A frantic sea breeze swept across everything as far as the eye could see, and the air was filled with a strong smell of salty and fishy. A few minutes ago, it was a clear blue sky, but now it was filled with black clouds like dirty cotton. The black water crashed against the reef, shattering into an unpleasantly viscous foam.

"The weather in Okinawa is really weird. ”

The girl with her short ponytail leaned against the window, staring at the clouds that were as fast as if they were running in the sky. The sudden cold temperature outside the door made her warm breath imprint a small cloud of white mist on the glass. Behind her, a young man with short brown hair sat on his knees with a cup of tea, covering his eyes that had become deep from thinking with a rising mist.

Just half an hour ago, after Mrs. Mieda, the proprietress of the inn, told the news of the death of her husband Matsuaki Matsuchi, the young man who called himself "Matsuda Uchizosuke" suddenly stiffened his body and clenched fists, allowing him to see clearly from behind him. Unlike the ignorant Tomokasa, who is known for his excellent observation and understanding, that Matsuda Uchizosuke is not simply sorry or sad for the death of his boss. It was clear from the previous brief conversation that he had not been here before, and was not even familiar with the dead boss at all, so what was it that made him so shocked by the death of this man he had never met?

However, if this Matsuda Uchizosuke is really the person he imagined, this qiē may no longer be strange.

"It's a change of sky. ”

Shiraishi looked at the clouds in the sky filled with thunder and lightning, and blocked the corners of his mouth that were still upturned with excitement with the mouth of his cup.

While Shiraishi was excited with some kind of anticipation, Nao was sitting upright in the room in the same posture as him, staring at the letterhead spread out on the table and falling into deep thought.

If there were no problems with her memory, the letter that had taken her all the way from Tokyo back to Okinawa had been sent four days earlier — that is, the person who signed the letterhead had been dead for three days at the time of the letter.

A letter sent three days after his death...... Nao's eyes narrowed slightly.

Haunted by ghosts?

Or is it ...... Someone else who sent the letter?

It is clear that she only believes in the latter.

But if so, who and for what reason sent the letter? was it to get her to investigate something, or did she want her to prevent something from happening—what is known was that the sender's purpose must not have been to simply unravel the poetic code—the key to her thinking was the capsule-shaped metal nugget that had caused her to make a false alarm...... Or antique gold beads worth millions of dollars, plated with black gold.

Yes, this is the result of the identification of the person who was introduced to her by the previous Kagami.

Black gold, gold, antiques, these three words combined to give rise to a lingering thought in her heart-

Is the poem written in the letter a key to the treasure?

If this is the case, Ji Mingjia's death must have nothing to do with it.

So who is this letter......

"Excuse me. ”

Just as her thoughts were in turmoil, a humble and polite voice rang out with a gentle knock on the door.

Nao quickly covered the stationery spread out on the table with the tour map and said "Please come in". The antique wooden door slowly opened, revealing a calm and handsome face.

He looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a blue coat with the word "Akahama-tei" printed on the placket, a simple gray kimono with a straight tube, and half-length black hair tied at random with a rubber band tied behind his head, leaving only a slightly longer forehead hair hanging down on the sides of his cheeks. If you ignore his gender and only look at his facial features, he is exactly the same as Mieda Matayoshi, but unlike Mrs. Mieda's slightly weak temperament, his eyebrows and eyes have a more awe-inspiring beauty. Looking at this familiar but slightly unfamiliar face, Nao raised her eyebrows in some surprise.

"You're Matsuda-sama, aren't you?" the boy bowed his head slightly to Nao, "The first time we met, I was called Matayoshi Yuto, and I was the son of the proprietress of this inn. ”

"At my age, 'adults' are exempt, just call me by my name. The young man's respectful salutation made her face twitch unconsciously.

"So, Matsuda-kun. ”

The young man nodded earnestly, and his temperament like an ancient swordsman highlighted his handsomeness even more. Although the salutation has changed, the respect between the words has not diminished in the slightest due to Nao's age.

"Lunch was ready. Would you rather dine in the dining room or will you be delivered to your room?"

"What about my two companions?"

"Yes, already asked. Both Mr. Shiraishi and Ms. Shiraishi said that they would go to the dining room to eat. ”

"Then I'll go to the dining room too. ”

"I see. Please allow me to retire first. ”

Yuto Matakichi bowed down with a rhythmic and graceful movement similar to that of Lady Mieda, and gently exited the room. The moment the paper door closed, a light quickly crossed his eyes - and this qiē, Nao did not see.

After a while, the rain began to fall heavier.

The sky was pitch black, and even thunder exploded overhead, and from time to time the scene outside the window was illuminated by a huge amount of lightning.

The dining room was lit with warm orange lights, and the hot pots of mixed dishes were placed on the table, and the smell and heat smoked the whole homestay warm, compared to the lightning and thunder outside, it was almost two worlds.

Two men put their shoulders on each other's shoulders and walked from the woodland below the ramp to the homestay.

An irresistible force descended from the sky, and raindrops almost as big as plums fell on the two of them with the sound of the wind, drenching them from their clothes to their luggage.

But that's not the worst.

"Really, that's what happened as soon as it came. ”

He said in a gruff voice that looked like it had been ground with sandpaper. He pushed the shoulders of the man next to him a little higher, and carried the man, who could no longer do anything but gasp for air, onto the path in front of the homestay.

“…… Is...... I'm sorry for you......" The panting man said intermittently, and although he had a tall and strong body, he was now hunched like an old man, enough to see his pain.

"Hey, cheer up! It's the hotel up front, right?"

The tall man nodded effortfully in the face of the inquiries of the people next to him—under the pressure of the pouring rain, this action was almost no different from two convulsions.

The man with a rough and ugly voice wiped a handful of the rain on his face with his sleeve, muttered a few words helplessly, and dragged the person next to him to the door of the B&B with an almost pulling motion, and forcefully opened the tightly closed door.

At this time, in the dining room of the guesthouse "Akahama Pavilion", Yuka was chewing hard with her cheeks puffed out, and two blush appeared on her face that was round by food. But her eyes were fixed on the face of the person sitting across from her—the black-haired boy whose eyes were covered by foggy lenses and couldn't see it at all hung his head slightly, sweeping the pot at a frightening speed that didn't match his own image, eating two bites of rice from time to time, but not a single chewing sound could be heard at all, except for the occasional sound of chopsticks on the edge of the bowl—which made her wonder if the Matsuda-chan had swallowed the rice directly.

It's not good for the stomach--Kuranosuke Shiraishi also looked at the movements of the people next to him with a tangled expression.

But Saotome Nao, who disguised herself as this "black-haired boy", didn't care about it, it was better to say that she was used to such a gaze, and she still "swallowed" her meal expressionlessly...... Until it was interrupted by a loud bang coming from the entrance.

"How is this...... Mr. Soji——!Are you alright!!?"

The sound of a series of things collapsing choked Yuka's action as she chewed her rice, and the ensuing poignant exclamation added fuel to the fire - the girl who was single-minded suddenly rolled her eyes and pounded her chest in pain.

"Hey, Yukari, are you alright?"

Nao and Shiraishi instantly put down the dishes and chopsticks in their hands and rushed forward, one of them beat their backs, so that Yuka really enjoyed the fun of swallowing rice.

"Wow! I thought I was going to die——!"

Grabbed the teacup on the table and drank it all, tears welled up in Yuka's eyes. She yelled in the direction of the entrance, and her two short ponytails almost exploded, "Who suddenly screamed so terrifyingly!

Kuranosuke looked at his sister who was resurrected on the spot with a smile and cast an embarrassed look at Nao.

"Ahem, it sounds like Lady Mieda's voice. I'll take a look. ”

Nao swallowed the smile that welled up on his lips and coughed and stood up.

However, before she could reach the door, Mrs. Mieda's figure took the initiative to appear in front of several people.

"I'm sorry to disturb a few people eating......! I'm not good, I'm really sorry ......"

Mrs. Mieda looked very frightened, her white face flushed with sorrow, her eyes full of tears, and she stood outside the dining room and bowed to a few people.

Having been so sincerely apologized by an adult, especially such a beauty, Yukari almost jumped up from her seat, looking at her brother with a red face and helplessness. As for the anger that almost choked him to death, it has long since disappeared.

Although Shiraishi Kuranosuke was embarrassed, he was calmer in the end. He stood up and stepped forward, pressed Yukari's head and bowed to Mrs. Mieda, "Where, it's my sister who is reckless, please don't take it to heart." ”

"Don't say that, if I don't ......"

Seeing that Mrs. Mieda was about to apologize, Nao, who had been listening to the movement in the entrance on the side, hurriedly interrupted her.

"Mrs. Mieda, is anyone injured outside? It sounds very strict, do you need to go to the doctor to take a look?"

"Ah, look at me...... I'm really sorry, Matsuda-sama, Mr. Shiraishi, Miss Shiraishi, please let Concubine Rong go over there first. ”

"Don't worry about us, you can get busy first. Shiraishi smiled kindly at Mieda, and Yukari nodded behind him. Seeing this, Mieda seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, bowed to a few people again, and walked out of the dining room.

It wasn't until the figure disappeared from sight that the three of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, looked at each other and laughed.

"Finally gone...... It really scared the hell out of me!"

Yuka craned her neck and stuck out her tongue, "I'm not afraid if I quarrel with you, but that type of person ...... I'm really miserable!"

"Although it's not a bad thing, Lady Mieda's realm is really a bit ......," Shiraishi shook his head with a wry smile.

However, compared to the simple emotion of the Shiraishi siblings, Nao noticed something else.

Miyoshi's appearance ranges from her trembling body to her pale cheeks flushed abnormally. and the slight panic and excitement in her tearful eyes are all good interpretations of the feelings that a flexible woman who has been shocked but tries to calm herself should show, but for Nao, who has seen countless criminals and victims' families for more than a year, the police officer's intuition made her feel an indescribable sense of disobedience that has always surrounded Mrs. Mieda's seemingly normal appearance.

That woman, like ......

Nao tapped a dense rhythm on the table with her fingertips, a golden-green light streaked across her dark eyes obscured by the lenses.

It's like ...... It's like suppressing the excitement.