Asi Hell

Capítulo 46

After that, Natsume stopped speaking.

"But what exactly is going on? This has been so noisy these past few days, it's really unpleasant. I never expected the detective, who usually just sleeps, to be so talkative, and you guys are no exception. This isn't the first floor of a barbershop, and there's no sign saying '[Everything is negotiable]'. Well, this whole situation is indeed quite troublesome. Now it's your turn to talk. Luckily, the strange detective is asleep too."

"Asleep?"

I couldn't see from my location, so I asked Bird Mouth.

Toriko glanced at Natsukizu and nodded with a complicated expression.

Kyogoku-do stepped past Natsukizu and went to the kitchen to bring over a pot of tea.

"Okay, so—Sekiguchi, have you taken care of that little thing that any normal person could do?"

As usual, Kyogoku-do never held back in his sarcasm when he opened his mouth. I recounted the hardships of copying the roster, and how smoothly—though I wasn't sure if it really was smooth—I handed the roster over to Satomi, while also reporting on the little bit of information I had obtained from Satomi.

“I don’t have time to listen to your pointless complaints—but Rimura’s perspective is quite interesting. In other words, he interprets this incident as not being dismembered for the purpose of disposing of the body, but rather as killing for the purpose of dismemberment, right?”

Kyogoku-do stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.

"Hmm. For Sekiguchi, that's a pretty good job. How about you, Toriguchi?"

This guy did absolutely nothing, yet he mocks everyone. But what's disheartening is that I've long since grown accustomed to this kind of treatment.

Bird Mouth puffed out his chest, as if to say that entrusting the task to him was the right thing to do.

Kyogoku-do first asked him to report detailed personal information about the cult leader.

In just one day, Toriguchi had gathered enough information to meet the demands of his eccentric friend.

Although I listened blankly, I almost completely understood the character and actions of the leader of the Yuju Cult through Bird Mouth's enthusiastic narration.

The content that Bird Mouth said is roughly as follows.

Birdmouth first investigated his real name.

The cult leader is rarely called by his real name.

It is said that in order to maintain their mystery, the spirits often conceal their real names.

If this is the case, finding out the origin, name, and deeds of the spirit coal is usually a very painstaking task.

Because of the war that occurred in between, personal experiences are difficult to find. Even if one tries to find clues to trace the past, it is not easy to find events before the war. If the household registration records have been burned, the difficulties are even greater.

But Torikochi didn't seem to encounter any such problems. He said his reason for not using his name was simple: it was just unnecessary, that's all.

I heard that the temple even had a sign hanging at the entrance, showing great service.

It is clearly written on the doorplate.

"Terada Hōgai/Masae/Tada"

Given the apparent lack of vigilance, Toriguchi assumed it was a nameplate left behind by the previous owner, which the cult leader had simply forgotten to remove. However, to be on the safe side, he inquired with the neighbors and confirmed his suspicions. The cult leader of Ogujin was indeed Terada Heiwa himself, and the Terada family had lived in this building on this land for generations. The cult leader himself made no attempt to conceal it—after all, as long as he continued to live in his old home, there was no way he could hide it—and he had never been seen lying about his name or past.

It is said that the Terada family was originally a family of construction workers who specialized in building palaces and temples.

However, that was during the Edo period. The Terada family lived in the Kyobashi area at that time, but moved to Mitaka after the early Meiji period.

At that time, this area belonged to Ran, Shinkawa Village, Kanagawa Prefecture. The place name Mitaka had not yet appeared.

According to Kyogoku-do, the name Mitaka Village was only given after the introduction of the municipal system in Meiji 22 (1893), and it was transferred from Kanagawa Prefecture to the jurisdiction of Tokyo Metropolis after Meiji 26 (1897). Therefore, the Terada family's history of life on this land can be said to be older than Mitaka itself.

When they first moved to Mitaka, the Terada family still worked as construction workers, though they no longer specialized in palaces and temples. However, it's said that the owner at that time was neither a foreman leading a group of craftsmen nor a worker under any other foreman, so calling him a construction worker doesn't quite seem accurate. It's said they primarily made furniture, handicrafts, and similar items, so calling them carpenters would be more appropriate.

In other words, this dojo was originally a woodworking factory.

It's unclear which generation of the Terada family this refers to, but at least Hei's grandfather did this kind of work. His grandfather's generation took on several apprentices, and the house was converted from a workshop into a small factory. This is corroborated by people from his time. Toriguchi says this is the testimony of the old woman who lived in the convenience store across the street.

By the time of Hei's father's generation, a billboard for "Terada Woodworking Workshop" had been erected. However, despite the billboard being erected, there was no work to be done.

Orders for furniture and small items have decreased significantly—I heard this is all because of Hei-e's father's poor skills! Disciples have also left one by one, and the once prosperous scene has suddenly become very desolate.

Out of necessity, Heiwa's father resorted to the unfamiliar sales tactics, eventually reaching an agreement with several doll dealers to take on the job of making the doll "boxes." This was reportedly around the time of the earthquake, so it was probably towards the end of the Taisho era. From then on, the woodworking workshop was renamed "Hakoya" (箱屋). Even now, locals still call it "Hakoya" or "Hakoya Factory."

When people talk about "box houses," they usually think of servants who follow behind geisha and help carry their shamisen boxes. However, the box houses here are genuine box houses.

According to someone who has known Hyōe since childhood, Hyōe is around 45 or 46 years old this year—Showa 27 (1949). Therefore, the Terada family being called the "box house" probably happened in the latter half of his teens.

After switching to making boxes, Terada Woodworking unexpectedly found a variety of jobs. Not limited to dolls, his business flourished, ranging from boxes for ceramics and lacquerware to takeout baskets. The former palace and temple builder became a box maker, giving up his former glory for a stable life.

Hyōe's father originally had neither business acumen nor popularity. But after changing careers, he began to be called "Hakoya Tadashi" and became quite popular in town. Unfortunately, this interview didn't manage to find out whether Tadashi's real name was Tadatsugu or Tadakichi, but that's not directly related to Hyōe and is actually irrelevant—in short, Hyōe's father, Hakoya Tadashi, was a poorly skilled but kind person.

But Bingwei was an ordinary young man with no opinions of his own and no special characteristics. Through some connections, he somehow managed to graduate from middle school. Afterwards, he worked in a small factory in the next town, where he learned lathe operation and welding techniques.

However, he seems to have no intention of inheriting his father's business.

Soon the carpentry business was on track, but lacking apprentices, they had to hire other craftsmen to help. Rather than hiring others, it was better to help at home himself—Hyoue used this as an excuse to quit his factory job and return home to learn carpentry while helping with the family business. At this point, Hyoue finally showed interest in inheriting the family business.

Unlike his father, Heiwa was a highly skilled craftsman.

He learned very quickly and became a skilled craftsman in no time.

Later, when Hei was twenty-five or twenty-six, he got married. None of the neighbors remembered his wife's real name, but since the house number showed Hei's real name, his wife must be called Masae, right? - Toriguchi said.

Neighbors knew little about their detailed family life. According to the old woman at the convenience store, Heiwa's father, Hakoya, died in 1935 (Showa 8). The cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver; it was said he was a heavy drinker. As for Chung's wife—Heiwa's mother—she passed away four years before her father's death.

Since Bei had no other brothers, he directly inherited the box, or Terada Manufacturing Company.

Hyōe was not only highly skilled but also very eager to learn. Having inherited the family business, Hyōe applied the wheel-welding techniques he had learned in his youth, combined with his diligent research, to devise a new product never before seen: metal boxes. It was said that among metal boxes, those small boxes that couldn't be mass-produced were extremely difficult to make. They usually had to be custom-made. Therefore, they could fetch a good price, while the cost was only a small amount for materials and labor.

The box shop successfully launched a new business. For example, they came to him to make mechanical prototypes and special equipment for research labs. The workload was beyond imagination. Universities and the military also frequently placed orders with him.

Of course, this must be attributed to his sudden inspiration, but the business's prosperity is also related to Hei's meticulous work attitude.

I heard that the box that Hyōe made is exactly the same as the design.

Correct and precise, without the slightest error, it is a truly perfect box. If it is really that ingenious, it would be most suitable as a container for precision machinery.

"Palace builders are most skilled at crafting exquisite objects such as shrines, temples, and palanquins; perhaps I've inherited that lineage"—these were the words of Heibei himself at the time. Of course, Shimaguchi didn't hear it with his own ears, but rather overheard it from his neighbor's father, who ran a public bathhouse.

Paraphrased.

Hyōe didn't give up his carpentry work, which he relied on for a living, and continued to employ the craftsmen who had worked there since his father's generation. Hyōe paid close attention to these craftsmen's skills and demanded that they improve to a certain level, which was unthinkable in his father's carefree generation. However, the wooden boxes that Hyōe made in his spare time were of outstanding quality. Even the craftsmen of Hyōgai's generation had nothing to say about them.

Hei became obsessed with the box.

He never seemed to consider spending quality time with his family. I heard that he was engrossed in making boxes from the moment he woke up in the morning until he went to bed at night.

Hyōe's first setback was the war. With the outbreak of the Pacific War, orders decreased significantly. This was to be expected. In such a time of national crisis, there was naturally a demand for doll boxes and terracotta figurines, and iron boxes, which could not be mass-produced, were out of reach of the military supply industry. Moreover, soon after, even materials for crafting high-quality goods became difficult to obtain.

Heiji's temper had become very volatile. It wasn't because of reduced work or financial difficulties, but because he couldn't make the boxes anymore. For some reason, everyone in the neighborhood who knew Heiji said the same thing.

—The young heir of the Box House has been possessed by a box.

Everyone thinks so.

Later, Hyōe was drafted.

Unfortunately, no one knows which battlefield Beibei went to.

However, given that he couldn't freely create the boxes he liked and was over thirty when he was drafted, it's not hard to imagine what kind of military life he endured.

Heibe returned safely to the mainland, but all the craftsmen he had employed were dead, whether from an air raid or in battle, it was unknown. After the war, Heibe did not hire any new craftsmen and restarted his box shop business alone.

But—for some reason, no one knew anything about Hei's family. No one knew anything about his wife, Masae, and son, Tadashi, who had actually existed. Some said that the mother and son lived together in a small box during the war, while others said that they moved somewhere to take refuge. The opinions of the nearby residents were divided. The old woman at the convenience store said that the mother and son had died in an air raid, while the old man at the bathhouse said that he had seen them once or twice after the war.

Only one thing is certain: those two no longer live in the dojo.

After the war, no one knows whether the box shop business prospered or not.

Hei, who was never good at interacting with neighbors, became even less so after his discharge from the military. In stark contrast to his father, Tadashi, who relied on personal connections to get by, Hei stubbornly closed himself off, living a solitary life. Of course—this only applied to the period before he became the cult leader.

Hearing this, I had a thought: is it possible that no matter how ordinary a person is, if they were to summarize half of their life so briefly, they would all be as bizarre as this man named Terada? I felt a little sympathy for this seemingly mediocre man with a rather peculiar fate. Seeing his awkward and poor communication skills, it was hard not to think of myself.

Terada Hyōe began his second life as a medium five years later. The birth of the Hōe Gogūjin occurred in the fifth year after Hyōe's discharge from the military, which was 1943—last year.

"Here's the important part: what I'm about to say comes from the old man at the bathhouse—the old man was not only his neighbor but also his childhood playmate, so they still kept in touch to some extent even after the war. This old man at the bathhouse, two years ago, while doing a thorough cleaning, found a dirty bundle hanging from the ceiling in the closet. He thought it was heavy and suspicious, so he untied it and found it was a paulownia wood box. He thought to himself, 'This must be an item of great value.'"

Bird Mouth transformed into a beloved silent film narrator, explaining the ins and outs with gestures.

The box also came with a note, the contents of which were quite peculiar and difficult to decipher. In short, it belonged to the Terada family next door, who owned a box shop, and had entrusted it to the great-great-great-grandfather of the bathhouse owner for safekeeping. So the bathhouse owner took the box to return it—”

Bird Mouth moved the box with great care, as if it were an urn of ashes.

"—That box was entrusted to the bathhouse owner by Hyoue's grandmother. The descendants of both the bathhouse and the box shop tried to decipher the difficult note. It stated that Hyoue's grandmother, Ah-Chung's mother, possessed spiritual abilities. The old lady at the convenience store also mentioned this, saying that Hyoue's grandmother was very perceptive. She said she didn't know what kind of ability it was, but it was definitely very effective. Hyoue and the bathhouse owner both remembered hearing about this when they were very young. The note said that a very important gentleman was coming to visit—but they didn't know who it was, as Hyoue's grandmother wasn't very educated and couldn't read or write well, so she didn't specify the gentleman's name or title. In short, the gentleman was coming to assess Hyoue's abilities. However, Hyoue's grandfather was a very conservative man, and he was usually unhappy about his wife's abilities being so highly praised. So, of course, he didn't want this important gentleman to say anything inappropriate to his wife. If his wife was genuine, it would be a headache for him, but if she was a fake, it would also be infuriating. Neither was acceptable—"

It seems that his grandfather was the type who was skeptical of the supernatural—or even resistant to it.

"—So my grandfather, who had been visiting since the time of the cow, immediately yelled and chased him away. He was probably too fierce, because the gentleman never came again. This box is the one we forgot to take with us during that visit. The old lady didn't know what to do with the box. Her husband angrily told her to throw it away, but she wouldn't listen. It looked very expensive—I really thought so at the time. In short, it was an expensive and heavy thing. Thinking that perhaps the gentleman would come to take it back, we decided to ask the bathhouse owner to keep it for us for now."

Upon hearing this, Kyogoku-do interrupted Torikochi with a delighted expression. He rarely did this.

“Toriguchi, I think that gentleman is Professor Fukuro Tomokichi, whom I mentioned the day before yesterday.”

As expected, the bird opened its mouth wide in surprise, and I, who had been listening quietly, was just as surprised.

"That box contained a tin pot, didn't it? It had a painting of wild berries, grapes, and other field scenes on it, and it had a handle—"

"Ah, yes, that's right. You know so well."

"By the way, the paulownia box was tied with rope, and then a paper rope seal was attached to the knot."

"Well... Mr. Chuzenji, you're actually a spirit medium, aren't you? This is exactly what the old man in the bathhouse described. He originally thought—with such a tight seal, there must be treasure inside. But after cutting the paper rope and opening the lid—"

There was only a note with writing on it inside the pot.

"Hmm!"

His trick this time was truly incredible.

"Kyogoku-do, you..."

"Why are you all so surprised by these trivial matters? That's Dr. Ichifuku's [Clairvoyance Identification Team]. It was used when identifying Lady Nagao. It was used to allow the person being identified to see what was written inside. Terada Hei'e's father, O-Chū, inherited the Terada family business during the earthquake, so it was around the twelfth year of Taisho."

Hyōe is forty-six years old this year, so he was seventeen at the time. Although I didn't mention when Hyōe's grandparents were alive, it's certain that Chū was already married in Meiji 29 (1899). If young Hyōe has memories of his grandmother, then it should be between Meiji 40 (1890) and the early Taisho era. On the other hand, Dr. Fukuro conducted his public experiments on clairvoyance in Meiji 43 (1894), the year the first psychic, Mifune, committed suicide. The following year, Meiji 44 (1895), the second psychic, Nagao, died of illness. He met the third psychic, Takahashi, published his book "Clairvoyance and Telekinesis Photography," and was expelled from the Imperial University two years later in Taisho 1 (1891). The timelines match, which is why I dare to make this bold prediction. There was a gap between Nagao's death and his meeting with Takahashi, during which Dr. Fukuro must have continued searching for women with clairvoyance. If he had heard of a psychic as outstanding as Terada's grandmother during this period, I wouldn't have let it go either. That's why he brought the same appraisal team he used when he appraised Nagao. However, calling it a coincidence is too much of a coincidence.

So that's how it is. In the end, it's not so surprising after all.

Kyogoku-do then asked.

"Besides being rigid, what other characteristics did Hei's grandfather have?"

Well, according to the old lady at the convenience store, although Ah Zhong is quite irresponsible, his father, Lun, is really something else.

"He's a very serious guy, the kind of guy who gets really angry when he sees children urinating or defecating in public, and he gets really angry when he sees illegal behavior."

The pronunciation is not standard because you're imitating an old woman's way of speaking.

"Hmm. I see. So he's a law-abiding person who's careful with his words and actions. No wonder he was angry. In Meiji 41, an ordinance was issued prohibiting police officers from misusing hypnosis. As I mentioned before, hypnosis was very popular in society at that time."