As a general, she cannot be a good daughter of Kage.

"Or...why she wanted to knock Arataki Ichito unconscious."

The general answered.

"That's right, the General really thinks so too, huh, maybe... the other party just wanted to escape, but unfortunately he ran into Arataki Yidou, so he had to use the method he had to use to stun him. .”

"I came here for a walk before and found a few clues. Please follow me."

Heizang led her over and stood under a tree. He looked at the footprints below. Heizang said they were female footprints.

She deliberately walked over and measured it with her slender feet. A comparison of the two confirmed that it was as Heizang said, it was a woman's foot size because it was similar to hers.

"Yes, it is indeed a woman's."

she nodded

"And here..."

As well as the bent branches above, there are also slight signs of burns in many places.

"These are the... clues you were talking about?"

He took his delicate jade stocking feet away from the footprints on the ground, looked up at some of the detailed traces in front of him, and couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, but...even so, it's still a bit vague. I thought...it would be nice if there was some more intuitive physical evidence, so I found this -"

Heizang walked over again, this time leading her to the lower reaches of the river, and took something out of his pocket to show her.

It was a piece of black cloth-like remnant. The material of the cloth was a bit strange, not the kind of material that could be seen on the market.

"This is…?"

She took it and looked at it carefully, caressed it with her slender fingers, and smelled it.

"The fragments of the blackout cloth were originally found here. I was afraid that the other party would take away the evidence if they noticed it, so I took it with me in advance."

Heizang smiled and gestured to the shallow water area of ​​the river behind him. Sure enough, there was still black colorant there, which was the trace of the dye on the shading cloth being washed away by water.

Blackout cloth has a strong blocking effect on light and is often used in various places such as stages.

"Do you think this thing was left behind by her?"

Give the cloth to Heizang again.

"Yes, you see... the fracture of the fabric is very rough, it seems to have been cut by sharp objects such as stones or branches..."

Having said this, Heizang touched his chin again and smiled, as if he knew some kind of truth. This is the so-called detective's confidence.

"General, suppose there was a large shade cloth hanging on the tree, and the branches were bent because of it. Then when the shade cloth was removed from the tree..."

While Heizang was explaining to her fluently, he raised his hand and pointed at the tree trunks above and the black marks on the ground.

"...When we took it down, it happened that the fabric on it was torn by a branch, and a small piece of fabric left behind fell into the water. Is this what you mean?"

She is not stupid either. After being explained in this way, she immediately thought of the follow-up method and continued the conversation like this.

Chapter of Qiu Jin ~ Time passes easily, life is like dew: Chapter 39 always feels a little... strange?

"...When we took it down, it happened that the fabric on it was torn by a branch, and a small piece of fabric left behind fell into the water. Is this what you mean?"

"My lord is wise. Afterwards...the person involved didn't pay attention, or it was too late for her to take care of it. After all, there are still many things that have to be done."

Heizang smiled at her appreciatively, and then speculated again. During this period, his eyes gradually became sharper, looking into the void, as if he could see the past where he had committed crimes.

[Why does she go to such trouble?Or even hang shade cloth from tree branches? 】

At this time, the silent shadow suddenly spoke in her mind, with a confused tone. She had been listening to the conversation between the two before, and was also thinking along the way.

'Maybe it's to scare people? '

she answered.

【is that so?I think she should have some definite purpose, otherwise it wouldn't be like this. 】

Shadow said so.

Exact purpose?

She lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then looked at Heizang.

"Heizang, do you know why she did this?"

she took the opportunity to ask.

"Huh... This is just my guess. Maybe it is to deliberately 'create' a special scary atmosphere, just to drive away the tourists present. As for the reason... I'm sorry, I haven't figured it out yet."

Heizang shrugged regretfully.

[Sure enough, her purpose is the most important. 】

Shadow said.

'Do you care? '

She asked the shadow gently.

[Hmm... After hearing your previous conversation, I have a rough idea of ​​what happened. I always feel that something is fishy. And do you still remember the name of this event? 】

Ying responded softly, and then asked in a meaningful way.

'Akitsu's late-night courage test? '

she answered.

[Yes, since it is named after Akitsu, as the child said before, it is an event based on the 'Mikawa Flower Festival', and the strange thing happening at this moment happened in an event named after 'Akitsu'. I always feel that the other party is different from the previous one. The 'Mikawa Flower Festival' is inseparable from the relationship. 】

Ying analyzed it for her in such a gentle voice.

Maybe this is the other party's purpose?

'...'

The general listened blankly.

[...What's wrong, General? 】

Shadow asked in confusion after feeling her silence.

'No...nothing...'

She came to her senses and responded with some embarrassment.

[…Pfft, are you thinking that I can think about things so deeply? 】

Seeing her understanding look, Ying smiled fondly and asked.

'…Eh? '

She made a cute noise.

[Huh... maybe the Mikawa Flower Festival is one of the few events that I can enjoy happily, and all my friends were there at the time, so I may be a little sensitive to things at that time. 】

Ying, who was meditating in the pure land, lowered his eyes and unconsciously touched his thigh with his fingertips, and his tone was filled with a hint of tender nostalgia.

'Shadow, are you okay? '

The general asked with concern, his tone full of worry about her mood.

[Well, it's okay... I just miss it a little bit, um - does it worry you again? 】

she asked in a voice as soft as water.

'Well, I'm worried to death...'

The general complained to her cutely in a soft and charming tone.

[Pfft...Okay, I don’t want to think about it anymore. 】

As a mother, it’s not good for your daughter to worry all the time, but the other way around is fine.

After that, the general (including Kage) followed Heizou to the place where the Arataki sect's younger brother was frightened by the 'ghost'. She actually didn't believe in those so-called will-o'-the-wisps. Of course, the so-called will-o'-the-wisps can indeed be made with demonic power. Just make it.

In the process, she picked up a broken sphere-like thing under the tree...

"...?"

She turned the ball over in confusion and saw the hole inside, which was a trace of smoke. It was dark and had a smell similar to fireworks. It had obviously been ignited by something before.

"fireworks?"

She couldn't help but make a sound.

She had often smelled this smell when she was with Yonomiya before. After all, the Naganohara family produced fireworks, and she would occasionally smell this smell when entering the house. She would not be mistaken.

"It's here too."

Heizang stood up, picked up the broken sphere from the cracks in the rocks, and walked to her side.

"Ha, it seems...the so-called 'will-o'-the-wisp' they saw was not the kind of flame made by demonic power, but was formed by the effect of burning."

The young man showed a revealing smile.

"and this…"

The other party once again unfolded another item from his hand, which was something similar to powder, with a pungent smell, similar to a stun drug.

By the way, this guy's speed is too efficient, right?

I found these things in such a short time. Should I be called a detective?

She was complaining in her heart, but her expression still maintained the usual calm and calm 'general' look.

"Is this thing the thing that stuns Arataki Ito..."

She guessed so.

"That's right...Similar scaring methods, traces that haven't been completely cleaned up yet...Heh, General, I think we are very close to the truth."

Heizou said confidently to her with a smile.

"..."

She nodded silently.

It seemed that this was the detective's smile after deducing the result. It was similar to what she thought.

"Now it is basically certain that the woman they met was not a ghost. She did not have any incredible powers. She was just using some props arranged in advance to scare people."

Heizang shrugged.