In the living room of the Nanahara family, there was silence for a long time. Nanahara Takeshi and Kiyomi Ruri were both lost in their own thoughts, but it was Kiyomi Ruri who spoke first. She took a small bite of a meatball, forced herself to cheer up, and asked Nanahara Takeshi, "How is this related to Granny Aokawa's 'premonition dream'?"

She felt sympathy for Kameda Atsushi. In just over twenty minutes, it seemed like she had watched a movie about someone's life. She could feel the despair and sorrow of an ordinary adult crying out in despair. But she was just an ordinary first-year high school girl with a slow mind. Even if she sympathized, there was nothing she could do. She could only gather her emotions and continue to investigate the truth.

Nanahara Takeshi also snapped out of his thoughts and sighed as he ate. "That was purely accidental. Kameda Atsushi was really unlucky."

"Why do you say that?"

"He planned to leave some money for his wife and children and seek revenge on Aiomari Harumitsu, who ruined his life. He had already started preparing for it." Nanahara Takeshi slowly said, "He had previously gone to confront Aiomari, and they had a physical altercation. During that time, he managed to get some of Aiomari's hair and stole his glasses. He also secretly recorded the audio using a portable device like a small tape recorder, intending to use it to create the sound effects of Aiomari 'killing' him. But he had bad luck, and the newly synthesized tape was stolen just after it was completed."

"Stolen?" Kiyomi Ruri recalled the scene. "Was his cheap apartment robbed?"

Nanahara Takeshi nodded. "It was a young thief who broke into his apartment. He casually picked the lock of his small apartment, hoping to find some valuables. But he didn't expect Kameda to be even poorer than him, so he could only take the dual cassette tape recorder, portable tape recorder, and all the tapes that were still worth some money. These devices were originally used by Kameda to create the sound of the 'murder' scene. The first half was a recording of Kameda arguing with Aiomari, and the second half, the begging and the sound of being beaten, were added by Kameda himself later. That's why the little girl next door could hear them arguing. It was him testing the sound effects. That's why the lock on the apartment door was new. When it broke, he had to replace it to avoid accidentally attracting the police."

Kiyomi Ruri suddenly realized and remembered these details. She asked, "And then?"

Nanahara Takeshi continued, "Kameda had no choice but to proceed with his plan. He had to buy another tape recorder and go to confront Aiomari again, completing the recording through physical conflict. Then he would reassemble the tape in his cheap apartment. But this time, he didn't have the money to buy another dual cassette tape recorder for internal recording, so he made up a reason and brought over the bulky old dual cassette tape recorder from his own home, the one that was previously placed on his bookshelf. After using it, he directly gave it to the little girl next door who had helped him selflessly in the final stage of his life."

Pausing for a moment, he added, "Actually, he should have just destroyed that dual cassette tape recorder. But... I guess he was a good person and really wanted to thank the girl next door. He still needed the portable tape recorder to fake the sound of the murder scene, and everything else was just junk. So he could only pick up the bulky dual cassette tape recorder that could somewhat help the girl next door as a token of gratitude."

So that's how it is...

Kiyomi Ruri pondered for a moment and felt that all the deductions Nanahara Takeshi had made could be connected to real things. It all made sense, and she couldn't find any flaws in his reasoning. Moreover, after Nanahara Takeshi's explanation, she could even imagine Kameda Atsushi's plan. She felt a sense of regret. If Nanahara Takeshi had thought of it a little later, maybe she could have deduced it too.

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It's really a pity. It's so simple.

She didn't say anything for a moment. Nanahara Takeshi glanced at her and continued, "He was running out of time, so he quickly completed the second recording and was ready to be 'killed' by Aiomari. But he was a bit late. By that time, the first set of tapes and the tape recorder had already been sold by the thief at a flea market and exchanged for money. Coincidentally, the tape was bought back by Granny Fumie..."

When Kiyomi Ruri heard this, she suddenly opened her mouth wide. "Are you saying..."

Nanahara Takeshi smiled. "Yes, that tape is now in your room."

Without hesitation, Kiyomi Ruri got up and rushed into her own home. In less than three minutes, she came back holding the box of second-hand items. Nanahara Takeshi had already taken a small and delicate dual cassette tape recorder from his study and placed it on a small table.

Kiyomi Ruri rummaged through the box of items anxiously and asked, "Which tape is it? Do we need to listen to the whole thing?"

Nanahara Takeshi pushed her aside and started searching. "No need. We've actually seen it before. It was in the cassette slot next to Yoshida's folk song. And he was afraid of mixing up the A and B sides, so he must have made a mark... Oh, I've found it. It's this tape."

He took out the tape and inserted it into the tape recorder while continuing to speak. "Kameda Atsushi used to have a tape recorder and would listen to songs and buy tapes. This is one of the tapes he bought before. Later, when he planned to frame Aiomari, he took these tapes from his home, washed them, and re-recorded them. But he only needed to record two or three minutes of content, so the ten or so minutes that were washed away were enough. Even the other side still had the original song."

As he spoke, he installed the tape, pressed the play button, and the tape recorder emitted a low "rustling" sound. Then a strange man's reprimanding voice suddenly sounded, which was probably Aiomari Harumitsu's voice. The content of the next two or three minutes was almost identical to Granny Fumie's "premonition dream," with the two men arguing, struggling, and fighting. However, there were some discrepancies compared to the testimonies of the fishermen. Many of the words couldn't be matched.

After the tape reached the point where Kameda Atsushi let out a scream, the tape recorder returned to the "rustling" sound and played for another seven or eight minutes. Then Yoshida Takuro's song started playing again. Nanahara Takeshi casually turned off the tape recorder and said softly, "That's the reason. Granny Fumie accidentally heard this tape before Kameda Atsushi's death, which is why she had that strange premonition dream. Now that we have this tape in our hands, we don't have to worry about her causing any more trouble."Kiyomi Ruri took a long breath. So that's how it is. She had always felt that something was off. It's a scientific world after all, how could there be any superpowers? Now everything makes sense... just a little more.

She immediately asked, "Did Aokawa Grandma listen to the cassette tape three times, with one day interval each time? Isn't that strange? Didn't she notice anything?"

Nanahara Takeshi smiled helplessly. "Yes, she listened to it three times, but she didn't notice anything."

Kiyomi Ruri couldn't understand. "How is that possible?"

Nanahara Takeshi pointed to the small double cassette recorder and explained, "The working principle of music cassette tapes and video tapes is basically the same. However, the difference lies in the fact that video tapes are unidirectional, with continuous audiovisual information recorded on the entire tape for the video player to read. On the other hand, music cassette tapes are bidirectional, with side A and side B, and each side only occupies half of the tape width for audio information."

Kiyomi Ruri didn't quite understand. Music cassette tapes were common, but she didn't know how they worked. She hesitated and asked, "So, what's the point?"

Nanahara Takeshi pointed to the double cassette recorder and smiled. "So, if its reading tool is a regular tape recorder, when you insert the tape, it will start playing the magnetic strip driven by the only drive gear, and the magnetic head will start reading the information. When side A reaches the end, the play button will pop up, prompting you to flip the tape to side B.

But Mrs. Fumie used an old double cassette recorder, which was originally used by music enthusiasts. You can simultaneously insert a music cassette tape and a blank tape for internal recording, allowing you to copy the tape information without being affected by the surrounding audio. If you only want to play music, it will wait for the first cassette in the slot to finish playing before automatically playing the second cassette. That's why this situation occurred."

As he spoke, Nanahara Takeshi filled the recorder with two tapes and pressed the fast forward button to play. After side A of the first tape finished playing, side A of the second tape continued playing. But at this moment, the voice of Aiomari Harumitsu reprimanding Kameda-san could be heard. Nanahara Takeshi released the fast forward button and let Kiyomi Ruri listen. However, after two or three minutes, this synthesized recording disappeared, followed by a rustling sound. Then, Nanahara Takeshi pressed the fast forward button again, and the soft and soothing singing voice started playing. Finally, both side A's finished playing and the play button of the recorder automatically popped up.

But Nanahara Takeshi didn't flip the tape and pressed the play button again. The second drive gear of the double cassette recorder started turning, causing the magnetic strip to reverse, and the music cassette tape started playing side B without needing to be flipped. He continued fast forwarding, and after two consecutive side B's finished playing, the play button of the recorder popped up again.

He explained while operating, "This type of double cassette recorder is different from a regular tape recorder. Each slot has two drive gears, one for forward and one for reverse. It can record and play the entire tape without flipping it. It was a very advanced technology back then and a large household item. That's why Mrs. Fumie didn't have to do anything. She just had to press the play button before going to bed every night and she could have nightmares."

Kiyomi Ruri finally understood, but still couldn't believe it as she opened her mouth wide. "Is it really that simple?"

Nanahara Takeshi also smiled helplessly. "Yes, it's really that simple. Mrs. Fumie probably had the bad habit of listening to music and reading magazines before going to bed. On the first night, she fell asleep while listening to side A of the first tape. When side A of the second tape started playing, she heard the argument and fight between Aiomari and Kameda-san in a daze. But because she wanted to sleep and was afraid of waking her granddaughter, she kept the volume of the recorder low and didn't fully wake up. It just gave her a vague memory. After two or three minutes, she entered deep sleep again, and Kameda Atsushi was 'killed' by Aiomari Harumitsu the next afternoon, which is why her dream became a premonition.

After having such a strange dream, she entered a state of self-doubt and fear when she woke up in the morning. She went to the Shinto Shrine that day, but even if she went to the Shinto Shrine, her nerves were still tense. She was already in her seventies and would quickly become tired. At night, she absentmindedly pressed the play button before going to bed, as was her habit. And on the second night, nothing happened because she listened to side B.

On the third day, she relaxed a bit, but still had some self-doubt and fear. She didn't feel like listening to music that day and was probably lost in her thoughts. Only before resting in the evening, she absentmindedly pressed the play button as usual, without thinking about changing the tape, just wanting to relax and have a good sleep, confirming that it was just a strange dream by chance. As a result, she heard the argument and fight between Kameda Atsushi and Aiomari Harumitsu in her dream again when she fell asleep, and had another nightmare.

This time, she completely panicked and told her granddaughter, Aokawa Mariko. The two of them went to the Shinto Shrine together. That night, she was restless and didn't have the mood to change the tape. She absentmindedly pressed the play button again, wanting to listen to music and have a good sleep. From then on, it continued like this. On the fourth day, nothing happened when she listened to side B, and on the fifth day, she had a nightmare when she listened to side A.

By this time, even Aokawa Mariko was a little panicked and hurriedly went to see Miss Nakano to verify. That night, she came to find us and never went back to stay. So, Mrs. Fumie couldn't have nightmares anymore. In fact, she was already safe."

Kiyomi Ruri listened in astonishment. No wonder the old lady had a nightmare every other night, it was incredibly strange, like a supernatural phenomenon. It turned out that she was just fooled by the advanced double cassette recorder she bought years ago, which could play continuously and automatically flip sides. It was stuck in an AB loop, and that's how she got herself into this mess.

Damn it, if only I had discovered Kameda-san's insurance fraud and the theft in the small apartment a little earlier, and if I had known the working principle of the old double cassette recorder and music cassette tapes, I could have... No, I could have deduced it.

It's such a pity, why am I always just a little short of it!

(End of this chapter)