The resort was a maze of winding corridors, impossible to see through at a glance.
Honda was at the resort entrance, helping the other staff carry props.
From the main gate, the resort looked as if it were enclosed by a bamboo fence. The buildings were somewhat run-down, showing clear signs of neglect.
The production crew had no plans to renovate the place extensively. They wanted to preserve its original appearance.
Honda hadn't read the full script, but he knew the general idea. The Ootama Hot Spring Resort, which served as the setting, was already somewhat eerie. The role of "Mrs. Shimada," the innkeeper, was that of a sinister old woman unlike the real Mrs. Shimada—a character who would deliberately mislead people. The actual culprit was someone else.
Once everything had been unloaded, I learned from Honda's thoughts that the actors hadn't arrived yet. Only a few crew members had checked into the inn so far, to start setting up the locations.
Honda got busy. As a low-ranking errand boy, he was sent wherever he was needed.
The head of the props department seemed to know him and had brought him onto the production so he could earn some spending money.
As Honda hurried in and out, I also got a general tour of the inn.
There was one open-air hot spring and three smaller ones. The large bath was divided into men's and women's sections, while the smaller baths were inside the inn's suites. The inn also had a large shared sleeping room.
I wasn't used to such a disorderly inn. But I'd read the background information earlier and knew the place was poorly run. A chaotic layout and muddled identity seemed only to be expected.
The large shared room served as the production crew's dormitory, while the three