Chapter 1175 – 1175. Day 15
I was eating diligently when the door of the corner store opened and a customer came in. Lisa Nakagami and I craned our necks to see who it was.
It was Ryoko Hagawa and Kyoshiro Wada.
“Nakagami-senpai and Sung-san?”
Kyoshiro Wada’s eyes widened. Ryoko Hagawa, standing next to him, frowned as she looked at Lisa Nakagami and me.
“They’re first-years. Did you come to buy something?”
“Nakagami-senpai. You’re having a meal… I see. Do they sell meals here too?”
“They don’t sell them. Grandma asked me to eat with her, so I am. Right, Grandma?”
Lisa Nakagami said, smiling at the old woman. The old woman glanced at me before nodding.
“Well, yes. It was lonely eating alone, so I invited the students.”
Kyoshiro Wada and Ryoko Hagawa approached.
*Grumble*
A shameful sound came from Kyoshiro Wada’s stomach as he looked at the food. Kyoshiro Wada’s face flushed red.
“You students must be hungry too, right? Come and eat.”
The old woman glanced at me before starting to fill a bowl with rice.
“I should decline… but it looks so delicious… I don’t want to decline.”
“There’s no need to decline.”
“Th-then, just a little.”
Kyoshiro Wada and Ryoko Hagawa joined the meal. Kyoshiro Wada ate with constant admiration, while Ryoko Hagawa poked at her food with her chopsticks, her eyes full of suspicion.
“Wow. This is really good. It feels like I’m having a proper meal for the first time in a while.”
It seemed like Kyoshiro Wada was the only one at the table who wasn’t thinking too much.
“…Um, why were Nakagami-senpai and Sung-san here together?”
Ryoko Hagawa asked cautiously.
Before I could answer, Lisa Nakagami wrapped her arms around my right arm with a smile and said,
“We decided to start dating yesterday.”
“……Why?”
“Why, you ask? Because we like each other, of course. Yujin is a good man. He’s perfect for me. And conversely, a woman like me is perfect for Yujin.”
“…Congratulations, senpai.”
“Congratulations, senpai! Sung-san!”
Ryoko Hagawa and Kyoshiro Wada said.
What was unexpected was Ryoko Hagawa. I thought she would be openly happy, but she was expressionless. She reached for the japchae with her chopsticks as if she had no interest. The glass noodles slipped from her chopsticks. She managed to pick up the noodles only after a few more tries.
Kyoshiro Wada, who had eaten his fill to some extent, opened his mouth to break the awkward atmosphere.
“Ah, that’s right. I heard from Mori-senpai earlier about Tanaka-senpai… They said Tanaka-senpai escaped again last night.”
“Escaped?”
Lisa Nakagami showed interest in his words. Tanaka Hiroshi was the guy I grabbed by the hair and slammed against the wall to kill. I left his corpse in the detention center, so the police must have taken care of it.
“Yes. Mori-senpai also heard it from Shimada-san… the police chief. He said he escaped down the mountain.”
“How? That guy was supposed to be locked up in the detention center, right?”
“They said the bars of the detention center were broken, so it wasn’t properly locked. Mori-senpai and I tried to contact Tanaka-senpai, but his phone was off, so we couldn’t reach him. It’s the same with Gonzo-senpai and Sakurai-senpai.”
“Wada. Are you still calling those guys ‘senpai’?”
“Ah… Nakagami-senpai. Those senpais’ personalities are a bit bad, but… they wouldn’t commit a crime.”
“Based on what?”
“I guess you could say it’s a hunch. And…”
Kyoshiro Wada hesitated, glancing at the old woman before speaking.
“This village is a bit strange.”
“Hmm.”
Lisa Nakagami only nodded. The look in her eyes as she looked at Kyoshiro Wada had changed slightly. From looking at a pebble to looking at a slightly unusual pebble.
*Vvvv*
The smartphone that Kyoshiro Wada had vibrated. I and the others had turned off our smartphones to save battery.
“It’s Mori-senpai. He says we should gather at the men’s dorm by 3 PM. They’re having a summer festival in the village tonight?”
The summer festival in Okaruma Village.
The reason the Japan Festival Study Circle came to this village was to investigate this festival and gain achievements.
From the perspective of the club president, Masahiro Mori, he couldn’t miss this opportunity even in this isolated situation. The other club members were the same. Isolation was isolation, and they also had to think about the situation after returning to university.
After the meal, Kyoshiro Wada and Ryoko Hagawa bought drinks and other food supplies.
“Nakagami-senpai, Sung-san. Are you going to stay here?”
To Kyoshiro Wada’s question, I smiled and said,
“I have something to talk about with Grandma. I’ll be back before 3 PM, so don’t worry.”
There were more than two hours left until 3 PM. They left, and only the three of us remained in the corner store.
The old woman trembled. She was afraid that I would harm her. It was unnecessary worry. I had no interest in the old woman.
“Lisa-senpai. We’ve eaten, so we should exercise, right?”
“Is there any exercise we can do here?”
“Sexercise is possible anywhere. Especially if you and I are together.”
“Pfft. Okay. I don’t dislike exercising either.”
She threw off her clothes without hesitation, and we spent a hot time in front of the old woman.
“Old hag! Huddle in the corner!”
“…Yes, yes.”
The old woman sat in the corner, trembling with fear.
***
Lisa Nakagami and I entered the men’s dorm. Even though we arrived earlier than the agreed time, everyone was already gathered.
With Tanaka Hiroshi and his two lackeys gone, there were nine club members left. Four men and five women. There were more women, but they were all passive.
“Okay. Everyone’s here.”
The club president, Masahiro Mori, brought something and spread it out in front of us.
It was a map of Okaruma Village.
“Mori-senpai. Where did you get the map?”
I asked. This village was strange. The villagers were clearly aiming for something. If what Tanaka Hiroshi said yesterday was true, their goal was related to our lives. There was no way they would give us important information like a village map.
“Ah, this? Fudo and I made it ourselves.”
Jun Fudo. A third-year male student. He seemed particularly close to Masahiro Mori.
“You made it well.”
“I made it using digital camera footage of various parts of the village.”
“But why the map? Was there a need to make it?”
“Well, it seemed like it would be useful.”
Masahiro Mori gave a vague answer. Of course, that wasn’t the reason. Masahiro Mori seemed to have noticed the strange things about this village and prepared the map.
He pointed to one place on the map.
“This is our dorm. As you can see from the map, it’s far from the village entrance. It’s also quite a distance from the shrine.”
Behind the dorm was a mountain, and around it were fields instead of houses.
“Fudo and I explored the back earlier. There’s a cliff not far away. It’s quite a deep cliff, so it’s impossible to get out through here.”
Kyoshiro Wada raised his hand.
“Mori-senpai. It sounds like you’re trying to explain how to get out… but we decided to stay here until the road is repaired, right?”
“I was going to do that too… but no matter how I think about it, this village is strange. Tanaka, Gonzo, and Sakurai were caught by the police, escaped, and then went missing. Even if we put Gonzo and Sakurai aside, Tanaka was in no condition to escape, yet he escaped overnight.”
“Are you saying… the police did something to Tanaka-senpai?”
Kyoshiro Wada asked in a serious tone.
“…There’s no physical evidence.”
“But you have a hunch.”
“Do you remember what I said last time? There was a similar situation last year. A tourist went missing in Okaruma Village.”
At that moment, a woman raised her hand. She raised her long hand, befitting her thin body and tall height. Her long hair was dull, and her eyes were sharp with a three-white gaze. Her nose was hooked, her lips were thin, and her chin was pointed. She looked gloomy.
It was Julie Minegaki, a second-year student.
“Mori-senpai. About that… I checked….”
“You checked?”
“…I asked the villagers. They said no tourists came last summer.”
“Minegaki. I also asked the villagers. The answers were all the same. They either denied it or avoided answering. Don’t trust the villagers too much. You know the villagers are strange too, right?”
“……”
Julie Minegaki closed her mouth. Just as Masahiro Mori was about to speak to the others again, she opened her mouth.
“…I also looked up the missing person case you mentioned on my smartphone. There were no articles related to the disappearance… How did you know about the disappearance…?”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Masahiro Mori. The atmosphere was heavy. Because they were isolated, everyone was under a lot of stress and had become sensitive.
“…Haa. One of the people who went missing in this village last year was a friend from my hometown. The last time I talked to him was around this time. He said the village was strange. That was all I heard. I wanted to report it to the police and have them investigate, but… they didn’t even listen.”
An uncomfortable air filled the room.
I was surprised when I saw Julie Minegaki’s face. She had distorted her face, and it looked as hideous as a ghost.
“It’s all because of you!”
“…Minegaki?”
“If you hadn’t brought us here, this wouldn’t have happened! You brought us here to find your missing friend! To satisfy your own selfish desires! Tanaka, Gonzo, and Sakurai went missing because of you! It’s all your fault!!”
Julie Minegaki’s screaming voice filled the living room.
Masahiro Mori closed his eyes tightly and bowed. A perfect 90-degree bow.
“I’m sorry. As Minegaki said, I chose Okaruma Village because of my missing friend. I wanted to see for myself what happened.”
“You could have come alone! Why did you drag us into this?!!”
“…I was afraid. I didn’t have the confidence to come here alone. So I ignored it and tried to forget about it… but when the opportunity arose, I chose Okaruma Village. I thought it would be okay if I wasn’t alone. …I’ll take responsibility for you all. So I hope you’ll follow my instructions.”
“Aaaah! I don’t trust you!!”
Julie Minegaki threw a tantrum and went back to the women’s dorm.
Masahiro Mori couldn’t raise his head even after she left.
In the end, Jun Fudo, a third-year student, and Lisa Nakagami stepped forward.
“I think Mori-senpai is about 20% at fault in this situation. The other 80% isn’t Mori-senpai’s fault. It’s because of this damn village and the typhoon that hit all of Japan. If you want to blame someone, blame the villagers. Raise your head, Mori-senpai.”
“What’s important now is what we do going forward. We can figure out who’s to blame later. What do you guys think?”
Lisa Nakagami asked the second-year and first-year students.
We all defended Masahiro Mori. We might have been harboring complaints in our hearts, but now was not the time to express them.
Masahiro Mori raised his head only after confirming everyone’s opinions.
“Thank you. I’ll go find Minegaki later, apologize, and try to persuade her.”
