---

---

It seems like restraining myself when I reached out to smash it worked out for the better.
The email sent to Shiina listed, as confirmation, the place where the card key would be prepared, the room number, designated time, and instructions on how to handle the card key and such after receiving the body.
It was, as expected, sent this morning. After reading the whole thing three times, I deleted it just to be sure. As for the phone's power, I left it on because Sakurayama's wife would probably get suspicious if I turned it off.
My resolve and decision clicked into place, and blood started to flow again into my brain, which had gone pale.
However, it was based on a tragic sort of emotion, one that included resignation.
First, I managed to hide the two bodies, wrapped in bags, in the trash collection space on the cart. Sakurayama's body and the cleaning lady's body. It's absolutely impossible to fit them into something like a shoe box, so I have no choice but to carry them like this.
Then I stripped off the cleaning lady's clothes and disguised myself. This way, I can push the cart in the hallway without looking out of place, and even if someone discovers the bodies and I create a witness, the impression of me as a cleaning lady might help my true self escape the profile of the culprit. That's about the extent of my reasoning, though.
I stuffed my own belongings and the clothes I'd worn into a garbage bag, erasing my traces from the room. It's not exactly "a bird doesn't foul the nest it leaves," but I can always change back into my original clothes if need be. I first went out into the hallway, let out a breath at the absence of people, then pushed out the cart and corrected its tilt.
I was worried if I could push the cart containing the bodies, but I had no problem with the arm strength required.
"...........If I make it back safely, I'll lose some muscle."
If I killed someone every time I got into a fight, I'd be more than just a murderer; I'd be disqualified as a human being.
"Come to think of it......"
My cousin was freakishly strong too, enough to beat someone to death. Is it in the blood?
That doesn't matter right now, does it? Anyway, I need to get ready for the afternoon. To enable Shiina to collect the body, I have to prepare the card key in the designated place.
Sakurayama had instructed Shiina by email to find someone to accompany him up to this seventeenth floor. True, if I met him on the first floor, I'd end up showing my face to Shiina.
Before leaving the room completely, I looked back inside. I wouldn't be able to return here for several hours. Anything left undone? Anything suspicious? I checked various things and nodded, satisfied. Ah— Just after that, I suddenly realized and fumbled with the clothes I was wearing. Not there. A cleaning staff member should have a master key. It wasn't in the clothes, and I didn't see it even when I peeked into the hallway. Could it be... still stuck in the door of the room next door, "1702"? ...I clicked my tongue. This could be bad. If my guess was right, and a guest entered room "1702" and found the master key, they might report it to the front desk. If that happened, I'd definitely be under suspicion. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly before then... But when all you can do is pray, it feels like things are already half over.
I closed the door and hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign I'd brought from inside the room on the doorknob. This way, other cleaning staff probably wouldn't open this room, at least until the transaction was over.
Pushing the rattling cart, I arrived in front of the vending machine in the hallway. I'd hide the card key on top of this vending machine. This was the location Sakurayama had emailed to Shiina for the card key. That's all for the preparations—
"......No."
I'd like to say that, but I have to find a good vantage point to watch the elevator myself.
In this outfit, I probably wouldn't be suspected even if I brazenly passed by the elevator. If so, all that's left is to somehow stay on this floor so I don't miss Shiina's arrival.
There's no place for that.
However, I mustn't forget I'm carrying two dead bodies. There's no safe haven for me in this hotel. But then again, that's always the case. No matter where I go after leaving here, there's no peace for me.
For now, at least. Once I finish paying off my debt, surely, a normal life will begin from there.
Believing that, I took a deep breath, desperately trying to accept my being a murderer.

Nakazaki Zakuro
(Murderer)
2:00 PM

And then, just past two in the afternoon, the old guy who seemed to be the Shiina in question appeared on the seventeenth floor.
Writing it like this makes it sound simple, but the hour leading up to it was like being caught between a nightmare and harsh reality, enough to make me break out in a cold sweat until I was drenched. Was carrying a dead body alone this terrifying?
I realized Sakurayama's value, albeit belatedly. I could also understand why in some countries they say it takes a group of four to go see a dead body.
Shiina, tightly gripping the handle of his bag, emerged from the elevator with a strangely tense, student-like young man, his head swiveling as if scouting the surroundings. I pushed my cart past them, careful not to stare. After Shiina disappeared down the hallway toward room "1701," I slowly paused, giving it some time, then turned the cart around. All that was left was to peek around the corner secretly.
I never thought the day would come when I'd be playing housekeeper like on TV. After confirming there were no suspicious gazes around, I checked on Shiina from around the corner. Shiina, as instructed, reached onto the top of the vending machine and retrieved the card key. Then, he started to look around the hallway again, searching for eyes on him, so I pulled my head back. I counted to eight in my head before peeking out again.
Shiina was already standing in front of room "1701." With a stiff expression, he knocked on the door. He's such an overly formal man, even though I'd instructed him that no one was there and he could take it as he pleased. He seemed not just tense, but also scared. Just like me. I understand how he feels. That's why, conversely, I wished he'd hurry up and get it over with.
"Excuse me."
As if having made up his mind, Shiina inserted the card key into the door and turned the doorknob. Then he pulled the door open, checked his surroundings one last time, and slipped inside.
Watching him go in, I muttered a small "Alright." I also had a feeling that a cell phone was ringing somewhere in the distance, like a gospel. All that was left was to wait for the right time for Shiina to come out, hide in the opposite hallway, and—
Someone brushed past me. I reacted suddenly, as if startled, and turned around.
A man dressed as a bellboy was about to deliver room service. He had blond hair and refined features. The expression he gave me was a loaded smile, as if it carried some other intention.
Though he tilted his head at my extreme reaction, he didn't say anything and pushed his wagon further down the hallway. That man's voice... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before... I can't remember. It's not important right now, so my brain is probably blocking the information. More importantly, Shiina.
The bellboy was heading towards room "1701." He wasn't stopping yet. How far was he planning to go? If he kept going, he'd reach the end of the hallway... Hey, wait a minute.
The bellboy, having stopped at the dead end of the hallway, began to knock furiously on the door.
Room "1701," which Shiina had just entered.
! I wanted to scream, "What's with that idiot?!" but I bit my lip and held back.
He knocked relentlessly—bang, bang, bang!—and shook the wagon's wheels, making them rattle. Midway, he started tapping out a three-three-seven rhythm, enjoying the sound as enthusiastically as some violinist.
To me, that rhythm sounded only like the Grim Reaper reveling in music.
A few minutes of nightmare once again collaborated with reality to crush my heart. My breathing and heartbeat became shallow and unnatural, repeating erratically, and my throat burned as if it had been slit.
Eventually, the man finished his knocking "performance" and started heading back this way, pushing his wagon cheerfully. I instantly pushed my cart and began to move noisily to the opposite hallway, feeling the insanity of a plan where I was the only one acting as scheduled in a situation that had deviated from it.
The bellboy wasn't heading for the elevator, but to the other side of the hallway. Did that man even have the right room in the first place? There's a limit to how much trouble one can cause, especially when I'm here dealing with life and death.
Waiting for the bellboy to disappear from the hallway, I hurriedly went to check on room "1701." I even left the cart behind and ran.
I slid to a stop in front of the room and knocked on the door, however gently, but no one opened it. What was Shiina doing? Was he cowering in the bathroom, terrified of some attacker?
Only the sound of that phone was ringing out from inside.
Even if I wanted to check, the card key had gone inside with Shiina.
The cleaning lady's master key is probably in room "1702," so I don't have it. For now, I have no way to enter this room. I can't collect the money. And now, I don't even know if Shiina can carry out the body.
"...........What the hell."
I sagged, pressing my forehead against the door. I want to kill him. That bellboy from before.
Having gained one more depressing goal in life, my spirits sank even lower.
Still, I couldn't completely abandon the thought, "I will find happiness."
I'll follow the example of that kind of murderer and struggle to the very end.
Continuing to push the cart, packed with two fresh corpses.
Thinking calmly, I just need to wait for Shiina to come out of the room. Since there's no other exit, he has to come out through the door. I'll wait for that, and then make sure he returns the card key to the top of the designated vending machine. The plan isn't completely dead yet.
To do that... cleaning? Prowl this hallway pretending to clean? That's the only way.
I never wanted to kill. But even if it was an unwanted killing, there's no need for me to die.
"I want to live, so I live."
I will absolutely escape from this hotel with the cash.
Together with the sins I've committed, to a paradise without corpses.

Tachibana Eiji
(Novelist)
5:15 PM

I was in a rotten mood. What the hell was with that girl, and that man with her who looked somewhat boyish?
At the Chinese food buffet, we went for the same dish, and after they snatched it from me without a word, I'd jumped into the elevator. Then I bought an apple jelly at the convenience store on the first floor and came back.
I really wanted something sweet, so I ended up buying it, but... I can't shake this feeling of defeat.
Damn it! When I get back to my room, I'll vent by petting my cat, or maybe pinching the tip of its tail—
Besides, there are too many people in this hotel who eat their meals early. Well, so do I, though.
People from the countryside are usually early eaters. Which means everyone there was a damn hick. Well, so am I, though.
Riding in the elevator, a mother and child with weird hair colors were having one of those "I'm gonna knock you out" conversations: "What do you want to eat today?" "Um, well, umm... Whatever Mommy likes is fine!" "Mommy wants to eat *you*, Eri-chan!" "Eeeek!" It was incredibly uncomfortable. The mother and child got off on the sixteenth floor. And then the elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor, right above it.
Kicking up the carpet with the soles of my sandals, I headed to my room, doing some high-knee exercises as I went. Annoyed.
I'd learned somewhere before that when you're irritated—why does a golden orb spider come to mind?—moving your body is a good way to relieve stress. Ruining the carpet fibers is probably better than kicking down a wall at my parents' house and hurting my foot.
Just as I turned right at the corner, I almost bumped into a cleaning lady pushing a cart. Cleaning at this hour, what a pain. "Excuse me," the cleaning lady said, looking down, apologizing after avoiding a collision. "Ah, it's fine." ...Hmm?
Up close, she was beautiful. A woman with fox-like eyes, giving off a somewhat foreign, Asian vibe. The triangular kerchief covering her head and her long hair, tending to hide her face, created an accessible sort of mystique. And her legs were long. The epitome of beautiful legs. Any man who dated this woman would first be driven by the desire to see her in a cheongsam or an ao dai. Not that it's any of my business, though.
My interest, well, it only goes about this far, at most.
"By the way, you're a guest, so why are you dressed like that?"
After we'd passed each other, I couldn't suppress my curiosity and asked her directly.
The woman turned to face me with demonic speed.
For some reason, I felt as if I was drawing the gazes of a group of people frozen in place directly opposite me, all focused on my back.
"Hmm? This morning, I saw you, looking quite neat, coming out of room '1701' with a man... My memory couldn't be wrong. Since I don't meet many people, I don't need to jot down miscellaneous conversations in my mental notebook. Therefore, I have plenty of brain capacity. However... I can't remember what I ate for dinner a week ago. It's been bothering me for a while now. I usually have curry or a convenience store bento for dinner, but well, I wonder..."
My eyes met the woman's. She gave a wry smile, as if lamenting the discovery of her prank, muttering, "Ah, I've been found out," but she didn't seem to be showing any particular emotion towards me.
The woman abandoned her cart and dashed towards the emergency stairs. As I was watching her back, wondering what was going on, another woman gracefully slipped past me. Her face was beautiful, but her movements... how to put it... it was as if all four of her limbs were right arms, a unified yet abnormally creepy way of moving.
She was like a personified golden orb weaver spider. And her smile was terrifying. As if madness itself was frozen, her features were fixed in a distorted grin. And why was she barefoot? Why did she look like a worn-out rag?
Next, two more figures rushed past. Chasing the attractive ass of the first woman, leaving a faint breeze in their wake, were a shabbily dressed middle-aged man who looked suited to such an act, and a young girl who looked like she'd be good at singing a song of resentment towards beautiful women.
Were they both on the verge of tears? Their faces were a mess from crying. Especially the young girl's.
I arbitrarily decided the deciding factor would be leg length, but those two didn't look like they could catch up to the woman. In American football, it'd be a confirmed touchdown; in basketball, the game-winning shot swishing through the net.
Normally, victory or defeat would have been decided right there. But that's only if this were a game.
The middle-aged man running behind them swung the Boston bag he was carrying, and the young girl, while running, took off her right shoe and gripped its toe in her hand.
Then, the middle-aged man and the young girl, with a sidearm throw, hurled them with all their might at the back of the fleeing woman's head.
One was a straight pitch, the other a slider. Perhaps due to her youth, the young girl's throw had more snap.
I hoped they might hit the 'youkai woman' who had taken the lead in the chase, but they missed her splendidly.
The slider hit the fleeing woman's left shoulder blade, and the straight pitch, right on target, struck the middle of her neck and head. *Thwack!* A dense sound. And then *Thump!* The dull sound of a rubber sole, not quite matching the force, overlapped as the woman's feet momentarily left the ground. The shoe seemed to inflict more serious damage than the bag. What the hell is in that thing? Then, the woman pitched forward violently before landing. Most people would call it a crash landing. It felt somewhat regrettable that the face of the most beautiful woman in this hallway right now was about to be smashed.
And then the other pursuer, the 'youkai woman,' slammed her right knee directly into the fallen woman's spine, pinning her down.
The woman let out a groan and buried her face, as if having lost the will to resist.
It's kind of like a fighting match, isn't it.
It was an exchange of violence that could easily become a police matter, but I decided not to get any more involved. People are just astounding. That's why I can't bring myself to offer a helping hand to anyone. What a cruel world, full of people who do terrible things.
......Well, it was a scene I could probably use somewhere in a novel, though.

Epilogue: Cocoon of Malice

"......Well, it's not like any major incidents happened, though."
Retracting his suggestive gestures, Luigi-san averted his eyes. He crumpled what looked like a half-read newspaper into a ball and toyed with it between his palms.
"But, and this includes you... you should be careful for a while. No, rather, I'm warning you based on experience."
"About what?"
He said it in the tone of someone who, after thoroughly scaring people with ghost stories, suddenly puts on a serious expression and starts giving advice.
"I don't know. It's about all sorts of misfortune, so I can't be specific."
Well, normally, people don't go about their days openly welcoming misfortune.
"It's because you got involved with Touki. Sharing an incident or a place with that girl is nothing but misfortune for others."
He stated this evaluation, which was close to condemnation, in a matter-of-fact tone. I thought they were inappropriate words to direct at one's female companion, but then I considered that when I internally assess Mayu's personality, I also often use distorted expressions, so perhaps there wasn't much difference. Could this person, by any chance, be *my* Luigi?
"From now on, you two will definitely encounter incidents."
He looked up at me and declared it as if predicting an article that would be published in a future newspaper.
"It sounds like someone from a new religion threatening you with, 'You will definitely die,' as a complaint." Even a dog walking around will run into a stick; anyone alive will encounter minor incidents. It also depends on how you perceive things. There are sheltered young ladies out there for whom burning their tongue is a major incident, you know.
"The scale is no laughing matter. These are events that could affect your entire life depending on how you handle them."
"..........." Is this guy a fortune teller by profession?
"That girl, she unwittingly digs pitfalls in people's futures. It's not like she does it consciously; it's automatic. Anyone who gets involved with her meets a terrible fate. At least once."
So, it's like a Zashiki Warashi doing a handstand? When I imagined it, an annoyingly healthy-looking, bob-haired girl started asserting herself in a corner of my mind.
"Moreover, she's the type around whom incidents always occur when traveling... You could say she has the disposition of a natural-born detective. And she's a child shaped by the kind of image the world generally conjures up for such a figure."
He explained the girl's dangerous nature with an intonation that had a subtle rise and fall, a curious mix of pride and perhaps exasperation. Indeed, even if that girl possessed supernatural powers, I couldn't deny it. After all, she was someone who'd accurately guessed Mayu's behavior with just one look. She's worth being wary of.
But even if he says to be careful... I've already had more than my share of terrible experiences. If it increases by one or two, it'll probably just result in an extra volume being added to the diary of our lives. No, actually, about three months ago, I was made to wander between life and death over a dozen times, so I'd rather not, to be honest.
Even if I deadpanned, "Understood. From now on, I'll carry hardtack and delicious Rokko water on my hip, and then, after equipping Ma-chan with a kitchen knife for self-defense, we'll go about conquering the dungeon called life," Luigi-san probably wouldn't be very satisfied.
"Unfortunately, I always live under the dirt, so I don't mind falling any further."
Replying with a bluffing joke like this was the best I could do.
And it wasn't entirely a lie, either. What I feared was for myself—ending up with a ceiling paved with concrete, unable to reach the light, a life that, viewed objectively, would be no more than that of a cicada. Well, there's no way to crawl back up.
There are plenty of creatures in the deep sea that can live without light. My lies are probably one facet of adaptation.
Luigi-san responded with an unconscious-sounding "Hmm," and then peered into my eyes as if analyzing my words. Naturally, I blatantly looked away to avoid being exposed.
"Besides, you're with a girl like that and you're unharmed, so your story lacks credibility, doesn't it?"
"Ah, me? I'm fine. Actually, I'm floating three centimeters off the ground."
He threw the joke back at me. At that, the tension in the air slackened, and Luigi-san and I lost the precise distance we had been maintaining. Perhaps we both realized there was nothing to be gained by prying into each other's hidden sides.
"Oh, right. I've finished reading this, so I'll give it to you."
Saying that, he took a paperback book out of his duralumin case. The cover was bent. He held it out to me, so I took it out of habit. The author's name printed on the book was Tachibana Eiji. First time seeing it.
"It seems like a book for people a bit younger than me, so I think you should be able to read it."
While the case was open, he tossed the newspaper ball inside. Then, he forcefully closed the overflowing case and relocked it.
"Ah, thanks." Though Ma-chan's and my reading consists entirely of books for even younger people. Although, recent picture books are interesting, or rather, many of them contain elements of rudimentary philosophy.
"What makes you different from other people?"
That was the sentence that left the strongest impression on me from the picture book I read on the bullet train. Was it asking how I am different from others?
Or was it encouraging me to find what makes me different from others?
This sentence, whose meaning becomes ambiguous when taken out of context, was imposing an unwanted mental workout on my brain.
"Luigi, sorry to keep you waiting! Hotel bathrooms are really clean, aren't they? So different from home. That house is so dirty, you want to wash your hands the moment you step inside."
She made her entrance swinging both hands around, scattering droplets everywhere. The girl then unreservedly wiped her dripping hands on Luigi-san's clothes. "Hey! I gave you a handkerchief, didn't I?" "I liked the pattern on that one, so I'm keeping it safe without using it." "Liar. You complained endlessly when I bought it for you." "A person's sensibilities evolve daily, you know. It means I've become able to tolerate even your taste, Luigi." "Yeah, yeah, that's enough. I don't want to win against you, you know. Because the retaliation later is brutal."
Shrugging his shoulders in surrender, Luigi-san grabbed the handle of his duralumin case. He stood up from his chair and adjusted his hat.
"Well then, we'll be going. Please, do be careful."
One last time, he urged me to be careful, like a housewife worried about leaving the stove on.
"What is it, Luigi? Saying weird stuff again? Your Japanese is as bad as ever," the girl, now in a good mood after drying her hands, teased Luigi-san in a provocative tone.
Luigi-san didn't retort, just gave a wry smile and stroked the girl's hair with his fingers.
The two of them walked off side-by-side towards the escalator. The sight of the girl in red shoes and the man carrying a duralumin case walking through the hotel from behind exuded a unique aura, like a scene from a story.
And then, just as they passed the corner leading to the front of the elevator.
The girl suddenly turned around, as if to say, "I haven't forgotten, nor am I ignoring you."
She showed off a malicious grin—a slooow, draaawn-out smiirk. It felt like I was being made to witness the curl of her lips and the change in the sparkle of her eyes frame by frame.
And what resulted was the distorted contortion of her cheeks, filled with an unsettling delight peculiar to those who can't help but enjoy tormenting others.
......That part of her resembles Toue, doesn't it.
The girl deliberately mouthed a parting shot at me.
[ ...... ]
Luigi-san, however, didn't notice and continued straight on his way.
I felt as if the words "Poor thing" had been left behind with me.
For the next four days, no incidents worth mentioning occurred (I'm probably misusing that idiom).
Mayu would curl up into a ball, going "rollover-rollover," and roll on my legs or back, giving me a sort of massage, or we'd both nod in agreement saying, "There's no meaning to this," as Mayu pushed her body into my shirt and we'd both stick our heads out from the same opening. There was no meaning to it, but my shirt got all stretched out, so there was some damage.
Strangely enough, I didn't see any of the seventeenth-floor guests I'd encountered on the first day even once during my stay. Maybe they were all just scheduled for a one-night, two-day stay, but somehow, I sensed the lingering scent of an incident there.
The police also came by the room once for some questioning. I responded haphazardly, and they seemed to think I was a bit slow in the head, so they thankfully took their leave pretty quickly.
Incidentally, I stopped seeing the cat too. But there was this little one mewing "nyaa nya nya nyaa nya nya" to music on my chest, and I ended up joining in, singing "nya nya nya nya nya nya nya nya" and, well, this has nothing to do with the cat topic anymore, but it was fun. So, for some reason, it felt like the entire seventeenth floor was reserved just for us. After its power was cut, the phone in room "1701" also stopped its cat-in-heat-like frequent ringing and maintained a blue silence like that of a deserted library. No problems arose, and there were no signs of troublesome sprouts emerging at our feet.
This hotel was functioning excellently, like a refuge from our reality. The absolute decrease in potential incidents also meant we were spared contact with others, but it's a fact that things were calm, wasn't it?
The fewer people who knew me, the further the clamor receded, and the peace I had feared began to snuggle up to me.
Though I didn't want to say "forever."
Living a completely shut-in life with Mayu like this sometimes isn't so bad.
........Come to think of it, this might have been the same kind of fulfillment as the selfishness permitted to someone who has been promised death in the near future.