The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei: He Just Solves All the Mysteries (中禅寺先生物怪講義録 先生が謎を解いてしまうから。)

The so-called "man in the blue cloak"

is a weirdo who cuts people up and takes their bodies away in a bag.

Rumor has it that the inside of that cloak

is already stained with bright red blood

from the victims.

(The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei -He Just Solves All the Mysteries-)

JAPANESE NIGHT TALK

It's just like a movie.

Good morning.

What are you talking about?

Good morning, Kanna.

Look.

THE FORMER BUTLER Last month, Miss Minagi Reiko,

AND ENTREPRENEUR, the daughter of a noble family,

SUZUKI MASAO got married to an entrepreneur.

AND MINAGI REIKO, I heard that the entrepreneur

THE DAUGHTER OF A NOBLE FAMILY used to be the butler for the Minagi family.

A perfect match.

Right?

The romance between the noble family's daughter

and the former butler is truly amazing.

What is this?

Chuzenji-sensei?

-Quietly… quietly… -I won't forbid you from reading this kind of gossip magazine.

I just can't approve of you bringing this kind of stuff to school.

WHY AM I THE ONE I'll keep this magazine for you.

GETTING SCOLDED You can take it back after school.

Alright, sorry.

Lunchtime.

Sorry.

After school.

What should I have for dinner today?

S-Sorry!

Sorry, are you okay?

I-I'm fine.

I should apologize to you.

I'm really sorry.

Are you…

Miss Minagi Reiko from the noble family?

Yeah.

It really is you!

I've seen you in the magazine!

I'm not a member of the noble family anymore.

Huh?

Well, I'll take my leave now.

She is really beautiful.

But…

Why did she say she was no longer a member of the noble family?

Excuse me.

Are you Kusakabe Kanna?

Yeah.

Do you need anything from me?

Please help get rid of the man in the blue cloak!

Huh?

Did you see that man in the blue cloak here?

Yes.

That is why I need your help.

I heard you've been getting rid of evil spirits and ghosts.

People who see the man in the blue cloak will die within two weeks.

I first thought it was just a rumor.

But

he did exist.

And I even made eye contact with him.

What should I do?

A wallet?

This wallet is pretty worn out.

And it looks substantial.

T-There's so much cash?

Anyway, we should hand it over to the police first.

Hey.

This is the wallet of the man in the blue cloak, right?

Huh?

Look.

Isn't this a bloodstain?

Huh, is it?

It should just be a normal stain.

No way.

Huh, what's wrong?

Kusakabe, what's wrong?

It looks like I saw

the man in the blue cloak.

Sensei!

You again?

I have told you not to come here anymore. How many times must I say it?

It doesn't matter.

Please listen to me!

I saw the man in the blue cloak!

The man in the blue cloak?

A man in the blue cloak, and the inside of that cloak is stained with bright red blood?

This might have changed a bit over time,

as it is originally the blue blanket incident.

The blue blanket incident?

That was an actual incident that happened about 40 years ago.

During a snowstorm, a man in a blue blanket committed

a terrible act, taking the lives of the wholesalers' manager,

his wife, and his mother.

This case went past the statute of limitations,

and in the end, it turned into a cold case.

I went to the place where my classmate saw the man in the blue cloak,

and I actually saw him too.

Oh, right.

This was found over there.

Please hand it over to the police right away.

It might not really belong to the man in the blue cloak.

But there are no more clues.

The man in the blue cloak was really wandering around there.

I want to find out the truth!

Geez.

Let me take a look.

O-Okay.

What are you expecting?

We can't come to the conclusion by merely checking out the wallet.

I see.

At the moment,

all we can guess is that the owner used to be very wealthy.

However, it looks like this is no longer the case.

Also, the owner typically doesn't shop by himself.

Huh?

But isn't there a lot of cash inside?

This wallet

is a nice, high-quality item, but it has quite a few scars on it

and doesn't look very well taken care of.

I think it was purchased by its owner a while back,

but he just can't afford to get a new one right now.

And it only holds paper bills.

This is a wallet, right?

It is pretty normal to just keep paper bills in it.

You usually get some change when shopping, don't you?

But there's no place to put coins inside.

This wasn't a very practical item to begin with.

Basically,

the person using this wallet is not concerned about small amount of cash.

He might not even know that his wallet is missing.

What's the matter?

Sensei, you are amazing.

Just understanding the owner's traits

doesn't mean we can identify a particular individual.

You should hand it over to the police quickly…

Gosh.

I shouldn't have opened it and checked.

What's wrong?

There's a police officer I know at the nearby police station.

You should come along too.

I told you, I want to find the man in the blue cloak…

ONE HUNDRED YEN This is counterfeit.

IKEBUKURO WEST POLICE STATION

Sensei.

You even know a police officer?

He is Mr. Eno's childhood friend.

Be careful or I'll put you in jail!

It seems he's here.

Who cares if you have meal vouchers?

We can hear everything clearly outside, Sir.

Oh, Chuzenji.

Stop calling, you idiot!

This old man mistook

our police station for a soba noodle shop!

Who is this girl?

Are you lost?

Or did you do something bad?

N-No…

I… I'm here to submit a lost item.

I can't hear you!

Don't scare her, Sir.

She's my student.

I see.

Sorry.

I'm Kiba.

Kiba Shutaro.

Girl, what's your name?

I… I'm Kusakabe Kanna.

Anyway, come in.

I'll pour you some tea.

It's hot, be careful.

There are also some Monaka given by the nearby granny.

Thanks for the food.

He seems to be a good person.

Honestly,

being a police officer is not enjoyable.

I have to do things like mediating disputes and patrolling the town.

How about you,

Chuzenji-sensei?

Nothing special.

Well, I am not really looking for any sense of accomplishment in my job.

The students must be having a lot of trouble

with having a teacher with such a strange personality.

W-Well…

We came here today because she found a wallet.

Right.

Just submitting a lost item,

you came along?

You really know how to take care of your students.

I didn't plan to do anything for the students.

I only came along because this wallet is tricky.

IKEBUKURO WEST POLICE STATION

Counterfeit money?

But at first glance, it really looks like real money.

How did you know it's fake?

By checking out the serial number.

ONE HUNDRED YEN When new banknotes are introduced,