Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 5===

Next, Haruaki's group's festival turned into chasing after Fear whenever she rushed off after some stall that caught her eye. Naturally, her interests were not limited to snack stalls but also included game stalls.

Walking around, Fear had a lot of fun and so did Haruaki and the rest. Without getting into how she competed with Konoha for the largest stuffed doll at a shooting contest but both of them ended up wasting all their ammunition, right now, Fear almost started a fight with a shopkeeper at a seldom encountered multicolored chicken stall due to yelling "What!? To think it's just spray painted, unforgivable!" Granted it was fun, but a little excessively violent.

Haruaki and Konoha kept bowing their heads in apology to the shopkeeper and finally managed to diffuse the situation. Next, they came to a katanuki<ref>'''Katanuki'''(型抜き): an activity common at Japanese festivals where participants use a needle or a toothpick to carve a candy mold out of flour, starch or sugar to make shapes such as stars, animals or cherry blossoms, etc. Skillfully carved molds receive prizes.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katanuki]</ref> diecutting stall.

"Nwah... It broke&mdash;! This is too difficult, Mr. Shopkeeper!"

"Hehehe, if it's that easy to win, then this old man woulda gone out of business a long time ago~"

"This needle is so small and hard to hold... The result might be different if I use a tool I'm more used to. Say, Mr. Shopkeeper, can I swap tools?"

"Hmm? That's not fair to the other customers. Please just bear with it."

"Hmm~ You have a point there. That's right, competitions must be fair. Ahaha!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Seeing the two of them laughing together, Haruaki trembled in terror. Mr Shopkeeper, today sure is your lucky day. Had you given the okay, this girl would have taken out something like a drill.

Meanwhile, things were going smoothly for a certain young girl.

"...«Chaplin» complete. «Ortho-Xylene Molecule» complete. «Byoudou-in Phoenix Hall» complete."<ref>'''Byoudou-in'''(平等院): a Buddhist temple located in the city of Uji in Japan. The most famous building in the temple is the Phoenix Hall(鳳凰堂) which is considered a national treasure.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By%C5%8Dd%C5%8D-in]</ref>

"What? These are all S-class models, to think you effortlessly completed them...! Little girl, who on earth are you?"

"Fufufu, how could you not know who I am? Mister, are you new here?"

"Ah! That long, black hair, sleepy eyes and petite physique... Perhaps you're the legendary «Festival-Wrecking Black Princess»? P-Please have mercy on the little folk like me! I have elderly parents and three young children to support!"

In the end, Kuroe soon let the shopkeeper off, but not before winning every single prize at the stall.

Fear spun around while licking the milk candy Kuroe shared with her and said:

"Y-You're amazing, Kuroe. Is there some trick to it? Tell me!"

"I guess there is a trick... But for you, Ficchi, it might be a bit difficult."

Still sleepy-eyed, Kuroe continued nonchalantly:

"The needle in my hand is just a red herring. In actual fact, I use a hardened hair to secretly carve out the mold&mdash;"

"Isn't that cheating!?"

"But that stall just now deliberately dulled the needles to make the mold difficult to carve. I only use this trick against unscrupulous stalls like this one&mdash;"

"..."

Even so, the shopkeeper was still too pitiful. Hence, Haruaki had Kuroe return the untouched prizes.

Next, they conquered quite a few stalls. Fear bounced the hard-earned water balloon on her palm while walking with happy footsteps along the path which was lined with stalls.

"How's this? I'm amazing, right? Haruaki!"

"Amazing amazing, but if you bounce it too hard, it's gonna break instantly."

"Also, could you look carefully where you're going. Otherwise, you'll collide into someone... Oh!"

Just as Konoha said that, a boy, who looked like a grade schooler, was running head on and happened to bump into Fear. Apart from Fear not paying attention in front, it was also due to the boy looking backwards while he ran.

"Oh?"

"Ouch! ...Th-That really hurts&mdash;!"

Due to the difference in body weight&mdash;or rather, the difference in weight class&mdash;naturally, only the boy fell over onto the ground. But he was apparently uninjured. Then shouting with his shrill voice that had yet to undergo puberty, he instantly stood up.

"Ken, are you okay?"

"Haha, you really suck!"

"Shut up!"

The boy was not alone but accompanied by two other companions of similar age. Judging from the way they dressed and behaved, they seemed quite arrogant&mdash;commonly encountered delinquents nowadays.

"Oh~ Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"It really hurts&mdash;Don't you look where you're going? Moron! Watch out or I'm gonna kill you!"

The boy continued to shout at Fear, causing her temple to twitch once. But since he was just a brat, Fear managed to maintain considerable self-control.

"Y-You're going a bit far. I'm not the only one at fault. You should have looked ahead while you're walking then you could have dodged&mdash;"

"Shut up, foreigner! Stop mouthing Japanese when you're clearly a foreigner! You flatchest!"

"Flatchest... Fu, fufu, fufufu! How bold of you, oh my~ Truly, such bold insolence!"

"Hey, hold on, Fear, he's just a kid!"

Seeing Fear cackle while taking out the Rubik's cube, Haruaki frantically restrained her from behind.

"Ken, now's not the time to be messing about in this place!"

"He's right, we'd better go. After all, we've got our funding already."

"Tsk... Got it, okay!"

Clicking his tongue in displeasure and throwing a final glare, the boys headed off again into the bustle of the festival. Once they were out of sight, only then did Haruaki release Fear.

"Gwah&mdash;! I'm so mad! What the heck was with those kids? What's wrong with this country's education!?"

"How rare, but I do agree with your remark this once. If something similar happens again, some educational instruction is needed indeed."

"Hmm&mdash;if Kono-san became a teacher... Ohoh. Surely, she'd be a gentle but occasionally scary, glasses-wearing female teacher with a giant bust! W-What perfect use of talent. I'd be willing to pay any amount to take lessons from you!"

"What strange delusions are you having? But then again~ I do agree that she's quite suited to be a teacher."

"Eh, ehehe? Is that so?"

While chatting, the group began walking again.

"Also, speaking of suitable... Kuroe, that fox mask&mdash;"

"Does it look good?"

"Well, it's incredibly fitting for your temperament, but I just never thought they'd still sell it nowadays."

"The mask stall nearby is famed for selling weird masks since a long time ago. That guy even sells masks of a yellow electric mouse as well as a certain black and white mouse that's unique in this world."

"That's pretty bad, judging from your description, he'll eventually get arrested..."

Fear's mood gradually improved while the group chatted like this. Indeed, this was a festival, a rare event. Forgetting unpleasant things and having the most fun would be the right choice.

"Say, Haruaki, it's been bothering me for a while."

"Hmm?"

"What's that jangling noise? It's coming from that direction."

"That's a bell, hung above the offering box."

Bell? Offering box? Fear tilted her head in puzzlement. Haruaki wondered where he should start explaining from.

"Well... Since we're here already, let's go over for a look."

"Good idea, we should at least throw in some money as an offering."

The group continued further into the shrine's confines. At the end of the rows of stalls, there was a place that resembled a plaza with a tent that seemed to be the festival's administration headquarters. Since reaching the shrine's main hall required going further up some stone steps, the tent was probably set up here in consideration of that. After passing through the main tent, the crowd was divided. As soon as one started up the stone steps, the surrounding crowd density rapidly decreased. Logically speaking, thanking the gods for bountiful harvests was the original purpose of the festival, but modern people were more driven by practicality.

While listening to the sounds of Fear and the girls' clogs, Haruaki casually mounted the steps, making their way towards the front of the main hall where the crowd was much thinned. Behind them, the festival music could be heard coming from below the steps, sounding a little melancholic.

"Oh~ How quiet."

"Every New Year's first shrine visit, this place gets packed with people. But since it's just the autumn festival right now, that's pretty much as much of a crowd it gets. Hey... Hold on, although I'm only asking you now, do you actually know what kind of place a shrine is?"

"What are you talking about? Stop looking down on me. Isn't it just a place to worship gods? Like a Japanese church or something."

Fear looked up at the solemn main hall then slowly advanced. She stopped in front of the offering box. Looking up at the bell above, she tilted her head and said:

"That thing, it's so huge. But why is there a bell in this kind of place?"

"Eh? Uh&mdash;"

"Don't get flustered, Haru. Times like these are for Kono-san the teacher... Please tell me the meaning&mdash;"

"I recall that it's for drawing the gods' attention, akin to calling out 'Please look this way&mdash;'... Something like that."

"Yes, that's right, that's right. That's what it means. Next, toss in the offering money&mdash;donation&mdash;and ask the gods to listen to our wishes."

At this moment, Fear looked at Haruaki's face.

"You've never tossed offering money before?"

"That's obvious~"

Answering lightly, Fear sighed softly. She then looked up at the shrine and narrowed her eyes as though looking at something bright. Then she continued in self-mockery:

"Although I don't quite understand things like spirits and gods&mdash;Haruaki, do you believe in the existence of gods?"

"I don't really know if gods exist or not, but the way I think about it is like this: if gods really exist, then I hope for their help as much as possible. After all, I don't think tossing in offering money is much of a loss."

"It's like that?"

"&mdash;Basically. It's a bit like self-consolation, as well as... a challenge."

At this moment, the offering box rattled. Konoha had tossed in a coin. Then in a slightly unrefined manner, she shook and rang the bell.

"To be frank, I am not a believer. If gods really existed, then I could not have possibly witnessed those scenes over the past few centuries. However, if the gods are willing to listen to our wishes, cursed as we are, I wouldn't mind believing in them a little. In other words, 'allow me to believe in you if you really exist, gods.'"

Then the clanging noise was heard.

"As expected of Kono-san, such an insolent attitude towards the gods&mdash;But then again, this nation's choice of gods can be quite half-assed. Even Kono-san's most hated racoon dog<ref>'''Racoon dog'''(狸): known as the ''tanuki'', a Japanese animal similar to badgers and racoons in appearance, known for mischief and shapeshifting in folklore. In this particular instance, Kuroe is using it as a reference to Tokugawa Ieyasu who was deified and worshiped.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_raccoon_dog]</ref> was able to become enshrined as a god. In my view, it's like spending lose change to buy a lottery ticket. Winning is worth celebrating, of course, but losing isn't much of a loss. So, please please listen to my wish~"

The two girls did as they pleased and said words that could very well bring about divine retribution, then prayed with their eyes closed and palms held together.

Before the bell's ringing stopped, they had already finished making their wish rapidly.

"What wish... did you two make?"

Fear asked.

"That's a secret." "Secret."

Konoha and Kuroe answered simultaneously.

"Anyway, no need to think too much. As part of custom, let me toss in some offering money too... Hey Fear, here you go."

Haruaki took out a coin from his change and prepared to give it to Fear but she shook her head.

"You're not going to toss in an offering? Then forget it."

"I will, but I wanna pay for myself.'

Just as Haruaki was going to say "but you didn't bring any money," Fear took out a 500yen coin from her yukata. This was the pocket money Kuroe had given her.

"Kuroe... Is this okay?"

"This is already your money, Ficchi, how you spend it is your freedom... Rather, I'm the one who wants to ask you, is this okay?"

Kuroe was expressionless as usual but her eyes were half-closed in a gentle display.

"To get what I really want&mdash;that's why you gave me this coin, right?"

Fear exhaled and extended her fist that was holding the coin over the offering box.

Like a magician performing a ritual, she slowly opened her hand. The coin no longer belonged to her, but to the gods.

Next, Fear shook the rope unnecessarily hard, ringing the bell.

As though shouting&mdash;Over here, look carefully, I'm right here.

Then she arrogantly stared up, towards the shaking bell&mdash;

"I have a wish that I desire so much that I'm willing to rely on gods whose existence aren't even certain. I have a wish that comes before other things, which is why I'm using this money. Like Cow Tits, judging from the human behavior I've observed continually over time, it's very difficult for me to believe that gods exist... But if you really are present, don't miss this. If you dare skip over my wish accidentally, I won't forgive you!"

...While clapping her palms together.

She closed her eyes and prayed, then murmured:

"...Say, Haruaki, what about you?"

"O-Oh right, let me pray too."

Like Fear, he held his palms together and closed his eyes. Since he was called over by Fear without warning, he had not decided yet what to pray about. Simply recalling what had happened recently, all he could think of were cliched and ordinary things like "let's hope that Fear's wish could come true," "it'll definitely come true~" or "I hope we'll have another chance to visit another festival like this~"

Lost in these thoughts, Haruaki found his eyes opened and hands separated by the time he regained his senses.

Hence, that must have been his prayer.



"Okay, the festival is still going! The mystery of the bell is already resolved!"

"Rather than mystery, it's more like your own ignorance..."

"Shut up, Cow Tits! In any case, I'm hungry again. Let's go, Haruaki, in fact, I saw something that's been nagging at me for a while. What's that thing called the 'sealed apple on a stick' or something!?"

"I know what you're talking about, but that name is quite original."

"By the time the seal is removed, your tongue will be so tired that you won't have the motivation to eat the apple inside&mdash;"

While the group chatted about various things as they were about to leave from the front of the main hall&mdash;At this moment, they heard noises behind them.

"Arghhhh... Not again! Those damn kids!"

A man's voice caused them to look back. A man, roughly fifty, was peering into the offering box with a scary expression. He was dressed in a white hakama, Japanese split-toed socks and leather-soled sandals. His identity was obvious from his appearance. Absolutely beyond a doubt.

"&mdash;Are you an offering thief? To think you're stealing the hard-earned money I tossed in there! Watch me bring divine retribution upon you!"

"Uwah&mdash;You're completely wrong! No matter how you look, he's obviously this shrine's Shinto priest!"

Haruaki grabbed Fear's twintails and just barely managed to prevent her from charging... Somehow, he found that catching her like this was more convenient than usual. What a useful hairstyle.

"Unuu, it hurts when you pull like that, shameless brat!"

"Anyway, put that Rubik's cube away first!"

Naturally, Haruaki and Fear's noisy scuffle attracted the man's attention as well. Resting his hand on top of the offering box, he smiled gently and said:

"A foreigner with such fluent Japanese... Welcome to our little shrine. I hope you'll have a good time."

"I am having a good time. On the other hand, what were you yelling noisily about?"

Fear asked, causing the priest to answer with an awkward expression:

"It's quite embarrassing, but it's basically what you mentioned just now. In other words, someone stealing offering money... Although this is just a small shrine, the offerings for the entirety of today can't possibly be this little. There was definitely a thief."

"What did you say!?"

Fear was greatly surprised. Konoha frowned and asked:

"That's quite disastrous... Are you going to call the police?"

"Oh~ That's not necessary. It's also why I'm in such a dilemma, because I have a rough idea who the suspects are."

Staring into the offering box, the priest sighed and answered.

"You know who the suspects are...?"

"I recall you saying 'those damn kids' just now, right?"

"Yes, three delinquents from the neighborhood. I've discovered them a number of times and scolded them severely... But once things cooled off, they always act up again~"

"Mischief needs to be reined in. As reluctant as one might be to do so, calling the police might be best."

"I do know that letting the police handle it might be more appropriate... But the loss is at most a couple thousand yen. As a priest, asking the police to arrest children who have futures ahead of them, it feels a bit too&mdash;But if this keeps happening, perhaps I might be forced to change my mind~ They must learn that even as children, doing bad things will lead to punishment."

Standing there thinking with her arms crossed before her chest, Fear said to the priest who was shaking his head, wondering what to do:

"Say, Mr. Priest, this is just my personal hunch, do the three delinquents you mentioned include a kid called 'Ken'?"

"You know them? That's completely correct."

"I see, so it's them, sure enough... Not really, I don't know them but it's because he crashed into me just now. Even though I was partly at fault, those guys didn't apologize at all. Their attitudes were terrible!"

"Speaking of which, they mentioned something about funding, could that be referring to the offering money?"

"Using stolen money to spend on the festival? That'd really lead to divine retribution, seriously!"

Just as Haruaki muttered, he noticed Fear's shoulder shaking.

"Fufu... Fufufu."

Seeing Fear smiling fearlessly, Haruaki could not help but feel an ominous premonition. Just as expected, Fear began to utter shocking words.

"I get it. I understand completely, Mr. Priest. Why don't you let me handle this? I will bring back the stolen offering money and teach those thieves a little lesson. Also, I'm make them promise they'll never steal offering money ever again!"

"Oh...?"

"Wait, Fear, what on earth are you...?"

"I'm helping people. I must do things 'beneficial to people.' Also&mdash;Although my money wasn't stolen, but that's just pure luck. Had the timing been different, perhaps even the money filled with my hopes might have been stolen! So this has made me understand something even more. Stealing money that's infused with people's wishes is completely unacceptable! Those delinquents who have strayed off the proper path must be taken care of!"

Well~ You do have a point indeed... With a reluctant expression in his eyes, Haruaki looked at the priest. The priest responded with the same type of gaze.

"But well... You mentioned teaching them a lesson, but using violence would be a bit..."

"Naturally, how could I possibly use violence against little kids? I will simply persuade them with my sincerity. Like telling them that 'doing this kind of thing will bring about divine retribution' or something like that."

"Oh~ In that case, I'm relieved. But those kids aren't going to listen obediently..."

"Don't worry! We are pros in that area. Just count on us! Okay, since they stole the offering money to go and play, they should still be wandering casually in the surroundings. Let's go!"

"What kind of pro are you? Hey, Fear, wait up!"

Even the sounds of her wooden clogs expressed excitement as Fear rushed forward. Left with no choice, the group could only nod lightly towards the priest before chasing after her. Following Fear's pace, Haruaki descended the stone steps while saying:

"Fear, you&mdash;"

"Any objections? Cow Tits, I wanna hear your opinion too."

"Well... Of course this sort of thing cannot be condoned. In this type of situation where educational instruction is required, I am personally qualified to offer my approval... Provided that they are persuaded without using any violence."

"I agree too&mdash;But Mr. Priest is right, who knows if they'll listen to lecturing."

"Then the motion is passed with a majority. Haruaki, are you happy now?"

"Sigh... I get it. I surrender to you lot. But honestly, what are you girls planning? Even if you capture them and give them a lecture, it's pointless if you can't prevent them from doing bad things again in the future."

"I have an idea. Didn't I say 'we are pros'? Of course, I didn't mean pros in lecturing&mdash;"

Lips curling into a grin, Fear continued:

"We are pros who can make them understand thoroughly that 'doing bad things will lead to getting cursed.'"