Murder At The Rainy Mansion ~The Never Ending 100 Tales~

Chapter 62: The vengeful spirit that appeared

Natsu was no longer wearing the flashy kimono that made her looked like a courtesan. Instead, she was wearing a good quality plain colored kimono like she normally wore when she was alive.

The peculiar smell of kimono stored in an old wooden chest filled the hallway. Natsu had a modest lifestyle and always carried this scent with her.

Natsu: “How many times had I told you not to mention this to anyone?”

Shun looked at Ayano and shouted, “Ayano! Run!”

However, Ayano remained calm and replied, “No, I’m fine.” Shun looked at her in bewilderment.

Ayano: “Currently, the person that angered Natsu-sama the most is you, not me.”

Natsu was amused by her answer. “Just as expected of you, Ayano. You are still calm after being cursed by me for so long. I know you are a brave woman, as always.” Natsu turned towards Ayano. “With your power, you can easily get rid of me, don’t you?”

“You gave me too much credit,” Ayano answered. Actually, she had never even thought to get rid of Natsu because she knew the reason why she was cursed. That was why she just simply avoid using mirror and let Natsu cursed her to her heart’s content.

“I like your bravery but I hate your face. Although, it seems that you are different from your mother. You are such a fool,” Natsu said while sending a glance at Takato.

Ayano: “My mom was a fool too but I know you don’t want to admit that.”

Natsu: “You are right. I’m like any other woman. I would rather hate the woman who steal my man than blaming the man who betrayed me.”

“Who is the man that betrayed you?” A voice came from inside the toilet.

Oh my god… Satoshi-san, can’t you take a hint? Please choose your words carefully… Ayano complained inwardly.

However, Satoshi continued, “You… You never cared about me. You married me just because for the family profit. I can feel that you always looked down on me since before and even after we got married.”

That day, Ayano saw Satoshi appeared as an old man. Considering that Tanimoto couldn’t see Satoshi and Natsu had cursed her because she resembled Chizuru, she could guess who Satoshi really was.

“What does he mean by that? Who is Satoshi really…?” Shun muttered to himself.

Ayano: “Satoshi is actually Great-grandpa. That appearance is what Great-grandpa looked like when he was young. Satoshi-san told us that he died here most probably because he himself believe that it is true. I think he must have collapsed in this toilet and thought that he was dying at that time.”

Natsu heaved out a sigh before saying, “You shut yourself inside the toilet reading book even though the weather was hot and humid. I also didn’t want to marry a fool who pass out because of heat stroke.

Even so, you hated marrying me and left half of your soul here all this time. The reason why you shut yourself up here is because you regretted marrying me and want to escape from reality, right?

Because you were acting like this, I had to carry the burden managing the household by myself. People said that I’m lucky to have a husband who wouldn’t meddle with the house affair, but I personally didn’t feel that way.

Even though I couldn’t get along with my former husband because he always wanted to seize control of the family business, at least I could talk more frankly with him. With you, it was always an unrealistic story like novel or a folklore.”

“That reminds me,” Hisami said. Originally Ayano and the others was trapped inside a barrier made by Natsu but now it seemed the space had connected to the outside world as Toru and Hisami joined the crowd. “I heard the story about shichinin bishaku from Grandpa.”

At that moment, Ayano saw an image of Natsu and Satoshi when they were still young. To be precise, the man’s name was not really Satoshi. Anyway, she saw the two of them sitting side by side on the veranda[1]. Natsu was replying perfunctorily while staring at the hydrangea covered with dew. Meanwhile, Satoshi was talking to her softly like he wanted to soothe her tense nerves. His eyes were smiling gently.

It seemed Natsu’s memory inside the space had directly flowed into Ayano’s mind.  Natsu looked at her with an annoying face. “It seems I have been close to you for too long.” Then she turned towards the toilet where Satoshi was in and glared sharply at the door. “My father chose him for my second marriage because he looked timid and weak, different from my former husband. But unlike his appearance, he was actually quite stubborn.”

Natsu was reminded of the first time they met.

―　―　―

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sudo Kengo.”

Natsu looked at the plain looking young man who greeted her in a formal tone. She felt he had a strange appearance that lack impression even though he had a well-proportioned face.

Natsu: “Kengo-san, don’t be too polite. You are older than me.”

Kengo: “Oh. Uhm, you are right.”

Kengo always spent his time reading books. He was quite smart, so his father sent him to a friend who was a politician as a student houseboy[2] for his future career. However, he didn’t last long due to his personality and returned home soon after.

By chance, Natsu’s father heard about him and teasingly asked him to stay at their house instead of returning to his hometown. He was a quiet person so he couldn’t chat with people in a friendly way right away, but he gradually began to speak up once he got used to it. He liked to talk in a low tone and with many pauses, but his story was quite interesting because he was a knowledgeable person.

For Natsu, Kengo was that kind of man. At least that was what she thought at that time.

[1] Engawa: Japanese porch/veranda. 

[2] Student houseboy: Refers to male Japanese scholar in late 19th century to early 20th century who went to the city to study while living at other people’s house as servant/houseboy.