Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume8 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 3===

While they took turns in watching over Un Izoey, time was ticking away by the second. After several hours passed since noon, Haruaki's cellphone rang&mdash;Not long after Kuroe had just set off from home to work part-time in their stead.

After the phone conversation, Haruaki nodded and walked to the guest room. Under the watchful gazes of Konoha, who was reading a book in boredom, and Kirika, Haruaki knelt down by the pillow side and examined Un Izoey's face.

"Ah~ ...How are you feeling."

"My answer: I give an answer of much better. I'm already fine."

"There is nothing more unreliable than a patient's claim of 'I'm fine'... Whatever. There will be a visitor later, are you able to get up for a while?"

"...Visitor?"

"You want to hand the letter to the superintendent, right?"

In response to Haruaki's question, her eyes blinked repeatedly without any emotional fluctuation. Then she breathed out.

"...Many thanks."

A smile appeared on the corners of her lips. She really felt relieved at the prospects of completing the mission that Yamimagari Pakuaki had assigned to her. That was the message her face appeared to convey. It was an extremely natural expression that seemed to reinforce the sincerity expressed by her murmurs this morning.

At this moment, Un Izoey began to produce a rustling noise as she tried to get out of the futon. Haruaki frantically stopped her.

"Hold on, it'll take a while first, so it's okay for you to continue lying down. I'll let you know when the visitor arrives."

"My sleep: cannot sleep because I want to sleep too much..."

"Honestly, your words completely baffle me, but I think I get what you mean."

"My wish: occupy some time briefly. Can I ask you some questions?"

If it's something that I know&mdash;Haruaki answered.

"&mdash;What kind of person is Sekaibashi Gabriel?"

"That's quite a difficult question to answer. Summed up in a single word... He's an eccentric, I guess. Also, he's always wearing a gas mask and he keeps flying all over the world."

"Why? I question."

Even if you ask me, I don't know. Haruaki tried to seek assistance from Konoha and Kirika by gesturing with his eyes.

"Hmph... Same old deal here. You're filled with desire for the 'unknown'? Absolutely ridiculous."

"Regarding the gas mask's explanation, the superintendent himself has changed his tune on multiple occasions... The same goes for his reasons for traveling abroad. Although he says it's work, every time I ask him, he ends up giving all sorts of answers like purchasing timber or buying real estate. I really have no idea what his main occupation is."

"Maybe he operates what's known as diversified businesses? Since he's seldom at school, running the school probably isn't his main occupation, right? Apart from that... His hobby is collecting things that feel like cursed tools. Stated bluntly, he collects fake cursed tools."

"What is meant by collecting fake cursed tools?"

"Because he lacks a discerning eye for these things, none of what he collected are cursed tools."

"It would be too dangerous if he actually finds authentic cursed tools. I can't really approve of it. Although I've reminded him frequently already..."

"A rich man's entertainment generally meshes well with the sense of excitement. On the other hand, I would consider a hobby of collecting abstract paintings of indiscernible meaning much more tasteful. How absolutely ridiculous."

Konoha and Kirika must be quite bored too and offered their comments as appropriate. Perhaps as a way to express their determination in refusing to lower their guard towards Un Izoey, it felt like they were mainly speaking to Haruaki.

Un Izoey's expression was quite lost but she nodded with great interest as she listened to their conversation. Then she stopped her movements as though she had a sudden realization. Just as Haruaki tilted his head in puzzlement&mdash;

"My request: I hope to borrow notebook and pencil. If possible, a string as well."

"Eh? Sure, that's no problem... Is a mechanical pencil okay?"

"Just my wish. If possible, pencil is better. The lead doesn't break."

Haruaki walked over to the living room, found a worn pencil and a small notebook in a cupboard and returned to the guest room. Un Izoey ended up weaving the string through the notebook's metallic coil binding and hanging it around her neck like a necklace. Seeing as this look resembled a certain someone, naturally, Kirika frowned with annoyance.

Holding the pencil in a fist like a kindergarten child, Un Izoey wrote down certain words forcefully in the notebook. Haruaki tried peeking a few times, only to see wobbly words written with excessive force: "gas mask," "abroad," "fake cursed tools"... Where had he seen this type of writing before? On further thought, Haruaki figured it out. This handwriting resembled the kind used by kidnappers for ransom notes or eccentric thieves for announcing their crimes beforehand. The extremely atrocious handwriting resulted in a bizarre script. Clearly, she was still learning how to write in addition to speaking Japanese.

"Uh... What is that?"

"My guess: is it this? What the Lab Chief means by something I must find out."

Speaking of which, she did mention that earlier. Apart from her letter delivering mission, Pakuaki had also given her the research theme of 'There is something you must find out.'

"Just from hearing this information, Sekaibashi Gabriel still has many unknowns. Considering the orders are related to this man, I predict that this prediction is very likely to be true."

Despite the blank and expressionless look on her face, Un Izoey murmured incomprehensibly then stared intently at Haruaki.

"Your pleading kind of gaze is making me awkward... But this is all we know about him."

"How absolutely ridiculous. There's completely no need for him to ask you to investigate this kind of information. There must be loads of people in the other labs who are suited to this kind of work and skilled in espionage operations."

"No necessarily. The Lab Chief's profound intents are very profound."

"No matter what you want to investigate, so long as you do not harm those people, do whatever you want. But conversely&mdash;If you dare try to harm them, we will stop you with everything we've got."

"My denial: completely no intention of doing that. If I intend to harm, I fear the recipient might not agree to receive the letter."

"I hope so."

Just as Konoha narrowed her eyes and spoke, the doorbell happened to ring.

Un Izoey instantly lifted the blanket and got up to her feet. The time to finish her mission had finally arrived&mdash;That was the determination conveyed by her gaze. However, she had apparently undressed under the blanket, leaving nothing on her lower body except a pair of panties.