Volume 1, 2: Regarding Uchimaku Hayabusa(2/4)
“It also seems they are plant hunters.”
“Yes. All three of them had brand name seeds.”
“But...” I started, but the woman running the inn approached.
She offered us some sake, but I politely declined and asked for another bowl of white rice instead.
“Do you use special rice here?”
“No, we have a deal with Akita for that. They say local is best, but the subtropical environment of the island is not suitable for Japanese rice.”
“Thank you,” I said as I took the rice bowl and the woman walked off to another group. I then began speaking to Wajima-san in a low voice. “There you have it. The victims had this brand name rice, but where did they get it from and where were they taking it?”
“They don’t make rice on the island, so it likely was not stolen on the island so they could take it elsewhere. So was it brought in from outside so it could be cultivated on the island?”
“But she said the environment here is not suitable for Japanese rice. Otherwise, they would have started making brand name rice on their own. No matter how excellent the seeds they had, there is no point if they cannot cultivate it.”
“So it is unlikely they were taking it from here or bringing it in here. That means...”
“Yes.”
Part 5
After eating, I left the reception hall and entered my room. There, I called the chief of Department 1. He would have still received the information through a director or manager even if I had not, but he seemed to like to receive information directly from those on the scene. We exchanged information, but it indeed seemed unlikely we would uncover anything useful in the first few days.
Nothing suspicious had been found on other islands or ships.
It was unclear where the drums had come from.
After my call to the section chief, I called my nephew Shinobu. This of course had nothing to do with my job. I wanted to ask about the typhoon. It was just one of a few different typhoons, but it was making quite the parade through the islands. They had likely already received the typhoon’s baptism there.
“Cough, cough...Uncle? Did something happen?”
There was something odd about my nephew’s voice. It was not simply poor reception.
“Do you have a cold?”
“W-well, this Yuki Onna I met recently has been a bit overzealous, so...wait, no!! I don’t mind, so you don’t have to work so hard at making an ice pillow! No, wait...you idiot!! I didn’t mean you should crawl inside my futon to cool me down directly!!”
I heard sounds of a struggle on the other side of the phone.
“It seems Youkai are as fond of you as ever.”
“Don’t they tend to hate you, uncle?”
“I can’t stand Youkai. The law doesn’t apply to them. When they commit crimes through a Package, you can only arrest the human criminals behind it. There is no law with which to punish the Youkai. Even if someone dies, it’s treated the same as someone getting killed by some falling rocks. There’s no investigation or anything. Nothing could be worse for someone like me who works for the living more than the dead. If you think of it from a legal standpoint...”
“...Um, uncle. This Zashiki Warashi next to me is grinning and saying she used to avoid you because of the peculiar look in your eyes when you stared at the back of her neck as a teenager.”
“Wahh!! Wahhh!!”
Damn that indoor Youkai! She’s making things up again!! This is why I hated my home town so much!!
“It sounds like you have a bad cold, but if that’s the biggest news you have, there must not be anything too bad. I take it the typhoon didn’t blow the roof off the house or anything.”
“This isn’t the Three Little Pigs, so don’t worry. Things in an Intellectual Village may look old and run down, but it’s all artificial. Not to mention that I’ve heard this house has been quite durable for ages. It must be sturdy to have lasted hundreds of years. An apartment building made of reinforced concrete would probably have a harder time.”
“True. Well, that’s all I wanted to ask about.”
Old Japanese houses were so sturdy because the roof and walls were made to be easily repaired. The entire roof could be redone in a single day. With reinforced concrete, you just had to let it deteriorate.
“You watch out too, uncle. I’ve heard you don’t have to deal with Youkai once you leave these rural areas, but Youkai aren’t the only dangerous things in this world.”
“Yes, and I’m caught up in one of those things right now. But that comes with the job. It almost seems like dealing with a Nure Onna or Funa Yuurei would be more fun.”
“Oh, those Youkai that sink ships? I’ve always lived inland, so I’m not too familiar with those. Can those things sink an entire tanker?”
“Common ways of thinking don’t apply with them. If they can sink ships, they can sink any ship. It doesn’t matter if it’s a luxurious cruise liner or an aircraft carrier. But I’m sure you know how Youkai can twist the natural way of things more than I do. Say hi to your dad for me.”
With that, I ended the call.
Humans were the frightening ones.
I knew very well what my nephew Shinobu was talking about.
The question was, where was this frightening human?
Part 6
I was awoken on the second day by the sound of pouring rain blowing against the window. The weather was so bad that the wind seemed strong enough to blow a small car away.
I honestly wanted to hole up in the inn for my own safety, but I was a police officer and a member of society. I could not take a day off from my job because of the weather.
I was in a dead end job!
I wanted to rise to inspector or some other position where I could shove any unwanted work on someone else.
However, the thought still left me feeling dejected since I knew inspector would be my limit however the system might work.
“...I should have dealt with more of this yesterday.”
My complaining wasn’t helping.
On my first day on the island, I had done nothing more than prepare the foundation for the investigation. Today, I had to start checking over the entire island and gather the information I needed from the residents.
The weather was bad enough that carrying an umbrella was hardly going to help, so I borrowed a raincoat from someone working at the inn and left. However, the raincoat left me feeling very hot and stuffy. It may have kept the rain out, but it left no way out for my sweat. I was sure my suit was soaking wet.
The other police detectives were likely headed to the village to question people there, but I decided to walk along the perimeter of the island as there was something I was curious about.
Zashou Island was a small island. A small mountain only 200 meters tall was located to the southeast and gently-sloping land spread out to the northwest. The village was located in that northwest area.
The primary natural plant on the island was bamboo. This created a clear contrast with the dragon fruit, mango, and such in the plantations. To be honest, it was kind of a creepy. The things here could be called “greenery”, but they could not be called “natural”. Human interests had blotted out the natural scenery. The island had surely once had its own unique “nature”, but that had been swallowed up by the stereotype of the “tropical island”.
“Hi there. What are you doing, detective? Stealing fruit?”
“What are you doing here, mystery freak?”
And why are you wearing a swimsuit in the middle of this storm?
“I don’t want to hear that from the person wearing a raincoat in this humid tropical weather. Is it some kind of diet?”
She read my mind again!?
“This wind would destroy an umbrella in 5 seconds and a raincoat is out of the question. So doesn’t heading out in a swimsuit seem the most efficient? It matches the environment.”
As always, she had her memo pad smartphone, magnifying glass, and such hanging from her swimsuit bottom.
...Has she made sure her smartphone will be fine in this rain?
“So why are you taking a walk down a mountain path in a swimsuit?”
“Since you didn’t just head straight to question the villagers, I assume my reason is the same as yours.”
“It’s a waste of time to just stand here. We can talk while we walk.”
“Good idea.”
We walked alongside a plantation filled with fruits covered in nets to prevent wind damage.
“Have you looked around the island yet?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
“There is a cave over at the mountain. I didn’t actually check inside it, though.”
“A wise decision.”
Someone from the city might imagine exploring a cave you run across, but people from rural areas would never do that. They were crawling with bugs like centipedes and spiders, and there was always a risk of collapse, a lack of oxygen, or volcanic gases. A limestone cave maintained for tourists was one thing, but exploring some small entrance you find was as dangerous as crawling into a pipe in a ditch that leads into the sewers.
“The only lodging facility here is the inn we’re staying at. The village has a simple sweets shop, a barber shop, and a few bars. There wasn’t much else you could spend money at.”
“That sounds like the stereotypical Intellectual Village. They purposefully make it look depopulated. It would be perfect for filming a nostalgic film.”
“But look.”
Enbi crouched down and picked up something half buried in the mud.
It was an empty cigarette carton.
“Then this makes no sense.”
“That alone isn’t enough to draw a conclusion from, but I suppose it is worth looking into.”
I sighed and then looked around.
It looked like I would have to walk all over the place in that blowing storm to find what I needed to strengthen my personal theory.
Part 7
Once noon had passed, I was finally able to take a break from investigating.
Wajima-san from forensics was glad to have something to do, but I could not just do nothing simply because I had passed the baton off. Now that I had the information I needed, I had no choice but to use it.
It was time to interview people.
Having to go around to each individual person in the torrential rain was hardly fun, but that was my job. It couldn’t all be fun and games.
I was going to be asking dozens of people the exact same questions, but I thought it would be best to head to the most self-important person right off the bat.
I would do my best to keep it from happening, but the people I spoke to last would have the highest risk of telling a prepared story. It was best to head to the most suspicious people first.
“The president of the fishery cooperative would likely have something like that. Especially in a treasury of high-class goods like an Intellectual Village.”
And so I first headed to the home of the president of the fishery cooperative.
His name was Kurokawa Kai.
Intellectual Village homes were sold on being “like the old days”, but the fishing village homes were quite low key. The house had wooden walls and a tiled roof. Despite what my nephew may have said, it reminded me of one of the failed houses from the Three Little Pigs.
But the Intellectual Village influence could still be seen in the solar panels on the roof. Ecology had become quite fashionable of late, but that boom had caused an unneeded jump in the price of semiconductors, so it didn’t really seem appropriate to be happily grinning like in the ads.
I had hoped to deal with it all in front of the house, but the typhoon was blowing rain up under the eaves. I was forced to set foot within the front door at Kurokawa-san’s invitation.
“Oh, come on now. If I had something like that, I would be living in a much nicer house.”
He looked like a pleasant man just entering old age.
He had a bit of a bent back, but he had an atmosphere that made me think he could easily carry around weights that would cause a detective like me to cry out in pain. To put it bluntly, he looked like he had painful fists.
I asked him arbitrary questions about what people were doing when the drums had been discovered and what he had been doing up until the police had been notified. Just as he realized I was merely asking the standard questions and began to relax, I suddenly stabbed into the heart of the issue.
“Kurokawa-san. I have heard the primary industry here is the cultivation of oysters and pearls.”
“Yes, it is called mariculture. There is a line in quality we just cannot seem to cross when it comes to natural ones. If you want quality higher than that, it is much faster for people to interfere. Of course, an excellent natural environment is needed as a starting point.”
“But it is not just that, is it?” I readily asked. “You are just barely outside the bounds of the Ogasawara Islands. However, what lives in the ocean here is not that much different from around those islands. In other words, the protected species in the World Heritage Site that are often targets of poaching can be freely fished here. ...Is it more popular for people to buy them as rare pets than for food?”
Zashou Island had received investments from many corporations planning to use its natural resources which were on the level of a World Heritage Site. However, most of that was in the name of investigating the territories of the marine life and therefore was based on a catch and release policy. If non-locals needed to fish there, they could only do so in authorized areas that were strictly enforced. They could not simply fill their fishing boats as much as they wanted.
“Detective, is that what you have come here to discuss with me? If so, you are wasting your time. Even if such things are happening, it would only be the cowardly poaching groups. That is not a business the fishery cooperative has anything to do with.”
His words came smoothly, but that was actually much scarier than otherwise.
People who suddenly had ridiculous suspicion cast on them by the police would normally be much more disturbed.
“Even if that is so, this island was originally a central point for such unsavory people.”
“And does that have anything to do with us?”
“It does. Those drums containing corpses washed up here. And the corpses had brand name rice seeds on them.”
“Zashou Island does not produce rice.”
“True. It was not heading from here to somewhere else. Also, this area is unsuitable to cultivate it, so it was not being brought in from somewhere else.”
“Then what are you trying to say?”
“This is a relay point.”
Without hesitation, I continued speaking while well aware this method would apply the most pressure to the man. It was important to keep up the illusion that I had seen through everything.
“A relay point between point A and point B. And brand name rice would not be the only thing passing through. Most likely, a large variety of things pass through here. These would be products that would be dangerous to send directly. Perhaps a large criminal organization is involved. There was some trouble in the process of distribution and someone had to be ‘punished’. I would say that is what is going on here.”
“If that were true, shouldn’t your main focus be outside of this island?”
“That depends on who these ‘punishments’ were directed at.”
Perhaps I should not have said “most likely”.
That may have created a hole in the illusion that I had seen through everything.
“If they were targeted at someone else and they just happened to wash up on this island, that is one thing. But if those drums were meant as a warning to the residents of this island, I can hardly say you are uninvolved.”
“I suppose I can see where you are coming from. That would make a good movie.”
“Stuffing living people in drums and setting them afloat in the sea obviously seems like a message, but so does the brand name rice seeds. That kind of hint would be found with a simple body search, so I doubt someone who went to the effort of severing the limbs and stopping the bleeding would overlook it. That simplifies matters. Those seeds were information intentionally left for someone to see.”
“And yet you are wrong,” said Kurokawa-san smoothly.
He seemed the type who would say things in meetings to serve his company even if it earned him the animosity of his colleagues.
“We have seen suspicious ships sailing in the seas around the island, but none have ever come to the island itself. At the very least, none have ever made contact with us.”
“Can you prove this?”
“You cannot prove they have, can you?”
“What if I told you I can?” When I said that with the same smoothness as Kurokawa-san, I saw his cheeks stiffen a bit. “There are cigarette cases littering the ground in places all across the island. Not to mention chuhai cans and brandy bottles. And they are all brands not sold on this island. And don’t try to say they washed up on the island. I found plenty of them in the middle of the island.”
“Ridiculous... That’s your proof? Detective, surely you know how Intellectual Villages work.” After a brief silence, Kurokawa-san was back on form. “The scenery is made to look intentionally run down to create the proper atmosphere. The vast majority of everyday items and luxury food items are bought using the communications network and internet shopping. The village is overflowing with products brought in from outside the island. That is not even enough for a false accusation.”
“Are you sure you want to use that as your explanation?”
“What?”
“I’ll give you time to come up with a better counterargument if you wish, so I am simply asking if that is your final answer.”
I did not want to get caught in some annoying intellectual argument, so I was going to hurry up and deliver the finishing blow regardless.
“Kurokawa-san. Mass produced products have subtle differences within the exact same product depending on the factory and time in which and at which they were produced. Stamp collectors will get excited over differences in the concentration of ink. By looking into that kind of thing, you can easily check to see whether these things were bought online.”
“...”
“Also, records are left when you buy something online. Everyone has a purchase history. And this is not stored on your individual computers. It is stored on the company-side servers. Even if these are the same products by the same brands as people on this island bought, we can see if these are the exact same ones as you purchased. And we have started to check just that. So I ask again: is that your final answer?”
In an area where large numbers of foreigners came sightseeing all the time, this would be a hopeless plan. However, there was not that much data to go through for a solitary island with few people coming and going. And you mustn’t underestimate the power the police had as an organization. A check of the purchase histories of everyone on the island for the past year would be finished in just a few days.
This was another reason why I hated Intellectual Villages.
Everything was nicely said to be “smart” or whatever, but you never knew what kind of information was being stolen behind the scenes.
“Detective, if you are investigating that, you must see our innocence as a distinct possibility. So let me ask you something: is this your final answer? If this all turns out to be a false accusation, I might very well cause an uproar over you falsely accusing people.”
“True, I have no definitive proof. But I have my suspicions.”
You may be trying to threaten me, but it is not going to work, Kurokawa-san.
Unfortunately for you, I come from an Intellectual Village too. I know how things work around here better than most from the city.
“More importantly, you focus on the environment and quality of your products more than all else. You would not just throw cigarettes on the ground, now would you? And it does not particularly matter if this would actually have an effect on your crops. After all, the brands from an Intellectual Village gain their strength from maintaining the proper atmosphere.”
Kurokawa-san seemed unable to refute that point.
That was to be expected. Saying they did not care about pollution could directly affect his income.
“Kurokawa-san, my job is nothing more than to expose the truth of these murders. I have no interest in the dead. My only desire is to help the families of the deceased and to prevent another crime from occurring.”
I then upped the pressure so he would slip up.
“And if I must dig down into some larger plot to do so, I will dig down to the very bottom. I am a professional. I may dig up something even more grotesque, but I am prepared for that.”
I felt a small gust of air.
Kurokawa-san had let out a small sigh.
“Well, I am well aware that I have no authority to stop you,” he said. “By the way, do you have any plans to leave soon?”
“You really should not threaten members of an agency that keeps the peace. And even if that is not your intention, we can still take action as long as we perceive it that way.”
“Now, now. We are not that stupid. I am saying this in spite of the risks. I feel no need to get any more involved if there is no need.” Kurokawa-san sounded more like he was reading a bedtime story to a child than he was threatening someone. “Detective, you seem to be mistaken about something. We do not have any issues with outsiders. If we did, we would never have built an inn on the island. After all, Intellectual Villages are constructed so they can fully function without any external support.”
Outsiders.
Was he simply referring to me? Or was he referring to a large criminal organization?
The way he had changed the way he was speaking like a car changing gears seemed to be asking me to be careful how I answered.
“...Whatever the case may be, we can’t exactly leave until the typhoon passes, right?”
“I suppose not.”
Immediately after saying that, Kurokawa-san’s expression clearly changed.
It was like a balloon deflating.
This was not hatred, disgust, or hostility.
His expression was one of pure regret.
“I guess that’s that then,” he said.
“?”
I then asked the same questions to every influential person on the island and then everyone with some connection to those influential people.
They all reacted similarly.
I did not know what was hidden on Zashou Island, but the day was nearing when I would find out.
And once I had a handle on that invisible system, I would surely be able to see where the murders fit into it all.
To put it bluntly, I felt like I was winning.
I had found the route to solving the case and I thought I had everything under control.
I was na?ve.
I still did not fully understand what an Intellectual Village was.
Part 8
Dinnertime had come and the storm had still not let up.
It might last for days.
And then a problem arose.
“...I can’t get through.”
I had tried to call my nephew Shinobu, but my cell phone was not getting much of a signal.
Is this because of the typhoon?
My colleagues were gathering in the reception hall, but I changed directions in search of somewhere I might get a better signal.
“What are you doing, detective?”
“Shut up, mystery freak. I can’t get a signal for my cell phone.”
“You too? What carrier do you use?”
“JBP. So you’re having trouble, too?”
The mystery freak was using a foreign smartphone known as a Grape Phone, but it seemed she could not get a signal either.
It seemed to be a weather issue rather than an issue with the service provider. We tried for a bit longer, but could not get a call through.
Enbi tugged on my clothes and said, “This is perfect timing. Let’s have a chat.”
“I’d like to eat. Wait, where are we?”
“The first floor corridor. You got lost because you were walking around while staring at your cell phone.”
“Oh, I made it that far?”
I don’t remember heading down the stairs...
Just as I looked up at the ceiling with that thought, I heard the sound of a hunting rifle being fired from directly above.
I did not understand what was going on.
And the situation continued before my understanding could catch up.
The shots continued. Ten shots... Twenty shots... They just kept coming. It got to the point that my ears grew used to the loud explosive noises. I could hear thundering footsteps and screams mixed in, but the gunshots were loud enough to drown it all out. It was so much that I could not tell how many shots were fired or from what direction.
“This is bad...” said Enbi the mystery freak as she tugged on my clothes while I stood frozen in place. “It’s begun!! Those who didn’t want the police sniffing around have struck first!!”
“...You mean the police are being shot by criminals? But this is Japan.”
“Surely you’ve heard that in rural areas like Intellectual Villages no one is surprised to hear hunting rifles being fired.”
“But this isn’t getting rid of some lone sightseer who wandered here! We’re the police. This would wipe out 20 officers all at once!! Something like that would lead to a riot squad or even the JSDF being sent in. No one would be stupid enough to...!!”
I trailed off because I saw something very unpleasant.
A stain was appearing on the ceiling. This was not caused by a leaky roof. The stain was much too dark and red for that.
I had no idea what kind of construction had been used for that inn.
But how much liquid would there have to be to create a stain on the ceiling of the floor below?
Something was happening.
My fellow detectives and Wajima-san from forensics had been swallowed up by it.
“There’s some over here, too!!” someone shouted.
My heart skipped a beat.
We did not have time to check and see who had said that.
Enbi the mystery freak and I broke the window and jumped out.
We jumped out into the wet darkness of that stormy night.
We had finally caught a glimpse of the true face of the Intellectual Village known as Zashou Island.
Part 9
The island was only so big.
We obviously could not head to the village. The plantations and orchards may have looked natural at first glance, but they were actually protected by various cameras and sensors. The mountain apparently had caves, but those would likely end in our own destruction after falling into a natural trap.
As such, the process of elimination left us with only the option of fleeing into a naturally growing bamboo thicket that had zero commercial value.
To be honest, it did not feel safe in the slightest. We were simply buying time. If they se-->>