Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume3 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 6===

Sunlight was streaming vertically, falling straight into the ocean.

Inside a warehouse by the seashore, a woman was watching the outside scenery through a crack in a slightly open door. Her field of vision was framed rectangularly almost like a painting. A canvas depicting the ocean and the setting sun. This country's sun felt warmer than the one back home. But seen from this narrow field of view, the sight was virtually no different from her homeland.

"I title this... 'Home, Seen in Foreign Lands.'"

Alice smiled and murmured softly. Carrying luggage on her back, she tilted the cup in her hand slightly. The sweet aroma of milk and honey entered her nostrils. In days past, this would have been a luxurious treat for her... And even now, she still enjoyed it greatly. But if one were to call her childish, she would feel a little hurt on occasion.

Indeed, this was a kind of luxury in the past. She reminisced.

At her first homeland&mdash;the welfare agency whose name she had forgotten, this was not something she could have drunk. As for her second homeland&mdash;the current one was a nameless church. Sandwiched on both sides by tall cliffs, the church seemed as if it were located at a valley in hell. Rather, one should call it a private orphanage. This was where she first learned of this drink. The occasional cup of warm milk offered pleasure beyond any food.

Hence, whenever she drank this, "home" naturally surfaced in her mind.

Ah yes... Home sweet home. Her beloved decrepit church. It was in that home that she had obtained everything. The priest had adopted her from the welfare agency, taking her and a number of companions to that place. Only there did she obtain a name for the first time and stopped being just a number. Alice. She learned to work there and had many encounters. There were many unhappy memories, and naturally, wonderful ones as well. Between the cliffs, facing the ocean, she learned the beauty of the setting sun. Furthermore&mdash;She obtained family.

Gulp... The sweet, warm milk slid down her throat.

"...If only we could watch the scenery together, drinking sweet milk, it would be such a wonderful thing."

If only she could understand&mdash;Alice thought to herself. Really, that was all she wanted. Rather than inviting the girl simply through force then convincing her afterwards, Alice hoped she could understand first before coming here.

But having exhausted her words, Alice did not think the girl could understand. Hence&mdash;she began preparations. A little time and a little effort were necessary. With this, the girl would be able to understand.

Indeed, there was no need for impatience. Tonight shall be spent getting ready leisurely...

Pondering over these matters, Alice continued to savor her homeland's taste as she looked out to her homeland's scenery.



After returning home from school, several hours had passed.

Finished with dinner, Fear rushed headlong into the bathroom. Leaning her back against the bathtub, she looked upwards and sighed:

"Ooh... Damn it, today didn't go well either..."

She recalled the scene after school. Despite trying very hard, the situation remained the same. She alone was conspicuously behind the others by far&mdash;or rather, after assessing calmly, she realized she was the only one whose motions did not resemble dancing. Kana and the others had comforted her, saying "There's still a lot of time!" But at the same time, they also said: "When the time comes, we might have to let Fear-chan perform an original dance alone." That would be truly vexing if it really turned out like that.

Why could she not dance well? Was she still unaccustomed to human form? She had already spent significant time moving about in this form. In that case, was it really because she was not human originally and just a tool&mdash;

"That's not right. Cow Tits can also dance. This is purely just a difference in amount of practicing! I just need to try harder!"

Splash&mdash;She got up from the bathtub and made a cheering pose by herself.

"Speaking of cheering&mdash;Kuroe's shop will be opening tomorrow. I have no idea how I could help, but she'll need to do her best as well..."

The sliding door opened.

"You just need to help welcome the customers, that's all."

"Muah! W-What? I'm taking a bath right now!"

The subject of discussion suddenly slid open the glass door to enter the bathroom. Naturally, she was completely nude with only her long, flowing hair to cover her body. Faced with Fear's reprimand, Kuroe simply answered with her usual poker face:

"I have spent all of today preparing, so tired... I want to take a bath earlier. Besides, baring ourselves completely is the best way to strengthen relations with someone you just met. Indeed, this is perfect timing." 

Splash!

"This is so cramped!"

"It feels more cramped if you struggle randomly."

She was right. Fear had no choice but to shrink herself into a ball as much as possible, submerging her shoulders in the warm water again. But after jumping in, Kuroe kept her legs extended straight as she leaned against the side of the bathtub. Although Fear did not get kicked, she could feel Kuroe's bare skin making contact with her thighs and shins from time to time.

"My legs are sore, so excuse me while I stick them out..."

"I'm very tired too!"

"Ah~ I knew a good soak would do wonders, now I feel like sleeping..."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Snore..."

"You're really sleeping!"

Kuroe's snoring persisted. She really seemed exhausted. Feeling it would be a shame to wake her up, Fear could do nothing but pout and watch her sleeping face.

This continued for a while when suddenly a question surfaced in Fear's mind&mdash;Or rather, she was struck with an inquisitive sense of curiosity.

This girl's curse was lifted. For tools like them, this would be the most dramatic change. It would not be surprising for there to be special changes in appearance or form... Although Haruaki had said "there was no difference except with the curse lifted," he could not have examined Kuroe's body to confirm it, right? Despite finding no difference in Kuroe's appearance at a glance, Fear wondered if Kuroe's lifting of her curse would result in a decisive difference somewhere on her body?

"Fumu... Looks like it's worth checking out..."

Making waves in the tub's hot water, Fear crouched down partially, bringing her face quietly towards the snoring Kuroe, scrutinizing her entire body obsessively. She really seemed no different... Cheeks as smooth as a newly shelled hard-boiled egg, shoulders with water drops sliding down, a bust whose size gave Fear a sense of camaraderie, a belly heaving up and down lightly in the hot water. The skin covering her entire body was smooth and white as snow.

Nothing unusual in appearance.

Next, Fear decided to try her sense of touch.

First she poked Kuroe's cheeks. Very elastic.

"Mmm..."

Kuroe exhaled. She was still asleep. Then Fear patted her shoulders lightly. Perhaps because they were not very fleshy, Fear's palm felt a smooth sensation but with a subtle bony feeling. Then she reached into the water and turned her investigation to Kuroe's chest, belly and navel areas.

Sweeping her hand back and forth over those elastic and supple thighs underwater... Fear could not find anything unsual after all. Just as she was thinking if she should give up&mdash;No, wait. She realized only at this moment.

"Right, I guess I must check out this girl's 'most important part'..."

Just as she was about to extend her hand towards that place&mdash;Fear noticed a gaze.

"...?"

The girl, whose body was being toyed around, was inclining her head with surprise in her blank gaze. Fear pondered for a moment. After some thought, she concluded she had done nothing wrong and so&mdash;she should ask Kuroe honestly.

"Let me touch you."

Several seconds passed.

With some splashing, Kuroe slowly shrank into the bath water until the water reached the edge of her mouth&mdash;

"...Hmm... Okay...?"

Shyly yet with a sense of anticipation, she looked up and gave her answer.



Haruaki's cellphone was missing. After searching his room for a while, he suddenly remembered he had forgotten it in the laundry basket.

In order to prevent an accidental incident, he knocked cautiously before entering the changing area. He already knew Fear was taking a bath, but the discovery of Kuroe's clothes in the basket left Haruaki's head tilting in puzzlement.

(They're bathing together...?)

After returning home with a completely exhausted expression, Kuroe had disappeared all of a sudden. Haruaki originally thought she must have returned to rest in her own room in the accessory dwelling...

Whatever, strengthening their relations was a good thing. Kuroe was always dead set on doing as she pleased, so Fear most likely could not refuse? Figuring out the situation, Haruaki retrieved his cellphone from his clothes in the laundry basket. "Done&mdash;" Just as he was about to exit the changing area&mdash;He overheard.

"Hmm... This feels nice..."

"Hey, don't move randomly! This is my first time doing this!"

"Don't worry, your technique is good... You can... Go a bit harder."

"Like this? Oof! Oof!"

"Yes, it feels great. Right, that's the feeling, keep going...?"

Haruaki held his breath. What the heck? What on earth are they doing?

His sense of reason was whispering in his ear, get out of this place as quickly as possible. However, his body refused to listen.

"Umuu... On my end, the feeling of playing with this... Feels quite nice too..."

"Oh that place? You need to use a more scratching motion..."

"Like this?"

"Yes, that's right. Ah yeah, this feels much better than doing it myself... Fufu, Ficchi's fingers are so gentle. It's wonderful."

"I-I wasn't being gentle on purpose... Hey, are we done yet? My fingers are getting tired."

"Hmm... Then let's finish it in one fell swoop, do it!"

Completely immobilized, Haruaki then heard&mdash;

Splash&mdash;

"...Splash?"

It sounded like someone pouring a basin of hot water over their head at once.

Struck by a sense of dissonance, Haruaki stood there in confusion as the glass door slid open immediately.

"Uumu... Your hair doesn't seem unusual after all, apart from its ability to move."

"Even if your curse is lifted, there won't be any change to your appearance. Thank you for washing my hair."

"Hmph, I only did it for confirmation, I had no choice... Hmm?"

The two girls' bodies were dripping with water. Standing in front was Kuroe, her undeveloped body delicately obscuring Fear. On the other hand, Kuroe made no effort to conceal herself and simply stood there blankly. Only her long hair barely covered the critical parts of her body, avoiding Haruaki's direct gaze.

After the passage of several seconds, a duration that could neither be described as long nor short&mdash;Fear instantly blushed to her ears and wrath consumed her eyes.

"W-What... What are you doing? Sh-sh-shameless brat! I'll curse you!"

"...You wanted to watch? Just give the word and I'll join you in the bath, Haru."

"O-Of course not! How should I explain this... It's not like that at all! I didn't do anything!"

"What is with the noise? What on earth are you shouting... about..."

Konoha entered at this moment, adding to the chaos. Why do I remember similar happening before... Haruaki thought to himself in despair.

In front of Konoha whose expression was frozen, Fear pointed at Haruaki with such vigor that seemed as if it would poke a hole in his forehead and said:

"Shouting? Just see with your own eyes, this shameless brat was peeking while we took a bath&mdash;"

Then Kuroe turned her blank gaze towards Haruaki's hand and added:

"Not only was he peeking but also using his cellphone camera, committing a criminal act driven by the impulses of puberty..."

"N-No! I didn't peek and as for the cellphone... I only came in to take it! That's why...!"

"To take photos. I knew it..."

"Why are you girls failing to understand even though I am clearly speaking in Japanese? This is too unbelievable! It's all a misunderstanding, I've done nothing against my conscience!"

"..." "..." "..."

Why am I only getting cold stares in response?

"...I didn't... Come on... Hmm, let's put this aside for now. Y-Yes, let's head over to the living room and discuss what we're doing tomorrow over some tea! At the very least, we need to assign roles for helping out at the beauty parlor tomorrow, right? Do you all agree!?"
[[image:C3_03-072.jpg|thumb]]

Haruaki forced a smile and was about to leave the changing area when Konoha grabbed him by the arm.

Then solemnly, she declared:

"Before we discuss tomorrow&mdash;Let's hold a family meeting first."

...Family meetings don't need such a murderous aura, right?

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==Translator's Notes and References==
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