Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 6===

&mdash;The current location was outside the shrine's confines, behind the path where the stalls were lined up.

The stalls in the distance cast only faint light into this sparse area of mixed forest. This place was completely deserted and was so dark that people would need to stare hard to see one another. Precisely because it was so deserted, adults rarely stepped foot here. In other words, this was considered something of a secret base.

"Damn, there's no octopus in this takoyaki!"

"Haha, serves you right."

"Shut up&mdash;"

"Hey Youhei, gimme half of that."

"No way, go buy it yourself. Don't you have money?"

"I'm trying not to splurge. Saving up for a DS here."

"How long is that gonna take? Like the money just now, we only got a thousand yen each or so."

Inane chatter slowly dissipated into the deserted forest. Apart from their noises, all one could hear were the rustling of vegetation. Rustle rustle rustle rustle. Rustle rustle rustle rustle.

Perhaps due to the eerie rustling of leaves, or maybe due to the chilly evening wind, the boys' conversation paused for a few minutes.

"That priest guy must be in a panic now..."

"What, are you scared? There's no evidence anyway. As long as we didn't get caught red-handed, there's no problem."

"So true. I don't know why but last time when we were caught, he didn't inform our parents or the police either."

Rustle rustle rustle rustle, rustle rustle rustle rustle...

"Maybe that guy intends to give us pocket money to spend, so he's turning a blind eye?"

"Hahaha, then he's really a good guy!"

"Just a measly thousand yen for pocket money? Jeez, can't he find a way to make the shrine more popular&mdash;"

&mdash;Rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle!

The trio's conversation was interrupted again.

They could sense a strange atmosphere in the surroundings. The leaves were rustling too quickly and too loudly as well. Although the wind was blowing outside, this should not happen. The sound was as though someone was deliberately shaking the&mdash;

...Rustle rustle. The sound came from behind.

...Rustle rustle rustle rustle. This time, it came from the side.

...Rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle. Then it came from the front.

Judging from the changing positions and the timing and number of the noises, clearly this was produced by someone's will.

"S-Something isn't right."

"W&mdash;What!?"

"W-Who's there!? Show yourself now!"

One of the boys shouted. Soon after&mdash;

Coming from all directions, as though someone was shaking the forest out of anger, the sound surrounded them. Producing a sense of intimidation, it surrounded them completely.

Waiting with bated breath, was it one of them?

Sounds of trembling footsteps on leaves, was it one of them?

But the time they suddenly realized, standing before them without making a sound&mdash;was a petite girl in yukata.

Although the boys wondered "a lost girl?", her appearance would be too bizarre for that.

If she were lost, why was she wearing a retro-style fox mask?

The masked girl remained standing in the dim forest. The unusual situation seemed as though taken from a horror movie. Indeed, the scene was bizarre enough for the boys to describe as "eerie as a horror movie." It was also the only description they could barely understand.

But in the next second, the scene suddenly became "weird" beyond comprehension.

The girl slowly raised both arms.

She took a deep breath&mdash;

"Justice~ will~ be~ served~!"

''Her black hair extended like countless snakes and started to twitch''.



"Well done! She grasped all the main points!"

"No, there's no need to say 'Justice will be served,' right... If you listen to it calmly, it actually sounds kind of cute."

Hiding behind some nearby trees to monitor the situation, Haruaki sighed while covering his face with his hand.

"What are you talking about? It's enough as long as they're scared. The impact produced by Kuroe's hair was amazing as expected. Those boys were quaking in their boots, too afraid to move a single step. Oh, they're already caught?"

"Oh man~ Sorry, boys. Those screams are making me totally uncomfortable..."

This was because Haruaki was hearing three people's worth of pitiful screaming in unison. Just as Fear said, they were caught by Kuroe's extended hair and suspended immobile in midair. Kuroe's hair was also able to be controlled in units of "bunches." For example, her hair was responsible for creating the disturbing scene of shaking trees earlier.

"Gwaaah... Waaah! What? What do you want?"

"Release me! Release me! Release me now! Waaaaah!"

"Yee! Ha, ooh! Guh!"

One of the boys had already started sobbing.

"Uh&mdash;I am one of the three goddesses worshiped in this land, Her Augustness of the Sleek Black Hair<!--JP uses Tsuyayaka Kurokami-no-Mikoto in katakana, which follows the same vein as real Shinto gods like Takehaya Susanoo-no-Mikoto-->, descending thus in divine manifestation, having bore witness of ye atrocities. Ye ought to know that stealing offering money is a heinous act, deserving a thousand deaths!"

Hiding to observe the situation just like Haruaki, Konoha shook her head in surprise after hearing Kuroe's self-introduction.

"To think she would call herself a goddess... Besides, what kind of manner of speaking is that?"

"Hmm? She mentioned that she used your way of speaking as a reference."

"Wha? W-When did I... Well, I can't say for certain... But it's definitely not that weird!"

While Fear and Konoha conversed, the punishment continued to take place over on the other side.

"H-H-Heeee... G-Goddess...?"

"Correct. Ye shall receive ye comeuppance&mdash;ye shall suffer divine retribution&mdash;"

"P-Pull yourself together, Youhei! This is a scam, that's right, it's definitely a scam!"

"Y-You're right, it must be what you say... Right? Right!"

The guy who was about to cry seemed to be almost completely taken in, but the other two were tough customers. Seeing the situation, Fear slowly stood up.

"Kukuku, how stubborn. Well then, I guess it's my turn next."

"Y-You must hold back. Listen to me, you absolutely must hold back."

Fear answered "Got it" and started to put on the mask she had bought from a stall.

Using superhuman powers to teach the boys a lesson through an experience of retribution&mdash;But there was one issue with Fear's suggestion. Naturally, the boys could not be allowed to see their faces. Having encountered them once already, Fear's striking silver hair became the greatest challenge. But for some reason, the mask stall turned out unbelievably to sell wrestling masks that covered up the whole head. Wearing that, she really looked like one of those masked heroes from one of those television shows.

"So, I'm off..."

Making a scary breathing noise, wearing a realistic-looking skull mask, Fear went on her way. In terms of invoking horror, it could be considered a success. But rather concerning was the fact that it did not suit the original intent of conveying divine retribution.

"Eeeeeeeek! Ken, a-another one has arrived!"

"D-Don't be afraid! Isn't it that one, the guy called Gasha Skull! So friggin' lame to wear a superhero mask, the one inside must be human!"

After producing laughter that seemed like was coming from some kind of deep space ninja, Fear quietly took out the Rubik's cube. Then as though manifesting out of thin air, she transformed it into a vicious-looking drill.

"Kukuku... I am one of the three goddesses... Her Augustness Too Adorable! Don't get the wrong idea, the reason why I wear this mask is because your eyeballs will be scorched and destroyed by the sight of we gods. That would be too much, even though you deserve to be punished as offering thieves... yeah... Ufufufufu! Calling it an alternative plan might sound strange, but a specially prepared punishment is already ready for you. Look forward to it, offering thieves! ''Shuko''&mdash;!"

Next came a series of metallic noises. In order to scare them, Fear had transformed the drill into a massive hatchet that looked like it could even chop a bear in half. This worked along the same principles as Kuroe's hair to produce phenomena that could not be explained by common sense.

"Ahhh... I give... up... I'm s-sorry, please stop this. I'm willing to apologize..."

"Waaaaah... I'm gonna die&mdash;I... really will die..."

"It's a scam! This is a scam&mdash;&mdash;!"

Only one of the boys continued to struggle despite being bound by Kuroe's hair, the one called Ken. Although his eyes glimmered with tears, it felt like he was struggling desperately to distract himself from his own fear.

Even when Fear waved the hatchet in front of face, his attitude did not change. Even when a supermassive spiked club sank heavily into the ground, he remained unswayed. Fear shrugged lightly and threw a glance towards Haruaki's group.

"Sigh... It's my turn now? But now that things have developed to this point, I'm really reluctant to do this..."

"J-Just find a way to make them promise never to steal offering money again. I can't help in any way, I'm really sorry...!"

After hearing Haruaki's sincere words, Konoha smiled as though giving up on various things and put on her mask. Because she could not wear any mask that was too cute, neither could she repeat Fear or Kuroe's choices, almost left without any choice, the mask she wore was&mdash;

"U-Umm, I am also one of the three goddesses&mdash;Her Augustness the Gentle and Beautiful. Uh&mdash;Listen carefully, you are forbidden from wrongdoings. So do not commit any crimes ever again..."

Hers was the kind of butterfly mask often seen in masquerade balls in movies.

"..."

The boy called Ken seemed to be frozen in time as he looked at the final goddess in astonishment.

Rather than terrifying, Konoha's appearance was&mdash;


One might say, quite perverse.


As cold wind blew across the mixed forest, the boy called Ken suddenly made a commotion again. As though brought back to life, he regained his liveliness.

"Hey Youhei and Kouta! Wake up now! The least scary one is here!"

"Eh...?"

"W-What...?"

Haruaki went "ahhh~" and clutched his head. No good, the butterfly mask was definitely unsuitable&mdash;

However, Ken's next words changed the situation.

...Although it was unclear whether it was a good or bad change.

"Look, guys, that's definitely~ not some kind of god! What, it's just Masked Lady D-Cup!"

"D-Cup...!"

Watching from the side, Haruaki suddenly felt a severe chill rush along his spine.

Instantly, everything changed in appearance, devoured whole by a dark aura. Ahhh~ Was this reality or fantasy? A slightly warm breeze shook branches ominously. Perhaps bats or birds, some kind of creature made strange screeches, flapped their wings and flew. Chaotic sounds of wings flapping began to surround the forest in a clamor. Rustling in the grass suggested that even snakes were escaping out of survival instinct, from this place that could be understood as hell?

Next, at the very center of the strangeness, coming from a certain masked girl was&mdash;

The sound of a nearby tree crashing down.

Of course, Konoha was not holding anything in her hand. She simply swung a karate chop.

Even from a distance, Haruaki was breaking out in goosebumps, frightened by her demonic aura. The boys could not possibly be unaware. This time, they really dared not speak, simply staring at Konoha.

"Fufu... Happy little children... One suddenly wanteth to play a game with ye..."

Saying that softly, she slowly, slowly approached the boys. The boy named Ken simply shuddered, his teeth chattering. Fear shook her head from side to side silently while Kuroe held her palms together lightly, still keeping the boys tied up. This was far too inauspicious.

"Of course, ye shall not be killed. Though ye shall not be killed&mdash;"

At some point, Konoha had started holding a wooden branch in her hand. Lifting it before Ken's eyes, as though showing off to him, she held it between her index and middle fingers, then severed the branch with a snip.

Still keeping her hand in scissors-like pose, she held Ken's earlobe between her fingers&mdash;

"I shall not repeat myself again. Thou shalt not steal offering money ever again. Shouldst thou fail to adhere to this promise, thy fate... Thou ought to know, dost thou?"

While listening to the screams of the stubborn boy who was finally conquered, Haruaki closed his eyes.

Sorry. Please forgive us in many ways.

Also, the most important thing.

If Konoha were to become a teacher, there were still many things that needed to be set right first.