Nueno Nuesuke's plans for the hundred thousand yen were none of Shizuku's concern. To her, a mere hundred thousand was no different from ten or twenty. After parting ways with Nueno Nuesuke, she quickly drove to her next destination—the home of Marie Mizunuma.
Marie Mizunuma lived in a very old apartment building. According to the manager, she had always lived there with her two daughters. Marie had treated her daughters well, but for some reason, they had suddenly disappeared.
"Suddenly?"
"Yeah."
As she led Shizuku toward the end of the corridor, the apartment manager spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know when they vanished. Anyway, that mother and daughter just suddenly disappeared... Actually..."
At that point, the apartment manager lowered her voice.
"I heard that Ms. Marie abused her children."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. You probably don't know, miss, but later on, someone found Marie Mizunuma's eldest daughter, Miyuki, dead at home. Such a tragedy."
"What was the cause of death? Did the police investigate?"
"The police did investigate, but I think they said she died of an illness or something... Sorry, I don't remember that part very clearly."
As she spoke, the apartment manager took out a key and opened the door.
"This is it."
Shizuku pushed open the door and entered.
Inside was a somewhat cramped apartment. It was basically an entryway and kitchen, followed by a combined living room and bedroom. It was even smaller than the housing units once assigned by state-owned enterprises. Still, the children's drawings pasted on the walls revealed something of the life that had once existed here.
But for Shizuku, the important thing was...
"She isn't here."
Feeling the faint, chilly aura lingering around her, Shizuku frowned. She had come to find the evil spirit's hiding place, but it did not