/p>

Well, I can't really say for sure.

In any case, if I have to do it, make it quick. I let Chitanda into my room, where I would be asking her for more details. There were two chairs and a small table near the window, so we took a seat there. Now, then...

"Did you see the hanged shadow in the room right across yours?"

I asked while opening the window and looking at the main building.

"Yes, that's right."

"How big was it."

"My mind was quite hazy then, so I'm not really sure, but I think it should be approximately human-sized. As for the shape... I'm sorry, but I cannot remember. It was only after hearing Mayaka-san talk about the hanged shadow that i thought of it as the shadow of a person."

Chitanda's voice grew softed as she tried to recall last night's events. It seems that she's really not sure. To support her curiosity, Chitanda has exceptional powers of observation and memory, and for that to be unclear means that she must have been really tired last night. However, since I didn't see a shadow or whatever it was, I could only rely on Chitanda's memory, not matter how vague it is. I continued.

"What color was it?"

"I don't know. It's not because I cannot remember, but because it was just a shadow."

I tried to imagine what Chitanda saw, but I couldn't do it. The word "shadow" was just too vague.

"A shadow, huh. In other words, there was a light source, and you saw a human shadow against the light, right?"

"If what we saw was not a supernatural phenomenon, I think that would be correct."

"A light source..."

I turned to look at the main building again.

"A light source at night would have been the moon..."

My own voice was filled with doubt.

"I think so too. The moon was quite large last night. But something seems... Ah."

Chitanda, who was looking at the main building, raised her voice. That's right. Whether it was the moon or a searchlight, a shadow could not have been formed. All the wooden shutters of all the rooms in the main building were closed.

"Chitanda, what time did you sleep?"

"Er, around ten. We were all tired, and I had promised to take a bath with Mayaka-san this morning, so we slept early."

"What was the state of the shutters at that time?"

Chitanda thought for a while and answered.

"I think they were closed. I cannot say for sure, but the main building was pitch dark."

"Hm."

If the shutters were closed, there couldn't have been a shadow. This is becoming a hassle. I scratched my head. It's troublesome, but we would probably have to go to the main building and take a look at room seven, where the shadow was seen.

Chitanda said with a grin,

"How nice! It's just like a mystery! With this kind of pleasures, I'm glad we took this trip!"

You're the only one enjoying this, though.

We could easily enter the main building by using the connecting walkway. However, there was a rope tied at the end of the passage, and there was a card with the words "People unrelated to the construction work are prohibited from entering" hanging down from the rope. Chitanda was really hesitant to duck under the rope. Well, I guess it would be bad if we somehow got into some trouble. We should probably seek permission from someone in the inn.

However, if we told the owners that we were investigating the hanged shadow, it would be bad for Rie, who had told us not to tell anyone else. If we want to get permission, we should approach one of the Zenna sisters.

As luck would have it, at the exact moment, Kayo passed by us. When I called her to stop, Kayo's body stiffened in shock, but she relaxed when she saw Chitanda beside me.

"Yes, what is it?"

I turned to look at Chitanda.

"Eh?"

"Please handle this."

I'm bad with young, innocent kids.

"Okay. Kayo-san, we would like to enter the main building, is that alright?"

"The main building? Why?"

"I believe you heard it during breakfast, but we are investigating the hanged shadow that Mayaka-san and I saw. Could you please show us to room seven?"

I understand that honesty is a virtue and that you like approaching a problem head-on, but your phrasing probably needs some work, Chitanda. As expected, Kayo shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't right now. Onee-chan... will get mad at me."

Well, it can't be helped. Come to think of it, it would have been difficult to ask to enter someone's house simply out of curiosity. I quickly gave up on physically examining room seven, and asked a question instead.

"Then at least tell us this. Is that room still used for guests?"

I had no ill intentions, but perhaps I said it too forcefully, Kayo retreated a little and frowned. However, she still answered my question.

"No. Guests only use the bathroom and the dining hall in the main building."

"Okay..."

"The second floor is used for storage... Can I go now?"

I nodded.

"Thanks. You were very helpful."

But Kayo turned tail and ran off somewhere before I could even complete my sentence. I folded my arms sadly.

"Looks like she doesn't like me."

But Chitanda just smiled upon seeing our exchange.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's just afraid of big men. That's so cute! Ah, having a little sister would be great!"

She exclaimed ecstatically. Hm, cute, huh?

The sun was steadily rising, and it was getting hotter. I wiped my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand. Chitanda, however, with her superhuman resistance to heat, was unruffled.

"Is it a problem if we cannot enter room seven?"

"It's not so much a problem as it is a hassle."

I headed to the entranceway with Chitanda. Since we can't examine the scene from inside, I intended to investigate from outside. I was leaning over to take off my shoes at the entranceway meant for both guests and the Zenna family, when Chitanda said excitedly,

"Ah, that brings back memories!"

What Chitanda had found was two radio exercise attendance cards placed near the shoe rack. One belonged to Rie, who had written her name in large letters, while the other, which had no name, probably belonged to Kayo. Rie's attendance card was stamped sparsely for the start of the summer holidays, but was empty for the later part. On the other hand, Kayo seemed to be exercising every morning without fail.

Chitanda picked up the two cards.

"Morning radio exercises... I haven't done these in two years!"

You continued doing this until the second year of middle school... Seriously?

I've never done this if you exclude the time when I was extremely young. When exactly did I set my heart on becoming an energy-saver?

We went out to the garden and were instantly surrounded by the humid air and the strong smell of greenery.

We looked up at where room seven was in the main building. The shutters were still closed. Chitanda invited me to look at the back of the building, and when I was heading there, I accidentally kicked up some water.

"Oops."

The muddy water that I had kicked up flew towards Chitanda's feet and stained her shoes.

"Sorry."

"It's alright."

The ground was still muddy because the annex was blocking the morning sunlight. I thought that some of the water was contributed by the plants in the area, but that did not seem to be the case. I noticed that the areas with exposure to sunlight were almost dry, meaning that quite some time had passed after the ground became wet. I asked,

"Chitanda, did it rain last night?"

"Yes. I don't know the exact time, but there was a passing shower."

We went around the main building. It was my intention to examine room seven from the other side, but the shutters there were also closed. However, both the east and west shutters had to be open for a shadow to be formed.

As I crossed my arms, I noticed Chitanda also crossing her arms, as if she was thinking about something. I was about to ask her for her thoughts when the window in front of us opened and Kayo spoke.

"Um... It's time for lunch."

I checked my watch. Indeed, it was about to be noon. Time to take a break.

Lunch was chilled ramen, which was delicious. It's not like we had to withstand high temperatures in this high ground, but I welcomed the refreshing taste. The six of us were sitting around the dinner table. Ibara asked a question while moving her chopsticks.

"So, did you find anything out?"

"No, not yet..."

I continued after Chitanda.

"We're still just starting to look into it. I do have a theory, though."

"Oh? Then let's hear your theory."

That would be quite difficult, for my thoughts on the matter were still vague and hard to grasp. I didn't respond, but Satoshi grumbled with obvious displeasure.

"What are the three of you talking about? We've been together for so long, and you're going to be so cruel as to leave me out of the loop?"

An exaggerated protest, as expected of Satoshi. I didn't really want to spend time explaining it to him, so I responded with a question instead.

"Out of the loop or not, where did you go? I haven't seen you all day."

"You're supposed to use a hot spring multiple times a day, whenever you feel like it."

Is that how it works? I don't think I'll dare to go to a hot spring after last night's incident.

I hadn't even finished half my plate when two people clasped their hands in succession.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Thank you for the meal."

It was the sisters, Rie and Kayo. Rie took her own table ware and headed for the main building. Kayo followed suit after a brief moment. Chitanda smiled happily on witnessing that scene. Apparently she found it to be charming.

"It must be wonderful to have a sister. I sure envy those two."

"Oh? Did you wish you had a sibling?"

"No, I wouldn't go so far as to say that I wish for one. Do you have any siblings, Fukube-san?"

Satoshi then started a discourse about his little sister. I've met her before, but she's an arrogant oddball who doesn't want to conform to society. The same can be said of my sister.

We finished lunch while talking about that topic. At that moment, Rie, who had gone to the main building, returned.

With a "Ta-da", Rie appeared in a yukata. It wasn't the kind of yukata worn after taking a wearisome, distasteful bath, but a yukata meant for parading around at firework festivals. It was a light blue that can be said to have the color of water, and the pattern of waves and plovers embroidered on it looked pretty cool. Rie seemed to be extremely proud of it.

"What do you think of my yukata?"

"Wow!" Chitanda cheered.

"It's wonderful!"

"Yeah, it suits you. You look really grown-up in it."

Rie gave a huge smile on being praised.

"My parents bought it for me at the start of the summer break because my grades improved. Let's go to the fireworks festival tonight! I've been preparing so long for it!"

While the three of them were engrossed with the yukata, Satoshi took a sidelong glance at me and spoke in a voice that only I could hear.

"It does look good."

Knowing Satoshi's usual roundabout way of talking, I clearly understood what he was trying to say. I whispered back at him.

"Then what's bad?"

"The obi[8]. The obi is like the life of a kimono, but that one's an imitation."

I looked at it again. The butterfly knot was certainly floating strangely, but Satoshi's words seemed out of place.

"Why would it be radioactive?"

"I said 'imitation', not 'mutation'... The butterfly not is a separate part of the obi. It may be easy to fit on, but it's not in my philosophy to call that a yukata."

Who cares about your philosophy? It'll be noticed by the experienced eye, but otherwise no one would be able to tell the difference. How stupid, I thought as I yawned and stretched.

It was at the moment.

"...Hmm?"

I felt a presence. I turned back to look at the open sliding screen.

But I didn't see anyone. That's weird, I'm pretty sure I saw a human shadow flit by. Have I also been afflicted by the curse of the hanged shadow?

"What's the matter?"

I ignored Satoshi's question.

A human shadow, huh.

I left the room. It would be nice if I could find a room to calmly think. I noticed that Chitanda was following me. I wanted to tell her not to come, but and idea formed in my head. How about we go to yesterday's bath house? I turned around and suggested this to Chitanda, who smiled and nodded.

On the way to the bath house, I stayed quiet and gathered my thoughts. Observing my state, Chitanda also kept silent.

The hanged shadow. That's just a withered flower, a product of Ibara and Chitanda's mistaken observations. It'll be difficult, but they probably wouldn't mind me declaring it to be so. However, something is missing...

We reached the ope-air bath. Before we parted, Chitanda spoke.

"Let's go back together."

I couldn't answer.

When I passed the counter and entered the changing room, I felt a sense of déjà vu. I understood the reason right away. It was because the placement of objects was exactly the same as last night. A set of clothes with a pair of cargo pants was placed in a basket by my feet. That would be Satoshi. But this was more mysterious than the hanged shadow. Wasn't Satoshi still in his seat when we left? Did he use a teleporter?

When I entered the bathing area, Satoshi was already immersed in the water, as expected. I stayed outside the bath and stared at Satoshi, who noticed even though he did not see me clearly. He then turned around and accounted for his presence.

"Well, if you slide down the slope behind Seizansou, you come out right behind here."

I was not at all surprised by that statement. It would indeed be Satoshi's style to slide down a slope just for a shortcut.

I immersed myself in the bath. I wiped my head with a tower, trying to clear the haze from my brain, which did not seem to be working. For the annoying problems the Classics Club has encountered, or in other words the questions that Chitanda brought in, the solutions had to be accepted by Chitanda. But no matter how much I rack my brain, I can't think of a way to explain the hanged shadow that would satisfy Chitanda.

The one thing missing was basically why. The true form of the shadow was not difficult to deduce, but if I can't explain why it was there, then an adequate explanation to Chitanda is impossible. I do have something in mind, though.

I traversed my memory speechlessly for a while. Seeing that I didn't stir an inch and perhaps thinking back to last night's incident, Satoshi broke the silence.

"Houtarou? Did you seriously get dizzy again?"

Satoshi, huh? He just might know something. I tried asking him.

"Hey, were there any events last night?"

Satoshi was taken aback at the sudden question, but his original smile immediately returned.

"Last night's highlight would definitely be you losing consciousness."

"I'm really indebted to you, but I won't repeat my thanks. Anything else?"

"Well, as you know, we were telling ghost stories last night. I had two flowers in each hand, with one flower to spare[9]."

Flowers, huh. When all's said and done, Chitanda would be the lotus flower and Ibara would be the thistle.

"No, I don't mean private events. Do you know any official ones?"

"Hmm, I'm not that sure about official, since I'm not a resident here... Well, there was the summer festival. Couldn't you hear the drums?"

Summer festival.

I see, so there was something like that... As I thought, there was a summer festival.

Satoshi would usually notice my satisfaction and would probably make fun of me. However, half his face was immersed in the water, and his eyes appeared drowsy and lacking in energy, so he didn't notice anything. I would answer if he asked me a question, but it seems that Satoshi didn't need to ask me anything. I got up from the bath.

I wore my clothes and went outside, but Chitanda hadn't left yet. The hot and cool sensations helped me put my thoughts together while I waited. Before long, Chitanda came out, and we went off.

On the way back to the inn, I started a conversation with Chitanda.

"That hanged shadow you saw... was probably just a yukata on a hanger."

"Eh?"

Chitanda was shocked by the sudden answer. I waited for her to digest my words, then continued.

"It isn't impossible to see the silhouette of a yukata as the shadow of a person, even if you aren't drowsy. If it was not a ghost, it would have to be some sort of clothes shaped like a dress that was dangling from the ceiling, right?"

Chitanda was speechless for a moment, then tilted her head, indicating that she couldn't accept that theory.

"But why would a yukata be there of all places? And it would be weird for someone to open the shutters specifically so we could see it hanging."

"It wasn't so you could see it."

I took a fleeting glance at the sky.

"It was to dry it. The yukata was wet. The windows were open to let the wind in so it would dry faster."

"Why?"

"The yukata was wet because it rained."

"No, I mean why was it hanging in room seven?"

"So no one could see it being dried."

"But we saw it!"

"No, it was to hide it from the rest of the family."

It seems that I've made no progress. I scratched my head.

In a beat, I started explaining my theory from the very beginning.

"The one who hung the yukata up to dry was Kayo.

"Kayo was envious of Rie's yukata and wanted to try it on. However, no matter how well the yukata fitted Kayo, it belonged to Rie, and I'm sure Rie wouldn't lend it to her. Didn't you notice? Rie wrote her name on her cup and radio exercise card, making sure everyone clearly knows what's hers. She's a possessive person. Furthermore, Kayo was afraid of Rie and couldn't possible ask her to lend the yukata.

"But Kayo still wanted to wear it, so she secretly took it out. Fortunately for her, the obi was attached to the yukata, so she could put it on by herself. Also, since she's a daughter of the inn owners, I'm sure cleaning up after wearing the yukata would be her forte. Anyway, she wore it to the summer festival last night, at around eight. Well, she must have enjoyed herself."

"Kayo-san went to the summer festival? How do you know that?"

"I heard from Satoshi that there was a summer festival last night. As to why I know Kayo went there, it's because I noticed someone leaving the house last night, before eight. Kayo wasn't around for the ghost stories, right?"

This morning, Kayo was blaming Rie for telling the story of the hanged shadow. If they were together in the room when Rie was telling the story, Kayo wouldn't have said it only in the morning. Moreover, according to Satoshi, there were only three girls in the room. In his words, he had two flowers in each hand, with one to spare.

"I guessed so. When Kayo was having fun in the festival, she ran into some trouble."

Chitanda took a deep breath.

"It started raining.

"Based on the dryness of the ground, the rain probably abated after a short while, but the yukata was soaked. At that moment, Rie remembered that Kayo had planned to play with fireworks the next day. She knew that Rie was undoubtedly going to wear the yukata then. Kayo had to find a way to dry the yukata by then. She was probably scared stiff.

"However, if she dried it on the first floor of the main building, it might be seen by someone, and the annex was out of the question. She couldn't use the dryer that late at night, either. So, Kayo waited for everyone to fall asleep, then she snuck into the second floor of the main building to dry the yukata, in the most distant room.

"But bad luck befell her again. With the windows open, the moonlight made it look like a hanged shadow to you and Ibara. Since the moonlight came from the west, it was after midnight, probably around three of four o'clock.

"And even worse, we began to look into the hanged shadow. Just now, at lunch, the two sisters quickly left the room. Rie wanted to show off her yukata, but Kayo... She probably felt like she was on a bed of thorns."

I continued walking after explaining my theory. At that moment, I remembered Kayo stiffening at the sight of me. This must have been the reason. She must have been really frightened.

"Kayo returned the yukata in the morning. Quite early in the morning... For the exact time, you could check the radio broadcast schedule, since Kayo diligently participates in the morning exercise. She probably returned the yukata before that."

"......"

"We should probably keep this from Ibara. If it was somehow leaked to Rie, Kayo would be in big trouble. You never know what could happen."

Chitanda simply cast her eyes down speechlessly and continued walking.

While we were on that long, gentle slope, Chitanda eventually murmured without raising her head,

"But then... that would mean that those two don't get along."

That was a point I hadn't considered. Ignoring my bewilderment, Chitanda continued.

"For those two who can't even lend a yukata to each other, their relationship can't be described as close at all."

She said while giving me a faint smile. Her lips were curved, but her expression was one of sorrow. This is not the first time I've seen her like this.

I barely managed to open my mouth.

"Isn't that pretty normal, for siblings? Like my sister..."

"I..."

It seems that Chitanda didn't hear my words. It was almost as if she was talking to herself.

"I've always wanted a sibling. A respectable older sister, or a cute younger brother..."

We walked on clad in our yukatas. Summer hadn't ended yet. There were gigantic columns of clouds before our eyes, and it was somewhat disheartening to see them suddenly disappear.

As we caught sight of Seizansou, Chitanda finally continued her sentence.

"But I'm sure that I understood that the hanged shadow was no ghost. I probably also knew whether all siblings in the world were truly happy..."

I did not wish to hear more of this. Thankfully, Chitanda did not continue.

We slowly ascended the gentle slope which was surrounded by dense greenery. I knew it from the very beginning. The siblings that Chitanda mentioned were just like apparitions. When you observe closely, they turn out to be just withered flowers.

As the damp heat permeated my body, which had been in a hot bath a short while ago, I started sweating profusely. There was a figure on the hill who turned to face us. As we drew closer, the figure turned out to be Rie, who was waving vigorously.