１．Ｓａｔｕｒｄａｙ Ｍａｒｃｈ １６， ２０１９
文字数 7,315文字
Even though I had been there once, I could hardly remember the exact route. Maruta stopped the car on the shoulder several times along the way and reviewed the car navigation screen.
"This way is correct, right?" Maruta says this, but Kira, sitting in the passenger seat, only returns an affectionate smile, which in the end becomes nothing more than a soliloquy. It seems that even the state-of-the-art car navigation systems with a touch screen were not designed to guide people to the scene of a murder. It shows as passable roads even where they are clearly cliffs.
"Was it pretty easy to get there before?" Kira asks with reserve.
"Yes. When I was here before, it was right after the incident, so there was rather a lot of other traffic. And since a police car was parked there, I could easily locate the scene. But now it's no good, it's deserted. The scenery is the same everywhere, almost indistinguishable."
There is a reason why people are gone all year round. There is not even a single camphor tree, baobab, or other big, sturdy tree to share its strength with us. The trees, emaciated from the competition for nutrients, are giving permanent persistence to the surrounding gloom, accompanied by a moisture that seeps into the bones. At the very least, it is not the kind of place where young men and women come to commemorate their college graduation with high expectations.
As He drove along, relying only on the screenshot of the map, concrete blocks for slope protection appeared on their right.
"Oh," Maruta voiced this by seeing a familiar structure.
"Do you remember?"
"I remember, it is straight down this road. On the way, there are several roads that turn off to the side, and once we pass them, the target will appear soon."
As he continues to accelerate based on the memories that come back to him, several weed-filled side streets appear in place of the block walls. When a distinctive rutted path appeared in the middle of the road, Maruta stopped the car in front of it.
Getting out of the car, they stopped at the entrance to the path. The two had already noticed by looking out the car window that there were still strictly regulated lines there.
"I thought the restrictions had already been lifted." Maruta said, looking bored.
"Is it wrong to go beyond the regulations?"
"That would be trespassing, which is indeed a bad idea."
There, the path is blocked off by several metal bars strung across it. In front of them, there is a large sign that reads 'No Entry, Yamanashi Prefectural Police.'
"This is not the 'No Trespassing sign' that Tokyo Spread was talking about, is it?"
"Absolutely not. When I was here last August, this place was in the same condition as it is now. Those restriction lines were simply put up by the police after the incident."
Inevitably, they stood there and looked beyond the roadblock. However, the path, which is only wide enough for one car, twists and turns as if it were leading to a main castle or a brothel, so it is impossible to view the desired house ruins from there. Beyond the trees that shield their gaze, a lush ridge rises above them. In the sky above were streaks of clouds that looked as if they had been drawn with a brush.
"When I came here before, I looked at the other side like this, but it is impossible to see the house. Just because we come back a few months later doesn't mean the path will be straight."
"There are ruins of a house over there, and further, is a forest where 'the ghosts of suicides appear'."
At Kira's suggestion, Maruta turned back to his car. Then, carrying that tablet, he walked up to him again.
"Here's a screenshot of an aerial photo of the area around here." Kira also looks into the plate of the machine held by Maruta.
"The location," Maruta continues, "Of the houses can be seen at a glance. There is a vacant lot amidst a group of trees. You can see one brown house standing there."
"This image was taken before the fire."
"Right. And if you look closely, you can also see the curving pathway leading to this gray roadway."
"This is the pathway we have in front of us now."
"Yeah. But," Maruta managed to restrain himself from speaking too quickly. "It is hard to say if there is any path leading from the house to the opposite direction of where we are now."
Moving the face even closer to the screen, Kira gazed at the point indicated by Maruta. After Kira looks up, Maruta opens his mouth again.
"It may just be that the back path is not visible due to the overlapping trees. However, in this image, we can't see any place that can be clearly identified as a road."
"Beyond the 'No Trespassing sign' that guys mentioned, there are trees growing,"
"Hey!" A yell made them both reflexively turn their heads in that direction.
Looking, they saw an old man standing by the guardrail across the road. On the sides of his balding head are a few short-cropped gray hairs. Oil-stained slacks, tired white sneakers, and a worn fleece jacket with holes in it all looked as if they were soaked with the hardships of the life spent in his past. The tantrum-prone man continued to rant and rave, not hiding his displeasure.
"I guess you came all this way just to make a stupid video."
"No, No,"
Not giving Maruta any room to argue, the man continues to shout angrily.
"It's been very noisy lately. The number of people like you has been increasing over the past few years. Is it so much fun to come deep into the mountains and make noise?"
Being stunned, the two were at a loss for words to return.
"If you have nothing to do, get the hell out! Here is not your playground!"
The man who had vented his frustration to that point turned around and started walking in the opposite direction from where Maruta and Kira had come from.
Maruta quickly called out to his back.
"Are you a resident of the neighborhood?"
Turning around a little, the man said, "Of course," as if to spit it out. Then he turned around again and disappeared down the street, complaining, "Just when I thought the commotion had died down, it's like that. I'm totally disgusted!".
"He must have thought," Maruta felt like shrugging his shoulders like a foreigner. "We were trying to make a video of a haunted place."
"Because it's right in front of us."
Approaching the car, Kira asked anxiously. "What are you going to do now?"
"Yes, let's go in the direction the man just went. I looked it up on an online map. There's a small settlement about 200 meters(0.12 miles) north of here."
"Won't you get angry again if we go to such a place?"
"It would be no problem to drive on public roads. If he complain again, just tell him we got lost on our way to TokyoDisneyLand and that's it."
Being about to open the door, Maruta noticed a shiny object at his feet and picked it up. It was a metal ball slightly larger than a pinball. He looked at it for a second, discarded it, and started the engine as usual.
"This way is correct, right?" Maruta says this, but Kira, sitting in the passenger seat, only returns an affectionate smile, which in the end becomes nothing more than a soliloquy. It seems that even the state-of-the-art car navigation systems with a touch screen were not designed to guide people to the scene of a murder. It shows as passable roads even where they are clearly cliffs.
"Was it pretty easy to get there before?" Kira asks with reserve.
"Yes. When I was here before, it was right after the incident, so there was rather a lot of other traffic. And since a police car was parked there, I could easily locate the scene. But now it's no good, it's deserted. The scenery is the same everywhere, almost indistinguishable."
There is a reason why people are gone all year round. There is not even a single camphor tree, baobab, or other big, sturdy tree to share its strength with us. The trees, emaciated from the competition for nutrients, are giving permanent persistence to the surrounding gloom, accompanied by a moisture that seeps into the bones. At the very least, it is not the kind of place where young men and women come to commemorate their college graduation with high expectations.
As He drove along, relying only on the screenshot of the map, concrete blocks for slope protection appeared on their right.
"Oh," Maruta voiced this by seeing a familiar structure.
"Do you remember?"
"I remember, it is straight down this road. On the way, there are several roads that turn off to the side, and once we pass them, the target will appear soon."
As he continues to accelerate based on the memories that come back to him, several weed-filled side streets appear in place of the block walls. When a distinctive rutted path appeared in the middle of the road, Maruta stopped the car in front of it.
Getting out of the car, they stopped at the entrance to the path. The two had already noticed by looking out the car window that there were still strictly regulated lines there.
"I thought the restrictions had already been lifted." Maruta said, looking bored.
"Is it wrong to go beyond the regulations?"
"That would be trespassing, which is indeed a bad idea."
There, the path is blocked off by several metal bars strung across it. In front of them, there is a large sign that reads 'No Entry, Yamanashi Prefectural Police.'
"This is not the 'No Trespassing sign' that Tokyo Spread was talking about, is it?"
"Absolutely not. When I was here last August, this place was in the same condition as it is now. Those restriction lines were simply put up by the police after the incident."
Inevitably, they stood there and looked beyond the roadblock. However, the path, which is only wide enough for one car, twists and turns as if it were leading to a main castle or a brothel, so it is impossible to view the desired house ruins from there. Beyond the trees that shield their gaze, a lush ridge rises above them. In the sky above were streaks of clouds that looked as if they had been drawn with a brush.
"When I came here before, I looked at the other side like this, but it is impossible to see the house. Just because we come back a few months later doesn't mean the path will be straight."
"There are ruins of a house over there, and further, is a forest where 'the ghosts of suicides appear'."
At Kira's suggestion, Maruta turned back to his car. Then, carrying that tablet, he walked up to him again.
"Here's a screenshot of an aerial photo of the area around here." Kira also looks into the plate of the machine held by Maruta.
"The location," Maruta continues, "Of the houses can be seen at a glance. There is a vacant lot amidst a group of trees. You can see one brown house standing there."
"This image was taken before the fire."
"Right. And if you look closely, you can also see the curving pathway leading to this gray roadway."
"This is the pathway we have in front of us now."
"Yeah. But," Maruta managed to restrain himself from speaking too quickly. "It is hard to say if there is any path leading from the house to the opposite direction of where we are now."
Moving the face even closer to the screen, Kira gazed at the point indicated by Maruta. After Kira looks up, Maruta opens his mouth again.
"It may just be that the back path is not visible due to the overlapping trees. However, in this image, we can't see any place that can be clearly identified as a road."
"Beyond the 'No Trespassing sign' that guys mentioned, there are trees growing,"
"Hey!" A yell made them both reflexively turn their heads in that direction.
Looking, they saw an old man standing by the guardrail across the road. On the sides of his balding head are a few short-cropped gray hairs. Oil-stained slacks, tired white sneakers, and a worn fleece jacket with holes in it all looked as if they were soaked with the hardships of the life spent in his past. The tantrum-prone man continued to rant and rave, not hiding his displeasure.
"I guess you came all this way just to make a stupid video."
"No, No,"
Not giving Maruta any room to argue, the man continues to shout angrily.
"It's been very noisy lately. The number of people like you has been increasing over the past few years. Is it so much fun to come deep into the mountains and make noise?"
Being stunned, the two were at a loss for words to return.
"If you have nothing to do, get the hell out! Here is not your playground!"
The man who had vented his frustration to that point turned around and started walking in the opposite direction from where Maruta and Kira had come from.
Maruta quickly called out to his back.
"Are you a resident of the neighborhood?"
Turning around a little, the man said, "Of course," as if to spit it out. Then he turned around again and disappeared down the street, complaining, "Just when I thought the commotion had died down, it's like that. I'm totally disgusted!".
"He must have thought," Maruta felt like shrugging his shoulders like a foreigner. "We were trying to make a video of a haunted place."
"Because it's right in front of us."
Approaching the car, Kira asked anxiously. "What are you going to do now?"
"Yes, let's go in the direction the man just went. I looked it up on an online map. There's a small settlement about 200 meters(0.12 miles) north of here."
"Won't you get angry again if we go to such a place?"
"It would be no problem to drive on public roads. If he complain again, just tell him we got lost on our way to TokyoDisneyLand and that's it."
Being about to open the door, Maruta noticed a shiny object at his feet and picked it up. It was a metal ball slightly larger than a pinball. He looked at it for a second, discarded it, and started the engine as usual.
