Alright, let’s start by organizing the positive things first.
I can understand why there are so many ghosts. With so many corpses around, all kinds of ghosts would be drawn to the place.
In this world, there are a lot of ghosts. Just like the ghost that appeared in front of Izumi last time, if there are beings that feel similar emotions, they would gather nearby.
…
By any chance, are all the things in that fridge still alive?
I felt my body shudder.
If the body of this Kurosawa Koto Ne that I am currently using follows the same principle…
Since it can recover from anemia by receiving a blood transfusion, this body is ‘human’ for now. At least, it’s certain that human blood is mixed in. No matter how poorly it’s faring, wouldn’t it be at least half human?
Thinking of Shura—other than Nirlas, considering the original Shub-Niggurath—
There’s a fairly famous novel among Lovecraft’s works called “The Dunwich Horror.” I don’t remember the names of the characters exactly, but I know how the story goes.
To put it very, very simply, it tells about a family in a town called Dunwich that copulates with Shub-Niggurath to give birth to a child who looks more like a monster than a human, and how university professors try to stop it.
If the author of “Tokyo Slayers” drew on the structure of that story, it could totally happen. It mentions that they also failed there.
The boy who first appeared as a villain resembled a human, but as time went on, his form grew monstrous, gradually shedding his humanity, and ends up dying after being bitten by a dog while trying to steal the Necronomicon from Miskatonic University’s library.
It is ridiculous that an entity with the blood of outer beings could die from a dog bite, but if he had already been weakened, it wouldn’t be strange.
The corpse was described to have liquefied and disappeared. I don’t remember the exact details since it was so long ago, but I think it was also mentioned that it left a foul odor.
…
Wait a minute.
Thinking back, does that mean the things in the fridge… aren’t dead?
If they turned into liquid and shrank rapidly right after dying, they shouldn’t have left a trace in this world.
“……”
I shuddered again.
I have brought friends here. Yuuki has slept over, and Yamashita has stayed for a bit too.
Yet, among all the rooms here, except for two places, every other corner has what could be my siblings trapped inside in a state of neither living nor dead.
What should I do about that…?
If those beings are ‘failed products,’ why didn’t Kagami just dispose of them?
Is it not possible to bury them or burn them? What would happen if I tossed them into the sea?
It’s particularly alarming since the other party resembles a descendant of outer beings, so I’m clueless on how to deal with them.
“…Sigh.”
…Right, it’s not that I don’t know! I just don’t want to know!
If it’s fate that I’m stabbed to death by Yuuki’s knife, then those things could also be dealt with similarly.
However, I’m not sure if my blood-made sword would be effective on them. If they are similar beings, the blood flowing through them must also be similar.
Sitting with my knees drawn in the room, I wrapped my head in my arms and pondered—
Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone snoring.
“……”
I raised my head.
I saw the man leave earlier. This time, I clearly understood that the owner of the snoring sound was definitely not a man.
I looked at the clock. It was still nine-thirty in the morning. The time when I saw the man off was early in the morning, and it hadn’t taken that long to check the room.
How long will it take for the man to finish his interview and return?
I stood up from my seat.
There was no need to make a new key. The man hadn’t locked the door. I was told the locksmith hadn’t been called yet.
Perhaps it was time, but more than that, he probably wanted to save money. He said he worked at a research lab? Depending on the lab, the situation might vary, but if he had to get a different job, he probably doesn’t earn that much.
A research lab. Honestly, it seems incredibly suspicious.
The man acted as if it was merely a coincidence that he was staying here, but… would Kagami really allow an ordinary person to stay in this house?
I moved very slowly, trying to avoid making any noise that might disturb the sound of snorting from the next room.
So they couldn’t hear me from over there.
I grasped the doorknob and slowly turned it over the course of almost a minute.
Then I reached the door of the man’s room.
I pressed my ear against the door and listened.
…I could still hear what seemed like snoring inside. Upon listening closely, it wasn’t just snoring; it also sounded like he was sniffing a bit. Is he smelling something?
Is he really a person? Or is he something non-human? At least, to my perception, it doesn’t seem like a Yōkai.
But I can’t let my guard down completely.
I opened the door wide, wondering if I might be greeted by a half-rotted ghost.
Or could it be that the man isn’t living alone?
I took a deep breath and mustered all my strength to push the door open forcefully.
This apartment has the entrance and kitchen in the same space, with a room beyond the door that separates the kitchen and entrance. Keeping that door closed means that merely opening the entrance door wouldn’t reveal the room.
The man had left that door open.
It didn’t seem intentional. It was probably just easier for him to live that way. If I wasn’t supposed to sleep, I would normally keep mine open.
The man’s room was tidier than I expected. It was rather organized—actually, it was tidier than my space, which has more stuff.
A low table was pushed against the wall for use as a desk, and at the joining point between the table and the wall, there was a file box arranged like a bookshelf, alongside a couple of thick books neatly lined up. Most were about folklore. Some were old books written in incredibly difficult kanji.
It seemed he had a TV positioned opposite to where I placed mine. I say “seemed” because I couldn’t see any TV in here.
It might be that he doesn’t have a TV. A person who barely uses the house to sleep wouldn’t have one. With the snoring that was loud enough to hear, it doesn’t make sense that I wouldn’t hear a TV too, so it was likely missing.
Anyway, that’s not important.
There wasn’t much to see. Unless I went in and checked the room, I wouldn’t be able to confirm what really was inside.
The moment I opened the door, the snoring stopped dead.
Yet still, I felt something ominous. This sensation wasn’t like the one I experienced when encountering a Yōkai, but…
Clatter.
With that sound, I stepped inside.
The noise seemed to come from the direction of the fridge.
As I looked over there, I stiffened.
And the other party seemed to do the same.
At first, I thought it was a gigantic snail. No, maybe it was a slug or something. Whatever it was, it looked like a slimy lump of something, without legs, resembling fleshy meat.
But once the initial shock subsided, I got a clearer look at what was there.
Blink.
I blinked my eyes.
Even though I was looking properly, it was something that made me doubt my own sight.
I mean, I have seen all sorts of bizarre creatures before—like monsters with monkey heads, or ones that looked like a human but inflated like a balloon, or a creature that looked oddly mixed between a person and a dog… Whatever it is, I’ve encountered plenty of weird-looking things before.
Just today, in fact. I just saw remnants of something that appears human but is definitely not in another room.
However, even so, that thing…
What was plastered against the wall was… a ‘nose.’
Not a joke or a metaphor. It was literally a nose.
At first, I thought it looked like a really disturbing decoration, but moments later, I recalled that the sound I was hearing was nothing but ‘snoring.’
As if lying still meant it wouldn’t be detected, that nose was about the length of from my fingertip to my elbow. Though it looked very much like a human nose, it was way too large to be attached to a person.
Some skin around the nose was still attached. It looked as though it had been forcibly removed or ‘sliced off.’
…Those fleshy remnants.
Once again, the story of “The Dunwich Horror” came to mind.
The son of Shub-Niggurath had a younger sibling. And that sibling looked even more like his father—or perhaps another mother—more so than his older brother.
It had several thick legs, whether they were drum barrels or logs, but at the very top of its body—
—a colossal human head was said to be attached.
“…Ah.”
When I let out such a sound, the nose that was attached to the wall quickly moved.
In an instant, the nose darted toward the corner of the ceiling in the man’s kitchen, sneaking into a small gap before disappearing.
“……”
I stood there for a while, mouth agape, gazing at the scene.
Then, I hurriedly bolted out, closed the door, and rushed back to my room, taking only my phone, wallet, and student notebook before I bolted out and locked the door behind me, sprinting away from the apartment.
*
So that means those things in the fridge were ‘one’ entity.
I deduced it that way.
If they had not been cut into ‘pieces’ but rather divided from a singular entity, it made sense.
When it was first born, it likely wasn’t as big as how it was described in “The Dunwich Horror.” So, they managed to deal with it back inside.
Though they probably ran out of space, leading to them being scattered to different places like that.
“Senpai?”
“Yeah?”
While I was lost in thought, Shii spoke up, causing me to respond a bit too loudly.
“Is there something wrong?”
Shii asked with a worried expression.
Oh, that’s right.
Today is a day when there are many customers.
Weekends usually have many guests, especially with the school holidays.
In Japan, there are many cases where students go to school even on Saturdays. Just like my own Hanagawa High School.
Waking up lazily on a Saturday morning, I gather with friends and spread out across busy streets. Perhaps that’s why many high school students, looking very much like students, filled this cafe today.
There weren’t that many couples; typically, it was just groups of same-gender friends hanging out. Surprisingly, there weren’t many males in sight. Perhaps most maid cafes are usually quite average?
“…No, it’s nothing serious.”
I quickly said that and started working again, yet Shii still looked at me with a somewhat worried gaze for a moment.
Okay, I need to focus for now.
I shouldn’t needlessly cause her worry. Especially since Shii is a middle school student.
But even while working, the sight I had seen wouldn’t leave my mind.
Perhaps while separating the body, I missed one or two pieces. Since it’s such a large entity being cut and wrapped, it’s not surprising that I might miss a piece.
If the body I was trying to manage was a real human corpse, it wouldn’t have been that hard to verify ‘pieces.’ How many hands, how many feet, how many legs… something like that should be manageable, right?
But if it was something that looked like a jumble without a concrete form…
“…”
Jjapgurasu told me not to run away.
But what extent does ‘not running away’ entail?
Hmm, what about today? Would just not going home for the day count as running away?
*
Fortunately, as time went on, I began to feel a little calmer, likely because I was so busy with work.
Though it doesn’t mean I was completely okay.
If anything, the more my mind settled, the more I realized the condition of the room I was using was ‘dangerous.’
Of course, I had no intention of running away. After all, I was too deep in it to back out. If I wanted to flee, I should have dashed out of the house at the beginning and never looked back.
Well, that wouldn’t create a more positive situation anyway. It could just end up worsening the dilemma. I could end up running from a cult group, and the story could twist and entangle everyone’s lives related to me.
Since I’ve made a deal with Jjapgurasu, fleeing isn’t an option.
That was the conclusion I reached while sitting next to Shii as we had our meal.
But…
“Then, Senpai, see you again tomorrow.”
After Shii politely waved goodbye to me, I pulled out my phone from my pocket.
I stared intently at the screen before dialing a number.
[Hello? Kurosawa?]
The person who picked up was Yuuki.
Yeah, but…
“…Can I come over today?”
—How else could I survive in a house with a giant, crawling nose?
Just until a proper idea pops up, I’ll take refuge.
[Um… What!? Now!?]
“…Yeah.”
[It doesn’t bother me! You’re coming over, right?]
“…Thanks.”
It’s not a retreat out of desperation.
This is a strategic retreat.
This is what is said in “The Art of War.”
…At the very least, it should be in there. Probably.
*
Yuuki seemed… quite eager about it.
Almost embarrassingly so, he welcomed me with open arms as I mentioned I was just planning to take refuge.
Since it seemed that heading all the way back to my house in Saitama and collecting my belongings would put me past curfew, I bought a T-shirt and some underwear from a nearby mart instead. I didn’t think I needed to buy pants since I could wear something comfortable.
Even though I arrived after dinner hours, Yuuki greeted me with a smile.
“So, what brings you here?”
It was only after ushering me into his room that Yuuki asked.
Um…. Should I really explain everything?
But I shook my head inwardly. No, if it’s Yuuki, he’d surely want to resolve the situation.
The reason Miura hasn’t come to my apartment is likely because she doesn’t know what happens in there.
There might be various legal issues if she suddenly sends someone to investigate.
…The apartment is located in a residential area where many people live. If by some chance, there is some sort of… religious booby trap inside that causes problems for nearby civilians, that would be troublesome.
“…I watched a scary story. Last night.”
At my words, Yuuki, who was seated cross-legged on the bed, froze.
Did I say something too weird?
As I hesitated a bit, Yuuki burst into a suppressed laugh with a chuckle, chuckle.
“A kid who rushes towards Yōkai swinging a sword isn’t afraid of scary stories?”
“…Even so, ghosts are scary.”
I grumbled softly.
That’s right.
If I had been in my previous life, I wouldn’t have felt scared at all. I lived thinking they didn’t exist.
Walking around mountainous areas at night, when a friend nearby said, ‘I think something might pop out,’ I would snicker. At least I never trembled from fear while walking alone on the streets.
Sometimes, rarely, I wondered what would happen if a person or a wild animal popped out, but that was a different story.
“Hmm, yes, that’s true.”
Yuuki looked thoughtful for a moment before staring at the ceiling as he spoke.
“Do you remember the last time I told a similar story? How scared you were? I spoke about your apartment, right?”
“……”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Yuuki waved his hands with a laugh as I stared at him with wide eyes.
For reference, I was sitting on a chair in Yuuki’s room. Since I was shorter than Yuuki, my toes barely touched the ground, with my heels hanging in the air.
“…Did I talk too much?”
Yuuki chuckled awkwardly.
I shook my head.
In fact, it’s better when there’s a lot of talk. As long as we’re having a chat, I can push away other thoughts.
Surely, I would eventually get accustomed to the state of that apartment, but it would take some time for me to think things over.
Once again, to reiterate, I had no plans of running away. I was only looking for a solution.
“I… don’t really have that many friends. I have some people I contact, but it’s not that often. I haven’t really put in the time to make friends that I’ve known for years.”
Yuuki said, scratching his cheek a bit shyly.
“…Me too.”
I felt the same.
In my case, it was different from Yuuki. I had set walls around myself as I grew older.
Talking with people often leads to exchanging stories about ourselves, which, in turn, brings about family talks. Those older than me would always tend to pry into my background with pity.
I detested it… I hated it when people expressed sympathy for my story after hearing it.
In a way, it was slightly more comfortable living in this world where no one knows about my past.
“……”
At my words, Yuuki smiled lightly, then cleared his throat.
“You said you work on Sundays, right? But it’s okay to wake up late, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Waking up late is fine.”
Since starting here would mean I’d arrive much earlier than if I started from Saitama.
“Then… do you want to play a game together?”
Yuuki’s choice was typical of him, as he once gifted me a Super Famicom.
I nodded my head.
Then, for the first time in ages since meeting Yuuki, we spent some very ordinary time together.
Indeed, this was the right choice.
Spending cheerful time with friends was an excellent way to shake off anxious thoughts.
