Although she didn't agree to act with the client in her original intention, under the premise that the other party's attitude was more insistent, Manaka Aoi did not refuse strongly, on the contrary, she agreed to the other party's request...... This should not be based on the concept of "serving customers" or because of their own personality reasons can not put on an attitude of refusal, more likely should still feel indifferent.

Assuming that there is a certain danger in this trip, Manaka Aoi has clearly told the other party about this possible danger, and if the client is still insisting on his attitude in this case, it can only be said that no matter what happens next, it will be her own responsibility.

After making the corresponding discussions, the two sides agreed to leave in two days, to meet in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and then go to the village hidden deep in the Daisetsuzan Mountains together.

Next, everyone went back to their respective homes and made some preparations. After all, Hokkaido is a high-altitude area, and after arriving at the destination, you have to go to a high-altitude area...... At this time, it feels like the temperature has dropped, and if the cold snap or the sea breeze blows again, well, there must be nothing wrong with preparing some thick clothes.

Anyway, Fu Jixian didn't have to worry much about the affairs of the store, and several employees were almost used to his behavior of running out to travel from time to time...... Anyway, there are not many people in the store, and there are not many people who are less than him.

Kotoko Matsuura's high school life is already in the final stage, and unlike students who are preparing to go on to higher education, she is already relaxed at this time, so she can spend more time in the store, and the "official clerk" is playing a corresponding role, plus the words of Shinohara Morinaga who can often help, the staff in the store is actually okay.

Two days later, Fu Ji Kenri and Manaka Aoi boarded the Shinkansen to the north.

"So why don't we take a domestic flight to Hokkaido? Ground transportation is still a lot slower and more cumbersome. ”

(I can't catch up with the manuscript and revise it later.) ）

She hesitated, but finally asked.

The reason why she was able to find Aoi Manaka accurately was because others had accurately described Aoi Manaka's appearance and age characteristics when introducing her to this "master", and especially told her that she should never despise the other party because of these external features.

Manaka Aoi's too "young" appearance is probably understood by those who don't know much about certain things as "every strange person, there must be a vision", she just looks a little younger, and she looks far from the description of "crooked melon and cracked dates", so it's nothing.

And after this description has been circulated among the client, the disadvantage is that Manaka Aoi's reputation seems to have lost a lot unintentionally, and the advantage is that she doesn't have to meet a new client to make superfluous explanations for this and spend time building trust.

"Hello, Miss Zhuxing, please be seated."

Aoi Manaka said hello to the other party, and while identifying himself, he also confirmed that the other party was the client this time.

I don't know if it's my own delusion, Fu Ji Xianli feels that Mazhong Aoi seems to be deliberately grimacing when talking to the other party.

"Yes."

The girl, surnamed "Zhuxing", sat down cautiously like a schoolboy named by a teacher...... She didn't seem to dare to sit next to Shinaka Aoi, but instead sat opposite her, that is, Fu Ji Xianli's side.

Zhu Xing nodded at Fu Jixianli and said hello, and Fu Jixianli took the cane that was casually leaning on the chair to his side.

"You don't have to worry about him, he's my assistant...... Miss Zhuxing, can you explain what happened to you, I have decided to accept your commission. ”

As he spoke, Aoi took out a notebook and a pen and motioned for the other party to explain the matter and the content of the commission...... When she speaks, she is straight to the point, with a clear purpose, which at first glance makes people think that she is a resolute person.

Obviously, this is different from Sister Aoi's usual image...... Under normal circumstances, she is a very normal person who is sometimes attentive and soft, sometimes confused, and sometimes deliberately poses as an elderly.

But then Fu Ji Xianli also understood the purpose of Zhenzhong Kui to create this "business image", they didn't come to chat with the client to contact their feelings, and they should have something to say.

The two sides are complete strangers, and they have no contact with each other at all, so it stands to reason that Zhenzhong Aoi's attitude may not be able to get a response from the other party, but what Fu Jixian didn't expect was that this Miss Zhuxing really started to talk about things - it seems that Zhenzhong Aoi is a very reputable person in the "industry", and Fu Jixian can't expect any other explanation.

However, since he is already an "assistant", what he bears is the fate of being ignored, so at this time, Fu Jixian only needs to listen, and there is no need to say anything.

"Here's the thing, Maka-sensei......"

Well, well, Fu Ji Xianli can only complain in his heart...... the title of "Teacher Zhenzhong" makes him feel awkward, and it is easy to associate it with the direction of "Aoi" teacher.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Zhu Xingxian, and it happened more than a month ago.

My brother and I received an invitation from a friend who invited us to Hokkaido to attend a local autumn festival. We were both free at the time, and we were interested in Hokkaido's autumn scenery and the special local folk events, so we accepted the invitation without much thought.

We flew to Hokkaido and rented a car from Sapporo and continued north to our destination village.

Originally, I thought it was just an ordinary trip, however...... Then the problem happened. ”

"Questions? What's the problem? ”

The starstrings looked lost in thought, and Aoi Manaka interjected at the right time, indicating that she was listening.

"Our destination was a village called 'Kaishikawa Town', which was located a little further down the Daisetsukan Mountains in Hokkaido, and the problem was ...... All I remember is when my brother and I drove into the village, and I don't know what happened when we were in the village and how I got back to Sapporo.

In other words, I have experienced something, but I don't have a corresponding memory in my head......"

Fu Jixian glanced at the other party with sympathetic eyes, this girl looked only about twenty years old, she was young, and her brain was so bad.

The Daisetsuzan Mountains are supposed to be the central mountain range of Hokkaido, and when you think about it that way, it does have a bit of a mystery.

He didn't know much about Hokkaido, and if he was a place, he only knew that there was a place called Sapporo and a place called Otaru...... Speaking of Otaru, we have to mention Shunji Iwai's well-known movie "Love Letter", or it is precisely because of "Love Letter" that many people know that there is a place called Otaru.

But now doesn't seem to be the time to reminisce about such things.

"Is it just that the memory has become blurry?" Aoi Manaka asked.

"No, in fact, the loss of a memory makes me panic, but ...... That's nothing. The key issue is that I am the only one who returns to Sapporo, my brother...... Then it was gone, just like that memory of mine. ”

"Your brother went with you to Ishikawa Town, but he didn't come back?"

"Yes, he disappeared like that suddenly."

In that case, Fu Jixian felt that this Miss Zhuxing should not have amnesia, perhaps she had suffered some kind of "memory impairment".

But this kind of missing person incident, you should really call the police, right, and you should choose a good object for help.

"Did you call the police after your brother went missing?" Aoi Manaka really thinks the same way.

Zhu Xingxian nodded, "I called the police as soon as possible, but the police investigation did not find any clues, and in the end they came to the conclusion that it was ...... Killed or committed suicide.

If these two possibilities are removed, then the police are also wondering if I did something to my brother. ”

"Murder", these two words are not explicitly spoken.

"Because your memory is fuzzy?"

"Not only that, but I also drove out of the village and returned to Sapporo by car, and according to the corresponding witnesses and contacts, I even calmly went through the refund procedures, returned the car and got the deposit back." Starstrings continued.

The loss of some of her memories was very frightening, because she didn't know what she had done, and she felt completely irrelevant to the description of her behavior by passers-by...... It's like a certain period of time, her body has been controlled by some foreign will.

Starstrings even wondered if they were being hypnotized.

The two entered the mountain, one returned and the other disappeared, but the person who came back looked delirious, Fu Jixian felt that the police were definitely suspecting that Zhu Xingxian had murdered her brother, and now Zhu Xingxian can still move freely, which means that the police Mao's evidence has not been caught.

This case should be characterized as "missing" by the police.

Aoi Machu thought about it for a moment, then said, "Did you ever return to that village afterwards?" ”

"No, in fact, every time I mention Kaishikawa after that, I have a feeling of heart palpitations, like ...... It's like what horrible things have happened there. ”

"And what about that friend of yours, do you still have contact with him?"

"When I was in Sapporo after my brother's disappearance, we talked on the phone more than once, but when I got back to Tokyo...... I can't reach her anymore. ”

Fu Ji Xianli and Zhenzhong Aoi glanced at each other, feeling that there was indeed a problem here. But whether there is a problem in that village or Zhu Xingxian himself is a problem, it is difficult to say. If you think about it rationally, the latter is actually more likely.

It sounded more like a criminal case than a paranormal case, and it was possible that Starstring had murdered her brother and now pretended not to remember anything...... Of course, pretending not to remember seemed unlikely, and she really didn't seem to remember.

If she hadn't pretended not to remember, she wouldn't have been so active in investigating the matter by now.

"Two questions, what is your brother's name?"

"The stars are red."

"What's your friend's name?"

"Tomoko Morishita."

Aoi Manaka wrote down the two names, "I see, so what about your request, do you want us to go to Hokkaido to investigate your brother's whereabouts?" ”

"The whereabouts of my brother are of course the most important, and beyond that...... If possible, I would like to retrieve the memory of that time.

I...... Want to know what you've done. ”

Having said this, it seems that this Miss Zhuxing actually does not trust herself so 100% in herself...... If you don't have a memory, is you still yourself? There must be a question mark here.

"I understand your request, we will try to find your brother's whereabouts, but we can't give guarantees, as for your own memory...... Actually, it's harder, because now we don't even know the reason for your loss of memory.

To put it bluntly, the investigation does not necessarily have results, and for the time being, hiring us is not much different from hiring a private investigator...... If so, do you think it's okay? ”

Although she listened to the other party's explanation, Aoi Manaka still couldn't give a clear guarantee - of course she couldn't give a clear guarantee.

Such an answer would certainly not satisfy the client, but over the course of this time, the stars must have tried all kinds of efforts without getting any results, and now that she has found Aoi Manaka, it can almost be regarded as the last ray of hope in this matter.

"I know, I can take it.

But...... Can I travel to Hokkaido with you? ”

Aoi Manaka (deliberately) frowned, "You want to participate in the investigation yourself?" Doesn't Miss Zhuxing have a psychological barrier to that village, and it's best not to force this kind of thing. ”

Obviously, she didn't want to take her client with her, and she thought that this person was most likely a drag bottle...... Many times, even Fu Jixian is dragging oil bottles, can you expect an ordinary person not to hold back at a critical time?

It's not realistic.

"Maybe overcoming this fear was the key to recovering my memories, and I had to face it after running away for so long." Starstrings took a deep breath and finally said.

"Then you have to think about it, if things are really that kind of unfamiliar thing, it is difficult to ensure that there will be no accidents in you in the middle."

Although this is true, Aoi Manaka seems to be deliberately intimidating anyway.

"I figured it out, would Mr. Manaka find it troublesome?"

"Not really."

It's a pity that Sister Aoi's intimidation didn't have any effect, and the other party obviously made up his mind a long time ago.