Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 5 Chapter 4 (section)

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“Hey~, Mai.”

“Yeah?”

I positioned the fluid level on the ground, while turning to look at Bou-san.

“You met 2 men in your dream; do you know who they are?”

“Ah, that. Although I desperately looked at their faces, I didn’t make the least impression of their appearances. It somehow feels like it’s something that I’ve forgotten immediately after seeing it. When I looked, I knew, but I’m not clear about how they actually looked like.”

Bou-san squatted down beside me.

“Hey, I’m only saying this here.”

“Yeah.”

Because the volume of our conversation had diminished, Yasuhara and John came nearer.

“That… do you think that those 2 men are amongst the staff here?”

“Ai?!”

Bou-san placed his finger on his lips with a ‘Shh’.

“I thought, could it possibly be that the fellows here have sone something.”

Ai ai ai…

Yasuhara, who was also squatting down, leaned forward.

“Ah, isn’t this scene like those in a movie?”

“Is it?”

“They clearly know there are hidden rooms and hidden passageways but they don’t tell us; there’s this possibility too.”

“Exactly. It’s those fellows who hid the 2 people who have disappeared. If it’s like this…”

Bou-san put his hand on his head.

Yasuhara couldn’t stop nodding.

“If it’s like this then we’re all sacrifices. They told us that it’d be troubling to let the media know, and they closed us in here, then one by one they make us vanish. In the end there’s not one of us left…”

“The one called Ohashi is actually a homicidal maniac or something.”

“Perhaps this place is a secret temple for satanic worship.”

John, who was also squatting, held his head.

“Those fellows – didn’t they say that they had not encountered anything strange? They were here preparing for a very long time, right? They say nothing had happened; is it even possible?”

“Exactly. None of the staff here have disappeared before. Thinking carefully about it, none of the people directly associated with this house have vanished. But psychics, the punk who broke into this place, and the fire brigade volunteer who came forth to investigate…”

“Isn’t that so?”

I couldn’t help looking at their 2 faces.

“Hey, are you two really speaking seriously?”

“Ai?”

“No… that…”

“I think that lazing off here and talking about these pointless things won’t solve any problems.”

Bou-san’s and Yasuhara’s faces turned aside.

“Furthermore, Naru will not accept this sort of thing either. In any case we have no choice but to place fluid levels on all the floors. In the end we will have to knock down the wall, right?”

“Mai.”

“Wh~at?”

“You are really not the least bit cute.”

“That’s redundant.”

Hn.

Just at that time,

“Wait a moment.”

John wore a severe expression and gently raised his hand.

“What’s up?”

“What Yasuhara-kun said just now: none of the people associated with this family had disappeared; this line.”

“Wait, John. That was only a joke. You can’t be serious.”

John’s blue eyes gazed at me.

“But, this is a fact, isn’t it?”

“The fact you’re talking about is…”

“Mr Kaneyuki, who lived here, was fine. Mr Hiroyuki, who frequently stopped at this place, was also fine. Even the various staff members, up till today, have lived safely here.”

“Hey hey, John.”

Bou-san responded in a shocked tone. In contrast, John looked completely serious. 

“The ones who vanished are all outsiders. Is this really meaningless?”

“You… could you possibly be thinking that the people here are the criminals…?”

John shook his head.

“That’s not what I mean. I’m just thinking whether there could be a connection.”

Connection…

“Atsugi-san disappeared in a very strange fashion. If it is the same as what was recorded he couldn’t have disappeared. Is this, as expected, the actions of spirits?”

“… Perhaps.”

“If that’s the case, then don’t the spirits here have the hobby of picking out sacrifices? The spirits here will not hurt anyone with an association to the Miyama family or something.”

Bou-san sank into deep thought.

“However, the staff here are, at most, servants; they don’t have any blood relation.”

“If that’s the case, perhaps the spirits here like young people.”

… Ai?

“Aren’t all the staff here older people? In contrast, aren’t all those who have vanished young persons around 20 years old?”

“… you are right.”

Bou-san nodded.

I stood up.

“I’m going to tell Naru.”

“Wait.”

Bou-san called me.

“All the members of our team are under 30. If John’s hypothesis is right, then aren’t all of us in grave danger?”

… really?

“Naru-chan is right. It’s better if one is definitely not alone.”