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

As I emerged from the cave holding a lantern, the pot-wearing shrine maiden and the palanquin bearers were waiting at the entrance.

“How much time has passed?”

“About an hour.”

“So that was your idea of a ‘moment.’”

The pot-wearing shrine maiden nodded slightly at my words. She seemed to know quite a lot.

I climbed back into the palanquin and returned to the shrine. The torches were still burning brightly, and the villagers were dancing in rhythm with drumbeats echoing from somewhere. The rain had begun to ease as well. It seemed this ritual was treated more like a festival by the village.

As I watched with interest, the pot-wearing shrine maiden began to speak.

“After the ritual, fish are caught in unusually large numbers in these waters for some time. It is one of the reasons the people here never leave the island. They can earn a great deal of money from fishing alone.”

Ah. It seemed the Daughter of the Abyss granted something like a blessing after receiving the ritual. Since the villagers were essentially her followers, she must have been taking good care of them.

“They offer a portion of that bountiful income to the shrine. After all, they must perform the ritual again next year to ensure another season of abundant catches.”

Hmm, I see. I had wondered why the shrine grounds were so excessively large for a place that wasn’t particularly famous, but it appeared they received substantial donations from the entire village.

Passing the dancing villagers, I headed to the room where I had changed earlier in order to switch back into my own clothes. This time, without any attendants, I removed the ceremonial robes and dressed in the neatly folded clothes waiting in the corner. What to do with the ones I had taken off? I simply hung them up roughly and left.

I even put my raincoat back on and stepped out of the room. The pot-wearing shrine maiden was still waiting outside.

“I wasn’t sure what to do with the clothes I wore, so I just hung them up.”

“There is no need to concern yourself with that. What do you wish to do now? Will you stay and enjoy the after-party of the ritual? Or will you return immediately?”

Hmm. I didn’t have anything in particular to do even if I went back, but I had no desire to dance here. Something else suddenly occurred to me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I spoke.

“Are the people from Kanto University still at the shrine?”

“Yes. Some are enjoying the after-party, while others are examining the digitized materials in our shrine.”

“I see. I’m rather tired from what happened during that ‘moment,’ so I’ll head down first.”

The pot-wearing shrine maiden gave a quiet laugh at my words, then took something from her pocket and handed it to me. It was a small wooden box.

“This is a gift from Lady Shinkaihime.”

From the Daughter of the Abyss? She hadn’t mentioned any gift to me. Was this some kind of surprise?

When I opened the box, a single bead-like object rested inside.

Whoa! To receive a Mermaid’s Tear here of all places…! It was one of the few ways to cross from ordinary human to superhuman, and obtaining it like this was an absolute jackpot. I could also use it to upgrade some other special trait.

Beneath the Mermaid’s Tear was a small note. I took it out and read it.

I was extremely satisfied, yet it seemed the Daughter of the Abyss still felt it was lacking. Maybe she would give me something else later as a bonus?

I closed the box again, slipped it into my pocket, and headed back down to the inn feeling refreshed. It had been a journey where I gained an incredible amount.

The boat would arrive tomorrow to take us back, yet I had acquired so much in such a short time. With light steps, I returned to the inn.

The inn was completely silent, as if no one was there. I entered my room and stripped off my clothes. I had performed purification before arriving, but after spending what felt like an eternity intertwined with the Daughter of the Abyss, my body felt overdue for a proper cleanse.

Since I would be busy returning home tomorrow and might not have time for the hot springs, I decided to bathe now.

I must have fallen asleep inside the bath. The water had cooled slightly and faint commotion from outside woke me. I rose from the bath, took a quick cold shower, and stepped out. Wearing the yukata provided by the inn, I went outside and found the Kanto University group, the innkeeper grandmother, and Hamahata Konoka standing there.

“What’s going on?”

As I joined the group and spoke, Wano Haruto—who already wore a gloomy expression—opened his mouth with an even darker look.

“After the festival ended and we were returning, Professor Honmura Koga, who had been walking at the front, tripped and rolled nearly twenty meters down the slope. When we rushed over, he had already passed away.”

Hmm. This didn’t feel like a simple accident. It felt like murder. I had already found it strange that Professor Honmura Koga was missing from the Kanto University group.

“So it really is murder?”

“Yes.”

Wano Haruto answered decisively. His confident tone suggested he had uncovered something.

“In truth, I had planned to gather everyone after the festival ended on our way back and reveal the truth. I did not expect another victim in the meantime.”

Although the professor who had constantly irritated me was now dead, he had done nothing to me that deserved death, so I felt a slight pang of regret.

“When you say you’re revealing the truth, does that mean you’ve identified the culprit?”

“Yes.”

Oh. He really was like a detective.

Wano Haruto stroked his chin for a moment, then spoke.

“The deceased are Makiuchi Morisuke, Kimura Atsuhiro, and Professor Honmura Koga—three individuals. They share one common point.”

A common point? I had no idea. Since I wasn’t affiliated with Kanto University, it was probably something I wouldn’t know. I waited for Wano Haruto to continue.

“Makiuchi Morisuke and Kimura Atsuhiro were both under one professor. After that professor died, they moved under his friend, Professor Honmura Koga. Therefore, they share that professor in common.”

Ah, right. I recalled Wano Haruto had told me that story before. But what did that relationship have to do with these murders?

“That professor is Ueshima Kosaku. He is the scholar who first conducted research on this Chooten Island, and….”

Why did he keep pausing so dramatically?

Wano Haruto turned his body slightly and directed his gaze toward the innkeeper grandmother.

“He is the son of this Hamahata Motoko.”

Everyone froze in shock and remained silent. The innkeeper grandmother, Hamahata Motoko, also stiffened, unable to speak.

“But does this murder case have any connection to the fact that the innkeeper grandmother is Professor Ueshima’s mother?”

Since no one else spoke, I asked the question.

Wano Haruto nodded.

“Why was Professor Honmura Koga investigating Chooten Island? When I searched for papers on my phone, I found one he uploaded two years and six months ago. It is titled Independent Culture of the Izu Islands and Considerations. Until then he had written on completely different topics, yet suddenly produced a paper about the Izu Islands—this very island. Look at the co-authors.”

Wano Haruto displayed the paper on his phone for everyone to see.

Lead author: Honmura Koga. Co-authors: Makiuchi Morisuke, Kimura Atsuhiro….

Wait. Weren’t those two supposed to have been under Professor Ueshima?

“Then…”

“Yes. These individuals stole Professor Ueshima Kosaku’s research and published it first. As a result, Professor Ueshima committed suicide. The betrayal by his friend and disciples, combined with the loss of his child-like research, drove him to it.”

They really were terrible people. In the end, Wano Haruto’s conclusion was that the innkeeper grandmother had killed the three of them for revenge.

“If that is true, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is certainly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a motive for murder. However, this is merely circumstantial evidence, is it not? Shouldn’t there be concrete proof for all three murders?”

“Let us begin with the first case. Makiuchi Morisuke died in the women’s bath. Why would he enter the women’s bath? It is unlikely he went in to wash himself. Someone must have asked him to go—for instance, to carry something for them…”

This time Wano Haruto looked at Hamahata Konoka. She bit her lip slightly under his gaze.

“If both of your hands are full and you are looking at one person, you would not notice someone approaching from behind with a rock. You would be struck helplessly. It was this rock.”

Wano Haruto produced a stone sealed inside a transparent plastic bag.

“Hiding the rock was simple. One only needed to toss it into the edge of the bath. I must thank Mr. Uchitate for helping locate it.”

At his words, Uchitate Kanimi blushed and giggled.

Hmm… It seemed Uchitate Kanimi had feelings for Wano Haruto. Then why had she asked me to ride the bike with her?

“I must also thank Mr. Taira, who provided a hint regarding the accomplice.”

Had I said something like that? Ah! During my argument with Professor Honmura Koga, I had mentioned that if there was an accomplice, alibis would be meaningless. It seemed Wano Haruto had realized something from those words.

“If Hamahata Motoko and Hamahata Konoka are accomplices, alibis become entirely meaningless. The key to the second murder is that Kimura died with no signs of resistance. Sleeping pills were used. They gave him food laced with the drug, then returned later under the pretext of clearing the dishes, stabbed the sleeping man in the back, and the scream would have been easy to explain away.”

Ah, so there were sleeping pills. Of course, to confirm this theory we would need to examine Kimura Atsuhiro’s body, but it was a convincing deduction.

“The final murder also relied on drugs. Since we were guests, they kept bringing us food, creating the perfect environment to administer it. Knowing exactly when the festival would end, the two could easily predict when we would descend the mountain and time the dose for Professor Honmura. They adjusted the timing perfectly to make it appear as a simple fall. Is there anything incorrect in my reasoning?”

At Wano Haruto’s question, the innkeeper grandmother shook her head. It was an admission.

“One thing is wrong. My granddaughter Konoka did not participate in this. I did it all alone.”

“Grandmother…! That’s not true. I helped too, for Father’s revenge! To punish those who betrayed him!”

Even at the end, the grandmother tried to claim sole responsibility to protect her granddaughter. However, the deduction only worked if there was an accomplice, so the remaining three from Kanto University could not accept her statement.

“You two will remain in this room. We will take turns guarding you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from outside. Mr. Taira, would you assist us?”

“Sure, why not.”

We placed the innkeeper grandmother and Hamahata Konoka in one room and decided to guard them in pairs until the police arrived. Since the rain had stopped, the police would come first thing in the morning.

I was paired with Hijitani Saori, while Wano Haruto was paired with Uchitate Kanimi. It was already eleven o’clock, so we settled on three-hour shifts. Since I had just slept a little, I volunteered for the first watch.

I had barely spoken with Hijitani Saori before, so it was awkward. The three hours passed in silence while I looked at my phone.

After switching with the second watch, I went to my room to sleep. When I woke, the police had already arrived. Strangely, while the grandmother remained in the room, Hamahata Konoka had vanished without a trace, as if she had ascended into the sky or sunk into the earth.

The police searched the entire village but could not find her. Although the shrine remained, the officers acted as if it did not exist and ignored it completely.

We boarded the same boat that had brought us, now accompanied by the police, and departed for Hachijo Island.

“I thought she liked Mr. Wano. Why did she ask me to ride the bike with her?”

When I finally asked out of curiosity, Uchitate Kanimi looked slightly apologetic and answered.

“It was a jealousy-inducing tactic, but it seems it didn’t work. I’m sorry, Lord Taira…!”

So that was it. No matter how handsome someone is, it is difficult to instantly win over a woman already in love.

I smiled and wished her luck, then walked over to the innkeeper grandmother, who was tied up in a corner of the cabin.

“Did Hamahata perhaps… go to Shinkaihime?”

“As expected of the goddess’s consort. That is correct. Konoka will likely become the next shrine maiden… Where else would we have obtained the poison? It was all bestowed by the princess.”

Ah. So in the end, the Daughter of the Abyss had been behind this murder case.

My Chooten Island journey—which had been short yet felt remarkably long—came to an end like this.