Chapter 48: Fried horse mackerel going to the sea

Transaltor: Soafp

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Girl of the Great Sea

Ocean Unabara Cho is a wonderful town characterized by its beautiful blue sea and fresh seafood that can be obtained from it. Nature abounds and the air is pleasant.

It’s not wrong to think that I would have liked to explore such a wonderful place.

“Fuaaa, I’m so sleepy…”

“Apparently, this town is famous for its delicious seafood. I want to try something like tuna, fried horse mackerel, abalone, scallops… How about giving it a try?”

“Anpan and milk are good enough.”

Currently, I’m in a car with a certain woman, parked in front of a certain high school. The current time is 7:30 AM. I received a call from Kikawa Moegi earlier, probably because she saw the news.

However, even if I were to appear in the news, I should be anonymous… Well, it doesn’t matter. There’s no need to worry about it.

“But parking the car in front of the high school this early in the morning for surveillance… I’m impressed. The students going to school are giving suspicious looks.”

“There’s no need to worry about it. Anyway, please have the anpan.”

I open the package of anpan and offer it to the woman next to me and the milk. It’s breakfast I bought at a convenience store.

“Anpan and milk… well, I guess it will do…”

She seems to be eating the anpan and unexpectedly shows a satisfied expression.

“It’s good. Convenience stores these days have made progress.”

“Is that so?”

“You completely ignored what I was saying…”

“I’m listening. You were talking about how amazing convenience stores are, right?”

“Well, yes, but… a conversation is not something you just listen to with your ears. It’s something you listen to with your eyes, ears, and heart… But you’ve been looking in all directions since earlier, not paying any attention to me… Your behavior is the same as not listening.”

“You’re right.”

“…”

The woman next to me slumps her shoulders disappointingly. But it can’t be helped. Finding the fourth person is the priority for now.

While monitoring from inside the car, I spotted a girl. She has sharp eyes and short hair, with one eye hidden. The eye that can be seen is like a clear sea, beautiful.

—Kataumi Aoi.

At first glance, she may seem like a yankee gal, with a slightly rough appearance. However, that’s not the case at all. People around her misunderstand and are a little scared…

Nevertheless… I saw the fourth girl for the first time. My impression is… she’s cute. I kind of like her slightly tough-looking demeanor.

I won’t forgive it if something nasty happens to her. However, I have no idea what will happen. Until now, there haven’t been any fantasy elements, but I wonder how it will be this time?

What if this is the start of a fantasy story….

I have prepared amulets, holy water, talismans, etc., just in case, and they are packed in this car. I don’t know if they will be effective, but I bought them just in case. However, I can’t let my guard down. First of all, I want to know the details as soon as possible because I don’t even know if this time it’s a fantasy or not.

“Is it still not coming out?! It’s taking too long! Do fortune-telling!!”

“Even if you say that… the results are random, you know…”

“Do something about it! Aren’t you a fortune-teller!?”

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?! You’re scaring me!?”

She is a “fortune-teller” and a “psychic.” There is a reason why she is here.

This goes back to the day of the school sports festival…

During the school sports festival, before the afternoon events began, I called her, the fortune-teller. Without delay, I wanted to make a request. My thoughts were organized.

The astonishing fact of the fortune-teller’s existence. I had been contemplating the best way to utilize it. Even during the lunchbox showdown between the two, it was lingering in the back of my mind. And during the first encounter with Kikawa Moegi… in the corner of my mind.

And so, before the afternoon duties as a member of the executive committee started, I called the fortune-teller.

“Hello?”

“I can hear you. Is this about a request?”

“Yes, it is. Can I ask you for a favor?”

“I don’t mind. Go ahead and tell me.”

“Yes… First, right away… No, that’s impossible… Tomorrow, please lets go to Unabara Cho Town and see a highschool girl named Kataumi Aoi. She probably attends the only girls’ high school in that town, so please take a look. Once you’ve seen her, start the fortune-telling immediately. After that, you can go back.”

“W-Wait a minute, too fast…”

“After that, please focus on fortune-telling until I give you further instructions. And a few days after my high school midterms are over, I’ll contact you. Please come to pick me up in your car. We’ll head to Unabara Cho Town together. Please cooperate with that.”

“You’re going too fast!!! Listen to me!!! I have no idea what you’re talking about!!!”

“I see…”

“I told you, I don’t understand. It’s too fast for me to catch.”

“That’s true. Then I’ll send you an email. I’ll include detailed schedules and other information, so please check it. Thank you.”

“Y-Yes.”

“I’ll tell you this, but please follow everything I say, okay? I asked for a favor, so please take responsibility. Well then, excuse me.”

“Y-Yes, understood.”

With that, I hung up the phone. I quickly sent an email, explaining the details to her in great detail.

Her ability fluctuates like waves.

The duration when the fortune-telling appears, and the results of the fortune-telling. Both are random. It’s better if the fortune-telling results are not ridiculously vague.

That’s why I have to be cautious not about the results, but about the duration of the process. It’s better to start fortune-telling as early as possible. That’s why I wanted her, as a fortune-teller, to at least see the face, which is a condition to start the fortune-telling.

I might have to go as well, but first, there’s the issue of the disagreement with Kikawa Moegi. I’ll leave it to her for now.

The fortune-teller may not know, but I know the detailed appearance of Kataumi Aoi very well. Her appearance stands out, in a good way. But just to be safe, I’ll ask her to take a photo in case of any mistakes.

With this, if the results of the fortune-telling come out, it will be easier to avoid a bad ending for Kataumi Aoi!

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I had such thoughts, but the fortune-telling results still haven’t come out at all. My own fortune-telling would skip the process and provide immediate results… By the way, it seems that Kikawa Moegi’s bad ending was avoided. I confirmed it last night. Also, the fortune-teller saw that the fourth person would be saved a little later through me, but I don’t know the details.

Perhaps I thought I could grasp the details of the bad ending through myself, but it didn’t work out so well.

In the end, it seems that the only way to see the fate of the person in question is to fortune-tell the parties involved, right?

Fortune-telling is so unstable, so it’s hard to understand.

“Still no results?”

“No results.”

“Well, how about eating some power stones? Maybe that will help them come out.”

“But if they come out like that, it wouldn’t be fortune-telling, it would be something completely different!”

“Why not give it a try?”

“That won’t work at all! Your idea is way too far-fetched!”

“In that case, why don’t you try drinking the holy water I bought? It might have some mystical power to help.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

“Please drink about five liters for now.”

“That’ll give me diarrhea!! There’s no way I can drink that much!”

Well, it’s true that it would be troublesome if the driver got diarrhea and couldn’t make the best decisions in case of an emergency. However, I also have to consider the possibility that the fortune-telling results won’t come out at all…

In that case, it might be better not to have any expectations. Let’s just think of it as lucky if they do come out. It can’t be helped. For now, I have to get close to Kataumi Aoi and take the guardian spirit position. That’s the only option…..

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[Natsuko PoV]

My name is Noguchi Natsuko. I’m just an ordinary high school girl.

Out of the blue, the school was buzzing since the morning. Especially my classroom, Class 1-A…

“Hey, did you watch the news this morning?”

“It’s definitely Kuroda.”

“Isn’t he getting caught up in everything too much?”

“The Grim Reaper… Could it be?”

Although the news only mentioned a high school student, everyone is convinced it’s Kuroda. Jumping to conclusions is not good; Kuroda wasn’t specifically identified as the high school student in the news.

There’s no evidence at all, yet everyone is making assumptions.

Honestly, people are too easily swayed by rumors. What’s expected of modern society is not blindly accepting information but discerning the truth. Everyone seems to have forgotten that… It’s really frustrating.

…Well, I also think it’s Kuroda, though… Let’s put that aside for now.

The problem is Gindou-san, who sits in front of me. She’s restless since the morning, constantly holding her head and muttering to herself.

“Izayoi-kun, are you okay? You’re fine, right? …………The culprit of that news. ….If something happens to Izayoi-kun because of that news…”

Uwaa, it feels like I’m witnessing something I shouldn’t… She worries about Kuroda with a soft voice and a profound atmosphere. In the next moment, she utters words filled with resentment towards the culprit.

This is… someone you shouldn’t mess with… Everyone in the class is quite taken aback… They keep glancing at Gindou… The atmosphere is really unsettling.

“Uhm, Gindou-san… Please calm down.”

“Mumble, mumble, mumble…”

Ah, she’s not listening. This isn’t working. She remained like that for a while, even when I tried to talk to her, she didn’t respond.

Kuroda hasn’t come to school either, and she occasionally looks at his seat… Muttering to herself alone, mumble, mumble…

After a while, Rikudou Sensei, our teacher, enters the classroom.

“Take your seats…”

“Sensei! Why isn’t Izayoi-kun coming to school!?”

She’s fast! Before the teacher could even sit down, she stood up and asked with a slightly agitated voice. The teacher’s expression became a little difficult.

“Well, Kuroda-kun is absent today. It seems he caught a cold.”

“But, but, on the morning news…”

“There’s nothing. I also watched the morning news, and they didn’t mention anything about Kuroda-kun. It’s not something to discuss based on speculation. Kuroda-kun has a cold, nothing more and nothing less.”

“U-understood…”

Reluctantly, Gindou-san sits back down. And once again, she mumbles to herself. If it bothers her that much, she should make a phone call… Oh, right, she doesn’t have his contact information, does she?

“Mumble, mumble, mumble…”

Phew… I guess I’ll have to encourage her. You own me juice later, okay? Kuroda.

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[Moegi PoV]

In the morning, I had a wonderful conversation with Karen-chan. She seemed disappointed because she couldn’t meet him on the way to school.

Since she doesn’t seem to know, I tell her that he is at the beach.

“Eh?! Izayoi at the beach!?”

“T-that’s right. Isn’t your face close? I’m happy, so it’s fine…”

“He… He didn’t even mention it to me…”

“I heard about it this morning too.”

“Why?”

“Eh? Oh, I called him…”

“…What?”

She stares at me as if she’s trying to figure something out. What could it be? It’s a little scary…

“…Maybe it’s just my imagination.”

She mumbles quietly, but I can’t hear what she says. Afterward, she returns to her usual slightly assertive gaze.

“Why did you call?”

“Well, I was concerned about the news this morning…”

“News?”

“You haven’t seen it? This news.”

“I overslept and couldn’t watch it.”

I show her the news displayed on my smartphone. When she sees it, her eyes widen.

“It’s not Izayoi, right!”

“It’s anonymous, so it’s not an absolute certainty… but I think so too.”

“W-W-W-W-W-W-W-What does this mean!? W-W-W-W-WW-W-what is this!?”

“Calm down, Karen-chan. He seemed fine when I called this morning, so I don’t think there’s any life-threatening situation.”

“Y-Yes, you’re right. If th-th-there’s no life-threatening situation, th-th-there’s no need to worry…”

“You’re still not calm at all.”

She hurriedly starts composing an email. I can hear the tapping sound as she types on her phone. Even after sending the email, she remains restless.

While sitting at her desk, she keeps staring at her smartphone on the table. But I doubt she’ll receive a reply that easily… She just sent it.

“It’s still not here… still not here… still not here…”

Ah, this is something I’m not good at. It’s a little creepy the way she talks with a supernatural undertone, reminding me of something paranormal. I don’t like it… I want her to stop.

“Karen-chan, that’s a little scary…”

“It’s still not here, still not here, still not here.”

“H-Hey! It’s… it’s scary! Please, listen to me!”

“What? I’m busy right now. Can’t you wait if it’s something important?”

“You’re being too harsh all of a sudden!?”

She suddenly becomes cold and her response turns icy. Isn’t Karen-chan a bit emotionally unstable today? From sadness to suspicion, and then to ghosts… She’s being too aggressive.

“So?”

“Well, I was hoping you could stop with the ‘still not here’ thing…”

“Aah, I see. Understood.”

“Thank you.”

“Reply, reply, reply…”

“Stop that too!!”

In the end, it’s still scary.

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