We went to the van to retrieve thermometers and small blackboards. Following that, together with Substitute Head Yasuhara, who was alone, the three of us went to various rooms to measure the temperature. It is said that in locations where paranormal activities take place, the temperature of that location would be lowered.
We discussed what Ohashi-san had said while we walked.
“Is it really alright~~?”
Substitute Head Yasuhara mumbled while he opened a closet.
“What’s alright?”
“I say… the incident where people disappeared here happened 2 months ago right? If those people got lost in here, they would definitely be already dead.”
“… perhaps.”
“I don’t want to discover corpses while wondering around this place.”
… wu. Don’t mention such unpleasant things.
“And in this type of old building, there are definitely mice around. Do you want to encounter corpses badly eaten away by mice and cockroaches?”
“Stop saying that.”
For me, putting horror aside, I really hate blood.
Bou-san smiled expansively.
“We couldn’t possibly find those bodies while walking around here. The police ‘’have’’ already searched this area.”
“Ah, is it?”
“However, it is also possible that they simply got lost.”
This huge house does indeed have a strange and complicated structure. The corridors twist and wind pointlessly; even the width of the corridors change from wide to narrow randomly. Short flights of stairs appear at random locations, sloping up or down. One would lose sense of direction in an instant.
If we didn’t draw a simple map of the house on the blackboard used to record temperatures, perhaps we too would have gotten lost here.
“Eh~. It feels like playing an RPG.”
Yasuhara said, looked around the irregularly shaped room with walls jutting in and out all over in a # shape. (tl/n: the room was described as having a “井” shape.)
“What is an ‘RPG’?”
“Role Playing Game. Taniyama-san, don’t you play PC games?”
“I don’t have such things. Are they interesting?”
“They are passable, perhaps. The two major games are “DQ” and “FF”. If new products of either game are released around January or February, University would definitely take a second place.”
Hey… hey?
Bou-san poked his head out of a window in a corner.
“Ou~~ Incredible. This window opens into the neighboring room.”
Ah?
It was only a normal window with nothing special – except for the point that the window opened into the next room instead of into the gardens.
“And blinds were also put up…”
“It should have turned out like this because of the renovations or additions… it looks like a weird 3D dungeon.”
While Bou-san said that, Yasuhara suddenly clapped his hands.
“Are you a fan of PC games too? Have you played ‘Megami Tensei’ (女神转生) before?”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t played it since the second series. When I am immersed in magic and beasts, I lose sight of my original goals.”
“I completely understand.”
But I don’t understand.
I looked somewhat grudgingly at the 2 people talking excitedly while I set up the thermometer. The thermometers we use here aren’t like the alcohol thermometers used in school, I mention that to be prudent.
4 degrees centigrade. The temperature is rather low, similar to all the rooms around this area. I recorded the temperature onto the blackboard. Because I don’t know what room this is, I had assigned numbers to the rooms on the map.
“It’s OK. Let’s head to the next location.”
Even though I said that, even I didn’t know where we had entered from. There were doors at the identical location on all 4 sides of the ‘#’ shaped room, and I didn’t know which door we had entered through. Che. I did ‘’not’’ bring a compass.
“Where did we come in from?”
I asked. Yasuhara and Bou-san pointed to different directions.
Such unreliable fellows.
Opening each door to check, Bou-san said.
“This is practically Winchester (Mystery) House.”
What is that?
Yasuhara replied with a question.
“Is the ‘Winchester’ you mention the Winchester of the Winchester Rifle?”
“What is that?”
Yasuhara pulled his woolen shirt, and told me in a tone unimaginable for the head of “Shibuya Psychic Research”.
“There was a gun of that name amongst the antique guns. Or rather it is still present today. Is it that?”
Bou-san nodded.
“Yes. It is the family home of the Winchesters who invented the Winchester Rifle. I don’t remember too clearly, but it was a strange and complicated house like this one. It had windows that cannot be opened, stairs that lead to nowhere, and doors that were impassible.”
“Ah, exactly the same.”
“Yeah.”
Yasuhara had a strange expression of comprehension.
“I really don’t understand the thinking of rich people. Why do they all like this type of building?”
“Apparently there was a reason for Winchester House. The truth was, if inauspicious events occurred after the construction of the house, it was not completed and renovated endlessly.”
“He~~. Then perhaps there was also some reason for this building.”
“It’d just be a joke of a house if there wasn’t a reason. Ah, this is the one, a room that we haven’t been in before.”
That said, Bou-san randomly opened a tall door.
This room, numbered 8, was an even stranger room.
In the very center of the large room was a small room about 2 tatamis large. Furthermore, the height of the floor was different only in that location. It was really troublesome.
I measured the temperature in the small room (numbered 8.5?)
“If this was a maze there would be something in this type of room.”
“Right. Something like a treasure chest or a small box.”
… what are they talking about?
Leaving Yasuhara and Bou-san who were talking apparently very happily about such leisurely topics behind, I went out. 3 people had gathered in a group in the larger room.
Aiyah. It was the friend of famous psychics, Minami-san.
Minami-san looked at me and smiled.
“Oyo oyo. The little miss has already started work.”
“Ah, yeah…”
Minami-san looked at the small blackboard I was carrying.
“You are measuring temperatures, right?”
He said that while nodding non-stop.
“That’s really good. The measurement of temperature is the basis of paranormal investigation. That Otaku head of yours, despite being so young, does know quite a bit.”
Minami-san, who was chattering non-stop, held an alcohol thermometer in his right hand.
“… thank you. Are you measuring the temperature too, Minami-san?”
I asked. Minami-san smiled contentedly.
“Yes. Our methods are passed on directly from Professor Davis. Eh, because it is a trade secrete I can’t mention it. But it is for the sake of the development of paranormal research, so if you wish to steal my teacher you are welcome to try. One is never too old to learn.”
“Ah…”
He’s such a glib man.
Minami-san smiled at me once more, while he gently shook the thermometer, and then placed it on the dust-covered furniture.
… That~~, the alcohol in an alcohol thermometer won’t go down no matter how hard you shake it.
A woman and a younger woman stood on both sides of Minami-san. Both of them had their eyes closed and held their palms together. The woman suddenly opened her eyes and spoke.
“Boss, I’ve felt something in the room diagonally opposite (?) this one.”
“Ah ah, have you?”
Minami-san grinned, picked up the thermometer and wrote the temperature on a note. Then he nodded to us.
“Anyway, let’s all work hard. Apparently there is a prize for the group that succeeds in exorcism.”
“Ah…”
Waving his hand gently, Minami-san and the ladies left the room.
Eh~. What in the world is going on?
Although I understand very clearly that it is no good to suspect people without reason, I don’t know why, I can’t help feeling that Minami-san is behaving rather furtively…
I think that ghost-hunting is not a competition, although competitiveness is a strong part of the volunteers’ personality (true for us, at least). (tl/n: please proofread. Chinese raw didn’t make sense and I’m guessing this is what was meant.)
And firstly, is there a method to measure the temperature like that using an alcohol thermometer? It has to be set up vertical to the ground, and left for 10 minutes or a couple of minutes at least. When reading the thermometer, it must be at eye level, making sure the alcohol is level with its reflection in the mirror. – Although our boss is very young, he is not the least unclear about this type of thing.
Furthermore, we do not use that type of inaccurate alcohol thermometers. We use thermometers capable of measuring up to 2 decimal places.
Is that really the teachings of that Professor Davis? Or does the professor have an undeservedly good reputation? I think that the type to be called a Professor is stricter and more rigorous than our boss; this might be the opposite of the reality. The experts are actually even more incredible, right?
I placed my on thermometer on the stand Minami-san had placed his thermometer and measured the temperature. I looked at my watch while counting the accurate countdown time. Put simply, the ‘countdown time’ is the time needed for the thermometer to measure the temperature accurately.
Originally, because it was rather troublesome I estimated the time required; however I can’t help feeling now that I should do it properly. Compared to doing it haphazardly, doing it properly is indeed better. Eh eh.
After measuring the temperatures in the 10 rooms close by 3 times, we went back to the base. The huge room was piled with equipment.
“How is it?”
When asked by Naru, who was adjusting a camera, I handed the small blackboard to him.
“There isn’t any location where the temperature is particularly low. However, if there isn’t a class for drawing up floor plans, I dare say somebody will get lost.”
“I don’t need it, but it looks like someone does.”
Who said that, hey.
“I met Minami-san in Room Number 8. He was actually using a very crude method to measure the temperature.”
“You met Minami-san? When?”
It was Bou-san who asked.
“In Room Number 8. It was when Bou-san and Yasuhara-kun… no boss were in that little room playing.”
“And the Professor?”
“He wasn’t there.”
“… whatever.”
Bou-san looked somehow rather dejected.
“Doesn’t he care a lot about the Professor’s work?”
Ayako giggled and looked at John who was by the side.
“Because Takigawa-san respects the Professor greatly.”
Bou-san somehow looked embarrassed, muttering things like ‘hey’, and ‘really’. Such a cute fellow.
“The Professor is such a great person.”
Looking at the grinning Bou-san, I said. Bou-san scratched his head embarrassedly.
“At the very least, such strict investigators are very rare…”
“Is this so?”
“Yeah. He is an extremely serious person. He writes papers just like the normal scientific papers.”
“Is that very rare? Isn’t a paper just a paper?”
“About that, just writing alone won’t do it. Foreign researchers are more serious; amongst the Japanese researchers there are those who don’t even write citations.”
I don’t quite understand. However, from Bou-san’s tone it should be something not to be coughed upon.
“The Professor had a composition, called ‘Paranormal Systems’. The foreword of that book had a sentence like this, ‘With regards to research into the paranormal, there is an argument as to whether it is scientific or the tricks of a fraudster. I still do not believe it is scientific. Therefore, I believe research into the paranormal should start to be recognized and researched scientifically.’”
Eh~~. That is to say, because paranormal research is still unscientific, that is why he conducted scientific styled investigations. Isn’t that put it very concisely? Eh eh eh.
“People who believe in paranormal phenomenon insist that it is all scientific. The opposition, allowing for no explanation, denounces it as fraudsters’ tricks. The Professor has said something really acute. Because the Professor himself is a clairvoyant, he knows that paranormal phenomenon does occur.”
John nodded.
“It is like that. The fact is, that book is a very serious reference book.”
“Is it?”
So it was like that. Hence he was completely blown away by the Professor. Eh~~, what a really cute personality.
“… however.”
I tilted my head.
“Compared to what you all have just said, claiming he was taught directly by the Professor, Minami-san was measuring the temperature very crudely.”
“That’s because Minami-san’s personality is that careless.”
Ayako cut in.
“However, that person called Minami, don’t you think he is a little suspicious?”
“Ah, do you think so too, Ayako?”
“Yes, yes. I can’t help feeling that he lacks integrity and can’t warm up to him.”
“Exactly. I, too, dislike people who only brag about themselves.”
John carelessly tilted his head slightly.
“Although I have never met the Professor before, I do remember hearing that he is a very young person.”
Bou-san looked a bit angry.
“Whatever, are you suspecting him? Being a ‘Professor’, isn’t he very young?”
“What that actually is… The Professor received his title from the 龙电巴古财团 (tl/n: some fictitious academy?). There are many organizations that assist in psychical research in the west, and the 龙电巴古财团 is one of them set up recently specially for this sort of research. On one hand it gives out the title of ‘Professor’ to outstanding researchers, on the other hand it organizes lectures at universities teaching this type of subject. Professor Davis has this sort of title, that is to say it is slightly different from the regular title of ‘Professor’…”
Hn~~. It’s really complicated.
“And if the Professor came to Japan, shouldn’t it cause a huge uproar? I haven’t heard any rumors of the Professor ever coming to Japan.”
Bou-san was also frowning.
“You’ve got a point…”
“It is like this, leaving the rest aside, the Professor is after all a famous psychic.”
“That –”
I nervously tried speaking.
“Because I’ve never learnt it before I’m not too clear. Is the Professor such an incredible psychic?”
Everyone looked at me disdainfully as though it was a matter of course. Wu wu wu.
“He is very incredible. Because he himself is a researcher of spirits, he is not that active in the psychic world.”
“Oh~~”
Bou-san gazed at the ceiling.
“The Professor only performed a public PK experiment some years ago. That experiment was also recorded. Initially only official research institutes are able to access this tape. Apparently it is an experiment where a large piece of aluminum was flung onto the wall.”
“He~~”
“And then, when a son of a rich family was kidnapped, the Professor rescued that child. This story is also quite famous.”
John nodded.
“Yes. It was the son of the boss of a large American automobile company. The Professor realized that the child was buried alive by some people. Then that tycoon gifted a very large research facility to SPR.”
He~~ Amazing. He rescued a person. Isn’t that very typical?
When we were discussing these things, someone suddenly spoke behind me.
“Everyone, it looks like you’re chitchatting very happily.”
It was an unhesitating, ice cold sound.
Turning back, Naru stood there with a sarcastic smile on his face. Looking around, the number of cameras lined up on the ground had decreased.
“Yo, Naru-chan. When did you get here? Where did you go just now?”
Bou-san, with a numb expression, raised his hands, and faced Naru’s cold gaze.
“Of course it was to set up the cameras. Because I am here to work.”
… wa. He is trying to say he did not slack of and was working, perhaps.
“As for the set up, let me do it.”
I said that; Naru used his ice cold voice and spoke.
“Oya, I’m so sorry, Taniyama-san. I can’t let a female do heavy labor.”
… very cold. I could practically freeze to death.
“No, I want to do it. Please let me do it.”
“Where do you want the camera to be placed?”
Everyone asked while we hefted the video recorder while walking.
“In any case, use our living quarters as the center, then gradually expand the radius to ascertain a circle of safety.”
Bou-san, apparently very frustrated, spoke loudly.
“Hey hey, if it is like this, how much time will it take to completely investigate this entire building?”
“This too can’t be helped. Or do you want to run away home, Takigawa-san?”
Withdrawing from the truth presented by Naru, Bou-san hugged his head.
“… I’m sorry. It is my mistake, can you speak to me as you normally do, OK?”
An extremely sarcastic smile appeared on Naru’s face.
“Because this time it might develop into a long battle, this too cannot be helped, right?”
Really, Bou-san who spoke softly turned to look at me.
“Right, Mai. I’ve always wanted to ask you, do your parents say anything with you not being at home for such a long period of time?”
… What are you still saying at this point in time?
“You don’t attend school too, right? You’ll get reprimanded by your teacher like this.”
“I say, you’re asking me this only at this point in time? We’ve already known each other for over a year, right?”
“No, I’ve always wanted to ask you.”
“There isn’t anyone whom I have to account to at home.”
“Oya, you’ve such a complicated family environment.”
“Yeah. Because I am an orphan.”
Silence~~
It was like the scene had frozen solid. Everyone’s gaze had centered on me. Oya?
Bou-san nervously asked.
“Orphan?”
“Yeah. It is just like that.”
“Uncles and Aunts etc?”
“Not a single one. I am an unfortunate girl without any relatives. Did I shock you all?”
“… I’m shocked.”
My father did not have any relatives; my mother, too, did not have any relatives.
I’ve really lost to them. Because they are two such careless people. When both persons have no relatives, doesn’t it mean that early death runs in both families? Did you not notice even this type of thing, the pair of you?
Look, not only did my father die before I knew him, my mother too passed away while I was in secondary school. Really, ai~~
If it weren’t for a kind hearted teacher who let me board at his place, I would have ended up on the streets as a secondary school student.
“… and then?”
Bou-san asked.
“What?”
“How do you live now?”
“Ah ah. I currently earn my own living. That’s very incredible right?”
“Incredible…”
“I’m exempted from paying school fees. Our school is very kind to poor students. My living expenses depend on my scholarship and the money I get from wages. Because my salary has increased recently, my life has become more comfortable~~.”
He~ he~ he. I’ve bought a heater this winter~~. Even when I already have a kotatsu at home~~.
Bou-san suddenly hugged my head.
“Hey hey hey~~!”
“You can cry in my arms.”
What is he thinking – this Bou-san?
“I don’t need to, can you let go?”
“You can tell me at any time whenever you feel tired of life. I will willingly marry you.”
“Do you mean to say that you want to give me a regular job?”
Or rather is the job as a musician in a recording studio a regular job~? I’ve never heard that that job had annual leave or a pension or anything, so it shouldn’t be (a regular job).
“Not cute at all.”
Bou-san rapped my head once with a boo.
“Sorry. Because my life has been too hard my personality has flaws. Ah ah, I hate this world…”
Pretending to cry, boo hoo, my head sustained another hit. Whatever~~
“Your school only allows you to work because it is like this?”
“Yeah. From the start our school allows students to work. In my case, because it is to survive, my school has given me leave.”
He~ he~ he~.
Bou-san nodded.
“If when you oversleep, you tell the school you’ve gone to work…”
“Yeah yeah. I can take leave whenever I like~~.”
After I said that, I thought: crap. There were cold looks around me.
“So that’s the truth, you’re doing this to play truant. … you’ll turn stupid like that.”
It wasn’t Naru, but Bou-san who said that; but because even his accent imitated Naru’s very closely, I couldn’t help laughing out loud – despite Naru standing at one side with a blank expression.
With the corner of the second floor which was our living quarters as the center, there were 4 night vision cameras and automatic temperature recorders placed around. And besides that, there were 12 microphones set up all around. After the Mansion Explorer Team trio of Bou-san, John and Yasuhara left with tape measures and compasses to construct a floor plan, we adjusted the equipment at base. Even if it was only adjusting the cables, deciding and checking the camera angles, it was soon nearly twilight.
That day, we did not know what the other psychics were doing. After we had dinner we had a meeting at our base; then after exorcising and cleansing each room we went to bed early.
Although Naru was adamant about us not conducting investigations at night, the others apparently continued investigating deep into the night.
The next morning I was woken up by someone (don’t ask me who) then I went to the Dining Room, gobbled down breakfast then we gathered at the base.
Lin-san, as usual, was replaying the tapes that were recorded last night. There wasn’t a single tape which caught anything out of the ordinary. Occasionally it caught the image of a passing psychic peering curiously down the camera, and that was contrarily rather strange. The tapes recorded by the microphones were the same. The temperature records also appeared normal. And on the other equipment which I still don’t quite understand nothing abnormal had occurred.
“Is there nothing going on?”
Yasuhara asked. Naru nooded.
“The first day is just like this. There probably isn’t any danger around the area where the equipment was set up last night.” Naru has and will always be of the prudent type.
Ayako looked a little dissatisfied.
“Is this alright? When we are leisurely doing this type of thing, the credit will be snatched away by the others.”
“I don’t particularly wish to achieve any accomplishment.”
“Then, why do we doing this type of thing?”
“This is what we call volunteers. – Yasuhara-kun, Bou-san, John. You lot and Mai, continue to construct the floor plan.”
This fellow, he completely doesn’t take Ayako seriously.
Masako, who started acting together with us since this morning, said,
“If there is anywhere I can help…”
“Please go with Matsuzaki-san and check if there are any suspicious places. You said you’ve smelt the smell of blood, right? Find out where that smell is the strongest etc. You all have to be extremely cautious, even if you find a suspicious location, don’t enter it carelessly. Report to me first.”
“Understood.”
“Everyone must return here in the afternoon. Right, at 11:30. Let us calibrate our watches; everyone must not be late.”
Yes~ yes~. It was really like the tone of a life guidance coach, this fellow.
Despite the efforts of Bou-san, Yasuhara and John yesterday, the floor plan was still practically blank. With great effort, the corner of the Dining Room, the Base and our living quarters was drawn. Anyway we first measured the corridor to the north of the Dining Room that was skipped yesterday. We roughly measured the corridors’ length, width and direction then drew it on the paper. Following that we also measured the rooms on either side of the corridor.
Just like that we started measuring from one end of the building, this time entering every room.
“Ee?”
I recorded the measurements while tilting my head.
“What’s up?”
Bou-san walked over and looked at what I had recorded.
“That place was recorded wrongly.”
This room was about as large as a classroom. Because the room was surrounded by corridors on three sides, and the corridors and the adjacent room had already been measured, the external measurements of the room should be very clear. If the room was measured on the outside, this room should be a rectangular room. But somehow, when the room was actually measured on the inside it was practically square shaped.
I finished explaining; Bou-san couldn’t help smacking his lips.
“Not again. Ai, we have to re-do the measurements.”
The trio of Bou-san, Yasuhara and John left the room to measure the room’s external. The three people who came back shortly after had their heads tilted in incomprehension.
“… How is it?”
“The external measurements are accurate just like this.”
“It isn’t possible. Even without measuring, I can tell this room is square. The actual measurements also show it is practically a square-”
“But there isn’t any mistake outside either. This is the second time we’ve measured so there is definitely no mistake.”
Ai ai~~?
There were doors on three sides of the room. If I opened one I could estimate the thickness of the wall. And it didn’t look like it was because the walls were extremely thin…
I looked at the wall without a door.
“Could this wall possibly be 3 meters thick?”
“If that’s not the case we must have made a mistake from the very beginning and the error continued to be carried forward.”
Just like buttoning the wrong button, Bou-san ground his teeth and said that.
Yasuhara pointed towards the wall.
“A hidden room.”
… There shouldn’t be, right? Please let me off that.
“Yeah~~, it’s more and more like a maze.”
Yasuhara somehow looked very satisfied.
“This issue will be resolved if we open a hole in the wall.”
It was Bou-san who spoke such extreme words.
John talked sense into the pair of them.
“… anyway let’s leave this and continue to measure. Perhaps when we measure some other parts we can find out where we had made a mistake.”
Exactly.
Just like that we continued working; if there were indeed wrong measurements; we would find out and resolve it after taking more measurements. We repeated the measurements multiple times, ran around many times, in the end we were all thoroughly frustrated.
Why did they have to build such a complicated house? I really don’t understand how rich people think.
After many trials we had finally completed the floor plan of the first floor. By then it was almost 11:30. When we got back to base we handed the completed part of the plan to Lin-san, who entered it into the computer. In the mean time we ate lunch very hurriedly, and after agreeing to meet again at around 3 o’clock teatime, we set off once more on our Mansion Exploration Journey.
In the morning, when we started our investigation, the other psychics were all asleep; they had finally risen one by one and started their investigations. A man with a white beard hanging down to his chest held a rosary made up of beads that were as large as a fist and walked around chanting.
“Who is that?”
I asked Bou-san while we mounted the stairs.
“Don’t ask me.”
Yeah.
“Isn’t he Mihashi-san from the xxx association?” (tl/n: the Chinese script doesn’t re-state the name of the association. I’m not sure if it was meant that Yasuhara remembers the names of the people but not the association they are from, or if the Japanese to Chinese translator was being lazy. Either way, I don’t suppose the names of the associations are all that important.)
It was Substitute Head Yasuhara who answered.
“Oh oh, no wonder you’re a freshman at an institute of the highest level of education. Such a clever boy.”
“You really know how to exaggerate, aren’t you a university graduate yourself, Takigawa-san?”
The university graduate in question is…
“Bou-san has graduated university?!”
Bou-san showed a very unhappy expression.
“Is the fact that I hold a bachelor degree from a university something that is so strange, ai?”
“No… ha ha. Even Bou-san had gone to university.”
“I say, in Japan they let monks attend university.”
“He~~”
That was really surprising.
“What do you all do in university? Do you practice chanting scriptures and stuff like that?”
“… this, this type of thing is also done.”
“Like if you don’t wear a Kesa you can’t attend school etc.”
I say, Bou-san looked like he was in agony.
“Miss, there are also females in the university for monks. Also, they teach English, and German, Mathematics and also Physical Education. Understand?”
“Oh~~”
Incomprehensible. What type of university is it? Let me think about it a little.
Yasuhara, also looking like he did not understand, said,
“Are there early lessons in the morning as usual? Look, don’t Catholic schools in some places hold Mass or something in the mornings, right?”
“Are there still this type of schools today? My school wasn’t very religious. At most the tea served in the canteen on Hanamatsuri (Vesak Day, or Buddah’s Birthday) would be sweet tea.”
“That doesn’t count-”
“Stra, strange…”
That escaped my mouth unconsciously. Eat a bento together with sweet tea? I feel that their flavors don’t match~~.
“Unnecessary nonsense. --?”
Bou-san stopped at the turn of the corridor on the second floor.
The northerly corridor on the second floor was very narrow. Hence we ran into Bou-san’s back.
“Ouch. What’s up?”
Bou-san silently looked down the corridor. There were 4 figures there. Of those two people were squatting on the floor with their foreheads touching the ground, going in circles. Standing aside watching these was the man over thirty, and Ohashi-san.
“… who?”
I secretly asked Yasuhara.
“Isn’t that 圣-san of the xxx association?”
Yasuhara replied immediately. Yasuhara is really clever.
The two squatting persons made circles that were the full width of the corridor, there was no way to pass. Just as we were looking at these, troubled, 圣-san lifted his head and looked our way.
“You can’t pass this way.”
A smile of ridicule was beneath his moustache.
“Just as you can see, an important revelation is about to occur.”
… ah.
When I was smiling vaguely, somebody shook my shoulder form behind. Turning back, Yasuhara was making the sign to retreat. I nodded then everyone returned to the corridor we had come from.
There are various types of psychics, aren’t there. Fortunately there isn’t anybody amongst our members who does such embarrassing things…
The four of us, armed with tape measures, measured each room in sequence. What I knew after completing the measurements for the first and second floors was that the interior of this building had a lot of strange rooms. Entering the building, the rooms inside did not have things called windows. Even when there was, if it didn’t open into the next room, it opened into a wall. Even though there was electrical lights in the interior rooms, most of them were pointless bulbs, so we could only rely on the two torches we carried.
“The previous generation that renovated this place, never intended to live here at all.”
Bou-san used the torch to illuminate the surrounds of the room. This was a room about 4 tatamis large. Only a door to what was apparently a regular storeroom could be seen. There was no furniture.
“Exactly. I don’t think that anyone would want to live in this type of room.”
Yasuhara looked around the room.
Indeed, the narrow room without windows and lights is very stifling. If it were me, I wouldn’t stay in this room for even one day. – But if the rent was free I would consider it.
The second floor was more or less complete before the 3 o’clock tea time, so we returned to meet at the base. While Lin-san entered the details of the recent investigation into the computer, we sat down to have tea. Ohashi-san and his staff presented cakes and sandwiches etc; this touched us greatly.
“Talking about it, it really is a very large house.”
Ayako looked around. There was no one in the Dining Room besides us.
“Aren’t there around 20 people running all over this house? But I practically did not meet anyone.”
“Exactly. We met a few, that~~, Mihashi-san and 圣-san.”
“We met him also, that 圣. Because Masako was mocking them, a fight nearly broke out.”
… was there such a thing.
“And then, we also met a don’t-know-what’s-his-name-san. It was like he was carrying some machine and walking.”
“He~~”
After finishing tea, we set out once more to construct the floor plan. When we got to the third floor and was measuring a room, we met a bald man coming from the entrance to the attics.
It was the monk called Imura, Yasuhara told me.
“People from Shibuya Psychic Research?”
“Yes, we are.”
Yasuhara, representing us, lowered his head.
“Collecting children one by one – can that have any use at all?”
It was such a vulgar tone, but Yasuhara took no notice of it at all. He smiled and spoke, tilting his head as though he was speaking of someone else.
“Who knows how it is. We will try our best.”
“What psychics talk about is experience. What can little children do?”
Yasuhara nodded like a model student observed by a teacher.
“We will try even harder.”
Imura sneered.
“How old are you?”
Like a model student, Yasuhara answered smartly.
“Me? I am already 332 years old this year.”
… poo.
Imura-san was momentarily stunned. Then his face turned completely red.
“Whatever, you fellow, do you take me for an idiot?”
“Not at all. Because longevity runs in my family.”
Yasuhara smiled a model student smile.
“What year were you born, tell me.”
“Ai, me? I was born in the 8th year of Hooreki. Or according to the Sexagenary cycle, the Boin(戊寅) year.”
Ah la ~~, how clever.
“You are just talking nonsense here.”
Imura-san glared at Yasuhara, but Yasuhara didn’t look the least concerned.
“How annoying, you doubt the words of your elders. When I was young, if I spoke such to my elders I would get a beating. Ai ya, young people these days are really fortunate~~.”
… poo poo.
“Talking about my youth, I have experienced the Great Tenmei Famine. Youth these days don’t know what famine is like~~.”
… poo poo poo.
“Recently there was some uproar about trade friction between Japan and America; when I was young we were still fighting about whether or not to open the country’s borders. Really, at that time I thought that the future was pitch-black.”
Ignoring Imura-san, who was gnashing his teeth while glaring at him, Yasuhara nodded to himself and continued speaking.
“… Every time I speak of these things, I would get scolded by my parents. They say things like ‘you’re clearly just a green child but you sound like it is crystal clear’. How should I put it, my parents were born around the Kenmu era. Their pet phrases are ‘the Onin war was such a catastrophe’, ‘young people nowadays really don’t understand hard work’ etc. And if my grandfather were to speak, he would probably say that ‘’that’’ was nothing compared to the Genpei War or something. My grandmother on my father’s side would then say only the Jinshin War was really scary. Hey, hey, are you listening?”
Imura-san’s shoulders were shaking; he didn’t have the opportunity to shout.
“My great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side had her home burnt during the fall of the Yamataikoku. Until she passed away she has always said that it was very sad, it really was etc. – Aiya? Imura-san, where are you going? And then, there’s my great-great-great-grandfather on my father’s side~~”
Face completely blank, Imura-san stomped back to the corridor.
When Imura-san’s figure couldn’t be seen anymore, needless to say we all burst out in laughter.
In the evening, before sundown we had more or less completed measuring the third floor and the attic, and we returned to base. After we handed the drawing to Lin-san we went for dinner. While we were completely absorbed in eating, suddenly somebody addressed us.
“Erm, Shibuya-san?”
It was the teacher from the What’s-its-name University.
Naru wasn’t there. Just as I was about to say that he was still at base, Yasuhara hurriedly raised his head.
“… yes.”
Ah, it is like that. Yeah, it’s really complicated.
“I’m really sorry to disturb you while you are having your meal.”
“It’s nothing much, please don’t mind.”
She held a cup of coffee, and sat straight next to Substitute Head Yasuhara.
“The equipment placed in the corridors are your belongings, right?” (she calls Yasuhara ‘Otaku-san’)
“Yes.”
“It really is rather scientific.”
“Passably so.”
A generous and gracious smile hung on the Sensei’s face.
“I feel that you don’t look like a strange psychic, that’s why I’ve come to ask your help.”
It was said in such a gentle tone, but aren’t the words said very unpleasant?
“I want to try holding a séance tonight. If possible, I hope to receive the help of you and everyone here.”
Yasuhara thought for a moment.
“… I understand. Let me offer our help.”
Just as Yasuhara nodded in agreement, 圣-san, seated across the table, started speaking loudly.
“If you need a medium we have some very good ones around, do you need our help?”
… Ee. Was that the medium that was turning in circles?
Sensei smiled.
“I don’t need it.”
Because Sensei used such definite lines, 圣-san appeared a little angry. However, Sensei did not appear the least concerned. She smiled at Yasuhara and continued.
“9 o’clock, is that all right?”
“Yes. And the location?”
“Because this place is too noisy, we’ll be in a vacant room somewhere nearby.”
“I understand.”
Sensei courteously bowed her head and left the Dining Room; we nodded and watched her leave.
… Can we do this, making our own decisions and agreeing to this type of thing? I really wanted to ask Yasuhara that; but圣-san was seated right across the table. At this point Naru, who had just passed by Sensei, and Lin-san, entered.
Yasuhara shot a glare at圣-san then raised his hand.
“Narumi-kun.”
“Yes, is there anything?”
Wu wu. Naru answering like this is really disgusting.
“Just now Professor Igrashi said that she will hold a séance tonight. I will attend; what about you?”
… Yeah. That was a really beautiful way of phrasing the question.
Naru thought slightly.
“Let me attend too. Anyway there aren’t any important jobs that need to be done tonight.”
After dinner and all the way until the start of the séance, all of us gathered at the base.
Naru, who had quietly followed behind Yasuhara, underwent a 180 degrees change in his attitude the moment the base’s door was closed. Using his usual arrogant attitude, he ordered Lin-san to present the floor plans for everyone to see.
Lin-san operated the computer, and the floor plan appeared on the specialized display. The floor plan that we had worked so hard to construct appeared.
“How many rooms are there?”
“Including the attic there are 106.”
One hundred… and six?! Were there that many?! No wonder it too so much of our time.
Naru stacked pointed at the display. Blue lines surrounded the floor plan which was drawn in white. “This is the buildings’ external surroundings.”
The buildings’ external surroundings. That is to say the size of the buildings’ external grounds?
“Doesn’t it completely not match?”
Naru’s cold gaze was directed at us.
“We don’t know. We really made the measurements seriously.”
Questioningly, he turned to look at Bou-san and the rest. Although everyone nodded in agreement, Naru wouldn’t accept that saying because of that. Indeed, the external measurement of the building and the outline of the floor plan did not match at all. More exaggeratedly there was 3 rooms worth of empty space between the floor-plan and the external measurements.
“Start talking. This is?”
There were some blue spaces between the rooms drawn in white. That was the parts that were left despite the measurements of the rooms not matching.
“That’s why we say we don’t know. We seriously measured it and it was just like this.”
I calmly explained the situation to Naru. This really wasn’t our fault. Naru thought for a long time, then said,
“It’s really a thorny problem.”
After saying that,
“Tomorrow repeat the measurements accurately to check.”
“Take the measurements to check.” It is not this. “Measure it for me” is more correct. Who do you think is actually doing the work here? Really.
At 9 o’clock we all gathered at a room approximately 8 tatamis in size next to the Dining Room. A round table and quite a few stools had been moved into the room. Igrashi sensei and her assistant, Minami-san and Professor Davis and a lady assisting had already gathered there.
“Ah…”
The one who said that was Bou-san, who had turned bashful the moment he saw the Professor. Oh He He. He’s a really cute fellow.
Looking as though it was a matter of course, Minami-san was setting up the camcorder. Apparently he had said that he was going to record the proceedings of the séance. The camcorder in question was just a very ordinary camcorder for home use. Looking at the monitor, Minami-san said,
“It’s a little dark. Can’t we have a little more light?”
What is he saying? When Igrashi-sensei heard him, she momentarily glared, wide-eyed, at him.
“What are you saying about increasing the brightness? During the séance we will only be using candles.”
“Ee? Is that so?”
“This is a matter of course. Because spirits dislike bright lights. A single candle will be used, just that.”
“That really is troubling…”
“Don’t you have a night vision camera? I only requested your presence because you said you had a camera capable of recording the events as evidence.”
Minami-san said viciously,
“No, I just didn’t bring that this time…”
What is he chirping about?
Suddenly, Naru spoke.
“Boss, could we bring our video recorder over here? We still have some that aren’t in use.”
Naru addressed that to Yasuhara. Substitute Yasuhara, as a spectator, nodded very magnanimously.
“Ah ah, doing it like this will be great. If Igrashi-sensei doesn’t object…”
Igrashi-sensei smiled.
“Yes, I’m delighted if you could do that.”
“Then, we shall go and move that over. – Mai.”
… Yes~. I just knew it would turn out like this… Really.
Due to the big uproar, I moved the night vision camera and the automated chase camera that had not been set up over. This ‘automated chase camera’ is calibrated to the thermometer; it is something that will automatically capture the areas in the room that are at a lower than normal temperature during the séance.
“This really is some impressive equipment.”
Igrashi-sensei’s eyes gleamed at the sight of this; Yasuhara maintained a generous, witty expression throughout.
“Thank you very much for your appreciation.”
The equipment was finally set up at around 10 o’clock. Candles were lit on the round table, the lights switched off, and then the séance begun.
“Professor Davis, Minami-san, Shibuya-san, please take a seat by the table.”
The 3 persons mentioned by Igrashi-sensei approached the table. The Shibuya-san here refers to Yasuhara. Ah ah, it’s really complicated. Besides them there was also Igrashi-sensei and her disciple Suzuki-san. The summoning was to be done by these people. The rest of us hung back around the walls to observe.
Candles and white paper were arranged on the table; Suzuki-san wore a blindfold while holding a pen.
“Please hold the hand of the person besides you.”
The 4 people seated at the table other than Suzuki-san held each other’s hands, forming a circle of joint hands disrupted at Suzuki-san’s position.
“After breathing deeply please summon the spirit here. Summoning the spirit within this room…”
It was so silent that one could have heard a pin drop. There was the sound of the automated chase camera adjusting its mobile arm after finding a focus, the sound of the motor of the constantly running camera; the only sounds that could be heard were only these minute noises.
“To the ones living in this building, please borrow the hands of this girl and let us hear your inner voices.”
The silence was deep. Suzuki-san didn’t respond at all; her hand holding the pen was trembling slightly. Igrashi-sensei used a calm voice to call out a few times, and a long period of time elapsed. It was so long that it made us observers by the side frustrated.
… will spirits etc really come?
Just as I grumbled such, silently, a squeaking sound suddenly rang out. More intense than the sound, was the pen in Suzuki-san’s hand hit the paper. Everyone held their breaths; Suzuki-san’s hand moved in large strokes, writing black words on the B4 paper.
Everyone leaned forward. Igrashi-sensei lifted sheet after sheet of paper beside her. The pen continued to move. I couldn’t see the words on the paper.
Then, there was a sudden bang. It was as though the room was hit from the outside. A thin haze of dust floated down from the ceiling.
“… what’s going on?”
Minami-san stood up. Igrashi-sensei spoke in a severe tone.
“You can’t move now. Don’t be shaken, calm down.”
Despite that being said, we couldn’t help feeling unsettled. Only Suzuki-san and Yasuhara were seated at the table calmly.
The sound of ice shattering resounded through the room. It was a clear cut sound like ‘piack’. ‘Dong’, was the solid sound of one side of the table was lifted and set down again, wobbling. At the same time the candles were toppled and their faint light was extinguished. Although I felt there was someone at the table toppling a chair with the table’s intense movement, I couldn’t tell clearly who it was.
“There’s no problem. Please, don’t move…”
Igrashi-sensei lamented.
As though that sound was a sign, the room resounded with knocking sounds on the walls or the floor. Who amongst us was knocking? This wasn’t a possibility. It wasn’t a sound that could be made by one or two persons knocking on the walls. Five persons? How many? Perhaps many.
Suddenly there was a gentle pounding on my shoulder. Even if I turned my head there was only a pitch black room. I should be able to see something. That was the feeling of someone patting my shoulder. Following that there were a few more similar hits. With the lament of a man as the beginning, the room became filled with awkward shouts.
“Naumakusanmandabazaradankan.”
That was Bou-san’s clear voice. Then all at once the sounds stopped. The previous uproar was as though it hadn’t happened. Following that the lights suddenly turned on. It was Naru who turned on the lights.
“… What was that just now…?”
Ayako said. Minami-san was underneath the table, Professor Davies was also glued to the wall, and even Yasuhara was holding the edge of the table, wearing a stiff expression.
“It should be that the sprits were successfully summoned.”
Is it like this then, spirits? Then, that sound was a spirit noise. – Whatever, aren’t I calm? Because I’m already used to it.
Suzuki-san was still wearing the blindfold in a daze. Igrashi-sensei stood up and removed the blindfold. Suzuki-san looked completely ignorant of what had happened.
In the end, in the course of that disturbance, of those seated at the table only Yasuhara did not stand up, and the only ones who did not lament fearfully were us, the members of “Shibuya Psychic Research”. Our group are really calm after all. This couldn’t be because we’ve already gone through many dangerous experiences, could it?
Yasuhara picked up a piece of paper on the table, then passed it to Naru. Naru took the paper, on which was wrote,
“Please Rescue Me”.
There were only 3 words.
Gathering the papers which were scattered on the floor; only those 3 words were messily written on those papers.
“Please Rescue Me…?”
What did it mean? Was it written by a spirit? Whom was it asking help from?
“Hey.”
Bou-san showed me the paper he had picked up. On it was written the four words,
“I don’t wanna die” (tl/n: I’m just trying to fit “I don’t want to die” into 4 words.)
And it was even written in red lines. Just like blood.
Checking everyone’s hands, there wasn’t a single person who was injured. If that was the case, then who wrote those words in blood?
“Boss, let’s replay the camera footage taken just now.”
After Naru said that to Yasuahara, we returned to base. Igrashi sensei and Suzuki-san also came along. Minami-san and Professor Davies should have also left the room together with us, but they left without my noticing.
Naru and Lin-san expertly set up the tapes and discs containing the data. Very soon the scenario of the séance was playing on the television on the stand. Very strangely the picture turned white, and it felt like the size of the grains was a special artifact of the ultra-sensitive video recorder.
The time from the start until Suzuki-san’s hand started moving, although I felt that a long time had elapsed, was only 6 minutes, according to the clock on the picture.
“What type of sensation was that?”
Igrashi-sensei asked. Suzuki-san tilted her head.
“It was like my hand was pulled by the pen. If I let go of the pen I wouldn’t know where it would end up, it was approximately that sensation.”
An intense noise was projected by the loudspeakers. Simultaneously, the image of room and the ceiling from the thermo-integrator changed bit by bit into deep blue. The thermo-integrator is a piece of equipment that assigns a color to regions of the same temperature and combines it into an image. Places that were yellow had the highest temperature, places that were blue had low temperatures… Comparing the image to the scale on the side, it could be read that the temperature had descended to approximately 3 degrees.
In the image the table rose high and started shaking. Although the glow from the candles had been extinguished, the camera continued recording, depending on the ray of light that leaked in beneath the door from the corridor.
Pieces of paper fluttered down from the table. Despite that, Suzuki-san’s hand continued moving. Depending on the momentum of the moving pen, the papers dropped piece by piece from the table. Looking at the recording, we could clearly see that it was Minami-san who had knocked over the chair, and it was Professor Davies who shouted and screamed. Yasuhara was motionless, as though rooted to the ground.
“Young man, you’re really the cool one.”
Bou-san said.
“He he he. Because I’ve got a delayed reaction.”
Whatever. Yasuhara puffed up his chest with an unreasonable arrogance.
“Stop.”
Naru suddenly raised his sharp voice. Lin-san stopped the play-back.
“Rewind to the scene at 53 seconds and replay that.”
Lin-san rapped on the keys of the computer. The images appeared in reverse, and the piece of paper jumped back onto the table.
“What is it?”
“That piece of paper.”
Then, the picture stopped. The paper slowly floated down. It was a blank white paper flipping over.
“Ah!”
I couldn’t control my shout.
10:16:02pm. The blank white paper turned over, and when it turned back once more, a few words were written on it. Despite the grainy picture we could tell it was words written in a row; it was the piece of paper on which “I don’t wanna die” was written.
There wasn’t a scratch on anyone’s body. That was to be expected, because that wasn’t something written by a human in that room.
Once again we set up equipment in the room that was used for the séance, and then we left that place. Naru resolutely forbade us to conduct investigations at night. Igrashi-sensei looked at our equipment for a moment, then sighed regretfully, then returned to their bedroom with Suzuki-san who had been warned by Naru. It was like Naru had turned rather neurotic…
Masako was the same; after the séance she did not speak a word. After the lot of us returned to the bedroom, with much difficulty we finally showered in a toilet with hot water, then it was about time to turn in.
“Masako, how are you?”
Masako wore a dragonfly patterned pajama and buried herself in her covers.
“Are you feeling ill?”
“I can smell the stench of blood.”
“Again?”
Masako stared at me.
“Not only do I smell it. It’s like my body and my hair are all drenched in blood. How can everyone behave as though everything is all right?!”
I’m really sorry we can’t sense spirits.
“That room… was clearly so smelly I wanted to vomit.”
“Hey, did that start before the noises began?”
I asked. Masako opened her eyes as though she suddenly saw the light.
“… it began after that.”
“If that’s the case isn’t that a spirit smell?”
“Perhaps…”
Spirit smell, although this sounds strange, refers to the smells brought by spirits. If the smell that Masako says she has smelt since yesterday is due to the presence of spirits nearby…
“Hey, have you seen spirits yet?”
“I’ve seen them. But it’s just a vague feeling and I can’t see them clearly. When I think I’m going to see them, I smell the stench of blood and I can’t concentrate…”
“Is this spirit smell suspicious?”
“… it might be so.”
What’s going on – Masako and I are talking. Isn’t this a rare occasion for me?
“What about you, Mai?”
“Ai?”
“… Have you felt anything?”
This was a completely unexpected line for me, who has always played a supporting row.
“… why do you ask me this?”
I couldn’t help asking back. Masako looked furious.
“I’m just asking for another opinion from another person. My personality and my capabilities are not to be discussed in the same breath.”
“Another… opinion? From me?”
Masako turned her head away unhappily.
“Because in the previous incident, you were the only one who saw the same vision as I did.”
… Oh. So it’s like this. He he he. I don’t know why, I feel very happy.
“He he. Thank you. – But this time it won’t do. I haven’t felt any~thing at all. Last night I didn’t dream and slept straight through the night.”
Naru has said before that I might have ESP. But there’s the small imperfection that I can only use it in my dreams. It’s almost like saying that I can save people when I doze off; even if I were praised, it feels like it is just someone else’s business.
“Is this so… Then perhaps it isn’t as dangerous as I imagined.”
“How can it be? Last night didn’t all of us refrain from moving around? There are protective seals properly placed in the rooms. I can’t be sure but it might even be because of that.”
As Masako tilted her head slightly in thought, Ayako returned from the bathroom after her bath.
“What’s up? You’re getting on well.”
As I was about to say ‘he he, not bad eh?’,
“You must be joking. I couldn’t get on well with this type of person.”
That was Masako’s infuriating line.
This, this fellow…
“Isn’t calling me ‘this type of person’ to my face very discourteous?”
“I couldn’t possibly have used such uncouth language. ‘This type of person’, was what I said.”
“I am ‘this type of person’, I’m really sorry for that.”
“I didn’t mean to say you’re a bad sort. This is what is called ‘ingrained prejudice’; you think others are just out to antagonize you.”
“Your personality isn’t the least bit cute.”
“But I’m beautiful and capable.”
Re… really not cute at all!
“Why do you hate me to this extent? If you have any reasons could you say them out loud?”
“You know them yourself.”
“How could I know?!”
“Ah la, even your brain isn’t working too well.”
Really, such redundant nonsense. (tl/n: agreed. I really don’t know what they’re talking about back there. If anyone cares that much you’re welcome to try for a better translation.) Although I really am not too bright. Yeah~~, my face and figure are also not out of the ordinary.
Ai ai, are we fighting a mutual grudge match? Hey, stand up. Don’t ignore me and fall asleep. Argue with me properly, Masako.
I was just about to wake her up.
“When did the two of you start to get on so well?”
Because of this line from Ayako, I was suddenly felt momentarily weak.
Which part of our relationship looks like we get on well?
… Really, forget it, do as you please. I’m going to sleep. Who cares about you, hn.
Then we all went to sleep. Of course, we were the only ones who did not investigate and slept; the other psychics should have planned to continue investigating through the night. Many times various footsteps passed by our door.
Waking up after a dreamless sleep the next morning, what was awaiting us was a piece of shocking news.
– Suzuki Naoko-san had vanished.
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