Jogakusei Tantei Volume 3 Chapter 1

It’s been a while, but your favorite detective duo is back!

Teniwoha’s novel for his Schoolgirl Detective Series, “The Schoolgirl Detective and Eccentric Author – Night Before The Murder Case at the Mansion of Antiquarian Books,” acts as a prequel to the first song in the series, “Murder Case at the Mansion of Antiquarian Books,” and follows the events between the schoolgirl detective who loves mystery novels, Hanamoto Hibari, and the extremely s.a.d.i.s.tic mystery novel writer, Kudou Renma.

The third part in this three-part novel is called: Murder Case at the Ryougoku Haunted Mansion.

“Hibari and Kudo head to Ryougoku on an errand for Kareshima, who runs an antique book store. Coincidentally, it’s also the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.
To Hibari, it almost feels as if they’re on a date, but when they reach their destination, they discover the corpse of a shooting incident….”

This part is further divided into three chapters, so here’s the first one! Masterpost with links to all the translated chapters can be found .

＊If you can, I highly encourage supporting the creators by buying the book for yourself at or !

＊I’ve changed referring to Kudou as “the author” in the prose sections to the original “Sensei,” since that feels more natural. (as of Oct 13, 2017, I also updated the previous chapters to reflect this change.)

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Chapter One: Don’t Get Possessed Or Anything

Before it was even afternoon, the shopkeeper of the stationary store was watering down the storefront. The water dancing off the pavement looked refreshing, but the stray cats cooling off in the shade jumped up, startled by the splashing.

While wiping down the tables in the shop, I, Hanamoto Hibari, gazed out at this everyday scenery of Kanda-Jinbouchou from the other side of the window. Huge c.u.mulonimbus clouds towered overhead in the skies above.

“It really feels like summer today….”

I heard a vapid voice say from behind the counter.

“This heat just makes you lose willpower in all sorts of ways. Like motivation, energy, patience, courage, luck,”

My father yawned without restraint as he babbled about such useless things.

“What does luck have to do with the heat?”

“Energy…. Energy…. Oh, right, cold air and auras. How about we tell ghost stories to cool off?”

“Quit making a face like you’ve just said something clever. Dad, you should be putting more of that energy towards running the business.”

“You’ve got a pretty sharp tongue now too, Hibari. Is this also thanks to Kudou-kun’s teachings?”

Ignoring my father, I continued briskly wiping the tables and took a water pitcher from the cupboard. Since there weren’t any customers in the shop right now, I thought I’d take the chance to water the potted plants.

This is “Tsuki Fune,” the coffee shop that my father, Hanamoto Yoshifusa, runs. Although it isn’t very big, the shop’s shelves are always full of books—far too many for a coffee shop—that anyone is free to read. In the center, there’s a fireplace that’s always crackling with life during the winter.

The walls are lined with bricks, and the building itself is rather old, but we have quite a few regulars that come by, saying that it makes for a calming atmosphere.

My recommendation would be the coffee, of course. But I think the fruit juices are pretty good, too.

Also, the poster girl of this “Tsuki Fune” would be me, Hanamoto Hibari.

“You’re giving too much water,”

My father opened up his newspaper and said this without even looking at me.

“Wah!”

I hurried to lift the water pitcher up.

“At this rate, it’s much too earlier to pa.s.s on the t.i.tle of our poster girl.”

“Ehh?! I wasn’t already the poster girl?!”

It looks like I’d been mistaken. To think that I would learn the shocking truth through a mundane conversation like this one.

“Did you really think so highly of yourself? This is exactly what they call ‘speaking out of place.’ Oh, how frightening. I’ve got chills. But I’ve been properly cooled off now, so thanks.”

What an annoying father.

“And anyway, why would you be the one pa.s.sing on the t.i.tle of the poster girl?”

“Fwahaha. Do you think you can be more lovable than your old man?”

“Don’t be so gross!”

“Alright, get back to work, poster girl-in-training.”

“Fine, I will. Tomorrow’s my one day off, so I’ll spend it reading books at Sensei’s place! I’ll read while lying on the sofa! I’ll become a disgraceful girl! Oh, how I look forward to it! And of course, Sensei won’t be getting even a single cup of coffee from me!”

“That’ll be a disaster for Kudou-kun, too….”

“Don’t say that like you’re genuinely sympathetic.”

Just then, the bell by the entrance rang. I looked over and saw Kareshima-san, standing there in his usual kimono and bowler hat.

“Hey, Kareshima-kun. Welcome.”

“Kareshima-san, long time no see.”

Kareshima-san took off his hat, and after bowing slightly, he smiled at us.

“Was I interrupting a father-daughter bonding moment, perhaps?”

“No, not at all! Please, come in! Alright, Dad, that’s enough slacking off.”

Kareshima-san sat by his usual window seat and ordered his usual coffee. He’s the young shopkeeper of an antique bookstore in Kanda-Jinbocho, called “Kokuudou,” and often comes to our shop.

“Thank you. It’s hot today too, isn’t it?”

Was what he said as I gave him his coffee, but I couldn’t see a drop of sweat on him. As usual, he’s a strange person.

“What have you been up to today?”

“I’ve been going out to used book auctions since this morning. These are all my battle spoils,”

Kareshima-san said as he patted the cloth-wrapped bundle that he’d brought with him.

The auctions he spoke of were auction houses held by the Antiquarian Book a.s.sociation, where many antique books were put up for trade. First-editions, discontinued editions, rare books. People that ran antique bookstores like Kareshima-san often went to these auctions in search of specific books.

“Of course, it’s not always a fruitful search. There are times I have to buy things in a bundle, and I end up going home with much more than I need.”

For instance, say there’s a series with ten full volumes. Even if you only want the first volume, the seller is only willing to sell it as a complete set of all ten volumes. In which case, even if you already owned volumes two through ten, you would have no choice but to buy them altogether. That ends up costing quite a sum of money, so there are times you’ll have to give up on that one book you want so dearly.

“Incidentally, today I was able to successfully bid on several of the books I was searching for without having to take any extras.”

Kareshima-san grinned, and undid his bundle with a practiced hand. Inside, I could see several worn-out books.

“And this one’s the highlight of the batch,”

Kareshima-san said, taking out a moss-colored book bound j.a.panese-style and showing me the cover. The words, “Study of Ghosts and Souls,” was printed in elegant characters.

”Ghosts? Like the ones that go ‘hyuudoro’ and transform? Is it a book on obake?”

As I had been antic.i.p.ating what kind of difficult antique book he had found, I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

“You mustn’t take it lightly just because it says ‘ghosts’ on the cover. When you hear that word, I’m sure you may be picturing the kinds of ghosts that people tell stories of to their children to help cool off their sweat during the summertime. However, ghosts are being studied as a serious academic topic. Not on the grounds of whether or not they exist, but why they still remain, and why people continue to talk about them today. How do they function? How exactly do they influence people’s hearts? Doesn’t it make you curious when you think of them that way?”

Even with his efforts to sell the idea to me, it was hard for me to have anything other than a reproachful view on ghosts right on the spot.

“Also, Hibari-chan, you called them ‘obake’ just now, but that would give the implication of encompa.s.sing all youkai. It could be better to refer to them as ‘ghosts’ here.”

“Are obake and ghosts different?”

“Yes. Particularly during the Edo Period, youkai and ghosts were lumped together and often referred to collectively as obake. Back then, people didn’t see ghosts as being individual souls as much as they do now. The most famous ghost would be the story of Unshuu Sarayashiki (“The Dish Mansion at Unshuu”) from Shimane, or Banchou Sarayashiki (“The Dish Mansion at Banchou”) from Edo, or Banshuu Sarayashiki (“The Dish Mansion at Banshuu”) from Himeji—they’re all well-known stories. You know, the story about the maid servant, or maid, named Okiku who was killed in a well, and returned as a ghost to continue counting plates even after death. Now, in this story, the spirit named Okiku haunts the mansion, or more specifically, the very grounds that the mansion stands on. The mansion’s plates could be seen as the plates of the empty lot, since it has such a strong tie with the land. Doesn’t that seem slightly different than the ghosts you’re thinking of, Hibari-chan?”

Come to think of it, I had a strong impression of ghosts holding grudges against specific people and appearing to spook them.

“Afterwards, the story of the Sarayashiki became a rumor told on the streets, rather than just the experience of a single individual, and the ghost of Okiku became common knowledge among the people of Edo. From then on, it started to be told as a horror story, like saying your friend of a friend apparently saw Okiku’s ghost. Okiku would show herself to even the most ordinary people, and became known as simply a haunted spirit. Rather than a spiritual phenomenon, it became closer to a common horror story.”

“So Okiku-san became too popular as a ghost?”

“Something like that. When an individual spirit becomes widely known, it becomes closer to a youkai. If a spirit from an unknown land becomes recognized and worshipped by enough people, it becomes a G.o.d. Still, if you think about it, stories like Okiku, as well as Oiwa from Yotsuya Kaidan (“Ghost Story of Yotsuya”), are only still pa.s.sed down today because of how well-known they became, so considering the fact that no records of them exist, people must have revered individual spirits more than we thought.”

“It’s not so simple to just call them ‘obake’ then, is it?”

I nodded to show my understanding so far, but Kareshima-san continued to talk excitedly.

“Ah, yes, and about that ‘hyuudoro’ phrase you used earlier. In ghost plays, when the ghost character would appear on stage, the whistling ‘hyuu’ sound of the flute, and the ‘dorodoro’ beat of the drums would be used to accentuate the scene, which is where the phrase originates from. In other words, it’s a sound effect. Thinking of it this way, since olden times, it’s since become a cla.s.sic as a sound used in horror to stimulate people’s hearing. Isn’t that interesting?”

It looked like my careless statement had ignited a flame within Kareshima-san. I’m sorry for saying ‘obake’ without giving it any thought.

“Incidentally, this book was written in late Meiji by a student of Inoue Enryou, a Buddhist philosopher who was also known as the Youkai Doctor. Because the author pa.s.sed at a young age, this is the only book he ever published, and there are very few copies in circulation. However, the research content in this book is quite fascinating, so there are many researchers that would want to get their hands on it.”

“Wow…. It sounds like a really important book,”

I said, but since the books I usually read were ones for entertainment, I really didn’t have any idea just how important this book was.

“Why, there’s already someone that’s been wanting me to sell this book to him as soon as I acquired it. He’s been eagerly trying to persuade me to sell it at list price since a while back. I just finished calling him from a public telephone a moment ago, but he sounded insistent about wanting me to deliver the book to him by tomorrow, no matter what.”

“Some people sure are pa.s.sionate about ghosts.”

“Yes, he’s a very pa.s.sionate man. After all, it’s practically his profession. He’s Nagao Gensaku, the cultural anthropologist.”

I faintly recalled hearing that name somewhere before.

“I think I have one of the books written by that professor in my study,”

I heard my father say from behind the counter. So that was why it sounded familiar. I remembered seeing that name before on a book from the shelves.

“He says that he desperately wants it for research purposes. Speaking of which, Professor Nagao lives in his mansion in Ryougoku. You know where that is, yes?”

“In the Sumida District, if I recall.”

“Right. Going from here, it’d be upstream of the Sumida River.”

“I see.… Um, but why are you—”

“The professor’s mansion also goes by another name, ‘The Haunted Mansion.’ It’s held in high regards even by dellecantes. As for the reason why it’s been called that, you’ll have to go and see for yourself.”

“No, what I mean to ask is—”

“It’ll be fine. He can be a bit hard to please, but if you bring up a topic that has to do with his research, that’ll put him in a good mood. And also, there’s a lot of places to go sightseeing in the area—”

“Um!”

The conversation was clearly headed in a weird direction now, so I forcibly interrupted before it could continue.

“Why are you telling me all of this….?”

Kareshima-san was smiling innocently.

“Hibari-chan, could I ask you for a favor?”

So dazzling! His smile was so dazzling! But for some reason, I couldn’t go against it.

“Wh….”

“I just can’t step away from the shop tomorrow.”

“What?!”

In any case, that was how my day off disappeared like foam. Like a ghost vanishing into the night.

*

The way the old houses nestled close to one another gave me the mental image of the people living in them supporting each other. From the windows, well-used futons were being put out to dry, making it look like the houses were sticking out their tongues.

Posters for businesses like a seaweed wholesale store and a print shop fluttered noisily. They looked about to peel off at any moment. At the same time, children came darting out from the ultra-narrow alleys as energetically as pac.h.i.n.ko b.a.l.l.s. It was sure to be some secret pa.s.sageway that adults couldn’t go through. Although I couldn’t see very clearly from where I was, they were probably each holding toys like menko cards or beigoma tops.

I got onto the water bus at Eitai Bridge and headed for Ryougoku. The weather was fine, and I was in a good mood, as well. The surface of the Sumida River reflected the noon sunlight, sparkling like a bottle of ramune.

A number of small boats were connected on the riverbank. Behind them, rows of gallery seats had been set up, lined with many j.a.panese seat cushions. It wasn’t something you got to see every day. The fences dressed up in red and white blinded my eyes.

Even though it looked like most of the preparations were already finished, workers from nearby restaurants were still bustling about to set up shop.

“Wow! It’s so lively!”

Today was the “Ryougoku River-Opening Festival.” Starting from seven in the evening, many fireworks would be launched into the sky. The festival dates back until the year 1733, the middle of the Edo period. It’s said that it was originally a festival dedicated to the water G.o.d, and held by the government to drive away diseases that ran rampant during those times. During this festival, fireworks were displayed as a form of entertainment, and that’s where it all began.

In any case, it’s a seasonal tradition for summer in Tokyo. And naturally, many sightseers from near and far come to see it.

The roads alongside the river were already filled with people.

I had, of course, known that today was the day of the festival, and had secretly hoped to come see it if I had the chance. However, my father had left the house early in the morning to meet an old friend, my cla.s.smate, Yue, would be going to see it with her family, and my other cla.s.smate, Touka, was busy helping out her father, who was a pyrotechnician. In the end, I wasn’t able to make plans with any of my other friends, either.

As a result, I was forced to give up on seeing the fireworks early on.

It wasn’t as if I could just go alone, after all.

To tell the truth, I had been really wanting to walk alongside the river….

I looked down at the wrapped bundle tucked under my legs. Inside was the important antique book on obake that Kareshima-san had given to me. Ah, I mean ghosts, not obake.

“It makes absolutely no sense to me,”

Kudou-sensei cursed from beside me as usual. He wasn’t even paying any attention to the pa.s.sing scenery. All he’d been doing was glare at the abundant sunshine with utter contempt while tugging frequently at my pigtails.

This was the “renowned” eccentric mystery writer, the one-and-only Kudou Renma. He seemed extremely displeased with being dragged outside at this hour, as his facial features were more sharp and heinous than they usually were.

Because I’ve known Kudou-sensei since I was young, I wasn’t the least bit afraid of the face he was making now, but the other pa.s.sengers were noticeably keeping their distance, as if he were a bomb waiting to go off.

I had actually wanted to take advantage of today’s errand to go see the fireworks together with Sensei, but….

“Why would we go out of the way to ride a water bus? If we’re going to Ryougoku, a taxi would have been fine.”

It seemed like this person had completely abandoned enjoying the little things in life. Knowing this, I knew from the start that it would have been pointless to invite him to see the fireworks. Even as we were taking a more scenic route along the Sumida River to go to Ryougoku today, this was how he reacted.

“You just don’t get it, do you? It would be a waste to take a taxi on a beautiful day like this. Just take a look at this scenery! And this gentle breeze!”

“You can’t see the wind. Also, it’s hot. The sun should just drop out of the sky and disappear.”

I had spoken dramatically, pretending I was an actress from the silver screen, but Sensei seemed to ignore me altogether.

“I went to pick you up at your house early in the morning while it was still cool, but you wouldn’t wake up at all, Sensei. It was already noon by the time we left, so you have no one to blame but yourself.“

After Kareshima-san had asked me to run this errand yesterday, I had run straight to Sensei’s house.

When the first words out of my mouth had been, “Let’s go to the Haunted Mansion together!” Sensei had replied without looking at me, “Is this some new form of religious solicitation?”

“I refuse.”

“Aww, come ooon! Let’s gooo!”

“Stop it! Quit rocking my chair!”

There had been various b.u.mps along the way, but Sensei had finally agreed while shaking his fist.

“Even with all that whining, in the end, you’re always willing to come along.”

“The one who was whining was you. And for an entire hour, at that. You threatened me into this. That’s called coercion.”

In reality, I had wanted to get on the bus from Higashi-Ginza to see the Kachidoki Bridge open, but since Sensei was against making a roundabout trip just for that, I had been shot down.

“Sensei, next time, let’s ride the Tsukuda Ferry, too.”

“Ride it yourself. And then get lost on opposite sh.o.r.e.”

Terrible.

In any case, it felt so nice on the boat. Perhaps it was because of the up-and-down movement of the waves, which was so different from riding the city tram. Or was it because Sensei was there beside me? There were other pa.s.sengers on board, and they were making quite a bit of noise, but somehow, that was also rather calming to my ears….

“We’re here.”

“Eh?”

Before I knew it, the water bus had already stopped at the terminal.

“Huh? Did I fall asleep?”

“While using my lap as a pillow, at that.”

“Whaaah?! You’re kidding! ….You are kidding, aren’t you? How could I have possibly slept in such a daring manner in public….”

“In any case, wipe away that drool, you fool.”

As I hurriedly wiped my mouth clean, we got off the water bus.

“Anyway, we arrived at Ryougoku a lot quicker than I had expected!”

Pulling myself back together, I cheerfully stepped out into the street.

“Huh?”

When I took that first step, I realized something. There was something off about how the streets looked. Had Ryougoku always looked like this?

“Huh?! This isn’t right! Eh? Where are we?!”

A nearby sign read “Asakusa.”

“While you were sound asleep, the water bus pa.s.sed Ryougoku Station, as well as the Kuramae Bridge, and now we’ve happily arrived in Asakusa.”

“There’s nothing happy about this! Waaaah! We went too far! Why didn’t you wake me up?!”

“It was one more way to hara.s.s you.”

“You’re being too honest!”

“Now then, you’ve made enough noise. Let’s go.”

“Go where? If we just wait here for the next water bus, we can head back towards Ryougoku right away.”

“I’m sick of boats. I’d rather sightsee around Asakusa. We can deliver the package after that.”

“What?! But the professor is waiting for us. He’s really famous!”

I was told that he wouldn’t mind when, as long as we visited him within the day, leaving some leeway for the exact time, but I figured that the sooner we carried out this errand, the better.

“I don’t care how famous he is. He can wait. You’re not coming? In that case, I’m leaving you behind.”

“W-wait for me!”

It was no use at this point. It was hopeless to try and convince him. Leaving Azuma Bridge behind me, I chased after Sensei.

The streets downtown were bustling with people. There were people drinking beer in the shade of reed screens. A busy-looking ice seller. A hardware store. There was a shop that was selling iced coffee for 500 yen a cup. An old man sweating as he grilled beefsteak on an iron plate.

We could hear Misora Hibari’s singing voice from somewhere. Was it from a television? Or perhaps a radio?

Sensei was in an unusually good mood, and humming along with the song that was playing.

Perhaps due to the remnants from the Taishou period, even today, movies, theatre, and comedy shows flourish in this district. Since I rarely came here, to me, it seemed like everyone was celebrating on the streets because of some special occasion.

“Ah!”

I was s.p.a.cing out from the heat, or perhaps I was being overwhelmed by the crowds. As I moved to the side to avoid people coming towards us from the opposite direction, I leaned closer to Sensei, who was walking beside me, and accidentally grabbed onto his arm.

“S-sorry.”

“In my opinion, Tokyo’s charm lies not in Ginza, but in Asakusa.”

Just as I was about to pull my hand back, Sensei unexpectedly grabbed my hand firmly and muttered these words.

As I commented about how those words didn’t seem to suit him, he responded with, “They’re Ranpo’s.”

“A long time ago, Edogawa Ranpo wrote those words in his essay, ‘A Taste of Asakusa.’ Things that are amusing, dangerous, vulgar—all thrown together into one big melting pot like a circus. Ranpo felt a certain attraction towards the ominous appeal of this district.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, he mentions Asakusa in his short story, ‘The Man Traveling with the Brocade Portrait,’ too.”

I suddenly started to feel traces of Ranpo’s horror-fantasy novel from my surroundings.

“I forgot you liked Ranpo as well, Hibari-kun.”

“Yes! Some of his stories can be scary, but the ones about the Boys’ Detective Team are the most interesting! It makes me want to make my own Girls’ Detective Team with Yue-chan and Touka-chan! ….But, anyway, Sensei….”

“For the time being, I’m ‘The Man Traveling with Pigtails.’ Not romantic in the slightest.”

“Um…. Sensei. My…. My hand….”

I tried to get his attention a second time. Sensei had been holding my hand the entire time. Once I noticed that, I became at a loss for what to do.

Was he holding onto my hand so that we wouldn’t get separated?

“Hibari-kun, more importantly, I’m hungry.”

“….I see.”

Maybe it was just my imagination.

We entered a soba shop to escape from the heat. Perhaps it was because it was the middle of the afternoon, but the shop was quite busy.

“By the way, Sensei, what made you suddenly want to go sightseeing around Asakusa? Does your next novel take place in Asakusa?”

I started to suspect that his ulterior motive was to just do his research and go home.

“There’s no specific reason. It’s simply because I’ve been holed up in my house with work lately, so it’s been awhile since I’ve gone out.”

It’s merely for exercise, Sensei said, as he slurped his cold soba with the usual stiff expression on his face.

“I see. But don’t you go out quite a bit—Time to dig in!—for meetings and research? Sluuurp—It’s so good!”

“Quite the mult.i.tasker, you are.”

Having heard our conversation, the family sitting next to us laughed softly. All the while, a steady stream of customers continued to enter the shop.

“But there were several times you weren’t home when I stopped by after school.”

“Perhaps I was only too focused on my writing to notice a fly like you visiting.”

“A fly…. But I’m sure that you weren’t home. I checked by pressing up against the window of the study in the back.”

“What are you, a lizard?”

Did Sensei not consider doing errands for his work as “going out”? Even though I’d known him for so long, I couldn’t help but think that there were still some things I didn’t know about him.

Yes, even as I looked at Sensei now, there were times where it felt like I was peering into an abyss.

“How long are you going to be s.p.a.cing out? The shop’s packed now. Hurry up and eat so we can leave, Lizard-kun.”

“Don’t just go changing my name!”

After that, Sensei and I left Asakusa and crossed Azuma Bridge a second time. Since we were already here, we decided that we’d take the opportunity to go explore a little further.

“There sure are a lot of restaurants around here. It’s my first time coming here.”

Feeling curious about our new surroundings, I couldn’t help but look at everything around us.

“It would be a problem if you were actually familiar with this area, Hibari-kun.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that this a place where you have no business being in.”

Still wondering when he meant, I looked around more carefully. And when I did, I noticed an ornately-dressed geisha walking in our direction. I looked at a nearby telephone pole to confirm our location. The sign read “Mukojima.”

“Ah….!”

I quickly looked down.

This was a Hanamachi. A place where men would enjoy themselves with women and drinking. I’d become lost in thought while walking with Sensei, and before I’d realized, we had somehow ended up in that kind of district.

“Why has your face gone as red as a ground cherry? Has the heat gotten to you? If so, we should rest somewhere….”

“N-n-n-no need! I’m fine! Completely fine! I’m in perfect health!”

“Well, you certainly seem to be energetic, if nothing else.”

Sensei coldly pinched my cheek and stretched it.

“Henhei, are you…. used to places like this?”

Very slowly, I looked up at Sensei. With the sun shining behind him, a shadow was cast over his face.

After a short pause, Sensei answered with, “Of course. I’ve visited them several times.”

I was at a loss for words, and looked up and down restlessly. In the end, I felt dejected. There had been no reason to even ask. Sensei was an adult. Even when I used to cry at night as a child,  he’d already been a fully-grown man. Of course he would have come to a Hanamachi before.

As I bent my neck and back to droop over like an ear of rice in autumn, I felt Sensei’s large hand touch my head.

“You seem to be greatly misunderstanding something. To begin with, the ones I’ve gone to aren’t the type of the immoral places that you must be imagining. You can’t a.s.sume that all Hanamachi are the same. There are cases where you simply drink together in a restaurant, or watch them perform on the shamisen or other instrument. In the first place, I only went for research purposes.”

“….Really? You only came to do research?”

I looked up immediately and leaned closer. Sensei pushed my face away in annoyance.

“I don’t particularly fancy alcohol, and if I had the time to be having an affair with a women overnight, I’d much rather be reading books in my study.”

I desperately tried to hide the broad smile on my face.

“So books excite you more than affairs?! Sensei, you’re so weird. An oddball. A pervert.”

“Calling me a pervert is overdoing it!”

“Hyaaaah! Stop blinding me—!”

As we had that kind of silly conversation, we walked even further. After Sensei started to ignore me, I entertained myself with enjoying this new townscape by looking at potted plants on the roadside or peeking down alleyways. Meanwhile, I started to notice that the people walking on the streets were all headed in the direction of the Sumida River.

“It really looks like everyone is going to see the fireworks today.”

It looked like the geisha had been invited along as well, as I saw them walking together with people.

“How nice…. I want to go see them too,”

I said as I glanced up at Sensei’s face. Ah, just as I thought, it was hopeless. He didn’t look interested. Actually, his face looked like it wanted to say, “What on earth are you talking about? You must be the biggest fool in the Kanto region.” I already knew how hopeless it was, but I still wanted to try convincing Sensei somehow.

“That’s right! If we hurry and finish this errand and stop taking detours, we’ll have plenty of time to go see the fireworks!”

Why hadn’t I realized this sooner?

“Tch. So you’ve caught on,”

Sensei muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

“Ah! So that’s why we’ve been taking detours here and there—because you don’t want to see the fireworks!”

“I hate crowds more anything. Anyway, you don’t even need to go to all the trouble of getting close to the fireworks just to be able to see them.”

“Sensei, you should be more sensitive towards maiden’s hearts and the emotions of j.a.pan!”

“Oi, Hibari-kun.”

“The fact that you didn’t wake me up on the ship was a part of your plans too, wasn’t it?! I can’t believe it!”

“Over here.”

“Wh-what is it, all of a sudden?”

Sensei had moved under the eaves of a nearby building without me noticing, and was now beckoning me over. Seeing my suspicion, Sensei pointed upwards and said,

“Look at the sky.”

“The sky?”

Poking out just my head to look up, I saw gray clouds swirling overhead. Come to think of it, I hadn’t noticed how dark our surroundings had gotten until now.

“But if you’d rather be drenched to the bone, then by all means, don’t let me stop you.”

Almost at the exact same time that he said this, a sudden rain began to fall from the sky.

“Ah, a shower.”

The raindrops, carried by the wind, drew a pattern in midair. It was the shape of the wind.

“We don’t even have an umbrella….”

“By the look of those clouds, it should stop soon. We’ll just wait it out here.”

“Here….?”

As I gave the inside of the building another sweeping look, a little elderly lady poked her head out from the back and called out to us with a meaningful smile.

“Welcome. Would you two like a room?”

“….A room?”

“Are you here on a secret getaway?”

“No, we’re just—”

“Is it an illicit love affair? An elopement of love? You can’t fool the eyes of this old lady!”

“I-it’s nothing like that!”

The building that we had entered was a guest house for men and women to spend the night together. Of all the places! Of all the darn places we could have ended up!

I frantically shook my head, and asked her to let us take shelter from the rain for a while. The elderly lady still seemed to think she had a.s.sumed correctly about our relationship, and while grinning widely, cheerfully allowed us to stay under the eaves.

“Come to think of it, it hasn’t rained in a while.”

Since there hadn’t been much rain lately, the ground soaked up the rain water thirstily like an exhausted traveler.

The raindrops fell like large marbles that someone has carelessly spilled, blurring our surroundings.

There was a man running while using his coat as an umbrella. A bargain seller hurriedly putting away his wares. Standing together with Sensei, I watched this midsummer scene.

Holding the cloth-wrapped bundle close to my chest, I stole a glance at Sensei. His mouth was closed in a straight line, and he stood facing straight ahead. Was he thinking about his next novel? Perhaps he was thinking of what beautiful words to use to portray the state of this shower.

The wall clock in the back of the shop rang the chime for 3 PM.

“It’s almost like we’re sharing an umbrella,”

I whispered aloud, in hopes that it would be drowned out by the sound of the chime and the rain. Sensei stood silently beside me.

I couldn’t see any right now, but once the rain let up, I was sure that there would be a rainbow high up in the sky.

*

Thanks to Sensei’s whimsical detours, and having to wait for the rain to pa.s.s on top it all off, by the time we’d walked to the vicinity of the mansion in Ryougoku, the sun had already long since set.

When I complained how it would be bothersome to the other party now that we were so late, Sensei had replied with a blunt, “See if I care.”

“I hope there’ll still be fireworks today.”

Would they be able to start at seven as planned? Becoming worried, I looked up at the sky. A cool wind was blowing. Due to the rain, the streets had become cooler, if only for now. Lanterns were lit one after the other in the summer sky.

The first firework went off at about that time. With a sound crackle, it burst open and spread out in the evening sky.

I found myself stopping to watch the sky.

“Waah! Sensei, did you see that?! They’re starting!”

The streaks of deep red light formed an arc, the tips turning into a periwinkle color. Soon after, pale yellow-green fireworks began bursting here and there. I became ecstatic over the sight, and shouted, “Fireworks!” while clinging to Sensei’s sleeve and jumping up and down. It felt like I could just launch into the skies myself.

“Fireworks are made to be launched into the sky. Nothing unusual about that. Now, if by any slim chance, a cat or fish, or something other than fireworks were launched into the sky, tell me. That, I would want to see.”

“There you go, saying contradictory things again. Heheh.”

The retreating clouds were now dyed in a pale pink color, and the skies beyond them were painted ultramarine. Pretty soon, the stars would be coming out.

As we listened to the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky, we walked down winding roads. Around and around we went. On and on we walked. And for a while, we wandered.

We were lost.

“Huh? But it should be somewhere around here….”

We had lost our way. As Sensei glared at me like a snake whose hibernation had been disrupted by something ridiculous, I reached into my pocket and took out the map that Kareshima-san had drawn to check where we were.

“Umm…. Hmmm.”

I moved my body this way and that, staring at the map from every possible angle.

“Are you sure the map isn’t upside down?”

“What? Of course not. It couldn’t possibly be—”

It was upside down.

A noticeably lively firework exploded in the sky.

“It’s this way! I’m positive this time!”

Pulling myself back together, I started walking again. Even so, I couldn’t help but be distracted by the fireworks overhead. It was different than what I’d had in mind, but if you thought about it, it was almost as if Sensei and I were watching the fireworks together. When I thought of it like that, it made me a bit happy. Even though Sensei had yet to look up even once.

“Oh!”

I fell forward unintentionally. I’d been too distracted by looking up at the sky that I’d b.u.mped into someone on the street.

Hearing someone laugh loudly at me, I instinctively looked up. Part of the fence was broken, making the residence on the other side visible. The one who had laughed was an elderly man in the garden. He had dark, tanned skin and deep wrinkles on his face. Although he was old, his body looked strong, with shapely back muscles. Overall, he looked like a physically strong person, like a carpenter, or sailor—in any case, someone who did outdoor labor for a living.

“What a tomboyish little lady. Don’t get too excited over the fireworks and fall down now.”

With my face bright red, I looked down. Sensei stood beside me, the colors of the fireworks reflecting off the surface of his well-polished black shoes.

He probably thought I was childish.

“I’ll be more careful. By the way, what happened to this fence?”

To cover up my embarra.s.sment, I tried asking about the fence.

“Ah, apparently someone crashed into it with a bike or something last night. It was like this when I woke up. My son and his wife told me to fix it right away because it looks disgraceful, but it’s not like we got anything to hide, so I’ll just fix it whenever I got the time to. In my opinion, the entrance looks a lot worse, but it’s not like we’re blocking that off with anything, either.”

The old man pointed to the front of the house and said with a laugh. I wondered if all the people around here were like this.

“Anyway, thanks to the fence being broken, I get to talk to a pretty girl like you, so it’s not such a bad thing,”

As he said this, my face turned red again.

“Are you two here to see the fireworks?”

“No, today we’re here on some business to visit the residence of someone named Nagao-san, but…. We’ve gotten a bit lost.”

“Nagao? Why, if that’s where you’re going, it’s the house right behind you.”

“Eh?”

I turned around and came face-to-face with a single story mansion surrounded by elegant hedges.

Thanking the energetic old man, we walked along the hedges.

“Don’t go tripping in any more puddles. Actually, I don’t care if you trip, but just make sure to trip in a way that you don’t splash any dirty water on me.”

“How’s it possible to trip that gracefully?”

I could pick up the faint scent of gunpowder from somewhere. The scent of the fireworks was being carried by the wind.

“Anyway, it looks like this is the backside of the mansion.”

We had made our way halfway around the mansion.

“These are camellias. I’m sure they’ll bear beautiful flowers in the fall and winter.”

I looked over to see Sensei looking up at the hedges with an almost uncharacteristic enthusiasm.

Come to think of it, there were several trees growing in the garden of the mansion where Sensei lived. It was hardly big enough enough to be called a garden, but since it was usually so neglected, it was probably overgrown with vegetation by this time. Was he thinking about how he’d have to do something about it soon?

I imagined Sensei cutting away at the garden trees with a pair of scissors and nearly burst out in laughter at how funny that looked in my head.

Sooner or later, we reached the front entrance. The area was packed with even more people, making me cry out in surprise. Most of them must have been here to see the fireworks.

“Nagao” was clearly written on the mansion’s nameplate. When I’d been told it was called The Haunted Mansion, I had pictured a decrepit mansion with drooping willows in the yard, but so far, nothing about it seemed anything out of the ordinary.

“Excuse me!”

I faced the inside of the house and shouted loud enough to compete with the sound of the fireworks and the din of the crowds, but the residents were nowhere to be seen. Was my voice not loud enough for anyone to hear? With all this noise, I wouldn’t surprised.

“I wonder if we’ll see lily of the valley come out.”

Sensei wouldn’t help me at all, and instead muttered something under his breath.

I lost track of how many times I shouted, but by the time my throat was starting to hurt, someone finally came out.

“I’m sorry. You must have been waiting for a long time. How may I help you?”

A pretty woman past her twenties opened the front door. She wore a yukata with lily of the valley flowers against a white background, and her beautiful black hair was tied back in a bun.

She was a tidy-looking girl, unfitting for a house known as The Haunted Mansion.

“I’m…. My name is Hanamoto Hibari, and this is my chaperon, Kudou-san. We’ve come here today on behalf of ‘Kokuudou,’ an antique book store in Kanda. We apologize for arriving much later than we had arranged.”

Raising the wrapped bundle up to my chest to show her, the girl nodded in recognition.

“So you’re guests for my father? Thank you coming all this way. I’m his daughter, Chikage,”

She said, and gave a polite bow. It was a very cordial gesture.

Her shapely eyes left an impression, shining brightly as if constantly pondering something, and the casual motions she made with her fingers were delicate and feminine. Her cheeks and shoulders seemed almost too thin, but she had a fairly full bust.

“That’s quite the lovely yukata you have on. Might you be going to see the fireworks with someone?”

Sensei asked with a smile, completely unlike his usual disgruntled demeanor.

“Yes, I was just about to go out. I’m glad we didn’t miss each other,”

Chikage-san answered with a reserved smile.

“I a.s.sume you’re going with a lover, and he lives in this neighborhood?”

“Sensei, it’s rude to ask that much.”

“N-no, it’s alright.”

I hurried to stop him, and although Chikage-san was blushing a bit, she willingly replied.

“I promised to go see them together with that person. But, how did you know he lives here?”

“The fireworks have already started, to the point that you can clearly hear them now. And yet here you are still at home. You don’t seem to be any rush, either. If your partner were coming here from far away, he would surely be slowed down by the crowds, and it would be harder to arrive on time. If that were the case, you would have left as early as possible to wait for his arrival at the arranged meeting place. However, the reason you haven’t done so is because your partner lives in the same neighborhood, and it would be easy to meet him on a minute’s notice. That is what I think.”

“….Th-that’s exactly right.”

After listening to Sensei’s explanation, Chikage-san seemed genuinely surprised. On the sidelines, I felt a bit of pride. For Sensei, this level of deduction was a piece of cake.

“Furthermore, is your lover an older man? And not just older by a year or two, but around my age?”

“My! How could you know….!”

I was surprised, as well. How had he been able to figure out something so specific?

“Whenever you refer to your partner, you would call him ‘that person.’ This rules out the possibility of him being someone younger. Also, it isn’t conclusive evidence, but by the way you speak and look at me when we talk, it gives me the impression that you’re accustomed to socializing with men my age. The rest is simply the intuition of an older man,”

That last part sounded as if he was boasting about his numerous past experiences with women, making me puff out my cheeks in annoyance. Chikage-san noticed me doing so, and laughed softly behind her hand.

Ah, I’d been caught—

My face turned even redder than Chikage-san.

“Ah, sorry to keep you waiting outside for so long. I’ll go and call my father straight away,”

Chikage-san said, and went back inside the house. We waited outside of the entrance for the master of the house to come.

After a moment, Sensei suddenly said with a chuckle,

“So I’m ‘the chaperon, Kudou-san,’ am I?”

“I wasn’t sure how to introduce you at the time.”

Even for me, it had felt strange when saying it aloud. I couldn’t deny that my tongue has tingled a bit, too.

“Anyway, it’s so dark inside this mansion even for nighttime….”

Just then, a scream echoed throughout the mansion. Startled, I found myself looking up at Sensei.

We could hear a heartbreaking voice crying, “Father, Father,” from deep within the house. It was clearly not a normal voice.

“Chikage-san! What’s wrong?! Did something happen?!”

I tried calling over and over, but none of the replies I received made much sense.

“What do we do….”

“Let’s go.”

Seeing me just standing there in confusion, Sensei took no hesitation in setting foot into the mansion.

“Wait!”

I quickly took off my shoes and followed after him. Sensei strained his ears to find where Chikage-san’s voice was coming from. After pa.s.sing through the entrance and going deeper into the house, we reached a dead end, with the corridor in front of us branching out to the left. The hallway was rather disorderly, full of carelessly stacked books, western clothes on hangers, cardboard boxes with unknown contents, and various other things.

The gla.s.s door on the right of the dead end seemed to lead to a kitchen, but it wasn’t where we had heard the voice come from. We turned left at the corridor, and continued further.

It was even darker here, and the floorboards creaked with every step.

There were sliding panels aligned on each side of the corridor, with a large willow drawn across four of the panels. Although I knew it wasn’t possible, as I stared at the picture, it gave the illusion that the leaves were rustling in the wind.

As I listened to the m.u.f.fled sound of the fireworks, and the lonely cries of the cicada from outside, I stuck close to Sensei’s back and moved forward with caution.

We could hear the sound of a woman sobbing her heart out from the end of this bizarre, and somewhat lonesome corridor. It was Chikage-san’s voice.

We opened a nearby sliding door and went inside the room. As we thought, it was dark inside. There was no one there.

We pulled open another sliding door, and went to the next room. And then the next room—

Was it really Chikage-san’s voice?

We had only spoken to her at the entrance for a few minutes. Could we really be sure that it was her crying?

My resolve wavered. I was starting to lose confidence.

“Sensei…. Is it really okay for us to keep going further like this? After all, I heard that this was a haunted mansion, so I’m a little….”

Who was crying—?

The moment I thought that, I caught my leg in a seam between the tatami mats and fell on my knees. At the same time, I felt my center axis tilt over diagonally.

“Be careful where you walk, Hibari-kun,”

From the other side of his back, Sensei’s low voice rang into my ears.

“Right now, your heart is using your extreme anxiety to try and fabricate a ghost inside of you. It’s trying to create a ghost that can provide a convenient explanation to this incomprehensible situation. But that is nothing but make-believe. Shake it off. Don’t get possessed or anything the moment we’ve entered the mansion.”

“….R-right—!”

Consciously giving a firm reply, I stood back up. I was somehow able to recover after hearing Sensei’s words. But, I still couldn’t keep myself from clinging to his back.

At last, Sensei stopped in front of a certain room.

“It’s this one.”

He opened the door vigorously.

A gust of lukewarm air leaked out and brushed against my cheeks.

The left side faced the garden, letting in the light of dusk from through the gla.s.s door. The light shone on Chikage-san, who stood in the center of the room. The sliding door on the right side was open just wide enough for one person, perhaps from when she had entered the room.

At her feet was a heavily bleeding man, lying on his stomach on top of the tatami mats.

“This is…. What happened—?!”

As I called out to Chikage-san, who stood limply, I checked on the state of the man. He wore a pale blue-green yukata. He was a bit plump, and looked to somewhere between fifty to sixty years old. He was holding a rifle in his hand.

After gently letting me down, Sensei rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and carefully took the man’s pulse.

“It was no use…. Father is…. already dead….!”

Chikage-san cried deliriously as she leaned against a pillar.

“Then, that would mean that this man is Professor Nagao Gensaku….”

Sensei shook his head slightly, and looked back at me with a sharp look.

“He’s dead.”

Another firework went off, the light illuminating the dim room, as well as the face of the deceased Nagao Gensaku. At that moment, I suddenly felt a gaze.

An empty, terrifying gaze, devoid of any warmth.

It felt like there had been something here just now.

No. It was still here. Right next to us.

Staring intently at us—

So many eyes. Such cold and chilling eyes.

A woman in white clothing.

“Sensei! A ghost!”

I counldn’t help screaming and clinging to Sensei’s back again.

“Calm down. It’s just a picture. A ghost picture.”

“A…. A ghost picture?”

I had squeezed my eyes shut, but I opened one of them to check, and sure enough, it was just a ghost picture hanging on one of the walls.

Its pale face looked blankly in our direction.

“Oh…. I thought it was a real…. Kyah!”

Just as I was feeling relieved, I screamed again.

“Why, what do we have here?”

Sensei said quietly at the sight. I think he might have been smiling.

It wasn’t just a single ghost picture that adorned the room.

There were countless pictures, plastered on every side of the room.

Even on the alcove, above the shelf and behind it, on the transom, the pillars, the ceiling—ghosts. There were ghosts no matter which direction you faced in the room.

Ghosts.

Ghosts ghosts.

Ghosts ghosts ghosts.

Ghost ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts.

Ghost ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts

Countless ghost pictures.

Pales faces.

Disheveled hair.

Eyes wide open in spite.

A figure stood silently beyond the mosquito net.

To the right, to the left, and even behind us. It was sure to be the same in the next room, and the room next to that one. They were here. There. Everywhere.

Ghosts. It was a mansion haunted by ghosts.

The whole house was full of ghost pictures.

——

Translation Notes:

Obake (お化け): (literally means “things that can change, referring to creatures that have the ability to transform or shapeshift”) A category of youkai, usually common spirits and monsters that lack individuality, such that the ghost of Okiku has, for example.

Haunted Mansion (幽霊屋敷): A “haunted mansion” is often referred to in j.a.panese as an “obake mansion (お化け屋敷)” however, it should be noted here that in this case, it’s literally referred to as a “ghost mansion (幽霊屋敷)” instead, due to the numerous ghost pictures inside.

Menko (メンコ): A j.a.panese card game popular with children from the Edo period. More info on them here.

Beigoma (ベーゴマ): A traditional j.a.panese spinning top popular during the Edo period. More info on them here.

Sarayashiki (皿屋敷): Read the full story (or rather, a summary) here.

Ryougoku River-Opening (両国の川開き): The old name for the Sumida River Fireworks Festival (隅田川花火大会), which continues to be held annually every July today. More info here.

Misora Hibari (美空ひば): A female j.a.panese singer that was active and popular post-World War II. See more on her here.

Edogawa Ranpo (江戸川乱歩): A j.a.panese author who played a major role in the development of j.a.panese mystery fiction. Teniwoha is evidently a fan of his, as Ranpo and his works are referenced several times throughout his novels. In particular, Hibari, the Schoolgirl Detective, as well as the Youkai Youth Detectives in Teniwoha’s other series, Mononoke Mystery, seem to be based on Ranpo’s stories involving the “Boy Detectives Club” (少年探偵団), which Hibari directly brings up liking the most. See more info on him here.

Lizard-kun (ヤモリくん): House lizard/gecko, the kind you’ll find stuck to the walls…. Or windows outside of your house sometimes, are called “yamori” in j.a.panese. It also sounded similar to “Hibari,” which might be another reason Sensei calls her that.

Hanamachi (花街): (literally “flower towns”) Districts where people go to drink and be entertained by geisha. Often known as red-light districts, but as Sensei says, you can’t a.s.sume all Hanamachi to be the same, and you shouldn’t confuse geisha for prost.i.tutes.