Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume12 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 6===

The next morning, it was the third day of the school excursion.

In a certain sense, this day was the main event of the trip, the day when each group of students was given a whole day of free time. Each group had to make their own arrangements and visit the shrines and temples of their choosing. Naturally, this was not purely for having fun since the students had to hand in reports after the school excursion.

That said, for Haruaki and company who were stuck in a difficult conundrum, as well as some of the students who intended to fully experience this once-in-a-lifetime school excursion, now was not the time to be law-abiding and dutifully following the basic rule of staying in their groups.

At the starting point on the third day, namely, the bus station in front of the hotel, the students dispersed to head towards their respective destinations. At this time, the members of three groups were exchanging glances, each harboring respective hidden agendas.

Girls of Group One: Fear, Konoha, Kirika and Kana. Fear and the girls did not want to get Kana involved.

Boys of Group Six: Haruaki, Taizou and Animori. Since anything could happen next, Haruaki wanted to go along with Fear and the girls without getting the two other boys involved. On the other hand, Murasawa, who was supposed in be in the group, was absent.

Girls of Group Five: Un Izoey, Shiraho, Hinata... Another girl who was supposed to be in their group was also absent.

In other words, the two students who had gone missing had formed a couple over the past few days, thus they intended to enjoy the whole day as a private date in Kyoto, readily deserting the frontlines early on. "I can't believe another traitor apart from Haruaki has appeared!" "So he wasn't planning a perfect crime at all!" Taizou and Animori seemed to have taken quite a blow.

Then&mdash;

"My will: I ask permission for my decision to stay with the Group One girls for today."

"Huh? All because of that lustful couple's fault, our group is already down to three people remaining. Now it's going to be just the two of us, Hinata and me?"

Hence, a chaotic grouping conference arose from Un Izoey and Shiraho's dispute&mdash;

In the end, they split themselves into two groups with Haruaki, Fear, Konoha, Kirika and Un Izoey in one group while Shiraho, Hinata, Kana, Taizou and Animori were in the other.

For some reason, Kana was snickering to herself and readily agreed to exchange with Un Izoey and join Shiraho's group (but actually, it was Fear, Konoha and Kirika who negotiated with her and Haruaki had no idea how they convinced her, perhaps by using cafeteria coupons as bribery). The biggest problem was Taizou, who kept yelling relentlessly after Haruaki's group dwindled down to two boys remaining: "I absolutely won't tolerate the appearance of a second traitor! I absolutely forbid Haruaki from heading towards paradise alone!" Kana sighed deeply and said:

"Oh come on, Taichi, read the mood a little, willya? Sigh... Hey Shirahocchi, can we take in these two poor losers?"

"To be frank, I have no wish to be trailed by two mongrels on the side... Nevertheless, they can help carry things at least. Weighing merits against drawbacks, I suppose their utility barely wins out if one were too too lazy to carry the burden of souvenirs while walking around in Kyoto. But apart from that, I shall regard them as mere air."

By agreeing to take them in, Shiraho's answer proved to be the decisive factor. "Air! In other words... Ah, I can walk together with Sakuramairi-san and even smell her, ignored by her... I-I'll come along, please let me join!" Apparently a hidden fan of Shiraho, Animori proceeded to convince Taizou.

"Hate! I hate harems!"

"Hold on, Taizou. Think carefully. If things continue to develop at this rate, we'll end up with just two guys' lonely Kyoto trip... But if you cast away your hatred slightly, we're still sort of having a kyah-kyah-ufufu rosy school excursion together with three girls... Decades later, when we're all old men, which kind of school excursion do you want to reminisce over...?"

"No good will come out of hatred. That's what I've always believed."

That was the kind of dialogue which took place.

Hence, new groups were formed. Haruaki's new group decided to follow the itinerary originally planned by Fear's group beforehand. Finally setting off was good and all, but&mdash;

Currently, Haruaki was feeling at quite a loss.

(U-Uhhhhhh...?)

The group was just about to head towards Tou-ji, the "Eastern Temple"&mdash;also known as Kyouougokoku-ji.

In his mouth, he was eating a soft, chewy food. Although it was slightly unsightly to eat while walking, their group had bought some mochi rice cakes from a nearby shop that was fairly well-known. But honestly, Haruaki was unable to focus his attention on the sweet confectionery that was supposed to be quite delicious.

Because all this time, a soft sensation was pressed against his elbow.

"Uh... Say... Konoha..."

"What's the matter? By the way, this mochi is really delicious, it's very soft and elastic!"

Something even softer and more elastic than mochi struck Haruaki's elbow again. Konoha was walking by Haruaki's side. The distance between them was clearly much closer than usual. Was it because the path was too narrow? No, even if that were true, Haruaki still felt it was too close. Hence, the slightest carelessness always resulted in his arm touching her. However, Konoha did not seem to mind and was smiling more cheerfully and radiantly towards him than usual.

Totally at a loss, Haruaki glanced backwards and discovered that Fear and Kirika were simply staring at him with half-narrowed eyes. It would be safe to say that they were not exactly in a good mood, hence Haruaki turned to face forward without saying a word. As a side note, walking at the back, Un Izoey simply displayed a face of sleepiness while tilting her head in puzzlement. Naturally, she was also stuffing round rice cakes into her mouth.

As though trying to escape reality, Haruaki called up his recollections of the "box" being kept in Un Izoey's backpack. Just as Pakuaki had said, it could not be opened even if they used Fear's torture tools or Konoha's knife hand strikes. This was the conclusion reached last night after Fear forcibly challenged Un Izoey with fighting words before going to bed: "Since you believe that guy's claims, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?"

As a side note, according to Un Izoey, after confirming Pakuaki had escaped successfully, she had shaken Kotetsu off her trail, fleeing the scene without particular intent to defeat or injure Kotetsu.

There were many issues to think about.

In order to open the box containing the Indulgence Disk, what should they do? The keys of emotion. What did Fear and the other girls intend to do? What could he do to assist them? Was Kotetsu going to reappear? Why did she want the Indulgence Disk? Furthermore&mdash;

"Oh! Haruaki-kun, we've arrived! This is the Tou-ji's Great South Gate... It's truly massive, how majestic in splendor. Oh Haruaki-kun, given this rare chance, let's take a commemorative photo together! Say cheese&mdash;!"

"Ch-Cheese...?"
[[image:C3 12-187.jpg|thumb]]

Haruaki's thoughts were once again dispersed in an instant by that highly elastic sensation. Konoha was standing beside him, pressed tightly against him. Since she had extended one arm to hold her digital camera, intending to take a photo of them both, the two of them were intimately pressed together, arm in arm. A gentle and elegant fragrance was drifting from her braids. Any closer and perhaps their cheeks might end up pressed together.

"Uh... W-We could ask someone else to take the photo for us..."

"Rejected, rejected. There's no need to ask someone else specifically to photograph us, because this is just a little keepsake, you're overthinking things. Come, smile a big one~ ...Seriously, isn't it pointless to ask someone to help photograph us when this is a rare chance to squeeze together legitimately...?"

Konoha murmured softly, so quiet that her voice was covered up by the faint sound of the digital camera's shutter.

"D-Damn Cow Tits... Your shamelessness is a sight I cannot endure any further!"

"I don't quite understand but can't you just get your photo taken as well? I suggest this kind of suggestion."

"Muu... W-What a great suggestion. This has absolutely nothing to do with that whatever honest emotions, it's just a memento for this trip, that's right, I consider it material to text back to Kuroe. Like those evidence photos, this is for telling her that the shameless brat is basically living well. In other words&mdash;Hey Haruaki, I'm up next for the same kind of photo, got that!?"

"Uh&mdash;Yachi, may I have a photo with you too? Just a memento. Indeed, Fear-kun makes a good point, this is just a memento."

"I suddenly realize a realization. This is an unknown for me too. My wish: I should take this opportunity to experiment with this unknown experience of the self-photo..."

"Hey, hold on a sec, why can't we all just stand together in a row to take a keepsake photo normally?"

For some reason, Haruaki's screams were ignored. After each girl had their turn to take a photo with him, they finally had an group photo as though out of obligation. Speaking of school excursion photos, normally they should be group photos, right...? Why was everyone prioritizing boring selfies? Haruaki was utterly baffled.

Next, the group passed through the Great Southern Gate to enter Tou-ji. Konoha's reaction turned out to be quite different from usual.

"Haruaki-kun, it's a five-story pagoda! A pagoda! It's so tall!"

"Yeah, that's right. It's supposed to be the tallest ancient pagoda in Japan. Wanna have a look at the guide booklet?"

What Haruaki meant was actually "I'll lend you mine" but Konoha brought her face up close to look down towards the booklet in Haruaki's hands. As though supporting herself, she lightly gripped Haruaki's arm that was holding the booklet. Roughly half the weight of a certain heavy object was transferred over to Haruaki's arm. He felt his heart skip another beat.

"Ehehe, thank you. Hmm... The height is roughly 55m... The pagoda burned down a number of times due to being struck by lightning. The current pagoda is the fifth time it was rebuilt, commissioned by&mdash;"

Konoha paused for an instant. After seeing the words written there, Haruaki shuddered in terror.

"Tokugawa... Iemitsu... The Third Shogun..."

Konoha whispered softly and suddenly straightened up. Smiling, she pointed at the pagoda while using her hand to make a chopping motion with a flick of her wrist, she said:

"Uh&mdash;May I go over there briefly?"

"Hold on hold on! What are you intending to do to a symbol of World Heritage!?"

Haruaki frantically grabbed Konoha's shoulder as she walked forward. Giggling, she halted in her steps.

"Haha, just kidding. Even if it's me, I won't harbor a notion such as 'how exhilarating it would be to treat the Tokugawa-built pagoda as lego, taking it apart block by block like a toy'."

"I totally can't tell if you're joking or being serious..."

"Like I said, I'm just kidding! Let's get going then visit other places!"

The group continued to walk within the temple's confines. However, an area starting from the Great Southern Gate was fenced off, making it impossible to reach the pagoda's base. It was not just the pagoda. In order to enter the fenced off area which included the temple's lecture hall and main hall, they would need to make their way to the entrance on the north side and buy tickets.

"Apparently, there are many Buddha statues in the lecture hall and main hall. I'd like to have a look, Haruaki-kun, can we?"

"That's fine with me. Plus I like looking at Buddha statues too."

Essentially scowling the whole time, Fear broke her silence at this moment:

"I don't quite like them. Besides, it's gonna cost money to go inside."

"In that case, you may stay here and wait for us. After all, seeing as I am the one inviting him, I shall pay for Haruaki-kun's share."

"Eh? No, I'd feel really bad about that&mdash;"

"Don't worry, it is fine. Come, let us go."

"Gununu... I-I'm going after all! This is also material I can text back to Kuroe and Sovereignty. In a certain way, Buddha statues can be considered their fellow kindred, they might actually be interested!"

"I-I was interested to begin with, so I shall come along very ordinarily. Nothing more than that. There isn't the slightest reason of the absolutely ridiculous kind."

"The Lab Chief has already given me provisional research funds. Also, no matter which tribe they come from, excellent statues all contain excellent souls. I am very interested with great interest."

In the end, the whole group filed into the lecture hall. Greeting Haruaki and the girls was a group of fierce and intimidating Buddha statues. According to the explanation in the guide booklet, these twenty-one Buddha statues were known as a three-dimensional mandala. Among them, five of the Buddha statues were especially grand and majestic. With Acala in the center, they were the Five Great Wisdom Kings. Their fierce and intimidating faces exuded a merciless aura of zero tolerance towards evildoers.

"H-How awe-inspiring..."

"Truly powerful. If this kind of thing started moving in the middle of the night, I'll definitely flee in utter terror."

"Even when there's clearly a Japanese doll at home already, running around all day long?"

Naturally occupying the position by Haruaki's side, Konoha chuckled. Haruaki glanced at the side of her face and finally asked a question that had been bothering him.

"You... seem quite happy?"

"I'm not allowed to be happy?"

"No, of course you're allowed. I just wanted to confirm the situation... Basically, to help Fear gather Indulgence Disks, Konoha, you intend to assist in opening that box, right? So I was wondering, how do you intend to use the 'key' that guy gave us and how are you going to increase the emotional volume..."

"That is precisely the reason."

Konoha relaxed her cheeks, placed her hands together behind her back and lifted her upper body slightly. Her braids swayed in a lively manner.

"Most reluctantly, I have decided to assist Fear-san. Then since the box must be opened, for this purpose, a large volume of emotions need to be released, apparently... Hence, I have decided to open my heart and have as much fun as possible today! To be slightly more honest than usual, to be slightly less reserved than usual. That is the situation."

"I-I see..."

An unexpectedly simple answer.

"Perhaps you may find this troublesome, Haruaki-kun, but please bear with me. However, if I go too far, please go ahead and give me a severe scolding! Oh right... It's really been a very long time since you last scolded me, Haruaki-kun... Ehehe..."

Somehow, Haruaki felt like he heard incomprehensible whispers at the very end, but decided to ignore it. The blissful expression on her face, standing on the opposite spectrum in stark contrast to the statues of the Wisdom Kings before his eyes, was also baffling.

In any case, Haruaki now knew the direction that Konoha had decided for her course of action henceforth.

Then what should he do as well?

What should he do to help them?

Staring at the Acala statue's solemn face, Haruaki zoned out into deep thought.