《Spiritual Detective – Touka Fujisaki Never Scoffs at Tragedies》


 Volume 1 - Prologue

    Rows upon rows of sakura cherry trees were in full blossom. However, the way in which they bloomed was a little excessive. As a result, each flower would continue to release its blossoms one by one. Tender white blooms danced in the breeze, transforming the area into a sea of cherry petals.


    A heavy wind blew.


    Air rushed past him, as though pressing into his eardrums and reverberating in his stomach.


    Saku Fujisaki¡¯s vision was dyed in complete white.


    Countless petals danced in the air. Some would get ruthlessly slammed onto the ground, while others would lightly flutter down until they reached the water surface. They¡¯d be hurled into the air again the following moment and continue to float indefinitely.


    As he gazed at the beauty in front of him, Saku felt as if he couldn¡¯t take another breath.


    It was all because the flower petals took up nearly the entire room.


    It seemed as if there was not even a space for a single person to stand.


    One point, however, inside that space.


    There was one thing that looked clearly different.


    Black.


    A girl in black.


    That girl was standing in the midst of the cherry blossom storm.


    The way she was standing seemed to contrast with the space, which was filled with solely white petals.


    The girl was dressed entirely in black to an obstinate extent. Her classic black one-piece outfit gave her the appearance of a stately woman. Her silk stockings and gloves were as dark as the night itself.


    Finally, her face was as gorgeous as the cherry blossoms in bloom. Her beauty and the way she stood made her look rather inhuman. If one would ask what she is if she wasn¡¯t human, they will get back one and only one answer.


    A young maiden.


    She was the personification of what a young maiden could be.


    A girl in black, gorgeous but sweet, that emanates a vivid impression¡ª the incarnation of the notion of a young maiden.


    That is what makes her herself¡ª different from an ordinary person.


    A powerful burst of wind blew, once more.


    The young lady tucked her black hair behind her ear.


    Despite the blooms blowing in her direction, she had no sign of white on her clothes. For some reason, not even a single blossom clung to her body. It felt like magic and a miracle, all at the same time.


    She shouldn¡¯t be touched.


    She should never be touched.


    It sounded almost as if the blossoms were whispering as they continued to avoid the girl.


    Saku¡¯s reaction was rather neutral to this strange phenomenon.


    The girl suddenly smiled.


    She smiled, it seemed.


    Her crimson-red lips did indeed curve with the elegance of a woman.


    That¡¯s what Saku had thought.


    Everything surrounding him was as mystical and ambiguous as it could get.


    The sense of reality abandoned this place a long time ago.


    Inside this unrealistic view, the girl whispered with a voice that could reach even the ears of someone on top of a mountain, ¡°Well then, shall we talk?¡±


    ¡°Talk about what, exactly?¡± What is there to talk about? asked Saku.


    He wasn¡¯t able to express his question as clearly as he had hoped.


    But even when he couldn¡¯t completely state his intention, the girl, nevertheless, nodded as if she already knew what was on his mind. And surprisingly, Saku felt empathy from that small gesture. Perhaps his feelings were simply the result of his inability to comprehend the existence of the girl.


    The girl spoke again, ¡°Nothing too difficult.¡±


    Once again, the wind blew.


    The girl closed her eyes, looking annoyed.


    She continued while standing inside the sakura blossoms¡¯ boisterous dance.


    Her clear and frigid voice cut through the wall of white and a whisper made it to Saku¡¯s ears.


    ¡°¡ª Let¡¯s say, about life and death.¡±

 Volume 1 - CH 1

    ¡ª He was told that the little girl is God.


    The first time Saku Fujisaki met Touka Fujisaki was seven years ago.


    Saku was only thirteen years old while Touka was eight.


    He was taken to Touka to become her servant, which may appear uncommon in today¡¯s world.


    The thirteen years old boy had to kneel so he could attend to the eight years old girl whom he will be serving.


    Dressed in complete black, Touka gazed at Saku with her pretty, young face.


    Saku remembers the events of that day.


    He still remembers that black color within the white space.


    Not only that, but the whispering of his mother, when she accompanied him to meet Touka as she held his hand, also remained in his ears.


    ¡°Did you know? Touka-sama is going to become God.¡±


    An uncontrollable shudder rushed down his spine the moment he heard those words.


    Naturally, for a boy of his age, he didn¡¯t know what becoming a servant meant. But regardless, a strong realization would spontaneously take him over. He was well aware that he would be serving a devout and revered individual. Saku pursed his lips when he realized that much.


    For the sons of the Fujisaki clan, becoming a servant of God is considered the highest honor.


    Fujisaki is a household with unusual powers.


    To this day, all of its descendants are born and reared in exceptional circumstances.


    Although the household has several branches, only the God of the main house had absolute authority.


    If the Fujisaki clan was to be a living creature, then certainly, their God would be its one and only heart. There is no denying of how unstable and distorted it sounds. Nonetheless, the Fujisaki clan is a cut above others, such as the Komai of the east, Sakigasaki of the west, Nagase of the twelve fortune tellers, and Sanzashi of divine possession.


    This is not only because the Fujisaki clan is arrogant.


    In fact, the clan boasts strong influence over society.


    The head family receives a huge amount of financial offerings from their devotees. They also have a slew of significant ties with politicians and affluent people, which they use to flourish in their various businesses.


    At the center of it all, is their God.


    Without their God, the Fujisaki clan would not be able to maintain itself.


    But despite their reliance on God¡ª and unlike the prophecy clan of Asohito which has its own God¡ª the Fujisakis are not a religious organization.


    The God of the Fujisaki clan is but a human being.


    It is, however, a genuine one that should not exist in this day and age.


    The women of Fujisaki have mysterious abilities and only one of them becomes the God of the clan. Once they do, they show people visions they desire and deliver the voices and appearances of the dead. Clearly, this is a clan secret that must never be revealed.


    Once the present God passes away, a new one is chosen from the women of Fujisaki. As a matter of fact, when Touka was eight years old and Saku was thirteen, the current God of the clan was deemed to have only 2 years left to live. Therefore, Touka Fujisaki became a candidate for taking her position.


    All the Fujisaki women have the same thought. That is, either to become God or be demoted into a worthless being. Hence, all of them are desperate to win the position.


    Every candidate is assigned a servant who is also picked from the Fujisaki boys.


    Saku served as the servant of Touka Fujisaki, a prominent candidate, for two years.


    Although, to their surprise, Touka Fujisaki didn¡¯t become God.


    Another girl was chosen when she turned ten years old.


    Touka Fujisaki was judged to be nothing but a degraded version of their true God.


    From that day onward, Touka lost her purpose in life.


    This also means that Saku Fujisaki had also lost his life goals when he turned fifteen.


    ¡ª He was told that Touka was to become God.


    ¡ª But Touka couldn¡¯t become God.


    ¡ª Then, the God of Fujisaki passed away.


    Five years have passed.


    Saku was given the freedom to pursue his life as he pleased after being released from his servant duties, and he is currently enrolled in university.


    Many of the women candidates lost their hope and returned to being mere daughters of the Fujisaki clan. Most of their former servants left them and started their own personal lives, too. However, the situation was a little different for Touka Fujisaki and Saku.


    Touka became a fifteen years old NEET.


    In Saku¡¯s apartment, of all places.


    ***


    A basket of mandarin oranges sat in the center of a kotatsu¡¯s table top.


    Next to it lay a hardcover mystery book. Next to it was a gourmet novel that got recently published in pocket edition. Diagonally behind it, some thriller novels piled up. Then, next to the pile of books, a bag of potato chips was carefully folded. A pair of chopsticks were placed on top of it in a well-behaved manner. It indicated the attempt of a lifehack that allows one to eat chips without getting their fingers dirty.


    The attempt appeared to have been effective, as the person who emptied the bag of potato chips had clean hands.


    With her slender fingers, she carefully flipped through the pages of the book she was reading.


    Yes, ¡®she¡¯.


    She, the young girl.


    At this very moment, she was making a solemn face as she read a novel about death games.


    Her cheeks were translucent white and her hair, hanging over her shoulders, was glossy black.


    The beauty of her face as she was immersed in her reading seemed out of this world. Gorgeous and sweet. The incarnation of a young maiden; Different from an ordinary human being.


    The personification of a young girl.


    There was one disappointing aspect to this existence that seemed so precious.


    She was wearing a gray, shabby jersey.


    Though, her appearance wasn¡¯t the most disappointing thing about her.


    It is what lies inside.


    Saku Fujisaki knew all about it.


    Taking a quick breath, he called her name, ¡°Hey, Touka.¡±


    ¡°What could it be, Saku-kun. As you can see for yourself, I¡¯m reading right now. The act of concentrating while reading a book allows a person to peek into sceneries that don¡¯t belong to our narrow world. It¡¯s not very praiseworthy to disturb someone in the middle of it.¡±


    ¡°Listen. It was you who placed the signboard outside again, and without my permission, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Gu¡­ !¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only person I know who uses sound effects when speaking,¡° Saku said while seeming somewhat tired.


    The girl¡ª Touka, nervously raised her face.


    Saku could see his reflection in her eyes as she blinked at him. Her eyes were as big as those of a cat and their surface looked constantly wet. Longish dark brown hair and a moderately tall height. Skinny face but generally faint facial features. A third party would say she has a neutral look, but for Saku her face would give him the impression of exhaustion instead.


    Touka pouted her lips, completely oblivious to Saku¡¯s exhaustion.


    ¡°But, listen. Without a signboard, how could clients find this place? Yes, I am a degraded instance. A degraded instance indicates something that falls behind in quality and performance. In other words, that would be me compared to the head house¡¯s God. Haha, it¡¯s such a harsh reality.¡±


    ¡°Nobody said you¡¯re a degraded instance. You¡¯re the only one who enjoys using that term to describe yourself.¡±


    ¡°How rude! I¡¯m just stating the truth here! You know how modest I am! Then of course I¡¯d be conscious of the fact that I am a degraded instance! How admirable of me! Uh¡­ Anyway, we both know that people are constantly visiting the head house, seeking help. But that doesn¡¯t mean that they will also come seeking the help of a degraded instance like me.¡±


    ¡°¡­ And?¡±


    ¡°Therefore, instead of being self-conceited, I need to be proactive in my business activities.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t grant you permission to hang something like this in front of my door.¡± Bam. Saku placed the sign he removed on top of the kotatsu.


    It was a cheap rectangle plastic board they once bought from a hardware store. Given that she had just duct-taped it to the door, it was unclear whether Touka was serious about her business.


    The problem, in fact, was not with the signboard, but with what was printed on it.


    ¡°Touka¡¯s Spiritual Detective Agency.¡±


    A fine example of what suspiciousness and weirdness mixed together and exploded would look like on a signboard.


    It would have given off a less suspicious impression if it was indicating a whole building, maybe. But Saku¡¯s room was surrounded by neighbors. He can¡¯t just let Touka hang a sign like that on his door. His criticisms were quite reasonable.


    Touka, however, looked up at the ceiling with great exaggeration. The next moment, she slammed her head against the kotatsu table.


    She was visibly upset by Saku¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°Waaaaah! Why did you take it off? Hanging that sign on the door wasn¡¯t easy, you know!¡±


    ¡°Waaaaah? Really, you¡¯re the only person I know who actually speaks in sound effects.¡±


    ¡°You monster!¡±


    ¡°You should be thankful I didn¡¯t break the sign.¡±


    ¡°Hahan, Could it be that you¡¯re treating me this way because I¡¯m a degraded instance? This is discrimination. I¡¯m gonna sue you!¡±


    ¡°Sue me to who?¡±


    ¡°Saku-kun.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have anyone else you could rely on?¡±


    ¡°Nope! Waaaaah!¡±


    Touka started rolling left to right inside the kotatsu when Saku made his point. She then lied down on her face and began making strange crying noises while sneaking glances at him. Her black eyes were clean dry. Judging that she was still at a disadvantage from Saku¡¯s expression, she continued feigning tears.


    She¡¯s aware of her weak position in this argument, but she doesn¡¯t seem to be reflecting on her actions. He could roughly predict what was on her mind because they¡¯ve known each other for quite some time. Saku sighed loudly. He knows already.


    There is always one solution if he really dislikes his current situation.


    He could just kick out Touka.


    Since the day she wasn¡¯t chosen to become God, Touka had lost her value in the eyes of the clan.


    Henceforth, Touka¡¯s family would ignore her existence in the house. She was never treated badly, however. She probably could even resume her compulsory education if she wished to. But instead, she chose to become a NEET. Right now, she is about fifteen years old, so she¡¯d be in high school. Maybe it¡¯s a little too early to define her as a NEET, after all. But still, it feels more suitable to call her a NEET instead of a shut-in since she refuses to belong to any social organization.


    Touka would spend her days in Saku¡¯s apartment, reading books and playing video games.


    Her portion of living expenses is regularly transferred to Saku¡¯s bank account from her family, as long as he is looking after her. But Touka seems to take advantage of this situation and is getting lazier by the day.


    Just like what any NEET would do.


    Sometimes, Saku wonders if he should seriously get angry at her. Due to the servant mentality ingrained in him, he can¡¯t be high-handed with her. Thus, Touka continues to live under saku¡¯s care, like a parasite.


    She would also act unexpectedly sometimes.


    Things related to ¡°Touka¡¯s spiritual detective agency¡± are one example. She gets quite proactive when it comes to it.


    However, there was a reason for that.


    Touka seemed to be looking for a way to make use of her abilities that are no longer in demand. At the same time, she could be attempting to compete with the God of the clan, who also solves many spiritual mysteries.


    (If only she would forget about it,) Saku thought.


    About the past when she was almost chosen to become God.


    Touka, however, didn¡¯t think the same way.


    Because of this, she keeps on hanging the signboard of ¡®Touka¡¯s spiritual detective agency¡¯ on Saku¡¯s door.


    Everything would have been fine if things stayed the way they are.


    But to Saku¡¯s troubles, she does receive actual requests, although not as much as those of the headhouse.


    And regularly, to boot.


    (I suppose you might say it¡¯s the fate of the Fujisaki¡¯s women¡­ but still, why would anyone want to rely on her?)


    Just when Saku thought to himself.


    Pokopen! Touka¡¯s smartphone made a dumbfounding noise.


    Saku frowned as he began to have a bad feeling.


    Picking up her phone, Touka started checking her mail inbox. She scrolled through the content of the mail with a habitual gesture. After a moment¡¯s thought, she began typing a reply with a serious face.


    She eventually nodded and returned the phone to the kotatsu. Instinctively, Saku asked, ¡°What was the mail about?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, a client request.¡±


    As expected. Saku¡¯s intuition often hit the mark.


    Touka had also set up a website and blog as a spiritual detective. She receives requests regularly from the email address listed in there.


    This time is no exception, as she had just gotten a request.


    Saku was getting a headache and pressed his hands on his temples. Touka¡¯s reaction, however, seemed a bit strange.


    She didn¡¯t seem excited about the request, nor did she show any sign of making a move. As if nothing had happened, she resumed her reading inside the kotatsu. Feeling something odd, Saku flipped the kotatsu futon and sat down next to her.


    He picked a mandarin orange from the basket and started peeling it.


    Touka flipped over her book, stretched her neck like a turtle, and opened her mouth wide.


    ¡°Aah.¡±


    ¡°No ¡®Aah.¡¯ here.¡±


    Saku put the mandarin oranges in Touka¡¯s mouth one by one, and she began munching them eagerly. She opened her mouth again after Saku finished the second half of the orange and received a slap on the forehead.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Peel the next one by yourself.¡±


    ¡°Tch. What a tyrant you are, Saku-kun.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m a tyrant?¡±


    ¡°My god! Who do you think I can depend on if you stopped spoiling me, huh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Every human being has themselves to depend on.¡± Saku started peeling a new mandarin orange as he responded with a half-assed reply. Yet, Touka¡¯s small mouth opened up again. He ended up stuffing the entire mandarin orange while sighing quietly.


    Clearly, Saku is spoiling Touka rotten.


    Watching over her chewing, he asked, ¡°So, are you not gonna accept the request?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not. It¡¯s too serious for a spiritual detective to handle.¡±


    Touka put her chin on top of the kotatsu. Her glossy black hair spread out like a folding fan on the table.


    She then proceeded, giggling and looking a little distressed, ¡°Resolving a serial murder case of falling internal organs is surely too serious for me to handle.¡±


    ***


    A serial murder case of falling internal organs.


    It¡¯s a bizarre series of murders that¡¯s been making the rounds lately.


    Victims¡¯ internal organs were gouged out and tossed off rooftops, according to the incident report.


    The crime is committed in a straightforward manner. The killer preys on their victims in the dead of the night, in places without surveillance cameras. They stab them to death and disassemble the body somewhere else¡ª most likely the killer¡¯s residence¡ª then, they throw part of the body from a random high place.


    The police consider it to be a crime committed for pleasure by a psychopath.


    ¡°The email I got was about resolving the case¡­ ¡®It would be nice if you could solve this case since you¡¯re a spiritual detective,¡¯ they said. Unfortunately, this is too heavy for a degraded instance! Besides, the culprit is making a big commotion. Even the frequency of their crimes is getting shorter by the day. Looks to me like they¡¯re losing self-control¡­ They¡¯d get arrested soon enough even if I don¡¯t get involved,¡± Touka assured Saku with a flowing, smooth tone.


    Saku nodded in assent.


    It¡¯s very unlikely that a culprit who has committed this many crimes will still be able to escape for a long time. The police of Japan are not so incompetent. The culprit made too much fuss. They will certainly get arrested.


    Touka, on the other hand, continued with an unexpected statement, ¡°Well, in terms of the crime¡¯s motivation, I am not in concurrence with the cops.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see,¡± replied Saku with a meek voice as he nodded.


    It has to be true if Touka says so.


    Saku always trusts Touka in this regard. Her estimations of crime motives have never gone wrong. But instead of explaining her point of view, Touka started flapping her hands.


    Looks like she¡¯s demanding Tea.


    ¡°Soybean tea?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    Saku stood up. He went to the kitchen and poured some leftover soybean tea into Touka¡¯s personal kitten mug. He even felt it was a little cold, so he warmed it up in the microwave before snorting at his own naivety. While regretting his spoiling acts, Saku took the teacup and handed it to Touka who was waving her arms while exclaiming ¡®Yay!¡±


    Touka accepted the mug and began drinking the warm soy tea in a cheerful attitude.


    Saku returned inside the kotatsu and let out another sigh.


    From the mandarin oranges, the soy tea, to the permission he gave Touka to stay in his apartment; He¡¯s done everything out of his own volition.


    Touka is no longer his lady that he must serve.


    During the little time he spent serving her, though, their master-servant bond had already been established.


    Saku tried to convince himself many times to become a little more aware of this fact. His perseverance, however, has proven fruitless until this day.


    ¡°Thank you, Saku-kun.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    Yet, another day in which Saku is struck by Touka¡¯s defenseless smile.


    After taking several sips from her soy tea, Touka finally continued her explanation.


    ¡°There was that one case that caused a stir on social media, a few weeks ago.¡±


    Fujisaki Touka is a NEET.


    As a result, she is acutely aware of the flow of information on the internet.


    Making a few fiddlings on her phone, she displayed the result of a search about a certain topic.


    Saku peeked at the screen of the phone. He gazed at the enormous volume of text with his eyes narrowed. Apparently, several accounts were discussing the same topic. Bizarre words intrigued him, one after the other.


    The angel¡¯s suicide.


    ¡°Oh yeah, about that case.¡±


    Saku knew about it as well.


    It all started with a post from a certain account.


    A post of a miraculously beautiful photo.


    The subject of that photo, titled ¡®The angel¡¯s suicide,¡¯ was the issue.


    It depicted the body of a girl who had jumped off a high building.


    Grotesque details like internal organs and ruptured eyeballs were well blurred.


    But the body of the girl, who had her white lovely clothes dyed in crimson red, was captured at the center of the photo from a distance. Like some sort of miracle, The road where the photo was taken had no trace of life, and the blood that splattered coincidentally took the shape of wings, adding to the mystic beauty of the girl¡¯s death.


    The tweet received more than hundreds of thousands of retweets and likes.


    The photo was first suspected of being a hoax, but that suspicion vanished as many additional accounts submitted photos of the same body from other perspectives.


    The girl¡¯s body was a real corpse. Therefore, it didn¡¯t take long for all of the posted photos to be removed.


    Not long after, It was then found that the girl committed suicide as a result of severe bullying.


    The police also considered it a suicide case.


    But in social networks, a theory of murder committed by the first uploader of the photo was getting whispered. Although, contrary to the rumors, the uploader of the photo was confirmed to be just a third party who happened to be at the scene of suicide and took the photo. They were later given a stern warning by the police.


    That is all there is to the incident if explained in words.


    At least, such was Saku¡¯s impression.


    ¡°So, there were a few things that changed since this incident took place.¡±


    Touka sipped her tea noisily. Smacking her lips, she appreciated the ideal temperature.


    Saku tilted his head, perplexed. He didn¡¯t appear to understand what Touka was trying to say.


    For him, the angel¡¯s suicide was only a passing incident that sparked a brief frenzy on social media before dissipating.


    ¡°What is it that¡­ changed?¡±


    ¡°¡®The angel¡¯s suicide¡¯ was merely a product of coincidence; A photograph that could be described as miraculous. However, at the same time, you could say that it functioned like some sort of social experiment. ¡®Could you iconify a suicide body if it was way too pretty?¡¯¡±


    ¡°¡­ Iconify?¡±


    ¡°The answer is ¡®yes.¡¯¡±


    With a loud gulp, Touka emptied her mug of tea. Saku ruminated on her answer.


    Could a suicide body become a symbol¡ª an icon¡ª Yes.


    Saku couldn¡¯t quite grasp what it meant for a corpse to be a symbol, or an icon.


    Touka, however, continued her explanation of the result of this change she stated.


    ¡°Since the post of ¡®the angel¡¯s suicide,¡¯ A new problem has arisen, with young boys and girls imitating it on social media. They would commit false attempts of suicide, take pictures of themselves about to die, and finally share it as tweets. An imitation born out of admiration. Not only that but, even the attention of the public slid over¡ª from a common suicide to one that is more beautiful¡±


    ¡°Sounds like bad taste to me¡­ and so, what is your point?¡±


    ¡°¡®In other words, a normal suicide is no longer getting attention,¡¯¡± Touka declared the cold truth.


    Dying isn¡¯t enough to make people notice you.


    Saku felt a chill when he heard those words. He quickly shook the thought out of his head and reconnected the subject to the original question.


    ¡°So¡­ how is this all connected to the serial murder case of falling internal organs?¡±


    ¡°Only after the incident of ¡®the angel¡¯s suicide¡­¡¯ did all sorts of internal organs begin to fall from the tops of buildings¡­ Saku-kun, my estimation is¡­¡±


    Touka used her fingers to roll a mandarin orange. Her hand moved, and the orangey-red color followed it. She used her index finger to bring it over the edge of the table and stopped.


    Interrupting the suicide of the mandarin orange, Touka whispered, ¡°The culprit is aiming for ¡®an ultimately unsightly suicide¡¯.¡±


    That was Touka Fujisaki¡¯s estimation of the reason the culprit is throwing internal organs.


    ***


    A brisk breeze blew across the gray building¡¯s roof. The time of the year is December. The weather has been cold recently, with occasional snow falling once every few days. Night sky looked high and clear and stars could barely be seen sparkling in the utter darkness.


    Shoving his hands into the pockets of his brown duffle coat, Saku looked around.


    Buildings of this vicinity have all been abandoned due to the downturn of their related companies. Not a single artificial light could be noticed in the gray, gloomy surroundings.


    Police cordons have already been lifted and enough time had passed that even fearless spectators would no longer visit this place. The rooftop was completely deserted.


    Saku and Touka were standing at the scene of the first crime.


    This was due to Touka¡¯s mysterious claim saying that she needed fitting ambiance to continue her explanation and that the both of them had to go to the supermarket to buy ice cream anyway. Touka is the type of NEET who turns aggressive when it comes to food¡ª nevertheless, she must be hiding the real reason behind coming to such a place. Touka spoke with her face buried in her gingham scarf, ¡°It was a uterus that was dropped in the first case, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yeah,¡± Saku responded with a frown.


    The victim was murdered and had their internal organs gouged out and thrown from here.


    It¡¯s truly an unpleasant case.


    Touka walked up to the short fence.


    The uterus was probably thrown from the place where she is standing.


    She continued, her gaze fixed on the distant streets.


    ¡°This act of throwing down body parts lacks consistency, or let¡¯s say a law-like nature, for it to be categorized as a bizarre murder crime committed for pleasure. The remains of some bodies have already been found while other bodies have yet to be discovered. All the information we have is regarding the early stage of the case that didn¡¯t get press restricted, but we never heard anything about sexual traces in the victims¡¯ bodies nonetheless. Then we got the act of throwing internal organs that started a while after the incident of ¡®the angel¡¯s suicide¡­¡¯ I¡¯ve made a guess based on these facts, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°And that is, the culprit is likely to be a person that could no longer commit suicide.¡±


    ¡°You mean the killer is not able to commit suicide?¡±


    Touka¡¯s guess was incomprehensible. Saku¡¯s brow wrinkled in confusion.


    Touka nodded back at his question. Clearly stating that it was merely a guess, she continued, ¡°Beautiful suicide is being praised while normal suicide is no longer given attention¡­ This prompted the culprit to launch a protest activity.¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡±


    Saku held his forehead. Touka was looking at him calmly as he sought to piece together the bitter reality he had learned from her. Murdering people and throwing down their internal organs from rooftops.


    How is that a protest activity?


    ¡°You could say it¡¯s an antithesis directed at a society that finds beauty in suicide. Throwing down internal organs from rooftops could be considered as the most hideous shape of suicide by jumping that uses another person¡¯s body. The culprit is probably not even aware that he is committing murder.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d still call it suicide even if it consists of throwing body parts of other people?¡±


    ¡°Well, at least for the culprit, it¡¯s nothing else but suicide by jumping off a building,¡± Touka declared without hesitation while Saku was desperately trying to imagine the mindset of the culprit.


    An internal organ is a part of the human body. In a sense, tossing it down would also imply throwing down a body. But it¡¯s still unfathomable.


    Touka continued explaining her hypothesis without seeming to mind Saku¡¯s confusion.


    ¡°For the culprit, this act doesn¡¯t mean anything more than a protest against society. They¡¯re most likely planning a real suicide once they¡¯ve convinced themselves that society has seen what an ugly suicide looks like. And that, I believe, is the criminal profile for the serial murder case of falling internal organs.¡±


    ¡°But no one else sees this case the same way you do.¡±


    Touka nodded to Saku¡¯s response. She wiggled her fingers within her gloves and waved them in the air.


    ¡°That¡¯s the actual problem. Naturally, society will continue to interpret the culprit¡¯s protest as murder and treat it apart from the incident of the angel¡¯s suicide. I dare say that I¡¯m the only one realizing the true purpose of the culprit, in fact.¡±


    Saku felt dizzy. Touka¡¯s hypothesis is absurd, to say the least. It makes little to no sense.


    But, he was persuaded that it¡¯s the only truth.


    Touka proved to be able to deduce the motives of criminals like this several times, up until now. Above all, The Fujisaki¡¯s women are quite familiar with everything classified as strange or abnormal. They can easily relate and understand the feelings of the broken.


    Touka is no exception. She fully understands those with abnormal mindsets.


    Pressing her hand to her chest, Touka disclosed with confidence, ¡°So, for the time being, the goal of the culprit is still not achieved. Nobody could tell how many body parts he, or she, is going to keep throwing until society recognizes their protest¡­ Hmm.¡±


    Suddenly, she started pondering. Saku had a nagging feeling about it.


    Touka opened her arms wide and looked down at her own body. She was wearing a fluffy, warm coat. She is a young woman, unmistakably. Her small build makes her look powerless, too. After the first several murders, reports regarding the victims of the case were suspended. However, anyone in their rational mind would describe Touka as a victim profile that is likely to get chosen by the culprit. Touka spoke up to tell Saku about her brilliant idea.


    ¡°Hey, Saku-kun.¡±


    ¡°I refuse.¡±


    But he refused before she could even say anything. A heavy, cold wind caressed Saku¡¯s body. He just wanted to go back to his apartment and slip inside the kotatsu. Then he would drag the grumpy Touka to take a bath, wipe her head, and get ready for bed. Touka, on the other hand, remained motionless. She kept fixing a serene gaze at him.


    ¡°You see, I actually realized something important. Now, I don¡¯t have a choice but to accept that request.¡±


    ¡°You already refused it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°There will be more victims, you know.¡±


    ¡°The culprit will get caught soon.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Saku-kun.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I get it. I guess I will just sneak away tonight when you¡¯re sleeping.¡±


    ¡°No, wait.¡±


    Anything but that. It¡¯s the absolute worst turn of events that could take place.


    Saku often leaves Touka alone in his apartment when he goes to his part-time job. Just the idea that she could act on her own at such opportunities gives him headaches. He is fully aware of how much he cares for Touka despite his rather reluctant attitude towards her.


    He can¡¯t allow a situation in which she is alone and in danger. But Touka looks like she already made up her mind. Enduring the headache, Saku asked, ¡°You¡¯re planning to meet with the culprit, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Even the cops haven¡¯t found them yet.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s not that easy to encounter them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡±


    ¡°You have one week. If we don¡¯t encounter them in one week, we stop all of this, okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Fine. Sounds good to me.¡±


    Touka nodded loudly. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.


    Saku was taken aback when he saw her at that moment.


    Those eyes, again.


    From time to time, Touka would give Saku a look that seemed to push him away. In times like that, she would behave as if she wished for her death. Touka whispered with a voice as calm as the surface of a lake.


    ¡°Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t really need you to come with me.¡±


    Saku scowled at those words. Touka is intending to encounter the killer. Not only that, but she is also making the face of someone who doesn¡¯t care about their life and death. He didn¡¯t understand the reason behind her abrupt shift of attitude.


    ¡°¡­ Just what is it that motivated you this much?¡±


    ¡°The first reason is related to the sender of the request. Apparently, she is the little sister of the first victim¡­ Although, I have another reason which I¡¯d say is the most important,¡± Touka replied with the hint of a smile.


    She turned over to the fence again while seeming somewhat troubled. Then, she went on, gazing at the landscape that was unfolding around her.


    ¡°Seems like she was on very good terms with her elder sister. ¡®I felt like the world completely changed when she died,¡¯ she said. She would no longer feel anything no matter what she saw or ate¡­ ¡°


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise her to solve the case as a mere spiritual detective. But at least I can try what I¡¯m capable of doing¡­ There are people out there who are crying and grieving over those victims. Besides, it could be said that there is a meaning to my ability if I can help out in resolving this problem.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay even if your abilities don¡¯t have a meaning.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not okay for me.¡± Touka shook her head exaggeratedly. She looked like she was searching for a reason to live¡ª or rather like she was trying to keep an old promise. ¡°I need to keep looking for a meaning.¡±


    Her voice was brimming with heavy determination. But then, she lifted her face and looked at Saku with a vague smile.


    ¡°Saku-kun, I want you to understand that I¡¯m not deserving of you risking your life for me. Touka Fujisaki is a worthless individual. It¡¯s true because I know it is¡­ Therefore, I can keep looking for it on my own. Yeah, that¡¯s how things are supposed to be, in fact.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, quit your nonsense. I¡¯m going with you no matter what you say.¡±


    ¡°Saku-kun, you are¡­ But¡ª¡±


    All of a sudden, she halted her words. It looked as if she was about to say something important but changed her mind at the very last moment. This is not the first time she did this. Yet, Saku still doesn¡¯t know how to urge her to continue those words.


    Silence dominated the rooftop for a while.


    Touka changed the subject by bringing up a new topic.


    ¡°¡­ Speaking of the primary reason, as I said earlier, I realized something only after we visited the scene of the crime. The culprit must be taking photos of the moments they¡¯re throwing down internal organs¡­ Which is why I think that this case will end up in a terrible way if I don¡¯t meet the culprit before the cops arrest them.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®a terrible way¡¯?¡± Saku inquired for further explanation with a low voice tone. Before she replied, Touka looked up at him, wearing a faint smile.


    ¡°¡­ At this rate, there is a fair chance of people dying in a far larger scale than the serial murder case of falling internal organs.¡±


    Touka didn¡¯t explain the basis of her ominous prediction.


    Saku didn¡¯t need the explanation either.


    Touka¡¯s prophetic words always come true.


    As if to say it was fate.


    ***


    There are places known as hot spots.


    Places where crimes are perpetrated frequently due to security concerns, such as the lack of surveillance cameras. Admittedly, the police have a strong grasp of such places and they would patrol them quite often. The range of the serial murder case of falling internal organs, however, covers more than just that.


    Even the police were having a hard time covering all the areas.


    Touka and Saku chose to walk through areas where the police are unlikely to have investigated.


    As far as Saku knows, the culprit had never attacked a group of two or more people.


    Then, this time too, nothing should happen.


    A rather simple and logical conclusion Saku came up to. But deep down, he felt a premonition hinting the exact opposite. A strong feeling that something will definitely happen. After all, Touka is a member of the Fujisaki clan. The women of Fujisaki have something in them that attracts sinister incidents. Moreover, Touka was once a candidate for the position of their God. The blood of the family that runs on her veins is one level stronger, embodying the destiny of the Fujisaki. She will most likely encounter something if she wishes for it.


    That¡¯s the way things are.


    The both of them wandered like swimming fish in the depth of the winter night. They strolled behind an abandoned car that had crashed into a rice field and along a road lined with abandoned houses. Saku stood under a broken streetlight and let out a white sigh.


    After giving Touka a new hand warmer, he put the old one in his pocket and turned to face her before conveying his impression.


    ¡°It¡¯s like the world has ended.¡±


    ¡°And the survivors are just you and me? Sounds like a perfect world.¡±


    Touka laughed while spreading her arms wide. She didn¡¯t seem embarrassed by what she just said.


    On the other hand, Saku felt a little awkward. But his awareness as Touka¡¯s protector appeared to be stronger.


    ¡°You better not say this to someone else. They will probably misunderstand you.¡±


    ¡°Fear not, Saku-kun. I¡¯ll tell no one but you. It won¡¯t be a perfect world if you¡¯re not there with me, after all. You¡¯re the only person I need, Saku-kun¡­ And that won¡¯t change.¡±


    Touka seemed somewhat lonely. She looked up at the moon and continued as if she was singing a song, ¡°Ah, if only the world consisted of only me and you, Saku-kun, now and forever.¡±


    She sounded like she was regretting something.


    Or rather, mourning a matter that has long since ended.


    Saku looked at the moon with his head tilted.


    A white round shape was shining elegantly.


    Touka took a step forward, as if trying to escape from the light. Saku followed her slender back. The both of them walked ahead into the darkness. They wandered aimlessly from one shadow to another.


    Touka raised her voice as they strolled across the middle of a deserted road.


    ¡°Saku-kun, there!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    She was pointing at a short tunnel beneath an elevated railroad while hastening her steps. They entered inside the narrow tunnel and stopped. Graffiti covered the walls, while empty cans and cigarettes were scattered on the ground.


    The fluorescent lamp on the road flickered for a split second.


    At the same time, they heard the sound of a car approaching from nearby.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª !¡±


    Saku instantly hugged Touka and kicked the ground, jumping backward.


    A big car passed near them at a terrific speed. It was a white light van. It would have crushed the both of them if Saku didn¡¯t move to dodge it. Saku glared at the car while still guarding Touka.


    To his surprise, The light van hit the brake and stopped instead of running away.


    Someone got down from the car.


    The hard sound of footsteps resounded inside the tunnel.


    The black silhouette turned to their direction. They were wearing eyeglasses and a huge scarf.


    Saku realized something unexpected from that slender silhouette.


    (¡­ It¡¯s a woman.)


    All of a sudden, the woman started running their way.


    Saku thrusted Touka away and drastically bent his body.


    The next moment, he heard the sound of a remodeled stun gun right next to his ear. He¡¯d be fainting right now if it touched his neck. Saku swiftly made another backward jump, putting some space between him and the woman.


    He then called out to both the suspect and Touka.


    ¡°Who are you!? And Touka! What was it you wanted to do with the culprit¡­ Weren¡¯t you going to ask them something?¡±


    ¡°W-Wait a second¡­ I got a little dizzy when you pushed me¡­ A-Alright, You! Waa!¡±


    The woman threw a kick towards Touka.


    Before the kick could sink into Touka¡¯s soft belly, Saku drew her to his side. The fluorescent lamp trembled, shaking off the insects on its surface.


    He then looked back at the suspect woman who was fixing her gaze at Touka.


    Looks like she got attracted to something in her. The woman grumbled, ¡°What a pretty girl¡­ Maybe the world will change its view if I make you commit an ugly suicide. Perhaps then, it will finally notice the countless people who died and realize the obvious truth. That nothing in suicide is beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Touka¡­ Looks like what you said about the culprit¡¯s motive is true.¡±


    ¡°It does indeed. Doesn¡¯t make me want to forgive her in any means, though.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you understand anything about me?¡± The woman hollered all of a sudden.


    They weren¡¯t expecting her to be hearing their conversation from this far. The culprit woman was stamping her feet. She would repeatedly strike the hard soles of her boots against the concrete ground while ranting desperately, like a crying child.


    ¡°Just what is it¡­ What¡­ What is it that you understand!? Tell me. Hm? Tell me. Tell me what you understand. Say it! If you understand something then say it!¡±


    ¡°Hey Touka. This doesn¡¯t look good.¡±


    ¡°I do understand. The background of a person who is no longer able to commit suicide must surely be tragic.¡±


    Touka¡¯s statement seemed to have taken the woman by surprise, since she stopped moving almost immediately.


    Touka didn¡¯t sway her gaze from the culprit. She kept staring at her with tranquil eyes and continued, ¡°As the young maiden I am, I understand people¡¯s sorrow.¡±


    Touka affirmed as she pressed her hand against her chest. The tone of her voice was gentle and awfully kind.


    The culprit was interrupted just as she was about to say something.


    That¡¯s because the voices of a third party started sounding from afar. It sounded like they were talking about school while exchanging jokes.


    Looks like a group of college students on their way home from part-time jobs were trying to pass under the railroad.


    Before they knew it, the culprit woman reacted without hesitation. She dashed and jumped inside the light van. The tires squeaked furiously because of the rapid acceleration and the van took off with an insane speed.


    Touka and Saku were left alone, standing.


    The fluorescent lamp trembled again.


    A fly that collided with its surface plummeted to the ground.


    ***


    The woman was unquestionably the murderer in the serial case of falling internal organs.


    Ensured of that fact, Saku and Touka went to report what happened to them to a small neighborhood police station. But the officer¡¯s reaction was rather unfavorable. The seemingly middle-aged man refused to believe their testimony. He sent them on their way the moment they finished telling him their story. His attitude was quite regrettable. Something would definitely have changed if they were to utilize that information in the investigation. On the other hand, the way they got treated wasn¡¯t very surprising.


    After all, this wasn¡¯t the first case they had to testify to the cops and get treated this way.


    Not all police officers are upfront about solving these kinds of bizarre cases.


    In addition, the middle-aged police officer didn¡¯t seem to want any trouble.


    They could have sent a report directly to the police station of the city, but they chose to go home instead, albeit temporarily. They¡¯ll have to find another way to deal with the criminal as quickly as possible, anyway.


    That¡¯s right, they both knew that they had to.


    Touka danced into the apartment as soon as the door opened and muttered with a red nose, ¡°Uuh, It¡¯s so cold. I¡¯m freezing.¡±


    ¡°Touka, wash your hands first.¡±


    ¡°Uu, I know, I know, but can¡¯t you turn a blind eye today?¡±


    Touka slid inside the Kotatsu and curled up like a cat.


    Next, she threw out what she¡¯d bought on the table. A manju with meat, a sweet anko, and an ice cream cup. She bought them all after they got attacked by the culprit. Touka is a NEET who gets as aggressive as it is needed to acquire her food. Without delay, she started by opening the lid of the ice cream cup while wearing a warm and comfortable smile.


    ¡°Vanilla ice in winter days is like a gospel to the world.¡±


    ¡°You better not lick the lid of the cup.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t! Stop discriminating against degraded instances! I will sue you!¡±


    ¡°To me?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Touka nodded cheerfully and began to scoop the ice cream while still rambling.


    But then, as she tossed the white ice cream into her mouth, she changed into a grim face.


    ¡°Well then. We managed to encounter the culprit. But she escaped¡­ And now, we need to find another way to meet with her again¡­ Hm?¡±


    She tilted her head after turning on her phone. Her expression suddenly stiffened, making Saku realize that something major had taken place.


    Saku leaned up close to Touka to look at what was on the phone, and Touka moved her hand to assist him.


    The screen was bustling with tweets, many of which were harshly critical. They didn¡¯t stop popping up no matter how much Touka scrolled down. Saku got the impression of a horde of people yelling in rage.


    Touka murmured while slightly shaking her screen, ¡°We got an interesting hashtag created here.¡±


    ¡°¡®Against iconifying the angel¡¯s suicide¡¯?¡±


    Apparently, a new hashtag was recently created and is now going viral.


    Its trigger was the publishing of a book about the topic of the angel¡¯s suicide by some rising author. The comment section of the announcements was filled with anticipating fan replies as well as hostile cursings from the opposing party.


    The matter was being discussed all over the platform.


    Various opinions were exchanged about the benefits and drawbacks of reviving attention to the incident of the angel¡¯s suicide as well as about the social significance in analysing the background of the incident. Touka clicked on the hashtag to bring up a list of tweets against the iconifying of the incident. She spotted a few twisted tweets and saved them in her profile by giving a like.


    ¡°Give us back our normal suicide!¡±


    ¡°Stop iconifying the angel¡¯s suicide. Suicide is originally something tragic and not beautiful.¡±


    ¡°This is not how we should approach the subject of death. Death is hideous.¡±


    ¡°Countless youngsters are ending their lives because of this angel¡¯s suicide. That¡¯s just ridiculous.¡±


    Saku began inadvertently reading those tweets out loud with a scowl on his face.


    ¡°Sounds like they were all written by one person.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they do. But that¡¯s not the case. I personally think that they were all written by different people.¡±


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re searching for something specific¡­ Did you find it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. I¡¯m gonna add a condition here, and¡­ There we go. A list of recent related tweets that also bring up the topic of the falling organs case.¡±


    Touka managed to filter the list into a few tweets by adding more keywords in her query. Now the screen shows only recent tweets that also talk about other incidents.


    ¡°Same goes for the serial murder case of falling organs. Shouldn¡¯t we grieve over these recent tragedies instead of giving attention to this suicide fuss?¡±


    ¡°There is also the serial murder case of falling organs that happened nearby IIRC. This author must be having a fun time writing about suicide while people are being murdered on that same rooftop.¡±


    ¡°The serial murder case of falling organs. We must shift our attention to the girls who died in this incident. This is not the time to idolise the angel¡¯s suicide. What we need to focus on is not an angel, but our close surroundings. Suicide is the privilege of humans, not angels. It¡¯s for us, the humans with flesh and blood running in our veins.¡±


    Some of the tweets were long enough to be split into many parts. Saku didn¡¯t notice anything different in them. They all complained about the same topic. But Touka was grinning.


    ¡°Bingo,¡± She said, as she clicked on the user account of the last tweet.


    The icon of the account was a woman closing her eyes.


    She was neither beautiful nor ugly. A woman with average looks. Her skin was pale white and her slightly opened eyelids couldn¡¯t be noticed at first glance. She was also applying some sort of shadow filter that looked like a splash in her neck.


    Saku didn¡¯t understand what¡¯s so special about that account.


    ¡°Hey, Touka. What makes this tweet different from the others?¡±


    ¡°The first organ thrown down was a uterus. Then, the first victim is accordingly a woman. But we all know that the profiles of the other victims were never revealed. Yet, this tweet here assumes that all of them are girls.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    ¡°The user of this account knows something the others don¡¯t¡­ in other words, it¡¯s the culprit.¡±


    Touka declared the astonishing truth in a nonchalant attitude.


    The woman riding the white van was the first picture that came to mind when Saku heard the word culprit. So that means she is the one in the icon, which brings up the question of why she chose to upload a photo of her face with her eyes nearly closed.


    Saku couldn¡¯t think of a rational explanation.


    Touka made more operations on the profile of the culprit.


    ¡°Oh, looks like she accepts messages from everyone in this account.¡±


    She sent a few short messages as soon as she found out. Saku was stunned when he took a peek at them. Her messages were way too dangerous to send to a killer.


    I want to meet you.


    You, in particular, and nobody else.


    ¡°H-Hey!¡±


    ¡°We already got a reply.¡±


    Pokopen! The phone made a dumbfounding sound. Saku started to feel worried. But Touka, in extreme speed and a solemn expression, typed and sent the next message before he could warn her. For a short while, She kept exchanging words with the culprit with one hand while chewing the sweet anko with the other.


    The conversation ended by the time she finished eating.


    ¡°We got a Rendez-Vous,¡± She said after placing her phone on the table.


    Touka chose the gray building as the location for her meeting with the criminal.


    The rooftop in which the first incident was committed.


    ***


    White is fading into the night¡¯s darkness.


    It was snowing.


    The snow was fluttering down so softly that it made the surrounding scenery look like a still painting.


    Saku was reminded of cherry blossoms by the way it was falling, although it was totally different. For him, Sakura blossoms are the embodiment of violent beauty; an emblem of God. It made him recall the spectacle in that garden.


    The world, painted in sakura blossoms.


    The twisted, endless-seeming birdcage in which God resides, or rather is incarcerated.


    The head house¡¯s obsession with their God is unusual. Saku couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the God of Fujisaki was doing in that cage right now. Her conditions didn¡¯t change a bit despite the occurrence of that incident. Saku shook his head, bringing his attention back to what was in front of him.


    It was peacefully snowing.


    In the white, Touka stood.


    In front of her, there was a woman.


    The woman, in black, looked in their direction.


    ¡°You said that you wanted to meet me. Me, in particular, and nobody else. You said that you were interested in me more than the angel¡¯s suicide.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I said in our earlier conversation. I knew it was you,¡± Touka replied with her gaze fixed on the woman.


    The woman blinked, and Touka continued.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a few days. Do you still remember me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I remember you. In fact, I had a feeling that it was you who sent me that message. But you look different today, the way you¡¯re dressed.¡±


    The light van woman whispered and Touka nodded.


    Touka was wearing a classic black one-piece. Everything she wore was black, including her gloves and stockings. It was a dress that blended well in the night. The same one she was wearing when she met with Saku for the first time.


    Thrusting her black umbrella like a cane, she spoke with elegance.


    ¡°As the young maiden I am, dressing appropriately for a performance is a must.¡±


    ¡°You said that you understand the sorrow of people, as the young maiden you are, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The woman would talk.


    Touka would nod.


    In the meantime, Saku was keeping a close eye on their conversation. He was pressing his feet against the ground so that he could swiftly rush out in case of an emergency. He was prepared to act as Touka¡¯s shield the moment she got in danger.


    Even if Touka doesn¡¯t wish for it.


    He knew well that she had a tendency of being apathetic towards her death, despite the carefree way she seems to enjoy spending her days. Saku was still unable to reach the frigid core of her soul, which she kept hidden deep inside. She never stopped considering herself unworthy of being alive as a degraded instance.


    (Or is it possible she¡¯s hiding something else?)


    The woman removed her eyeglasses and stared at Touka. Her looks were neutral. She wasn¡¯t pretty, but neither was she ugly. Saku, however, scowled when he saw her face. Despite the slight resemblance, it was clearly different from the face in the profile picture.


    The anonymous culprit whispered, ¡°Then, you¡¯re saying that you understand my sorrow?¡±


    ¡°I dare say¡­ You are no longer able to commit suicide. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°You already know that much, I see.¡±


    The woman let out a thin breath.


    A strong gust of wind blew, playing with her entangled hair.


    It seemed almost as if her black hair was dancing with the soft, white snow.


    The snowflakes did, in fact, resemble sakura petals.


    ¡°Furthermore, I assume that your actions are the product of the death of someone.¡±


    ¡°How¡ª!¡±


    It was Saku who exclaimed. He never thought the motive of a serial murder could be related to another death. Touka continued explaining as if to say she was stating the obvious.


    ¡°¡®What we need to focus on is not an angel, but our close surroundings. Suicide is the privilege of humans, not angels. It¡¯s for us, the humans with flesh and blood running in our veins¡­¡¯ This part of your tweet was strange. It seemed as if you were hinting at the death of someone that should have been given attention,¡± Touka pointed out.


    The woman didn¡¯t answer, but she maintained her listening stance.


    Thus, Touka continued.


    ¡°The photo in your profile picture also attracted my attention. It¡¯s a close-up face photo of a woman¡¯s corpse, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    To this, Saku¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    He recalled the photo of the woman with average looks.


    That woman was actually a corpse. Yet, nobody could distinguish the image of a dead body.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t do something so stupid as using a photo of your victims. Meaning that the corpse belongs to someone you knew well. Her skin was white pale and her eyelids were barely open. This is caused by the postmortem movement of blood from the capillaries to a lower position and the drying of the skin that caused the opening of eyelids. Nevertheless, the biggest clue was the black shadowy splash on her neck. You wouldn¡¯t apply a filter on your neck, would you? Instead, one would do it on their face. In other words, it was the trace of a dried bloodstain that looked like an artificial shadow.¡±


    To sum it up, the account that was tweeting against iconifying the angel¡¯s suicide was using a photo of a normal suicide body in its profile picture.


    A picture of the dead was mixed in among the many tweets.


    Pressing her hand to her chest, Touka continued her speech.


    ¡°Moreover, you used body parts of other people to make them suicide by jumping. This made me think¡­ Doesn¡¯t the idea behind your protest behavior imply the existence of someone who died in your place?¡±


    ¡°She committed suicide, my best friend¡­ I was supposed to follow her next.¡±


    Then, the woman started recounting.


    Her heavy voice echoed in the darkness.


    Touka and Saku listened intently to her dark, deep, yet plain tragedy.


    ¡°I was supposed to live my life normally. I was supposed to find a job, spend my days working and age like everyone else. And yet, it gradually became harder for me to get out of my bed in the morning. I became unable to ride the train like I would usually do every day. I could no longer stop crying, for no reason. I became afraid of peeking at people¡¯s happiness and sorrow on social networks. I would spend my days just trembling, until my best friend made a suggestion. ¡®Let¡¯s die,¡¯ She said. ¡®I will go first, and you will follow me. We¡¯d cause an uproar.¡¯ She was, too, at the end of her wits and would spend her days drinking so much alcohol. At that moment, we both laughed for the first time in a while. It was fun. We didn¡¯t doubt that the world would be surprised. But then¡­¡±


    The angel¡¯s suicide happened.


    The overly beautiful suicide shook the entirety of social media, sliding the attention of society.


    From a normal, plain suicide, to a beautiful one.


    Every other suicide got buried inside the commotion caused by the angel.


    ¡°I tweeted about her suicide several times, but nobody would look at us. No one caused a fuss about us. Not even a single person. There are countless people on social media. All of them are supposed to be connected with each other, yet nobody would cry for us.¡±


    The woman complained.


    Saku could relate to her feelings. Society did indeed shift its attention.


    (¡­ But even if the angel¡¯s suicide didn¡¯t happen¡­ )


    ¡°There are more than twenty thousand suicides that occur every year and tweets about people killing themselves are numberless. Didn¡¯t you consider that the number of your followers or the quality of your account was the reason you didn¡¯t buzz? You¡¯re not even so sure that your tweets were precise enough for people to understand them. The key to getting attention on social networks is whether or not the information you¡¯re providing is attracting enough for people. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s only because of the angel¡¯s suicide that the world didn¡¯t look at your friend¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true! We¡¯re talking about the death of a person here! There is no way it could be shadowed by such minor factors!¡±


    Why doesn¡¯t anyone seem to notice us!


    The woman hysterically screamed.


    Her voice was brimming with deep sorrow and intense fury.


    Saku couldn¡¯t help but frown at her inconsistency.


    ¡°I understand your lamentation. Frankly, I¡¯m not surprised. You and I are alike in a certain sense. Well, it could be said that every murderer and I are alike. Which makes me want to ask you.¡±


    Saku wasn¡¯t pleased by Touka¡¯s words. She¡¯s been claiming the same fact several times in front of him, but he still doesn¡¯t know what makes her similar to a murder. Touka continued with her question without minding Saku¡¯s visible confusion.


    ¡°As the young maiden I am, I have to make sure.¡±


    She spread her arms wide and started dancing inside the white.


    She danced, spun around and danced, before asking, ¡°So, why do you kill?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I have no other choice.¡±


    That was the very moment in which the woman broke.


    Saku was sharp enough to notice the invisible change. It was almost as if he heard the sound of something cracking within her.


    Opening her eyes wide, the woman started shaking her hands.


    Her attitude was clearly different from that of a few seconds ago.


    Spitting like she had been possessed, the woman began to explain.


    ¡°They will understand. Everyone will eventually understand. I mean, look at how pitiful we are. Nobody would want an angel stealing their suicide from them, no? Suicide is the last privilege that was left for us you know! We had no other option! And then, they stole it from us. That¡¯s why I had everyone else help me out in retrieving it back. They all are equally guilty! They all ignored the suicide of my best friend! So they may as well die for me.¡±


    The woman declared with a smirk. She then started laughing loudly while shedding tears over and over again. Her laugh eventually turned into a crying voice.


    Saku realized the hopelessness of the situation.


    (It¡¯s too late to save her.)


    She already started running towards a cliff of despair.


    There is no stopping her at this point.


    The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a certain item.


    The blade of the knife she held reflected the faint moonlight. Saku was not surprised. There is no way she¡¯d let them go after they¡¯ve seen her face.


    With a lethal weapon in her hand and a smirk on her face, the woman continued.


    ¡°The both of you would happily die for me, right?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t agree with you on that part. Besides, there is still something you need to talk about, isn¡¯t there?¡± Touka asked.


    The woman squinted.


    The snowfall intensified.


    Then, a sudden snapping sound echoed.


    It was the sound of Touka¡¯s umbrella opening.


    Carrying the jet-black darkness on her shoulder, Touka whispered, ¡°You didn¡¯t talk about your true intentions.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The woman didn¡¯t answer.


    But Touka kept speaking with conviction.


    ¡°¡ª That is turning yourself into an icon.¡±


    The woman broadened her smirk, with her gaze still fixed on Touka.


    ***


    ¡°There is still more to your plan. Now that I have noticed it, I found myself with no other option but to stop you. You own a powerful way to get the attention of people on social media. That is the ability to submit pictures of your bizarre murders and dumpings of internal organs. You¡¯d then officially declare your opposition against the angel¡¯s suicide and live-film yourself suiciding at the end. That would definitely cause an uproar.¡±


    Then you will become the incipient idol of suicide, Touka claimed.


    Saku could only gasp at the fact that he could easily imagine such a story becoming reality.


    She would definitely attract attention if she was to follow those steps. The number of likes and shares on her tweets could even exceed those of the angel¡¯s suicide before getting removed.


    Hence, the attention of society will slide in her favor.


    From a beautiful suicide to a closer one.


    Many people will change the way they think.


    Maybe it¡¯s fine to die if one feels tired.


    The woman is practically trying to demonstrate her ideology by sacrificing herself and her victims.


    ¡°Yes, exactly. I will become the new symbol of suicide. Inevitably, by throwing away myself.¡±


    ¡°You and your best friends will certainly get noticed and acknowledged by the world¡­ If that happens. More freedom will get appended to the concept of suicide and many people will likely follow your track and die. You¡¯re telling me that you are wishing for all of this to happen?¡±


    ¡°I never wished for anything like this. But everyone else does. I¡¯m sure that every suicidal person is wishing for the idea of suicide to become free more than it ever was. I¡¯m merely acting to liberate these people. Everyone I sacrificed was for their sake.¡±


    Touka expressed her assent with a loud nod. It turned out the woman¡¯s protest really had a meaning.


    Her heartfelt cry could shake the souls of those who want to commit suicide as well.


    Many people would follow her example just like they did with the angel¡¯s suicide, for the sole reason that they could be noticed if they do it now.


    ¡°¡­ You tried to tell the world that it¡¯s okay to die by ultimately killing yourself. But I personally can¡¯t allow you to do that, nor would your victims do.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure? It¡¯s for the sake of people who want to commit suicide. It¡¯s all for those who are tired, just like me. I even decided to sacrifice myself in the process, so why do you think the other girls who died for me won¡¯t like the result?¡±


    ¡°Do you really believe that your victims¡ª would agree with those words?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I do. Of course they agree. Otherwise, I¡¯d find myself incapable of forgiving anyone.¡±


    The woman sounded as if she was singing. She didn¡¯t seem to be feeling the slightest bit of guilt, neither did she understand the gravity of her sin. In her head, the world that had forsaken the death of her friend was far guiltier. Therefore, every murder she commits is nothing but a necessary sacrifice for her plan.


    Touka sighed and turned to look at Saku.


    She tilted her neck and fixed her gaze into his eyes.


    Her pupils reflected in his eyes like they would in a mirror.


    Few seconds passed with nothing happening. Saku was familiar with this ritual that¡¯s necessary for him, Touka, and the case. Shortly after, Touka returned her gaze to the woman.


    ¡°Fine then. I got my answers.¡±


    Touka cast down her eyelids.


    Then, she closed her umbrella.


    The black circle in her shoulder disappeared.


    White snow surrounded her from all sides.


    With a loud striking sound, Touka dropped her umbrella on the ground like a justice mallet.


    She spoke with a clear, resounding voice.


    ¡°That being the case, as the young maiden I am, I entrust you with the decision.¡±


    There was a reason behind the way Touka refers to herself as a young maiden.


    She is not a God.


    Only a young girl.


    Thereby, as the young maiden she is, she entrusts other beings with judgment of sins she witnesses with her eyes.


    Touka spread her arms, her eyes casting the void.


    She then whispered with her crimson-red lips.


    ¡°¡ª Come over.¡±


    The next moment, the rooftop became linked with a place that doesn¡¯t belong to our world.


    ***


    The God of the Fujisaki clan can speak to the dead and reveal their form to ordinary people.


    Touka Fujisaki has the same power.


    But, she is a degraded instance.


    The God of the headhouse is omnipotent. She could even materialize people¡¯s desires and dreams into reality. The headhouse is immersed to the bone into the profits and religious faith they derive from these powers. Touka¡¯s powers however, are a little different.


    She can only conjure souls that have a grudge against the living.


    She doesn¡¯t by any means, materialize a soul by looking at it.


    In fact, all she does is witness scenes in which the dignity of a person gets trampled on then she drags back souls that are significantly related to those scenes and haven¡¯t lost their reasons to live.


    This ability of hers was being fully exhibited in the current situation.


    Several arms belonging to the conjured souls twined around the woman.


    White arms with flabby soft flesh.


    A vacant face appeared from behind her back.


    It already turned into something that barely seemed like a human.


    And most importantly, it was harboring a tremendous amount of malice.


    White fingers pulled the woman¡¯s face. Disfigured tooth gnawed on her arms. Long hair coiled around her legs.


    Countless murdered souls entangled in the woman¡¯s body.


    It was obvious that they disapproved of her plans since they were in the middle of ripping her to pieces.


    The woman let out a confused scream. She shrieked hopelessly as she watched them twine around her.


    ¡°What! What is this!? W-What the fuck is this!? What what whaaat!?¡±


    ¡°Those are your victims. Looks like they didn¡¯t agree with you, after all,¡± Touka replied with an indifferent attitude.


    The woman¡¯s face was paralyzed with fear. It slowly got distorted as the skin of her cheeks was torn off. Teeth sunk into her arms, splattering blood around. Hair sluggishly crawled into her flesh.


    The spirits did what they had to relieve their grudge.


    They stabbed their nails into her belly driving more blood to overflow, more fat to come out, and exposing her inner muscles.


    The woman was getting disassembled alive by the countless arms.


    She was getting consumed by the enormous amount of resentment.


    But she managed to say one thing in spite of the indescribable pain of getting torn apart.


    ¡°I did nothing wrong.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t wrong. It was the world that wouldn¡¯t look at her that was wrong; The society that wouldn¡¯t give attention to trivial, boring matters.


    That was all she said.


    The next moment, a sound that was out of this world, reverberated through the rooftop.


    The multiple arms peeled the skin and flesh from the woman¡¯s body. Various parts of it fell on the rooftop, making unpleasant sounds.


    The woman performed a beautiful dance while spurting blood all over the place.


    She kept rotating until she hit the short fence, and eventually surmounted it.


    She fell down from the rooftop while getting consumed and broken into pieces.


    Then, all of a sudden, everything came to an end after one loud, wet sound.


    Overwhelming silence was all that was left.


    Then, the footsteps of Touka approached the fence.


    She stopped to witness the outcome and quietly whispered with sorrow, ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this if the girls she killed didn¡¯t hold a grudge against her¡­ Her death was caused by her own actions. But, still.¡±


    Touka continued her whisper against the world¡¯s way of life, staring at the body with sorry eyes.


    ¡°A beautiful suicide body is indeed ridiculous.¡±


    ¡ª That¡¯s the true shape of a human, there.


    Saku stepped forward and stood next to her.


    He followed her serene gaze and thought to himself.


    She¡¯s right. That¡¯s the true form of a human body.


    A glossy pile of organs.


    Translator note:


    Hello, I hope you liked the first chapter of this new series I picked after almost three years of inactivity. I¡¯d like to note a few things here which may concern you as a reader or a translator:

 Volume 1 - CH 2

    Case number two: The skeleton that doesn¡¯t extol


    Touka is the type of NEET who gets aggressive when trying to acquire her food. This time, she was able to obtain a crab meat tempura, beef delicious croquettes, and some snacks, all from a dirt-cheap supermarket. To be more specific about the snacks, they were chocolate, potato chips, and germ cookies.


    Let¡¯s not forget that she was given the opportunity to conduct a lucky draw and used it brilliantly to win the special prize.


    Congratulations! Touka won the latest model of a popular game console.


    Now with a gaming console added to her daily tasks which consist of afternoon naps and reading novels, she is now invincible.


    Thus, Touka¡¯s NEET life was improved. Using as much time as she wanted, she began to immerse herself in the development of her virtual island. She¡¯d strengthen her bonds with the animals there and spend her time fishing and bug hunting. Sadly, however, the real Touka wasn¡¯t moving the least bit. It was quite the alarming situation.


    Thus, Saku chose to buy a certain video game with his own money, as a last resort to solve it.


    The game was called Ring Fit Adventure.


    But when he presented it to Touka, She raised a stink. Training and exercising are the archenemies of a NEET. ¡®Why would someone be a NEET if they could assertively work up refreshing sweat?¡® That was Touka¡¯s do-or-die position in her protest. Saku could only try to further persuade the young girl in front of him who was puffing her cheeks.


    ¡°Come on, listen, at this rate I can see you getting fat and round as a ball. What will you do if you become like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the type who doesn¡¯t get fat, for some reason, even if I don¡¯t exercise. No need to worry. Your assistance is greatly appreciated, but not required.¡±


    ¡°Visceral fat.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to hear those two words, you know! I will seriously sue you!¡±


    ¡°For what? To whom? Where?¡±


    ¡°You tyrant!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the tyrant here. Come on now, just try it. You have no idea if it¡¯s even fun.¡± Saku handed the Ringfit to Touka.


    Then, she died in the first round.


    It was a cruel death. Even Saku felt a bit sorry for her. But right when he thought she was going to give up, Touka stood up, her whole body trembling, and resumed the game.


    As the young maiden she is, she won¡¯t be satisfied unless she clears all the games she is given.


    Though, that didn¡¯t stop her from shedding inconsolable tears as she moved her body around.


    ¡°This is impossible. How could this be the work of a human being!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a game that¡¯s giving you instructions, you know.¡±


    ¡°The people who made it don¡¯t have a heart. There is no way they could. I think I will die. Well, I don¡¯t mind dying, really. It¡¯s just that it sucks to die from getting defeated by an exercising game¡­ It had been a fleeting life.¡±


    While crying in despair, she continued her strenuous effort in the game. She can¡¯t give up, after all; Regardless of her being a young maiden or not. But making an effort is never a bad thing.


    Saku warmly watched over Touka. He also made her a sugar-free banana yogurt drink because he heard it was good for muscle building. Touka drank it deliciously while complaining she wanted honey on it.


    Thus, Touka spent the day exercising. The relentless instructions in the game nearly killed her several times. Then, around the time she worked up enough sweat and cleared the first stage, it happened.


    Pokopen! A dumbfounding sound announced the arrival of a new email.


    Touka widened her eyes when she peeked at its content.


    ¡°We got a new request, Saku-kun.¡±


    ¡°A request?¡±


    ¡°¡®¡¯I am looking forward to your visit to the quiet forest. I would like you, the one who stands amidst life and death, to stay over and witness something in our house. Uta Hoshikawa¡­ ¡¯ We also got a video and an image.¡± Touka showed Saku the screen of her phone.


    She opened the image first. It was the image of a map with directions to some mansion on it. It seemed to be located about two hours and a half by car, from Tokyo, deep in the mountains.


    Saku frowned when he realized that he might end up driving that distance. He has a driving license and they could borrow a car if they needed. The issue was that Saku wasn¡¯t confident he could drive for that long.


    While he was starting to feel uneasy, Touka played the video. The next moment, he gasped in surprise. The phone screen revealed a painted skeleton performing a smooth dance.


    Saku was confused as he didn¡¯t know how to react. But on the other hand, Touka, with composure, explained, ¡°It¡¯s a freeze-frame animation.¡±


    It was a bit choppy, but the animation itself was quite good. The skeleton painted with flower patterns was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars. The clumsy but beautiful melody eventually came to an end, and the skeleton closed its mouth.


    Then a single word took up the entire screen.


    ¡°WELCOME!¡±


    Looks like it was the end of the video as the screen gradually faded out in black.


    Touka stroked her chin as she closed the video reader. A few seconds later, she turned to look at Saku.


    ¡°Sorry, Saku-kun, but, can you get us a car,¡±


    ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re gonna accept it?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I will. And the reason why is¡­ ¡°


    Saku didn¡¯t want to hear what she was about to say. He was already having an ominous premonition at that point.


    But, since he didn¡¯t stop her, Touka declared, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, That skeleton¡¯s skull is genuine.¡±


    ***


    That building was deep inside the forest.


    Apparently, Uta Hoshikawa¡¯s father, Nagare Hoshikawa is a prominent novelist.


    He had built a mansion in the middle of this lonely forest and was living there with his family.


    It turned out it was a famous story among his fans since the information could be found with a quick search. Luckily, all the locals knew about the existence of the mansion so Saku was able to reach it easily by asking the people around. The only concern left on his mind was whether they¡¯d get refused in front of the entry gate of this private property. His worries proved to be needless as the security guard unexpectedly let them pass, saying he was already informed of their visit. Lifting his hat, he said with a smile on his face, ¡°Are you the guests of lady Uta? I can imagine your troubles.¡±


    It appears that this girl named Uta is quite the spoiled child. Passing through the gate, Saku parked the car in a spacious parking lot in the front yard. He expressed his apprehension while carrying a suitcase from the car.


    ¡°I wonder if we will be welcomed in the house.¡±


    ¡°Who knows. Nothing ventured, nothing gained,¡± Touka replied as she approached the western-styled mansion. Step by step, she climbed the stairs leading to the entranceway.


    She halted in front of a sculptured and intimidating, heavy door and went directly to push the electric bell, ignoring the lion-shaped doorknob.


    A short period of silence.


    Not long after, the door opened and a woman appeared from inside.


    She was dressed entirely in black and wore an apron. Clearly, not a family member. She didn¡¯t appear to be resting before coming to open the door, based on the formal ambiance she exuded. A handmaid, probably.


    Her black hair tied up, the woman turned a cold gaze to Saku and Touka.


    She then moved her thin crimson lips, making Saku even more nervous, before bowing slightly.


    ¡°I assume you are the spiritual detective, Touka Fujisaki. Uta-sama is waiting for you.¡±


    The woman emphasized the ¡°Uta-sama¡± part, for some reason.


    She then opened the door wide and let Saku and Touka in.


    Entering the entrance hall, they exclaimed in awe while they looked around. Both of them are used to seeing houses of rich people. But the splendor of this mansion was of a different kind from that of the headhouse.


    The ceiling was decorated with a morning-glory chandelier, and the floor was covered with a thick Persian carpet. They could tell that each piece of furniture was highly expensive on its own.


    Saku¡¯s gaze was soon drawn to the top of the amber polished stairs.


    A young girl in blue was standing there.


    She was on her way to the entrance hall, it seemed.


    She was staring at them from a slightly inclined position as she prepared to descend the stairs. Her gaze was fixed on Touka in particular when a broad smile surfaced on her face.


    Today, Touka wasn¡¯t wearing her jersey, naturally. She was dressed in a black one-piece, which probably coincided with the girl¡¯s impression of the so-called ¡°spiritual detective.¡±


    The young girl addressed them with a high-pitched voice, ¡°Oh, so you accepted my invitation!¡±


    Flipping her blue one-piece, she rushed down the stairs and ran towards them. Her chestnut-colored hair softly swayed on her back. She then halted her steps, faced the both of them, and with a smile, took Touka¡¯s hands.


    Despite being surprised by her abrupt behavior, Touka did not reject it.


    The two elegant figures facing each other while holding hands looked like sisters.


    Tightly gripping Touka¡¯s hands, the girl introduced herself. ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Uta Hoshikawa. So you are Touka-sama, aren¡¯t you! I bet we¡¯d become friends!¡±


    ¡°Just, call me Touka. Thank you for the passionate welcome. You seem to be quite the friendly chap, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t hold back when it comes to making friends with people who interest me. Well, I guess I should call you¡­ Touka-san. So, who is this gentleman with you?¡±


    Uta Hoshikawa switched her gaze, brimming with curiosity, to Saku, then she tilted her head, shaking her abundant hair.


    Touka appeared rather troubled by her question. She wasn¡¯t sure of how she¡¯d respond to it. Saku empathized with her hesitation since he also didn¡¯t know how to exactly explain their relationship. They were Lady and servant, in the past, but not anymore, now.


    Touka looked up at him and replied, ¡°This is Saku Fujisaki. He is my¡­ I¡¯m not sure, assistant? Partner? What do you think, Saku-kun?¡±


    ¡°You could say I¡¯m her legal guardian. Pleasure to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Saku-kun!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Having an elder brother like you must be lovely! Nice to meet you, Saku-san!¡± Uta took his hand, this time, and he lightly squeezed it back. Her palm was soft and small.


    She smiled once more and ran off to the second floor with dancing steps, urging Touka to follow after her.


    Saku, who got left behind, lifted the suitcase containing their baggage, before he got interrupted by Uta. She turned around and informed him in a distinct voice tone that sounded almost like she was singing.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to lift such baggage. Just leave it to the handmaid. Kiyone-san, please carry the suitcase for him.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    ¡°No no, it¡¯s too heavy for you. I can carry it on my own.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m more afraid of Uta-sama¡¯s temper tantrum when I disobey her orders.¡± The handmaid, called Kiyone, whispered with a low voice that only Saku could hear. She sounded clearly irritated from the way she spoke, driving Saku to take his hand off the suitcase in fluster. With great struggle, Kiyone lifted it and carried it with her slender arms all the way to the second floor, in which the guest room is probably installed.


    On the other hand, Uta continued with a lively voice, ¡°Come on now, let¡¯s go to my room! It¡¯s over here!¡±


    Saku and Touka looked at each other and resumed walking.


    They wandered the hall of the second floor and headed into the inner hallway while following the back of the girl in blue.


    ***


    Uta¡¯s room was lavishly decorated in the style of a princess.


    Several thick books were stacked on her desk, a massive mirror stood next to a large wardrobe, and her canopy bed was adorned with various stuffed animals and cushions. The room was full of cute and lovely little accessories, which helped to make one object stand out in it.


    That object¡ª The painted skull was placed boldly on top of a drawer.


    Touka nodded as soon as she saw it.


    ¡°That¡¯s the skull from the video, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t it cute?¡±


    Uta responded with a lively voice, picked up the skull, and started stroking it vigorously, emitting a rough sound. Its size was slightly smaller than her head.


    Touka whispered discreetly while fixing her gaze on the flower pattern painted in the skull, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that skull belong to a real human?¡±


    ¡°Yes, It¡¯s my sister¡¯s! I obtained it by severing her head from her corpse, burying it, and waiting for the flesh to rot before finally shedding it off! Wonderful, no? I loved my little sister so much that I wanted her to always be with me.¡±


    If the bones were not boiled before getting sampled, there would still be traces of grease inside them and they¡¯d change color. This explains the reason the skull was painted in a flower pattern. Its inside was filled with potpourri most likely to prevent the rotten smell.


    Watching the artificially decorated skull in front of her, Touka added another question.


    ¡°¡­ So, why did you choose the skull, specifically?¡±


    ¡°You know that old tale about the singing skull? I thought that maybe my sister would really start singing someday if I keep it with me.¡± Uta returned an eerie response, but with a cheerful demeanor.


    Saku and Touka squinted at the same time.


    It was at this moment that they confirmed Uta¡¯s crime of damaging a corpse. But the young girl didn¡¯t seem to be aware of her sin. She would just keep on dearly rubbing her cheeks against the skull.


    Saku was at a loss for words. He felt that anything he¡¯d say would be lost on her at this point.


    Meanwhile, Touka carried on with her questions.


    ¡°How did your sister pass away?¡±


    Instantly, all expressions disappeared from Uta¡¯s face.


    With a thump, she placed the skull back on top of the drawer and replied with a disheartened voice, ¡°Well, it¡¯s considered to be an accident. Even the police concluded that no crime had occurred. She fell off a cliff behind the house while out for a walk. Her body was discovered with a basket beside it. The ground surrounding the cliff was bare and there was nothing but her footsteps on it.¡±


    Saku could only agree with that conclusion. One got to approach the girl in order to thrust her down. The lack of other footprints would only suggest that it was an unfortunate accident.


    Uta¡¯s face, however, was tense, making him realize that she didn¡¯t believe so.


    Touka inquired earnestly, ¡°Could it be you¡¯re thinking there¡¯s another possibility?¡±


    ¡°Who knows¡­ ¡°


    Uta, on the other hand, chose to obscure the crucial part by abruptly changing her attitude.


    She started walking and swaying right and left while singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars before finally jumping into her canopy bed. She hugged her droopy-eared stuffed rabbit and glanced up at Touka.


    ¡°I will wait for you here,¡± She mumbled sweetly as she waved her white legs peeking out from beneath the blue one-piece.


    It was a voice that didn¡¯t tolerate denial.


    Touka stared at Uta for some time and Uta would intentionally blink several times as she stared back at her. It looked for Saku as if the two of them were having some sort of silent conversation. Eventually, Touka turned on her heel.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Saku-kun,¡± she said before opening the door. Saku could see the hallway from where he was standing.


    He slightly turned his head back and found Uta still rolling in her bed and singing her twinkle stars song. He was aware that she was a child. He could make her talk if he gets persistent enough, but he didn¡¯t come to this place just to talk with someone he met for the first time.


    He has only one task set in his mind.


    That is to protect Touka no matter the situation.


    Saku walked into the hallway, following Touka like a faithful dog.


    ***


    ¡°Her sister¡­ Oh, you mean Uta[1]?¡±


    Uta¡¯s mother, Emi Hoshikawa, looked very worn-out.


    Saku could easily notice how she was terribly skinny and quiet.


    They heard that she was against the idea of inviting a spiritual detective home as she was afraid that they¡¯d find out about her daughter¡¯s crime of damaging a corpse. But in the end, Uta was able to force her way and call them, anyway.


    Emi was looking at them with anxious and unsteady eyes before Touka declared, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. We¡¯re not going to tell anyone about your daughter¡¯s crime.¡±


    ¡°That would be¡­ Great. Oh, yes¡­ Really appreciated. I will tell you whatever you want if you intend to keep it a secret.¡± She finally revealed a relieved smile and started answering Touka¡¯s question about the accident. ¡°Uta fell from a cliff when she was taking a walk. That¡¯s an undeniable fact. Then¡­ After the police returned the body and I finished writing her death certificate, Uta would suddenly cut off her head with a wood chopping axe.¡±


    ¡°You must have been astonished.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but to be honest, I wasn¡¯t that surprised by her actions. I was more or less expecting something outrageous from her. That girl has an awfully violent side to her that even I, her mother, can¡¯t control¡­ She must have wanted to stay with her little sister forever. I couldn¡¯t get angry with her when I imagined her feelings.¡±


    ¡°Are you being honest?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not¡­ I was at the end of my wits after Uta died and was too exhausted to scold her,¡± She replied with a weary, bitter smile.


    Touka gave her a sincere look of sympathy.


    After the accident, Uta¡¯s body was placed in a wooden coffin and directly cremated, owing to the help of a relative¡¯s company, her missing head going unnoticed. Her ashes were deposited while her skull stayed in Uta¡¯s room.


    Her father, Nagare Hoshikawa, didn¡¯t get angry either and Saku knew the reason why.


    Nagare Hoshikawa is of old age. His daughters, Uta and Uta were born when he was fifty. At the age of sixty, he suffered an internal hemorrhaging in his brain and is currently in a coma in his bedroom. It was probably the reason Emi overlooked her daughter¡¯s crime. She was already exhausted from taking care of her husband. She no longer had the strength left to fight anything.


    ¡°Can we call it off at this point? I don¡¯t think I can help you any further¡­ ¡°


    ¡°Yes, this is enough,¡± Touka replied with a smile. She then thanked Emi and apologized for the indiscreet questions.


    Then, she went with Saku to ask the next person in the house.


    ¡°Oh, Uta-sama¡­ She was just like her sister. I heard she fell straight from a cliff while holding on to her basket¡­ ¡°


    ¡°Well, yes. We heard about her death from Uta-san, too.¡±


    ¡°What a terrible accident. No one thought she¡¯d die at such a young age. Really, it¡¯s such a pity.¡±


    Saikawa, the cook, was speaking smoothly.


    He was an eloquent man with short black hair that suited him well. As he was of young age, he seemed to be grieving over Uta¡¯s death and sympathizing with her sister who was left alone. He didn¡¯t seem to have any other information, nevertheless.


    Hastily moving around his arms wrapped in his chef coat, he continued, ¡°Is this enough? I¡¯m pretty busy right now. I¡¯d be able to speak with you later if you want.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Thank you for your collaboration.¡±


    He was in the middle of preparing dinner and couldn¡¯t afford to waste any more time. Especially today, with two additional guests staying in the house.


    Touka and Saku left the splendid kitchen after expressing their thanks. They could hear him from behind using fragrant oil to crisp up beef steaks. Saku secretly looked forward to tonight¡¯s dinner.


    Moving on, they proceeded to interrogate the next person.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about Uta-sama except that she was an unlucky little girl¡­ Right, Kiyone-san? I also have a child of similar age and I can imagine the madam¡¯s anguish¡ª¡±


    ¡°What about you just speak honestly, Rikka-san?¡±


    Kiyone coldly interrupted Rikka¡¯s speech¡ª a plump and modest-looking handmaid, making her fluster and nervously look around, left and right.


    ¡°No what¡­ What do you mean?¡± She replied with a hushed voice.


    ¡°Just say that Uta-sama was as violent and oppressing as her sister. She was like a devil; Unstoppable when she pitched tantrums¡­ Well, madam and the master wouldn¡¯t stop spoiling her, nonetheless.¡±


    Saku couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.


    Kiyone¡¯s words clearly expressed her genuine spite towards the sisters.


    Maintaining her imposing attitude, Kiyone pressed her hand to her chest as she stared straight at Touka¡¯s eyes. With a stern tone, she continued without seeming the least bit embarrassed.


    ¡°I never liked Uta-sama, and I believe that concealing that fact from you is even more dishonorable. Thus, let me frankly speak my mind. I was sorry to hear about her death¡­ But if you ask for my thoughts, I¡¯d say that she reaped what she sowed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying it¡¯s¡­ Karma?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly. I bet Uta-sama won¡¯t die in a dignified way either,¡± Kiyone concluded with a dim smile.


    Touka remained silent.


    Saku didn¡¯t know what to say either. He knew nothing of the relationship between Kiyone and the sisters to criticize her cruelty. He was an outsider, as far as he was concerned.


    ¡°Was that all? We both have work to do.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s enough. Thank you for your assistance.¡± Touka bowed down in response to Kiyone¡¯s words and headed, with Saku, to the next person.


    The first thing they noticed when they went outside was the cloudy gray sky. It was going to rain soon.


    Touka turned on her phone with a thoughtful look on her face. Shortly after, she squinted and addressed Saku.


    ¡°Well, well, Saku-kun¡­ I¡¯ve got some bad news.¡±


    ¡°What in the world could it be now?¡±


    ¡°The rain is going to get pretty bad, apparently.¡±


    Touka displayed the weather information, inciting a frown to appear on his face. He was expecting some rain when he observed the sky before departing, but definitely not a downpour. Letting out a thin sigh, he prayed that it¡¯d clear away before they have to leave the mansion, tomorrow.


    In order to change the mood, they approached Tachibana, the security guard.


    Tachibana was a gentle-looking middle-aged man. He responded to Touka¡¯s question while repositioning his hat.


    ¡°I was sorry to hear about Lady Uta¡¯s death. It was exceptionally hard for me to witness her sister and mother¡¯s grief¡­ I personally liked Lady Uta. She was a moody little girl who was hard to please, but it was natural for her young age. I¡¯m sure she would have composed herself as she grew older.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell us the way to the cliff from which she fell?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure. You can reach it by walking a bit through the woods in this direction¡­ We¡¯ve set a simple fence after the lady¡¯s death, but be careful whatsoever.¡±


    Following his directions, Saku and Touka headed for the cliff behind the house.


    They walked through the deep-green forest, which appeared to be well-kept because they didn¡¯t have any problems with their footing.


    It didn¡¯t take them long to reach a wide, open area, just as the guard had referred.


    They both started looking around the cliff. There were about three meters of bare soft soil; Most likely the area from which Uta fell. Touka started approaching the soil without hesitation before she got her arm grabbed by Saku from behind.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ They installed a fence now. I¡¯m not going to fall unless someone pulls me down from my legs¡­ Saku-kun, you become terribly concerned when it comes to my safety. Even though that¡¯s not necessary¡­ I¡¯m not the kind of person you should worry about.¡±


    ¡°Will you stop saying that? You know I¡¯m always concerned about you¡­ Only you.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Oh wow, you made me skip a beat there. But don¡¯t worry, I will be fine. Here, you can even take my hand if you want,¡± Touka replied.


    Taking up her offer, Saku grabbed Touka¡¯s hand as she peered over the edge of the cliff.


    He had a feeling that she¡¯d get absorbed by it if he wasn¡¯t there with her.


    They could see a river flowing far below the fence, as well as the ground surrounding it, which was covered in stones. Falling from here would inevitably result in either a serious injury or death.


    Saku imagined the body of the girl rolling there with her basket.


    A sweet little girl, much like Uta, lying on top of those rocks. Her head cracked like a pomegranate and her spinal fluid scattered around with the content of the basket.


    The view in his head was like a painting.


    ¡°¡­ I see it now,¡± Touka uttered and nodded once.


    Nobody knew the picture inside her mind.


    ***


    After they had finished speaking with all of the house¡¯s residents, Saku and Touka returned to Uta¡¯s room.


    As soon as they entered, they heard her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars. After Saku saw the crime scene, the colorfully decorated room began to give off the impression of candy. With a snap, he closed the door behind him.


    Uta was still waiting for them while swinging her white legs.


    This time she was hugging a stuffed bear as she looked up at them. Her chestnut-colored hair was spreading out on her back and she was revealing an adorable smile.


    ¡°So how did it go? Did you obtain any lovely information?¡±


    ¡°You could say so. Found a few interesting leads.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? ¡­ I¡¯m glad a spiritual detective got to learn so many things about us,¡± Uta replied with a satisfied tone.


    She didn¡¯t seem to be lying. In fact, she looked genuinely happy and pleased.


    Staring at Uta with a solemn face, Touka posed a question.


    ¡°Can I ask you one thing?¡±


    ¡°What could it be?¡±


    ¡°Why did you invite me to this place?¡± She asked sharply.


    Then, Uta smiled softly, before she gazed up at Touka with enchanted eyes and whispered, ¡°I¡¯d heard rumors about a spiritual detective who can hear the voices of the dead and bring them to our world. I invited you because I believe you can make a verdict in case I fail at unveiling the truth, and leave everything uncovered and unknown, the way it is.¡±


    ¡°¡­ In case you leave everything uncovered and unknown?¡±


    ¡°One person, among the people you¡¯ve met today in this mansion, will get murdered tonight,¡± Uta declared so abruptly.


    Saku and Touka, wide-eyed, were taken aback by her sudden warning of murder.


    Uta kept blinking her large eyes while wearing a smile, unsuitable with the ominousness of her words.


    ¡°If that person turned out to be me, then please, cry for my death,¡± She continued, with a sweet, singing whisper.


    ***


    Uta refused to speak further after her confession. She just insisted they don¡¯t tell anyone in the house about it or otherwise she will kill herself. No one would believe it anyway even if they did.


    Saku and Touka had no other choice but to leave the room with no clear explanation.


    The weather deteriorated at the start of the night. Transparent drops of water fell on the windows, one after the other, until they eventually lost their shape, turning into lines. It was raining heavily. The sounds of rain, mixed with the echo of thunder, shook the entire mansion. The outside turned into a thick curtain of rain that didn¡¯t seem to be lifting any time soon.


    In the guest room, Saku asked Touka, his gaze fixed on the window.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do now? Do you want me to stay up tonight while you sleep?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s face it. I can¡¯t sleep tonight while knowing a murder is going to take place.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will protect you if anything happens. Just sleep and relax.¡±


    ¡°That was a really cool line. But it¡¯s the other way around, Saku-kun. It¡¯s me who should stay awake while you sleep. Okay?¡± Touka whispered.


    Saku scowled at her familiar attitude. Touka was prepared to sacrifice herself, this time as well. The frigid core of her soul was peeking out once again. Touka Fujisaki has no regard for her own life.


    This time again, he couldn¡¯t help but ask her the reason behind her self-deprecating mystery.


    ¡°Why do you wish to hasten your death like this?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Who knows. I wonder why.¡±


    She appeared to have stifled the words that were about to escape her mouth before responding coldly. Saku shook his head in resignation.


    At these times, She¡¯d never bring up the subject again. Saku, who knew about it very well, decided to stand up and go fetch some instant coffee for the both of them. He used coffee bags and pots that were already provided in the room. The reason the room was well equipped like a hotel was due to editors, back in the days, and doctors recently stayed in the house, too.


    He took permission from Kiyone, earlier today, and prepared two strongish cups of coffee, just right for fighting drowsiness.


    ¡°Here, some coffee.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Welcome.¡±


    Touka held the cup with both her hands and started cooling its surface by repeatedly blowing on it. She gazed blankly at the steam while listening to the rain. A heavy silence dominated the room.


    Before long, Touka finally struck up a new conversation with a mutter.


    ¡°Hey, Saku-kun. I was called here because of my abilities.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Could it be said there is a meaning for them if I succeed at stopping tonight¡¯s murder, then?¡± She whispered, sounding like a lost child.


    Saku narrowed his eyes in response.


    Touka is constantly searching for a meaning in her abilities, which could be considered akin to self-discovery. She never stops questioning the significance of her existence as a young maiden who couldn¡¯t become God.


    Or perhaps¡­


    (She must have made some kind of promise with someone, as I thought.)


    He didn¡¯t answer her question with words, but instead, he just stretched out his arm and roughly patted her head. Touka started flapping her arms in panic when she got her hair crumpled and expressed her confusion.


    ¡°Wha! What are you doing all of a sudden?!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s make sure to stop this murder.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡±


    She nodded and smiled while holding the mug cup almost as if she was hugging it. Then, keeping that soft smile on her face, she continued with a whisper.


    ¡°I want to save someone¡­ I sincerely wish to.¡±


    They both took a sip from the strong coffee. Apparently, it was too bitter for Touka and she added a massive amount of sugar. Saku sneered at her childish taste while emptying his cup.


    Uneventful time passed for a while. There were no unusual sounds in the mansion except for the sound of rain.


    However, it didn¡¯t take too long before the first strange occurrence took place.


    Saku felt as if his eyelids were about to close down. His vision started swaying as an unusual drowsiness was taking him over. He immediately realized the oddness of the situation. No natural drowsiness could overtake a person this quickly.


    He instantly checked on Touka.


    ¡°Touka¡­ Isn¡¯t this, weird?¡±


    The coffee that was supposed to keep them awake seemed to be taking the opposite effect.


    Saku started having a bad feeling about it. His shaky vision made him feel as if he were in the middle of an ocean. Desperately struggling to fight it off, he turned over to look at Touka, finding out that she already dozed off on her chair. He then remembered how she complained about the bitterness of the coffee.


    The coffee they drank most likely had some kind of drugs in it.


    Saku¡¯s consciousness fell into darkness the moment he came to that conclusion.


    He had a dream.


    A lucid dream.


    He was in a white space.


    All of his surroundings were completely white.


    There was only one shade in the middle of that space.


    A black in the center of the white.


    (Oh,) Saku thought to himself. (I¡¯ve never forgotten this place.)


    He will never forget about it no matter how much time passes.


    A heavy wind blew.


    Amidst the sea of sakura blossoms, a beautiful young maiden was tilting her head, her gaze fixed at Saku.


    Her crimson-red lips softly curved.


    She smiled.


    It seemed like she smiled.


    Then, she said, ¡°¡ª Wake up.¡±


    That day, she didn¡¯t say those words.


    She never told him to wake up. Not even a single time.


    This only means that Saku¡¯s unconsciousness is trying to deliver him a message through this young maiden.


    Or at least, that¡¯s what he thought.


    The young maiden continued with a whisper, seeming rather amused.


    ¡°Wake up, Saku-kun.¡±


    Someone has died, see?


    The next moment, Saku woke up.


    He heard voices from afar that sounded like bees buzzing.


    There seemed to be a commotion in the mansion. Enduring the headache, he got up from his chair and hastily looked around while hearing the sounds of his bones creaking.


    ¡°¡­ Touka?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t there. The worst possible guess flashed in his mind the next moment.


    Saku¡¯s blood ran cold. He was aware that Touka was constantly living close to death. Yet he always refused to imagine losing her. Going through such a tragedy one time was already enough for him.


    In a panic, he rushed out to the hallway. He leaned forward and made his way to the hall of the second floor.


    Then, he halted his steps when he came across Touka. Dressed in her classic black one-piece, she was glaring at the first floor. Her face from the side looked beautiful and stern, all at the same time, like that of a goddess.


    ¡°Touka! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. What happened?¡±


    ¡°¡­ See for yourself.¡±


    He didn¡¯t notice it until he was told.


    Someone¡¯s body had been discovered in the entrance hall, directly beneath the second floor hall.


    At a first glance, it looked like a doll that got violently slammed against the floor.


    Its neck was bent in an unnatural angle.


    The bright blue color of the one-piece it was wearing nearly blinded him.


    It was the body of the little girl in blue¡ª Uta Hoshikawa.


    ***


    The first thing the residents of the mansion did was contact the police. Sadly, however, they were told that it might take time, probably until the afternoon of the next day, for them to arrive due to landslides, caused by the downpour, blocking the road.


    The mansion became temporarily isolated.


    Uta¡¯s body was covered with a blanket. Emi, her mother, was crumbling on her knees in front of it, her hands covering her face.


    Kiyone was the first to break the silence.


    ¡°It seems like she committed suicide. She was the type who looked like she could die at any moment¡¯s notice, after all.¡±


    Emi shook her head slowly as she wept, quietly. She didn¡¯t seem to have the words to deny what she said. Kiyone held Emi around the shoulders, trying not to show her the body, and continued her speculations.


    ¡°She¡¯s been having an unusual emotional disorder since the day she cut off her sister¡¯s head. I¡¯m frankly not surprised she jumped down to her death from the second floor.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Wrong. It wasn¡¯t a suicide,¡± Touka uttered out of the blue.


    Saku was the only one who nodded to her words while the rest just stared at them.


    Kiyone directed a cold gaze to Touka before whispering in a deep voice, ¡°Why do you think so?¡±


    ¡°We have a Persian carpet here, on the first floor. The floor itself is quite soft making it difficult for a person to die even if they fall on their head. One must fall in a drastically unnatural position for them to break their neck in this way.¡±


    Saku nodded once again, in agreement with her guess. The police will most likely find traces that support her claim.


    Touka¡¯s deduction didn¡¯t stop there.


    ¡°In the first place, no one would want to jump from such a low place if they want to commit suicide. This is clearly a murder case. She fell from the first floor as a result of struggling with someone.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that make you suspicious?¡± Kiyone pointed out with a voice as sharp as a needle.


    The next moment, Emi gasped and Saku stepped forward to defend Touka. But at the same time, he also realized that the most suspicious people here are the two calling themselves ¡®spiritual detectives.¡¯ In the eyes of the residents of this mansion, Saku and Touka would naturally be the culprits.


    Touka, however, continued unfazed, ¡°Uta-san predicted earlier that one of the people we met today would die. ¡®If that person turned out to be me, then please, cry for my death,¡¯ she said.¡±


    ¡°Why would she make such a prediction¡­ ?¡±


    ¡°Good question¡­ I¡¯ve been wondering the same thing. As the young maiden I am, I can¡¯t ignore this issue.¡± Smoothly, Touka stroked her own chin and jaw. She was immersing herself in thoughts.


    Before they realized it, everyone had gathered in the main hall.


    Uta¡¯s mother, Emi, and her handmaid Kiyone. Rikka and Saikawa, the cook, kept a wary eye on the situation from the second floor. Tachibana, the security guard, was standing right next to the entrance, making a solemn face.


    All of them were attentively watching Touka¡¯s conduct with uneasy expressions.


    At the same time, there was a glint of suspicion included in their gazes that felt like a blade.


    Nevertheless, Touka didn¡¯t seem concerned about any of it and continued, ¡°If it had been her who was about to get killed, she would have said so. In other words, does that mean there is some sort of indiscriminate murderer who targets random people in this house? That wouldn¡¯t make sense, otherwise, Uta-san wouldn¡¯t have predicted a murder occurring tonight. Leaving us with one logical answer.¡±


    How did Uta Hoshikawa manage to predict her death?


    Touka answered the question with the one and only reality.


    ¡°That is, Uta-san attempted to kill someone tonight.¡±


    ***


    ¡°What are, you saying¡­ Lady Uta was trying to kill someone?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? My daughter could never¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand your surprise. But this is the only explanation that fits in the puzzle.¡±


    Touka replied to Rikka and Emi in a calm tone.


    In the meantime, Saku was recalling Uta¡¯s words.


    ¡®One person, among the people you¡¯ve met today in this mansion, will get murdered tonight.¡¯


    ¡®If that person turned out to be me, then please, cry for my death.¡¯


    She was making a murder notice.


    There was no wonder Uta was able to predict someone dying tonight.


    If she succeeded at killing them, the corpse of the victim would appear.


    If she gets murdered in the process, then her corpse would be laying here instead.


    It was that simple.


    She must be the one who put those sleeping pills in their coffee, too.


    She was the only person who knew they would drink coffee to stay awake through the night.


    The door to the guest room was always open. She had plenty of time to enter the room while the both of them were busy asking around the house residents.


    The reason she didn¡¯t tell them the name of the person she planned to kill was to prevent any potential hindrance, like warning that person. She also believed that Touka, the spiritual detective, will be able to find them and reveal the truth.


    Saku remembered Uta¡¯s enchanted eyes as she whispered, ¡®I invited you because I believe you can make a verdict in case I fail at unveiling the truth, and leave everything uncovered and unknown, the way it is.¡¯


    Right now, Touka is in the middle of revealing the truth, just as Uta had hoped.


    Who did Uta attempt to kill, but got killed by them instead?


    ¡°At least, there is one person in this house who was qualified for being targeted by Uta¡¯s killing intent,¡± Touka declared with a sound voice.


    Then, she raised her hand wrapped in black and pointed to one person, without hesitation.


    Saikawa, the cook.


    ***


    ¡°H-Hold on there! I told you I was feeling sorry for both Lady Uta and her sister. Being targeted by her killing intent makes absolutely no sense,¡± Saikawa claimed as he hurriedly barged into the main hall. With a hint of nervousness on his eloquent face, he continued frantically, ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s me and not Kiyone who disliked her all along?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re the only person who gave an odd statement regarding Uta¡¯s death.¡±


    Saku recalled their conversation with Uta.


    She was the only one who doubted that her sister¡¯s death wasn¡¯t an accident. Most likely because she heard that same statement from Saikawa.


    ¡°When I asked you about the accident, you replied, ¡®I heard she fell straight from a cliff while holding on to her basket¡­ ¡¯ Her body was found with the basket next to it, indeed.¡±


    Saikawa¡¯s face stiffened.


    Touka kept her gaze fixed on him as she continued.


    ¡°Only the killer could have seen her falling while holding on to her basket.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on¡­ It was just a supposition, you know. I just told you what I had imagined. I mean, Uta-sama would always hug her basket when she goes out for walks. I just thought that she was probably hugging it when she fell, too.¡±


    ¡°Well, in my opinion, the statement of falling straight from a cliff while holding a basket could also be interpreted as a murder confession.¡±


    Saikwawa¡¯s throat was twitching every time Touka would add a guess while she seized him with her tranquil gaze.


    ¡°You can hardly say it¡¯s a trick. Let¡¯s say that Uta-san was walking towards the cliff. Standing on the grass around it, you call out to her. You tell her she forgot something then throw the basket at her chest the moment she turns around.¡±


    Saku recreated the scene in his head.


    The basket follows a loose arc-like trajectory and ultimately hits the chest of a little girl resembling Uta.


    The girl loses balance and falls from the cliff.


    Also while reflexively hugging her basket.


    ¡°Uta-kun would easily fall from the cliff because of the shock, leaving only her footprints in the area.¡±


    Emi looked at Saikawa, incredulously.


    Saikawa reacted by shaking his head in denial. With a twitching smile, giving the impression as if something broke inside him, he started complaining.


    ¡°That¡¯s a false accusation¡­ stop saying nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask both of the girls whether what I¡¯m saying is nonsense or not.¡±


    Touka shifted her gaze to Saku. Then, Saku gazed back at her.


    His eyes reflected her face like a mirror.


    Touka placed her hand on her chest.


    With a thump, she dropped her western-style umbrella on the floor, like a justice mallet.


    ¡°I¡¯m not essentially in a position to pass judgment. After all, I¡¯m more inclined to being a murder than a detective. However, as I was asked to make a verdict¡ª and as the young maiden I am, I shall entrust the judgment to someone else.¡± Touka spread her arms, and with a whisper, as soft as it could get, she called, ¡°¡ª Come over.¡±


    Nothing would come out if Saikawa hadn¡¯t killed the sisters.


    But out of nowhere, four white hands reached out.


    They were children¡¯s hands that looked almost like claywork.


    The next moment, they embraced Saikawa.


    ***


    The white organ-like things were singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars.


    A broken pitch struck the ears of everyone in the hall. It was more of a cheerful cacophony than a song. The two girls who turned into soft lumps of meat were stretching and shrinking forward and backward, left and right, until they reached and pulled Saikawa¡¯s hand.


    He was being dragged into the mud with a furious strength, while the white lumps continued singing their song.


    ¡°Wh-wha-wha-wha!¡±


    Screaming his lungs out in confusion, he was taken away by the girls he murdered.


    Touka and the rest of the group, Emi, the handmaids, and the guard, followed after him.


    The scene they were witnessing was so stunning, nobody tried to stop the dead girls from what they were doing. All they did was mindlessly follow them as if they all got possessed.


    It looked like a distorted Hamelin parade in Saku¡¯s eyes.


    Saikawa eventually arrived at the cliff¡¯s edge. Covered in mud and sludge, he desperately clung to the fence. The girls tried to push him off, but he was so persistent that it didn¡¯t work. All of a sudden, they stopped singing.


    Shouts of frustrations started reverberating instead.


    Saikawa directed a clinging gaze at Touka and started desperately pleading, ¡°Help¡­ Help me.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. There¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll be forgiven if you promise to turn yourself in and not flee from whatever punishment you receive for your sins. But first, I want you to tell me something. Why did you kill Uta-kun, the younger sister?¡±


    ¡°There was a compelling reason for that.¡±


    ¡°You will get killed if you don¡¯t answer honestly,¡± Touka whispered.


    The girls resumed their Twinkle Stars song.


    The stretching and shrinking lumps of flesh coiled around him.


    Their fingers dug into the skin of his cheeks and began to peel his flesh. Drops of blood splashed the ground.


    Saikawa shrieked, choking his throat.


    He wandered his eyes, seeking help, but all he got instead was cold stares.


    No one wanted to help him.


    It didn¡¯t take very long before he got desperate and spilled the beans.


    ¡°Because it seemed I could kill her!¡±


    Silence overtook the place.


    A heavy, heavy silence.


    Touka asked, ¡°¡­ And?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it! I killed her because it was possible, that¡¯s it!¡±


    There was no concrete follow-up to his explanation.


    Saku looked up at the sky while biting his lips.


    It was too hard to believe.


    Saikawa¡¯s motive was really that straightforward.


    ¡°When I took the basket she forgot, I thought, oh, maybe I can kill her using this! I thought it was my chance to kill her without anyone suspecting me! So I killed her! That¡¯s it! Got a problem with that!?¡±


    At that very moment, someone ran by Touka like the wind.


    A skinny hand dragged Saikawa from his leg.


    As he couldn¡¯t instantly react to the sudden surprise attack, his body surpassed the fence and fell from the cliff.


    By the hand of a living human, and not a spirit.


    ¡°¡ª Ah.¡±


    Nobody grabbed the hand he stretched out when he was about to fall.


    Just like the little girl who fell from there in the past, he was alone.


    The sound of a body smashed to the ground echoed far below.


    Touka murmured, looking completely astonished.


    ¡°¡­ madam.¡±


    ¡°Die. People like you should just die,¡± the mother who lost her two daughters muttered while making the face of a demon. Her weary expressions, oozing fatigue were nowhere to be seen.


    With a fierce smile, Emi looked down at Saikawa¡¯s corpse. The next moment, she covered her face with her hands and collapsed on the spot, trembling and crying.


    Kiyone placed her hands on her shoulders then looked up at the ashy sky before whispering, ¡°There is going to be another shower this afternoon. Likely enough to clear the footprints from this area.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°This man jumped from a cliff out of remorse for killing Lady Uta.¡± Kiyone cast a cold gaze at the corpse.


    Rikka stayed quiet while Tachibana pressed his hat on his chest.


    The spirits of the two girls disappeared along with their song, their figures melting with the ashy sky.


    After watching them disappear, Kiyone finally declared, ¡°It was a suicide.¡±


    Nobody said a word.


    Then, it started raining.


    The rain was getting gradually stronger.


    As if it was closing the curtains of the incident.


    ***


    After a police interview, Saku and Touka were allowed to go home after staying one night.


    The sky was already clear.


    Inside the car on their way home, Touka opened the window. A clean light blue sky was unfolding over their heads.


    Feeling the cold breeze on her face, she whispered, ¡°I wanted to have one more conversation with Uta-san before all this happened.¡±


    ¡°What did you want to talk about with her?¡± Saku asked.


    Touka leaned over to the window before replying.


    ¡°I wanted to tell her that things won¡¯t end well if she leaves the case to me. That¡¯s just who I am. I wanted to ask for the result she wished for by inviting me. But I didn¡¯t get the chance. Too bad I can¡¯t talk with souls holding grudges¡­ Perhaps the God of the headhouse could do it, but at least I can¡¯t.¡±


    Touka slowly closed her eyes. Saku didn¡¯t say anything. He knew well that the God of the headhouse could easily make what she said possible. She is omnipotent, after all. Touka¡¯s abilities, however, are far from that level.


    (If that incident didn¡¯t happen, would God really be as omnipotent as she is now?) He wondered.


    But then, he immediately shook his head, trying to forget the gruesome memories.


    A moment of silence conquered the car.


    Touka opened her eyes and sighed in sorrow, ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop the murder.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.


    ¡°My abilities serve only for revenge, after all.¡±


    Saku wandered in his thoughts while driving.


    Only the souls of those who have a grudge against the world could hear Touka¡¯s call and get drawn to her. And all they do is attempt to clear their hatred.


    He recalled the fierce smile Emi was making before trembling and weeping.


    He wondered if she will be able to keep on living after losing her only two daughters and committing murder on top of it.


    All of a sudden, Touka muttered, ¡°I wonder what¡¯s the meaning of such an ability. Why am I even still alive?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay for your abilities to not have a meaning. I want you to stay alive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡­¡±


    You don¡¯t know anything. He heard those words coming from her mouth.


    But she didn¡¯t continue. Saku also realized that no matter what he does, he won¡¯t be able to make her say the rest of her words. Thus, he chose to remain silent. In the middle of silence, the both of them continued to feel the cold wind, until they returned to the apartment.


    TL notes:


    Hello. There it is, the second chapter. I just want to mention that I recently got a full-time job, in the middle of translating this chapter, which is why it took a long time to finish it. Next chapters will take as much time (or even longer, sorry) to translate, since I now barely find the time, or the eneregy, to get on them.


    You will find below some official illustrations and character designs shared by the author and the illustrator on Twitter. Hope you enjoyed the read.

 CH 3

    28-36 minutes 24.07.2022


    Case number three: The invisible friend.


    After returning from Hoshikawa¡¯s mansion, Touka had lost every bit of energy.


    Saku wasn¡¯t surprised.


    Saku and Touka have been involved in many gruesome incidents. Both of them witnessed many deaths. But they have never experienced a case in which they failed to protect a young girl who had given them a murder notice.


    Touka wanted to protect her.


    She strongly wished to save someone.


    Unfortunately, her wish was not granted in this case.


    This fact struck Touka¡¯s heart harder than ever.


    Touka abandoned the Ringfit and dove inside the kotatsu.


    She is usually the type of NEET who becomes aggressive when it comes to food.


    This time however, she didn¡¯t even touch her snacks.


    When it was time to eat, Saku would drag her out of the kotatsu and feed her with his hand. But whenever he¡¯s out for his part time job, Touka would spend the entire time sleeping, not touching any food.


    This started to make Saku worried.


    ¡°Touka, you should start eating something. You know I¡¯m worried about you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Saku-kun¡­ I truly appreciate your kindness. But I just don¡¯t want to,¡± Touka replied to Saku¡¯s plea in a worn out tone. She closed her eyes and whispered, half asleep, ¡°I wonder why I don¡¯t have the courage to shake off your hand and just die.¡±


    Saku felt a chill as soon as she finished her sentence. He had a feeling that he would lose Touka if he was to leave her alone.


    If only something, anything, could be done to change the current situation.


    It was at the moment when Saku wished for something to happen.


    That someone showed up at his apartment.


    ***


    ¡°I used to see ghosts¡­ ¡°


    The woman began telling her story in a calm tone of voice.


    She was a quiet, thin, dark-haired beauty and was wearing a light cream sweater and dark blue jeans under a white down jacket. The way she courteously folded her legs before taking a seat was quite impressive. The woman sat with her back straight and smiled.


    Her name is Suzu Morita. She is a childcare worker.


    She visited Saku¡¯s apartment by following the address of ¡°Touka¡¯s Spiritual Detective Agency.¡±


    Apparently, Touka had updated her website before visiting Hoshikawa¡¯s mansion and she listed the address of Saku¡¯s apartment as the location of her office. Quite the scary thing to do in this disturbing day and age.


    This couldn¡¯t get any more annoying for Saku as it is unlikely that this woman would be the last client to ever visit him because of the website. Nonetheless, he couldn¡¯t ask her to leave and instead served her a cup of tea to keep her company. Meanwhile, Touka remained hidden in the kotatsu. Saku was left with no choice but to listen to the client¡¯s story on her behalf.


    Pressing her hand to her chest, Suzu resumed her story.


    ¡°When I was a child, I used to see a ghost. I was friends with that ghost.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see,¡± Saku responded in a stiff voice.


    All of the ghosts Saku knows have deep regrets in the world of the living. It¡¯s impossible to properly communicate with most of them. It is said that the God of the head house has the ability to summon spirits who have little connection to this world. However, that is only possible because God possessed a strong spiritual ability.


    It was hard to believe that Suzu used to talk to ghosts when she was a child. But Saku chose not to completely deny her statement as there is an exception for every rule, of which he could be unaware.


    It¡¯s never a good idea to assume everything from the start. Thus Saku nodded in reply.


    Suzu continued her story.


    ¡°But as I grew older, I could no longer talk to her.¡±


    The ghost was apparently a ¡®she¡ª¡¯ a little girl.


    Suzu looked sad as she spoke. She lightly bit her lips and said, ¡°I had forgotten about it until now. But I finally remembered. I had a ghost friend. She used to cause rapping sounds in the house and whenever I asked my parents if they saw her, they would reply that they didn¡¯t see or hear anything. It¡¯s nostalgic¡­ So¡­ ¡±


    ¡°How did you come to remember?¡±


    A voice echoed from inside the kotatsu.


    Suzu exclaimed in surprise as she looked around.


    A section of the cushion began squirming and wriggling until it was flipped open from the inside.


    All of a sudden, Touka¡¯s head popped up from the cushion.


    She appeared from within the kotatsu, like a mushroom sprouting from the ground. Her messy hair ruined her pretty face. Touka¡¯s eyes glinted silently from within the tangle of darkness.


    Suzu was making an astounded face. She had no idea of what was going on. Saku nodded in sympathy to her feelings. Anyone would have reacted similarly if they saw a person grow out from a kotatsu without a prior notice.


    Touka managed to break out from the kotatsu by creeping like a hornworm. She then stretched her back like a cat before tidying up her hair and finally asking the same question.


    ¡°How did you come to remember? What was the trigger?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure what it was exactly¡­ It just popped into my head when I was at work, looking at kids playing in a local park.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand. So, what is it that you want from me?¡± Touka asked, once again.


    Suzu let out a small gasp. She was Likely skeptical of Touka from the moment she emerged from the Kotatsu. Nevertheless, she did not give up and continued to describe her request.


    ¡°Could you summon the ghost? I want to talk with her as a friend, one more time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t be possible. My eyes can only bridge a connection with spirits that are filled with negative emotions, such as resentment. It¡¯s impossible for me to attract a docile spirit.¡±


    ¡°But even I was able to talk to a ghost. Surely a spiritual detective like you would do more than¡ª¡±


    ¡°As for your memories with the ghost, I admit that it¡¯s a mysterious phenomenon that is outside of my scope of perception. I won¡¯t say you¡¯re lying or it was a dream, but it¡¯s hard to believe that it really happened.¡±


    ¡°It really happened. It was something¡­ Yes, since that accident in the bathroom, she stopped showing up. Maybe it was because many people came to the house that day¡­ I haven¡¯t seen her since then¡­¡±


    Suzu was staring blankly at empty space, as if she was trying to recall something. Her gaze was wandering vainly in the room. On the other hand, Touka¡¯s eyes narrowed and she sunk into thought, her gaze fixed on Suzu.


    A few moments later, Sazu straightened her back once again. She turned to Touka and insisted, ¡°I know it could be impossible, but could you at least try, please? I beg you.¡± She bowed her head deeply. Despite her seemingly mature appearance, she turned out to have a rather stubborn personality.


    Her attitude indicated that she had no intention of backing down.


    The room fell silent.


    Suzu didn¡¯t add a word.


    Touka, too, was deafeningly quiet.


    A long time passed with both of them staring at each other.


    The ticking of the clock was the only sound disturbing the silence in the room.


    Touka was the first to break the silence, eventually. She let out a thin breath and said, ¡°I understand¡­ We lose nothing if we try. Let¡¯s do it. Although I¡¯d say it would be a miracle if I succeed at conjuring a friendly spirit. Anyway, if nothing happens, then please give up and go home.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Please, then.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, you won¡¯t imagine the joy I¡¯d feel if I succeed at this¡­ Well, I bet it¡¯s useless to even try.¡± Touka shook her head. Saku, However, was intrigued by Suzu¡¯s request. If Touka is able to summon a friendly spirit, it will open up new opportunities for her to use her abilities. Touka would most definitely be delighted. Saku nervously watched over the situation.


    Touka began snapping her fingers before turning to face Saku, unaware of what he was thinking.


    Saku returned Touka¡¯s gaze.


    His eyes reflected her face like a mirror.


    Taking a breath in, Touka opened her arms. Still in her jersey this time, her voice echoed.


    ¡°¡ª Come over.¡±


    The next moment, there was a distortion in space.


    The world was bridged with ¡®somewhere else.¡¯


    Two white arms twined around Suzu¡¯s body from behind her.


    The ghost¡¯s dark eye sockets twitched with a grin.


    It was a child¡¯s body that morphed into a soft, writhing lump of flesh and bounced once on the floor.


    ¡°¡­ Wha¡ª!¡±


    ¡°¡­ !¡±


    Saku and Touka were speechless.


    Touka was successful in summoning the child ghost. Although, it wasn¡¯t friendly at all.


    It clearly appeared to be resentful of Suzu.


    Its tiny fingers dug into Suzu¡¯s throat, causing crimson red blood to drip gently.


    Suzu let out a short scream.


    ¡°Hyi!¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ ?¡±


    Touka became puzzled and raised her voice. She lost her composure and wandered her hands aimlessly in panic.


    The situation didn¡¯t make sense.


    Wasn¡¯t the ghost a friend of Suzu?


    Why would it want to kill her?


    While Saku was asking questions in his head, the ghost continued wriggling its white fingers around Suzu¡¯s throat, slowly digging them deeper and deeper.


    At this rate, things will devolve into a major disaster.


    Touka, flustered, attempted to stop the ghost, but then her gaze shifted from left to right.


    ¡°What should we do¡­ This is not good, Saku-kun.¡±


    There was no way to get rid of the ghost.


    Touka had never suppressed a spirit that she had summoned on her own.


    Although, there have been cases in which the spirit would disappear, satisfied, when the person against it held a grudge made a heartfelt apology, for example. Some of them would even end up accepting the desperate pleas for mercy of the person and spare their life.


    But this time, the situation is different.


    This ghost was not supposed to despise Suzu.


    And yet, she was being attacked.


    Saku felt his blood running cold.


    If this continued, Suzu would be killed.


    ¡°Suzu-san! Come here!¡± Pulling her by her arm, Saku attempted to get Suzu away from the ghost. Suzu moved her frozen feet forward. The arms of the ghost stretched softly like a rice cake, but eventually released her throat by scraping away its surface. A line-like trace remained in Suzu¡¯s skin. It was the price she paid to be able to escape from the ghost.


    Suzu dashed down the corridor, tumbling down multiple times, in search of the entrance door.


    She had no idea the ghost was following her.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let you go!¡±


    Touka and Saku obstructed the ghost¡¯s path.


    Dark eye sockets turned their way. For a moment, Saku was overcome by an awful sense of fear and cold. But the ghost didn¡¯t seem to be interested in them. The white lump of flesh moved between them with the agility of a cat, drawing close to Suzu and grabbing her ankle as she approached the doorway.


    ¡°Aaah!¡±


    Suzu crumbled on the spot. The white lump of flesh leaned over her.


    Suzu began shouting frantically, her arms covering her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! Forgive me!¡±


    She obviously didn¡¯t know what exactly she was apologizing for. A spirit would never accept such a half-hearted apology. As a matter of fact, The ghost ignored her screams.


    Its white arms reached out again, this time for her eyes.


    Suzu screamed in terror at the top of her lungs, ¡°Forgive me, Mom!¡±


    She then curled up and started crying, like a child.


    The situation changed dramatically the next instant. Saku and Touka could only stare, mouths agape, at what was happening.


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    The spirit came to a complete halt. Then it loosely let out strength from its white arms.


    It appeared to be in a daze, thinking about something.


    All of a sudden, it vanished out of sight.


    Nothing was left behind.


    It was as if the ghost had forgotten about its grudge.


    Saku and Touka exchanged glances, taken aback by the sudden shift in events. They both had no idea what was going on from the start. Saku¡¯s mind was racing with questions as he was perplexed.


    Why did Touka succeed at summoning the ghost?


    Why did the ghost attempt to kill Suzu?


    Why did it disappear?


    ¡°Su-Suzu-san, are you okay?¡± Saku called out to Suzu.


    ¡°¡­ Oh, I see.¡± Suzu responded, dimly, her eyes vacant and staring at the ceiling. The blood running out from her neck stained her sweater in red. Oddly, though, she didn¡¯t seem to feel any pain. Saku tried to help her stand up despite her strange attitude, which gave him an uneasy feeling.


    ¡°Are you okay? Let me help you patch this¡ª¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was.¡±


    Suzu didn¡¯t respond to his question. She just kept muttering to herself and blinking incessantly.


    She stood up while swaying, put on her shoes and walked unsteadily, as if she was being manipulated by strings.


    She took a step outside after opening the door. Suzu left the apartment while looking as if she got her soul extracted from her body.


    The carpet was covered in blood stains.


    Saku and Touka were left alone.


    ***


    ¡°I wonder what all of that was,¡± Touka Said, her chin resting on the tabletop.


    Saku shook his head, indicating his confusion.


    With a squint, Touka continued, ¡°This is truly worrying. Everything was so strange with that woman. As the young maiden I am, I don¡¯t feel like leaving this matter in the dark.¡±


    Touka would no longer spend her days shutting herself inside the kotatsu since she became concerned about Suzu¡¯s case a few days ago. This made Saku delighted. But at the same time, he agreed with Touka in not leaving Suzu alone after what happened. Regrettably however, they didn¡¯t ask Suzu for her phone number or home address. There was no way for them to reach her.


    Saku shook his head, attempting to lighten the mood.


    He set a bag on the table that he had brought from his part-time job at the convenience store. It was full of Touka¡¯s favorite snacks. Placing his hand on Touka¡¯s head, he said, ¡°For now, just forget about it and eat this.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Saku-kun is being sweet to me! This is a good day.¡±


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s better than having you in a state where you can¡¯t even eat.¡±


    Rummaging through the contents of the bag, Touka first picked up a sweet bean-jam bun and took a bite of its soft white dough.


    Her appetite had returned, most likely because she had been thinking about Suzu¡¯s case almost constantly.


    Saku was grateful to Suzu for bringing them her case. For him, it was certainly what they call a blessing in disguise.


    He despised seeing Touka in such a vulnerable state. As much as he felt sorry for Suzu, her incident had a positive impact on Touka. But there was one lingering question in his mind that bothered him now and then.


    (What did Suzu-san realize before she left in the end?)


    There was no way he could come up with an answer simply by thinking about it. Saku rolled up the kotatsu cushion and slid in next to Touka. He placed his chin on the tabletop and deeply exhaled. While warming up, he began telling a story he had heard at his part-time job.


    ¡°I heard there was a child that went missing in the nearby elementary school. Things have gotten pretty disturbing lately.¡±


    ¡°¡­ A missing child?¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been reported yet due to an issue involving the parents, but an elementary school student has been missing for a week. You should be careful not to get kidnapped, too, when you go outside,¡± He warned Touka.


    The women of the Fujisaki clan are prone to attract misfortune.


    Nobody could deny that she could get involved and then vanish like that elementary school kid.


    ¡°A missing elementary school child, hm.¡±


    Unaware of Saku¡¯s concern, Touka started pondering and mumbling to herself.


    ¡°¡­ Elementary school¡­ Park next to her workplace¡­ The trigger that made her remember¡­¡±


    Pokopen! The next moment, her smartphone made a dumbfounding sound.


    Touka peered into the screen. Her expression turned grim. Saku craned his neck to see what was going on. Touka directed her phone toward him. It was an email sent to the mail address in Touka¡¯s homepage. Saku silently read the short message displayed on the screen.


    ¡°Thank you for helping last time. I am Suzu Morita. I will start over. Please forget about what happened the other day.¡±


    ¡°¡­ She will start over¡­ Please forget about what happened? What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°We will go looking for her workplace tomorrow,¡± Touka abruptly declared, driving Saku to title his head in further confusion.


    As far as he knew, there was absolutely no way for them to find where Suzu was working.


    ¡°Hold on a minute¡­ Oh, there it is.¡±


    Touka searched through Saku¡¯s bookshelf and pulled out a map of the area. Next, she found an antique compass. Laying the map on the table, she first drew a circle around the nearby elementary school. Then she drew another circle around the largest public park near the school. As a result, a nursery school was caught within that circle.


    ¡°I drew a circle around the range in which elementary school kids would most likely act, and another one in which daycare kids would go for a walk¡­ Suzu said that she remembered her ghost friend when she was watching kids playing in a park, while she was at work. Then, she probably works here. While taking the daycare kids for a walk, she ran into elementary school students playing in the park. It was then, when she remembered the ghost.¡±


    ¡°How did you know all of this?¡±


    ¡°This is merely a hunch, but I think that she is somewhat related to the kidnapping of the elementary school child,¡± Touka claimed, without hesitation. Glaring at the mark she drew around the nursery school, she continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure she was a good friend with the ghost, too.¡±


    Saku had no idea of what she was saying.


    Nevertheless, he decided to visit the nursery school with her the next day.


    ***


    ¡°Suzu Morita has been absent from work without permission for quite some time now.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°You are acquaintances, aren¡¯t you? Could you please warn her to return? Also, could you give her this? What? You don¡¯t know her address? You¡¯re her co-worker from a part time job? In that case¡­¡±


    Saku and Touka were handed a large amount of printouts.


    They succeeded in obtaining Suzu¡¯s home address.


    It was quite unbelievable in this age of privacy protection.


    Fortunately, the principal of the nursery school was the type of person who doesn¡¯t care about details. Her mind seemed to be occupied only with the troublesome thoughts of Suzu being absent without notice. Thus, the first step in Saku and Touka¡¯s plan of meeting Suzu once again was successful.


    They walked around the city while relying on the adresse they were given. It was slightly cloudy. They passed through many deserted alleys before eventually, they reached an apartment complex.


    Within the old-looking townscape, a house stood as if buried beneath the complex¡¯s shade.


    Judging from the fact there were no newspapers or letters in its mailbox, someone was most likely still living there. Garbage bags however, were lined up in front of the entrance door, emanating an ambiance of neglect.The grass of the yard was also overgrown.


    Saku instinctively hesitated to enter inside. But he reached for the buzzer, anyway.


    Right before he could touch it, Touka grabbed his wrist. She was making a solemn face.


    ¡°It¡¯s highly likely there is someone abducted inside.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    Touka¡¯s assertion was incomprehensible for Saku. But he still believed that she must have some sort of basis that made her reach such a conclusion. Saku remembered the elementary school kidnapping case and nodded with a meek expression.


    Touka quietly put her hand on the entrance door. Slowly, she opened it by sliding it to the right side.


    The door wasn¡¯t locked.


    The presence of someone was coming from inside.


    Noise could be slightly heard from the entrance. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they happened to run into Suzu at any time.


    And yet, Touka still stepped inside.


    They both broke into the house. They saw the silhouette of someone moving in the kitchen as they sneaked down the hallway. Ignoring it, Touka made her way deeper into the house. But nobody was there. She stood in the middle of the altar room and tilted her head.


    It was at that moment when they heard a creaking sound in the ceiling.


    Touka and Saku nodded to each other and climbed the stairs.


    The second floor was dimly lit. Several doors were lining up in an old hallway. Guessing from the sound of the creaking, Touka opened one of the doors. The lights were turned on inside the room. It was a small japanese-style room with a chest of drawers next to one of its walls and a futon in its center. Saku inadvertently caught his breath when he shifted his gaze to the center.


    There was a little girl sitting on top of the futon.


    A skinny elementary school girl, looking at them with frightened eyes.


    Saku, taken aback, let out a squeezed voice from the back of his throat.


    ¡°Why is she here, in Suzu-san¡¯s house?¡±


    ¡°The identity of the ghost she used to be friends with was an invisible human being. Now that she realized the truth, she is trying to start over, making up for the mistakes she committed last time.¡±


    What is an invisible human?


    What in the world is Touka talking about?


    As always, Saku didn¡¯t have the smallest clue of what was happening. The one thing he was certain of was that he needed to save the elementary school girl in front of him.


    With hushed footsteps, Saku and Touka approached the little girl.


    A closer look on her revealed dark blue bruises on her skin. Saku frowned when he noticed signs of violence on the girl¡¯s body. It was difficult to imagine it coming from Suzu, who appeared to be quite composed. But people sometimes act in ways that contradict their outward appearances.


    In a low voice, Touka spoke to the little girl.


    ¡°Listen to me well. We¡¯re here to pick you up. As the young maiden I am, I can¡¯t leave you in this distorted situation. And besides, I have my reasons to save people who need help. That would be the bare minimum of atonement for my sin¡­ So could you please come with us?¡±


    ¡°Sis! Someone is here!¡±


    The little girl suddenly shouted in a loud voice.


    Saku became speechless.


    Why would the kidnapped victim call the culprit for help? Why does Touka consider helping others as atonement? The situation was only getting more confusing for him. But now was not the time to ponder those questions.


    Instantly, A thudding noise of footsteps echoed from the first floor.


    Running through the hallway like a storm, someone rushed to the door of the room and opened it wide.


    The knife in her hand glowed in the dim light.


    Saku stared at her, unable to believe what he was witnessing.


    Suzu was directing a loathsome scowl at them.


    The little girl scuttled over to Suzu and hid behind her back.


    ¡°Sis, don¡¯t let go of me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will protect you.¡±


    Saku reached an unprecedented level of confusion.


    Suzu is trying to protect the elementary school girl.


    As far as he knew, the girl was kidnapped for a week now.


    On the other hand, Touka seemed to be fully conscious of the situation.


    She looked Suzu straight in the eyes. And with a dignified voice, she declared, ¡°You mustn¡¯t misunderstand.¡±


    Suzu pointed the knife in her direction.


    Saku checked on Touka¡¯s expression.


    She looked undaunted.


    Then, she continued with words that he did not expect.


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s death was not your fault.¡±


    ***


    ¡°¡­ What¡¯s the meaning of all this?¡±


    ¡°I succeeded in conjuring the spirit of Suzu-san¡¯s said ghost. At that point, it became apparent that the death of a human was involved in her past. Additionally, an ordinary person can never encounter a friendly spirit,¡± Touka replied at Saku¡¯s question.


    Then what would that make of the ghost that was friends with Suzu?


    A trick of memory? Touka shook her head, denying that possibility.


    ¡°Suzu-san remembered the existence of her ghost friend when she was watching elementary school kids playing in a public park. The trigger to those memories would be this kidnapped girl. She has bruises on her skin. The dark blue color implies the bruises are old. This means that the girl used to be beaten by her family and not Suzu. In short, Suzu remembered her ghost friend when she saw a little girl that seemed to be abused by her parents.


    ¡°¡­ Meaning what?¡±


    ¡°The identity of the ghost is a little girl that once existed. Most likely Suzu-san¡¯s sister.¡±


    Touka disclosed the despicable truth. But Saku still had another question. That is the reason Suzu believed that her sister was a friendly ghost. When he expressed his doubts, Touka started describing a certain family issue.


    ¡°Suzu said that she used to hear rapping noises. It was the sound caused by her sister. Yet, her parents would claim that they didn¡¯t hear or see anything. Suzu¡¯s sister was being neglected.¡±


    ¡°You mean, her parents were acting as if she didn¡¯t exist in that house?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that would be the case¡­ But Suzu and the neglected girl became friends¡­ The conjured spirit clearly hated her for a reason.¡±


    The spirit of the girl attempted to kill Suzu.


    It was carrying a strong grudge towards her.


    And for what reason?


    ¡°I suspect that because Suzu-san was getting along so well with her sister, her parents could no longer ignore her and so, they decided to dispose of her. You remember when Suzu-san talked about ¡®some accident in the bathroom and many people visiting the house?¡¯ Since then the ghost stopped appearing. The neglected girl was murdered in such a way that it appeared to be a domestic accident.¡±


    ¡°She got drowned in the bathtub?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. The invisible girl stopped existing for real and Suzu-san could no longer see the ghost¡­ You recalled all of this the other day, didn¡¯t you?¡± Touka addressed Suzu.


    Trembling as she held the knife, Suzu refused to answer. But Touka continued, regardless, ¡°The cause that made you open the sealed lid to your memories was the conditions I told you about conjuring spirits¡­ As well as your experience with the invoked ghost. Therefore, you decided to protect the girl who was the initial trigger to remembering your past, on behalf of your former sister.¡±


    The elementary school girl clung to Suzu, who responded by placing her hand on her back.


    Looking at Touka straight in the eyes, she slowly lowered the tip of the knife.


    Her eyes were black and clear. There was neither anger nor sadness there.


    It was then when Suzu, for the first time since they met her today, spoke.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re right. I will protect this girl. I will protect this little girl who is likely to be killed like my sister if I leave her alone. My sister would surely forgive me if I did that.¡±


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s spirit vanished when she heard you yell ¡®Forgive me, mom.¡¯ You probably suffered a great deal of abuse too, that you just forgot about. You can take my word when I tell you that you¡¯ve already been forgiven. What you are doing right now is a crime. There must be other ways to help that child.¡±


    ¡°Like what? We raise a case and make it public? We tell her school? We go visit her parents every now and then? Who could guarantee that anyone will make it in time before this child is killed!¡± Suzu hollered, abruptly. Her dry eyes rapidly became moist and tears spilled down her cheeks. She hunched forward as if she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and started crying like a baby.


    ¡°What will you do if I don¡¯t make it in time? You¡¯re telling me not to act out when I know there¡¯s a child about to get killed? And then¡­ Then, if she dies, how am I supposed to live this time!¡±


    Watching Suzu in tears, the elementary school girl gave her a hug by putting her arms around her jeans-wrapped leg. She seemed to be holding back her tears.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Sis.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡¯m okay.¡±


    ¡°I want to stay with you, sis. You don¡¯t hit me. You don¡¯t put my face in water. You also don¡¯t pour hot water on me. You¡¯re nicer. I want to be with you.¡± The little girl burst into tears. She strongly embraced Suzu.


    The pair desperately clung to each other.


    Saku and Touka were speechless.


    Suzu, in front of them, wiped away her tears and said, ¡°To tell the truth, I¡¯m a person who is better off dead.¡±


    Her words were awfully hollow.


    It was because they were hollow that they depicted her true feelings.


    Touka weakly clenched her fist. Perhaps she understood something in Suzu¡¯s words; Something that pierced her heart. Saku widened his eyes. He attempted to refute Suzu¡¯s claim in haste.


    ¡°That¡¯s not ¡ª¡±


    ¡°It is! I was supposed to die at that time, when I sacrificed my innocent sister. But right now¡­ I feel like I want to live, for the sake of this girl.¡±


    Those were also her serious, true feelings.


    With a clang, the knife fell to the floor.


    Suzu hugged the little girl tightly.


    She then concluded, giving Saku and Touka a radiant smile, ¡°¡ª Now, leave.¡±


    It was a voice brimming with strong determination.


    Neither Saku or Touka had the words to reply.


    Thus, they left the house, in silence.


    ***


    The next day, Saku and Touka visited Suzu¡¯s house once again.


    The door was unlocked. Inside, there were signs of hurriedly packed luggage and items.


    Inside the empty house, Touka uttered, ¡°I thought that this is the wrong way of solving the problem. Suzu was undeniably a victim, even if she was the indirect cause of her sister¡¯s death. Unlike me, she was supposed to be rescued¡­ That is why I wanted to convince her¡­ I wonder if there was something else I could¡¯ve done for her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for the best if two people who believe they don¡¯t deserve to live, could join hands and live on, together.¡±


    Saku couldn¡¯t think of anything to react to Touka¡¯s speech. Meanwhile, as if she was assessing her words, one by one, Touka continued, ¡°If a person who once wished to die could live on, then let them be.¡±


    Touka sounded as if she was addressing herself with her speech. Saku, as always, couldn¡¯t find the right words to reply. According to Touka, he ¡°knows nothing¡± about her. Then whatever he might say, it would probably not reach her. Instead, Saku looked up at the ceiling, and contemplated.


    The meaning of life and the meaning of death.


    The weight of life and death shifts very easily.


    Suzu used to deeply wish for her death.


    But then, she found a value in her life, making her forget her reason to die.


    That much is enough to be grateful for.


    Which is why Saku suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s wish, Touka.¡±


    ¡°Wish?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the least thing we can do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ You¡¯re right,¡± Touka nodded.


    She closed her eyes, following Saku.


    Both of them wished.


    They wished for a happy future to be waiting for Suzu and the little girl.


    At the very least.


    May good fortune find them.

 Volume 1 - CH 3

    28-36 minutes 24.07.2022


    Case number three: The invisible friend.


    After returning from Hoshikawa¡¯s mansion, Touka had lost every bit of energy.


    Saku wasn¡¯t surprised.


    Saku and Touka have been involved in many gruesome incidents. Both of them witnessed many deaths. But they have never experienced a case in which they failed to protect a young girl who had given them a murder notice.


    Touka wanted to protect her.


    She strongly wished to save someone.


    Unfortunately, her wish was not granted in this case.


    This fact struck Touka¡¯s heart harder than ever.


    Touka abandoned the Ringfit and dove inside the kotatsu.


    She is usually the type of NEET who becomes aggressive when it comes to food.


    This time however, she didn¡¯t even touch her snacks.


    When it was time to eat, Saku would drag her out of the kotatsu and feed her with his hand. But whenever he¡¯s out for his part time job, Touka would spend the entire time sleeping, not touching any food.


    This started to make Saku worried.


    ¡°Touka, you should start eating something. You know I¡¯m worried about you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Saku-kun¡­ I truly appreciate your kindness. But I just don¡¯t want to,¡± Touka replied to Saku¡¯s plea in a worn out tone. She closed her eyes and whispered, half asleep, ¡°I wonder why I don¡¯t have the courage to shake off your hand and just die.¡±


    Saku felt a chill as soon as she finished her sentence. He had a feeling that he would lose Touka if he was to leave her alone.


    If only something, anything, could be done to change the current situation.


    It was at the moment when Saku wished for something to happen.


    That someone showed up at his apartment.


    ***


    ¡°I used to see ghosts¡­ ¡°


    The woman began telling her story in a calm tone of voice.


    She was a quiet, thin, dark-haired beauty and was wearing a light cream sweater and dark blue jeans under a white down jacket. The way she courteously folded her legs before taking a seat was quite impressive. The woman sat with her back straight and smiled.


    Her name is Suzu Morita. She is a childcare worker.


    She visited Saku¡¯s apartment by following the address of ¡°Touka¡¯s Spiritual Detective Agency.¡±


    Apparently, Touka had updated her website before visiting Hoshikawa¡¯s mansion and she listed the address of Saku¡¯s apartment as the location of her office. Quite the scary thing to do in this disturbing day and age.


    This couldn¡¯t get any more annoying for Saku as it is unlikely that this woman would be the last client to ever visit him because of the website. Nonetheless, he couldn¡¯t ask her to leave and instead served her a cup of tea to keep her company. Meanwhile, Touka remained hidden in the kotatsu. Saku was left with no choice but to listen to the client¡¯s story on her behalf.


    Pressing her hand to her chest, Suzu resumed her story.


    ¡°When I was a child, I used to see a ghost. I was friends with that ghost.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see,¡± Saku responded in a stiff voice.


    All of the ghosts Saku knows have deep regrets in the world of the living. It¡¯s impossible to properly communicate with most of them. It is said that the God of the head house has the ability to summon spirits who have little connection to this world. However, that is only possible because God possessed a strong spiritual ability.


    It was hard to believe that Suzu used to talk to ghosts when she was a child. But Saku chose not to completely deny her statement as there is an exception for every rule, of which he could be unaware.


    It¡¯s never a good idea to assume everything from the start. Thus Saku nodded in reply.


    Suzu continued her story.


    ¡°But as I grew older, I could no longer talk to her.¡±


    The ghost was apparently a ¡®she¡ª¡¯ a little girl.


    Suzu looked sad as she spoke. She lightly bit her lips and said, ¡°I had forgotten about it until now. But I finally remembered. I had a ghost friend. She used to cause rapping sounds in the house and whenever I asked my parents if they saw her, they would reply that they didn¡¯t see or hear anything. It¡¯s nostalgic¡­ So¡­ ¡±


    ¡°How did you come to remember?¡±


    A voice echoed from inside the kotatsu.


    Suzu exclaimed in surprise as she looked around.


    A section of the cushion began squirming and wriggling until it was flipped open from the inside.


    All of a sudden, Touka¡¯s head popped up from the cushion.


    She appeared from within the kotatsu, like a mushroom sprouting from the ground. Her messy hair ruined her pretty face. Touka¡¯s eyes glinted silently from within the tangle of darkness.


    Suzu was making an astounded face. She had no idea of what was going on. Saku nodded in sympathy to her feelings. Anyone would have reacted similarly if they saw a person grow out from a kotatsu without a prior notice.


    Touka managed to break out from the kotatsu by creeping like a hornworm. She then stretched her back like a cat before tidying up her hair and finally asking the same question.


    ¡°How did you come to remember? What was the trigger?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure what it was exactly¡­ It just popped into my head when I was at work, looking at kids playing in a local park.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand. So, what is it that you want from me?¡± Touka asked, once again.


    Suzu let out a small gasp. She was Likely skeptical of Touka from the moment she emerged from the Kotatsu. Nevertheless, she did not give up and continued to describe her request.


    ¡°Could you summon the ghost? I want to talk with her as a friend, one more time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t be possible. My eyes can only bridge a connection with spirits that are filled with negative emotions, such as resentment. It¡¯s impossible for me to attract a docile spirit.¡±


    ¡°But even I was able to talk to a ghost. Surely a spiritual detective like you would do more than¡ª¡±


    ¡°As for your memories with the ghost, I admit that it¡¯s a mysterious phenomenon that is outside of my scope of perception. I won¡¯t say you¡¯re lying or it was a dream, but it¡¯s hard to believe that it really happened.¡±


    ¡°It really happened. It was something¡­ Yes, since that accident in the bathroom, she stopped showing up. Maybe it was because many people came to the house that day¡­ I haven¡¯t seen her since then¡­¡±


    Suzu was staring blankly at empty space, as if she was trying to recall something. Her gaze was wandering vainly in the room. On the other hand, Touka¡¯s eyes narrowed and she sunk into thought, her gaze fixed on Suzu.


    A few moments later, Sazu straightened her back once again. She turned to Touka and insisted, ¡°I know it could be impossible, but could you at least try, please? I beg you.¡± She bowed her head deeply. Despite her seemingly mature appearance, she turned out to have a rather stubborn personality.


    Her attitude indicated that she had no intention of backing down.


    The room fell silent.


    Suzu didn¡¯t add a word.


    Touka, too, was deafeningly quiet.


    A long time passed with both of them staring at each other.


    The ticking of the clock was the only sound disturbing the silence in the room.


    Touka was the first to break the silence, eventually. She let out a thin breath and said, ¡°I understand¡­ We lose nothing if we try. Let¡¯s do it. Although I¡¯d say it would be a miracle if I succeed at conjuring a friendly spirit. Anyway, if nothing happens, then please give up and go home.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Please, then.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, you won¡¯t imagine the joy I¡¯d feel if I succeed at this¡­ Well, I bet it¡¯s useless to even try.¡± Touka shook her head. Saku, However, was intrigued by Suzu¡¯s request. If Touka is able to summon a friendly spirit, it will open up new opportunities for her to use her abilities. Touka would most definitely be delighted. Saku nervously watched over the situation.


    Touka began snapping her fingers before turning to face Saku, unaware of what he was thinking.


    Saku returned Touka¡¯s gaze.


    His eyes reflected her face like a mirror.


    Taking a breath in, Touka opened her arms. Still in her jersey this time, her voice echoed.


    ¡°¡ª Come over.¡±


    The next moment, there was a distortion in space.


    The world was bridged with ¡®somewhere else.¡¯


    Two white arms twined around Suzu¡¯s body from behind her.


    The ghost¡¯s dark eye sockets twitched with a grin.


    It was a child¡¯s body that morphed into a soft, writhing lump of flesh and bounced once on the floor.


    ¡°¡­ Wha¡ª!¡±


    ¡°¡­ !¡±


    Saku and Touka were speechless.


    Touka was successful in summoning the child ghost. Although, it wasn¡¯t friendly at all.


    It clearly appeared to be resentful of Suzu.


    Its tiny fingers dug into Suzu¡¯s throat, causing crimson red blood to drip gently.


    Suzu let out a short scream.


    ¡°Hyi!¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ ?¡±


    Touka became puzzled and raised her voice. She lost her composure and wandered her hands aimlessly in panic.


    The situation didn¡¯t make sense.


    Wasn¡¯t the ghost a friend of Suzu?


    Why would it want to kill her?


    While Saku was asking questions in his head, the ghost continued wriggling its white fingers around Suzu¡¯s throat, slowly digging them deeper and deeper.


    At this rate, things will devolve into a major disaster.


    Touka, flustered, attempted to stop the ghost, but then her gaze shifted from left to right.


    ¡°What should we do¡­ This is not good, Saku-kun.¡±


    There was no way to get rid of the ghost.


    Touka had never suppressed a spirit that she had summoned on her own.


    Although, there have been cases in which the spirit would disappear, satisfied, when the person against it held a grudge made a heartfelt apology, for example. Some of them would even end up accepting the desperate pleas for mercy of the person and spare their life.


    But this time, the situation is different.


    This ghost was not supposed to despise Suzu.


    And yet, she was being attacked.


    Saku felt his blood running cold.


    If this continued, Suzu would be killed.


    ¡°Suzu-san! Come here!¡± Pulling her by her arm, Saku attempted to get Suzu away from the ghost. Suzu moved her frozen feet forward. The arms of the ghost stretched softly like a rice cake, but eventually released her throat by scraping away its surface. A line-like trace remained in Suzu¡¯s skin. It was the price she paid to be able to escape from the ghost.


    Suzu dashed down the corridor, tumbling down multiple times, in search of the entrance door.


    She had no idea the ghost was following her.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let you go!¡±


    Touka and Saku obstructed the ghost¡¯s path.


    Dark eye sockets turned their way. For a moment, Saku was overcome by an awful sense of fear and cold. But the ghost didn¡¯t seem to be interested in them. The white lump of flesh moved between them with the agility of a cat, drawing close to Suzu and grabbing her ankle as she approached the doorway.


    ¡°Aaah!¡±


    Suzu crumbled on the spot. The white lump of flesh leaned over her.


    Suzu began shouting frantically, her arms covering her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! Forgive me!¡±


    She obviously didn¡¯t know what exactly she was apologizing for. A spirit would never accept such a half-hearted apology. As a matter of fact, The ghost ignored her screams.


    Its white arms reached out again, this time for her eyes.


    Suzu screamed in terror at the top of her lungs, ¡°Forgive me, Mom!¡±


    She then curled up and started crying, like a child.


    The situation changed dramatically the next instant. Saku and Touka could only stare, mouths agape, at what was happening.


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    The spirit came to a complete halt. Then it loosely let out strength from its white arms.


    It appeared to be in a daze, thinking about something.


    All of a sudden, it vanished out of sight.


    Nothing was left behind.


    It was as if the ghost had forgotten about its grudge.


    Saku and Touka exchanged glances, taken aback by the sudden shift in events. They both had no idea what was going on from the start. Saku¡¯s mind was racing with questions as he was perplexed.


    Why did Touka succeed at summoning the ghost?


    Why did the ghost attempt to kill Suzu?


    Why did it disappear?


    ¡°Su-Suzu-san, are you okay?¡± Saku called out to Suzu.


    ¡°¡­ Oh, I see.¡± Suzu responded, dimly, her eyes vacant and staring at the ceiling. The blood running out from her neck stained her sweater in red. Oddly, though, she didn¡¯t seem to feel any pain. Saku tried to help her stand up despite her strange attitude, which gave him an uneasy feeling.


    ¡°Are you okay? Let me help you patch this¡ª¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was.¡±


    Suzu didn¡¯t respond to his question. She just kept muttering to herself and blinking incessantly.


    She stood up while swaying, put on her shoes and walked unsteadily, as if she was being manipulated by strings.


    She took a step outside after opening the door. Suzu left the apartment while looking as if she got her soul extracted from her body.


    The carpet was covered in blood stains.


    Saku and Touka were left alone.


    ***


    ¡°I wonder what all of that was,¡± Touka Said, her chin resting on the tabletop.


    Saku shook his head, indicating his confusion.


    With a squint, Touka continued, ¡°This is truly worrying. Everything was so strange with that woman. As the young maiden I am, I don¡¯t feel like leaving this matter in the dark.¡±


    Touka would no longer spend her days shutting herself inside the kotatsu since she became concerned about Suzu¡¯s case a few days ago. This made Saku delighted. But at the same time, he agreed with Touka in not leaving Suzu alone after what happened. Regrettably however, they didn¡¯t ask Suzu for her phone number or home address. There was no way for them to reach her.


    Saku shook his head, attempting to lighten the mood.


    He set a bag on the table that he had brought from his part-time job at the convenience store. It was full of Touka¡¯s favorite snacks. Placing his hand on Touka¡¯s head, he said, ¡°For now, just forget about it and eat this.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Saku-kun is being sweet to me! This is a good day.¡±


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s better than having you in a state where you can¡¯t even eat.¡±


    Rummaging through the contents of the bag, Touka first picked up a sweet bean-jam bun and took a bite of its soft white dough.


    Her appetite had returned, most likely because she had been thinking about Suzu¡¯s case almost constantly.


    Saku was grateful to Suzu for bringing them her case. For him, it was certainly what they call a blessing in disguise.


    He despised seeing Touka in such a vulnerable state. As much as he felt sorry for Suzu, her incident had a positive impact on Touka. But there was one lingering question in his mind that bothered him now and then.


    (What did Suzu-san realize before she left in the end?)


    There was no way he could come up with an answer simply by thinking about it. Saku rolled up the kotatsu cushion and slid in next to Touka. He placed his chin on the tabletop and deeply exhaled. While warming up, he began telling a story he had heard at his part-time job.


    ¡°I heard there was a child that went missing in the nearby elementary school. Things have gotten pretty disturbing lately.¡±


    ¡°¡­ A missing child?¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been reported yet due to an issue involving the parents, but an elementary school student has been missing for a week. You should be careful not to get kidnapped, too, when you go outside,¡± He warned Touka.


    The women of the Fujisaki clan are prone to attract misfortune.


    Nobody could deny that she could get involved and then vanish like that elementary school kid.


    ¡°A missing elementary school child, hm.¡±


    Unaware of Saku¡¯s concern, Touka started pondering and mumbling to herself.


    ¡°¡­ Elementary school¡­ Park next to her workplace¡­ The trigger that made her remember¡­¡±


    Pokopen! The next moment, her smartphone made a dumbfounding sound.


    Touka peered into the screen. Her expression turned grim. Saku craned his neck to see what was going on. Touka directed her phone toward him. It was an email sent to the mail address in Touka¡¯s homepage. Saku silently read the short message displayed on the screen.


    ¡°Thank you for helping last time. I am Suzu Morita. I will start over. Please forget about what happened the other day.¡±


    ¡°¡­ She will start over¡­ Please forget about what happened? What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°We will go looking for her workplace tomorrow,¡± Touka abruptly declared, driving Saku to title his head in further confusion.


    As far as he knew, there was absolutely no way for them to find where Suzu was working.


    ¡°Hold on a minute¡­ Oh, there it is.¡±


    Touka searched through Saku¡¯s bookshelf and pulled out a map of the area. Next, she found an antique compass. Laying the map on the table, she first drew a circle around the nearby elementary school. Then she drew another circle around the largest public park near the school. As a result, a nursery school was caught within that circle.


    ¡°I drew a circle around the range in which elementary school kids would most likely act, and another one in which daycare kids would go for a walk¡­ Suzu said that she remembered her ghost friend when she was watching kids playing in a park, while she was at work. Then, she probably works here. While taking the daycare kids for a walk, she ran into elementary school students playing in the park. It was then, when she remembered the ghost.¡±


    ¡°How did you know all of this?¡±


    ¡°This is merely a hunch, but I think that she is somewhat related to the kidnapping of the elementary school child,¡± Touka claimed, without hesitation. Glaring at the mark she drew around the nursery school, she continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure she was a good friend with the ghost, too.¡±


    Saku had no idea of what she was saying.


    Nevertheless, he decided to visit the nursery school with her the next day.


    ***


    ¡°Suzu Morita has been absent from work without permission for quite some time now.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°You are acquaintances, aren¡¯t you? Could you please warn her to return? Also, could you give her this? What? You don¡¯t know her address? You¡¯re her co-worker from a part time job? In that case¡­¡±


    Saku and Touka were handed a large amount of printouts.


    They succeeded in obtaining Suzu¡¯s home address.


    It was quite unbelievable in this age of privacy protection.


    Fortunately, the principal of the nursery school was the type of person who doesn¡¯t care about details. Her mind seemed to be occupied only with the troublesome thoughts of Suzu being absent without notice. Thus, the first step in Saku and Touka¡¯s plan of meeting Suzu once again was successful.


    They walked around the city while relying on the adresse they were given. It was slightly cloudy. They passed through many deserted alleys before eventually, they reached an apartment complex.


    Within the old-looking townscape, a house stood as if buried beneath the complex¡¯s shade.


    Judging from the fact there were no newspapers or letters in its mailbox, someone was most likely still living there. Garbage bags however, were lined up in front of the entrance door, emanating an ambiance of neglect.The grass of the yard was also overgrown.


    Saku instinctively hesitated to enter inside. But he reached for the buzzer, anyway.


    Right before he could touch it, Touka grabbed his wrist. She was making a solemn face.


    ¡°It¡¯s highly likely there is someone abducted inside.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    Touka¡¯s assertion was incomprehensible for Saku. But he still believed that she must have some sort of basis that made her reach such a conclusion. Saku remembered the elementary school kidnapping case and nodded with a meek expression.


    Touka quietly put her hand on the entrance door. Slowly, she opened it by sliding it to the right side.


    The door wasn¡¯t locked.


    The presence of someone was coming from inside.


    Noise could be slightly heard from the entrance. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they happened to run into Suzu at any time.


    And yet, Touka still stepped inside.


    They both broke into the house. They saw the silhouette of someone moving in the kitchen as they sneaked down the hallway. Ignoring it, Touka made her way deeper into the house. But nobody was there. She stood in the middle of the altar room and tilted her head.


    It was at that moment when they heard a creaking sound in the ceiling.


    Touka and Saku nodded to each other and climbed the stairs.


    The second floor was dimly lit. Several doors were lining up in an old hallway. Guessing from the sound of the creaking, Touka opened one of the doors. The lights were turned on inside the room. It was a small japanese-style room with a chest of drawers next to one of its walls and a futon in its center. Saku inadvertently caught his breath when he shifted his gaze to the center.


    There was a little girl sitting on top of the futon.


    A skinny elementary school girl, looking at them with frightened eyes.


    Saku, taken aback, let out a squeezed voice from the back of his throat.


    ¡°Why is she here, in Suzu-san¡¯s house?¡±


    ¡°The identity of the ghost she used to be friends with was an invisible human being. Now that she realized the truth, she is trying to start over, making up for the mistakes she committed last time.¡±


    What is an invisible human?


    What in the world is Touka talking about?


    As always, Saku didn¡¯t have the smallest clue of what was happening. The one thing he was certain of was that he needed to save the elementary school girl in front of him.


    With hushed footsteps, Saku and Touka approached the little girl.


    A closer look on her revealed dark blue bruises on her skin. Saku frowned when he noticed signs of violence on the girl¡¯s body. It was difficult to imagine it coming from Suzu, who appeared to be quite composed. But people sometimes act in ways that contradict their outward appearances.


    In a low voice, Touka spoke to the little girl.


    ¡°Listen to me well. We¡¯re here to pick you up. As the young maiden I am, I can¡¯t leave you in this distorted situation. And besides, I have my reasons to save people who need help. That would be the bare minimum of atonement for my sin¡­ So could you please come with us?¡±


    ¡°Sis! Someone is here!¡±


    The little girl suddenly shouted in a loud voice.


    Saku became speechless.


    Why would the kidnapped victim call the culprit for help? Why does Touka consider helping others as atonement? The situation was only getting more confusing for him. But now was not the time to ponder those questions.


    Instantly, A thudding noise of footsteps echoed from the first floor.


    Running through the hallway like a storm, someone rushed to the door of the room and opened it wide.


    The knife in her hand glowed in the dim light.


    Saku stared at her, unable to believe what he was witnessing.


    Suzu was directing a loathsome scowl at them.


    The little girl scuttled over to Suzu and hid behind her back.


    ¡°Sis, don¡¯t let go of me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will protect you.¡±


    Saku reached an unprecedented level of confusion.


    Suzu is trying to protect the elementary school girl.


    As far as he knew, the girl was kidnapped for a week now.


    On the other hand, Touka seemed to be fully conscious of the situation.


    She looked Suzu straight in the eyes. And with a dignified voice, she declared, ¡°You mustn¡¯t misunderstand.¡±


    Suzu pointed the knife in her direction.


    Saku checked on Touka¡¯s expression.


    She looked undaunted.


    Then, she continued with words that he did not expect.


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s death was not your fault.¡±


    ***


    ¡°¡­ What¡¯s the meaning of all this?¡±


    ¡°I succeeded in conjuring the spirit of Suzu-san¡¯s said ghost. At that point, it became apparent that the death of a human was involved in her past. Additionally, an ordinary person can never encounter a friendly spirit,¡± Touka replied at Saku¡¯s question.


    Then what would that make of the ghost that was friends with Suzu?


    A trick of memory? Touka shook her head, denying that possibility.


    ¡°Suzu-san remembered the existence of her ghost friend when she was watching elementary school kids playing in a public park. The trigger to those memories would be this kidnapped girl. She has bruises on her skin. The dark blue color implies the bruises are old. This means that the girl used to be beaten by her family and not Suzu. In short, Suzu remembered her ghost friend when she saw a little girl that seemed to be abused by her parents.


    ¡°¡­ Meaning what?¡±


    ¡°The identity of the ghost is a little girl that once existed. Most likely Suzu-san¡¯s sister.¡±


    Touka disclosed the despicable truth. But Saku still had another question. That is the reason Suzu believed that her sister was a friendly ghost. When he expressed his doubts, Touka started describing a certain family issue.


    ¡°Suzu said that she used to hear rapping noises. It was the sound caused by her sister. Yet, her parents would claim that they didn¡¯t hear or see anything. Suzu¡¯s sister was being neglected.¡±


    ¡°You mean, her parents were acting as if she didn¡¯t exist in that house?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that would be the case¡­ But Suzu and the neglected girl became friends¡­ The conjured spirit clearly hated her for a reason.¡±


    The spirit of the girl attempted to kill Suzu.


    It was carrying a strong grudge towards her.


    And for what reason?


    ¡°I suspect that because Suzu-san was getting along so well with her sister, her parents could no longer ignore her and so, they decided to dispose of her. You remember when Suzu-san talked about ¡®some accident in the bathroom and many people visiting the house?¡¯ Since then the ghost stopped appearing. The neglected girl was murdered in such a way that it appeared to be a domestic accident.¡±


    ¡°She got drowned in the bathtub?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. The invisible girl stopped existing for real and Suzu-san could no longer see the ghost¡­ You recalled all of this the other day, didn¡¯t you?¡± Touka addressed Suzu.


    Trembling as she held the knife, Suzu refused to answer. But Touka continued, regardless, ¡°The cause that made you open the sealed lid to your memories was the conditions I told you about conjuring spirits¡­ As well as your experience with the invoked ghost. Therefore, you decided to protect the girl who was the initial trigger to remembering your past, on behalf of your former sister.¡±


    The elementary school girl clung to Suzu, who responded by placing her hand on her back.


    Looking at Touka straight in the eyes, she slowly lowered the tip of the knife.


    Her eyes were black and clear. There was neither anger nor sadness there.


    It was then when Suzu, for the first time since they met her today, spoke.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re right. I will protect this girl. I will protect this little girl who is likely to be killed like my sister if I leave her alone. My sister would surely forgive me if I did that.¡±


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s spirit vanished when she heard you yell ¡®Forgive me, mom.¡¯ You probably suffered a great deal of abuse too, that you just forgot about. You can take my word when I tell you that you¡¯ve already been forgiven. What you are doing right now is a crime. There must be other ways to help that child.¡±


    ¡°Like what? We raise a case and make it public? We tell her school? We go visit her parents every now and then? Who could guarantee that anyone will make it in time before this child is killed!¡± Suzu hollered, abruptly. Her dry eyes rapidly became moist and tears spilled down her cheeks. She hunched forward as if she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and started crying like a baby.


    ¡°What will you do if I don¡¯t make it in time? You¡¯re telling me not to act out when I know there¡¯s a child about to get killed? And then¡­ Then, if she dies, how am I supposed to live this time!¡±


    Watching Suzu in tears, the elementary school girl gave her a hug by putting her arms around her jeans-wrapped leg. She seemed to be holding back her tears.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Sis.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡¯m okay.¡±


    ¡°I want to stay with you, sis. You don¡¯t hit me. You don¡¯t put my face in water. You also don¡¯t pour hot water on me. You¡¯re nicer. I want to be with you.¡± The little girl burst into tears. She strongly embraced Suzu.


    The pair desperately clung to each other.


    Saku and Touka were speechless.


    Suzu, in front of them, wiped away her tears and said, ¡°To tell the truth, I¡¯m a person who is better off dead.¡±


    Her words were awfully hollow.


    It was because they were hollow that they depicted her true feelings.


    Touka weakly clenched her fist. Perhaps she understood something in Suzu¡¯s words; Something that pierced her heart. Saku widened his eyes. He attempted to refute Suzu¡¯s claim in haste.


    ¡°That¡¯s not ¡ª¡±


    ¡°It is! I was supposed to die at that time, when I sacrificed my innocent sister. But right now¡­ I feel like I want to live, for the sake of this girl.¡±


    Those were also her serious, true feelings.


    With a clang, the knife fell to the floor.


    Suzu hugged the little girl tightly.


    She then concluded, giving Saku and Touka a radiant smile, ¡°¡ª Now, leave.¡±


    It was a voice brimming with strong determination.


    Neither Saku or Touka had the words to reply.


    Thus, they left the house, in silence.


    ***


    The next day, Saku and Touka visited Suzu¡¯s house once again.


    The door was unlocked. Inside, there were signs of hurriedly packed luggage and items.


    Inside the empty house, Touka uttered, ¡°I thought that this is the wrong way of solving the problem. Suzu was undeniably a victim, even if she was the indirect cause of her sister¡¯s death. Unlike me, she was supposed to be rescued¡­ That is why I wanted to convince her¡­ I wonder if there was something else I could¡¯ve done for her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for the best if two people who believe they don¡¯t deserve to live, could join hands and live on, together.¡±


    Saku couldn¡¯t think of anything to react to Touka¡¯s speech. Meanwhile, as if she was assessing her words, one by one, Touka continued, ¡°If a person who once wished to die could live on, then let them be.¡±


    Touka sounded as if she was addressing herself with her speech. Saku, as always, couldn¡¯t find the right words to reply. According to Touka, he ¡°knows nothing¡± about her. Then whatever he might say, it would probably not reach her. Instead, Saku looked up at the ceiling, and contemplated.


    The meaning of life and the meaning of death.


    The weight of life and death shifts very easily.


    Suzu used to deeply wish for her death.


    But then, she found a value in her life, making her forget her reason to die.


    That much is enough to be grateful for.


    Which is why Saku suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s wish, Touka.¡±


    ¡°Wish?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the least thing we can do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ You¡¯re right,¡± Touka nodded.


    She closed her eyes, following Saku.


    Both of them wished.


    They wished for a happy future to be waiting for Suzu and the little girl.


    At the very least.


    May good fortune find them.

 Volume 1 - CH 4

    Suzu and the elementary school girl vanished together.


    They have not yet been found. The decision they made and the way it ended were both sad and hopeless. However, Touka regained the lively spirit she had lost in recent days. At least Suzu and the elementary school girl chose to live together. Nobody had died.


    A person who used to believe they were unworthy of life had decided to live.


    That fact sparked a small flame in Touka¡¯s heart.


    I must do what I can, too.


    With such declaration, Touka resumed her ringfit activities.


    The outcome was a stunning defeat.


    ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t-uu¡±


    ¡°I missed those whines of yours.¡±


    The path to completing all of the levels appears to be long and steep.


    Spreading her arms wrapped in a jersey, Touka moaned as she slumped against the floor.


    ¡°Uuh, this is all because I¡¯m a degraded instance¡­ A splendidly degraded copy¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on now Touka, you can do this. Go!¡±


    ¡°How carefree of you! Just wait until I upload a video of myself playing ringfit!¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind, as long as you¡¯re motivated.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also incite a storm of criticism from the audience.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why?¡±


    Thus, Saku and Touka regained their normal lifestyle.


    But at the same time, while they were going about their usual daily lives, their surroundings were undergoing a fatal change.


    It all started one day, when Saku and Touka went out together.


    The sky was gray, and it looked like it was about to snow at any moment.


    It was then when an uninvited guest appeared on their doorstep.


    ***


    ¡°It¡¯s been forever since the last time we went out together like this.¡±


    ¡°I know right. You¡¯ve been shutting yourself away when it comes to anything but groceries, after all.¡±


    While talking, the pair exited the supermarket through the automatic door. The next customer entered the store a few moments later. Saku felt the warm air from inside the store wrap around his back. The sound of the store announcements reached their ears before disappearing once again when the door closed.


    Listening to the clatter coming from the main street, Saku picked up his grocery bags.


    Today was an unusual one, as Touka went out shopping with Saku.


    She would most of the time stay in the house, not showing any interest in Saku¡¯s outdoor activities. But when he told her he¡¯d let her pick the ingredients for the new year¡¯s hot pot, she gladly agreed to join him. She agreed so obediently that Saku started considering if he should bait her with food more often.


    If he did, perhaps Touka¡¯s NEET lifestyle would improve. But then he¡¯d have to be concerned about her weight. Ignorant of Saku¡¯s reflection, Touka said, innocently, ¡°We bought a lot, didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Now we¡¯re all set and ready.¡±


    They went out today in order to prepare for New Year¡¯s Eve.


    During the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, the Fujisaki clan usually has a lot of events to attend to. Touka, who failed to become the clan¡¯s God, and Saku, on the other hand, were exempted from participating. Precisely, they are allowed to attend the events of the clan, but they are never directly invited. Therefore, the both of them would plan a small new year¡¯s celebration in Saku¡¯s apartment.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to this. The new year¡¯s party of the clan that believes in nothing but spiritual abilities is utter crap. But a party with you, Saku-kun, is definitely something to look forward to,¡± Touka stated firmly.


    ¡°Mind your language, Touka. I don¡¯t want to hear you saying the word crap again.¡±


    ¡°Okaay. You never stop acting like my mom, do you?¡±


    Touka pursed her lips and wrapped her arms around Saku¡¯s elbow before cracking a smile.


    Saku tilted the bags he was carrying and felt their weight increase, but he didn¡¯t mind.


    Touka giggled innocently as she peered into one of those bags.


    ¡°We got both Kagamimochi and rice cakes for the soup. This is getting exciting.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s make rice cakes out of what¡¯s left later.¡±


    ¡°I read on the internet that rice cake pizza is also delicious!¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a caloric disaster.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, come on! Let¡¯s eat good!¡±


    Touka seemed content. Her elegant face was lit up with a smile reminiscent of a cat taking a sunbath.


    Saku unconsciously smiled as he watched her delighted expression.


    He spent a lot of money on the party this year.


    He even made a reservation for new year¡¯s cuisine at the convenience store where he works. In addition, he also bought soba noodles, ingredients for tempura and for hotpot, as well as a large amount of ice cream.


    He did all of this because he saw Touka in that melancholic state. He tried everything to make her happy again. And, as a result of his efforts, Touka now appeared lively and distant from death, which relieved him deeply.


    With something to look forward to, their steps naturally became lighter.


    They kept walking, passing by a familiar road where someone was walking their dog in the freezing cold. After slightly bowing their heads as a greeting, Saku and Touka hurried back home. Their apartment should be visible in a few seconds.


    Touka looked up at the sky, exhaling a white breath.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s going to snow soon.¡±


    The sky was gray.


    It appeared as if it would begin to snow at any moment. The scenery of the garden with dancing white flashed in Saku¡¯s mind. It felt like it happened a century ago. Nonetheless, he will never forget that scene. He¡¯d remember that black within the white space for the rest of his life.


    Feeling a slight pain in his chest, Saku shook off the cherry blossom blizzard in his head.


    Touka shifted her gaze back forward. Saku, too, looked at the end of the road.


    There, They both noticed a girl at the same time.


    It was the uninvited guest who appeared in front of them.


    ***


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    A plain greeting welcomed them when they arrived. Saku was struck with an inexpressible sense of discomfort when he heard the high pitched voice of the girl in front of them. She was standing there with a suitcase. A porcelain-white skin, a slim build, long black hair, and dark eyes. She was wearing an orange duffel coat and was smiling. Her face was so pretty that it seemed out of place.


    Saku had a hunch that the girl in front of him was not your typical young lady.


    She is a Fujisaki.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Saku Fujisaki and Touka Fujisaki. My name is Adaka Fujisaki. Well, I say Fujisaki, but I¡¯m really just like you, a member of a branch family.¡±


    The girl, Adaka, grinned.


    Saku was unsurprised by her self-introduction.


    Many people are descended from Fujisaki branch families. Those who belong to the head house can be numbered on the fingers of one hand, and they live their lives surrounded by God.


    Saku wondered what a girl from a branch family would seek from them.


    All of a sudden, Adaka pressed her hand against her chest and made a graceful bow.


    Then, She spit blood-curdling words.


    ¡°Recently, girls who were formerly considered for the position of God have been slain one after the other. This is happening in both the head house and the branch families.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Unbelievable!¡± Saku exclaimed, frowning. He¡¯d never received a call about such disturbing occurrences.


    The girl shook her head and continued her story, seeming awfully composed.


    ¡°I understand your surprise, but it¡¯s true. I, too, had not received any news from the head house. I just happened to know about it from the news of my cousin¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate you informing me of this. But, what is it that you¡­¡±


    ¡°I also have a request for you, Saku-san, former candidate¡¯s servant.¡±


    ¡°I refuse.¡±


    The conversation had taken an unpleasant turn.


    Thus, Saku made the decision to decline before even hearing Adaka¡¯s request. Adaka, on the other hand, pouted, emphasizing her gleaming, glossy lips. Ignoring Saku¡¯s reluctance, she continued, ¡°That is incredibly cold of you. But I shall insist on hearing my request. The problem is that the young man who used to serve me when I was still a candidate had naturally ceased all touch when I couldn¡¯t become God. I currently have no one to protect me. So, Saku-san.¡±


    ¡°Stop right there. Saku-kun is not your property.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you, did I? Hey, Saku-san.¡±


    Touka jumped in front of Adaka, hands crossed, but Adaka ignored her claim. She tilted her head, solemnly looking at Saku. Then, with a sweet voice, she said, ¡°¡ª Please protect me.¡±


    She peered into Saku¡¯s eyes which then reflected her face like a mirror.


    Seeing her reflection, she smiled, looking genuinely satisfied.


    ***


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why Saku should protect you! Go back home!¡±


    ¡°My parents have already given me permission. Saku-san has been an excellent escort while you have been working as a spiritual investigator. He¡¯s the perfect choice to pick for a bodyguard, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Yes he is! But as my escort, not yours! In the first place, Saku-kun is protecting me out of goodwill, not obligation! He¡¯s not yours! Try your luck again another time!¡±


    ¡°That being said, I doubt Saku-san would drive out a weak girl in danger of murder. Am I right?¡± Adaka¡¯s eyes furrowed as she sat in Saku¡¯s apartment.


    Saku poured a cup of soy tea, exhausted by their chat. He hadn¡¯t used the guest cup in a long time.


    Adjusting the temperature of the tea to the right degree, he offered the cup to Adaka who grabbed it by its flower-ornamented handle with a word of thanks.


    Touka, sitting next to Adaka, looked as if she was about to bite on her.


    She would most likely begin with her head if Saku doesn¡¯t pay enough attention.


    Saku raised his hands in an attempt to calm both of them down., then proceeded, ¡°You¡¯re name¡¯s Adaka, right? I¡¯m also against you being here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you want to send me off to solitude?¡±


    ¡°I think you should seek police assistance.¡±


    ¡°You know I can¡¯t talk to the cops about the Fujisaki clan¡¯s God. I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t do anything if I just told them I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to be murdered.¡±


    ¡°You still got to try.¡±


    ¡°My parents have lost all interest in me since the day I was no longer a candidate and refused to hire a guard. If anything were to happen, I doubt they¡¯d risk their lives to protect me. That left me with the only option of staying with the person I trust the most in this situation.¡± Adaka spoke with eloquence.


    Enduring his headache, Saku voiced the first doubt that occurred to him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the basis for your trust in me.¡±


    ¡°There is no basis. I¡¯m just so confident.¡±


    ¡°I need at least one reason.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my feminine intuition.¡±


    Saku exhaled a deep sigh.


    Her explanation was a jumbled mess. But she was correct in one aspect: Saku cannot drive her out. His ethics will not let him abandon a girl who claims she is in danger of dying.


    Adaka knew about his good nature and deepened her grin. She licked her lips and went on, ¡°And by the way. I won¡¯t ask you to protect me for free. I¡¯ll pay for rent and the escort out of my personal savings while I¡¯m here. I can also offer you some special service if you wish.¡±


    ¡°You should value your body!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it! I¡¯m biting your head off!¡±


    ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t abandon your humanity, Touka!¡±


    Saku stopped Touka from jumping at Adaka by holding her back. He shook her back and forth to get her to relax.


    In the meantime, Adaka maintained her cool and elegantly swept her black hair off her shoulders. She then made a surprised face and grabbed for her pocket.


    ¡°Oh yeah, right. I forgot to show you this.¡±


    From there, she took out an envelope and opened it on top of the kotatsu. With a slight sound, the images within the envelope spread all over the table. Saku became speechless when he saw their content.


    It was a dead girl.


    The girl was dead inside a bathtub. Her legs were oddly aligned and protruding from the tub. She had probably slit her wrists. The water was fully dyed in red. It was a heinous and gruesome photograph of a dead body.


    Overcome with shock, Saku asked, ¡°¡­ What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°These are pictures that were sent to the head house. It appears to have been a suicide.¡±


    ¡°To the head house? A suicide?¡± Saku furrowed his brow in reaction to Adaka¡¯s reply.


    What could be the meaning behind sending these pictures to the head house?


    Adaka began summarizing the situation based on her own investigation.


    ¡°A former servant for an ex-candidat, just like you Saku-san, had suddenly sent these photos to the head house. The girl in these photos was his master. One of the countless girls who were not chosen to become God. Unlike me, they kept their master-servant relationship even when the girl was no longer a candidate¡­ The man was caught by the police when the head house informed them.¡±


    ¡°Is he still captured?¡±


    ¡°No. The case has been considered as a suicide and they say the man was release almost right away¡­ But then he vanished, and now ex-candidate girls are being murdered one by one.¡±


    ¡°Could the man be the perpetrator of the murders then?¡± Saku voiced the first remark that came to mind.


    Adaka returned a quick nod.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking, right?¡± Saku asked, turning to face her.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve heard the man is as tall as a grizzly. You better be careful, Saku-san.¡±


    ¡°This looks similar to the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Saku tilted his head in response to Touka¡¯s impression on the pictures. She was holding one of them in her hand and staring at it with piercing eyes. Adaka kept an unsettling eye on her. Raising back her gaze, Touka blinked repeatedly before she asked, ¡°What? You don¡¯t know the little mermaid¡¯s suicide? What about you Adaka? Does the head house know about it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I know¡­ Neither does the head house, I believe.¡±


    ¡°Could it be related to the case of the angel¡¯s suicide? They have similar names.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This current fad is a variant of it¡­ more like a derivative trend,¡± Touka explained as she reached her hand to her smartphone. ¡°We were successful in averting the global spread of suicide caused by that new icon¡­ But it has entrenched people¡¯s fascination in ¡®beautiful suicide¡¯ in its place. Creating a replica of The Angel¡¯s suicide, though, is difficult.¡±


    ¡°I bet it is. It was merely a product of coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Instead, this is what¡¯s secretly trending right now.¡±


    Touka shifted her phone¡¯s screen to Saku. It displayed a forum page with black font and red background. Saku desperately skimmed through the topics being discussed there.


    It was apparently a site for discussing ¡®dark¡¯ topics.


    Currently, all the threads were about a particular suicide case.


    ¡°This is really getting viral. I know someone in my school who died this way.¡±


    ¡°Here are some pictures.¡±


    ¡°I bet there are more cases that are still not leaked, since most of them are talked about in private.¡±


    Saku squinted, wondering what those topics were about.


    Noticing his confused expression, Touka explained, ¡°The authorities are reportedly withholding information about these occurrences out of fear that they become a trend, similar to the angel¡¯s suicide. Nonetheless, this unusual behavior of committing suicide in a bathtub by cutting one¡¯s wrists and joining one¡¯s legs outside the tub appears to be common among students. The legs aligned outside the tub resemble the tail of a mermaid, hence the name ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡¯¡±


    ¡°This is terrible.¡±


    ¡°What makes this type of suicide different from the angel¡¯s suicide is the message implied within it.¡±


    ¡°A message?¡±


    A suicide is a suicide. A dead body is a dead body.


    What¡¯s the point of leaving a message in the first place?


    That was Saku¡¯s honest impression.


    But Touka continued to explain the difference.


    ¡°As it¡¯s name implied, this suicide is meant ¡®to make the body look like a mermaid,¡¯ right? That is why it is thought that anyone who died in this stance must have unfinished business or a lingering attachment to the world.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Okay?¡±


    The mermaid princess did indeed turn into bubbles while drowning in sorrow. She is a symbol of unfulfilled love.


    Therefore, ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide¡¯ is said to have a similar meaning.


    ¡°In fact, ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide¡¯ can¡¯t be completed without the help of second person. The whole point of it is to send a picture of the person at the moment of their death to the one who is causing them grief. Perhaps to someone who has cheated on them or broken their heart. As long as the receiving side knows of ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide¡¯ and the message implied within it, they will be able to understand and feel their sorrow. That¡¯s the kind of suicide this is.¡±


    ¡°Such an unpleasant way for revenge.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more likely done out of pure spite for revenge. Because of this, it has become a popular practice among students to send such pictures to their lost love through messaging applications.¡±


    ¡°I wish they had chosen something different to start a trend with.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Also, there is this one rumor that¡¯s been whispered from ear to ear recently.¡± Touka abruptly came to a halt in her speech. Adaka seemed to be appalled as she listened to her fluent explanation. After alternately gazing at her and the pictures on the table, she finally continued, ¡°There are true murder cases in disguise among the many little mermaid¡¯s suicides.¡±


    ¡°¡­ So could this mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But the culprit had sent these pictures to the head house¡­ It needs to be significant.¡± Touka whispered.


    Adaka wrapped her arms around her body, frightened.


    Saku softly bit his lower lip as he had a bad feeling.


    ***


    Three days have passed since Adaka moved into Saku¡¯s apartment.


    She¡¯s been sleeping and waking up modestly since then. She even started cooking and cleaning the house recently. That¡¯s the least she can do as a freeloader, she would say with a smile.


    Saku was fine with her current demeanor.


    But Touka; She was furious.


    ¡°I¡¯d start cooking and cleaning the entire house if that means I could get back our lives together alone! Here, I will start by frying eggs!¡±


    That¡¯s how much she can¡¯t forgive Adaka for breaking into her life with Saku.


    She acted like a provoked cat in the house, forcing Saku to lure her outdoors with food. After all, it is the owner¡¯s responsibility to soothe their cat¡¯s worry.


    And now, they are taking a walk together in the town.


    ¡°Touka, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s about time you calm down now? Here¡¯s a steamed sweet bun.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand my rage! You certainly don¡¯t have to be mine¡­ I know that¡­ I know. But still, I can¡¯t help but feel angry about this current situation!¡±


    It happened while they were on their way back from their walk.


    A black box car pulled up to their apartment¡¯s parking lot.


    ¡°¡­ hm?¡±


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    Its door opened with a heavy thud and a man came out from inside, blocking their path.


    An enormous shadow figure emerged from inside the car.


    The man was as big as a bear, with long black hair covering his entire face.


    He turned to face them the next second.


    Horrified, Saku felt his blood running cold. The man matched Adaka¡¯s description of the murderer. Memories of being almost snatched by the perpetrator of the falling internal organs case rushed across his head.


    Saku took a step forward to defend Touka before he realized it.


    The man¡¯s fist crashed into his gut before he could take the second step.


    ¡°¡­ Agh!¡±


    ¡°Saku-kun!¡±


    He had no idea of what had just happened to him.


    The man stepped in far too quickly.


    Saku dropped all his luggage, kneeled down on the spot, and started vomiting all over the place. Sour stomach juice stained his nose. Meanwhile, the man grabbed Touka¡¯s arm and dragged her along with him.


    ¡°Wai¡ªt.¡±


    Saku frantically grabbed the man¡¯s ankle.


    His grip was so firm that his fingers sank into his skin.


    The man smirked as he looked down at Saku. He swung his leg up as if about to kick him before abruptly stopping. Touka was clutching his arm.


    ¡°You can kill me instead!¡±


    She was making those same eyes. That cold gaze, as if she was willing to give up her life.


    Saku tried to scold her. He tried to scream and tell her to run. But he couldn¡¯t speak properly.


    The man snickered once more. Then he said something that caught them off guard.


    ¡°You¡¯re just a degraded copy.¡±


    ¡°¡­ !¡±


    Touka¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Her expression reflected how shocking those words were.


    The man continued, with an indifferent tone, ¡°Why are you still alive, huh? Isn¡¯t the only thing that¡¯s left to do for a degraded instance like you is to die beautifully? Now, can you say that to your servant for me? ¡®All I have to do is commit suicide in the guise of beauty.¡¯¡±


    The next moment, Saku kicked the ground and bumped into the man¡¯s stomach with all his might.


    He continued his counterattack, taking advantage of the man¡¯s stagger. Without hesitation, Saku pointed his finger at the man¡¯s eyeball. The man turned his face away. At the same time, Saku kicked his crotch with everything he got.


    The man grunted at this one.


    The instant he bent over, Saku attempted to knee him in the face but failed. The man dodged his knee at the right time. A distance opened between them. Saku was breathing roughly. The safest decision he could take is to run away with Touka.


    However, He was unable to forgive the man.


    Wrath was bubbling inside his head.


    (Don¡¯t screw with me. Don¡¯t screw with me! Don¡¯t fuck with me! Don¡¯t you deny her whole existence!)


    Out of all things, the man had touched Touka¡¯s innermost sorrow. He gouged out the part of her that is coldly attracted to death. That is something that Saku would never allow.


    Saku would have stabbed the man without hesitation if there had been a knife or cleaver around.


    The man realized that he was slightly outmatched by Saku, in his furious state.


    He turned his back on him and escaped by jumping into his boxcar.


    Saku would have followed him if Touka didn¡¯t grab his hand.


    She shook her head, looking like she was about to cry.


    But the man opened the window and dropped the final blow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget. All that¡¯s left for those who have failed to become ¡®God¡¯ is to die.¡±


    Then the man ran away, Leaving Touka sitting and stunned.


    Saku kicked the ground as hard as he could while letting out a beastly grunt.


    ***


    Touka was astonished. She didn¡¯t speak a word that describes what she thought of the man¡¯s words. She just went, silently, back into her kotatsu and curled up in its warmth.


    Saku thought her reaction was understandable.


    The man¡¯s abusive language was too destructive for her.


    But after hearing what he said, Saku became certain of one thing.


    The picture of the ¡®little mermaid¡¯s suicide¡¯ was not an actual suicide. It was a murder.


    The man¡¯s master was the first victim.


    While hiding under the kotatsu, Touka said, ¡°He will probably come back for me.¡±


    Saku thought so, too. He couldn¡¯t get this awful feeling out of his head.


    Touka continued, with a hollow voice, ¡°For some reason, he did not terminate his master-servant relationship with the girl. But one day, he came to realize the ¡°insignificancy¡± of her existence and killed her. Then he probably awakened to the pleasure of murdering those who failed to ascend. Those who couldn¡¯t become God are the most meaningless people in the world, after all.¡±


    Saku strongly disagreed with her.


    It was once spoken to him under the cherry blossoms.


    ¡ª¡ª It doesn¡¯t have to be meaningful.


    ¡°However, there is a meaning in ending their life in a beautiful way. Maybe that¡¯s what he thought.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Your existence is meaningless, indeed,¡± a cool voice struck Saku¡¯s ears.


    For a moment, he didn¡¯t recognise who said what. A few seconds later, he finally came back to his senses.


    They were Adaka¡¯s words. Today she is wearing an orange knit with a tight black skirt and tights. And as a matter of course, she was sitting in the kotatsu.


    With a charming smile that could even be described as bewitching, she continued as if she was chanting, ¡°Touka-san, your existence is truly meaningless. You know that very well yourself, don¡¯t you? I have heard rumors about your activities as a spiritual detective. With that taken into consideration, nevertheless, let me say this. Your spiritual abilities are inferior to mine. Despite having an outstanding servant, like Saku-san, by your side, you still can only conjure the dead who hold grudges against people present on the spot.¡±


    Saku clenched his fist. His bones creaked so loudly that they sounded like they were about to break. But, unaware of his anger, or perhaps despite realizing it, Adaka didn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°You are a degraded instance that doesn¡¯t even deserve to live.¡±


    ¡°Get out, right now!¡± Saku shouted.


    The next moment, Touka jumped out of the kotatsu and ran off.


    She didn¡¯t seem to have misunderstood Saku¡¯s words. Yet, she immediately opened the door and left the apartment after violently closing it behind her back.


    ¡°Touka!¡± Saku raised his voice.


    ¡°Just leave her be, who cares about her, anyway?¡± Adaka responded.


    She clearly sounded amused by the situation.


    ¡°Nobody would be concerned if a meaningless copy vanished.¡±


    Saku ignored her and rushed outside.


    It will start snowing soon.


    Saku pursued Touka in the midst of winter.


    ***


    Touka was standing in the middle of a park.


    Her softly rounded back appeared lonely and quiet.


    Saku, in haste, tried running to her side. But, Touka suddenly blurted, ¡°Can you not get any closer?¡±


    Saku stopped. He exhaled a white breath.


    Touka was still facing the same direction. She was looking into the gloomy, gray sky; Into the abyss.


    Eventually, she asked, ¡°You know I can¡¯t become God, don¡¯t you? So why do you insist on protecting me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit too late to ask such a question? I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re God or not. I just want to keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°Listen, Saku-kun, I will tell you this one more time.¡±


    Touka turned around. Her black hair swayed. Saku was reflected in her clear eyes.


    She was making a frighteningly solemn face.


    Then, she continued, ¡°You were the only person I could rely on. I¡¯ve always relied on your kindness. But your feelings for me are simply the residue of an ingrained habit you developed while serving the girl you believed was God¡­ Well, I knew it all along. Yet, I kept taking advantage of it and I am sorry for that.¡±


    ¡°Touka, what are you talking about¡­ now.¡±


    ¡°You really are not supposed to be concerned about me,¡± She declared, once and for all.


    Saku felt a surge of violent emotions deep within his chest. Touka did have a point, certainly. The soft spot he exposes to her is partly due to his ingrained servant habits. But that is not the only reason.


    The next feeling he had was one of betrayal.


    In his respect, Touka had no right to tell him that.


    Watching him standing, stunned in front of her, she continued, regardless, ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered if this life is worth it. If there is a point in living if I cannot find a meaning in my life. Perhaps today¡¯s events were the final push that brought me to the conclusion.¡±


    Saku felt an illusion of a heavy wind.


    God once said, inside the white space.


    ¡°You see, no matter how unworthy a person would feel they are for living, I¡¯d still want them to live on.¡±


    Now he is listening to Touka saying the exact opposite.


    Saku clenched his fist and asked, as if squeezing out his voice, ¡°I¡¯m trying to protect you¡­ You think that¡¯s not enough for a reason?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Saku-kun,¡± Touka smiled warmly.


    She laughed, softly and happily.


    Then she shook her head, in denial.


    ¡°But that¡¯s just an illusion.¡±


    She stated so calmly, but at the same time, in a tone that drove him away.


    With resignation vivid in her eyes, she declared, ¡°I¡¯m a person who deserves to die.¡±


    Then what does that make of me? Saku thought to himself.


    What am I for not wanting Touka to die?


    What makes of this feeling that cares for her so much?


    Out of all the people out there, it was Touka who dismissed his feelings for her as an illusion.


    The girl in front of him right now had the look on her face that clearly indicated she wouldn¡¯t listen to him.


    Kicking off the ground, Saku yelled out, ¡°Do as you like!¡±


    Then he turned around and ran away into the street.


    It was already getting dark.


    The cold winter air stung his face as he rushed furiously. He would just move his legs without any destination in mind. And after a chaotic run down the gray road, he finally stopped.


    He could feel his lungs burning. He couldn¡¯t put his thoughts into words and in return, He screamed out loud.


    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!¡±


    His cry resonated into the air, causing a huge number of ravens in a neighboring waste dump to take flight.


    A middle aged woman scurried away after she gave him a startled look.


    Saku bowed his head and apologized. He was finally starting to cool off.


    The next moment, he realized that he left Touka alone and hurriedly turned on his heel.


    He left her for only a few minutes.


    Hoping that nothing had happened, Saku frantically rushed back to her side. He desperately retraced the path he had taken while occasionally losing his way and going back to change streets. He arrived at the park on wobbly legs.


    Praying that he would find her slender figure still in the same place, he called her name.


    ¡°Touka!¡±


    There was no response.


    The park was empty.


    But there is still a chance, he thought.


    She probably has gone somewhere else.


    Maybe she just returned to his apartment.


    With such a hopeful thought in mind, Saku went back home.


    ***


    ¡°She got kidnapped for sure. Yeah, definitely,¡± Adaka said with a laugh. She sounded sincerely amused from the way she was talking.


    Saku clenched his hands tightly. It was all his fault that Touka was kidnapped. But he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he wanted to murder Adaka in this exact moment. Unaware or not of his killing intent, Adaka continued, seeming happy, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just leave her alone?¡±


    ¡°You want me to¡­ Give up on her?¡± Saku replied with a low-pitched voice.


    Adaka smiled at him with a provocative expression. She pushed her finger to her lips and murmured seductively, ¡°More importantly, let¡¯s talk about the future. I can¡¯t do this alone. However, with your help, Saku-san, I may be able to become God for real this time. Don¡¯t you think it would be more beneficial for you to work with me?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? The head house has one and only one God,¡± He replied.


    There is only one girl whom all the members of the head house serve and revere.


    She is more powerful than anyone else. Nevertheless, Adaka smiled slightly and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you know? The God of the head house has been dead for a long time now.¡±


    Saku knew about it too.


    ¡ª¡ª He has been told that the girl is God.


    ¡ª¡ª But that girl couldn¡¯t become God.


    ¡ª¡ª And then, God had died.


    Touka wasn¡¯t chosen to become the God of the head house.


    Afterwards, there has been a certain incident in which the current God died.


    However, a new God was never chosen again. Even after her death, God lived on and is always exerting her powers, making the head house proud of her existence ever since.


    Only by overcoming life and death that she truly became a god.


    Yet, Adaka declared, as if she was singing a song, ¡°But this time, God will certainly die.¡±


    The death of God.


    A fact that is too heavy and frightening for the head house to accept.


    It¡¯s a symbol, a loss of power. As a member of the Fujisaki clan, Saku felt the need to know more details of this matter.


    But at this moment, Touka¡¯s whereabouts were of far more importance for him. Ignoring Adaka, Saku turned his back on her and walked to the entrance door. It was at the same time when his phone started ringing. Taking out his phone, he confirmed that the caller was Touka.


    He quickly picked up the call and immediately squeezed out his voice.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill her.¡±


    ***


    ¡°How did you know I was the caller?¡±


    ¡°There is no way Touka would call me right after she disappeared.¡±


    A few seconds passed with the kidnaper being completely silent. Before long, he answered in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m planning to make you¡¯re master suicide.¡±


    ¡°No! I swear don¡¯t you¡ª¡±


    ¡°But before I do that, I need her to do something for me. The issue is that she needs your presence in order to perform what I tell her. Apparently, she¡¯s too uneasy doing it alone. Would it be possible for you to come to the place I tell you?¡±


    ¡°If that means you¡¯ll let here live.¡±


    ¡°That depends on your actions. Don¡¯t call the cops.¡±


    The kidnaper hung the call after he gave Saku the address. Grabbing some cash, Saku once again rushed outside. He stopped a cab in the main street and gave the address to the driver. His heart continued to beat painfully all the way long.


    Finally arriving at the destination, Saku paid the driver and got out of the cab.


    In front of him was an old building.


    It was near the site of the previous internal organs throwing incident.


    The buildings in this area have been abandoned across the board.


    The kidnapper may have discovered this building and chosen it as a convenient hiding place upon learning that Saku and Touka were involved in the incident.


    Saku entered the building.


    Immediately, he sensed a presence on his left.


    He lifted his gaze.


    A large figure was standing.


    A bat swung down, slicing through the air.


    Saku felt a strong shock in his head.


    He didn¡¯t get it.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out what had happened.


    Then, he lost consciousness as if it had been sucked from him.


    He had a dream.


    The kind of dream in which he knew he was dreaming.


    There was a black amidst the white.


    A sudden, strong gust of wind blew.


    The beautiful young girl was fixing her gaze on Saku, in the middle of the sea of blossoms.


    With a slight smile on her face, she said, ¡°¡ª The poor thing.¡±


    She never said those words at that time.


    Then this must be Saku¡¯s subconscious talking to him through the young girl.


    The young girl continued, whispering with a smile, ¡°Still, get up, Saku-kun.¡±


    Don¡¯t you see she¡¯s waiting for you?


    Saku woke up.


    He was inside a gray room.


    The walls were bare concrete.


    Four people of varying ages and genders were tightly chained next to him.


    It was a bizarre sight.


    Saku attempted to grasp his current situation. He tried to desperately calm down. However, he inevitably lost his composure when he spotted the person he was looking for. He let out a voice that sounded like a groan.


    ¡°¡­ A¡ª¡±


    Touka was the only one standing next to the man, with her hands chained.


    She looked at Saku and let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Thanks goodness¡­ You woke up!¡±


    ¡°Touka!¡±


    Saku tried to move to her side. Unfortunately, he had all his limbs tied and couldn¡¯t budge an inch.


    All he could do was awkwardly wriggle on the concrete ground.


    The man nodded his head as he watched him. He tapped Touka¡¯s shoulder in a friendly manner and said, ¡°Alright now, I¡¯ve got him here like you asked¡­ I¡¯ll have you bring it in return.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Touka nodded back.


    Saku couldn¡¯t fathom out the meaning of their conversation. Though, he soon predicted what was going to happen.


    Touka was about to conjure a spirit.


    Saku fell into further confusion, wondering what was on the man¡¯s mind.


    The man killed the girl he used to serve.


    Calling a spirit that carries a grudge against him is a suicidal act.


    Yet, the man didn¡¯t show a sign of stopping Touka.


    Touka gazed at Saku.


    Saku¡¯s eyes reflected her face like a mirror.


    Touka lifted her hands and uttered, ¡°¡ª¡ª Come.¡±


    Nothing happened.


    A deafening hush descended upon the room.


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    ¡°Just as I thought¡­¡±


    The man shook his head, driving Saku¡¯s confusion to a further level.


    ***


    Why did the spirit of the God candidate girl didn¡¯t not appear?


    Her death was undoubtedly a murder.


    As Saku was wondering, Touka shook her head and said, in a calm voice, ¡°The authorities concluded that you only sent the photo of suicide to the head house and that you were not involved in her death¡­ Looks like they were right. The death of you master was indeed a suicide.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?!¡±


    Saku promptly exclaimed.


    But the man briefly nodded in silence.


    In a moderately gentle tone, Touka continued, ¡°You didn¡¯t kill your own master, did you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. My master lost her purpose in life since the day she couldn¡¯t become God. She still lived for seven years, nonetheless. But the other day, she took her own life.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t feel pleasure in killing former candidates, do you? So why did you speak so harshly to me earlier?¡±


    ¡°I hated you for being alive, despite not becoming God, just like my master.¡±


    ¡°So you kidnapped me for the purpose of killing me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one reason. But I¡¯m not planning to kill you if you agree to help me. I needed to be certain¡­ that is why I hoped she would respond to your call.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What the hell are you talking about?¡± Saku asked the man.


    The candidate girl did really commit suicide.


    The man is most likely unrelated with the series of murders, as well. It¡¯s only natural that the spirit didn¡¯t emerge, following Touka¡¯s call. Yet, Saku was still unsure what the man was looking for.


    The man shook his head, a second time, and answered, ¡°I just wanted her to live. She was still the favorite candidate of the head house despite not being chosen to become God. She had various other paths to life, planned just for her. I gave her my blessing. But she didn¡¯t accept her reality. She rebelled against the head house and chose to die with a broken heart.¡±


    ¡°Then, why are you doing this¡­ ?¡±


    ¡°She died out of the blue. And the day before she did, she had met these four people. Her suicide may have been out of despair, but the immediate cause that determined her actions must have been in one of them,¡± the man explained with visible wrath in his eyes.


    The four men and women who were tied up let out bewildered noises. They were all clearly listening in on their talk.


    Throwing them a look as if he was staring at animals, the man declared, ¡°I want to kill the one who is responsible for it.¡±


    A short scream echoed in the room.


    But Saku was thinking about something else.


    He was asking himself, what would he have done if one of these people was responsible for Touka¡¯s death?


    He would kill them.


    Thus, Saku realized that he had no right to stop the man from what he was doing.


    ***


    ¡°The spirit of your master did not appear, which means she has no grudge against anyone in this room. There is no need for revenge as long as she doesn¡¯t despise anyone.¡±


    Touka attempted to persuade the man, but he just reacted by shaking his head in denial.


    Glaring at the four men and women, the man let out a deep voice.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. She was a kind woman, after all. She would never hold a grudge against anyone. But I personally can¡¯t admit that. This is my own decision, my problem.¡± The man glared at the four men and women with eyes filled with fury.


    The four suspects were a middle aged, thin woman, a plump man, a young woman with flashy makeup, and a skinny old man.


    ¡°These people over here are all members of her family.¡±


    In other words, all of them are members of a branch of the Fujisaki clan. If they had been members of the head house, there would have been uproar. But as they are only members of a branch of the clan, nobody would bother looking for them, let alone saving their lives.


    The four men and women trembled in their appeal.


    ¡°How could we have been the cause of Reika-san¡¯s death?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s your fault, no?¡± the plump man suddenly questioned. He pointed to the middle-aged woman with his chin and continued with a muffled voice, ¡°You blamed Reika-san, didn¡¯t you? You relentlessly criticized her for not accepting the offer from the head house, saying that she was ungrateful and that her partner wasn¡¯t so bad.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay, I see. Then what about you? I remember you insulting her for being a parasite, a good-for nothing.¡± The thin middle-aged woman smiled faintly. Swallowing her agitation, she seemed to have admitted her pinch. But on the other hand, she started accusing the plump man with sharp words. ¡°It¡¯s funny how you only blame others and try to get away with it.¡±


    The kidnapper crossed his arms and watched over them.


    The thin woman quietly continued, her eyes like those of a snake, ¡°I recall hearing you calling her a sow¡­ Oh, the poor Reika. I would want to die as well if someone said that to me.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Wasn¡¯t it you who acted the coldest to Reika-san?¡±


    ¡°I act cold to everyone. That¡¯s the kind of woman I am.¡±


    ¡°And besides, you, Ayako. Will you quit acting as if you have nothing to do with this? You know you¡¯re not innocent.¡±


    The plump man turned to the young woman with the flashy makeup, all of a sudden.


    The young woman reacted with a scowl. Though the plump man didn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°According to what I¡¯ve heard, you got into an argument with her and claimed that you were supposed to be chosen for the offer. I related to you at that point. But slapping her was definitely not a good idea. I bet Reika-san was shocked by that slap. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, you¡¯re right! But she forgave me when I apologized for slapping her! There is no way Reika-san would have committed suicide over something as insignificant! I¡¯m unrelated! I have nothing to do with this¡­ I mean, I had no idea she was in so much pain!¡±


    The young woman started weeping tears. She moaned and cried as she shook her head from left to right.


    Then, abruptly, she turned to the old man, giving him a harsh look, and said, as if spitting, ¡°Speaking of making a face as if completely unrelated, wasn¡¯t it you, grandfather, who treated her the worst?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± the old man replied, seeming unfazed.


    The young woman continued, as if biting down on him, ¡°I know what told her! You rebuked her more severely than anyone else did, telling her to go apologize for the head house! And that¡¯s not all! You even threatened to separate her from her servant if she doesn¡¯t listen to you! You knew Reika-san had a heart for her servant and you drove her to a corner like that! Ah¡­ Reika-san, Reika-san, I¡¯m so sorry!¡±


    ¡°Get a grip of yourself. That girl wouldn¡¯t have killed herself over such a trivial matter. And I will tell you this, I am in no way ashamed of the words I have told her that day. It is in accordance with the will of God as a branch family to listen to the orders of the head house. If you believe otherwise, then just kill me. I won¡¯t run, hide, or even resist.¡±


    The old man imposingly responded to the young woman¡¯s accusations.


    The kidnapper gritted his teeth hard.


    Saku began to understand the situation. Apparently, the man¡¯s master, Reika, had a dispute with the head house. It probably had something to do with what the kidnapper had just said.


    ¡°She was still the favorite candidate of the head house despite not being chosen to become God. She had various other paths to life, planned just for her. But she didn¡¯t accept her reality.¡±


    Then, all the other members of her family criticized her.


    Perhaps one of them was the direct trigger to her actions.


    As a result, she committed suicide.


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault¡­¡±


    ¡°There is no way it could be me¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense that one of us is responsible anyway¡­ ¡±


    Each side continued to argue and bicker.


    Soon enough, the kidnapper declared with a low voice, ¡°Whatever. It will be all of you.¡± Maybe things would have turned out differently if only one of them had admitted their sin. But now, only heavy anger remained inside the kidnapper. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you all.¡±


    The young woman let out a shriek. One after the other, they started deploring.


    It¡¯s his fault, it¡¯s hers, him, her, who was it then?


    But their pleas would only stir up the man¡¯s rage.


    During this ruckus that could nearly be described as a farce, Saku realized something.


    Touka¡¯s eyes were filled with sadness.


    Biting her lower lip, she looked as if she was about to cry.


    Soon enough, she opened her mouth.


    ¡°¡­ As the young maiden I am, I can¡¯t keep quiet despite knowing the truth.¡±


    ¡°What is it? You know who killed her?¡± the kidnaper asked.


    Touka briefly nodded in return.


    Saku became horrified.


    He had a feeling that Touka was about to say something critical. But he had no time to stop her since the man immediately continued with a delighted voice, his eyes wide open.


    ¡°Is that so! Then tell me! Who killed Reika-san?!¡±


    Touka raised her hand.


    Then, she pointed at one person.


    Reika¡¯s servant, the kidnapper.


    ***


    ¡°¡­¡­ Me?¡±


    ¡°The clue was ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡¯¡± Touka started explaining, sedately.


    Saku felt compelled to intervene. Her words were way too cruel for the servant.


    But she continued regardless, mercilessly spelling out the truth.


    ¡°It was you who sent that picture to the head house, wasn¡¯t it? You believed that her suicide was a plea of grief. Before you did, it was you who first discovered the body. Or perhaps received the picture from Reika-san. Either way, Reika-san was probably convinced that you¡¯d be the first person to discover her dead body. That only means the person whom Reika-san intended to forward the message of the little mermaid¡¯s suicide was you, if you take time to think about it,¡± She clarified in a nonchalant attitude.


    Saku could only ponder.


    ¡®The little mermaid¡¯s suicide¡¯ is a method of death that carries a heavy message.


    It is a common practice among students to send a picture to someone who understands its hidden meaning, as a way of conveying their grief and regrets.The kidnaper has a correct understanding of ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡¯


    He fulfilled the conditions. Thus Reika chose this way to convey to him her lingering affection.


    ¡°Furthermore, the head house did not know about ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡¯ We already know at this point that Reika-san wasn¡¯t intending to send them her picture. The true meaning of the suicide won¡¯t get conveyed if they¡¯re not told about it beforehand, after all. But you, on the other hand, were told about it in advance¡­ Weren¡¯t you?¡±


    The man started trembling. Her speculation must be on point.


    Touka continued, unconcerned by his reaction, ¡°I can also imagine the kind of sorrow she wanted to convey. You said earlier, ¡®She was still the favorite candidate of the head house despite not being chosen to become God. She had various other paths to life, planned just for her. I gave her my blessings. But she didn¡¯t accept her reality.¡¯ And according to the earlier conversation between these four ladies and gentlemen¡­ Her partner wasn¡¯t so bad. And there is a reason they didn¡¯t choose this woman here instead. Judging from all this, what could be this path that the head house chose for Reika-san? An arranged marriage. She was offered a good match by the head house.¡±


    Saku nodded his head. He also came to the same conclusion from hearing the conversation between the four men and women.


    However, among all these factors, what was the one that drove her the most?


    Why did Reika take her own life?


    And out of all means, chose ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡¯


    ¡®the little mermaid¡¯s suicide¡¯ is a method commonly used by teenagers to convey their broken heart by sending a picture of their dead body to the counter party.


    ¡°You drove her over the edge by giving her your blessing. Reika-san wanted you to stop her. She died of despair¡­ Realizing that you regard her solely as your master. And as a way to convey her broken heart to you, she chose the little mermaid¡¯s suicide.¡±


    The man¡¯s trembling grew more noticeable. He shook his head to the left and right, as if he was possessed.


    Seeming utterly desperate, he started denying.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be! Her partner was a nice and kind man! That match was supposed to make her happy! All I said to her was ¡®how nice!¡¯ And yet, yet! Why¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d die if I were in her shoes.¡±


    Saku rolled his eyes when he heard her response.


    Touka did not retract her words. She kept standing there, proudly.


    Saku, Touka, and four more gazes turned to the man who¡¯d vainly glare into the empty space.


    ¡°¡­ It was me¡­ Me¡­ Just me¡­ ?¡± The man collapsed on the spot, muttering to himself in daze. ¡°It was me?¡±


    Then, he raised his voice and began to cry.


    As though he was attempting to spit out his own heart.


    ***


    Saku, Touka and the four members of the branch family were released. The man said he was going to escape. Although, Saku knew that he was lying.


    The man was most likely going to kill himself.


    He realized that he was the direct reason for the death of the person he cherished the most.


    It¡¯d be hard for him to find a meaning in his life.


    Saku couldn¡¯t stop him.


    He would have done the same thing if he was in his place.


    He wouldn¡¯t be able to live on after killing someone he cared about so much.


    That is why Saku returned home, together with Touka, leaving the man behind.


    ¡°We¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    Both announcing their arrival, they open the door of their apartment, just to be faced by an unexpected scene.


    Crimson red was all over the place.


    Every corner of the scene they were familiar with was dyed in red. The floor was covered in a pool of sticky blood.


    The inside of the living room looked like a scarlet blossom in full bloom.


    In the center of that flower, a young girl was lying.


    It was Adaka Fujisaki with a cut throat.


    The cut was cleft into a crescent shape, seeming like second lips.


    The wound made her dead body appear as if it was sneering at its own death.


    Saku and Touka became speechless. It was at that moment when the door they forgot to lock, opened without a sound.


    ¡°Are you Saku and Touka-san?¡±


    A man in a well-tailored black double suit called out their names.


    Saku recognized him. When he nodded, The man who was giving off the impression of a snake whispered, ¡°God is waiting for your attendance.¡±


    Why are the God candidates getting killed, one after the other?


    Why did Adaka get murdered?


    What is happening to the Fujisaki clan?


    Saku and Touka went off to find out.