Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume3 Chapter4 (section)

===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.