Chapter 1

VOLUME 9 – THE SPIRIT OF SALVATION

file 01: encounter (TRANSLATION NOTES)

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That forest summons the spirits of the dead –

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‘You can see them too, right?’

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When Aoi Hideaki called out, he slowly turned around .

It was a corner of a graveyard, twilight imminent .

His narrowed eyes were facing Hideaki directly . His eyes were dark and appeared to be filled with sadness .

They became classmates in the third year of high school . They had been in the same classroom for nearly a year, but this was the first time he had called out to him .

Hideaki had thought about doing it numerous times up until now . However, he hadn’t been able to . It was because he had had an atmosphere that made it feel like others couldn’t approach .

He put a wall up between himself and others and did not let anyone in . However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in other people . He observed from a height . A superior existence –

'What is it?’

His voice was unexpectedly calm .

'Spirits of the dead… That is, ghosts . ’

'Idiotic . ’

He laughed quietly .

He had probably meant to feign innocence, but Hideaki wouldn’t let him .

Hideaki hadn’t noticed that they had the same ability at first, but because of an incident, he realised that he was the same .

He saved Hideaki’s younger sister’s life, but he wouldn’t have been able to do so if he couldn’t see .

'Don’t try to hide it . ’

When Hideaki glared, he grew silent .

His gaze shook slightly . It appeared to be a sign of his shaken heart .

'I don’t know what you’re talking about . ’

'Don’t play dumb . You’re the same kind as me . ’

'Don’t put me together with you . ’

He immediately denied Hideaki’s words .

'Why?’

'You show off your ability to see . ’

Just as he said, Hideaki didn’t hide the fact that he could see . Rather, he declared it .

He definitely wasn’t showing off though . There was a reason he did it .

Also, the reply just now was obviously admitting that he could see .

'Want to talk for a bit?’

'I refuse . ’

'Why?’

'I have no reason to . You and I are conclusively different . ’

'What’s different? We’re both the same in that we can see, right?’

'It’s different,’ he declared . Then, he tried to walk away .

Hideaki might never have a chance to talk with him again if he left now, even though Hideaki had gathered the courage to call out to him .

'Wait . ’

When Hideaki called out, his feet stopped . He didn’t turn around .

Hideaki continued to talk regardless .

'I’ve always thought that my ability was disgusting . ’

'I agree . ’

When Hideaki heard his sad voice, he felt like he understood the true reason he had called out .

'But it’s not just a sad thing . By lending an ear to the spirits of the dead, there are people who can be saved, she said…’

'Who said?’

'My sister . ’

'A joke . Seeing them doesn’t save anybody . ’

'It does . That’s why I can see . That’s what I believe . ’

'I couldn’t save anyone important to me…’

When he turned around, his eyes looked just a little bit wet .

He must have lost somebody important to him because of his ability . It might have been impossible then, but next time –

'You can save them . ’

'You’re strong . ’

'Eh?’

'I’m not that strong . If I’m just going to lose them, I’d rather not have anything important to me in the first place . ’

After declaring that, he slowly started to walk .

Hideaki could only watch him leave .

He had chosen to live alone .

Hideaki couldn’t condemn that choice . The pain of being able to see wasn’t a light matter .

However, one day, if he also found something he had to protect, his mind would probably change . Like Hideaki’s had –

'Let’s meet again,’ Hideaki said quietly .

A strong wind blew .

Hideaki looked down to escape a cloud of sand .

When Hideaki looked up again, he was already gone .

-

That was the last time Hideaki spoke to him during high school –

-

1

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'Hey, let’s go back already . ’

Maehara Rina spoke to Hiroki, who was walking ahead of her . Hiroki might not have heard her voice, as he continued to walk farther in .

They had been walking for over fifteen minutes since entering this forest .

The forest, thick with hinoki cypress trees, was dim, even though it was day, and it was wet . Furthermore, the changeless scenery continued endlessly .

If we go any farther in, we’ll never be able to get out – that anxiety was in her head .

'Let’s go back!’ shouted Rina, halting as she did so .

Finally, Hiroki’s feet stopped .

'What? Let’s just go a bit farther . ’

Hiroki, smirking, held a Handycam video camera .

Rina had come to the Kawaguchi lake shore[1] cottage for the tennis circle’s training camp . She’d worked up a light sweat in the morning, and then there had been free time after lunch .

Then, Hiroki, who had come with her, called out to her .

– Want to explore the Sea of Trees?

Rina had understood that as 'Want to be alone?’ . She’d had an interest in Hiroki since before, so she had thought that it’d be a good chance .

However, Rina’s faint expectation had been betrayed .

Hiroki was really exploring the forest . With a camera in one hand, he was focussed on trying to catch spiritual phenomena on tape .

'I don’t care any more . Let’s go back . ’

Rina was about to cry .

'Rina-chan’s afraid . ’

Hiroki zoomed in on Rina’s face with the camera .

To put it frankly, it was bad taste . Rina looked away to avoid the camera .

– I can’t bear with him any longer .

She’d go home herself . After deciding that, Rina started to turn back through the forest .

'Honestly, this is the worst…’

Rina was walking away when she stopped, suddenly feeling something’s presence .

– Oooooh .

She heard something like a groan .

Maybe Hiroki had come following her . She turned around, but nobody was there . Just the dark forest spreading out in front of her .

'Hiroki-kun, are you there?’ said Rina .

There was no response, but she felt like somebody was watching her .

'If you’re there, come out!’

As expected, there was no response .

– Am I thinking too much?

Rina was just about to start walking again when her feet stopped immediately .

'Gi… ll… d…’

She heard somebody moaning in her ear .

– Eh?

She couldn’t look . She knew that in her head, but her body wouldn’t listen . Rina slowly turned around .

However, nobody was there .

– How creepy .

Rina was stricken by an indescribable fear and she started running to escape .

However, something caught her feet immediately and she fell .

It seemed like her foot had slipped on moss . Her knee had hit a rock, and a stinging hot pain spread through it .

'This is the worst…’

To try to get up, Rina placed her hand on something beside her that looked like a rock .

– Flump .

A soft feeling . Not a rock . What was it?

Next to her lay a large mass, burnt completely black . When she took a careful look, she saw that it was the shape of a person .

– This is a corpse .

'Aahh!’

When Rina realised that, she shrieked and tried to run .

However, as if to block her escape, a man stood in front of Rina .

Though the forest was dim, that man wore black sunglasses . With all that had happened confusing her, Rina couldn’t speak .

Sneering at Rina, the man slowly took off his sunglasses .

The two eyes looking down at Rina were dyed a deep red, like fresh blood .

'The true nature of the human spirit is darkness…’

The man said that quietly –

-

2

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Ishii Yuutarou was up to his head in paperwork .

He was in the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Room, one of the divisions of the detective department .

Though the name was splendid, all he actually did was the simple task of sort paperwork for past unsolved cases by year .

Though they were sometimes sent out as additional help for other divisions, that was rare

– I’m bored .

Just doing paperwork like this made him feel down . He felt like that boredom had grown especially ever since Gotou had left .

When Gotou had been here, his actions, which could be called wild, had brought about a variety of incidents .

He had been afraid at the time, but now, strangely, he felt that things had been good then .

It had been tough, but at least he hadn’t been bored .

'Oi, Ishii . ’

He lifted his head at the voice .

Miyagawa Hideya sat across from him and glared at the paperwork with a difficult expression on his face .

Miyagawa had been the chief of the detectives until a month ago, but he had been demoted because of the incident with Gotou and put in the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Room .

Though he had a small frame, with his scary face and bald head, rather than a detective, he looked like the people he was supposed to be fighting .

'What is it?’

'Where am I supposed to stamp this document?’

Miyakawa tapped the document on the desk .

Even though he already had a frightening face usually, when he showed his irritation, he looked like a demon .

'Er… Here . ’

Ishii peered at the document and pointed at it .

'Who the hell made a document that’s so hard to understand?’

'Miyagawa-san, you did . ’

Ishii spoke without thinking .

'What?’

Miyagawa turned his glare towards Ishii .

'Ah, no, I mean, Miyagawa-san, you acknowledged the introduction of these forms . ’

Ishii hurriedly added an explanation .

Miyagawa hadn’t been the one who made them, but he had decided to introduce these documents when he was chief of the detectives .

'You saying it’s my fault?’

Miyagawa raised an eyebrow .

'Ah, no, er… I apologise . ’

– He’s going to hit me .

So Ishii thought, preparing his body, but nothing happened .

'I see . It was me…’

Miyagawa sighed .

It looked like he truly regretted it . His body looked a size smaller .

Though Ishii was happy that he hadn’t been hit, for some reason, he felt like something was lacking . If it were Gotou, Ishii would have been hit with a fist before he even finished speaking .

– Detective Gotou, please come back .

Ishii murmured that in his heart .

It wasn’t that Miyagawa was bad . If speaking about work, Miyagawa dealt with it more seriously . Gotou just leant back on the chair and slept without doing any paperwork .

But still, for some reason, Ishii longed for those times . It was a strange thought, but he wanted to be hit .

Just as Ishii sighed, the door opened and a man appeared .

It was Honda, the current chief of the detectives . A mid-career hire, he was young – he had just turned forty . The person who had taken over Miyagawa’s position after he was demoted .

Ishii had no way of knowing how the higher-ups thought of him, but with his high-handed attitude being the ruin of him, his subordinates didn’t trust him much . Ishii often heard people badmouthing him .

'Chief Honda . ’

Miyagawa’s expression clouded the moment Ishii spoke .

'There’s some work I want you guys to do . ’

Ishii offered Honda a chair, but he ignored it and spoke while standing .

'What? Hurry up and say it . ’

Miyagawa put his chin in his hands and looked up at Honda .

Speaking casually to Honda, who was his boss, was probably from his pride as the previous chief, but Ishii broke into a cold sweat from watching it .

'Watch your tone . ’

Honda glared at Miyagawa .

He had his own spirit . Even if Miyagawa was the previous chief, Honda probably couldn’t keep quiet when somebody below him spoke rudely .

'Shut up, brat…’ Miyagawa muttered, clicking his tongue .

'So what is the matter you wanted to talk about?’ Ishii questioned to cover Miyagawa’s words .

Honda didn’t look pleased, but after clearing his throat, he brought up the topic at hand . Miyagawa crossed his arms sulkily .

'You know about the robbery that occurred two days ago, right?’

'Ah, yes, that . ’

Though Ishii and Miyagawa weren’t directly related to the case, they knew of it .

A nursing student named Aoi Yuuka who lived in a city apartment had been found fainted in her room by her older brother, Hideaki, who lived with her .

Hideaki took Yuuka to the hospital, but her head had been injured and she still hadn’t regained consciousness .

Her room was a mess and her wallet was stolen, so the police were investigating it as a burglary injury case .

'The victim’s older brother said he wanted the police’s cooperation . ’

'Did he see the culprit?’

'No, the victim’s brother didn’t witness the culprit . ’

'Then what does he mean?’ asked Ishii, which made Honda scowl . It looked like he wasn’t very pleased .

'Seems like the victim’s brother can see . ’

'What can he see?’

'Ghosts . ’

'Eh?’

Ishii spoke up without thinking .

'To be honest, I don’t think I can go along with something that ridiculous, as a policeman . But it’d be a pain if the victim’s family made a fuss about being treated unkindly . ’

'So you’re pushing the trouble to us,’ said Miyagawa, voice dripping with sarcasm . However, Honda didn’t lose to him .

'The work’s perfect for you guys, right? You’ve got the free time . ’

'What’d you say!? Try saying it again!’

'Now, now . ’

This was just a kid’s fight . Ishii stepped in as mediator .

'Right now, he’s in the reception room, so just listen to him . ’

Honda said just that and left the room . Miyagawa kicked the desk before the door was even fully closed .

'Miyagawa-san, let’s calm down . ’

'Don’t you hate this?’

Ishii knew what Miyagawa wanted to say . He was probably irritated by the tone of Honda’s words, but Ishii knew well that getting angry wouldn’t change anything .

'I’m used to it . ’

When Ishii smiled, Miyagawa looked up at the ceiling in exasperation .

'More importantly, let’s start our investigation immediately . ’

Ishii stood up from his seat for a change of pace .

Is the young man who says he can see ghosts the real thing – Ishii noticed that he was a bit excited to find out .

-

3

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Gotou Kazutoshi stood in front of the door with his arms crossed .

Next to him stood a middle-aged woman . Her name was Nakazato Yoriko . She was in her mid-forties .

'Please save my son…’

Yoriko put her hand on her mouth and sounded like she had a lump in her throat . It felt like tears could fall from her eyes at any moment .

Gotou looked at her face and sighed . He didn’t feel like sympathising .

'Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do . ’

Gotou’s careless words made Yoriko’s eyes grow wide .

'That’s… Please . My son has been possessed by an evil spirit . ’

Yoriko clung to Gotou .

'What do you mean, evil spirit?’

Gotou shook Yoriko off .

With the previous case, Gotou had been let go from the police and had started work as a detective who specialised in the spiritual .

For work he could do as an ex-police officer, there was work as a guard and as a detective . He had decided to specialise on spiritual phenomena because he’d thought he could use his experience up until now and that he’d be able to pull Yakumo in if he needed to .

However, after actually starting, there weren’t any real spiritual phenomena at all – all of the cases were just at the level of giving advice about concerns .

It was the same with Yoriko beside him right now .

After graduating high school, her son hadn’t gone to the university he had been enrolled in and just stayed in his room . Yoriko believed it was the work of an evil demon .

However, after listening to her talk about it, it turned out that her son was just addicted to online games in his room . And on top of that, he never failed to eat rice every day . That was definitely not an evil spirit . Just a shut-in .

'Please . The evil spirit in my son…’

'You going to keep saying that!?’ Gotou yelled .

'Eek . ’

'Don’t blame ghosts because of your own inability to raise your child!’

'B-but he won’t come out of his room . ’

'If he won’t come out, you can just go yourself . ’

'It’s locked…’

Yoriko shook her head and started to cry .

– Ah, I’m pissed .

'You can get past locks if you’ve got the guts!’ yelled Gotou and then gave the door a kick .

The door opened with a crack .

Yoriko was stunned . Her son in the room was even more surprised . He slipped from his chair and fell to the floor .

'Oi, brat . ’

Gotou walked into the room briskly and glared at the face of Yoriko’s son, who was on the floor .

'Y-yes…’

The son gulped loudly .

He was shivering so much it was pitiful, probably from fear, but that was convenient .

'I’m Gotou . A detective . Came at your mum’s request . ’

’D-detective?’

'Yeah . Seems like you’re possessed by a ghost . ’

'G-ghost…’

'If you keep inside this room, I’ll need to come check on you every day . ’

'E-every day…’

'Yeah . Every day, until you leave the room and go to school . ’

'I…’

The son’s face twitched .

'If you don’t like that, stop playing online games and go to university every day . Got it?’

Gotou grabbed the son by his collar and glared at him . The son nodded fervently .

'Right . That’s a promise . ’

'Y-yes . ’

'Your voice is too quiet!’

'Yes!’

'The spirit’s been exorcised!’

Gotou hit the son on the head and stood up .

Yoriko looked like she wanted to say something, but Gotou ignored her . It was probably just going to be a complaint .

'Deduct the door repair fees from the payment for the request . ’

After saying just that, Gotou left the house briskly .

When he quit the police, he had felt refreshed . He wouldn’t have to be bound by stiff rules any more . He’d thought that he would be free .

Recently, though, the freedom he was supposed to have grasped felt strangely suffocating .

Even though he’d complained, wasn’t working cases with Ishii better – he frequently thought that .

– I wonder if Ishii’s doing well?

Gotou shook away the image of Ishii’s face that suddenly came to his head . Then, he stuffed himself into the driver’s seat of the red Mini Cooper parked by the road .

It was too late to regret now .

And Gotou hadn’t quit the police because he wanted to – he’d been forced to retire .

'Damn…’

Gotou spat that out and started the car’s engine .

-

4

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A dry wind blew through –

'It’s already autumn now . ’

That thought came to Ozawa Haruka as she looked up at the sky . Just a little while before, she had thought it was hot and humid, but in no time at all, the refreshing season had come .

Haruka walked towards the prefabricated building behind Building B .

It was in order to see Saitou Yakumo . She didn’t have any trouble . She was just going to see him .

She thought that being able to just walk to him for no reason in particular was an amazing step forward .

On the other hand, the sad reality was that there had been no developments in their relationship .

The person of the opposite sex in her age group that she was the closest to – keeping that position, she hadn’t advanced any further .

When she thought about that, she felt a bit heavy-hearted .

After cheering herself up, Haruka opened the door to the Movie Research Circle room, at the very end of the two-storey prefabricated building .

'You again?’

Yakumo looked up, sitting at his usual spot .

As always, he had messy hair and sleepy eyes . His left eye was also a vivid red .

Yakumo’s red eye had been red from birth .

That red eye could see the spirits of the dead – that is, ghosts .

Using that unique ability, he had found the solution to many cases, but because of that strange ability, many people had shown him hatred . In order to evade that, he had hidden his red left eye with a black contact lens until a little bit earlier .

The death of Yakumo’s uncle, Isshin, had changed him .

Because of Isshin’s death, Yakumo had stopped hiding his red left eye . Haruka thought that he was determined to accept himself now .

'What do you mean, again? It makes it sound like I’m troublesome . ’

Haruka pretended to be angry as she sat across from Yakumo .

'It doesn’t make it sound like it . You are troublesome . ’

'Can’t you welcome me every once in a while?’

'Why?’

'Why, you say…’

'You came the other day too, right? Do you have a lot of free time?’

Yakumo yawned .

A lot of free time – she couldn’t deny it . In the fourth year of university, rankings were pretty much set, so there were virtually no lectures .

'Isn’t it fine?’

'If you’re not careful, you’ll become a jobless university graduate . ’

Yakumo propped up his chin with his hand, looking bored .

'Too bad for you . I’ve already got that decided . ’

'That’s the first I’ve heard of it . ’

'Because you didn’t ask,’ said Haruka, puffing out her chest . That was a line Yakumo always used .

'I can’t believe a business would hire you . ’

'You have it wrong . It’s not a business . I’m going to be a teacher . ’

She had just got the results from the teacher employment examination that she took in the summer the day before . She had come today to inform Yakumo .

It was also the seed for Haruka’s worries .

'You, a teacher… It’s the end of the world . ’

'I don’t need your concern . ’

Haruka warned Yakumo but he just let out a sleepy yawn . There was really no point in talking to him .

– How long will I be able to do this?

That question suddenly came to Haruka’s head .

It was fun being able to talk to Yakumo like this . It was because she didn’t want to destroy this space that she had never spoken the feelings buried in her heart . However, now that her future was determined, she realised something .

This time wouldn’t last forever .

Once she graduated, she wouldn’t be able to visit Yakumo like this . Their individual lives would being and they would drift apart – that anxiety filled her head .

'Hey, Yakumo-kun . What are you going to do?’ asked Haruka, placing a hand on her chest to calm her wildly beating heart .

Yakumo’s expression turned just a little stiff .

She wanted to hear the answer to the question, but she didn’t – shaken by her confused feelings, Haruka’s heart was in her mouth .

'If I had to say whether it’s decided or not, it is . ’

'What’s with that vague answer?’

Because Haruka had been so concerned, she felt it was anticlimactic .

'There’s a place I’ve been invited to, but I’ve put it on hold . ’

'Where?’ asked Haruka, leaning forward .

That was unexpected . She hadn’t thought that Yakumo had been on a serious job search . Not just that – he was even worried about his placement .

'You know Professor Mikoshiba, right?’

'Yeah . ’

Mikoshiba was an associate professor at Meisei University . Though Haruka had never met the professor herself, it seemed like Yakumo and Mikoshiba often played chess together .

'He…’

Yakumo started speaking, but he suddenly stood up, looking surprised .

His gaze was on the door right in front of him .

– What?

Haruka turned around to look at the door, but nothing was there .

'What’s wrong?’

Yakumo interrupted Haruka .

'Why are you here…’ he murmured .

Yakumo’s red eye could probably see somebody there . All Haruka could do was swallow and watch him .

-

5

-

Ishii cleared his throat as he stood in front of the door .

– I can see ghosts .

The young man on the other side of the doors had apparently declared that .

The answer to whether that was true or false was behind the door . When Ishii thought about that, he realised that he felt incredible excitement rather than anxiety .

'Don’t dawdle . ’

Miyagawa pushed Ishii aside and opened the door .

Ishii hurriedly followed him, putting aside his feelings .

A young man was sitting on the reception sofa in the back of the room .

- He is Aoi Hideaki .

Big brownish eyes and a smallish nose and mouth . His face as a whole looked soft and young .

When Hideaki noticed Ishii and Miyagawa, he stood up quickly and bowed .

'My name is Aoi Hideaki . ’

'I’m Miyagawa . A detective . ’

'My name is Ishii . ’

After everyone exchanged greetings, Ishii and Miyagawa sat opposite Hideaki .

'I apologise for taking up your time . ’

Hideaki smiled gently .

In contrast to his young appearance, he was very calm and the picture of politeness .

'Well, please sit down,’ Ishii urged .

Hideaki’s expression softened and he sat once more on the sofa .

Before coming here, Ishii had taken a look at Hideaki’s info .

Hideaki had lost his parents in the third year of high school . He had quit high school after that . One of his father’s friends got him a job at a transport company . He was working now as well .

He lived with his sister, Yuuka, in the apartment his parents left behind . It seemed like Hideaki paid for all of Yuuka’s nursing school fees .

Even in such tough circumstances, he had lived with all he had, and still he had gotten wrapped up in an incident like this – it hurt Ishii’s heart to think about it .

'So you say you can see ghosts . ’

Unlike Ishii, who wasn’t sure whether to talk about it, Miyagawa said it carelessly .

It was like he didn’t believe it from the start .

Hideaki seemed to sense that too, and his face twitched slightly .

'Yes . That said, it isn’t like I can do it constantly . At some times, I can only sense them, and sometimes it’s faint – it’s very uncertain . ’

Without flinching from Miyagawa’s attitude, Hideaki replied in a clear voice .

Ishii felt sincerity from those words .

He didn’t feel that he was suspicious, like he would from a fake exorcist trying to deceive someone . However, that didn’t mean he could just believe him .

Furthermore, his eye wasn’t red . Yakumo’s ability to see the spirits of the dead came from his red left eye .

'Is there any way to prove it?’ asked Ishii .

Hideaki shook his head .

'There’s no proof besides my words, since nobody else can see them . It’s easy to prove the existence of things that can be seen, but you can’t prove the existence of something that can’t be seen . ’

'So you saying that you can’t prove it, but we should believe you anyway?’

Miyagawa looked doubtful as he lit his cigarette .

Hideaki nodded with a smile . Ishii was surprised by that uprightness .

Normally, people would make excuses here, but he was different . On the contrary, when he was so straightforward, it made Ishii want to believe him .

'I can’t prove my own ability . However, I can’t just keep quiet because you won’t believe me . Especially since my sister is involved this time…’

Hideaki gripped his hands into fists, sounding like he had a lump in his throat .

Anger, sadness, frustration – he probably had feelings fighting within him . Hideaki’s expression twisted .

'I understand how you feel, but leave the investigation to the police . ’

Miyagawa hit Hideaki’s shoulder .

For a while, there was silence . Hideaki slowly took deep breaths . Ishii had no way to know what thoughts were in his head .

'The police won’t be able to catch the culprit…’ Hideaki said .

'What do you mean?’ asked Ishii . He felt like there was a special meaning to Hideaki’s words .

It was hard to believe what Hideaki had said .

'It’s because the culprit is already dead . ’

Hideaki’s eyes, directly on him, seemed for just a moment to let off the colour red .

'What do you mean? Depending on what happens, we’ll have to arrest you,’ threatened Miyagawa, sounding agitated . Ishii felt such pressure from him that he wanted to shriek just from watching, but Hideaki was calm .

'I met the ghost of the culprit . ’

'Please speak in a more concrete manner,’ interrupted Ishii, restraining Miyagawa, who was growing twitchy .

'When I went to visit my sister’s hospital, a man appeared . ’

'He’s the culprit?’

'He apologised a number of times to my sister . Asking her to forgive him somehow, since he had paid with his own life…’

'So the person who did it killed himself,’ said Ishii .

Hideaki nodded .

– This young man’s the real thing .

It wasn’t Ishii’s reason speaking to him . He was sure of it in his gut .

-

6

-

'I’m back . ’

Gotou opened the sliding door to the temple’s priests’ quarters .

While taking off his shoes, he heard Nao’s laugh from the living room . She was probably playing with his wife, Atsuko . Gotou went down the corridor and opened the sliding door to the living room .

'You’re late . ’

The one who spoke wasn’t Atsuko but Eishin, wearing a priest’s robe .

Eishin had been Isshin’s teacher and managed temples in the Kanto region, so he was something like a boss, but to Gotou, he just looked like a depraved monk .

'Ahh . ’

Nao, who had been playing with Eishin, noticed Gotou and flew towards him .

Gotou pet her on the head and then sat cross-legged in front of Eishin . Nao followed him and sat next to Gotou .

'What are you doing?’

'Atsuko-san’s out shopping right now,’ Eishin said, playing dumb .

'That’s not it, you damn monk . ’

'Watch your tongue . Who do you think helped you find work?’

– Hitting me where it hurts .

To be frank, Eishin had been the one who introduced the request today to Gotou .

No, not just this one . All the requests he’d had since starting his detective agency had been from Eishin .

It hurt for Gotou to say it, but without Eishin, he would’ve been out of a job ages ago, but Gotou didn’t want to admit it honestly .

'Shut up . You’re just giving me the tasks you find annoying, right?’

'Do you want to lose the roof over your head?’

– Hitting me in another place where it hurts .

When Gotou took in Nao after Isshin’s death, he had looked for a place to rent for their family, but he hadn’t been able to find one . Then, Eishin had offered him a helping hand .

He had let them stay in the temple’s priests’ quarters, where Isshin had been living .

At the time, Gotou had thought he’d take any port in a storm, but now, he felt like Eishin had got a grip of his weak point and was using him however he liked .

'My bad . ’

It hurt, but Gotou had to acknowledge his defeat .

Eishin smiled triumphantly, like he was saying, 'As long as you get it . ’

'So how was it?’ Eishin asked more formally .

'I kicked down the door and threatened the shut-in inside . ’

Gotou had thought Eishin would scold him, but unexpectedly, Eishin laughed aloud .

'That funny?’

'Good medicine for that mother and child . ’

'What?’

'Ah, Yoriko-san believed it was the work of demons and wouldn’t listen to anyone . And I can’t be forceful like you . ’

It looked like Eishin had known from the start that it hadn’t been a spirit .

'You’re a cunning old man,’ Gotou said carelessly .

'Saying hateful things doesn’t become a splendid monk . ’

'What?’

Eishin’s sudden words made Gotou doubt his eyes .

'I’m saying that that won’t let you become a splendid monk . ’

'Who?’

'You . ’

'Don’t be stupid . ’

Gotou waved his hand, as if to brush away a fly .

For a joke, it wasn’t funny at all .

'I’m serious . ’

Eishin’s gaze was serious, which was unusual . It had an incredible pressure .

'Why do I have to be a monk?’

'Ever since Isshin’s death, this temple’s had no monk . ’

'I get that, but…’

After Isshin died, Eishin’s disciples had been doing the work at the temple .

But that couldn’t continue forever .

'With Yakumo like that, he won’t agree . So only you can continue . ’

'Don’t be ridiculous . ’

'What’s ridiculous about it? If you become a monk, you can continue to use these priests’ quarters . And you can keep up your spiritual detective work . Requests would just keep coming . Not a bad idea, right?’

Eishin’s words were strangely convincing . Gotou almost nodded .

– This is dangerous .

'Y'know, there are things people are suitable for and things they aren’t . I’m not suitable . ’

'I think you are . ’

'Don’t be stupid . ’

'You’re the type of guy who can’t leave people who are troubled alone . ’

'If you don’t keep your jokes in check, I’ll hit you!’

Gotou spoke angrily, but Eishin didn’t seem to care . He smirked at him .

If Gotou kept talking, he might really end up becoming a monk .

'If you don’t have anything to do, get out already . ’

Gotou tried to chase Eishin out, but Eishin just continued smirking at Gotou .

For some reason, Gotou had a bad feeling .

'Actually, I have another request . ’

– My feeling was right .

Gotou put his head in his hands and sighed .

-

7

-

Haruka gulped and looked at Yakumo .

'No good, eh…’

For a while, Yakumo looked at the door, but finally he sat back down in his chair, seeming exhausted .

There was a wrinkle between his brow and he had a difficult expression on his face . He looked pale too .

'Hey, what happened?’ Haruka asked, leaning forward .

'There was a ghost there earlier . ’

Yakumo ran a hand through his messy hair .

Even though Haruka hadn’t been able to see it herself, she had sensed it from Yakumo’s reaction .

'Someone you know?’

She had sensed that from Yakumo’s words and actions too .

When Yakumo looked at the door, he had said 'Why are you here…’ He had said those words because it was someone he knew .

'Yeah,’ replied Yakumo, pressing a hand against his left eye .

There was no will-power in his voice . He must have had a great shock .

'A friend?’

'We weren’t that close . ’

– That’s a lie .

Haruka felt that . She could tell from how Yakumo had panicked .

She wanted to confirm it, but since it was Yakumo, he would probably just hide it .

'I see…’

'In any case, I need to look into this in detail . ’

'Look into what?’

'There’s something I want you to call Ishii-san about to check . ’

'Ishii-san?’

'Yes . I want you to ask whether this name’s come up in any deaths from incidents or accidents . ’

After saying that, Yakumo quickly wrote a name on a memo .

– Aoi Yuuka .

A woman’s name . Probably the ghost who had been here earlier .

The urge to ask how they knew each other came to Haruka’s head, but before she could, Yakumo tried to leave the room .

'Where are you going?’

'There’s something I want to check,’ Yakumo said quickly . Then, he left .

I’ve been left behind – there were a number of things Haruka wanted to ask, but first, she had to confirm about that woman .

Haruka called up Ishii’s phone number from her mobile’s memory and made the call .

After a number of rings, Ishii answered .

'Hello, it’s been a while . It’s Ozawa Haruka . ’

Ishii’s loud voice came through the receiver . He sounded the same as always .

'I’m sorry for calling so suddenly . Do you have any time right now?’

Ishii’s voice dropped down a tone .

Perhaps somebody was beside him . It seemed like it would be best to keep it short .

'Actually, there’s something I want to ask . ’

'I want to know whether a woman named Aoi Yuuka has died in an incident or accident . ’

Ishii’s voice jumped an octave on the other side of the phone . From that response –

'Do you know her?’