CubexCursedxCurious:Volume8 Chapter3

Chapter 3 - Him and the Children, the Numbers Problem / "Kokoro the Red-Weared hunter"

Part 1

The next morning, Kirika entered the washroom to wash her face. Due to the commotion during the night, she was lacking in sleep to some extent, but since this was his home, she definitely could not allow him to see any sleepy looks from her. To be honest, she was still quite unsettled about sleeping in the same room as him the night before yesterday. Hopefully, she had not said anything weird in her dreams.

Checking out the clean washroom, she thought to herself again: This is his home. Thinking that this situation was a very precious experience, she carelessly turned her gaze around, finally stopping at the sink. Toothpaste and other toiletries were arranged neatly in front of the mirror. Standing there were a total of four toothbrushes.

(Fear-kun's, Konoha-kun's, Kuroe-kun's—and his.)

Every time she came across traces of his daily life, Kirika could not help but feel her heart jump. A jump of joy.

At this moment, Kirika noticed the towel rack on the wall. Along this long bar of stainless steel, a number of bath towels were hung. On the surface of the wall above each towel, there was a sticker with a name on it.

The instant she saw his name on one of the stickers, she felt an illusion as though her blood's temperature were rising rapidly.

Click—She could feel a certain switch activate inside her body.

By the time she regained her senses, Kirika was already crouching in front of that sticker.

(Wait a sec, hold it right there.)

The last vestiges of rationality whispered in her mind. What on earth was she trying to do?

(Absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. How absolutely ridiculous—)

But... but... indeed.

It was not like someone was watching.

It was not like it would cause anyone trouble.

Just once, if only just once—

"..."

Kirika reached out in hesitation, her fingertips touching the fluffy fabric of the towel. The towel remained hanging on the rack. Slowly, she pulled it while bringing her face towards it at the same time.

She had already admitted to the feelings in her heart. Kirika no longer intended to deceive herself. However, she knew it would be extremely difficult. No, more correctly, this was virtually impossible. There was absolutely no way. Very likely, even the act of wishing itself was a futile endeavor in overestimating oneself. This was decided a long time ago. To be honest, it felt like her mind would go weird if she pondered the issue any deeper.

Precisely because of that, she needed a mental stabilizer once in a while. This current act was precisely a stabilizer. No big deal. Absolutely, she had no intention of doing anything perverted like sniffing.

She simply pressed her cheek against it. Indeed, pressing with her cheek, she allowed her skin to feel that soft texture.

Only wanting to experience a feeling akin to skin contact with him—

That was all, hence—

"Good morning, Class Rep. What's with you?"

"Heeooh—!"

Intending to wash his face, Haruaki had gone to the washroom and found someone inside already. For some reason, Kirika was clutching a towel that was hanging on the wall, staring intently at it. After he called to her, she cried out in surprise and turned around at the same time. With speed fast enough to leave afterimages behind, she let go of the towel and jumped aside, pressing herself against the wall with her face all red. Haruaki had no intention of startling her.

"Y-Yachi, this... umm..."

"That's the towel I normally use... Oh right, I must have forgotten to mention. The towels for guests are kept in this cupboard."

"N-No. I brought my own towel. I was just about to wash my face. Aside from that, I was not doing anything. Truly, absolutely without a doubt. Uh... Just now, that, right... I-It's the texture. Indeed! This towel looked especially fluffy to me, so I was curious if it's a towel made from a special fabric, very curious...!"

"This is probably a normal towel I received for the midyear Bon Festival or some other festival... Is it because of the fabric softener? The one we always use is that jar we keep by the washing machine."

"I-Is that so? Hmm... I see now, that's a lesson learnt. The mystery is completely solved. Then let me wash my face now!"

Splash splash~ Kirika scooped up cold water brusquely and splashed it onto her face. Nothing less expected of the class representative, starting the day with a refreshing and wide-awake beginning. Even in the act of washing her face, she's full of vigor—Haruaki was secretly impressed.

After Kirika finished washing her face, it was Haruaki's turn at the sink. However, he could sense Kirika still behind him, wiping her face. Just as he felt intrigued—

"In the end... Who do think those people were last night?"

"Hmm~ I don't know either... Most likely more of the Draconians, right?"

"Yeah. It's possible that they're taking action as a team like Satsuko and Fourteen, or similar to the Knights. But then it still doesn't make total sense."

Haruaki turned his gaze up and used the mirror to look at Kirika behind him. She was narrowing her eyes with a grave expression.

"The Draconians are members of an organization that seeks 'strength.' However, that doesn't correspond with the attacker's attitude last night. Doesn't it seem like they ran away too quickly? If seeking strength, namely by fighting Un Izoey to improve their abilities, then they should've been fine with fighting more aggressively. But last night, they didn't do that."

"In other words, they had other goals...?"

"Presumably. Logically speaking, taking back that 'cube' is probably their goal. However... Under those circumstances, running away immediately as soon as the tide turned unfavorable, that's really quite unnatural."

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, I agree too. But apart from that, there's no other reason for Un Izoey to be targeted, right? See, even that Fourteen said something like 'fleeing is a type of strength'—Perhaps that's what's going on?"

"Hmm, that's probably the most reasonable explanation. Perhaps I'm overthinking things?"

Kirika exhaled. Haruaki finished washing his face and wiped his face with his own towel. Hmm, this towel really cannot be more ordinary. He did not find it particularly fluffy.

"No matter what, in order to resolve the current situation, defeating the Draconians is imperative. Conversely, once the Draconians are defeated, everything will be resolved. That girl is just waiting patiently for the superintendent's return and is also related to resolving the 'Santa Hunter' incident... If there's anything else we want to know, I'm sure we can get it out of the defeated enemies."

Anything else probably meant that cube, right? This was rather concerning, but once they knew how to use it, what was he going to do?

Haruaki could not help but ask this question in his mind as a sudden sense of heavy suffering filled his heart.

He was rather concerned? Why? And for what purpose?

The worries he usually avoided thinking about were rising to the surface horrifically. These were the worries that had surfaced in his mind involuntarily a number of times ever since that sports festival. Every time, he had tried as much as possible to not think about them, suppressing the worries in the depths of his heart all along.

What if Aiko never woke up again—

Enough. Stop thinking about it. Just as he had done repeatedly so far, Haruaki tried his hardest to stop thinking. But right now, he could not help but think even more. Precisely because of the current situation, he had to think.

If Aiko were actually dead, then the only way to see her again would be resurrection. In other words, only by relying on that 'cube'—

(...That's wrong, that kind of thing... I don't want to use a cursed tool at all, besides... No, because, Aiko must be still alive.)

Haruaki desperately tried to avoid thinking of that troubling possibility. At the same time, he felt that Fear must be experiencing the same thing. I don't want to use a cursed tool to do anything at all. Fear had said that. But still, she was curious about the cube, even so, she could not know the answer to the question: what would she do once she knew how to use it? No idea. Just like him, Fear surely did not know the answer—Because last night, she did not ask the question intentionally, instead, it had slipped out involuntarily. Otherwise, she would not have made a troubled expression that seemed to say "I can't believe I asked such a question."

However, Fear resumed her usual demeanor after that, acting as though she had completely forgotten the cube already, forgotten the question she had asked. Haruaki also imitated her and cast the unanswered question about the cube aside. Currently, he needed to come up with a better plan.

"...Yachi, is something wrong?"

Kirika's gaze showed worry as she watched him. Haruaki deliberately relaxed the tension in his face.

"No... Nothing at all. So in the end, we can only wait for them to show up on their own?"

"Who knows. It's best if simply waiting can solve the issue... Hmm, but right now, talking about the future won't help. Let's discuss with everyone later."

"That's right. Anyway, let's discuss during breakfast."

"Yes, I'll help too. Call me when you're preparing to cook."

Saying that, Kirika was just about to leave the washroom. Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of her tracks.

"That reminds me. Greetings are very important, so let me say this again: Good morning, Yachi. Also—"

Seeming quite embarrassed, Kirika did not face Haruaki as she continued speaking:

"It's absolutely ridiculous to say this under the current situation. But still... Merry Christmas."

Watching Kirika as she left the washroom, Haruaki was reminded. Come to think of it...

The date for today was December 24.

Christmas Eve.

Part 2

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Part 3

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Part 4

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Translator's Notes and References

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