Kyoto.
Harugamo Inn.
A white Land Rover stopped in front of Harugamo Inn's main entrance. When one of the employees saw a Land Rover parked outside, she assumed a guest had arrived.
"That's strange. Why would a guest come at this hour?"
The employee felt somewhat puzzled.
Although Harugamo Inn was one of Kyoto's most famous hotels and received travelers from all over the world almost every day, a horrifying murder had taken place there not long ago.
The Funamoto family had tried to use its connections with the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department to suppress the matter and minimize the impact of the murder.
However, two days after the murder, an unmarked envelope appeared in the mailbox outside the office of a well-known Kyoto tabloid that specialized in urban gossip.
When one of the reporters took out the envelope and opened it, she discovered dozens of photographs taken at the Harugamo Inn murder scene!
In addition to the dozens of photographs, the envelope also contained a folded sheet of A4 paper.
When she unfolded it, there was a single sentence written on the paper.
—These are photographs from the Harugamo Inn murder scene.
The sentence had not been handwritten.
Instead, the words had been cut out from various newspapers and pasted onto the A4 sheet.
Even more terrifyingly, none of the photographs had been secretly taken from outside the room.
They had all been taken from inside, with the camera aimed directly at the corpses and capturing them clearly.
They looked almost like the photographs police would take while gathering evidence at a crime scene.
But there was a problem.
Once the police took crime-scene photographs, they were stored internally at the Metropolitan Police Department and could not possibly leak outside.
Even if they needed to be used at a press conference, they would first undergo special processing.
Moreover, the way these dozens of photographs had been taken did not resemble police photography at all.
When police collected evidence at a crime scene, they did not only photograph the bodies. They also documented countless details throughout the scene.
Although the envelope contained dozens of photographs and they appeared very detailed, most of the camera angles were centered on the corpses.
The photographer had deliberately made the bodies look terrifying and the entire scene eerie.
It gave the impression that the person who took these photographs was not a police officer at all, but rather a photographer obsessed with composition.
And that was precisely the problem.
Other than the police, who could openly take photographs at a murder scene?!
That was the most chilling part of all.
It meant that after learning a murder had occurred inside a guest room at Harugamo Inn, some mysterious person had entered the crime scene without anyone noticing before the police arrived.
That person had taken dozens of photographs and left without leaving behind even the slightest trace.
When the tabloid reporter first saw the photographs, she was startled.
But she quickly calmed down.
She initially thought she should hand them over to the police.
However, when she remembered that she had not yet met her performance target for the month and had failed to uncover any explosive stories, wicked thoughts began to surface as she stared at the photographs.
At the same time, she showed the envelope and photographs to the editor-in-chief.
The editor-in-chief had been troubled by the declining sales of the tabloid's recent issues.
After seeing the photographs the female reporter brought her, she hesitated for a long time before finally gritting her teeth and deciding to take the risk.
Using those strange photographs of unknown origin, she wrote a sensational article targeting Harugamo Inn.
She even printed a huge headline in a conspicuous place on the cover of the latest issue.
—Horrifying! Bloody Murder Inside Harugamo Inn! The Killer Was Actually a Mother! Innocent Little Girl Dies a Gruesome Death!
After the magazine went on sale, it immediately caused quite a stir throughout Kyoto.
The female reporter even registered an anonymous private Twitter account and uploaded several of the photographs.
Their popularity skyrocketed almost instantly.
What made her actions even more despicable was that she did not blur the photographs at all.
Instead, she placed the logo of her tabloid prominently across them.
Her purpose was to use photographs of the dead to attract curious people and thereby advertise both her newspaper office and its magazine.
By doing this, she could not merely pass this month's performance review with full marks.
She could probably ace her performance evaluations for the entire year!
The editor-in-chief also supported the reporter's actions.
After all, she had recently embezzled most of the newspaper office's funds for the year and spent them at beauty salons, on luxury goods, and even on a car for herself.
People unfamiliar with the editor-in-chief assumed she was an extremely successful career woman.
Little did they know that her luxurious and refined lifestyle was entirely funded through embezzlement.
During the first few years, the editor-in-chief had been timid and had not dared to embezzle very much.
At most, she took a few hundred thousand yen.
Since the magazine's sales had also been quite good in those years, she only needed to tamper with a few minor details and bribe certain employees by giving them benefits.
Whenever the end of the year arrived, hardly anyone noticed that part of the company's funds had mysteriously disappeared for a while.
But human greed knew no bounds.
After embezzling funds for several consecutive years without anything going wrong, the greed in the editor-in-chief's heart only continued to grow.
Although she was already getting older, she still desperately wanted to remain young and beautiful.
Eventually, she set her sights on cosmetic surgery.
Unfortunately, the total cost of the procedures was extremely high.
If she paid for everything herself, it would nearly wipe out all the savings she had accumulated over the past several years.
And considering how extravagantly and decadently she lived, how could she possibly have much money saved?
So once again, she stretched her greedy hands toward the company's funds.
Only this time, unlike before, she took a great deal.
She embezzled so much money that by the time she realized the tabloid's sales were gradually declining, she discovered that all the little tricks she had relied on over the years were no longer enough to cover it up.
Although she had bribed several employees in the finance department, one of them had resigned during the first half of the year.
The finance department had also undergone several personnel changes.
Under the current circumstances, it was impossible for her to find an opportunity within the next few months to bribe the new finance employees.
More importantly, the tabloid's editor-in-chief no longer had enough personal savings to bribe several more employees anyway.
A large portion of the funds she had embezzled that year had already been transferred to the cosmetic surgery hospital as a deposit.
As time continued to pass and she remained unable to find any way to restore the missing funds, the editor-in-chief had no choice but to take a desperate gamble and cooperate with the female reporter.
Using the photographs they had received, they turned the murder into tabloid news and exploited it through every possible means for profit.
Without the slightest guilt, they greedily fed on the suffering of the dead.
The new tabloid issue centered around the Harugamo Inn murder did indeed create a major sensation.
It also substantially increased the magazine's sales.
But the consequences for Harugamo Inn and the victims' families were easy to imagine.
Because of the tabloid article, hardly any guests had come to stay at Harugamo Inn over the past several days.
Some guests who had already checked in had even hurriedly checked out.
The reason for such a severe reaction was not merely the fact that a murder had occurred inside Harugamo Inn.
It was also because of those dozens of photographs.
If the police had not provided the photographs, then who had?
After all, the killer in the case, Tomoe's mother, had hanged herself after personally murdering her husband and daughter.
So who had taken those photographs?
Could there still be some psychologically twisted serial killer hiding somewhere inside Harugamo Inn?!
With all sorts of rumors spreading, the guests naturally refused to gamble with their own lives.
Within only a few days, the once-busy Harugamo Inn had become exceptionally deserted.
Some customers who had previously reserved rooms also called to cancel their bookings and demand refunds.
That was why the employee was so curious about why a guest would come to Harugamo Inn at a time like this.
Of course, having a customer was a good thing.
But it was still difficult not to wonder.
Driven by her curiosity, the employee walked toward Harugamo Inn's entrance.
When the door of the Land Rover opened, she instinctively bowed and respectfully said,
"Welcome to Harugamo Inn. How may I assist you?"
Because the employee had lowered her head in a bow, she did not see what the person before her looked like.
"Hehe, there's no need to be so formal. Stand up. I'm not a guest."
A somewhat familiar woman's voice sounded.
The employee froze for a moment before lifting her head.
The instant she saw the woman standing before her, she was stunned.
"M-Miss Mari?!"
The employee had worked at Harugamo Inn for two and a half years.
Mari Funamoto had visited Harugamo Inn frequently in the past, so the employee naturally remembered what she looked like.
Moreover, anyone who had worked at Harugamo Inn for a while knew that Mari Funamoto, the eldest daughter of the Funamoto family, was regarded by everyone as the family's outstanding prodigy.
Countless people believed she would one day lead the Funamoto family to even greater heights!
Compared with her useless younger sister who knew nothing except eating, drinking, and having fun all day, the two were like heaven and earth.
No wonder people often suspected that either Mari Funamoto or Saori Funamoto could not possibly be the family's biological daughter.
"Hello. Thank you for your hard work. Is my mother here?" Mari Funamoto asked with a nod, her tone gentle and completely devoid of arrogance.
"Of course she is, Miss Mari. Would you like me to take you to her?"
As a mature working adult, the employee naturally would not miss such an opportunity to curry favor.
She enthusiastically volunteered to guide Mari.
"Thank you for the kind offer. Since my mother is here, she's definitely drinking tea in her usual place. I can go there myself."
Mari Funamoto spoke with a pleasant smile.
Then she reached out and patted the employee's shoulder, as though she thought highly of her.
"I also know that some unpleasant things have happened at Harugamo Inn recently."
"But none of the employees here need to worry. Even if Harugamo Inn becomes completely deserted, we will never delay anyone's monthly salary!"
After saying that, Mari Funamoto did not forget to add another thoughtful reminder.
"Oh, look at me. I accidentally started talking too much again, like I'm giving a speech at an employee recognition ceremony."
"I'm rather thin-skinned. Once I've said something, I feel embarrassed repeating it a second time. You understand, right?"
"If you have time later, could you help pass along what I just said to the other employees?"
"Of course, only if you have the time. If you're busy, then don't worry about it. Your work should always come first."
Mari Funamoto's considerate manner made it extremely easy for people to develop a favorable impression of her.
Except Saori Funamoto.
Ever since Saori Funamoto had become old enough to remember things, she had always been able to sense the killing intent her older sister concealed behind her smile.
At first, Saori had pretended to be ignorant and incompetent simply to stay alive.
Now, she continued doing so because she wanted revenge against her sister.
Sometimes she would even deliberately get drunk at the Funamoto family residence, act like a lunatic, throw drunken tantrums, and do all sorts of humiliating things.
Everything she did was meant to reduce her sister's vigilance toward her as much as possible.
After hearing Mari Funamoto's words, the employee hurriedly nodded.
At that moment, she felt as though she was about to latch onto Miss Mari's coattails and would soon be valued, promoted, and given a raise!
She would finally stop being a mere low-level employee!
She even felt incredibly fortunate to have encountered such a wonderful boss.
What she did not know was that the gentle and considerate Mari Funamoto standing before her had still been considering staff layoffs at Harugamo Inn only yesterday.
Mari had even thought about using certain methods to ensure that the dismissed employees received the absolute minimum compensation possible.
Perhaps even... no compensation at all.
She could simply delay the payments indefinitely and refuse to issue them.
It was not that Mari Funamoto could not afford to pay the money.
She simply believed from the bottom of her heart that money should be spent where it mattered most, on advancing her ambitions.
If she had already thrown those employees out, then why waste too much money compensating people who no longer worked for her?
Mari Funamoto smiled faintly at the employee, then walked directly into Harugamo Inn.
As for the employee from moments earlier, forget remembering her name.
Mari had already forgotten what she looked like almost immediately.
Mari Funamoto walked through the quiet halls of Harugamo Inn.
Whenever she encountered other employees along the way, even though she had not yet completely taken control of the hotel, she still presented herself as a gentle, considerate, responsible, and conscientious boss.
It gave people the impression that she was going to formally take over Harugamo Inn as early as tomorrow.
After making her way to the room where Saaki Funamoto was staying, Mari Funamoto adjusted her emotions and lightly knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Saaki Funamoto's voice came from inside.
"Mom, it's me."
Mari Funamoto replied.
As an outstanding "actress," even when speaking with her own mother, she never forgot to seize every opportunity to display her filial devotion.
"Mari... Come in."
After receiving her mother's permission, Mari Funamoto pushed open the door and entered.
Sure enough, just as she had expected, her mother was sitting inside the room drinking tea.
"Mom, I'm truly sorry. I've been far too busy lately, both with work and with educating the children."
"You know that your eldest granddaughter is already in third grade this year, which is exactly the age when she needs more attention."
"And I'm also pregnant with my second child."
"I went to the hospital for a checkup a few days ago, and the doctor said the baby is very healthy."
As Mari Funamoto spoke, she prepared to sit down across from her mother.
Looking at her daughter's filial expression, Saaki Funamoto felt pain in her heart.
There had once been a time when she had taken pride in Mari, her eldest daughter, and felt ashamed of Saori, her younger daughter.
She had never imagined that all of it was because Mari's acting was simply too good.
Her performance had been so convincing that even Saaki, an experienced family head who had spent years in business, had been completely deceived!
Watching her eldest daughter prepare to sit down, Saaki Funamoto slowly spoke.
"Mari, don't sit yet. Come stand beside me."
"Mom, is something wrong?"
Mari Funamoto asked in confusion as she walked over to Saaki Funamoto's side.
Saaki Funamoto did not answer.
Instead, she picked up the teapot and silently poured another cup of hot tea.
—
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