Shiki Novel Translations 3.16.5

[sinnesspiel]

"Good evening," Katou called out from the opening of the entryway door. His bag of carpentry tools was in hand.

There was a work order from the contractors. The back door was fitting loose and the lock was broke, so he was called in to come and fix it. Located within a crowded smattering of houses in Sotoba was Taki Juuzou's house.

"Taki-san, good evening. Sorry about the hour. I'm from the Yasumori contractors?"

at any rate, there were a lot of minor house fixtures to handle. While taking care of the jobs that had come in, it became later than he expected. He had been told that they had business to attend to so to please come in the evening, but it wasn't only evening, it was now past eight o'clock.

"Uh, hey---Taki-san?"

The home was one portion of a row house, which there were no shortage of, packed together in the Sotoba neighborhood. The entrance was narrow and deep. From within those depths, an absent minded old man's lone figure appeared.

"Ah, excuse me. Might you be Taki-san?" Katou asked, to which the old man seemed to give a profound scowl as he nodded.

"I am Taki, but. You must be from the contractors, then."

While answering yes, Katou nodded. "Then... Taki Juuzou-san would be?"

"Me."

But that's, Katou said, at a loss for words. Katou knew old man Taki. He was a classmate of his mother Yukie, so he had been friendly with him. ---But no matter how he looked at it, this old man was in no way Taki.

Katou was terribly bewildered. There was no mistaking this was the house. He had installed antennae and had come to deliver electronic goods here before so he was certain of it. But this man was absolutely not Taki. And yet he said that he was.

What on earth is happening, he wondered, feeling a sense of vertigo as Taki pointed further into the house.

"Could I have you come to the back of the house? It's the back door and all."

Yes, Katou nodded. He felt something like an evil premonition.

Bag in hand, he stepped outside and went around to the back of the building. This was definitely it. The nameplate even said Taki. What's happening here, he asked himself again, when he saw three women talking cheerfully in front of the neighboring house.

"Ah... Excuse me?"

Yes, one of the girls turned to answer.

"This house, it is Taki-san's residence, isn't it?"

Yes it is? The women all answered dubiously.

"Taki Juuzou-san?"

"That's right."

"And Juuzou-san was that gentleman?"

The women looked at Katou in shock. "Of course it was. What about him?"

No, Katou mumblingly dismissed. The sense of some ill intent welled up. He swallowed it down and took his bag around to the back. The women looked at Katou himself with suspicious stares, and at the urging of one of their voices, headed into the house next door. Katou could have all but dropped his bag.

(...That can't be.)

The girl urging the others was acting like she was inviting the other two into her own house. But Katou had never seen that girl before. Wasn't Taki's neighbor an old woman who lived alone? He had never heard about any middle aged women there. And he never remembered seeing that woman anywhere else around the village either.

(......They moved in.)

That had to be the case. While thinking that, Katou unconsciously dug out the protective charm bag from his breast pocket. It was something his mother Yukie had given him recently. She asked him if he was keeping it on himself at all times no matter what, so for the time being he did so to soothe her worries. Yukie had sewn it herself so he didn't know what was inside of it, but whether there was incense or some kind of fragrance put in it, it did let off a strong scent.

Gripping that, Katou went around to the back. For some reason, that tiny bag was more reassuring than anything.