Not a detective

Page 33

Therefore, he omitted this part of the content for Chizuko, out of consideration for her.

"I see, you're my sister's friend?"

After hearing this, Yukie's expression relaxed, and she let go of Asakawa Riku's hand: "Now that you mention it, I seem to remember, Asakawa-san, right? I think I've heard her mention your name before. I remember that when she talked about you, my sister always spoke with a smile."

But she still spoke in a respectful yet distant tone, and even when she softened her tone, she didn't smile.

"A face like that must look really good when it smiles," Asakawa Riku couldn't help but think.

He nodded and got down to business: "Xuehui, I called you out to ask if you know what happened with this group getting lost?"

"If I had known, I would have told you all just now."

Xuehui opened her mouth in surprise, then smiled bitterly: "I'm lost here too. This isn't the mountain path I'm familiar with anymore. Just like the other guests, it's really embarrassing..."

Asakawa Riku decided to be direct, since he had requested a private conversation precisely for this opportunity:

"I mean, the matter of monsters."

"Ok?"

"Do you know which monster is behind this, and how to deal with it?" Asakawa Riku lowered his voice and said to her, "You can tell me without worry, I will help you."

He figured that since Chizuko and Yukie both came from that shrine, they must have been exposed to a lot of knowledge about yokai, and maybe she even had some skill in exorcising demons.

He told Yukie that he had learned a lot of secrets about "that world" from Chizuko and had also witnessed the power of yokai, so he was trustworthy.

To everyone's surprise, Yuki looked troubled after hearing these words:

"...It seems you've misunderstood."

"what?"

"Although I call Chizuko my older sister, I do not have that noble bloodline, nor do I have the right to acquire knowledge. I am just an ordinary shrine maiden."

The girl in front of me said calmly.

"What do you mean?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Asakawa Riku regretted it. He felt that he had already touched on a territory that could not be explored further, and there was no time to turn back.

Or perhaps it was just curiosity.

Yukie patiently explained, without being offended: "I am an orphan taken in by the shrine master, a shrine maiden fostered by the shrine, and I have no blood relation to the Kazamatsuri clan."

She said, "Although my father and mother both treat me like their own daughter, and my sister is also very good to me, the rules cannot be violated in terms of the lineage of Onmyoji and the religious standpoint. I am not allowed to read the ancient books in the library, nor can I audit those courses, I cannot know the names of the monsters, and I will not know the methods of exorcism."

The position of the chief deity can only be passed on to the eldest daughter of the heir, that is, the person with bloodline.

Riku Asakawa suddenly understood the meaning of what Chizuko-senpai had said at the beginning, "She is a priestess, not a shrine maiden."

There was no sign of complaint or resentment on Yukie's face; she had always been like that—calm, gentle, and indifferent.

An expression completely out of character for someone this age:

"To repay the kindness of my parents, I will work here until I reach adulthood, at which point I can leave the mountain and live the life of an ordinary person."

"It must be tough." Asakawa Riku frowned. He vaguely sensed from her words that Yuki was not attending school.

This age should be when they are in junior high school.

"No, the work is very easy, and the shrine will also pay me for my work. I have saved some money, enough for me to rent a house and live on. Sometimes I think about whether I will be able to adapt to life in the mountains after I get used to it. After all, such a fresh and natural environment is rare. Maybe I will come back."

Xuehui gave a standard, polite reply, bowing slightly: "So I'm sorry, I probably can't help you. I don't know anything about yokai and exorcism."

"It's alright, I was being presumptuous and asked a lot of things I shouldn't have asked."

Asakawa Rikuya returned the greeting.

Yuki went back inside first, while he stood at the door for a while.

Before she left, she didn't say goodnight, but something else that made him think for a long time:

"Mr. Asakawa, I'm just an ordinary person with zero inspiration."

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Ten: Sleep Paralysis

Asakawa Riku returned to his room.

Since the assignments had just been made, there was no chance of pushing the wrong door. After entering, he tested the doors and windows of the room.

Both doors had locks, but none of them were very secure. The door lock could be pried open with a card, and the window lock was just a hook, which could also be broken through by force.

The room was well soundproofed; you could barely hear anything from the other rooms, and for a moment it felt like there was only one person in the entire house.

He felt he had read too many mystery novels this semester, and since it was summer vacation, he should take a good rest.

The room was simply furnished, with a spacious bed and neatly folded bedding, as if it had been prepared for the guests.

　There's a desk and chair, but nothing else. There's no television or anything like that. Even in such a simple setting, it still feels cozy.

There was a fluffy carpet underfoot, and the walls were shiny white. Although there were lights, there didn't seem to be any electrical outlets.

In other words, even if someone brings a charger, they still can't charge the phone.

There was no private bathroom in the room. Asakawa Riku vaguely remembered that there was a public bathroom at the end of each corridor. He went to take a look and found that there was no bathtub, only a shower. Since he hadn't brought any change of clothes, he decided to make do for the night. He washed his face and rinsed his mouth before going to sleep. He guessed that no one else had any intention of taking a shower, since they were only forced to stay overnight.

I ran into Hirata Hirokichi when I came out. It seemed he was also there to wash up. Hirokichi grabbed me and said:

"Ah Lu, don't you think this place is creepy and scary? How about I don't stay in a single room and we sleep together?"

"Have some guts. That girl is braver than you. Do you see how scared she is?" Asakawa Riku earnestly encouraged his brother: "Get lost."

He didn't want to share a bed with a grown man unless Haoji slept on the floor.

Haoji reluctantly let go, muttering, "That witch... she looks weird. She's from this mountain, so she's definitely not afraid."

This kid usually likes to comment on girls in class, but seeing the cute shrine maiden make such a comment, he seems quite frightened.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow." Asakawa Riku wasn't in the mood for idle chatter; he needed to get enough sleep. "We still have to climb the mountain and find our way tomorrow, so go to bed early."

He patted Haoji on the shoulder and walked back to his room.

Asakawa Riku didn't think he would encounter any danger. Compared to the eerie mountain road, the house looked much more normal, and there was no ominous feeling about it.

However, his lack of inspiration means he can't be sure of anything. Anyway, he can always find a way to solve any danger he encounters.

With this confidence, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep soon after.

...

I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.

The room was pitch black, and there was no light outside the window either.

I don't know what time it is, but the room was deathly silent. Speaking of which... it's been a long time since I've heard cicadas chirping.

When did it start?

Asakawa Riku habitually reached for his phone to check the time, but he quickly realized he couldn't.

I can't lift my hand.

I remember putting my phone next to my pillow, but I can't even turn my neck to look at it. What's wrong?

My body is so stiff, like heavy rust, the gears are getting stuck little by little, making it impossible to turn the machine on.

He once claimed that he had 100% control over his body, which was not an exaggeration; he could indeed do that. But now he can't even lift a finger.

—You have everything, yet you can't do anything.

I felt like those words had hit me right in the face.

He could only open his eyes and stare at the darkness on the ceiling.

Recalling what I've learned, the so-called "sleep paralysis" actually has a scientific explanation. It's a sleep disorder where the body is overworked or under too much stress during the day, causing mental tension. When you go to sleep, your body is asleep, but your mind is still awake because of the excitement of neurons in the brain. In other words, there is a discrepancy between the body and the mind.

When ordinary people sleep, they experience all sorts of dreams. Sometimes they are chased by monsters and running for their lives, and sometimes they are jumping high between skyscrapers. At this time, the sleeping person will not suddenly dance around or jump up and down. This is because the brain avoids being harmed by the dream in reality, so it locks the motor functions of the body and limbs.

This is a universal mechanism, just like heartbeat and breathing.

Sleep paralysis, also known as sleep paralysis, is a phenomenon where the mind is fully conscious but the body is locked in a state of paralysis.

But after thinking about it, Asakawa Riku realized that the situation was not like that now.

He has long since achieved complete control over his willpower, mind, and body, and can regain consciousness and break free at any time, making it impossible for him to lose control.

The current situation is not "sleep paralysis"... but more like simply "cold".

Yes, it's so cold.

Even he could feel the cold; a bone-chilling cold permeated him from head to toe.

He was clearly covered with a blanket on the bed, but the cold didn't come from the outside; it grew from inside his body.

Like snowflakes, they grow in his blood, muscles, and bone marrow, sticking to and freezing his body.

He's freezing stiff, bit by bit!

The moment he realized this, Asakawa Riku's eyes widened. He hadn't felt such a strong sense of crisis in a long time, and he instantly went into battle mode.

The skin and pores contract due to the cold, breathing almost stops, and every breath is filled with cold air, which only accelerates the process of death.

Can the heartbeat continue to vibrate, and for how long?

An invisible enemy lurks in the dark room, slowly turning him into an ice sculpture. If he doesn't act soon...!

Thinking of this, Asakawa Riku's heart began to beat faster.

This seems impossible, as heart rate is a bodily function that only changes according to physiological conditions.

But as mentioned earlier, he has achieved "complete control".

Thump... thump... thump thump... thump thump thump!

Little by little, he accelerated, little by little, pushing his limits. The boy lying on the bed had bloodshot eyes. He was pushing his body to its limits, heading towards a dangerous zone.

That fiercely beating heart, the only organ in the body that can move, is now transforming into a wildly spinning engine, providing the entire body with the power to resist the cold!

Thump...thump...like the sound of war drums on a battlefield, only he could hear it, as if it were deafening, echoing throughout the entire room.

The silence was broken, the ice sculpture was shattered, his fingers could move, his skin could move, and endless power flowed from his blood.

As if transformed into molten lava, the engine started up this terrifying machine.

Asakawa Riku used his rapidly shaking body, employing the most primitive method of warming himself, to gradually break free from the frost's constraints and regain his body.

The next second, he reached into the darkness, trying to grab the culprit who was causing the trouble.

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Eleven - Can't Summer Be a Snowstorm Villa?

The fiery figure, its body ablaze with heat, leaped to its feet and charged toward the sudden dark shadow in the room.

The shadowy figure seemed startled, not expecting that Asakawa Riku could actually put up a fight. It retreated rapidly and vanished in an instant.

Asakawa Riku missed his target and fell heavily to the floor.

"……Well."

Although he was somewhat disheveled, his bodily functions were gradually recovering, and he was slowly regaining his sense of touch.

When I stood up again and scanned the room, the unfamiliar atmosphere had vanished without a trace, and the temperature was slowly rising, gradually returning to normal.

Asakawa Riku couldn't even open his eyes properly; his eyelashes and corneas were frozen and covered by a hazy white mist, so he couldn't see anything clearly.

He couldn't even recall what the shadowy figure looked like, as if his brain needed to recover from being frozen.

He coughed violently, and tiny ice crystals cracked from his throat and fell down.

—Someone wants to kill him.

There is no doubt that, whether it is a monster or a superpowered individual, the opponent possesses a powerful freezing ability, making them far more terrifying than the spider woman from last time.

At least Asakawa Riku just had a brush with death.

He wanted to describe it as being thrown into a freezer, but in reality, he wouldn't have been hurt even if he were locked in a freezer. This attack was a much more terrifying type.

The muscles, bones, organs, and even blood throughout the body are frozen. It's not a cold from the outside in, but a cold from the inside out. If it were an ordinary person, they would instantly lose the ability to resist.

Then, watching helplessly as your body gradually loses its temperature, without even a chance to struggle or cry for help in the cold, is nothing short of a torture.

Asakawa Riku forcibly increased his heart rate to raise his body temperature, something most people couldn't do.

It's incredible that it could maintain consciousness at such a high heart rate; even the prisoner probably didn't expect that. It miscalculated, which is why it escaped.

Conversely, when Asakawa Riku stood up, his body had not fully recovered and was still in a stiff and frozen state, which is why he was unable to grab the guy.