Hyouka:Volume 4 Sappy New Year

Story 4 - Those Who Know Something

1

There's this axiom that goes, "What you do over the new year, you repeat all year." When I was young, during the period when I was busy preparing for my high school entry examinations, I was so afraid of that myth that I took a break from studying on New Year's Day itself. That was quite a long time ago... No, that's not true. It was only last year.

Now, in the darkness, I wondered if the alternate saying "What you do on New Year's Day, you repeat all year" was true. As they say, "The whole year's plans are made on New Year's Day." To befall a disaster early in the very first month of the year. This kind of thing should be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and definitely not a yearly event, right? I wouldn't call myself a superstitious person, but if someone said, "Disaster will strike again for the impure", I would probably just go for a purification ritual obediently.

I could sense Chitanda thinking about the question I had just asked her regarding the old saying.

"Well... I don't think that superstitious belief would be true. If it were, then if you didn't do anything on New Year's Day, then you wouldn't do anything all year. That seems too unreasonable."

Accepting that explanation, I heaved a sigh of relief. My worries having disappeared, I felt liberated.

However, although I couldn't see her emotions in this pitch black environment, but I could tell that Chitanda was deadly serious when she added,

"But Oreki-san... I'm more curious about the situation we're in right now, rather than the remaining 364 days ahead of us."

I know.

I understand the serious situation we're in. But Chitanda, couldn't you let me escape reality for a little while more?

The wind blew in through the cracks, so cold that it was as if our cheeks were being cut. At the same time, those small cracks brought in a little light into the darkness. It seems that my eyes have gotten used to the dark.

I could now see a bamboo broom, a metal shovel, a long prole probably used for housekeeping, and a cardboard box of which contents I was unaware of. As well as Chitanda, who was wearing a kimino and a troubled face.

And also, the four walls that surrounded us.

We were currently in the grounds of Arekusu Shrine, which was of prominent scale, even in Kamiyama City. To be precise, we were in a corner of the compound which received hardly any light from the lamp posts and was not easily spotted by people. There was a dilapidated outhouse there, and we were in it.

The problem was not the place being an outhouse or that it was run-down.

A single door was the only exit and entrance of this outhouse. But right now, it was closed, and locked with a bar... from the outside.

On the night of the first of January, Chitanda and I were trapped in an outhouse in a corner of Arekusu Shrine.

The wall and roof had probably gone past their service life a long time ago, but there was just one spot in the outhouse that was brand new and firm. The door, and only the door was sturdy, being made of shiny aluminum. It's a great thing to have, if you're considering from a theft-prevention perspective. No matter how much we pushed or pulled, it would only shake and clatter a little.

A late grumble escaped from my mouth.

"How did we get in this mess?"

"I wonder. Perhaps..."

Even in the darkness, I felt that Chitanda was smiling.

"It was because you drew a bad fortune?"

I sighed deeply.

Could that really be the reason?

Translator's Notes and References

Back to Hyouka Volume 4 Story 4: Those Who Know Something

Return to Main Page