The Island Village, Murder, and the Daughter of the Abyss

As I drew a little closer, the figure standing there became unmistakable. It was Wano Haruto, wearing a raincoat. He stood motionless before the tombstone, lost in thought.

Countless names were carved into the stone. It appeared to be the family cemetery that Professor Honmura Koga had mentioned. So the innkeepers’ original surname was Ueshima. The ones with different last names were probably the widows who had remarried after losing their husbands….

“You think so? I’m not very familiar with folklore….”

It was certainly strange to keep burying cremated remains in the same ground, but such practices weren’t unheard of. I vaguely remembered learning about similar burial customs in Korean history class back in high school before my reincarnation—Dongye or Okjeo, was it? The details escaped me.

“Oh, did they? I’ll have to look into that.”

Wano Haruto looked genuinely delighted at the chance to learn something new. He seemed to love academic discovery for its own sake. His personality was the complete opposite of mine.

“Where is Professor Honmura?”

“He went to the hot spring. I prefer bathing alone, so I’ll go later.”

So the splashing I heard earlier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been Honmura Koga. The thought of having listened to a middle-aged man soaking in the bath made me want to wash my ears out.

“I’ll be going, then.”

“I’d like to examine these fascinating tombstones a little longer.”

There was nothing more to see in another family’s cemetery, so I said goodbye to Wano Haruto and left. After walking a short distance and turning right again, my private open-air bath came into view. But I couldn’t go any farther. The neighboring room was also a luxury suite, so it had its own open-air bath separated by a bamboo screen. Beyond that lay a small cliff, and below it, the sea.

I turned back. I ran into Wano Haruto again, smiled awkwardly, muttered something about the path being blocked, and kept walking. After passing the bamboo wall of the communal bath and turning left a few times, I reached the entrance to the guest building. Uchidate Kanimi was leaning against the doorway. The moment she saw me, she waved enthusiastically.

“Hello. I’d appreciate it if you just called me Taira instead of Martial Artist-nim.”

“But Martial Artist-nim sounds so cool…. Oh! Have you seen the professor by any chance?”

Uchidate Kanimi seemed to be looking for Honmura Koga. According to Wano Haruto, he was enjoying the hot spring, so he was either there or… the water sounds had stopped on my way back, so he might have returned to his room.

“I believe Mr. Honmura is at the hot spring.”

“No, no~! I mean Professor Wano.”

Right. Uchidate Kanimi and Hijitani Saori had mentioned they were attending Wano Haruto’s lectures. Given his age he probably wasn’t a full professor, but as a PhD candidate he seemed to teach a few classes as a master’s holder.

“If you’re looking for Mr. Wano, he’s at the inn’s family cemetery behind the guest rooms.”

“The family cemetery? It’s raining, it’s dark, and it’s kind of scary…. I’ll just wait here until he comes back.”

“He said he’d only be a little longer, so he should return soon.”

I shook the water from the umbrella and stepped inside my room. Better to bring it in. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I left it at the entrance someone might take it, so I shook off as much water as possible and carried it inside.

During my absence Hamahata Konoka had thoroughly cleaned the room and even laid out the futon. She had turned on the air conditioner’s dehumidifier as well, so despite the rain falling all day the room felt pleasant.

I lay down on the futon and turned on my phone. A KakaoTalk message from Han Yukyung was waiting.

Han Yukyung often sent me photos, so my gallery already contained quite a few of her, but new ones were always welcome.

I opened the door so the open-air bath would be visible in the background and took a shot from the most flattering angle. Yep, being handsome really was the best. Even a casual snap turned out this well.

She seemed to be putting in serious effort to look good for me. I had just snapped one shot and sent it—maybe I should have tried harder? After waiting about ten minutes, my phone buzzed again.

It was a flawless shot—ponytail, no top, a short pink skirt, and stockings. Nothing about it could be discarded.

Was she planning to use it as material? After seeing her erotic picture I was already rock hard, so I took a clear shot and sent it.

We had chatted for quite a while. It was already 8:35. Should I take one more dip in the hot spring before bed, relieve myself to Yukyung’s photo, and then sleep?

“Kyaaaaak!!!”

Just as I was thinking about returning to the bath, a scream tore through the air. This one belonged to Hamahata Konoka. Don’t tell me it’s another murder…?

I sprinted toward the source of the scream. It had come from one of the standard guest rooms. Since I was staying in a suite a short distance away, by the time I arrived everyone else had already gathered at the scene.

“What happened?”

When I asked, Professor Honmura Koga opened his mouth with a grim expression.

Inside the room, Kimura Atsuhiro lay dead with a knife buried in his back. Beside the body, Wano Haruto—once again wearing gloves—was examining the corpse.

Hmm… who could it be this time…?

“First, let’s have everyone state what they were doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the last thirty minutes and establish alibis again. Since someone lacked an alibi during the lunchtime incident, anyone without one this time will be highly suspicious.”

Honmura Koga once again suggested confirming alibis. That damn word again…. Oh! Would the photo I took with the open-air bath in the background help prove mine?

“I’ll go first. I was in a video conference with several other professors until just now. I’ll bring my laptop to show you.”

Honmura Koga went to his room and returned with an open laptop. On the screen, several people were looking at us through their cameras.

One of the professors on the laptop screen spoke.

“How long were you in the bathroom?”

Wano Haruto asked. Honmura Koga looked slightly flustered but answered promptly.

“I had an upset stomach, so I was in there quite a while—about ten minutes…. But that was fifty minutes ago. Before the murder occurred.”

So the hot spring right after dinner really had given Honmura Koga stomach trouble. The professors on the laptop confirmed that the bathroom break had happened fifty minutes earlier.

“Let’s hear from the first discoverer, Miss Hamahata.”

Right. Since Hamahata Konoka had been the one who screamed, she could speak as the first person on the scene.

“I finished cleaning Mr. Taira Ryuta’s room and brought a meal to Mr. Kimura, who hadn’t eaten yet. Then I returned to the kitchen to wash dishes with my grandmother. When it was time to clear the plates, I went back to Mr. Kimura’s room and found him collapsed and bleeding…. That’s when I screamed.”

“When did you deliver the meal?”

“I think it was about an hour ago.”

That meant Kimura Atsuhiro had still been alive an hour earlier. But this fact alone didn’t tell us much.

“I have no alibi. I was organizing data on my laptop in my room, but that can’t be proven.”

Wano Haruto openly admitted he had no alibi. Did his confidence come from having had one during the lunchtime murder?

“My granddaughter and I were washing dishes the entire time. We’ve had many guests after such a long lull, so we’ve been cooking and cleaning nonstop. My granddaughter was with me except for the times she delivered food or cleared the dishes.”

“That’s right. Grandmother stayed in the kitchen the whole time.”

The innkeeper grandmother had an alibi. Hamahata Konoka had one as well, if you could call it that. Being the first witness was a little suspicious, though.

“I… I… huuuk!”

When we turned to Hijitani Saori, who had been standing beside the grandmother, she burst into tears. What was this…? Thinking back on what I had seen earlier, it seemed highly likely she had been dating the victim, Kimura Atsuhiro.

“Kimura and I were actually dating. He hadn’t eaten, so we planned to meet at the entrance of the guest building at 8:30 after dinner. But even at 8:35 he still hadn’t come out. Then I heard Miss Hamahata Konoka’s scream and rushed over, only to find him dead…. Huuuk…!”

“Stop crying and state your alibi first.”

Even while Hijitani Saori wept, Honmura Koga coldly demanded her alibi. Once again I was reminded that the man truly had neither blood nor tears.

“I was with Uchidate, who shares my room, until around 8:10, then I went to the entrance ahead of time.”

“Yes. Hijitani was with me until exactly 8:07, when she left.”

Which meant she had no alibi after 8:07. She could have left then, killed Kimura Atsuhiro, and waited at the entrance.

“After Hijitani left I stayed in the room the whole time. Of course I have no way to prove it. But I didn’t know she was going to leave, so I wasn’t in any position to plan anything.”

Uchidate Kanimi also lacked an alibi. Still, the fact that her lack of alibi only existed because Hijitani Saori had left gave her some room for consideration. A real culprit would have needed to create an opening to carry out the crime.

“Yes. She kept checking the time. It looked like she was waiting for someone.”

Hamahata Konoka answered Wano Haruto’s question faithfully. Regardless of what had happened before, it meant she had been waiting at the entrance until Hamahata Konoka discovered the body.

That left only me. When I thought about it, my alibi could be proven perfectly.

“I was alone in my room. Miss Hijitani Saori can confirm that I remained there the entire time.”

At my words, everyone turned to look at Hijitani Saori.

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The countless photos Han Yukyung took before sending her selfie