６．Ｓａｔｕｒｄａｙ　Ｍａｒｃｈ　３０，　２０１９

When the car started to drive away, the clock on the dashboard showed 10 p.m.
"Shall we go home now?" Kira asked.
"Kira-san," Maruta did not change his expression. "I have tried not to ask you to do anything unreasonable. At least I think so myself."

Kira looked at Maruta with a strange look on his face. The sound of the emotionless engine could be heard prominently in the car, where not even the radio was turned on. Kira stared at the driver's seat with his mouth open, not knowing what to say.
"It is already late at night, so under normal circumstances, we should naturally return to Tokyo. But I am sure we will never come here again."
Maruta reached over and opened the glove compartment. From there, he pulled out a single flashlight. Kira silently followed it with his eyes.

"If the forest is not privately owned, we may enter it. It is like going for a picnic in the mountains. Besides, we have a 'legitimate purpose' too."
"Looks like quite the rugged picnic." Kira's modest smile floated across the dark interior of the car.


The dark night, which does not deepen any further, has blackened even the entire area nearby. Maruta and Kira each got out of the car, the flashlight and the smartphone in hands. As they kept their voice down, their ears reached only the distant hoot of an owl.
Maruta first lit the entrance to the path with a light. As they had expected, still there was the 'No Entry' sign by the police.
"Are you going to break through?" Kira asked, as if he were giving him an earful.
"No,"
Maruta took a few steps along the road he had come. From there, he turned his flashlight toward the back of the mountain forest.
"Kira-san, let's start here."

The sound of thin trees being trampled echoed all around. Surprised by this, the birds all took off from the branches at once. His face was repeatedly hit by insects with the body as big as their thumb. With each step, the hem of his pants turned up and countless hard leaves touched his bare shins.
However, Maruta could not care less. There is no more futile act than to turn back here. Visibility was only about as far as the hand could reach. Maruta made sure to go step by step, not losing sight of any particular direction.

They must have walked about as long as the path leading to the ruins of the house. Maruta turned his face and light to the left.

That is.

"Maruta-san," At the sound of Kira's voice, he turned.
Kira illuminated a spot in the bushes and pointed there. "Is that something white that has fallen there ...... dish?"
"Dish?"
Maruta stuck his hand into the bush and picked it up. The white object was indeed a ceramic plate.

When he threw it out, he walked further. A break in the trees made the walk easier, but a similar forest soon appeared again. When other areas were illuminated, several white dots emerged as reflected light in the darkness. As soon as Maruta saw those, he started running, paying no attention to Kira behind him. He then picked up one of the small objects reflecting the light.
It was that metal ball he picked up on the driveway there two weeks ago. This time, those are innumerable. What on earth would they be used for?

"There's something dumped over here, too." Kira called out again.
A white, heavy-looking object lies on the spot where Kira is shining his light. Approaching, he realized what it was.

It's a toilet bowl. Why here?

Maruta's intuition kicked into gear. What this means is.

Maruta carefully probed the surrounding grass with his hand as he shone the light. After continuing for a while, "There it was." It was a silver ring that touched his fingertips.
In Maruta's brain, the fragments of facts he had gathered up to that point were connected together like a chemical bond. It was also similar to the phenomenon of supercooled water freezing all at once. A single unbroken line was formed there, albeit horribly tangled. One tragedy that can be traced all the way from the beginning to the end. Any trivial behavior of people he has known is now gaining presence as a meaningful element.

There are no excess puzzle pieces. Then, at least, that guy must have been definitely involved in the crime.

"Maruta-san, still something over there."
We are like sparrows being lured into a trap, Maruta thought comically of themselves. As he moved deeper into the forest, dispelling the insects swarming around his flashlight, he found more furnishings. Dirty bath tubs, sinks, dishes, empty glass bottles. As Maruta traced them, an unusual feeling of foreboding welled up in his heart.

Do not proceed further.
Another calm himself whispered this in his head.

"I wonder what these are. Looks like they are dotted and continued to the back." Kira is pushing through the woods, driven only by curiosity.
Maruta chased after him.

"There's a big one lying over there, too."
"Hey! Kira-san."
When Maruta stopped him, he still tried to go on. Maruta ran to stop him, his feet caught in the growing grass.

This unpleasant smell was the cause of a certain premonition he had earlier. It is never just the natural smell of a mountain forest.

Kira stopped and looked down at his feet.
If you want to see it so badly, watch it. Because you proceed with your guard down, you see a scene like this before you can prepare yourself.
Not wanting to see the face of a corpse devoured by maggots, Maruta snatched the cell phone from Kira's hand.