Chapter Two - Part Three

 As soon as he stepped into the dining room, Kamo was assailed with suspicious stares.

The room was built in a purely Western style, with white as the base color. It was about 20 tatami mats (~102 sq. meters) in size, but as is common in old buildings, the ceiling was low, so it felt very confined. The building seemed quite old, but its interior was still new. It must have been renovated recently.

In the center of the room was a large antique table surrounded by twelve chairs. All of the chairs were of a high enough quality that Kamo had expected to go his whole life without seeing anything like them. Looking at the room's furnishings, it seemed the Ryuuzen lived a completely Westernized life. A large old wall clock displayed 12:12.

In the room were eight men and women.

Seated at the very front of the left side of the table was Ayaka. She looked around, unable to hide her nervousness. Genji sat next to her, arms crossed.

Next to them was the gentleman called Soujirou. He still hadn't put down the hunting rifle, perhaps as an intimidation tactic... However, it did seem that he'd unloaded the gun before entering the building. It would be dangerous if it went off, after all.

Sitting at the head of the table was an old man in a wheelchair wearing a white open collar shirt.

He was definitely over eighty and was wearing a dark red lap blanket. His shoulder muscles bulged against his clothes, and he had sharper eyes than anyone else in the room.

Kamo could guess that was Ryuuzen Taiga, head of the Ryuuzen clan. In her diary, Ayaka had called him “Grandfather”, but he was actually her great-grandfather. Compared to the old black and white photograph he had seen, the real man was so vibrant that he looked like a different person...

Standing diagonally behind the old man, giving Kamo a downcast look, was a servant of the Ryuuzen family. She was dressed in an old-fashioned black and white maid uniform.

Kamo stared at her intently, remembering that Taiga only had one regular servant, Tonegawa Tsugumi... Her name had appeared many times in Ayaka's diary.

She was beautiful, but she wore heavy makeup. She was about 40. Above all, he was amazed how stylish she was. Even though she wasn't young anymore, the waistband of her apron was tied high in a way that gave her a perfect silhouette.

Slowly, Taiga opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Mr. Kamo. Could you please explain to me why you have come to Shino?”

Before he could answer, Ayaka had already started speaking.

“Grandfather... I'm the one who invited him to the villa.”

The room fell silent. Taiga looked at her with confusion.

“And why did you do that?”

Seeing the defiant look in Ayaka's eyes, Kamo felt a foreboding chill.

“Mr. Kamo is a great detective who has solved countless difficult cases. The Metropolitan Police Department regularly asks for his assistance, and he's even been awarded a medal for his efforts.”

Hearing Ayaka keep piling on new details to his character made Kamo want to smash a window and run away.

Needless to say, great detectives were a thing that only existed in fiction. Whether the year was 2018 or 1960, that fact would never change.

“A great detective, huh...”

The speaker was one of the three young people on the right side of the table.

He and the girl next to him looked so similar it was obvious at a glance they were siblings. They were both about 20, and had beautiful faces comparable to Ayaka's. Kamo recalled their names were Ryuuzen Tsukihiko and Tsukie. They were both Taiga's grandchildren.

The older brother, Tsukihiko, had cool, narrow eyes and looked like the type who was popular with women. However, his thin lips were set hard with an inner coldness. He was dressed the most casually of everyone. He was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt with the collar turned up. A pair of sunglasses poked out of his breast pocket.

Tsukie, who was looking down at the table with large, wet eyes, was a stunning beauty. She wore a sleeveless blouse the color of fresh grass.

Tsukihiko looked at Kamo like a snake eyeing a small bird. He had clearly seen through Ayaka's lie. Kamo braced himself, but the next words came from an unexpected direction.

“...You say he's famous, but I'm afraid I've never heard of a detective like that.”

It was Genji. Ayaka responded without a moment's pause.

“Uncle, you're usually abroad, so you aren't familiar with domestic affairs.”

“That might be true. But why did you invite a great detective to our villa?”

Ayaka's cheeks flushed with excitement as she continued to make excuses.

“Because today is August 22nd, Grandfather's birthday. I secretly invited Mr. Kamo here as a surprise. ...Grandfather is a big fan of detective fiction, isn't he?”

Perhaps overwhelmed by his great-granddaughter's force of personality, Taiga let his dignity fall away and smiled awkwardly.

“I can't deny that.”

“I'm sorry, Grandfather, I thought you would be pleased. The father of one of my friends from school is an acquaintance of Mr. Kamo's and I asked him to arrange the meeting for me. Then, Mr. Kamo's schedule just so happened to be free, so it all just worked out.”

Ayaka was talking significantly more than necessary. It was a typical reaction for someone who was lying, but Taiga and Genji both appeared to be listening to her with surprising seriousness.

After waiting for her to finish her explanation, Genji asked calmly.

“Ayaka, is everything you just said true?”

“Of course.”

Her eyes were serious. Seeing that, a glint of amusement flashed across Genji's eyes for just a moment. He turned to Taiga.

“As we all know, Ayaka isn't the kind of girl who would tell malicious lies. It seems she really did just want to give Grandfather a surprise.”

Taiga's eyes wavered. It seemed he was soft when it came to his great-granddaughter. But he wasn't convinced just yet.

“Perhaps, but this man may still be the murderer.”

It wasn't a terrible argument, but Genji shook his head.

“I don't think that's very likely. ...The situation suggests that the murderer was inside the villa between last night and early this morning. It's impossible that someone could have broken in from outside during that time.”

That was news to Ayaka, and her eyes went wide. Taiga thought for a while, then spoke again.

“I understand that. However, isn't it impossible that the body parts were taken from the building? And yet, the head and torso were in fact taken out?”

“Yes. No matter how you look at it, this situation is an impossible crime.”

“Then that means the crime is equally impossible for this man as everyone else, doesn't it? If he had used a trick to remove the head and torso, he could have used a trick to enter and leave the building without being seen.”

“You're right... But the same could be said about everyone else in this room.”

Taiga frowned, furrowing his white eyebrows, but eventually nodded.

“You are correct.”

“As you can see, there are hardly any wrinkles or stains on this gentleman's clothes, and it seems his canvas shoes have almost no mud stains. If he had been lurking outside our villa since last night and had traveled from the indoors to the forest and back after the rain, he would not look like this.”

“Canvas shoes?”

Kamo involuntarily spoke out loud and looked down at his sneakers. Since you were allowed to wear your shoes in the Shino villa, he was still wearing his foreign-made sneakers.

“...However, the longer I look at him, the more unusual his attire is.”

Taiga looked at Kamo seriously. Kamo's shirt and pants were average, slim fit clothes in 2018, but they didn't match anything from this era.

The pants the men of the Ryuuzen family were wearing were clearly thicker, and Soujirou's suit had a bit more of a wide fit. Even their fabrics were different... the shirt Kamo wore was made from a chemical or textile material with shape memory, something that didn't yet exist in this day and age. While everyone else was wearing leather shoes in black, brown, or white, he alone wore sneakers.

Seeing how out of place his outfit was, Kamo suddenly became depressed. Genji, who seemed to be enjoying himself, suddenly opened his mouth again.

“I know what I said earlier, but... thinking back, I do recall hearing about a detective in Tokyo by the name of Kamo.”

Ayaka looked up as though she'd been smacked across the face, and Kamo almost shouted out loud.

“She may have exaggerated a bit in her explanation, but I don't think there can be any doubt that this man really is a private investigator.”

The smile dancing on the corners of his mouth showed that he had seen through their lies. And yet, Genji was keeping it to himself and even defending them. He'd even lied himself, claiming that Kamo's nonexistent life in Tokyo sounded familiar...

The girl gave her uncle a grateful look, and he gave her a small nod.

Genji's lie immediately took effect, completely changing the atmosphere in the dining room. Even Taiga's attitude softened. He even smiled at Kamo.

“I hope you can forgive our earlier rudeness... I am Ryuuzen Taiga, Ayaka's great-grandfather. If I had known she was making such a reckless request, I would have done everything in my power to stop her.”

“There's no need for that. You seem happy to have me.”

Kamo hesitated before replying. Even as he spoke, he was turning his eyes towards Genji. ...Why had he supported this middle school girl's fraudulent story? Kamo couldn't make sense of it. In the end, that had been what saved him, but not knowing why was a bit eerie.

On the other hand, Taiga, having forgotten his wariness, let sorrow fill his eyes. He spoke in a low voice.

“It pains me having to tell you this as soon as we've met, but...”

Kamo gave a small nod.

“If you're referring to the incident that took place in this villa, Ayaka already told me about it.”

Kamo had a faint hope that he'd be able to get some information on the incident. However, Tsukihiko chose that moment to interrupt.

“How did you get here? By car?”

It seemed he wouldn't let their blatant lie be accepted so easily.

“Tsukihiko, you are being rude to a guest.”

Taiga chided him, but Tsukihiko didn't stop.

“We all shared our actions last night with each other. We thoroughly interrogated the alibis of even our own relatives. Why should this man be exempt? You can answer the question, can't you, Mr. Kamo?”

Kamo thought about it... He was certain that Tsukihiko was asking this question in an attempt to trap him. Did something he'd said or done contradict something that happened on August 22nd? Kamo tried to recall what he'd read in Ayaka's diary five years ago. For someone with his memory, it wasn't an impossible task.

“...No, I walked.”

At that answer, Tsukihiko's face twisted, ruining his handsome visage. Seeing his reaction, Kamo's confidence grew, and he continued with a smile.

“My arrival here was a surprise; it would be too obvious if I came by car. I asked an acquaintance to drive me up to the bridge, then I walked the rest of the way.”

The villa had a parking lot. Naturally, Kamo didn't have a car there. Kamo had figured out that Tsukihiko noticed that contradiction.

Tsukihiko fell silent, and the young man sitting next to him opened his mouth as though the other man wasn't there. He was the only one whose name Kamo didn't know.

“It's nearly two and a half kilometers from Shino Bridge to the villa. It must have been difficult for you, walking all that way. I wish you had confided in me earlier, Miss Ayaka... I would have been happy to pick up Mr. Kamo and help smuggle him into the villa.”

It wasn't so much a request for Ayaka as a statement of regret that he'd missed out on something interesting. In contrast to Tsukihiko next to him, this young man had a good-natured air about him. He was as thin as Tsukie and was probably also in his early twenties. He wore a navy blue polo shirt.

The fact that he'd called Ayaka “Miss” marked him as an outsider to the Ryuuzen family. However, unlike Tonegawa, he was sitting around the table with the rest of the family members. Kamo remembered that there had been a young man staying with the family, the child of a friend of Taiga's or something of that nature who'd been taken in as a middle school student. He recalled his name as “Amamiya”.

Ayaka seemed to be close to the young man, as she apologized in a playful manner.

“I'm sorry, but if I told Mr. Amamiya, it might have spread to the whole family.”

“Hey, I'm not that talkative.”

Tsukihiko, apparently not liking that they had managed to calm the room, interrupted with another question.

“So, what time did you get here?”

Kamo judged it had been about an hour since he'd initially time traveled. The clock on the wall read 12:26, so he must have arrived about 11:30.

Kamo chose his words carefully.

“I don't know the exact time. After I told Ayaka I'd arrived, we talked for quite a while. But I'm pretty sure it was before 11:00.”

There was a reason why the time he'd given was earlier than his actual arrival.

If Kamo remembered correctly, Ayaka's diary read as follows:

Genji and Soujirou left by car to call the police, but they returned to the villa less than an hour later. That was around noon.

Tsukihiko probably intended to pursue Kamo on the grounds that they hadn't passed him on the road while driving. In that case, Kamo had no choice but to claim he'd already arrived before they left.

Since he hadn't managed to get anything out of Kamo, Tsukihiko gave a simple “Hmph” and stopped talking.

“...By the way, did you notice anything unusual when you crossed Shino Bridge?”

It was Soujirou who'd asked. He had opened the break action rifle and placed it on the table in front of him. Kamo felt a surge of relief seeing him disarmed.

He remembered that Soujirou was Taiga's second son and the father of Tsukihiko and Tsukie. His face was well-groomed, but what stood out more was the nervous twitching of his eyes and mouth.

Kamo, having come from the future, already knew that the bridge had collapsed, but he decided to keep quiet.

“Nothing in particular. Why? Did something happen?”

“Someone made cuts in the rope and planks of the bridge. It's pretty likely they at least started before you crossed over.”

Ayaka gasped and covered her mouth, but everyone else seemed to already know. Genji took over the explanation.

“The truth is, we noticed the phone line to the outside of the villa was down, so Soujirou and I decided to go out and call the police. I think we left around 11:00. As we approached Shino Bridge, we noticed the ropes had been damaged... but not soon enough, and our car wound up going over the edge when the bridge collapsed.”

Genji said that with a nonchalant expression despite the terrible event he'd lived through. Ayaka, in contrast, had gone pale.

“Uncle, Great-Uncle... thank goodness you're both safe.”

“Thank Soujirou. He's the one who noticed something was wrong and got us out of there.”

Kamo mentally went over everything that had been said so far and confirmed it all matched the contents of Ayaka's diary. He then shook his head slightly and said something.

“I guess I was lucky I was walking, but if I'd been a bit less lucky, the bridge could easily have fallen while I was crossing.”

When he said that horrifying thought, Taiga added something in a grave tone.

“I believe someone has endeavored to trap us here.”

“In that case, I guess I'd be the prime suspect. After all, I was the last person to cross that bridge.”

Kamo figured it would be better if he said it himself than if someone else pointed it out later. He braced himself for what sort of reaction he would get, but Taiga merely smiled at him.

“Don't worry. According to Soujirou and Genji, the cuts on the ropes and boards weren't fresh, but covered in mud and dirt. Isn't that right?”

Soujirou and Genji nodded.

“Due to the rain that fell until the morning of yesterday, the 21st, and the shower that fell again in the evening, the water level in the river rose considerably. If we conclude that the dirt was from the rising water hitting the bridge, then we can conclude that the work on the bridge was done before the water level fell back down... In other words, the work was done between yesterday at noon, when Soujirou and his family were able to safely drive across, and yesterday evening, when the water level subsided.”

Kamo looked at Taiga with his mouth hanging open.

Perhaps it was due to his self-professed love of mystery novels, but, even though they were in a tense situation, Taiga was able to analyze the situation so calmly. Or perhaps it was only expected that a man who'd not only survived, but thrived during the war and its chaotic aftermath would have such mental strength.

Satisfied with his reaction, the old man finished with a grin.

“Therefore, just because you were the last person to cross the bridge, that doesn't make you suspicious.”

“...By the way, am I correct in assuming that because the bridge collapsed, this area is now an isolated island?”

When Kamo regained enough composure to ask that, Taiga nodded with a frown.

“It is. The phone lines have been cut, so there's no way we can call for help. And we were originally planning to stay here for four days to escape the summer heat. I've already informed the people from the company that I'm not to be interrupted while I'm on vacation, so I don't think we can expect any help from outside.”

“I wonder if we can find a way through the forest to town.”

Ayaka was the one who'd asked. Amamiya was the one who answered.

“That won't work... Even if we follow the river, we'll be blocked by cliffs, and we can't go up Mt. Kuzu because the villa doesn't have any mountaineering equipment or even a map of the mountain. The weather is likely to change again, too. It's be suicide for someone with no knowledge of mountain climbing to try passing it like this.”

Ayaka didn't seem the least bit discouraged. On the contrary, she stared at her great-grandfather with clear eyes.

“Grandfather, let's ask Mr. Kamo to investigate this case.”

“Mr. Kamo?”

“Yes. In all his years as a detective, there isn't a single case he's been involved in that went unsolved.”

That was a bold proposal, but the one who was most surprised was Kamo, who had suddenly been declared the world's greatest detective.

 

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