Pathway to Japanese Literature

Spider's Thread

“Your performance tonight was truly splendid. “I never would’ve dreamed you were that skilled at the piano! “Though when I hear you practicing, I do remember—the piano really is a noisy instrument.” “Oh, Brother, I can’t tell whether you’re complimenting me or mocking me now!”

Kariya Saburo and his sister Aiko, on their way back from Hibiya Auditorium, were walking home to their residence in Bancho without taking the train, chasing their lingering excitement.

“But your performance was truly excellent—the entire audience was stunned. The Beethoven sonata seemed a bit intimidating, but the Chopin in the second part was excellent though. The people listening near me—since they had no idea I was your brother—were saying, ‘Who knew Japan had such a young, skilled pianist? Even with all those foreigners here, just discovering an artist like this makes us all proud!’”

“Oh…” Aiko seemed slightly embarrassed. Though he wasn’t the sort of brother to flatter his sister, being praised so directly to his face left even him speechless.

Kariya Aiko was a girl who had just turned eighteen—fresh, clean, like a pink cosmos flower. Last year, after passing a certain newspaper’s competition, her genius had been instantly recognized—even hailed as a major discovery by the Japan Orchestra—and now, having crossed into the new year with the backing of seniors and mentors, she had finally held her first recital. For a debut by a newcomer, it was nothing short of an unprecedented success, and this was their return home from that triumph. Her older brother Saburo was twenty years old; he studied mathematics at university but was not only intelligent—he also possessed extraordinary physical strength, and as a rugby player, there was no one in the student sports world who didn’t know him. A young man with a splendid build over five feet seven inches tall and a bright, open-hearted disposition—a eugenic exemplar whom one might wish to model as the ideal type of future Japanese.

“What do you think? Was it truly good? —I’m simply beside myself worrying about what the newspapers and music magazines will say…” Aiko, true to her girlish nature, seemed to be worrying about such things. “Don’t worry—those who badmouth you don’t truly understand the piano. I don’t drink, but listening to it must feel like being drunk… you just get all dazed like this.”

“Oh… That’s awful! Let’s hope it wasn’t methyl alcohol.” “You rascal!” The two of them exchanged such remarks, their unreserved laughter resounding through the New Year’s night sky. It must have been past ten o’clock; the snow-laden sky pressed down ominously low overhead, and not a soul was in sight on the streets of Bancho.

“Excuse me, may I ask—”

Startled by the sudden call, the two of them came to a halt beneath a large building. “Excuse me, is there a Mr. Shiotani living around here?”

“Well…” The man had turned up the collar of his coat, pulled the creased brim of his hat low over his eyes, and wore tinted glasses—a young man. “Oh, if you don’t know him, that’s fine—we’ll ask around here. Oh, oh! Wait a moment, young lady—there’s something strange dangling from your coat. Might be someone’s prank—there are ill-meaning folks about these days. Come to the streetlight in front of the Building—let me take a look.”

―――― The man’s tone seemed kindly, devoid of any guile. Aiko, unsuspecting, went to the streetlight in front of the Building when the man who had been walking by circled behind her and began brushing the hem of her coat—when suddenly, truly suddenly, her body floated into the air, and the heels of her high-heeled shoes lifted an inch, two inches, three inches off the pavement into the sky. “Brother—th-this is bad!”

It was only natural that Aiko let out an involuntary scream. At this moment, Aiko’s body had left the ground and was being rapidly hoisted into the air—one foot, two feet, three feet. Saburo, who had been walking a few steps ahead while whistling absently, turned around in alarm at his sister’s scream—only to find Aiko’s body already hoisted five or six feet into the air, the hem of her red dress flaring beneath her silver-gray coat like flames fanned by fire.

“Wait!” Saburo shouted something incomprehensible and lunged. But all he managed to grasp was the heel of his sister’s left shoe; as it slipped off cleanly and he tumbled onto the pavement, Aiko’s body—like a beautiful dragonfly caught in a spider’s thread—spun whirring above the streetlight, rising higher and higher into the sky. So overwhelming was the situation that Saburo even forgot to call for help aloud. Even if he had called for help, this area was a vast burnt-out ruin; past ten o’clock, there were scarcely any passersby, the police box was far away, and there were no houses nearby that looked inhabited.

The building appeared to have been repaired from a three-story reinforced concrete structure that had burned down—an utterly ordinary sight—but from its roof’s protruding eave, it was clear that a single sturdy rope was hoisting Aiko’s body upward.

Even Aiko, being hoisted upward, was so overwhelmed that she momentarily forgot to scream. All the while her body spun through the air, its crimson hem blazing above the streetlight. But this lasted mere seconds—suddenly a hand shot out from the eave, seized Aiko by the collar, hauled her effortlessly onto the roof, and brought everything to an abrupt end. The vision of Aiko dancing in midair vanished along with her fading cries of shock, leaving Bancho’s New Year night to deepen in silence.

To the police box—Saburo started to dash off, but even the nearest police box was over three blocks away from here, and there was no telling what might happen to Aiko—hoisted onto the Building’s rooftop—in the time it would take him to go there and back. At any rate, he approached the Building’s front entrance and pushed at its unmarked door, but it stood as immovable as the gates of hell; no matter how he shoved or rammed it, it refused to budge an inch.

Saburo suddenly looked around. He thought—if only that suspicious man who had spoken to Aiko earlier were still around… But no trace of such a person remained. Instead, a lone boy—dressed in filthy attire like a caterpillar in its cocoon, as if he’d crawled out from somewhere—stood there looking up at Saburo with a bewildered expression.

The Ragged Siblings

“You’ve been here all along?”

“Yeah.”

The boy nodded. When viewed against the streetlight’s glow, his attire was indeed shabby—a sun-burned face, close-cropped hair, round bright eyes, a small neat nose—likely no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, a boy who looked every bit clever. “What kind of people live in this Building?” “I don’t know. Maybe a gang? Guys with shady looks come and go there.” “And you?”

“I’m next door here—and I’m not some vagrant child, okay? I’ve got a proper house.” The boy pointed to a dilapidated hut on the south side of the Building—a structure cobbled together from burnt corrugated iron resembling an insect’s nest, with only half a roof remaining. But inside, a light was on, and besides the boy, there was a woman peering worriedly outside.

“The one they hoisted up to the Building’s rooftop is my sister.” “Isn’t there any way to get inside this Building, you?”

Saburo had no choice but to rely on this boy. “It’s tough, but let’s try—this Building used to be my dad’s. While we were running around escaping the war, Dad went missing, the Building got taken over by bad guys, and Sis and I had no choice but to cling to its side like ticks—waiting for Dad to come back.” “That’s rough.”

“I was little and didn’t know anything, but Sis grew up in this Building, so she might know an escape route—please wait.”

The boy went into the corrugated iron hut and spoke to his sister about something. Before long, a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl emerged with a flashlight, accompanied by her younger brother. "This is my sister—Namino Sachiko. I'm her younger brother, Umakichi." Even amid the urgency, Umakichi introduced himself.

“I’m Kariya Saburo—I live up ahead in Tsui no Sakki.” “Oh, I know—you have a sister who plays the piano beautifully, don’t you?—Every time I pass your house, I stand outside the hedge and listen.” Her lively round face, innocent yet intelligent eyes, and shabby clothes matched her brother Umakichi’s in every way—yet her loveliness stood unrivaled. “My sister—Aiko, the one who plays the piano—was hoisted up to the Building’s rooftop. I must save her somehow.”

“So it’s true—they’re bad people. Let’s go around to the back.” The girl—Sachiko—guided Kariya Saburo around to the back of the Building. Amid heaps of burnt corrugated iron, withered weeds, stones, bricks, and charred lumber—a landscape that offered no foothold—Sachiko skillfully wove through the debris. She ducked into a covered underground passage near the back entrance, then slipped into the Building through a chute once used to deliver fuel to steam boilers.

“Alright, it’s safe now. Let’s go up to the rooftop.”

Sachiko, shining her flashlight, nimbly climbed the stairs to the second floor, then the third, and finally burst out from the penthouse onto the rooftop garden. “She’s not here.”

Saburo Kariya took one look at the rooftop and let out a despairing cry. Though cloudy, the Building’s rooftop—not particularly large—could be seen in its entirety from corner to corner with just a single glance.

There was nothing there except for the penthouse and the gravel spread across the ground. No—there was, atop the eave jutting from the building’s front, an alarmingly sturdy hemp rope, its end fitted with a tenacious nickel-plated spring-loaded hook—the kind that could leash a bulldog by the neck—but nowhere was there any sign of Kariya Aiko, the prodigious girl whom this rope had hoisted up.

“They hooked this onto the strap and reeled her up! That’s just cruel!” Umakichi fumed with anger, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Just to be thorough, they checked every room in the building—from the third floor down to the first—all more than ten rooms. But every door was locked, every room was dark, and not a single one showed any sign of life. Kariya Saburo sat down on the cold staircase and clutched his head in both hands. For his sister Aiko—who had made her dazzling debut as a genius pianist tonight, bearing the radiance of great success as she hurried homeward—to be suddenly snatched away by villains... What a spiteful twist of fate this was.

“Mr. Kariya, it’s cold here. Let’s withdraw to our home for now—though it’s a shabby place…” Namino Sachiko made this suggestion with hesitant courtesy. To sit on a stone staircase in an empty building would give even the hardiest soul a chill.

“But what if—”

“The villains must have fled long ago. This Building apparently has a mysterious escape route. Moreover, our hut clings so tightly to the Building that whether it’s the front or back door opening, we’ll notice right away.” Sachiko said this with all her might.

Immense Wealth Kariya Saburo reluctantly allowed himself to be guided to the Namino siblings' hut. A shabby structure enclosed by five or six planks, straw mats, and burnt corrugated iron—yet inside lay old tatami mats spread across the floor, a single electric light hung from the ceiling, with an air of modest tidiness permeating the space. This humble orderliness spoke eloquently of Sachiko's character, making the crude dwelling feel unexpectedly welcoming. They had repurposed utility water pipes installed on the Building's exterior and even equipped a questionable-looking stove—arrangements that let them endure the bitter cold. On the Building's wall hung a Millet print and a complete set of oil painting tools, transforming this impoverished burnt-corrugated-iron hut into something remarkably bright and cultured.

The night was already past twelve o’clock. Having sent Umakichi running to inform his home that he would be coming there, Kariya Saburo, as suggested by Sachiko, resolved to keep watch there for a while and spend the long night. Amidst anxiety and restlessness, the conversation among the three gradually eased. This was partly due to their youth and sincerity, but also because Sachiko’s unreserved kindness—her understanding, refinement, and attentive care that belied both her appearance and living conditions—put Saburo completely at ease.

“Why would the villains abduct your sister—do you have any leads?”

Sachiko urged Saburo Kariya, who was utterly despondent, while offering him a cup of hot tea. It seemed she thought talking about something might distract him somewhat. “I have an idea—the villains are after something immense.” “Something immense—?” Sachiko leaned forward. Probably around seventeen years old—here, close to the lamp, seeing her engaged in conversation—one was drawn more to this girl’s intelligence than just her loveliness.

“This is a famous story—since many people already know it, there’s no need to hide it now. The truth is, I’m the grandson of Kariya Sanemon—the man called the Coal King of Kyushu thirty years ago.” “Oh!”

Sachiko also widened her eyes in surprise. The existence of Kariya Sanemon, the great coal magnate, was as universally known across Japan—to old and young alike—as Mitsui and Mitsubishi were.

“My parents died young, and only Grandfather Sanemon lived beyond seventy, surviving until the year the war ended.” “The coal mine was transferred to others fifteen or sixteen years ago when my father passed away, and Grandfather converted his entire fortune into jewels and pure gold, hiding them in a certain place in Tokyo.” “————” “Grandfather foresaw the trajectory of military clique politics—he was certain Japan would plunge into catastrophic ruin under such conditions. When that time came, he intended to retrieve these jewels and pure gold to save the nation, but the means had to remain strictly peaceful.” “Those to be saved must prioritize the elderly, the infirm, and the sick—first by building large nursing homes and charity hospitals. Not a single penny is to be spent for any other purpose—that was his solemn final decree.”

Although Kariya Saburo’s account was bizarre, Sachiko Namino had not entirely failed to catch wind of such rumors. Because of that hidden treasure, stories had spread of Old Kariya Sanemon being imprisoned, assaulted by certain thugs, and subjected to all manner of terrible ordeals. “Of course, Grandfather wasn’t entirely inflexible—he donated most of the pure gold to the government of the time. But given the immense sum, roughly a third of it and all the jewels should still lie untouched in a secret vault.”

“————” “It’s a terrifying thing to recall, but at the end of the war—exactly four years ago now—Grandfather evacuated with my sister to the foothills of Mount Aso in Kyushu, quietly avoiding the flames of battle.” “Since the house—borrowed from a local wealthy family—was very spacious, he gathered as many as nine trustworthy people who had lost their homes in the war and had proper introductions or connections, and they lived there together for over a year.”

“————” “Despite the hardships, it was said to be a truly joyful life.” “I still had school, so I remained at the Tokyo house and continued attending school, but—” “————”

Sachiko and Umakichi were listening as if drawn in. This is truly an astonishing story. “However, the one who set his sights on that immense wealth Grandfather had hidden was none other than a man named Kitou Kuuhachirou—my granduncle, Grandfather’s brother-in-law.” “‘Burying such a treasure underground is wasteful,’ he argued, ‘but using it for nursing homes and charity hospitals? That’s like tossing riches into a gutter! Let me manage it instead—I’ll perform dazzling great deeds for the nation and all mankind!’” “Swindlers and con artists—they all spout such grandiose lies to swindle people out of their money. But Grandfather knew full well about their schemes—there was no way he’d fall for such sweet talk.”

“————” “Grandfather hid that treasure in a certain secret location, had nine locks placed along the path leading there, and had nine keys forged.” “With the first key, you open a certain major bank’s safe deposit box to learn the location of the secret vault contained within; with the second key, you unlock the entrance door to the path leading to that vault; with the third key, you open the vault chamber itself—and so on.”

“————”

Saburo’s story was just reaching its most captivating part. Namino Sachiko and Umakichi listened with bated breath, utterly absorbed in his words. “But Kitou Kuuhachirou mustered cohorts of villains to form a formidable gang—exploiting wartime chaos to raid Grandfather’s hideout at Mount Aso’s foothills and seize the Nine Keys.—Grandfather Sanemon was over seventy yet remained remarkably vigorous.” “With my sister Aiko’s help—they fled up Mount Aso at midnight—crossed over its back slope—tried returning somehow to Tokyo—but by then—the villains had encircled them—Grandfather and my sister found themselves surrounded by dozens before Mount Aso’s crater.”

“Tch! How could they do something so awful?” The boy Umakichi, unable to contain himself any longer, spat out the words like bitter seeds. “It remains burned in my memory—four years ago now, on the dawn of August fifteenth. When those villains surrounded Grandfather and demanded he choose between his life or the Nine Keys—‘I’ll gladly throw away this life!’ he declared. ‘This old man past seventy has no regrets! But my granddaughter Aiko is only fourteen—I won’t let her die here for nothing! Yet you’ll never have the Nine Keys! The treasure will be retrieved someday by someone who’ll carry on my will! Behold—I dedicate these keys to Aso’s divine spirits!’ With that, Grandfather raised his hand high. The silver ring holding all Nine Keys—glittering in dawn’s first light—plunged into Mount Aso’s crater, disappearing into that rust-red molten iron.”

Saburo Kariya’s story had come to an end.

The Slumbering Citadel

Eighteen-year-old genius Western pianist Kariya Aiko, on her way back from her recital, was caught by a hook-and-rope lowered from the roof of a building in Bancho right before her brother Saburo’s eyes, swiftly hoisted into the night sky, and vanished without a trace.

Behind that audacious kidnapping lay a great secret involving an immense quantity of pure gold and a multitude of jewels hidden by Old Man Kariya Sanemon—the grandfather of siblings Saburo and Aiko, once hailed as Japan’s coal king—and it was this Sanemon who, cornered by villains, had cast the Nine Keys that sealed away that vast fortune into Mount Aso’s crater—or so [the story went].

This was the rough outline of the incident that Saburo, the young man, had explained to Sachiko Namino and her brother Umakichi. Amidst this account, the urgent report that young Umakichi had earlier delivered was relayed from the police box to Kojimachi Station, and from Kojimachi Station to Metropolitan Police Headquarters, prompting over a dozen officers to rush to the scene without delay. The disappearance of the genius girl Kariya Aiko—granddaughter of Old Man Kariya Sanemon, who had held a recital at Hibiya Auditorium that very evening—must have carried the scent of no ordinary major incident.

Saburo Kariya and the boy Umakichi guided the police squad in searching every nook and cranny of the building’s interior and exterior, but there was naturally not a soul to be found. They tracked down a middle-aged man named Yamaura Kinji—who claimed to be the building manager—at his Yotsuya residence in the dead of night, forcing him to open every room in the structure for inspection. Yet even there, nothing seemed amiss. Unless Saburo’s vision of his sister Aiko—the genius girl being drawn upward to the building’s rooftop like a beautiful swallowtail butterfly caught on a spider’s thread—was mere fantasy, one could only conclude that she had vanished within those walls as insubstantially as smoke.

Saburo Kariya, who had persisted there until dawn, returned to his home as day broke. Even within Bancho, there was about a ten-minute distance between the building near Hanzomon and the Kariya residence near Kudan; though Saburo had sent Umakichi running to deliver an initial report, there remained no means of further communication afterward—despite having been away for merely one night, he entered his family’s gate with the sensation of having journeyed for three full years.

“Hm?”

The Kariya family’s Bancho residence, which had fortunately survived the fire, was a house that—though modest in scale—somehow evoked the bygone splendor of the great coal mining king with its cohesive beauty and tasteful cleanliness. But what a transformation it had undergone this morning!

As Saburo stepped through the gate, he felt an eerie chill race down his spine and an indescribable unease. Peering into the gatekeeper’s hut with a sense of having been ambushed, Saburo found its entrance door left wide open—inside, old Sagobei remained slumped against the table in his daytime work clothes, like a carp stupefied in muddy water, caught between consciousness and sleep as he foamed at the mouth. “Old man! Old man!” Saburo lunged forward and shook him vigorously, but whether the old man had been drugged or struck by a sudden illness, he showed no signs of rousing easily.

Saburo was indeed startled, but while calming his own mind, he resolved to alert the household to the emergency and fortunately shouted from the entrance that had been left wide open.

“Is anyone there?” “The old man’s in trouble!” Apart from the two siblings, the household consisted of their live-in cousin—a nineteen-year-old youth named Ueno Seiichi, one year Saburo’s junior—and servants beyond that. Though by no means a reserved household, the interior now lay utterly silent, with no one answering Saburo’s call.

“What a mess. Leaving the entrance wide open—is everyone still asleep?”

While making a remark befitting the master of the house, Saburo proceeded further inside. Yet in every room—the parlor next to the entrance, the study room beyond it, and the continuing dining room—everything had been overturned: vases and dishes smashed to pieces, floorboards torn up, ceilings pierced through, wallpaper stripped away, even tables flipped over. Every chair’s upholstery had been slashed open to yank out the springs from within, every cushion’s seams unraveled to scatter feathers across every inch of the floor—a state of truly thorough destruction.

Saburo, startled, flew up to the third floor. However, the four rooms there—especially his and his sister Aiko’s rooms—were in such a terrifying state that even the chair legs had been snapped off and the marble bases of the stands smashed to pieces.

The villains must have kidnapped Aiko last night through their unconventional method, pinned her brother Saburo at the building, and then assaulted the house in his absence—ransacking it to such extremes. Saburo Kariya was a young man of rare caliber who surpassed ordinary men both mentally and physically. The villains, fearing to confront him directly in open combat, had devised this cowardly scheme—luring him to the building so they could thoroughly plunder his home during his absence.

As for what their purpose had been, Kariya Saburo understood perfectly.

“They did it.”

Saburo involuntarily bit his lip and shook his fist, but even so, he couldn’t help worrying that not a single servant—starting with his cousin Ueno Seiichi—was anywhere to be seen. Just to be thorough, Saburo peered into the Western-style living room next to the dining area—a ten-tatami-mat-sized space where they usually spent their late-night gatherings—and there they were: Ueno Seiichi, a live-in student, and two maids surrounding the large central table, each in their own posture like the retainers from the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty," truly appearing as though they had slept for a thousand years, fallen into a deep, comatose slumber.

Saburo Kariya had no choice but to rush out through the gate once more and bring a police officer and a doctor. Seiichi "Terukuni"

It was around noon that day when the Namino sister and brother, Sachiko and Umakichi, having heard the town rumors, came to visit.

The servants who had been put to sleep with an anesthetic finally managed to wake up—though their faces remained deathly pale—and ushered the two into the reception room without even properly tidying up. However, had it not been for this devastating ransacking, Sachiko and Umakichi might have been intimidated to be ushered into such an opulent reception room. But after the wreckers—like madmen—and the villains had wrought such violent havoc, leaving the floor so cluttered there was nowhere to step, even Umakichi’s disheveled state did not seem so out of place.

“That must have been terrible.” Sachiko furrowed her brow at the devastated surroundings. Her Western-style clothes were pathetically plain—a hand-sewn cotton dress that barely qualified as such, paired with cotton socks from her school days and geta sandals clapped onto her feet. Yet the eighteen-year-old girl’s face, free of powder or rouge, glowed with a healthy warm tan, radiating purity, wisdom, and a quiet charm. “That’s awful, Mr. Kariya! Who’d do something like this?”

The boy Umakichi widened his round eyes. Today, thanks to Sis’s devoted efforts, he no longer resembled the pitiful figure of a vagrant child but wore a patched student uniform, treating the oversized school cap like a tattered rag. “I haven’t had a chance to calmly hear the details yet. When I returned this morning, it felt like stepping into the fairy tale ‘Sleeping Castle.’ Now that my cousin Seiichi seems to have finally recovered, let’s hear the full story of last night.”

Having said that, Saburo ordered the live-in student to summon Ueno Seiichi. The one who entered was Ueno Seiichi—still pale-faced but appearing rather spirited nonetheless. He was a plump, fair-skinned young man, short for his age of nineteen with a childish air, nicknamed Terukuni by everyone. “How are you feeling, Sei?” Saburo moved over on the long chair that Sei had sprawled out on, making room to let him sit in a caring manner. “I’m all right now—though I had a terrible time of it. My stomach was upset, and I had such a headache, it was awful.”

Seiichi said this and—with eyes characteristic of a charmer—winced like a child forced to swallow bitter medicine, his face twisting into a pained expression. “Can you tell me in detail what happened then, if you’re feeling well enough?” “Sure—but it’s such a trivial matter. My mistake was falling for that kind of bait.” “Bait?” “Right after Saburo-kun sent his messenger, as I was getting ready to rush out to help, this young man dressed like a Western restaurant cook showed up with a cardboard box packed with seventeen or eighteen cream puffs. He said—‘This is from the young master. Since you must be bored, please have everyone eat these right away while they’re fresh.’ Well, I figured I might as well enjoy the cream puffs before heading out. So I called all the household members to the living room, had tea made, and we devoured them all—though I did send three pieces on a plate over to Old Sagobei the gatekeeper.”

“Did you eat three by yourself?” “If it weren’t for times like this, we’d never get to eat cream puffs to our heart’s content—everyone was delighted—but thinking back later, there was something odd.” “Something odd?” “The cream puffs were a bit bitter, and the messenger’s spiel was strange—no one would use such a feudalistic term like ‘young master’ for Saburo-kun.” “I’d get it if they’d said ‘Sabu-chan’ or ‘Sabu-kou,’ but...”

This was Seiichi "Terukuni," who, despite his pallid complexion, spoke with remarkable vigor. “Did you not notice that?”

And Kariya Saburo’s Sabu-chan looked somewhat amused. “It’s frustrating, but before I could notice anything, I was put into a deep sleep—didn’t even get to dream.” Seiichi “Terukuni” grew even more carefree. How heartening this carefreeness must have been for Saburo in this situation.

Spare Key

“By the way, what on earth were they aiming for with the drugs in the cream puffs?” Seiichi "Terukuni" asked again.

“You know already—it’s the Nine Keys.”

“The Nine Keys? But Grandfather threw those into Aso’s crater, didn’t he?” “So you didn’t know the full truth either—to fight our enemies, I need you to understand everything properly. Let me explain in detail now.” Kariya Saburo rose from his seat as he spoke, surveyed the corridor through the entrance door, then leaned out the window to gaze at the midday garden bathed in winter sunlight before returning to his chair.

“It’s already noon. We should take our leave, Uma-chan.”

Sachiko stood up modestly. She likely intended to give the cousins privacy for their confidential conversation.

“No—it’s all right. Please listen, Miss Sachiko and Umakichi-kun—this story isn’t any secret at all, since the villains already know about it anyway. There’d be no harm in calling a reporter to have it written in the papers.—I did absentmindedly check the corridor and outside the windows earlier, but that wasn’t to keep this story hidden. I just wanted to confirm who’s been watching us—to uncover the villains’ true identities.”

“But...” Sachiko was still fidgeting, but— “It’s fine—more than that, I want Miss Sachiko and Umakichi-kun to hear this as well. Though it’s terribly presumptuous of me, I’d like you both to lend me your strength.” When Saburo Kariya pressed her to that extent, Sachiko could no longer hold back—she had no choice but to stay and plunge into the vortex of this case.

“Well then,”

Sachiko and Umakichi finally settled into the armchairs.

“Please listen—Grandfather Sanemon undoubtedly threw the Nine Keys into Aso Crater, but that was a ruse to mislead the villains. It stands to reason that anyone would quickly realize the Nine Keys didn’t end there—that another complete set existed.” “It’s common sense that any key has two copies, so even the villains—once deceived—couldn’t help but realize there must be another complete set.”

“——”

“Given that my grandfather amassed immense wealth in his lifetime, he was an exceedingly meticulous man who left no detail overlooked.” “Anticipating this very outcome based on his brother-in-law Kitou Kuuhachirou’s nature, Grandfather Sanemon—before being hunted by the villains and fleeing for his life up Mount Aso—dispersed the spare set of Nine Keys and concealed them through methods unimaginable to anyone in that critical moment.” “My sister Aiko possesses one, and there should be another hidden within my immediate surroundings.” “No—more than that, there must certainly be one key concealed near Ueno Seiichi-kun here—Terukuni’s Sei-chan himself.”

“——” It was indeed a most bizarre tale—but if Kariya Sanemon, a man of wisdom surpassing millions, had strained his intellect to its limits to hide the Nine Keys, then it must lie utterly beyond the reach of ordinary people’s ordinary considerations.

“The Nine Keys were hidden near nine individuals through methods unknown even to those individuals themselves,” Saburo continued. “Not in Aiko’s handbag or my sword sheath or any such obvious place—they must reside somewhere far more enigmatic, concealed through utterly unfathomable means.” “......” Sachiko’s voice trailed off. The three listeners instinctively exchanged glances. The claim stretched credulity. “I know mere words may not convince you,” Saburo pressed on, “but our enemies already grasp this truth—they’ve kidnapped my sister, turned this house inside out, and now scheme relentlessly. In this race, a single misstep could cost us everything. Should that immense fortune fuel their decadence rather than Grandfather’s vision...” His voice hardened. “Postwar Japan—struggling through inflation—cannot withstand such corruption. Every yen must honor Sanemon’s final wish: hospitals for the aged and infirm, sanctuaries for the vulnerable. Any surplus flows to Nobel-worthy pursuits—advancing culture, securing peace.” A beat as winter light slanted through shattered windows. “This was the crusade my grandfather waged through blood and betrayal—the purpose for which he staked his life.”

Kariya Saburo said this and quietly looked around at everyone’s faces. What a resounding declaration that was—uttered in Kariya Saburo’s lavish parlor, reduced to ruins overnight by the villains’ violence like some desolate wasteland!

“This’ll be fun, Saburo! I don’t think there’s any key like that around me, but still—hunting down the Nine Keys tied to immense wealth and steering them toward their rightful purpose sounds like a splendid adventure, isn’t it? Whoever they are, I’ll boldly accept their challenge!” It was at that moment that Seiichi “Terukuni”—his usually charming face stiffened, his small body bouncing like a ball—slammed his hand down on the table.

“Ah—” With a crash, a stone about the size of a baseball shattered the windowpane and landed with terrifying force beside Seiichi’s fist. It bounced two or three times before rolling across the floor. “What’s this? There’s something white attached.” When Saburo picked it up, the stone was an elongated gourd-shaped object with a constricted middle. Tied around its center with string was what appeared to be a scrap of paper torn from a notebook.

“It’s a letter!”

Seiichi, Umakichi, and Sachiko, bursting with curiosity, peered at it, only to find the message—merely three lines written in fountain pen—

“If you want to save Aiko’s life, gather and hand over the Nine Keys. The deadline is one week. Post your reply on the living room window. K” —wasn’t that what was written there? Your sister’s life... “What’ll we do... you?” Seiichi ‘Terukuni’ looked up with a worried expression. “There’s nothing we can do—we don’t know where the Nine Keys are hidden either.”

“Then?” “The one who finds them first will likely prevail.”

The Nine Keys, hidden through the strained intellect of Kariya Sanemon—a man of singular genius—were no easy thing to uncover. “The opponent’s detestable, but if it’s a competition, let’s play fair.” Seiichi “Terukuni” was intent on grappling with the villains. “Very well—first we’ll make our stance clear. We must protect Aiko’s life above all else.”

Kariya Saburo took out a sheet of drafting Kent paper, dipped a brush in ink once, "The Nine Keys were hidden through my grandfather's ingenuity; neither I nor Aiko could possibly know their location. Just as you search for them, so do we. Cease your underhanded tactics." Having written this, he pinned it to the window with a thumbtack. "The villains are likely watching from somewhere with a telescope or such." "By the way—where could those Nine Keys be? At this point it's a matter of moments—no—a competition where every minute and second counts."

Seiichi was as fired up as ever. “Hold on, Sei-chan. The immense wealth may be important, but to me, my sister Aiko’s life is infinitely more precious.”

Kariya Saburo was thinking such things. Aiko, the genius pianist with an angelic charm—to her brother Saburo, her life was more precious than all the wealth in the world.

“That’s right! We have to save Ai-chan’s life no matter what it takes.” Seiichi “Terukuni” also felt the preciousness of Aiko’s life even more keenly than her brother Saburo did. “Aiko has disappeared into a certain building—I need to investigate that building again.” Saburo finally regained his calm thinking capacity.

“Let’s go! I’ll lead the way! When it comes to that Building, there ain’t a single mouse hole I don’t know about!” The boy Umakichi leaps up.

Thus, Kariya Saburo's group of four found themselves returning once again to the Building.

At that time, the people who had been drugged had apparently regained their energy, and the police promptly dispatched officers to handle the investigation and protection, so there was no immediate concern for the Kariya residence. “Wait, wait—there’s something in the post.” Upon exiting the gate, Saburo peered into the post and retrieved a single letter. It was an ordinary Western-style envelope addressed to Mr. Kariya Saburo, unsealed, and what emerged from inside was three lines written on the same scrap of paper that had been thrown through the window earlier,

Aiko will remain with us until we obtain the Nine Keys. However, should you contact the police, Aiko’s life will not be spared. K This was how it read.

“The opponent fears the police—but regardless, we’ll handle our part.”

Kariya Saburo handed that letter to the police officer at the gate—the first step in his challenge against the devil.

Following them were Seiichi 'Terukuni', Namino Sachiko, and Umakichi boy; and above them all—the winter sun shone crimson upon their party.

Two Youths on the Rooftop

“Ai-chan was definitely hoisted up to the top of this Building, you know—you.”

The young man Ueno Seiichi, nicknamed Terukuni, stood beneath the Building and gazed up at its summit. On its front face, green letters embossed on the concrete spelled out "Yamanote Building," maintaining a superficial semblance of order. Yet inside, true restoration seemed unfinished—bleak and desolate, so much so that under the bright sun, it hardly appeared fit for human habitation. “Since I saw it with my own eyes, there’s no mistake—I couldn’t do a thing as Aiko was hoisted up like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, swiftly and relentlessly toward the top.”

Kariya Saburo recalled how his sister had been snatched before his very eyes the previous night and gnashed his teeth in bitter frustration. The Building's interior and exterior had been secured by police squads, with no one having entered or exited since last night. Yet Yamaura Kinji, the building manager alone, was having braziers brought into the downstairs hall and conversing animatedly with officers dispatched from the police. "What a dreadful misfortune—I heard something occurred at your residence. Though I must say, thanks to that affair, I found myself in a ridiculous predicament—I scarcely slept a wink all night!"

When he saw Saburo’s face, Yamaura Kinji said amiably. He was a smooth-talking, square-faced man around forty who had become quite familiar with Kariya Saburo since the previous night’s commotion. “I would like to inspect the Building again.”

Kariya Saburo politely made the request. “By all means, feel free—if an incident occurred within this Building, I as the manager bear some responsibility, so you must investigate to the fullest extent to eliminate any doubts. Though I should mention—last night I went to Atami and returned late, so when your sister was taken, I should’ve been passing through the Yokohama area.”

Yamaura Kinji was even explaining unnecessary matters. With Yamaura’s words still echoing behind them, Kariya Saburo and Ueno Seiichi conducted an exhaustive search starting from the Building’s basement, then ascended from the penthouse at its summit all the way up to the gravel-covered rooftop. There remained the ropes and chains that had hoisted Aiko up the previous night—each one lacerating her brother Saburo’s heart anew. “Well now—let’s sit here and hash things out properly! You being Ai-chan’s flesh-and-blood brother means anxiety clouds that famously sharp mind of yours.” “I’ll take charge of strategizing for this case.” “If I just check key points against your input for course corrections—well now! Even accounting for my own cousin-level worry matching yours pound-for-pound—as merely her cousin rather than sibling—I daresay I can maintain marginally cooler nerves than you.”

Seiichi 'Terukuni' took his place on one of the wooden benches arranged on the rooftop and set about comforting the anxious Saburo. Viewed from the Building's rooftop, the springtime panorama of the great capital possessed a beauty without equal—as though dusted with gold powder. Cherry buds swelled everywhere, heat haze shimmering over waves of rooftops in a vision intoxicating enough to make one lose both body and soul. But Saburo and Seiichi had no mind for such scenery.

“Thank you. Hearing you say that truly gives me strength. I’ve been agonizing all night, and somehow my mind feels... numb like this.” “Of course it is—it’s only natural. Now, if we’re starting work, sooner’s better than later. First off, why don’t I start by sharing what I’ve noticed?” “Please do that.”

Kariya Saburo faced Seiichi and urged him to continue. Kariya Saburo possessed a magnificent physique of five shaku seven sun (approximately 5'7"), and as befitting a rugby player, he was muscular—a youth as handsome as the Apollo of Greek sculpture. As a mathematics major at university, his intellectual prowess was said to be unparalleled. In contrast, Ueno Seiichi was not particularly tall but plump like Terukuni, fair-skinned and amiable—a good-natured young man who was always smiling. At nineteen, one year younger than Saburo, he was a literature major at university, but his intellect was in no way inferior to Kariya Saburo’s.

“First, when Ai-chan was hoisted up to the rooftop last night, you said the entrance doors were definitely closed, correct?” “There’s no mistake—both front and back were tightly shut, with no signs of anyone entering or exiting. Particularly the rear entrance—building materials were stacked both inside and outside the doorframe, making it impossible to open without clearing them away first.” “That coal intake port for the basement heating system you and Sachiko’s brother slipped through—as we saw, it’s so narrow you could barely squeeze through yourself.”

“The villains couldn’t possibly carry Ai-chan out through that opening and escape—even if they could, it would’ve taken so long that you all wouldn’t have made it here in time.” “And then—” “Sachiko says she’s heard there’s an escape route in this Building—but given its simple reinforced concrete structure, any such route would’ve been exposed when it burned. The repairs aren’t even properly done yet; there’s no way a hidden passage complex enough to evade our detection could exist here.” “Admittedly, there’s a deep empty well in the basement that was used to pump out groundwater during the foundation work—it was probably used as an escape route in the old days.” “But now it’s packed full of burnt lumber, iron scraps, and chunks of concrete—not even a single mouse could squeeze through. Even if someone did manage to crawl in, the exit seems to be a manhole on the Building’s north side, but that’s also completely clogged with burnt rubble—so right now, it’s utterly useless as an escape route.”

“Then, the villains pulled Aiko up to the rooftop—where did they go?” “Let’s think about that—with Sabu-chan’s brain here, I don’t see how we couldn’t figure it out—”

Seiichi 'Terukuni' seemed to have discerned something.

Aiko’s Whereabouts The two exchanged looks for a while. Kariya Saburo—rational, astute, and hailed as a mathematical genius—had been so overwhelmed by his sister’s peril that even he now found himself stripped of the mental clarity to organize his thoughts. Seiichi 'Terukuni' was a dreamer and a poet—though not typically coldly analytical, his very capacity for imaginative leaps might paradoxically make him well-suited as a detective. In any case, for the two of them, Aiko was nothing less than the treasure of this world. She was a girl both pure and kind, skilled at the piano and utterly adorable—one who imparted an indescribable sense of happiness to those who lived alongside her from morning till night.

“So, what did you come up with?” Saburo asked again.

“Alright, Sabu-chan—you said that once Ai-chan was hoisted into midair and pulled up to this rooftop, you immediately went around to the side, had Umakichi-kun and his sister guide you, and slipped through the narrow opening at the back.” “That’s exactly right.” “During that time, some strange trickery was carried out—given your physical strength, could you devise a way to descend from this rooftop down the Building’s exterior via window ledges, rain gutters, and balconies?” Seiichi 'Terukuni' walked to the edge of the rooftop garden and, peering down from the parapet, made this startling statement.

“There’s nothing I can’t manage.”

Sticking his head out from behind, Kariya Saburo too made a bold statement. From the parapet on the fourth floor down to the pavement, it must have been at least twelve meters. Yet while those with weak nerves would feel dizzy just from peering over, Kariya Saburo—who had readied himself even in these circumstances—immediately sprang into action: gripping the parapet, he swung himself around and was already outside the building. “Are you okay?” “Probably.” His two legs had already stepped onto the fourth-floor window ledge in an instant; the next moment, his hands slid along the rain gutter, slipping smoothly down to the third-floor balcony. Then, with swift movements of hands and feet along the second-floor window frame, in less than five minutes, Kariya Saburo stood lightly upon the streets of Banchō.

After exchanging a silent signal with Seiichi—who had been watching from the rooftop for some time—Kariya Saburo reentered through the front entrance. Offering a curt nod to Yamaura Kinji and the police officers greeting him with puzzled expressions, he climbed the stairs back to the rooftop—and stood beside Seiichi—all within another two or three minutes.

“So now we’ve all figured it out—the villains hoisted Ai-chan into midair, pulled her up to this rooftop once, then while you were clattering around back there, they lowered her back down with the rope, had their allies waiting on the ground unhook her, hauled the rope back up, and this time descended themselves using the exact method you just used—without breaking a sweat.”

Seiichi 'Terukuni’s explanation left no room for doubt. “I get it—thank you, Sei-chan. Even someone like me was too flustered to notice.”

Kariya Saburo looked pleased. Suddenly grabbing Seiichi 'Terukuni's' plump hand, he shook it wildly. "Now then—where was Ai-chan taken after they lowered her back to the pavement?"

This time, Seiichi tilted his head.

“We’ll have to investigate that now—above all else, we must first examine people who can utilize this Building—those who know it well.” “Hmm—there seems to be some commotion downstairs—”

Seiichi “Terukuni” said this while leaning out over the parapet and gazing at the ground on both sides. “That sounds like Sachiko—” “About ten laborers are smashing that siblings’ tin-walled house to bits!” “Let’s go.” Saburo and Seiichi flew down the stairs and rushed to the makeshift house—built like a parasitic shell clinging to either side of the Building—where Sachiko and Umakichi lived.

“Ah, Mr. Kariya—what should we do?”

It was no wonder that the typically resilient Sachiko was panicking in tears. Sachiko, whose modest appearance—clean but showing no trace of former dignity—had lunged forward to bury her face in Saburo’s chest, only to pull back abruptly in realization—a gesture that spoke volumes of her innate feminine propriety. When they looked, the siblings’ tin-walled house they'd long called home was being violently demolished by a crowd of laborers; the materials were piled onto the burnt-out ruins, and their meager belongings tossed aside like trash.

“Damn it! What the hell are they doing?!”

The younger brother Umakichi swung his small fists with all his might to show defiance, but a frail fourteen-year-old boy could do nothing against over ten burly men. "What in the world has happened here, Miss Sachiko?" Saburo involuntarily placed his hand on her shoulder. For Sachiko—who had carried herself with such rational composure and neatness—to forget all shame and decorum and weep uncontrollably spoke volumes about the extremity of her circumstances. "For a year now, we’d been pressured to vacate—by a man named Kobayakawa Takemaru, the owner of this Building." "So?"

“But my brother and I had resolved that no matter what happened, we would never move from here.” “It wasn’t out of mere stubborn pride.” “This Yamanote Building belonged to my father until before the war.” “What?”

“My brother and I grew up in a Japanese-style house that stood on the south side of this Building—exactly where we’re living now.” “—When the war began, Father left for the South and never returned, and Mother fell ill and passed away before the Building burned down.” “When my brother and I evacuated to the countryside in Tohoku and returned half a year after the war ended, the Building had passed into the hands of a man called Kobayakawa, and we weren’t even allowed to enter it anymore.”

Sachiko gazed at the demolition of her own home—vanishing before her eyes without a trace—and spoke these words through tears. “So you did attempt to pursue legal procedures, then?”

“We even asked someone my father was close to to investigate and negotiate on our behalf, but apparently the Building had already been sold to a man named Kobayakawa before Father left for the South, so none of our claims were accepted.” “Having no other choice, we gathered burnt corrugated iron from the site of our old home and built this makeshift roof—just a semblance of shelter—where my brother and I lived for a year to see how things would unfold. But this Kobayakawa person used all sorts of frightening men to intimidate us, and on top of that filed an eviction lawsuit. Today, they say the grace period has expired, leading to this... this wretched state.” “What a terrible thing to do!”

Seiichi 'Terukuni' was just as agitated, but with no flaws in their opponents' legal process, there was nothing to be done. “A regrettable necessity, I assure you.” “As building manager, I simply executed Mr. Kobayakawa’s instructions—” Yamaura Kinji approached with a smirk, offering excuses to Saburo and the others, but neither Saburo nor Seiichi acknowledged him.

“Miss Sachiko, Umakichi-kun—you can’t stay here forever. If you’re in trouble now, why not come to my house? Luckily it’s not far from here, and as you can see, my place is spacious and… well, not exactly secure.” Kariya Saburo made up his mind in that instant to take in this brother and sister. “But that’s too much…” Sachiko was indeed fidgeting uncomfortably, but “Awesome! If it’s Mr. Kariya’s house, I’d love that!” Umakichi was utterly overjoyed.

“And Umakichi-kun will go back to his old school, and Miss Sachiko, please study whatever art you like and assist in the search for Aiko.” “Thank you very much.” Sachiko was once again immersed in fresh tears. This time, she had been struck by Kariya Saburo’s unreservedly kind words. Then, while looking back at the remnants of their now utterly vanished house, the four of them set off together toward the Kariya residence.

The First Key

Even Kariya Saburo’s house—ransacked by villains—had finally been tidied up enough to regain its former livability. With Saburo acting as host, joined by his cousin Seiichi and the addition of Sachiko and Umakichi, they now devoted themselves to discussions about their next course of action: discovering the Nine Keys to unearth the immense treasure hidden by their grandfather Sanemon, and—even more urgently—searching for Aiko’s whereabouts. “By the way, I think there’s another reason besides taking Aiko hostage for why they kidnapped her—what do you think, Sabu-chan?” Seiichi 'Terukuni' once again exercised his imaginative thinking.

“I’ve also thought about that. Grandfather hid the Nine Keys when we were evacuated at the foot of Mount Aso—but given all these circumstances, there’s no doubt he concealed them among the nine people who were with him at that time.” Saburo was recalling those events in meticulous detail. During their constrained evacuation life—if Grandfather had chosen the optimal spot to hide the Nine Keys from enemy eyes—where exactly would he have done it, and how?

“Exactly—it’s certain there was no place to hide such things except among the nine cohabitants. By ‘nine,’ I mean you, Aiko, me, Grandfather’s brother-in-law—your granduncle Kitou Kuuhachirou—and his daughter Ms. Tsubaki. These five are blood relatives; the remaining four are unrelated.” “Granduncle Kitou betrayed Grandfather and turned against him, and on top of that, we don’t even know the addresses of the four people who lived with us at the foot of Mount Aso.”

The situation was utterly hopeless, but Seiichi ‘Terukuni’ was desperately trying to find a glimmer of hope within that despair. “The First Key must undoubtedly be hidden among the five blood relatives—so wouldn’t searching your surroundings first be the quickest path?” Seiichi ‘Terukuni’ had finally reached this point. “No—it’s not me. Grandfather doted on Aiko beyond measure, and unlike me, he must have thought there might be vulnerabilities around her that enemies could exploit—perhaps those who abducted Aiko last night knew exactly that and acted on it.”

Saburo, true to form, regained his usual composure. “Fascinating—no doubt about that—but with Aiko kidnapped, we’re at a dead end.”

“No—Aiko was kidnapped, but surely none of the things she had during our evacuation at Mount Aso’s foothills four years ago would still be on her person today.” “Makes sense—no young woman keeps wearing the same things for four or five years. But are there items left *here* that Aiko kept nearby or wore back when we were at Mount Aso?” “There is—the first candidate would be that piano.”

When Saburo pointed to the upright piano in the corner of the room,

“Got it!” Seiichi lunged forward in unison. “No good, no good! Those villains last night already peeled off the back panel of that piano and completely wrecked it.” “What else?” “Aiko often drew paintings—as you know, there should have been oil painting supplies.” “That’s it!” “No, that’s not it. The oil paints too—they squeezed out every single tube and made a horrible mess of them—but there shouldn’t have been any key hidden there.” “What else?”

“There might be some, but we won’t know unless we ask Aiko.” They were in the midst of that discussion. “Excuse me—there’s trouble—” The young maid Hikaru called out urgently from beyond the door.

“What happened?”

It goes without saying that all four of them stood up. “Burglars broke in and took the young mistress’s old shoes from the entryway shoe cabinet.” “Whose shoes?” “What’s strange is—there were five or six good pairs of shoes, but only the young mistress’s old ones that had been shoved into the back of the shoe cabinet are missing.” “That’s it—where did the burglar go?” “It seems he fled toward the back, and Mr. Oyama chased after him.”

Now that you mention it, they could have sworn they'd heard Oyama Kotaro—the live-in student—bellowing just moments earlier.

The boy Umakichi, who had been listening to this account, suddenly jumped out the window and, still barefoot, leapt over the low hedge before bursting out into the back alley. From afar, Oyama Kotaro's rough voice resounded unabashedly through the midday city air. “Thief! Stop! Won’t you stop?!” (Unfinished)