Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume11 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 5===

Wednesday after school&mdash;

Fear was leaning against a tree trunk, rotating her Rubik's cube in utter boredom. The location was the front yard between the school gates and the entrance to the school building. Similarly, Haruaki, Konoha and Kirika were sitting on the lawn, watching the crowd of students getting off from class.

"Hmm... We seem to be running out of options soon..."

"Damn you, shameless brat, of course I know that. That's why I'm currently trying to think if there's a better way."

"Of course that's not a problem. But why here?"

"Sitting in the superintendent's office all the time, racking our brains isn't gonna help either.  If we sit here and watch the students leaving school, perhaps we might suddenly notice something. Such as... That girl seems really observant... She must be a former Draconian! Something like that. So you guys hurry and keep your eyes wide open."

"Hoo... If only it was someone that easily picked out from sight."

After trying to contact the «Knight Killer», two days had passed, but just as Haruaki described, they were running out of options. Even putting up a more cryptic note on the notice board did not bring any response; or running over to wander outside the first-year classrooms, but naturally, only acquaintances came up to talk to them. In the end, they were still unable to find "a safe method that the «Knight Killer» would feel comfortable enough to actually contact them."

"Please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, don't be impatient and relax slightly for a bit~? The deadline is Sunday, isn't it? It's only Wednesday so there is still plenty of time!"

Isuzu was also nearby, dressed as a shrine maiden, sweeping with a broom. As usual, she was serving as a janitor, fulfilling her duties. "Miss Shrine Maiden, bye bye~" A crowd of passing girls waved goodbye to Isuzu and she waved back lightly with a sweet and adorable smile. Since the students were completely unable to distinguish between them, they gave up from the start. The current popular trend was to address Isuzu and her sisters uniformly as "Miss Shine Maiden."

"You have a point, but the difference only lies in whether we interpret the time as half gone or half remaining."

Fear replied while staring at the flood of leaving students, meanwhile continuing to swivel the toy cube with clicking sounds.

The students' faces, faces, faces. Every face was filled with a sense of liberation due to it being the end of school. This was only natural, but even so, perhaps an illusion, somehow it felt as though the students' faces were more cheerful than usual, as though excitedly looking forward to something. They also resembled participants in a competition before a match, trying to do their best, perhaps because the once-a-year welcoming festival was coming next Sunday, dominated by club activities.

Was the target, whom Haruaki's group really wanted to hold a discussion with, currently looking forward to the grand event of the festival? Or was she thinking in depression, what a waste of a holiday? Who knows.

Isuzu was right, perhaps there was no need for urgent impatience. Nevertheless, Haruaki did not feel it was suitable to relax at this time. Was there no way to help the current situation make progress?

"A sighting! Fear-senpai, what's up? Why are you sitting here?"

Just at this moment, another student who was getting off school noticed them and ran over. It turned out it really was her habit, the girl used a vigorous salute to serve as a greeting. Probably because Haruaki's group was sitting down, she looked even taller and imposing than usual.

"It's you. Muu, still so big as always."

"Because I'm still eating that secret all-purpose food five times a week. Oh my~ I'm not gonna tell you what it is, Senpai. Please stay petite forever, Senpai, it's for the good of all humanity!  So, what are you doing?"

"Hmm, this is what's called sunbathing."

"I see, how elegant! Ah&mdash;oh right oh right, Senpai, look at this!"

Yume smiled in halfhearted agreement then looking at Fear's hands, she made a look as though she suddenly remembered something, then started rummaging through her own schoolbag. What she took out next was&mdash;

"A Rubik's cube...?"

"That's right! Hmm... May I sit next to you, Senpai?"

Before Fear could answer, Yume already quickly sat down next to her, leaning back on the same tree trunk. "Ehe." Giving Fear a meaningless and silly grin, she then started to swivel the toy cube, making clicking sounds.

"After seeing you play with a Rubik's cube, Senpai, I was thinking of trying it out myself~ So I bought one~ Now we're the same! The fun is also doubled!"

"Uh, this is just something for killing boredom. I don't think the fun actually doubles..."

"Oh my, who cares! Anyway, I'm now at an age when I wanna do everything the same as Fear-senpai, no matter what! Mmmhmm~ Like sitting beside me, doing the same thing, Fear-senpai, you're still peerlessly cute in the entire world..."

"Utterly nonsensical."

In any case, Yume was not hindering her by doing this. With clicking sounds coming from elsewhere in addition to her own hands, Fear felt that it sounded a bit like singing rounds. It felt incredibly refreshing to some extent.

Hearing these noises, Fear suddenly thought of something. This girl was a first-year student. Nirushaaki was also a first-year. With no options at hand, it was necessary to change their thinking, anything at all. Was there something that fellow first-years might all know that Haruaki's group might overlook as upperclassmen?

"Yume, let me try asking you something... For example, I'm just giving an example, if you wanted to have a secret conversation with a certain first-year student, what would you do?"

"Can't I just talk to the person?"

Yume tilted her head in surprise. Fear had forgotten to mention the main point.

"But what if you don't know who the other person is?"

"I don't get your meaning."

Yume tilted her head the other way this time but she quickly straightened her back suddenly.

"Oh~ Could it be that... You're trying to confess to me indirectly?"

"Of course not! You're making even less sense than me!"

How were the circuits in her brain connected? Absolutely mind boggling.

For the next while, all Fear could hear where the clicking sounds of Rubik's cubes turning. Fear was puzzling how to explain the situation but Yume also seemed to be pondering some other stuff.

"A secret conversation... Anyway, you want to talk secretly with someone, right?"

"Yeah, but at the same time, preventing anyone else from knowing. If the fact that I am having a secret conversation with that person itself is hidden from others, that'd be even better."

"Oh... Okay, right."

Click. The sound of Rubik's cubes stopped abruptly.

"Recently, an information exchange website has become very popular among the first-years. It might work if you use the message board there."

Originally expecting nothing in particular while listening to Yume, Haruaki's group instantly looked at her in unison.



After asking Yume for the address, Haruaki's group connected to the website using their cellphones. Fear used this opportunity to ask Yume to teach her how to connect to the internet.

"Gah! I originally wanted to avoid telling you as much as possible, but now it can't be helped..."

"Ohoh! Even without a computer, I can still connect to this thing called the net! Damn shameless brat, why did you hide something so important from me!?"

"Of course it's because I'm afraid you'll surf the net too much, slapping me with an expensive bill!"

Inside the endless ocean of the internet, there were more than enough things to catch Fear's interest. It was definitely necessary to warn her later, but the important thing now was the website. Haruaki looked at his cellphone. This was apparently a message board website catering to cellphones exclusively. Signing up was not required. Anyone was allowed to participate anonymously in discussions just by entering an email address.

"Uh... So this 'Chii' person is the admin who started this website?"

Located concisely at the top of the page was information such as the name of the admin, an explanation saying that this was a place for Taishyuu High first-years to exchange information, and rules and expectations, such as forbidding libel and defamation. The text was finally concluded with a lively "Let's all interact happily together!"

"Just as written there, this is a place for exchanging information. Like what meal combos are recommended at the cafeteria, the current welcoming festival that's almost here, what clubs people wanna join, these kinds of posts are very popular. Even students who still haven't made friends in class to chat with can find lots of information here."

"If they don't have friends, how did they find out about this website?"

"Oh, because there was a note a while ago on the real-time notice board in front of the shoe lockers. Apparently put up by this mysterious admin known as 'Chii'... That's how the users increased and it became even more lively. Right now, there should be very few people who don't know about it, although I found out in the beginning."

"Oh... By the way, who told you?"

"It was Hayahaya. Oh my~ Back then, there wasn't a single soul on the website, I never expected the users to explode in number like now. This makes me so emotional..."

Haruaki's group secretly exchanged glances with one another.

"Chii huh... I think I have some idea who that is."

"Speaking of which, that person does seem to have quite the cellphone addiction..."

"Yeah, there are indeed many people whose personalities undergo drastic changes on the net. This is not an absolutely ridiculous phenomenon."

"Shameless Shrine Maiden Number Two, the next time you see Number One, suddenly tell her seriously: 'Let's all interact happily together!' Something very interesting might happen."

"I don't quite understand why, but I got it~"

After speaking to Isuzu who was sweeping with a broom not far away, Fear looked down at her cellphone again.

"Since very few people are unaware of it, that girl might know this website too. But anyone can read this website, right? So in the end&mdash;"

"I wasn't able to help? What a shame..."

"No, don't worry. This isn't fruitless."

Kirika clapped her cellphone shut and signaled to Haruaki's group with her eyes.

"&mdash;We've done enough sunbathing too. Time to head home?"

Haruaki's group was not dense enough to miss what Kirika's eyes were saying. They decided to do as suggested.

"Muu~ So happy Rubik time with Fear-senpai is over too? But that can't be helped! Please find me next time so that we can spin the six colors madly together!"

Mixing up with the student crowd leaving the school, they went through the school gates. Yume seemed to heading opposite to their way home, so they soon parted with goodbyes.

"So, Kirika, some kind of good idea occurred to you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not doing it straight away. It's also more convenient to use the computer at home... Just check that website again tonight."

Of course, pay attention to mobile data costs as well&mdash;Kirika added in a joking tone of voice.



That night, a new post appeared on the message board that Yume had told them about. The title was "To the one who used to be a dragon." Just as Haruaki wondered if this was okay, he noticed a post titled "Dreaming of past life recently. Where is Chief Warrior Harikuheimu? Princess Shimani" at the bottom, so it did not stand out in particular. As the number of users increased, the level of chaos probably rose accordingly.

They clicked on the thread that was probably posted by Kirika. The first post read: "No fear of being seen by others. Password is Haunted House Girl." This message included a new URL. The second post read: ">1 What is this? Please give more hints (*^_^*)" Probably an unrelated student.

Following the URL, they were linked to another website, a restricted message board requiring a password. Naturally, recognizing the haunted house girl, Haruaki's group entered "fourteen" as the password according to Kirika's hint. This was the password that Haruaki's group and the former Draconian, the «Knight Killer», would both know but no one else could guess.

On that message board, Kirika left a post saying: "The Knights Dominion is targeting you. We wish to discuss countermeasures with you. Please leave a footprint if you visited here." Haruaki's group originally wanted to write something, but decided it would be bad if it ended up carelessly wrecking their chances. Fear and Konoha also discussed with Kuroe who had listened to the whole story and looked at the message boards, finally deciding not to respond for now.

They were simply waiting for the «Knight Killer»'s reply. There was nowhere more suited to a private discussion than here. Unrelated people were definitely not going to come. Other people were not going to know who tried visiting this place. Of course, the only drawback was that they could not know the appearance of the person who replied, but in any case, nothing could begin unless they started communicating with the other side.

Hence, just as the night sky grew darker and darker&mdash;

"It's here&mdash;&mdash;!"

"Don't even think of coming over here&mdash;&mdash;!"

The living room's sliding door was pulled open violently. "What's going on?" Just as Haruaki looked back, Konoha, who just happened to be heading to the washroom, closed the sliding door shut with a bang. Hence, all Haruaki saw for an instant was something silver and white behind the sliding door. It was probably a certain something that had just taken a bath, coming here with a head of wet hair and water still dripping off reddened skin.

"Hey Cow Tits, what are you doing!?"

"I'm asking you the same thing! Dry yourself and put on your clothes first!"

"Nuu, you have a point, but I wanted to tell you guys as soon as possible! Look, look! It's here!"

Behind the paper door that was tightly shut, Haruaki seemed to be seeing Fear waving her cellphone furiously like holding a trophy. Then of course, what she said next was:

"She responded on the message board!"



"I wish to understand the situation." A direct and brief sentence was the other party's first reply.

While giving Kirika a phone call to discuss, Fear and the others tried to engage in dialogue on the secret message board.

First of all, they reported the current situation with complete sincerity and authenticity. The arrival of the Knights Dominion. Lilyhowell Kilmister. Neto the Avenger. Satsuko and Fourteen's visit to make a personal request of assistance. Of course, they also told her about the Knights Dominion demanding them to "hand her over" and that they had no intention of doing that.

'In that case, why do you still want to talk to me?'

'We cannot stand aside idly and watch ordinary students get hurt either. Hence, we want to borrow your wisdom and inquire if there is a better solution.'

Kirika's response became the last post for that day. Starting off directly with "We want to use you as bait to defeat the Knights Dominion" would be far too aggressive so this was all they could tell her for now.

"Hwah... There's really no response."

"After all, it's getting late so she might have fallen asleep. Let's continue talking to her tomorrow."

The group was gathered by the table in the living room, heads down as they looked at their respective cellphones. Treating someone's yawn as a signal, everyone closed their cellphone at the same time and dispersed, getting ready to go to bed. After readying her stuff for school tomorrow, Fear also went to bed.

But no matter how long she waited, sleepiness did not arrive. Was this really okay? This doubt occupied her mind, unable to be dispelled. Hence, Fear covered her head with the blankets and flipped open her brand new cellphone.

What should I say? She felt that things had been too formal so far.

The current situation was tricky indeed and considering countermeasures was necessary. However, simply discussing this topic felt excessively boring to Fear. All they could do was contact the other person through this tiny device, unable to see the other side's face. Did the other side really exist? Fear felt very worried. At the same time, she worried if the other person was really pondering the response they had written. Could she find a solution to these worries?

Their final goal was cooperating with the «Knight Killer» to come up with a method to drive away the Knights Dominion. What would this require? Definitely trust. They definitely needed the other side to trust them. Of course, they wanted to trust the other side too. However, in this current state where they could not see each other's face, knowing nothing about each other, Fear felt that talking about trust was completely far off and unreachable.

Kirika was deliberately vague about their final goal in the reply just now to avoid displeasing the other side and lowering trust. In order to avoid a negative impression. In that case, rather than simply avoiding negative impressions, it should be fine to try taking action to produce positive impressions. Putting aside whether it was possible or not.

What was the other person thinking? Feeling? Pondering about? Anything was fine, no matter how small, no matter how trivial or inane. Exchanging these sorts of insignificant thoughts would surely produce opportunities for making better impressions, easing the feeling of distance and unfamiliarity between them&mdash;

Fear connected to the secret message board. Kirika's response was still there. No reply.

While agonizing over the issue, Fear tried to create space for discussing other topics&mdash;In other words, discussion threads. On anything, it mattered not.

'Can't sleep. I might be able to sleep if I have a casual chat. If anyone's awake, please answer. I like eating rice crackers, what about everyone else?'

Fear tapped the refresh button periodically. Several minutes later, after dozens of presses on the button that she had lost count already, she widened her eyes in surprise.

'I can't sleep either. Our interests are aligned. I like hamburgers.'

A response. Fear suddenly thought, perhaps the person wanted to trust the unseen face on the other side, just like herself.

Also&mdash;Indeed. Why a response was made could very well be due to a simpler reason.

Fear was a female high schooler. So was the other person. Although neither of them were ordinary existences, at least they were both trying to become ordinary. Working hard to change from existences that used to hurt others to become purely lifeforms known as "ordinary high school girls." Perhaps the road to completion was still a long way away, but having worked hard so far, they probably should have acquired some of that lifeform's lifestyle traits.

Hiding under the covers in the middle of the night, secretly opening the cellphone, chatting about unimportant things with someone.

This situation could very well feel extremely like what "ordinary high school girls" did&mdash;

Since even Fear found this unexpectedly fun herself.

The chances that the other side agreed were absolutely not zero.



Without particular significance, simply typing whatever came to mind, they chatted about school and life.

'Which club do you wanna join?'

'I cannot say in detail, but I'd like to join a cultural club. Because I've been engaged in physical activity until now.'

'That's really not bad an idea.' Fear replied. People who were too used to fighting would end up doing something along the lines of kicking the volleyball.

'There's a mushroom meal that is served occasionally in the student cafeteria. A legendary menu cooked by the chef using ingredients he went out to gather personally. I've only eaten it once, but it's truly delicious enough that it feels like you're flying up to heaven. You absolutely must try it!'

'How interesting. What kind of mushroom was it?'

I dunno either, but the mushroom had spots and numbed the tongue, it also made me feel extremely happy and excited. Surely a rare mushroom&mdash;After this reply, it took a while for the other side to respond.

'I heard that Ishida who teaches Ancient Japanese is also serving as a homeroom teacher for the first-years as well. Based on my experience last year, Ishida doesn't care about the students at all. You can sleep all you want without any problems.'

'I cannot say if that person is my homeroom teacher or not, but supposing that were the case, I shall make effective use of this information.'

Oh well, even without intending to make effective use of his attitude, anyone would surely fall asleep in front of those sleep-inducing runes.

'So, next are the recommended items sold at the snack shop&mdash;'

'I see, I shall take a note of this. The chances of being sold out are&mdash;'

Words continued, written text continued, voices continued as well.

A conversation between an upperclassman and her junior on topics all over the place, persisting uninterrupted&mdash;



Haruaki woke up at the usual time. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he flipped open his cellphone. He did not forget what concerned him the most just because he slept for a night. Opening the message board he had bookmarked, he tilted his head in puzzlement. The contents were quite different from when he went to bed.

Tapping away to scroll down, Haruaki kept reading the conversation in the new discussion thread while walking out of his room. Countless words in mutual dialogue. Apart from chatting, it was meaningless chatting. The final post was made at 5:30am, in other words, an hour earlier. It read "Beach crab mysterious sea. It's about time for Nelson"&mdash;Definitely the result of choosing incorrectly when presented with the system's kanji suggestions.<ref>Mysterious sea(玄海) is read as ''genkai'' which is also the pronunciation for limit(限界). Nelson(ネルソン) is probably some kind of corrupted form of the verb to sleep(nemuru). In short, Fear was trying to say "I'm at my limit. It's about time I slept" or something like that.</ref> He could not help but imagine a scene involving Mr. Nelson the mysterious crab-catching expert. That straw hat really suits him.

On the veranda, Haruaki met Konoha who was tilting her head and operating her cellphone like him. After exchanging good morning greetings, they both changed their destinations and tiptoed over the a certain room, pushing the sliding door open lightly.

That girl was currently sleeping on top of her futon, snoring in deep sleep. The blanket that originally covered her head was lifted up completely. Her silver hair glittered under the rays of the morning sun.

The open cellphone was still held in one hand.

Haruaki silently made a wry smile. Someone poked him in the shoulder. Looking back, he found Konoha with same faint, wry smile, pointing at her own cellphone. Shown on the screen was not Fear's discussion thread but the one Kirika had posted, the thread where their original goal was written.

'We cannot stand aside idly and watch ordinary students get hurt either. Hence, we want to borrow your wisdom and inquire if there is a better solution.' Under Kirika's post, there was a reply that did not exist yesterday.

'&mdash;I wish to do my utmost to assist you. Allow me to think of other, better solutions. Give me some time.'

Looking at the time of the post, it was roughly an hour earlier as well.

In other words, several minutes after Fear had left her incoherent message.