Hearing Kirito's answer, Keli and Sato Kazuma exchanged glances.
What was going on before?
Unsure, the two decided to find an opportunity to ask the old ladies in the neighborhood.
This situation, with no cases yet a haunting, was more bizarre than if there were cases. And why did those old ladies say it was a haunted house?
Was the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department covering something up, or were the old ladies just hearing rumors, or perhaps they made up a story because of the haunting?
Afterward, Sato Kazuma went to wash the dishes, putting all the food waste into a transparent plastic bag.
This was the unique Japanese waste sorting mentioned earlier.
On specific days, different types of waste are directly thrown into designated collection points, and then the garbage truck collects them all at once. Everyone uses transparent plastic bags, which makes it easy for the neighborhood association to inspect and effectively prevents anyone from disposing of bodies in garbage bags.
However, the drawbacks were also obvious; wet garbage, like kitchen waste, couldn't be disposed of until the designated day, sometimes forcing them to keep it at home.
This often led to situations where, after drinking beer, they couldn't dispose of the bottles the next day and had to leave them on the floor until collection day.
After dinner, Kirito chose to continue investigating nearby cases, hoping to find some information, while also monitoring the movements of the Ministry of Environment. If any movement of them leaving Kasumigaseki was detected, he could have Kazuma stake out the location.
Kazuma, after finishing the chores, decided to open a game and, for the first time in many days, check his relatives' social media.
Only Keli had fewer thoughts; he felt that since there seemed to be something unusual nearby, he might as well wander around.
However, because both of them had been busy and hadn't changed the locks or made extra keys, Keli instructed them to at least leave one person awake.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't sleep tonight," Kazuma said, sitting in front of the computer and opening Duel Masters, waving to Keli.
Keli shrugged helplessly and closed the door.
There was nothing he could do; their body clocks used to be set for sleeping during the day.
As soon as he closed the door, he noticed a truck parked right in front of him. Keli frowned.
"Sorry, this family is moving," a young man in uniform said, repeatedly bowing his head to Keli, who had opened the door, expressing his apologies for occupying Keli's doorway.
Keli looked towards the front of the truck and saw a man wearing a mask, looking unusually dejected, and a blue-haired girl with pigtails in a school uniform.
Although the girl tried her best to hide it, there were red marks at the corners of her eyes, as if she had cried her heart out, and some bloodshot veins in the whites of her eyes. She was looking at the small two-story building next door with a mix of unwillingness and stubbornness.
Noticing that they were being watched, the girl turned her head, then a hint of surprise appeared on her face, and she walked over in a few steps, her small leather shoes tapping.
"I'm so sorry, desu wa! We are Toyokawa, moving in next door."
Looking at the school uniform of Tsukinomori Girls' Noble Academy on the girl, who resembled a small blue octopus, Keli finally understood why the house had seemed so familiar before.
Although her expression was downcast, the girl still spoke apologetically.
However, this verbal tic was quite rare, as it sounded like adding "please" before every sentence, which was somewhat like the elegant Kyoto accent used only by nobles. The old Kyoto elegant accent, and just by listening to the accent, one could distinguish the other party's ancestral background.
Because people of different classes and different jobs used completely different vocabulary, there was even a special vocabulary for prostitutes.
Of course, it was actually quite strange for this verbal tic to appear in reality, because even Europeans in modern times had long considered aristocratic etiquette, such as raising a pinky finger while drinking red wine, as disrespectful to others and to modern times.
Even if Japanese people were truly of noble descent, they generally wouldn't speak with such an accent in daily life; it was more like something used in literary works to label a young lady character.
Perhaps this was the value of a young lady's school.
"It's nothing."
Keli glanced at the girl, who looked like a delicate doll full of brokenness, shook his head, and walked out in a different direction.
It was only when Keli turned that the girl noticed he was carrying a guitar case on his back.
Is he a musician?
Looking at the instrument case, the girl's hands tightened, then weakly relaxed again.
Being able to evoke emotions from anything is a major characteristic of sensitive people.
A cool night breeze blew; spring was nearing its end, just waiting for a sudden rise in temperature.
In the sparsely populated residential area at night, Keli wandered around with his bag, familiarizing himself with the surrounding routes.
Akabane, at one point in Tokyo, used to be a place where land prices were very cheap, but as people discovered that land prices here were very cheap and buying a house was affordable, more people wanted to come, so prices also rose.
However, overall, it still belonged to the outer ring of Tokyo; basically, at night, no tourists could be seen, and those coming and going were all corporate slaves who could only return home after working overtime until dinner time, or corporate slaves who were gathering in groups of three or five, preparing for entertainment.
Under the night sky, Keli walked along and saw an old man with white hair, wearing thick dark clothes, walking towards him. The old man was carrying a bag and wandering around here, but when Keli walked past him, he stopped, looking back with some disbelief.
"Shi... Shimura, is... is that you?"
Hearing the old man's words, Keli turned back, somewhat strangely.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Yasuda. We fought our way out of New Village together before."
The old man was very excited and stepped forward, trying to grasp Keli's hand with his calloused hand, but quickly realized his hand was dirty and withdrew it.
"You wouldn't believe it, outside, rumors said you and Sato had died. We were indignant for you in the detention center! It's so good that you're alright. Come, I'll go wash up first, and then I'll treat you to a drink at an izakaya."
...
Half an hour later, refusing the old man's expensive offer, Keli found a less crowded roadside spot and sat down with the old man, buying him a bottle of beer from a vending machine while he casually held a can of cola.
"You wouldn't believe it, we suffered a lot in there. Everyone was worried the government might secretly dispose of us.
At first, only a few people were released, but fortunately, we all got out in the end. The government even gave us temporary shelters and fixed relief payments. And because the yakuza of Matsubushi were gone, my debts were also gone, and life is much better!"
Listening to his words, it seemed he had been holding it in for a long time.
"Then why are you still outside?" Keli asked, looking at the old man with some surprise.
"You wouldn't believe it, life in those government shelters is so boring; you can't drink or smoke. It made me feel like I was in a nursing home. And my daughter is actually in Tokyo, and my grandson is about to start school, so there's a lot of pressure. I gave all my money to them. I'm only 61, I can still work, so I came out to make a living on my own, and not bother my daughter, so she doesn't get disliked by her husband."
Hardship is not to be praised, and Keli didn't think Yasuda's decision was right, but seeing him smile so happily, he still raised his can and clinked it with him.
"You wouldn't believe it, life has been tough for us homeless people recently, but everyone would be very happy if they knew you were still alive. By the way, Shimura, why are you here so late at night...?"
The homeless man looked at Keli's guitar bag with some suspicion.
"Oh, I heard there were some strange things happening here, so I came to check it out."
"Ah, you're still kind-hearted. But speaking of strange things, I did hear about one that happened nearby," the old homeless man said, pointing to the street where Keli's house was located.
"Over there, I heard it was very scary before. Several unfortunate people disappeared, and even after reporting it to the police, nothing was investigated. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department even pushed the matter aside, saying the people were transient and might have gone to other places to wander. These days, public officials, once they pass their exams, just want to enjoy life. Who still serves people like us? They avoid work whenever they can, alas..."
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