Asi Hell

Capítulo 49

I don't think there's any connection between the two.

"Of course, it's a very important issue. According to the investigation by Toriguchi, we know that Mikoto claims to be the medium who subdues the demons, so the demons are the key to making his mediocre religion effective."

"That's true, but so what?"

"In this situation, if a direct confrontation with the spirit coal occurs, it's easy to refute those who advocate evil spirits and demons, exorcise demons and feed infant spirits, and sever karmic ties and disperse vengeful spirits. But if the opponent is a demon, then I really don't know how to deal with it."

Kyogoku-do scratched the back of his head and pouted.

"Hehehe, Kyogoku-do, so you don't understand either? Then you're on the same level as me."

Natsume said with a cheerful expression,

Kyogoku-do lowered his head for about ten seconds. Then he suddenly looked up and said, "Toriguchi, could you explain that a little more clearly?"

Bird-mouth quickly opened his notebook: "Hmm, the following information came from people who just came from the dojo. They said the leader can see demons. Believers come to him for guidance every day, but the leader rarely goes to pray for them at this time; at most, he just gives some advice. There is a gathering every Friday night, and exorcisms are usually carried out at this time. This gathering is called the Sealing Ceremony. If that is still ineffective, individual prayers will be performed. Sometimes believers are called to the prayer room I have been to, and sometimes the leader goes to the believers' homes. Of course, these rituals for sealing demons are also free."

"Sealing away the demons—is that so…? Then what about the necessary tools?"

Kyogoku-do seemed to find this very unacceptable.

"There was only that robe. It looked like a wooden frame with a box on it that I couldn't tell if it was the real body or the divine body. It looked like a book. The leader was wearing a white kimono. He wore a white kimono-style trousers and a headscarf. If he had those strange cotton balls on his chest, he would look exactly like a Yamabushi. However, he didn't carry any other tools. He was empty-handed."

"I see—but this makes it impossible to guess his method of prayer. Is it a remnant of Shintoism, Shugendo, or some esoteric practice—"

"Regarding that, this should be useful!"

Bird Mouth pulled the huge bag he had been carrying since the day before yesterday to his side and opened the bag.

"This weighs nine kilograms, and carrying it almost dislocated my shoulder." He took a heavy box out of his bag and untied the straps.

It is about 30 centimeters wide, and about 15 centimeters long and high.

"Isn't this a form of spiritual guidance?"

"Assistance?"

Hearing this name, I can only think of gambling aid.

"This is a portable magnetic tape recorder that Tokyo Telecommunications Industries is developing. Why do you have one of these?"

"It was obtained from somewhere by our president, and it can only be recorded for two or three minutes—otherwise, the main force would have used it long ago."

Who is the president of your publishing house?

Thinking about that fake Datsun sports car, the person must not be an ordinary individual.

"He's just a mild-mannered scoundrel. I carried this with me all Sunday, afraid someone would steal it if I just left it there. My shoulders are almost dislocated from carrying it. And then... yesterday I hid in the bathhouse, secretly..."

"Did you record it?"

Even Kyogoku-do was somewhat surprised.

Kyogoku-do's surprised expression was very unusual and rarely seen.

Natsume, on the other hand, loved novel things and kept asking to hear them.

"The recording wasn't very clear, but you should still be able to understand what they're saying."

Upon opening the lid, you'll see two discs that look like plates, with magnetic tapes rolled up on them.

The plate spins. I see. It's somewhat similar to gambling through bribery.

The metal box suddenly made a sound.

——The edict of the God of Heaven says

If there is pain

Let this ashinooutsuho's shinpi palace

Please summon the Imperial Guardian to descend upon this place and vanquish the demons.

Hey

drink

It sounds like Japanese but doesn't, it doesn't seem to be a dialect, and it's not a Buddhist scripture either.

The chanting was mixed with a series of loud, thumping sounds, probably from footsteps. The intervals were quite peculiar; I don't know if it was simply a miscounting of the beats or if my sense of rhythm was incomprehensible, but it felt completely different from the fractions of a beat in Western music theory.

It sounds like there's a cultivator hiding inside an iron box.

wrong.

This is a virtual display recreated using electricity and magnetism.

This box, too, is a form of mysticism disguised as science; a chill ran down my spine. The voice was illusory.

It's not about cutting out the truth of the past and putting it into a box.

Playback has ended.

The virtual reality inside the box vanished without a trace.

"Would you like to hear it again?"

Kyogoku-do shook his head to indicate that he didn't need it, then smiled broadly.

"Incredible, Bird Mouth! There's no spell easier to understand than this one. Your combat plan, incorporating cutting-edge equipment, has been a resounding success. You truly are a genius!"

Did it help?

"They were a great help."

Kyogoku smiled, his expression one of anger. But that was only on the surface; I knew he was still deeply worried. If that were true, his expression would be so complex and unreadable. Or perhaps it was just my overthinking.

Kyogoku-do reverted to his original attitude and questioned Tori-guchi with a resolute tone.

"Next—Toriguchi, there's something I want to confirm with you again: Terada Heiwa was really born and raised in Mitaka?"

"Yes. It is said that apart from military service, he has never left Mitaka for more than a week, nor has he ever gone on a trip."

Do you have relatives living in Ise and Chikugami?

"Ise and Chikugami, right? It's in northern Kyushu. But it seems like Hyōe really doesn't have any relatives. Hyōe and his father, Tada, don't have any brothers, or even distant relatives. Even if they did, they wouldn't interact with each other often."

"What's the basis for that? The convenience store?"

The bathhouse owner said the same thing. But why Ise and Kyushu?

"I will explain when the time is right. Now I have something to say to Sekiguchi. Let me first explain what I know at this stage. There must be a third party manipulating things behind Mikugami. If Mikugami is indeed involved in crimes, the one who should be exposed is this mastermind. Therefore, the immediate issue is to find out who this mastermind is—but to find him, we must first find the first believer I just mentioned—and also the whereabouts of the Hyōe family. As long as we know these things, even if it escalates into a situation where we have to confront Mikugami directly—I think we don't need to worry."

"Aren't we going to deal with the demons and monsters?"

Kyogoku-do ignored my question.

Bird Mouth Immediately regained his spirits and said he would go to conduct the interview immediately.

"So, the pass."

"I guess I'm out of the picture now?"

"How could nothing be wrong? You were the most eager one the day before yesterday, and you were the one who dragged me into this mess, weren't you?"

Even Natsume cheered him on from the sidelines, shouting, "That's right, that's right!"

"Go investigate Kiyono's roster, and then investigate the families where the incident might have occurred."

"Huh—" What a difficult task!

If Kiyono's notes are accurate, and if Miyazaki Yasuo is indeed connected to the dismemberment murder case, then to some extent it is possible to deduce which families might be the next victims. He pointed out that among the dangerous families, several daughters had not yet perished, and ten families had already gone missing. Given certain conditions, it would be easy to identify the possible families from the remaining few.

But even if I knew, what help could I possibly offer? And under what pretext should I act? Fight crime? Or set up a law enforcement operation?

Fan Weiran? I'm afraid it's both.

But I'm not that capable. Just as I was about to refuse, Natsuki, who was curiously fiddling with the tape recorder, suddenly spoke up:

"Then what should I do!"

His argument was as if to say, "We are his subordinates, and it's our duty to help our master." Kyogoku-do, like a parent struggling to deal with a spoiled child, said...

"Brother Xia has nothing to do with this incident, right? Didn't you just say that you would think about what to do?"

"I've thought about it. I want to go find the friend of the kidnapped girl in Musashi Koganei. But I'm not familiar with this kind of thing, so I was just thinking of asking Seki to go with me."

What nonsense are you talking about? You dare say you're not familiar with them? What a joke!

There's no such thing as a detective who's unfamiliar with criminal investigations. Not only that, he acted as if I, a novelist, were an expert in this field—of course not. Isn't he the one who always mocks my social anxiety and terrible memory?

"You say that, but I know even less than you! Brother! You're clearly the detective, aren't you?"

If things continue like this, no matter how the situation changes, it will be terrible.

Just as I was hesitating whether to protest to Kyogokudo or to Natsukizu, Kyogokudo had already taken control of the situation.

"You mean the girl who was kidnapped's friend—the classmate who witnessed both Kanako's suicide and her kidnapping?"

"Yes, yes, I don't remember the name, but it's written here. This girl is suspicious."

Natsume handed the information that Masuoka had given him to the police to Kyogoku-do. Kyogoku-do skillfully flipped through the documents and quickly found the girl's name.

"Let me see, Musashi Koganei—Yoriko, the eldest daughter of puppet maker Kusumoto Kimie, fourteen years old, a student at the private Takaba Girls' Academy junior high school. Well."

——Kusumoto Kimie.

What's going on? I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before. I know this name; the words are popping into my mind one by one.

—Kimi-e Kusumoto, I understand.

I quickly picked up the roster from under the low table.

—On the third page, look down line by line from top to bottom.

—That's right, it's the previous one of Junko Hisabuchi.

No wonder I recognized the words literally.

"Found it! That Kusumoto Kimie is a follower of the Mikoto God."

"What?"

"Look here, the address is also in Koganei, it's written in Kiyono's notes—"

"The craftsman of the Girls' Day dolls. He has no husband, but has a daughter who is studying at a prestigious private school. This is probably the reason for his poverty. He has plenty of enthusiasm, but not enough money. He has all the necessary conditions, but tragedy is not far off. It is dangerous. Be careful."

Kyogoku leaned closer and snatched the roster from my hand.