Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume11 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

On the morning of the Sunday dedicated to flower viewing, Haruaki's friends showed up at the grounds of the Hayakawa shrine. Fortunately, the sky was cloudless as far as the eye could see, exhibiting perfect weather for having a flower viewing. The shrine's grounds were lined with cherry blossom trees and the grass was already covered entirely with tarps. Some people had already started banquets. Had Chihaya not been willing to tell them about a private flower viewing spot, surely they would have needed to fight a tough battle to secure a location.

Walking at the site, apart from the quartet of Haruaki, Fear, Konoha and Kirika who planned this flower viewing, there was Kuroe who had signed up as expected, saying "Everyone is going flower viewing together!? This is clearly no time for working, of course I must go with the flow!", as well as Sovereignty who had accepted the invitation instantly as soon as she received Fear's text message. Also as expected, it was impossible for Shiraho to refuse Sovereignty's invitation. Finally, there was Un Izoey, wearing her navel-baring lab coat as always.

"But... It's really bustling even when it's still early in the morning."

"Also, the vendor stalls really make this feel like a festival. Are Sundays always like this here...?"

The group chatted while making their way around the main shrine building. Instead of the shrine's confines, they were heading towards a Japanese-style residence deep in the grounds, in other words, the building where Chihaya and her family normally lived.

Reaching the entrance whose antique airs rivaled that of the Yachi home, they pressed the door bell.

"Coming~ Oh my oh my, welcome, everyone~"

A shrine maiden came out to welcome them, apparently Isuzu, back in her basic role. Accompanied by heavy footsteps, Chihaya emerged from the house. Seeing her appearance, Haruaki was a little shocked. For some unknown reason, Chihaya was dressed in her work clothes, or in other words, the shrine maiden outfit with the two massive slits on the side of the thighs.

"Since you guys are here, let's start immediately... Misuzu, Toohisuzu, just grab a few random sets."

After Chihaya issued orders towards the depths of the hallway, two pleasantly smiling shrine maidens approached, carrying what looked like piles of fabric then putting them down at the entrance. Chihaya threw a glance then said:

"So, I guess I'll explain a bit. I am asking you to work for the next bit. Today, the shrine is holding a 'Flower Festival'&mdash;anyway, something like a spring festival."

"...Eh?"

Smiling and lightly tilting her head, Isuzu said:

"Due to a lack of manpower, Chihaya-sama's father had asked Chihaya-sama, hoping she could invite as many interested students from school as possible~ Although she was able to find one person, the more the better. As though on cue, you then made your request. We couldn't actually welcome it more~"

"I could have ignored you guys' request, you know, but since it makes us even and having people working for us for free would save some costs, allowing this run-down old shrine to earn a bit of money, indirectly assuring my own pocket money, hence that is why very reluctantly, helping you guys was not completely out of the question&mdash;Hold it right there&mdash;&mdash;!"

"Gwah! What's wrong?"

Chihaya grabbed Haruaki's collar without warning. From point-blank range, she looked up at Haruaki with eyes filled with rage and panic, then whispered in his ear:

"D-Didn't she say she wasn't coming...!? Why is she here!?"

"You only noticed now!? Uh, even if she said she wasn't, it ends up depending on Sovereignty's wishes. It doesn't really matter to us, but isn't it better for you if she came? Don't you want to talk to her more?"

"Yeah... True... But not right now! I was only able to con you guys to do free work without any guilt because she wasn't coming! What am I to do? Now this is making me end up deceiving her!"

"To put it bluntly, you're simply reaping what you sow!"

In any case, Konoha was the first to murmur: "After all, we were the ones who asked her for a favor first, so this can't be helped." As for the matter of helping out itself, Fear and the others did not seem to have any objections.

"Ohoh~ Shrine maiden outfits! There are sizes that fit me?"

"Please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, of course! Because we've held events where children dressed up as shrine maidens~"

"So cute! Can I wear one! Wow, actually I've always wanted to try wearing one!"

What Misuzu and Toohisuzu had brought to the entrance were several shrine maiden outfits. In contrast to Sovereignty who was picking up one of them in great interest, Shiraho showed eyes of exhaustion.

"After being dragged out to this kind of place early in the morning, now I have to work while wearing this sort of getup?"

"Ah... Uh, umm... Shiraho-san, if it's you, uh..."

Just as Chihaya stuttered, trying to offer Shiraho a personal exemption&mdash;

"What does it matter!? I so wanna see Shiraho dressed up as a shrine maiden! It'll be so cute! It's not every day that we get to dress up as shrine maidens together, of course you need to try it! Hey Shiraho... Please?"

Hugging a shrine maiden outfit, Sovereignty tilted her dainty face and looked up at Shiraho. It was as though a "kyuun" sound effect could be heard. Shiraho staggered then turned her gaze away.

"I-If you say so... It can't be helped. I am simply going to wear it. Don't expect me to help."

"Yes! Shiraho, thank you! Conversely, I will work hard to help! A professional maid's skills should be possible to apply towards a shrine maiden's job since both are service-oriented! Probably!"

"Ah... Umm... Sorry, uh... I am really sorry."

In response to Chihaya who was apologizing in trepidation, her head bowed low, Shiraho slumped her shoulders and said helplessly:

"Okay, it's fine. After all, this is wholly the fault of the human who planned this occasion and brought us here. I really wish for him to die an unsightly death, leaving a tale of mockery for future generations to circulate widely. For example, choking and suffocating to death from trying to eat a red hakama because of an obsessive fetish for shrine maidens."

Hence, things were decided. At Chihaya's behest, the group started helping with the spring festival. However, there was one fact they had failed to catch, rather unfortunate for Fear, mainly. Essentially, they failed to notice what Isuzu said about inviting "as many interested students from school as possible" and Chihaya being "able to find one person."

In any case, in order to change into the work clothes, Fear's group was just about to enter the Hayakawa home when&mdash;

The entrance opened suddenly and another shrine maiden appeared.

"I have returned~! I just met your dad at the shrine's main building, Hayahaya, and he asked me to pass you a message that it's almost time to head over&mdash;Awawawawoohoo! Woohoo! My emotions are surging madly and rapidly from this unbelievable encounter, finally turning into a weird dance while I'm approaching!"

"Eek, she appeared&mdash;!"

Hugging a shrine maiden outfit, Fear escaped towards the corridor with great alarm. Bearing a wide grin (also twisting her arms in a weird manner), the person chasing after Fear was&mdash;

Of course, it was precisely the one with the tall figure and charming face, the (self-styled) annoyingly cute underclassman.



The spring festival's main tent was set up in the shrine's confines and in the very center of the main cherry blossoms path where the flower viewing crowd was gathered. Haruaki's group was working industriously in the tent's surroundings on their various assigned jobs.

"...So it goes like this. Because Hayahaya took me to Fear-san's classroom, that counts as a favor which I need to return~ We also invited another friend of ours, a girl called Himenon, but she couldn't come because she's busy and I was thinking I'd be so lonely. I didn't even know that Fear-san was coming, so this is really an explosively peerless happy surprise, fefefe!"

"You're really laughing like an evil weirdo. Anyway, Chihaya first asked you to work... Hmm, so that means it didn't matter to Chihaya whether or not you ran into Fear."

Haruaki and Yume were holding bamboo brooms to sweep the ground near the tent. Of course, Yume was dressed in a borrowed shrine maiden outfit. Making unnecessary movements seemed to be a habit of hers. Haruaki watched as she alternated between swinging her broom strenuously and wiping her drool. At least, she was  certainly a lively and cheerful child. As for being annoying or annoyingly cute, Haruaki decided not to comment.

As a side note, Haruaki was currently wearing a Shinto priest's white outfit that was lent to him. He did not know if the look suited him, but in any case, Fear reacted with loud laughter, Kuroe took out her camera without saying a word, Kirika clumsily averted her gaze, whereas Konoha made a terrifying, ecstatic smile while staring intently at him, saying: "A different Haruaki-kun from usual... Awesome...!" After seeing everyone's reactions, Haruaki still had no idea whether it looked good on him or not.

"Hello and welcome. You would like two of this merchandise? Understood."

Konoha was at the vending tent, serving as a cashier. Of course, she was dressed in shrine maiden outfit as well. The image of purity, with the colors white and red, suited Konoha's quiet demeanor superbly. However, due to the white top's plain design, it also plainly emphasized the curves of her figure. Ahhh, seriously, compared to western attire, that vivid and solid sense of weight, wobbling and quivering&mdash;

No good no good, Haruaki turned his awareness away from Konoha's bosom. Sitting in the tent, recording sales was Kirika. Since there was no cash register, she was apparently confirming sold merchandise one by one.

Kirika was also dressed as a shrine maiden, a perfect match for her straitlaced, noble-minded and clean image. She lifted her hair lightly, presumably finding it in the way when looking down at the account book. Then appearing to be performing calculations in her mind, she went "hmm~" while pressing her pencil above her lip and tilting her head. This action caused her black hair to slide down her neck&mdash;A sight that caused Haruaki's heart to race inexplicably. Despite the only difference being a departure from her usual attire, Haruaki found her image quite refreshing for some reason.

Sitting next to Kirika was Shiraho. Elbow on the able, face resting on her hand in boredom, she looked beautiful as a goddess, like a shrine maiden possessed by divinity. Her gaze was forever focused on the airheaded shrine maiden, running about the place, carrying trays of amazake, a sweet low-alcohol drink made from fermented rice. Although there were many a precarious situation, Kuroe would always extend a helping hand in time, dressed in a child-sized shrine maiden outfit. Kuroe was currently handing out amazake together with Sovereignty. Due to her looking like a kid helping out, all the visitors were smiling sweetly while receiving the amazake from her hand. "How amazing." Some of the elderly even went as far as to stroke her head. It was quite a refreshing sight.

The amazake supply came from a large, cylindrical iron pot. A foreign shrine maiden with gray hair and dark skin was currently stirring the amazake in the pot with a ladle. Whether due to tribal rules or insistence, she still bared her navel even when wearing a shrine maiden outfit. Un Izoey had forcibly pulled out the hem of the white kimono jacket and tied a knot on the side of her waist. Consequently, this produced the same situation as Chihaya, problematically, the side slits of the hakama offered direct glimpses to the bare skin of her thighs, due to the white garment being withdrawn from the hakama. As a side note, due to her adamant refusal to wear Japanese socks, she was only wearing geta clogs directly on her bare feet after they convinced to compromise after great difficulty.

(Appearance aside... At least she seems to be working seriously. That's the most important thing.)

Just at this moment, Haruaki suddenly noticed a shrine maiden kneeling down behind the tent.

"Mumu! Hohou... I see... Understood~"

That particular shrine maiden was holding her hands against the back of her ears, apparently communicating telepathically with her comrades. It was probably an inexplicable sight for bystanders and one could almost hear sound effects like that of radio waves and static. Soon after, presumably having ended the conversation, the shrine maiden, one of the kagura bells, stood up abruptly and approached.

"Ah! Although I can't tell from appearance whether you're the silent one or the one who talked to me before, but anyway, let me say hi first! Chief Shrine Maiden, thank you for your efforts! I've been working hard too!"

Noticing the shrine maiden approach, Yume was saluting energetically. Haruaki had no idea which bell she was, but the shrine maiden was apparently the one in current possession of the voice. She giggled lightly and said:

"That is truly wonderful~ Well then, Yume-sama, please allow me to say in fear in trepidation, my sister at the main shrine building has discovered a lost child~ Could you go over and help out~?"

"Of course! In other words, you want me to erase that kid's worries as a substitute mother! You want to rely on my womanly side! Normally, people only ask me for favors in changing light bulbs... Hohoho, looks like the meaning of my existence is not limited to height alone! The understanding people really do understand!"

"Then after arriving there, please let the child ride on your shoulders and wait at the same spot~ This is to allow his family to locate him easier~ In this regard, that is the great responsibility that only you can shoulder~"

"In the end, it's still my height that's being relied on&mdash;!"

Thus, the kagura bell (in the end, Haruaki still had no idea which one she was) led the depressed Yume towards the main shrine building. In any case, Haruaki hoped for a speedy reunion for the lost child and his family.

Everyone is working hard, so I must work as well&mdash;Just as Haruaki raised his broom again&mdash;

"Nuu, nice timing. Saves me time for waiting for that girl to leave."

Dressed as a shrine maiden, Fear looked warily in the direction that Yume had left and moved opposite to it, approaching Haruaki. Her shiny head of silver hair was surprisingly a good complement for the red and white outfit, resulting in a wonderful fusion of eastern and western elements.

"Chihaya wanted to move something and needs a boy to help, so she asked me to call you."

"I see. Helping is fine, of course, show me the way now."

Fear reached a spot behind the shrine, in front of a building that looked like an old warehouse. The latch was already lifted and the warehouse's door was wide open. Crashing sounds of things bumping could be heard coming from inside.

"Hey~ I've brought the shameless brat."

"Then hurry and come in. Jeez, because it was randomly thrown in here earlier, I can't take it out now...!"

Exchanging glances, Haruaki and Fear entered the warehouse together. Probably because it was seldom opened, the interior was filled with damp dust and a musty smell. There also seemed to be no lighting available so it was quite dark inside with only the faint external light shining in from the door.

Chihaya was in front of a rack in the depths of the warehouse. Bending forward slightly, she was moving things off the rack and dumping them on the side. Her bottom, clad in that daring shrine maiden outfit, was thrust towards Haruaki and Fear. With her body leaning forward, the hakama was scrunched slightly at the sides, offering tantalizing glimpses through the slit that almost reached the depths between her legs. Too dangerous. Were it not for this darkness, it might very well be visible.

"You've arrived. I wanted to ask you guys to move what's on this rack, but there's a whole bunch of stuff in the way that needs to be moved away first&mdash;"

"Wait."

The one who spoke was not Haruaki but Fear. Due to the darkness, Haruaki could not see clearly but Fear's face had gone pale without warning and her body seemed to be trembling.

"A-Ahhhh&mdash; I-I've really... come to quite a treacherous place. This is bad, really bad... I was too careless. That presence. No mistake, that type of presence is here!"

"Hmm? Right, Fear, you&mdash;"

Completely stiff with tension, Fear slowly backed away.

"L-Leave the talking for later. This is place is totally under their sphere of influence. They have been the actual rulers for many years. They could launch an attack any time, stepping in here was foolishness itself. I must escape without delay or else my life will be in danger..."

Scurry... Thud.

"Hwah! Hahaha! Houhyowahhhhhhhhh!?"

"Kyah! W-Why did you suddenly yell so loud!? Are you just happy or trying to be funny?"

"Uh, sorry. She's definitely just confused. Actually, she really hates spiders. I almost forgot until just now."

"Huhohee~! J-Just now... A thud... Could it be... Uhaaa, there's something moving on the back of my neck&mdash;!"

"Oh, figures. I was wondering just now why something seemed to fall from the ceiling. I get it now."

"Now is not the time to be saying something like that calmly... H-Hurry and get it off... Hurry... Eeeeeek, it's moving! Is it trying to spit silk at me or making a nest? Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Fear kept jumping up and down, turning vigorously left and right, arching herself backwards and screaming severely.

"Hey, you're getting too worked up. It's just a spider. I'll get it off for you, just settle down&mdash;Ah, hey!"

Exasperated, Chihaya walked toward Fear but Fear was still in a state of turmoil. Probably focused on trying to get rid of the spider that had scurried under her clothing, Fear had pulled open the collar of her shrine maiden outfit. The overlapping part of the outfit in front of her chest was completely pulled apart, and due to her excessive force, even the hakama's sash was untied. As a result, Fear stumbled, tripping over her own hakama. The approaching Chihaya hastily caught Fear in her arms but could not withstand Fear's weight. Frantically, Haruaki also reached out to stop the two girls from falling but failed, ending up falling over himself.

Crash&mdash;Entangled with one another, the trio fell on the floor. A large amount of dust flew up and filled the air.

"Oww... Is it gone? Where has it run off to? Is it dead? No longer here? Hey Haruaki, help me look and check, please. Where is it, is it no longer there?"

Right in Haruaki's view were Fear's tearful eyes. Haruaki nearly stopped breathing.

(E-Even if you ask me to check, this is way too hard!)

Given the current circumstances, it was totally impossible to check&mdash;Fear's shoulder was bare, the shrine maiden outfit was barely hanging on her body, the hakama had almost slid off, and even her pale white thighs were wrapped around Haruaki's body.

"Hey... You... Bastard..."

For some reason, Haruaki's hand had passed under Fear's arm and was clutching Chihaya's breast firmly. His other hand had slid through the open slit in Chihaya's hakama and his fingertips could feel the sensation of her thigh.

A half-naked shrine maiden was pleading to him, her mind still in chaos. Chihaya was trembling all over, scolding him.

"H-Hey, how is it? How is it? Haruaki, look carefully!"

"You... How dare you...!?"

"J-Just wait, you two. Anyway, calm down first. Listen carefully, this is just a series of unfortunate accidents. Let's all calm down then solve the problem. First, I'll move this hand away... Hmm, Fear's body is in the way too much, it's almost impossible to move away! No wait, I can force it to the side like this. Hmm? I seem to have gotten caught on something."

"W-What are you doing!? If you move to that side, the hakama... will be... stripped off...! You're not satisfied with stuffing your hand into the hakama alone!?"

"Wait, you're mistaken! Because we're entangled together in this weird manner, it's like untying knots right now! First, Fear, you should get up first, no no, that's very bad if you got up like this, put on your clothes first... Wait, you can't straighten your clothes like this, get up first&mdash;"

Just at this moment, a person's presence appeared at the warehouse entrance. Haruaki turned to see a shrine maiden standing there.

Haruaki's brain was instantly shivering in terror. No, this was an accident. But even as an accident, if Konoha saw it, she might possibly slay him in one slice. Were it Kirika, who knew what consequences there would be. As for Kuroe, she would probably just snap photos like mad.

However, the one standing there was not any of these girls.

"Uh... Yasuzu, you are Yasuzu, right? Perfect timing! Hurry over here and help&mdash;"

"...(Smiling~)"

After seeing the situation in the warehouse, Yasuzu displayed surprise on her face for just an instant but immediately recovered the usual smiling demeanor. Then she nodded in comprehension but did not come over to help them. Suddenly, she knelt down next to the entrance&mdash;

Then cupping her hands behind her ears, she transmitted a certain message to her comrades.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! Hey, hold on! Why are you reporting to everyone!? Stop it, stop it right now! Or else I'll take out everything in my arsenal to make you pay the painful consequences! No, you've gotten the wrong idea! Arghhh, why are you looking so smug!?"

Yasuzu was simply smiling with unparalleled radiance, making a thumbs up gesture towards them.

She seemed to be saying: "I understand very well! I have already passed the message to everyone, asking them not to approach this place, so as not to disturb the three of you having your happy fun time!"