Nellson nodded.
"Maybe we can at least get a clue."
Suga nodded, then read the first log entry:
“May 18, 2006.
I became a new officer in the fire lookout tower whose function was to monitor the condition of the forest area after the previous officer quit. I have to be prepared to live in isolation for a while. If I look again, the situation here is quite scary, considering an abandoned village is visible from here. But the view of Kagohara town can also be seen in the distance, so it's quite calming.”
Suga was surprised to read this log.
“Abandoned village he mentioned here, does he mean Kagohara village?”
Nellson looked doubtful.
"Whatever village he means here is still strange because there is no village visible from here."
Suga looked astonished.
"That is true...."
Suga continued reading the activity logs from this document and found several that caught his attention.
“May 24, 2006.
Maybe it's just me, but I hear strong whispers at night like some people in the forest are trying to call me. But of course, maybe it's because of this kind of night work that I'm not used to, so I experience things that don't actually happen.”
Suga opened the following logs:
“June 6, 2006
The whispers made me almost lose my mind. Every night when I had to stay overnight in the fire lookout tower, I heard whispers telling me to walk into the forest's darkness. I'd better communicate with the other tower tonight to relieve stress. But when I think about it, I should still be a lot luckier compared to the officers in the tower close to that abandoned village. If I'm not mistaken, it's called “Kagohara village”. I don't know why this abandoned village has the same name as Kagohara town.”
Suga was surprised to read this log, while Nellson looked astonished.
“This log confirms that the village he refers to is Kagohara village. But how is that possible?”
Suga put down this logbook and then walked out of the surveillance room; Nellson flew after him and landed on the balcony railing surrounding this room. Suga tried again to look around but still didn't find what he was looking for.
"Strange, neither Kagohara village nor the other fire lookout tower exists. Information written in this log doesn't make any sense for some reason."
Nellson flew and landed on the balcony railing near Suga.
“Maybe these buildings collapsed because of a natural disaster or something?”
Suga looked doubtful.
"I don't know what kind of disaster can make a village completely disappear from the map."
Nellson appeared to realize something.
"Maybe we're in the wrong position?"
Suga's expression turned doubtful, and he took out his smartphone from his overcoat's inner pocket. Suga checked where they were and looked convinced.
"I checked the village’s location from the latitude and longitude. Kagohara village should be around here and visible from this tower."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Nellson's expression turned astonished. Suga walked into the surveillance room and was about to re-read the log book on the table. Nellson flew after Suga and landed on the table. Suga's expression turned confused.
"I don't understand what happened."
Without Suga and Nellson noticing, a man wearing a dull white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers is watching them from outside the surveillance room entrance door framed glass pane; his skin is pale white covered in bruises, and his face is not clearly visible. Suga came to his senses and looked towards the entrance door, but the man had disappeared. Nellson watched Suga in astonishment.
"What's wrong, Suga?"
Suga turned to Nellson with a doubtful expression.
"Nothing, let's continue reading."
Nellson nodded. Suga resumed reading through the documents on the table and found a log that caught his eye:
“June 9, 2006
Today, my partner and I jointly patrol the forest. I shared my strange experience hearing the whispers, but he didn't believe me, said that I was delirious because I wasn't used to the quiet atmosphere, and suggested that I have a pet. A good suggestion, but it can’t be realized soon.”
Suga continued reading the next log:
“June 10, 2006
Today, unlike usual, my partner on duty in the fire lookout tower two did not respond to my calls. I don't know; maybe he's on patrol? A few hours later, I tried to reach him via the communications radio, but all I heard were muffled whispers, startling me enough to cut off my radio communications. Am I listening to those whispers again? Somehow, it sounds different...
Edit: It turns out my partner was trying to play a trick on me by deliberately not answering my radio calls after a few days ago I told him what I experienced when we were on patrol together.”
Suga's expression changed to surprise.
"It seems like it's not just Kagohara townspeople experiencing oddities."
Nellson's expression turned astonished.
“Right, what does he mean by whispers?”
Suga's expression turned confused.
"I don't know, something is wrong here."
Suga continued reading the following activity logs and came across one that caught his attention:
“June 13, 2006
Tonight, as usual, the whispers were heard again. For some reason, my partner on the tower two didn't hear anything, lucky one. Or maybe this is just my imagination? But it is not clear what these voices are whispering about.”
Suga continues to read the next activity log:
“June 17, 2006
The more days I tried to ignore the whispers, the whispers became more apparent. This time, I could even tell what these whispers were saying. “Come into the village.” I don't know what that meant; I began to have a bad feeling. But no matter what, I won't be affected. I should be able to endure...”
Suga opened this log book and found that parts of the page were torn out, which surprised Suga. Suga continues reading the next log:
“June 21, 2006
I lost contact with tower two after “what happened before”. My fellow officer just disappeared. Enough of all this, I'll get out of this accursed place!”
That is the last log recorded in this book. Suga's expression turned surprised.
"Weird, what did he mean by what happened before?"
Nellson's attention was drawn to the torn pages.
"Perhaps the events he refers to are written on torn pages in this book?"
Suga checked the torn pages.
"From the tear marks, this page was torn on purpose for some reason."
Suga paused in thought. Nellson nodded.
"It's hard to say exactly what event he's referring to, although this event may be an important clue for Kagohara village whereabouts and since it seems his partner has disappeared."
Suga came to his senses and turned to Nellson.
“Yeah, what surprised me was that he kept mentioning the existence of another fire lookout tower that was not too hard to reach from here. Even though there was nothing.”
Nellson nodded.
“The tower probably collapsed for some reason?”
Suga nodded, his expression turning doubtful. Nellson said.
“Could the event he’s referring to still be happening?”
Suga appeared to realize something; his expression then turned serious. Suga looked around him for a moment.
"There's only one way to prove it: we'll stay here tonight."
Nellson was slightly surprised to hear that. Suga continued.
"We should head back to the inn to prepare."
Nellson nodded. Suga walked out of the surveillance room and then went down the tower; Nellson flew after him. Arriving downstairs, Suga turned to Nellson.
"We fly back to the town, Nellson."
Nellson nodded; he then concentrated. Black smoke billowed from all over Nellson's body and then enveloped him. From behind the black smoke, Nellson reappeared with two meters tall. Nellson took off, flew toward Suga, grabbed him by the armor on his back, and took him flying together.
The time now shows 3:15 pm, the sun shines gently, and the sky is slightly cloudy. After previously having lunch at the inn, Suga is now riding his bicycle with Nellson in the front basket of the bicycle in the Kagohara town shophouse area. Suga arrived in front of a two-story camping equipment shophouse with wide rectangular framed glass panes on the right and left of the single entrance door. Suga parked his bicycle in the bicycle parking slots in front of the shop and looked at the shop in awe.
“I didn't expect there to be a camping equipment shop in this town.”
Suga got off his bicycle then entered the shop, and Nellson flew after him. Inside the shop, this place looks spacious and extends to the back. Suga looked around him with an amazed expression. Suga was greeted by a man in his 30s who was the owner of this shop.
“Welcome to our shop.”
Suga smiled and nodded. This man's attention was immediately drawn to Nellson, who was standing on the floor and watching them curiously. Suga immediately explained.
“He is Yokai… I mean, my pet cosplay lover, hahaha.”
Suga forced a laugh. This man smiled and nodded, then observed Nellson. This man’s expression turned curious.
“Hmm... it looks very real for a cosplay.”
Suga smiled awkwardly.
After shopping, the items Suga bought were a bedroll, a lantern-shaped lamp, and a flashlight. Suga was then escorted to the cashier counter by this man, who then wrapped Suga’s shopping items.