Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 8 Chapter 12 (section)

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While he looked after Naru, who left everyone without a word, Bou-san cried out in discontent.

“At this point, he’s feigning ignorance.”

It was Lin-san who replied to that.

“Naru said there was no need to reply.”

Lin-san smiled just a bit of a wry smile.

“That means, after having come this far, it’s not necessary to reply.”

“Then, it’s as I thought…?”

I looked between Lin-san and Bou-san. It was Bou-san who nodded.

“It seems like.”

...Now I understand…

Bou-san sat down on the spot with a thump.

“Oliver Davis is a parapsychologist belonging to the ‘SPR’, an up-and-coming researcher who acquired a doctorate in parapsychology at a young age. If you write the ‘V’ with a ‘ヴ’, it’s Orivā Deivisu. Normally, he’s introduced following the famous spiritualist Andrew Jackson Davis as [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#Oliver_Davis|Orivā Deibisu or Oribā Deibisu]]. Owing to the fact that he almost never makes an appearance, his profile is unclear. What little is known about him is that he has the ability of psychometry and possesses strong PK. It’s also certain that he’s siblings with the superior spiritualist Eugene Davis.”

“Okay.”

“This Eugene Davis disappeared on an island country in the Far East. Dr. Davis came to Japan to look for his sibling. It would be an uproar if the mass media knew about it. Like when [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume8_Translator's_Notes#Peter_Hurkos|Peter Hurkos]] came to Japan, he would literally be followed around endlessly by TV, magazines, and those searching for missing persons. So, he hides his identity.”

“...I see.”

“So then, Naru knowing the terrain of this place and not it’s name is explainable without any trouble. Naru-bou used psychometry. By way of a vision, he witnessed his older brother thrown here, but there was no further information. So, he virtually had no choice but to travel here.”

“Then, is that why he had Masako’s comb during the investigation that one time?”

“I guess that’s the case. He had the comb to confirm what had become of Masako. Put simply, whether she was alive or dead.”

Bou-san scratched his head somewhat apologetically,

“—Unfortunately for Masako-chan.”

Masako simply gave a slight shadow of a smile.

“I was aware that it was the case.”

“But, why did you know, Masako-chan?”

“Because I saw a video.”

...Video?

“When I was invited to America by the ‘ASPR’, I saw a video there.”

Bou-san leaned forward.

“By any chance, was the video… that famous one?”

“Yes.”

I pulled on Bou-san’s shirt. I didn’t understand what was being talked about.

“Previously, Dr. Davis did a PK experiment. There’s a video of it. I told you before. About an extremely rigorous experiment...”

“Where he threw a 50 kilo block of aluminum against a wall?”

“Right. That video must be in some kind of major psychic-related laboratory where it’s something never removed from the premises.”

“Really...”

“It was quite an impressive video, so I remembered it. Therefore, when I first met him, I thought I had seen his face somewhere...”

Oh, I see…

“I remembered it after that case. That is why, after I told Naru, he said he wanted me to keep it secret...”

I briefly glared at Masako.

“Then you threatened him with the information, didn’t you?”

“Huh, I wonder what you mean?”

Bastard, so that’s why.

Ayako applauded half-heartedly.

“Anyhow, I feel relieved. Now he can do as he pleases and go back home to England or wherever. —Not too bad, you depraved monk.”

“Shut up! My head’s not a decoration, unlike yours.”

“Well, yours isn’t worth decorating.”

“Well, ''you'' have bad taste.”

Ah, there they go again. Paying that no mind, Yasuhara-san,

“Takigawa-san seems like he’s not paying attention, but he’s surprisingly observant of the details.”

Yeah. True enough. Saying he’s observant is a compliment, but I can also tell you he’s annoyingly nitpicky.

“When Takigawa-san first talked about this, I wondered if he had gone senile due to the heat.”

“I’m old, after all.”

That is an undeniable fact.

‘Anyway,’ I said to Bou-san and Yasuhara-san, then looked around for John.

“When I was wondering what you were hanging out and whispering about, you were talking about this stuff, right?”

Bou-san smiled in a slightly wry manner.

“There was nothing else to do with our free time.”

After saying so, he became a little serious,

“To tell the truth, it didn’t click until after Naru-bou collapsed just recently.”

“Huh?”

“He displayed his insane Qigong, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know much about Qigong, but still, even if that was Qigong, I don’t know that it’s that insane. His style is also unusual for Qigong.”

“...Yeah. Lin-san said it was similar, but different.”

“Well, that’s why I thought it was PK. Originally, there was a theory that Qigong = PK.”

Hmm.

“Still, PK or whatever, that was extraordinary. When I thought so, I remembered that the Doctor is said to have extraordinary PK.”

“I see.”

“When I think about it, there are a lot of strange things that stuck. Including the spoon bending you saw previously. What we saw was a guy using tricks, but when you saw it, Naru-bou broke the neck of the spoon. If that’s true, then it was legitimately PK.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Also, Naru-bou is excellent at gathering information. His intuition is strangely accurate.”

“Huh?”

“Which case was that? You know, the case involving the doll.”

“Minnie?”

“Right. He was strangely confident at the time, saying the doll wasn’t the problem. Even during the case at one of those schools, while walking in the classroom, he suddenly asked, ‘Have you been doing seances?’”

W-was there something like that?

“Masako’s comb, etc. If you take all of that into consideration, it seems a lot like either psychometry or post cognition. On top of that, there was that investigation of the ‘fake Davis’ some time ago. Why did he need to do something like that? Even if Naru and Mori-san were officials of ‘SPR’, for some reason I wasn’t satisfied. —Well, when I think of it like that, many things are suddenly suspicious.”

“Yeah.”

‘Still,’ Bou-san said, scratching his head.

“I didn’t really know what Naru was a nickname for. Even though I borrowed a dictionary and tried to look it up, it wasn’t listed. Then I tried asking Shōnen and John.”

Yasuhara-san nodded meekly.

“Brown-san told us ‘Noll’ was a nickname for ‘Oliver’ and when we took that into consideration, everything was suspicious. In fact, how had we been fooled until now? —I blame Taniyama for this matter.”

“M-me?”

“Right.”

Speaking tersely, Yasuhara-san thrust his finger at me.

“It’s your fault, Taniyama-san. ‘Naru-chan the Narcissist’ fit too well, so I didn’t think to question it and unthinkingly accepted it.”

Aaaah… Well, ''excuse me''…