Not a detective

"Don't make it sound so unimpressive, Asakawa-kun. I was really worried about your safety, which is why I dragged you into the mystery club."

Chizuko pouted: "If things follow the same pattern as last year, you'll disappear just like them in four days."

If she could, she would even send a monster to track Asakawa around the clock and report back to her in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, the little ones were all terrified of him and wouldn't obey any commands...

"Thank you, President."

Asakawa Riku hadn't even reached the point where the other party had said that, yet he still shamelessly claimed that he wasn't afraid at all.

Although that's what he really thought.

He changed the subject: "By the way, is there a record of what happened to these seven people last year? Since we're going to deduce something, we can't just rely on the files to figure it out, can we?"

This is not a police investigation file, so there are no details. He knew nothing about last year's events.

"Of course!"

Chizuko seemed to have been waiting for those words.

She proudly pulled a small notebook from her pocket; it had a black cover and was exquisite yet simple.

He held it in both hands and handed it to Asakawa Riku.

"After all, I've been investigating for a year, and I've prepared all the necessary materials. Asakawa-kun, you're the first person to see my investigation notes."

"It is my great honor."

Asakawa Riku solemnly turned to the first page, where the elegant and beautiful handwriting read: "The Murder Premonition Love Letter Incident."

He calmed himself down and, in the mystery club after school, while Chizuko-senpai brought him tea, began to read attentively.

Tsuchigumo no Spring: Chapter Thirteen - Chizuko-senpai's Investigation Notes

[April 3, 2023, Tokyo Metropolitan XX High School, freshman entrance ceremony, a total of 208 freshmen enrolled that day.]

[These include seven victims: Takahiro Uemura, Yoshihiko Arimura, Tetsuji Sugino, Kentaro Yamane, Airi Hirata, Yumiko Esaki, and Koko Hino. 】

April 3rd was a Monday. As is customary, class assignments were conducted immediately after the entrance ceremony.

Of these seven victims, two were in Class A, one in Class B, three in Class C, and one in Class D. There was no obvious pattern, and they were all strangers to each other.

Even though we were classmates in junior high, we never really talked, and since school only started recently, we haven't had a chance to become friends.

They received love letters on their very first day of school.

This should have been a joyous occasion, but it feels odd if it happens on the first day.

Of the seven people, some chose to share the story with friends and open the love letter together; others, out of shyness, secretly opened it at home.

Everyone was stunned.

The love letter read: I will kill you in seven days.

Of the seven individuals, some chose to report to their parents, who then informed the school; some chose to report directly to the school; and the majority chose to conceal the incident.

This resulted in the school initially having only a list of three people.

The school concluded that the pranks played by upperclassmen on freshmen were acts of bullying.

The teachers in the administration office summoned the three students who had reported the incident (Takahiro Uemura, Airi Hirata, and Kaori Hino) and asked them if they had provoked any older students, hoping to find out who the culprit was. However, since it happened on the first day of school, all three could only shake their heads, and the investigation ended without any results.

The school's final measure was simply to have homeroom teachers conduct anti-bullying education for junior and senior students, warning them not to harass younger students; that was all.

[It was basically just a matter of letting the teacher say a few words in class to make an example of the three students. The school didn't even think about protecting them. Isn't that going too far?]

So, on April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday, the three students disappeared.

[It was a Sunday, so the school didn't realize that Takahiro Uemura, Airi Hirata, and Kaori Hino hadn't attended class until Monday, April 10th.]

At this point, the student's parents were frantic, initially thinking their child had run away from home. They contacted many relatives without success, and since it takes 24 hours for a minor to be officially declared missing by the police, the school only realized something terrible had happened after contacting the parents and learning this information.

[A series of disappearances.]

[After investigation, four more first-year high school students are still missing.]

[In the room where Yoshihiko Arimura, Tetsuji Sugino, Kentaro Yamane, and Yumiko Ezaki disappeared, the same love letters were found.]

[This confirms it: this is a series of kidnappings. The perpetrator not only brazenly warned and provoked, but also succeeded.]

On April 11, the school immediately announced a complete suspension of classes. We were suspended for a total of two months, and even several surrounding schools were affected.

Under immense public pressure, on April 12, the Metropolitan Police Department held a press conference to announce the formation of a special task force, drawing on a large number of officers to focus on this case.

However, this wasn't just "one" case, but a total of "seven" cases. This meant that no matter what, the investigation would always be insufficient. They had to divide into seven groups to investigate different students... The most difficult problem in this case, as generally acknowledged, was the dispersed locations of the crimes.

[April 9, 2023, the day she went missing, was a Sunday.]

School was not in session, and none of the victims attended classes; they all stayed at home on their days off.

[If a kidnapping occurs on a school day, one would definitely suspect that the children were ambushed by the perpetrator on their way to or from school.]

But these students were kidnapped from their own homes, or even... simply disappeared.

By the way, I prefer to call this phenomenon "disappearance" rather than "kidnapping."

The term "神隐" (shinpei) originated in the Northern Qi Dynasty of ancient China, in Liu Zhou's book "New Treatise on Magic" which states, "The master uses magic as a means of creation, and magic achieves its wonder through the concealment of the spirit." In Japan, its meaning gradually evolved to "being hidden by spirits or monsters," referring to the phenomenon of being abducted, kidnapped, or received by deities, resulting in an unknown whereabouts.

[Folklore expert Kunio Yanagita said that the phenomenon of "spirit disappearance" often occurs in children, just like this case, involving underage students. Since ancient times, whenever a child in a village goes missing without explanation, the villagers would beat gongs and drums, calling out the child's name to search. If they couldn't find the child, they would conclude that a spirit disappearance had occurred, and the missing child had been taken away by gods, tengu (mountain monsters), fox spirits, mountain hags, ghosts, or fairies. Spirit disappearance is an important "communication channel" between humans and the supernatural world. Those who are spirit disappear after being guided by some kind of signal. In this case, the token was that love letter... This matter is also recorded in "Tales of Tono" and "Urashima Taro," but I'm too lazy to copy it.]

The reason I'm so certain this is a case of "disappearance by divine intervention" is because this is simply not something a human could accomplish!

These are seven different kidnapping cases that occurred on the same day and within the same timeframe. If they are considered a series of crimes committed by the same perpetrator, then the perpetrator would have to be able to teleport instantly! The police have also considered the possibility of "accomplices," but how large a criminal organization would need to commit kidnappings at seven locations simultaneously?!

Such a large organization couldn't possibly operate without leaving a trace... but the problem is, there really isn't a single clue.

The seven students all disappeared suddenly from their own homes, specifically from their own rooms. Their parents claim there was no indication they even left their rooms, let alone the house. The parents only discovered their children were missing when they knocked on the door at dinner time without success – it was practically a magical transformation!

Police reviewed CCTV footage from around the residence and surveillance footage from nearby roads, but found no trace of the perpetrator or vehicle.

At this point, the investigation has reached a dead end.

[Without clues, without traces, without witnesses, and not even a suspect, this mystery is simply unsolvable!]

How did these seven students disappear? Ultimately, the police were unable to find an answer and could only shamefully declare their failure. The investigation devolved into a long and endless, passive search. The school eventually had no choice but to resume classes. Aside from increased security measures around the campus, no good news came for the victims' families…

[Only I realized that this wasn't kidnapping, but a mysterious disappearance, and the culprit wasn't human, but a monster.]

Only a demon could accomplish such an incredible feat.

But I know that if I send this investigative report to the police station, I'll be treated like a madman and kicked out... All I can do is write it down.

...

The ink suddenly darkens here, indicating that it's fresh ink.

It's March 31, 2024 now, one day before the new students start school. I'm about to become a second-year student.

I have a premonition that the monster will return, causing the disappearances to occur again.

The school's official website shows that this year's number of new students is one-third less than last year. I think this must be because of what happened last year.

The following words, seemingly penetrating the paper, were engraved even more deeply:

I will not let this happen again.

【Wind Offering to Chizuruko.】

Spring of the Earth Spider: Chapter Fourteen - Seven Secret Chambers

Reading Chizuko's investigation notes felt like reading the beginning of a mystery novel.

Very impressive. Asakawa Riku thinks she might have the potential to become a writer.

In just over two thousand words, the cause and effect of the incident were clearly explained. Although there were some personal opinions mixed in, it was generally easy to understand.

Besides the beautiful handwritten text, there are also on-site investigation photos and clippings interspersed throughout, showing great care, like a journal.

The newspapers at the time called the incident the "Serial Disappearances of Students at Metropolitan XX High School," which is to be expected. The official reports would never have used such a frivolous name as the "Murder Prediction Love Letter Incident," which was just a colloquial term coined by Chizuko-senpai.

The report was brief, taking up only a small section of the page. It seems the rumors of "information control" were not unfounded. He noticed that no important details were mentioned; it only stated that seven students were missing, without even mentioning the word "kidnapping." After all, no ransom was demanded in the end, so from a legal perspective, it was simply a case of "disappearance."

Asakawa Riku had no recollection of such an incident occurring at a school not far from his home.

...Perhaps I was too busy with other things at the time to notice.

"Very detailed, you put a lot of effort into this."

Asakawa Riku sincerely praised him and handed over the investigation notes.

Chizuko proudly raised her head: "Of course, after all, he's the president."

She emphasized that form of address.

The president's investigation notes are indeed impressive, probably only slightly inferior to the police investigation files. She recorded all the victims' information, analyzed their itineraries for the day, their commonalities, and the reason why the police were at a loss in this case: because the "disappearance" was without trace and difficult to track down.

"How did you find so much intelligence?" Asakawa Riku couldn't help but wonder.

Last year, Chizuko, like these victims, was an ordinary first-year high school student. She also said that she was unaware of the kidnapping at the time.

Should we go and ask each person who knows the truth...? She doesn't seem like someone who's popular.

"Ghosts, it's the same principle."

The female culprit explained her methods with a grin, seemingly without any remorse: "The 'murder-inducing love letter incident' was a hot topic at school back then, especially after classes resumed, everyone was talking about related rumors. I had Aju listen to their conversations, then pieced together the information, separating the truth from the falsehood, and finally came to the overall picture."

It turns out the ghost wasn't just monitoring the school's surveillance cameras, but also using listening devices to listen to every student...!

Asakawa Riku suddenly felt a chill, which meant that no matter what you said or did in this school, Chizuko might be watching.

too frightening.

Ah, you're so unpopular, maybe people aren't entirely wrong about you.

Of course, the guy in front of him was his boss, so Asakawa Riku could only say, "Impressive, I admire you."

He gave a thumbs up.

"Well then, Asakawa-san."

Chizuko put her investigation notes back into her pocket: "Now that you understand all the details of the case, can you make some preliminary deductions?"

"Didn't the president already reach a conclusion?" Asakawa Riku replied, "This is a case of spirit disappearance, and the culprit is a monster, right?"

"This is just my reasoning. The mystery club isn't a place where one person can have their own opinion. I'd like to hear what Asakawa-kun has to say."

"Okay, I'll tell you then."

Since the other party had given such a guarantee, Asakawa Riku bluntly stated, "If I were to deduce, the culprit is just an ordinary human being."

"Oh? You just saw the perpetrator's methods. That's a kidnapping case that no human could possibly pull off, right?"

Chizuko stood up and drew circles on the blackboard with chalk.

The photocopies of the seven student files were surrounded by seven circles she had drawn.

"This is a [secret room]."

"The kidnapping case in a locked room."

Asakawa Riku understood what she meant. According to the information provided in the investigation notes, the seven students were at home on their day off when they suddenly disappeared from their rooms.

Their families did not see them leave the room, nor did they find any trace of them leaving. Even the police investigation of surveillance footage and vehicles yielded no results.

The victim disappeared in the [locked room].

"First of all, we should confirm whether the locked room theory is valid."

Asakawa Riku was not a fan of mystery novels, but even he knew that so-called locked rooms were usually fake.

When the truth is finally revealed, it is often disguised using various methods and mechanisms.

"President, it's not that I'm doubting your investigation notes, but this isn't a police file, so there might be inaccuracies. You wrote that 'they all disappeared suddenly in their own homes, in their own rooms,' but are the circumstances of these seven people really exactly the same? Could there be exceptions?"

Asakawa Riku felt that since Chizuko had gathered information from rumors and hearsay, there might be biased or exaggerated facts involved.

"Asakawa-kun, that's a good starting point."

Chizuko wasn't angry at the questioning; instead, she smiled and said, "Actually, I've thought about that too. What I write down might not be true. The worst thing in reasoning is to have preconceived notions. If you keep trying to convince yourself, you'll only slowly get stuck in a dead end."

"But after thinking about it carefully, I suddenly understood the guys in the Metropolitan Police Department. They weren't tax thieves; it was just that the puzzle was too difficult."

She suddenly stretched out her finger and wiped the chalk marks on the blackboard.