It wasn’t yet seven o’clock at night…
Apparently in answer to Mochizuki’s wish, rain had started to fall. It was only at the level of a drizzle, but since the wind had picked up, we constantly heard the sound of the rain beating against the windows.
The dining hall was on the first floor, off in the right-hand corner from the front door—northeast, if you prefer cardinal directions—a spacious room taking up one entire corner of the building. Enough for ten rectangular tables covered in white tablecloths. Each was accompanied by four chairs. Some food had already been laid out.
“First of all, everyone—” Ms. Mikami began, looking around at the fourteen students gathered there. “Mr. Chibiki has come today to lend us a hand. As you know, he’s the librarian in the secondary library. Let’s have a quick introduction. Mr. Chibiki?”
Mr. Chibiki stood up. Even though it was the middle of summer, he was dressed in his usual all-black and his hair was as shaggy as ever.
“Hello, my name is Chibiki.”
He looked at each of our faces in turn, running a fingertip along the black frame of his glasses.
“I suspected Ms. Mikami might encounter quite a few difficulties undertaking this trip alone, and so I decided I would come along. Forgive the intrusion.”
Compared to how he treated Mei and me in the library, his speech was obviously strained and smacked of being on his best behavior. I suppose it was because it had been such a long time since he’d quit teaching social studies and had last spoken formally to a large group of students like this. In any case, just then—
“I’m also well aware of the peculiar circumstances into which this year’s third-year Class 3 has been placed.”
All of a sudden, Mr. Chibiki touched on the issue at the center of it all. His voice was more detached and harsh than strictly necessary, perhaps due to his efforts not to expose his own tension or anxiety.
The atmosphere in the room froze over instantly.
“The plan is for everyone to ascend Yomiyama tomorrow, and naturally I will accompany you. I intend to help however I can to ensure everything goes well. Let’s all be careful of accidents on our return. Still…” Mr. Chibiki glanced at the window, and then shifted his gaze to Ms. Mikami, who was at his table. “The weather has deteriorated somewhat.
“If there’s rain tomorrow, the outing will be canceled, correct, Ms. Mikami?”
“Oh. Yes.” Ms. Mikami shifted her head uneasily. “We’ll see how things are tomorrow…”
“Very good.” Mr. Chibiki turned back to us and continued. “I was hoping we’d be able to have a barbecue outside in the true spirit of a summer camping trip, but…”
His tone was much more casual than it had been. And his voice much gentler.
“Considering the circumstances, I suppose that’s not possible. Tonight, at least, it’s best to keep as low a profile as practicable. Let’s take the rain as a sign that heaven is supporting that decision.
“In any event, I’m glad to be here. If you feel ill or have anything on your mind, please feel free to come see me.”
For a while after that, the time passed with the atmosphere feeling intensely uncomfortable, even suffocating.
The intermittent sound of rain hitting the windows. Voices wafting sporadically from each table, too low to make out. The sounds came together to form a low, unsettling murmur.
When the caretaker Mrs. Numata began busily bringing out the food, the atmosphere in the room started to relax at last.
“Maybe we should tell Mr. Chibiki about the tape,” I whispered to Mei.
“I think we should, anyway,” she replied, shooting a look at Mochizuki and Teshigawara, who shared our table. Mochizuki inclined his head to one side without answering, but Teshigawara pursed his lips and shook his head.
“What, are you opposed?” I asked.
“I’m not saying I’m a hundred percent against it, but…” Teshigawara pursed his lips again, a glum look on his face. “I guess we can’t keep the secret to ourselves forever. And I dunno, maybe talking to that guy and seeing what he has to say is one option. But…”
“Don’t you want to hear what he thinks about it? No matter how you slice it, Mr. Chibiki has spent a long time observing this ‘phenomenon.’”
“I guess that’s true…”
“Then let’s tell him.”
“…Okay.”
“Misaki and I will wait for a good opportunity and talk to him after dinner.”
“…Yeah, okay.”
Teshigawara’s face was still glum, but he nodded reluctantly.
“All right, everybody, eat up now!” Mrs. Numata’s cheerful voice urged us, and we began to eat. I didn’t get the impression that anyone worked there except this husband and wife, so I guess Mr. Numata was the cook.
“Mr. Chibiki brought us very high-quality meat, you know. After he went to all that trouble, we decided to try cooking it in barbecue-style skewers. Go on, eat as much as you like. Don’t be shy asking for more rice, either. You’re all still growing.”
Even with the encouragement, though…
Neither the circumstances nor the atmosphere did much to encourage anyone’s appetite. It did nothing for me, either. I knew I was hungry, and the food all looked delicious, but I couldn’t work up any gusto for eating.
I wondered just how much the Numatas knew about the background and purpose of this trip. Then add in the question of whether they were here for that trip fifteen years ago, and my mind started working all over again…
As my eyes lazily followed Mrs. Numata’s fluttering return to the kitchen, I noticed Mr. Numata standing in the shadow of the door, peeking into the dining hall. I watched the two exchange words as Mrs. Numata passed by him, but his face was gruffness personified, as always. And in that moment, the light in his sunken, beady eyes struck me as deeply unnerving.
“That old guy is so fishy,” Teshigawara stopped to comment to me, the skewered meat halfway to his mouth. “Ever since we got here, he’s had this scary look in his eye when he’s looking at us, y’know?”
“Yeah…I guess.”
“Maybe he’s got some huge grudge against teenage boys. And maybe that lady’s so friendly to cover for her husband’s personality.”
“Why would he have a grudge?”
“You think I know?” Teshigawara answered sharply. “People are always talking about how bad juvenile delinquency is getting, but there’s plenty of old dudes who are dangerous, too. I bet you there are tons of old men who just lose it one day and kill their own grandkids or whatever.”
“Uh…Maybe, yeah.”
“Better not take your eyes off that guy.”
Teshigawara spit the words out in a whisper, who knows how seriously, then put the skewer back on his plate.
“They could have served us rotten food. Or maybe he mixed in some sleeping pills and once we’re all asleep, he’s going to go around and cut us up one by one.”
“Are you kidding me?”
I was about to tell him he watched too many B horror flicks, but…I caught myself with an Urk. That’s because I heard a critical inner voice say, You’re talking about yourself there, pal.
“By the way, Sakaki.”
After a few moments, Teshigawara started up again.
“This whole time, I’ve been thinking, what if the ‘extra person’ came with us today? And if they did, then who is it?”
“I could tell it’s been bothering you.” I sat up a little straighter and replied, “So? Any guesses?”
“Well…” Teshigawara trailed off. It wasn’t by much, but his expression became even more glum than before. “Supposedly there’s no way to tell who the ‘extra person’ is by looking at them…But maybe there’s still a way. Some little sign of it or something. What do you think?”
“I couldn’t say,” I replied honestly. “They say ‘there’s no way,’ but maybe that just means ‘we haven’t found one yet.’”
“Right?”
“But still.”
I fixed my eyes on Teshigawara’s profile. His brows were tightly knit.
“What if you did find one?” I asked. Again, I was partly posing the question to myself. “What would you do then?”
Teshigawara’s brows scrunched together even more forbiddingly, and he muttered, “Yeah, I dunno.” But he just pursed his lips again, not expanding any further.