Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 6 Chapter 3 (section)

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“Is it an Ebisu?”

Right after returning to the base, Bou-san muttered then spoke to Lin-san.

“Abnormalities?”

“None so far.”

“I see. Hey, Lin-san. Can’t we put equipment in the cave below?”

After he asked, Lin-san contemplated the situation of the cave.

“As long as there is no concern of seawater, we can set it up, but what about the power... ”

“Oh, I see.”

“The battery only holds two hours, and only one is available. There is the manual interval timer as well.”

“Interval timer?”

“It is a device that can be switched ON/OFF at regular time intervals. For example, it is sufficient to only record at hourly intervals. In that way, at best, it will allow us to record for half a day or so. ”

“However, that means there’s also the possibility that the switch will be turned off during a vital point.”

“Yes. —Ah, approximately how high is the cliff?”

Akifumi-san answered with, ‘About ten meters.’

“If that’s the case, we can probably lower the cable from here somehow. As long as no effort is spared to bring in the equipment afterwards.”

Ugh. Seems difficult…

—For this reason, we performed rigorous, heavy labor from there. We carried the equipment in a great hurry while the tide was out. Since we couldn’t go across the rocky stretch and carry the equipment on our shoulders, we walked in the water *splash splash* while circumventing the rocks. If the equipment got soaked by water, then it would be a serious matter. As such, I was dripping cold sweat. We couldn’t even use the supply cart.

Akifumi-san jumped into the cove in order to catch the cable that was lowered from the window of our base and pulled it up to the cave for me. If not for Akifumi-san, it would have been fairly difficult work to deliver the cable without getting the connector wet. The equipment was wrapped in vinyl to avoid getting wet and we built a simple tent. …*dizzy* Then, when we had at last finished the setup, the tide had risen and having no choice but to return, we were submerged in water up to the waist.

<font size="4"><center><b>***</b></center></font>

“Hey, Bou-san, what’s an ‘Ebisu’?”

After finishing the setup, we took showers and returned to base. Then I tried asking.

“Ebisu?”

Ayako and Masako, who did not participate in the setup, took John to go examine Hazuki-chan’s condition.

“A little while ago, you said, ‘Ebisu.’”

“Oh, is that so? In short, ‘Ebisu’ is flotsam.”

“Flotsam… ”

“An unusual object that’s drifted to the coast. Things like underwater rocks or dead bodies, sharks or whales. Anyhow, when an uncommon object turns up on the coast, it used to be a custom of fishing villages to gratefully accept this as a sign of a good catch. Apparently, this type of flotsam was originally called ‘Ebisu.’ Especially unusually shaped rocks or favorably shaped driftwood. Those sorts of objects were said to be harbingers of good things and were worshipped with utmost devotion. That driftwood, ‘Okobu-sama,’ would also be so. Actually, a shrine’s object of worship is sometimes flotsam.”

“Really?”

“On the other hand, an ‘Ebisu’ was sometimes a harbinger of bad things. For example, things such as typhoons and tsunami. So you might say, in the beginning, an ‘Ebisu’ was the deification of an ‘object from the sea.’ Originally, it was written with the character ‘夷’. Later on it became the god of prosperous business and even the word began to be written with the special characters, ‘恵比寿.’”

...object from the sea…

“Originally, there was a belief in Japan of ‘Tokoyo.’ Put simply, ‘Tokoyo’ was a country of immortality. It was believed to be a place that existed far beyond the sea. An ‘object from the sea’ was thought to have come from ‘Tokoyo.’”

Yikes. The Japanese are strange.

“Ebisu, Okobu-sama, lost mound...”

Bou-san muttered and stood up.

“I’m going to borrow the phone for a minute.”

“What’s wrong?”

“We alone are unreliable.”

Huh?

<font size="4"><center><b>***</b></center></font>

Bou-san left, and when I was alone with Lin-san, the conversation wasn’t even encouraged further, so I decided to go outside for a while and wander aimlessly. I went to the stairs that go down to the coast and sat down. I watched the coast grow considerably smaller than it was a little while ago.

...object from the sea.

‘Okobu-sama’ that was washed ashore and drifting spirits. A cave and sacred ground. A shrine and a house. Two rocks with a legend. A couple throwing themselves into the sea.

—Could that sacred ground be the cause?

I thought in this manner.

—Or, could it be something related to that legend? 

Until listening to Akifumi-san a little while ago, I didn’t know the legend. The fact that I saw that sort of dream surely has some meaning. Not to mention, since Naru said he, “showed the direction of the dream,” that’s probably what he wanted to inform me about. If that’s the case, the legend can’t have nothing to do with this incident.

Or could there be a connection to the other part of that dream? That dream where we ran away and were surrounded without a way to escape. I wonder why we didn’t jump into the sea. According to the legend, we were supposed to throw ourselves into the sea. In the dream, I also thought, ‘I wonder why it’s not the sea.’ And that brief phrase.

—Cursed until the end of days.

“What information did you want me to know?”

Then it occurred to me.

—Could the dreams I’ve seen up till now possibly be entirely Naru “showing the direction” for me?

Despite how much I thought about it, I didn’t really know. When I returned to the store, my brain was in a  muddled state. Bou-san was using the phone at the reception desk that was located where you enter the front door.

“Hey. Didn’t you go somewhere luxurious?”

...I wonder who he intended to call.

“It’s a bad place for enjoyment, but it’s become a bit of a difficult situation. I want you to lend a hand. Can you come?”

After a moment, Bou-san spoke,

“Come. The manpower is really needed. —Tomorrow? There are probably still flights today. Since you don’t need any luggage, get on an airplane today by any means.”

Airplane?

“Unless there’s a direct one, get on a connecting flight. At any rate, I want you to arrive as early as possible.”

What a underhanded way of calling. I wonder who on earth is on the phone. They seem like a close acquaintance. Eh? Perhaps… is it?

I smiled complacently, but when I tried to return to base, the clatter of panicked footsteps was heard. When I looked back, it was Akifumi-san. His complexion had turned pale.

He dived at the reception desk, then uttered a cry similar to a scream.

“Takigawa-san, my older brother—”

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