The storm on the island was as hurried as it came, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Above the mirror-like sea, orange rays of light slashed down like sharp swords, slicing through large chunks of gray-black clouds in the sky—translucent pillars of light shot straight out of cracks in the clouds, and the old lighthouses on the cliffs became like magical buildings in fantasy novels. Seagulls swept across the surface of the sea with their gray wings outstretched, through pillars of light, chirping, and circling around the tower.

On the seashore not far from the cliff, a girl with a double ponytail squatted on the beach, and a young man in a light blue T-shirt and a dark red checkered scarf stood motionless beside her—their figures were blurred by the oncoming sunlight, and they were as hazy as a mirage. Beneath their feet, the crystal-clear waters gently push the waves, gently caressing the white-gold sand, rolling up waves of shallow, champagne-like delicate foam.

Nao stood on the hillside some distance from the shore, staring at this peaceful and beautiful picture.

But unlike the Shiraishi siblings who came to visit, she had a special purpose, and what her eyes reflected was not the beauty of this blue sea and silver beach, but the gloom that rolled over because of the ups and downs of her thoughts—just like the sky an hour ago.

When the sudden rainstorm has not stopped, two strangers brave the heavy rain to break into the Akanehama Pavilion. Of course, the strangeness was relative to herself, at least Mrs. Mieda, the proprietress of the inn, knew one of them, the man who had been hit in the head, Higa Soji, and the other man, whose voice was so hoarse that one wondered if he had been hurt in the throat, was the kind Samaritan who found Soji on the side of the road and fell into a brief coma after hitting his head, and carried him to the guesthouse, Yuichiro Iwasaki.

However, Nao didn't care about the two who suddenly appeared - even if she came to the island with doubts and vigilance, she would never suspect everyone as unreasonably as if she was suffering from paranoia of victimization.

What caught her attention was the information revealed in their conversation.

"Really, Mr. Soji, you were too careless. ”

Mrs. Mieda lightly bandaged the man's forehead, and her gentle voice added a lot of warmth to the accusatory words.

The stout man sat cross-legged on the ground, his face slightly pale from pain, but he was in good spirits. He touched the bandage, which was still oozing blood, and grinned heartily.

"There's no way around it. Probably because of the torrential rain, the soil on the hillside next to the shrine was so loose that when I walked underneath, there were stones rolling down, so I ...... Hey, bad luck, bad luck. ”

"I think you're lucky, a stone the size of half a man just rubbed it over your head, otherwise it wouldn't have been as simple as breaking your head. ”

Yuichiro Iwasaki sat on the sidelines, smoking his pipe, and said in a gruff voice that sounded creepy.

"Ahh

"Ah, ah, I think I'm pretty lucky......! Haha......"

Being stared at without blinking by such a pair of eyes full of autumn water, Soji smiled dryly and turned his face away uncomfortably, and his pale face seemed to be rosy.

"Well, is there really no other injury?Will you be dizzy?Do you feel nauseous?If you don't feel well, you must say it, if you have a concussion, it will be terrible!" As if not noticing the man's awkwardness, Mieda leaned closer, and even raised her hand to reach his forehead.

In front of Mieda's face getting closer and closer, Soji bounced off the cushion as if he had been electrocuted, and his elbow hit the low table where the medicine box was placed and made a loud "tom" sound, and the fierce movement made several people who were still in the dining room look at him in surprise.

Mieda also seemed to be awakened by this loud noise, and her raised arm suddenly stiffened. Under the gaze of everyone, this lovely woman quickly distanced herself from Soji and □ at him in panic.

"I'm so sorry! I—I seem to be so excited, but when I hear it...... As soon as I heard that it was such a big stone, I couldn't help but ...... I'm sorry to offend you, Mr. Soji!"

"Don't be like this! Quick, raise your head!" The sudden change made his originally blood-colored face turn white again, beads of sweat oozed from the tip of his nose, and his right palm the size of a fan waved vigorously from side to side, "You know, I've been a little ...... about the sudden proximity of others since 'that incident' So you don't have to do this, hurry up and keep your head up, sister-in-law!"

“...... Sister-in-law?!"

The man's address to Mrs. Mieda was like throwing a thunderbolt, which made several guests who had been speculating about the relationship between the two of them jump between their eyebrows, and Yukari even exclaimed in a low voice.

"Ah, I'm smiling. Mrs. Mieda looked up, wiped the corners of her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono, and smiled very standardly, "This is my husband's younger brother, Mr. Higa Soji, who has been living on the island for work so far, and has not been back for a long time - but will he stay a few more days this time, Mr. Soji?" she turned to Soji and asked.

"Ahh No matter how busy you are, this year is the death day of the 10th anniversary of the eldest brother after all. Zongji said with a wrenched voice.

"Hey, Boss Youji is not ......"

Yukari seemed to want to say something, but Kuranosuke pulled his arm hard. The little girl suddenly came to her senses, closed her mouth tightly, and looked at Mrs. Mieda with some embarrassment, whose face seemed to be frozen.

But to her surprise, Mieda Matayoshi neither spoke nor moved. The graceful young woman sat there in silence like a plaster statue, but her straight back trembled slightly.

As if he didn't notice the atmosphere at this time, Iwasaki on the side laughed hoarsely: "Ten years ago...... If it weren't for that kind of incident, this small island, which is not much bigger than a fingernail, would still be unknown, let alone tourists. I'm the only one who will come, looking for treasure. ”

Hearing this uncomfortable tone, not only Mieda, but even Zongji's face became ugly.

"Please don't say any more!"

Mieda suddenly spoke up and interrupted him rather rudely.

"That's ...... Curse, the retribution for angering Lord Kuro, it's not a case!Please don't talk about it in the future, disrespectful people who use Lord Kurogod as a talking point will be cursed!"

She pursed her lips and hung her head, quickly packed up the tools in the medicine box, and then fled out of the dining room, never giving anyone a single look.

"Curse...... Curse?" Yukari repeated Mieda's words in a low voice, showing a somewhat frightened and slightly excited expression. Shiraishi and Nao glanced at each other, who nudged his glasses thoughtfully.

However, Yuichiro Iwasaki, who replaced Mieda and became the center of everyone's attention, did not have the slightest consciousness of saying the wrong thing, he just raised his eyebrows in surprise, and buried his head in tobacco again.

In the silence, Higa Soji took a deep breath and spit out heavily.

"Really...... Speak mercilessly, Mr. Iwasaki. He said with a wry smile, "In front of my sister-in-law, I said the case ten years ago...... Haven't you read the newspapers of the time?"

"The original incident was known to the whole country, and there should be few people who don't know. I'm just telling the truth. ”

"In that case, you should know the prisoner's name, right?"

"Name?" Iwasaki tilted his head, revealing an eye from under his long forehead, and laughed disapprovingly, "Who remembers that thing? How many years have it been......"

“...... It's Higa...... A man named Higa Kenichi. ”

Soji muttered, lit a cigarette with some distraught, and took a hard puff.

"It's my brother. ”

Thinking of the conversation that had happened at the guesthouse before, Nao closed her eyes. The bright sunlight filtered through the thin skin of her eyelids, soaking a blood-red curtain on the retina, and she flipped through her memory, projecting the images and words in her mind on the screen one by one.

Before leaving, she had carefully investigated the island, including its cases in recent decades. As mentioned before, this Black God Island had an extremely bad killing incident ten years ago.

As many as 11 people were killed in this incident, five of whom died, and the remaining six were injured by different Cheng dù. The murderer's name is Kenichi Higa, thirty-five years old, male, a fisherman born and raised on Kurosami Island, and has a sibling. He fell in love with the daughter of a local doctor, Miss Mieda, and married and had a son. He himself has been law-abiding until the time of the crime, not only has he not made enemies with anyone, but he is even a hard-working and honest man who has a good reputation among local residents, and has no bad habits except for two drinks. Of course, there is no history of alcoholism or assault.

This is why, after the case, there is a saying that he was "possessed by a demon" or "cursed".

Nao's mind quickly passed through several images of the victim's body.

Judging from the situation of the corpse, Bi Jiaxian was quite neat when he made his move, and the deceased were all killed instantly when they were hit by the vital point. But all the other wounded, with the exception of Higagen's younger brother Higa Soji, were only slightly injured - which seemed strange to Nao.

Soji Higa was slashed on the outside of his left arm, and the wound was deep enough to show bones, and all the muscles were broken. This is a bit too strict compared to other wounds who have only cut their hands or only had their clothes cut and left blood.

Could it be that this Higa Kenichi has some unknown hatred with his younger brother?

But if so, why didn't he threaten his life, but instead killed a few other people who didn't usually have much conflict with him?

What is his motivation?

Nao opened her eyes and squinted at the harsh sky, a cool, slippery, strange sensation pouring out of her heart and into her brain.

That was her instinct - there must be something hidden behind this case.

Although she didn't have a clue yet—like the letter sent by Matsuchiminga three days after her death—as long as she sensed the sense of disobedience and found a small piece of the puzzle, the rest of the puzzle, the truth that sank beneath the surface of the water, would surely pop out of the snow one after another like a rabbit with a blocked breath.

The young girl exhaled a low breath, stared at the black-tailed gulls gliding close to the sea, and silently recited the verses she had seen in her heart.

Wherever you go, what you look at, [Note 1]

What suspicion, terror, contempt, humiliation......

A vile black shadow slipped away,

The sky is blue and clear.

The corners of the girl's lips curled slightly. The calm and determined gaze did not waver in the slightest.

"Don't rush. "This is the first day, and the puzzle collection has just begun." ”