Not a detective

Page 36

Principal Komiya doesn't seem to cook much, so I can only help out.

"Please help me boil a pot of water so I can wash the blood out of the meat."

Yukie continued in that reserved tone, asking for help.

She divided the whole deer into several parts, some of which were cooked into a soup with the bones, while others were skewered and roasted over a fire.

This deer alone is enough to feed several people. The rest of the rabbit meat is pickled and preserved for future use. After all, Asakawa Riku also admits that it's impossible to bring back so much food every time they hunt. If this continues, the wild animals around will know that there is a danger zone next to this house and will avoid walking in this area.

If he goes too far to hunt, he will get lost and won't be able to find his way back.

"Everyone, please use it."

As Xuehui spoke, everyone immediately grabbed the bowls, not even having time to use chopsticks, and stuffed them into their mouths without caring that they were scalding hot.

In this environment, it seemed that all etiquette was forgotten. Only when Yukie earnestly said, "I'm starting to eat," did she begin to pick up her chopsticks.

Although the kitchen in this house doesn't have many seasonings, the basic salt flavor is enough. For everyone nowadays, anything edible is considered a delicacy.

Asakawa Riku felt that Yukie's cooking skills were indeed quite good. As expected of her sister Chizuko-senpai, she could cook even with such primitive resources.

He took a sip of the venison soup and felt a warm, comfortable sensation spread throughout his body. The numb potential gradually returned to his body.

Looking at Mr. Matsuyama, who was grilling meat in front of the fire, he asked:

"Is there enough firewood to burn?"

"It's been burning non-stop since yesterday. There doesn't seem to be a dedicated woodshed here. The stock next to the fireplace is probably only enough to last until tomorrow."

Mr. Matsuyama's expression froze for a moment. He lowered his voice and answered in a tone that only Asakawa Riku could hear.

Riku Asakawa asked again:

"What if we turn it off tonight and then turn it back on tomorrow morning?"

"No, once the fire is turned off, the temperature inside the house will drop rapidly. Even if we all wrap ourselves in blankets in the room, we won't be able to withstand the temperature in this weather."

"..."

"Fortunately, this is a traditional fireplace instead of an electric stove. Without electricity, any heater would be useless. We are lucky that we can still light a fire to keep warm."

"I understand. I'll go and bring back some firewood. Anyway, there's a forest all around here, right?"

"Huh...wait a minute?"

Mr. Songshan almost dropped the meat skewer in his hand into the fire.

"Although the firewood should be damp now that it's snowing, it should be fine as long as we put it next to the fireplace to dry. We can keep using it like this indefinitely."

"That's not the point! There's not even an axe here, let alone a chainsaw... How are you going to chop down a tree? By picking up fallen branches?"

"Use your hands; hands are the best tool."

"Don't use lines that sound like they're from a fighting manga..."

"I can do it, please believe me." Asakawa Riku smiled one last time, put down his bowl, and walked out again.

When the wind and snow blew against him again, it gave him enough clarity.

Saying he was looking for firewood was just an excuse. From the start of the hunt, Asakawa Riku kept wanting to come out, and there was a hidden real reason behind it.

—Searching for that girl.

That white-haired girl in a brightly colored kimono, she once danced in the snow, singing an unknown song.

What should a Buddhist disciple do?

Father and Mother, please forgive me.

The pupils were two pitch-black, bottomless holes.

Time is gray, a frozen moment.

Looking back now, Asakawa Riku wondered if he had been bewitched back then. Everything seemed so unreal in his memory, as if he had stepped into a corner of an illusion.

On both of his outings, he searched the surrounding area for a long time, even finding deer, but he couldn't find any proof that the girl had ever existed.

Not only was there no silhouette, but there were no footprints either.

The girl's white hair in my memory gradually gave way to the face of the shrine maiden Yuki, which had become blurred.

However, he had already confirmed with Principal Komiya that during the time they were out, Yukie stayed in the house and could not possibly have appeared outside.

"That's a monster, isn't it?"

He murmured to himself.

Perhaps that moment of inspiration has quietly vanished, and now he can no longer observe the existence of monsters.

Asakawa Lu felt lost.

He didn't fall in love with the white-haired girl; he was probably just attracted by her mysterious atmosphere, although it's true that her face was cute.

But this strange mountain getting lost and the summer blizzard are most likely caused by that monster. In order to get out of this predicament, we must deal with that monster.

"In the world of monsters and the supernatural, [knowledge is power, and words are power]."

Now that Asakawa Riku has lost Chizuko-senpai as a powerful ally, and knows almost nothing about yokai, he must rely on himself to figure out the key to breaking the curse.

After making up his mind, he turned around, kicked off a tree trunk next to him, and carried it back to the house.

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It's going to be available for purchase tomorrow! I'm adding an extra chapter for everyone, and I hope you'll support me! Thank you!

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Fifteen - Waiting

“Ah Lu, sometimes I think you’re the monster.”

Hirata Hirokichi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he watched Asakawa Riku chop firewood with his bare hands.

It's really nothing big; it's just a matter of chopping a log that one person can hug into a section that can fit into the fireplace.

"You can learn that too. Use your hand to make tiny, high-speed vibrations, like a chainsaw. If you rub it enough times, you can pierce the bark."

"What nonsense are you spouting..."

"that--"

Suddenly, Yuki spoke up from the side, holding up a kitchen knife, which looked rather frightening.

Haoji's face turned pale instantly, and he quickly took two steps back, but thankfully the girl had only suggested:

"How about we use this?"

Asakawa Riku refused to chop firewood with a kitchen knife:

"Let's not destroy the only tool we have for cooking."

After the work was finished, a thick stack of new firewood appeared next to the fireplace, but the firewood was still damp from being soaked in snow and would have to be dried before it could be used.

It was getting dark outside the window.

It felt like this wasn't just snow and wind, but a real winter, with even the days getting shorter.

However, since no one had any tools to tell time and no one was wearing a watch, perhaps their sense of time was confused.

"Then let's discuss it together tomorrow."

Principal Komiya said.

She was right. After everyone finished eating, it got almost completely dark, and visibility became very low, especially since there were no electric lights, and it was impossible to see anything inside.

Apart from the firelight in front of the fireplace, they could only walk in the dark, unable to recognize other people's faces, and could only identify their location by sound.

Under such conditions, talking would be a pipe dream and also very dangerous. Even the most urgent matters can only be left until tomorrow.

"it is good."

"so be it."

Everyone agreed, perhaps because their appetites had been satisfied, and their tempers and moods had improved considerably.

Moreover, the firewood problem was solved, so they wouldn't freeze or starve to death. As long as they could survive, even if they couldn't escape their predicament for the time being, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Principal Komiya took Yukie's hand and led her up the stairs to the third floor. The remaining men also said goodnight to each other and returned to their respective rooms.

...

Asakawa Riku sat on the edge of the bed.

He had no intention of going to sleep.

For a martial artist, maintaining physical condition is the source of his strength, which requires not only adequate food intake but also sufficient sleep.

On the other hand, his physical endurance is also stronger than that of the average person, and he can last longer when hungry and exhausted.

Staying up all night for just one night will not have any impact, and you will still be able to maintain your full condition tomorrow.

Asakawa Riku has only one goal.

—Catch the murderer from last night.

He hadn't forgotten that last night a dark figure suddenly appeared, froze his body, and almost killed him.

At the time, Asakawa Riku was in an extremely dangerous, near-death state, so he was unable to catch the murderer or even see the other person's appearance and details clearly.

Asakawa Riku wants to capture that guy, not only for his own revenge, but also to eliminate this threat.

All day long, he didn't talk about it with anyone, and he didn't tell anyone else, "There might be a killer here who can freeze people to death."

The reason is simple: everyone's emotions are clearly on the verge of collapse. Because of the food crisis, everyone is on edge, and any further pressure could cause them to collapse instantly. If Asakawa Riku were to suddenly reveal this, it would likely lead to an irreversible and terrifying outcome. In order to protect everyone's mental state, it is necessary to keep it a secret.

While this is the main reason, it's also the superficial one. The real Asakawa Riku has another unspoken thought:

That is, he felt that "the murderer might be among us".

This line is so classic that he's almost embarrassed to say it.

Could the murderer be the white-haired girl dancing in the snow? Of course, it's possible, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a hurry to find her.

Could the culprit be some other unknown monster? It's possible. He lacks knowledge about monsters. After all, what exactly is a monster that can freeze people?

However, Asakawa Riku knew one thing: in a "locked room mystery" situation, the murderer was very likely among the survivors, which was the norm in detective novels.

So, starting last night, he had already begun to suspect these people.

Although Principal Komiya, Teacher Matsuyama, and Hirokichi Hirata are all acquaintances of Riku Asakawa, he and Hirokichi spend time together at school every day, attend Teacher Matsuyama's classes every day, and occasionally see Principal Komiya at school, in other words, are they really that close?

Asakawa Riku only got to know these "acquaintances" after he entered high school.

Asakawa Riku knew nothing about their past, their secrets, or their inner world. No one could be sure whether they were hiding the mask of "murderers."

The humans in this world possess superpowers, or at least extraordinary strength, as evidenced by Chizuko Kazamatsuri and Sugetsuki Shinonome.

Therefore, a seemingly ordinary person might also have the ability to freeze others, and may very well be a hidden murderer.

There's also "Ichiro Takagi," the company owner and president I've only seen in photos, and a person involved in that incident.

Asakawa Riku had never even met him in person.

Is this Takagi Ichiro the real deal? Or could someone be faking it?

His current dejected, middle-aged appearance is completely different from his former spirited business elite. Who can be sure?

Perhaps it was a monster in disguise, blending in with the crowd, and no one knew... Once this suspicion arose, it was impossible to suppress.

The murderer was likely just like everyone else, afraid of the cold and hunger, and lived in fear along with everyone else. He was a very good actor and didn't show it at all.

Could it be Miss Yukie? That shrine maiden?

That's possible, since Chizuko never mentioned having a younger sister. This sudden addition of a character is something Asakawa Riku simply can't verify.

I remember Chizuko saying that there were three shrine maidens in her family's shrine, one on duty and two resting... There is no evidence to prove whether her name was Yukie.

Furthermore, Yukie looks very much like the white-haired girl dancing in the snow, which is also a very important point of suspicion and deserves attention.

There were too many clues; everyone could be the murderer, and everyone could be acting. This left Asakawa Riku in a state of confusion.

He admits he's not good at reasoning.

But he had his own solution.

Asakawa Riku sat in the pitch-black room, breathing evenly, appearing as if he were asleep, without giving himself away.

His hawk-like eyes were fixed on the tightly closed door.