Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume2 Chapter1 (section)

===2===

Such a big house... So many rooms. 

We were led to an empty room on the first floor near the stairs. 

Naru examined the room and nodded. Then he turned toward Bou-san and Miko-san, "…Can you tell me why you two are here?" 

Such a cold tone. 

The priestess Ayako looked smug, "Long time no see. Can't you act a little bit happier?" 

"I'm terribly sorry." Naru's expression was still cold and detached. 

"So handsome, yet so fickle," Bou-san sighed. 

Naru's lack of emotion and cold stare urged the two to reply. 

"That's because," Ayako said, looking at Bou-san, "I had..." She pointed at herself. "...gotten a request from the nanny over here." 

"Morishita's secretary requested me." 

"And then I met Morishita's little sister—" 

"It's easier to have more people around in this kind of situation." 

"That's why we're here today." 

"Then I was scared to death after seeing this simpleminded priestess over here," said Bou-san. 

"You frivolous rule-breaking monk!" 

They glared at each other. 

"So that's why you guys are here." I followed their conversation. 

...What a pain. 

This was boring. What's up with Noriko-san; she could've told us this earlier. And then we would've told her that they're not good at anything except arguing. 

"Man—we'll just leave it at that. Please continue to help us," Bou-san said, smiling surreptitiously. 

Naru ignored the other two and looked at me and Lin-san instead, "Let's start working." 

...It started again. Shibuya Psychic Research is doing tough work again. 

Naru is a ghost hunter. 

Ghost hunters... Are people who get rid of ghosts. Even though psychics can also investigate, Naru isn't a psychic. Or that's what he says, anyway. He uses state-of-the-art video cameras and equipment to help with the investigation. 

Moving all that equipment is manual labor. 

I went back to the van and started moving all the equipment. I already set up the shelves so all I had to do was move the equipment onto that. Seeing the room become a research institute, Noriko-san was really surprised. 

"Is that the room where the paranormal phenomena occurred?" Naru asked. 

Noriko shook her head, "There isn't a specific place where it occurs..." 

Naru contemplated, then said, "Then we can place two videocams on both the first and second floor. And we can set one up in the hallway. Let's observe the situation first." 

After we placed the videocams in those designated places, we were sweating. 

"Still the same, I see," Bou-san sighed, glancing up at the mountain-pile of TVs and video cameras. 

It really was quite a sight to see. There were twelve small TVs and some other commonplace equipment that I didn't see a use for. Lin-san sat in front of the equipment. The TV screens brightened, showing different areas of Morishita's house. 

"What do you think of this place?" Bou-san asked Naru. 

"I can't be sure as of now," Naru replied coldly. He seemed... Angry. He's a really proud guy, so he dislikes it whenever someone else interrupts his work. 

Ayako snickered, "I don't know anything about this ghost hunt stuff, but as always, you're making a big deal out of this. This isn't even a big case." 

"So is this Matsuzaki-san's intuition?" asked Naru. 

After hearing Naru, Ayako was at a loss for words. 

In the old school building case, Ayako's intuition was never right. 

"That time was an exception. This time I'm not wrong. The culprit is an earth spirit." 

"You said that last time, but you guessed wrong," he stated matter-of-factly. Such a disdainful tone. 

Ayako raised an eyebrow. She looked like a secretary or maybe even a college student with her formal clothing on. 

Bou-san laughed loudly, earning a glare from the woman. 

"What about you?" Ayako asked the guffawing man. 

"Me? I know my stuff so my opinion counts." 

...These two are still going at it. 

"What about you, "[[Ghost_Hunt:Volume2_Translator's_Notes#Ojou-chan|ojou-chan]]"? You're Mai, right? Naru's assistant." 

"As of now I'm doing various jobs. According to what Noriko-san said, this seems to be the work of a poltergeist." 

"Oh." 

"Heh." 

Bou-san and Ayako's eyes were wide open. 

Ah, humans are progressive creatures. 

Poltergeist.. In Japanese it would be called a spirit who disturbs others. That's what the word means in a literal sense: a disturbing spirit. Objects relocating themselves and eerie noises coming from nowhere. 

—There's an investigator in France named E. Tisane. He categorized poltergeist activities. They're called "Tisane’s Nine Criteria." 

Explosions, knocking sounds, doors opening and closing, vibrations, eerie sounds, invasions, moving objects will be warm to the touch, and objects will come out of nowhere. Those are the nine criteria. 

"According to what Noriko-san said, there're knocking sounds, doors opening and closing, objects relocating themselves, and eerie sounds. That's five conditions. As long as more than half the criteria is met, it can be considered a poltergeist. I think the possibility of this happening is pretty high." 

Hmm— I've become smart. This is what I've learned from Naru's "you're stupid" assaults. 

Bou-san laughed aloud, clapping, "Heh, pretty amazing. If it's a poltergeist, then who's the culprit?" 

Hee hee. Nice, I was waiting for that. 

"It's Noriko-san." 

"Huh?" 

"Poltergeist activities are usually caused by the house's inhabitants, most of which are women. After knowing that, isn't it obvious? She's been having difficulties with her older brother's sister-in-law, right?" 

"So that's how it is," Ayako gasped with admiration. "Don't you think that Kana-san is strict? Perhaps she and Noriko-san don't get along well." 

Yup, yup. 

I sure am awesome. 

Thinking that, I looked at Naru, who returned my look with a piercing gaze. 

Huh? 

"At first I wanted to praise you for remembering everything you learned so far, but," Naru continued coldly, "poltergeist culprits are usually between thirteen and fifteen years old, meaning they are undergoing puberty. Noriko-san is already twenty. Saying she's undergoing puberty right now is a rather outrageous idea." 

...Oh. 

"Although it's possible for a spiritually sensitive woman to be responsible.. No matter what, let's just observe the situation for now. We'll make a conclusion later." 

...Hmph. 

Bou-san looked at Lin-san. "Is that man over there Naru's assistant?" 

Lin-san nodded slightly. He was injured in the last case so he had no choice but to rest for a while (please don't ask how it happened). That's why the group doesn't really know much about him. 

"What do you think of this case?" asked Bou-san. 

Lin-san briefly answered in a low tone, "Am I obligated to reply you?" 

Both Bou-san and Ayako raised their eyebrows. "...You're definitely Naru's assistant. What a great personality." 

Naru crossed his arms, ignoring them. 

Lin-san is just that kind of person. He seems to be indifferent or maybe someone hard to get close to. Or maybe he's just rude. Even now, we have barely exchanged any words. I shouldn't push my luck because I still don't know his full name. And of course it's obvious I haven't seen him smile or joke around. 

With the stiff atmosphere surrounding us, Bou-san and Ayako left the room. 

Lin-san continued to look at the TV screen as if nothing happened. His bangs practically covered up half his extremely, stoic face. Like Naru, he usually wears black clothes. When they stand together, the atmosphere becomes gloomy, like that of a funeral.