Tokyo: Am I the only male tenant?

The hometown of Sato Miko's former aunt, Miura Reiko.

"Great, it doesn't seem to be very far, less than fifteen minutes from the station. It would have been best if I had contacted him by phone in advance."

"That is to say, according to Meihe, after my aunt got divorced and returned here, she seemed to have changed her phone number and there seems to be no news from her at all."

"Anyway, let's go take a look first."

Holding the souvenirs they bought in Sapporo, they set out from in front of the station, walked along the wide road that runs through the town, and turned into the fork in the road along the way according to the instructions of the map app.

After walking for a while, they finally came to an old house, but what they saw there was a somewhat surprising sign.

"For sale?"

There is a wooden sign like this next to the entrance door that does not indicate the owner's surname.

Ginjo Sousuke and Kobayakawa Kana stood there in amazement.

The entrance was covered in dust and the mailbox was filled with flyers. It looked like the house had been on the market for quite some time.

The clues were interrupted here, and the two people only understood this matter in their confused minds.

“What should I do?”

Kana Kobayakawa, looking somewhat helpless, covered her mouth with her hands, while Ginjo held the cell phone tightly in his hand.

A map app that can show people the roads around the world cannot tell them the whereabouts of the person they are looking for.

"Don't worry, let's go ask the people nearby first."

"Eh? Sousuke?"

Before Kana Kobayakawa could react, Ginjo had already turned around and walked towards the house next door and pressed the intercom.

After a while, a woman's voice came over the intercom: "Hello?"

"Sorry to bother you so suddenly."

Ginjo Sousuke lowered his head towards the peephole on the door.

"No need."

The voice on the intercom sounded suspicious.

"No, I'm not here to sell anything. My name is Ginjo, and I'm here to visit Miss Miura Reiko next door. I'm from Tokyo."

Ginjo Sousuke said, shaking his head quickly.

"Ms. Miura?"

After a few seconds, the door opened a small gap, revealing the face of an older woman.

"You don't really look like a salesperson."

When she saw Ginjō in casual clothes and Kobayakawa Kana following him, she seemed to know that the two were not salesmen.

But the other party still seemed to be on guard, so his expression looked a little stiff.

"You came all the way from Tokyo to Hokkaido? And you came to such a small town. Are you a relative?"

She looked back and forth between the two men and then asked.

"Yes, it's a relationship similar to that of relatives."

Ginjō raised his hand to stop Kana Kobayakawa who was about to speak, and let him answer the older lady's question.

"Ten years ago, after Ms. Miura Reiko divorced, she returned to Kutchan from Sapporo. I heard that she remarried after that."

"Yeah, after I came back here, about three years later, about..."

Almost three years later, which means it was about seven years ago.

"So, do you know where the neighbors next door moved to? Ms. Reiko's parents should still live here."

"You are obviously relatives, but haven't you heard about it?"

Ginjo Sosuke and Kobayakawa Kana looked at each other, not understanding what she meant by this sentence...

Chapter 397 Kana Kobayakawa is exhausted

“Because we have been living in two separate places.”

"You haven't heard that your mother has passed away?"

The old woman paused and then continued.

“I haven’t heard of that…”

Ginjo Sousuke and Kobayakawa Kana could not help but stand there in a daze.

"He passed away earlier this year, so the father who was left behind moved in with Miss Reiko."

"Then may I ask where she is now? Where Ms. Reiko lives after she remarried."

Resisting the urge to open the door a crack, Ginjo Sousuke asked eagerly.

"Where did they move to? Let me think. Oh, that's right, Shinkariki Village."

"Makarimura?"

"What is Makarimura?"

This was another place name that they heard for the first time. Ginjo and Kobayakawa Kana asked the question almost at the same time.

"It's a very small village at the foot of Mt. Yotei. If you want to go there, you have to drive."

The woman's expression was a little more relaxed than at the beginning, and she answered them with a smile.

Kana Kobayakawa behind her quickly operated the search on her mobile phone. During this time, Ginjo asked her again for the sake of caution.

"Excuse me, do you know Miss Reiko's exact address?"

"I don't know the address... I just know that she seems to have married into a farmer's family in the village..."

"Thank you, that's all, thank you very much, if you're willing, please take this."

Ginjo handed over the souvenirs he brought from Sapporo, bowed, and stepped back.

"There's a shop near the station where you can rent a car, Sosuke."

Kana Kobayakawa was walking beside him with her cell phone, and it seemed that she had found the information she needed.

"Okay, then let's rent a car over there and go to Makkari Village."

At the foot of Mount Yotei, Makkari Village.

Although it is a completely unknown location, it should be easy to get there as long as you follow the navigation software. You can see Mt. Yotei from here, so it should be not far away.

However, Ginjo Sosuke was too naive to think so.

"What? No more cars?"

After returning to the station and entering the car rental shop, the two were greeted by a ruthless reality.

"There are a lot of college students here on summer vacation recently, and it's very inconvenient if you don't have a car nearby."

The saleslady explained to them very apologetically.

"How could it be...there isn't even one..."

Kana Kobayakawa still seemed unable to accept the result, and stood aside muttering to herself.

"In addition to students from all over the country, there are now many tourists from foreign countries. During the holidays, not only in big cities like Asahikawa, but also in small towns around the city, it is difficult to rent a car."

They learned from the store clerk that this situation becomes quite common during the summer vacation.

"But, well...we want to go to Makkari Village no matter what."

"Yes, you can't get there without a car."

As the two men spoke, they leaned toward the counter, and the clerk subconsciously took two steps back.

"I'm so sorry, in that case, we can just take a taxi or something...oh, hello!"

The clerk called out to a woman who just walked out, who looked like an administrator.

"They want to go to Makkari Village. Please help call a taxi."

"Oh, you can go there without taking a taxi. There is a bus in front of the station."

What? It turns out that the clerk also came here to work, and this woman is the real local, right?

"Route bus?"

Ginjo Sousuke asked in confusion.

"Well, just take the route to Toyako Onsen, but I remember there are very few buses..."

The woman rested her finger on her chin and looked toward the ceiling.

"There seems to be a train at around eleven o'clock. If you miss it, you will have to wait until late in the afternoon."

After hearing what she said, Kana Kobayakawa quickly looked at her cell phone.

"Ah! Sosuke! Now, it's exactly eleven o'clock!"

"What did you say? I have to hurry up! Sorry, thank you!"

The two rushed out of the car rental shop and ran all the way to the station. They happened to see a bus parked in the square in front of the station, and the destination in front was displayed as "Toyako Onsen".

"Is that the bus, Kana?"

"The destination and time are correct, it should be that one!"

As they ran, they waved desperately at the bus that was about to depart.

"Wow! Get in the car, get in the car!"

"Please wait, please let us get in the car!"

Just like that, the two people, who didn't know the exact address and were a little confused, even though they didn't know the road ahead, still got on the bus that took them to an unknown land, panting.

"Yes, Makkari Village, Makkari Village."

On the shaking bus, Kana Kobayakawa operated her cell phone.

Under such road conditions, people who are prone to motion sickness would immediately feel dizzy, but she was staring at her phone next to Ginjo, looking up information about Makkari Village.