Volume 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)

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It was all over

It was utterly and fundahtest hope After all, there had never before been the slightest hint that someone like her would die!!

”U-uhh…”

The urge to vomit rose up within me The extreme red coloration made me feel dizzy

Even so, I could not tear my eyes away from what lay before me They were rooted to the spot I pointlessly tried to not make the connection between the thick smell of rusted iron and the fact that I was in the same area as a corpse

It was in front of me

A neck that isted like an old rag A fenized that person who even now had fresh blood gushi+ng out of her The corpse had its face crushed and was overall melted, so it was possible it was not actually her However, that theory did not hold here I sis about her

I recognized the beautifully ers

I recognized the smooth line of her back

It matched the memories in my mind so perfectly I shuddered I could not help but shudder She was collapsed there li as the blood flowed out like a frog leg with electrodes attached

I ed to squeeze a voice out of the depths of my dry throat

”Hishi+gami…Mai-san…?”

Ifor a response

Even though she had no h she had no head

My legs almost collapsed underneathout was flowing toward th reenteredelse I felt it would sully ht of it as being Hishi+gami Mai

And with that realization, the fear that had been nu in all at once

”Ahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

I would be killed

I would be killed if I stayed there This was a situation where a huh school student like me did not stand a chance!!

I swung my arms around and ran away

I had no idea what I was screaet out I needed to get out of the building I ran through a long passageway

But I stopped partway through

My legs refused to move any further

A single door lay before me It was half open and a pure red color was splattered on the other side

Dammit! What the hell!? Dammit!! That's my uncle! He's supposed to be a policeman! The syht in a brokenfras severed!?

He was my relative, so I did not knohether I should run over crying even though he was so horribly daed But the fear heldabout the situation He had not died due to blood loss froht in theframe It was clear so a trap he could have escaped had he been able to use his legs at all

That as burner in the kitchen and Madoka aying back and forth as she hung like a chandelier fro Pacific bluefin tuna There was simply no hope It did not ine how this could all be su us It simply seemed to me that the entire hotel was enveloped by soe

I was going to die

I was definitely going to die

I could not stop ether a plan I was next In fact, I was the only one left So who had done this? Was there any way I could escape? In fact…

In fact…

How?

How had it ended up like this?

As I was eating a popsicle on the porch of our japanese house with a thatch roof that was only any use in the winter, ranny called out to me

”shi+nobu shi+nobu”

”What is it, granny”

”It's a stray cat I do notour yard as its litter box I tried to chase it away, but it didn't do any good shi+nobu, could you do so about it?”

”…Granny That isn't a cat It's a Nekos can be deadly, so be careful”

Cat Youkai were not all that disliked as they were said to take vengeance for their masters, but those were romanticized tales They had the power to kill people, so you really did have to be careful

I put on e yard I then cautiously approached the Nekomata that was curled up below a tree covered in rhinoceros beetles

”Neko here?”

”Can't you tell? Doing my best to put up with this midsummer heat I suppose you hu”

”You can cool down inside if you want, but please don't use our yard as a litter box”

”A lady likelike that Anyway, that sounds nice I was starting to feel a bit irritable, so a nice cold bath would be great Once er have to worry about har anyone”

”You like baths? But you're a cat”

”I am a Nekomata”

And so I headed for the bath with the Nekomata in my arms

”This is quite the high-tech bath for such a rundown house”

”My grandfather insisted we get it redone while we can because he says the house could be designated cultural property at any ti, and cooling are allelse”

I turned the faucet and cold water started filling the wash basin, but the Nekoan to complain

”It will be too cold with just that Add in some hot water”

”You sure are picky”

”That's too much hot water It can't be lukewar”

”Fine, fine,” I replied and stuck the Nekomata in the wash basin

Despite all her complaints, she see

Suddenly, I noticed a flat-chested Yuki Onna peering in through the gap next to the sliding door to the bath My dad had allowed her to live with us as long as she stayed away fro as the temperature for that had to be precisely controlled (Incidentally, enerally loved Youkai)

”…No fair…”

”What isn't fair?”

”That Youkai suddenly appears and you are already taking a bath with her? And yet I have not received an opportunity like that after all this work I put into solidifying a foundation…”

”Oh, you're jealous Not only is that unsightly, but you are way off the mark there,” commented the Nekomata

”What!? Wait, does this even count? I mean, she's a cat!!” I said

”I am a Nekomata I am as much a deadly Youkai as she is”

Even if you're in the sae difference!! And why is Yuki Onna-chan reaching for the obi to her ki person to co to stick your ass in the wash basin!?

And then caht scent of rin on her face lance what she was after It was a little unclear what this had to do with her being a Zashi+ki Warashi+, but I was past caring

”Hey, Zashi+ki Warashi+! Hold that Yuki Onna back!”

”No fair, no fair☆”

”Why the hell are you reaching for your yukata's obi!? Don't strip nude just for a joke! It isn't funny when you have a body as nice as that!!”

The countryside could be annoying with all the Youkai, but big cities were hardly perfect They were so crowded and filled with unhealthy exhaust and chehly altered for huine the people there enjoyed shaving away their own lifespan

I entered a chain café and a police detective with a glum look on his face wavedcounted as work, so I could only be jealous of how easy public servants had it

Even so, he did seem a bit stiff in hisrifle

But by ”our” standards, that didn't even count as being injured Also, he received medical care paid for with the people's tax money, so I still say they have it pretty easy

”What are you drinking?”

”What does it matter? By the hat's with that outfit? A tank top and hot pants? Did you forget how old you are? You look like a complete idiot You look like a university student that carelessly got in with a specialized entrance exam and then couldn't keep up with the classes”

”If a real idiot wore this, there would be no helping thee for those who aren't idiots”

”I see So what did you want to talk about? Let's get this over with quickly”

”Oh, c'mon At least let me complain about my troubles to you I've had sohts on me lately which isn't any fun Oh, I know Could you s out with them?”

”With you, it's bound to be your own damn fault I hate that I can't arrest someone like you There are just too hts on you? The PSIA?”

”MI6 The CIA Oh, and the European Security Force”

”That's clearly well beyond what the japanese police can deal with!! What the hell did you do!? No, wait…no!!”

”You wanna know? You do, don't you? Well, I heard a syste use of Succubi had been established in Europe, so I decided to go take a peek The systened it In fact, the officials who had contacted the Succubus were the ones being contr-…”

”Stop!! Please stop! I don't want to end up being so I shouldn't have!!”

Oh, c'mon

And I was just getting to the good part

”Why do you two sisters always destroy the boundaries of common sense…?”

”Oh? I'll adht my little sister was a bit more normal”

”What is normal about a minor that shows up at the crime scene of every mysterious murder? I've had a flood of co s and to solve the cases on my own …I don't knoord of it reached them, but I've even received complaints from the riot police”

”Why don't you just go ahead and marry her?”

”Are you completely unfamiliar with the concept of context!? And do you have any idea what japanese law is!?”

”Oh, right About that sister of mine”

”Again, context please…”

”She says to take a week of paid vacation starting today”

”Why!? I don't have any idea what you're talking about!”

Well, that one wasn't too surprising My sister knew that was asking too much of him That hy she had used e

”I have some tickets here One for me, one for you, and one for ive us free lodging at a hotel in Fuuka Village, an Intellectual Village You are headed there right away Understand?”

”…I'll keep this short What happens if I just ignore you?”

”I will render you unconscious with this wet towel and stuff you inBut then you won't be able to call in to take a paid vacation, so you ht lose your job”

After dealing with the trouble in the bath, I retreated back to my room

The air conditioner was running full blast within the room and for some reason the futon was spread out with the Zashi+ki Warashi+ lying in it

”…What are you doing?”

”Don't you think it's unfair?” The Zashi+ki Warashi+ looked at ht a cold the other day, shi+nobu And as it that nursed you back to health? For the most part, me It's not fair It's not fair at all Don't you think it's unfair if you do not treat me kindly after I treated you so kindly?”

”…But you seeht as well take you up on your offer”

”You're always so disagreeable, but you get so obedient when you're sick It's like you revert to being a s to wish you had a cold year round Heh heh… Heh heh heh heh heh”

Don't tellfortune toaround in an attempt to weaken me

”But this is a cos fair, you need to pay me back for my kindness I want you to nurse me back to health too”

”…You just thought the porridge you fed ood, didn't you? And Youkai are damn hard to kill, so I doubt you can even catch a cold”

”Oh, I didn't overlook that If you will recall, I took off o”

”Eh!? You !?”

I decided it was best to play along, so I went to get a towel and a wash bath filled ater

From inside the futon, the Zashi+ki Warashi+ said, ”I want to eat some vanilla ice cream”

”You seeh to me”

”Blow on it for me”

”That's not how that works That's for hot foods”

The Zashi+ki Warashi+ stubbornly refused to sit up, so I had to lift up and support her upper body while I carried the spoonful of dairy product to her mouth

I had already finishedelse to do, so I didn't really care I just hoped the Yuki Onna wasn't watching ain

For some reason, the Zashi+ki Warashi+ turned the TV to an educational program

She then said, ”I think I'll grow sick of this after half an hour”

”I thought you ht”

”But since you seem to want to nurse me back to health so much, I'll stick with it for the rest of the day”

”And that's not how being tsundere works”

Then my beaten-up old cell phone with a broken ca

The Zashi+ki Warashi+ looked a bit annoyed, but I had to give the phone priority

It was froe beauty of a classmate who lived in the Sanatorium

”shi+nobu-kun, let's head to a hotel”

”What is it, Madoka? Have your morals completely crumbled?”

”Ah ha ha ha ha Sorry, but a whole group is going I have an extra ticket, so I ondering if you wanted to co”

…No, I think this is a pretty big deal even so Are you sure they haven't cru the idea of the ”student suhtly

And on a different note, when did Madoka and I get so close???

”Where is this hotel? The beach? The mountains?”

”Somewhere far away”

”Good enough for o convince my parents, so tell me where to meet you and when”

I jotted down the necessary infor my parents…well, I doubted it would be easy, but I had to try After all, this was a student su up within me

And then I noticed the Zashi+ki Warashi+ looking up at

”No fair”

”What?”

”shi+nobu, you still have a lot to learn about fairness And so I want to go too”

”I think she said she only had one extra ticket And with a bourgeois like Madoka, I' on an additional ticket would be ridiculously expensive”

”Are you forgetting that Youkai are traditionally treated a lot like hual basis for that treatment?”

”I don't follow”

”I can stay there for free if you insist that I am your pet”

…Doesn't…the idea of being treated like that…make you sad?

I felt an intense urge to comment on that, but that Zashi+ki Warashi+ was probably just bored The lead-in to the cold bath and nursing her back to health had been pretty forced She obviously just wanted so to happen

But they said bad things would happen if a Zashi+ki Warashi+ abandoned your house I decided it would be best to have her let off soot sick of our house and went off on some journey

I am the kind of person that does not believe in any of those ideas that says the fate of the entire planet has already been decided by Nostradamus, the Mayans, the Aztecs, or any other prophecies

However, I do believe in s bits of luck In fact, anyone who has not felt soe years has already lost in so of themselves

This is Madoka-san telling you this and I have around 30 billion japanese yen, so you can trust me

But even so, those s you cannot affect under your oer Teenagers have a tendency to believe that the outcome of any sort of competition they are in is dependent on their own talent, effort, ideas, or so about that Hu alive And I a when I say that More often than not, that interrelation is a negative thing

Learning to understand how others feel is not just so to do; it is the one and only secret technique to acquiring certain victory There's so yourself, but that is not quite accurate What you need to know is the general flow of opinions and ideas whether they belong to your eneers

Coers will often affect the outco it

And so…

I am surrounded alrow envious of others, and people that rained victiood people like they are exceptionally precious

”…Heh heh heh Heh heh heh heh heh You mustn't underestimate a problem child, class president To you, I it total of addresses, but to it total of addresses Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh”

”Madoka, you're turning into the kind of pervert that only geniuses are allowed to be, so be careful”

Whoops

I was frightening Enbi who I had been speaking to over the phone

Even afterfroood” people

”So this trip is to an Intellectual Village called Fuuka Village?” I asked

”Right, right It's centered around dairy far, so it should be a wide open area And it's full of events that let you come into contact with animals”

”I hear the cows and horses have their health ht control program”

But putting aside that idyllic vision (the residents of Intellectual Villages had digital values for things like ”tranquility”), I was a bit worried since thatUnfortunately, I knew that anything she was interested in had to do with human death

Even so, she was still ”innocent and good”, so it did not go so far as needing to actively avoid her

”Enbi, there is one thing I need to know before we go There are no well-known legends that have been told about Fuuka Village since the Edo period, are there?”

”Did you e to find someone for that extra ticket?”

”There aren't mysterious serial murders at set intervals, are there? The inn isn't owned by a beautiful , is it? Office ladies don't have a habit of heading to the hot springs in groups, do they?”

”And here I orried that you wouldn't be able to find any friends that are ' away, Madoka”

The day of the trip finally came

One of the nue was the relative lack of public transportation connecting to the outside world Thisout on a trip would naturally end up at the same station at the same time

If I called it a train that never saw rush hour, people eoisie, but it was actually just a local line Even if you counted the up and down tracks separately, the train only made 5 trips each day …It seemed completely insane and I saay they could make a profit off of it

By the time I arrived, the healthy and well-behaved Madoka-chan earing a white dress and an elegant hat She was looking 150 as ephe on a bench in the empty station (the station was not operated by robots or anything) When she spotted me and the Zashi+ki Warashi+ next to me, her eyes opened wide

”I see soe breasts that I did not invite'

”She's my pet She can wear a collar with a bell on it if it means she stays for free”

”…shi+nobu-kun When did you get such full-fledged perverted tastes?”

”Don't look at ested it”

H to wear a collar if it would save me a few hundred thousand yen

”And let me be clear I worked hard to keep the destruction of coht, I had to put up with a Yuki Onna and Neko about how unfair this is”

I had finally won out by saying it would be hard to bring deadly Youkai belonging to our house out of the Intellectual Village The issue was a bit different for stray (?) ones as they could coo as they please, but it had still worked I had a sinking feeling thatto stay

Meanwhile, Madoka gave me a puzzled look from the bench

”(H with the Zashi+ki Warashi+ coular character to the cast list is bringing us closer to the kind of situation Enbi likes so much I hope this trip works out okay)”

”Hey, Madoka The train's about to arrive If we htfall”

”You're right Worrying about it isn't going to help (Even if the kind of serialas we don't get wrapped up in them)”

Madoka see and then headed over to the ticket machine The station supported the use of IC cards, but neither of us had one We just bought everything anted over the internet, so we did not feel the need to leave the village very often

I walked past a sign saying ”Make sure not to bring in any outside pollen or germs!” and approached a different ticket machine

The Zashi+ki Warashi+ gave a puzzled look while standing next to me

”I see a kid's ticket, but I can't find the pet ticket”

”…If you keep this joke going, you o hold”

Honestly, it isn't normal for a mere police officer to take an entire week off at once And since I was spending the tiirl who always showed up at the scenes of le-handedly resolve cases the police could not handle, I felt like even the barearound me

”We've arrived, we've arrived So this is the Intellectual Village known as Fuuka Village It's in a large plain just as I expected,” said the mystery freak as she threw her ar into my arms

When we left the sht rare in japan A vast expanse of green stretched to the horizon, robbing us of any sense of distance And not a single plant we could see was natural It was all part of a pasture

Theinto my arms as well and said, ”I heard half of the dairy commercials you see are filned to be picturesque”

The regional airport was located right se plain, but ere not yet inside the Intellectual Village We still had to head 20 to 30 kilohts before ould arrive at the hotel

Fuuka Village was focused primarily on dairy production, so it ell-equipped in noise-reduction methods

The area was quite cool for being in thea two-piece swimsuit, a ed on the beach or in a club Her sister earing a tank top and hot pants, so I started to wonder if it was so that ran in the family But then…

”…No, she has her own issues that can't be explained by her sister's influence,” I commented

”Were you just thinking so very rude about us?”

”Were you just thinking so very rude about us?”

With the two sisters both glaring ata cold sweat

Enbi pointed up into the sky and said, ”I can see a lot of what look like ad balloons”

”I bet those are cameras They probably e area Those UAVs that look like toy planes could do the sausts of wind, and their batteries don't last long, so they aren't perfect for everything”

”The balloons are cheap, but they can't eneral observation and a UAV is sent out if anything out of the ordinary is detected”

But that was not what I was interested in

”Can you finally explain this to me?”

”Explain what?”

”Why you forcedwith just one of you sisters is bad enough, but nothing good can co from me?”

”Well, I tried out the neighborhood association lottery and…”

”Mystery freak, with you, that kind of beginning scares me all the more Really, any kind of trip that has so scares me with you What are you after?”

”Can you teach 3 or 4 kids to be proper members of society by the end of the day?”

”Not even a priest could e that”

Five hours Five whole hours

Even though we took a plane as a shortcut, that's still way too long for a trip I only just barelyon a plane for the first time, but it ell beyond the limit of what a mere student could withstand

It was the afternoon by the time we arrived at the hotel

Its overall coloration was red That may have been because it waswas only about 3 stories tall Its silhouette for stood in the center and rectangular buildings stretched out froular portions…that is, the parts that looked like school buildings were probably where our rooms were located

”I guess there are a lot of different kinds of Intellectual Villages,” said my ”pet” Zashi+ki Warashi+ as she looked up at the building

It certainly was quite different froes did not try to accurately and faithfully reproduce the scenery froue ideas people had of what a rural toas and dragged those iined ideas out into reality For that reason, the ti on the region

”Beef and cow'sthe Meiji period, so theyfor that format”

Even so, I doubted what I saas a faithful recreation of the Meiji period As I already said, they focused on ue ideas people had about rural areas

Sie

As we gave our i, Madoka spoke up

”Let's get inside”

”Oh, right”

”I'm interested whether she passes as a pet or not”

”Personally, I would say 'worried' rather than 'interested'”

After all, e supposed to do if it didn't work? The hotel was surrounded by nothing but pastures as far as the eye could see The only other constructions were gas stations and pay phones The pastures surrounding the hotel were owned by four different far able to pet the animals was one of the area's draws However, I had heard that the actual dairy facilities were 20 to 30 kilo the day, so the area would be coht fell

As a dairy Intellectual Village, it had to have thoroughbred bloodline developerated facilities to preserve the genetic information of the brand-name meat as a countermeasure for infectious disease outbreaks However, it seemed all of those facilities were located on the outer peri with the solar power plant

”…Well, if that happens, sleeping outside will be the only option,” I commented

”Can you really last an entire week outside, shi+nobu?”

”Wait a second!! When did you swipe that ticket from me!?”

With a slight save off a silent pressure that told me to do my very best if I wanted to stay in the hotel

Please, do your job and bring fortune to your household, you damn Youkai!!

The entrance to the hotel was in the cylindrical portion of the upside down T-shape The exterior was primarily made of red brick, but the interior waswere both white The floor was covered with a vividly colored carpet

The counter was located in the back of the relatively sram of the hotel's first floor on it A worker in black slacks, a button-down shi+rt, and a vest stood behind the counter This was the first checkpoint forhere, so I needed to use all of my power and I kind of wanted some extra support from Madoka-san and her wealth

However…

”Hey, it's Madoka Did you just arrive?”

”Oh, so you did get here ahead of us, Enbi”

Geh!? She's already heading away!? And who the hell is that girl who looks like she only just started wearing a bra!?

”He a Sunekosuri?”

”Don't you run away, too!! We ed into this! This is primarily about you!!”

shi+nobu aving his ar to make some kind of deal with the worker at the lobby counter He had become quite eccentric since I had last seen hi apart in some way, but that was not the main issue

Why?

Why is she here?

Why is that horrible Zashi+ki Warashi+ here!?

”Hehh You don't often see a Zashi+ki Warashi+ just wandering around And even adults can see her Will my fortune with money increase if she approaches me?”

Mai sounded carefree enough about it, but I knew this Youkai was not that nice

A Zashi+ki Warashi+ was supposed to bring fortune to a household while also playing childish pranks, but from what I knew of that one, she excelled at the prank side of things I ae years were completely ruined by her

I had no idea how she had ended up here, but I knew I had to work to hide my presence as much as possible for the duration of the trip

”Detective, that Zashi+ki Warashi+ is waving at you”

”Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!”