夏のスペシャル ２０２５年度 夏の怖い話 その６ (Part2)
"Hmm, perhaps I should have some tatami mats laid down in my room next time. Even though it's a Western-style room, it's perfectly possible to place tatami as a rug or mat."
"The stamp we're actually looking for isn't on the living room table, is it?"
"It isn't. I wonder where it could be this time. Was it inside the refrigerator in the private room of the last house?"
"Yes, that was it. Shall we split up and search just like before?"
"Ah, well, I've shown you the ropes, so let's go in pairs. There are seven of us, so Orelia and her group of three, and then I'll pair with Rushi, and Taiki-kun with Prof."
"That sounds reasonable. It’s better to split up those who can handle things—since Rushi saw something strange earlier, it’s probably best if I pair up with Prof."
With the teams logically divided, we split up to search the single-story house.
That said...
"There aren't many rooms, so this will be over in no time. I hope we find something, though."
"You're talking about ghosts, not the stamp, aren't you?"
"Naturally. I want to experience a thrill, just like in those shows."
"You two, don't forget that our primary objective is to inspect the houses."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Despite saying that, the house was a 2LDK layout, so there wasn't much to see. With three of us scouring the place, each room was finished in a flash. Moreover, as Yuki-sama had mentioned, it was kept so neatly that there were no places to hide anything. In the blink of an eye, we had checked every room, leaving only the closet—or rather, the *oshiire*—left to inspect. Given the circumstances, I assumed it would contain nothing more than a set of futons.
Thinking this, I slid open the *fusuma* doors of the closet, and...
"...Eh?"
There, for some reason, sat a woman—an elderly one, by the looks of it—with her back turned to us. She was dressed in a kimono. Why on earth? This wasn't a child playing hide-and-seek. She sat in a perfect seiza, her back held straight and rigid...
"What's wrong? Did you find something?"
"It's nothing. Orelia?"
"Oh, you two, eh?"
I turned around as hands were placed on my shoulders, but both of them had blank expressions, insisting there was nothing there. A person in the closet... I turned my gaze back to the space, and there was nothing—no, *no one*—there. Just a single set of futons laid out.
"Oh, there's the stamp."
"So there is. It's certainly an odd place to leave it; if the ink leaked, it would ruin the futons."
"Yeah, that would be a pain to clean. No wonder you were surprised."
That wasn't it. But rather than explaining, I needed to report to Yuki-sama first.
"Let's not touch anything here and call Yuki-sama and the others."
"Agreed."
"Right."
With that, we stepped into the hallway and called out, "We've found the stamp!" in a slightly loud voice, and everyone gathered immediately. They looked at the scene.
"...Another subtle location."
"Indeed. Oh, did something happen? Last time, it was a jarred severed head in the fridge."
"Following the pattern, since it's a closet, was there an old woman in a kimono sitting there?"
I almost let out a gasp, but I steadied my heart and nodded.
"Yes. She had her back to us, but it was an elderly woman in a kimono."
"Eh? We didn't see anything like that."
"Eh? You could see her?"
I nodded as Hovis and Yayui looked at me.
"Seriously?"
"Whoa. Wait a minute. Does that mean this is a ghost experience tied to the location of the stamp?"
Ah, I see. So that’s the rule of thumb. Rushi experienced it earlier, and this time, it was me.
"It's not confirmed yet, but the possibility is high."
"Indeed. For now, shall we stamp our cards and decide on the next house?"
And so, despite the strange atmosphere, we continued our house inspections with certainty. Oh, by the way, this tour convinced me that we should build several of these single-story houses in Weed. I’ll prepare to summarize it in a document for a presentation later.
Seeing a ghost like that, now that I think about it, was a fresh experience. Orelia is surprisingly optimistic. Well, the only real harm was the surprise.
And the day is still young.
The real show is just beginning.