Case 00: The Disturbing Mansion (6)

It was the sound from the pendulum clock installed in the living room on the first floor, signaling that it was now midnight.

The 31st of July – it meant that damned day had finally arrived. The sisters heard that sound in their respective beds. Neither of them was in any condition to fall asleep. They covered themselves deep with their futons and held their breaths, as if to escape their fears. Leo’s cushion was positioned between the two beds. In it, Leo sniffed restlessly.

--*Dong* *Dong*, after twelve notes beat out – the mansion sank into silence once more.

I stood alone in front of the door.

There was nothing I could do physically, but at any rate, I wanted to stay awake and give them some peaceful sleep, however little that may be. With my arms folded, I glared at the darkness with a burning gaze, and thought to myself.

--Think dammit, think.

Think about the things that were happening now, and the things that could happen from here on. And, come up with the best course of action you can take from here on.

First of all, the mother disappeared. That probably happened last night. If it was the mother who stood beyond the frosted glass in the bathroom, that would mean it was the last time M and I saw her. But then why and where did she disappear after that? If ‘Yoishi’ was inside the mother, what should I do? If I were to meet ‘Yoishi’, what should I do? It was a terrible thought to have – but if I were plotting to destroy this family, how would I act from now on? If it were me, first – I would somehow deal with the father who was the strongest in the family. If I were to do that, then the sisters would easily be dealt with afterwards – I had thought that far, when I noticed the contradiction. No, if that were the case, then wouldn’t it be best to possess the father from the start? After that, the mother, A and M in that order would be the easiest to deal with.

--Huh? What the hell did it mean?

Why did ‘Yoishi’ possess the mother first? Was there a reason for that?

In the first place, why was it targeting this family? Was there no reason other than the one Takamura and Sako had spoken of, ‘Just because it’s fun’? Sako and the old man had both said that ‘Yoishi’ was not an idiot. If that were the case – then shouldn’t I first dig out the true root of that ‘fun’ it felt…?

At that moment—

“…M, are you awake?”

In the darkness, A whispered.'

“…Yeah.”

“…I’m…I’m sorry…I’m not a very good sister.”

“…Eh?”

“It would have been better if I just locked the door without saying anything just now… but I said too much. You’re worried about it, aren’t you?”

She was referring to the words, 『It feels like… there’s someone else in this house besides us.』To be honest, I began feeling the same way since then.

“…I read somewhere that you shouldn’t say things like that—I’m such an idiot. Look, that’s not the case. It was just my imagination. I needlessly thought that since there’s no one here besides us. Look, what really happened was that mama was lured by the pretty lake shore and went to play, but got lost on the way and is being looked after by the police like a little kid…And, she met papa by now and is apologizing with a tearful look on her face, and papa is poking his head, calling her a moron. Papa tried to call us to let us know what happened, but since there's no signal, he just couldn’t make contact. Right now, they’re headed our way in a police car.”

“Yeah…”

M nodded happily on the bed.

“The family will all be together tomorrow morning, me and M will call mama an idiot and slap her on the shoulders, and Leo will be jumping up and down with joy. …And after that, we’ll laugh together as if none of this ever happened and start this fun trip once again. I’m absolutely sure that will happen, you can bet on it.”

“Yeah.”

“And then you’ll write about it in your summer vacation diary, and mama will get angry when you read that during the second term parents’ visit. Papa and I will laugh when we see that. But I’ll stand by you at that time.”

“…Yeah, thanks.”

M’s voice was gentle, and hoarse.

A was always considerate of M, and M truly relied on A. She must have understood how her younger sister felt, and even though A was scared and worried, she was nonetheless doing her best to be cheerful; Her actions moved my heart at every turn.

A, who was only in her first year of high school, was doing her best to put on a brave front, her every word and action was proof of that.

With that situation in mind, I refocused my thoughts once more.

The worst possible scenario conceivable at this point was that the mother was ‘Yoishi’, hiding somewhere in the darkness, and it was possible that the father who had gone out and could not be contacted… had already been killed. I didn’t want to think that was the case, but I had to move forward with that readiness in mind. Therefore, my first priority was the safety of the sisters. For the sake of the two who were still living before my eyes, I had to do what I could.

When – all of a sudden.

Leo suddenly rose up. He might have been expecting that something had begun because of the sound of the sisters’ giggling laughter. However, when he realized that he was not going to be allowed to join them, he got up, went to the door, and started pushing it with his snout.

“…Leo, you want to go to the toilet?”

M slowly got up and asked Leo. She looked at Leo who was whining, then looked towards A’s bed.

“…Is it alright if we open it?”

“Ah—geez—I guess there’s no other choice.”

A got up as well and unlocked the door and opened it slightly. From there, Leo disappeared in the darkness beyond the corridor.

“When you’re done with the toilet, squeal in front of the door.”

Saying that, A closed the door, and locked it once more.

After that, the two of them stayed quiet for a while, and awaited Leo’s return, but—

As it turned out, Leo never appeared before the two.