Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 8 Chapter 11 (section)

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“Ah.”

“Ah.”

Ayako and I spoke in unison.

Bou-san nodded.

“If the place where he lives is a hotel, it would be awkward to give out his phone number. Because the front desk answers. It seems like it would be difficult to persuade the front desk and work out an arrangement. There are also places where you can install a phone, but well, the story is complicated. For the time being, if he doesn’t urgently need a personal phone, then it’s much easier to hide his phone number.”

“But, that means...”

I looked at Naru. What kind of person lives in a hotel? For so long, too.

“Naru is not someone from Tokyo. Also, he has no desire to settle down in Tokyo.”

...Was it something like that…?

“He said he was looking for his older brother this whole time, right? Perhaps this guy came to Tokyo in order to search for his older brother and is staying at a hotel for the time being. He didn’t think it would take so long. Therefore, he didn’t feel like looking for a proper residence. —Am I wrong?”

Everyone’s gaze focused on Naru, but the facial expression of the man in question was unflinching.

“I don’t feel obligated to respond.”

Ayako raised her voice just as Bou-san sighed in disappointment.

“Wait a minute!”

“What?”

“Even though Naru was searching for his older brother, this is actually Nagano, right? Naru was probably traveling for some time in order to look for this place. He was flying around all over Japan. So, there wasn’t any need to establish a stop over point in Tokyo to the extent of living in a hotel, right?”

“That’s it. For example, in your case, Ayako, what would you do?”

“In my case, I would follow the clues with my home as a stop over point. That’s sensible and less expensive.”

“That’s right. But, what if his home is much farther away? How about if going to Hokkaido from his home is farther than going to Hokkaido from Tokyo?”

“That’s true, but...”

“But what kind of place is that?”

When I asked, Bou-san laughed.

“You should try to think about it from your own perspective, Mai. Someone important to you dies somewhere. Why would it be necessary for you to take the trouble of relocating to wherever that was?”

Naru truly was running throughout Japan. In other words, the place where his brother was located may have been Hokkaido and it may have been Okinawa. If that’s the case, it seems like it’s the same wherever one lives. It wouldn’t be necessary to take the trouble to relocate… No, wait.

“...a foreign country.”

If the place where someone disappeared was America and not Japan, then, going to America somehow, there would be no choice but to stay in a hotel or apartment, right?

I looked at Naru. Ayako looked at Naru, too.

Bou-san nodded.

“Exactly. —There are several supporting factors. For example, he’s weak with aphorisms and proverbs. He’s also weak with kanji. He even said so himself, ‘I’m not too good at Kanji.’ He uses a Western language to take notes during investigations, and a Western language is often used to organize the data at the office. There are times when I’ve seen him reading Japanese, but I’ve never seen him writing Japanese.”

“Ah...”

When I murmured, Bou-san raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

“When we first met, after he was asked what grade he was in, he said he was seventeen. I thought it was a very strange answer.”

Afterwards, I convinced myself it was because he didn’t go to school.

“See? —When this is combined with previously discussing that his name might actually be an alias, everything fits exactly into place. This guy is not Japanese.”

“But...”

“Someone’s not necessarily Japanese just because he looks Japanese and speaks Japanese. Lin is a good example. Don’t you agree?”

Lin-san’s Japanese is very fluent. Even his outward appearance looks completely Japanese, but still, he’s not Japanese.

“Viewed in this way, I understand why he doesn’t go to school. As long as he lives in a hotel, he can’t go through the transfer procedures. He couldn’t go even if he wanted to go, and he doesn't want to go.”

“...That’s true.”

Ayako tilted her head.

“Then, Hong Kong?”

“I thought that, too. ‘Is he possibly Chinese?’ However, I didn’t really think so with a name like Naru. Well, it’s faster to ask the person himself about it.”

Saying so, Bou-san asked Naru,

“—Where were you born, Naru?”

Naru didn’t reply. Focusing his dark gaze on Bou-san, he simply gave him a sardonic smile. 

Once again, Bou-san lightly sighed.


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