CubexCursedxCurious:Volume13 Chapter2

Chapter 2 - Bloody Chronicles of Demon Blade Muramasa

Part 1

Not long after the third school term started, there was one ordinary winter day.

At the Yachi home's entrance, Konoha welcomed the familiar liquor shopkeeper. Ever since a long time ago, the shopkeeper would go door to door to solicit orders, basically soy sauce and sweet rice wine for cooking use, and would ask liquor shops in the neighborhood, which he was on friendly terms with, to deliver straight to customers' homes.

"Here, the usual rice wine your family ordered."

"Yes, thank you very much. The richness in flavor is definitely different when the condiments are prepared by experts~ I can understand why the Yachi family... no, why Haruaki-kun always buys from you since a long time ago."

"What a nice thing to say! But I'm sorry, Konoha-chan, I can't give you a discount even if you flatter me~ Business hasn't been good lately and I'll get scolded by my old mom back home."

"Ahaha, you picked up on it? Here you go, this is the payment."

"Hehe, thank you for your business! By the way, I almost forgot. This is the first delivery of the year, right? I should be saying happy new year!"

"Now that you mention it, that's true. Please continue to take care of us for this year as well."

Carrying the received bottle of rice wine in her arms, Konoha smiled and bowed her head in thanks. At this moment, the liquor shopkeeper seemed to recall something and scratched his head with an "oh crap~" look on his face.

"I see? Since it's the first delivery of the new year... It'd be kind of stingy if I don't give something back to a customer. Now that's something my old mom will really scold me for. But giving a discount now would be a bit odd—Why don't I simply give you something as a little extra? Konoha-chan, please wait for me, I'll go check inside the truck!"

"Eh? Sure..."

Konoha cocked her head while the shopkeeper swiftly ran out of the front door. Konoha remained there obediently. Several minutes later, the shopkeeper ran back, holding what appeared to be a slender package in his hand.

With an inexplicably hesitant look in his eyes, the shopkeeper glanced at what he was carrying and said:

"Ah~ ...Speaking of which, Konoha-chan, Honatsu-san still hasn't returned?"

Why did he suddenly mention Honatsu? Konoha felt puzzled but still answered truthfully.

"There are no signs of him returning for the moment. He didn't contact us at all during New Year's either."

"Really? Hmm~ Although a gift of extra soy sauce would be better, I don't have any left in the truck, so this will do."

"No problem, no problem at all. It's just a freebie so please don't worry about it."

"Hmm~" The liquor shopkeeper tilted his head, troubling over something, but soon he said:

"Yeah, whatever! In principle, consider this a gift for Honatsu-san to drink after he returns! Thinking back, I was already an experienced drinker back in high school... But that's probably because I'm the son of a liquor store owner. Although it's really not too proper, young people should make little mistakes like young people and there's no need to be too harsh on them. Yeah, I guess I'll make this a gift after all. Thanks for your continued patronage this year too!"

The shopkeeper laughed heartily as though saying "Don't sweat the small stuff!" and set down the upright package in front of Konoha.

"But I'll repeat myself, this is a gift for Honatsu-san! In principle! See you next time!"

"...Eh? Oh okay, really... Thank you very much..."

The sudden developments completely baffled Konoha. With a lost expression, she saw the shopkeeper off at the entrance.

Only the mysterious gift remained on scene.

For some reason, the mysterious gift greatly resembled the bottle of cooking wine in Konoha's hands.

Several minutes later, Konoha was staring solemnly at that particular object.

"Hmm~ ...What should I do...?"

Haruaki and Fear had gone out for shopping while Kuroe was still working at the beauty parlor and had not returned. Naturally, there was no one else to discuss.

Hence, Konoha could only keep staring at the object on the living room table, a dilemma in her eyes.

That object was giving off an extremely astounding sense of presence. Konoha was almost awed by it, almost about to be overwhelmed. Had she known in advance, she would not have unwrapped the package—Konoha regretted from the bottom of her heart.

What should she do? How should she handle this type of object?

"This is a huge problem. Indeed, an extremely severe problem..."

Konoha murmured in a fully serious tone, still unable to tear her gaze away. This matter must be handled with caution. Action must be taken after careful thought. Okay, hurry up and think, what should be done first?

"First... First of all..."

At this moment, Konoha suddenly noticed a bottle in the corner of her eye. While she was sitting on the floor with her calves folded against the outside of her thighs, a bottle of cooking wine was lying by her feet. In other words, what the liquor shopkeeper had delivered just now. Indeed, when lost on how to proceed, one should always start with handling the things that were known.

Hence, Konoha used her entire willpower to shift her gaze away from the object on the table. Then holding the bottle of cooking wine, she stood up. She could feel a force pulling at her braids from behind like some kind of magnetic attraction while she walked to the kitchen and placed the cooking wine into the usual cupboard where condiments were kept. During this time, her mind was still preoccupied with how to handle the object in the living room.

"Of course... No way. Absolutely no way. It goes without saying."

Closing the cupboard, Konoha then moved to the cupboard where utensils were kept, opening the door with a clack and taking out a glass. Indeed, of course. Of course not. She continued to murmur to herself.

"Yes, there's no need to worry at all. Because it's already decided. Yes, there's no need to hesitate at all."

Then taking the glass, she opened the fridge and threw a few ice cubes into the glass with a clatter. The cool sensation transmitted through the glass to her palm, what a comfortable feeling.

"♪~~~~"

This comfortable feeling was compelling her to hum a tune. Rocking her shoulders rhythmically, Konoha returned to the living room with light and lively steps.

Very~ well, the problem was decided. The struggle was over. The difficulty was gone. How nice it felt. But... What exactly was the original problem...?

Konoha tilted her head, placing the ice-filled glass on the table. After sitting down on the tatami, she reached towards the object next to the glass. Swiveling the lid on top, in other words, opening the bottle lid, she then inclined the bottle, pouring the liquid inside into the glass. The ice cubes swirled with a clang. She gulped hard. The drink looked really tasty—

"Ah! Why did I make such thorough preparations—!?"

Konoha suddenly regained her senses. What was she doing? Somehow, it felt as though her body and mind were on different channels... As one would expect, this object possessed a certain kind of magic to it that explained its intimidating sense of presence, right?

Trembling in trepidation, Konoha used her entire body's strength to put down the glass. But at the same time, the ice cubes shook left and right audibly, attacking her willpower, but she desperately resisted.

"Mmmmmm! W-What a terrifying power...!"

Mustering strength from the core of her being, she reprimanded her willpower. It would be too dangerous if she did not do so. Then Konoha looked at the object once again.

The liquor shopkeeper's gift was a bottle the same size and shape as what was used for cooking wine. However, a single glance was enough to tell that the contents were different. Several small fruits had settled on the bottom of the translucent bottle. Green, seductive fruits.

Plums.

In other words, the true identity of the liquid immersing the plums was undoubtedly—

"I-Is it plum brandy...?"

Konoha gulped again. It had been so long. It really had been so long.

No no no, wait a sec—Konoha frantically shook her head. She was now a high school student, an identity that prohibited the intake of alcoholic beverages. The internal conference in her mind just now should have reached the same conclusion. Absolutely not allowed.

...Stare~

Despite reaching that kind of conclusion, for some reason, she could not tear her gaze away from the plum brandy poured into the glass, away from the plum brandy that she loved the most out of myriad types of alcohol, away from the plum brandy that had finally appeared before her eyes after many years, away from the plum brandy that had brought infinite gratification to her heart when she drank it for the first time, centuries prior.

Konoha quietly licked her lips and said to the air:

"But... But, it's a rare gift from the liquor shopkeeper, plus it's already poured into the glass, throwing it away... would be too much of a waste... Right?"

The bottle was unlabeled, possibly because it was brewed by the shopkeeper himself. Even if he was not the one who brewed it personally, the alcohol used as the base must have taken someone time and energy to brew and prepare. These plums actually bore fruit for the sake of spreading seeds, not for human consumption. Then now that they have been picked, they must not be wasted, probably. This counted as expressing respect towards nature.

Hmm, that would be too much of a waste—Konoha nodded alone to herself, raising her hand in elation, just as she was about to touch the glass—

"No! No no, I have to calm down a bit! Hurry and recall what happened during New Year's! It's not so long ago when the sake of the gods made me act in error and cause trouble for Haruaki-kun..."

The fresh memories turned into an angel's whispers, halting the movement of her hand. Indeed, the situation back then was too scary. Although two other people also got drunk and eventually collapsed, there was no denying that Konoha had caused Haruaki trouble. The same mistake must not be repeated.

However—The alcoholic fragrance was drifting over faintly. The aroma of plums and the beads of condensation on the glass. These were summoning the devil's whispers.

But on the other hand, after repeated considerations, perhaps...

To prevent embarrassments of that sort from happening again, perhaps she ought to help herself gradually grow accustomed to alcohol...?

"..."

Whenever people made decisive errors, they always tended to follow the same model in that very instant.

People trying to lose weight would think "I'll just eat one" and start eating cake. People trying to quit smoking would think "I'll just smoke one cig" and start smoking. People trying to study would think "I'll just read one volume" and start reading manga.

Present before Konoha was the temptation identical to the above objects.

"I-It's already poured out, right? If I simply take care of this glass..."

Indeed, it was just one glass. Afterwards, she was definitely going to place the bottle on the side obediently to wait for his return, then ask for his decision. "The liquor shopkeeper gave us this as a gift. What should we do with it?" Indeed, no helping it. She must offer her respect towards farmers, breweries, nature and the Earth. For their sake, she absolutely must not dispose of this glass of plum brandy, hence—

Konoha grabbed the glass, brought it to her lips and slowly tilted the glass.

"Mmm..."

Gulp. Ever since arriving at this home, she could only recall drinking once. After that one time, for some reason, Haruaki and Honatsu never allowed her to drink the slightest sip of plum brandy again—

The scorching yet ice-cold yet comfortable feeling slid across her throat.

Although she had no idea why those two forbade her from drinking the plum brandy she loved, Konoha decided that right now, she was just going to drink this one glass then put the rest away decisively. Hence, at least taking genuine enjoyment in this one glass should be fine. Hence, Konoha tilted the glass even further—

"Hwah... Lovely..."

This was the decisive instant of Konoha's mistake and also proof of the "I'll just drink one glass" fallacy.

"I'm home~"

"Ohoh, so cold so cold... I must hurry and dive into the kotatsu. It's time for some warmth and rice crackers!"

Haruaki and Fear had returned from shopping. As soon as they opened the door, Fear hastily removed her shoes and entered the house. Then just as she was about to make a mad dash for the kotatsu—

"...Hmm?"

"What's wrong, Fear?"

"No... Somehow it feels different from usual. There's a smell. What's this smell...?"

Haruaki sniffed but could not smell anything strange. Perhaps only Fear with her sharp senses could smell it.

"It's not a burnt kind of stench, right? I really hope there's no fire."

"No, not that kind of smell... Anyway, it should be clear once we have a look. It seems to be drifting out from the living room."

Following Fear's suggestion, Haruaki carried the shopping bags towards the living room. Walking through the corridor, arriving at the sliding door leading to the living room, Haruaki felt a chill down his spine for some reason. His instincts were apparently trying to convey some message to him.

What happened? As much as he had no idea why he was reacting this way, Haruaki instinctively believed that something shocking must be lying behind this sliding door. He even felt a kind of illusion that something resembling pitch-black miasma was overflowing out of the sliding door's gap in front of him. He experienced an unusual sense of heavy pressure. Was it really okay? Are you really planning to go in there? You won't regret it...? Starting from just now, his survival instincts had been warning him repeatedly.

"...? Why are you standing there spacing out? Hurry and go in."

"No, wait..."

But unlike Haruaki, Fear's defensive instincts had not kicked in. Reaching out from beside him, she simply pulled the living room's sliding door open. Next, they saw—

The image of her back while she was sitting on the veranda, facing the garden.

The instant he saw that back, Haruaki inexplicably felt goosebumps all over his body.

"Eeeeek...!"

A despairing presence rushed into his brain, pleading that this was a dangerous place. Still ignorant of what had happened, Fear cocked her head in puzzlement and looked at her back.

"Cow Tits? What's she doing?"

Probably hearing Fear's murmuring, she finally looked back.

Face flushed red, the glasses almost having slid off her face, she looked back.

Then drinking directly from the bottle of plum brandy held in her hand, she spoke with a smile of rapture:

"Oh~ ...Haryuaki-kuun~ Welcome home... Where hast thou run off to...? I have been waiting for thee so long... Burp."

Part 2

It's over. A crisis now. Everything has gone south.

Smiling stiffly in an appeasing manner to handle Konoha's dazed and smiling face, Haruaki first checked the state of the living room. A faint smell of alcohol lingered in the air. That must have been what Fear smelled. Next to the table, a glass containing ice cubes was knocked over, forming a puddle on the tatami, but this was the only detail that was different from usual. The disaster zone seemed to be less tragic than imagined.

However—

Haruaki pulled his gaze back to the veranda where the being, who could potentially cause all sorts of disasters, was currently sitting.

That person was both Konoha and definitely not the usual Konoha at the same time.

Flushed red cheeks, glasses half fallen off. Her back was swaying, her head was swaying a little as well. One of her braids was untied but the greatest problem was her clothing.

For some reason, Konoha was only wearing a red kimono, sloppily tied at the waist with a sash. Consequently, it seemed as though dangerous objects were going to fly out immediately even if her body swayed lightly. Even disregarding that, her posture of sitting cross-legged with one knee drawn up was also quite dangerous.

"K-Konoha, why are you dressed like that...?"

"Hmm~? Because it is very hot... Western clothing is nice but I still feel that a kimono facilitateth movement—Muho. Haryuaki-kun, which dost thou prefer~?"

"Uh... No, this currently has nothing to do with my preferences, right?"

Konoha stared at him with fully flirtatious eyes. While Haruaki was at a loss for words, Fear seemed to finally understand the current situation and said:

"That's right, it has absolutely nothing to do with the shameless brat's preferences! Damn you, Cow Tits... Stop this nonsense! You must have gotten drunk again, right!?"

Then she strode her way towards Konoha who was sitting on the veranda.

"Hold on, Fear, don't do anything rash...!"

But Haruaki's warning did not make it in time. Probably intending to take the bottle, Fear reached towards Konoha without thinking. As soon as Konoha noticed, sitting where she was, she looked up with her reddened face and instantly—

"What...!?"

Fear's body shook slightly while she growled in surprise at the same time. Haruaki also found it unbelievable. Because Konoha was no longer in front where Fear was reaching towards but had climbed onto Fear's shoulders.

What amazing speed and agility. What exactly did she do to reach that position? Haruaki missed the entire process in between and could not comprehend at all.

Konoha's feet were planted on Fear's left and right shoulders respectively. Half crouching, her knees were bent while her thighs were spread wide. Hunching her back, she examined Fear's face from above. Naturally, one hand was still holding the bottle while her other hand was raised in front of Fear's face. Two of her fingers were bent in a hook-shape, stopping just as they were about to stab into Fear's eyes.

Maintaining her monster-like posture, akin to that of a baboon assaulting a human, she narrowed her hazy eyes, faintly giving off a terrifyingly cold aura, she said:

"Due to... It seems that I have seen thee somewhere before... I shall confirm first. Answer me, little lass... Art thou, little lass... mine enemy...?"

Fear was rendered speechless, but immediately recovering from the shock, she bared her fangs and snarled:

"Y-You bitch...!"

Then she reached with both hands to grab Konoha's fingers in front of her. Using this as the point of contact, Fear launched Konoha in an over-the-shoulder throw. Nevertheless, Konoha simply twisted her body while her kimono fluttered elegantly in the air, finally landing silently on the veranda. Then she took another sip of plum brandy.

"Fuha... Ohoh~ In other words, little lass, as one would expect, thou art mine—"

"N-No, hold on, time out! I'll provide the correct answer. She's not an enemy but a friend! She's really a friend!"

The two girls glared at each other, ready to break out in a fight any moment. In order to convey the fact that he was the messenger of peace, Haruaki raised both arms and rushed between the two girls. Although it felt like stepping into a landmine zone with missiles flying back and forth overhead, Haruaki knew that things would go out of control if he did not intervene.

"Muu." Fear frowned while Konoha relaxed her tense shoulders and smiled, saying:

"Oh my... Haryuaki-kun. This little lass... is no enemy...?"

"Th-That's right, she's no enemy. She's a friend, a friend!"

"...Verily?"

"Honestly, it's the truth!"

Haruaki nodded vigorously and repeatedly while Konoha swayed her head left and right and puffed out her chest. The edge of the kimono's collar happened to get caught on a protruding tip. Only then did Haruaki came to a shocking realization that Konoha was not wearing anything on her upper torso apart from this kimono, sending him into shivers of terror. But putting that aside, Konoha was currently nodding in satisfaction, laughing joyfully:

"Yes, very well! Hahaha!"

Then she took another sip of plum brandy. Haruaki exhaled in relief.

Then Konoha sat down on the spot again, casually taking small sips of plum brandy. Fear stared at her with a frown while quietly approaching Haruaki and whispered:

"Hey, shameless brat... What's going on? Cow Tits is definitely a weird woman usually with her intelligence sucked away by the creature on her chest, but she's several times weirder today. Even if it's because she drank alcohol, she didn't act like this last time when she was drunk."

"Oh~ ...This must be your first time seeing it. What should I say? Konoha apparently loves plum brandy—Except there's a problem. For some reason, her drunken madness is especially serious when caused by drinking plum brandy. Like now."

"Drunken madness...?"

"Like speaking in a manner similar to her past self... But that doesn't cause any actual harm. What's problematic are situations like just now when you faced off against her. She apparently becomes more true to her natural instincts, or perhaps I should say that her emotions become more direct and upfront."

"Hmph, why don't you just say directly that she becomes a simple-minded fool? Do you really think you can satisfy me with just an explanation like this...? Then how am I gonna vent my anger from getting suddenly attacked? Jeez."

"Hey Fear, I already told you to be careful. If she hears what you just said, she could very well start yelling: 'Thou darest to ridicule me—!' Then it'll turn into a troublesome situation...! You must watch your language and behavior from this point onwards—"

"Ha~ryua~ki-kuun~"

Haruaki's back shuddered as he looked back. No way, did she overhear what they said just now?

"Y-Yes...? Konoha, what's up...?"

"Hmm~? Hmm~ fufufu. I am simply calling, nothing more~"

"R-Really?"

Haruaki breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, his greatest worry was direct violence. So long as that could be prevented, he was willing to endure incomprehensible situations or slight inconveniences. Indeed, apart from violent behavior, just bring it on—Although perhaps this mindset of his was proving to be counterproductive.

"By the way... Hooh~~ Verily... So hot..."

"Guh!?"

Without warning, Konoha started pulling at the collar of her kimono, flapping it to send wind towards her chest. In concert with the collar's in and out movement, her bulging bosom wobbled and shook, causing the visible area of exposed skin to become sometimes large, sometimes medium, but never small, exposing the root of the current problematic situation. Due to the angle, Haruaki was barely spared a view of the protruding tips, but that was not enough for salvation. The attacks persisted.

"Oh...? ...Ufufu, perhaps it feeleth particularly hot because my sitting posture is wrong...? There."

"Woah!?"

As soon as Haruaki noticed that Konoha was glancing sideways at him in a profound manner, in the next instant, she boldly brought one knee up and started fanning the lower hem of her clothing. The corners of her lips curled slightly as she watched Haruaki in amusement.

The kimono's hem was dancing and turning over her long legs. Feeling a kind of premonition that he was about to see into the depths between her thighs, Haruaki hastily turned his back to Konoha. Next—

"Mufufufu! Haryuaki-kun is so pure and innocent~"

Haruaki heard light giggling behind him. He was completely being toyed with.

He could feel his cheeks turning red. Staying here further was only going to subject himself to more teasing. Hence, Haruaki decided to regroup.

"R-Right, I still haven't put away the groceries yet, they need to go into the fridge. Uh... Fear, come over and help me."

"Muu~ ...Hmph! Let alone helping you, I can actually do it by myself without any problems! But damn you, shameless brat, you're definitely thinking of performing a fan's job, to create wind for Cow Tits who's feeling hot! Because you'll get to see shameless things!"

"I-I'm definitely not thinking that! O-Okay, let's go! Konoha, why don't you wait here for now!?"

Hence, the two of them finally escaped the living room. Closing the sliding door behind him, Haruaki sighed deeply. A little displeased, Fear said:

"So... What's next?"

"That's exactly the problem I'm trying to solve right now. Let's hold a strategy meeting in the kitchen first. Oh, before that, let me go to the washroom first. I've been wanting to go on our way back."

"Just go if you need to. I'll start putting things away first."

Parting ways with Fear who entered the kitchen, Haruaki made his way to the washroom.

"Sigh~ What on earth should we do now...? Say, who exactly gave the plum brandy to Konoha? She couldn't possibly have bought it herself, right?"

At this moment, Haruaki suddenly found something on the floor in the corridor. He picked it up for a look.

"...Konoha's cardigan?"

Looking up in puzzlement, he discovered a trail of discarded clothing that formed a straight line on the corridor ahead. An attempt to imagine Konoha's actions yielded the following approximate process: drinking a glass of plum brandy in the living room → feeling hot after getting drunk → returning to her own room while undressing → taking out the kimono.

"Seriously, she really is completely different from her usual self."

The usual Konoha liked things to be neat and tidy. If anything, she was usually the one who scolded Haruaki and Fear for lazy behavior. Now that their roles were reversed, Haruaki found the situation a little refreshing.

Unable to leave them alone, Haruaki sequentially picked up the clothing dropped in the corridor. Socks, blouse, vest, skirt, and... And? A warning signal lighted up a beat too slow in his mind. He had already just picked up the skirt but there remained other articles in the corridor. After the skirt, what else would she take off? Due to going with the flow of the repeated picking up motion, he had reached out without thinking—But what exactly was the article of clothing he was currently picking up?

Haruaki almost looked down reflexively but dispelled that impulse with great difficulty. Right now, the ideal course of action was neither to look at the object in panic nor to confirm its soft texture with his fingers, nor to check the size of the piece of fabric resembling two bowls in shape, nor to confirm the color of the other piece of fabric, triangular in shape, which he had picked up simultaneously because they were piled together.

Indeed, under such circumstances, his best course of action was to quietly stuff these things into the cardigan and other clothing without taking a single look... Just as Haruaki took a deep breath to lift the fabric he was unable to view directly—

"Hohou~ So thou art interested in mine undergarments... Haryuaki-kun?"

"Uwahhhhh!"

Konoha suddenly pounced on his back. When did she approach without making a sound?

"Drinking alone... too boring... I came to find thee but discovered... Ufufu!"

"No, you've got the wrong idea, you're really mistaken! I was just picking up the clothing you scattered all over the floor."

Since he had just picked up two pieces of underwear, top and bottom, this meant that Konoha was undoubtedly wearing neither at the moment. In other words, this proved that she really was wearing nothing but a kimono.

But currently, Konoha's heavy objects, clad in nothing more than a sheer kimino, kept exerting pressure on Haruaki's back, concentrating virtually all of his consciousness there. All it took was subtle movement from Konoha and those two soft bulges would wobble and shake slightly, shifting in angle, shape and weight from the pressure. When Haruaki moved, presumably rubbing a certain sensitive spot, Konoha moaned seductively behind his ear: "Ah mmm...!"

"Stop, don't lean your entire weight on me, I can't move...!"

"I cannot move either, unable to walk a further step~ Mushushu. Thou shouldst carry me on thy back and walk~"

"You're definitely lying! Ah, hey, it's touching, touching me! Please stay still!"

Two snow-white arms reached out for the sides of his face and slowly turned Haruaki's head, causing him to face the side. He met gazes with Konoha whose head was positioned on his shoulder.

"Hey, compared to undergarments, dost thou... have something... thou desirest even more...?"

"No... L-Like I said, I'm not doing this because I'm interested in underwear! It's because they're dropped on the floor! Uh, right, I have to take these clothes to the changing area and go to the toilet, so I'd really appreciate it if you could let go of me straight away. Konoha, please—Eh!?"

"Toilet... The lavatory? Mmfu. Well then, shall we go...?"

"W-Why are you pushing me? I can go by myself, this is my home, you know!? Say, you've already abandoned the pretext of being unable to walk!?"

Konoha was originally hanging on his back like a slime, but now she suddenly exerted force through her legs and stepped forward. At the same time, she kept Haruaki's head firmly clamped in her arms.

Naturally, Haruaki could not possibly resist Konoha in strength. Hence escape was impossible. Konoha dragged him to the washroom and even opened the door.

"Come... Shall we enter together, ufufufu? I shall assist thee... Pulling down the zipper..."

"A-Anything but that, please!"

Although he had no idea what, Haruaki was certain that something earth-shaking was definitely going to happen once they entered the washroom. Absolutely. Just as he resisted with all the strength he could muster from his entire body—

"Wha... W-W-What... What is going on here!?"

The savior—or new embers of chaos—appeared at the end of the corridor. Probably hearing the commotion, Fear had run out of the kitchen. Instantly, she figured out the situation.

"You've finally shown your true colors... Then I'll treat you to a taste of your own medicine! Immorality et cetera—!"

Taking out a Rubik's cube form her pocket, Fear transformed it into the torture wheel, raising it high above her head as she rushed at Haruaki and Konoha. Presumably forced to react, Konoha swiftly released Haruaki, turned and charged. A number of creaks sounded from the corridor's floorboards in succession. Fear threw the wheel while stepping forward. Konoha swayed left and right, evading. Fear continued to follow up with offense. Lazily lifting her free hand that was not holding the bottle of brandy, Konoha blocked Fear's attack using a karate chop—

Engaged in a contest of strength, the two girls were locked in a close-range battle, glaring viciously at each other.

"I forgot to add just now... The three words: (Death by Wheel)...!"

"Hmm~? How odd~ Haryuaki-kun mentioned that thou, little lass, art not mine enemy..."

"Hmph, but you could very well be mine...!"

"I see~ ...Then in self-defense, I must counterattack... Is that so...? Burp."

Another battle was on the verge of erupting again. Haruaki gulped hard. He must once again step up to stop them. But could he stop them? Unlike just now, this had already developed into a physical altercation.

Knowing it was futile, Haruaki still could not help but hope that he could rely on something, wishing someone could help. He was not going to be greedy. As long as this situation could be kept under control, it would be fine. Was there anyone who could stop these two girls from fighting, anyone who could reduce these two girls' intent to fight—?

Suddenly, she appeared.

"I'm~ home~ I've been working hard today too... Oh my?"

Hearing the front door opening, Haruaki turned too look.

Standing there—was of course, the petite black-haired young girl, namely, Kuroe.

She had returned home inexplicably earlier than usual, but probably due to her feelings of exhaustion or boredom, the opening hours of the beauty parlor, Dan-no-ura, changed freely on whim according to her mood.

Kuroe had apparently yet to understand the current situation, simply using her usual blank eyes to stare at the two girls who were locked in a contest of strength between a torture wheel and a karate chop. Then she tilted her head adorably in puzzlement. But just at that moment—

"Nwah... Huh? Hey, stand still, damn Cow Tits! Where are you going?"

Konoha had suddenly abandoned the stalemate, causing Fear to fall forward. Completely ignoring Fear, Konoha swayed as she walked over to Kuroe at the entrance.

"E-Eh? Umm, Kono-san, today you're looking different from usual—"

"Ufu, of course I know thy identity~ Kuroe-shan! Mufufu... Seeing thee anew... Sure enough... Extremely! Adorable! Yes!"

Smiling in a terrifying manner, Konoha moved her ten fingers, exhaling breath that reeked strongly of alcohol.

Seeing Konoha slowly approaching her, even Kuroe finally seemed to sense the nightmare's presence. Making an unmoving smile that looked like a mask, she said in a stiff voice:

"Ahahaha. Thank you—Well then, I just remembered that I still have something to do, so please excuse me."

"Huhee, thou thinkst thou canst escape from me—? Uriuri!"

"Wah—!"

Konoha hugged Kuroe tightly and began to rub their faces together forcefully, apparently forgetting Fear who was watching this scene with a stunned expression. Sure enough, when in drunken madness, Konoha was rather capricious in her emotions, making it impossible to predict her behavior.

In any case, Haruaki thanked his lucky stars that an imminent conflict was successfully evaded.

Good job, Kuroe! Haruaki mentally made a thumbs-up gesture, praising the arrival of the savior.

However, the savior was soon reaching a state of nihility akin to a kitten that had been under constant caress, collapsing limply in Konoha's arms.

Part 3

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Part 4

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Part 5

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Part 6

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