Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume8 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 4===

After the sun had set and the part-time job was about to end, another chaotic scene arrived for who knows how many times now. Every time Fear and the girls raised their voices to tout, customers kept increasing, gradually overwhelming the cash register with work. Since they currently took turns resting with one person on break at a time, it just so happened that Haruaki's capable assistant, Zenon, was away. Although Haruaki could wait for her to return, he decided to make use of the only person on the scene who appeared to be quite free.

"E-Excuse me, Ganon-san, could you go call Zenon-san to come back? It's almost about time!"

"Eh~ That's so tiring~ But if I continue to stay here, I might be forced to help out, which would be even more tiring~ Can't be helped, I'll go call her~"

The party had already drawn to a close. Haruaki did not know if it was the alcohol or her natural gait as he watched Ganon stumble on her way. Then he turned back to his work at the cash register. He could not help but feel a little resentment towards Fear and the girls who kept bringing in new customers without any consideration for his situation. However, he could only grit his teeth and work furiously. Since Zenon had not returned yet, all he could do was try his best...!

For the next long while, Haruaki applied himself to his work in total absorption. Then he suddenly discovered that the long lineup had disappeared completely. Grinning from ear to ear, the cake shopkeeper came outside.

"Hi everyone, thank you for your hard work! Thanks to you all, we're all sold out!"

"I-It's over...?"

"Yeah, all the ingredients purchased for today have already been used up, so there's no way to replenish the cakes. It's over! I knew it, asking you guys for help was the right decision!"

The shopkeeper patted Haruaki's shoulder as he spoke. Compared to the man who was almost about to cry back when they first started working, worrying that the shop was facing a survival crisis on the verge of closing down, he was like a completely different person.

"It's over? Although it's a bit unsatisfactory that the 'Santa Hunter' ended up not making an appearance... We'll think more about it later. Let's enjoy the delight of a successfully finished job."

Fear wiped sweat off her brow and spoke with relief. All the other members of the group drew near. Hearing that the cakes were sold out, everyone showed a sense of accomplishment on their face&mdash;Except Un Izoey who nodded expressionlessly while going: "I judge this similar to successfully hunted all prey in a forest."

"It's cold outside, right? Leave the cleanup to me. You guys should all go inside. I'm going to raise your wages so wait while I fetch the money. Oh, I also reserved your share of cake of course, please look forward to it!"

"Ohoh! Another chance to eat that strawberry again? ...If I could eat it together with rice crackers, that would be fantastic like a dream!"

"That combination sounds very strange, Fear, then let's go inside..."

Just as the group was about to move&mdash;

"Hello everyone. May I have a moment of your time?"

A man in a coat spoke to them. The shopkeeper put up a radiant business-like smile and said:

"Oh, dear customer, I'm really sorry. Our cakes are all sold out already..."

"I'm glad for your booming business, but I'm not here to buy cakes, even though I would like to get one as a gift for family. That said, I'm in a line of work where booming business would be terrible... In other words, this is my profession."

While saying that, the man took out a black leather notebook from his breast pocket&mdash;A police notebook.

"Sir, why are you here...? Is it because of the 'Santa Hunter'?"

"Santa Hunter...? Oh, now that you mention it, I've heard of the incident. Well, that's unrelated, at least for now, while the police are investigating it. Anyway, there's a separate matter that started roughly a week ago. We've received reports of missing persons, roughly four of them. That's why I'm asking around the shopping street to see if the populace has any clues or eyewitness accounts."

Missing persons would be a very serious matter but if it started a week ago, then that was even earlier than the 'Santa Hunter' incident and unrelated to them&mdash;That thought crossed everyone's mind, but&mdash;

The detective took out several photos. His next words sent a chill down Haruaki's spine.

"Oh right, by the way, they all shared a common feature&mdash;reportedly, they were all wearing red clothes before going missing. I think that this clothing characteristic is quite conspicuous, so if you have any clues, even trivial facts, please tell me."

Haruaki thought it was a miracle that the detective did not sense his surprised reaction. Haruaki's group exchanged glances with one another and pretended as appropriate to put away the tables.

The shopkeeper shook his head after looking at the photos. Saying "thank you for your cooperation," the detective simply put the photos away. His current task was probably just interviewing the shops one by one. The detective turned around, meanwhile glancing at Fear and Un Izoey, then disappeared into the crowd. Suspicious foreigners couldn't possibly be working openly, dressed up as Santa&mdash;This was probably the thought that saved them miraculously.

Following the earlier instructions of the shopkeeper, Haruaki's group entered the shop. Naturally, they instantly exchanged glances with grave expressions and whispered discreetly:

"What does everyone think?"

"Missing persons dressed in red... Then immediately afterwards, the 'Santa Hunter' started stealing clothes... I think there's a connection between them, although it's unclear why the crime severity went down."

"Assuming the same culprit is behind everything, the situation is very serious. Although it'll be fewer than today, there should be at least one or two Santas on the streets even tomorrow. Next time, someone could go missing rather than simply losing their clothes. Since we don't know why the culprit chose to reduce the crime severity, it could very well step up again for unknown reasons."

"I knew that the 'Santa Hunter' is an unforgivable villain! Now is not the time for saying stuff like 'once the Christmas season is over, she might not commit more crimes'! Since people have gone missing already, then the only one who knows where they are is the 'Santa Hunter'&mdash;We must catch her and force her to cough it out!"

"Yeah, but how are we going to do it? She didn't appear today either. Even if we do the same thing tomorrow, there might not be any effect. We may have to think up another plan..."

The group discussed among themselves with serious expressions. In any case, they went into the backyard and suddenly realized&mdash;

"Say, wait a minute. Let's change the subject, where are Zenon-san and Ganon-san?"

"I saw them both entering the shop... But they're not here."

Tea and water were already prepared but there were no signs of the two of them.

"No one saw them leave, right? Then where have they run off to...? Ah, this backdoor leads outside, right?"

"That alley has a vending machine, so they probably went there. That, or they could have gone to the convenience store."

"No matter what, they shouldn't have gone far. Also, they're both dressed so conspicuously, right...?"

At this moment, Fear's face suddenly changed drastically. Haruaki also realized the danger involved.

"Not good... They ran off somewhere directly without changing out of their red Santa outfits? If only their clothes were stolen, that's fine, but we just found out that there were even cases of people gone missing...!"

"M-Maybe we're overthinking things... But it does feel quite scary. Let's hurry and find them!"

No one answered.

The group simply exchanged glances with one another and nodded, then rushed out the backdoor, still without saying a word.



&mdash;In a nearby alley, Ganon and Zenon's figures were soon located.

However, they were not alone. Furthermore, they were no longer dressed in Santa outfits either.

Because, judging from the result&mdash;

A third person was present, a person on the scene who resembled Santa Claus the most.

"Wha...!"

Dumbfounding. What they saw in the deserted alley was a girl dressed in bright red.

She was crouching on the ground...

Forcibly stripping the Santa outfits from the two people lying at her feet.

"Hmm? Oh, you guys have arrived."

The girl turned her head and looked back, swaying her long blonde hair as she stood up. In accordance with this motion, a Santa outfit's sleeve was pulled off Ganon's originally raised arm that now fell to the floor as though it belonged to a doll.
[[image:C3 08-157.jpg|thumb]]

Un Izoey's body shook as she glared viciously at the girl in red and said:

"&mdash;My report: I give the reminder that this is the person who first attacked me."

"I know without needing you to tell me! You there, you're from the Draconians, right!? In other words&mdash;you're the 'Santa Hunter,' aren't you!?"

Fear took out the Rubik's cube and yelled angrily.

"Kaha! What's a 'Santa Hunter'? Although I still get what you're saying, I don't want to be called by that kind of weird name. I am Kokoro Pentangeli... The Draconians' «Jaws»! You guys probably don't get it, right? Then I'll explain simply."

The girl's shoulders shook as she laughed with amusement. Then with great confidence, she puffed out her chest.

"The Draconians are ranked by their strength. Only a select number of the top-ranked receive crests, the Wounds corresponding to a dragon's 'body parts'&mdash;I am one such member. «Blaze» No.4. By the way, your previous opponents, Satsuko and Fourteen, were ranked seventh. No wait, they're ranked nine now? Yes, in other words, what I'm trying to express here... You guys should understand now, right?"

Grinning widely, she continued:

"I am the fourth strongest of the Draconians, far stronger than Satsuko and Fourteen. So, if you don't bring out your true strength&mdash;You guys will die."

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[CubexCursedxCurious:Volume8_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[CubexCursedxCurious#Volume_8_.28Full_Text.29|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[CubexCursedxCurious:Volume8_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>