Chapter Two - Part One

“What? Where am I?”

Kamo doubled over and gasped into his own shoulder. His limbs felt numb, probably with panic.

Just a few moments ago, he'd been in the parking lot of H. Medical Center. Yet now, in the blink of an eye, a strange view stretched out before him. It was a manicured lawn that bore no resemblance to a parking lot.

Beyond the lawn lay a forest. It wasn't the sort of exotic sight you'd expect from one of Grimm's fairy tales, but the sort that you could find anywhere in Japan. The mountain in the distance also looked familiar enough for its peak to evoke feelings of deja vu.

The sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining, and Kamo, in his jacket, was already starting to sweat. Mixed in with the rustling of the trees was an incoming call from the phone clutched in his hand.

He immediately answered and put it on speaker.

“This is near your destination.”

“...Did you drug me and carry me out here?”

Kamo gripped the hourglass so hard he feared he'd crack the glass. The hourglass had lost its light and returned to a plain, unremarkable object. Even though it had just been shining so brightly, now it wasn't even slightly warm.

“I would appreciate it if you stopped making accusations. I don't need to tell you where we are, do I?”

Bewildered by Hora's provocations, Kamo looked around.

For some reason, the grass around him was littered with what appeared to be thin slices of asphalt. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. In front of him lay a fallen cherry tree branch that looked as though it had been cut by a sharp object. The fresh green leaves made it look like it had just been cut, but there weren't any cherry trees in the area.

A camping trailer was parked about eight meters away on his right. Although it had a retro design, the body looked brand new. Maybe it was a reissue.

Looking behind him, there was an opulent Western style building within ten meters of him. The walls were covered with black stones shaped like bricks, and it had a similar atmosphere to the mansion in the Kyū-Furukawa Gardens.

The moment he looked at the building, his eyes went wide in shock. He closed his mouth and looked at the building again.

“I saw a photo once of a villa that looked exactly like this. It was when I was doing preliminary research for the article about the curse of the Ryuuzen clan...”

As he stood there stammering, Hora spoke, sounding amused.

“It's as you imagine. This is the Shino villa.”

Kamo suddenly let out a scream.

“Don't be ridiculous! That villa was buried in a landslide 58 years ago. This must be a different building.”

“Why don't you try being a bit more flexible? This is before the landslide occurred.”

Hearing his companion declare that without a hint of shame, Kamo couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't out of desperation, nor was he trying to cover up shame or anger.

 “Whatever is so funny?”

“Is this what they call 'keeping a positive attitude'? ...I've been kidnapped by a lunatic and brought to a replica of the old Ryuuzen family villa. Either that or I've time traveled with the power of the Hourglass of Miracles. I don't know.”

“Either way, you can't leave this place on your own. Why not listen to what I have to say?”

Kamo sighed.

“Based on what you've said so far, I'm guessing this is 1960.”

“You are correct.”

“And those 'special powers' you were talking about?”

“Of course, they are the power to transcend time and space. You may call it a 'miracle', if it pleases you.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kamo took off his jacket and looked up at the brilliant sun.

“I can only think of it as a joke, but apparently this is real.”

“...You seem to have accepted it rather easily.”

Hora sounded doubtful as Kamo looked down at his smartphone. The display read May 19th, 11:14 A.M.

“I was in Kanagawa Prefecture until just a moment ago. It was a mild spring day. But the climate here... it's like midsummer. It's so hot and humid that there's no way it's still May. So the normal assumption would be that I've been moved closer to the equator.”

“Perhaps.”

“But the mountains and forests I can see all look perfectly Japanese. If I haven't been moved through space, that can only mean I've been moved through time, right? Whether you drugged me and I've been unconscious for months or you really moved me through time... you've already done plenty of things beyond the bounds of common sense. Now that I know that, I'll just give up and accept it all. That's my decision.”

Those weren't the only grounds for his conclusion, but he didn't dare explain those to Hora.

“...It seems I was right to chose you.”

Kamo was taken aback by Hora's sudden claim.

“That's new. I was chosen?”

“Yes. There is no point to inviting you on a journey through time and space if you are not someone able to break the curse. If you weren't flexible enough to adapt to new situations, it would cause problems for me as well.”

“I guess I just have one of those personalities,” Kamo muttered. Hora continued calmly.

“Of course, that isn't the only reason I chose you. ...Kamo, even though you aren't a police official, you are skilled at investigating old cases.”

In a sense, that was true.

After meeting Rena, Kamo quit his old job at the occult magazine. That was because he'd grown disgusted seeing the way people were hurt by his articles.

Afterwards, he'd accepted a new job writing a series of articles in the monthly magazine Unsolved Mysteries, whose editor-in-chief was an acquaintance of his. It was about cases of false accusation. It was completely different from anything he'd ever done before.

Kamo interviewed via mail prisoners who claimed to have been falsely convicted and reviewed their cases. Of course, as a layman, there was a limit to the information he had access to. Despite that, he continued to expose the possibility of the inmates' innocence by reexamining their cases as much as he could and coming up with clever alternative interpretations of the evidence...

The project had been well received from its first entry.

As the series continued, a lawyer for one of the accused took action, and the case was allowed a proper retrial in court. In the Japanese judicial system, that was nothing short of a miracle.

After the retrial became a hot topic online, the Unsolved Mysteries editorial department began receiving inquiries from other people who believed in the innocence of their friends and relatives, specifically naming Kamo.

However, the decision to retry the case was only made due to the enthusiasm of the lawyer in charge of the case and a heaping helping of luck. Kamo wasn't any sort of professional investigator, nor did he have any sort of special knowledge about police investigations.

“Whether I have that talent or not, how does that help Rena?”

“You still don't understand? The Deadly Tragedy of Shino is the root of the curse that has plagued the Ryuuzen clan for the past 58 years. …The only way to break the curse of the Ryuuzen clan is to solve this case.”

Hora's shocking announcement left Kamo unable to do anything but hold his head in his hands.

“Why are you saying all this?”

“Whether you believe it or not, the members of the Ryuuzen clan will now have their lives threatened by a murderer. Of course, in the end, they will all be caught in a landslide ...But if you stop the killer and save the Ryuuzen clan, the past will be drastically changed.”

“So the future will change and the curse will cease to exist. I'm not sure I quite get the logic behind that... No, I definitely don't get it.”

“From here on out, everything will depend on your actions, Kamo. I suggest that you proceed with caution. Well then, I believe now is the time for me to go...”

Hora sounded like he was about to hang up. Kamo shouted at him.

“Wait, you're going to just leave me here!?”

“That was the plan. Is there a problem?”

“That's messed up. Even if you tell me 'solve the case', what am I supposed to do?”

“I've given you a chance and brought you to the correct place. Even if it was a one-way trip, I don't think you're in any position to complain.”

The color drained from Kamo's face.

“...I can't go back to 2018?”

“It was an analogy. As soon as the case is solved, I can return you to your original era.”

The caller reassured him, but Kamo was disinclined to believe. Eventually, he grimaced in resignation.

“In any case, it looks like there's no use in running away.”

“That's correct. You have no choice but to follow me.”

“It's not like I was planning to run, anyway. All I have to do is solve the Deadly Tragedy of Shino, right? If it's to save Rena, I'll do anything.”

“You've made a wise decision. I wish you well, Kamo.”

Despite his words, there was absolutely zero warmth in the other's voice. Kamo gave up on trying to read Hora's meaning and gave a hearty laugh.

“Oh, by the way, there is one other thing I was wondering... As a general rule in time travel stories, you can't let people from the past know that you're from the future. I'm in the same boat right now, aren't I?”

“Indeed, giving those from the past information about the future is very dangerous, as there is no way to predict how history will be rewritten.”

Kamo gave a firm nod.

“So spoilers are strictly forbidden, then. I figured as much.”

He looked up at the villa as he continued.

“In that case, isn't it already too late?”

Previous Chapter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Next Chapter