Chapter 132 – Episode 17. Island Village and Murder and the Daughter of the Abyss
“Are you guests who made a reservation at our inn?”
A voice came from behind the people who had just gotten off the boat without any sign of presence. Everyone was surprised and turned around to see a small old woman who was just under 140 ft tall standing there. She was wearing a kimono and an apron in front of her, so she seemed to be an employee of the ryokan.
“Oh, we made a reservation for the Kwandong University team, and this one…”
“I made a reservation under the name Taira Ryuta.”
Hehe, my name is Motoko Hamahata, the owner and chef of Chooten Inn. “Everyone, please follow me this way.”
The inn owner and chef… Is that why you are wearing an apron? The inn owner seemed to have corrected herself even though she was a grandmother, and without hesitation, she took the lead and began leading us to the inn.
“You can each go to your reserved room. Lunch and dinner will be brought to your room. Heheul…”
The inn was an old-fashioned Japanese ryokan itself. From the outside, the inn was surprisingly well maintained. I thought it would be a slightly backward inn since it is on a remote island, but I was surprised. Additionally, because Chooten Island was a volcanic island, Chooten Inn was a ryokan with hot springs.
There was a shared hot spring, but I didn’t want to enjoy the hot spring while looking at the black naked body of a man, so I booked the most expensive room, a room with a private open-air bath. If it had been mixed bathing, people might have thought differently, but in this era, mixed bathing was rare.
My room was clean and tidy, as it was the most expensive room. When I opened the window to the outside, there was an open-air bath right away and there was a nice view of the sea.
I decided to take a hot spring bath later, so I packed my folding bike and headed out of the inn. First of all, since I didn’t know what would happen, I decided to take a look around Chooten Island. And after lunch, I planned to go to the shrine where a memorial service would be held tomorrow.
“Where are you going, martial artist?”
“I just want to take a look around the island.”
Uchidate Kanimi spoke to me. She said on the boat that she was a martial artist and she called me a martial artist because she showed off her regime.
“Can I come with you too?”
“You can ride in the back, but there isn’t much space, so you have to hold on tight.”
I said, pointing to the back seat where I could carry simple luggage. Tekanimi Uchida smiled and got into her back seat, and she held my waist tightly.
“Hold on tight, hehe.”
Hmm, what is it? No matter how good-looking I was, this was my first time seeing such an active woman. Since reconnaissance was a priority, I nodded and started the electric bike. As we departed, we saw that the boat that had brought us had already left.
First, we headed north. The north was a cliff area, so there weren’t many houses. As it was a cliff area, the uphill road continued. We climbed to the top of the cliff, parked our bikes, and looked at the sea for a moment.
The sea seen from a similar height and the sea seen from above were somehow different. I can’t explain it accurately, but the scenery I saw was different. Seeing the waves crashing regularly gave me a special feeling.
“Don’t you think it’s a little different from the sea you saw from the boat?”
“It’s just the same sea.”
Kanimi Uchidate, who spoke without much interest in what I said, answered. Why are there all these skinny women? I got back on my bike, passed the cliff area, and continued riding along the coastal road. The road was adjacent to a private house, and people could be seen working in the garden and maintaining boats.
As we passed by, the villagers stopped what they were doing and looked at us with empty eyes. I don’t know if it was because I saw it while passing by on a bike, but its eyes seemed empty and empty.
“Are people wary of foreigners? “Your eyes look strange.”
“Well.”
It was Uchidate Kanimi who answered half-heartedly again. She felt completely different from her proactive attitude before she left. If she was going to do this then why did she ask for a ride. I was a little annoyed that the conversation ended with such a short answer, so I didn’t talk any more and just drove in silence.
By the time we circled the island, rain was falling drop by drop from the sky. Uh? Surely there was no rain forecast?
“It’s raining, so I’ll speed up a bit.”
“Yes.”
I felt like I would get completely wet if I continued like this, so I sped up a bit and returned to the inn. By the time we arrived at the inn, the rain had become heavier. If it stays just a little longer, it’s going to rain heavily, right?
“Thanks for the ride.”
Tekanimi Uchidate greeted me with that charming smile of hers. What is this woman who answered so half-heartedly earlier? When I look at her a little strangely, she opens her mouth as if to make an excuse.
“My attitude was a little strange, wasn’t it? Actually, I was a little scared of the bike and the cliff…”
“Oh, is that so? “I think you get a little stiff when you’re scared.”
“Yes, hehe…”
Is that so? I said okay and headed to my room. Since there was still some time left before lunch time, I turned on my smartphone and looked at the weather forecast again. The forecast had already changed to rain. It’s going to rain at least until tomorrow evening.
While I was browsing the Internet after looking at the weather forecast, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
“It’s lunch. “Can I open the door?”
“Yes.”
The door opened to announce that it was lunch. The main dish was stewed fish in soy sauce, along with several pieces of raw fish, seasoned seaweed, pickled vegetables, and seasoned wild vegetables.
The person who brought the food was a young waitress, and it seemed like the first time I had seen a young woman of my age in this village. Well, the only time I saw the people of this village was when I took a bike ride around.
Anyway, the waitress was a beauty that was hard to find even in the city. Would you say it feels kind of pitiful? If Tekanimi Uchidate felt like a college student in a fancy city, this waitress felt like a wild flower blooming modestly on her country road.
“Hello? “This is Konoka Hamahata, who will serve you while you are here.”
“Yes. I look forward to.”
Seeing that her last name was the same as that of the innkeeper’s grandmother, it seemed like she was related by blood. In terms of age, I think she’s probably around the age of my granddaughter… It seemed like the people who served it said it was the most expensive room.
Hmm… ! When I tried it, the lunch tasted good. The innkeeper’s grandmother seemed to be good at cooking. Konoka Hamahata watched me eat lunch with a bit of annoyance, then drank tea and served me by refilling my cup when it was empty.
Actually, since I ate everything with my own hands, there wasn’t really anyone to help me. Around the time I ate halfway through my meal. Suddenly a scream was heard from outside.
“Aaaaahhh!!!”
What?
Konoka Hamahata and I left the inn room when we heard the scream and ran to the source of the sound. When I arrived, it was a public open-air bath. Plus, it was a women’s bath.
A lot of people had already come, attracted by the screams, and when I peeked through the crowd, I saw a man lying naked. He was one of two men from Kwandong University who I had not been introduced to on the ship, and he fell on the stone floor as if he had slipped in the open-air bath.
“Wano, what do you think?”
Professor Koga Honmura asked Haruto Wano. Haruto Wano, with his characteristic gloomy expression, came wearing gloves and began to touch the body of the dead male student.
“What happened?”
“Ah, that Haruto Wano is a famous genius at Kanto University. He is studying police science and criminal psychology as a minor. So he can look at the condition of the body and find out whether it was a murder or if he really died from a fall.”
Professor Koga Honmura answered my question. So, while she’s working on her PhD in folklore, she’s also learning police science and criminal psychology to the point where she can put them to practical use, right? I found out why Wano Haruto’s default facial expression was depressed. I guess that’s why I get that look because I’m a slave (graduate student) to three professors.
“It is murder… “
“!”
“!”
Everyone was surprised by the words of the helpless Haruto Wano. Haruto Wano continued to open his mouth whether others were surprised or not.
“The time of death is one hour and thirty minutes ago, as we see some stiffening of the body in the temporomandibular joint and cervical spine.”
It’s almost an hour and thirty minutes before we arrive at the inn. It was killing time around the time I roughly packed my bags, prepared my bike, and was heading out.
“Why did you call it murder?”
When Professor Koga Honmura asked, Haruto Wano began his explanation in the usual weak words.
“If you look at the floor, it is a stone floor, but if you look at the blood stains, it is flat. But if you look at the corpse’s head, it looks like it was stamped on something with an edge. “It is murder because the place where he fell and the wound on his head do not match.”
“Unbelievable… ! “There’s a murderer among us?”
As one person mumbled, the sky brightened as if in sync with him, and then roar! While doing this, lightning struck. Women squeal! I was surprised and the men also flinched slightly. It was a sign of a storm.
“We can’t keep Morisuke here forever, so let’s take pictures of the body and the surrounding area and put it somewhere where it won’t rot.”
“There is a cool place in the basement of the inn. I can leave it there.”
The owner’s grandmother said. The men from Kwandong University and I put the body underground in a long box and took it as our grandmother had taught us.
“There just happens to be a coffin-like box.”
One of the two I had not been introduced to spoke in a mutter. When I looked up, the man introduced himself as Atsuhiro Kimura. I also revealed my name to Atsuhiro Kimura.
“It is customary for adults on Chooten Island to make their own coffins in advance. “Perhaps we are wearing the coffin prepared in advance by the innkeeper’s grandmother.”
Haruto Wano answered in a gloomy voice. Ah, there is such a custom. That’s interesting. The basement seemed to have been created by connecting what appeared to be natural caves, and there were several jars that seemed to be used to store soy sauce or soybean paste.
“It’s as cool as the owner’s grandmother said.”
As Atsuhiro Kimura said, the warehouse that was converted from a cave was so cool that you could feel the chill. We left the body there and climbed back up. When we went up to the ground, everyone’s expressions were not good, but Professor Koga Honmura opened his mouth when he saw us.
“They say the police can’t come because of the sudden rain…” .”
They said the nearest police station was on Hachijo Island, but it seemed like they couldn’t come there because of the rain. From the moment it started raining, it seemed like something was going to happen, but it turned out to be a complete cliché. I sighed.
