CubexCursedxCurious:Volume11 Chapter3

Chapter 3 - Spring Festival / Hence the Nonstop Cheering / "Hello, future"

Part 1

"What—What do you mean by that!?"

Fear's voice was trembling in shock. Satsuko's voice was very calm and sounded like she was simply reading out a report:

"It all began when news was received about a member of the auxiliaries obtaining a certain Wathe. That Wathe's official name and detailed powers are unknown but is rumored to possess a cursed ability similar to a 'victory contract.' By using that Wathe, they might be able to pick out Nirushaaki-senpai from among the students."

"'Victory contract' huh? What ability is that specifically?"

"Because Satsuko doesn't have the full details yet, this contains speculation—Anyway, its's a Wathe that allows one to know the losers' 'secrets' completely when the owner emerges victorious in a vote on some kind of conceptual domain. Probably meaning that it can read the losers' minds."

"A vote...?"

After hearing this word, Konoha frowned. This word also invaded Haruaki's mind. There was some kind of ominous premonition. It felt like the word was hanging around them somewhere.

Kirika clenched her fist and fired off a series of questions. Satsuko also answered her questions one by one.

"The definition of loser is?"

"Probbably every human eligible to win."

"It's coersive? What a powerful ability."

"Which is why it requires the restrictive act of 'voting' as a medium. A very restrictive condition."

"What do you mean by conceptual domain?"

"Villages, cities, schools, organizations... In other words, a kind of public community. However, the Wathe's curse does have limits in power. It's said that a 'country' is too large in scope to take effect."

"Who obtained this Wathe?"

"It's «Neto the Avenger»'s auxiliary. The Draconians believe that the Dominion Lord was the one who issued the Wathe. Neto is a peculiar knight who deliberately suffers attacks from Wathe users then fights using the desire for vengeance arising from the pain. Because he is so peculiar, it's said that his auxiliary is equipped with many support abilities to facilitate handling peculiar situations. Examples include mind control, memory erasure and—

Satsuko took a deep breath and continued:

"Changing one's appearance, taking on another's identity completely to infiltrate certain locations."

Ominous imaginings were starting to be pieced together. Ominous premonitions were gradually taking on a distinct and coherent form. The kind of imagining that felt like this very well could be true.

"Hold on... In other words, this is what's going on? The Knights' Dominion was actually lying in asking us to hand her over in one week, so they don't really care—"

"Their true goal is to use that Wathe's cursed ability to locate Nirushaaki. Obtaining victory in a vote on a certain domain... Although it's absolutely ridiculous to explain in ordinary language by this point... Concretely, they have already sent someone in disguise to infiltrate the school, intending to emerge victorious in the school beauty pageant that's being held tomorrow!"

"Thinking back, during the flower viewing, the other side seemed to have encountered us by accident. If the deal they proposed was meant for buying time until the school beauty pageant... Everything makes sense."

"Satsuko will repeat, there's no concrete evidence. Satsuko just thinks that the possibility exists—But anyway, this is the situation."

"Even if you say it's just a possibility... If it turns out to be real, it'll be too late to do anything once it happens. We were planning to find a way to conclude the affair after defeating the Knights' Dominion tomorrow night when they show up for the deal. But if the deal itself was simply a lie for buying time, they already have a real plan in progress and it succeeds—Then those guys aren't even going to visit our house. By that time, they would have dealt with the target already."

After Haruaki muttered quietly, Fear shook her silver head violently from side to side, adding more emphasis in her tone:

"I won't stand back and ignore this! I've already told her not to worry... We won't add to her troubles! I absolutely won't let them kill her—a girl who only wishes to become an ordinary high school student!"

"Yeah, but if it's true, the risk is too great. We have no choice but to assume it's true and take action."

"But before that, there is one more issue. Namely, how trustworthy is news coming from this person."

Konoha glanced towards Satsuko. Still trembling, Fourteen hid behind Satsuko. Satsuko smiled wryly while tilting her head.

"Satsuko can understand how you feel. It's only natural that you cannot believe words coming from somone like Satsuko... But at least, Satsuko can confirm that she really heard this information for real."

"Then let me ask you, where did the news come from?"

"These past few days, Satsuko and Fourt challenged another knight, using this as rehab and a chance to gather information. Even knights who are not part of this operation should know a little information, being in the same organization after all. This is information gathered by questioning that person!"

"In that case, the information you obtained is absolutely ridiculous in its incompleteness. If you sincerely wish to save your senior, you would have questioned more thoroughly."

Kirika narrowed her eyes and pressed on. Satsuko laughed "ehehe" and answered:

"You are right... But Satsuko could not help it. Because halfway through the questioning, that person died. Satsuko was thinking he shouldn't be that weak, but it was a slight oversight on Satsuko's part... Indeed, torture should be left to those who are used it! Like Fear-san!"

"! —Shut up! Enough, shut your damn mouth. Don't say anymore!"

"Then that is what Satsuko will do for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask~"

Fear gave Satsuko one final glare then ignored her and turned back towards Haruaki and the rest of the group.

"Assuming this information is true, then what should we do to smash their plans?"

"The first method is to destroy that Wathe carrying the cursed ability of the 'victory contract.' In other words, finding the disguised auxiliary who invaded this school and catching her."

"This method... Honestly, it'll be very hard. Although the targets are limited to girls hoping to win the title of Miss Taishyuu High, no matter what, it's too rushed with only one day remaining."

"But at least she'll be among the students who signed up, right?"

"True but there are dozens of contestants. Also, I remember that you can join at the last minute so it might be pointless to investigate the current contestants at this stage."

"If they replaced someone's identity, friends might notice something strange, right? Is there any way to approach the matter from this direction?"

"That's very hard as well, right? If we need to investigate one by one, there's not enough time. Besides, if the enemy is not skilled enough to avoid detection, she wouldn't infiltrate the school in the first place. There are also plenty of ways, like choosing girls who had few friends to begin with..."

Kirika stopped in mid sentence. A certain face surfaced in Haruaki's mind. Very few friends, hence low risk. A face capable of winning the title of Miss Taishyuu High. He thought of someone who greatly matched these requirements, but—

"No... No way at all."

"Yeah, it's not possible no matter what. Quality is more important than quantity. The way those two are intimately stuck to each other all the time, Sovereignty can't possibly not notice."

"Besides, let alone advantages, substituting someone who's close to us would only result in drawbacks. They probably picked a student that's completely unrelated. In the end, Konoha-kun is right. Things would be better if we realized a week earlier, but by this point, trying to narrow down and catch the infiltrator is definitely challenging."

"So, we just need another way. Going at the root, how about getting the MissCon cancelled?"

"I see, want to try asking the superintendent?"

"As I recall, the school beauty pageant—or more accurately, the welcoming festival—is organized by the student council and club activities union rather than the school administration. Even if the superintendent exercised authority, it might not have an effect. Also, the shopping street is sponsoring this event, so that's tricky as well. Besides, just as everyone can see, preparations are underway in full swing and the atmosphere is roused to unprecedented levels. Exercising authority under these circumstances, making a one-sided requestf for the event to be cancelled, who knows if the student council will listen or not... It goes without saying that they will ignore the school and forcibly hold the event anyway, but in the worst case, there might even be rioting."

"Guumu~ But clearly without the voting of the school beauty pageant, that cursed tool's ability would not be able to activate in the first place...! Damn it, then what other ways—"

At this moment, Haruaki noticed Konoha and Kirika exchanging glances secretly. It felt like they were confirming "what to do?" with each other on something that only they had noticed, a slightly awkward expression on their face.

But in the next instant, the group felt someone behind them and looked up in surprise. Standing before their eyes was—

"Oh my oh my, please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, is everyone skipping class here? That's not very appropriate~"

It was Isuzu. She was dressed as a shrine maiden as usual, smiling with tender gentleness, holding Fourteen's broom in her hand. Luckily not a teacher—Haruaki breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Ah~ ...Hmm, this is the continuation of that letter. I hope you can turn a blind eye to our skipping class. So why are you here?"

"The janitor's job is to clean everywhere in the school~ Just now, Isuzu happened to hear voices and came for a look. Oh, thank you very much just now~ This broom is really good, it feels great~"

Smiling, Isuzu waved her hand. Hiding behind Satsuko, Fourteen kept trembling nonstop.

"Hiu... D-Don't look at me...! No more... No more, too embarrassing, I can't stand this no more...!"

"Oh my, Isuzu isn't going to do anything, you know~ As fellow tools with cleaning properties, I feel a sense of camaraderie with you. Let's continue to train and hone ourselves together as we pursue the treacherous road of cleaning."

After saying these incomprehensible things, Isuzu suddenly stopped moving.

Then—Ring. They seemed to hear a bell ring. Isuzu frowned with extreme puzzlement.

"Oh dear... How should I say this, truly..."

Kirika narrowed her eyes slightly and asked:

"...Did you see something?"

"Yes. How should I say this? It's just an image flashing whoosh across my mind. It's basically everyone dressed up extremely adorably, standing on a stage somewhere—"

"Okay, stop, that's it. I basically understand."

Kirika sighed deeply. Konoha sighed in the same manner.

"I knew it. That's the only remaining method. Absolutely ridiculous."

"This cannot be helped. Yes, this cannot be helped..."

At this moment, Fear finally seemed to realize. She looked up forcefully.

"I know. Winning first place in a vote is the condition required to activate that cursed tool from the Knights' Dominion. Conversely, the ability can be stopped by preventing the enemy who infiltrated the school as a student from winning the top spot. In other words—"

Fear gulped hard then continued:

"As long as we enter the school beauty pageant and one of us wins, it's fine...!"

Haruaki comprehended. Indeed, this was perhaps the last remaining option. Perhaps it was the only action they could take for the sake of protecting "her" who wanted to become an ordinary high school student.

But there was one thing that Haruaki could not comprehend.

Namely, he could not understand why in the next instant, Fear, Konoha and Kirika suddenly exchanged glances as though restraining one another, then finally, with eyes that could not be more serious, they all stared at him intently.

Part 2

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Part 3

(I absolutely can't lose...!)

Fear's mind was occupied by these words, nothing else, swirling nonstop inside her skull.

It was currently English class during second period, but of course, Fear was not paying attention. She was already capable of reading, writing, listening and speaking fluently in English. Furthermore, the newly hired English teacher, Sagisaki-sensei, looked like a very timid glasses-wearing teacher and was probably not going to express disapproval regarding Fear's learning attitude. What if she did? Then Fear was going to make her regret being born in this world with glasses just like that infuriating Cow Tits.

Fear pondered, allowing the easily understood English pronunciations to pass through her mind without registering. She already knew the reason, of course. In order to prevent the auxiliary infiltrating the school from using that cursed tool, all they needed to do was have someone else win the contest.

One of their group. First place was called first place only because only one person could achieve it. However—

(That's right, I absolutely can't lose...!)

No matter who the opponents were. Of course, that included Cow Tits. Regrettably, Kirika was included as well.

In other words—She did not want to lose.

For what reason? Why? Who knows!? Fear muttered with displeasure in her mind. She had a feeling that she had been thinking about something during the flower viewing. When seeing Kirika take a grain of rice off Haruaki's face, she seemed to have pondered something. But this was definitely unrelated to that completely.

(No matter what, of course it's because getting first place feels great. Much better than second or third place.)

It's because of that! Fear decided on the reason. Indeed, rather than leaving it as fine for someone among her friends to take first place, she had to win first place. Without such determination, how could she possibly defeat the enemy? This was an operation where failure was absolutely forbidden.

There was no doubt concerning the legitimacy of her winning first place. Next, she had to consider her competitors.

Konoha. Fear had personally experienced a long time ago the formidable destructive power of that creature of hers that ought to be named the double meat beast. Based on the current situation, that gentle, polite, lovely and delicate appearance on first glance would confer a strong advantage, right?

Kirika. Rational and calm. Although inferior to Konoha's in size, her weapons were just right in size and shape. Kirika probably would not put them on public display, but sometimes there was greater allure in concealment by stimulating imagination. Having smart wits was also another of her weapons. What kind of battle plan was she going to come up with? Completely impossible to predict. Too scary.

Then there was the enemy, never seen before, infiltrating the school for the purpose of winning this school beauty pageant. The enemy's appearance was completely unknown but supposing that the operation was indeed underway as thought, surely she must be confident of victory. Surely she was certain of winning with a probability greater than half—

Surrounded by formidable foes. Fear decided she must think of a solution. Before she knew it, class was over, hence she left he noisy classroom and casually paced about in the corridor to organize her thoughts. At this moment—

"Dear heavens! Although this is simply the washroom route, a chance encounter has filled it with an explosive aura of romance! Fear-senpai! If you don't mind, let's listen to the dripping sounds of streams together!"

Fear ran into the tall first-year student who was always full of energy. Fear's brain circuits instantly connected. This girl called Fear very cute. Of course she was very cute but she had almost never said it out loudly while puffing her chest out and unabashed. In other words, this gril was the expert who understood her cuteness best. In that case—

Fear tiptoed while she walked. Putting her hands on Yume's shoulders, she asked with incomparably serious eyes:

"You—Are you able to draw out even more of my charm?"

Yume's face was dominated by surprise for only an instant, but immediately, she answered vigorously with a salute and said: "Of course, captain!"

After classes on Saturday, or in other words, after school, Fear and Yume decided to use the chemistry classroom (it happened to be unlocked) as their strategy meeting room to bring their heads together, skipping lunch in the process.

"Due to some things happening, I've decided to enter the school beauty pageant. In order not to alarm the enemy... Correction, in order to produce more of an impact as a pleasant surprise, I still haven't signed up yet. I intend to leave it to the last minute tomorrow."

"Humuhumuhu~! Senpai, you're finally willing to get serious!? I will support you with everything I've got!"

"Just now, I already asked briefly about the rundown of the beauty pageant. They said that the contest will allot a bit of time for each contestant to freely display their charm. The quality of the performance will greatly affect voting results. What do you think I should do?"

"Well... If it's someone in a club, they will probably wear their club uniform and perform club activities, right? Such as crouching starts for track and field etc."

Sitting facing each other on a large table, they tilted their heads together. Then Yume suddenly looked up.

"Fear-senpai, please smile. Confirm confirm!"

"Hmm? I don't get it but like this?"

Fear tried curling the corners of her lips, resulting in Yume showing an ecstatic expression, resting her face on her hands.

"Ahhh... I knew it, so explosively cute that it's like you're not from this world! Oh my, this is already good enough! Everyone's heart will be stolen by you, sure win!"

"That's not gonna happen no matter how I think about it, think more seriously, okay... Eh?"

"Wow! What are you two doing here...?"

A boy was standing at the entrance of the chemistry classroom. He seemed vaguely familiar or maybe not. After asking, they found out he was a member of the chemistry club. The room was unlocked just now due to club activities. In order to verify Yume's claims, Fear smiled tenderly again and said:

"I'm sorry but we're currently having a meeting. Please lend this place to us for now. Don't disturb us. Why don't you go for lunch first?"

Even Fear felt that this command was very unreasonable but inexplicably, it worked. The male student nodded repeatedly and turned around.

"...Hmm, perhaps a smile really is enough. No no no, carelessness must be avoided, I still have to think up a performance to secure first place."

"Yeah~ The more weapons the better!"

It was thinking time again. Fear took out the Rubik's cube to play, swiveling it and making clicking sounds. Seeing that, Yume also took out a Rubik's cube from her schoolbag and started turning it as well after laughing "ehehe." The duet of clicking noises sounded like elegant echoes, resounding in the classroom that was filled with pungent chemical odors.

"Ah! I've got it, what about using this?"

"This?"

"The Rubik's cube! I've seen it before on television. Some people can solve all the faces rapidly to make the colors uniform. It should be okay even if you don't reach that level, but just by spending a couple minutes to solve every face, perhaps that's enough to advertise your wisdom and skilled hands, Fear-senpai, to further emphasize your cuteness!"

"Hmm, if I can manage that, this is a possibility. But I don't know how to solve it and there's not much time left till tomorrow."

"Maybe it'll turn out to be surprisingly easy after you try it yourself. I don't know the method either, so it's time to borrow the wisdom of others—The Search! Oh, got it!"

Yume handed the cellphone over. On the screen was displayed a webpage titled "Even a monkey can do it! How to solve a Rubik's cube!" The required task was divided into a number of steps with diagrams attached to explain.

"Looks like it's really quite a pain... But indeed, perhaps it's possible just by memorizing it and practicing to get accustomed. Okay—No matter what, it's better than doing nothing. I'll try it!"

"Great! But staring at a cellphone screen for a long time, it's too small and not very convenient, so let me write things down on a piece of paper. Wait for me, lemme find a pen and paper."

Yume searched her schoolbag to find stationery and a notebook. Fear watched her while feeling strongly how grateful she was to have a comrade like Yume. Clearly she only asked her out of the blue yet Yume was helping out so seriously. How fortunate. How fortunate it was to have a junior who loved and admired her so much.

But at this time, suddenly—A voice of doubt spoke out somewhere in her mind. After getting duped by the Knights' Dominion, her skepticism had grown sensitive. Was this purely good fortune?

The first-year student who happened to like her, appearing here by coincidence. Was this too much of a coincidence? Supposing it was not by chance, then what? What if she had lied to get close to Fear for some purpose. If someone like that was present in the school, then there were only two possibilities.

"Hey Yume, you're standing on my side, right?"

"Of course! Uh~ So, I'll write down the steps on this piece of paper right away~"

Fear held up one hand to stop Yume's movements. Yume looked up in puzzlement.

"In that case, I want to do something first before that. You may find it annoying and I actually don't wanna do this, but... In the end, after noticing it, I must confirm. So, Yume—"

With serious coming straight from her heart, Fear stared directly into Yume's eyes and said curtly:

"Strip."

Haruaki was wandering in school after classes were over. Although it was after school, since it was currently Saturday afternoon and the welcoming festival was tomorrow, there were still many students remaining in school. Kirika and Konoha had already gone home while Fear could not be contacted. Haruaki was currently searching for her after she rushed out of the classroom as soon as class was over.

(Clearly the cellphone should come in handy at a time like this, but she's not picking up calls or replying to texts.)

Essentially, school rules clearly dictated that cellphones must be switched off during class time. Haruaki had no idea if Fear had followed the school rules obediently, forgotten them, or simply never noticed in the first place.

If she had already gone home, it would be fine. Or if she was in school preparing for tomorrow, that would be fine too, but the thought of Fear currently doing who knows what at who knows where filled Haruaki with unease to some extent. At this moment, he heard from a classmate (even though they rarely conversed) some worthwhile news. The chemistry classroom had apparently been taken over at the moment. The male classmate belonged to the chemistry club.

"What on earth is that girl doing...?"

Whether going home first or returning together, she ought to inform him first. Haruaki made his way to the chemistry classroom.

Next, just as he reached out and was about to open the chemistry classroom's main door—

"Ah~ Ah~! Th-This is too embarrassing~..."

"Just bear it briefly. If you cooperate obediently, this will be over quickly."

"E-Even if you... say that, Senpai... I-I don't swing that way... I just love your cuteness platonically huwawawa! I'd rather you not examine that spot! Your breath... Your breath is touching it!"

"Next is this side. There, then—Oh right. If possible, I hope you'll open it yourself—"

Haruaki was frozen on the spot. What was going on? What exactly was going on inside this classroom?

"Next.. I will climb up there. Here I go."

"Climb up here~? No way, I somehow have this explosively intense premonition that Fear-senpai's weight will cause something to awaken!"

"S-Sniff... Hmm~? Inhale~... Exhale~..."

"Are you smelling me, Senpai!? What's awakening could very well turn out to be something very peculiar! Ahya~!"

What was going on inside was definitely not for eyes to witness. Absolutely no mistake about that.

But... Was it really okay to turn around and head home? Was it really okay to abandon Yume to her fate?

No, there were times when a man had no choice but to act. That was now. Definitely now!

Haruaki committed his resolve to do what he must do, meanwhile preparing himself for all sorts of disasters to befall him henceforth. Then with a feeling of courageous self-sacrifice, he transmitted his willpower to his stiff hand, mustering all his strength to open the classroom door.

"Th-That's enough! Fear!"

The scene inside the classroom pretty much matched what he predicted. It was also a prediction that he had hoped was wrong.

Yume was currently lying on a large table in the chemistry classroom. As much as Haruaki tried his best not to look, he still saw it accidentally—in contrast her usual image, standing tall and imposing, her skin was pale, smooth and delicate, her cheeks were blushing red, her eyes were slightly tearful, and her breathing was rapid. The curves of her perfectly sized breasts, neither too large or too small, as well as the lines of her smooth and tender thighs were offering tantalizing glimpses—The only reason Haruaki did not see everything was due to Fear currently lying on top of her. Although Fear was in uniform, her skirt had hiked up so it was not appropriate to stare at her appearance either.

Fear had her dainty face near Yume's neck, sniffing hard repeatedly. Then she got up in a panic.

"Sh-Shameless brat? You really are too shameless! I'll curse you, I'll curse you to death! Get out!"

"Owah!?"

After delivering a flurry of violent blows, Fear proceeded to push Haruaki's back, shoving him out into the corridor. Behind him, he only heard Fear speaking towards the classroom:

"Okay, Yume, sorry about that! I've already finished confirming, you can put on your clothes now!"

"Huff... Huff... I might very well have seen a world I was not supposed to see..."

Next came the sound of the classroom door being shut. Now, Haruaki was finally able to look back at Fear.

"Confirm... What were you doing just now?"

"Because it bothered me. Then I'll give the conclusion directly. There's neither any weird tattoo on that girl's body nor any smell of a curse. I can't be a hundred percent certain on the latter... But if a tool with disguising abilities was used, I should be able to smell something, having sniffed so thoroughly already. So there shouldn't be a problem."

I see—Haruaki figured it out after hearing her explanation. Just now, Fear was simultaneously confirming two things at once. The presence of a Draconian tattoo somewhere on the body. The auxiliary from the Knights' Dominion who had infiltrated the school by using a cursed tool to disguise herself. Fear was confirming if Yume might be one of the two.

"As much as I don't want to suspect her... But this was just in case. I had no choice."

"Yeah, I understand now."

"You're able to understand? So next... Despite knowing from the noises that something that cannot be seen was going on in the classroom, you barged in directly without knocking. Could you explain to me why that happened?"

"As much as I don't want to suspect you... But this was also just in case. I had no choice either."

"Argh, unforgivable!"

"If the same excuse works for you, why can't it work for me!? You're being too unreasonable!"

Haruaki was not at fault. If he really were at fault, then both sides were at fault. He had deliberately quoted the same answer but the hidden message failed to reach her. For the next long while, Haruaki suffered repeated karate chops to the top of his head as punishment from Fear, exactly the kind of disaster for which he had braced himself in preparation earlier.

Part 4

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Part 5

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Part 6

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Part 7

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Part 8

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Part 9

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Part 10

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Part 11

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Part 12

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Part 13

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Part 14

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Part 15

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Part 16

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Part 17

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Part 18

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Part 19

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Part 20

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Part 21

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Part 22

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Part 23

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Part 24

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Part 25

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