Not a detective

Page 32

This is why Riku Asakawa told this lie; he could have easily said, "I like your clothes" or "I've seen you in the news."

But only when it involves Yumiko Ezaki does this sense of distance quickly disappear.

The man lowered his guard and raised the box beside him:

“I’m here to fulfill a vow and pray for blessings. I came here once half a year ago. My business partner comforted me by saying that this place is very effective. I didn’t believe in ghosts and gods at first, and I just came to worship with a casual attitude. I didn’t expect that my daughter would come back safely. I want to thank the gods properly and ask the deity to help exorcise the demon.”

"Exorcism?"

"Hmm... Yumiko's injuries weren't just physical, but also emotional. She kept saying she saw spiders, her eyes were bloodshot, she was constantly trembling, and she couldn't sleep well. I think she might be possessed by something unclean, otherwise she wouldn't have done those live streams... I'm being nosy. Anyway, that's why I'm here."

What's in that box?

"Ah, it's the commission fee. I don't know how much the exorcism fee is, so I've prepared ten million for now. If it's not enough, I can add more."

Takagi Ichiro said it casually, with an indifferent expression, probably because this amount of money was nothing to their family fortune.

The people around him were somewhat stunned.

In the ensuing silence, only the shrine maiden Yukie calmly spoke: "Mr. Takagi, our shrine's exorcism does not require such an exorbitant fee."

"Consider the extra money as a donation to the shrine, a way to express my gratitude to the gods and to ensure Yumiko's safe return."

Takagi Ichiro didn't care and waved his hand.

—You should use this money to thank me.

Asakawa Riku almost blurted out something cheesy, but he managed to calm himself down.

Unexpectedly, that incident turned Mr. Takagi into a devout believer who prayed to gods and Buddhas, and he also didn't expect that the person he wanted to thank would be someone who happened to be the right one by accident.

Ultimately, the money would go to Chizuko's family. Although Asakawa Riku contributed significantly to resolving the incident, the plan to capture the Spider Woman and rescue the hostages wouldn't have succeeded without Chizuko's meticulous year-long planning. In the end, Chizuko successfully "exorcised" the demon, and now she's received her reward.

It was truly a coincidence.

In short, the reasons why the five people came to this mountain have all been determined.

Xue Huiben works here, Haoji's situation is somewhat comical, while the other three adults' reasons are quite serious...

Although Asakawa Riku found it a bit unbelievable and too coincidental that almost all of them were acquaintances, he had no choice but to face the fact that things had come to this point.

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter 8 - The Sequence of Events

Through conversation and questioning, Asakawa Riku clarified the sequence of events:

The first person to arrive here was Ichiro Takagi. He arrived at the foot of the mountain very early in the morning, around six o'clock, just as dawn was breaking.

They are indeed devout believers.

He was brought here by a driver, but Takagi Ichiro decided to climb the mountain by himself. So he didn't let the driver come with him, but instead asked him to drive around somewhere else and come back to pick him up when he came down.

This explained Riku Asakawa's question; he vaguely remembered that there weren't any particularly luxurious cars in that parking lot, so they weren't parked there.

Why did Mr. Takagi do this? Was he trying to appear sincere, or did he not want to be photographed burning incense and praying at a temple?

That remains to be seen. In any case, he was the first to arrive and the first to get lost on the mountain path.

"Perhaps because it had been rotting at home for too long, and I was carrying this box, my physical strength was exhausted. I had to rest several times along the way. But I found that I hadn't reached the shrine at the top of the mountain after climbing for a long time. It was strange. I took out my phone to check and found that there was no signal. In order to ask for help, I had to walk into the woods and found this house."

After Takagi Ichiro finished speaking, the others chimed in with their own opinions.

It seems that, like Asakawa Riku, they all encountered that "endless mountain road" and were forced to come here out of desperation.

The second group to arrive were Principal Komiya and Teacher Matsuyama.

According to them, it was Mr. Matsuyama who drove them here, bringing Principal Komiya with him. Their car seemed to be parked in the parking lot, but Asakawa Riku couldn't recognize which one it was.

They arrived here around 8 o'clock, and halfway up the mountain, they encountered the same strange event.

“I enjoy camping and consider myself to have some experience, so I wanted to go into the mountains to see if I could find a way out, but I didn’t expect to end up here…”

Mr. Matsuyama sighed, seemingly feeling guilty about the current situation.

"It's alright, we'll figure something out together tomorrow." Principal Xiao Gong patted him on the back.

The third person to arrive seemed to be Hirata Hirokichi.

The reason I used the word "seems" is because it's impossible to be sure.

He said, "I arrived around ten o'clock."

Asakawa Riku frowned: "I also arrived around ten o'clock."

The two arrived at the mountain at a surprisingly close time.

But the two hesitated for a moment and could not give a specific time, because after climbing the mountain for so long, their memories were bound to be blurry, and they had not made a special effort to remember it.

So, it's hard to say who arrived first.

"Didn't you see me?" Asakawa Riku asked. He had been running on the mountain road for a long time and shouting. If they had gotten lost at the same time, he should have at least heard some noise.

"No." Haoji shook his head: "If I see A-Lu, I will definitely say hello to you."

This should be true, since if he saw it, he would definitely say that Asakawa Riku actually walked with Chizuko-senpai.

Asakawa Riku didn't see Hiroki either... It seems the two just missed each other by a slight time difference.

Since Haoji arrived at the house first, let's assume he was here first.

The last person was somewhat special.

Miss Shrine Maiden, she didn't get lost on the way up the mountain, but on the way down.

"As instructed by my wife, I was to go down the mountain to buy some ritual supplies to prepare for this summer's festival. I set off at noon, but as I walked along the mountain path, I realized that the surroundings were not familiar, and there were no torii gates to guide me. Helpless, I could only walk into the forest, trying to find a way out..."

Yuki said this.

She had also noticed the unusual appearance of the torii gate.

"Did you come down the mountain at midnight?" Asakawa Riku asked.

"Yes, I have to complete the necessary tasks for the morning class, so I remember it very clearly and there won't be any mistakes."

she replied.

She set off at noon and arrived at the house even earlier than Asakawa Riku, which suggests that Asakawa Riku had spent too much time on the mountain road.

Perhaps time here has long been out of order... otherwise night wouldn't have fallen so quickly.

After asking about everyone's situation, Asakawa Riku explained how he got here, but omitted the story of Chizuko-senpai.

He then asked another question: "Is there a way to communicate with the outside world from inside this house?"

“You’re talking about the phone, right?” Takagi Ichiro replied. “I checked it as soon as I arrived, but it wasn’t there. They searched it once too.”

Both Mr. Songshan and Haoji shrugged and shook their heads.

Communication cut off... What a classic setup.

Asakawa Riku frowned. He saw that the lights were on in the house, which meant that the house had electricity. He had thought there would be at least one or two telephones or something.

But it doesn't matter. He's prepared for the worst. If all else fails, he'll dig out the cable tomorrow and see if he can find a way down the mountain by following it.

Of course, he didn't voice this absurd idea. At this moment, Principal Xiao Gong proposed to everyone:

"It's getting late. Why don't we rest here for the night and discuss how to escape or seek help tomorrow?"

Normally, as a leader, she has a strong ability to inspire others.

The wind seemed to be getting stronger at night, making the windowpanes rattle and rattle. It was as if a hundred ghosts were walking around at night, creating a huge and somewhat eerie scene.

Whether the house is eerie or not, it at least provides them with a place to rest and shelter from the cold, making it feel like a safe house and giving them a sense of security.

Everyone looked at each other and agreed with Principal Xiao Gong's suggestion.

At least on a forest night like this, no one would go out to explore or adventure.

"what time is it now?"

Asakawa Riku checked the time with them and found it was already 10:30 pm. He wondered if there was anything wrong with the flow of time here, as it seemed to pass by exceptionally quickly.

Everyone's phone batteries are almost dead and probably won't last the night. There doesn't seem to be a clock in the house, which means we'll be living a life of time chaos tomorrow.

Teacher Matsuyama led everyone to the wooden staircase and introduced the house.

"There are three floors and eight rooms in total."

There are three floors in total. The first floor is where you are now, mainly consisting of the entrance hall, living room, a small kitchen, and dining room.

The second and third floors are both rooms, with four rooms on each floor, so there are a total of eight rooms, which is more than enough for the six people.

The room assignments were completed quickly: four men stayed on the second floor, two women stayed on the third floor, and there were two empty rooms on the third floor.

Just as everyone had finished assigning their rooms, exchanged pleasantries and said goodnight to each other, and then went upstairs to rest one after another.

Asakawa Riku did not leave; he stayed until the very end.

He called out to one of them:

"Miss Yukie?"

"Huh?" The girl paused, then turned around on the stairs.

"Could you please come out for a moment? I have something I'd like to say to you privately."

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Nine - Zero Inspiration

"Ms. Yukie."

"Just call me Yuki." The Ichimatsu doll in front of her bowed slightly: "You are older than me and a guest here, so I cannot accept such a respectful title."

"Then you can address me normally, no need to use honorifics."

Asakawa Riku has been here for sixteen years and is also extremely annoyed by the system of honorifics.

"This is not possible..."

Xuehui politely declined, maintaining her humble and respectful demeanor.

Asakawa Riku suddenly understood the difference between this person and Chizuko-senpai. Both were cute and pretty girls, but Chizuko would sometimes make jokes and understood Asakawa Riku's jokes. Even if her senior's dignity was offended, she would just pout. She had a more playful and easygoing personality and was not so reserved and stubborn.

This shrine maiden appears respectful, but it's actually a sign of distance. She seems to be deliberately acting like a mature little adult, behaving very formally and properly.

However, the two were not familiar with each other to begin with, and Asakawa Riku did not expect her to become close to him at first sight.

Let's get down to business: "I understand, could you please come out for a moment?"

Asakawa Riku opened the door, wanting to speak from outside so that no one else could hear what was to come.

After Yukie came out, he closed the door to ensure there was no sound barrier.

Perhaps it was because it was late at night, but it was getting colder outside. Asakawa Riku himself didn't feel anything, but he saw Yukie seem to shiver.

She was wearing a heavy cotton shrine maiden's robe, which should have been very hot in the summer, but even she felt cold...

"I'm sorry, but what I'm about to say is very important, so I'll try to keep it brief."

He stood on the outside, trying his best to block the wind for her: "Yuki, you are the shrine maiden of this shrine, so you should know Chizuko, right?"

"...Sister?" Yuki's eyes widened.

"elder sister?"

Asakawa Riku was taken aback, and he asked in return.

I've never heard of Chizuko-senpai having a younger sister, but I've also never heard her say she's an only child...

However, Yukie ignored this question and pressed on:

"What happened to my sister?"

He seemed a little anxious.

She even grabbed Asakawa Riku's wrist, looked up at him, and for the first time showed human emotions.

Asakawa Riku wasn't so malicious as to deliberately keep her in suspense, so he honestly explained, "She and I are classmates, in the same club at school, and today—"

He explained why he had come here today, and how he had gotten lost from Chizuko on the mountain path.

He didn't mention this part when everyone was talking in the house, omitting the part about Chizuko-senpai.

It wasn't that they were afraid the teachers and principal would catch them dating too early (it's not the school of their past lives), nor were they afraid of any ambiguous rumors about the two of them (even Mr. Matsuyama and Principal Komiya weren't afraid, so what did they have to be afraid of?). It was just that Asakawa Riku was thinking that he couldn't let Chizuko's image be associated with the keyword "monster" again.

Otherwise, what happened last year will probably be repeated.