“...”
The moment I stopped to ponder things, a pale woman with long hair silently crawled out of a papier-mâché well. Actually, that long hair looked awfully familiar...
“Tokiwa?”
“...”
When I called out, the ghostly woman suddenly lunged at me and wrapped her arms around me.
“Ooo, ooo...! I’m a scary ghost...!” she declared rather ridiculously.
“Could you, um, let go...?”
Tokiwa was only wearing a thin white robe to give her that ghostly, ethereal vibe. So when she hugged me, she felt even softer than normal...
“Ah, looks like she went braless.”
“BWUH?!”
R just blurted out what I’d been thinking, making me do a spit take on nothing. And while I was going full-on slapstick...
“It’s Rekka, meow!”
“Wuh?!”
Someone suddenly grabbed me by the waist and tackled me from behind, knocking me over onto the floor with Tokiwa still in my arms.
“That voice... Is that you, Ai?”
“That’s right, meow! Long time no see, meow!”
I had a feeling back when the cat monster appeared, but...
“Say, Ai...”
“What is it, meow?”
“Are there real yokai in this haunted house right now?”
“That’s right, meow! Momone asked us to come play.”
“Thought so.”
No wonder the will-o-wisps and severed heads looked so real... Or rather, familiar. They were all monsters I had seen before when Ai’s people had their scuffle with the local yokai. I had heard they were taken in by President Momone’s family at Kibi Shrine afterward, but to think they were willing to come help out with a festival haunted house...
“It’s the perfect job for you, I guess...”
“Mrow?”
Ai cocked her head curiously at my muttering, but my attention was snatched away when I heard a quiet voice beneath me.
“Rekka...”
“Huh?”
It was Tokiwa. And here we were... Lying together on the floor of a dark room. No matter how you cut it, it didn’t look good.
“I-I’m so sorry!”
I jumped up in a panic and ran out of the room with Ai still clinging to my waist.
“Problem child?”
“Hahh... hahh... hahh...”
President Momone called out to me from where she was stationed over by the entrance, but I couldn’t reply right away.
“Was it that scary? I heard quite a few screams.”
“You could say that...”
While that last scream hadn’t been one of terror, I was definitely scared.
“What a wuss. You coward. You’re worthless.”
R was hurling insults at me... But this time I was willing to take it.
“So, how was it? I believe I gave them instructions that were plenty clear, but they are yokai. Let me know if they went too far.”
“Wait, so I was a guinea pig?”
“Just think of it as doing your job as a committee member.”
I wasn’t even, though. I was just a helper... I knew there was no arguing with her, however, and stood up with a resigned sigh.
“Well, I don’t think there are any issues. It’s supposed to be scary, after all.”
“I see. Then it should be fine to let the general public in now too.”
“If that’s all you were waiting for, why didn’t you check it yourself, President Momone?”
“If I went in to check, the yokai would be the ones who were scared.”
She had that part right.
“Hm? Were you thinking something rude just now?”
“No, not at all.”
I tried playing dumb, to which President Momone replied with an exasperated sigh. She turned her critical gaze on Ai, who was still clinging to my waist.
“And just how long are you going to slack off?”
“Mrow?!”
“Guests will be coming in soon. Make sure you’re on standby.”
“Got it, meow!”
Fearful of President Momone, Ai quickly scurried back inside the haunted house. Not a moment later, someone called out to President Momone from down the hall. We both turned to see the vice president dashing over towards us, but she took one look at me and made a sour face. She mistakenly thought I was some kind of womanizer, so she reacted poorly every time we crossed paths. I’d yet to have an opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding.
“I finally found you, president.”
“What’s up?”
“There’s a problem with some supplies someone left in the hallway. They’re blocking traffic.”
“Where’s the disciplinary committee?”
“The number of visitors coming by car has increased since this morning, so they’re organizing some auxiliary parking.”
“I see. Then I’ll deal with this myself.”
With that, President Momone and the vice president turned to go.
“P-Please wait!”
I reflexively stopped them, and they both turned around to look at me.
“What?”
“What is it?”
I could feel the expression on my face grow more and more fraught. At a glance, there was nothing weird about their conversation just now. President Momone had heard about a problem. and she was going to solve it. That decisive attitude and her initiative were the same as always. But... something was still odd.
“Shouldn’t you be investigating the fireworks from earlier that weren’t on the schedule?”
That was it. The supplies in the hallway might be an issue, but there was a much bigger issue at hand. Someone completely unauthorized had fired off fireworks, and probably from somewhere on the school grounds. Yet here President Momone was concerned about a haunted house, and the disciplinary committee was trying to arrange for additional parking. No matter how I thought about it, it was weird. Looking into the fireworks should have been President Momone’s top priority.
Bang!
There was that bursting sound again, and then...
“That’s right! I can’t believe something like that slipped my mind. I’m leaving the traffic issue to you, vice president. I need to head to the school courtyard for a bit.”
“U-Understood!”
President Momone quickly issued orders and then darted off without even waiting for the VP’s reply. Well, it at least seemed I’d found the second oddity.
▽
Since the deluxe meat yakisoba had filled me up nice and good, I continued my search around the school for the third oddity without stopping for a break. I considered returning to my class and checking on Satsuki and the others, but it was currently lunchtime. This was surely when they’d be busiest, which would make it hard to talk to them and investigate properly. So, to kill time until the crowds calmed down, I decided to look elsewhere for now. As for how that went...
“I can’t find it anywhere...”
I sat down at the bottom of the stairs and heaved a hefty sigh.
“Sucks to be you, I guess.”
Thanks, R. That’s about as helpful and encouraging as usual.
I’d searched everywhere I could think of. Obvious spots around the school, places I frequented personally, the light literature clubroom... But I couldn’t find a single clue.
“Does that mean the oddities are really all centered around people I know after all?”
So far they’d involved Tsumiki and President Momone. In other words, people rather than places or things. If that was intentional, then it was possible the remaining oddities were amongst the friends I hadn’t checked in with yet. I couldn’t be certain, but it was as good a lead as I had right now, so I shifted my priorities accordingly. That meant my next stop should be my own class. I could poke around some while I waited out the lunch rush. But just as I stood up with my destination decided...
“Sir Rekka!”
“Rekka!”
I heard people calling out to me. When I turned in the direction of the voices, I experienced a bit of déjà vu as someone ran up to me and grabbed me by the waist.
“Brother Rekka! I came to play!”
“H-Hey, Fam.”
“Jeez, Fam! It’s dangerous to tackle people like that!”
It was Fam that had practically run into me, and Rain who was chiding her. They were both dressed in regular street clothes.
“Good grief, what are you doing?”
“Sir Rekka, are you okay?”
One step behind them was Shirley and Harissa, who were both dressed casually too. They were the ones who’d called out to me initially. But there was a fifth party present also...
“What in the heck...?”
It was L, who was standing behind the other girls and giving me a disgusted look. She was in casual clothes too, most likely Satsuki’s old ones. They looked somewhat familiar.
For the record, Garnet was there too, dutifully following behind Shirley. She quietly bowed in greeting when she saw me.
“Come to think of it, you said you’d drop by after lunch. Did you bring everyone along, Shirley?”
“Well, I am their guardian, after all.”
“Thanks for bringing Harissa and L too. I hope you guys have fun.”
“You should go around with us, Brother Rekka!” Fam implored, her arms still wrapped around me.
I was busy as it was, so I almost immediately said no, but...
“Okay, sure.”
The exact opposite response came out of my mouth.
“Are you sure? Aren’t you busy?” asked Shirley.
“Nah, I’m just helping out,” I said, pointing to the committee band around my upper arm.
It was true that I was only supposed to be helping out, and besides, it was entirely possible that one of the oddities was with the group of girls who’d just arrived. Maybe I’d pick up on something while I was walking around with them, so I decided to give them a tour of the school as I continued my investigation.
“So, where do you guys want to look? Inside or outside?”
“Outside!” Fam shouted enthusiastically on behalf of everyone.
While there weren’t as many as there would be at a real festival, the school grounds were lined with quite a few food vendors, games, and other fun things.
“Hey, don’t run!”
Half of the school grounds was being used for temporary parking too, so we had to be mindful of cars. The disciplinary committee was managing the traffic, so it wasn’t that much of a concern, but still.
“Jeez, here.”
“Oh!”
Since it was dangerous, I grabbed Fam’s hand and stopped her from running ahead. She turned and stared at me blankly for a second.
“Heehee... I’m holding hands with Brother Rekka!”
“Just don’t run anymore, okay?”
“Okay!”
Fam happily started to swing our linked hands...
“...”
And I felt several pairs of eyes fall on me, specifically on my free left hand.
“Rekka, I’m afraid I might get lost in a crowd of so many people. Might I also hold your hand?”
“Huh? Oh, sure, Rain.”
“Thank you very much.”
Rain happily reached for my hand, but...
“Not so fast. I’ll hold your hand, Rain.”
Shirley grabbed hold of her.
“Sh-Shirley?”
“Yes? Is something the matter?”
For some reason, I thought I could see sparks flying between Rain and Shirley... Was I seeing things?
“Now, Rekka, allow me to hold your other hand,” said Shirley.
“Hey! That’s so underhanded, Shirley!”
Rain raised an objection to Shirley’s tactics, but someone slipped between them and grabbed my hand before either of them could act.
“Harissa?”
“Teehee, I have a right too.”
Shirley and Rain both narrowed their eyes at her, and I could swear they were practically growling.
“Ugh, what is this farce?”
Meanwhile, L was grumping behind everyone as she watched the scene unfold.
“Would you like to hold hands with me, Miss L?” asked Garnet.
“I’ll pass.”
And so we walked along—Fam, Harissa, and I holding hands, Shirley and Rain holding hands, and L and Garnet trailing behind—as we checked out the various stalls set up outside.
“Come on! This way, Brother Rekka!”
“H-Hey, don’t pull.”
Fam sure was energetic today. It was all she could to do to hold on in the beginning, but now she was dragging me this way and that, pulling me towards whatever caught her interest. But I tried not to complain too much. She was being a good girl and didn’t let go of my hand the entire time.
“You’ve turned into a dopey dad wrapped around his daughter’s little finger,” said R.
I didn’t think I had gotten that old yet...
Anyway, while I was minding Fam...
“Sir Rekka! I want to try those!” said Harissa excitedly, tugging on my opposite hand.
“Hm?”
I looked to see what she was pointing at, which turned out to be a stand selling chocolate bananas.
“Oh, sure.”
I approached the stand and placed an order.
“How many?” the student behind the counter asked.
“Two... No, four, please.”
I got one each for Harissa, Fam, Rain, and L, and then handed them out.
“Oh? And what about me?”
“P-Please cut me some slack,” I whined rather pathetically at the grinning Shirley.
Including the deluxe meat yakisoba, I’d already spent quite a bit of money today, and it was still only the first day of the festival.
“So sweet!”
“It’s delicious. Thank you very much, Sir Rekka.”
“It’s been decorated with chocolate, I see.”
“H-Hmph! I won’t be bribed by something like this.”
In general, it seemed like the chocolate bananas were a hit with the younger crowd, although the youngest among them—L—was being stubborn about admitting it for some reason.
“Ah!” Harissa suddenly yelped.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“O-Oh, um...”
“?”
I peered over wondering why Harissa had raised her voice, and I saw the cause immediately—chocolate. She’d managed to get some on her clothes. It looked like she’d accidentally touched her shirt with the hand she was holding the banana with.
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine. You’ll just have to wash it when you get home later.”
“Aww, I’m sorry, Sir Rekka.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me. You’re the one who’s been doing the laundry lately, Harissa.”
When I told her not to worry, Harissa began beaming brightly. She then opened her mouth and said...
“Then since we’re doing the laundry, let’s bathe together too!”
...something completely unthinkable.
“Wh-What on earth?!”
“What? What’s the matter? We can bathe together once in a while!” Harissa repeated those unthinkable words again, lightly tilting her head.
S-Seriously, what was with this? Harissa wasn’t the type to just blurt out stuff like that... Moreover, Shirley and the others hadn’t had any reaction to it whatsoever. The looks on their faces said that they thought this was all perfectly normal... But why? Wouldn’t a huge ruckus ordinarily be breaking out right about now?
“I want to bathe with Brother Rekka too!”
“You can’t, Fam! B-But if you insist, then I’ll be joining you as well!”
The next thing I knew, Fam and Rain were at it too.
“Hey, what are you two saying?” Shirley demanded, finally showing a reaction.
My head was practically spinning. Harissa�
�s sudden declaration. Fam and Rain jumping on board. Everyone else’s apparent indifference to it all. The whole thing was odd... That’s it!
“Hey, uh, Shirley?”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t it weird for Harissa to be saying things like that?”
“Huh? Is it?” Shirley tilted her head.
So far, whenever I’d pointed out the oddity of a situation, something would burst with a bang and snap everyone to their senses. But when I spoke up about what Harissa had said, nothing changed. Was I wrong? Was that not the oddity? No, something definitely wasn’t right with her... Could it be I’d just put my finger on the wrong thing?
“What is it then...?” I unwittingly murmured out loud as I scrutinized Harissa.
“I-Is something the matter?” she asked, faltering under my sudden staring.
She was wearing hand-me-downs I’d given to her, which she’d taken a liking to wearing on her days off recently for some reason. There was nothing strange in particular about her appearance, so what was the catch?
“Hmph! Brother Rekka! How long are you going to keep staring? Let’s go already!”
“Huh? Wah!”
An impatient Fam gave a good hard yank on my arm to motivate me suddenly, making me lose my balance. I fell straight forward on top of Harissa.
“Kyah!”
“S-Sorry!”
I quickly tried to get off of her, but I noticed something strange. I won’t say where exactly, but... Was it possible...?
“Harissa, have you turned into a guy?”
“Huh? S-Sir Rekka...?”
Bang!
The ridiculous sound rang out to confirm my guess. I knew it. Once I touched her—and again, I won’t say where—I’d figured it out instantly.
Phew, that meant I had three oddities down. I only had one more to go, but finding it would have to wait. I suddenly had a much bigger problem on my hands.
“REKKA!”
Once I’d pointed out the oddity and the spell was broken, Harissa returned to being a girl and everyone else returned to their senses... meaning they were all furious at me for touching her.
▽
I fled into the school building to get away from the angry girls.
“Hahh... At least... hahh... there’s only one oddity left...”
“Right.”
R confirmed what I already knew as I tried to catch my breath. Once I had calmed down enough... I sighed once again.
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 13 Page 6