Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 3===

The next day, it was Sunday morning.

Fear left the house only minutes after Haruaki had headed off for the meeting place. Naturally, she was dressed in her school uniform and even carried her schoolbag that contained stationery to use in her supplementary lessons.

Outside the house, just as she took a step towards the right, she stopped then crossed her arms before her chest to ponder "Hmm"&mdash;her entire brow was furrowed&mdash;Finally, she nodded as though she had committed to some sort of decision.

Just as she glared furiously and turned right to a large and angry step&mdash;

"School is in the opposite direction, Fear-san."

"Ugh!"

Leaving the house last, Konoha was staring coldly at Fear. Startled and panicking, Fear met gazes with her.

"What about you? Didn't you say you had to work at the bookshop today? Even if you sprinted now, you're not gonna make it, right?"

"Ugh!"

Confronted with Fear's cold stare in return, it was Konoha's turn to display slight panic. After staring at each other for a while&mdash;

"...By the way, I seem to have caught a cold."

"...What a coincidence, me too. So I had to cancel my part-time job at short notice."

"I really can't get to school but lying down at home isn't making me better. That's why I'm going in this direction. How should I say this? Oh right, I think the power of Feng Shui will heal me."

"What a coincidence, me too."

"So, it can't be helped..."

"That's right, this cannot be avoided at all..."

The two girls nodded slowly. What their exchanged gazes confirmed was their mutual relationship as accomplices. Indeed, just for today. As much as they rubbed each other the wrong way, they both shared a goal necessitating mutual assistance.

Hence, after the two of them reached out simultaneously and shook hands to seal a definite agreement of secrecy&mdash;

They ran towards downtown where the excessively nice guy and the maid had agreed to meet, instead of the school or the shopping street where the bookshop was located.



Leaning against the big clock in front of the train station, Haruaki did not wait long before Sovereignty walked over from the station.

"Good morning&mdash;! Did you wait long?"

"N-No, not at all."

Haruaki was stammering a bit due to the refreshing sight of Sovereignty in casual clothing. Her miniskirt and striking color coordination suited her lively personality quite well. Perhaps to accommodate the autumn weather that was still quite warm, the collar and neckline of her clothing was wide open, causing Haruaki to feel a bit embarrassed, unsure where to direct his gaze.

"That's good... Eheheh. But I'm really sorry about today! Forcing you to accompany me on a Sunday."

Sovereignty leaned forward slightly as though inviting him to look towards her. This movement caused the sight of her chest to become even more dangerous. Haruaki had no choice but to divert his gaze and scratch his head while saying:

"I-It's okay, really~ After all, cleaning and laundry can be done any time. Besides, going shopping once in a while is not bad at all."

"That's true too. I was quite surprised in the beginning too, but since it's Shiraho's arrangement for my sake after all, I must enjoy myself thoroughly! This is also my first time going out to have fun with someone apart from Shiraho!"

Although calling it "Shiraho's arrangement" was a bit strange... Whatever, since they were already here, there was nothing more to complain about.

"Say, I don't really know the shops very well. If you want to have fun, I think that Fear or Konoha would do a better job&mdash;putting aside the fact that Fear needs to attend supplementary lessons just like Shiraho, I never expected that Konoha would need to work part-time today as well."

"Hmm... Somehow I feel a bit sorry for the two of them."

"However, it can't be helped. If there's a chance next time, you three should pick a date to go out and have fun together. That would make up for today's regrets, right?"

Haruaki proposed his little idea but Sovereignty simply smiled back in a polite and ambiguous manner, murmuring:

"Ahaha... I don't think that will really make up for much..."

"Anyway, let's put that aside for now. Standing here talking won't achieve anything, so we'd better get going. What are you thinking of buying?"

"Ufufu, that's a secret. I've decided to save my main goal for last, so let's just walk around first! This is a rare opportunity!"

"Following obediently like a knight huh... Is that it? I understand, Your Highness the princess."

Then the two of them walked side by side, towards the bustling streets.



"Those two... seem quite friendly... with each other... F-Fufu, fufufufufufu!"

"Don't you find their shoulders too close together~? Ufufufufu!"

Hiding in the bushes to spy on Haruaki and Sovereignty, Fear and Konoha displayed twitching smiles on their face. Whenever they saw their quarry move, they would move at high speed in a half crouching manner like ninjas or soldiers then take cover again behind another object. They completely ignored the dubious looks that bystanders were giving them.

"Oh... Hold on, Fear-san."

"What now? We're gonna lose them if we don't hurry... Hmm?"

Konoha pulled Fear's sleeve. Wonder what was the matter, Fear followed her gaze. Halfway along their line of sight towards Haruaki and Sovereignty, there was an extremely suspicious figure. Hiding behind a vending machine, a girl was furtively peeking ahead. The bizarreness of the giant pair of shades on her face only served to draw even more unwanted attention.

Fear and Konoha exchanged a glance then quietly approached the girl's back&mdash;

"Hey!"

"Kyah!? It's you... two, why...!?"

It turned out to be Shiraho, who was so startled that her shoulder bumped into the vending machine.

"What are you doing?"

"W-What do you mean, what am I doing...?"

"Please be honest. Depending on the situation, perhaps we will assist you."

Fear and Konoha kept staring straight at her. Soon enough, Shiraho turned her face to the side.

"Well... Before Sovereignty left the house, I was originally intending to go attend supplementary lessons at school dutifully. But once she departed, I suddenly became very worried&mdash;By the time I regained my senses, I was already here&mdash;Hey wait! Aren't you supposed to be taking supplementary lessons too? Why are you here!?"

Silently, Fear extended her hand as though seeking for allies. Gazing into Shiraho's eyes, she nodded. Konoha also nodded.

After several seconds, Shiraho nodded as well.

Then slowly, she reached out and shook Fear's hand. Konoha also extended her hand and the three girls stacked their hands together, palms facing downward.

"If I'm spotted, Haruaki will be angry to find out I skipped my supplementary lessons. If you're spotted, Sovereignty will get mad for the same reason. As for Cow Tits, Haruaki will be angry to find out she skipped out on work. Therefore, our fates are as one."

"In any case, we must operate in secret&mdash;Although it's a mission fraught with challenges, so long as the three of us cooperate wholeheartedly, there is nothing we cannot accomplish."

"...How truly incredible. Only now do I find the two of you honest and reliable."

As soon as they withdrew their hands from the pile, the trio instantly resumed their surveillance stance, pressed against the vending machine. Haruaki and Sovereignty were chatting amiably while walking ahead casually.

"Look at the shameless brat's idiotic expression. I strongly predict that he'll do something shameless...!"

"Also, Sovereignty-san is too unguarded. Rather, she is the very embodiment of cluelessness. I would not be surprised if anything were to happen eventually."

"But simply observing secretly would be quite meaningless. What should we do?"

"Isn't it obvious? As soon as any shameless behavior is about to happen, we must take all necessary precautions to prevent it. Of course, we must do it without them noticing."

"Is that achievable?"

"Rather than predict, it's more a matter of imagination... Muu, they've entered the park!"

Luckily, there were many trees in the large park. While circling behind trees to hide, they moved to positions where they could observe Haruaki and Sovereignty. Since it was Sunday, there were all sorts of people at the park, such as family members having fun in harmony, kids playing soccer happily, old people sunbathing, as well as a few vendors...

"Oh no! I-I think something dangerous is about to happen!"

"Ah! Look over there, Sovereignty-san seems to be pointing somewhere!"

Fear was making the most of her imagination while following Konoha's directions to shift her gaze. Sovereignty was pointing at an ice-cream vendor. At this moment, a thought flashed through her mind with great alarm.

"Woah... I can foresee it, I can foresee it! After buying ice-cream, Sovereignty will end up in an embarrassing state as usual with melted ice-cream... Dripped on her chest!"

"Frantically trying to wipe it clean, further indecent developments will occur...!"

"No way, that must be prevented at all costs!"

"Of course. Great, I've thought of a plan to stop it! Follow me!"

The plan was very simple.

Basically, they were going to infiltrate the ice-cream stand.

...And threaten the owner to refuse the sale.



"...Strange...? Why do I... suddenly... get the feeling that we're doing something way out of line...?"

Crouching in the stand, Konoha murmured as she massaged her temples. Shiraho also murmured: "...What a coincidence, I get the same feeling too." Just like the other two girls, Fear was also crouching beneath the counter, but&mdash;

"Listen to me carefully. When those two come, just say 'the ice-cream's sold out.' If you dare call for help... You should know the consequences, right?"

"Y-Yes. I know...!"

Fear kept poking the male owner in the butt with her massive drill. Although they had subdued the shopkeeper with speed rivaling a SWAT team's, meaning that their faces should not have been spotted&mdash;How should one put this...? Was this morally acceptable?

"Oh dear, let's not be too concerned for now. Just let it go first. Everything is trivial in the face of a crisis. Although I feel a bit sorry for Sovereignty-san... I hope she can endure this hardship and go without ice-cream for today."

"O-Of course. Compared to having that child's skin exposed to the human's perverted ogling, the difference in importance is as disparate as heaven and earth. It's a severe crime punishable by death."

While listening to Shiraho, Konoha slowly peered out from the counter top to check out the situation outside.

"Let's fill our stomachs first! Hurry now&mdash;!"

Sovereignty jogged leisurely while Haruaki chased after her with a wry smile.

Just as the trio predicted, they were slowly approaching the ice-cream stand&mdash;

Then they walked past it.

"Found it found it! That's the shawarma I've always wanted to try out!"

Shawarma was a Mediterranean style of cooking that involved roasting meat on a rotating spit and carving slices off to serve and eat.

How did this option suddenly appear?

Greatly surprised, Konoha slowly looked back to find Shiraho expressionless while Fear was staring in dumbfounded amazement. Nevertheless, the trio simultaneously tensed their expressions and understood what they needed to do next.

Then with a serious expression, Konoha nodded silently to convey her thoughts to the other two&mdash;

"Uh&mdash;Excuse me... May I move now...? W-Well, it's also fine if you still want me to stay still. Please forgive me, spare my life&mdash;!"

Ignoring the shopkeeper's pitiful pleas, the trio prepared to flee.



"Eh&mdash;So it turns out the meat is eaten by wrapping it with bread? Looks very tasty."

"Oh, let's go over to the benches over there to sit down and eat&mdash;"

There were many crowds because it was Sunday. Almost all the proper seats were taken but luckily there was still an empty bench for Haruaki and Sovereignty to sit. As Sovereignty happily giggled "ehehe" without particular meaning, Haruaki exchanged a shy smile with her and began to take a large bite out of the newly bought shawarma.

"Mmm mmm.... Ah, this is delicious&mdash;!"

"Oh~ This is not bad. The saltiness is just right."

The pure taste of meat gradually expanded inside the mouth with just a single bite. This was probably a case of delicious food being delicious without requiring particular thought or evaluation... Simple it may be, it was an important truth. Haruaki decided to keep this truth close to heart and avoid getting conceited just because he was well-versed in a few cooking techniques.

"By the way, the two of you live alone in that house, right? How do you take care of meals?"

"Hmm&mdash;Well, we buy ready-made dishes half the time while we cook together for the remainder. Since neither of us are familiar with cooking, we pretty much feel our way through while looking at cookbooks. But it's really fun cooking together! Putting taste aside!"

"R-Really...? But the most important thing is you're happy, I guess. Anyway, please be careful with the flame. After all, you're, uh&mdash;How should I put it? Quite..."

"Hmm&mdash;After all, I know I'm basically a klutz. Take Shiraho for example, she keeps warning 'dangerous' to me and doesn't allow me to touch the knives or the stove."

Sovereignty pouted in a joking manner but immediately resumed her smile.

"Oh right! Haruaki-kun, you're quite good at cooking, right? Maybe next time you could teach us!"

"Sure, I don't mind. But you aside, I don't really think she'll listen to me obediently..."

Dice it? Y-You're very annoying! How about I start practicing with your fingers, human! &mdash;Haruaki imagined such scenes would become commonplace while reminding himself to be prepared.

Just as Haruaki smiled wryly in silence and was about to take another bite from the shawarma he was holding&mdash;

A slight impact shook his right hand, causing the shawarma to fly out of his grasp.

"Eh?"

"Phew~ I'm full now... Eh, Haruaki-kun!?"

Entering her view was the sight of scattering meat and shawarma bread flying, as well as&mdash;

A small stone, flying in the air after bouncing off the target it had struck.

Haruaki did not know what had happened. The next thing he saw was Sovereignty reacting with superhuman speed.

Yelling "Heya!", Sovereignty caught the shawarma bread with her right hand that was free now that she had finished eating her own portion. Things did not end there. She also reached out with her left and caught the scattering pieces of meat with her fingertips&mdash;

"Wow&mdash;! I succeeded, I caught everything safely! I think my reflexes are really amazing!"

"Woah! You don't really need to catch the meat with your bare hands so desperately!"

"But food shouldn't be wasted~ My body acted on its own."

"That's a noble sentiment. But come on, who was that? Which child was throwing stones for fun? It's dangerous."

Looking at where the stone had come flying, Haruaki could not find anyone resembling a suspect. Perhaps he fled already... Were the parents around, Haruaki really wished they would scold the child properly.

"Luckily, it didn't hit you. Anyway, here you go."

Sovereignty handed the bread she had caught back to Haruaki, who accepted it with gratitude. However&mdash;

"Also, this meat... It'll still be a mess even if I try to put it back into the bread. So here, open up and say ah&mdash;"

"...!?"

Smiling radiantly, Sovereignty extended her hand in front of Haruaki. Impossible... Sovereignty, do you mean to perform ''that'' legendary act? That super embarrassing act.

"Uh&mdash;I don't really mind if you put the meat back in..."

"Eh&mdash;? You don't think that'll be gross? It's okay, I like doing this. I feed Shiraho like this all the time."

Just as Haruaki was about to object and say "the problem is that I'm not Shiraho," he saw her suddenly frowning sadly.

"...No? You find my fingers squeezing the meat too dirty? In that case, forget it..."

"N-No, that's not what I mean at all."

Now that she said that, it became harder to refuse?

Haruaki's gaze drifted for quite a while but it seemed like he could not escape from this. Surrendering in self-abandonment, thinking "Who cares!" He said:

"Th-Then carry on, I guess. Feed me quickly."

"I may? Okay, say ah&mdash;"

Sovereignty smiled happily and very readily performed a service that was, in a certain sense, quite fitting for her identity as a maid. Her gentle fingers reached slightly into Haruaki's mouth.

To be honest, the warmth of her fingertips felt far more substantial than the meat that was about to cool off.



"I-I won't forgive him...!"

Snapping branches in the bush where they were concealed, Shiraho groaned with murder written on her face. Fear concurred with her completely.

"Damn shameless brat, going this far right off the bat... Fufufufu!"

"Feeding Haruaki-kun... I can't believe she fed Haruaki-kun! Hmph, I'm so jealous!"

Murmuring angrily for a reason that differed from the other two, Konoha suddenly recovered her sanity and said:

"By the way, Fear-san, you're not the one who threw the stone?"

"No, it wasn't me... But if he keeps doing shameless things, I'll throw one eventually! Although I've no idea which kid is the culprit, it saved me a lot of trouble!"

"..."

At this moment, Shiraho narrowed her eyes with a strangely serious expression, staring straight at where the stone had flown. But as soon as she noticed Fear's gaze, she resumed her previous expression as though nothing had happened. Glancing at Haruaki and Sovereignty, she said:

"They look like they're about to leave the park."

"Okay, let's give chase. Next time, we must do everything possible to prevent shamelessness from happening!"

Just as the girls were about to continue following&mdash;Konoha spoke up seriously:

"Please hold on! Before that, something needs to be done!"

"W-What is it?"

With speed like a hunting hound assaulting its prey, Konoha jumped out of the bushes and dashed in the direction opposite to where Haruaki and Sovereignty were heading. Her murderous intent could even be felt. Wondering if an enemy had shown up, Fear frantically stood up and reached for the toy cube kept in her pocket.

At this moment, Konoha's eyes flashed sharply from behind her glasses as she faced off with the target&mdash;

"I'll have one, no, two of those! If possible, please put in extra meat!"

Konoha's instincts as a meat lover were completely displayed in front of the shawarma stand without pretense.