Volume 1 Chapter 2 (2/2)
With that, I ended the call
Hu ones
I knew very hatabout
The question here was this frightening human?
I oken on the second day by the sound of pouring rain blowing against theThe weather was so bad that the wind seeh to blow a small car away
I honestly wanted to hole up in the inn for my own safety, but I was a police officer and a member of society I could not take a day off from my job because of the weather
I was in a dead end job!
I wanted to rise to inspector or some other position where I could shove any unwanted work on someone else
However, the thought still leftdejected since I knew inspector would be ht work
”…I should have dealt with more of this yesterday”
My co
Onation Today, I had to start checking over the entire island and gather the information I needed from the residents
The weather was bad enough that carrying an u to help, so I borrowed a raincoat fro at the inn and left However, the raincoat leftvery hot and stuffy It may have kept the rain out, but it left no way out forwet
The other police detectives were likely headed to the village to question people there, but I decided to walk along the peri I was curious about
Zashou Island was a small island A small mountain only 200land spread out to the northwest The village was located in that northwest area
The primary natural plant on the island was baon fruit, o, and such in the plantations To be honest, it was kind of a creepy The things here could be called ”greenery”, but they could not be called ”natural” Human interests had blotted out the natural scenery The island had surely once had its own unique ”nature”, but that had been sed up by the stereotype of the ”tropical island”
”Hi there What are you doing, detective? Stealing fruit?”
”What are you doing here, mystery freak?”
And why are you wearing a swimsuit in the middle of this storm?
”I don't want to hear that fro a raincoat in this humid tropical weather Is it some kind of diet?”
She read ain!?
”This ould destroy an umbrella in 5 seconds and a raincoat is out of the question So doesn't heading out in a swimsuit seem the most efficient? It matches the environment”
As always, she had herfrom her swimsuit bottom
…Has she made sure her smartphone will be fine in this rain?
”So why are you taking a walk down a mountain path in a swimsuit?”
”Since you didn't just head straight to question the villagers, I assume my reason is the same as yours”
”It's a waste of time to just stand here We can talk while alk”
”Good idea”
We walked alongside a plantation filled with fruits covered in nets to prevent wind dae
”Have you looked around the island yet?” she asked
”Not yet”
”There is a cave over at the h”
”A wise decision”
So a cave you run across, but people fros like centipedes and spiders, and there was always a risk of collapse, a lack of oxygen, or volcanic gases A li, but exploring so into a pipe in a ditch that leads into the sewers
”The only lodging facility here is the inn we're staying at The village has a simple sweets shop, a barber shop, and a few bars There wasn't much else you could spend money at”
”That sounds like the stereotypical Intellectual Village They purposefullya nostalgic film”
”But look”
Enbi crouched down and picked up so half buried in the mud
It was an earette carton
”Then this makes no sense”
”That alone isn't enough to draw a conclusion fro into”
I sighed and then looked around
It looked like I would have to walk all over the place in that blowing storthen my personal theory
Once noon had passed, I was finally able to take a break fro
Waji to do, but I could not just do nothing simply because I had passed the baton off Now that I had the information I needed, I had no choice but to use it
It was time to interview people
Having to go around to each individual person in the torrential rain was hardly fun, but that was ames
I was going to be asking dozens of people the exact saht it would be best to head to the ht off the bat
I would do , but the people I spoke to last would have the highest risk of telling a prepared story It was best to head to the most suspicious people first
”The president of the fishery cooperative would likely have sooods like an Intellectual Village”
And so I first headed to the home of the president of the fishery cooperative
His name was Kurokawa Kai
Intellectual Village ho ”like the old days”, but the fishi+ng village homes were quite low key The house had wooden walls and a tiled roof Despite what my nephew may have said, it reminded s
But the Intellectual Village influence could still be seen in the solar panels on the roof Ecology had become quite fashi+onable of late, but that boom had caused an unneeded jump in the price of semiconductors, so it didn't really see like in the ads
I had hoped to deal with it all in front of the house, but the typhoon was blowing rain up under the eaves I was forced to set foot within the front door at Kurokawa-san's invitation
”Oh, co in a much nicer house”
He looked like a pleasant e
He had a bit of a bent back, but he had an athts that would cause a detective like me to cry out in pain To put it bluntly, he looked like he had painful fists
I asked hi when the dru up until the police had been notified Just as he realized I was an to relax, I suddenly stabbed into the heart of the issue
”Kurokawa-san I have heard the primary industry here is the cultivation of oysters and pearls”
”Yes, it is called mariculture There is a line in quality we just cannot seem to cross when it coher than that, it is much faster for people to interfere Of course, an excellent natural environ point”
”But it is not just that, is it?” I readily asked ”You are just barely outside the bounds of the Ogasawara Islands However, what lives in the ocean here is not that much different from around those islands In other words, the protected species in the World Heritage Site that are often targets of poaching can be freely fished here …Is it more popular for people to buy them as rare pets than for food?”
Zashou Island had received invest to use its natural resources which were on the level of a World Heritage Site However,the territories of the marine life and therefore was based on a catch and release policy If non-locals needed to fish there, they could only do so in authorized areas that were strictly enforced They could not si boats as much as they wanted
”Detective, is that what you have co your ti, it would only be the cowardly poaching groups That is not a business the fishery cooperative has anything to do with”
His words came smoothly, but that was actually much scarier than otherwise
People who suddenly had ridiculous suspicion cast on them by the police would normally be much more disturbed
”Even if that is so, this island was originally a central point for such unsavory people”
”And does that have anything to do with us?”
”It does Those dru corpses washed up here And the corpses had brand name rice seeds on them”
”Zashou Island does not produce rice”
”True It was not heading from here to somewhere else Also, this area is unsuitable to cultivate it, so it was not being brought in from somewhere else”
”Then what are you trying to say?”
”This is a relay point”
Without hesitation, I continued speaking while well aware this method would apply the most pressure to the man It was ih everything
”A relay point between point A and point B And brand nah Most likely, a large variety of things pass through here These would be products that would be dangerous to send directly Perhaps a large crianization is involved There was some trouble in the process of distribution and so on here”
”If that were true, shouldn't your main focus be outside of this island?”
”That depends on who these 'punishments' were directed at”
Perhaps I should not have said ”most likely”
That h everything
”If they were targeted at someone else and they just happened to wash up on this island, that is one thing But if those dru to the residents of this island, I can hardly say you are uninvolved”
”I suppose I can see where you are coood movie”
”Stuffing living people in dru thee, but so does the brand name rice seeds That kind of hint would be found with a simple body search, so I doubt so the li would overlook it That simplifies matters Those seeds were information intentionally left for someone to see”
”And yet you are wrong,” said Kurokawa-san smoothly
He sees to serve his coues
”We have seen suspicious shi+ps sailing in the seas around the island, but none have ever come to the island itself At the very least, none have ever made contact with us”
”Can you prove this?”
”You cannot prove they have, can you?”
”What if I told you I can?” When I said that with the same smoothness as Kurokawa-san, I saw his cheeks stiffen a bit ”There are cigarette cases littering the ground in places all across the island Not to mention chuhai cans and brandy bottles And they are all brands not sold on this island And don't try to say they washed up on the island I found plenty of them in the middle of the island”
”Ridiculous… That's your proof? Detective, surely you kno Intellectual Villages work” After a brief silence, Kurokawa-san was back on form ”The scenery is made to look intentionally run down to create the proper atmosphere The vast ht using the coe is overfloith products brought in froh for a false accusation”
”Are you sure you want to use that as your explanation?”
”What?”
”I'll give you tiu if that is your final answer”
I did not want to get caught in so to hurry up and deliver the finishi+ng blow regardless
”Kurokawa-san Mass produced products have subtle differences within the exact sa on the factory and time in which and at which they were produced Staet excited over differences in the concentration of ink By looking into that kind of thing, you can easily check to see whether these things were bought online”
”Also, records are left when you buy so online Everyone has a purchase history And this is not stored on your individual computers It is stored on the company-side servers Even if these are the saht, we can see if these are the exact same ones as you purchased And we have started to check just that So I ask again: is that your final answer?”
In an area where large nu all the time, this would be a hopeless plan However, there was not that h for a solitary island with few people co And you anization A check of the purchase histories of everyone on the island for the past year would be finished in just a few days
This was another reason why I hated Intellectual Villages
Everything was nicely said to be ”smart” or whatever, but you never knehat kind of infor stolen behind the scenes
”Detective, if you are investigating that, you must see our innocence as a distinct possibility So let : is this your final answer? If this all turns out to be a false accusation, Ipeople”
”True, I have no definitive proof But I have my suspicions”
Youto work, Kurokawa-san
Unfortunately for you, I cos work around here better than most from the city
”More importantly, you focus on the environment and quality of your products arettes on the ground, noould you? And it does not particularly matter if this would actually have an effect on your crops After all, the brands fro the proper atmosphere”
Kurokawa-san seemed unable to refute that point
That was to be expected Saying they did not care about pollution could directly affect his income
”Kurokawa-san,more than to expose the truth of these murders I have no interest in the dead My only desire is to help the families of the deceased and to prevent another cri”
I then upped the pressure so he would slip up
”And if Idown to the very bottorotesque, but I am prepared for that”
I felt a sust of air
Kurokawa-san had let out a sh
”Well, I am well aware that I have no authority to stop you,” he said ”By the way, do you have any plans to leave soon?”
”You really should not threaten ency that keeps the peace And even if that is not your intention, we can still take action as long as we perceive it that way”
”No We are not that stupid I aet any more involved if there is no need” Kurokawa-san soundeda bedti so We do not have any issues with outsiders If we did, ould never have built an inn on the island After all, Intellectual Villages are constructed so they can fully function without any external support”
Outsiders
Was he sie crianization?
The way he had changed the way he was speaking like a car changing gears see me to be careful how I answered
”…Whatever the case ht?”
”I suppose not”
I that, Kurokawa-san's expression clearly changed
It was like a balloon deflating
This was not hatred, disgust, or hostility
His expression was one of pure regret
”I guess that's that then,” he said
I then asked the same questions to every influential person on the island and then everyone with some connection to those influential people
They all reacted similarly
I did not knoas hidden on Zashou Island, but the day was nearing when I would find out
And once I had a handle on that invisible system, I would surely be able to see where the murders fit into it all
To put it bluntly, I felt like I inning
I had found the route to solving the case and I thought I had everything under control
I was naïve
I still did not fully understand what an Intellectual Village was
Dinnertime had come and the storm had still not let up
It ht last for days
And then a problem arose
”…I can't get through”
I had tried to callnal
Is this because of the typhoon?
My colleagues were gathering in the reception hall, but I changed directions in search of sonal
”What are you doing, detective?”
”Shut up, nal for my cell phone”
”You too? What carrier do you use?”
”JBP So you're having trouble, too?”
The n smartphone known as a Grape Phone, but it seenal either
It seemed to be a weather issue rather than an issue with the service provider We tried for a bit longer, but could not get a call through
Enbi tugged onLet's have a chat”
”I'd like to eat Wait, where are we?”
”The first floor corridor You got lost because you alking around while staring at your cell phone”
”Oh, I made it that far?”
I don't re down the stairs…
Just as I looked up at the ceiling with that thought, I heard the sound of a hunting rifle being fired from directly above
I did not understand as going on
And the situation continued beforecould catch up
The shots continued Ten shots… Twenty shots… They just kept corew used to the loud explosive noises I could hear thundering footsteps and screah to drown it all out It was so much that I could not tell how many shots were fired or from what direction
”This is bad…” said Enbi the ed on un!! Those who didn't want the police sniffing around have struck first!!”
”…Youshot by criminals? But this is japan”
”Surely you've heard that in rural areas like Intellectual Villages no one is surprised to hear hunting rifles being fired”
”But this isn't getting rid of sohtseer andered here! We're the police This would wipe out 20 officers all at once!! So like that would lead to a riot squad or even the JSDF being sent in No one would be stupid enough to…!!”
I trailed off because I saw so very unpleasant
A stain was appearing on the ceiling This was not caused by a leaky roof The stain was much too dark and red for that
I had no idea what kind of construction had been used for that inn
But how much liquid would there have to be to create a stain on the ceiling of the floor below?
So
My fellow detectives and Wajima-san from forensics had been sed up by it
”There's some over here, too!!” someone shouted
My heart skipped a beat
We did not have time to check and see who had said that
Enbi the mystery freak and I broke theand jumped out
We juht
We had finally caught a glie known as Zashou Island
The island was only so big
We obviously could not head to the village The plantations and orchards lance, but they were actually protected by various cameras and sensors The mountain apparently had caves, but those would likely end in our own destruction after falling into a natural trap
As such, the process of eli into a naturally growing bamboo thicket that had zero commercial value
To be honest, it did not feel safe in the slightest We were si time If they searched the island, they would eventually find us and I could feel er I exposed my body to the torrential rain
The mystery freak looked down at her snal must still have been blocked I doubted it was just a coincidence given the ti
”Detective, do you have a handgun?”
”I had no plans to leave the island for a while, so yes I only have 5 bullets, though If they have gathered all of the hunting rifles from around the island, we're done for”
”And they uns from the police they already attacked”
She did not say ”killed”, but that may have been out of consideration foraction for the sake of
Thatto ask
”Why would they take such a desperatethe period to the end of their lives”
”Not necessarily”
”It was in this baht?”
”What about it?”
”There was talk of Funa Yuurei at the docks Do you knohat the connection between those two is?”
”…There isn't one One's an ocean Youkai and the other's a river Youkai”
The ht her hand to her forehead at my immediate response
”A Funa Yuurei is a scary Youkai that sinks shi+ps if a set process is not carried out A Nure Onna is a Youkai that drags people into the river if they meet certain conditions”
”So you're saying they're both deadly?”
”They are both Youkai that ”
I gasped when she said that
It can't be…
”I was looking around Zashou Island based on suspicions that a large crianization is involved In other words, I was assue”
”And that's what the Nure Onna and Funa Yuurei are for?”
”No The Funa Yuurei is probably the main one Maybe they failed with the Nure Onna and switched over the Funa Yuurei orand then started trying a different variation I don't know”
”How can you be so sure?”
”Just look at the nainally had a lot of shi+pwrecks At soan to spread that some of those shi+pwrecks were faked in order to fake people's deaths and let theet a fresh start on life”
”I see,” I groaned
Norally considered dead However, shi+pwrecks were an exception Soally considered dead after only a few months
That was convenient for people anted to be ”dead” as soon as possible due to debts or some other reason
”So Zashou Island runs a side business of counterfeiting documents to erase all traces of the identities of people who have messed up their lives beyond repair?”
If so, there was indeed a possibility that a large crianization was involved, but…
”…It goes beyond that”
”What?”
”I viewed this Intellectual Village too lightly That is not the true identity of Zashou Island I only half believed it, but that attack clinched it Their Package is much simpler”
Then what is it?
Can it get any darker than that?
As I thought that, Enbi the mystery freak continued
”The Package created on Zashou Island is most likely one that simply erases people”
I understood what she meant
I felt a chill run down my spine, but Enbi continued just to make sure
”It doesn't matter if the person is tossed into the sea or abandoned in the e simply makes sure that the people are never found”
That was soet its hands on
It was a standard concept in movies and dramas, but even a police officer like myself had no idea if it was possible But if there was some island where a body could be buried or sunk and never found again, it would be incredibly valuable for certain types of people
”So the people of this island really do have a connection to a large crianization!?”
”It would be more accurate to say they may have had a connection”
”Why put it in the past tense?”
”What proof do you have that led you to use the present tense?” Therain ”I have seen hints of a large criure out what specific organization it ht, detective?”
”W-well, yes…”
”Then I have a thought What if the large crianization was already eliues were?”
”It couldn't be…” I groaned
I couldn't believe it
The scope was sireat
We with the police would not allow any kind of criroups? The reason was sie for us to do anything about
If we crushed one piece of it, that piece would sie for the piece that was crushed
At first glance, they seemed to be a disorderly collection of violence, but they were actually strictly ed in ways calculated to work to their interests
Even the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Departet burned by them if it seriously tried to attack them There was no way some amateur islanders could deal with that kind of professional violence
”Do you kno anization?” I asked
”An independent group anization is probably in the tens of thousands We don't actually knohat size of group the islanders dealt with”
”But that's still at least a few hundred A group that size could overpower the people on the island with numbers alone!”
”If they all came at once What if, instead, a shi+p of a dozen or so would come to the island and those people would be eliroup of a dozen or so would go…and then it all repeats That changes things, doesn't it?”
I could not believe what the
”The large criroup never returned froe at work They , so they had to send someone else in their place It would not be difficult to wipe out people who are not even re her ar wet froe crianization; it is Zashou Island itself”
”But at what stage? They eliminate people, catch tropical fish, and act as a relay point for plant hunters with brand nae criht? Zashou Island cannot complete the business on their own”
”That is why I was prianization and let uard down about the residents of Zashou Island But I think you are wrong about this, detective Those types of crie crianization came to Zashou Island However, Zashou Island likely went bad much, much earlier than that”
”If the people of Zashou Island do have a Package that can completely erase any traces of a murder, they would have no reason to wait until now,” said therain made it difficult to hear her, but that just made it all the more creepy ”They could have just done it the instant the police arrived on the island Nothing was stopping the rifles in hand And yet they waited for today They did not coation I think it was soer that set off the annihilation of the police here”
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