Her expression turned unnatural.
But it was only her expression; she did not speak.
She seemed to want to say something but stopped herself. From the looks of it, she either had not figured out how to say it or had some unspeakable difficulty for which she could not find an excuse.
That was how Fujino interpreted her reaction. With that thought in mind, he concluded the questioning at the Longtail family home.
By then, Hattori Heiji had also returned after getting information out of the Torita family.
Under the setting sun, the group gathered together and exchanged intelligence.
Hattori Heiji pondered for a moment before saying to Fujino, "There's new information from the Torita family too. That Kōsu from the Longtail family met with Yoshiro from the Torita family before he died. It seemed like they discussed something and planned to go to the police station..."
"He even told the head of the Torita family afterward that something big was coming and everyone should prepare themselves mentally."
"And then those two died just like that."
Hakuba Saguru frowned at this. "If that's the case, someone may have been trying to silence both of them..."
After saying that, he changed tack. "But their deaths do not seem related to silencing them. One died because of a tornado, while the other was beaten to death after being buried in the ground. The second case could count as silencing, but the first was entirely an accident."
"Could it really be a curse!?"
Sonoko swallowed. "Lord Shingen's curse came true. First, it used a tornado to kill that person from the Torita family, then it killed that one from the Longtail family..."
"What curse?"
Ran and Kazuha were both curious. Sonoko then explained what the old woman from the Longtail family had said