Not a detective

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Yukie opened her eyes and answered.

Asakawa Riku smiled helplessly: "Now that things have come to this, do you want to leave here too?"

"I know how terrifying the mountains are; I would never survive in such wind and snow."

Yukie shook her head; she was very afraid of the cold. "Besides, there are monsters around..."

She was afraid of more than just the cold; there were things far more terrifying.

"He said I'm the murderer, aren't you afraid?"

“Mr. Asakawa is not the murderer…I know that.”

Yukie looked up and stared at him intently: "You are so gentle. You have such great power that you could have easily abandoned us, but you are here protecting us."

Her hand gently rested on Asakawa Riku's palm, warm and strong:

"I believe you, you are definitely not the murderer."

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Twenty-Five - Are You the Murderer?

Who is the murderer?

It may be a bit late to think about reasoning now, but we can't just give up on thinking altogether and try to get by like this.

First, we can basically rule out Hirata Kokichi and Takagi Ichiro as suspects.

They disappeared early in the story, so unless it was a trick involving faking their deaths, changing identities, or hiding to commit the crime, they shouldn't be the murderers.

Asakawa Riku was very thorough when examining their bodies and wouldn't make a mistake.

When the number of characters in the snow-covered mountain lodge is reduced to four, the story has actually entered its middle stage.

Mr. Matsuyama, Principal Komiya, Yuki, and Riku Asakawa himself—at the time, he believed that the murderer must be among these people.

Mr. Matsuyama's suspicion can also be largely ruled out, after all, Asakawa Riku had been monitoring him all night, and Takagi Ichiro died the next day, while Mr. Matsuyama slept like a log.

He once believed in Ichiro Takagi's "Yuki-onna (snow woman) theory"—since it was a Yuki-onna, the first suspect would naturally be a woman.

Principal Xiao Gong, in particular, is an adult and therefore more likely to commit the crime.

But Principal Komiya also died.

That night, Riku Asakawa witnessed the entire murder and learned that the killer could commit murder without lifting a finger, and could even do so silently.

This overturns the original reasoning.

One possibility is that Mr. Matsuyama was indeed the murderer. Although Riku Asakawa monitored him all night, he actually used his ability from one floor away to kill Ichiro Takagi.

During this time, Asakawa Riku was completely unaware.

Until today, Mr. Matsuyama is gone. If he is the murderer, then everything makes sense. It wasn't a desperate run, but a premeditated escape.

But Asakawa Riku was unwilling to think that way.

When Matsuyama-sensei witnessed Principal Komiya's body, the despair and sorrow he displayed were definitely not acting.

His pain, his struggles and outbursts, his final whispered confession—if this was all acting, then Asakawa Riku was utterly fooled.

So, he arbitrarily crossed Mr. Matsuyama off the list of suspects.

Only two people remained.

The last two people in the room.

In the mystery of the "locked room mystery," both the murderer and the victim are limited to characters living in the locked room.

Asakawa Riku confirmed that no one else had come here in the past few days, and apart from Mr. Matsuyama, no one had left.

So, in the end, the two of them...

If it wasn't him, then it must be—

Snow painting?

"Are you the murderer?" Asakawa Riku turned his head and asked directly.

"No."

Yuki-e withdrew her hand in surprise and shook her head in denial.

Asakawa Riku paused for a moment, then changed the subject:

"...So, are you the Snow Woman?"

“No.” Yukie denied it again: “How could I be a monster… I have no inspiration, I can’t even see monsters.”

Her pupils contracted slightly, and her expression stiffened, seemingly because the topic of "monsters" had stirred up her inner unease again.

Asakawa Riku smiled. The boy's gentle smile dispelled the girl's fear, like the warm summer sun.

"I understand."

"Huh?" This turn of events was so sudden that Yukie was surprised: "Understand what?"

"Understanding the truth behind this mystery, it turns out everything was so simple. I wish I had seen through it sooner."

"what……"

She covered her mouth, but couldn't help asking, "What exactly happened... Is there really a murderer?"

"Yes, as I said before, my previous reasoning has not been overturned. The murderer exists, and the murderer is not the Snow Woman..."

Asakawa Riku nodded: "But I didn't see through the murderer's identity at the time, and I only found out now."

"Who is that?"

Yukie glanced behind her and felt a chill, as if there were other people hiding in the house.

"It hasn't appeared yet because it's not nighttime."

"So, the killer only appears at night?"

"That's not quite right. The 'condition' for the murderer's appearance wasn't actually time... no, it shouldn't be said that it wasn't entirely time, but something even more unexpected."

Asakawa Riku carefully chose his words and spoke cautiously: "But I'm going to keep you in suspense. I'm sorry, I can't say right now."

The curious Yukie was instantly frozen in shock, and asked dejectedly:

"Why... wouldn't it be very dangerous if the murderer were still here? I want to know!"

She was almost about to lean in and say the line, "I'm curious."

But Asakawa Riku's expression was very serious, and he refused her again: "Because I can't alert the enemy. I have to wait for the right moment to catch the culprit."

"Okay... alright."

Yukie was still a very well-behaved child, and seeing that he said that, she stopped insisting.

She asked, "So, is there anything I can do for you?"

"...Yes, there are indeed some."

Asakawa Riku thought for a moment and nodded.

"I'll help!" Yukie said eagerly, seemingly excited about catching the culprit.

"I'm going out for a while. Don't worry, I'm not going to catch the murderer, I'm going hunting and chopping wood."

He smiled, brushed the snow off Yukie's head, and said to her, "When I come back, I hope to see the cooked food. Are there any leftover ingredients? I'll have to trouble you."

"...It's no trouble at all, it's what I should do, but—"

Yukie suddenly grabbed Asakawa Riku's sleeve, stopping him from turning around.

Asakawa Riku turned around and saw the worried look on his face.

"The murderer won't just appear out of nowhere, and he won't kill you. It's still daytime, so you can rest assured."

he emphasized.

After all, no matter how sensible and well-behaved she may appear, she is still a girl in her teens. When there are only two of them left, she will definitely feel uneasy and scared.

"I...I didn't mean that." Xuehui shook her head, realizing that she had been abrupt in pulling him along, so she sheepishly withdrew her hand: "I'm afraid you won't come back once you leave..."

"Don't worry, your cooking is very good, I will definitely come back to eat."

Asakawa Riku smiled.

"No... I don't deserve such praise. It's just simple food." Yukie lowered her head. "I'm still far inferior to my sister."

Asakawa Riku didn't respond to that sentence. He simply said, "I'm leaving now," not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble.

The wind and snow outside continued. He felt he had used this description many times, but every time he saw it, he couldn't help but think of it, like a helpless sigh.

The blizzard seemed endless and showed no signs of stopping. The deep snow tracks left by Mr. Matsuyama when he left not long ago could still be seen, but they would soon be buried.

The Snow Woman seems to have gone mad; she has transformed the endless snow country into a white world, proclaiming her power. Without goggles, one would probably go blind soon, but thankfully, Asakawa Riku can still endure it.

The wind was biting cold, and he told Xuehui to quickly close the door so she wouldn't catch a cold, but the girl stubbornly stood at the door and watched him leave.

You must come back.

This time, Yukie didn't seem to be praying; instead, she kept her eyes open and watched him leave.

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Twenty-Six - Rescue Will Surely Come

"You're back...!"

Yukie turned her head, her eyes brimming with undisguised joy, like a hopping rabbit.

This analogy isn't very good, since Asakawa Riku is also holding several unconscious rabbits that are about to become food.

“I’m back,” he corrected. “The next sentence should be ‘Welcome back.’”

"Welcome back."

Yuki smiled so much that her eyebrows curved upwards.

"It took a little longer than I expected, sorry."

Asakawa Riku dropped the deer he was carrying on his shoulder, and the piled-up snow fell down in a flurry.

This deer is a whole size smaller than the last one. Perhaps it hasn't grown up yet, or perhaps it has been turned into this state by the harsh winter.

But now only two people need food, so what he brought back from this hunt is enough to last a long time.

"It's alright, it's good that you're safe and sound."

Xuehui came over and helped him take off the blanket draped over his shoulders, hanging it on the clothes rack next to the fireplace to dry: "Warm up first, the food will be ready soon."

...

Asakawa Riku had been gone for about an hour, or so he estimated.

Because the blizzard was so severe, hunting was more difficult than before. The falling snow obscured visibility and carried away the scent of wild animals from the air.

He had to risk expanding the search area.

The first thing they discovered wasn't their prey, but rather Mr. Matsuyama's corpse.

He had only walked about 300 meters when he collapsed to the ground. When Asakawa Riku found him, his body was already cold and he had lost consciousness.

Principal Komiya's body was lying on top of him. The two of them were buried up to their waists in the snow. Asakawa Riku pulled them out.

...Now, we can rule out Professor Matsuyama as a suspect.

Faced with such a scene, Asakawa Riku had this thought, it seems that he has become numb after witnessing too many partings in the past few days.

He brought the two division commanders back to his house and buried them there, alongside the others.

As it turns out, escape from the Snow Woman's calamity is impossible. Even if Asakawa Riku could withstand the harsh winter and force his way through, he might not be able to find a way out of the mountains.

Moreover... he couldn't abandon Yukie.

"Rest in peace." After the burial, Asakawa Riku set off again, and this time, he finally found his prey.

He gradually figured it out: in this mountain, getting out was almost impossible, but getting back to the hut was easy.

Because the snow was very deep, each step required clearing a path. Asakawa Riku cleared a path with his own body, just like a snowplow, making it very noticeable.

Don't worry about getting lost when you go back. Just follow the ski trail. You can see the tall chimneys from a short distance away, which are very eye-catching.