Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume3 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 2===

"...What kind of haircut would you like?"

"Just trim it suitably. Whether length or style, I leave everything completely in your hands."

"Since you've kept your hair this long already, cutting it short would be a shame. How about trimming it to waist length?"

"Let's do that."

Alice smiled back affectionately through the mirror. Kuroe sighed and began to take her scissors to task, producing the faint and pleasant sounds from the severing of hair by metal.

"Jeez, how did it come to this...?"

"We can't help it. Kuroe said it was fine."

Despite answering the displeased Fear in this manner, Haruaki harbored doubts himself. Like the way she suddenly tied up Fear in bondage, Kuroe had a belligerent side to her and Haruaki had not expected her to cut the enemy's hair so obediently.

(Hmm... Perhaps in front of other customers, we can't really drive her away just like that.)

Haruaki and the rest kept the door leading to the back of the shop ajar and peeked through the gap to observe Kuroe and Alice's situation. She held true to her words of "Today I am simply a customer" that she had declared when Haruaki and the girls readied themselves for battle in response to her arrival. Instead of the nun's habit, she was wearing casual clothing today. Neither was she carrying the large musical instrument case. While waiting in line, she simply flipped through fashion magazines curiously to pass time, suddenly looking up to smile at Fear and others from time to time.

"Is she planning something?"

"Doesn't look like it... Perhaps because we are monitoring things here, she might not do anything."

Fear and Konoha whispered among themselves. Meanwhile, Kuroe and Alice's conversation could be heard faintly.

"It's been so long since I've let someone cut my hair. It feels so delightful."

"...Really? But your hair is so pretty, cutting it feels delightful to me too."

As the two chatted away casually, Kuroe worked nonstop while Alice's smile remained constant. This continued for dozens of minutes. Then for the first time, Alice stopped smiling.

"Snore... Snore..."

"I can't believe it, she fell asleep!"

"Or should I point out her total lack of danger awareness? ...I really don't get this person."

"The fact that she hasn't really done anything special so we are not motivated to take this opportunity to strike back... If she actually reasoned in this manner, she'd be quite a character. But if she didn't consider anything at all, then she's nothing more than a fool."

In truth, Haruaki and his companions were quite irritated. Alice's stated goals were to "Please come with me no matter what, should you refuse, I would have to resort to force." These were undoubtedly the words of an "enemy." However&mdash;currently nodding off to sleep while her hair was being cut, she really did not give off any hostile impression. All one could see was a gentle, calm and composed lady who smiled appropriately. Nothing more than that.

All sorts of questions occupied Haruaki's mind. Was she really an enemy? Targeting Kuroe earlier and now intending to abduct Fear instead, was there some sort of underlying reason? And if so, what kind of reason was it? Ultimately, what sort of organization was the Bivorio Family? "An organization greatly resembling the Yachi family"&mdash;Was Alice's explanation really true? &mdash;Haruaki could not understand any of this.

"Done."

"...Hmm. Ara ara&mdash;Did I fall asleep? My apologies, it was too comfortable."

"As a matter of procedure, please check your hairstyle."

Kuroe held a mirror behind Alice, allowing her to check the back view. After a simple glance at her hair which had been shortened by a few dozen centimeters, Alice happily nodded affirmatively:

"Wow, the hair ends look much prettier than before! As expected of Kuroe-sama."

"Thanks for the praise&mdash;Haru, would you please prepare her bill. Hmm... Next customer please."

"O-Oh okay, got it."

There were many customers in line after Alice. Giving Kuroe a sideways glance as she busied herself serving the next customer, Haruaki walked over to the cash register. Fear and Konoha also followed him nonchalantly.

"Keep the change. Think of this as a celebratory gift for the opening."

"...No, you're just a customer. We can't accept that from customers. Here, this is your change."

"Really? Then see you next time&mdash;especially Fear-sama."

Don't come again&mdash;Fear almost shouted out, but suppressed herself seeing as there were other customers on the sofa. Smiling tenderly as she watched Fear pout, Alice nodded lightly and left the shop.

She could not be allowed to escape just like that. Their hands were tied while inside the shop, but there were still a mountain of questions to ask. Haruaki, Fear and Konoha rushed out the door together&mdash;

"W-Wait up! Let's talk!"

"Ara ara, what would you like to talk about? Have you finally decided to come over to us?"

"Hmph&mdash;Of course not! I just want to learn about your goals in greater detail. Not something ludicrous like 'having tea together' but your real goals!"

As Alice looked back over her shoulder, her monocle flashed brightly. Her eyes looked as though she were gazing at a troublesome and willful child.

"I don't consider my words ludicrous... My utmost apologies. I fear that now is not the right time, so if you want details, please wait until&mdash;"

"Time? I am asking you right now what you mean! Even if it means resorting to force&mdash;"

"Hey, hold your horses, Fear! Could you pay a little attention to the bystanders!?"

Haruaki's reminder caused Fear to gnash her teeth as she halted her hand that was reaching into the pocket of her Chinese dress.

"...There's no need to be impatient. You'll know eventually. That is why I am here."

"Since we'll know eventually, telling us now is the same, isn't it?"

Beneath Konoha's severe glare, Alice shook her head gently:

"Not exactly. There exists something known as timing&mdash;Oh, but I suddenly remembered something. It would be troublesome should you get the wrong idea, so allow me to state this first for the record."

Then looking at Haruaki, Konoha and Fear in turn, she declared unambiguously:

"The culprit is me."

A totally incomprehensible line.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"This too, is something you'll understand eventually... Well then, I shall take my leave here today. Please convey thanks to Kuroe-sama on my behalf."

Saying that on her own, she left. Haruaki wanted to chase after her, but a new customer happened to arrive, asking "Excuse, how long would it take if I queued right now?" Distracted for a few seconds to handle the customer's question, Haruaki discovered Alice had disappeared from sight by the time he turned his attention back to her. Although Fear and Konoha went searching, they returned quickly, unable to find clues.

The culprit is me&mdash;What did this sentence mean? What was going to happen next? Or perhaps, had some kind of incident occurred already? A major incident that would require the existence of a "culprit"&mdash;

For quite a while, Haruaki silently gazed into the distance where Alice had disappeared.

In the depths of his heart, he felt a vague and ambiguous but undeniable and inexplicable eeriness.



(Since I was getting a haircut there anyway, I should have asked to cut it shorter...)

I'll just have to go again in the next few days&mdash;She thought to herself. After all, she would definitely enjoy it.

Despite only cutting off a few dozen centimeters, her hair felt much lighter than before. Feeling refreshed, Alice strolled as she allowed her shortened hair to flutter in the wind. Her visit to the shop was originally intended as a small surprise, but she had not expected a long overdue haircut to feel so pleasurable.

(Yes, it really has been quite a while since my last haircut...)

She recalled the memories from that "home" when friends had helped her cut her hair. It was so very long ago. That girl who existed no longer, what was her name? E... Yes, Elena. A girl with beautiful blonde hair who was adopted together with Alice from the agency. Of course Alice remembered her, because she was family too.

They had often played together. Having learnt how to draw using fragments of charcoal, Alice would often find Elena behind her, peeking at what she was drawing. Then she would ask... How should this picture be titled, Alice?

Thinking back now, were her drawings so ugly that they could not be recognized without a title? This would hardly be surprising, seeing as they were the drawings of a child. Also, there were no colors except for the black of charcoal. Photography had become very convenient in recent times, with cameras offering far more functionality than paintbrushes. However, it still felt nice to pick up a paintbrush now and then.

"Ah yes... It would be great to ask her to be my model. Drinking hot milk as I invite her to sit on a chair in the garden..."

Her thoughts wandering aimlessly, Alice was murmuring to herself. She could not help but smile wryly as soon as she realized what she was doing.

These thoughts were premature. Next, there were clearly many tasks which needed to be done first.

Indeed, the preliminary work for preparations were complete. Next she must take to task the direct preparations for inviting the girl.

Alice continued to walk with light footsteps. She discovered a roadside cafe with a nice atmosphere. Did cafes in this country offer hot milk? What a worrying question.

But first, there was work. She shall visit a cafe after her task was done!

The task was very simple but required precise execution and did not allow for carelessness.

(Very well, time to start what I need to do!)

In order to settle down, she warned herself. Walking without pause, she made her way towards the warehouse serving as her secret base. The tools must be prepared first. She continued to tell herself:

Very well, let suffering be granted! Very well, let drama be pursued! Very well, let understanding be whispered!

Very well&mdash;let me become the culprit!