It was a bit sudden, but Kitahara Iori was working part-time.
Having already decided to continue his education, he would likely head to university next spring. To ensure he could "have a wonderful university life," Iori decided to get a job.
However, not all part-time jobs are created equal. Common jobs like convenience store clerks were a last resort. For Iori, a high salary was a top priority, but a superior working environment was also crucial. If there happened to be a beautiful girl there—perhaps triggering a "lucky" scenario like a light novel protagonist—that would be even better.
Though mocked by his high school friends for "dreaming," Iori stuck to his guns. After careful selection, he chose to work at a small inn by the sea.
The inn faced the ocean, offering a magnificent view. Since summer was the peak season for the beach, the inn welcomed summer workers. The daily pay was high, and it included room and board—a very friendly deal for a student like him, even if his home was far from the workplace.
While the lack of a beautiful female coworker was a drawback, the recruitment ad mentioned he could go to the beach during breaks. He could use that time to hit on bikini-clad beauties, so the drawback was essentially non-existent!
After replying to the post on a recruitment site, the highly proactive Iori packed his bags and headed straight to the address listed.
He expected the reality to be a bit "shrunken" compared to the ad, but that wasn't the case at all.
The inn was an old-fashioned two-story building, similar to an onsen ryokan, with a charming atmosphere. The courtyard was filled with various plants, and though Iori didn't understand gardening, they looked well-arranged and tasteful.
The interior was slightly dusty, but not filthy; it was clear that cleaning was infrequent, as visible dust gathered in corners.
However, after meeting the owner and his wife, Iori understood why—both were quite elderly, and since the inn was fairly large, cleaning it must be exhausting.
Was that why they offered such generous terms to hire help? It seemed the job would involve some heavy lifting.
Even so, Iori had no intention of backing out.
The chance to frequently run to the beach to play with bikini beauties, combined with a salary that didn't pale in comparison to a corporate employee's, made him cherish this opportunity.
The owner and his wife seemed very kind. Even if Iori messed something up, they wouldn't scold him. Instead, they acted like elders, patiently teaching him the details and precautions of the job.
The owner's wife was also an excellent cook. The staff meals were so delicious that Iori often wondered, "Is it really okay for me to eat such great food without paying?"
In short, Iori's part-time life was very pleasant.
Until one day, Iori noticed that the wife would take some leftover food upstairs after dinner.
But he clearly remembered that there were currently no guests staying on the second floor.
Curious, he followed her and saw that she wasn't delivering food to the second floor, but rather struggling up a ladder to the attic.
This discovery surprised Iori—the inn actually had an attic?
During dinner, Iori curiously asked the couple about it.
The owner's usually smiling, kind face immediately darkened, and he seemed unwilling to discuss it.
However, the wife chuckled and said, "Living in the attic is our good-for-nothing son. He doesn't like showing his face in front of strangers and stays quietly in the attic. I believe young people have a term for it... a hikikomori? It sounds quite trendy."
So he's just a common NEET staying home to live off his parents, Iori thought to himself.
"Do you need me to help you deliver the food?" he asked kindly. "I noticed the ladder seems a bit difficult for you."
"No need!"
It was the owner who replied.
He glared and said, "There's no need for you to go! Let the old woman do it! If she likes doing it, let her!"
It seemed the owner couldn't stand his son being a shut-in.
Then again, considering the son didn't like being seen by strangers, maybe this was just the owner's way of being protective? A tsundere?
Iori let his mind wander while eating his delicious dinner, not taking the matter to heart.
A few days later, Iori received a complaint from a guest temporarily staying on the second floor, saying the inn was too smelly.
Iori had to clean the entire first and second floors, working until his back nearly broke.
Despite his hard work and the fact that there was absolutely no smell other than air freshener, the guest checked out the next day, grumbling about an unbearable stench.
The owners apologized, reduced the room fee, and gave some souvenirs to prevent the guest from leaving a bad review online.
"That guy was just saying that to get a discount! I clearly cleaned it perfectly!" Iori complained.
"Now, now, Iori, that's just how the service industry is. Don't take it to heart," the wife said nonchalantly.
The owner glanced at her and seemed to mutter something, but Iori didn't hear it clearly.
After a period of hard work, Iori finally got his chance to play at the beach.
Contrary to his expectations, the beach in front of the inn was sparsely populated. Forget bikini beauties; there weren't even many female creatures in sight.
"What's going on..." Iori said despondently.
"Don't you know, kid? The Meteorological Agency issued a typhoon warning two days ago. Only local residents are at the beach now," a lifeguard sitting on a high observation chair told the dejected Iori.
"Whoa, I was so busy with work I didn't even notice."
Iori pulled his phone out of a waterproof bag and scrolled to the bottom of his notifications, past several current messages, to find the warning from the Meteorological Agency. "No wonder business at the inn hasn't been great lately; hardly anyone is staying."
"The inn?" The lifeguard paused.
"The one over there. It should be pretty famous around here, right?" Iori mentioned the name of the inn where he worked.
"...It's certainly famous," the lifeguard, clearly a local, said meaningfully.
Iori looked at him, confused.
The tone didn't sound like a compliment; it had a negative edge to it.
The owner and his wife seemed like good people, they hadn't been harsh during his time there, and the inn had good reviews from guests. Logically, shouldn't such an excellent inn be the pride of the locals?
Wait, could it be that the rumor wasn't about the inn or the couple, but their good-for-nothing son?
If that were the case, it would be understandable.
The lifeguard didn't speak further, merely fulfilling his duty by staring out at the sea with a subtle expression.
Back at the inn, Iori found himself thinking more and more that something was off.
What kind of person was the owner's son?
Moreover, did he even exist?
As a part-timer, cleaning the inn's bath was one of his main duties. He was certain that from the time he went to bed until he woke up, no one used the bath. The biggest proof was that even the occasional hairs he deliberately left behind didn't move.
If it were just one day, it wouldn't matter, but Iori had been working here for over a week and had never seen the son come down to use the bath.
Can a person really stay shut in for a week without bathing?
At least, Iori didn't think it was possible.
Another thing was the person's strange appetite. It was one thing for the food the wife brought up to be completely finished—he could attribute that to a hearty appetite—but the problem was that she occasionally brought up dishes like ribs. Every time she came down, the plate was as clean as ever.
The guy couldn't possibly have teeth strong enough to raw-chew bones, could he?
But if there was no one in the attic, why did the wife keep bringing food up? Was she trying to hide something?
...Forget it, he must be overthinking. The owners had no reason to lie to him.
Light rain began to pitter-patter outside the window; the typhoon was indeed approaching.
Iori couldn't help but worry if the small wooden inn could really withstand such a large typhoon.
He found the owner and mentioned the typhoon.
The owner nodded with a kind smile. "It's alright, Iori. This old house is quite sturdy. It's been through typhoons bigger than this. At most, a few window panes might break. Don't be afraid."
Saying this, the old man paused and took several Fukuzawa Yukichi (10,000 yen notes) from the counter. "However, the inn is running low on ingredients, and it won't be convenient to buy groceries when the typhoon hits. Go to the nearby market now and buy some fish and vegetables. As for meat, we have some in the freezer... do you know the way?"
"It's fine, I've already explored the neighborhood."
Iori took the money, put on a raincoat, and rode the inn's provided bicycle to the nearest market. He bought a batch of vegetables and seafood; compared to his hometown, the seafood here was much cheaper.
Thinking of the wife's cooking, Iori felt his mouth water.
"Right, the sillago over there looks good too... eh?"
As he went to buy the fish, Iori realized the young man selling them looked familiar.
After a moment of thought, he suddenly remembered: it was the lifeguard from the beach.
"It's you? Why are you here selling fish?"
"Why else? Would I go to the beach in this ghost of a weather to keep being a lifeguard?" the man snapped back. "If the wind gets any stronger, I'll be blown into the sea along with my chair. Forget being responsible for others' safety; others would have to help salvage me."
Iori absentmindedly picked out a few fish. Finally, unable to hold it back, he asked, "About the inn I'm working at, what you said earlier..."
"Don't worry too much about it; it's not a particularly terrible rumor," the man said, waving his hand. "It's just the kind of weird gossip that circulates among housewives. You know how it is—nothing good ever comes out of their mouths."
"I see..." Iori felt relieved.
He was definitely overthinking. How could such a kind couple have any dark secrets?
Then the man continued.
"Supposedly, ever since the owner's son died in that shipwreck three years ago, the wife has become a bit... eccentric."
".........Eh?"
☆
Iori didn't know how he made it back to the inn.
He silently handed the supplies to the owner and, ignoring the man's concerned inquiries, simply muttered that he wasn't feeling well and crawled into his room. He didn't even have the appetite for the dinner he had been looking forward to.
The lifeguard's words kept looping in his head.
The owner's son died in a shipwreck three years ago.
Then, the one in the attic right now...
Who is it?
No, I must be scaring myself. No one said the owner only had one son, right? Maybe the one who died was the eldest, and the one teeth-grinding shut-in in the attic is the second son!
Logical, consistent, perfect! Truly a masterpiece of my own reasoning!
Iori: "..."
No. He couldn't convince himself no matter what.
"As I thought, there's only one way..."
Naturally, he wasn't going to "Nigerundayo" (run away) immediately; that was a last-resort strategy.
Before that, Iori didn't want to give up on this hard-won part-time job so easily.
That night, he quietly stepped out of his room and headed toward the second floor.
"There must be some misunderstanding..."
Only by confirming the existence and identity of the person in the attic could he feel at ease.
Don't be afraid. There are no such things as monsters or ghosts in this world; it's all a lie! Kitahara Iori, you're an adult now, you can't be scared by such ethereal things!
Because of the typhoon, the last guest had checked out this morning. Currently, there was no one in the entire inn except for the owners in their small room by the entrance.
The immense silence and the innate human fear of the dark gripped Iori's heart.
But he gritted his teeth, reached the ladder connecting the second floor to the attic, and cautiously climbed up.
Between the second floor and the attic was a trapdoor.
Iori took a deep breath.
Don't be afraid. Once I go in, it'll probably just be some fat otaku who gets startled by me. I'll just say I'm an inn employee and ask if he needs help cleaning the room to cover it up.
At most, he'd get scolded by the owners later. Nothing bad would happen.
Yes, nothing to fear...
He pushed the trapdoor open forcefully and stepped into the inn's attic for the first time.
"Ugh..."
The moment he entered, Iori bent over, clutching his face as if he'd been punched.
A smell of dry decay, sour rot, and something dangerously close to the stench of a corpse mingled together. It created a thick, indescribable odor. Just standing in it gave him the terrifying illusion that his body might melt from the air itself.
Strangely, despite the smell being so intense, he hadn't smelled a thing until he opened the trapdoor and climbed in.
However, Iori had no energy to worry about such small details now. He struggled to lift his phone, trying to use the light to see the attic.
But he might have dropped it earlier; the phone had automatically shut down and wouldn't respond no matter how much he pressed the buttons.
Just then.
BOOM!
Thunder roared outside, and the wind shifted from a whistle to a piercing shriek. Rain lashed against the windows with enough force to make it feel like the glass could shatter at any moment. The typhoon had made landfall.
But none of that was the point.
The point was that in that instant, Iori finally saw the scene inside the attic by the flash of lightning through the window.
The attic floor was piled with rotting, sour leftover food. A viscous, pus-like liquid seeped from the piles, covering most of the attic. Even in those few flashes of lightning, Iori could see white maggots wriggling within.
What horrified him most was that directly across from the trapdoor, in the center of the mountain of rotting food, sat a shrine. It was covered in white talismans. At the very top of the shrine, what was enshrined wasn't a photo of the deceased, but a small red box—also wrapped in talismans, making its original form completely unrecognizable.
Rustle, rustle.
A strange sound began to come from the walls and ceiling of the attic.
Was it the rain?
No.
It was an animal... no, it was the sound of a human using their fingernails to forcefully claw at the walls.
In an instant, Iori, who had been stunned by the sight before him, felt his hair stand on end. He finally snapped back to his senses and scrambled toward the trapdoor to escape.
However, in that moment, he tripped and tumbled through the trapdoor, slamming heavily onto the second-floor floor. He was left dazed and took a long time to recover.
The next second, he saw a bright red handprint appear on the calf he had tripped with.
It was slightly smaller than an adult's, looking like the handprint of a child.
Iori looked back up toward the attic. It was pitch black; nothing was there.
Yet, he could still feel a gaze filled with malice.
No, I can't stay here... I have to run...
He limped to the entrance, ignoring the risk of being heard by the owners, and pulled the door open with force to run outside.
However, the torrential rain immediately knocked him to the ground, and the howling wind drove rainwater into his nose and eyes.
Just as Iori thought he might drown in the courtyard, someone dragged him back to a dry spot.
Iori opened his eyes and dimly saw that the person who saved him was the owner.
"Iori, what are you doing?" the inn owner said crossly.
"...I wanted to experience the romance of walking alone in the rain." Iori paused for a moment, not daring to tell the truth.
"I really don't understand what kids these days are thinking," the owner sighed, shaking his head, and tossed a towel to Iori.
"Alright, the price list is here. Do you have a reservation? If not, you'll need to register your names—"
As Iori said this, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Outside, the wind was howling and the rain was like a curtain. There were no private cars in the courtyard.
So, why were the three people who just walked in completely dry, without a single drop of water on them?
Rather...
Are these three who came to stay in this weather... actually human?
The leading youth seemed to sense something and gave Iori a bright smile that sent shivers down his spine.
He pointed to the registration book Iori had produced. "Asakura," he said.
"My name is Asakura Takuma."