Chapter 49: Know the Tradition

Translator: Soafp

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[Natsuko PoV]

My name is Noguchi Natsuko . I’m an ordinary high school girl, just like any other.

“Gindou-san, it’s okay if it’s Kuroda-kun.”

“But, he was on the news…”

“The news didn’t mention Kuroda-kun specifically, and Sensei said he is absent due to a cold. So, I think it’s okay. It’s unlikely to be a life-threatening situation, and the reason for today’s absence is a cold.”

“A cold… But, but, but what if the cold worsens and something happens…”

“It’ll be fine. Kuroda-kun seems healthy.”

“Are you sure… I can’t even call him…”

“Why don’t you ask someone who knows? Maybe one of the boys might know…”

“That’s true… If someone knows his contact information…”

She looked around the classroom at the boys. Does Sasamoto-kun know? But it might be awkward to ask Gindou-san… Maybe I should go.

“I’ll go ask.”

“Eh?! Are you sure!?”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Now, I have to ask Sasamoto-kun. I stood up from my seat and headed towards Sasamoto-kun. He was reading a book.

“Sasamoto-kun.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“You have Kuroda-kun’s contact information, right?”

“Oh, you want to know?”

“Well, something like that.”

“…Here.”

“Thank you.”

He displayed the contact information, phone number, and email address on his smartphone. I saved both of them to my phone. Mission accomplished!

“Thank you.”

“Ou.”

Phew, he’s kind… I should be grateful and straightforward, but I ended up feeling complicated because the book he was reading was an erotic one. If it had been a different book, I could have expressed my gratitude more sincerely. It’s a strange mix of emotions.

“Gindou-san, bring out your smartphone. I’ll give you the contact information.”

“Thank you.”

She entered the contact information into her smartphone and immediately started typing a long message. Clack, clack, clack… Hmm, isn’t it a bit too long? It’s her first email, so it should be light-hearted, right?

I think something like “I’m worried, so I contacted you ♡” would suffice. But she’s writing quite a lengthy message… I wonder what she’s writing…

Curiosity got the better of me, so I secretly glanced at her phone from behind.

“Good morning. I apologize for the sudden message, but I wanted to contact you because I’m worried about Izayoi-kun’s condition…”

Oh! The opening is perfect! It’s polite and concise, but you can sense kindness and concern for the other person. Hmm, it’s good! Gindou-san is doing great!

Let’s see what’s next…

“Was that you on the morning news, Izayoi-kun? What exactly happened? Are you okay? Or maybe I’m just overthinking? Did you really miss school because of a cold? If that’s the case, should I visit you and bring some porridge? Or maybe cool your forehead? Or perhaps it’s not related to either of those reasons for your absence? If that’s the case, what can I do to help?…”

It is messed up in the middle! How many question marks are there??!! It’s so sudden! It’s like an onslaught of questions!! This is scary!!

“Stop, Gindou-san.”

“W-What’s wrong? I’m busy right now…”

She pressed her phone against her chest as if trying to hide it. Well, I can understand the embarrassment. If someone saw the content of a message you’re sending to your crush, it would be embarrassing. But I can’t let it continue like this. Her hidden phone is about to disappear completely. Oops, I got off track.

“That’s just too much.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s too heavy, that message.”

“Eh? The message isn’t heavy at all?”

She shook her phone back and forth. No, it’s not about the weight of the message itself, it’s not that literal. Gindou-san…

“No, I don’t mean that. It’s more like, with that message, you’re putting an unnecessary burden on the other person… I think.”

“Eh? This message… is it not okay?”

“Well, it’s just that… I feel like you’re overheating.”

“O-Overheating?”

“I mean, it’s great that you can sense your concern for the other person, but… I think a more casual and friendly tone, and not making it too long, would be better. It’s your first email, so sending a long message out of nowhere might be… you know?”

“I did try to restrain myself quite a bit… But if Natsuko-san says so, then I guess it’s true.”

“Oh, so you tried to restrain yourself…”

She started typing on her phone again. Her straightforwardness is one of her good qualities… Now, I wonder how it turned out?

[Hallo! Izayoi-kun! Are you feeling okay? I’m really worried! Let me know how you’re doing in an instant!]

Yeah, OUT! I mean, her sincerity is nice, but this is not good! “Hallo” and expecting an instant response!?

“No, no, no!!!”

“Ah, please don’t suddenly raise your voice like that!”

“Sorry, but this is no good!! Why do you become a scatterbrain when it comes to love matters!?”

“S-Scatterbrain!? Isn’t that a bit harsh!?”

“Well, I’ll teach you from scratch!”

She proceeded to write a decent email.

“Is this okay? It’s not urgent to reply, but… I really want a response as soon as possible…”

“You have to consider the other person. After all, he’s currently sick.”

“R-Right. Izayoi-kun might be going through a hard time.”

“Yeah, so we should try not to burden Kuroda-kun too much. Considering that, I think it’s important to show concern for the other person.”

“I understand… Is Izayoi-kun okay?”

She twisted her face with a sad expression. She must be really worried. Personally, I feel like everything is fine, though…

“Well, I have a feeling that Kuroda-kun is energetic.”

“Eh? Is that so?”

“It’s just my intuition. That’s all. It doesn’t mean it’s definite.”

“I see… But Natsuko-san’s intuition is often right. She even accurately predicted the rise and fall of stocks the other day.”

“Hahaha, it was just a coincidence. But maybe I should become an investor in the future! Just kidding.”

“I think you’d be good at it.”

“Hmm, I wonder how fitting it would be for a high school girl to be an investor?”

“Ah, s- sorry. I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I meant a positive kind of investor.”

“Sorry, I was just teasing you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Y-You scared me! Mou!”

For some reason, it feels like she suddenly became lively. I wonder why.

“By the way, Gindou-san, you seem more energetic now than before.”

“Eh? Ah, yes. I feel lighter now. I was really worried earlier, but… I thought that if Natsuko-san says it’s okay, then it must be okay…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, because, um, how should I put it… I can trust Natsuko-san… Or rather, I mean, I can rely on you… Well, we’re friends…”

She suddenly became cute. Oi, calm down. When she first entered the school, she had barriers between herself and others. It has been somewhat eased through her interaction with Kuroda-kun.

In supporting her in her love life, we grew a little closer. Every day, as we talked about various love-related topics, I could feel our distance shrinking. But to hear her say that she trusts me like this… it makes me happy.

“Ehehe, I see, we’re friends.”

“Y-Yes.”

“You’re so cute!”

“Kyaaa!”

I hugged her tightly. She smells really nice; she must be using good shampoo and conditioner. Her hair is silky smooth without any greasiness.

“W-What’s the matter?”

“I hugged you because you’re cute.”

“I-If you’re going to do that, please give me some warning in advance! It’s really bad for my heart!”

“Got it!”

Our friendship intimacy level increased even further!!

Such a moment in the morning.

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[Izayoi PoV]

“How long do we have to keep watching here?”

“Until I can prevent the disaster from happening, I suppose.”

“Suddenly turning into a chuunibyou character…”

We are currently in a car, monitoring the school from the outside. It’s close to 9 a.m, so there are no students outside anymore. However, we continue to keep watch.

“Isn’t it enough? We confirmed that someone entered the school. We can resume monitoring after school.”

“No, there’s a possibility of the typical scenario where terrorists come to the school. In that case, we’ll have to rush into the school with this car, so let’s wait.”

“That’s absurd!! And it’s troublesome! This is my car!! Besides, I said that the worst-case scenario will happen later! Let’s take a break! A break!”

“…Indeed, it’s important to rest when we have the chance.”

“Yes, yes. If we’re not in top condition when it matters, we won’t be able to perform at our best.”

According to fortune-telling, the bad ending is still far off. It’s not good to exhaust ourselves here.

“Understood. Let’s take a break then.”

“In that case, how about going for a seafood meal? Let’s have a seafood bowl!”

“Yes, that sounds good. As long as it’s during our free time…”

“Hmm?”

“The current time is 9 a.m. School usually ends around 3 p.m, so please take a break until noon. I will continue the surveillance during that time.”

“Uh… Alright. Well, if you say so…”

“Don’t worry. I hardly take breaks. I’ll only go to the restroom a little when you come back.”

“Eh?”

“You can take the car with you. Enjoy your seafood bowl. Just be careful about food poisoning.”

“Ah, okay. I understand. Why are you continuing the surveillance? Didn’t I say the worst-case scenario would happen later?”

“You’re right. There’s no information about the worst-case scenario at the moment, but I want any bit of information I can get. There might be hints in their ordinary daily lives. So, I believe I should continue the surveillance.”

“But the person we’re looking for is already inside the school…”

“Yes, that’s the only unfortunate part. If I had the ‘superpower’ of invisibility, I would be by her side 24/7… But since I don’t have such ‘superpowers,’ I have no choice but to wait outside, considering the possibility of being reported if I enter the school…”

“I see… You’re really saying some absurd things… Well, I’ll take a short break then.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

She has been driving us this far. She must be tired from various things. She deserves a rest. Three hours of rest, to be exact.

I got out of the car and waited in the shade in front of the school gate. Since this is a girls’ high school, people might find it suspicious for a guy like me to be here. But I guess I don’t need to worry. When the car with the fortune teller inside disappears from sight, I receive a notification on my phone.

Hmm, it’s from Hihara Karen, huh? Let’s see… Oh, it’s about her too… the meaning of the anonymous news…

The phone vibrates again. This time it’s from Gindou Kohaku. She’s… Oh, she’s genuinely worried about me having a cold. Well, I don’t want to worry either of them, so I’ll just honestly tell them that I’m perfectly fine and by the sea.

For now, I should reply to both of them quickly and give them some surveillance updates and hints…

“Oya, you’re a new face.”

“Oh, hello.”

“Are you here for sightseeing?”

“Yes, well, in a way, you could say it’s sightseeing.”

Suddenly, an old lady started talking to me. Well, that surprised me. Hmm, should I ask her something? If there are any suspicious groups or crazy people around here…

“Um, what is this town like?”

“It’s a nice town. It’s peaceful and hardly any incidents happen here.”

“I see… Are there any suspicious people around here?”

“Not that I hear of much.”

None, huh… Could it be that they haven’t appeared yet? Or are they hiding? Concealing their true nature, like Norie Sakamoto in Hihara Karen’s bad ending…

I guess it’s better to consider various possibilities.

“In that case, has anything unusual happened recently?”

“Hmm, not really. Oh, but there’s a festival coming up soon.”

“What kind of festival is it?”

“It’s a festival dedicated to the onmyoji that has been passed down in this town since ancient times. You see, there used to be a yokai called ‘Yumekui’ (dream-eaters) that brought great calamity to this land long ago. In gratitude for sealing it away, the people started organizing this festival.”

“…Something like that…”

“Hohoho, young people nowadays don’t believe in such stories, so the tradition is gradually being forgotten…”

This is definitely related to the bad ending, isn’t it? I know nothing about this town since I just arrived. Such folklore can be considered to have some meaning. However, there’s also a possibility that it’s completely meaningless, but just to be safe, I want to ask for more details.

“I’m interested in hearing more about that legend.”

“Hohoho, you’re a curious young person. I’m sorry, though, I only know that such a legend exists. I don’t know the finer details.”

“I-I see… Can you think of any way to find out more?”

“Do you really want to know that badly? The town’s library might have some old documents, so you can try looking there. Also, the town mayor might be knowledgeable about these things, so you can try asking them.”

“I see. Thank you very much.”

“Hohoho, it was enjoyable to meet an interesting young person like you after a long time. Thank you.”

After saying that, the old lady walked away from the scene. She was probably taking a walk, wearing a sun visor. That mention of “Yumekui” by the old lady gives me a sense of foreboding…

I should definitely investigate the folklore of this town in more detail.