Fujino glanced at Shitara Renki, whose face was written all over with fear, and was exceptionally satisfied with this muddleheaded girl's reaction.
Mm, he liked dumb girls who were easy to fool.
After pretending to think for a while, he said thoughtfully, "Ghosts and monsters are probably going too far, but as they say, when people live long enough, they become spirits. When objects have a long enough history, they can also give birth to certain unspeakable things. Even if they don't, they'll still pick up a little of something unspeakable."
"I once handled a case involving an old woman who liked collecting masks. She ended up getting murdered, and every previous owner of those masks had met a terrible end."
Fujino looked at her and asked, "Do you know who owned this violin before, and what happened to its owners?"
"I... don't really know." Shitara Renki shook her head slightly, then continued, "But I have heard about what happened thirty years ago!"
For an object that old, it was only natural that it would have had countless owners. It would have been stranger if none of them had ever run into trouble.
That was what they called survivor bias.
Nobody remembered those who had been fine. Only those something happened to were remembered.
So Fujino put on a serious expression, propped his chin on both hands, and said to Shitara Renki in a solemn tone, "Go on."
Shitara Renki recalled, "About thirty years ago, Grandpa Jiro, who had brought the violin over for Grandpa Chōichirō, ran into a group of bandits while delivering it. Grandpa Chōichirō escaped disaster because he obediently let himself be tied up, but Grandpa Jiro fought back against the bandits and was beaten badly. A few days later, his injuries proved too severe, and he