Chapter 6: The Woman in the Three-Sided Mirror
Upon stepping through the door that had been painted black, there was no furniture or household items inside.
The only thing present was a three-sided mirror placed alone in the space that could be called a living room.
When renting this room, the landlord demanded, “Do not touch or move the three-sided mirror.” In return, the rent had become practically free.
Come to think of it, this might be the root cause of everything.
“Oh.”
Houzuki murmurs.
There’s someone’s footsteps.
Creepy, dragging footsteps.
Zuru… zuru… (TN: dragging noise)
Zuru… zuru…
From the depths of the dark room, a woman clad in tattered clothes emerges.
Zuru… zuru…
Zuru… zuru…
She desperately moves her legs, which are bent in unnatural directions, dragging herself towards the three-sided mirror.
Then, she takes a seat on the chair in front of the three-sided mirror.
The polished mirror reflects the woman’s face sitting before it.
Jii… (TN: Stare)
With eyes, nose, and mouth all rubbed away, she’s an eerie, featureless figure. No, even calling her eerie is an understatement compared to this yokai. It’s disrespectful to compare them.
“So that’s the root of everything.”
Yuiru Enen, the silver-haired, red-eyed male student who was also observing the woman sitting in front of the three-sided mirror, says so.
“Indeed, it’s a creepy presence. Standing in front of a mirror without a face.”
“Can you also say that to that woman?”
“I can, shall I?”
Seemingly fearless even as he has become a ghost, Yuiru strides into the room and stands behind the faceless woman.
“――――、――、――――、――”
The woman murmurs something.
“Not beautiful, not beautiful. Not beautiful.”
Again and again.
“Not beautiful, not beautiful. Not beautiful.”
Repeatedly.
Not beautiful, not beautiful.
In a hoarse voice, over and over again.
Yuiru seizes the woman’s head with a strong grip.
“You’re certainly not beautiful. Look at yourself, your eyes, nose, and mouth all torn apart, what a pitiful sight.”
Houzuki finally recognized the woman’s face reflected in the three-way mirror.
Eyes, nose, and mouth.
There were marks on them as if torn by something. Those simulated holes, those simulated scars, were engraved on the flat face, making it look like a mask a grade-schooler might have whimsically created.
From the mouth torn to both sides of her ears, the woman let out a shrill cry.
“Listen to what I have to say until the end. I said, ‘you’re not beautiful.'”
Yuiru, holding a silver knife against the woman’s throat, remarked,
“You look very――delicious.”
With a smooth motion, Yuiru slid the knife.
From the torn throat of the woman, a pitch-black mist spewed out.
Ignoring the dense black mist filling the room, Yuiru sank his teeth into the convulsing woman’s throat.
Crunch, Squelch.
He tore through the flesh, chewed the meat.
Crack, Crunch.
He crushed the bones, swallowed them down.
“Hmm, seems like the ghost of a woman who once lived here. Perhaps she was abandoned by her cohabiting partner and died while tearing her face apart in front of the three-sided mirror.”
Yuiru calmly analyzed the ghost of the woman while eating her.
“That said, it’s wrong to attack Houzuki’s family. Houzuki was leaving normally, she had nothing to do with you. It would be pitiful to take her family away because of that woman.”
Yuiru continued, pushing the silver knife into the torn mouth on both sides and roughly tearing apart her mouth further as he spoke.
The woman, writhing in pain, seemed unable to move dramatically, perhaps due to the bite marks Yuiru left on her throat.
Desperately struggling against the grip of the three-sided mirror, the woman attempted to reach for Yuiru’s eyes with her gnarled fingertips.
“What, offering yourself to me? How kind of you,” Yuiru remarked as he sank his teeth into the outstretched fingertips, tearing them apart.
A cacophony of screams erupted from the woman’s torn mouth.
Seemingly reluctant to be consumed, the woman attempted to wriggle free, prompting Yuiru to straddle her, preventing any escape attempts. With a serene smile, he clasped his hands together as if performing a ritual.
“I~ta~da~ki~ma~su”
He declared, signaling the start of the main course.
☆
“Hmm, it was the best even up to the dessert. To think I could savor the entire experience of those who once lived in this room, your home truly offers a full-course meal of ghosts.”
“I see.”
After devouring the faceless woman, Yuiru went on to consume the spirits of a man who had hanged himself and a woman who had mutilated her own arms in the kitchen. He relished each bite with evident satisfaction.
Having feasted on such a multitude of spirits, it seemed Yuiru would remain content for some time. Whether that was a good or bad thing was uncertain.
Patting his now bulging stomach, Yuiru turned his attention to Houzuki.
“Well then, Houzuki.”
He pointed at the three-sided mirror.
Its smooth surfaces shining brightly.
As if it’s illuminating the dark room.
“We’re getting out through there.”
“Can we get out?”
“Of course.”
Towards Houzuki’s shock, Yuiru replies matter-of-factly.
“Once I’m done eating, I’ll leave immediately. Staying around here any longer will only make me want to eat more.”
With those words, Yuiru extended his hand to Houzuki.
“Let’s go, Houzuki. Your best friend is probably waiting for you outside.”
“……You’re right.”
Houzuki grabbed Yuiru’s outstretched hand and stepped toward the shining three-way mirror.
Strangely, her toes were drawn into the surface of the mirror, and before she knew it, they were back in Houzuki’s own home.
Just returning from that dreadful world brought her a sense of relief. With this, she thought, she wouldn’t have to worry about those faceless monsters anymore.
