Suga nodded.
“After what happened last night, I will approach this matter more cautiously. Ishikari doesn’t know what danger she is facing.”
Nellson nodded. Suga called Ishikari's house. Not long after, Ishikari's mother answered the phone from Suga.
"Sorry to disturb aunt time. It’s me, Suga Hisoka."
Ishikari's mother replied.
"Hisoka san? You want to discuss something?"
Suga answered.
"Do aunt know who the fire lookout tower officer in the forest near Kagohara village is?"
Ishikari's mother answered.
"Yes, I don't know all of them, but one is the son of a bicycle rental shop owner near the inn where you stay."
Suga was a little surprised and then turned towards the bicycle rental shop. The old man who owns that place is tidying up many bicycles in front of his shop. Ishikari's mother continued talking.
"There's one more thing you need to know."
Suga's expression turned curious.
"His son gone missing while on guard duty at a fire lookout tower in the middle of the forest."
Suga was surprised as he thought.
"Even though he wrote that he left that place immediately, in the end, he also became a victim…."
Suga replied.
“Okay, that's all I need to know. Thank’s aunt.”
They both then ended their call.
Suga walked towards the old man who owned the bicycle rental shop. Nellson watched Suga curiously, then flew after him. Seeing Suga's arrival, the old man watched him astonishedly.
"Is there anything Hisoka san need?"
Suga smiled. Suga stopping his steps near the old man, Nellson then landed on the ground not far from them.
"Yes, uncle. There are several things I want to ask."
The old man's expression turned curious.
“Of course. Please, have a seat.”
They sat beside each other on a long bench near the bicycle rental shop building’s sliding double-door entrance. Nellson flew then landed in front of them, and looked at them curiously, surprising the old man. Suga looked curious.
"Did uncle’s son ever work as a fire lookout tower officer?"
This man was surprised.
“That's right, dozens of years ago. How do you know?”
Suga answered.
“Sorry in advance, I accidentally found that out while doing my investigation.
This old man smiled.
"You don't have to be reluctant. I'm happy that people are still asking about my son, even though dozens of years have passed. Even to this day, I feel like he was somewhere and just didn't notify me for some reason."
Suga looked like he felt guilty because of this.
“Something related to uncle’s son is part of my investigation. Can I check his things?”
The old man was a little surprised, then nodded.
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"Of course, you can. Please follow me."
This old man entered from the house's front door, which was a modern-style sliding glass door. Suga walked in, following him. Nellson watched them momentarily and then flew after them into the house.
After passing through the corridor, they came to a single door; this old man opened it for Suga, who then walked into the room. Nellson then flew after Suga into the room, surprising the old man.
"I'll leave you here; just tell me if you need anything."
Suga smiled.
"Thank you, uncle."
The old man smiled and nodded, then closed the door to this room.
Suga looked around him, a modern minimalist-style room with a bed, a cupboard, a bookshelf, and a desk facing the window. This room is clean, neat, and well-maintained, even though no one has used it for dozens of years. Suga walked towards the desk, where there was a photo frame of the owner's son and his family and a photo of the owner's son wearing a fire lookout tower officer uniform.
“He looked young when he did the job.”
Suga's attention was focused on the bookshelf in this room; he walked over to it and found something that caught his attention: a diary book. Suga took the diary and looked at it carefully. Nellson watched him curiously. Suga said.
“I found the fire lookout tower officer's diary."
Nellson nodded.
“Let’s read it.”
Suga opened the diary, and accidentally, a folded piece of paper fell out of it, making Suga a little surprised. Suga takes this piece of paper and opens it, which turns out to be the torn parts of the log book he found in the fire lookout tower.
“I found the torn activity log book pages.”
Nellson was also a little surprised.
“Why would he deliberately try to hide it?”
Suga's expression turned curious.
“Let's find out.”
Suga sat at the study desk, and Nellson flew and landed on it to read this paper:
June 18, 2006
My friend from Fire Lookout Tower Two, which is close to the village, told me something strange: if he saw several times, the village was nowhere to be found when he watched the forest at night. I felt strange. For me, I realized that it would be difficult to see the village at night from my tower because of quite a distance. In my opinion, the atmosphere in the forest at night is indeed dark, and the village that he thought disappeared was not more than just because it was hidden by darkness. I found it hard to believe it also because I could also see the village from this tower during the day, albeit from a far distance. But because his tower was closest to the abandoned village, he might know something better. Unfortunately, he went missing before telling me the whole story. Today, I looked at the village during the day, and like the previous days, the village was still there, quiet and abandoned as usual.
Suga’s expression turned confused.
“The village disappeared? How could it be?”
Nellson realized something.
“Perhaps the villagers know something about this?”
Suga nodded.
“You’re right. We’ll try to find out.”
Suga and Nellson then read the next piece of paper:
“June 19, 2006
I now know who made those whispering sounds. I saw my brother, who had gone missing a few years ago. At first, I thought they were just similar, but after he suddenly appeared in front of this surveillance room door, I was sure he was indeed my brother. I should be happy, but there's something odd about him... no matter how I think about it, I still can't leave him alone. For now, I'll hide this note so no one finds it. Because if Father finds out, he will definitely try to look for him in the forest. I will prove first if what I saw was really my brother."
Suga's expression turned curious.
"Now we know why this officer went missing too."
Nellson nodded, then appeared to realize something.
"Is the man who attacked us in the forest his brother who went missing?"
Suga shook his head.
“I don't know either, but it's possible. It's hard for us to be sure, even if we have photos of this family, because it was dark, and his face couldn't be seen clearly."
Nellson nodded.
“Should we tell the uncle who owns this house about this note?”
Suga's expression turned doubtful.
“The victim said he didn't want his father to know he saw his brother. I also felt that if it was dangerous for the uncle to find out, something bad could happen to him, and that's not what the victim wanted."
Nellson nodded and looked curious. Suga continued reading the diary but found nothing that caught his attention. Suga folded the paper, put it back between the diary pages as before, and returned the book to its place on the bookshelf. Suga searched the room briefly for a while, and nothing else could be used as a clue.
“It looks like there's nothing more we need here. Let’s go, Nellson.”
Suga walked out of the room; Nellson then flew after him. Suga closed the door to this room.
Suga walked in the corridor leading to the house's entrance and met the old man who owned the house sitting in a single armchair while reading a newspaper. There was another single armchair next to him, with a short table between these chairs on which there were two cans of juice. Nellson flew after Suga and then landed near the entrance. Seeing Suga's arrival, this man folded his newspaper and put it on the short table beside him.
“Did you get what you needed?”
Suga smiled and nodded.
"Yes, that's how it is, uncle."
The man looked curious.
“So, have you found any clues about my missing son?”
Suga was surprised; his expression then turned gloomy.
"Sorry, I couldn't find it, uncle."
The old man smiled and nodded, but there was sadness that he tried to hide.
“No need to feel reluctant. I can understand.”
Suga nodded.
“If I may, there are a few things I want to ask.”
The man's expression turned curious.
"Yes, of course. Please, have a seat. I've prepared a drink for you.”
Suga nodded, then sat on the single armchair next to this man. Suga took the drink can on the table and drank it. Suga's expression turned curious.
"Sorry in advance if my question bothers uncle. But do uncle know anything about Kagohara village?”