Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume4 Epilogue (section)

===Part 1===

The next day after the sports festival, Tuesday, was a day off in lieu of the holiday on Monday.

Fear was taking a midday nap after lunch when she suddenly woke up in the living room, only to discover Kuroe sitting formally on the veranda in ''seiza'', making a rustling noise while doing who knows what. Giving "Haru's meals are very tasty~" as her only reason, she had specifically closed the shop for a lunch break and came running home. Although this sort of thing happened often and there was nothing to be surprised about&mdash;

"Huwah~ Hey Kuroe, isn't it about time for you to return to the shop?"

Glancing at the clock and making a great yawn, Fear crawled to the veranda.

"...Three... Four... Five... Ufufu, what an unexpected windfall. What should I buy? I still have a backlog on the home console, so I guess I'll use this cash to enhance the lineup for my handheld gaming device..."

An eerie grin had subtly appeared on Kuroe's expressionless face as she counted the pieces of paper in her hand. Fear had some recollection of these. Peering over Kuroe's shoulder at what she was holding, Fear asked:

"Hmm~ Is that... money?"

"Ah."

Kuroe swiftly hid the cash behind her back. Suspicious. Too suspicious.

"...What money is that? That's quite a lot there."

"What is it, I wonder?"

Kuroe's gaze escaped. This was getting even more suspicious.

"Muu... I saw it on television once, this isn't that thing, right? What do they call it, black money? That's unacceptable, Kuroe, this is no good! As comrades in the Ladylike Bosoms Alliance, of course I won't raise the alarm. But I'm not perfect, you know, so it's very possible my tongue might slip or I might become an informant. Just to be on the safe side, I believe it's best that you cough up some of that money for my convenience!"

"No, it's nothing at all, Ficchi~"

By this point, Kuroe was still acting stubborn.

Hmmuu, really... Fear feigned understanding and returned Kuroe's strangely cordial smile with a radiant smile&mdash;Then suddenly, she pounded.

"Since it's nothing, lemme have a look! Gimme gimme!"

"Hiya. B-Be more gentle...!"

"I'll be gentle if you'll come clean, so hurry and gimme... Hmm, where did you hide it? Where? Here? Or... There?"

"W-Wah, that's only my underwear inside, okay~"

Although Kuroe was trying to muddle through by saying unbelievable things as usual, it was useless. Fear had her firmly pinned down beneath her weight. Fear was searching under Kuroe's clothes, finally causing Kuroe to sigh&mdash;

"Okay fine, in that case..."

"Muu, have you given up resisting?"

"...I have no choice but to show my hidden hand. Heya~"

Kuroe's hair moved, took out something from her pocket and threw it into the garden.

That object was small and round.

Shaped like a disc with an irregular surface.

Carrying the taste of soy sauce&mdash;

"Heyaaaaaaaaaah!"

Fear made a sliding tackle towards the garden and caught the rice cracker with both hands.

That's truly terrible! What a waste if it actually fell on the ground. Don't complain even if you suffer retribution from the rice cracker god. But anyway, it's no big deal now that the rescue operation was a success. Let me dig in now!

Crunch crunch munch munch munch.

Mmmmmm, so tasty. The extra hint of spiciness was truly&mdash;

"...Oh no!"

Back to her senses, Fear looked back to find Kuroe had vanished from the veranda.

I fell for it! This schemer, how dare she resort to such horrifying means!? To be able to escape through such underhanded methods, surely you won't be able to find more than ten people in the whole wide world...!

By this point, it was probably futile to run after her? Just as Fear was getting up, she sat back down in the garden.

"Muu... What money was that? Hiding it so desperately and running away, there must be some unspeakable story behind it."

Fear cocked her head as she continued to chew the rice cracker in her mouth.

Kuroe's money remained a mystery but never mind, she thought.

After all, the blackmail payment she wanted to demand was already in her mouth.