The corridor was narrow and long, the light grew dimmer the closer one got to the inner rooms.
Kisaragi Chiyo was led by the old woman to the door of a closed Japanese-style room. As the shoji door was slid open, the scene inside was revealed before the person and the ghost.
It was an eight-mat Japanese-style room that didn't look particularly special, the lighting was quite bright. A dim, grayish light filtered through the paper shoji windows, casting a hazy glow over the interior.
The tatami mats in the Japanese-style room were the most common pale green, but the tatami mats used under the low table in the center of the room were white; one could assume that was likely the space reserved for a sunken hearth during the winter.
Please wait here for a moment." After inviting Kisaragi Chiyo to sit down, the old lady handed her a cup of freshly brewed hot tea. "My useless son-in-law is on his way back; it should take him about five or six more minutes.
"Son-in-law?" Kisaragi Chiyo's movement as she held the teacup paused for a moment.
"Yes." The old lady knelt on the other side of the low table and nodded, having no intention of discussing the other person's business. Instead, she turned to Kisaragi Chiyo and explained, in a calm tone, the reasons why they were preparing to move.
It turned out that the neighborhood was plagued by a rat infestation, the Shimizu residence was the one suffering most severely.
Even if you hire professional cleaners, it won't do any good; after just a few days, the rats will quickly reappear.
According to the old lady, the rat problem at the Shimizu residence seems to have existed since she first moved in. It was only just bearable back then, but recently, the rats' madness has become visible everywhere, making the nights especially restless.
That madness was not normal; it was more as if something sensed a danger.
So we've decided it's best to leave this place.. but after living here for so long, it's truly hard to say goodbye." The old lady's voice carried a hint of emotion and melancholy. "However, for little Shimizu, it would be better to move out.
The little Chiyo the old lady spoke of was her granddaughter, named Shimizu Kyou.
She is due to start middle school next summer, but because of health reasons, she has been resting at home for more than half a month recently.
That child always lacks energy. We've visited several hospitals, but they couldn't find anything wrong. It's just that she has become even stranger lately; she's always hiding in her room or somewhere else, we can't see her all day long.
The old woman's tone was filled with worry; it was not difficult to see that she was troubled by her granddaughter's situation. Besides the mice, this move was also intended to provide her granddaughter with a change of environment.
Just as the old lady was about to continue speaking, a series of noisy sounds from outside the hallway interrupted her unfinished words.
Excuse me." The old lady looked at Kisaragi Chiyo with a slight apologetic look and nodded to him. "I'll go take a look; it should be my son-in-law returning.
Having said that, she stood up and left. As the shoji door was closed, the washitsu returned to its former tranquility.
"What do you think, Kisaragi Chiyo?" Hara Kenji asked, sitting near her with his legs propped up. His posture was relaxed, there was a hint of nonchalance in his eyes.
“Do you think the Shimizu residence's domain will have anything to do with that little Miss Shimizu?” Hara Kenji asked with a smile, turning his face to ask Kisaragi Chiyo for her opinion.
The dim light cast a grayish-blue hue over his pale face. He blinked slowly, at that moment, Kisaragi Chiyo felt that the dark purple eyes beneath those long eyelashes revealed a hint of lingering tenderness, appearing somewhat soulful.
"What does it have to do with us?" Kisaragi Chiyo had no intention of doing anything outside of the plan. He stared at the steaming cup of tea in front of him, picked it up, took a slow, shallow sip.
I'm just here to help someone get a book.
"I thought your curiosity would be a bit stronger." Hara Kenji chuckled softly. He had approached Kisaragi Chiyo again at some unknown point, the distance between them was very small, their heads almost touching.
A chilling coldness entwined with the tips of Kisaragi Chiyo's hair and the skin exposed outside her clothing, accompanied by that familiar, equally cold, faint fragrance.
"After all, that old lady's expression suggested there was more to her story than meets the eye." Hara Kenji tilted his head and stared at Kisaragi Chiyo's profile, his gaze landing on her lips, which were moistened by tea, before quickly shifting away after a few seconds.
"Can I ask you a question?" Hara Kenji suddenly remembered something, resting his chin in one hand with a thoughtful expression.
"What?" Kisaragi Chiyo looked over, meeting Hara Kenji's smiling eyes.
Is your friend Iijima-kun just like you?
Kisaragi Chiyo naturally understood what Hara Kenji wanted to ask, he didn't feel there was anything worth hiding either.
Iijima Ritsu was indeed just like him, belonging to that type of person who could see strange things.
"Yes, Iijima-kun, he.." Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly frowned, realizing what Hara Kenji actually wanted to explain to him.
"I once heard Iijima say that his grandfather was a supernatural novelist, it seems he also dabbled in that field.." Kisaragi Chiyo's words were quite tactful; it seemed that the famous Iijima Snail must have had a considerable reputation among the yokai.
"That's why the old lady felt disappointed when she learned the visitor was not Iijima." Hara Kenji snapped his fingers.
Based on age, the old lady should be from the same generation as Iijima Ritsu's grandfather. Since Iijima Ritsu's grandfather used to lend books to the Shimizu family, it shows that their relationship was actually quite good in that generation. Therefore, it is not surprising that the old lady would know that Iijima Ritsu's grandfather possessed other abilities.
Hara Kenji spoke at length in one breath, but Kisaragi Chiyo knew those were not the key points he wanted to convey.
Because of Iijima Ritsu's special circumstances, you think his descendants might have inherited his abilities?" Kisaragi Chiyo felt she had roughly understood the old lady's purpose. "In that case, perhaps something has gone wrong with Shimizu?
Based on what the old lady said earlier, becoming a bit strange lately.. what she actually meant was being haunted by something, right?
Hmm.. so that should be it?
"But it still feels a bit off.." Hara Kenji frowned, feeling that this deduction still held some doubts. He was just about to say something more to Kisaragi Chiyo when his expression suddenly changed.
The corners of the mouth, which had been curved in a smile, tightened into a straight line, the dark purple eyes cast a cold and dangerous gaze toward the shoji screen, which had been pulled open a crack at some unknown time.
White mist surged once more. Hara Kenji narrowed his eyes, the tentacles wrapped around Kisaragi Chiyo's wrist also began to grow restless.
"Hara, calm down." Kisaragi Chiyo hissed softly, pressing down the restless tentacles that, upon sensing something was spying on them, had attempted to wrap him in a protective barrier.
"It's a child." Kisaragi Chiyo recognized that the entity peeking at them through the crack in the door was not a monster, but just as he made eye contact with the child, he heard a sound—the sound of something with sharp claws scurrying past quickly.
Then, in the next second, the child hiding outside the door crack had vanished without a trace.
"The child appearing in the Shimizu residence.. it can only be Shimizu Kagami." Kisaragi Chiyo spoke with certainty. Although it was only a brief encounter, she had indeed seen that the child had long hair, though his frame was somewhat slight for a child about to enter junior high school.
"I didn't hear any footsteps leaving." Hara Kenji's long eyebrows furrowed together. As an evil spirit, his hearing was much sharper than that of a human, but even so, he hadn't heard any sound related to footsteps.
That child appeared outside the door just like that, out of thin air, then vanished in an instant.
"Besides that, there really are a lot of mice here." Just as Hara Kenji spoke those words, a mouse swaggered out from the gap in the Japanese-style room's cabinet and scurried past Kisaragi Chiyo.
“That sound I just heard was probably a mouse running across the ceiling.” Kisaragi Chiyo watched indifferently as the mouse ran past him.
Grayish-white short fur, eyes like black pebbles, a thin, long tail, movements that were agile and cunning.
While it wasn't exactly loathing, Kisaragi Chiyo certainly did not like creatures like rats.
He really didn't want to imagine where they might have crawled. Dust-covered ceilings, sewers reeking of foul grease, or even gnawing on rotten food and animal carcasses..
Of course, Kisaragi Chiyo certainly had no prejudice against rodents; for instance, when the editor once shared stories about his pet hamster, Kisaragi Chiyo even mailed some pinecones he had collected to the hamster.
Although the editor said that squirrels eat pinecones, he still chose to accept them with thanks, saying he would give them to the hamster as a teething tool once they were dried.
*
Thinking about it that way, the Shimizu family is truly resilient to have endured so long before deciding to move out," Kisaragi Chiyo said, stepping back to avoid the spot where the mouse had crawled. "Rather than calling this the Shimizu residence of humans, it might be better described as the Shimizu residence of mice.
Kisaragi Chiyo said such things because she saw another mouse skillfully leap through the gap of the half-open shoji window; its fur was soaking wet, looking as if it had just returned from the rain.
Upon seeing Kisaragi Chiyo in the Japanese-style room, this little gray mouse showed not a hint of panic at seeing a human; instead, it first calmly shook the water off its body, nodded toward Kisaragi Chiyo, then squeezed through the gap in the door to leave.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
Kisaragi Chiyo: "It's greeting me? I think I want to leave."
Meanwhile, Hara Kenji spoke up leisurely from the side, reminding her, "Don't forget the purpose of this trip."
You haven't even gotten the book yet, so you'll probably have to endure this for a little while longer. Look on the bright side; the mice here are quite polite.
However," Hara Kenji changed the subject, winking at Kisaragi Chiyo with a hint of mischief in his expression, "you can stand a little closer to me. At least wherever I am, the little mice will definitely stay away.
Author's Note:
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Thanks to all the little angels for adding this to your collection, mwah 03333330
Chapter 18
No.
Kisaragi Chiyo coldly rejected the proposal, not sparing even a single glance for Hara Kenji, who was feigning heartbreak beside her.
He still felt it was somewhat strange, due to his sensitivity to anomalous things.
So, after thinking for a few seconds, Kisaragi Chiyo decided to ask Hara Kenji, who was an evil spirit, for his opinion.
But unexpectedly, just as he was about to speak, Hara Kenji also had questions he wanted to ask him.
“Do you think a mouse that greets you is normal?”
Do you think a child who disappears from their spot instantly without making a single footstep is normal?
As the words fell, Kisaragi Chiyo and Hara Kenji, one human and one ghost, stared at each other.
Just as Kisaragi Chiyo and Hara Kenji were staring at each other, the shoji doors of the guest room were pulled open from the outside. The person returning was not the old lady, but a middle-aged man wearing a dark suit jacket, stepping inside from the outside.
He had an ordinary appearance, with a tall and thin build, a pair of thick glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, an expression that looked somewhat weary. The dark circles under his eyes honestly indicated that the man's recent sleep quality had not been very good.
When the man saw Kisaragi Chiyo, the expression on his face froze visibly, as if he hadn't expected there to be anyone else in the washroom.
"Hello." Kisaragi Chiyo nodded to the other person and greeted him first, then repeated the words he had said to the old lady to the middle-aged man.
"So that's how it is." The middle-aged man rubbed his brow, finally remembering those books that had been cleared out from the warehouse.
I understand. Please have a seat for a moment and enjoy some snacks.
"I still have some other matters here that I'm afraid I need to deal with first." The middle-aged man's face showed a look of distress as he said this, but he did not explain to Kisaragi Chiyo what the matter was.
It's fine, I'm in no rush." In reality, Kisaragi Chiyo, who wanted to leave as quickly as possible, gave a contrary answer: "Please go ahead and take care of your urgent matters first.
While Kisaragi Chiyo was speaking, he heard the sound of small animals running across the wooden ceiling of the washitsu, almost subconsciously, he took a step closer toward Hara Kenji.
But in the next second after making that movement, he remembered his own unhesitating refusal from a few minutes ago, his expression couldn't help but stiffen slightly.
At the same time, standing behind him, Hara Kenji blew into his ear, a low, pleasant laughter that only he could hear sounding by his side.
Thank you for understanding." The middle-aged man gave Kisaragi Chiyo an embarrassed smile, then turned his head toward the hallway and said, "You two, please come over here.
It seemed that the people who came to visit the Shimizu residence today were not just Kisaragi Chiyo alone.
But what does that have to do with him?
Kisaragi Chiyo sat back down, picked up her teacup, slowly lowered her head to take a sip.
Then he saw a slightly familiar man walking in from outside; the man had beautiful blonde hair, slightly tanned skin, a friendly smile on his face.
The newcomer was the very same shop clerk Kisaragi Chiyo had met at the cafe, the one who claimed to be a disciple of the Sleeping Detective.
"Uncle Mitsui, you have other guests here too," a child's curious and innocent voice came from behind the sliding door.
Kisaragi Chiyo looked up toward the sound and saw a small black head squeezing in from beside the Alien Detective's long legs.
This little one was also a familiar face.
“? It's the big brother from the cafe that day!” The blue-eyed child blinked at him, a bright smile spreading across her face.