Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 8 Chapter 12 (section)

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“—Will you remain silent to the last?”

Bou-san said sullenly and looked up.

“Then I’ll simply keep going. Let’s move on to the next.”

“Next?”

There’s m-more!?

“Yes. Another thing I was insanely curious about was how he got that much equipment. How much do you think it all costs? I’m telling you, it’s in the tens of millions. Hundred millions, probably. It’s not an amount securable by a kid of seventeen or so. No matter how rich of a family he comes from, there should be a generous patron. —Will you answer this if I ask, Naru?”

“...It would be bad if I stole Bou-san’s rare moment of spotlight.”

That being said, Bou-san lightly scowled.

“You’ve got nerve to say that. —Another thing. The matter of whether the office really belongs to Naru himself. As I said earlier, Naru-bou is still a minor. The management company of the building containing the office, the bank with the office account, and so on, would they agree to anything with a director that’s underage?”

...hmm.

“Also, I further wondered why Mai can’t answer calls. She also can’t open letters. In fact, she’s not allowed to touch the mail. It’s handed over to Mai after Lin completely sorts it. Mai, have you seen the mail that comes to the office in its original state?”

“...No.”

“The truth is, the typical work of an office clerk is to answer calls and sort letters. However, you’re not allowed to do that. Why?”

...Now that you mention it, it’s certainly strange…

“It seems as if he’s trying to keep others away from the mail and phone calls. If that’s so, then why? There is only one possible explanation for this. The mail and phone calls most often contain information that shouldn’t be known by others. If we consider the case of a letter, there’s the possibility that something he doesn’t want known is written in such a thing as the address, postmark, or return address.”

“Oh, I see!”

I unintentionally clapped my hands.

“In other words, because he’s using an alias, right? If ‘Shibuya Kazuya’ is an alias, then there’s the possibility that his real name is written on the letter.”

Bou-san lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Except, that’s not going to happen. That place is an office. In general, mail personally addressed to Naru won’t come. If it comes, the majority should be letters addressed to ‘Shibuya Psychic Research.’”

“Oh, I see.”

...Hmm.

“Well then, maybe he wants to hide mail that comes from a foreign country? There’s no need to do that. Books are sent to us from abroad, but that hasn’t been hidden.”

“Is that so? Would it seem suspicious in the case where just a letter addressed to the office comes from abroad? A phone call?  Nowadays, international calls are the same as long distance calls. There’s no [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#Exchange|exchange]]. It’s just a matter of getting the caller to keep silent about something.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s why I just gave free rein to my imagination. For example, what if the addressee’s name on the letter was wrong? In all likelihood, this guy is using an alias. What if the name of the office, ‘Shibuya Psychic Research’, is also an alias? If so, wouldn’t there be a need to hide it?”