Chapter 89: Cemetery

Boarding the bus from the Yuzumi Girls’ Academy bus stop, after a half-hour ride, and getting off one stop before the terminus, a ten-minute walk would lead to an unattended cemetery.

The uncared-for cemetery was overgrown with weeds, some of which were even taller than her line of sight.

Due to having experienced an Erosion disaster, even the cemetery’s main gate had collapsed, and some tombstones were only half-standing, crooked and slanted.

Hanasou Kotone held a bouquet of white flowers, walked past the overturned and broken graves, and stopped in front of a black tombstone.

The tombstone was missing a small corner, but it looked much tidier than the others.

Hanasou Satomi—the name of the person resting here for eternity was engraved on the tombstone, which was covered in weeds and dust.

That was Hanasou Kotone’s mother.

With one hand in a bandage, Hanasou Kotone slowly knelt down.

With the other, she placed the thin bouquet of white flowers in front of the grave, then reached out to pull the weeds and wipe away the thin layer of dust and mud from the tombstone.

This public cemetery was a site left over from a long time ago, located at the very edge of the city.

Later, due to the contraction of urban planning and the movement of the city’s defensive line, it was completely abandoned after being damaged by an Erosion disaster.

Now, most of the tombstones left here belonged to those whose families had not claimed them when the burial sites were being registered for relocation.

It wasn’t that they were unwilling to claim them, but rather… those people had already left this world forever.

In addition to those, there were some other tombstones abandoned here.

Hanasou Kotone didn’t know much about their stories or the reasons behind them.

Among them was her mother’s tombstone.

Her father had adamantly refused to move her mother’s burial site.

Since he wouldn’t sign, the management couldn’t be bothered to make any demands, so it was left here, becoming one of the final residents along with the other unclaimed tombstones.

“Mom, I’ve come to see you.”

A dry, hot breeze, carrying the scent of distant earth and grass, brushed past Hanasou Kotone’s cheek.

She clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and quietly bowed her body.

The setting sun stretched her shadow long.

After a long while, Hanasou Kotone stood up and gathered the pulled weeds into a pile, ready to be thrown away.

Just then, in the weeds next to the tombstone, a delicate necklace caught her eye.

She squatted down and picked up the necklace.

It was a silver chain with a beautiful pearl-white jade pendant, and her mother’s name was engraved on the back.

She had seen this necklace before.

It was something she had seen on her father’s desk a month ago.

After her mother died, only she and her father would regularly come to clean the tombstone, and her father would always bring some “gifts.”

‘It seems father has been here…’

Hanasou Kotone held the necklace, wiped it clean with the corner of her clothes, and carefully placed it back on the tombstone.

She sighed and glanced at the surrounding weeds again; that was where she had just seen the necklace.

“Maybe it’s about time to clean this up…”

Placing her commuter backpack aside, Hanasou Kotone bent down, pulled up the weeds, and tossed them to the side.

She repeated this task over and over.

Fortunately, the soil was relatively soft, so although it was a bit tiring, she could manage.

Just then, a small patch of white fell into Hanasou Kotone’s line of sight.

She subconsciously looked up, her gaze passing over the half-collapsed tombstone.

She saw a corner of a clean white cloth peeking out from behind a tombstone not far away, and then… next to the cloth was a pale human hand.

Because it was hidden behind the messy weeds and tombstones, it was completely invisible from where Hanasou Kotone had been standing before.

Hanasou Kotone froze completely.

This was an abandoned cemetery, at the extreme edge of the city.

The nearest bus stop was a mile away, and beyond that were the checkpoints and the defensive line leading to the area outside the Boundary.

Usually, no one ever came here.

It was evening now, and there was no one around.

The wind seemed to carry the mournful cries of crows.

‘So… what is this situation? What should I do?’

That hand looked like a human hand, no matter how you looked at it.

‘Could it be a dead person?’

‘It doesn’t look decayed, so could they have just died?’

‘Was it suicide or murder?’

‘Is the killer still nearby?’

Some of the surrounding weeds were already taller than her line of sight.

She looked around; it was extremely quiet, and she couldn’t see anything.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.

The scene before her was far beyond Hanasou Kotone’s psychological tolerance.

She stared intently at the spot, swallowing hard.

Her heart was pounding wildly, almost reaching her throat.

With trembling hands, she maintained her squatting position and slowly, carefully, moved her feet.

Her backpack was right in front of her mother’s tombstone.

As long as she could get the backpack and her phone, she could call the police.

The distance to the backpack closed inch by inch.

She didn’t dare to even breathe loudly.

“Mom… please protect me…”

Just then, Hanasou Kotone saw the hand suddenly twitch.

‘That person is not dead yet.’

“Ugh…”

A faint, small human voice came from behind the weeds, sounding like a cry for help.

Hanasou Kotone’s face was pale, but she didn’t know where the courage came from.

She suddenly shot forward, grabbed the backpack, quickly fumbled for her phone, and dialed the emergency number, while simultaneously running towards the source of the sound.

As her view moved past the tombstone, Hanasou Kotone saw a woman in a white lab coat.

The woman’s head was bowed, leaning against the tombstone behind her.

Her shoulders, abdomen, and thighs were stained with a shocking crimson, and she was letting out weak gasps.

“You…”

Hanasou Kotone was so frightened by the tragic sight she was witnessing that she could barely speak.

She tried hard to recall the emergency response course she had taken and squatted down to help the woman up.

But at that moment, a piece of broken stone suddenly appeared in the woman’s hand.

With a speed that should have been absolutely impossible for someone in her heavily injured state, the woman tackled the completely unprepared Hanasou Kotone.

Hanasou Kotone was stunned by the completely unexpected turn of events.

Her phone was thrown from her hand, and she was pinned underneath, watching helplessly as the woman raised the stone, about to smash it down on her head.

But the other person froze at that moment.

“You…” The woman’s voice was a bit hoarse, but it had a strange familiarity to Hanasou Kotone.

“You’re… from yesterday…”

At this time, Hanasou Kotone also saw the woman’s face.

“You’re… Dr. Nishizaki!?”

The other person was indeed the doctor who had treated Hanasou Kotone yesterday, and also Miss Yanase’s friend, Nishizaki Yuuki.

Hanasou Kotone stared blankly at the slightly older woman pinning her down.

“Dr. Nishizaki, why are you…”

“Give me the phone…”

“Eh?”

“Give me the phone!”

Nishizaki Yuuki interrupted Hanasou Kotone’s question with a gasp, almost roaring in a hoarse voice.

“Hurry! Or else… it’ll be too late…”

…