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Ghost Hunt:Volume3 Chapter3

2020-10-01T14:34:12Z

Hermina05:

==Chapter 3 - Onibi (Will-O-Wisp) ==

===1===

It was raining after class.

We were in the middle of a tea break during a late meeting in the conference room.

During the meeting, Naru made a fuss about being an idiot and not telling everyone about Kasai-san's case. I heard him, but I wasn't really listening. Instead, I had looked out the window and watched the rain fall.

The monotonous rain made me feel quite gloomy.

―I thought about that, knowing today was one unlucky day. There are two possibilities. The first possibility is that someone (a criminal) is responsible for this. With the exception of divine intervention, I think it could just be that everyone is having a hard time.

The rain softly came down like were strings of silver. The clouds darkened the sky, which created a depressing mood.

And then the next thing I knew, I was in an amusement park.

Why am I in an amusement park?

...Of course, this is a dream.

It was a small amusement park. I was filled with excitement.

I realized this place looked familiar. It looked just like the amusement park my mom had once taken me to. I was standing in the front of a mirror house. In the middle was a glass mirror, and around it was a maze. That's right. When I was young, I would cry in that mirror house. When I saw my reflection in the mirrors, my reflection was scary so I'd cry. But now it's alright because I'm grown up. I used to roll up my sleeves and jump into the mirror house. I would go through the continuous maze. It wasn't necessary to go through the maze, but I went anyway. The maze was a reflection of the mirror. I had walked and walked. It was just my shadow and me. I had walked to the middle of the maze. For some strange reason, I was rushed and clumsy, which is why I had slammed into the glass.

What's with this huge maze anyway!

The maze was getting darker and darker. Ah, that's why. This maze darkens as time passes. While thinking about this, I could no longer see my feet. The only available light was the light reflected by the mirror.

What do I do? There's no exit. As I feared, he didn't come!

I started to run. My reflection also ran. Hundreds of me turned and ran, but in the midst of all, only one shadow wasn't moving. I aimed at it. That must be the clue to get out of this maze. I rushed towards the unmoving shadow.

...Naru.

In the darkness, Naru was there, completely clothed in black. Only his hands and face were pale as moonlight.

"It's impossible to get out," I told Naru.

Without saying anything, he pointed at something to his side. His pale fingers left a white trail in the darkness.

I could see the tip of his finger.

That's...the school. The inside of the school was inversed black and white, like a photographic negative. The wall was black, while the blackboard was white. The wall and floor had a white outline, but other than that they were transparent. This was the school's shadow.

And that's an unripe will-o-wisp. There were pale, clear will-o-wisps scattered throughout the entire school. In the darkness, I stared at them fixedly, placing all my attention on them.

"What's...that?" I asked Naru as I looked up at him.

Naru answered, "You'll understand."

...I'll understand? So that's it. Of course, I get it now. That will-o-wisp has evil intentions. Furthermore, it's not of this world. I shivered.

There were countless will-o-wisps. All of them were evil. I couldn't help but watch them. They exhibited a cold color. As I was watching them, they flashed little by little. Gradually the scene became blurry and normal colors came into place again. I could clearly see a wall.

"...?"

A wall. A very pale green wall. I was surrounded by a strange wall on all sides.

"Mai!"

What?!

I lifted my head and saw Naru. There was a harsh expression on his face.

"Just now, you were asleep, weren't you?"

Eh? Asleep? ...Of course.

Huh?!

I looked around to see everyone's cold eyes piercing at me.

"I'm sorry. I did fall asleep."

A...awkward.

"You were completely sound asleep with your eyes open."

"Sorry..."

Naru looked at me with cold eyes. "Are you my assistant? Or are you a hindrance?"

...W-, why you.

"Hold on a moment, why are you being so mean! I was sleepy so I couldn't help it. I didn't sleep well because I kept thinking about this case. It's not like I fell asleep while driving!"

Naru sent me another icy stare. "You've become aggressive, haven't you?"

"It's a perfectly natural response. Congressmen that bear the burden of the fate of an entire country have to sleep. Even people who have to complete difficult tasks that are as smart as the president have to sleep. So there's nothing bad about a mere, low-class person like me being asleep."

"...Wonderful, you've distorted my words."

"Oh dear, you've made the director upset," Matsazuki-san taunted.

"I'm fine," Naru replied.

...Really.

"With that kind of personality, you won't be living a long life," Naru pressed on.

...This guy, this guy, this guy!

Ah—how refreshing. You may have a sharp tongue, but you're very capable. On top of that, you're also quite handsome! If you had a good personality, it would be too good to be true, and you'd be the one suffering an early death, wouldn't you!

Naru's gaze fell onto my direction, and soon everyone else's did the same thing.

"Let's forget about this foolishness," Naru said. "We must return to the topic at hand."

So sleeping is just foolishness? I'd like to see you say that while marching to the National Diet.

===2===

Naru lightly tapped the table with his finger. "I don't know whether or not Kasai-san's situation is related to this case..."

Ayako leaned towards him. "Well, how much faith do you place on that child, Kasai?"

"I believe her."

"Heh." Ayako's cruel eyes flashed. "Well I think she's lying. Please, as if she can actually bend spoons."

??

"Isn't spoon bending fake?"

I asked, "It's not, right? Spoon bending isn't just a magic trick."

I wasn't sure though. But it's probably safer to ask Ayako instead of Bou-san or John.

"So is it?" I asked.

John nodded. "Right. Uri Geller started spoon bending. Uri Geller is the best psychic of the century...his supernatural powers were shown to the public. He had PK, clairvoyance, and prediction abilities similar to that of a prophet. He made the impossible possible. Geller was everywhere when it came to spoon bending. All the children saw him do it too."

"Um, you mean the Gellerini?

"Yes, that's right. But the Gellerini had unstable powers. When they lost their powers, they would rely on magic tricks. Some of them were exposed as cheaters.

"I see."

"Because of that, some people began to doubt Geller's ability."

"They doubted Uri Geller?"

"Yeah. At that time, America's Society of Parapsychology had publicly announced that Uri Geller was a fake. That incident left such a strong impression on people that everyone now believes spoon bending is fake."

"But John, did you think Uri Geller's powers were real?"

John put on a tired smile. "Not really... It's just, he was too showy. At any rate, they were just illusions[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Ghost_Hunt:_Volume3_Translator's_Notes#Illusion] that garnered more attention than they deserved."

"Illusion?"

"Um...basically it's accomplished by using lots of magic tricks. Like making airplanes and trucks disappear."

"Ah, I get it now."

Listening in, Bou-san leaned towards us. "I think Geller was a fake too."

"Why?" I asked.

"Hmm. Psychic ability...if it's the ability of sensing hidden things, hearing noises, or seeing things, then that's the ability to sense things that shouldn't be there. Geller was well-received at first, but he was later in a bind. He could do everything, but there was still something strange about him," the monk admitted.

"Right," John nodded. "There are two types of psychic abilities, ESP and PK. ESP is extrasensory perception, a special ability in which one can perceive things that normal people cannot. There are two branches of ESP: clairvoyance and telepathy."

"I see."

"PK stands for psychokinesis. It's an ability that normal people do not have. Basically it's the power to move objects with your mind... Generally psychics fall into one of these classifications: PK or ESP. Occasionally someone will be a mix of each, but most people will fall into just one of those categories."

Bou-san nodded. "Edgar Cayce Jean Dickson is an amazing clairvoyant, but I've never heard of him bending a spoon before. Likewise, Nina Kulagina has strong PK powers, but I've never heard of her having ESP. Only Kulagina and Davis have that kind of PK power."

"That's right," John agreed. "But for Uri Geller, assuming his PK was the best, was his ESP also the best too? If that's the case, then that means his power was unrestricted. However, I still think he was a fake."

Ayako leaned forward. "I've always wondered about that. Why does the spoon bend? If the metal bends, then what kind of spoon is it? And if PK can bend the spoon, then is it even a spoon? Isn't that strange?"

"—So you're basically saying that PK is just a magic trick?" I wondered aloud.

"No, that's different," Bou-san asserted. "There are three types of PK: PK-MT, PK-ST, and PK-LT."

...Wow, this is too much information.

"Spoon bending would fall under the PK-ST category. It's the ability to influence stationary objects. There are a lot of misunderstandings regarding this ability. There have been many reports of frauds that claim to have this. Actually, PK-MT is considered the best ability out of all of them. This is the ability to influence moving objects, such as changing the eyes of a die as it's rolling. If you're thinking about getting a two, then you really will get a two."

"Hehh."

"PK-MT is also widely considered to be fake. However, the majority of people have this. This latent ability varies in power for different people."

"...Do I have it too?"

"Maybe. If someone has PK-ST, it doesn't necessarily mean that said person is a fake. Unlike the Gellerini's PK, Shelby Meyer's was fake. She bent a special type of metal. She seemed credible but terribly arrogant."

"Huh?"

"Generally, for people with psychic abilities, like Geller, would act as a magician. In that case, he would be able to perform magic without having to put up with others' complaints. But even magicians have limits. Otherwise, people would get suspicious, right? If I remember correctly, Meyer was also a magician, similar to Rolfe-something or other, but Rolfe constantly got into conflicts and fights with others. Despite this, this Rolfe magician was eventually backed up by Meyer. In other words, Meyer had confirmed his powers."

"Oh—"

"And there was also Nina Kulagina. She was very strong. She had both PK-ST and PK-LT. PK-LT is the ability to influence living organisms, such as making them move. Such actions were often a cinch for her. She could cure illnesses with just physical contact. She stopped a frog's heart and even a human heart."

"She could stop hearts—?!"

"Yes. During the experiment, she aroused the researcher's curiosity. If she could stop a frog's heart, then she might be able to stop a human's heart. He got a volunteer for the experiment, and eventually the volunteer's heart was in imminent danger of stopping. The doctor witnessing this was able to save him though."

Oh my god—

"...Also, another very important figure in PK is England's Oliver Davis. He also has PK-ST. Normally, PK is used to move matchboxes, spoons, or other little objects. But there's a big gap of power between this guy and the others. Dr. Davis is more of a serious researcher than a PK-user, and as such he hasn't been publicized much. If I remember correctly, last year there was a video of him doing an experiment. In the experiment, he threw a 50-kg block of aluminum into a wall."

"Wow."

"But PK is just limited that way. Neither Shelby Meyer nor Oliver Davis had PK-LT either. I haven't heard of anyone being able to influence living things. Despite that...Uri Geller could do all the PK, right? On top of that, he could also use ESP. Still, he looked suspicious to me."

"Oh..." Naru interposed. "Well...in any case, regarding Kasai-san's problem, for the time being, the important thing is she believed in her powers. She felt that her teacher's attack on her was quite unfair. This resulted in..."

"Cursing to kill"?

"Yes," Naru interposed.

"That's our current situation. She can't have PK-LT like Nuna Kulagina though, right?"

...In any case, if she could stop hearts...

"...That's...not possible, right?"

Naru pondered the idea for a moment.

"...Correct, it wouldn't happen," he clarified.

"Anyway, we need to deal with our current situation. Perform some exorcisms."

Everyone stood up.

===3===

As everyone left to do their exorcisms, I stayed in the conference room. I was alone and bored... Before I realized it, it was already evening. Dusk had come. The sounds of sweeping and cleaning continued for some time. Eventually there was no sign of students. With all the sounds gone, the school had really become a lonely place. I unintentionally thought about the dream I had. It was definitely about this school. The dark labyrinth. A place covered with will-o-wisps. What kind of spirits were they?

"......?"

I don't know. But it was just a dream. Um, how should I think about this? On the other hand, whoever is guiding me in my dreams can't exist (The Naru in my dreams comes out, talks to me and watches over me. Plus, he's always smiling). I really should get a book on dream interpretation.

...I continued to think about it. As I was tidying up the place, there was a light knock on the door.

"Yes?"

My voice stuttered, as we were just talking about Kasai-san a moment ago. I couldn't help but feel like I was in a flutter.

"Huh? You're alone?" the girl asked.

"Yeah."

Her eyes swept through the room.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in, come in."

"Thank you. ...What are you doing?"

"As a good-for-nothing, I'm just arranging documents here while looking over the equipment."

"How unlucky."

Once again I noticed that Kasai-san was sitting in a strange position.

"Heh..."

What a strange thing to say.

"So how're things going?"

"―Well, it's weird. Shibuya-san seems to think our medium's having problems," I said.

"I'm different though. Naru—Shibuya-san, is also different. He's a ghost hunter," I clarified.

"Heh, cool."

I looked blankly ahead. Come to think of it, no one has ever asked me what a "ghost hunter" was.

Oh yeah, Kasai-san has some psychic abilities herself so she must comprehend some of those strange things.

"...But, he might actually be an Onmiyouji[http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Ghost_Hunt:_Volume3_Translator%27s_Notes#Onmiyouji]. Ah, I'm not admiring him or anything, but it's true," I continued.

Kasai-san whistled.

"In that case, he's even more amazing. Hehh, to think he's an Onmiyouji too," she said.

I was so moved that I was speechless.

"And what about the exorcisms? Did they go well?"

"Well, it seems that we have a difficult road before us. Our group's spirit medium says there are no ghosts here. We were almost fighting about it."

Kasai-san raised her eyebrows. "There aren't any? Then what caused the incidents at the school?"

"Yeah, well. I don't know about that. The only person in our group who can see ghosts is the medium, and she says she can't see any. We'll have to investigate from a different angle.–Oh right, Kasai-san, have you seen any spirits here?"

Kasai-san waved no. "No. I don't have that kind of power. I might not even have ESP."

"ESP?"

Does she mean the kind that everyone was talking about?

"Don't tell me you don't know? ESP is a type of psychic ability. I'm no good at ESP, not at all. But I can do PK. I had no choice but to use my PK-ST. ...And that's when strange things have been happening."

Kasai-san shrugged.

"Wow... Kasai-san sure knows her stuff..."

"Yeah. I'm just telling you what Kei-sensei told me. It's because Kei-sensei is very knowledgeable about parapsychological research."

"You mean Ubusuna-sensei? Hehh, she sure is."

"Yeah. That's why there were rumors of the Biology club becoming an occult club. In actuality, the club didn't really have any activities at all."

Kasai-san's using the past tense.

"...So how's the Biology club faring now?"

"Actually it's virtually over. The only member left is me. Mizuho put an end to it."

"She ended it?" I asked.

Kasai-san gave a lonely smile.

"What of it? It happened a long time ago. When I started bending spoons, he changed completely."

"That way of thinking is unproductive. If everybody were to try their utmost for themselves only, then eventually others won't be able to influence them."

Kasai-san stared back at me. "...Thank you. I feel a bit responsible though. About Mizuho, Kei-sensei, and all those things that happened afterwards..."

"You don't need to think that way."

Kasai-san is making that lonely smile again.

"That's right. But still, Kei-sensei has been put in a difficult position too. Since she's protecting me, all the teachers are criticizing her, and even PTA is criticizing her too. –During the time in which the school was split up into believers and non-believers, teachers and students alike shot her stony looks. Everyone was so mean and sarcastic to her. She ended up completely ostracized. In addition, the criticisms have been heavier lately. In any case, there are no ghosts here and no ESP, but people still claim to see ghosts here. Some students discuss these things in private with Kei-sensei."

This time Kasai-san let out a real smile.

"Ubusuna-sensei, right?" I asked.

"Right."

Kasai-san grinned. "...It's because I'm a junior. When I was attacked by the school, she came to my aid. The teaching practically came to a halt. And eventually I couldn't think anymore."

"...Oh. What does Ubusuna-sensei teach?"

"You don't know? She's the Biology teacher in this school."

I had to gather up my thoughts for a moment.

"So, about what those students were talking about..."

"Eh? What?" she asked. "Even if I knew, I can't tell you. It's confidential."

"Oh."

Kasai-san edged closer to me.

"You can go to Yoshino-sensei's house and ask him."

Kasai-san seemed ready to move.

I was also a bit restless.

"By Yoshino-sensei, do you mean the one who humiliated you in the school morning assembly?"

"Yes...that's the one." She let out a satisfactory smile. "Hehh, I see. Did he make you nervous?"

"Well, about that— He had dark shadows under his eyes."

"Serves him right. ...No, what am I saying, this isn't right. Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"It's okay, it's okay."

We furrowed our brows and laughed heartily.

While laughing, I imagined a spoon in my mind. And then I bent it. So bending a spoon can change people's fates; what a warped idea.

...I couldn't help but think that way.

As I talked with Kasai-san a little while longer, Taka-san came into the conference room.

"Yeesh, I can't find Norio anywhere," she whined.

"That sucks. Would you like some tea? I was just about to make some."

"That would be nice. Kasai-senpai, nice to see you."

"Same here."

Kasai-san was on her toes now. She seemed wary. But Taka didn't mind. Though already cheerful, Kasai-san eventually became relaxed and opened up to us more. We were able to wipe off her seemingly unfriendly personality, and our conversation eventually became really exciting. We were even able to see her smile.

"...It's been a long time since I had a conversation like this with someone other than Kei-sensei," Kasai-san said gratefully.

On the other hand, Taka looked really tired.

"...Poor you... If you want, we can hang out sometime," Taka suggested.

"Yeah. Thank you. Today was really fun. And Taniyama-san, thank you."

"Will you come back?" I asked her.

"Yeah."

Taka stood up with a bounce and bowed.

"I've gotta go too! Kasai-senpai, wanna leave together?"

"Of course."

As I waved good-bye, I felt warm feelings swell in my heart as I saw them off.

===4===

The next day, everyone gathered in the conference room. Naru brought up news about Yoshino-sensei. Yesterday, Yoshino-sensei was in a car accident by himself, and one of the members of the Track & Field Club had collapsed in the locker room.

Naru frowned. The teacher in the car accident said he saw a ghost in the rear mirror. These incidents still happened even though John and Bou-san performed exorcisms yesterday evening.

...In other words, the spirit isn't gone.

Furthermore, Taka's already hospitalized homeroom teacher, wasn't doing well either. His condition worsened, and despite being in a hospital, he still sees a ghost, which continues to cause disturbance there. He's also vomiting blood.

Despite the exorcisms, the teacher's condition wasn't improving.

"...It's not working," Naru calmly stated.

We were speechless as well.

Suddenly, I recalled the dream I had yesterday about the school. Will-o-wisps were scattered everywhere. I had the feeling that they were evil spirits. But the dream wasn't important or anything.

Not long afterwards, Ayako was glaring at Masako, with a sarcastic look in her eyes.

"So there are no ghosts here? Even with all that's happened?"

Stubborn Masako.

"There are none," she firmly replied.

Even so, the medium had an uneasy look in her eyes.

"Did you observe everything thoroughly? So you really didn't see even one spirit at all."

"Even if you expect there to be some, there are none!" Masako was almost shouting. "If I don't see them, then there aren't any here!"

"Well then, how do you explain this school's situation? Is everyone lying? Or is this a mass breakout of hysteria—?"

...Ayako, you're sure enjoying yourself. Stop it.

Masako scowled at Ayako. After watching the two, we decided to leave the conference room.

While doing so, Bou-san said, "Hey—Naru-chan."

With an unhappy, bitter expression in his eyes, Naru looked at the monk.

"Masako is just being obstinate. Lighten up. Masako's trying her best."

"...It's not good enough."

Upon hearing Ayako's protest, Bou-san turned to the woman. "Quiet, you. We need Masako in this situation. Although Masako can't see any ghosts, this place really is haunted. Probably because the spirit is exceptionally strong, or because we're dealing with mass hysteria. To make matters worse, we're unsure if the exorcisms are helping at all. Naru, don't you think so?"

We became silent and looked at Naru to see his reaction. He was completely calm and composed as he answered, "If we cannot rely on Hara-san, then would you care to find another spirit medium to hire?"

...What a blunt answer.

Clearly this guy was thinking, "I hate Masako." But, to say something like that, Masako definitely won't be able to rest in peace (not that she's dead or anything like that).

What a cold-blooded jerk.

Bou-san was so shocked that when he saw Naru, the monk stood up and shrugged his shoulders. Ashamed, Ayako stood up too. As if attracted by a lure, John also stood up—and then our meeting ended.

Leaving me with Naru and the yet-to-be-found Lin-san.

"Naru, what you said just then was kind of mean."

"Of course it was."

...Oh. So it was obvious, wasn't it?

"What did you tell Masako?"

So many strange things have been happening, and Masako is no match for them.

For a moment, Naru seemed to falter.

"Exactly what kind of weakness of yours does Masako know about?" I pressed.

"There's no such thing."

("...Oh. Well, back then you should've told Masako that.")

Can I really say that? If I could I would. I don't know. I can't help but recall Naru's ever unpleasant face when he went on that date with Masako.

After sending me a glare, he stood up.

"Lin, let's get back to work!"

This guy is running away!

I hastily left, tilting my head to see his back go into the distance. Since he ran out of mean things to say, he just did whatever he could to evade the question. And he was ambiguous again. I'm positive something happened. Just as I thought, she's using his weakness. The problem is: what kind of weakness is it?

For a moment, I recalled the spoon bending incident. I wasn't really put in such an awkward position. The spoon incident was nothing compared to this.

As always, the world is filled with numerous puzzles...

===5===

Both Naru and Lin-san disappeared, so I ended up alone again.

The end-of-classes' chime came and echoed noisily inside school for a while, and time passed like a sea roar fading at that. Then, a silent-as-the-grave after-school came along.

''I dislike after-school; it's cold and lonely. I wonder if Taka or Kasai-san will come…''

Having thought of that, I heard the patter of footsteps. Without a knock, the door opened too. Taka popped her head in, and Kasai-san followed from behind her.

Oh. How timely!

"Yahhoo~"

"Yes~"

"You're alone as usual, Mai. I met Kasai-senpai, so I came hauling her with me." Taka laughed.

"I was waiting, you know? I can't bear being alone after school until I sense it's dusk."

"It's too unbearable, indeed. That's why I thought of coming here to see you. Feeling grateful?"

"I am, I am. I must make some tea with my feelings of gratitude in it."

"Yay~" Taka laughed and turned to say, "See?" to Kasai-san.

Well. "Aren't you perhaps treating the conference room like a coffee shop, Taka?" I told her.

"Oh, I'm busted?"

"This place isn't a coffee shop after all. I hope you won't linger here thinking otherwise."

"But~ But Mama-san is a good person and comfortable to be with~"

"I would say the same as well," even Kasai-san agreed.

"...Could I be the good Mama-san you're talking about?"

"Who else qualifies for that role?"

"Please, take a seat. Would you like to drink tea or something?"

We drank tea once the three of us had laughed for a while. After a pause, Taka leaned forward as though imparting some secret. "What's Norio up to?"

"He's in the middle of doing an exorcism."

"Does it look like it's going smoothly?"

"Hmm... I wonder. The case this time is somehow giving us a lot of trouble." ...Come to think of it, we were always having a hard time though. But, well, the nature of the present case was unknown. So even if something was happening, I didn't know how to feel about it oftentimes.

When I said that, Taka leaned closer. "Hey, how's Norio?"

"What do you mean by 'How'?"

"Because—He's a medium, isn't he? Is he dependable?"

"Who knows...?" From the beginning I also thought that he's useless, among other things, but I wonder what he's really like. "Not bad. He's getting better, I guess."

"Really?"

"Instead of that, what do you think about Bou-san's band?"

"Okay, band, huh?" Taka folded her arms. "The vocals, you see, aren't very good."

"How about Bou-san's?"

"He's great at it~ He also composes music though, beautiful songs such as ''Melody Rain''; I love it."

"Really? He's that good?"

"He surely is. He's a studio musician after all."

"...?? Explain your point in less than 50 words."

"Well, a studio musician can't be half-skillful, you know."

"Seriously!?"

"Seriously. It's outrageous to be unskillful. That's why, Norio isn't the problem. Vocals, you see, are firstly about the song and secondly about the looks. The vocals are still lacking, even though he's in charge of it since he writes the song lyrics."

"Heh~"

Taka turned to Kasai-san. "That's right. Don't you write song lyrics too?"

Kasai-san blinked in surprise. "Me?"

"Yup. I was told something like, 'Even if no one can write song lyrics, shouldn't you still try it?' Kasai-san, you're very good at writing poetry."

"Eh, is that true?" I asked.

Taka replied, "It's the ''psychic girl's hidden talent''. Heaven bestows two gifts to people like that, right? You wrote the poem for the literature club's bulletin, didn't you? That was an excellent poem."

Kasai-san looked a bit bashful. "...Aah, that. That sort of thing... It's because the members are few, and since the club bulletin wasn't filled, I only wrote to fill the gaps."

"Kasai-san has also joined the Literature Club?"

Not only the Biology Club.

"Yeah... It's a club in the required curriculum, you see," Kasai-san said, her face reddening a bit. "Enough about that talk already. Rather than that, I want to hear the direction of the band's story."

"Eh—Really, senpai, stop being shy~"

"I'm not being shy~"

"But your face is red." Once she had laughed her head off for a bit, Taka carried on, "Well, the songwriting is lacking, and the vocals are also lacking. I guess the keyboard is also lacking. The guitar isn't really, very promising as well."

"...Only the bass is good in the band?"

"The drums are also good."

"How come the rhythm sessions are merely like that? Isn't that kind of band unproductive?” I remarked, and Kasai-san agreed a whole lot too.

Taka stuck out her small tongue and said, "Well, yeah. I might be the only one who thinks like that, but, look at me, I'm into Norio supremacism—"

"Ah, that's how it is~ Heeeh~" What the hell. Isn't this amazing?

"Hehe. Say, Mai, are you by any chance into Shibuya-san supremacism, I wonder?"

I gave a start. "...What are you talking about?"

I feigned calm as much as I could, but Taka giggled after looking seriously at my face. "It's useless, Mai. You can't escape a woman's intuition."

Even Kasai-san said in a teasing tone, "Heh~ That's how it is~"

...Ah, uuugh.

"...Gotcha?"

"You got me."

Following Taka, Kasai-san spoke heartily too, "That guy is good-looking after all, right~? He seems pretty nice."
　

Without meaning to, I spouted my tea.

"Wha-What? Is there something wrong?"

"Kasai-san, you perfectly misunderstood something about Naru."

"But... I thought he's rather nice."

"You jest. If Naru were nice, this world will only have good people. It would be like heaven."

"That... Is that so?"

"His personality is bad, ''bad''. He's badmouthed and heartless, and additionally he's narcissistic and secretive."

Kasai-san peered at my face. "...But you love him, don't you?"

...Ugh. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Boohoo.

"Go on and admit it. I won't get angry."

"...Maybe."

" 'Maybe'? It's as if it doesn't concern you."

I drew my face closer to the both of them. "Even I myself don't know sometimes. He often appears in my dreams. Do you think it's like that after all?"

"Completely. That's your love for that guy speaking," Kasai-san spoke with finality.

...Uuugh. As expected, that's how it is, huh?

"—Your love may have many difficulties," Kasai-san told me earnestly.

"...Right? Bou-san is good on that point."

''It seems like strait-laced Naru isn't the standard ladies' man.''

When I said that a little bitterly, Taka waved her hands wide. "No, no. Not at all. I'm like his younger sister. I think chasing idols, getting into their dressing rooms, and drawing near them will be lucky. However, if I'm treated as a younger sister as courtesy dictates, I think I shouldn't do those things."

"...I see. You also have many difficulties, huh, Taka?"

“But I won’t lose~ I’ll endure this trial and seize a star’s glory~" Taka clenched her fists tightly in a guts-pose.

"Do your best, okay~? I’ll be cheering for you in the shadows!” I cried out loud, and Kasai-san did the same.

“Do your best also, Mai~”

“Well~ I'm glad~ I also wish you two happiness!”

"Mai~"

"Senpai~"

"Taka~"

Gripping one another's hands tightly, we howled with laughter. We were shedding tears and laughing uncontrollably when the Bou-san and Naru in question returned.

Taka and I were very flustered.

Bou-san was gazing at us. "It seems like you had a great time," he said in a reproachful tone.

"Hahaha. ...How did things go on your end?"

“Horrible.”

"Oh?"

"Masako has no clue whether or not we could do an exorcism. I feel like I'm fetching water with a strainer."

...Your hard work is much appreciated.

===6===

Bou-san looked at Taka and then at the darkness beyond the window. "Taka, you should be going home now. You too—" he started to say when he saw Kasai-san. As if to say, "Who's this?" Bou-san tilted his head.

I told him her name was "Kasai-san."

As though saying, "Oh, hello," Bou-san nodded.

"This is Bou-san," I introduced him to Kasai-san next.

Kasai-san gazed at Bou-san solemnly. "...Aah, hi," she said in a barely audible voice and then stole a glance at Taka.

Taka reddened slightly.

"You two should better go home. I'll take you two up to the station."

"Just a bit longer." Taka looked up at Bou-san.

She's like a dog.

"You shouldn't be here at night."

"...Because it's dangerous?"

"Daytime is better than nighttime after all," persuaded Bou-san.

Taka's expression bore mixed emotions, but she stood up. She's happy to accept the escort, but her desire to stay longer was written on her face. Even so, she obediently picked up her bag and followed behind Bou-san.

''I wonder if I'm a hindrance'', Kasai-san's face said, and yet she came after them.

''Wahaha! Good luck, Taka'', I murmured in my mind.

Ooh, come to think of it, I was also lucky. Wouldn’t it be just Naru and me?

Speaking of Naru, after watching the three leave the room, he began to go through documents.

''Let's have a chat, shall we?''

''Alright! I wonder if I should start up a conversation with a short joke.
''

That’s what I had thought, and yet I talked to Naru about trivial things such as Bou-san's band, which I'd heard from Taka earlier. Of course, I hid the bit about the supremacism of Taka's certain someone.

Naru did not seem to care when I chattered.

Somewhere in the room came irritating and unusual clattering noises. We looked up at the ceiling where the sounds originated. Thumping sounds continued once again; it's as if somebody were moving something hard on the floor above.

—However, this was the top floor, so of course there's no floor above it.

All of a sudden, the light in the room dimmed. It wavered gloomily as if it were wearing down.

Naru half-rose to his feet to apparently stand ready.

There were clunking sounds in the ceiling again. Soon, the seemingly exhausted light flickered. It was already dark outside the window. Whenever the light flickered, the ceiling would stand out faintly in the dim light before the bulb went out afresh.

After it flickered many times, I noticed a handful of hair falling through the ceiling, as though it sprouted from there. It was about ten centimeters long.

"...Naru."

"Calm down. Don't move." Naru turned his darker-than-black eyes towards that which sprang out from the ceiling.

The dim light turned off, and when it turned on again, that handful of hair was astonishingly two times longer. It seemed to be about 30 centimeters in length now.

Captivated by it, I could not move. Every time the light flickered, it steadily lengthened. Before I knew it, Naru was standing in front of me. I stared at the ceiling over his back. When there was a flicker again, a hairline became visible—a hairline with a pale forehead.

''...Someone's descending through the ceiling...!''

My breath caught.

While Naru had his back to me and fixed his eyes at it, he said, "...Don't move. It will be all right. Hold still."

"...Yeah."

The light wavered. It went down, revealing its forehead up to its eyebrows. Another flicker, and closed eyes came in sight. It fell from the ceiling in every flicker, and before we're aware of it, its cheeks and jaw appeared.

...Before long, it turned into a woman's form dangling from the ceiling merely by her neck.

"Naru..." I called out when I could not bear it anymore.

The woman, whose face was pale as wax, opened her eyes widely in an instant. She focused on Naru with glaring eyes as though she were starving for something. She then lifted her thin bloodless lips into a smile.

"Naru...!"

Naru clasped my arm with his hand behind him and held me to his back. "If that right there is a spirit from this school, it can't do anything. It will be all right."

As he was saying that, the light wavered again. The woman's body came down: her white-kimono-clad shoulders and then chest. Looking like she wouldn't stop soon, the woman leaned forward from the ceiling. Hanging upside down, she held a gruesome smile and watched Naru intently. The look in her eyes was brutal.

''...If it kept on descending like this…'' A shudder ran down my spine. ''...What would happen to us...?''

Surprisingly at that moment, somebody opened the door.

"Bou-san!"

Pushing the door open and grasping the knob, Bou-san stiffened. He looked hard at the woman who was hanging from the ceiling and quickly linked his fingers. "Naumaku sanmanda bazaradan kan!"

At Bou-san's voice, the woman's body slithered back into the ceiling. The light turned on at the same time as the tips of her hair vanished.

"What was that...just now?" Bou-san gaped in surprise.

In an extremely calm voice, Naru said, "It seems you arrived here swiftly."

''...Please don't speak like it weren't a big deal!''

"...With this, it's apparent that Hara-san is unreliable right now."

"Seems like it."

While listening to their conversation, I sank down to the floor.

Bou-san patted my head. "Are you okay? Were you scared?"

"...Yeah..." Those eyes were scary. Their look, cruel and evil. The woman didn't look at me even once in the end. It's Naru whom her bloodthirsty eyes were riveted on. That's what I thought, and when I buried my face in my hands, an image abruptly flitted in my head: a will-o'-wisp burning at Naru's feet. "Oh..."

"What's wrong, Mai?" Bou-san peered at me.

"That was...after Naru."

"—What?"

"This room isn't its target. It showed up for Naru. It's evil. Naru is in danger."

Bou-san and Naru stared at me, bewildered.

Then Naru crouched down to my level. "Why?"

"I told you; it's because that was evil. There are will-o'-wisps in this school, and that was one of them. It's aiming for you." ''...I wonder how I could think like this. What am I saying?''

"...Mai, are you awake?"

Although I thought I wasn't sure, my mouth moved on its own. "I'm awake. I'm not confused. I don't understand why myself, but I just know!"

Bou-san and Naru exchanged glances. They told me to compose myself and had me sit on a chair, and as they asked questions, I told them about what I had seen in my dreams before.

Of course I didn't say Naru appeared in them.

"I don't know why, but the moment I saw the will-o'-wisps, I realized they were absolutely evil. They weren't spirits; they were demons. They're absolutely dangerous."

Naru got absorbed in his thoughts. He cast his gaze on the floor. I had the feeling that he was looking at where I'd seen the will-o'-wisp earlier.

There came sounds of a lot of footsteps and voices; they were the sounds of everyone returning.

<span style="font-size: 200%;"><center>* * *</center></span>

After listening to Naru and Bou-san's explanation, everyone similarly stared in puzzlement.

Masako went pale. Her exceedingly high spirit medium's pride appeared to be wounded. "That is impossible," she protested, her voice quaking. "It is impossible that there are spirits here."

"Well then, what did we see?"

"...I do not know. But that was not a spirit. It is absolutely different." Tears brimmed in Masako's eyes. "If I’m wrong, then I have lost my psychic ability!"

Ayako patted Masako's back. "You have affinity with spirits. You just don't get along well with the spirits here."

"...That sort of thing..." Masako covered her face with both of her hands.

Ayako's shoulders sagged. "Anyway, since we don't know the true nature of what we're up against, I think it's better to not be in this school at night. Let's go home, Masako."

Masako nodded with downcast eyes.

I got deeply uncomfortable. It felt like I had snatched Masako's most prized possession. Masako is a pro. Moreover, she's hailed as top-notch.

''This must be really shocking for her'', I thought.

Naru stood up. "Ayako is right. That will be all for today."

100% Translated~

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Ghost Hunt:Volume3 Chapter4

2020-10-01T14:33:04Z

Hermina05:

{{complete|percentage=100}}
==Chapter 4 - Curse ==

===1===

The next day, although it's daytime, I had somewhat creepy thoughts in the conference room. Nobody came yet. I was waiting for everyone to show up.

The door opened, and I thought they finally arrived. But when I turned around, it was Taka and Kasai-san who peered in.

"Eh? You're alone again?"

"No one arrived yet." I was strangely relieved. ''That'' didn't show up in this room. Although I told myself that it was targeting Naru, I was still uncertain.

" '''Not yet'',' you say? It'll be lunch soon, you know?"

"...Yeah. Everyone's tired. I myself don't want to look at the desk work and do it."

"Well... Did you make some progress in your job?"

I smiled vaguely. I was wondering if Kasai-san herself wasn't to blame in this mysterious phenomenon. After I recounted yesterday's incident, it didn't bother her at all.

"Did you eat lunch already? If you don't mind, would you like to eat with us?"

"...Oh, I didn't bring my own lunch."

"That's what I thought." Taka held out something wrapped with a table napkin. "I also made your share~"

"Eeh, no way!　I'm so happy~" I squealed, teary-eyed.

"Hehe. Kasai-senpai said, '' 'I wonder if Mai is eating lunch regularly''.' Well, we talked about how you don't look like you're eating well. So I thought, '''Perhaps I'll make an extra lunch today''.' ”

''I-I'm so happy~'' "...Sorry for always troubling you."

"It's an untold promise~ <3"

"I'll make lunch for you tomorrow." Kasai-san beamed.

"...That's not good..."

"It's okay. Anyway, I forgot to tell you yesterday," Kasai-san said while unpacking her lunch. "Kei-sensei said you should tell her if there's anything she could assist you with. I'll also help, so let me know whatever I can do."

"Wow."

"She was impressed, after I told her Shibuya-san is an ''onmyouji.'' He's an admirable sort of person after all~"

"Really?"

"Yes~"

Taka rose and said aloud, "For me, Bou-san is better."

I gripped my chopsticks, but didn't declare anything. "Gotcha. In fact, you like him as a musician as well, don't you?" I delved.

"Yeah~"

"As a bassist, he's better," agreed Kasai-san too.

"Yeah~ <3"

Yes, yes. That was a good reply.

The three of us ate lunch enjoyably and afterwards talked about foolish things while sipping tea. It was then that Naru finally arrived. Lin-san followed behind him.

"...Kasai-san?"

"Ah, good afternoon." Kasai-san raised a hand to Naru. After that, she and Taka stood and waved their hands to me. "Then, I'm leaving. I have PE this afternoon."

"Okay."

"Really, let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"Thanks. I shall find a mountain of work for you."

"Idiooot." Kasai-san laughed.

Taka did the same. "Then, do your best~" she said, and the two of them bowed to Naru and Lin-san and exited the room.

"...Hehh. You've become surprisingly good friends with them." Naru watched the two leaving, looking strange.

"I guess so. It's due to my charisma," I said.

"Perhaps."

''...Eh?'' Um... I was expecting a sarcastic comeback, so I'd braced my mind for it. And he merely gave a simple reply though.

Naru sank down to a chair.

Noticing his eyes were a bit reddish, I probed, "Your eyes are bloodshot. Didn't you get any sleep?"

"I didn't. Me and that guy were glaring at each other until morning."

'' 'That guy' ''... ''Don't tell me''… "...''That guy'' from yesterday?"

"Yeah. Your intuition was correct. Last night, it appeared in my room."

Lin-san regarded Naru as though it were the first time he heard of that. "You should have called me."

"Indeed... I thought of that. But I had a feeling that it would be dangerous if I looked away. So we glared at each other till morning."

''Why is he talking as if it seems nothing?''

"I would have heard you if you knocked on the wall. Why didn't you call out for me?"

"Yeah, well... I was a little curious...if something would happen. Isn't it wrong if I wake you up while you're in deep sleep?"

"Naru, if something had occurred, what did you intend to do?"

"Well, of course, if the situation worsened, I would call you. But it didn't come to that..."

...How rare. Naru and Lin-san were having a personal conversation. I wondered what made the latter anxious that got Naru feeling a bit impatient. "Hey, Naru?"

"Hm?"

"This is an irrelevant question, but are you and Lin-san living in the same place?"

"...That's how it is. What about it?"

''...Well, it's nothing really. I see~ That's how it is~'' I didn't know his address and telephone number. (Because there's the office, it served its purpose well enough that it's unnecessary for me to know other things.) I wasn't even sure where they're living. Hehh, I felt I'd come a step closer. "Ah, that's right. Kasai-san had said we should tell her if there's anything she could help with."

"She did?"

"Yeah. Ubusuna-sensei too."

"Amateurs can't handle the situation well when we have them help us..." Naru grumbled, looking fed up.

"They aren't amateurs, are they? Kasai-san is extremely well-informed at different kinds of things. Since she said her knowledge is from Ubusuna-sensei, sensei is even more well-informed."

"Hmph..."

"If you try talking to them, you'll discover that they're good people. I thought Kasai-san was scary when we first met her at the Biology lab, but at that time my nerves were considerably on edge." That's right. Saying things such as '' 'I'll curse you to death!' '' in the company of teachers—the teachers themselves were the ones who drove her to do that. "During all this dispute, both Ubusuna-sensei and Kasai-san appear to be having a really difficult time. Isn't Ubusuna-sensei admirable? Shouldn't the teachers nowadays protect their students and so on until their own positions are at risk? We can say the same even to subordinate teachers. But still they're not capable of doing that usually."

"Is Ubusuna-sensei from Yuasa?"

"Seems like it. It's said that that's how it is for almost all female teachers in this school. But you know..." After I trailed off, I said out of the blue, "Hey, Naru?" I tried saying what was bothering my little heart. "Kasai-san can never really put a curse on anyone, right?"

Naru looked puzzled. "I guess not. No matter how much PK she has, she can't possibly curse a large number of people like this. Not to mention, there's the fact that the spirits are appearing where their victims are..."

"About cursing straw dolls and such, they don't work, do they?" I asked.

"According to hearsay, superior psychics are superior spellcasters, but...that's probably not true. When you use a straw doll, you'll have to hammer a nail into it."

Uh-huh. That's true. "It should be painful at the spot where you hammered the nail after all, right?"

"...Yes. Such instances like spirits appearing due to straw dolls are—" Naru began, but jolted aback. He turned to Lin-san; the latter also looked like he had the wind knocked out of him. "Lin..."

"That is possible."

''Eh? What is?'' I examined the two of them. ''What are they talking about?''

"Why didn't I notice it until now?"

"Um... Hello, are you there?" I queried, and Naru glanced back at me.

When he was about to say something, we heard many footfalls.

It was the arrival of the group of psychics.

===2===

"I'm sorry~" Ayako started explaining while coming in, "This depraved monk slowed me down—"

Bou-san went to pick up Ayako and the others and took them here with his car.

Bou-san frowned. "It's not just my fault. It's because Masako was grumbling that she doesn't want to come..."

At his reprimanding gaze, Masako said, "I don't want to come here and be of no use."

She's absolutely still sulking.

"Even Matsuzaki-san right there took time doing her makeup..."

"It's the way a woman grooms herself."

"You should have finished grooming before we came over to get you."

"You're fine. You do not need makeup and such after all. But I am different from a young girl like you."

"The difference is in rawness. Haven't you thought that you've painted your face about one or two centimeters thick?"

"What was that?!"

With his cold voice, Naru suppressed the two who were glaring at each other. "Can't you two just cut it out!" His eyes were chilling and steely.
"The present situation is now clear," he declared, and everyone's eyes rounded.

"...What did you say?"

When Bou-san moved forward, Naru said, "I said I know what's happening in this place."

Everyone fell silent.

"It is a curse."

''...A curse?''

"Somebody is casting a curse on people in here. That is the cause of everything."

"Hey, hold on a moment," Bou-san interrupted in confusion. "A '''curse'',' you say...? Then, does that also mean somebody is using a straw doll?"

"It's slightly different, but it's almost like that."

In a dubious voice, Ayako also said aloud, "But then, what about the spirits?"

"They're not the problem."

"Saying they’re '''not the problem'' '... What is the connection between the curse and the spirits?"

Naru surveyed everyone. "The practice of cursing someone by driving a nail into a doll originally came from Onmyoudou. This influenced Shinto, Buddhism, and Shugendo and was furthermore established as folk magic."

"...That's true, but..."

"There are two ways to curse someone in Onmyoudou: '' 'Enmi'' ' and '' 'Kodoku.'' ' '' 'Enmi'' ' is a cursing method that consists of using either a doll or the belongings of the person you're cursing. '' 'Kodoku'' ' involves killing an organism, and that organism's malicious spirit will be used to curse one's enemy to death. Using a straw doll is a technique of '' 'Enmi''.'

“Onmyoudou originated from the philosophy of eight ''Yin-Yang'' trigrams which came from China. From the beginning, both '' 'Enmi'' ' and '' 'Kodoku'' ' are ancient enchantments introduced in China... They're methods from 'Fukodou.' The Onmyoudou in Japan…is a mixture of eight ''Yin-Yang'' trigrams’ philosophy and China's ancient enchantments.”

"...Uh-huh. In short, since cursing someone using a doll came from Onmyoudou, it also came from China, right? Now what?"

"Usually when cursing someone by nailing a doll, the grudge of the person who hammered the nail reaches his or her enemy through a mysterious power, and thereby one would think that malice does harm."

"Isn't that how it is?"

"It isn't. The spellcaster... By driving a nail into the doll, the person casting the curse beseeches a god or a spirit to put a deadly spell on someone. Receptive to that plea, the god or spirit will direct the death curse to one's enemy. This is the original form of '' 'Enmi''.' In other words, through the use of the '' 'Enmi'' ' method, the god or the spirit will be used as a demon in the end."

"...Hold on. Did you say '' 'demon'' '...?" Ayako raised her voice. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that if you cast the '' 'Enmi'' ' spell, rather than a mysterious power, it is the god or evil spirit that will come to torment your enemy?"

"That's right." Naru swept his gaze over us.

''...An evil spirit will come to torment the other person…'' "That's..." I muttered, and Naru gave a nod.

"I think what's happening in this school is undoubtedly caused by '' 'Enmi''.' This is the aspect of the case: Someone cast the spell of '' 'Enmi'' ' against the people involved in this school. Because of that, evil spirits go to the location of the accursed party. These evil spirits don't have the power to kill those people overnight. They will lead them to their deaths by gradually tormenting them. When the spellcaster's power isn't enough, he may not be able to call a spirit to kill his enemy.

“Anyway, according to rumors, strange things are happening in this school because of that curse. Nervous people who are affected by these rumors start misunderstanding that supernatural things are happening to them. The extreme example will be that girl who was possessed by a fox spirit. That's how pandemonium broke out in this school."

"...I get it." Bou-san groaned. Then leaning forward, he asked, "Who the hell is doing this?"

He had asked Naru, but it was Masako who answered, "I know who's doing such a thing. ...It's Kasai-san, isn't it?"

''...Kasai-san?''

Ayako bobbed her head. "You're right. Her own psychic ability rejected her, and she was severely criticized. People who covered up for her also suffered severely. So isn't that why she said, '' 'I'll curse you to death'' ' ? She put her words into action."

"Kasai-san didn't do that!" I yelled unintentionally.

"Ooh, why not? Is there someone else who would?”

"Kasai-san isn't that kind of person. She wouldn't do that."

"Well, as they say, appearances can be deceiving."

"She isn't like that!" They don't even know Kasai-san. "Perhaps somebody else did it! There are probably a lot of people who bear a grudge against teachers and students."

"I doubt it. ...Well, call Kasai-san. If we question her closely, won't everything be cleared?" Ayako stated plainly.

"I won't let you do that."

"Mai, exactly what is up with you?"

"It's just that you can't do that. Are you going to apprehend Kasai-san without any proof just because she has a motive? She's already hurting due to severe criticisms about her psychic ability issues!"

The first time I met her, Kasai-san's entire body was on edge because of the distrust of others. Although she had finally calmed down a bit, something like that could happen again!

Naru peered at me. "Kasai-san is the one who's the most suspicious. Yoshino-sensei, one of the victims, is the very man who accused her at the morning assembly."

"...But you're wrong."

"Can you tell that for sure? If we leave her be, someone might end up dead, you know?"

...No way. I cast my eyes down. ''When he says something like that, I can't say he's absolutely wrong…''

At that moment, an image crossed my mind. I couldn't describe it very well. It's kind of a colored shadow. I had a feeling that that unidentified thing was clearly telling me ''"No."''

I lifted my face and returned Naru's gaze directly. There were spirits as I'd thought. Naru was being targeted as I'd thought. ''I will believe in myself.'' "It's not Kasai-san. I'm sure of that."

Ayako and Masako burst into sarcastic laughter.

"You look stupid!"

Naru's jet-black eyes gazed back at me. "...Are you positive about that?"

"I am."

"Is it your intuition again?"

"Yes, it is." ''...Have any complaints?''

Unexpectedly, Naru's eyes softened. "Very well. I'll believe you."

"...Really!?"

"I owe you a lot this time, so I'll put my faith in you here. For now we'll settle with the hypothesis that Kasai-san might not be the culprit, and we'll search for the very culprit himself."

...Yay! Thank you!

Ayako and Masako looked displeased.

"Naru, are you serious?"

"Of course."

Masako appeared even more displeased than Ayako. “Are you going to leave things be until the culprit is known? As things are, we do not even know if someone is dead."

"I'm aware of that. We can't leave the curse alone. Lin and I will look for the perpetrator. I want everyone else to search for the dolls."

Everybody went speechless.

"What?"

"There are two ways to break ''Enmi''; it's either we return the curse to the spellcaster, or we look for the doll used for ''Enmi'' and burn it. As a rule of ''Enmi'', one must bury the doll nearby the cursed person, such as in his or her house or workplace. If the culprit is connected to this school, then it's highly likely that the dolls are in the vicinity."

"And who will you have looking for them? Us?" Bou-san looked weary. "How vast do you think the school grounds are? If you include the planned construction site for the adjacent student center, do you know what a huge area that is? Are you saying we should dig up the whole place for that!?"

"At least, the culprit must have buried a doll of me on the second or third day. I think we'll know if it's still buried later."

Bou-san eyed Naru resentfully.

Naru gave him an icy stare in return. "How about you go home if you don't want to do it?"

"...I'll do it. I'll do it, okay?" Bou-san shrugged.

Naru turned to Lin-san and me. "Let's begin. Come with me."

===3===

Lin-san and I followed Naru who walked ahead of us. There’s a dead silence in the school building where afternoon classes had started.

“Naru! Where are you going?”

“There’s something I want to check,” was his short reply, and he headed to the 2-5 classroom.

At present, Taka’s 2-5 class had apparently transferred during school hours. The classroom was deserted; unattended, it was cold. It appeared totally different when there were people in it.

It’s the cursed seat. The girl who was sitting on it was injured and hospitalized right now.

“What are you going to do?”

Naru took out the belongings inside the desk without a word. He peered into it and then turned it over. “…Found it.”

…Lin-san and I peered into the desk as well.

A paper was stuck directly deep inside it. Naru peeled off that paper. Behind that, a board of hitogata was affixed with a packing tape. He tore off that hitogata and held it out to Lin-san.

Lin-san regarded the hitogata and remarked, “…It’s well-made. There’s no mistake it’s Enmi. However this…doesn’t put a curse on a specific individual, but seemingly on someone who has this seat.”

“Indeed.” Naru nodded. He turned to the dazed me and said, “This seat doesn’t cause accidents to anyone in particular, but to the person who sat on it. Besides that, I believe the one it’s cursing isn’t a person but the desk.”

…I see.

“If we take this as an example… we can suppose that the curse at the track-and-field clubroom also didn’t target anyone specifically, but the entire track-and-field club members. …Let’s go and see.”

The tenement-like building where the track-and-field clubroom could be found lay on the edge of the field.

Naru glanced inside and tilted his head a bit in doubt at the clubroom’s concrete floor. “Is it usually underground?”

“Yes. It can also be above the ceiling, but…”

Naru cast his eyes up at the ceiling Lin-san had mentioned. It was a ceiling merely formed by a square board. Naru dragged a chair from that area and stood on top of it. He started examining the room’s ceiling board. “It’s possible that any of the guys have moved it though…” Naru knocked on the ceiling board.

Dust descended upon us, and I covered my eyes. In haste, I looked down and blinked. The floor nearby a locker had a crack, and I noticed a small rise on it at that instant. “…?” When I looked at it properly, I could tell that the concrete that covered the floor was broken, and that that spot was slightly elevated. I touched the little risen concrete as a test.

—It budged.

With all my might, I lifted that chunk of about thirty centimeters on all sides. The ground under it became visible. “Naru!”

At my call, Naru jumped down from the chair. He looked at the gap I’d indicated and came digging up with his immaculately white hands. Oddly, I felt as though I’d committed a crime, so I hurriedly helped him dig.

“…I got it!” I touched a hard object with my fingertips right away, and I pulled that out.

It’s a hitogata made of a whittled board. On its surface, characters were written with black ink, but I couldn’t read them because it’s muddied.

When I gave it to Naru, he handed it over to Lin-san. Lin-san simply nodded wordlessly.

Naru turned around to me. His eyes held a faintly tender expression. “Well done, Mai.”

…Uwaaa, he p-praised me!

“As expected, it’s Enmi. No doubt about it. All we have to do is to collect the rest of the buried hitogata. Mai did a very good job this time.”

…Ehehehe~ I didn’t do much.

“Collecting them all will be difficult,” said Lin-san, and Naru stood up while he dusted off the dirt on his hands.

“I don’t think so. We could ask the culprit.”

“How will we find the culprit?”

“It’s not impossible. We should find out who’s connected to that cursed seat and the track-and-field club. The culprit would be at the extension of that line.”

“…Yes.”

===4===

Naru ordered Lin-san to do something, and the latter went out to investigate. Me and Naru searched for Taka.

Once we had forcibly pulled her to the conference room during her class, we briefly explained the circumstances to the bewildered girl and asked for her cooperation.

“That’s fine with me, but… What can I assist you with?” inquired Taka in curiosity.

But Naru said, “Don’t you have any idea about that cursed seat?”

“I would have told you if I had any…”

“Then I’ll rephrase the question. The culprit has a grudge with a person who sat on that cursed seat. —Who was sitting on it initially?”

“I don’t remember who it was on the first term. On the second term, it was a girl named Murayama.”

“From what day and until when did she sit on that chair?”

Taka was wrapped in thought for a moment. “Um, we first changed seats on the middle of September. We change seats every 15th day of the month. So with summer break in between, I guess Murayama-san sat there from July 15 to September 14.”

Naru nodded and took a note of that. “She had an accident, didn’t she?”

"Yes.”

“When did Murayama-san get into an accident?”

"Um, I forgot what day it was, but it was two or three days before the seat change. That’s why at the beginning everyone thought nothing of it.”

“Right… The culprit has July 15 to September 14 with summer break in between… So two or three days before…would be the 11th or the 12th day. It might be during that time that the jufu was stuck to the desk. Since the series of accidents and illnesses started occurring on mid-September, the person who sat there before Murayama-san probably had nothing to do with it. Murayama-san must have done something to cause the culprit’s grudge.”

“…I wouldn’t say such a thing—” Taka tilted her head.

“How about another victim of an accident?”

“Nuh-uh…” Taka tilted her head thoughtfully more and more.

“Someone at least holds a grudge. It’s possible that the culprit only knows how Murayama-san looks like. Meaning, a teacher who’s not in charge of her class or a student from another grade may have that limitation.”

“About that, just a second… You see, Murayama-san sometimes comes in contact with teachers who aren’t in charge of her class, and she even gets involved with clubs and people from other grades at times. The strict Murayama-san also regularly visits the people in the literature club.”

Naru tapped his pen against the desk. “Well, how about the track-and-field club? Who has a grudge with that club?”

“…Track-and-field… I heard that they have a never-ending squabble with the softball club regarding who has the right to use the field. But then there’s a strong disagreement between the track-and-field and volleyball clubs. Because of that, the former seems to have a bad relationship with the volleyball club as well. And…” All of a sudden, Taka said, “The track-and-field club’s advisor is a realist.”

“…?”

“The advising teacher is the kind of person who doesn’t believe in things like spirits and psychic abilities. Consequently, all club members are non-believers as well. Sawaguchi-san has track-and-field as a club of her required curriculum. But track-and-field club members are mostly there in the curricular track-and-field, and it’s very likely that she was bullied by them.”

After Naru pondered for a bit, he asked for the name of the advising teacher. The advisor was the teacher who said on our first day that a ghost appeared in his car, and he was hospitalized due to an accident afterwards.

…Sawaguchi-san…

“Did Sawaguchi-san frequent Takahashi-san’s class?”

“…Yes. You see, during the Kasai Panic… That is, when the school was in an uproar since Kasai-san said she can bend spoons, she became greatly sought after. If they found her on the hallway or somewhere, everyone would drag her into a class. Sawaguchi-san was always found together with Kasai-san, so she had come to our class many times.”

“I see…” murmured Naru, and then he asked, “Is Murayama-san, who had an accident first, a non-believer of psychic abilities? Or is she a believer?”

“…She’s a firm non-believer.” Taka stared at Naru anxiously. “Which reminds me, when we took Kasai-san into our classroom and such, she spoke with extreme sarcasm for us to hear. She wasn’t sarcastic to Kasai-san and us only; even members of the biology club and Ubusuna-sensei were under fire as well. She clearly complained to us, who invited Kasai-san.” After saying that, she looked at me. “Mai… is this the cause? Is Sawaguchi-san the culprit? Or is it…?”

“…I don’t know.”

Sawaguchi-san didn’t come to school. We heard she was persecuted by teachers and bullied by students and that in the end she dropped out of school after being absent.

She might have a strong grudge towards the people who attacked her. Since Sawaguchi-san wasn’t in school anymore when we arrived, we forgot about her. Even she could bend keys… Naru had said that ‘Superior psychics can be superior spellcasters.’ In that case, the culprit could be Sawaguchi-san…

===5===

Naru asked Taka about the names of the people in the anti-Kasai faction and marked them on a list of names. As far as Taka knew, they’re the people who attacked Kasai-san.

After we let Taka return to her classroom, Naru and I gazed at that list of names. The marked people were all tormented by the curse, and they had come to consult with us.

“So this is it, as expected…” Naru muttered.

“…Is Sawaguchi-san the culprit?”

“I don’t know. It sounds wrong to you, but it’s also very likely that it’s Kasai-san.”

“It is, right? I don’t want to say it, but doesn’t Ubusuna-sensei also have a motive? What do you think about her?”

“I’ve got nothing to say… However, if anyone can cast the curse, there’s no guarantee it will be successful. That’s if that person didn’t have a training beforehand.”

“…Or have an ESP?”

"Yes. The person has psychic powers or had a formal training and so on.”

How about Ubusuna-sensei?

She’s well-informed about parapsychology, but no story came up about her having had formal training.

Besides, was there anyone who had a formal training in this school? Or someone who had ESP? Or someone with psychic powers?

…No matter how much I thought about it, the most suspicious ones were Kasai-san and Sawaguchi-san…

However, I believe in my own intuition. Kasai-san isn’t the culprit. If that’s the case, the one who remains to be suspicious was only Sawaguchi-san…

Naru stood up. “Let’s meet up with Sawaguchi-san.”

“…Yeah.”

Naru and I went to a teacher to ask for Sawaguchi-san’s address. Because she herself hadn’t come to school, we had no choice but to visit her house. When we asked Sawaguchi-san’s homeroom teacher, the latter said something unexpected.

“It seems like Sawaguchi-san ran away from home.”

This homeroom teacher was in the group that attacked Kasai-san and the others, so it’s expected that he would be tormented by loud rapping sounds wherever he went.

“I got a call yesterday from her home. I was told her money and belongings were gone, so she probably ran away. I told them to go out today for certain to file a missing person report to the police.”

Naru went silent, looking perplexed. After leaving the faculty room, I parted with Naru to look for Kasai-san.

I caught Kasai-san before her class. I pulled her into an empty classroom around that area. “I heard Sawaguchi-san ran away from home.”

As soon as I said that, Kasai-san was a bit puzzled, and after that she crouched down there. “…It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not. That’s not true.”

“It is. …Mizuho told me that she would quit school and leave her house to work. She intended to run away from home since the beginning…” Kasai-san buried her face in her knees. “It’s true, you see. She told me she was bullied at school, but her family scolded her to go to school. …It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not. It’s not your fault. Sawaguchi-san isn’t fair!”

As though saying, 'What?’ Kasai-san stared back at me.

"Well, isn’t it true? You should do your best to not lose to those around you. If you’re friends, you should do your best together. Kasai-san, although you’re crying and worrying that it’s your fault, you stayed at school alone, and she just ran away by herself. She should realize that!”

Aah, it makes me angry. Why did she run away? She left her friend and ran away by herself.

"It’s not your fault. It’s just that Sawaguchi-san is a coward and a slick one at that. You were also attacked. And yet you haven’t given up. You don’t have to feel responsible for someone who ran away and abandoned a friend that’s in the same boat as her!”

Tears fell down Kasai-san’s face while she squatted, and she looked up at me. ”…It seems like I also thought of that… Now I feel a bit relieved.“

"Of course you should.”

After those words left my mouth, Kasai-san laughed. “That’s right. …Amazing. Mai, you’re optimistically willful.”

“Yup. I don’t think like everything is my responsibility. I’m not a weakly emotional girl.”

“…I’m sentimental, huh…? I think you’re right.”

“Yes, I am.” I sat down next to Kasai-san.

“Mizuho…didn’t go to school, and no matter how many times I asked her to go, she doesn’t want to. Even though I called her recently, I just admonished her, so she didn’t even answer my calls. I’m worried about Mizuho, but in my heart I felt sad. It seemed like she left me behind, so I felt helpless.”

“Yeah.” …Of course she would think like that.

“I wonder when was the last time we talked on the phone. It’s quite a while ago. At that time, Mizuho told me she’d quit school and go to work, and I cried after she hung up. Even I don’t know why I cried, but I thought I was sorry for Mizuho so I cried. But right now, when I think back on it, it wasn’t that. I felt abandoned by Mizuho and felt betrayed by my friend, so I cried because I was lonely.”

“Yeah.”

“Mizuho is unfair.”

“I told you so.”

“I won’t lose.”

“Excellent.”

“I won’t give up and I’ll do my best. Mizuho will have a place she belongs to when she got the courage to come back home.”

“Say, Kasai-san…”

“Yes?”

"You’re the best~”

Kasai-san laughed once I said that.

“Don’t you think it’s stupid of Mizuho to abandon suuuch a good friend like you?”

"I do, I do. I even want to declare a candidate to succeed me.”

“If you’re on the right side, who’s the opposing one?”

“You mean the left wing?”

“The stupid Mizuho will have it then.”

“Yeah.”

I was silent for a bit, staring at my feet.

“I have to go to my lesson.” Kasai-san rose to her feet.

“You shouldn’t worry too much.”

“…Yeah. I’ll do my best. Good luck on your work too, Mai.” After smiling at me, she said, “In the field of that person as well, okay?”

“That person?”

“Shibuya-san.”

…Aagh. As I said, that's…

“Does it seem like you have a chance?”

“Not at all. But you see—”

“But what?”

Ehehe~ I was useful, so he praised me~

When I told her my story, she said, "Heh~ Doesn’t that mean you’re not absolutely hopeless?”

“…I wonder~?”

“You’ll be fine. Keep fighting.”

“You too, Kasai-san.”

“I’ll win.”

We both giggled.

“Alright, now I’m really going to class.” Kasai-san raised her hand.

I also raised my hand and then abruptly called, “Hey, Kasai-san?”

“Hm?”

“You said it’s been a long time since you’ve spoken to Sawaguchi-san, right?”

“What about it?”

“Then, Sawaguchi-san doesn’t know the school’s current state or that we came here to investigate?”

Contemplating, Kasai-san slanted her head slightly. ”…Probably… I think she doesn’t know… I had no chance to say it, but since I heard that she didn’t even answer Kei-sensei’s calls, I think she might not know. I should have told her. The attitude of everyone who attacked us must have changed a bit because they had seen a ghost. They became less aggressive, including Yoshino-sensei.“

"Yeah…” I answered reluctantly.

…I didn’t want to say that.

It felt like my throat was clogged, and I tried asking her again. “Regarding Ubusuna-sensei… Can she see spirits?”

Kasai-san shook her head. “Why? If she could, she would have helped you guys a long time ago. I heard Kei-sensei doesn’t have the talent to put something into practice. She only knows how to do it by theory.”

“I wonder if she had no formal training.”

“I heard nothing about it…”

I felt struck on the head. Ubusuna-sensei had no ability to cast a curse. So the ones left were Sawaguchi-san and Kasai-san…

But didn’t Sawaguchi-san not know that Naru had come to school? In other words, wouldn’t that mean that Sawaguchi-san couldn’t curse Naru!?

She had no motive to do that. She didn’t know about Naru after all.

Then, why did the ghost appear wherever Naru was? That couldn’t be a mere ghost. That was Enmi. It was an evil spirit summoned through Enmi.

So Sawaguchi-san couldn’t be the culprit as well.

===6===

When I returned to the conference room and told him about the matter in question, Naru gaped at me.

“Mai, what happened to you this time? Aren’t you being extremely helpful?”

…I’m sorry, okay? For being useless until now.

“You’re right. Sawaguchi-san isn’t the culprit. Besides, why would the curse follow me wherever I go?”

"Isn’t it because you’re a hindrance?”

"A hindrance?”

"Well, aren’t you here to solve the mysterious case in this school? As you’re a hindrance to himself, the culprit decided to eliminate you.”

“…If that’s the case, then it shouldn’t be only me who’s cursed. Don’t you think all of us should have been cursed? At least, the curse shouldn’t be cast upon only me, but it should be on this conference room.”

“That’s…”

Oh, I see. I got it. Yes, it’s true. Definitely true.

“So in other words, what’s happening in this school is due to the curse, right? About the curse, didn’t it come from Onmyoudou? Then, isn’t an onmyouji the one who can break it?”

”…Yeah.“

"That’s the reason. Because you’re an onmyouji, you’re a hindrance to the culprit in particular…”

“What did you say I am?”

"An onmyouji.”

“Why do you think I am one?”

…I blinked in surprise. Why… he asked. “…You’re not an onmyouji?”

"I’m not.”

Whaaaat! No way!! “But didn’t you use a hitogata in the previous case!? Bou-san said only an onmyouji can do that…”

“It was Lin who made that.”

…Lin-san… “…Is Lin-san an onmyouji?”

"Yeah, it seems so.”

…Whaaat? Then, Naru’s simply a psychical researcher? Somehow… I’m disappointed…

“It’s unlikely that the culprit would misunderstand like that. Supposing I’m really an onmyouji, I don’t think there’s a way the culprit would know that…”

“I told someone…”

“What?”

"I told someone that you’re an onmyouji.”

“…Who?”

What should I do? ”…Kasai-san…“

After giving me an intent gaze, Naru looked up at the ceiling and breathed a sigh. "So that’s to say… Kasai-san misunderstood that I’m an onmyouji? Mai, that means…”

“Yeah. I know. The probability that Kasai-san is the culprit has gone up, am I right?”

“It was you who said Kasai-san isn’t the culprit.”

“Yeah.”

“Will your belief remain unchanged?”

"I want to ask you about one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Do you think there’s a possibility that someone can cast a curse without knowing he’s the one doing it?” Unconsciously, for instance. In a trance, for instance.

"That’s impossible. Especially if it’s Enmi...”

“Then… my belief hasn’t changed.”

Naru tapped the desk lightly with his fingers. “Very well. I’ll believe you once again. …However, if an evidence that suggests Kasai-san is the culprit comes out in the open, I won’t agree with you.”

“…Yeah.”

It’s not Kasai-san. That’s impossible.

Naru rose. “I’m going to investigate something. You’ll help everyone search for the hitogata.”

“Roger that.”

100% Translated~

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Ghost Hunt:Volume3 Chapter5

2020-08-21T11:24:12Z

Hermina05: /* Chapter 5 - Hitogata */

{{Incomplete|percentage=20}}
==Chapter 5 - Hitogata ==

===1===

I searched for everyone first. The group of psychics was currently investigating around the gymnasium. John materialized from beneath the gym’s floor precisely when I had found Ayako and run up to her.

"John! Isn’t it muddy in there!?“

"Well…” As soon as John came crawling out from the narrow air vent on all fours, he got up with a troubled expression. “It’s no good. There’s nothing here as well."

Ayako and Masako sighed in unison.

Bou-san also came crawling out after John.

"Does it really exist? A hitogata, I mean."

I told the doubtful Ayako about the discovered hitogata from the demon’s seat and track-and-field clubroom. Everyone pondered.

"So it’s Enmi after all…? Can’t be helped then.” Bou-san groaned and surveyed us. “We’re done under this floor. Seeing as there’s nothing in here, it might be somewhere on campus. We’ve got no choice but to split up and search thoroughly."

Ayako cried out, "Seriously, why must I do something so unseemly!? My clothes will get dirty, and my nails will break too."

"Well, we’re on the same boat.”

"Oh, I don’t want to be like you. How much do you think these clothes cost? It’s *Inge after all. I can’t possibly get a cleaning fee from this school, can I?"

"Oh my, it isn’t only wool that will need one,” Masako sarcastically said. “My clothes are made of some kind of silk.” She looked down at her kimono. “It’s worse to wear such a thing in this sort of place. I can’t move, and I have to use my *ki."

Masako also grew indignant when she was told by the body-conscious and high-heeled Ayako.

Because the two women had started quarreling about what they’re wearing, I decided to throw a shocking fact about that guy. "By the way, Naru said he’s not an onmyouji."

They halted in an instant.

See? The uproar subsided.

"Naru’s… not an onmyouji, you said? "

"Yeah. He said the onmyouji is Lin-san."

"No way.”

"I’m telling the truth.“

Bou-san leaned in towards me. "Then what is he? What is Naru useful for?"

"I don’t know, but isn’t he always useful?"

"That’s true. But is that what he does? He’s in charge of mental work, and we’re responsible for manual labor…”

"Isn’t that how it should be?"

We looked like foolish *cross-talk comedians from somewhere.

"Why must I be used by someone who can’t even do an exorcism all by himself?"

Couldn’t it be because Naru’s smarter than you?

"Oh, so am I!”

Well, Ayako was the kind of person who’s exploited when she’s in love.

"Now, now.” As his habit, it was John who handled the situation. “Shibuya-san is a parapsychologist after all. Since he’s the one and only legitimate researcher here, don’t we balance him?”

Bou-san and Ayako appeared to be dissatisfied.

I slapped John’s back. “It’s just as he said. Now, let’s go look for hitogata, John.”

When I suggested that, Ayako said, "Oh yeah, there’s one more useless person here."

"Ooh, do you mean me? I’m not useless~"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Hahaha. I’m the woman with a sixth sense.” Even Naru praised me. I was useful this time. “Now, John, let’s go~"

Pressing the astonished John’s back, I left that place after him.

===2===

I parted with John on the way and searched the school grounds alone.

Somewhere in the school, there must be a hitogata being used for Enmi. I went to look at the campus thoroughly. In the shade of plants and even flower beds. I should recognize it simply by seeing it. At least, Naru’s hitogata should have been buried just recently.

I walked along the western fence and turned up at the vacant lot on the other side of the sports field. Although formerly there seemed to be a student center, that’s demolished now and had merely become a vacant lot. The tall weeds had withered. Canada goldenrods clustered around there. At that place was abandoned concrete rubble, and moldered rebars protruded.

I took a short rest here. Leaning against a fence, I studied the weathered scenery. The wind blew, and the weedy grass made a dry, rattling sound.

This place is also a part of the school grounds, isn’t it? Should I search on this empty lot? That’s too troublesome.

After all, there’s a fence to keep anyone out just in case. I wondered if it’s better to search the whole schoolyard.

The afternoon sun shone. It would be sinking soon. I gazed at the vacant land with that in mind.

”…?“ I turned my head abruptly. I heard a child’s cries from somewhere. I tried walking along the fence. In the shade of goldenrods, I spotted an abandoned red randoseru. I leaned forward and shouted, "Is someone there!?"

The cries grew slightly stronger.

"Hey, what’s wrong!?"

There was no response. I looked around. There’s no tear on the fence. Ugh. I climbed up the wire mesh that’s taller than I am. Once I forcibly jumped down, I ran to the randoseru.

"Is someone there!? Where are you!?” When I called out loudly, I heard a faint voice nearby. I stood up and surveyed my surroundings. Right near me, I found a spot where a concrete floor that looks like a building wreck is sprawling over.

I felt like I heard the voice from that direction, so I sprinted there.

There was a large crack on the surface of the concrete floor; a crevice about five centimeters wide stretched approximately three meters long.

I swept my eyes around me again.

"…Help me…“

It’s the feeble voice.

I brought my ear near the crack. "Is someone there!? Who’s there!?"

”…“ The weak voice said something, but it was inaudible. Yet, I was certain someone’s in there. Could there be a basement down here?

As I wondered what to do, I glanced about. There must be a stairway going down to the basement.

I pushed away the cluster of weeds that are sprouting to cling to the concrete. The stairs should be somewhere… While walking aimlessly, my feet touched something hard. When I looked at it, I saw a manhole.

How could there be a manhole in this kind of place? Its heavy-looking iron lid got dislodged halfway.

”…Someone there!?“ I honed in and screamed into the manhole. A small voice replied from inside.

It’s here!

Someone had fallen down in here. It’s probably the owner of that randoseru. An elementary school girl.

"Are you okay!?” While calling, I pushed aside the heavy lid. Light streamed inside.

The inside of the hole wasn’t so spacious. Its area was about one size bigger than a four-and-a-half-tatami* room. However, it’s deep. I couldn’t see the bottom of it due to the lighting condition. An iron ladder led the way down from the manhole, and a small figure was crouching in a corner of that space. It was gloomy and I couldn’t see that well. But it’s a child.

“Are you alright!?” When I called out once again, that child raised her face.

“Help me,” came her small cry.

Was she hurt that’s why she couldn’t move? Even raising her face was a powerless motion.

“Why are you in such a place…? Wait for me; I’ll call someone right now! “

She screamed to stop me. “Help me, help me, help me! "

I stumbled a step or two forward. It’s easy to go down because there’s a ladder, but I couldn’t climb up the ladder while carrying that child. “Wait for me! I’ll get some help immediately!”

At my voice, the girl’s wails grew louder.

What should I do? Should I go down below? It’s pitch black in the hole, and she’s alone in this kind of place. Moreover, she’s hurt so it’s probably unbearable. I should go down and climb up after I cheered her up and calmed her down.

With those in mind, I sat on the edge of the hole and lowered my foot inside—

"Mai!?“ a strong voice called out from far away.

I looked around. Naru’s figure was on the other side of the fence.

“Stop loafing around. What are you doing?”

“A child had fallen in here!"

Naru slanted his head a bit. “…A child?"

“Yes! That…” I tried to point at the randoseru, and gaped.

…It’s not there.

That’s absurd. It was certainly there earlier. There was a red randoseru near the grass over there…

At that moment, I missed my footing on the iron ladder.

“Kyaaa!” I immediately braced out my hands. Propping up my elbows on the rim of the manhole, I held out against falling.

Wait a minute, this isn’t a joke! Falling down to the bottom of a hole and a well once in life is enough!!

“Mai!” Unnoticed, Naru, who had crossed over the fence, rushed over to me.

I reached out my hand for help at once. “…Na…!!"

—I’m so dumb!

The moment I held up my hand, the strength I supported my body with reduced in half.

With a jerk, I tilted and hit my back on the edge of the hole. Thereafter, the strength from my arm slipped away the instant pain caught my breath.

What was supporting my weight suddenly disappeared.

”…Kyaa! “ I frantically grasped for the rim of the manhole. The concrete’s splintered surface scratched my palms. Pebbles fell from close at hand in sprinkles, and I reflexively closed my eyes and turned my face away.

Abruptly I sensed my balance crumbling. My hands that seized the rim failed to catch what I was relying upon.

…No way.

I’m falling.

Only my surroundings were in slow motion. The second all color quickly drained from me, I flung against a wall. There was a dull thumping sound.

…What?

My arm hurt. Creaking shoulders resounded.

I wasn’t falling. I was in the air. A force pulled my arm. A hand fastened to it.

”…Naru!“

”…This… idiot…! “ Leaning his body forward almost through the hole, Naru was pulling my arm with both hands. His jacket sleeve loosely slipped out of place. He’s about to fall. The feel of Naru’s hands that are digging into my arm got firmer. "Calm down and search for a foothold,” he said in a hollow voice.

I seemed heavy. Strangely, I felt calm. I’m heavy, aren’t I? I’m forty *kilograms after all. Naru had been carrying equipment of that weight fairly well on his shoulder, but that’s vastly different from carrying something suspended in the air. Either way, it must be painful for skinny Naru’s slender arms.

When I pondered that calmly, what vanished rapidly returned. Yet in a flash, I felt bloodless, and all my hair stood on end. "I’m falling, I’m falling, I’m falling!”

"Calm down… Find a foothold!”

A foothold? Foothold?

I fumbled around the space with my feet. The tips of my toes caught the rough concrete wall surface.

The shoulder Naru was pulling tight seemed to come loose. Turning my wrist over and gripping Naru’s arm, I desperately stretched out my feet. With a steady curve of my body, my toes touched something hard. I checked it. It looked like an iron rod.

Oh right, there’s a ladder.

"There’s a ladder.”

Once I said that Naru lifted his downcast face. “Can you climb on it?"

”…Yeah,” I said and hoisted my feet on the ladder. I grabbed the ladder’s link with one free arm. Relieved, I put my weight on it, and the rung of the ladder gave away in no time. I was swiftly thrown back into the air again, and then shock went through my unbalanced arm.

Naru, I’m sorry for having you carry a heavy person like me.

The second I felt at ease, I started falling magnificently as I clutched Naru’s arm.

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