Trouble at the Door

Fuyuki City, Shinto.

Evening.

Compared to Miyama Town, Shinto felt as though it had developed too quickly.

Most of Fuyuki City's high-rises were in Shinto.

Since the Hirata Family had done so well in business, they all lived in a garden residence in Shinto.

The residence featured traditional Japanese architecture. It was rather simple, yet still had an air of elegance.

In the main hall, soft, yellow lamplight fell across the silent space, where the atmosphere was heavy with solemnity and grief.

White flowers filled the center of the hall, clustered around a portrait of a middle-aged man.

The man in the portrait was none other than Ichiro Hirata, the eldest son of Sakura Masayoshi's good friend.

He was also the middle-aged man who often delivered goods to Fish Fresh House in person.

According to the information the police had gathered so far,

Ichiro Hirata had mysteriously vanished two nights ago while driving home from work, and even his car had disappeared without a trace.

Even stranger, a camera on the road Ichiro Hirata had to take had captured him, but the next camera never showed him at all.

Since it had already been midnight, there were no other cars on the road, and so far, they hadn't found any witnesses.

As for Ichiro Hirata's body, it had only been found that morning.

It was in a patch of shrubs on the outskirts of Shinto.

The body had been horribly mutilated. Even a rookie officer at the scene couldn't help throwing up.

Even the veteran detectives had frowned at the sight.

The injuries on Ichiro Hirata's body didn't look like they had been caused by a sharp weapon. They looked more like the work of insects tearing into him.

This wasn't the first case of its kind in recent times.

With so little evidence to go on, the Fuyuki police had no idea where to begin their investigation.

The details of the case hadn't been made public yet, and for now, some residents still thought it was just an ordinary missing-person case.

But there was only so long they could keep a lid on it. If this happened again, they probably wouldn't be able to hide it.

As for Ichiro Hirata's body, even the funeral director had shaken his head at the sight.

They had done everything they could, but Ichiro Hirata's wife had taken one look and fainted on the spot.

At that moment, two elderly men sat beside the tea table in the study of the main house, smoking.

The ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and empty packs littered the floor.

Toru Hirata, head of the Hirata Family, leaned back in the seat of honor with his eyes closed, smoking. Deep wrinkles marked his forehead and cheeks; his sparse white hair lay like silver threads atop his head, and his eyebrows were as pale as walnut wood.

He looked utterly weathered.

After all, having to bury his son in his old age was an unbearable blow.

Dressed in a black kimono, Sakura Masayoshi smoked with a sorrowful expression, silently keeping his old friend company.

Since they had met, neither man had said a word. They had only smoked.

Sasuke sat beside Sakura Masayoshi, his face expressionless.

For the past three years, Sasuke had usually been the one to receive Ichiro Hirata's deliveries to Fish Fresh House, so they had spoken quite a bit.

He really had been a good man.

It was a shame something like this had happened to him.

Perhaps Sasuke had been through too much. Beyond that, he didn't feel anything in particular.

Seeing the two of them like this, Sasuke decided to go get some air in the living room.

This was the head of the Hirata Family's main house, so ordinary visitors weren't allowed in.

At that moment, only Sasuke and Illya were in the spacious living room.

Kaoru Sakura was in the inner room, keeping Ichiro Hirata's daughter, Saori Hirata, company.

Since the formal wake wouldn't be held until tomorrow, there weren't many people at the Hirata Family's home today.

The Sakura and Hirata families were close.

Kaoru Sakura had known Saori Hirata since they were little. They were as close as sisters and often got together.

Now that Saori Hirata had suffered such a loss, Kaoru Sakura naturally had to be there to support her.

Although Sasuke had seen Saori Hirata many times, they had never really interacted.

Illya didn't know her at all.

That was why the two of them had ended up together in the living room.

After leaving the room, Sasuke leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

Illya lay bored on the sofa, gazing at the ceiling with her clear eyes as she asked,

"Where do you think people go when they die?"

Sasuke didn't know the answer to Illya's question.

There were supposedly Heaven and Hell, but Sasuke didn't believe in things so intangible.

After all, as far as Sasuke was concerned,

someone dying didn't necessarily mean they were truly dead.

It wasn't as though he'd never seen someone come back from the dead.

Besides, at the height of his power, he could have done something like that himself.

Though by the time Sasuke had been able to do it, he had already lost everything.

When Sasuke didn't answer, Illya sat up on the sofa and looked at him.

"Sasuke."

"Surely talking to me won't kill you, will it?"

At that, Sasuke, who had been leaning against the wall, finally opened his eyes and looked at Illya without expression.

Sasuke's gaze made Illya's skin crawl. She gave a cold snort and lay back down.

"Fine, fine. You can just listen to me, then."

"You can't refuse that too, can you?"

When Sasuke still didn't answer, Illya continued, deliberately lowering her voice:

"Ordinary people really are fragile."

"But really, that Magecraft user is to blame."

"You noticed it too, didn't you?"

"That faint trace of magical energy in the hall."

Just as Illya had said, when they arrived at the main house, they had gone to the hall to pay their respects first.

Only afterward had they come here.

The coffin in the hall had a faint trace of magical energy on it.

Clearly, Ichiro Hirata had been killed with Magecraft.

Illya hadn't seen the scene, so she couldn't tell what kind of Magecraft had killed him.

Sasuke had noticed it too, but he still said nothing.

Illya thought Sasuke was far too boring, so she closed her eyes and dozed off.

Nobody knew how Kaoru Sakura had comforted Saori Hirata, but the two women in the inner room had ended up crying aloud.

Still, it made sense.

Sakura Masayoshi had told Sasuke about Kaoru Sakura's parents before.

When Kaoru Sakura was little, both of her parents died in an accident.

Although Kaoru Sakura seemed carefree, Sasuke knew it was just an act she used to hide her true self.

Deep down, Kaoru Sakura was more fragile than anyone.

Seeing Saori Hirata now, she was probably feeling her pain as if it were her own.

Illya had only meant to lie down and take a short nap, but she actually fell asleep. By the time she woke, night had fallen.

Rubbing her bleary eyes, Illya slowly pulled away the blanket covering her and looked sleepily at Sasuke.

"Sasuke..."

"What time is it?"

"Where's Kaoru?"

Sasuke, sitting on the sofa across from Illya, answered calmly:

"Ten."

"They must have cried themselves out. They fell asleep together."

There was probably no hope of going home tonight.

But to Sasuke, it made no difference where he was.

The same went for Illya. Sleeping was sleeping, wherever she was.

But just then,

a hysterical scream suddenly rang out from the courtyard!