Akumu no Sumu Ie – Ghost Hunt v2c8 part1

"It's the woman who was killed here. I think she might be in her thirties."

Masako sat down in the living room as she plainly said that.

"You guys, look here!"

The angry voice belonged to Hirota. They could hear him from the dining room next door. Mai shut him up.

"Hirota-saan, it's nighttime. Be silent."

"Hey!"

"I don't quite know about the personal history or about the details of the one who died. However, it's only certain that someone was killed. Because I can sense the dread of facing a different, very strong person."

"Then," the stiffened voice belonged to Midori. Midori held Reiko steady next to her with an arm over her shoulders. Reiko remained in a stupor and her gaze was firmly set in a different direction.

"... ...Has a situation like that happened in our house?"

Masako nodded.

"Indeed. I don't know the details, but I at least know that the killing of that woman is the story of this house. She says, 'Please spare that child at least'."

"Because of that she's warning that child so that it can leave the house, right?"


"Yes. The child returned to this house. That woman said, 'Don't come in.' I think this probably used to be the house of a parent and child."

"Then mother is... ..."

"I think she is possessed by that person. I wonder if it's because they are both mothers. -- It's all right. That spirit is most certainly not a bad spirit. I don't think she inflicts harm on your mother or Midori-san herself."

"But... ..."

Midori's complexion clouded over. While that may be true, they couldn't leave Reiko like this.

"Can you let her in?"

The one who asked was Naru.

"Yes. -- However, to me it doesn't seem that she doesn't know anything more than this. That woman's mind is full of one thing. It's because this kind of spirit doesn't listen very easily with the exception of that one thing."

After saying that, Masako inclined her head.

"There are two things that the woman is shouting about. -- Don't come in, her voice says and."

"Please spare that child at least?"

"Yes."

"When entering the house, I said that it seemed like there was no one around. -- That is."

"I don't understand."

"What about the spirit of the man who's peeking in?"

"Perhaps," Masako said.

"It's not a spirit. Perhaps it's an illusion shown by the woman in order to warn. ... ... Whether that's true isn't clear to me."

"You said that the full-length mirror was a door, right."

"It looked like a door to me. A door with a single gla.s.s panel. I saw the doork.n.o.b."

"I see... ..."

After nodding, Naru looked at Midori.

"What should we do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Among my colleagues there's a person who is skilled at driving possessive spirits out. Shall I call him?"

Midori filled her hand that was embracing Reiko with strength.

"Please call him. I beg you."

"Understood. -- Mai."

Mai smiled.

"John, right? Okay. I will contact him first in the morning."

"Contact Yasuhara-san as well while you're at it," Naru said and looked over the inside of the room. "There's absolutely something in this house... ..."

What Midori pictured was the figure of a man holding a hatchet. The man raised the hatchet overhead and was about to attack the woman.

The sound of the entranceway being opened. The woman's child returned home. She shouted. -- "Get out".

The man left her side -- Perhaps suddenly at that moment, the woman may have been at her last gasp -- Go towards the entranceway. She begged. Spare that child at least, she said.

What she felt was grief rather than dread. After all, what had become of that child after that, she wondered.

She felt helpless, because she thought that the child would surely share the same fate as the child's mother.