Volume 4: Epilogue
Epilogue – Or, The Beginning of the Case that began everything[edit]
“I’ve thought about it a lot, I’ve thought about it over and over again.”
It was on a day near the end of the year. Before my last working day at the part-time job, I dropped by the Beatnik Research Society in the western club building, where Krishna-san, dressed in a bulky turtle neck sweater, caught me.
“I’ve thought about it an awful lot. I consulted with Takita-san about it, and then I thought some more, and after careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that it was the only way. But I was really troubled whether I should tell you about it or not.”
“Um, please calm down. What happened?”
“No, take a look at this. It would be faster if you saw it with your own eyes.”
Saying that, Krishna-san thrust her phone towards me.
Displayed on the LCD screen, was a message board from some website.
“Lost child…alliance? What is this site?”
“Yoishi’s fan club.”
“Huh?”
“I heard it from Takita-san. Yoishi was using the handle ‘lost child’ to post on some suicide website. And that she became the object of strange worship there.”
“…Ah. But she didn’t do that in order to kill herself or anything--”
And, as I was about to continue explaining, “Never mind that, just look,” said Krishna-san as she handed me the phone.
Having no choice, I took it and scanned over the website. It was a different site than the ‘Heaven on earth’ website from before, but it looked to be a message board with the same users on it. It was run by fanatical fans of ‘Lost child’ aka Yoishi Mitsurugi, and at present, there seemed to be a flurry of activity for some reason.
“There’s like a ton of posts right now. Did something happen?”
“It’s Yoishi’s posts. Her fans are in pain because of her posts – or rather, she’s become the target of a pitchfork mob.”
“A target?”
“It’s because of this – read these posts from the poster ‘Lost child’.”
In front of Krishna-san’s small fingertip was--
Lost Child: 【I think this might be my last post.】
There was indeed a post like that from ‘Lost child’.
I continued reading the following posts.
Lost Child: 【I might have found someone worthy of what’s called trust.】
…Ah. So this is why they’re mad…. It’s not strange that they’re mad. Yoishi – no, ‘Lost child’ had become the hope or the voice for those tired of this world, because she had ended up becoming the bulwark that barely stopped the suicide applicants from killing themselves. However, that was with the presumption that ‘lost child’ herself was infatuated with death, that she was their comrade – That ‘lost child’ herself was spouting words that conveyed a sense of hope was an unforgivable taboo in their eyes.
【You think that person is trustworthy?】【You’re being fooled.】【Come back.】【Let’s die together.】
Sure enough, such emotionally bare comments were posted one after another, but way down below, there was a denpa-like answer from the ‘lost child’.
Lost child:【It’s alright.】
Lost child:【If I’m betrayed, I’ll curse them.】
Lost child:【I’ll curse them until the next generation, and the generation after that.】
…Oi, she doesn’t mean me, does she?
An awful sweat appeared on my neck, I said ‘give me a break’ to myself, as I continued reading -- and I found lost child’s post under the rage filled posts of the mob.
Lost child:【However, that person probably won’t betray me to a fearsome degree.】
…….
Lost child:【Because they are a large box that could hold even the darkness of infinity.】
Lost child:【Because the box was far larger than I imagined.】
Lost child:【For a long time, I thought I had no one in this world.】
Lost child:【But now, I feel like I have some kind of connection.】
Lost child:【That’s why.】
Lost child:【That’s why, I will live.】
Those were the last words.
And that was Yoishi’s – no, Lost child’s farewell to that website.
“This…”
I looked away from the smartphone and towards Krishna-san once again, as the petite occult website manager nodded.
“Up until now, I kept telling you that Yoishi couldn’t be saved. That it was difficult for someone to return once they had been entranced by the darkness. I was worried that you too might end up becoming entranced by the other side. But you stubbornly kept at it. You never let go of Yoishi’s hand. You were resolved to rehabilitate her, and continued accompanying her to the countless paranormal things she could see. Even as your own mind relentlessly wore away.”
“…Krishna-san.”
“And this is the result. I believe she has indeed begun to change. And…”
“…And?”
Krishna-san raised up her red glasses, with her face was flushed redder than her glasses, she spoke with a look of extreme bitterness:
“Nagi-kun, isn’t this – love?”
“…Eh?”
“Hasn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi fallen in love with you?”
“…Eeeeeh?”
“In short, you know what I want to say to you, right?”
She spoke with a scary look on her face–
I gulped.
And, I thought a lot. I thought deep and hard, To the point where I had never even thought about an exam this deeply. About what had happened until now, about what would happen. The tiny things I could do, the tiny things I had to do – and, the things that couldn’t be done if it wasn’t me. I thought desperately, and thought some more, and finally nodded. I stood up straight, and announced my answer to the petite occult site manager I respected.
“I shouldn’t be living with Yoishi anymore.”
“…”
“No – if I’m going to live with her, I have to do it properly.”
“Then you know what you have to do, right?”
Krishna-san nodded, and suddenly slapped my back.
“Go then.”
“Yes.”
I ran off immediately.
I slammed the door of the club room open, and almost rolled out into the corridor as I ran.
Yoishi, whose winter vacation had already started, said she was going to the city library today.
That’s why, if I were to go to the Musashino public library, which was a few minutes' bike ride from the university, I could meet her.
I don’t know what I should say to her when I see her. But that’s the way it goes. This wasn’t something you should think about before speaking. You just need to properly say the things you feel in the moment. You should only convey your feelings with full sincerity.
I pedaled the mama bike furiously; it made a noisy grating sound as the chain was rusty due to a lack of maintenance. I cycled past the back alley from the western club building, and hurled towards the public library.
--I wanted to meet Yoishi.
--I wanted to see her face, which seemed to bear all the sorrows of this world.
With that tantalizing feeling in my chest, I whizzed by on my bicycle.
I passed several fallen leaves from winter trees as bystanders looked at me in astonishment. Ah, now that I think about it, it’s almost New Year’s. I planned to return home on New Year’s, but come to think of it, what was Yoishi going to do? Was she going to stay alone in the apartment? What is the real situation with her parents' house? If her parents are still alive and well, and if they found out that their precious daughter was staying in the apartment of a stranger – moreover, in the loft of the apartment of a strange university student, how would they feel? If it was my father, he would, without doubt, smack the living daylights out of both his daughter and the guy.
I shook my head after thinking that far.
It would be better if I asked her directly.
If, on New Year's, she didn’t have a place to go to, I’d ask her if she would come to Fujieda.
After thinking about it long and hard, she came to Fujieda in my dreams, but not in reality. She had met my sister, but not my father. And neither did she meet my mother who slept in her grave. That’s right, I wanted her to meet the real Peko-chan, Maru-yan and Ranbashi. I wanted her to meet all the wicked friends in my hometown.
--That’s why, I will live.
I recalled Yoishi’s post, her words made my chest burst with happiness; they made me want to scream out loud.
I grinned suspiciously as I continued pedaling, and before long, I saw the light brown brickwork of the city library building. I impatiently parked my mama bike in the bike parking, and ran to the entrance – Where I saw that prominent figure come out of the automatic door.
In a black Koumei school uniform, her long black hair danced in the wind. She was wearing a black coat on top of it today. It was the same coat she wore on the day we first met in the family restaurant.
“Heeeey, Yoishi!”
I shouted.
Wearing a somewhat lonely expression, Yoishi Mitsurugi looked my way.
When she caught sight of me, was it my imagination, or did I see a look in her eyes that suggested the lost child had found her family?
I vigorously waved my hand at her.
Then, I hurriedly closed the distance between me and Yoishi, who was looking at me.
But—
At that moment, Yoishi’s eyes wavered.
It seemed as if they had found something behind me, and widened.
I also ended up unconsciously looking behind.
It was Itsukaichi-kaido Avenue. And beyond that – one lane away on the road, I saw a familiar little figure.
Long and pretty pony-tails. The innocent type. Large eyes like that of a doll – It was the ghost photograph selling elementary school student, Akane Nanamori. She wore the same red school bag as that day, with her slender legs sticking out of her short, elegant skirt, as she walked straight towards us. Her cute facial features were the same, but—the Akane of today looked hollow, as if she had been stripped of all life.
“Ah…”
And I realized.
The road she was walking on wasn’t the pedestrian crossing.
Akane was walking on the roadway for some reason.
“…That idiot.”
At the same time, I saw it. On the crossing, a two-ton truck speeding into the intersection just as the traffic light was about to change.
Suddenly, I recalled how Akane had urged me to play the word-association game by twirling her fingers that day in the park. I recalled the innocent expression she showed me for an instant. I recalled those sad eyes that talked about causing problems for her mother.
I moved in an instant. At that moment, moving Akane’s body away from there was perhaps the only thought in my mind. I threw my backpack away right there, and ran onto the road as fast as I could.
--For an instant, I thought I saw something black hanging behind Akane—
Was it because I recalled the ‘Curse god’ Yoishi had talked about?
The truck driver’s eyes as they widened in surprise.
The bystanders with their hands covering their mouth.
A flock of chirping sparrows perched on a power line.
The trail of clouds fluttering high in the sky — and the hazy afternoon moon far above.
I felt like I saw a lot of things.
However, I don’t remember anything anymore.
Someone’s scream reached my ears – and with tremendous force, heaven and earth turned upside down.
Translator's notes and references[edit]
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