My relatives gathered at the Sonozaki house after the festival to have a little party.

I mingled with my uncles and had fun.

...I was trying to get rid of my eerie memories of the ritual storehouse.

Mion was acting as the successor, so I tried to stay away from her.

I'm sure she would feel weird if I talked to her in a formal way.

In consideration of the hag's old age, we ended the party around 11 PM.

We all helped to clean up, with the women washing the dishes in the kitchen...

And the men folding the tables and putting them away in a storeroom.

It only took about thirty minutes. Then everyone left, one after another.

By then Mion was no longer acting as the Sonozaki successor and was back to being her normal self.

Maybe I overexerted a little. I was lying on the tatami floor.

Kasai asked me if I could get in the car,

so I told him I'd rather not move any more.

"Sis, can I spend the night here?

I just want to sleep..."

"Granny will get mad if she finds you...

By the way, don't you have school tomorrow, Shion?"

"No, tomorrow is our school's anniversary, so there's no class...

...Mmm..."

"How many times a year does your school have its anniversary?

Oh well...

Okay, Kasai-san.

She can stay here tonight."

"Understood.

Good night."

"Come on, Shion, wake up. Granny will get really mad if you fall asleep here.

Here, hold on to me.

You can sleep in my room."

"Y'whaaa?... Sis... uhhnnn..."

I didn't remember much after that.

I was probably brought to Mion's room and immediately crawled into the futon.

After a while, Mion got her futon ready next to me, turned the lights off, and went to sleep... At least, that's what I'd thought...

I got up and turned the lights on.

Mion's futon was empty.

The futon felt cold.

Mion must have left it a while ago.

Did she go to the bathroom?

No, the closest bathroom was right there down the hallway.

The light in the bathroom was off.

Where did she go?

The ticking of the clock was loud and annoying in this silence.

The hands pointed... to a little before 3 AM.

I was left alone all of a sudden... in this late night.

I felt the eerieness of the ritual storehouse coming back to me... after almost managing to forget it in the ruckus earlier.

I tried to sense my surroundings; in this house, there shouldn't be an eerie atmosphere,

strange noises,

or footsteps.

I stepped out into the freezing cold hallway to look for Mion...

When I did, I immediately noticed light coming from one of the nearby rooms.

That room belonged to the hag.

The hag went to sleep early and woke up early.

She was very strict about her bedtime.

So it was strange to see her light on in the middle of the night.

I could hear voices too.

Those voices belonged to the hag... and Mion.

I creeped up to the room and listened to their conversation.

Since it was the middle of the night, I could hear their words very clearly.

"But you know...

those young ones went too far."

"You're right.

They made Oyashiro-sama angry, so I guess they got what they deserved."

Mion's voice sounded as cold as the one I'd heard down in the torture room. I held my breath.

"The police say they are investigating, but are you sure?"

"...I guess.

It's probably Takano-san."

My heart almost stopped.

Oyashiro-sama got angry.

The police are investigating.

It's probably Takano-san.

And what day was it today.

Those words told me that something was happening.

My teeth started to chatter. I desperately tried to stop them.

I felt like my body was swelling up suddenly. I could no longer hear as well.

Calm down. Breathe.

Listen more carefully...

According to Mion and the hag's conversation, another incident definitely took place.

The victims were... Takano-san and Tomitake-san...

From what I could tell, both Mion and the hag thought it made sense that whatever it was happened to them.

No, no, no, no... I needed to think more calmly...

They did say they deserved it for making Oyashiro-sama angry.

Did they say Takano-san and Tomitake-san made Oyashiro-sama angry?

How did they make Oyashiro-sama angry?

............They knew.

My body started to shake.

They knew we snuck into the ritual storehouse...

Then would that mean... Keiichi and I

were also subject to Oyashiro-sama's curse?

Suddenly a phone rang.

The phone was by the front door.

The front door was opposite the hag's room, farther down the hall.

The ringing echoed throughout the long hallway. It sounded so eerie, almost like it was coming from Hell...

That was when

......

I felt

someone behind me.

Of course, there was nobody there when I turned around.

But there was someone there a moment ago.

I didn't know if it was Satoshi-kun.

I didn't sense any emotions, so I couldn't tell.

I also didn't know how long it had been there.

It was as if that somebody was watching me listen in on their conversation.

That was the feeling I got.

It couldn't be Satoshi-kun.

Satoshi-kun would never be that intimidating or scary.

My mind turned all red, like it was suffused with blood.

"...Have you experienced anything like that?

Those footsteps always followed me......

They even came to my bedside

and looked down at me."

I remembered what Rena Ryuugu had said on that rainy day.

"You'll be okay, if that's true......

Oyashiro-sama won't get mad at you."

If Oyashiro-sama wasn't angry,

nobody would follow me.

So what did this mean?

Ever since we snuck into the shrine storage

something has been following me?

What is it?

Calm down, calm down...

That's right. Rena wasn't talking about me.

She was talking about Satoshi-kun! That's what happened to Satoshi-kun!

"Everything he's going through... is a sign of Oyashiro-sama's curse."

That's right. That's why he encountered the curse of Oyashiro-sama...

"......You feel someone is watching from a distance...

and it follows you..."

A creepy feeling crawled up and spread across my back.

"Then it watches from right behind you...

...After that, you start hearing an extra footstep."

I swallowed loudly.

It's almost as though Rena Ryuugu was predicting what would happen to me...

Had Rena been talking about Satoshi-kun back then?

Or had she actually been talking about me...?

"But you start hearing it even inside your house after a while.

Then... Oyashiro-sama keeps watching you even when you're sleeping in the dark...

right by your side,

waiting silently..."

I knew by now that there was no mistake...

No matter how I looked at it,

she had been talking about me.

Yes, me.

It had been about me!

The curse of Oyashiro-sama... What is the curse of Oyashiro-sama?

That was when I actually felt something for real.

Someone grabbed my collar.

"Ah.........!!"

No voice came out.

I wanted to scream, but all I could do was to open and close my mouth, as if something was stuck in my throat...

It was Mion...

She looked even colder than how she'd looked in the underground torture room.

It only made sense

that she'd come out into the hallway to answer the phone.

I tried to come up with an excuse...

However, the way Mion looked at me was so cold.

Even if I really had run into her by accident, I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wouldn't believe me.

I felt cold sweat all over my body. I couldn't even move my fingers.

"S... Sorry..."

I apologized.

I could have said something to get myself out of the situation, but the apology came out first.

But Mion didn't appear to hear me.

She walked to the front door, still holding my collar.

The phone was still ringing.

A normal person doesn't usually let a phone ring so long at this time of night.

The phone call itself didn't seem real to me.

Mion picked up the phone.

"This is Mion.

............

...I see.

I understand.

Please take care of things at your end.

Also, please make sure that nobody talks about this.

...Yes.

Goodbye."

Mion put down the phone after a short conversation.

What did she mean, make sure nobody talks about this?

Who called any... way?! ............!!!

Mion put her forehead to mine and spoke to me.

"Did you hear?"

Which conversation was she asking me about?!

Well, she had to be talking about the one with the hag.

If I said yes, what would happen to me?

"...I...

don't...

ahaha...

I don't know

what you're talking about...

Ahhhh...!"

Mion pulled my collar, pressed her nose on mine, and continued to speak.

"Just what you heard.

The curse of Oyashiro-sama fell upon Tomitake-san and Takano-san.

It's really very unfortunate..."

It was like I was talking to myself in a mirror.

But what I was saying in the mirror was ever so cold.

"...Sis...

Ahaha...

what is

the curse of Oyashiro-sama?"

"Tomitake-san killed himself by clawing out his throat.

Takano-san was burned to death in an oil drum.

...Terrible, isn't it."

Tomitake-san clawed at his own throat until he died?

What?

Takano-san was burned to death in an oil drum?

What? What??

I felt something furry crawl up my spine.

I also felt like my stomach was turning upside down.

I didn't feel any strength in my legs. If Mion let go of my collar, I'd probably collapse on the spot.

"Wh, Why

did they die

that way?"

"Don't you know, Shion?"

I'm asking you because I don't know...

"I, I don't know... Ahahaha..."

"Don't you see there can be only one reason?"

Please don't talk as if I already know the answer...

"What do you mean?"

My heart was pounding.

I felt that my next breath would be so bloody and hot that I'd choke on it...

"Don't you know?"

"It's because they made Oyashiro-sama angry."

The first year, it was the manager of the dam construction site.

The second year it was the traitors to the village.

The third year it was the pacifist.

The fourth year it was the relatives of the traitors.

I'd always thought the victims were people who had something to do with the dam conflict.

Since I didn't do anything against the village during the dam conflict,

I assumed I was safe.

I should have known.

I should have known everything would be the curse of Oyashiro-sama.

I knew Oyashiro-sama's anger was the curse of Oyashiro-sama.

I knew Oyashiro-sama would get angry if I snuck into the ritual storehouse.

But since I wasn't held responsible in any way for the dam conflict, I never thought I would be a victim of the curse.

Did I ever think there would be an incident in the fifth year?

Did I ever think that I'd be the victim of that fifth-year incident?!

Tomitake-san snuck into the storehouse, and he clawed at his own throat until he died!

Takano-san was burned to death in an oil drum!

It must be a lie, it couldn't be true.

Even if it was forbidden, it was just a space for storing some old torture implements!

How could they be killed for just sneaking in there?!

Especially in such gruesome ways?!

But I thought about it again and realized

that those people were absolutely capable of doing things like that.

The main Sonozaki family was capable of it.

The Sonozaki family had been pulling the strings behind the series of mysterious deaths. They could do it.

The Sonozaki family even kidnapped the grandson of the Minister of Construction during the dam conflict. They could do it.

The Sonozaki family made Satoshi-kun disappear completely.

They could do it.

Mion leaned against me

before falling onto the cold hallway floor.

She collapsed rather violently.

I usually didn't go to sleep with my stun gun.

But since I was too tired and sleepy to get ready for bed, I still had it on me.

I had my stun gun on me.

I finally understood.

I didn't know who killed them exactly.

Whose idea it was or who ordered it.

I didn't even know who was actually involved.

But Mion and the hag knew everything.

Satoshi-kun.

Now I finally know.

Now I know what I need to do.

I will settle the score for you, Satoshi-kun.

I will avenge you, Satoshi-kun.

I won't be killed like you, Satoshi-kun.

I walked into the hag's room.

She was sitting up to take some medicine. Her back was turned to me.

Mion and I are twins.

If I acted like her, the hag wouldn't notice the difference.

I didn't think she ever suspected me.

I put my stun gun to her neck,

and pulled the trigger.

I heard an indescribable electrical sound, and the hag's lights went out.

She fell in a twisted position.

I didn't know how long it would take a person to regain their freedom of movement after getting knocked out with a stun gun.

So I had to restrain them before they woke back up.

I was unbelievably calm.

The key to the underground torture room

was in the forbidden drawer that only the head of the family can access. Mion had told me about this once.

I'd never looked for the drawer before, but I found it exactly where I thought it would be.

The key was on a keychain with several of its sisters. Each key had a little plaque on it that said what it was used for.

They were all in Mion's handwriting.

She was an idiot for being so conscientious, but it sure helped me out.

I put the keychain in my pocket and headed to the outdoor storeroom to find a cart.

I found a large flashlight there as well.

There was a strap on the flashlight so I could put it on my shoulder.

That way, I'd have both hands free to carry Mion and the hag.

I loaded Mion and then our grandmother onto the cart and carried them to the underground torture room.

I was prepared to use the stun gun again if they woke up while I was working...

but it was more powerful than I imagined, and the hag showed no signs of waking.

This was the stun gun Kasai specially ordered for me when I told him I wanted a powerful one.

I remembered him telling me that it was an illegally modified stun gun and that I should never use it just for fun.

I used my flashlight to find the light switch.

I found it easily and turned it on.

All the lights went on in the basement.

Although there was now illumination, it was very dim.

I moved quickly so as to finish what I needed to do before they woke up.

I decided to put Mion in a cell beyond the torture room.

The lights in the torture room were so bright that it was like daylight.

There was a door there. I was fairly certain the cells were on the other side of that door.

The proper key was... here.

The keys made a tinkling sound.

I felt cold air coming in through the gap in the door.

There must be a huge opening on the other side.

I opened the door and I saw nothing but darkness.

I felt along the wall to find a light switch.

I turned the switch on... and the light bulbs lit up, revealing a huge rocky cave.

It didn't look like a natural cave. It looked more like an air-raid shelter.

There were several hollow openings with bars across them.

Those were the cells.

I walked up to the closest cell, and checked to see if it was strong enough to confine her.

I pushed and pulled on the bars.

I rammed against them with all my weight, and decided they were perfectly sturdy.

This was secure enough to be called a cell.

I opened the lock and carried Mion in.

I wasn't particularly strong. Just average.

I'd never thought I was strong enough to carry a whole person.

But now I didn't need to pretend to be weak. I could easily lift and drag their bodies.

I put Mion in the cell.

She seemed to moan a little.

I didn't need to check to make sure. The effect of my stun gun was wearing off.

I closed the bars and turned the key in the lock. Then I ran to the hag, who must've been starting to wake up too.

Fortunately, there was no sign of her regaining consciousness.

Maybe the difference in age had something to do with it.

I looked for a table to restrain her on.

I found a wheelchair with restraints for the hands and feet. I put the hag in it.

Of course she didn't resist, but her dead weight made it seem like she was a huge French doll, but one made of flesh.

I put her hands on the armrests, and restrained them at the wrists with the metal rings and hinges.

I did the same with her feet.

This must've been a wheelchair specially remodeled to restrain a person. Other than the restraints, it was a regular wheelchair.

I waited for the hag to wake up.

I had so many things I wanted to ask her.

I didn't think she'd answer honestly, but I had plenty of tools to make her talk.

I was in no rush.

When the hag had a concern, relatives took care of the problem.

That was how it worked in the Sonozaki family.

She was the leader of the family, so all the information they gathered would make its way to her.

She must know everything that happened in Hinamizawa.

Including the curse of Oyashiro-sama.

I heard a noise from the cell.

Mion must have woken up before the hag did.

Speaking of the hag, she didn't seem like she was about to wake up anytime soon, but she was restrained even if she did, so I had no need to fear.

I left the hag there and headed for the cell.

"...Shion, what do you think you're doing?"

She talked like the successor, but she also sounded frightened. She obviously understood the situation she was in right now.

"Good morning, Mion.

You never thought you'd be in there, huh?

Ahahaha."

"As the acting head, I order you.

Open this up."

"Ahahahaha, you don't sound so scary in there. You need to talk more like a leader, don't you think?

Though, talking that way will only make you look like a fool.

Ahahahahaha!"

There was nothing funny about it, but I wanted to intimidate Mion.

My laughter echoed throughout the cave.

It was artificial and meaningless laughter.

I heard it over and over as it echoed.

It sounded as if I wasn't the only one laughing.

I couldn't stand it, so I stopped.

Silence filled the air.

That silence almost hurt my ears, so I started to speak.

"Tomitake-san and Takano-san becoming the victims this year.

I didn't expect that..."

"......"

"What an idea to burn Takano-san to death.

But actually, she would be the kind of person who'd prefer to die that way.

Maybe she's satisfied, huh?

Hee hee hee."

Mion didn't say anything. She just stared at me to see how I'd proceed.

"What about the way Tomitake-san died? He clawed out his own throat, right?

Did you give him a shot of some kind?

Or is there a torture device that did that to him?"

Mion didn't reply.

I was smiling boldly, but I became impatient and finally kicked the bars.

It made a violent noise.

Mion jumped as if she was kicked directly.

"It's boring not to get any answers. Do you have any idea what will happen if I get angry?"

"H-How... How would I know...?"

Mion finally replied.

She was odious, but at the same time, sounded pitiful.

"Hey, Mion.

As the successor,

why don't you tell me?

...Let's see..."

I had just too many things I wanted to ask her.

I wanted to ask her about me,

about the incident,

about the curse,

about Satoshi-kun.

I didn't even know where to start.

Before I asked her about those, I asked her one other thing.

"You know there's no point in trying to resist, don't you?"

"............"

Mion glared at me silently.

Because we were twins, I knew that was just a bluff.

"We've come this far, so there's no point in me hesitating anymore.

You shouldn't expect hesitation or even mercy from me, Sis."

Mion must've been feeling the cold sweat on her face.

Although the light was dim, I could tell she was frightened.

"Okay, here I go.

First, about the series of the mysterious deaths in Hinamizawa

also known as the curse of Oyashiro-sama.

What's the meaning of it?

Is it to signify the end of the dam conflict?"

"......

I...

hmmm...

I think so......"

Mion sounded a little confused, but she answered.

I felt satisfaction now that we were communicating. I continued with a smile.

"You think, huh?

Don't you know the details?"

"You know yourself

that the successor is simply a messenger for Granny..."

Yeah, right.

"But the successor must know everything the current head is thinking, right?

Do you really think I believe you're just a messenger?"

"......Although I'm always around Granny, I don't always know what she's thinking.

It's not like I can understand her all the time."

"Okay, so you're saying that everything about the curse of Oyashiro-sama is decided by the hag herself, right?

I assumed she'd talk to the successor about it."

"When it's something dangerous, Granny decides it on her own.

I don't have anything to do with it."

"But even if she decides by herself,

grandma uses you to take care of various things, doesn't she?

And you're telling me you don't know anything?"

"No...!

...She doesn't use me for that.

......I really don't understand it myself,

but it's like I take care of problems on the surface and someone else takes care of problems on the underside."

"...Who?

Who is the one that takes care of these 'underside problems'?"

"I don't know..."

"Haven't you seen anyone? Haven't you overheard a phone conversation?

It must be someone who gets in touch with the hag at the same time every year, around the time the curse happens."

"I don't know.

I really don't..."

Mion shook her head.

"Okay,

let me change the question.

Why were Tomitake-san and Takano-san chosen as victims, even though they had nothing to do with the dam conflict?

Was it because they snuck into the ritual storehouse?"

As soon as Mion heard the words "ritual storehouse," her expression shifted.

"The ritual storehouse?

Did they intrude on the storehouse at the Furude Shrine?"

"Didn't you know?

I thought you already knew."

"If they really did that

then it was truly stupid of them... Of course something would happen to them!"

Mion muttered bitterly while shaking her head repeatedly.

Mion's reaction made me realize the true meaning of the forbidden storehouse for ritual implements.

The ritual storehouse is a sacred building, so nobody can go inside. The curse will fall upon any who disobey.

Any child would know that rule.

However, just because they knew about it didn't mean that they all believed in it.

Although they were told they would be cursed, most of the kids actually enjoyed hearing the stories.

They simply didn't believe it was true.

However, Mion's reaction told me it absolutely was.

If they actually did that... of course something would happen to them.

She was saying that if someone snuck into the ritual storehouse,

that person should be killed.

"What you know and what I know aren't matching up anymore.

Of course I'm aware I shouldn't just waltz into the storehouse.

But to be killed in such a gruesome way for doing it?

I never knew that. Did you?"

"That's just because you're ignorant about it, Shion."

"Well, sorry for being ignorant...

Could you please explain it to me?"

"Just like you said, the kids don't really believe in the curse.

They assume it's just superstition. But they also know that if an adult found out, they'd be in big trouble.

But... to the elderly people of Hinamizawa, it's something more serious...!"

Mion explained to me how the elderly people blindly believe in Oyashiro-sama, and how sacred the festivals are to them.

It's probably something the younger generations would never understand, but they're possessed by a very strong, deeply rooted devotion toward Oyashiro-sama.

Mion then went on to tell me about how sinful it was to violate the rule of the ritual storehouse.

I just couldn't believe things like that were still going on even in the modern day.

I couldn't even reply appropriately.

But...

even if it was unbelievable, I couldn't ignore what I was hearing from my twin sister...

"I see...

But Mion...

Doesn't the rule say that one victim gets killed by the curse and another has to become a sacrifice?

The body of the sacrifice is never to be found.

But there are two dead bodies this time.

What do you think of that?"

Mion doesn't know that besides Takano-san and Tomitake-san, Keiichi and I also snuck into the ritual storehouse.

So I tried to lead her a little.

"I know...

that doesn't make sense."

"Maybe Takano-san's burned body wasn't supposed to be found.

Maybe the intention was for her to vanish."

"...Or...

...hmmm,

I'm not too sure, but..."

"What?

Just say what you're thinking. I won't get mad."

Mion hesitated a little first and then started to speak.

"Actually, four people snuck into the shrine storage... so maybe..."

"Hmm......?

Maybe what?"

"Maybe the other two will become the sacrifices and get demoned away..."