Murder At The Rainy Mansion ~The Never Ending 100 Tales~

Chapter 59: When the 100 Tales completed

“Who was it?” Takato asked in a hoarse voice.

Ayano looked at him over the flickering candlelight. “Who do you think it was?” His shadow reflected by the flickering light on the fusuma[1] was squirming and looked like a totally different creature.

Takato: “At first I think it is my mother.”

Shun looked at Takato in surprise but he could understand the reason for his speculation. It was a woman in a kimono and hold a grudge against Chizuru. As a lawyer, Shun had interacted with many members of Sudo family so he had heard various rumors. He could guess the reason why the woman didn’t want Ayano to get close to Takato or why Takato was keeping a distance from Ayano.

Takato looked at the candlelight swaying profusely with a scowl on his face. “But that woman said her husband and her grandson, right? Then she couldn’t be my mother.”

Shun: “Then was it Kikue-sama?”

Kikue was the late Sokichi’s wife.

“No,” Takato said with a frown. “Even if the grandson she mentioned refers to me, then the husband would mean Grandpa Sokichi. Based on what I heard, Chizuru-san and Grandpa liked to quarrel with each other.”

“You are right. Grandpa Sokichi has nothing to do with this. He was only protecting me and my mom out of pity,” Ayano said as she took out a red colored hand mirror from her pocket. “At the end of the 100 Tales that we played years ago, I saw her face reflected on the blade illuminated by the candlelight. Although she looked very young, I immediately realized who she was. Since that day, every time I look into the mirror, her face would appear right next to mine.”

Ayano put a hand to cover the left side of her face. “That is why I can’t put on makeup. I can’t even look into the mirror—” She lifted up the mirror that was laid face down on her knees. “-Huh?”

Takato: “What’s wrong?”

Ayano: “She is not here. Great-grandma is not here.”

The face that she saw at that time was Natsu, Sokichi’s mother.

“Great-grandma? What do you mean? If that ghost was Great-grandma, then her husband was Great-grandpa. The age gap is too big, don’t you think?” Takato asked and furrowed his brows. “But the grandson that she mentioned would refers to my dad. That part should be correct.”

“No. Both parts are correct,” Ayano said before blowing up the candle. “Let’s go. Natsu-sama has disappeared from my side. She must have gone somewhere with strong obsession that she even forgot about her curse for me.”

Takato got on his feet and followed her from behind. “Do you know where that place is?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The reason why Natsu-sama hate my mom…” Ayano walked to the entrance and saw Toru standing in the hallway on the left side. Toru was looking at her without saying anything. They could still hear the screeching sound from the storeroom.

A woman wearing a flashy red kimono that looked like a courtesan[2] was standing outside the toilet where Satoshi was in. It was Natsu.

* * *

Satoshi could feel a terrifying presence from outside the door. He held his breath and tried to sense the atmosphere that had changed inside the mansion.

Even though there were a lot of spirits in the Rainy Mansion, it was usually surrounded with a peaceful and calm ambience. He didn’t know why it felt so tense now.

He knew something was wrong. He couldn’t sense the presence that protected the mansion – the presence of someone who had always called out to him with a gentle voice to come out of this place.

“Hey, why don’t you leave this place already? Aren’t you bored staying here?”

Although she sounded too nonchalant, he was happy because he could feel her kindness. He wanted to listen to her voice forever. He tried to recall the words she last said to him.

“Just go. Or better yet, why don’t you just disappear from here?”

“Chizuru-san…” The name inadvertently came out of his mouth.

Then, he felt a presence from behind him. Not sure since when, the small window was slightly opened. For a brief moment, he was hoping that it was Ayano.

But the thing that appeared there was a terrifying mass of grudges. He couldn’t see a figure, but he noticed there was a pair of eyes staring at him.

“Aah!” Satoshi instinctively crouched down and covered his head with his hands. He could feel the bloodshot eyes were watching him from above.

Too terrifying.

Too terrifying.

Too terrifying.

He didn’t want to see that thing again. Although his eyes were closed, somehow, he could sense that the eyes were smiling with a sneer.

“Chizuru-san…? Do you deserve to call that name? You are the one—”

You are the one who killed Chizuru!

[1] There are 2 types of paper sliding door, one is shoji which use transparent paper, another one is fusuma which use thick paper. 

[2] Oiran: A high ranking courtesan since Edo period (1600 – 1868) until prostitution was outlawed in Japan in 1957.