Pathway to Japanese Literature

The House of Artificial Humans

This story began in Vladivostok, a famed port city of the Soviet Union. Should one ascend from Vladivostok's streets toward the mountains, all would surely notice at once a splendid structure—white walls crowned by a round roof of rusted blue, its sharp spire stabbing upward through ash-gray skies as though to pierce heaven itself.

“Ah, what a truly splendid temple!” Those who didn’t know would surely have said such a thing. However, while this building must have been a temple in the past, now it was not. Then what on earth could that house be? It was none other than this. That was none other than Dr. Ivanov’s “House of Artificial Humans.”

The House of Artificial Humans—when you say that, one might not understand what it means, but to explain it in more detail, it is as follows. Dr. Ivanov was an exceedingly eminent scientist. He was a completely bald old man, yet possessed a research spirit that rivaled even young scholars, having been engrossed in artificial human research since ancient times. It was ten years prior that he had moved into that former temple site—at the time leading by hand a mechanical doll of such grotesque appearance it seemed welded together from tanks—and as he ascended that slope, all passersby halted in their tracks and stared in astonishment. The mechanical doll would emit a grinding gear noise with every step, occasionally shake its oil-can-like neck, and from between lips resembling a postbox slot—

“Umm, everyone.” “I am a robot.” “I have moved to this town.” “Nice to meet you all.”

It had spoken in an impossibly loud, radio-like voice. Repeating the same phrases over and over as they went, they climbed the slope until vanishing into the temple ruins. At that moment, Dr. Ivanov—standing beside it—was said to have worn an expression of indescribable pride.

Ten years had passed since then. Dr. Ivanov’s research advanced ever further, and now his creations had become so splendid that people no longer called them mechanical dolls but referred to them as artificial humans. However, lately, Dr. Ivanov had stopped wanting to show his artificial humans to the townspeople as he once did. As if by way of mere apology, once a year—during spring when white plum blossoms burst into bloom—he would open the temple gates, allow the townspeople to freely come and go in the garden, and bring out mechanical dolls, horses, dogs, and such into the garden for them to view. Today was that year’s only Artificial Human Day. Inside the garden, townspeople had flocked in great numbers and were jostling each other, eager to catch a glimpse of the wonders. As for the congestion at the entrance, it was truly overwhelming.

“Oh, you people cannot enter! “Artificial humans hold tremendous secrets! “Japanese people are not allowed to enter! “Now, go back! Go back quickly!”

At this very moment, a Japanese brother and sister who appeared to be siblings were being yelled at by a Russian as large as a guardian deity statue at the entrance reception desk. “But we…” “No entry, no entry.” “No matter what you say, no entry.”

The hulking receptionist barked harsh words, trying to bar the siblings from entering. Dr. Ivanov

“Then please call Dr. Ivanov here. We’re siblings named Shōta and Mariko who live next door. Dr. Ivanov...” “No matter what you say, Japanese people are not permitted entry. If you don’t leave, I’ll show you my strength.” “Wait, please. But Dr. Ivanov told us to come see him without fail and even called us earlier.” “Big Brother, let’s just give up and go back already.”

Mariko, his fourth-grade elementary school sister, had already grown so weary of the receptionist’s ferocious demeanor that she wanted to go home.

“Wait, Mariko. But when Dr. Ivanov himself told us to come see him—it’s ridiculous that we’re being turned away like this by some receptionist!” “Hey! Still refusing to leave? Stubborn Japanese—I’ll show you my arm!” “Huh? Big Brother...”

Mariko attempted to pull back her brother Shōta. Shōta was a third-year middle school student and quite reliable.

That was the moment. Inside the belly of the Nio statue-like receptionist, something made a grinding, grinding, grinding—a strange noise. The moment that happened, the receptionist's raised arm froze in place. Not only his arm—his entire body had stiffened completely, becoming exactly like a real wooden Nio guardian statue. "Huh? What's wrong with this receptionist?"

As Shōta was making a puzzled face, a bald-headed old man came rushing up from the back, pushing through the crowd and panting heavily. “Hey, Don! “That won’t do! “Ah, Shōta dear! Mariko dear! I’ve been waiting for you! “Now now, please come in this way. “I had forgotten to instruct this receptionist.” “Ah, you must be Dr. Ivanov.” “Yes, I am Ivanov. “Welcome—Shōta dear and Mariko dear have come all this way! “Please do come over here.”

The siblings turned to look back at receptionist Don as if to say, "See? What did we tell you?"—but by then, Don was already standing in the crowd at the entrance, feigning ignorance while appearing utterly absorbed in managing the throng.

“Huh? That’s strange.”

“Now now, please do come over here! There are so many artificial humans I especially want to show you all!” “What do you mean by ‘artificial humans you specially want to show us’?” “Well now, I do have some rather fascinating creations. I don’t let anyone in, but I’ll make a special exception for you all and allow you inside the house—!”

Dr. Ivanov took the two along, unlocked the large building’s door, and guided the siblings inside.

Mysterious Creatures The moment the siblings stepped one foot into the room, something suddenly barked “Grrr... woof woof woof!” at their feet. Mariko was so startled that she let out a cry and clung to Shōta’s arm. When they looked, it was a ferocious dog the size of a small calf. “Hey, Dapp. Go over there.” Dr. Ivanov suddenly raised his foot and kicked the dog. At that moment came a thudding sound like kicking a wooden chair. The dog tucked its tail and fled toward the back.

“That’s an impressive dog you keep.” Shōta said. “Oh, that? That’s an artificial dog.”

“Huh? An artificial dog?” “Mariko, he said that’s an artificial dog.” “Oh my, it’s an artificial dog?” “So it’s a dog assembled with machinery, then.” “It’s just like a real dog!” “That’s exactly right, indee~ed! If my artificial dog bites down, it’ll tear off your hand or leg in an instant.” “A real dog wouldn’t do that.” “So it’s stronger than a real dog, then?” “That’s right, that’s right! "I take great pride in my artificial dog," Dr. Ivanov cheerfully declared. "I have even more interesting things. “Now, I’ll clap my hands,” Dr. Ivanov declared, clapping twice.

Then, oinking loudly, a white pig came running out from behind the curtain and halted abruptly before the doctor. “Please take a look at this pig’s back—!” “Its back has been made into a table.” Indeed, upon closer inspection—one couldn’t help but be amazed—the white pig’s back appeared as if a board had been placed upon it.

“There’s deliciou~s liquor inside this.” “I will give the command.” “The liquor will flow into cups and come out!” When Dr. Ivanov reached out toward the pig, its back split open with a clunk to either side, and from beneath emerged three cups filled with fine Western liquor. And when its back closed, the cups were resting neatly on top. The pig’s body functioned like a liquor storage warehouse. “How about it? “Please drink the liquor~!” Dr. Ivanov picked up a cup.

“No, we won’t drink any, so please have it yourself, Doctor.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll stop too~—let’s put away the moving table.” With that, Dr. Ivanov gave the pig’s rear a sharp smack. The pig dashed off. As it ran, its back split open again, and the cups of Western liquor automatically retracted inside until they were out of sight. “Hahahaha! What do you think? Isn’t it marvelous? That’s no real pig either—it’s an artificial pig I created.”

“Hmm... So that’s an artificial pig?” “I’m amazed!”

“I’m starting to feel creeped out． Big Brother， let’s go home already．”

Mariko kept poking her brother's side and urged him to leave the mansion.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll show you something even more interesting.” “I’ll show you my artificial human Mr. F.” “I’ve had enough.” “No—Mr. F the artificial human is quite an impressive specimen.” “If you see him now, it’ll give you stories to tell later.” “You’ll be returning to Japan soon.” “You’ll have a fine souvenir tale to share.”

Shōta took issue with that and, “Huh? How do you know we’re returning to Japan, Doctor?”

“Hahahaha. “That’s something everyone knows.” “I can instantly know anything in this world.” Dr. Ivanov kept laughing loudly—hahaha—at something that wasn’t remotely funny.

The Unfinished Mr. F

Shōta and Mariko’s father was a merchant who operated a store in Vladivostok. Their mother, being frail of health, lived in their hometown of Kamakura, but having not seen her two children for a considerable length of time, she had requested their return. Thus it was decided they would soon go back to Japan. Though this matter had been settled strictly within their household—without even notifying the consulate or Soviet authorities—it came as a shock that Dr. Ivanov had already become aware of it.

“Then just see Artificial Human Mr. F~—and then you may return.” “Are you frightened, Mariko?” “If you’re frightened~—you may wait outside the room.” “Only Shōta may view him.” “Shōta~—you’ll surely be impressed.” Dr. Ivanov guided them deeper through corridors with a beaming smile, holding both siblings’ hands. The hallway soon ended at a wall. “From here we go downstairs to the basement.” “Mariko~—still frightened?” “Then wait here.” “You may also step out to the garden from this spot.”

“Alright, Mariko.” “Wait here for me.” “Don’t go anywhere until I come back.” “Yes, I’ll wait.” “Come back as quickly as you can, okay? Big Brother.” Mariko said pleadingly. Shōta was led by the doctor down the dimly lit stairs.

“Doctor, why are you so insistent on showing me this artificial human called Mr. F?” “Hmph—that’s because he’s simply the most exceptional artificial human in the world. Previous models were as large as gorillas or giants, but Artificial Human Mr. F has been crafted remarkably compact. He speaks Japanese rather splendidly—better than we ourselves do.” “So this Artificial Human Mr. F speaks Japanese—”

“That’s right~. “In addition to Japanese, he speaks English and Russian fluently. “He speaks thirteen languages. “It took me considerable effort.”

Dr. Ivanov took out a key and unlocked the door. “Please come in.”

A purple electric light was on. Something was making an eerie creaking noise. Looking closer, under the electric light was something shaped like a human sitting in a chair. However, oddly enough, it was merely maintaining a human form through numerous wires overlapping each other, just like inside a radio receiver. “So, Mr. F... is that it?” “That’s right~. Mr.F has only his internal components completed at this stage~. Next, we’ll attach flesh over that framework and then cover it with skin to make him look human. He isn’t finished yet. But he moves quite well. Now, let’s go in.”

With that, Dr. Ivanov pulled Shōta into the room. The door snapped shut.

Inside the Sinister Door

There was Mariko waiting in the corridor. Shōta had promised to return immediately but did not come back even after ten minutes passed—then twenty. What had happened to him? Mariko suddenly felt alone as her chest began pounding like a rapidly tolling bell. *What had happened to Big Brother?* He said he'd come right out but still hadn't appeared. All the spectators had left—here I was waiting all alone．Oh，I felt so lonely I thought I might go mad．

Mariko looked around the corridor. Dusk was casting dark shadows in the corners of the corridor. A strange tower seemed to be staring fixedly at Mariko from the window. *Mariko... Your big brother has already gone somewhere. Only you remain here now.*

The strange tower somehow felt as though it was speaking to Mariko in that way.

“Oh, I can’t take this anymore.” “I’m going to check the basement now.”

Mariko muttered to herself and started running down the corridor.

The staircase leading to the basement was already completely submerged in darkness, but Mariko clattered down the steps with single-minded determination to see her brother. When she descended the stairs, there was another wide corridor. And there were several rooms with large doors.

Standing in front of the nearest room’s door, Mariko timidly peered inside. The other side of the door was quiet. There was no sign that anyone was there. (This doesn’t seem to be the room.) Mariko, looking frightened, reexamined the door and found she could read the characters "Storage." "Oh, this is a storage room."

Mariko walked briskly down the corridor and stood before the next room. Then, from inside the room, there came a high-pitched creaking noise—creak-creak-creak, creak-creak-creak.

There, written on it, was "Artificial Human Mr. F's Room."

“Oh! The Artificial Human Mr. F’s Room... He must be here, I wonder?” Mariko summoned her courage and rapped lightly on the door. “Big Brother! Shōta!” “It’s Mariko!”

Mariko said that and waited a while for a response. But for some reason, no reply came—the one she had been waiting for. Only the strange creak-creak-creak sound continued unabated beyond the door. Mariko’s vision darkened from anxiety. “Big Brother! Big Brother!” “Mariko! Mariko is waiting!” “Big Brother! If you’re there, please answer me!” With that, Mariko began hammering violently on the door—rapid, fierce knocks reverberating through the corridor. When her hands grew too sore to knock anymore, she started slamming her body against the door with heavy thuds—

“Big Brother! What’s wrong? It’s Mariko! Won’t you come out here already?” she shouted, half-crying.

At that moment, from beyond the door came the clatter of a key being turned. And soon, the door slid smoothly open inward. A single face appeared from behind that door?! Japanese teacher

“Big Brother!”

Mariko called out to the face that had emerged from behind the door. But that was a grave mistake. It was not Shōta's face, but Dr. Ivanov's bald head—the master of this "House of Artificial Humans." "Ah—"

Mariko, startled, jumped back two or three steps. “Oh, Doctor! Where is my brother? Could you please call him here quickly?”

Mariko pleaded with the Doctor as if in prayer, begging him to let her see her brother.

“Miss Mariko. You mustn’t make such a commotion—it’s not proper at all.” “But Doctor, my brother left me behind and went off somewhere because—!” “Are you referring to Mr. Shōta? Since Mr. Shōta is in this room, there’s no need for concern.” Hearing this, Mariko suddenly perked up. “Huh? Is my brother in this room?” “Oh my—” she exclaimed, her eyes widening, “Then I’ll have you let me in.”

“Now, now—wait a moment.” Dr. Ivanov thrust out his stout arm and restrained Mariko. “It’s dangerous to go inside. “Wait a moment.” “I’ll call Mr. Shōta for you.” Dr. Ivanov withdrew back into the room.

Mariko peered timidly into the room. The interior was extremely dim. A purple electric lamp emitted only a faint light, while somewhere, the strange creak-creak-creak sound persisted incessantly. “Ah, Mariko. Have you grown tired of waiting?”

Her brother’s voice came. It was her brother’s voice—the very voice she had been waiting for so long.

“Oh, Big Brother! You really make me wait, don’t you?”

When Mariko saw her brother emerge from the back room, she leaped toward him. "But researching artificial humans is just so fascinating, you see." “Mariko, won’t you go back ahead of me?” “Big Brother will go home after watching more experiments.” “No good! No good!”

When Mariko heard this, she clung to Shōta’s chest and would not let go.

“But it’s so fascinating, you know? Hey, Mariko. Dr. Ivanov is a truly brilliant man! He says creating lots of artificial humans will make the whole world happier and more convenient. I want to learn how to make them myself someday…” “We can’t! Father will worry! Let’s go home together right now, okay?” Then Dr. Ivanov—who had been silently listening to their exchange—finally spoke.

“Well then, Mr. Shōta. Please return home for today.” “Miss Mariko is worried.” “But Doctor,” “You’re only showing me this place today, aren’t you?” “Tomorrow you won’t show me anymore, will you?” Shōta said, “Then I’ll show you again tomorrow—just for one day.” “You may come alone.” Dr. Ivanov said this with a beaming face.

Shōta's Early Bedtime

On the way back after leaving the “House of Artificial Humans,” Mariko was in a foul mood. “Big Brother.” “You must never go to Dr.Ivanov’s place again.” “I think he’s definitely a terrible person.” “What were you doing with him in that room?” “There’s an artificial human called Mr.F that only has its framework completed.” “I’ve been teaching Japanese to him.” Shōta said this completely unperturbed.

“Oh, an artificial human learning Japanese is such a strange thing, isn’t it?” “He picks things up surprisingly well, you know. When I say ‘It’s quite cold, isn’t it?’, Mr. F immediately repeats the same thing right after me—‘It’s quite cold, isn’t it?’ And he imitates my voice and speaks in the same tone. It was so funny I burst out laughing.” “Oh—” “Then Mr. F also burst out laughing afterward in exactly the same way I had done—it was hilarious! Hahaha!”

“Oh, that’s strange.”

For Mariko, it was not so much strange as rather eerie. It seemed that Mariko’s eerie feeling at that time had not been mistaken. For this was because a terrible incident later occurred—one that would force them to clearly recall this very moment once again.

Shōta, without heeding Mariko’s attempts to stop him, continued visiting Dr. Ivanov’s place for four or five days—saying things like "just today" or "one more day" each time, never tiring of it. The siblings’ father, upon hearing of this, was not without worry himself; however, he failed to realize it would develop into the major incident that later occurred and thus let matters slide in a rather half-hearted manner.

Shōta's final visit to Dr. Ivanov occurred on the day before the siblings were to board the steamship as they were finally preparing to return to Japan. However, despite the entire household being caught up in frantic preparations for departure that day—packing and all manner of tasks thrown into chaotic disarray—Shōta did not return home until night had fallen. And then, "I'm feeling awfully sleepy today for some reason, so I'll go ahead and turn in first." With that, he burrowed alone into his bed.

Events During the Voyage

After the rigorous inspection, the steamship Ural Maru finally departed Vladivostok Port. “Oh, Father. Goodbye, goodbye!” Mariko waved her white handkerchief from the ship’s railing, lingering in bidding a temporary farewell to her father, who had come all the way to the docks to see them off.

“Goodbye, goodbye!” Shōta shouted at the top of his voice. Before long, their father’s figure gradually grew smaller, the pier shrank like a toy, and only the mountains of Vladivostok remained visible beyond the smoke for what seemed an eternity. Even so, the siblings still did not try to leave the deck. At this moment, Mariko suddenly recalled how her brother Shōta had seemed very unwell when he returned from his final visit to Dr. Ivanov’s residence,

“Hey‚ Big Brother.” “What on earth was that about?”

she asked. Shōta seemed startled by his sister’s sudden question but lowered his voice warily,

“Yeah, Mariko. That particular day, even I ended up regretting it. To put it simply, Dr. Ivanov had shown me Mr. F’s artificial human experiment for an awfully long time, but that day, these strange sparks started crackling between Mr. F’s body and mine, and suddenly I felt dizzy—my mind went all foggy for a while there.” “Oh, that’s awful.” “Dr. Ivanov is just like a sorcerer, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know how much time passed after that, but when I came to, I found myself lying stretched out on an armchair.”

“Oh! So Big Brother, you were subjected to something truly terrible by Dr. Ivanov!”

“Well, I don’t know whether it was done by Dr. Ivanov or by the artificial human Mr. F who was facing me.” “Anyway, after that I felt completely unwell—even when I got home, I immediately burrowed into bed.” “Please keep it a secret from Father.” “Big Brother, you know how you get completely absorbed whenever it comes to electrical or mechanical experiments.” While the two were absorbed in their conversation, an airplane was gradually approaching the steamship Ural Maru. By no means was that a Japanese airplane.

“Oh my, that peculiar airplane is targeting this steamship!” Suddenly, a loud voice rang out behind them, startling Shōta and Mariko into whirling around before they even knew why. And there, upon a deck chair, sat an elderly gentleman—when had he come? The old gentleman’s face was so densely covered in beard that it would be more accurate to say his nose and eyes were peeking out from within it. And he wore thick black-framed glasses.

“Ah! The airplane dropped something.” “Well, those look like signal flags.” “Hmm, this is downright peculiar, I say.”

The old gentleman shouted in a booming voice that brooked no restraint. Indeed, at an altitude of about five hundred meters above the steamship, a balloon with four signal flags hanging below it drifted along, swaying gently. What kind of signal flags were they? Who were they meant for, and what message could these signal flags possibly be conveying? An ominous shadow fell upon the steamship Ural Maru!

The Old Gentleman's Concern

The airplane was circling round and round far behind the ship. It seemed to be waiting for something. Only the four signal flags remained behind, slowly drifting down.

“Old Man, what are those signal flags indicating?”

Shōta asked the bearded old gentleman.

“Oh! Some sort of unintelligible signal flags, I say!” said the old gentleman. “Huh? What do you mean by that?” “It’s an unintelligible signal, I say!” “In other words, it’s a cipher signal, I say!” “They’re no ordinary signals, I say!” “It’s a cipher. What are they signaling with a cipher?” “What are they signaling with that cipher?” “You’re such a clueless child, I say!” “It’s a cipher—there’s no telling what they’re signaling with it, I say!” “The only thing that’s clear is that something terrible is sure to happen to this ship soon, I say!”

As he was saying this, another strange thing occurred. ――It was exactly as the old gentleman had said. As for that strange occurrence―though who had done it remained unknown―two ball-like objects were thrown plop-plop from the ship toward the sea. When the balls fell onto the sea, whatever mechanism they had caused them to instantly flare up and spew out thick plumes of smoke. From one ball rose yellow smoke, and from the other rose red smoke, steadily billowing up over the waves.

“Look, it’s begun! Someone aboard sent up that smoke instead of a proper reply. Now this has turned downright strange!”

The old gentleman clutched the ship’s rail and glared at the smoke. The airplane, which had apparently been waiting for the smoke to rise, now swung its nose around and began heading resolutely back the way it had come.

“Captain! Captain!”

The old gentleman now called for the captain. Even the captain had been aware of this strange incident. Through the crew’s report, he had come out to the bridge earlier and observed the entire situation. “Ah, Mr. Ōki.” “Please refrain from making excessive noise.” “Some passengers have delicate constitutions, you understand.”

Ōki was the family name of this old gentleman.

“But how can I stay quiet about this? That’s why I warned you so thoroughly before the ship departed, Captain, I tell you! Indeed, this Ural Maru had been targeted by bad actors since before we left port, I tell you! If you let your guard down, this Ural Maru will sink, I tell you!” The old gentleman’s eyes took on a fierce gleam. A culprit? The Captain deliberately feigned composure,

“It’s nothing serious. If it comes to that, warships will come to our aid immediately.” Though the captain said this, Old Man Ōki couldn’t calm down. “Then get things prepared immediately! This ship carries all the fortune I’ve sweated and toiled to build up to this age, I tell you! If the Ural Maru sinks, my life is over, I tell you! Look! What’s the meaning of those signal flags, I tell you? And then—what’s the meaning of those red and yellow smoke signals thrown from this ship, I tell you?”

“As for that smoke, I too found it suspicious and have already ordered an investigation. I’ll know immediately who threw those things into the sea.”

The Captain said this and glanced toward the lower deck. He had sent the first engineer into the ship earlier and had him investigating it.

At that moment, the first engineer's face appeared from below the stairs. From behind them, a group of crew members came up, capturing the Chinese cook.

“Captain. This one’s the culprit who threw those smoke-emitting balls into the sea…”

The first engineer pointed at Zhang, the Chinese cook. “So it’s you, Zhang. Why did you throw those smoke-emitting balls into the sea?” “No, Captain. I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know anything.”

Zhang shook his head vigorously. Then, a crew member who had been standing behind him thudded a punch into Zhang’s back, “Hey! Stop lying!” “I saw you throwing the smoke ball from behind.” “There’s no use hiding it!” “Huh? You saw me?” “That’s a lie, isn’t it?” “You’re the liar here!” “Alright, if you won’t talk, I’ll make you talk.”

As the crew member roughly grabbed the cook’s arm, Zhang immediately let out a tearful cry, “Ah, I’ll tell! I’ll tell!” “I... I did throw the smoke ball into the sea.”

“There, you see? Why did you throw them in?” “That, I don’t know. Someone else told me to throw the smoke balls. I got money. I don’t want that money either. I’ll give it to you.” “Who gave you the money?” The Captain called out at this moment, “All right, understood. Zhang—who ordered you to throw those smoke-emitting balls? Tell me what kind of person they were.”

“If I say that, they’ll kill me.” Zhang began to tremble violently.

Zhang's Confession “If you say you’ll be killed for talking—who exactly are you saying will kill you?”

The Captain pressed harshly.

“That child,” Zhang said, gasping as he clamped his mouth shut—but it was too late. “What? A child?” The Captain retorted.

“Was it a child who ordered you? Hey, answer me!” Zhang was trembling violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

“I won’t tell! I won’t tell!” “What are you talking about? “Haven’t you already confessed it was a child who ordered you? “Even if you refuse to talk now, it’s too late. “What did this child who approached you look like? “And what clothes were they wearing? “Tell me that, and I’ll forgive your crimes.”

Zhang, looking utterly desperate, glanced around at the faces of the people gathered nearby as if searching for someone who might help him. At that moment, when his eyes fell upon Shōta’s face, Zhang—for some reason—let out a startled cry, shook off the crew member’s grip, and fled. “Hey, stop, Zhang!”

The crew members, determined not to let him escape, chased after Zhang. Zhang was now fighting for his life. He clattered down the stairs, collided with doors, overturned chairs, and darted about like a rat, but under the crew members’ fierce pursuit, he was finally cornered in a nook of the ship’s storeroom and caught. By then, Zhang lay sprawled like a corpse.

Because the report reached the Captain, he soon came down to the ship’s storeroom.

“Hey, Zhang. You’d better confess everything now.” “Ughh…” “Don’t you understand I’m saying I’ll forgive your crimes if you confess? Hey, Zhang—when you saw that passenger Shōta’s face earlier, why did you get startled and run away?”

“Ahh! That was—” “I already know everything.” “The sooner you confess, the better it’ll be for you.”

“Alright… I’ll tell you,” Zhang said with a pained expression. “—But if that child is here… I can’t say.”

“That child passenger isn’t in this ship’s storeroom.”

“He really isn’t here.” “Then speak.” “That child made me do it.”

Mysterious Fire To everyone’s surprise, Zhang the Chinese cook confessed that he had been asked by the boy Shōta to throw smoke-emitting balls into the sea.

“What?! Are you saying you were asked by that Shōta?” Though he had dismissed it as impossible, when Zhang claimed Shōta had made the request, even the Captain reeled at this unforeseen turn. He pressed whether Zhang might have confused Shōta—a boy of matching appearance—for someone else, but Zhang shook his head violently, “No, it has to be that child. I never mistake faces.”

The Captain and everyone who had been listening realized this Chinese man was not lying. Then that adorable Japanese boy Shōta now became a highly suspicious figure. What could this mean? Shōta was summoned by the Captain and stepped forward. When Zhang saw Shōta enter with Mariko in tow, he made a thoroughly startled face and hid behind a crew member.

“Mr. Shōta. The smoke balls thrown into the sea earlier—Zhang here claims you ordered him to do it as the Chinese cook. Do you have any defense?” “What? What are you saying?” Shōta exclaimed, startled by this unexpected accusation he was hearing for the first time. “That’s an outrageous story. I would never do such a thing.” “No! That child asked me!” “I never lie.”

Zhang, from behind the crew members, pointed at Shōta and refused to back down. Then, Old Man Ōki stepped forward with an angry look on his face. “That’s right. The fact that Shōta didn’t do it—I was right behind him at the time and saw everything. Shōta is innocent.” “Is that so? This has taken a bizarre turn. Zhang claims he was asked by Shōta, and you all insist that Shōta didn’t do it. Which one on earth could possibly be true?”

Even Shōta began to find this incident extremely strange.

*Wait...* *Perhaps there's a boy who looks exactly like me somewhere on this ship?* He considered bringing this up to the Captain but ultimately remained silent. Because at that very moment，a sudden commotion erupted inside the ship.

“Fire! Fire!” “It’s coming from the sixth cargo hold!” “Everyone—lend a hand!”

Suspicious Ship Fire!

Both crew and passengers, as if in unison, suddenly changed their expressions.

At that moment, the old gentleman blurted out.

“There，see?” “That earlier signal was suspicious.” “Let’s hope it ends with just a ship fire.”

Before those words had even finished, a submarine fleet surfaced from the sea. In the blink of an eye, they completely surrounded the Ural Maru.

Burning Ural Maru

“Ah! Submarines!” “Hmm, which country’s submarines are those?” “Japan doesn’t have anything like that!”

On the deck of the Ural Maru, wide-eyed passengers clamored in panic.

Inside the ship, with the fear that it might sink unless the fire was swiftly extinguished, the faces of the crew battling the flames were etched with desperation. “Hey! Smoke’s billowing out thick from between the cargo in the ship’s hull!” “Assign men to the pumps—go tell them that!” “If you don’t put more force into pushing those pumps, we’ll never put out this tremendous fire!” “Over here! Over here!” “Smoke’s coming from this side too!” “Fire’s broken out in the passengers’ luggage!”

Ship Fire and the Suspicious Submarine!

Beset by two threats, both passengers and crew of the Ural Maru were left gasping for breath.

Shōta and Mariko came out onto the deck and stood glaring at the submarine. “Big Brother. What does that submarine intend to do?” “Well… what do they plan to do—”

Shōta gave an unclear reply, though in truth he believed this submarine was likely a Soviet vessel—one that had started the ship fire and now waited to watch the Ural Maru sink. But thinking how terribly this might worry his sister Mariko, he had deliberately obscured his words. At that moment, someone passed behind the siblings with a voice gone deranged. It was none other than Old Man Ōki.

“Oh, what a dreadful ship I’ve boarded.” “All the wealth I’ve spent my lifetime building will burn to ashes.” “Even if not reduced to ashes, next they’ll be sunk to the seabed by that cursed submarine.” “Oh, I’m going mad!”

Old Man Ōki ran off while tearing at his hair with both hands. “Big Brother. That old man was saying such things. That submarine means to sink the Ural Maru, doesn’t it?” Mariko had finally realized the second terrible truth. “Don’t worry—it’ll be fine.” “No, it won’t be fine.” “Hey Big Brother—we’ll either burn alive in this fire or get slaughtered by that submarine. If it comes to that, let’s make up our minds to die like proper Japanese. Otherwise we’ll be a laughingstock!”

Shōta's Resolve

(That's right. I can't stay idle!) Shōta snapped back to his senses. Until this very moment, he had remained a gentle boy keeping to himself, but now he felt the time had come to rise to action. My own life doesn't matter—but I must somehow get Mariko safely through this peril and deliver her into our mother's waiting hands in Japan. That's right—that's it. I have to save Mariko.

(I’ll stake my own life and fight this peril with everything I’ve got!) Shōta had now cast off his feeble-hearted feelings and resolved to fight as a brave Japanese boy.

“Hey, Mariko. No matter how you look at it, there’s still nothing to worry about yet. I’ll join forces with the crew to help save the Ural Maru, so even though it’ll be lonely for you, wait in the cabin until then, okay?” “Wait, Big Brother, hold on a second!” “Don’t worry about me. Hurry into the cabin…” “Big Brother... Big Brother...”

Mariko called out to her brother Shōta at the top of her voice, but Shōta kept running relentlessly into the crowd on the deck and disappeared from view.

At that moment, on the bridge of the Ural Maru, the captain and the first engineer had drawn their faces close together and were whispering something rapidly. “Captain. Either way, it’s already hopeless.”

“Now don’t go losing your nerve on me. “But having had our wireless wrecked like this—that’s truly troublesome.”

"When the wireless operator was frantically transmitting SOS signals, he sensed a presence behind him and turned around. The instant he moved, someone struck his head and he lost consciousness."

"It’s said that when he briefly glimpsed the assailant’s face at that moment, it looked exactly like that boy Shōta."

“I see. I thought that boy had slipped away from me at some point, but to think he pulled off such swift work. The one who destroyed the wireless set must undoubtedly be the same culprit who assaulted the wireless operator—speaking of which, that boy Shōta... What a terrifying one, with such a cute appearance yet so deceptive.”

“That’s right. He’s terrifying. And the power he has—it’s horrifying. Not only did he knock out the wireless operator, but look how he destroyed the equipment! That boy Shōta possesses strength beyond what any grown man could muster!”

Mysterious boy?

Could Shōta really possess such strength? As the Captain and First Engineer were shuddering at Shōta's terrifying power, Shōta himself suddenly showed up before them—causing the two men to exclaim "Ah!" and stagger two-three steps backward.

“Captain. Haven’t the Japanese warships come yet?” “What?” “Captain, did you send the SOS wireless message? Or if you haven’t sent it yet, why not send it quickly?” The Captain and the First Engineer exchanged glances. And both of them thought to themselves—What an audacious boy this was. To think he’d ask why we haven’t sent the wireless message yet when he himself destroyed the wireless!—they thought, both appalled and astonished.

“Captain and everyone, aren’t you supposed to be brave warriors of the sea? Get a hold of yourselves!”

Shōta desperately encouraged the Captain and the First Engineer.

Hearing this, the First Engineer seethed inwardly, pulled a pistol from his pocket, aimed it at Shōta, and looked poised to fire at any moment. At that moment, the telephone bell rang shrilly. That shrill ring was akin to saving Shōta’s very life. “It must be a call from the ship’s hold. Hey, what is it?” said the Captain as he picked up the phone. “What? The fire in the hold has been extinguished. That’s well under control. …What?! They found an electric ignition device? So they’ve figured out that someone used it to detonate the dynamite that was disguised as luggage? That’s astonishing... They still don’t know who set that electric ignition device? Hmm, it shouldn’t be impossible to figure out.”

The Captain shot a sharp glance in Shōta’s direction but immediately averted his gaze back, “Anyway, once we’ve dealt with the fire, our next task will be to confront that mysterious submarine.” “Because a torpedo might come flying this way at any moment, all of you gather under the companionway stairs immediately.” “And make sure you’re ready to rush out onto the deck at any moment.” “Until I give the order, do not come out onto the deck.” “Because if the submarine notices us panicking, that would put us at a disadvantage.”

Emergency dive.

“Captain, I still feel like I’m being suspected somehow, and it’s really unsettling.”

Shōta said.

The Captain snorted through his nose while hanging up the receiver. “Last time too, I was suspected of throwing smoke-signal balls into the sea, but Old Man Ōki spoke up for me and those suspicions should’ve been cleared. Yet you and the others still seem to suspect me. Exactly what part of me is so suspicious?”

“What?” “What an audacious boy you are!” The First Engineer lurched forward. “Wait, First Engineer. “Rather than that matter, right now we must concern ourselves with torpedoes coming from that submarine visible over there.”

“Captain. I understand that, but listening to this child makes me sick to my stomach.” Shōta wanted to say more, but realizing—as the Captain had said—that the mysterious submarine targeting the Ural Maru now took priority, he refrained from speaking further about himself. “Hey, Captain. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. I can even row boats if needed.”

“Hmph.” “You keep quiet.”

The Captain was staring fixedly at the sea. The First Engineer was alternating his gaze between the submarine and Shōta when he suddenly let out a cry of surprise, “Oh, Captain. It seems the submarine has begun to submerge!”

The First Engineer was right. The four mysterious submarines that had been surrounding the Ural Maru suddenly began to submerge into the water with bubbling gurgles.

“Yes, they seem to be in an awful hurry. What’s going on?” he was saying when the droning sound of airplanes reached their ears—a sound that seemed to come from quite a large number of aircraft.

“Ah, airplanes.” “Whose planes are those?” As they were saying this, from the southern sky appeared an unmistakable formation of nine naval aircraft, their wings aligned in majestic order.

“Ah, Japanese airplanes!” “They’re naval aircraft!”

“Ah! Our initial SOS radio message got through—they’ve come to rescue our Ural Maru.” “That’s why the mysterious submarines fled.” “Whoa! B-Banzai!” On the sea surface, the figures of the mysterious submarines had vanished without a trace. The naval aircraft passed over the Ural Maru and continued flying northward in their majestic formation.

Relentless Bombardment

The large formation of naval aircraft that had been pursuing the mysterious submarines suddenly split into three squadrons. “Hmm, I wonder what’s happening.”

Watching this from the bridge, Shōta found it strange. Then came a thunderous boom as anti-aircraft shells burst through the air with rapid cracks. That was precisely the formation's center. Had those planes lingered even a moment longer under that barrage, their fuselages would have been shredded. The naval aircraft proved remarkable—instantly recognizing the danger and scattering their formation. As he thought this, a second bombardment began. Another thunderous boom and rapid cracks erupted, accompanied by a blinding flash that made their eyes swim. The Captain and crew members watched in shock alongside Shōta and Mariko. Where on earth did these anti-aircraft shells come from?

“Look! The planes are diving down!” At the moment Shōta shouted, the three divided squadrons—each executing a brilliant loop-the-loop—inverted their noses and retreated with a whoosh.

Where were they aiming? That became clear at once. What appeared and disappeared among the waves was the mysterious submarine that should have fled earlier. Having pretended to flee, it did not flee at all; instead, seizing an opening from between the waves, it began a desperate bombardment—boom! boom!—toward the sky. A sly submarine. At that moment, our squadron in its steep dive released black bombs from beneath their wings with a casual flick. The bombs cut through the wind, falling toward the sea. In the end came a thunderous boom followed by a roaring blast—a massive explosion. From the sea rose a water column like a great tower, and across the surface spread terrifying undulating waves. Within it, pitch-black smoke began to rise smoothly. No sooner had they thought "Huh?" than the smoke exploded with a thunderous boom all at once, transforming the sea surface into a blazing inferno. They had hit the submarine. Because it had directed cowardly illegal bombardment at the naval aircraft, it was finally defeated in turn. At that moment, another bomb dove into the sea surface. Once again, a tremendous explosion occurred. The heavens and earth trembled as though on the verge of collapse. The anti-aircraft guns had fallen completely silent.

Gunpowder smoke blanketed the sea surface, gradually obscuring the surroundings. The weather also seemed to worsen. Before long, the aircraft too dissolved into the veil of smoke and haze, and soon vanished from sight. Only the engine continued to emit a fierce roar, but even that eventually faded into the distance. Both the crew and passengers of the Ural Maru let out a collective sigh of relief as if in unison, then gazed around at the completely undamaged hull in disbelief.

Tsuruga Port

After that, without any further incident, the Ural Maru finally dropped anchor safely at Tsuruga Port. The Ural Maru’s quarantine was completed. They had now been cleared to disembark. There, it came alongside the pier, and the exit was opened.

The first to dash toward the exit was the bearded old gentleman Ōki.

“Come now, you lot! Follow me and get ashore quickly! This ill-omened ship—the sooner we’re off it, the better! Now, you must follow me!”

Old Man Ōki took Shōta and Mariko by the hand and, roughly pushing aside other passengers, attempted to pass through the exit. Old Man Ōki might have been fine with that, but it was the two siblings whose hands he had grabbed who faced real trouble. Mariko, for her part, had had her feet stepped on several times since earlier and her face scraped against adults' Western-style clothing—she was truly having a terrible time of it. “Excuse me, what have you done with your tickets?” “Please leave your tickets here.”

The crew member who had been holding firm at the exit called out to Old Man Ōki and his group. “What’s this? Tickets, eh?” Old Man Ōki returned and took out a wrinkled ticket from his pocket. “Now, you lot hand over your tickets to this old man.”

Old Man Ōki turned back toward the siblings. Shōta and Mariko each took out their tickets and handed them to the crew member. “Big Brother, let’s get out of here quickly!” Mariko pulled Shōta by the arm. At that moment, Mariko was startled to find her brother's arm unusually rigid. She was about to ask about it when Old Man Ōki turned around again, “Come on, come on! What are you dilly-dallying for? Quickly, get over here!”

he barked, twitching his beard.

Mariko, distracted by that, disembarked the steamship as she was and stood on the pier.

“This way!” “You lot get in this automobile.” “I’ll take you partway there.”

Old Man Ōki, feeling as though he had swallowed every secret whole, urged the siblings to hurry from inside the automobile. Shōta entered the automobile first. Mariko followed right after. The door closed. The automobile, blaring its horn, immediately accelerated to tremendous speed and raced away from the pier.

The automobile was moving at such speed that the stevedore working on the pier, startled, leaped out of its path. And then: “Ah, what a reckless bastard! If I’d stayed put back there, that automobile would’ve crushed half my body flat. Why’d they have to drive like that?” With that, he glared at the license plate of the retreating automobile.

Counterfeit Ticket

It was about thirty minutes later.

Almost all of the Ural Maru’s passengers had already disembarked. The ticket-collecting crew member who had been standing at the exit receiving tickets from passengers began to feel somewhat tired and let out a large, unrestrained yawn. At that moment, a senior crew member appeared from the interior and called out.

“Hey, don’t go yawning like that.” “In the meantime, at least check the numbers on the passenger tickets.”

Muttering about having been seen in such a trivial moment, the ticket-collecting crew member began sorting the tickets into No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. He was just about to finish counting all the tickets when a single passenger appeared there.

“Excuse me, your ticket over here, please.” Saying that, the crew member reached out. When he looked, the passenger turned out to be a lone boy. When he saw the boy’s face, the ticket-collecting crew member inwardly exclaimed, “Huh? That’s strange.” “Oh, the ticket? Here it is.” The boy presented a ticket stamped with the number nineteen. When the ticket-collecting crew member tried to take the ticket, the boy hurriedly pulled back his hand.

“W-wait,” stammered the boy. “I’m not getting off yet.” “This is the final stop,” snapped the crew member. “Disembark immediately.” “I know that,” he protested, “but I can’t find my sister anywhere.” “What did you say?” “I’ve searched every corner of the ship for Mariko—she’s vanished!” His voice cracked with feigned desperation. “I don’t know what to do...” The boy looked genuinely distressed. Yet the crew member narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing every twitch of his features.

“Hey, let me see that ticket.” “Rather than the ticket, please hurry and check on my sister.”

“No, no—that won’t do. That ticket is suspicious, I tell you. You have ticket No. 19, but look here—I’ve already properly collected the nineteen-numbered ticket from another passenger. Yours is counterfeit. Where did you get such a fake? Or did you make it yourself? You’re not getting away!” With that, the ticket collector lunged at the boy and wrestled him to the deck with brute force. When looked at closely, the boy’s face bore an uncanny resemblance to Shōta’s.

The Real Ticket This news reached the captain. The captain, surprised, rushed over to the exit. “Hmm, so it was you after all. Why do you have a counterfeit ticket? Answer me.” “You gentlemen keep saying my ticket is fake—but why do you say that? This ticket was properly bought by my father; it’s not a counterfeit at all. Check properly before getting angry!” The boy’s face turned bright red as he spoke.

The captain nodded, took the two tickets labeled No. 19 from the ticket collector, and compared them. Both tickets looked the same. The captain examined the ticket’s paper quality with his fingertips, then held it up to the sunlight, performing various checks. “Hmm, this one is strange. This ticket’s genuine, but this one’s counterfeit.”

The captain marked the counterfeit ticket with a red pencil. “So it’s clearly a counterfeit ticket, is it?” The ticket collector smirked. Then, turning abruptly toward the boy, he adopted a threatening expression. “Hey, it’s over for you. By the Captain’s expert judgment, your ticket’s been declared fake.” “Now, confess!” “Wait.”

The captain pressed down on the crew member’s shoulder. “What?”

"You're mistaken," said the Captain. "The ticket this boy holds is genuine, while the No. 19 ticket you initially collected is counterfeit. It was wrong to suspect him over this fake ticket. You must apologize to him." With that, the Captain offered his apologies to the boy. Though bewildered, the ticket collector bowed repeatedly at his superior's command. Even after receiving these apologies, the boy showed no sign of relief. His face had turned even paler than before.

Shōta's Worry

Shōta disembarked from the ship. While aboard the ship, he had been unable to stop worrying about his younger sister Mariko, who had gone missing. When he went to the police station and explained the situation, they promptly began searching for her.

However, to Shōta, the police’s search methods seemed somehow terribly unreliable. Where in the world could Mariko have gone? Shōta wandered aimlessly through Tsuruga searching for Mariko, but three days passed without any clues.

The captain, feeling great sympathy, told him that from this point on, it would be best to go to Tokyo and ask a good detective for help. And then, using his own business card, the captain wrote a letter of introduction for him. When he looked at the addressee’s name, it was written as "Mr. Homura Sōroku."

Homura Sōroku? It was a name he had heard somewhere before. While comforting Shōta, the captain encouraged him by saying that Detective Homura—though a young scientist—was a truly remarkable man who would surely find Mariko, giving Shōta strength. With that, Shōta finally regained some of his spirits and, though reluctant to leave Tsuruga behind, set off for Tokyo.

It was on the fifth day after the Ural Maru had arrived at Tsuruga Port.

Here, the story goes back one day earlier.

The location was inside the Victory Exhibition Hall in Kudan, Tokyo. From early in the morning, the exhibition hall's gate had been open. From noon onward, it became extremely crowded with visitors, but as might be expected, in the morning hours, it remained quiet.

That morning, the guards permitted entry without suspicion, but there existed a suspicious pair of entrants who—when later shown to Shōta, the Ural Maru’s captain, and the Tsuruga police officers—would inevitably compel them to exclaim “Ah!” The pair consisted of one refined boy and an adorable girl who appeared to be his sister. No—to state it more clearly—the boy bore a face identical to Shōta’s, while the girl mirrored the exact likeness of Shōta’s sister Mariko. Hand in hand they walked through the venue, amiably examining the captured Chinese weapons and Soviet armaments arrayed throughout the exhibition space.

“What a charming young sir and miss! Coming to see it so early—most admirable of you.” The guards stationed throughout the venue spoke to them in unison, as if on cue. The pair smiled innocently at this praise. Soon enough, these Shōta and Mariko lookalikes reached the exhibition’s star attraction—a new-model tank captured from the Soviet Union. The boy who mirrored Shōta marched straight up to it, pressing his face against the armor plates like a hound scenting prey. From that moment onward, his demeanor shifted unnervingly.

Just then, after deliberately letting the spectator who looked like a village chief enter ahead—the one who had come in behind them—the boy resembling Shōta suddenly rolled his eyes wildly and began surveying his surroundings. Mariko stood motionless in the corner of the room, like a doll.

Crackle crackle crackle—suddenly, an intense noise rang out. When they looked, the Soviet new-model tank—the main attraction—was spewing fire. Upon closer inspection, the tank glowed bright red as it heated up, its form melting into a viscous molten mass. There before it stood the boy resembling Shōta, mouth agape as he panted breath after breath. Each exhalation that struck the tank made it melt away in a viscous flow like molten candy. What suspicious behavior from this boy! This could not be human workmanship. What manner of being was he?

Burning Tank

“Oh no, this is bad! The tank is burning! No—it’s melting into a viscous mess! Hey, everyone, get over here quick!” “What’s that?” “Is it a fire?” “What? A steel tank’s burning all by itself?” The exhibition hall instantly descended into chaos. The police squad came rolling in by truck. With sirens blaring, fire trucks came rushing in. It was a terrible commotion. When the commotion began, the two youths swiftly fled outside the venue. And then they vanished somewhere.

When firefighters rushed in with hoses, there was a bearded old gentleman peering intently at the tank that had melted into a viscous mass.

“Heh heh heh, this has turned into quite a mess.” “A three-centimeter iron plate melted away like cardboard soaked in water.” “Truly terrifying power.” “Hey, you’re in the way.” “Old man, move aside over there.” “We’re spraying water!” “Nah, no need for that.” “The fire’s already out.” “The tank just melted into an iron lump and stopped. Ha ha ha!”

The old gentleman laughed in a booming voice, was driven away by firefighters, and left. That old gentleman was none other than he who had caused such commotion aboard *Ural Maru*. He was that old man who had confronted its captain upon hearing *Ural Maru*—laden with his entire fortune—was sinking. The Tank Melting Incident both shocked and troubled those concerned. That this important captured trophy had lost its form posed a major problem; what truly confounded them remained why it melted into such viscous sludge. Guards underwent rigorous military police interrogation, yet they too knew nothing substantial. The inquiry concluded with fox-bewitchment theories— none realizing those cherubic children bore terror’s guise.

Two days later, Shōta arrived in Tokyo alone, jostled by the train's motion. The boy wanted above all else to return to his suburban home and see his mother lying ill in bed. However, if he told her the truth, Mother might worry terribly. Though feeling guilty toward her, he resolved to claim that Mariko had fallen ill aboard the ship and been hospitalized in Tsuruga. It was when Shōta had gotten off the national railway at Musashino in Tokyo's suburbs and was walking alone down a dusty road where sand swirled about his feet—heading homeward—that it happened. As he walked, rehearsing the smooth explanation he needed to give his mother by considering every possible phrasing, he apparently became lost in thought. Then, when he suddenly looked up and gazed at the vast field path stretching ahead, he spotted something unexpected and let out an involuntary cry of surprise—"Ah!"

"Ah! Isn’t that Mariko?"

On the field path two hundred meters ahead, a boy and a girl walked hand in hand. When he saw the girl’s figure from behind, Shōta identified her as his younger sister Mariko. Because the girl was wearing the same clothes Mariko had worn aboard the ship. Her red hat was also the same. From her bobbed hairstyle to her way of walking—it was undoubtedly Mariko. “Hey, Mariko!” Shōta, without even a moment to consider who Mariko was walking with, called out to her from behind. Then the two of them spun around in unison toward Shōta. At that moment, Shōta saw something terrifying.

The face of the boy standing beside his sister Mariko was, astonishingly, none other than a perfect replica of his own. To think there could exist a boy with features so uncannily similar! “Hey, who are you?” When Shōta called out, the boy who mirrored his appearance suddenly hoisted Mariko onto his back and began fleeing at full speed while glancing backward. His swiftness rivaled that of a divine wind. “Hey, wait!” “Mariko, wait!”

Shōta chased after the two. As he ran down the farm path, there came to be a suburban train crossing. The mysterious boy carrying Mariko on his back leapt over the train crossing. Shōta was fifty meters behind.

At that moment, as if out of spite, the railroad crossing gate lowered. And the bell began clanging loudly. The express train arrived. By the time Shōta reached the railroad crossing, it was already too late. The guard, realizing this, fixed a stern gaze on Shōta, who was on the verge of slipping under the crossing gate.

“Dangerous, dangerous! You’ll get yourself killed!”

Eerie Youth Emerges

At the last moment, Shōta ended up unable to catch up to his sister and the eerie youth. After the railroad crossing gate lifted, the figure of the eerie youth carrying his sister on his back was already small in the distance. Even so, Shōta desperately gave chase, thinking that if he didn’t retrieve his sister here, he might never get another chance—but it was already too late. Before long, the two figures vanished into the cluster of houses in the village.

“Ahh… What a disappointment.” “They finally got away.” Shōta sat on the road, wiping his falling tears with his fist. The eerie youth had abducted Mariko. Just who was that eerie youth? Still, Mariko’s behavior didn’t sit right. Since her brother had called out to her, she should have come running over, saying something like “Oh, Big Brother!” or similar. However, in reality, even when he looked her way, his sister pretended not to notice. It was truly inexplicable. The sole comfort to Shōta’s heart was that his sister Mariko, whom he had lost sight of in Tsuruga, had somehow made her way to Tokyo. Shōta clung to the fragile hope that if Mariko was in Tokyo, he might yet meet her again somewhere. With those very feet, Shōta passed through the gate of his home for the first time in a long while.

His bedridden mother was unexpectedly energetic. Given her progress, it was thought that she might be able to get up in the near future. However, when Mother heard about Mariko’s illness, she became deeply concerned and pressed Shōta with numerous questions. Because Shōta was telling a fabricated story, when his mother pressed him with too many questions, he found himself at a loss for answers. “Mother, Mariko has something like measles—it’s nothing serious. However, since it would be bad if it spreads to others, she has to stay hospitalized for about another month.”

Having said that, Shōta comforted his mother. Hearing this, the mother finally relaxed her expression.

Detective Homura’s office was located in Marunouchi. When he presented the letter of introduction he had received from the captain of the Ural Maru, Homura agreed to meet him immediately.

Detective Homura was a tall, lanky young man. He wore brown glasses and a sports outfit. He puffed away on his cigarette while listening to Shōta’s story and appeared very attentive.

“Understood, Mr. Shōta.” Detective Homura nodded confidently,

“Anyway, let’s try our utmost to find Miss Mariko’s whereabouts. But you see, Shōta-kun, what I found particularly intriguing after hearing your account is this: the eerie pair of a boy and girl you witnessed, and yesterday’s bizarre incident where a Soviet tank displayed at Kudan was melted into sludge. At that time, another pair of eerie youths—a boy and girl—were loitering nearby. It appears both pairs are the same individuals. This seems to be quite an elaborate case.”

“I did read a little about the tank incident in the newspaper—it’s a terrible case.” “But I can’t believe my sister Mariko would be involved in such a dreadful incident—”

“Of course, Miss Mariko isn’t guilty of anything. The boy running around with Miss Mariko—that is, Shōta-kun’s imposter—is undoubtedly always the one taking the lead in these misdeeds. If we apprehend that boy and line him up next to you, I think it would be quite interesting. Actually, regarding that matter, I too have some inkling.”

“What sort of inkling do you mean?” “Well, you see—” Detective Homura paused mid-sentence, then continued: “I don’t know if it’s right to bring this up now, but—lately, suspicious foreigners have been entering the country. They appear determined to destroy Japanese factories and obstruct military operations whenever they find an opening.” “We mustn’t lower our guard.” “Especially…”

Just as he was saying this, the door opened, and Homura’s assistant Ōtsuji stomped into the room.

“Detective, the radio is broadcasting a special news bulletin right now.” “It’s reported that an ammunition depot near Yokosuka has suffered a massive explosion.”

Explosion Site

The report stated that the ammunition depot had suffered a massive explosion. Detective Homura stood up from his chair.

“Shōta-kun,” said Detective Homura. “As you just heard, the ammunition depot has exploded. Since I have some leads, I’ll head over there immediately. Won’t you come along with me?” When told this by Detective Homura, Shōta was certainly no coward who would shrink back.

“Yes, I’ll follow you anywhere!” “But Detective—when will you get Mariko back for me?” “Well, I can’t say for certain yet, but in my view, I suspect this ammunition depot explosion is somehow connected to your sister.” “Anyway, we’ll know once we get to the explosion site.”

“Then let’s go right away.” “Very well.”

“Hey Ōtsuji—the three of us are leaving immediately. Are you ready?” “Yes, preparations are complete. Thinking that would be the case, I had already ordered the car to be brought to the entrance.” Homura, Shōta, and Ōtsuji exited to the entrance. The car was properly waiting there. Ōtsuji drove. The three of them raced along the Keihin Highway as if flying, rushing to the scene. After driving for about an hour, they rounded the mountain’s edge. Then Ōtsuji at the driver’s seat,

“Ah, Detective! It’s over there!” “A tremendous amount of smoke is pouring out!”

he pointed ahead. Sure enough, thick black smoke was billowing out in massive clouds. “Right. “It must be there.” “Hey Ōtsuji, floor it at full speed!” Under Detective Homura’s orders, they continued racing toward the site at full throttle. As they drew closer, the devastation wrought by the explosion—houses reduced to rubble and fences blown apart—startled all three of them. Near the scene, a chin-strapped police squad ordered their vehicle to halt.

“Hey! You can’t enter past this point.”

The three got out of the car. When Homura spoke up, they were let through the police cordon. Leaping over water hoses sprawled across the ground like giant serpents, the three pressed further inward.

“Hey! Don’t go that way—it’s dangerous.” “That way—there’s an ammunition depot that hasn’t exploded yet!” As he said this, a police inspector called out to Homura and the others, but then—as if suddenly realizing something— “Oh, Homura-kun.” “So you’ve come too.” he said to Homura.

When Homura looked at the person, it was a police inspector he was close to. "Oh! If it isn't Police Inspector Kawahara," he said. "You've had quite an ordeal there! How on earth did this explosion happen?" "That's just it," Police Inspector Kawahara replied while tilting his head slightly sideways—a gesture indicating genuine puzzlement—and continued: "Frankly speaking... we're stumped about what caused this blast! If you notice anything unusual during your investigation here today... well... kindly let us know your thoughts."

Detective Homura nodded confidently and immediately asked. "Have there been any reports of a boy and a girl loitering near the scene before the explosion?"

“Are you asking whether a boy and a girl had been loitering around?” “Hmm, now that you mention it, someone did say something like that.” “What about that boy and girl? Did something happen?”

“That boy is suspicious, you know.” “That’s no ordinary human.” “What? Not human?” Police Inspector Kawahara made a puzzled face, “If it’s not human, then what is it?” “You’re not suggesting it’s some kind of monster, are you?”

How would Detective Homura respond?

Artificial Human or human? "Inspector, that strange youth is a type of creature."

Detective Homura said with utmost seriousness. “If it’s some kind of monster, then what—a raccoon dog? A fox? Ha ha ha ha, such a ridiculous notion…” “Inspector. That strange youth has a body exactly like Shōta here with me, and a face that’s an exact duplicate too.”

“What? It resembles this boy?” “Hmm, so that monster’s a cute little boy too, eh?”

“That’s correct. It’s not merely resemblance—more akin to twins, or rather, as precise as a photographic copy—but he’s the very image of Shōta here.”

“So they’re twins?” “No—it’s that they resemble each other as closely as twins. This resemblance is profoundly strange. That’s precisely why I’ve reached this conclusion: that strange youth must be an artificial human.” “What? An artificial human? Ha ha ha ha! You’re spouting increasingly absurd notions now.” “Actually, upon hearing Shōta-kun’s account earlier, it struck me—that strange youth must be none other than artificial human Mr. F, created by Dr. Ivanov, Vladivostok’s preeminent artificial human researcher. Though we won’t know for certain without conducting a thorough investigation from this point onward...”

“Artificial Human Mr. F!” “This had become utterly incomprehensible.” As they were speaking, Shōta—the boy who had been standing beside them surveying the explosion site all along—suddenly raised his voice loudly,

“Ah! There’s Old Man Ōki over there.” “I’ll go meet Old Man Ōki and come right back.” Upon hearing this, Homura looked in the direction Shōta was pointing. Sure enough, a bearded old man wearing glasses was loitering around the remains of the destroyed ammunition depot, though for what purpose remained unclear.

“Wait a moment, Shōta-kun. Meeting that old man—please wait a moment.” “Why must I not meet Old Man Ōki? That old man was very kind to both me and Mariko—I explained it all in detail to you earlier, didn’t I?” “I’m aware of that. That’s precisely why I told you to wait,” said Detective Homura, staring intently at Shōta’s face. “Listen, Shōta-kun. I’ve had my eye on that old man as the most suspicious one from the start. Why does he always appear right after that mysterious boy shows up?”

“I think Old Man Ōki is a good person, though.” “Even on the ship, he looked out for me.” “Back then, I was nearly thrown into the ship’s jail.” “At that time, Old Man Ōki came and insisted strongly that I was innocent.” “That’s why I didn’t have to go to jail and could walk freely around the ship the whole time.”

“That’s precisely what’s suspicious.” “Huh? Why? I can’t understand why someone who helped me would be suspicious.”

“No, you’ll come to understand soon enough.” “I have a sense of what that suspicious character calling himself Old Man Ōki was plotting.” “Shōta-kun, make sure you don’t forget what I’ve just told you.” “Something’s really off here...”

Shōta couldn't quite comprehend what Detective Homura had said. What did the detective think Old Man Ōki really was?

The Backhill Haunting

Detective Homura proposed to follow Old Man Ōki’s trail as far as it would go. Shōta heard that and thought it was pointless. Rather than that, he thought it better to pursue the suspicious boy who might be artificial human Mr. F, but when he told Homura this, the detective— “In any case, I will pursue Old Man Ōki.” “Will you come with me? If you don’t want to, I’ll go alone.”

“I want to look for Mariko.” “I see. I understand perfectly. Then I’ll have my assistant Ōtsuji accompany you, Shōta-kun. Ōtsuji has considerable strength, so he’ll surely be useful to you.” With that, Homura assigned Ōtsuji to Shōta and hurried off. The detective seemed to have something clearly in mind. “Well, young master. By the Detective’s orders, I’ve been assigned to accompany you, young master—so what’ll we do now?”

Ōtsuji—a man as large as a Nio guardian statue—crossed his thick arms over his chest and looked down at Shōta. “Well then, Mr. Ōtsuji. Since I’ll be the chief detective, you’ll act as my assistant, and we’ll chase after my sister and that mysterious boy now.” “What? I’m the assistant?” “How pathetic of me.” “No matter how much time passes, I remain a perpetual assistant.” “So you’re refusing?”

“I’m not refusing. If I were to say no, I’d get scolded by the Detective later.”

“If you want to tag along, fine—but Mr. Ōtsuji, you’re not exactly useful as a detective.” “D-don’t joke like that! Didn’t the Detective say earlier? When it comes to strength, even Futabayama can’t beat Ōtsuji!” “Still going on about that... Futabayama’s definitely stronger!” “Quit acting cocky just ’cause you’re a kid. If we’re heading out, let’s move already!”

Shōta, acting as if he had become the chief detective, promptly spoke to Police Inspector Kawahara and had the officer who had reportedly seen the boy and girl earlier introduce them.

“Yes, I definitely found them. They seemed to have gone into the backhill, though.” Because the police officer had said so, the two immediately pushed into the backhill. The road was mostly a single straight path. The two of them desperately ran along the mountain path.

Ah! There they were!

Shōta’s sharp eyes spotted the figures of the suspicious boy and his sister. On the downhill slope, the suspicious boy dragged Mariko along as he descended.

“Ah! There they are!” Shōta spotted them first - on the downhill slope ahead,the suspicious boy dragged Mariko along like a ragdoll. “Ah! There they are!” said Ōtsuji,wiping sweat from his brow. “That outrageous imposter! Your sister looks ready to collapse,” Shōta hissed. “MrŌtsuji! On three we charge!” “Right.You take point,”the assistant grunted.“I'll flank through this thicket.We'll pinch them at the bend!” “Ready when you are!” “About time you saw real strength!”Ōtsuji roared,bull-rushing through brambles that tore his suit and drew blood.When he emerged,the boy stood waiting - but raised empty hands. “Hold! It's me - Shōta!” “You?But-” “I beat that android! Mariko's safe now!” “Well done! Thought that metal bastard fooled me again...”

No sooner had he spoken than Ōtsuji leapt his large frame into the thicket, but thorny wild roses crawled through the underbrush, preventing him from advancing as intended. “Ouch!” “Agh! Ouch!” "These damn thorns are really in the way!" “Damn wild roses, just disappear!” He continued to grumble to himself. Time passed as Ōtsuji desperately charged forward, thorns tearing at his trousers. By the time he finally reached the road, Ōtsuji’s hands and legs had been torn by the wild rose thorns and were covered in blood. When he looked, there before him was a boy holding the girl’s hand.

“This one.” “Hey, wait! You damn Artificial Human freak in disguise!” Just as he tried to leap at him, the opponent— “Don’t be hasty, Mr. Ōtsuji. “It’s me! I’m Shōta!”

“Huh? Shōta?” “That’s right. I just defeated the Artificial Human and rescued my sister.” “I see. Well done.” I thought again—that damn Artificial Human had transformed itself well. “Ha ha ha! I nearly beat you to death there!” The moment Ōtsuji burst into laughter, the boy drove his fist into Ōtsuji’s flank—thud. “Ugh... Urk... Y-You… you…” Ōtsuji gnashed his teeth furiously, but the pain from the blow proved too much. He collapsed where he stood, falling unconscious with a heavy thud. Kekeke—the boy everyone had mistaken for Shōta laughed through grinding gears. Mariko stood motionless behind him, doll-like and silent.

From this, it became clear that this boy—whom Ōtsuji had believed to be Shōta—was not Shōta at all, but rather that suspicious boy who was none other than the aforementioned Artificial Human in disguise. Where had Shōta gone?

Pursuit urgent!

Assistant Detective Ōtsuji had lost consciousness and lay sprawled on the mountain path for some time. After some time, he somehow felt as though his name were being called, and with a start, he came to his senses.

“Well, well… What on earth was I doing lying around here like this?” He tried to get up but suddenly grimaced, clutched his side, and plopped back down on the spot.

“Hey, Mr. Ōtsuji. What’s the matter?” At that voice, Ōtsuji raised his face to find the boy Shōta standing there. When he saw this, Ōtsuji jolted in shock. No sooner had he let out an “Ah!” than he leapt nearly a meter straight up from where he stood—then fled down the mountain path with an awkward crouching gait, crawling more than running.

“Hey, Mr. Ōtsuji! Wait up!” When Shōta gave chase, Ōtsuji’s face grew increasingly terrified, “Aah! Murderer! Someone help me! Aah! Murderer!”

It was truly an unseemly display of panic. Shōta couldn’t understand why Ōtsuji had suddenly started making such a commotion upon seeing him. He even began to suspect that Ōtsuji might have lost his mind. Because Shōta was quick-footed, he soon caught up to Ōtsuji, who was fleeing down the mountain path with an awkward crouching gait that resembled crawling more than running. There, Shōta finally shouted and leaped onto Ōtsuji’s back. “Mr. Ōtsuji, why do you run away when you see me?”

“Aah! Murderer!” “The Artificial Human bit my back!” “I’ll be bitten to death by Mr. F!”

Ōtsuji, now completely frantic, shouted wildly and thrashed about like a bull, kicking up clouds of dirt all around as he tried to shake Shōta off his back. When the words “The Artificial Human bit my back?” reached Shōta’s ears, the boy finally seemed to grasp why Ōtsuji was causing such a commotion on his own. Ōtsuji was mistaking Shōta for the Artificial Human Mr. F. That was only natural. Earlier, Ōtsuji had let his guard down because he had been convinced the boy before him was Shōta, only to be struck by Artificial Human Mr. F’s fist and left dazed; thus, upon seeing Shōta’s face now, he must have thought that Mr. F had appeared once more.

“Mr. Ōtsuji, get a hold of yourself! I’m the real Shōta!” “No! Who’d fall for that trick now? Murderer!” “I keep telling you I’m really Shōta—can’t you see that? Mr. Ōtsuji, it looks like Artificial Human Mr.F did something to you.” “There’s nothing wrong with me! One more hit and I’d have died right there! So you’re really Shōta-kun after all?”

“Oh, come on. Take a good look at me, will you? I’m not an artificial human—I’m the real Shōta!”

“No way! That Mr.F was using that same chummy talk earlier,” Ōtsuji retorted, his Kansai accent thickening with suspicion. “Then ya took advantage when I let my guard down and walloped me! I ain’t buyin’ you’re the real Shōta-kun one bit. If y’got proof you’re really him, let’s see it right here!” “You want...proof I’m human?” Shōta repeated, his voice faltering slightly. The boy’s confident demeanor cracked as he stared at the distrustful detective.

"Wasn't there something...?" Shōta crossed his arms and pondered, then suddenly clapped his hands.

“Ah! That’s it. Mr. Ōtsuji, look at this!” “What?!” “Ah! Now I see—you’re not an Artificial Human after all!” Ōtsuji shouted with an expression of profound relief. It was truly perplexing.

Just what had Shōta shown Ōtsuji?

Poor Mariko.

“Ahahaha!” “Wahahaha!” Shōta and Ōtsuji, for a while clutching their stomachs at the absurdity, found themselves unable to stop laughing.

“How about that? Mr. Ōtsuji. I showed you some pretty clear evidence, didn’t I?”

“Hmm, I understand now.” “I’ve never heard of an Artificial Human having cavities.” “Those cavities of yours may be troublesome normally, but they’re awfully useful at times like this.” “Wahahaha!”

Ōtsuji burst into loud laughter once more. Now he understood. Shōta had opened his mouth and shown Ōtsuji his cavities. Since artificial humans shouldn’t have cavities, it became clear that Shōta was not Mr. F. “That’s all well and good, but it seems you let Mr. F get away, Mr. Ōtsuji.” “Yeah, it’s a bit embarrassing, though.” “Which way did he escape?” “Did Mr. F have Mariko with him?”

“No, I didn’t see Miss Mariko.” “Then what happened to Mariko?” “After all, that Mr. F fellow’s quick on his feet and packs one hell of a punch. He’s a real tough customer.”

“Ah, so you've gotten scared of Mr. F, Mr. Ōtsuji?” “I'm not scared! That monster's just... completely unmanageable, you know?”

Even as he was saying this, Shōta kept glancing around restlessly along the mountain path, but at that moment he let out a loud shout.

“Hmm, Mariko was indeed taken away by the artificial human Mr. F.” “And they escaped in this direction.” “Huh? Shōta-kun.” “How can you tell?” “But look here!” “There are Mariko’s footprints and the artificial human’s footprints right here!” He pointed at the ground. Indeed, two sets of footprints were present. Mariko’s footprints lay scattered as if floating mid-air. By contrast, Mr. F’s footprints were firmly pressed into the earth.

“Well now, you’re quite the ace detective!” Ōtsuji’s eyes widened as he looked at Shōta’s face anew. But Shōta remained sunken in gloom. “Mariko must have been dragged violently by Mr. F. “If things continue like this, she’ll surely fall ill and die. “If we don’t rescue her now, it might be too late.” Shōta murmured these words in a subdued voice, as if speaking to himself. He was absolutely right. The frail Mariko—being hauled mercilessly by that inhuman machine—truly had no path left but sickness and death. What a miscalculation! Detective Homura must have known this, yet instead of pursuing Mariko, he was chasing after Old Man Ōki! The forgotten anxiety came surging through Shōta’s chest like a geyser erupting.

“Mr. Ōtsuji.” “If we dawdle any longer, we might not make it in time.” “Come on, let’s go right now!” “Go where?” “You know that already! We’re taking Mariko back from the artificial human Mr. F!” “If we don’t do it today, poor Mariko will die.” “What?! You want to chase after the artificial human now?” “But soon it’ll get dark in the mountains.” “You’re such a coward, Mr. Ōtsuji!” “Even though you have a body many times bigger than mine—spouting such cowardly talk! Aren’t you ashamed?”

“D-don’t be ridiculous! I merely stated the obvious—that it would get dark in the mountains before long. A large body means great strength. Someone who’d cower before an artificial human—my physical build’s fundamentally different from that sort of weakling!”

Ōtsuji spouted nonsense and kept putting on a show of bravado. “Alright, then that’s fine. Let’s follow these footprints and keep chasing them!”

“Ah, that might not be a bad idea,” “But I’m really worn out today, you know.” “For one thing, I'm starving—my head’s spinning.” “Oh? The one who boasted about being strong is already spouting such weak talk—then you really are a coward after all.” “Fine then, Mr. Ōtsuji. You stay right here.” “I can manage just fine on my own.” “I’ll go alone—it’s fine.” Shōta dashed off on his own.

Seeing this, Ōtsuji panicked and began swaying his hulking frame as he scrambled after Shōta. Shōta strained forward relentlessly. Without uttering a word, he traced the footprints of Mr. F and Mariko with single-minded focus, plunging deeper into the mountain's heart. Before long, sunlight filtered through the treetops grew faint as twilight. The mountain's chill bit through their clothes. A nameless eerie bird shrieked!

Bloodstains splattered on the boulder. “Do you really think it’s okay to keep climbing like that? What’ll you do if Mr. F suddenly bursts out from the side?” Ōtsuji, still trembling, continued climbing after Shōta. Shōta strained forward relentlessly. “Ah, a button’s fallen off.” “Hmm—this must have torn from Mariko’s clothes and dropped here.” “Tsk—Mr. F’s been rough with her.” With that cry, Shōta quickened his pace up the mountain path.

“Hey, wait up! You can’t just leave me behind like this! Hey now, I tell ya, I hate these lonely mountains!” Shōta paid no heed to this and continued steadily climbing up the mountain. He was single-mindedly focused on rescuing his sister. If Ōtsuji couldn’t be relied on, then Detective Homura—busy chasing Old Man Ōki and the others—was even less helpful. Before long, a towering boulder blocked Shōta’s path.

“Ah, a huge boulder!” Mr. F's footprints had vanished before the massive boulder. The side path curved to the right, but there were no artificial human’s footprints here. “Hmm, that’s strange…” When he looked up, it was a massive rock four or five times the height of a person. It seemed Mr. F had gone into this boulder—but how on earth could he enter such solid rock? “This doesn’t make sense.” Shōta looked around the boulder. There, weeds grew thickly. Though he thought it impossible, he wondered if perhaps the artificial human Mr. F had gone around to the back of the boulder along these weeds, so he stepped through the grass and circled around to the side of the rock. Then, he discovered something astonishing.

“Ah! Someone’s collapsed here!”

A man in a suit was lying face down. Wondering who it might be, Shōta rushed to his side and was about to place a hand on the collapsed man's shoulder when he froze in shock.

“Blood! Blood! Is he dead?” The suit trousers were soaked with blood. Looking closer, even the grass was stained crimson. Shōta glanced back but saw no sign of Ōtsuji. Swallowing his fear, he slid his arms under the collapsed man’s shoulders and lifted him. The body still held warmth. As Shōta shifted him, the man let out a faint groan.

Shōta involuntarily peered into the man's face. And he recoiled in shock.

“Oh, this is terrible! Detective Homura, what happened?!” To his utter astonishment, lying as if dead beside the boulder where the artificial human Mr. F’s footprints had vanished was none other than Detective Homura. He was supposed to have been following Old Man Ōki—what could have happened for him to be lying collapsed here of all places? “Stay with us, Mr. Homura!”

Shōta kept his voice hushed while scanning their surroundings, pressing his mouth close to Homura’s ear as he whispered the detective’s name. “Ugh... It’s... agonizing...” Homura gradually regained awareness. “Ah—Shōta-kun?” “Yes.” “Hmm—the real Shōta-kun after all.” His voice remained labored yet analytical even in pain. “Why venture into such peril?”

Homura, true to his reputation as a great detective, immediately discerned that Shōta was the real Shōta.

“We’ve been chasing the artificial human’s footprints and came all the way here. Mr. Homura, is this a dangerous place?” “That’s right. Don’t speak too loudly,” he warned while vigilantly scanning their surroundings. “I was nearly shot dead by Old Man Ōki with a pistol up on this boulder. I fell from there and miraculously survived.”

“What? Old Man Ōki came here too?” “That’s right. It seems this place is the secret hideout of Mr. F and Dr. Ivanov.” “What? Dr. Ivanov, you’re saying?” “Shōta-kun, I’ve discovered that Old Man Ōki is actually Dr. Ivanov in disguise.” “What?! Old Man Ōki was Dr. Ivanov? But... Old Man Ōki...” Ivanov appeared.

While Shōta and Detective Homura were talking before the boulder said to be Dr. Ivanov’s secret hideout, Old Man Ōki emerged from the grass beside them with a rustling sound.

“You damn detective... Still alive and kicking here?” “Ah! Old Man Ōki!” “Oh, Shōta’s here too? Perfect timing.” “I’ll dispose of both of you together.” “These mountains won’t hear your screams.” “No one’s coming to save you.” Old Man Ōki aimed his large pistol at them both, lips twisting in a hateful smirk. “Mr. Ōki!” “Why point that at me?” “You protected me aboard ship!”

“Heh heh... What nonsense are you spouting, you brat? Back then, I made it look like I was on your side, but that was just for my own convenience! If I’d kept you tied up then, how could I have dressed Mr. F up as you and brought him ashore when the ship arrived? Still don’t get it? What a dimwitted child you are. Even if I dressed Mr. F up as you and tried to leave on the ship, if I’d tied you up beforehand, wouldn’t they immediately realize that the Shōta I’m bringing isn’t the real one?”

“Ah, I see. So that’s how it is. You deliberately saved me just to use me as your decoy. Not knowing that—until this very moment—I’d thought of you as someone kind, Mr. Ōki. I was a fool.” “Heh heh heh... Only realizing it now? Too late. Now that I’ve been exposed as Dr. Ivanov, I can’t let either Homura or you live. Both of you—prepare to meet your end at last!”

Dr. Ivanov, disguised as Old Man Ōki, finally revealed his true villainous nature and unleashed terrifying threats before the two. Homura, his wound from the cliff fall causing him pain, gritted his teeth and endured in silence.

Why on earth had Dr. Ivanov brought Mr. F, the artificial human, to Japan? He was undoubtedly a villain, but what on earth had he intended to accomplish by coming to Japan? Those details still remained completely unclear. Up to now, it was believed these two had melted Soviet-captured tanks displayed at the exhibition hall into unrecognizable sludge and had caused that day's ammunition depot explosion—yet what they meant to achieve could hardly end with just these acts. When one considered their deeds, Dr. Ivanov and Mr. F were truly terrifying.

Moreover, those who knew that this terrifying duo had infiltrated Japan were few in number. The only ones who knew were likely Homura and Shōta, weren't they? Now those very Homura and Shōta had been captured by Dr. Ivanov and were about to be killed. This was not merely their personal crisis—it was nothing less than a national emergency for Japan itself.

Terrifying Lair

Dr. Ivanov aimed a large pistol at Homura and Shōta, appearing poised to shoot them dead at any moment. “Come on, both of you, get in here. Keep moving down into that hole. If you dawdle, I’ll treat you to a pistol bullet from behind.” Dr. Ivanov, vigilantly watching their every move, forced them into the cave that gaped open behind the large boulder. Forcing the frail boy Shōta and the injured Homura into the cave was no difficult task at all.

That was Dr. Ivanov’s hideout. The cave, skillfully hollowed out from a large boulder, presented a sight so horrifying it made one's hair stand on end. Inside the cave, lamps emitting a strange blue light—what appeared to be bacteria-powered lighting—were installed. As one proceeded further in, it opened up quite spaciously, with two or three rooms each about three tatami mats in size continuing on. It was astonishing that such rooms existed—or so one might think—but in truth, these chambers hadn’t been here from the start. Dr. Ivanov had used the artificial human Mr. F to excavate this entire cave system, making the revelation all the more horrifying. Mr. F, being a mechanical human, possessed tremendous strength. As for how the cave was created—dear readers, you surely already recall how Mr. F, the artificial human, melted tanks into sludge. That’s how it was done. Ah, no—the day will soon come when you, dear readers, shall witness firsthand just how immense the artificial humans’ stupendous strength truly is. Regarding that major incident, I intend to explain it in detail later on.

“Get in here.” “No matter what you do, you won’t escape.” “If I see any sign of you trying to flee, I’ll send Mr. F, the artificial human, to finish you both off.” “Consider this your final warning.” Dr. Ivanov spat out every threat he’d been saving up—the sheer vileness of it curdling the air. But Homura and Shōta, powerless to resist, let themselves be shoved into a stone pit resembling an ancient well at the cave’s deepest recess. The impact against their hips when they landed left them sprawled at the bottom like broken dolls—too battered even to groan.

Dr. Ivanov had become completely relieved. Now that he had disposed of these nuisances, he decided it was finally time to begin the grand undertaking he had come to Japan for. With Mr. F, the artificial human, before him, he began to devise his schemes. “Now then, shall I finally set to work?” “How exactly should I proceed?”

Dr. Ivanov had spread out a large map of Japan and appeared to be deep in thought. Before long, Dr. Ivanov shook his head from side to side and let out a long sigh. “When I’m alone like this—even when devising schemes—having no one to consult makes things go so poorly.” “What am I to do?” muttered Dr. Ivanov, lighting a cigarette with a troubled expression and quietly letting the smoke drift. But then he slapped his knee and said, “Ah—I’ve got it!” “I’ll call Mr. F, the artificial human, and have him keep me company.” “Since it’s just imitation work, Mr. F should suffice.”

Dr. Ivanov stood up. He went to the wall. Dr. Ivanov took down something resembling a kendo chest protector hanging there and returned to his chair. What could this be? Like a kendo chest protector, vertical strips resembling thin bamboo slats curved along a torso shape—but these weren't bamboo, being made of some peculiar material. Countless buttons covered its surface. Dr. Ivanov laid it across his lap and pressed one button with his fingertip. Suddenly, from somewhere in the silent cave came heavy thudding sounds—something massive shifting position. What was causing that noise?

The Uncanny Mr. F Dr. Ivanov’s eyes shifted to the corner of the room. At that moment, with a snap, a single round hole gaped open in the corner of the room. The thud thud sound could be heard coming from below it. No sooner had one registered this than—with a powerful bounce—the boy Shōta came leaping out of the hole. He bounced once against the ground like a rubber ball, but when his feet touched down again, he lumbered slowly up to Dr. Ivanov. Why had the boy Shōta come leaping out here? No—it was certainly not the boy Shōta.

“Oh, Mr. F, the artificial human.” “I have something to discuss.” “Come over here for a moment.” Welcoming Mr. F, the artificial human, Dr. Ivanov treated him no differently than he would a real person.

“Do you have some business with me?” said Mr.F. “Hmm—though I made this artificial human myself—even I must admit it turned out splendidly! He properly responds to everything I say; truly remarkable!” Dr.Ivanov peered intently at his creation with evident satisfaction, “Now then—sit there! Yes yes—exactly so.—Well now Mr.F—I think we should finally commence our long-prepared scheme here! What say you?”

“That’s acceptable.” “Please commence immediately.” “Splendid, splendid! Maintain this momentum—I shall require your services further.” “Now then—prior to executing our primary objective, I intend to instill terror throughout Japan.” “To this end, radio-based intimidation would prove most efficacious.” “What say you—would you assume the role of an impromptu broadcasting station to deliver a shockwave-inducing transmission across the nation?” “Negative. My preference leans toward apples rather than bananas.”

“This is strange—you’ve started spouting such nonsense.” “Since coming here—perhaps from overusing my artificial humans—these constant breakdowns are becoming intolerable.” “Let me examine you properly.” Dr. Ivanov stepped closer to Mr. F and abruptly seized his right ear, yanking it downward. For some reason, Mr. F then spread his legs wide and thrust both arms straight out horizontally like a radio exercise model. His eyes snapped shut. The doctor had flipped the electrical switch controlling Mr. F’s movements. The android’s ear itself served as the deactivation mechanism.

Dr. Ivanov approached Mr. F, unbuttoned the Western-style coat identical to Shōta-kun's that the artificial human wore, and exposed his abdomen. Then he took out a key, thrust it into the cavity of Mr. F's navel, and after twisting it forcefully and pulling, the abdominal skin swung open toward him like a door, revealing the interior completely.

That said, no blood came flowing from the abdomen, nor did any intestines spill out; instead, packed tightly within the cavity were intricate mechanisms, filling every available space without a single gap. Dr. Ivanov put on a peculiar pair of glasses and then, taking up a pair of pliers and a screwdriver, began busily tinkering inside the artificial human’s abdomen.

“Hmm, I just can’t figure it out,” he muttered. “If I don’t fix this quickly, I’ll be in trouble later…” As he spoke, he made a discovery: “Ah! This gear was broken so badly! The teeth were all chipped and broken. Why did this happen?”

Dr. Ivanov groaned deeply.

Ōtsuji's Adventure

Here was a person who had been forgotten for some time. Who could that have been? It was none other than Assistant Ōtsuji—complaining of aching legs and a sore back—puffing and panting as he fell further behind.

What on earth had happened to him? Assistant Ōtsuji witnessed a heart-stoppingly terrifying scene. It was when his master Detective Homura and Shōta were being driven into the shadow of a rock by Dr. Ivanov. (This was a crisis. Grr! There’s no way I’ll let them capture Detective Homura and Shōta!) He nearly leapt out then and there but stopped himself—if he charged out now，that creepy old man would overpower him instantly．Clenching his teeth，he forced down his urge to rush in and kept watching for an opening． Before long，the area around the large boulder fell completely silent，with not a single sound remaining．

“Got him! From the looks of it, that Ivanov bastard still doesn’t know there’s a powerhouse like yours truly around. Alright then—I’ll play along with that plan and pull this off perfectly!” Faced with this grave crisis, Ōtsuji instead found himself suddenly bristling with courage. He then carefully inspected the area around the massive boulder. Before long, he discovered a single circular metal grating hidden within the thicket. Though the space beneath lay pitch black and indistinct, there appeared to be a hole stretching deep into the earth below.

“What on earth is this?” Ōtsuji placed his hands on the metal grating and kept his body perfectly still. Then, from out of nowhere, the sound of quiet sobbing reached his ears.

“Hey, someone’s crying!”

Ōtsuji, startled, looked up. Undoubtedly, that crying was coming from beneath the ground. "Hmm—is that Shōta-kun's crying voice? Or is the Detective crying?" It was unthinkable that someone of the Detective's stature would cry, but perhaps that's exactly what was happening. Even the Detective might wail like a child when things finally became truly hopeless. "Alright, I'll save you!"

Ōtsuji placed his hands on the metal grating and pulled. The metal grating popped open with a snap. When he peered inside, there was indeed a deep hole, just wide enough for his body to barely squeeze through.

“Alright, if it’s come to this—I’m going in!”

Ōtsuji steeled his resolve and inserted himself feet-first into the hole. But his feet didn’t reach the bottom. As he clung there, the grass roots he gripped ripped loose with a tearing sound, and in an instant his body slipped smoothly downward. Then with a heavy thud, he landed hard on his rear at the bottom of the hole—but at that moment, something let out a yelp and leapt away.

**A Great Feat**

There was no telling how shocked Assistant Ōtsuji was. After all, he had fallen from a great height with a heavy thud, landing so hard on his lower back that it was more than he could bear. Even when he tried to get up immediately, his lower back throbbed violently, leaving him completely drained of strength. Nearby, someone let out a strange shriek and leapt away. It was unbearably eerie. But he couldn't move.

Assistant Ōtsuji swallowed back the groan that threatened to escape, knowing any sound would spell trouble, and prayed fervently to the bodhisattva Kannon in his heart. Then, after some time had passed,

With a "Hee-," there came a single crying voice. It was an extremely faint voice.

“Hmm, g-g-ghost!”

Finally unable to bear it any longer, Assistant Ōtsuji let out a cry of surprise. Though his body was large, his courage wasn't nearly as large—that was Assistant Ōtsuji for you. “Wh-what?! A ghost!” “Wh-wha—?!”

Next came a scream in a shrill voice. That wasn't Ōtsuji. It was a girl's voice. Ōtsuji got startled all over again!

But upon clearly recognizing it as a girl’s voice, he calmed down somewhat. All along, it had been this girl who had been shrieking in this dark, damp space like the bottom of a dry well. At that moment, a single thought flashed brightly in Ōtsuji’s head. At that moment, he shouted in a low voice. “Hello? Are you Mariko-san?”

“Huh?!” The girl let out a startled voice. “You’re Mariko-san, aren’t you? “I am a detective—Ōtsuji, the Chief Great Detective.” “Ahem.” “I was asked by Shōta-kun to come here and search for you, Mariko-san.” “Is that true? I’m Mariko.” “I knew it! “Now that the Chief Great Detective has come, Mariko, you can rest assured.” “Oh... will I really be saved?” “I wonder... am I dreaming again?”

That would make sense. If this were truly Mariko, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for her to think that way. She had been abducted by Dr. Ivanov aboard the Ural Maru, then dragged around by the artificial human Mr. F—who bore her brother Shōta’s exact features—enduring one painful ordeal after another, one sorrowful trial after the next. She must have thought countless times that death would be preferable. But I want to somehow keep living and meet my mother—the very one lying ill in bed—even just once. Until then, she had resolved not to collapse no matter what happened, protecting her frail body as a girl and enduring.

“You’re safe now. I—as long as Chief Great Detective Ōtsuji is here, you’re safe no matter what comes. Mariko-san, rest assured—you’re as safe as if we were aboard a great ship.”

Ōtsuji, trying to cheer Mariko up, put on a show of bravado by impersonating the Chief Great Detective. So it was that Ōtsuji had accomplished a great feat. But the beginning of that accomplishment lay in his genuine trembling and cry of "A ghost!" Since it was an accomplishment born of cowardice, he couldn’t exactly boast about it. If Detective Homura heard about this, he would laugh.

Mariko felt heartened by Ōtsuji’s words. But how could we ever escape from a place like this empty well? Worried about this possibility, she voiced her concerns to him. Then Ōtsuji let out a dry chuckle. “No need to worry about that.”

“Why?” “Because I fell into this hole from above! If we climb back up the same way, we’ll definitely get out. See how that works?” “That makes sense... But climbing such a deep vertical shaft—I don’t have the strength for that,” she said mournfully. “No worries there! I’m just as good at climbing out of holes as I am at falling into them. Born in the mountains, you see? Been scaling cliffs and trees since I was knee-high—better at it than any monkey!”

Assistant Ōtsuji was less like a monkey and more akin to a gorilla.

The Unyielding Two Assistant Ōtsuji was a man who became very energetic when things went well. On the flip side, he had a bad habit of instantly becoming discouraged whenever things hit even a minor snag and didn’t go smoothly. “Alright, Mariko-san. Climb onto my back. If we dawdle, the bad guys will find us again.” Mariko scrambled onto Ōtsuji’s back. Ōtsuji then removed the band and tied Mariko securely to his back. Mariko found the band digging into the area below her buttocks, but this was no time for such complaints. Mariko’s hands gripped Ōtsuji’s shoulders firmly. Ōtsuji began climbing the hole.

He pulled a large sailor’s knife from his pocket and clenched it between his teeth. His two legs and two hands—all four limbs—pressed against the hole’s walls, his posture resembling a crab stuck in a chimney. He skillfully alternated between moving his hands and feet as he climbed up the hole's walls. The sailor’s knife proved very convenient for creating footholds and handholds in the hole’s walls. It took exactly thirty minutes to climb out of the hole. Assistant Ōtsuji—who prided himself on his great strength—appeared to have expended every ounce of his energy during these thirty minutes of grueling effort, collapsing heavily onto the grass without uttering a word the moment he emerged.

“Mr. Ōtsuji. Stay with me!” “Hmmph.”

“Let’s hurry and get away! If someone comes after us, it’ll be a disaster!” “Hmmph...” No matter what Mariko said, Ōtsuji kept groaning—hmmph... hmmph—for a while. Then he heaved himself upright like an ox and bellowed: “Hurrah! No more scary guys around! Let’s scram!”

With Mariko secured on his back, Ōtsuji went charging down the shadowy mountain path at breakneck speed.

Ōtsuji was extremely happy. And he was triumphant. He should have recalled Homura and Shōta, but he kept recklessly descending the mountain without doing so. It was because he was simply too overjoyed. He was triumphant indeed.

To Fumoto Village, to Fumoto Village! All the while praying that Mr. F wouldn't come chasing after them too, Assistant Ōtsuji kept barreling down the mountain.

Now, over here was Dr. Ivanov. While opening Mr. F’s body and repairing the densely packed instruments inside, he heard a suspicious noise. “Hmm, what could that sound be?” Dr. Ivanov stood up upon hearing the crashing, thundering sound of rocks breaking and falling somewhere.

“Hmm, that detective and the brat might be trying to escape by collapsing the rock cave.” “That must be it.” “Hmm, I’ll give them a taste of hell.”

Dr. Ivanov left the room with a pistol. His footsteps echoed through the underground passage. He quietly approached the dungeon where Detective Homura and Shōta had been thrown. Then he drew near the small barred window. The earthen cell glowed faintly from a weak light bulb. Squinting through the dim illumination, Dr. Ivanov peered into the stone cell.

“Ah—there they are! Both of them lying collapsed over there. “That earlier ruckus must’ve had quite the effect.” Now he could relax—truly, completely relax. Then again—that noise might’ve come from the back cell holding Mariko. “I should go check there.”

With that, Dr. Ivanov headed deeper into the underground passage.

However, once they realized Dr. Ivanov had moved away, Homura and Shōta sprang up with a start. In truth, both of them had been deliberately feigning collapse.

“Now’s our chance. It’s finally going to open!” The two leaped at the wall like locusts. And with something like a stick, they poked at the dark wall when—for some reason—a streak of light suddenly shot out through the wall.

Unexpected Event

Light! From the dark wall came a sudden burst of light!

The light expanded rapidly before their eyes. Homura and Shōta clung to its edge as if competing, refusing to let go. "Hmph. Clear visibility!" Homura murmured in a low voice. "I see... The room..." Shōta whispered. A hole opened in the wall. Through the breach, the adjacent chamber became visible.

“Ah! There’s an artificial human over there. “Shōta-kun, come here for a moment and take a look inside.” “I’ll hold you up.” Homura lifted Shōta up from behind and showed him the situation inside the room through the hole. “Ah! That’s him! “He has a face exactly like mine.” “It’s **Mr.** **F**!”

“Shōta-kun—quiet,” Homura cautioned. “Hey there—Shōta-kun.” “Now that I look—through this hole—I can see Dr. Ivanov’s prized control device for Mr.F.” “It’s sitting right on his desk.” “Let’s smash that thing!” “If we do—the artificial human will stop moving for sure!” “Ah—an excellent plan.”

“Let’s destroy that thing before Dr. Ivanov returns.” “Step aside for a moment.” Detective Homura gripped a short stick and inserted his hand into the hole. With the hole being small, inserting one hand made seeing through to the other side quite troublesome. After gauging the position first, Homura thrust out his right hand and swung the stick with a whoosh. But whether due to the stick’s shortness or Homura’s arm length, it failed to properly strike the device.

“Isn’t there something longer?” “This isn’t working. Let’s try it this way.” Homura pulled back the stick, tore his handkerchief into strips with a ripping sound, hastily fashioned a string, and tied it to the end of the stick. Then he tied a knife to the other end of the string. “With this, let’s try again.” “I see, Mr. Homura sure comes up with clever ideas!” “I’m completely impressed!” “Oh, it’s nothing—just a trick born of desperation.” Homura inserted his right hand into the hole again. And he swung the stick he held in his hand. The knife tied to the end of the stick with string whirled rapidly until—clank—it met resistance. But after that, the stick stopped moving.

“Huh? What’s going on here?” Shōta said, but Homura’s arm remained fully inserted into the hole up to his armpit, leaving no gap around it. Therefore, they couldn’t see through to the other side either. Then suddenly came a loud voice. “Wh-Who’s there?!” It was Dr. Ivanov’s voice. “Damn it!” “It’s too late!” Homura—thinking this was the end—gripped the stick and yanked it back with all his might. The effort proved excruciating, but the stick finally moved. Something heavy thudded against the floor—the device controlling Mr. F had fallen. At that very moment,

“Ah, it hurts!” Homura shouted. At that moment, the stick slipped from his hand. He hurriedly pulled his arm back from the hole. “Grooowl!” came a beast-like groan.

“Oh no, this is bad. “No—it’s weakening!” This was Dr. Ivanov’s voice. From his room came heavy thudding impacts—something massive colliding repeatedly. Then the very wall trapping Homura and Shōta began shuddering violently, its plaster cracking and cascading down in chunks. “Mr. F! “Cease this at once! “I ordered you to desist!” The clamor from Dr. Ivanov’s room swelled louder still. Objects were being shattered one after another.

“Oh no, what do I do?!” Just as Dr. Ivanov shouted, the earthen wall of the room confining Homura and Shōta collapsed with a crash. Before they could even gasp, what came leaping through the gap was Mr. F, the artificial human. The force was tremendous.

Now, what would become of the two of them?

Rampaging Artificial Human

“Grooowl!” With a tremendous roar, Mr. F, the artificial human, rampaged through the room. To anyone judging by appearance alone, it looked exactly like Shōta was wreaking havoc. Yet despite the fearsome bellowing, Mr. F’s face maintained a cheerful grin. He smashed through every wall within reach—grinning all the while—with that terrible roar echoing about him. Later, Detective Homura would recall how this unnatural contrast—the android’s merry expression paired with its destructive frenzy—had chilled him far more than any ferocious snarl could have. Homura and Shōta huddled in their corner of crumbling plasterwork praying the rampaging machine wouldn’t turn their way. But when the violence grew too overwhelming even for bravado’s sake，Shōta finally pressed himself flush against Homura’s side.

“Mr. Homura, are you all right?” “Yeah, should be mostly okay.”

Detective Homura’s voice remained calm. Hearing that voice, Shōta suddenly felt his resolve strengthen.

“Mr. Homura. Why is Mr. F rampaging?” “Well, I’m not entirely sure,” Homura said, “but we did drop the device controlling Mr. F earlier. At that time, part of that device must have broken, which is why Mr. F suddenly started rampaging, I think.” Detective Homura, even amidst this commotion, was putting his mind to work. Shōta, hearing that, felt fear rise within him once more. “So, Mr. F has gone mad then. If I were to go mad and end up rampaging like that… It’s horrible,” Shōta thought, his heart sinking.

“Ah, that makes sense,” Homura chimed in. “You shouldn’t look at such things. “You—keep your head down and don’t look,” said Homura as he pulled Shōta’s head down against himself.

Mr. F, the artificial human, was rampaging with increasing ferocity. He scattered dirt and flung rocks about as if a bull were rampaging through a granary. What had become of Dr. Ivanov? Dr. Ivanov, in the other room, had likewise hunched his back and was intently watching the situation over here. "Oh no, this is bad. If this doesn't work, maybe I'll try moving it like this." Upon closer inspection, Dr. Ivanov had placed the artificial human's control device before him and was frantically flipping numerous switches on and off. Indeed, something seemed to have malfunctioned—the device wasn't working as Dr. Ivanov intended and was weakening.

“Tch, this isn’t working either.” “It can’t be helped.” “Seems there’s no choice but to take apart this control device and fix it.”

Dr. Ivanov, now completely absorbed, wiped the sweat from his brow, took out a screwdriver, and set to work disassembling the control device. At that moment, sparks flashed as the screwdriver Dr. Ivanov held made contact with something.

“Ah!” cried Dr. Ivanov in surprise as the artificial human that had been rampaging in the detention cell spun around and came leaping into the doctor’s room. “Ah, look out!” Before Dr. Ivanov’s cry of surprise had even finished echoing, Mr. F, the artificial human, shot upward toward the ceiling with cannonball-like speed. A thunderous boom rang out as dirt and rock fragments came clattering down. After that, the figure of Mr. F, the artificial human, vanished completely.

What had become of Mr. F, the artificial human? Mr. F was now flying eastward through the pitch-black sky like a cannonball, emitting a whistling roar. And then, for some reason, his body would occasionally flash with an eerie light. Each time it flashed, Mr. F’s body spun around in midair, looking exactly like a human firework. Mr. F’s body appeared to be ascending gradually higher into the sky. At that time, a sudden fierce wind began blowing from that ominous sky, and it seemed as though Mr. F had transformed into the god of wind.

Mr. F streaked through the sky with tremendous force—since it was midnight, things were still manageable, but had this occurred during the day, passersby who looked up at the boy-like figure flying through the air would surely have been terrified out of their wits. Surely, a hundred or two hundred people would have passed out.

The Cave Confrontation Inside the cave, Homura and Shōta regained their energy.

Because Mr. F had bolted out, Dr. Ivanov was thrown into complete panic. Seizing that moment, Homura and Shōta pinned down the doctor from the right and left. “Now, Dr. Ivanov. Be quiet.” “Ah! What do you think you’re doing, restraining me like this?” “It’s obvious. How could we let your wicked deed of bringing artificial humans into Japan go unpunished?” said Homura as he looped a rope around his hands to prevent his escape.

“Oh, what do you think you’re doing?” Dr. Ivanov glared sharply at Homura. “I’m terribly sorry, but under these circumstances, there’s no other choice. If you were to escape, we’d have to endure another outrageous incident all over again.”

Homura pronounced judgment upon Dr. Ivanov with finality. "You impudent wretch! But mark my words! The time will come when you'll beg me to untie this rope!" Dr. Ivanov growled through gritted teeth. Homura remained unmoved by these threats. With a meaningful glance at Shōta, he instructed the boy to guard the doctor from behind. His intent was clear - he would extract the secrets of the artificial humans from Ivanov here and now.

“Dr. Ivanov. What did you intend to achieve by bringing Mr. F, the artificial human, into Japan?” “Ah, so the interrogation begins? You should figure that out yourself.” Dr. Ivanov insolently turned his face upward toward the ceiling. “You seem unable to respond, Doctor.” “No—we’ll hear your answer later.” Homura observed Dr. Ivanov’s demeanor closely. “Doctor. You’ve been operating Mr. F using this remote control device at all times, haven’t you? Artificial humans are like automobiles—they require a driver to enter, start the engine, and steer before moving. Alone, a car remains still. Similarly, Mr. F cannot act independently. Unless you skillfully toggle these numerous switches on the control device in precise combinations, Mr. F remains inert. There’s no disputing this fact.”

Homura sharply cut into the secret of the artificial human. “Ha ha ha ha! If you’ve already figured that much out, there’s nothing left to ask me, is there?” “Well now—does Japan have any such magnificent machines as artificial humans?” “Even if I were to say there are [such machines], no one in the world would believe it.” Dr. Ivanov said something unpleasant. Homura paid no attention to this at all and took another step forward, “Hey, Dr. Ivanov. So I’d like to give you one warning—it seems to me that Mr. F, the artificial human, is no longer under your control.” “In other words, Mr. F seems to have started moving on his own.” “And this—is this something you need not concern yourself with?”

Homura's question had indeed struck Dr. Ivanov's sore spot. Until then, Dr. Ivanov had been puffing out his chest arrogantly, but upon hearing Homura’s question, he suddenly began to panic.

Seizing the moment, Homura sharply pressed his verbal attack. “What do you think, Doctor? Mr.F—the artificial human—has defied your will, punching holes through walls, bursting through ceilings, then leaping off to who knows where. Surely you never ordered Mr.F to destroy this rock cave—the very one you painstakingly built—in such a manner?”

“Hmm. That…” “Dr. Ivanov,” pressed Homura, “are you truly unconcerned about leaving Mr. F unattended like this? Is it acceptable to let him act freely? What if he were to jump into the sea? The seawater would instantly soak the machinery inside his body and render him inoperable. All your painstaking work on this artificial human would be ruined.” “Seawater’s nothing to worry about— No, this is…”

He covered his mouth, but judging from the doctor’s words, it seemed the artificial human had been constructed to withstand exposure to water. It was an exceptionally well-made artificial human.

Control of the Artificial Human

Dr. Ivanov suddenly began fidgeting restlessly. He appeared unable to stay still—could neither stand nor sit properly. Detective Homura signaled to Shōta with a glance.

Shōta, detecting Homura’s expression, fell silent and nodded silently in understanding. "Hey, Doctor. You should use this controller to quietly recall the artificial human before it breaks down." “Yes, that may be so, but my hands can’t move. Untie this rope for me.” “Ha ha ha ha. So you’re asking us to untie it for you? However, we cannot untie it.” “Why won’t you untie it? If you don’t, the artificial human will run wild—soon there’ll be a catastrophe that all Japan will bitterly regret but be powerless to stop! Is that acceptable to you?”

“Dr. Ivanov, please stop with the intimidation,” Homura coldly declared. “I see—your hands can’t move. However, since you can speak, please tell us verbally. I’ll flip the switches on the control device exactly as you say.” “Ah, I see! You wretch—you’re trying to extract Mr. F’s control method from me!” “That’s correct. To put it simply—yes.”

Dr. Ivanov was deep in thought for some time. But before long, a look of resolve began to surface on his face. “Very well. I’ll teach you what I know.”

Dr. Ivanov's plan had changed drastically. He would teach Homura how to control the artificial human. They could not let their guard down against what terrifying scheme might lie behind Dr. Ivanov’s sudden change of heart—but regardless, with Mr. F now rampaging uncontrollably, it became clear that the doctor’s immediate intent was to retrieve the android back under his control, even if it meant temporarily leveraging Homura’s assistance. "Now then—I'll teach you, so commit this thoroughly to memory. Understood? When you press this main switch, radio waves are emitted and detected by the receiver inside Mr. F's body."

"I see." “Once that’s done, press whichever of these switches here numbered one through a hundred.” “This switch is engineered to execute varied operations.” “The instruction manual explaining it is in my pocket—go on and take it out.”

Dr. Ivanov twisted his body to turn his pocket toward Homura. Inside this pocket, there was indeed a small book labeled "Instruction Manual for Operation". “How’s that?” he said. “It’s quite well-made, isn’t it? For example, if you turn on Switch No. 19, Mr. F will completely know what’s in the other person’s mind.”

Dr. Ivanov made an extraordinary declaration. He was claiming there existed a mechanism capable of discerning human thoughts. “Dr. Ivanov—are you claiming something as absurd as mind-reading is actually possible?” “Hmph—it’s precisely because Japanese scientific minds are so easily startled by such things that your nation’s progress lags behind,” Dr. Ivanov sneered contemptuously. “While human thought is commonly said to arise from cerebral activity, this ‘cerebral activity’ is fundamentally electrical in nature.” “And just like radio waves, these electrical signals emerge from the human body as short electromagnetic waves.” “Since these waves are emitted, capturing them simply requires having a receiver.” “Of course, it’s different from a standard radio receiver.” “A special receiver sensitive to much shorter wavelengths.” “This is installed inside Mr. F’s body.” “Well? Are you astonished?”

"I see. If it can read someone's mind, then it could respond accordingly, shake hands, or even walk alongside them." That was precisely when Homura made this observation. The radio receiver in the room abruptly crackled to life with an emergency broadcast.

"The Tōkaidō Line has been disrupted. The Hodogaya Tunnel has been bombed. It appears that the mysterious boy is involved in this incident. The entire area is under heavy security, but a battlefield-like chaos has broken out." Dr. Ivanov and Homura involuntarily locked eyes.

Major incident!

The Hodogaya Tunnel had been bombed! Mr. F, the artificial human, was said to be involved! The Tōkaidō Line had been rendered impassable!

Detective Homura was staring fixedly at Dr. Ivanov. He could not conceal the anguish in his heart. For Homura knew that on that very night, a certain division composed of elite specialized artillery units from the Tōhoku region was scheduled to rush westward, and the thought of this weighed heavily on his heart.

What would become of that expeditionary division? If the Hodogaya Tunnel were blown up, trains would obviously be unable to pass through. They would then have to disembark from the train and cross that mountain path—but for that heavy mechanized unit to traverse that rugged terrain would prove both a tremendous logistical burden and a time-consuming ordeal. However, unless this expeditionary division reached the continental destination even an hour sooner to respond to the battle situation, our continental army would suffer grave losses in that theater of war.

No—if it ended with just the bombing of Hodogaya Tunnel, that would still be manageable. But Dr. Ivanov, though bound hand and foot, had been wearing a smug look all along (Just wait and see... far greater calamities will occur...) had been making a look that seemed to say. At this thought, Homura's guts churned with seething intensity. “Dr. Ivanov. You must know how to subdue the artificial human Mr. F. Do that immediately.”

Detective Homura said to Dr. Ivanov, suppressing his frustration. Then Dr. Ivanov wore a look that seemed to say "See?"

“No, no—such a thing. After all, it’s a mechanical failure—there’s nothing you can do about it. What I cannot control, you have no hope of controlling either,” he boasted.

Homura gritted his teeth and seethed with frustration, but there was nothing he could do. Then, Shōta, who had been watching this intently, spoke up.

“Uncle Homura. Wouldn’t this work? In other words, we destroy the control device. If we destroy that, wouldn’t Mr. F naturally stop moving?” “Yes! Well done, Shōta-kun! That’s an excellent idea! Then let’s smash the control device!”

With that, Homura glanced sidelong at Dr. Ivanov’s face. Dr. Ivanov seemed to laugh at it with a derisive snort through his nose. Homura hesitated slightly. If only Dr. Ivanov would panic here—but there wasn’t the slightest hint of surprise in his demeanor. Even so, he couldn’t afford to dawdle forever. It was a shame to smash to pieces the control device he had worked so hard to obtain, but there was no helping it now. Homura picked up the large iron bar that had been propped in the corner of the rock cavern. And then, while glaring at the control device, he swung it back with all his might.

“Ahahaha! You’d better not regret doing that later.”

Undeterred, Homura swung down the iron bar with a grunt. In that instant, beneath a tremendous roar, a blinding electric flash suddenly illuminated the room.

“Ah!” Homura cried out in surprise, then writhed on the spot and collapsed heavily. “Heh heh heh, look at that. That’s why I told you to stop.” Dr. Ivanov sneered and stood up. Before anyone noticed, the ropes that had been binding him had all come undone. The one who was shocked was Shōta. “Dr. Ivanov, you’re a bad person! Restore Mr. Homura to normal!”

“How dare you say that, Shōta! You too—why don’t you stretch out there for a long time?” With that, Dr. Ivanov struck Shōta’s chin with a solid thud, and taking advantage of Shōta’s startled cry as he fell, swiftly dashed out of the room. Outside the rock cavern was darkness. Dr. Ivanov turned on his flashlight and hurriedly started running down toward the base of the mountain. The distant sky was faintly scorched red. It seemed to be coming from the direction of Totsuka.

Exactly like a battlefield. Dr. Ivanov ran swiftly down the mountain path. His pace showed a briskness unimaginable for an old man. “Well, there’s no longer any need for me to remain in Japan. As a parting gift of sorts, I’ll burn down Tokyo—the imperial capital I’ve long planned to destroy—before making my exit.” Dr. Ivanov let out a dry laugh as he kept running.

Here was Detective Homura. After receiving an electric shock, he had momentarily collapsed but soon regained consciousness. Though the area was deathly quiet, he started up in alarm. When he rose, he was startled a third time— there beside him lay Shōta, the boy, sprawled out on the ground.

“Hey, Shōta-kun, pull yourself together,” he said, lifting him up and shaking him, and Shōta came to his senses. “Hey! Dr. Ivanov’s gone!” “So he escaped?” They searched the area, but of course there was no sign of Dr. Ivanov. At that moment, the radio above their heads came to life again. Another special news bulletin. “We bring you a special news bulletin. The explosion site at Hodogaya Tunnel has been completely surrounded by our military. What initially appeared to be a mysterious boy has now been estimated to be a fearsome artificial human. Therefore, our tank unit has formed a circular formation and is gradually tightening the ring while endeavoring to capture the artificial human. Oh—just now, additional news has come in. The artificial human has suddenly changed its behavior since earlier and is now frantically digging into the earth. No matter where it attempts to burrow, it will undoubtedly be captured soon.”

We conclude this special news bulletin. "Additionally, as it remains unclear when evacuation orders may be issued, authorities have advised that all listeners keep their switches turned on."

Homura and Shōta instinctively ran up to each other and clasped hands.

“Let’s head for Hodogaya.”

“Let’s go.”

The two dashed outside. However, walking the mountain path in pitch darkness seemed extremely difficult. The two returned to the rock cavern, searched for a handheld flashlight, and then began their descent down the mountain once more.

“That’s a relief. Mr. F will be caught soon. What happened to Dr. Ivanov?” “Dr. Ivanov might have gone to the scene as well. I want to reach somewhere we can make a call soon. But on the whole, we can probably rest easy now. Even Dr. Ivanov is an old man—he’ll tire out soon enough and get caught by the police.”

The two appeared to grow gradually more relieved. Yet was it truly safe to feel so reassured? What had become of Dr. Ivanov? Homura and Shōta hastened down the mountain, and after some forty-five minutes, they finally came across the police cordon. For the two of them, encountering this barrier proved an unexpected comfort.

Homura gave a concise account of everything that had happened so far to the police squad and informed them that making arrangements to capture Dr. Ivanov was crucial. Fortunately, as there happened to be a police car equipped with a radio transceiver nearby for surveillance and communication, Homura promptly used its transmitter to explain his plan for apprehending the escaped Dr. Ivanov.

The one who had been listening to this was Superintendent Ōeyama of the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division, but

“All right, understood. Then I’ll make arrangements immediately—rest assured.” Having said that, he praised Homura’s work. Homura and Shōta were then taken by car to the vicinity of Hodogaya Tunnel. The scene was in complete pandemonium. Fire trucks extended their long ladders—the type used for fighting blazes in tall buildings—straight upward, using searchlights from above to illuminate the valley where Mr. F had fled. These bright lights weren’t just one or two, but were concentrated from multiple directions onto the same area, making the valley as bright as day.

“What happened to the artificial human?” Homura asked a police officer. “The artificial human burrowed into the ground around where that big tree has fallen and hasn’t shown any sign of emerging.” At that moment, the valley exploded with a thunderous roar. A tremendous pillar of fire rose, and smoke and earth swirled into a vortex. Everything was illuminated by the searchlights, intensifying the terror.

Grand Finale

It was an unexpected explosion.

“Ah, Shōta-kun,” said Detective Homura, still holding the boy’s hand. “Mr. F, the artificial human, has finally self-destructed.” Shōta let out a relieved sigh. “So he finally self-destructed... But even if it was an artificial human, thinking about a body exactly like mine being blown to pieces... It feels strange somehow.” That reaction was only natural. Reports of the android’s self-destruction came from multiple sources. Some expressed relief that it was over, while others lamented the loss as wasteful.

“Well, all that remains is Dr. Ivanov’s whereabouts—what in the world became of him?” Homura remained deeply preoccupied with this question. The detailed circumstances regarding Dr. Ivanov’s disappearance reached Homura the following morning.

The one who told us this was a Yokohama Water Police officer named Tobita. The account unfolded in this manner.

“Well, I was completely astonished—it was around ten o’clock last night, I believe. “I was aboard the launch conducting a midnight patrol of the harbor when I spotted something strange on the sea surface. “It wasn’t a ship, but there was something moving across the water at considerable speed. “I immediately started the engine and chased after this thing. “But you won’t believe what happened next! “When I got closer, it turned out to be something extraordinary. “What do you think it was—you? “In fact, the thing was shaped exactly like a human being! “He was a bearded old man—still fully dressed—swimming straight out toward the open sea. “But here’s the thing— “When I say ‘swim,’ it wasn’t like doing the crawl stroke or anything. “It was moving through the waves like a torpedo—slicing cleanly through the water—and at such tremendous speed that no Olympic swimmer could ever hope to match it. “I felt like I was being played for a fool, but given how fast it was moving, I couldn’t just let it go. “I immediately reported to headquarters via wireless. “Headquarters was astonished and not only ordered me to continue pursuit but also alerted the security fleet. “There was a huge commotion, but ultimately only my launch pursued that swimming figure—none of the other vessels made it in time.”

At this, Officer Tobita shuddered. “So you’re saying that must have been Dr. Ivanov?” “Yes, an old man—I saw him clearly under a small searchlight. He was swimming fully clothed.” “Anyway, while pursuing him, that mysterious figure swam up to what looked like a large buoy protruding from the sea and clambered onto it.” “From atop the buoy as well, several sailors reached out their hands and pulled up this mysterious figure.” “Even as I recount this, you must find it strange that there were sailors atop the buoy.” “That’s perfectly reasonable.” “I’ll explain that now—but as I stood there thinking ‘What in the world?’, that buoy began steadily sinking into the sea.” He realized—“Ah, a submarine!”—but by then it was already too late. “In other words, that mysterious figure was dragged into the submarine waiting there and escaped.” “No, this isn’t some tall tale.” “I later heard from the authorities too—they said that submarine was undoubtedly ○○’s.”

“To put my account roughly—this is where it ends—but why that mysterious figure raced across the sea surface like a torpedo remains a complete mystery.” “Mr. Homura, after hearing this account, does anything come to mind for you?”

Officer Tobita’s account was roughly as described above. Homura, who had been listening to this, trembled violently, "Ah! That’s it. Now I understand! Why didn’t I realize this sooner?" "Huh? What do you mean?" At this, Shōta watched Detective Homura’s unusual demeanor with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, Shōta-kun. “That Dr. Ivanov was actually an artificial human himself.” “What?! Dr. Ivanov is an artificial human too? “No way—” “Hmm, there’s no doubt about it. “Mr. F is an artificial human operated via that control device; Dr. Ivanov is one whose control device resides within a submarine—that’s the only difference. “Only then did the connection to the submarine become clear. How terrifying the reach of science has become. “We Japanese people must stay strong!”

With that, Detective Homura gave his eyebrows a sharp twitch.