Chapter 151: The Diary

“Hello, I need to speak with Professor Amuro. Could you tell me where he is right now?” asked Ayano Eiko, dressed in a white suit, as she addressed the receptionist.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll check for you,” the young receptionist replied politely.

“Thank you.”

The female police officer found herself in Tokyo University, Japan’s first national university and widely regarded as the country’s top academic institution.

Tokyo University’s origins trace back to the Tokyo Kaisei School and the Tokyo School of Medicine, founded during the Meiji era. Going further back, it evolved from the Edo period’s “Rangaku” institutions, such as the Astronomical Observatory, Shoheizaka Academy, and the Vaccination Institute. After the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government implemented a new education system and merged these schools under the Ministry of Education’s directive in 1877, naming it Tokyo University. At its inception, the university had over 500 students and four faculties: Literature, Law, Science, and Medicine. Soon after, the Tokyo School of Law was incorporated under the Faculty of Law.

In 1886, the Meiji government issued the “Imperial University Order” to meet national needs and cultivate individuals with nationalist ideals, renaming Tokyo University to Imperial University. The university adopted a departmental structure, incorporating the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture, and the Forestry School into the Imperial University. The existing faculties were restructured into the Colleges of Law, Medicine, Literature, and Science, with the addition of graduate programs, cementing its status as a comprehensive university.

After World War II, the Japanese government reformed institutions and removed the “Imperial” designation from the university’s name, reverting it to Tokyo University. The restructured institution added new faculties, such as Basic Sciences and Education, and integrated affiliated schools, including medical specialty divisions and high schools. Numerous research institutes and centers were subsequently established, making Tokyo University a leading institution with 10 faculties, 11 graduate schools, 12 research institutes, and tens of thousands of students and staff.

For a university with such a rich history and global reputation, Ayano Eiko felt a deeper connection than most. This was where her father had once worked.

Five minutes later, the receptionist returned to the waiting room.

“Ms. Ayano, Professor Amuro is currently in his office at the Biology Research Institute. I can take you there if you’d like.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ve been there before,” Eiko replied as she stood up.

“In that case, have a good day. If you need any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.” The receptionist’s tone resembled that of a restaurant waiter, and he couldn’t help but feel genuinely disappointed about missing the chance to escort the beautiful visitor.

“Thank you,” Eiko said as she stepped out.

So beautiful, and what a great figure—though her expression is a little cold. Watching her walk away, the receptionist couldn’t help but mentally summarize his impressions.

As she approached the research institute, Eiko felt a sudden wave of confusion. The environment hadn’t changed much from a few years ago, except for some renovations on the exterior. Additional flowers and plants now lined the stone paths, and the plane trees standing along the road had grown taller and more lush.

The last time she had been here, she was still in high school. Since her father’s disappearance, she hadn’t returned.

After asking the gatekeeper for the location of Professor Amuro’s office, Ayano Eiko made her way directly there.

With permission from the office’s occupant, she opened the door.

“Eiko, I never expected you to come here. Please, have a seat!” Amuro Akihito, his hair half-white, greeted her warmly, delighted to see the daughter of an old friend.

“It’s been a long time, Uncle Amuro. How have you been?”

“I’m doing all right, though as I get older, a few ailments are inevitable. How is your mother?”

“She’s doing well,” Eiko replied, omitting the part about her mother being involved with a crude man.

“Since your high school days, I haven’t seen you or your mother. I must say, you’ve grown more and more beautiful. Do you have a boyfriend yet? If not, how about I introduce you to my son? He’s at least a master’s graduate from Tokyo University, so he should be a good match for you,” Amuro Akihito said with a smile.

Ayano Eiko, uninterested in resolving her marital future here, quickly interrupted his enthusiasm. “Uncle Amuro, I came this time to ask you about something important.”

Seeing the seriousness in her expression, Amuro Akihito set aside his playful tone. “Go ahead, what is it?”

“I’d like to know if, before my father’s disappearance, there was anyone he was particularly close to,” Eiko asked directly.

Amuro Akihito gave a bitter smile. “That question was asked by the police back then. But honestly, I don’t know much about it. At that time, I was abroad for further studies.”

“Forgive my persistence, but aside from you, Uncle Amuro, my father didn’t have many close friends. As you likely know, one of the major reasons I chose to become a police officer was because of my father. After all these years, I feel like I’ve found a clue, so I wanted to confirm it with you.”

“What kind of clue?” Amuro Akihito asked, slightly startled.

Eiko didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she took out a slightly yellowed notebook and flipped it open to the last few pages.

“Uncle Amuro, my father had a habit of keeping a diary. This is one of the diaries he left behind. I stumbled upon it six months ago while organizing his belongings. The content in the final pages left me quite puzzled.” Eiko handed the notebook to Amuro.

Taking the diary, Amuro recognized the handwriting as that of his old friend, Ayano Kosei. Seeing his friend’s handwriting again after so many years stirred his emotions.

Calming himself, he carefully read the entries, which contained only a few short lines:

“He came to see me again, offering even better terms this time.

To be honest, I’m starting to feel tempted—not for the material rewards, but because of the sample he brought.

For him to bring this to me, it’s clear that this isn’t just the idea of a money-minded man like him. There’s definitely someone more sophisticated behind him. Perhaps a fellow scientist. My intuition tells me so.”

Amuro turned to the next page, which contained only a single line:

“Maybe I should have agreed. I’m starting to regret it now.”

Flipping to the third page, he noticed a gap of nearly three months between the previous entries. The handwriting here was noticeably more rushed.

“As a human being, I cannot do this—it’s simply too cruel. But as a scientist in pursuit of truth, I cannot suppress my desires.

It’s true: human desire is a demon. If you accidentally unleash it, it will consume your soul. I feel like I’m about to be devoured by that demon.”

Turning to the next page, the date jumped ahead another half month, and the handwriting became even sloppier, as if written by someone drunk.

“Today, subjects 3 and 5 exhibited characteristics of beast-like transformation. But it seems they’ve both lost their sanity—I was nearly bitten by subject 5.

At this stage, the experiment can be considered a partial success. But what have I done? I’ve lost the conscience that humans should have. Perhaps, as I’m being devoured by the demon, I’ve already become one myself.

I haven’t been home in a long time because I’m afraid to face Akiko and Eiko. They don’t know that the person in front of them is a demon wearing human skin.”

When Amuro Akihito turned to the next page, he found it was the last one.

Returning from his deep thoughts, Amuro asked, “Did you hand this diary over to the police?”

“Uncle Amuro, have you forgotten? I’m a police officer myself. According to standard procedures, without a body, cases like this are only classified as special missing person cases, and additional resources aren’t assigned for investigation. But he’s my father—I must uncover the truth,” Ayano Eiko said with unwavering determination in her eyes.

“But what can this diary alone prove? It’s already been eight years,” Amuro Akihito sighed.

“Uncle Amuro, please think carefully. In the months or year leading up to my father’s disappearance, did he ever mention anyone to you?” Eiko held back from mentioning her encounter with the creature, as it was classified police information.

Hearing her question, Amuro Akihito lowered his head and tried his best to recall.

Eiko closed the diary with a complex expression.

Her father had stayed on at the research institute after completing his doctorate at Tokyo University.

He was an introverted man who didn’t meet her mother until his family arranged a matchmaking session in his thirties. After a brief few months of courtship, they married, and Eiko was born the following year.

A few years later, after publishing several papers on biological research, her father quickly gained fame as a biologist. He later admitted he found it hard to believe himself, but young Eiko, then in middle school, thought it was only natural. She had seen firsthand his dedication and passion for his work. Sometimes, she thought her father resembled a religious fanatic, except his faith was in biology, not any deity.

He wasn’t an ideal husband or father, but he was undoubtedly the person who cared the most about her and her mother.

She could never forget how he would wait for her outside the school in the biting cold, rubbing his hands to stay warm.

But in her second year of high school, her father began acting strangely. The man who had always been seen as honest and upright started staying out all night, and, despite never smoking or drinking before, would come home reeking of alcohol.

Her mother began to suspect he was seeing another woman, but Eiko trusted her father’s character. Still, she couldn’t help but worry about him.

Then something shocking and terrifying happened—her father disappeared.

The police investigated for a few days but then stopped coming around, which infuriated her.

She thought that, given time, her father would return. But eight years had passed, and he never came back.

Now, after reading her father’s diary and recalling the monster she had encountered, Eiko started piecing things together.

Her feelings were conflicted—she wanted to keep investigating to find her father, but at the same time, she feared that the monster might be connected to the man who had raised her and guided her so diligently.

“Eiko, I just remembered something that might help,” Amuro Akihito suddenly said, breaking her train of thought.

“What is it, Uncle Amuro?” Eiko asked eagerly.

“I recall that on the day I was leaving for my studies abroad, your father came to the airport to see me off. Just as I was about to board, he received a phone call. While I didn’t pay much attention to it, I vaguely heard him say, ‘Is that Mr. Hozan?’ If I’m not mistaken, that was the name he mentioned. Since he was there to see me off, he kept the call brief and hung up quickly.”

Hozan? That’s a rare surname, Eiko thought. She would have to use the police personnel records to investigate further.

“Did you notice anyone who seemed particularly close to my father during that time?” Eiko continued to probe.

“To my knowledge, no. However, I do remember that he suddenly became very irritable during that period. One time, he scolded an intern so harshly for accidentally spilling tea on his desk that the poor girl burst into tears. I’d never seen him like that before—he used to have such a gentle temperament and wouldn’t get angry over minor things.”

Eiko lowered her head in thought before responding, “Thank you, Uncle Amuro. I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

“Don’t be so formal. I watched you grow up, after all. By the way, about my son—would you consider meeting him?” Amuro Akihito asked, still holding on to the idea.

“Sorry, Uncle Amuro, but until I find out what happened to my father, I have no intention of focusing on personal matters. If you think of anything else, please call me as soon as possible, okay?”

“Alright,” Amuro Akihito replied, though his face showed a hint of disappointment.

After saying goodbye, Ayano Eiko promptly left the research institute.

***

“Masashi, you… idiot! You had me worried sick. Damn fool…” Kurata Ryoko kept grumbling non-stop.

“What now, Masashi?” Yamaguchi Tomoko looked uncertainly at her drunken friend.

“Let’s find a nearby hotel for you to stay in for the night. Once this girl sobers up tomorrow, we can figure things out. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if this girl’s even a woman—she drinks harder than most men,” Lei Yin said with a hint of exasperation as he supported Ryoko, who was too drunk to stand, out of the restaurant.

Following behind, Yamaguchi Tomoko chuckled. “It seems like she’s really happy to see you again. When you disappeared, I could tell she was worried, even if she wouldn’t admit it.”

Lei Yin felt a twinge of emotion. Only now did he realize that, apart from Naoko and his current family, there were others who genuinely cared about him.

“Masashi, that pretty girl named Seimura Haruko—was she your girlfriend?” Yamaguchi Tomoko asked as they walked.

“No.”

“But she seemed really interested in you. She kept glancing at you during dinner.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe she was just silently pleading for help—after all, she was stuck between two shameless guys who wouldn’t stop pestering her.”

Thinking of how Takeda and Yoshikawa had vied for Haruko’s attention earlier, Tomoko couldn’t help but laugh.

***

At the same time, elsewhere, having shaken off the two “shameless guys,” Seimura Haruko was now sitting in a luxurious car sent to pick her up. Beside her was Momono Junko.

Since getting into the car, Haruko had kept a stony expression, remaining silent. Seeing her like this, Junko didn’t dare say much either.

After about ten minutes of driving, Junko finally couldn’t hold back and softly said, “Haruko, I really think you should stop pursuing this.”

Haruko shot her a cold glance. “You mean you think I’m going to lose, don’t you?”

“That’s not what I mean. I just think Gennai Masashi isn’t worth all this effort,” Junko carefully chose her words.

Hearing this, Haruko’s expression softened slightly.

“It’s not about whether he’s worth it or not. I just absolutely refuse to lose to Himeko. No matter what, I will make Gennai Masashi obey me like a dog.”

“But he seems really difficult to handle. I feel like he’s different from the other guys,” Junko said with some concern.

“Hmph, to me, he’s just like those other self-important guys, only pretending to be different. In the end, they all bow down just the same.”

Though Haruko’s words were dismissive, she couldn’t help but wish she could trade places with Himeko. Gennai Masashi was indeed proving far more troublesome than she had anticipated.

With other men, they’d either be too nervous to even talk to her or, like the two earlier, cling to her relentlessly. But this guy didn’t even show a flicker of interest in her, which, for the first time, made her doubt her own charm.

What about Himeko? Hopefully, that superficial student council president wasn’t so easily ensnared. If she succeeded quickly, Haruko would truly lose to her, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Staring blankly out the window, Seimura Haruko remained deep in thought.

Realizing she couldn’t change her friend’s mind, Momono Junko sighed inwardly. Sometimes, she truly didn’t understand why these heiresses were so obsessed with such petty games.

Perhaps the thoughts of wealthy young ladies were just on a completely different level from ordinary people, Junko rationalized to herself.