10th Mystery: You’re Back
Chapter 1: On a night when you can hear the sound of the sea
Zaza, zaza. (TN: Possibly the sound of waves)
Zaza, zazaa.
Zazaan, zazaan.
The sound of the waves can be heard.
On this quiet night, the sound of waves and the wind mix.
When you open the window, a white moon floats in the deep blue sky. It’s not a full moon, but a sixteenth-night moon, close to full.
The scent of the sea brushes your nostrils, and the humid summer air caresses your skin.
Zaza, zazaa.
Zazaan, zazaan.
The place, with the sea right in front of it, was one of many resort hotels. Known for its immediate access to the ocean, it was popular among people of all ages. Families, in particular, frequented this hotel.
However, the hotel had a peculiar warning:
Please, under no circumstances, look at the sea at night.
The night sea is quiet and beautiful, making it naturally appealing to anyone. But unfortunately, every room in this resort hotel with a view of the sea had plywood boards nailed over the windows. Despite this oddity, the service was excellent, and the hotel staff were friendly, so there were no complaints otherwise.
Still, why would a resort hotel cover the windows of its ocean-view rooms with plywood, preventing any view of the outside?
“There’s definitely something going on.”
A group of young people staying at this hotel had secretly brought tools with them.
The hotel faces the sea, so they started out with the foolish idea of wanting to see the ocean while they could. It seemed odd that a resort hotel couldn’t have a view of the sea.
The group of young people, unaware of the situation, let themselves get carried away and removed the plywood from the window.
“Wow, it’s really beautiful.”
“Amazing.”
“What a beautiful ocean.”
After finishing removing the plywood, the group of young people grinned in delight. After all, this is what a resort hotel has to be like.
The white full moon was reflected in the deep blue sea.
The gentle waves lapped and slid back, making a refreshing sound.
A beautiful sea spread out before them, but
“Huh?”
One of the young people exclaimed in a strange voice.
Someone was walking on the white sand.
How could this be, when there was no one there just a moment ago?
You shouldn’t be out on the sea at night. Since you’re not supposed to look, you probably shouldn’t be allowed to go out either.
And yet, she walked with graceful steps, as if she were strolling along the beach. Her body was relaxed and leisurely, and an aura of joy emanated from her entire body.
Her black hair fluttered in the night sea breeze, the hem of her white dress swayed, and her dry lips seemed to be moving as if she was saying something.
“Hey, that.”
“Looks like someone’s there?”
“There is.”
The group of young people gaze out the window at someone walking on the beach.
It looks like a woman, but they’re not sure. As they’re far away, it might be a man dressed as a woman.
The other person doesn’t seem to notice the group of young people peering out from the resort hotel, perhaps because they have a hobby of singing and walking at this time of night. What are they doing, so engrossed?
“You know, it might be alright to walk by the sea here.”
“Maybe.”
“Should we go on a walk?”
“Let’s go.”
The young group was intrigued by the figure on the beach and decided to take a walk by the night sea.
They hoped, perhaps, to get to know the woman they had seen. The possibility of it being a man in drag didn’t cross their minds.
Enthusiastically, they opened the door to their room, preparing to head to the beach.
“You’re back.”
A voice came from somewhere.
“Did anyone say something?”
“Nope.”
“Nobody said anything.”
Was it just his imagination? No, he definitely heard it—a high-pitched voice, like a woman’s, uttering an inexplicable phrase.
“You’re back, you’re back, you’re back.”
The voice came clearly from the other side of the window.
With the plywood removed, a quiet sea was revealed, reflecting the night sky.
A damp sea breeze, carrying the scent of the salt, blew through the room. The voice came again, carried on the wind caressing the young people’s hair and clothes.
“You’re back.”
Hitari.
“You’re back, You’re back.”
Hita, hita, hita.
“You’re back!”
Along with the voice, for some reason, footsteps could be heard from the other side of the window.
It sounded like someone was clinging to the wall.
They still couldn’t see anything through the window, but the young people didn’t have the courage to go and peek outside.
Katan.
Someone’s hand rested on the window frame.
Which was strange, considering they were on the ninth floor.
There was no way anyone could normally reach the window from outside, and grabbing the window frame from the outside posed a high risk of falling. Yet, a hand from the outside was gripping the window frame.
It was a pale, beautiful hand. The fingers were slender, and the nails were well-shaped. It looked like a soft, feminine hand.
“Whyyy”
Slowly, there’s something.
“won’t youuu”
From under the window frame.
“show your faces out~?”
Crawling up.
What the young group, now frozen in place, recognized was a giant spider covering the entire window.
No, it would have been better if it were just a spider. Embedded in the spider’s body was the face of the woman who had been singing and walking on the beach. Sticking out from the sides were multiple human arms. This monster, skillfully gripping the window frame, was crawling up and invading the room through the open window.
No, they had to escape quickly.
“Hey, the key!!”
“It won’t turn!!”
“Why the hell not!?”
The screams of the young men clashed with each other.
The massive spider monster slid its enormous body into the room, gently stroking their cheeks with the human arms protruding from its sides.
As the monstrous creature, now so close, smiled tenderly at them, what could the young men possibly think? The terror of impending death, or a naive hope that they might be spared?
The spider monster tore its mouth wide open in a grin and said,
“Now, let’s go.”
The next day, the bodies of the young men are found washed up on the beach.
Their faces were all drowned, and foaming at the mouth, making it unbearable to look at. No one knows what they saw, or what attacked them.
From then on, the windows of that resort hotel’s room were once again boarded up with plywood.
