Mrs. Shimada and Ms. Yoshinaga looked at each other for a while, then shifted their gazes to Miss Sakai.
"Miss Sakai, you said earlier that you had a bad feeling as soon as you entered the inn?"
Miss Sakai nodded.
Mrs. Shimada sighed. "You probably didn't get that feeling when you entered the inn. It was after you came into the mountains, wasn't it?"
Miss Sakai froze.
"What's in the mountains?" Ms. Yoshinaga asked at once.
Mrs. Shimada pointed to the right. "There's an abandoned shrine on this mountain."
At that, my heart lurched.
"I don't know what the shrine was originally used for. After my husband and I bought this land, we converted the original buildings into an inn. The building we're in now was already here when we bought the property. We renovated it afterward and changed the layout of the rooms inside. I can't remember what the original layout was like anymore. There was nothing strange about the seller or this building." Mrs. Shimada's expression softened. Her straight back slumped, and she seemed to relax.
She continued, "For several years after we renovated the building and opened the inn, nothing strange happened. We lived very peaceful lives. I'd just gotten married and was starting a new life here, so I was very busy. My husband was the same. This used to be our room. As you can see, there isn't much in it. It wasn't until the inn was running smoothly and we'd hired some help that life began to slow down. My husband liked reading, and I was learning illustration. The bookshelves weren't full yet, and I hadn't managed to create anything worthwhile when the accident happened..."
Mrs. Shimada looked toward the direction she had pointed in, her gaze seeming to pass through the paper door