Case 06: Rororo (3)

The man wearing a kinagashi peered at me with fox-like eyes and declared.

“It’s hopelessly distorted. I don’t know if everyone is aware of it, but it was probably that way since its foundation. Well, I guess it’s not fair to blame such old distortions on you students here in the present...”

The man, who had been yammering on and on to that point, suddenly stopped speaking.

“But hey, this sure is some good coffee jelly!”

We were in the university coffee shop on the second floor of the students’ hall.

I couldn't say no to the man's pushy invitation, so the both of us came here.

“I mean, for a coffee shop in a university, this is first-class. Not only are the fresh cream and ice cream perfectly proportioned, but what’s more, you can really taste the flavor of the coffee in the jelly. I mean, as long as there’s ‘coffee’ in the name, it's the least you can do, but how many coffee shops just ignore that?”

It was already his third coffee jelly. He complimented her so many times, that the old lady from the coffee shop wearing the white, triangle bandana kept blushing like a schoolgirl.

“You're a nice man, but you're also a smooth talker.”

“No, no, not at all, this really is delicious.”

The man smiled at the old lady amiably and continued by adding:

“To do what is obvious and to do it well. It may not stand out, and it’s not something that’s instantly appreciated, but I think that’s where the foundation of human beauty lies. To think that there are women in this university who do such a great job. It's truly a wonderful thing.”

“Would you like one more? It’s on the house.”

“Oh, thank you, so very much.”

“Hey!”

That's right when I butted in.

“Enough with the coffee jelly already. Tell me, why is our school distorted? What the hell is up with that book called ‘Rororo’?”

“Now, now, please just calm down.”

He then took a last sip of the coffee jelly somewhat regretfully, and took out something from his pocket.

“I still haven’t introduced myself properly, yet.”

He presented me with a pure white business card. In black letters, what lay printed there was:

【Sako Takita, Chief Priest of Okitachi Inari Shrine】

I flipped it over to see that there was no address, nor phone number. It was all very suspicious.

“Okifuto…Katana? Sakyo?”*

“Sako Takita, Okitachi Inari Shrine.”

Saying that, the man ---- Sako Takita, took out another business card and handed it over to me.

【The owner of the antique store: Kouroudou, Sako Takito】

This one had the store’s phone number and address written on it.

“This one is another title. I guess it works better in Tokyo.”

“Hold on a second. You’re a chief priest, but you’re also a businessman?”

“Well, there’s no reason why a chief priest can’t run a business. It’s tough running a religious group these days. Especially shrines with no parishioners, they’re barely scraping by. Some of them have even opened up fancy sweet cafes on temple grounds.”

With a look of contentment, Sako then took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He let out a carefree puff of smoke and I panicked.

“Hey! Smoking isn’t allowed here.”

“Ah, is that so? Then is there a place where it is allowed?”

The old lady in the coffee shop, who seemed to have taken a liking to Sako, said the veranda would be fine, and pointed to a seat at the back of the room.

Sako stood up, took the ashtray the old lady handed out to him, and quickly moved to a seat in the veranda. It couldn’t be helped, I sighed, as I followed suit.

“Hmm, this is a pretty good university.”

While gazing at the rear garden, bristled with tall trees, Sako leisurely smoked his cigarette.

“As expected of a historical school building in Musashino. The greenery of the zelkova trees dazzles in your eyes, and the serene construction of the school buildings all give me a sense of gravity and history. And aren’t all the female students so lovely? I’m quite jealous.”

A few female students were sitting at the edge of the balcony, all staring at Sako’s kinagashi dress in amazement. Moreover, being praised face to face by a cunning fox-like smile was doubly effective. The female students exchanged glances with each other, whispering in glee.

“Look, just get to the point.” I sat in the chair in front of him and grumbled.

“You’re a hasty one, aren’t you?”

Sako gave an exaggerated sigh.

“As I said before, It’s a distortion. This school has been messed up since its foundation. It was incorporated through conglomerate funds, and a Christian religious organization was also involved in its founding, so it may be difficult for many issues to come to the surface, but – don’t you see? It's unstable, isn't it? It’s a building built up with the wrong foundation which was then continually expanded. That's why the atmosphere here is so grim and why there are so many suicides.”

My heart raced at those words. The word ‘suicide’ was bitter to swallow, as I was immersed in reading about the fragments of Kouhei Niijima's life just a little while ago.

“For example… Can you see that?”

Sako suddenly leaned over the railing and pointed somewhere. It was a bushy area at the back of the library. A dimly lit place of evergreen trees about the height of a man’s waist.

“What’s wrong with that place?”

“Look carefully, can’t you see anything in the hedge?”

I squinted my eyes, and sure enough, there was something in the bushes: whitish, and stone like – what is that?

“Not many students or even faculty members here know about it, but that’s a memorial tower.”

“M-memorial tower?”

“I believe it’s from around sixty years ago, just after the end of the Pacific War. It was built to memorialize a boy who died at this school. But look at it now. It’s wrapped in such thick bushes that I can’t even get close to it. Anyway, I don’t like this kind of thing. If you build a memorial, you should honor it, and if you don't want to honor it, you shouldn't build it in the first place. Surrounding the cenotaph with a hedge, it’s like you’re sealing up the past.”

…That’s right. I mean, I didn’t even know there was a memorial tower there, and if I hadn’t been told, I wouldn’t have noticed it even if I were here till graduation.

“Anyway, I don't want to speak ill of this school in front of the current students, but this school does not properly treat the dead. Instead of directly confronting what happened, they just pretend it never happened, and repeatedly try to cover it up. Even if you put a lid on it, the truth doesn’t disappear.”

With a gulp -- I asked:

“So then, what exactly is that dangerous book called ‘Rororo’?”

“Hmm...”

Thereupon, Sako leaned back deeply in his chair. He took a puff from his cigarette, then smothered it out in the ashtray, then intently fixed his eyes on me.

“Have you heard about taboo words?”

“…Eh?”

“Judging from your expression, I can tell you have. That’s right, there are words in this world that drive a deep wedge into people's thoughts and unconsciously control their actions. If words that empower people are the yang, then taboo words are the yin.”

“No… It was about that, wasn’t it? Like Kameari being called Kamenashi, or the numbers nine or four not being used by hospitals, because they were bad luck or something, right?”

When I conveyed Yoishi’s words to him, Sako gave a faint smile.

“That’s right. There are simple ones like that, and then there are more sophisticated ones. The ones that you can recognize just by looking at them or hearing them aren’t as threatening as taboo words. The ones that pose a problem are those that you don't even perceive as taboo words when you see or hear them.”

“Don't even perceive...?”

“It unwittingly traps us in a maze of thoughts and amplifies the negative thoughts within us. It is a word that is best not to know. And I believe that ‘Rororo’ is probably a book that particularly consists of dangerous taboo words. Words that are better left unknown.”

“W-what the hell is such a book doing in this university?”

I asked in a voice that was beginning to tremble, and Sako just shook his head, ‘Who knows’.

“Someone must have put it here. At first glance, it’s indistinguishable from other books, but it was secretly mixed in among the ordinary books in this university’s library. However, if you were to read it once, you’d be bound by the taboo words. You wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off the writing, and end up being dragged inside the world of the story. In the end, you’d lose sight of the border between reality and fantasy, and be taken to the world beyond.”

Sako’s low voice seemed to drift in the air, and I grabbed my knees firmly. I felt If I didn’t keep a tight grasp on my spirit, I would be taken somewhere bizarre.

“That book has a certain peculiarity. The person who reads it would continue to repeat a single thing until their demise: ‘Rororo’. That's why the book was conveniently named ‘Rororo’. It’s strange, isn’t it? What does ‘Rororo’ indicate, exactly? Why do you end up muttering ‘Rororo’? You have to read it to find out, but if you do, you'll die.”

He then chuckled, took out another cigarette and lit it with a match.

The scent of the ignited cigarette, together with a strong, sweet aroma drifted on the wind.

“…So?”

“Hmm?”

“So why are you telling me all this?”

“I’d like you to help me. That book is in this school’s library. I know where it is, and I just need you to bring it to me.”

“…What the hell are you saying?”

“The school administrators knew about the existence of that book. Well, they might have been skeptical, but they were trying to pretend it didn't happen every time. However, there have been so many suspicious deaths at this school that they finally decided to do something about it. In other words, I was called here by someone at the top; my task being to retrieve the book.”

“W-why does it have to be me? I mean, does Krishna-san know about this?”

“If it's about 'Rororo,' then she doesn't know. The fact that there are so many suicides - well, I don't know what she knows because I'm not her, but she's smart. I'm sure she's sensed it.”

Thereupon, Sako brought his face towards me and spoke in hushed tone:

“But you know, I don't want her to be involved this time. Because she's been on the verge of breaking down over something like this once...”

“Huh?”

“Five years ago, you see. She got too involved, and it nearly destroyed her. That was the first time I met her.”

--Nearly destroyed?

--A person like Krishna-san?

“T-time out. Having me do something dangerous like that is impossible!”

“What? It’s no problem. You just have to avoid reading it.”

Sako spat out such irresponsible bullshit.

“For better or worse, I'm deeply involved in the Shinto priesthood, and everything I wear, the words I say, and the way I behave is heavily tinged with the influence of the divine. There’s a high possibility that just getting close to it will purify the spirituality of the book. This time, I merely wish to retrieve it. The book as it is. Who placed such troubling taboo words in the book, and why? Everything needs to rectified from the source.”

“No, I refuse. There’s no way I can do it. In the first place, My –”

In a trembling voice, I shouted without care for my surroundings.

“My mind is still in the rehab phase!”

No, it was a little too late to say that. Up to this point, I'd been involved with the Clock Tower and the Miiko Incident, two incidents that were related to the world beyond. Before I realized, I’d been associating with Yoishi as if it were completely normal. And If I were to go and get this book that ‘If you read, you’ll die’, I’m sure I’ll exceed some kind of limit.

And in response –

“Did Kurimoto-kun tell you that?”

Sako gave a pleasant smile.

“Rehabilitation of the mind, huh? Yeah, that sounds like something she would say. Kurimoto-kun seems to be very protective of you.”

I don't know if she’s protective of me or not, but at any rate, I was the completely wrong person for the job, so I firmly shook my head and refused.

“You’re going to refuse no matter what?”

“Yes, there’s no way I’m gonna do it.”

I nodded vigorously, and then Sako eventually spoke, as if he recalled something.

“Well, it can’t be helped, I guess I’ll just have to ask that girl.”

“That girl?”

“Hmm, what was her name again? That pale young lady with the dark hair, who looks like a medieval bisque doll?”

“Hey…wait a minute. Are you talking about Yoishi?”

“That’s right, Mitsurugi Yoishi-kun. How nostalgic. I wonder if you still have the pleasure of meeting her.”

I silently glared at Sako, who quickly corrected himself.

“Or in your case, should I say…displeasure…?”

“The hell did you say?”

“She’s interesting. Truly interesting. I don’t hold that much interest in people, but she's the most interesting person I've met in the past six months. I guess you could compare it to the mystique of holding an old and used… religious magic item ---Ah, that was rude. I don't know how to say it, but due to my profession, I have a bad habit of looking at things in terms of whether they can be used as a catalyst or not.”

With eyes resembling a thousand-year-old fox, Sako gazed at me and then spoke:

“Say, could you ask her to do a favor for me?”