Asi Hell

Capítulo 78

—Are you happy, Dad?

Jun's words were like the whispers of a demon, slowly eroding Bingwei's mental balance. The mental equilibrium that Bingwei had painstakingly maintained was completely shattered.

Jun Gong apparently originally wanted to go to university, but he said he gave it up.

—I have money, please make me a box.

No one is blaming you, so why are you so afraid?

Soon, Jun-gong settled into the box house. Whenever the guests were not around, he would talk incessantly in Hei-e's ear all day long.

When there's nothing to talk about, the conversation often turns to religion.

No matter what he said, Bingwei couldn't respond. Regardless of the story's content, it was a form of torture.

—I cannot be satisfied, no matter what I do.

It always seems like something is missing.

Where are my fingers?

Heibei sealed the box containing his fingers and hid it in the ceiling. He couldn't bear to part with it, yet he dared not keep it close at hand.

On New Year's Eve, Yoshimura, the neighbor next door, came with the "Monster Box" entrusted to him by Hei's grandmother.

What kind of eerie coincidence is this? The box sealed in the ceiling—

This was no coincidence for Bingwei. Nor was it a coincidence for Jun, who happened to be next door and could easily eavesdrop. The box was exactly the same as the secret box from Mount Bodhi.

Hei said he felt a bit relieved after that.

"I always felt that I was destined to be this way from a very early age. No matter how much you struggle, your fate will not change. I feel that my fate has been stored in this box since my grandmother's time, so I feel a little relieved."

Next up is A-Yan. Torikochi's investigation was accurate.

"At that time, there was a painter named Ah Shan who was very depressed. He had caused his son to get injured, his leg was shortened by three inches, and he had lost sight in one eye, making him practically useless. His wife had run away because of this, which made it impossible for him to concentrate on his work. I felt that his situation was very similar to my own, so I unusually tried to comfort him. Once I started talking, I couldn't stop. I had never said so much in my life, and even I was surprised. Ah Shan was also surprised at first, but then he started crying, thanked me profusely, and went home."

Jun Gong listened to the whole story from beginning to end.

—There are such unfortunate people in this world.

Who is more unfortunate than us?

How unfortunate is this world?

This indicates that nothing is sufficient.

Or is everything filled with misfortune, Dad?

Heibei was unable to answer. Suddenly, Junko became very violent and beat him wildly, leaving Heibei covered in bruises.

—You bastard, you have time to comfort that idiot, why don't you come and make up for me? Why won't you give me back the finger I'm missing?

After that, Heibe became completely obedient to him.

Bingwei became Jun's servant.

Then—the God of the Hako was born.

"Why did Kubo create Mihako-no-Kami—I really don't understand the reason. I don't understand the reason for ordering so many boxes either. Kyogoku-do, do you know?"

Kyogoku-do is eating his second red bean cake.

"I think it should be exactly the same as what was written in 'The Garden of Collectors.' Although Hyōe didn't mention it, I think the question and answer between the priest and the trainee was a dialogue between the father and son. Hyōe glimpsed the darkness in Jun's heart and was bewitched by his unfathomable evil deeds. Otherwise, he wouldn't have willingly dressed up like that and become the leader. Hyōe found his hidden talents and desires. He took the role voluntarily. Kubo knew this too, which is why he found it interesting and wrote reality directly into a novel. This theme is indeed very interesting. Moreover, there is no contradiction in the timeline. If there was a question and answer between Kubo and Hyōe, it should have happened around January, after which Jun quickly left the box house to live a solitary life. The deadline for the Honchō Fantasy Literature Award of 'Silver Star Literature' was the end of March. The dojo was completed at the end of August. The Cultural Arts Society's review was quick, and the publication was at the end of October. Then came the award, the debut, and that's probably how it went. Because he describes facts, it is full of realism. He describes people."

Kyogoku-do smiled slightly.

"So you insist that Kubo's style is simply to write reality verbatim? — But the lives of the men in Kubo's 'Girl in a Box' are quite different from Kubo's own life, aren't they?"

"That's not true. That's describing life after he reached Mount Bodhi. Kubo did not become an official, and his father, Hyōe, was still alive. However, the protagonist of the novel doesn't describe his parents at all. His father's death is only mentioned briefly in one line, and his mother isn't even mentioned. But in contrast, his grandmother's funeral is described in great detail, and he also dreams of his body being dug up. The so-called grandmother refers to the woman who raised him. As for his father—he didn't actually die, but became a miko deity. From that moment on, Hyōe was no longer his father but Jun's servant, so it was no different from being dead, which is why the novel doesn't describe the funeral. Then there's a description of moving, right? That should be the description of Kubo moving from the chest house to his current residence. And the psychology expressed in that section is probably the reason why Kubo ordered so many wooden chests."

"Kyogoku-do, are you saying that Kubo really sleeps in a wooden box filled with soil like in the novels? Wouldn't that be like a vampire?"

They really look alike.

"But I didn't expect that Heibei would actually be willing to turn himself in to the police."

The bird blew away the crumbs of the red bean cake, seemingly quite impressed. As someone present, I frankly shared my thoughts:

"Anyway, he had long had a vague feeling that Kubo had committed a crime, and the box containing the tampered parts should have been made by Hyōe. In addition, there were many other things, such as the order of the roster, that required his testimony, and he couldn't refuse to appear. So, our Master Kyogoku-dō cleverly played a little trick."

"How do I do it?"

"It's simple. In the end, Hyōe became a follower of Kyogoku-gami, not Mikami-gami, and was completely obedient. He told Hyōe that even if the money was returned to the believer, Kubo would still be in danger, and if things continued, Kubo might lose his life within the next few days. That's how terrifying the demons are... and other such nonsense—"

"This is not nonsense, it's true, Kubo's life is really in danger."

Kyogoku-do interrupted my casual remark in a stern tone.

"Bingwei must have been in pain too—he was a father, and he preferred to live with the stigma of a criminal rather than watch his child die. That's why he turned himself in to the police. Didn't he also say that no matter what the relationship became, they would still be father and son?"

"But why does Kubo have to die? You mean he'll commit suicide?"

The culprit—it's clearly Kubo.

Kyogoku-do did not reply.

Shimaguchi said:

"Kubo—I can understand his journey and state of mind up until he created Mihakogami. But what I really don't understand is—why would he commit a dismemberment murder? Although Kubo, the culprit, said that it developed from a simple inspiration to the point where there is circumstantial evidence but no physical evidence, I think he is absolutely right, but—."

I feel the same way. Even with physical evidence, I still find it hard to let go. I said sarcastically:

"Motive? But Kyogoku Kami gets angry when people talk about motives."

Kyogoku-do remained silent, so I continued:

"However, Kubo's short twenty years of life were truly extraordinary. It's not surprising at all that he developed such a twisted personality. He experienced abuse in his childhood, poverty, a depressed mother, parental discord, an autistic personality, aphasia, feelings of inferiority about his physical disability, his mother's suicide before his eyes, being bullied, loneliness—he experienced almost everything that could be a motivator. It would be a lie to say that he didn't become strange after going through all that."

"It could be said that there are a lot of reasons involved."

"In short, it should be considered a crime without reason—if I had to force a comparison, it would be a murder committed by a schizophrenic—"

Kyogoku-do slammed his hand on the table.

"Sekiguchi, stop saying such foolish things, that's enough!"

Kyogoku-do shouted and glared at me.

I was so startled that I accidentally spilled the tea.

"What are you doing?" he suddenly yelled.

"From the moment I started listening, all I've heard is you spouting nonsense. When did you become a discriminator? Talking about autism and aphasia, weren't you the same in the past? Does that mean you're a schizophrenic murderer? Don't just spout nonsense. Would you randomly walk down the street and kill people without any reason? I'm not saying that the upbringing doesn't constitute a cause, and people who were abused in their early years do often carry huge traumas in their lives, but that's absolutely not a real reason for crime! There are also many people who had tragic childhoods like Kubo, but they are able to live normal lives now, which means ignoring..." These distant causes are irrelevant. Listen carefully, there must be some kind of catalyst. Without a catalyst, Kubo would never have done such a thing! Perhaps he would have remained a leading figure in the fantasy novel world, living a peaceful life. And Terada Heibei would have been proud of his outstanding son and lived out his remaining years in comfort. First, a catalyst opened the door to the abnormal, then there was the special environment of Mihako-gami, which made him feel that carrying out his plan was not a problem, and only then did the crime truly occur. A crime is established by combining social and environmental conditions, as well as the turbulent, almost demonic, emotional swings. Kubo simply happened to encounter these conditions, that's all.

He was genuinely angry. I—

“I understand, it was my fault. I think I was too eager to return to normalcy, which is why I was so eager to wash away the sins that were filthy, just like you said.”

Then I asked:

"But what happened to Kubo? What happened?"

"Didn't I already say? It's a demon."

Kyogoku-do suddenly became calm and gave this reply.

"This guy is hiding something from us!"

Xia Mujin, who had been lying down, suddenly got up.

He said he didn't like the sandy texture of red bean cakes and then just lay there.

Kyogoku-do said nothing.

I no longer have the strength to question them. It seems best not to ask about Kyogoku-do's deliberate silence; asking will only cause more pain.

"The surname Kubo—it must have come from Mount Bodhi (note)."

Note: Kubo is pronounced "iubo", and Bodhi is pronounced "kubote".

Kyogoku-do muttered to himself, seemingly without meaning.

At this moment, the paper door opened, and the lady poked her head out and said:

"A detective from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division, who identified himself as Kinoshita, called. He sounded very urgent."

You mean Kinoshita?

Kyogoku-do struggled to his feet. Toriguchi followed suit. As for me, my legs were tangled together from sitting for too long. I glanced at the clock; it was three in the afternoon.

"Hello, yes, this is Chuzenji. Kinoshita? Is this Kinoshita? Where's Aoki?"

"Aoki—"

※

Aoki——

Aoki woke up to find himself lying in a hospital bed.

"It will take a week to fully recover. You must rest well today."

Oshima stood beside the pillow.

"Police department...Where's Ku-Kubo?"

"Stop asking, let us handle it. It was my mistake; he's the real culprit. I should have taken your advice."

"The evidence is... in... that... garage, in the car..."

“I know, the forensic team has already gone there. Don’t worry about Kinoshita, that idiot only got into trouble because he was standing with his back to the door. He only got scratches.”

At that time.

Under Kubo's desperate, relentless kicking, Aoki instantly lost consciousness.

But he soon woke up to excruciating pain that spread throughout his body.

After scrambling downstairs, I found Kinoshita collapsed in front of the mailbox.

Judging from his posture, he appeared to have been punched in the back of the head.

He didn't respond when shaken. Kubo had already disappeared.

—They escaped! We failed.

I communicated with headquarters via the vehicle's radio. Just doing these things made me feel so much pain I almost fainted.