Sagen Takei put his phone down on the table and fell onto the bed, his only concern now on the case. As for why his brother was able to hire her, it didn't matter to him.

The comforter was so soft, lying on it after a long day of work, Sagen Takei relaxed his body and fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.

In the middle of the night, outside the window as if the wind blew through, the branches and leaves rustled through a layer of curtains. There seemed to be a figure standing at the window and looking inside.

Sagen Takei, half asleep, seemed to hear someone ask him, "Why is your name Sagen?"

The dream is as white as the thick fog and like the raindrops falling on the terrace. The voice of the person asking him was a cold soft voice, like frozen spring water and just melted, looking so transparent and beautiful. It was as if it had cleansed Sagen Takei's soul.

Sagen Takei was in the dream world, quietly listening to the person's question. Perhaps because he didn't get an answer, that person sighed.

Another dream followed that dream, it was just like any other normal dream of Sagen Takei. A mess, and pointless.

It's not entirely meaningless.

Karibu Shingu appeared in his dream. He had thought that he had forgotten him in his life, but it turned out to be just a myth that he deceived himself into forgetting the mistake of the past.

Karibu Shingu is involved in a case he once took on while starting as a wood sculptor seven years ago.

At two o'clock in the morning seven years ago, Sagen Takei, who couldn't sleep, got up from bed. He did not turn on the light, but went to the desk and sat down, resting his elbows on the table, leaning forward, and staring at the wooden statue of Karibu Shingu.

The bedroom was filled with the smell of wood, beeswax, and paint that Sagen Takei still used to this day; This is his favorite scent. It helps him to increase his alertness and concentration while sculpting wood. And now, its effect has significantly decreased. When his preoccupations surged and he no longer cared about external factors, he no longer needed them.

Karibu Shingu is Amao Shingu's father. A successful business and a prominent face in the city. However, not long ago, a few weeks ago, his mysterious disappearance caused a stir in the city. Because of Amao Shingu's request, Sagen Takei agreed to help. Even though the two are not very close.

The only mysterious thing that Karibu Shingu left behind was a wooden sculpture of himself.

Sagen Takei sensed mysterious movements within the statue, and those movements were closely related to Karibu Shingu as if a smaller version of him was residing inside the statue.

As mentioned earlier, wooden statues are a very good tool for sealing demons. So why did Karibu Shingu sculpt the same wooden statue as himself and stuff something weird inside?

Sagen Takei secretly speculated that he might have turned into a demon and that his disappearance was to escape the pursuit of something. This was common in ancient times. There have been many cases like this. Someone becomes a demon because of an event, to continue living in the body of a mortal, that person must use a wooden statue and insert his demon soul inside, leaving only his human soul in the body. But then when the demon's power was out of control, the human spirit was forced to flee.

The simplest way is to break this demon statue, but doing so will mean that the owner of this statue will no longer be alive. Sagen Takei didn't want to be the killer of his friend's father, even though Amao Shingu's father probably died a long time ago, and because the power of the demon must be accumulated over a long period.

However, things are not that simple. Because Sagen Takei also found a few other unusual traces.

Such as the actions of Karibu Shingu. To maintain the already weak soul inside the body, Karibu Shingu must perform a monthly ritual.

However, based on the accounts of Amao Shingu and the household servants, Karibu Shingu did not wear any necklaces around his neck, which are commonly used to increase the power of the soul, and he could not appear to be a religious person or a fanatic.

Anyway, according to what Sagen Takei learned, Karibu Shingu is a person who hates things related to spirituality. Something that no one who uses a human soul would hate.

Maybe he's acting contrary to his nature, but what's the reason?

The current concern is the whereabouts of Karibu Shingu. According to the original theory, he wanted to hide from the demon spirit inside the wooden statue, so he just had to ask someone to throw this demon statue in a faraway place in this country. Yet he chose to run away.

More than anything, from what Sagen Takei felt, the power inside this wooden statue was not so strong that he had to panic and run away like that.

Unless, he's not hiding, but being kidnapped or harmed by someone.

And thinking about it this way, it makes a lot more sense. So Sagen Takei localized the suspicious suspects.

The first suspect is the wife of Karibu Shingu. Karibu and his wife had a dispute not long after he disappeared. The reason is adultery. The eternal problem in marriage.

The second suspect is Sunada Masumi, Karibu Shingu's close friend and also the deputy general manager of the company that Karibu Shingu is running. Those two have been best friends for the past twenty years.

However, when Karibu Shingu went missing, Sunada Masumi also happened to not appear at the company, and it was not until three days after Karibu Shingu disappeared that Sunanda Masumi suddenly returned to his house.

And he looked surprised when he heard that Karibu Shingu was missing, and according to Amao Shingu, his expression at that time looked extremely fake. Amao Shingu was present at that time because he thought that Sunada Masumi knew where his father was.

The third suspect is Mura Yoko. One day before Karibu Shingu went missing, she stole money from Karibu Shingu and left. Initially, the police speculated that Karibu Shingu had run away with his lover, but the police later found her in another city, and there was no trace of Karibu Shingu there. Of course, she is currently in custody.

Sagen Takei decides to find out about Chika Madoka first, the wife of Karibu Shingu.

He posted a picture of Chika Madoka's portrait on the board, making notes on it. Sagen Takei's eyes had a very strong desire to find out the truth. Because a case involving wooden statues like this is very rare. In an age like this, very few people know about the demon sealing methods associated with wooden statues, and even fewer are able to do so.

The carving tools on the table were neatly arranged, with round and flat knives, a wire saw, a stack of sandpaper, and a sharpening stone, Sagen Takei grabbed a special tweezer on the table and picked up a thread of black from the air around the wooden statue and put it in a test tube vial.

He has a very strong background in painting, and the combination of fine art and woodcarving has enabled him to create intricately detailed statues. Sagen Takei has shown his talent since he was a child.

The next morning, Sagen Takei went to Amao Shingu's house. Of course, he had an appointment and according to Amao Shingu's assurances, at this moment in the house were only Amao Shingu and his mother, Chika Madoka.

Chika Madoka who received him was also quite enthusiastic. She inquired about his family, Sagen Takei is quite secretive about his family, he only gives vague and basic information.

Then Sagen Takei skillfully led the topic of Karibu Shingu and asked what his hobby was.

Chika Madoka replied, "He loves golf and fishing, he goes golfing almost every weekend, and fishing about once a month."

"Where does he fish?"

“In Henshi Province. He joined a fishing club called One Strength in that province. And he's also close to some of the people in that club."

Sagen Takei nodded. Hence province is known as province with the highest timber production in the country. Sagen Takei is not naive enough to believe that he came to Hensi province by accident. He must have had some secret project working there. And naturally, that could be where he was hiding with a very high probability.

Just to be sure, he inquired about his golf preferences.

Chika Madoka replied that he played golf at a golf course in the city center, and she wrote down the address on a piece of paper and gave it to Sagen Takei.

Sagen Takei planned that would learn about golf first and then fly to Henshi Prefecture. For him, the golf course wouldn't bring him much information, but he couldn't miss it.

Amao Shingu asked, “Are you planning on going to Henshi Province?”

Sagen Takei replied, “I will go there. It's just not clear when."

“Can you take me with you? I also want to find my father.”

Sagen Takei glanced over at Chika Madoka, wondering what she thought when her son still cared about Karibu Shingu after he had an affair. But then he couldn't help but blame himself, since when did he himself poke his nose into the trifles of other people's families?

Sagen Takei asked: “Does he have any other hobbies?”

“I don't know if it's a hobby or not, he once sculpted a wooden household item. Maybe he like wood carving, isn't he?” Amao Shingu thought about it, then answered.

Sagen Takei's eyes lit up, he continued to ask: "When did he get that hobby?"