Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume16 Chapter3

"What have my creations done? What did they represent? When I became old, when authority, wealth and fame were no longer useful, I finally understood the answers to these questions. Then I realized my sin—namely, the foolish behavior of spreading curses all over the world."

"Hence, I vowed to use what little remained of my life to rectify my sin. To destroy all cursed tools in the world... In other words, Wathes. To gather and destroy all Wathes, regardless of whether they were created by my hand or not."

Kuroe was in charge of leading the conversation while Pendragon simply responded gruffly. However, she really was chatting like with a normal customer, giggling lightly, making amazed noises, asking questions as soon as they occurred to her. A special skill of conversation unique to people working in the service industry—Even though she was not human.

Turning the clock back slightly earlier, back to the Yachi home's garden...

Haruaki was staring at the house when Kirika suddenly got up from where she was sitting on the side.

"I'll get some refreshments to take to Konoha-kun and Kotetsu-kun. Can I borrow the kitchen for a bit?"

"Sure, thank you... Need any help?"

"I don't plan on making anything labor intensive, so I'll be fine alone."

"Really? Then it's fine even if you pour out all the tomato juice from the fridge."

"Got it."

After ending this conversation, Kirika walked into the dim interior of the house. It felt like Kirika needed to find something to kill time.

Clearly they should not have time to kill.

Clearly before the final deadline arrived, they must do something.

In spite of that, Haruaki still could not muster any strength. As soon as he sat here, looking at the wrecked house as though admiring flowers, for some unknown reason, neither his mind nor his body could exert any strength.

After running around all day, his body was filled with fatigue. His left hand's wound was giving strange feeling between pain and numbness, suggesting a sense of emptiness as though something important was escaping from there. His mind could not focus, only recalling ambiguous activity records while his consciousness was about to drift away any moment.

No good. No good. Haruaki shook his head lightly while saying to himself:

"What should we do...? My brain can't operate at all..."

"Because too many things changed all at once. This can't be helped."

Originally muttering to himself, the father sitting beside him responded to him. Because he had been cleaning up the whole time, Honatsu was still wearing an apron, sitting with his calves tucked against his outer thighs.

"You're talking like this has nothing to do with you... Don't you have any good ideas, Pops?"

"How could there be none? Rather, it would be better to say that I've been putting them into action the whole time."

Haruaki turned this head to see Honatsu patting the broom on the side while he continued:

"This only happened because too many things have changed. Then the first step is to try restoring everything back to the way it was. I think it's a great idea."

"...That's why you're sweeping?"

"Yes. You won't come up with good ideas if you don't calm down. Going through the motions first turned out to be surprisingly effective, it's really great."

What should one say? It felt too simple and wishful. Haruaki shrugged and sighed.

"Sweeping is all fine and good, but it still doesn't solve anything. What if the enemy attacks and damages the house again?"

"Just continue fixing and sweeping, right?"

Honatsu spoke boldly and simply.

"...Then will a good 'development' follow from that?"

"Yeah, probably. Right now, that's all I can do then wait."

"Probably? This is so unreliable..."

Haruaki sighed again.

At this time, Honatsu turned his body to face Haruaki while remaining in sitting posture. With a smile, he asked him:

"Eh, what's the most 'life as usual' thing for you, Haruaki?"

"Huh?"

"Let's start the restoration from there, how about that? After all, we can't possibly restore everything all at once, so we have start our efforts somewhere critical."

Life as usual.

Haruaki tried to think. At the same time, he kept the same view—looking at the house from the garden.

An undamaged roof. The veranda heated warm from the sun's rays. The pillar where heights were recorded in the past. The old but staid smell of tatami. Everyone gathered in the living room. Konoha slightly in a huff. Kuroe saying frighteningly absurd things. Kirika reciting her usual catchphrase in exasperation. Then, in the very center. The center of their group was—

"Fear..."

"Hmm?"

"Fear in human form, munching on rice crackers, also scattering crumbs everywhere... Right?"

Haruaki squinted and spoke. The dark living room. The heavily scarred living room. These were superimposed upon his imagined scene.

"So... Let's start with restoring that, okay?"

"That's what I want to do too."

But—

"Fear... has suffered a severe shock. The meaning of her birth was rejected by that Dominion Lord, that guy who created her. Also... Because of her curse, she lost control on the ship."

In addition, there was the matter of chopping his fingers off.

"I... What should I say? Like 'don't let it weigh on your mind' or 'I don't mind,' stuff like that... Just repeating those things I've kept saying all along isn't going to change anything... Geh."

"Hey hey~"

Honatsu suddenly extended the broom's handle to rub Haruaki's cheek. Haruaki narrowed his eyes and pushed the broom away.

"What are you doing?"

"This is educational instruction for my overly serious son. Listen to me, the answer is surprisingly simple. When facing difficult things, don't think about anything, just do what your feelings tell you to do. Just like last time, it's necessary to be willful sometimes."

"..."

But this time was different. The situation was much worse than last time.

During his indecision, Honatsu's throat shook as he laughed "hoho."

"The way I see it... I think that Fear-chan is just troubling over boring little things~"

"Don't make it sound so easy, to her, it's—"

"That's exactly it. Although Fear-chan is treating this very seriously, there's no need for us to take such a serious attitude as well. All we need to do is speak to her in a live~ly~ manner from our own standpoint. So what if her existence was a mistake from the start? So what if she deserves to be cursed? Sometimes, right things are born out of that... Stuff along those lines."

"Right things... Such as?"

Honatsu narrowed his eyes slightly after Haruaki asked.

He fell silent for a long time.

So long that Haruaki was beginning to wonder if his father refused to answer, whether he was spouting things randomly.

But after a while—

Finally, he spoke in a calm voice.

Those words were exceedingly feeble, sliding into the world with the impression that they were murmurings to himself.

"Perhaps precisely from understanding curses, these negative thoughts, one can further understand how irreplaceable positive thoughts are. Perhaps precisely from being something that has been cursed again and again—only then can something farthest removed from curses be born and nurtured. That's what this is about..."

Honatsu seemed to be recalling something in a daze, his gaze directed towards the house...

Near the end of his speech, his gaze suddenly shifted.

Towards Haruaki.

Surely, ever since his birth till now—

Over these past eighteen years<!--18th birthday during the summer of 2nd year high school? I suppose that works-->, his father was slipping up for the very first time.

(Ah&mdash;)

His father's gaze and words made him realize something. Could it be possible&mdash;

With a mighty beat, his heart began to grow hot.

Haruaki could not help but ask&mdash;

"Umm, I've been wanting to find a chance to ask you again since a while ago, my mother..."

His father's eyebrow twitched as though going "crap"&mdash;Did he imagine it? That instant was too non-obvious and his father immediately resumed a foolishly smiling look too naturally, so he could not be sure. Perhaps it really was his imagination.

"Hmm? The subject changed suddenly~? Well, I don't know what she's doing, out there somewhere. After the divorce, we never got in touch again, but I think she should be doing well? Uh, this is my&mdash;Sorry, I should apologize seriously for times like these and switch back to a normal male tone of voice.<!--in the JP, Honatsu usually uses "watashi" to speak in a female voice, now he's switching to "ore"--> It's all my fault for always running all over the world outside. She couldn't stand it and left this home. It's my fault for making her life full of uncertainties. I am really so sorry. Anyway, it was all my fault, I am to blame for all of it, so hate me if you must, son, no wait, conversely, in order to lavish you with double the amount of love, that's why I'm trying so hard looking like this, so you should be able to conclude it's a happy ending, right!?"

He glossed over the issue in full force.

Haruaki knew very clearly, but unbelievably, he did not feel like pursuing the matter to the very bottom at this time.

Regardless of the truth, it did not matter now. Even if he found out, it would not change anything.

Hence, he could only relax his body and mind then smile.

"...No way no way, how is this a happy ending?"

"Eh~ To think I created a brand-new realm of child-rearing by being both parents at once. Oh, I guess I need to let you breastfeed after all? Wanna suck?"

"I-I'm not allowing him to suck! Absolutely ridiculous!"

"Woah!?"

By the time he noticed, Kirika had already returned at some point. She glared viciously at Honatsu who was squeezing his bosom with his arms to accentuate it under the apron, but Honatsu giggled and ignored her. Then he stood up with a grunt of "ooph" like an old man.

"Okay, it's time to continue sweeping~ Oh, Kirika-chan, can I take a cup of tea?"

"Yes, I poured these out for you two in the first place... Yachi, take one too."

"Th-Thanks."

Haruaki took a cup of barley tea from Kirika's tray then turned his gaze while drinking. On the boundary wall in the back, Kotetsu was drinking canned tomato juice with a serious look on his face. Kirika had apparently gone to visit Konoha and Kotetsu first to deliver refreshments to them.

[[image:C3 16-246.png|thumb]]

"Puha~ Great, then I'll work hard for a while longer! Kirika-chan, can you clear the cups later and first help sweep up the broken glass in the main house? After that, I'll provide you with an unused room to rest."

"I don't mind, but... Uh, what about Yachi...?"

"The unworthy son seems to have things to do."

Looking at Haruaki, Honatsu winked. It did not suit him at all. Then turning around, he said at the same time:

"Anyway... I think the topic went on a tangent in the middle, but the conclusion is very simple. Since you're not sure what to say, remember that actions speak louder than words. This is an ancient proverb that's still circulating."

The father's figure moved forward after handing the broom to Kirika.

Watching his back, Haruaki also stood up.

Compared to just now&mdash;Strangely enough, he felt energy in his body.

Even though what he needed to do remained unclear.

But he knew what he wanted to do.

"The answer is surprisingly simple. Actions speak louder than words... I see? Then it can't be helped."

His lips curling in a grin, Haruaki muttered:

"Then I'll be willful for once."

After that&mdash;

"...Hi, are you awake?"

"...Yeah."

Fear's reply was very brief.

The room was dark. There was only the moonlight shining in from the sliding door he had opened. It illuminated the steel cube standing coldly on the futon.

It was as though Fear were saying that staying in that form was the only penance for her.

As though saying it was the only safe solution that would not hurt anyone.

Still withdrawn.

Haruaki narrowed his eyes lightly and reexamined his own heart. What he wanted to do. What he desired&mdash;The scenery of life as usual.

To restore it, what action should he take seeing as he did not know what to say?

"Ooph."

Crap. I'm grunting the same way as Pops. Haruaki frowned while...

Picking up Fear's body in his arms. Extremely heavy.

"What are... you doing...?"

This was a willful solution.

What he wanted to do.

Hence, completely unabashed, Haruaki carried Fear in his arms out into the corridor&mdash;At the same time, he said:

"Let's sleep together."

"W-What!?"

Although it sounded like a scream of insanity...

For the first time in a while, Haruaki finally heard Fear's voice full of emotions again.

His own room. After laying out the futon taken from the closet, he placed Fear on the very center. Then putting the prepared blanket at his feet, he lay down on the same futon&mdash;In other words, next to Fear.

"Y-You, why are you doing this...?"

"Because I want to. I want to sleep with you. That's all."

It was no lie. He really wanted to try this.

He wanted to do this with Fear, who had been keeping her distance from him, building high walls using her cube form, making it difficult for them to convey their thoughts to each other.

He wanted to go further than before, to bring them so close together that there would be no gaps, to touch each other once again. That was all.

Lying down beside the cube, Haruaki reached out lightly with his right hand. Fear's body shook&mdash;He ignored it and patted her corner gently. Which part of her body did this correspond to? The head would be fine but if happened to be some place like her butt... Hmm, that would have to wait until she reported it herself.

"Speaking of which, you sneaked into my bed before..."

Recalling what happened back when she first arrived here, Haruaki whispered quietly.

Haruaki did not know if Fear was reacting to his words or his hand rubbing her corner, but she shuddered while saying:

"D-Damn... shameless brat..."

Scolding him as usual. As usual? Exactly what he wanted. That was why he did it. Currently, he was taking any damage at all.

"Yes, that's right. I might be a shameless brat after all. I didn't dislike it much back then."

"Wha&mdash;"

"I don't dislike it now either. Like this, trying to touch you..."

He changed his way of touching to poke lightly with his fingertip. Her breathing became even more acute.

Then after a while...

"Even like this... in the shape of a box...?"

Haruaki thought for a moment then answered honestly:

"Hmm, if I had to say the truth, your human form is softer. I'd like to touch it too."

"Th-That's your real goal? Hmph..."

This time, Haruaki exhaled. Now was the chance to say what he wanted to say.

"&mdash;You became like this because of me, right? I've wanted to have a proper talk with you all this time."

He paused in his motions of touching her.

"On that ship... You went berserk only because I was too weak. If I were stronger, you wouldn't have been forced to do that to save us. That's why... Sorry."

"Don't apologize. The one who wants to apologize... is me."

But she did not continue with words of apology. Haruaki's guess was that she believed that no amount of apologizing would be enough, that was why she forbade herself from saying those words.

The bandage on his left hand. The emptiness occupying it. The vague pain. The cold sense of loss. But clearly, he had already started to get used to his left hand being like this.

Hence, he extended his left hand this time and stroked Fear's body as before. Nothing different from his right hand. No need for concern at all. No need to obsess over it at all. Even if the number of fingers had decreased, he was still able to touch Fear's body. And being able to do that was very important.

"..."

Fear seemed to hold her breath for an instant, but did not say anything. Even if it was only a mere fraction, he hoped his feelings could reach her.

"Say... You became like this because you don't want to hurt us again, right?"

Turned into the form of a cube. Turned into a passive tool of torture and execution instead of an active weapon. Turned into what she probably disliked, her form.

"Yes..."

Haruaki sighed greatly in exasperation. His hand's movements changed to caressing back and forth. As a result, his fingers' pain became more pronounced, but he did not care and said deliberately in a gentle tone of voice:

"Uh~ What you're doing is wrong, can you stop?"

"...!"

"It's not like I hate you in this form, but if you decide: 'I must stay like this forever!' That's really going to be a problem. I'd be very grateful if you could return to your original form quickly."

"Why...? Why... is it wrong? Staying like this, I'll... not hurt anyone again&mdash;"

"Nothing of that sort."

He interrupted.

"I'll feel hurt. Wanting to touch the soft you, wanting to see your usual face, I'll feel hurt..."

"Ah..."

Fear cried out in surprise.

Following up on his success, Haruaki continued to whisper:

"I know this is my willfulness, but I still have to say it. Not too long ago, you said you wanted to stay with me, right? I'll answer you right now... I too... want to stay with you. I want to live together in his home forever. So&mdash;This is an order. Just as before, stay here."

A willful move. A willful declaration.

However, this undoubtedly came from his heart.

After a very, very long silence&mdash;

"I can... stay here?"

"Of course you can. Stay."

Then Haruaki relaxed his tense face. Smiling, he said:

"Somehow I feel like I've had this conversation with you before. Back when you first got here."

But things were different from back then. His own thoughts were different.

Back then, he did not mind whether she stayed or left.

But now, even if she did not want to stay&mdash;She must stay.

Becuase he hoped for her to stay.

He did not want her to disappear.

"But... Oh right. I've been thinking... Was it really good for me to come here? Was the choice I made back then wrong? After coming to this home, what have I done? What can I do from now on? Was I wrong from the start? Still continuing to be wrong until now and will remain wrong forever? I can't dispel these thoughts&mdash;"

"Haha, it's because that Dominion Lord told you many terrible things, right? What an idiot... Even if he said you were a mistake from the start, there's no reason why everything that happened afterwards becomes a mistake, right? That guy only remembers you from your birth, but he doesn't know the you after coming here."

"But&mdash;In hindsight, I did things with irrevocable results&mdash;"

He could sense faintly.

Fear's gaze was directed towards his left hand that was stroking her body.

"What have I done? In the end, everything was wasted effort, right? If it's like that, what pains me the most to this day, that harming a certain person's body was all I could do, then the meaning of my time living here&mdash;"

"Like I said, nothing of that sort. The meaning of your time living here? Of course there is meaning. The positive things are too many to count."

"R-Really...?"

"Yeah. The positive effects and changes here after you came. Although I might be exaggerating, there are definitely things that make me feel 'thank goodness'&mdash;"

Using a calm voice with a smile of nostalgia, he then said:

"Lemme think... First, from my perspective, I learned the soft feeling of caressing your head, I also learned the softness of your body, the taste of your skin, the pleasant sound of your voice, and also learned your weight..."

"W-Wait wait wait! What the... Those are all embarrassing things! Shameless, too shameless...! D-Don't joke around...!"

Haruaki's smile did not go away. He was not joking. He definitely started with things to embarrass her on purpose, but he was absolutely not joking.

Everything he said was true.

"There's more. Like I know you have a habit of curling up in a ball to sleep. You also love cute animals like cats and dogs very much. I also know that after seeing those animals, you look very cute the way you can't hold yourself back. Then when I see you stuffing yourself with rice crackers, as long as I ignore the matter of the home budget, it fills me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, it's really great..."

"S-Still the same stuff! Those are all trivial things, not worth mentioning&mdash;"

"But if you weren't here, I'd never learn those things."

Horizontal gaze. Staring at Fear's body, he said with a serious demeanor:

"I've never felt happiness from these feelings before&mdash;That's why they're very precious to me."

"Uguu." Fear made a sound like something was stuck in her throat.

Seeing her unable to argue back, Haruaki continued. He did not stop the motion of his hand either. Changing the angle, he stroked Fear's surface. She shuddered again.

"Not just my own personal feelings... There are lots more. In your case, you started doing things you were originally unable to do. Like greeting others, working part-time jobs, also going to school as well. Then there are the people who made contact with you, everyone is smiling and laughing, right? This is a good thing."

"..."

"Yes, making friends of all kinds of people is a good thing. If you hadn't shown up... Right, we wouldn't have become so close with Class Rep, we wouldn't have known her secret and Class Rep would probably still be a part of that Lab Chief's Nation. Also Sovereighnty, Shiraho, Un Izoey, Amanda, Chihaya and Isuzu... We got to know so many people. Let's not forget people in town. Because you're so striking, people in the shopping street all remember your appearance. When you suddenly rushed at someone who was taking a puppy out for a walk, you ended up getting to help walk the puppy every now and then... Oh right, what was the owner's name?"

"...Yamashita."

"Yes, Yamashita-san. That Siberian Husky looked so fierce but was very cute. Ever since you came, Kuroe looks so happy every day and never goes on sudden trips again. Haha, I've also noticed that Konoha shows an unexpectedly childish side whenever she's talking to you. It's all thanks to you... Apart from that... The liquor shop owner started giving us freebies frequently when delivering the soy sauce, strangers starting conversations with us in school has also increased&mdash;"

Haruaki found his examples quite scattered and divided.

Without any order, he was simply turning images surfacing in his mind into words. Using the hand with missing fingers, he stroked Fear's body, whispering as though singing a song to match the rhythm of his hand.

Thanks to Fear, things were gained, things had changed.

"Because you eat a lot, I've come to want to let you eat more kinds of food, improving my cooking skill in leaps and bounds. Then there's rice cracker flavors and types, even I've become an expert quietly. I've also started to watch TV shows I wouldn't watch if I were alone. My English grades have improved. When I come home to find the house so lively before I say 'I'm back,' I can't help but feel happy. Because you have such a strong sense of curiosity, situations where I have to explain things to you have increased, thus making it so easy for time to pass. We've played so many nostalgic games, laughing all the time..."

His consciousness was gradually growing fuzzy. The room's darkness, his own voice, Fear's texture, all this produced an inexplicable and incredible sense of comfort, bringing forth peaceful drowsiness.

"I'm very grateful to you for staying here. I hope you'll continue... to stay from here on... So, hey, Fear..."

He whispered softly.

Leaving his hand continue to rest on Fear after stopping his caressing...

Haruaki closed his eyes.

The sense of emptiness no longer occupied his left hand.

Of course, the fact that he was missing fingers did not change.

However, the cold sense of loss that originally resulted was now&mdash;

It was now replaced by warmth as though someone had used their palm to gently cover his fingers.

In contrast to his aristocratic-sounding name, Squad Leader Coenraad Johannes van Houten was a middle-aged man with cold, hard facial features and a massively built body like a bear's.

People often called him cold and he had some self-awareness too, but was unable to change. Destroying cursed tools was for avenging his family. Achieving that did not require being friendly. Instead, what he needed was the monstrous strength obtained through physical training, the war hammer skills that were engraved into his bones through practicing until he puked blood, as well as the willpower to complete his mission even if his arms broke.

"..."

Right now, Coenraad was walking proudly through the school building at night, checking out his surroundings without any carelessness. His mission was being in charge of supervising the students who were hypnotized by Taciturn Chatterbox, as well as eliminating uncertain factors lurking within the school.

Naturally, this was his first time walking in a Japanese school, and a school building at night to boot. He did not have knowledge in this area either. However, he was at least certain that this kind of situation was quite unusual.

Currently at this hour, the outdoors were shrouded by night completely. Even midnight had passed a while ago, yet the students were not concerned at all, continuing to carry out their daily school lives. Like during the day, repeating the same lesson again and again. Of course, the classrooms' lights were on. Taciturn's hypnosis included "not noticing what felt unnatural" as a basic effect, hence within the students' cognition, it probably became something like "today's sky seems a bit dark, let's turn on the lights."

As of this moment, the knights still had not located the Hunter of the Lab Chief's Nation or the other people involved with cursed tools who were supposed to be in school. Did they gather together and hide? The premises were already sealed off completely by «Auschwitz-Birkenau», so the completion of "Knights Dominionization" would only be a matter of time. «Dieu le veut» itself was together with the Dominion Lord with Sleif and her subordinates in charge of protecting them. Coenraad did not think that a few uncertain factors gathered together could do anything, but that was not sufficient reason to let them roam free.

Reminding passing subordinates to "Continue to stay sharp," he also walked into classrooms to investigate, checking cleaning equipment closets, working diligently. Class apparently ended during this time and a large number of students began to rush out of the classrooms. The noise of break time. Although it made carrying out the mission difficult, that could not be helped.

Under Taciturn's hypnosis, the students were unable to see knights. In other words, no matter what the knights did, they would be treated as "nonexistent people."

(Hmph, it's good that Neto isn't around anymore. Were he here, who knows how many people would get violated or killed by him as a pastime.)

At least, Coenraad had no interest in doing indecent things to female students even if they could not see him. He did not have that kind of bestial mind to target children young enough to be his daughters. Besides, Japanese people looked even younger than their actual age... However, he really could not approve the skirt length of Japanese high school girls. Why the heck did they need to show so much thigh?

Pursing his lips tightly, Coenraad walked along the corridor while the noise and bustle of break time filled the hallways.

By the way, there's so much individuality among the students in this school&mdash;Coenraad thought. The school rules must be quite lax. Not just the skirt lengths but there were also people who modified the looks of their uniforms and different hair colors abounded. Not just students, but he also saw a number of teachers dressed quite casually.

A man as tall and big as a bear was walking along a chaotic and crowded corridor. He was already taking care not to bump into students and send them flying, but when turning a certain corner&mdash;

"Uwah~ I have to run for next period! I've got to wash and clean up properly first!"

A student was dashing extremely quickly towards him. A girl wearing glasses with thick and swirly lenses, with a ponytail tied behind her head.

Indeed, her speed was very fast. Coeraad's arm shook. If it were an enemy charging at him with a knife, he would have instantly drawn out the war hammer from his back&mdash;his trusty weapon that had smashed dozens of cursed Wathes already&mdash;then struck the other party's skull or simply send them flying with a punch to create distance.

But this was a slender girl without a knife in her hand. She was merely carrying one of those plastic buckets used in art class. Hence, he had no idea how to react. Then during that instant&mdash;

"...Hmm."

"Ohyah&mdash;!?"

Collision.

This impact was no big deal to Coenraad, but things were different for someone without the same thickness of flesh. The girl was sent flying back greatly, falling on her bottom.

"Ah, ouch~ ...I fell... So embarrassing&mdash;Oh crap!"

The girl looked this way and that then leaned forward to look at the bucket in her hand. Then she cocked her head in puzzlement.

"Eh? It didn't... spill? But it looks like the water became less, is it my imagination...? There's no puddle in the corridor either. Great, it must be good karma from my daily good deeds! Besides, I don't have time to clean the corridor either! I'm so lucky&mdash;!"

Patting her skirt, the girl got up and ran away in a patter of footsteps.

"..."

Coenraad closed his eyes and sighed, meanwhile feeling the cold liquid dripping from his bangs.

Regrettably, the girl was wrong. The water had spilled indeed, just that instead of spilling in the corridor, the dirty water in the bucket had spilled on him&mdash;But for her, it was indeed fortunate.

Mixed with paint, the water of indiscernible color was giving off a weird odor. Naturally, he was also drenched from head to foot with his coat soaked with dirty water.

"Tsk..."

He was appointed as squad leader this time. As a leader of troops, it would be too improper if he left his appearance in this state.

Looking around, he saw that the girl was already gone. But seeing as she was carrying a bucket of dirty water, the direction she was going must have a sink to wash the bucket. In any case, he decided to follow first.

By the way, why was she running in the corridor while holding that kind of thing? Most art classrooms would have their own sink installed at least, right? Or was it because there were too many students that she had run out to the corridor in a panic? Perhaps due to the scarcity of land, this country of Japan seemed quite cramped everywhere without exception.

With droplets of water mixed with smelly paint dripping down nonstop, Coenraad glanced at a notice on the wall beside him.

The Knights Dominion strongly encouraged members to learn all kinds of languages because their missions brought them to various countries all over the world. Coenraad's Japanese was not bad, which allowed him to read the words written there without any problems.

"...Don't run in the hallways? Good advice."

A well-built man stopped in front of a sink in the middle of the corridor, took off his coat-like upper garment then lowered the hammer secured to his back onto the floor, leaning against the wall by his feet within arm's reach any time. He did not seem to lower his guard at all.

The man turned the tap to let the water flow&mdash;

Wearing swirly glasses, with hair tied up, dressed up in Sorashiro Hinata style, Shriaho was secretly observing him from around a nearby corner. Then she clicked her tongue lightly.

"As expected, he wouldn't make a special trip to the shower room... If he did that, things would be so much easier for us."

"No helping it, Shiraho. At least it's a lot better than if he ignored the filth completely~ and continued to patrol."

Beside her was Sovereignty. To avoid attracting attention, she had changed into school uniform&mdash;Normally, she always commuted to school in student uniform first. Earlier, she had run quietly to the secretary's office to retrieve it and change.

Shiraho nodded slightly then looked at the man. Un Izoey had cautiously moved around the school building to observe the knights and finally picked this man. Of course, Shiraho did not believe Un Izoey completely when she claimed she could tell just by looking, but indeed, this man really did exude a different vibe compared to small fry... Chiefly because of his body's muscularity etc. However, even if they made a mistake, it was not Shiraho's fault. She would simply scold the dark-skinned girl viciously to her heart's content later. As a side note, due to the dark-skinned girl's appearance, highly conspicuous just by standing around a corner like this, she was standing by under the staircase slightly further away.

Feeling constrained, the knight bowed his muscular lower back and splashed water on his removed coat. He was probably washing the more obviously soiled spots swiftly. The surrounding students took no notice of him at all while they walked along the corridor normally. It was quite a surreal scene.

A moment later, he lifted the coat up to his nose, probably checking the smell. Then he put the coat aside for now. Moving his head under the tap next, he prepared to wash the dirty water from his head&mdash;

"Sovereignty."

"Yeah... I hold sovereignty over every doll. Those bearing visual semblance, listen and show proof of your worship. Obey."

After she whispered softly, the tiny doll on her palm stood up at once. A toy roughly the size of a cellphone strap ornament, something intermediate between a human and a robot in appearance. Made of metal, its structure was surprisingly sturdy.

Because walking on its short little legs would take too long and it would be heartbreaking to see it trampled flat by students before it reached the target, Shiraho picked up the doll as originally planned, then tossed it carefully and silently, causing it to glide along the corridor.

When the doll neared the sink, it stood up again, under the gaze of Sovereignty who was watching from the corner. Then climbing up a nearby fire extinguisher, it jumped to a window frame in the corridor and moved from there to the edge of the sink&mdash;towards where the man's coat was placed.

The man was washing his head brusquely. The doll secretly slipped into the interior of the coat on the side.

"H-How is it...?"

"Hmm~ Uh, hold on. Heave, hoh, hah... Pocket is... this side... no, or is it the other side...?"

"Hurry."

"I-I know... But I can't see clearly, it's hard to direct it... Oh? Is this it?"

The doll suddenly emerged from the coat, its tiny arms clamping something resembling a cellphone. Then it jumped down directly from the sink and ran as fast as it could along the edge of the corridor, returning to their corner&mdash;

Shiraho received the cellphone (not a smartphone but an ordinary flip phone) from the doll's hands then smiled at her lover.

"You're too amazing, Sovereignty. Great job there."

"Ehehe, you're embarrassing me~"

Sovereignty scratched her head shyly. Shiraho wanted to hug her reflexively but managed to suppress the urge. Then she glanced at the spoils of victory in her hand.

"Fortunately, it's not one of those transceivers. Looks like it's just an ordinary cellphone."

"Will this really let us contact the outside?"

"Who knows. We'll just have to test it to find out. Anyway, let's get out of here first..."

Just at this moment&mdash;

Shiraho first noticed in alarm that Sovereignty was suddenly staring wide-eyed in her direction.

Then she felt a large and heavy hand grab her shoulder&mdash;

Her back instantly froze.

"&mdash;''What are you doing''?"

Long before turning her head to look back...

Based on the smell of water mixed with paint, she already knew the identity of the hand's owner.

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