "Don't these people know that they could be next if they stare at the victim for too long?"

Upon hearing those words, most of the curious residents left immediately. "That was an unconventional way to scare the bystanders away," the redhead commented nervously.

"The less people, the better. That way, you can fully concentrate on the evidence."

"Ah...very thoughtful of you."

Chan saw the redhead and waved hello. "Alice, long time no see! What are you doing in Kashiwagi district?"

"You two know each other?" Shun asked.

"I'm pretty sure I met the entire police department already because I've been asking them nonstop for updates on Shiori-san this past summer. And Chan, to answer your question—I've been visiting Kashiwagi lately with Dan as my tour guide to research the oak tree spirit for a school project, but I somehow end up seeing blood splatter from this tree and how Hydron hanging dead on this same tree. If you don't mind, I'd like Shun to come in and take a look at the evidence."

"Sure, just don't contaminate anything."

At the immediate crime scene, Alice extended her hand up and jumped a few times. "I can't even reach Hydron's legs from where I stand. Shun, do you still remember what Shiori-san wrote in her notes?"

"Sixteen years ago, a Kashiwagi man was found hanging from the tree branches like Hydron is right now. The other residents insisted that the oak tree spirit took his life, because there was nothing on the ground that could've helped that man reach the tree branches to commit suicide that high in the air."

"But if he didn't help himself up there, then that sounds more like homicide to me," Dan commented.

"Here's the issue." The redhead aimed a laser pointer at several footprints on the ground. "Back then, the police only found the deceased footprints and no one else's, which suggested that the deceased was alone out there. If I'm not mistaken, this neat pattern of footprints must belong to Hydron."

Chan scrolled through the crime scene photos on her camera. "The sole pattern and silhouette do match the shoes on Hydron's feet, but all of Bayview has been raining frequently. Seeing footprints on damp ground isn't unusual."

"Then let's trace the footprints back to where they came from." After several minutes of walking, the quartet arrived at a window of a corner room at the local ryokan, where the windowpanes opened and faced outwards. "I didn't know ryokans had windows like this."

"This place has a more modern design," the brunet explained. "Mister Clayf has owned this place for decades and put a lot of work into keeping the traditional feel but also making things more ergonomic and energy efficient."

"I still only see Hydron's footprints, which suggests he hopped out this window and walked over to the tree by himself. Were there any signs of another person or any kind of struggle, Chan?"

"Absolutely nothing. How he got up there is the biggest mystery. I'm not jumping through this window, so let's go to the actual entrance."

In the ryokan's main office, an elderly man wearing thick glasses and a brown down jacket retrieved a key from a metal box. "Madam Lee, there you are! I tried to unlock Hydron's room with the spare key, but he apparently also locked the safety chain. I wanted to wait for you before I cut it with bolt cutters."

"Wow...thank you for your patience, Mister Clayf. Let's cut that safety chain now."

Once inside, everyone examined every single window, wall, and space in Hydron's room and reconvened in front of the open window. "This was definitely a locked-room murder," Alice concluded.

"But Hydron died outdoors," Dan commented.

"I know, but that term also refers to a situation where it seems like absolutely no one could approach the victim yet still commit murder. This room's main entrance was locked from the inside with the safety chain, and all other windows were closed except this one. I doubt there are any broken walls or secret passageways here. Everything is also perfectly neat here, aside from the pile of red-stained clothes from the other day. This is starting to resemble the mysterious death from sixteen years ago..." Then she snapped her fingers. "Chan, did anyone talk to Katie Lowery yet? Hydron came to Kashiwagi with her, but it's obvious that they lived in separate rooms."

"I have other officers interviewing her now." The police madam then checked her phone. "Her room is coincidentally on the second floor right above this room. But she won't stop crying, so I don't recommend talking to her. Speaking of sixteen years ago, that deceased resident's name was Lawrence Kennedy, if that rings a bell. Anyway, I need to interview everyone else—"

Dan just ended a phone call and sighed very deeply. "Sorry guys, but Mom just told me that our stray shiba-inu just passed away. I need to go."

After the quartet left the ryokan, the brunet went to find his mom while Chan chatted with the other officers. While walking back to Alice's car, Shun commented, "Watching you figure out what happened to Hydron left me in complete awe."

"I already told everyone on the first day class that folklorists are like detectives. Not only do I want to solve the mystery behind Katie's assault and Hydron's death, but I also want to solve how Mister Kennedy died sixteen years ago. There's a saying in healthcare called, 'When you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras.' Healthcare providers should consider the most likely possibility first when diagnosing. On the contrary, I like assume what's the most impossible, because we all know that urban legends often hide something unthinkable or unethical...which makes me think that Mister Kennedy's death might actually be a homicide."

"If my mom were here today, then do you think she would be helping the police like you're doing?"

"Probably...not? As department head, she has a lot of work to do. Also, if she were here today, then you'd stay in Wardington instead of coming to Bayview."

"Point taken... Where are we going now?"

"I need to go back to campus, unless you need to be somewhere else?"

"I'll go with you."

Before Alice got into the driver's seat, she received a text message from Dan. "I think I figured out how my shiba-inu died AND how the oak tree spewed blood, but I need some time to test this theory."

"No worries. Just keep me updated."

-x-x-x-x-x-

After making a crucial discovery with some of the evidence from Hydron's death, Dan invited Alice, Shun, Ren, and Fabia over to the police station's forensics laboratory. "Thanks for coming here on short notice. I finally discovered how the blood splatter was staged."

"I knew it was fake!" the redhead cheered.

"Aren't you hands-off this entire case because your mom is superstitious?" the raven-haired secretary questioned.

The silver-haired student asked in confusion, "Is there a reason why Fabia and I are also here?"

"As a police officer, I'm back on this case now that I know how the blood splatter was fake. As a former Kashiwagi resident, I have an obligation to Mister Frosch and my mom to find out the truth before all hell breaks loose over a vengeful tree spirit and installing high-speed internet. You two can tell Mister Frosch about my findings so that he and the entire community can sleep better at night."

"Sounds good," the pair replied.

Dan brought over a tray of chemistry supplies. "This first beaker contains ferric chloride hexahydrate, which is a poppy-yellow solid. This second beaker contains potassium thiocyanate, which is a translucent white solid. Now I'll add distilled water to both beakers to make a solution." After that, the brunet then poured both solutions into an Erlenmeyer flask, which he swirled to reveal the bright red resulting mixture. "Does this look like blood to you? One of the products is ferric thiocyanate, which emits a red color."

The others observed the red solution while Shun asked, "If you mix these two chemicals ahead of time, then we would all have seen red immediately. How come we didn't see red until the chainsaw came in contact with the tree?"

"After analyzing the chainsaw and bark samples from the tree, it looks like someone poured potassium thiocyanate solution on the tree ahead of time, while someone else poured ferric chloride solution on the chainsaw during the altercation. That's why red liquid splattered when the chainsaw touched the tree."

"But wouldn't anyone notice that the tree would be wet from having liquid poured on it?"

"Not necessarily," Alice interrupted. "It's been raining frequently all over Bayview lately. Baron almost tripped on the wet ground, remember? No one would notice whether the tree was doused with any liquid because it was already wet from the rain to begin with. But Dan, how did you figure out this trick?"

"Thanks to our deceased shiba-inu, actually. I found it suspicious that it just suddenly died, so I examined its body during my free time. I found pieces of bark in between its teeth that came from the old oak tree."

"That's a terrible way to die..." Shun commented. "Are any of these chemicals toxic?"

"No, but when potassium thiocyanate reacts with acidic compounds, like the apple cider vinegar that other residents and I serve to our beloved shiba-inu, the chemical reaction creates the highly toxic thiocyanic acid."

"That solves one mystery. What about the oak tree spirit that you saw at night?"

"That's a lot easier to explain." The brunet put his chemistry set aside and took out a tree-looking toy and a small silk screen in a wooden frame. "Basically, someone dressed up in an ugly tree costume with a huge spotlight behind them, which created the illusion of a tree-looking figure on the folding screens. There's nothing complicated about that."

"Now that we know how both illusions were executed, do you know who did it?"

Before Dan could answer Shun, the assistant professor faced the two students. "I know you both take several different chemistry classes on campus as requirements for your majors. If you know something, then speak now. Katie was badly injured, and now Hydron's dead."

After the two Kashiwagi residents exchanged silent glances, Ren spoke up. "We just wanted to scare Hydron and Katie away. I heard that Hydron initiated contact with Mister Frosch about offering discounted rates to install fiber-optic internet in rural areas. Katie said she was only Hydron's secretary. Installing better internet sounded like a great idea at first, but when Hydron told Mister Frosch that he needs to cut the oak old tree to prevent signal blocking, Mister Frosch had to reevaluate."

"Apparently, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened," Fabia explained. "Ren and I may have staged the blood splatter and oak tree spirit shadow, but we didn't do anything to Katie or Hydron. I don't believe that Mister Frosch would've asked another resident to do assault or kill someone either. I don't know what happened in the past, but Mister Frosch told us that he wants to keep that plot of land as perfect and intact as possible. We were just doing a harmless favor for him."

"Until my stray shiba-inu died from accidental poisoning!"

"Dan, calm down please," Shun insisted. "I'm sure your entire team already interviewed everyone in Kashiwagi for alibis during the times of Katie's assault and Hydron's death. What Ren and Fabia did might be vandalism, but their actions didn't impact any humans directly."

"You have a point..."

"And like I said before, a real person created injuries on Katie and hung Hydron up in the trees," Alice repeated before facing the student. "No more absurd tricks next time, okay? If your village chief has any questions or concerns about anything, then he should reach out to the police. Understand?"

Ren and Fabia nodded before Dan granted them permission to leave. The brunet put everything away and sat in a lab chair. "I should give my shiba-inu friend a proper burial, don't you think?"

Shun turned away in disbelief, whereas the redhead asked, "Would you like to go out for dessert tonight?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Today's the third anniversary of Joe's bubble tea bar, so all food and drinks are on discount during business hours. I told him I'll visit before closing, but maybe I should reserve a whole table instead."

"How many people are you expecting?"

"Julie's not free tonight, but Runo is, so you might as well come. Shun, you should come too. Let me see if my research assistants would like to come tonight..."

"In that case, I'll eat an early dinner and meet you there tonight! Time to go home!"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Later that night, Alice stood in front of the bubble tea bar as the five people she invited all arrived from different directions. "You all made it! I placed my mobile order already. Follow me inside!"

The redhead grabbed her drink from the counter and sat at a large table. Everyone lined up except Shun, who sat across from the assistant professor. "Now I'm really in awe. How are you so professional by day but carefree by night?"

"Don't you want to place your order first?"

"I just submitted a mobile order like you did."

"Ah...you're a fast learner. I was a student once and also have my own personal life outside of work too. It's helpful to take intermittent breaks. Our minds can only focus on so much at a time. This is a great opportunity for you to experience every single district here."

"I can't complain about that."

After everyone's orders were fulfilled, the redhead's five guests gathered at her table. "I still don't know how Hydron ended up at the crime scene, because the tox report suggests he wasn't drugged at all," Dan vented.

"Can we not talk about murder cases when we have sugary drinks and desserts in front of us?" Runo complained. "Shun, how do you like Bayview so far? Is it anything like Wardington?"

"I had no idea how populated Bayview is until now. Where are we again?"

"Central Bayview is its own district, where the main BIU campus and most government buildings are located. Other students told me that everything is more expensive here, but it really depends on where you shop."

"I see... I just remembered. Alice invited us all here to help Dan mourn over his deceased shiba-inu."

The brunet pounded his fist on the table. "At least I solved his murder, which then helped me solve the bleeding tree mystery. Losing a friend is never fun, but I'm glad I met you guys ever since the school year started. Thanks for inviting us here tonight for the discounts, Alice! Here's to solving cases, sending my stray shiba-inu to dog heaven, and meeting new friends!"

Everyone else raised their drinks and replied, "Cheers!"

"And if you don't mind, I'm going to take some selfies..."

The gang later walked around the block to digest before going home, but Dan had overeaten and was too full to walk straight. "You look like you're drunk!" Runo complained.

"At least it's just a sugar rush," Shun reassured. The brunet then leaned over a sidewalk railing. "Don't tell me he's—"

The police officer conveniently threw up over a sewer drain. "Master Dan, you should keep your head down to avoid aspirating!" Baron ordered.

"And you'd better spit out everything now before—OH MY GOD!" The bluenette quickly pulled her friend back by the collar after seeing a car drive past. "You're lucky that I saved you quickly, Dan!"

"What... just... happened...?"

"You almost got beheaded by a speeding vehicle!" Soon explained.

The raven-haired secretary watched the couple quarrel from a distance. "Dan and Runo are a really weird dynamic, don't you think?"

He faced Alice, who opened her pocket watch and mumbled to herself. "The killer went great lengths to make us think that Hydron died from supernatural causes, but I just figured out how this hanging homicide was staged."