Kyokou Suiri (Ss1) - Ep 2 (gọi tắt là “Suiri #63”)

It's beautiful. Are you visiting your cousin again today? You're here at just the right time, aren't you? Did you use your usual deduction skills, or did you ask those youkai about my whereabouts? It just happens to be that I also have an eye and foot examination. Ever since that incident, there's been nothing but talk in Aya-kou's circle about Kurokawa being a cursed soul. His true identity? A legendary yōkai gourmet who gets deliciously prepared and devoured. You offered your help, and this is how you're treated? It's not the help that's the problem. My left hand is really fine, isn't it? Why are you worrying so much? It was me who dragged you into this. That's the truth. Since I ate mermaid flesh when I was eleven years old, my body has been able to regenerate completely from any damage. It's said that anyone who eats mermaid flesh becomes immortal, but looking like an 11-year-old forever doesn't quite qualify as immortality, does it? You're right. I think the flesh of the other demon we ate together is partially counteracting the effect. What else is it that I should go and do soon? You're running late for the visit. Good effort. Actually, I have a favor to ask. I'm supposed to meet the entity itself—the great serpent—at a remote mountain location in the neighboring prefecture tonight. Could you come with me? There's a huge serpent in the mountains. Yes, about 10 days ago A messenger came to me, saying that Your Grace is troubled by a certain worry and cannot sleep at night. That's when it's time for Kaii and the others' wise god to step in. You'd never do something as dangerous as that— you don't have any particular ability to back it up. They're rude youkai, but they possess a proud ability—through words, even ghosts can be touched. But that's all it would be—things like flying over land and sea, or through the air, or using money to trigger the summit phenomenon. You don't have any physical or magical powers. What do you plan to do if you run into a violent, aggressive monster like the one last time? If you're concerned, please come with me. If those people's worried hardships can be alleviated and they cooperate, negotiations and mediation will undoubtedly become much easier. I can't tonight. Huh? I want to eat the pork soup I made yesterday slowly, so go by yourself. Honestly, how can you possibly send a girl alone to a remote mountain village in the middle of the night? Sorry, I'm late, the sun is rising, and the lake is coming into view. Thank you very much for taking the time to come all the way here from such a distant place. Sunshine? No, that's my duty—there's no need to thank me. The deity has also been enshrined as a water deity. If you need anything, it's only natural that I should pay a visit. It has been a long time since humans were enshrined as water deities. Even Hokora has long since ceased to receive offerings carried by those who once brought them. Even if they were to summon the Eastern Rain, they would not possess the power to control the weather, so to claim to be gods would be utterly presumptuous. It's only natural that they are enshrined; the changes in the human world happen swiftly. There are many things I no longer understand, and thus I have sent a messenger to seek the wisdom of the renowned sun itself. Though I can't offer much in the way of hospitality due to being in the mountains, could you please cheer up? Oh no, it's alright. It's not because of Your Highness Yushi; it's just personal matters. Personal? Yes. I have a boyfriend named Kuranaka Kyōrō, but he just declined to come here with me tonight, saying he wants to have pork soup instead. You had a ghost following you, didn't you? Mr. Kuro, please just take a look at this for now. Don't just barge into other people's homes. Are you really going to go into the mountains looking like that? As expected of Kyoro-san, you have excellent taste. This is a spring outfit—invited party dress, indeed. I was invited to a place in the mountains, I suppose. My hiking outfit from when I was in elementary school. Why do you have something like that readily available? Insect repellent spray What are you doing? Come on, bring the pork soup with you. There are also onigiri. Kyoro, you really shouldn't go overboard again. And even if I explained that the person I'm meeting has a metabolism so high it might eat people, there's no sign of them wanting to accompany me. I never thought Dongfang would dare to eat a princess; after all, people wear so many clothes and metal objects that they're difficult to eat in the first place. I've eaten it once, I suppose. Well, at least once. Although it was once rumored to be a man-eating orochi, it finds humans unappetizing, and nowadays they might cause troublesome situations, so it avoids them first. By the way, Princess, if you're going to bring it over like this, couldn't you have eaten it together with your boyfriend? of There's no doubt about it—it was clearly two water bottles that were missing. Let's get back on track and get to the main point. That issue you're concerned about was indeed the multiple corpses discovered in this swamp, wasn't it? I would like you to explain, in a convincing and satisfactory manner, why that woman deliberately came to this swamp to dispose of a corpse. About a month ago, around 4:00 p.m. on April 23rd, a man's corpse was floating in this stagnant pond. A hiker who had been missing for three years was discovered with a sharp object stabbed into his chest, leading to a definitive conclusion of murder. Although her mobile phone and identification documents were not found on her person, the sister was quickly identified because she was discovered just a few days after her passing. Iroha Yoshiwara, 35 years old, employed at a major construction company, was later arrested as the perpetrator; a 30-year-old woman. There's no doubt she's looking up at the valley. Although there are still unclear aspects, the main focus from her side is on consolidating evidence. You could say the incident is almost resolved by now. The reason he dumped the body in this swamp must have been to conceal it or delay its discovery. No, I wasn't trying to hide it—Touhou happened to witness it by chance. Although it's unusual for Gohara to dump bodies in this swamp used occasionally by the east as a watering hole, animal carcasses sometimes float there, and people also throw garbage into it. Therefore, although we regularly have the people of Ayaka City clean the mountain, that's fine, but... I still can't accept it. The woman threw the body into the swamp without attaching any weights. That's why the body floated to the surface of the marsh and was discovered shortly afterward. Above all, the woman was there at that moment. I quietly mutter, I hope you can find it successfully. The woman is muttering as she carries the corpse and leaves it in such a place, hoping it will be discovered. At first glance, the culprit is behaving irrationally—completely incomprehensible. It must be very difficult for a woman to ride a unicycle up a mountain path at night with a corpse on it. The police are suspicious and questioning the suspect. According to the suspect, Ayumi Tanabe, she said, "Why would I go to the trouble of carrying the body to this swamp?" I had heard that a giant serpent lived in that swamp and would eat people, so I thought that if I dumped the body there, the serpent would devour it. It was somewhat unconventional circumstances, which even attracted attention in the newspapers; Eastern also took notice of the situation. Aoi Tani's family home is located just at the foot of this mountain. Perhaps she once believed in the legend of the man-eater she heard about in her childhood. I didn't drag the body here desperate for a straw to cling to. The culprit indeed tried to hide the body. I simply thought about having you, my master, enjoy it beautifully—nothing more, nothing less. What would the woman's muttered words be when she discards the body? Not meaning, "I've dumped it here, so hopefully someone will cleverly find the corpse." That's what I mean—since it's You specifically who'll find it successfully, it's great! Even if the easterner finds it, there's no guarantee they'll eat the corpse. They'd probably mutter something like, "If the woman's wish is for the corpse to be disposed of, then it'd be best if they eat it nicely." Your Majesty, despite your large stature, this raises another question: why did the woman resign from such a lie? It's going to be lengthy, I suppose, to hide the real reason for dumping the body in the swamp. Indeed! I demand a satisfactory explanation. Shall we sort out the incident a bit? You seem to have a fair amount of knowledge already. We can't have a component like that, so the incident originated five years ago. Yoshikazu Matoi was Kanna Tani's boyfriend, but he died in a situation resembling a pearl with another woman, a colleague from the same company. Masai worked in a major construction company, where he was responsible for accounting, but he had manipulated financial figures dishonestly. It was discovered after the incident that he had been making enormous bribes. Townai, realizing he could no longer conceal the pearls, invited the woman and then died. That was a plausible theory; heartbroken Aoi was alone here. I returned to my family home in Tsukuna Mountain and lived in seclusion for about two years. Later, after returning to the local area, he gradually recovered over time as he took up work. That night had been the one before. Around 7:30 PM on Friday, April 21 of this year, Yoroi Yoshina visits Aoi's house. I want to apologize for what happened five years ago. Yoshihara was Tonai's colleague, and Aoi knew both his face and his name. Tomoi was the one I killed. I was the one who was committing misconduct. Towns and that woman realized it and warned me, saying they'd expose me if I don't act on my own. That's why I killed him—the plan by Yoshihara to cause fatigue succeeded. I was free from the sin of indulgence and everything had been going well afterward; however, this year misfortunes have occurred one after another. I made a serious mistake at work, and my wife passed away. Moreover, she discovered a malignant tumor in her own body—an unforeseen chain of negative events. Yoshihara came to believe this was retribution for something that had happened five years ago, and thus, seeking to atone for his sin, he went to visit Aoi. If I eat now, perhaps I can escape the fateful retribution from the past and at least save my own life. As for the suspect, Kiyomi Amano, that's about the situation. In reality, Yoshimoto has already contacted the younger brother of Tōi. Regarding the incident five years ago, Atsui's younger brother said he couldn't discuss specifics at the time because he was busy, but wondered if they could meet sometime soon. Kiyonari must have decided to meet Aoi first, as the past embezzlement and the strange creature incident surfaced on the investigation line, making Aoi Tanimi, who had connections to both, a key figure. It turned out that Yoshihara, who was about my build and had become severely emaciated due to illness, lived right at the base of the site where the corpse was discovered. It wasn't as difficult as I thought to carry it. Perhaps because it rained all day on the 22nd, a Saturday, no one went into the mountains. It was discovered on the 23rd, the day after the next day. The wallet and mobile phone would probably have been disliked by the great serpent when it was eating. That's why I took it out. I burned the autograph session at home, and I threw the mad knife into the swamp along with the body. But I couldn't eat it. Lately, during the day, the police's eight-petaled flower has been scouring the marsh, as if searching for some madness. It must be quite difficult here. Did the master culprit throw anything else into the body besides the corpse? Although the information available is limited, there are still aspects that require us to rely on imagination for storage. The reason the culprit dropped the body into the swamp was, after all, quite simple. Simple? Yes, in such cases, it's usually to cover up the real culprit. Aoi had previously received a notification that the other person would be visiting her home after coming from Yoshiwara fatigue. He's someone connected to a painful past. Do you think I'd meet him alone? Well, that's true. It wouldn't be surprising at all if someone were with me when meeting Yoshihara. Maybe that younger brother from town isn't such a bad idea after all. I heard from a call from Yoshiwara that the younger brother got in touch with his older brother's former lover. I might have contacted Aoi, suspecting something was off—I found out the truth about my brother's death and impulsively killed him. He had a future ahead of him, while Aoi had been living in seclusion for a long time and had little to lose. So she decided to take action to defend him; she quickly returned the real culprit and then carried the body to a remote swamp deep in the mountains, dumping it there. The reasons are threefold: first, to eliminate as thoroughly as possible any traces of the actual perpetrator that might be clinging to the body, using the swamp water. The second is to give the real culprit a sense of accomplishment; yet, why should the woman be the one who successfully finds him? I murmured something like that, so the master has a third reason. Kotomi Aoi tried to erase all traces of the real culprit. She thoroughly cleaned every corner of the house; it should be possible to eliminate all evidence. But what about outside the house? I have no idea where or what kind of traces I might have left. That's why Aoi threw the body into the master's marsh—she's doing it to make it rain, no matter how you look at it. Ah, Your Majesty, you are known as the Water God and have even received the Rain Boats. If it rains heavily, even the tires accidentally dropped will be completely washed away—please wait. Toho being called the Water God is ancient history; it's unimaginable that they'd ever drop a corpse into First Swamp. Moreover, do you think a filthy middle-aged man's corpse can receive the blessing of rain? If it is an offering, then first present your name, living daughter. Give me your daughter as a sacrifice. There are two main methods for rainwater harvesting. One is the method of venerating the water deity and asking to have one's prayers heard—this is a successful approach. On the other hand, there is also a method of causing the water deity to become angry and rampage in order to bring rain. Ah, now that you mention it, I've also heard something like that. It seems His Lordship was truly angry. What a coincidence! It was raining the very next day. Now, the master's whispered remark from earlier makes perfect sense. Kotao Kui had wanted to be furious, so that the body would be found by His Excellency; she couldn't help but mutter, "It'd be nice if you could find it properly." That explanation isn't sufficient. In that case, it would be nice if heavy rain could come down successfully. You're right, it would be appropriate to mutter something like "I wish a giant snake would appear." If anyone had come by car from outside, surely someone would have noticed; the police must have investigated, so there shouldn't be any accomplice or actual perpetrator. You're surprisingly quick to deny it. That's precisely why the culprit is only Aoi Taniou. What the police said about his resignation is mostly true, isn't it? The only thing that's different is the reason he dumped the body in this swamp. My princess's boyfriend? How terrifying. Who gave you that boyfriend? Correct it— he's not my boyfriend. Let's settle the argument later. For now, I must resolve Your Master's doubts. You're right, Your Highness. Just what do you intend to do? If you'd been listening all along, Your Highness, you could have come out much sooner. What was the real reason the culprit threw the body into this swamp? In the city of Makizaka, a series of random attacks have been occurring. The perpetrator was a woman without a face, wearing a red dress. Could the series of incidents be the work of the ghost of former idol Kōshin Nanase? Next Time: The Rumor About the Yellow Needle