Date A Live Encore - Volume 5 - Chapter 4

Silver Murderer

“Ha……ha……ha……”

Miku, who merely had a bath towel to cover herself, trembled with her hands while watching the spectacle spread before her eyes.

“Paaaaaaradise?”

With this strong cry, she quickly took off the towel and jumped into “there”.

──Towards the large public bath where the naked Spirits had gathered.

“Hello sisters! I’ll now begin to introduce the amazing members of this squad tonight! First up is Yuzuru-san! Ah, what a voluptuous bust! This flexibility! This volume! This shape! It could be said to be a treasure of this world! Those deep twin mounds that are seducing me! Those sinful twin peaks!”

“Astonishment. What did you suddenly say?”

“Next up right beside me, the strongest princess Tohka-san! Kya! As expected, Tohka-san’s proportions are perfect! There’s no surprise that it should adorned in an art exhibition! The perfect hybrid combination of artistic beauty and girlish cuteness!”

“Unu! W-what’s going on, Miku?”

“Yes, yes, next up is Yuzuru-san’s twin, Kaguya-saaaaan!  Kaguya-san’s charm lies in balance! That subtle chest that can be firmly grasped in a single hand! A tight belly! A deliciously looking ass! Exactly the golden ratio! Golden Yuzuru!”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment!?”

“Well then, the next one is boasted as Miss. Slender among the Spirits, Tobiichi Origami-san! The contrast between those toned muscles from the self-defense force and those glossy limbs; the nosebleeds won’t stop! Combat medic! Combat medic! Miku has already been buried in temptation! A special two-class promotion for her!”

“…………”

“Next up is our mascot Yoshino-san! I’m madly in love with that petite but soft and flexible body! The potential for growth is undoubtedly S class! Please give me a daily growth record!” 

“T-that’s……”

“And it’s finally her turn! The small commander, Itsuka • still growing • Kotori! The delicate skin of adolescence is also very dazzling! And that pre-mature body different from Yoshino-san is also very eye-catching!”

“You seem to be in high spirits……”

“And the finale is Natsumi-san! I can’t help but feel a delicate charm that would break when embraced! Oh, I want to trace my tongue against those faintly discernible lines one by one……!”

“Disgusting…..why are you saying it in that order. Hey, what is with that order?” 

“Fuha──”

Not long after being surrounded by everyone, Miku let out a satisfied smile……while floating at the center of bath where everyone was soaking in the hot water. In return, everyone in the surroundings turned around to see that vulgar smile. It seemed to be quite the blissful look. Seeing this situation, everyone finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

Right now the Spirits were not in the large Spirit mansion where they lived, but rather in the large open baths of a cottage nestled away in the snowy mountains. Originally, there was an outdoor bath nearby, but they had to rely on the indoor variant due to the unfortunate circumstance caused by the sudden blizzard.

“That being said……you sure are energetic Miku, even though that incident just happened yesterday.”

Kotori spoke while half-closing her eyes. Yesterday, while in the middle of skiing, Miku fell into a dire situation while preventing a young girl from falling down a cliff. 

Fortunately, thanks to everyone’s help nothing major happened, although her feet ought to be still sprained. 

“Ah, such a scratch is nothing in front of the healing aura drifting from everyone.”

As she said that, Miku’s hands began to shake

“Certainly, it seems to look like that. Your skin does look more glossy and rosy after taking a bath.”

“Ah, so you understand?”

As Miku spoke while stroking her own cheek, Kotori helplessly shrugged her shoulders in response. 

“Muu……”

After washing for a while, Tohka shook her head and left the public bath.

“Did you stay in a little bit too long? You look kind of dizzy.”

“Ara, are you okay?”

“Umu……it’s nothing important. I’ll head out first.”

“Alright, then you should head to bed first.”

Miku spoke while waving her hand. Some of the Spirits smiled wryly, while others slanted their heads in confusion.

──Then, ten minutes after Tohka had left. The Spirits who remained in the bathhouse rose from the open public bath and changed into their home clothes before returning back to the cottage.

At that moment, Shidou’s figure appeared stepping out after also finishing bathing. 

“Ah, Shidou.”

“Ah, has Kotori and everyone also finished bathing as well?”

“Un──say, where is Tohka?”

As Kotori asked, Shidou slanted his head while letting out an “hmm” sound.

“I didn’t see her. Perhaps, she’s fallen asleep?”

“I-I’ll……go check.”

As Shidou spoke, Yoshino gently nodded. The rabbit puppet “Yoshinon on her left hand also matched that corresponding rhythm in agreement.

“We’ll go take a look.”

“Ah……if Yoshino is going, I’ll also……”

In response to that, Natsumi raised her voice. Yoshino replied back with a “thank you, Natsumi-san.” Afterwards, Natsumi hastily dragged her redden face away from been seen.

Yoshino, Natsumi, and Yoshino, the two of them climbed upstairs and walked through the corridor to Tohka’s room.

“Tohka-san……are you okay?”

“……Are you asleep? We’re opening the door.”

The two of them spoke in turn as they turned the entrance to the room. 

And then.’

“──Kiyaaaaaaaah!?”

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Looking into the room, the two of them let out a terrible scream simultaneously. 

“W-what’s wrong?”

“……!”

Noticing the abnormal situation, everyone raised their heads and rushed upstairs. 

“What happened, you two. ──!?”

Then──looking into the contents of the room through the open door, everyone froze.

But that was a natural response. After all, the world spread before their eyes were smeared with red blood.

There was the sensation of the world transforming through opening a single door. Blood splashed on the walls of the room, floor, ceiling, and center where Tohka was laying.

“T-Tohka!?”

“W-what is this……what the hell is going on!?”

Oscillation propagated to everyone who saw this scene.

However, this was only the prologue to the tragedy of blood that will be held tonight.

◇

The sounds of the door being violently struck intermingled with that of the intense snowstorm.

As that noise entered the room, the faces of each person in the room turned shivered as their faces turned pale.

But this was nothing strange. After all, a terrifying murderer feared by the world had come knocking on this door,

──At first, no one took it seriously.

A murderer who had escaped from prison had sneaked into this mountain in the past, each time targeting tourists during a snowstorm when they couldn’t escape.

Whoever listened to that would have regarded this as an urban legend or a poorly timed joke. Indeed, it was something that everyone would laugh after hearing it.

However, a few hours later, on the second floor, the corpse of a girl stained with blood was found.

The window of the room was smashed open from the outside and as large traces of footprints was left on the floor.

The other guests staying in the cottage flew into a panic. That is of course. The murderer who killed a girl may still be lurking inside the building. 

However, there was the blizzard outside. If they ran outside now, they would freeze to death while halfway descending down the mountain.

During the process of thinking this, one by one the other guest could be killed now.

And now──the murderer was wildly kicking against the door of the room where everyone had gathered.

A barricade could be formed against the door through the sofa and bookshelves in this room, but it was unknown how long such things could be used to keep things at bay. In fact, from the other side of the door, the creaking and swaying sound resounded incessantly. 

But after a few seconds, the sounds from the other side came to a stop.

Could it be that this person returned back to the mountains……?

At that moment where such a hope grew in everyone’s hearts, a huge shadow appeared on the window of the room──

“──Found theeeeeeem!!”

“Owah!?”

“Gyaah!”

“……!”

Kaguya’s unexpected loud shout in the midst of this story caused Shidou and the girls’ shoulders to sharply tremble.

Everyone was gathered in a room with the lights turned off and the only source of illumination being a single flashlight. With a snowstorm blowing outside the window, the situation was equivalent to that of Kaguya’s ghost story.

Of course, the landscape right now was not the usual Tenguu City within the Tokyo metropolitan area where Shidou and the rest of the girls lived.

They were currently in a cottage room located on a snowy mountain. Shidou’s group had taken advantage of the brief rest day to come skiing on the mountain slopes.

Since they had to return to the cottage earlier due to bad weather, Kaguya had gathered everyone together in a single room to do something interesting, using skillfully a flashlight to begin detailing a ghost story.

“Ki……d-don’t scream out of nowhere, Kaguya! You startled me!”

With sweat marking her entire face, Kotori desperately tried to conceal a composed look with all of her might. She may seem to think that she achieved it, but it was clear from her looks that she didn’t. Incidentally, Kotori wasn’t good at dealing with these sorts of ghost stories.

“U-umu, that surprised me.”

“I……was scared.”

Likewise, Tohka had rounded her eyes in surprise and Yoshino was slightly shivering from her shoulders. Perhaps after seeing this look, Kaguya smirked as she crossed her arms in satisfaction.

“Kuku……was my tale too powerful for you? However, that was inevitable. The story that I recite is a powerful kotodama. It is a demonic technique to manifest the fallacies of the world of the dead onto the present world.” 

However, in contrast to them, the people on the right side of the room were not disturbed at all.

“…………”

“Ufufu, really, it is scary, is it not?”

“……That, uh, well.”

“Sarcastic laugh. It’s surprising that Kaguya is telling a ghost story.”

Origami listened to the story to the very end without moving a single facial muscle. Miku seemed to have not paid much attention to story while watching with pleasure at the others’ reactions. Natsumi looked away as if already knowing how the story would end. And, as for Yuzuru, she look on intently at Kaguya while letting out a small “……puha” giggle.

“W-what’s the matter with you…...”

“Recollection. In a previous test of courage match, I remember you beginning to cry midway and clinging onto Yuzuru.”

“H-hey, Yuzuru!?”

Kaguya raised her voice as her face reddened. However, Yuzuru continued on while giggling.

“Conjecture. This story certainly sounds like this. During the day, you heard this story from the locals and it scared you too much to the point where you can’t go to the bathroom at night alone anymore. And so, you gathered everyone together here so you would have the excuse of going along with someone else.”

“What……what are you talking about? Of course that’s not why! I can go to the toilet alone! But if there’s someone who can’t, then I might consider accompanying her, that’s all…….”

Kaguya was lying through her teeth. After seeing that, Yuzuru began to laugh even more.

“Smile……sure enough Kaguya is the scared one. Tomorrow, there may be a spectacular world map drawn on Kaguya’s bed.”

“Ha……who is going sketch that!?”

Kaguya sprung towards her, but Yuzuru dodged with ease and left the room. Kaguya immediately kicked off against the floor and went out to the hall to chase after her.

“Wait a minute, Yuzuruuuuuu!”

“Flight. Escape is victory.”

The sounds of shrill footsteps echoed from the hallway. Since this was a cottage prepared for by <Ratatoskr>, there were no other guests that could be disturbed. But the two of them did pay any attention to the inconveniences they may cause. Shidou let out a huge sigh.

“Really, the same as ever.”

While saying that with a shrug, he placed his hands on his knees to stand up.

“Well, it’s almost time for dinner. I suppose they’ll calm down after being hungry.”

Then, as Shidou tried to leave the room, the hem of his clothes were unexpectedly pinched. ──It was Kotori.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Kotori?”

“……No, well.”

Kotori bashfully took a small look at everyone before bringing her mouth close to his ear in a low tone.

“……I want to go to the bathroom in a bit, can you follow me……?”

◇

After dinner, Shidou was walking down the corridor besides Tohka, who was rubbing her stomach in satisfaction. 

Although it was still a cottage, the place where Shidou and the others were staying was still quite spacious. Structure A and B, each of the two floors were connected together in the form an L shape with the number of rooms exceed ten. As a result, there was a considerable distance to walk returning from the dining room that served as a shared space. 

“Fuu……it was really delicious, Shidou. What sort of food was that?”

On the way back, Tohka asked while recalling the meal earlier. Shidou bent his neck to the side.

“That?”

“Yes that. The one that looked like white soup.”

“Oh, the clam chowder. It’s like a stew with shellfish. If you like, I’ll make it for you next time.”

“Ooh, really!”

Upon hearing Shidou’s words, Tohka’s eyes glimmered. Shidou nodded with a small smile on his face.

As the two of them were walking while exchanging such a conversation, a small voice was heard coming from the side.

“……Kinsmen, respond to my call.”

“Hmm?”

Glancing around, they saw Kaguya hiding in the corner of the hallway. Shrinking back her shoulders, it seemed that she was trying to avoid the glances of others as she made an small gesture to the two of them.

“……?”

As Shidou and Tohka looked at each other, they heeded the signs and approached closer. Afterwards, they were guided to Kaguya’s room.

After closing the door with a bang, Kaguya suddenly turned around and spread out her hands in an exaggerated manner.

“Well done in responding to my summons, my strongest kinsmen!”

“Muu?”

“……Uh, w-well what’s the matter?”

As Tohka and Shidou tilted their necks in curiosity, Kaguya cleared her throat with a cough before continuing.

“……Indeed, if I may be so bold to ask the two of you for a request.”

“A request?”

“Yup……”

Kaguya nodded a little bit uncomfortably as she conveyed the contents of that “request”. 

“Wha……?”

After hearing that explanation, Shidou greatly opened his eyes in surprise.

“──Let everyone believe that the “snowy mountain murderer” actually exists?” 

“Hmm……what does that mean?”

“So, there’s the ghost story I told a while ago, right? I want to make it look real to scare them all.”

“W-why would you go to those extremes……?”

“That’s obvious, is it not? To scare Origami, Miku, and Yuzuru……! I want to make them understand that it’s normal to be scared if something terrifying happens……!”

“Hey, hey……”

As Shidou bitterly smiled, Kaguya suddenly bowed her head down in plea.

“Please! Please aid me! Such a thing……I can only ask you two, my fellow kinsman! Think of it as doing me a favor……!”

“Uhh……”

“Muu……”

Seeing that plea, Shidou and Tohka looked at each other’s faces, hesitating for a while before finally agreeing.

“It can’ be helped, but only for this time.”

“Well, it’s rare for Kaguya to ask for something so insistently……”

“! Really!? Thank you!”

Taking grasp of both Shidou and Tohka’s hands, Kaguya spoke while looking very exuberant. 

──Time returned back to the present.

Tohka’s room had been dyed red with fake blood, exposing a terrifying sight. ……It was exactly as Kaguya had ordered but one could not help but think that they splashed more blood than necessary. In this atrocious scene, if blood had actually been shed, than it was clear that the carotid artery had been ripped apart. Cleaning this up afterwards was going to be quite the hassle.

Well anyway, neither Shidou nor Kaguya thought that this would be enough to fool everyone. Maybe they could trick Yuzuru and Miku with this, but it was unthinkable that Kotori and Origami would be deceived by something as simple as this. In fact, Tohka was not dead, merely just lying down on the floor while stained with blood. If one were to place their hands against her neck or wrist, the masquerade would be discovered in seconds. In fact it was better to say that if one paid closer attention from this position, the subtle movements of Tohka’s chest moving up and down could still be seen. 

However, that did not worry Kaguya. If someone got close to Tohka, she would simply jump back to life to startle them.

Additionally, Kaguya had already snuck in a piece of paper saying “Great success!” in her pocket. In short, if they could surprise everyone just for a moment, she would be satisfied. 

“…………”

As Shidou gave a wink as a signal, the corners of Kaguya’s lips changed into a smile. ……It was as if she was saying, “This is proceeding well”. 

The only thing missing was Kotori, Origami, or preferably Yuzuru, approaching to confirm if Tohka was alive or not before they achieve the goal of loudly scaring everyone. Even from this position, Kaguya’s feelings of excitement could be clearly felt.

──However.

“T-tohka……?”

“This……got to be a lie, right? Why is Tohka……!?”

“Iyaaaaah! Tohka-san!?”

For some reason, contrary to Shidou and Kaguya’s expectations, things began to advance with no one questioning the situation.

“Huh? No this……everyone?”

Kaguya pointed to Tohka with sweat dripping down her cheeks, but no one was listening. Origami opened her mouth with a very serious look.

“Calm down, we must not alter the crime scene. There may still be traces of the criminal.”

“Shudder. The criminal?”

“I don’t know who exactly. But this is clearly murder. Tohka was killed by a third party.”

“No, wait Origami. Is it better to confirm first if she’s dead? Perhaps, she’s still alive……”

Shidou said as if prompting her to do so, but Origami placed her hands on his shoulder and gently shook her head slowly sideways.

“I understand that you don’t want to accept this. But we cannot divert our eyes from reality.”

“No, this……”

“Ha……c-could it be!?”

Interrupting Shidou’s words, Kotori trembled from her shoulders.

“The snowy mountain killer……?”

“……!”

After Kotori whispered that name, everyone else strained their faces in fright.

“A-are you referring to……”

“The fugitive spoke of by Kaguya-san……?”

“Well……I can only think so.”

“Doubt. However, Tohka is a Spirit. I can’t believe that a human would be able to kill her so easily.”

“I think so as well. But the reality of this is that Tohka has been killed. Surely this murderer has acquired physical strength beyond that of an ordinary human from surviving so long in these mountains.”

“Something like that……”

Yoshino pursed her eyebrows into a "八" shape from the unease. With also a steep look, Kotori took out her cell phone from her pocket, frowning while operating through the screen.

“Ku……there’s no connection. Is something jamming the signal……?”

“No way.”

Origami held her breath, suddenly leaving the room and running down the hall.

A few minutes later, Origami had returned back with a thin layer of snow accumulated on her head and shoulders.

“Where did you go, Origami?”

“I went to check on the parking lot. ──The tires of the van we came here have been punctured by some kind of sharp object.”

“What……!?”

Everyone raised a voice of bewilderment at the new hopeless information brought forth suddenly.

Shidou and Kaguya also raised a voice of confusion in another sense.

“…………”

As Shidou silently look towards Kaguya, who then vigorously shook her head as if to say, “it wasn’t me!”

With a pale look on their faces, the Spirits gathered in chairs surrounding the crackling fireplace.

After that, an awkward silence flowed for a while. Only Miku’s sobbing voice was echoing around.

But that was natural after all. Tohka, who until recently been happily talking to everyone, had ended up in such a manner. Moreover, it was possible that the killer was still within the vicinity. It wasn’t strange at all for everyone to fall into confusion because of sadness and fear.

“……So, what are we going to do now…..”

The one who broke the silence was Kotori. Despite her fingertips still trembling slightly, she was trying to put up a strong front while looking towards the faces of everyone present.

Then, responding to that, Yuzuru raised her hand slightly.

“Suggestion. If it’s true that there is a snowy mountain killer, we should flee from here right now.”

“If that were possible, I would like to do that. But that would be impossible. It would be difficult to walk in this violent snowstorm and with the tires punctured as well……”

“T-then does that mean……we are trapped in this cottage with a murderer running around?”

While listening to what Natsumi had said, the Spirits’ faces grew more desperate. Looking at this situation, Kaguya folded her arms while averting her gaze.

From the point of view of those around her, it looked like she was deep in thought or she had succumbed to fear. But Shidou, who siting right behind her, saw perfectly how Kaguya’s face had stiffened.  

Truth be told, neither Shidou nor Kaguya had intended for things to escalate to this point. But everyone had taken this more seriously than imagined. Between this and how things continued to progress, they had finally reached a point where they couldn’t turn back. 

Without appearing to understand what Kaguya was thinking, Origami raised her voice.

“Then, we can only confront the enemy.”

“Confront……?”

“It’s true that the enemy is an abnormal person who managed to kill Tohka. But I do not think there is a human capable of winning against this many Spirits. If we are prepared and do not let down our guard, it should be impossible to kill us.”

“That’s true……it’s just like Origami says.”

Kotori nodded in response to Origami’s words, and then stood up after stretching her cheeks to re-group her mind.

“──Let’s all sleep here tonight, everyone. We’ll mount a lookout through a shift system until morning. Understood? Don’t despair. If we can hold on until the snowstorm passes, we can escape.”

“…………”

As Kotori clenched her fist tightly as she spoke, the others nodded in agreement.

“Well then, let’s start preparing. Let’s divided and gather all of the necessary things we need. But no one should act alone; we’ll work together in two man groups. ──Miku and Natsumi will gather food and water; Kaguya and Shidou will get the sleeping bags for everyone; Yoshino and Yuzuru, can you make space in front of the fireplace for everyone to sleep?”

“……Huh? Why did you pair me with Miku as if it were something natural?”

“In my room, I have already prepared a weapon for self-defense; a reserve 9 mm handgun and its bullets.”

“……Origami, I wanted to ask you before, but do you know about the Swords and Firearms Control Law?”

“Of course.”

“……Well, that’s helpful now. So, I’ll accompany Origami to her room.”

“Hey……are you listening to me……?”

It seemed like Natsumi wanted to say something. But perhaps understanding that now was not the time to be capricious; she swallowed her words in silence.

After watching this, Kotori let out an “alright!” as she placed her hand against her waist.

“Let’s begin now. Be careful everyone.”

After everyone nodded, they separated into the newly established groups and scattered within the cottage.

“L-let’s go, we’re counting on you too, Shidou, Kaguya.”

“Uh, a-ah……hey Kotori.”

“Shidou. ……let’s all escape here together, right?”

“…………Ehh, oh that’s right.”

As Kotori looked at him directly in the eyes, Shidou replied back in an ambiguous manner.

With no other choice, he walked down to the next hall with Kaguya.

“……Uhh, Shidou.”

As soon as they reached a place far from the other’s eyes, Kaguya began to speak in a low voice.

“……What should we do?”

“That’s what I want to know.”

Shidou sighed while scratching his cheek.  

“Anyway, if we’re going to tell the truth, it’s better to do it as soon as possible. The longer this spreads the more difficult it will be to confess.”

“Yeah……you’re right. I think I’m already satisfied seeing Yuzuru and others’ scared faces. And Tohka would surely be bored if we leave her alone for too long……huh?”

Suddenly, Kaguya turned to the direction of the window, twisting her head curiously.

“Hey, just now did something just happen outside?”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing that, Shidou turned to the window. However, the only thing that could be seen was the snowstorm blowing almost horizontally. 

“I can’t see anything……hey. Don’t tell me you’re intending to scare me as well?”

“No, that wasn’t my intention……uhh, it must have been my imagination.”

After scratching her cheek with her finger, Kaguya let out a sigh along with a small, “well, forget it.”

“More importantly, let’s hurry and get those sleeping bags.”

“Hmm? Weren’t you going to confess everything?”

“I’m going to. But sleeping all together seems fun. And besides, even if I tell the truth, I thought that maybe the others would be afraid to sleep in their rooms alone……”

“……Hey, don’t tell me that you were scared by your own performance.”

After hearing what Shidou had said with his eyes half-closed, Kaguya flushed her cheeks in a deep red hue.

“Don──don’t take me for a fool! Of course that’s not it!”

“Yes, yes, I understand, I understand.”

“Muu……do you really understand?”

As Kaguya casted a suspicious look, Shidou extended out the palms of his hands as if to calm her down.

Then, at that moment.

From the direction of the kitchen, a loud noise was heard before a shrill scream echoed throughout the cottage.

“Ki-kiyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“U……ugyaaaaaaaah!”

It was the voices of Miku and Natsumi, whom had gone looking for water and food. Upon hearing that unexpected heartbreaking scream, Shidou and Kaguya reflexively turned to each other’s eyes.

“Wha, what was that……?”

“Did a cockroach appear? ……No, this is too much for just that.”

“Anyway, let’s go first.”

“Ah……yeah!”

Shidou, along with Kaguya, ran towards the source of that noise. 

Along the way, they ran into Yoshino, and Yuzuru, who had been making preparations in the space where everyone had gathered beforehand. It seemed that the two of them were also drawn by that noise.

“Yoshino, Yuzuru!”

“Shidou……san!”

“Guide. Over here, let’s hurry.”

After saying that, Yuzuru ran into the kitchen──but then her feet came to a sudden stop.

As for the reason for that, Shidou, who followed suit after her, quickly understood.

The back of the kitchen where emergency food was stockpiled……

That place……was dyed red with fresh blood.

“U-uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Shidou’s eyes popped open widely as he let out a scream.

A corner of the kitchen had become a literally sea of blood. And in the center there were──the familiar silhouette of two girls lying there. 

One was Miku. The other was Natsumi.

There was no doubt. They were the Spirits who had just been talking with Shidou.

After seeing them in this unrecognizable state, Shidou’s teeth creaked.

“This got to be a lie……right?”

“W-what is this…..what the hell is this……who the hell did this……?”

Just like Shidou, Kaguya moaned while holding her hand against her head in confusion. Then, Yuzuru, with her face marked by a frown, answered back to him.

“Identification. What are you saying, Kaguya. …This is obviously the snowy mountain killer.” 

“……!”

“Wha──!”

Listening to Yuzuru, Shidou and Kaguya widened their eyes as they looked towards each other.

It’s true, just as Yuzuru had said, this atrocious scene before their eyes at this time was remarkable similar to the one they saw a few moments ago in Tohka’s room. There was a huge amount of blood as if carotid artery had been completely severed and corpses fresh with wet blood. The glass window at the back of the kitchen was also broken with snow blowing loudly outside.

However, that was impossible. Such a thing could not be. Shidou and Kaguya exchanged a conversation through a glance.

Yes, what had happened in Tohka’s room was a prank crafted by Shidou and Kaguya, a so called fake murder case. 

There was no such thing as a snowy mountain murderer.

──But, if that was the case, then what the hell was happening before their eyes right now?

“W-what does this mean, Kaguya?”

“I-I don’t know. Even if you were to ask me……”

While Shidou and Kaguya were talking in a low voice, the sound of someone running came from behind them.

“……!”

Shidou was on guard for a moment──but he immediately recognized soon that it was Kotori and Origami. They had likely heard Miku and Natsumi’s cry and come running here.

“Shidou, what is── ……!”

Before she finished speaking, Kotori covered her mouth.

“Miku, Natsumi……it can’t be……”

“……This place is dangerous, we better return to where we were before.”

Origami’s eyebrows faintly twitched just a little as she said that. It was not as if she was completely unaffected by this. But since she was a former member of the JSDF, she could organize in her mind what should be given priority at this moment.

“Y-yes……that’s……right.”

Miku and Natsumi found their end at the hands of a murderer that shouldn’t exist. The meaning behind that unknown fact still lingered in his head.

But the fact that he could keep standing here was the only fact that he understood. After aligning his hands to pray before Miku and Natsumi’s corpses, in accordance to Origami’s orders, he took Yoshino’s hand, as she was still paralyzed from shock, and returned back to the shared space.

The space in front of the fireplace had been cleared thanks to the work of Yoshino and Yuzuru. And not only that, the chairs were arranged in their surroundings to resemble a simple barricade. As Shidou and the others passed through this and approached the fireplace, he finally let out a sigh.

Origami, while surveying the area without lowering her guard, made a clicking metallic sound from the 9 mm in her hands.

“──Anyway, all we can do is resisting here until the snowstorm passes.”

“That’s right.”

After saying that, Kotori, just like Origami, got into position looking through the peephole with a pistol in her hands.

“Kotori……you can use a gun?”

“……I’ve been trained. But only to the level of a hobby.”

“…………”

Witnessing this unknown side from his little sister at this unexpected moment caused Shidou to be even more bewildered. 

But that feeling wasn’t limited to just Shidou. The confusion that Kaguya showed after having seen the corpses of Miku and Natsumi a few moments ago was more than obvious to him than anyone else watching from the side.

“Hey, are you okay, Kaguya?”

“Ah……ah……”

Kaguya clenched her head as her shoulders trembled weakly.

“……Why, Miku and Natsumi……m-maybe because I said that……? Because I told the story of the snowy mountain killer, it has become reality…..?”

“Kaguya!”

“……!”

Hearing Shidou’s loud scream, Kaguya shook her shoulders in fright.

“That sort of thing has no connection to this, right? Cheer up Kaguya.”

“Ah…...yeah, sorry……”

Kaguya nodded weakly. 

And then, at that instant, the light that illuminated their surroundings suddenly began to flicker. 

After a few seconds, the lights went completely dark.

“W-what!? What happened!?”

“Shudder. A blackout……?”

Disturbed, everyone began looking around their surroundings in fright.

Luckily, due to being in front of the fireplace, Shidou and the others were not in complete darkness. Thanks to the light of the burning flames, their surroundings were dimly illuminated. 

However, the intensity of those flames could not compare to that of electrical light. There was only a small range visible. With darkness seeping into the corridors leading up the staircase, the peeping abyss stroked everyone’s fears.

“Why at such timing……”

“Ku……wait a moment. I’m going to use the light from my cell phone.”

Then, just as Shidou said that while reaching into his pocket……

From the end of the corridor, something resembling the faint sound of footsteps was heard.

“……!? W-who is it!?

“Don’t move.”

Kotori and Origami issued out a warning while pointing the barrel of their loaded pistols towards the direction of that sound.

However, the source of those footsteps did not stop. Slowly, but surely, those disturbing footprints resonated with the sound of something heavy being dragged on the floor. 

As “that” arrived at the distance illuminated by the fireplace──the strange figure was exposed to Shidou and the others’ eyes.

At a stature of about 2 meters, the figure was the person was covered by a tattered cloak. His face was completely covered by a hood and couldn’t be perceived. But even then, from time to time again, agitated breathing was heard escaping from his mouth. In his hand, he held a huge blood-covered ax whose tip was dragged against the floor.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”

“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”

“W-who is thissssssssss!?”

The moment they saw that appearance, which could only be described as bizarre, Shidou and the others let out a frightened cry.

The strange figure──the snowy mountain killer shook his body as if responding to those screams, raising his face slowly as he began to accelerate his pace towards Shidou and the others.

“Stop and freeze.”

Despite Origami’s warning, the killer didn’t stop moving. After Origami clicked against her tongue, she lower the muzzle a little to aim at the murderer’s feet.

Bang! A dry sound echoed. However, even after this sound resonated, the murderer did not stop his momentum.

“What──”

Origami held her breath as she fired for a second and third time. At that moment, Kotori’s shoulder shook as she also pulled the trigger.

Countless shots rang inside the cottage──but the murderer still would not stop.

Even though it was dark, it was difficult to imagine that Origami and Kotori missed all of their shots at such a close range. No, before that, even assuming if they were mistaken, a normal person would have been frightened by the sound of bullets and probably flee.

And yet, the killer not only did not stop, but he also accelerated his steps stalkingly towards them. It as if he could not perceive any pain from the bullets making contact with his body. 

“Shidou, we’ll stop him here. Take the others and run.”

Origami, while not neglecting her gaze towards the murderer closely approaching them, changed the magazine of her weapon skillfully as she spoke. 

“B-but.”

“Stop talking and leave at once! The two of us can escape more easily than you guys. Take care of Yoshino and the others!”

“Ku……”

Hearing that, Shidou furrowed his brow.

“I understand. Sorry……! Let’s go, Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru!”

“Yes……!”

“U-uh……!”

“Consent. Thank you, Kotori, Master Origami.”

Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru all replied back as they followed Shidou’s lead.

They escaped through the shared space by pushing the chairs away as they entered the darken corridor. Behind them, the sounds of noisy gunshots and a swinging axe echoed.

“……Ku!”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

A few seconds later, Origami and Kotori’s screams could be heard. After that, no more sound come be heard coming from behind them.

“──Origami, Kotori!”

No, to say that no sound could be heard……would be a mistake. From the other side of the darkness, the sound of the killer’s footsteps and the dragged axe could once more be heard.

“P-perhaps……”

Yoshino let out an anxious voice. He understood what she was thinking immediately. But──Shidou tightly held against her shoulders to prevent her from continuing. 

“……Everything is fine. It’s Origami and Kotori, right? There’s no way that the two of them were defeated. Surely, they must have managed to escape as well.”

After hearing what Shidou had said, Yoshino delicately raised her eyebrows for a second but then shook her head as if to dissuade herself from those thoughts. 

“Encourage. In any case, we have to flee now.”

“Yes──!”

After nodding back, they ran across the hallway to escape from the footsteps pursuing them.

However, wide as it may be, a cottage was still a cottage. Shidou and the girls soon ran into a dead end.

“Ku……the corridor ends here…..!”

“! Shidou, look here, there’s a room here!”

Kaguya said while pointing to the wall on the left. Although it was left unnoticed because of the darkness, there was certainly a door there.

Fleeing into a room was also trapped oneself into a dead end in other words. But now was not the time to be saying such things. While listening to the footsteps of the slowly approaching assassin, Shidou pushed the door open and guided the Spirits inside.

“Hurry, in here!”

After he finally entered himself, Shidou quickly locked the door.

But obviously, they couldn’t relax with just that. Shidou and the girls moved the shelves, chairs, sofa, and anything that could be found in the room to form a barricade blocking the door.

Then, a few seconds later, the footsteps stopped in front of the door──

Dang! The sound of metal striking against wood resonated. Each time this resounded, the door and furniture leaning against it began to stir slightly. 

“……S-Shidou-san……!”

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine……!”

While not taking his eyes off the shaking door, Shidou put his hands on the girls’ shoulders to reassure them. Each time the sound of the axe struck the sound, everybody’s bodies trembled slightly.

“Ku……”

Although he said that everything was fine, at this rate the door would be destroyed sooner or later. What should he do──

As Shidou was thinking desperately of what to do, the sound of the door being shattered suddenly stopped.

The sound of the footsteps gradually receded as if marking the disappearance of the presence of the murderer from the other side of the door.

“Huh……?”

“Suspicion. What happened?”

Kaguya and Yuzuru both spoke stupefied with their eyes wide open. Yoshinon, perched on Yoshino’s left hand, adopted a similar pose while tilted its neck exaggeratingly. 

“Perhaps he gave up because the door wouldn’t open~?”

“Hmm……that’s what I want to believe, but……”

While making a difficult face, Shidou brought his hand against his chin──

“……Ah!”

His shoulders began to shake as if remembering something.

“Wait a moment……hey Kaguya, do you remember the story you told before dinner?”

“Huh? Y-yes. But what about it?”

“Well……if I remember correctly, this looks just like the end of that story──”

Then, just as Shidou was talking……

Outside of the window positioned right of Shidou and the others, a huge shadow appeared. At the next moment, crash! Accompanying that thunderous noise, the glass on the window was shattered. 

“Hii──!”

Frightened by that noise, Kaguya hugged Shidou hastily. 

“Kaguya, are you alright?”

“I’m fine! I-I'm not afraid! Even if I die......I'll be fine while I’m with Shidou!”

Kaguya screamed with her eyes full of tears.

As if guided by those screams, the assassin began to move his feet slowly──at the moment of arriving at Shidou and the others’ eyes; he slowly raised the axe carried by his hand.

Faced with this overwhelming terror, Kaguya raised a scream that could pierce anyone's eardrums.

“Kya──

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

And then──in sync with that scream, a torrent of wind swirled throughout the room, becoming a compressed whirlpool shot out at the killer's direction.

“……!?”

Taking furniture and other things that were in the room, tearing the floors and roof, the violent flow of wind ripped through the wall of the room. It seems that a part of the reiryoku had flowed in the opposite direction due to the destabilization of the mental state.

And it seems that even the murderer could not bear against this. The huge silhouette was sent flying by the wind, along with the wall, and was left with arms and feet extended on the snowfield where the snowstorm continued to fall.

“! S-Shidou-san, look!”

Looking surprised, Yoshino pointed towards the fallen murderer.

“Huh? What──ahhh!”

After seeing that, Shidou opened his eyes wide in amazement. 

Due to the snowstorm, the ragged coat that wrapped around the killer's body unraveled and what was hidden inside was revealed to everyone……

Those who were lying there unconsciousness were Miku and Natsumi, with latter on the shoulders of the former.

“Miku……Natsumi? What does this mean? Weren’t the two of you……”

“Ah, it got exposed.”

As Shidou was left astonished, from the other side of the wall with the improved landscape, Kotori and Origami showed their faces.

“Huh? Ha……?”

Shidou let out a clumsy voice. 

 ◇

“──Everything was a joke!?”

Afterwards, while waiting for Miku and Natsumi to regain consciousness, Shidou raised a disarrayed voice as the situation was being explained. 

“That’s right.”

Kotori continued on while shrugging her shoulders.

“After dinner, by chance I ended up listening to your conversation with Kaguya. How you wanted to fake a crime scene and scare us, am I right? I thought it was necessary for a little bit of punishment for children thinking up of such mischief.”

“T-then what about Tohka too……?”

“That was obvious. It was a poor murder scene. And to begin with, Spirits can’t be defeated that easily.”

After hearing what Kotori had said with her eyes-half closed, Kaguya averted her gaze uncomfortably with a small “ugh……”

“Did everyone know……?”

“No, not all of them. Yoshino and Yuzuru shouldn’t have known. I’m sorry for involving you two.”

“I’m sorry……Yoshino……”

Natsumi shrugged, looking very embarrassed. In response, Yoshino waved her hand as if saying “No, don’t worry”.

“It’s okay. More importantly, I’m glad that Natsumi-san and the others were safe and sound.”

“Yoshino……”

Natsumi revealed a moved expression as she tried to approach Yoshino. But her path was blocked by Miku. 

“Aaah, Yoshino-san is so gentle ~! I can’t believe how much you were worried about me!”

“M-miku-san……!”

“……This……hey, you’re blocking my way……”

While watching the exchange from the sidelines, Kotori slightly pricked Kaguya’s nose.

“Do you understand the feelings of those who are scared? If with this you’ve learned your lesson, stop doing so many pranks, alright?”

“Mguuu……”

Kaguya made a bitter face while looking frustrated for a moment, but then let out a big sigh as if having given up.

“……Sorry.”

“Very well──I have to apologize as well. We might have overdone it a little. It wasn’t our intention to scare you to the point of reiryoku reversing in the opposite direction.”

Kotori said that while gently caressing Kaguya’s head.

But at that moment, Kaguya’s eyebrows twitched as if she remembered something.

“As for that……”

While saying that, she gently moved her gaze……towards Yuzuru’s direction.

“The one that sent Miku and Natsumi flying at that moment, I think it wasn’t me, right……?”

“……”

Yuzuru pulled her face away, trying to look away from Kaguya’s gaze. But her shuddering face was stopped in its tracks with both of Kaguya’s hands.

“Hey, Yuzuru? Remind me who was the one at that moment who forgot to say her little phrase before speaking and raised such an adorable scream ~.”

Kaguya said with a malicious smile while looking strangely cheerful.

“Unknown. I do not understand what you're talking about, Kaguya.”

“Hey, what’s the problem? If you were scared, why not admit it? Nobody would blame you, right Yuzuru?”

“Refuse. Let me go.”

“Come on, be honest. Everything is fine, the murderer was a lie.”

After mocking Yuzuru for a while, Kaguya let out a sigh while looking very satisfied. 

But then, she opened her eyes as if remembering something else.

“Hafufufu……by the way, who was the one looking out from the window when Shidou and I were looking for the sleeping bags? Miku and Natsumi were still in the cottage then, right?”

“Huh?”

Hearing what Kaguya had said, Kotori, Origami, Miku, and Natsumi tilted their heads.

“Outside the window……?”

“I don’t know.”

“……It wasn’t me.”

“What are you talking about?”

Faced with these answers, a bead of sweat dripped from Kaguya’s cheerful face.

“Huh…...w-wait a minute, then what I saw back then──

At that moment──just as Kaguya was in the middle of speaking.

The sound of footsteps……was heard coming from the stairs.

“……!”

Kaguya’s entire body began to tremble.

No, it was not just Kaguya. Everyone who was present felt something sinister and directed their attention towards the source of that sound. 

Creak, creak, creak……

The footsteps were slowly approaching ......until finally a figure was exposed to everyone's eyes.

That body──was covered from head to foot with blood.

“I-it’s heeeeeeeeeere!”

“Ukiyaaaaaaah!”

“Nooooooooooo!”

All the Spirits raised a cry and fled from that place.

“Fuaah~……hmm?”

Tohka stretched her body, letting out a drowsy yawn while looking around.

After that, Tohka, who had been left alone in that room, had fallen asleep at some point.

And since she had just woken up, she headed downstairs where she heard everyone’s voices……But for some reason, they all started shouting and fleeing as soon as she appeared.

“Muu……what’s wrong, everyone?”

While scratching her cheek covered in fake blood, Tohka tilted her neck curiously.