Midnight Occult Civil Servants (真夜中のオカルト公務員)

Is it possible to have a happy marriage to a human woman?

I certainly don't believe so.

No. It is.

And this time, I'll prove it to you.

Yes, I'll prove it with our eternal love.

Hozuki City's 48th 7/24-25 Kagurazaka Festival

#6 "Devil and Sense of Loss"

July 15th Shinjuku Ward Kagurazaka

Izumi, are you over there?!

Dunno!

Gotcha!

Six wins in a row!

This isn't going well.

It's been so long, I've lost my intuition.

You're weak now that you're a productive member of society, Arata.

Super weak!

One more time, damn it!

I won't lose this time!

Thanks for having me over tonight.

Helping with the family business again tonight?

Yeah. We got a lot of reservations.

It's rough when your parents own a restaurant, huh?

It sure is rough when your parents own a restaurant.

Oh, right.

Want to go to Kagurazaka Festival with me next week?

Kagurazaka Festival?

Won't you be helping your family then, too?

I managed to get them to give me time off!

How about it?

It's on a weekday, right?

As long as I can go before work.

Yes! You're paying, Arata.

Listen...

Just kidding! That was a joke!

It's been so long since I've been to a festival with you.

I can't wait.

Yeah. Take care.

Oh, dear.

I finally lost him.

That guard dog of yours is persistent.

What do you want?

I wanted to thank you for earlier.

There's no need.

So this is her, huh?

Which parts of the earlier girl were right?

Voice and right leg.

I'm almost there.

The eye, which goes in last, is right there.

All that's left is the left hand.

Okay. I found a girl who I think will meet your conditions.

I'll tell you about her.

You're certain?

As near as I can tell.

It's for your help earlier.

Storage #1

Morn—

G-Good morning...

Morning.

Well, see you later.

Senda-san, are you going somewhere?

I didn't tell you?

I'm on a work trip to Romania for the next two weeks.

Romania?!

You're going overseas?

Lucky...

I would be, if it weren't for work.

You guys hold down the fort for the next two weeks.

Bye.

So, let's get to work.

Head out on patrol.

Okay.

Do you remember what happened at Toyama Park?

Of course...

One of the female victims woke up.

Really?

So you need to go talk to her.

Kyoichi's on the way there already.

Huh? What about you?

I've got analysis work to do. You two handle it.

Visiting hours are almost over, so hurry.

Got it.

July 16th

Sorry I'm late.

This is the information from the police.

Her name is Shiba Yuko.

She's fully conscious and remembers everything,

so we were able to find out her address and her family information.

The issue is right here.

Birthdate: 11/10/1965

Born in 1965?

If this is true, she's in her 50s.

But she doesn't look that way.

She seems to think she's a teenager, too.

Um, does that mean she was a teenager when she was kidnapped,

and then she came back without aging?

Yes.

Typical of a supernatural disappearance.

Shiba Yuko-san, right?

Yes...

I'm Sakaki Kyoichi.

I'm with the Shinjuku Ward Office.

Okay...

Can you tell me what happened to you?

Sure.

I really don't remember much, though.

It's okay. Don't worry about it.

How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?

No, not really.

Good to hear.

First, can you tell me what school you go to?

I'm a second year student at Shirakoma Girls Academy.

Oh, my childhood friend goes there, too.

I've heard they have a good choir.

They go to national tournaments all the time.

Me, too.

I joined to be part of the choir.

We were all looking forward to going to nationals this year.

But now...

What happened?

I really don't know.

After practice ended...

Everything just went black,

and it was dark for so long after that.

So long?

Was there light?

No.

But I could see my hands and stuff, somehow.

And blackness... it was like ash.

Or fine sand. Falling from above.

Black sand?

Thanks. Anything else?

Actually... my throat would sometimes feel cold.

Like someone put a knife to it.

Your throat?

Does it hurt right now?

No... but when I remembered, I suddenly got scared.

Your voice sounds normal.

It's a little husky.

Husky? Nobody's ever said that before.

Can you try singing a high note?

Like you did in choir.

Wait... Wait a second.

No! How?!

I can't sing!

Why?!

So, she lost function in a specific body part.

That's the natural assumption.

In her case, she's retained her ability to speak,

but lost function in a certain vocal range.

Her singing voice was stolen...

I see. So that's it?

Did something happen?

I just got a call. Another victim woke up.

But they say her right leg won't move.

She didn't get hurt or anything?

I'm looking into it now,

but there's another problem.

Another problem?

She went missing in Hokkaido.

I see.

Either way, we need to look into this more.

And work with the police, too.

Work with the police, huh?

The cops and ward office have different things they can do.

First, head back here. I want to show you what I've got.

Roger.

Sakaki-san?

Oh, sorry.

It's the only possibility, huh?

Nee-san...

July 18th

Um, what did you want to talk about?

First, look at this.

Unsolved Missing Girls Cases in Tokyo

The part with a red bookmark.

This is the girl from yesterday.

Name: Shiba Yuko

There's a missing persons case I've been following for a long time.

I think these girls are its victims.

This many?

Now, look at the blue bookmark.

Sakaki-san, this is...

Yes.

Name: Sakaki Shiori