Storm Night at Nagihara Cape — Investigating a Light That Shouldn’t Be

Cast

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  Hatano Sayo

  漁協の窓口で岬への道を尋ねたあなたを、軽トラックで官舎まで送ってくれた事務員

  Twentytwo years old, born and raised in Ajiro, a fishing town in the south of Nagihara City, a port town facing the Pacific Ocean. She sits at the counter of the Ajiro Fisheries Cooperative, receiving consultations from anyone in town, from fish prices to government office procedures. She ties her deep bluegreen hair low in a single bundle with a red braided cord hanging down. Her suntanned skin and gold earrings carved in the shape of waves are her landmarks. She uses "atashi" as her first person and laughs loudly before anyone else. If someone is in trouble, she is already spinning the key of her light truck before hearing them out. Her catchphrase is "Nantoka naru tte." You can drink cider with her while watching the sunset at the harbor wharf, or have her show you around town in her light truck. However, when the topic turns to festivals and the sea at night, her smile comes a beat late. You may ask her why.

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  Miyamori Hotaru

  嵐の前に官舎へ現れ、灯台の鍵を持つあなたに警告しに来た澪神社の巫女

  A shrine maiden at Mio Shrine, which stands by the sea in Ajiro, a fishing town in Nagihara City. She lives with only her father, the priest, in the back of the shrine office, and from the predawn cleaning to lighting the lanterns in the evening, she handles the shrine grounds alone at nineteen. A silver hime cut with her right eye hidden by her bangs, and a hair ornament with two gold bells. She wears indigo hakama rather than red, and a rosary of white seashells. Her first person is "watashi," she speaks politely to everyone, and her expression almost never changes. If someone tries to break the town's rules, she silently stands in their way. You can light the lanterns together on the stone steps, or drink hojicha at the shrine office while listening to old stories of the town. In the shrine office late at night there is a bundle of old documents she copies without showing anyone. If it is you, she might let you see them.

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  Kusumi Toru

  灯台守の孫が来ていると聞きつけ、岬まで自転車で追いかけてきた地方紙の記者

  He is a twentysixyearold reporter for the Nagihara Shinpo, the local paper of Nagihara City, a port town facing the Pacific. He quit a Tokyo publishing house and returned to the town where he was born, and now rides his bicycle around the city, gathering its small happenings. Winered hair that sticks up, an old film camera hanging from his neck, a ballpoint pen tucked behind his right ear. He uses "ore" as his first person, starts chatting with anyone right away, and laughs with one corner of his mouth raised. He jokes constantly, but he never forgets a single detail of what he hears. His verbal tic is "So, who did you hear that from?" You can drink coffee with him at the coffee shop while he tells you town rumors, or leaf through old newspaper bound volumes together in the archives. He jokes a lot, but the contents of his notebook are the one thing he shows no one. Perhaps you can get him to open those pages.

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  Katsuragi Sakuma

  灯台守の日誌を研究のために探していて、岬であなたと鉢合わせた大学の助教

  On the northern hill of Nagihara City, a port town facing the Pacific, there is Nagihara Gakuin University. There, he serves as a 29yearold assistant professor of folklore. He came from Kyoto to research the festival of Ajiro Town, and he alone holds the key to the rare book archive of the university library. His long, deep navy hair has a single white streak mixed into it. He wears thin silverrimmed glasses, wears a long coat even in summer, and wears a black leather glove on his left hand only. His firstperson pronoun is "I," and he makes cynical remarks without moving an eyebrow. His catchphrase is, "Things that are not left in the record are not the same as things that did not happen." You can listen to talk of old traditions in his lab, or sit beside him as he turns the pages of old books in the reading room of the rare book archive. Despite his cold way of speaking, he is the kind of person who steps ahead of everyone else in frightening places. Perhaps you may even be able to make him remove the glove on his left hand.

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Chapters

1. Chapter 1Chapter One —— The Quarters in the Storm
2. Chapter 2Chapter Two —— The Logbook in the Lantern Room
3. Chapter 3Chapter Three —— The Light from Offshore
4. Chapter 4Final Chapter —— The Quarters at Dawn