Yukiko Mio felt as though her recent experiences had all been a dream.
First, Kitayama Tadashi, the most important person in her heart, suddenly became very strange.
Then, Reiko Mizutani appeared before her, a woman who made Yukiko Mio, despite also being a woman, unbearably jealous.
Then, after being devastated by Reiko Mizutani, she secretly ate food that would worsen her condition in an attempt to commit suicide.
However, she was saved by the doctor.
Finally, the doctor suddenly informed her that a suitable kidney donor had been found and that a kidney transplant could be performed immediately.
She could live.
For some reason, after her failed suicide attempt, Yukiko Mio suddenly no longer wanted to die.
She gratefully asked the nurse who had donated the kidney to her.
She wanted to thank that person.
The figures of Reiko Mizutani and Kitayama Tadashi flashed through the nurse's mind.
"Someone will inform you later."
The nurse smiled awkwardly and avoided the question.
There were too many mysteries in this matter.
Too many unexplainable details gave people ample room for imagination.
The affair between Yukiko Mio and Kitayama Tadashi was already common knowledge in the hospital.
Because of that, there was even speculation that "Kitayama Tadashi killed Reiko Mizutani for Yukiko Mio, then found someone to impersonate Reiko Mizutani's father and consent to the organ donation."
It was truly unknown how the police had confirmed that a middle-aged man who appeared out of nowhere was Reiko Mizutani's father.
If they had only verified it more carefully, they would have discovered that the man claiming to be Reiko Mizutani's "father" was an escaped mental patient.
Moreover, Reiko Mizutani's identity was also highly questionable.
It could only be said that Japan's identity information management, lacking ID cards and a nationwide network, was indeed inferior to that of its neighbor.
(Japan only began issuing ID-like documents after 2016. Before that, things like driver's licenses were used to prove identity.)
Yukiko Mio's post-operative recovery went very smoothly.
Her condition was so good that it even surprised the doctors.
However, just as Yukiko Mio was preparing to embrace a new life, an accident occurred.
Yukiko Mio's lower abdomen suddenly swelled, and she writhed in pain on the bed.
The doctors urgently gathered and began treating Yukiko Mio.
However, when the examination films were handed to them...
Everyone fell silent.
"What, what exactly is this?"
A doctor spoke in disbelief.
They had seen something they could not comprehend.
The kidney had grown limbs.
It had even grown a head.
At this moment, the head was still growing toward the stomach.
"Did we transplant a baby instead of a kidney?"
A doctor said something he himself did not believe.
But the thing in the film really did look very much like a deformed baby.
"What are you talking about? This is clearly a kidney."
Another doctor retorted.
"Then explain what this is. This is clearly a head."
Several doctors argued, each stubbornly sticking to their own opinion.
"Enough!"
The director suddenly raised his voice.
"No matter what it is, we must perform an excision surgery, starting the incision from the stomach area."
The director had spoken, and everyone began making preparations.
In the operating room, everyone stared at the scalpel moving across the skin.
Doctors and nurses watched the surgery intently, guessing what would happen next.
They even held their breath, barely daring to exhale.
"What on earth is this thing!"
A doctor cried out in disbelief.
Through the incision made by the scalpel, a complete head actually appeared.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, the head's eyes moved.
All the doctors whose eyes met the head's gaze could not help but take a step back.
Countless desires sprouted in their hearts.
Pffft.
The head suddenly exerted itself, propped itself up, and crawled out of Yukiko Mio's belly.
Clink, clink.
The doctors could not help retreating again. Some of them even dropped their instruments to the floor without realizing it.
"Tom...ie."
A broken voice came from the mouth full of blood and bodily fluids.
The sound was strange, as if the vocal organs had not fully developed.
"My real...name...is Tomie."
Tomie... Everyone silently repeated that name in their hearts.
At the same time, an uncontrollable urge to explore rose in everyone's hearts...
"Reiko Mizutani is dead?"
Nanami frowned as he looked at the intelligence report handed to him by the Assistant Supervisor.
He had never expected that as soon as he arrived at the mission location, the mission target would die just like that.
"Did Reiko Mizutani leave behind a body?"
Nanami asked the Assistant Supervisor.
"Yes."
Nanami took the intelligence report from the Assistant Supervisor again.
The word "missing" entered his sight.
That gave him even more of a headache.
"Have Reiko Mizutani's past experiences been investigated? And what about this Takagi, who claims to be Reiko Mizutani's father?"
"No."
The Assistant Supervisor shook his head.
"Both of their identities are fake. Further investigation will take time."
Even the Assistant Supervisor did not understand.
Why had the local police so easily confirmed the father-daughter relationship between the two?
Mizutani, Takagi.
These clearly different surnames could not possibly belong to a father and daughter.
It was worth noting that although the atmosphere was more open now, some women still took their husband's surname after marriage.
Therefore, the possibility of Reiko Mizutani using her mother's surname was very low.
"Please apply to the local jujutsu department to investigate the police officers involved in this case."
Nanami's words surprised the Assistant Supervisor.
"May I ask why?"
The Assistant Supervisor asked cautiously.
"I need to determine whether the 'culprit' in this case has the ability to influence other people's judgment or manipulate their cognition."
"I understand. I'll get right on it!"
The Assistant Supervisor immediately took action after hearing Nanami's words.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly, thinking that this was exactly why Nanami was one of the most reliable Jujutsu Sorcerers, with the highest mission success rate.
He had even thought of this point.
When the Assistant Supervisor first gathered this intelligence, he had been cursing the police for being so irresponsible.
They had actually ignored all the suspicious details just because the case seemed simple and clear.
But if it was due to interference from jujutsu, then it was quite normal.
After all, ordinary people had no resistance to jujutsu.
"The target is gone, so what do we do now?"
Haibara scratched his head, feeling as though he had wound up for a punch only to hit cotton.
During the previous investigation, Haibara had mostly just kept up the mood and had hardly played any significant role.
So he had been eager to show off in the upcoming battle.
Although he was a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer and Nanami was a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
That did not stop him from wanting to perform.
Of course, if he really got beaten badly by a Cursed Spirit, Haibara would decisively ask Nanami for help.
"We'll go to the hospital to check."
(To be continued.)