落とし穴１６７堀：夜を走る (Part1)

Pitfall 167: Running Through the Night

Running Through the Night

Side: Yuki

"Hmm, I see. So both Torino and Nakazato have it rough, huh?"

"Yeah, it’s just the circumstances of our parents, so it can’t be helped."

"That’s true. Anyway, would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, could I get some sugar?"

"Sure. Here you go."

Back at the house, we were chatting with Meue joining in.

Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about it, but Sudo-san had convinced me that letting this idiot go home alone would be a massive blunder, so I’d reluctantly brought her along.

"But still, isn't it kind of amazing that the student council president is living with you?"

"I understand why you’d say that. But Sudo-san has her own circumstances."

"I know that. But still, President. Even if you're relatives, please make sure to protect yourself, okay?"

"Ahaha. It’s fine. If anything happens, I’ll just make him take responsibility."

"Eh, so it really is..."

"That’s not it. Ayano-chan, you’re jumping to conclusions. It just means Torino-kun and Nakazato-kun aren't that kind of person."

That much goes without saying.

The last thing I need is to end up with more wives.

Furthermore, this is just a "first dream" of the new year. I have no idea how I’d even go about bringing people from here back to Weed.

That said, if I could hire people with the skill sets of modern Japanese citizens for Weed, how convenient would that be...

Yeah, if that happened, Weed’s processing capabilities for various tasks would skyrocket.

...Wait, if I could get Luna to somehow bridge this place, maybe I could operate it as an outsourcing hub.

While I was busy thinking up such foolish ideas, the conversation had moved on.

"Ahahaha, both Kazuya-san and I have girlfriends, you know."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that’s right. I’ve got a girlfriend, so I’m not going to lay a hand on Sudo-san. Besides, I don't think she’d even be interested in me."

Actually, forget a girlfriend—I have wives.

Multiple ones, at that. So I don't need a new girlfriend at this stage in my life.

Oh, and it’s not like I find dating women a hassle or anything.

I just love my wives, that’s all.

"Eh—both of you have girlfriends!?"

"My, my, does this older sister lack charm?"

"Meue, you really should hide your true feelings a bit. And Sudo-san, if you really want to be attacked, just say so."

"Ugh, sorry."

"Ah, sorry. That came out as a bit of a provocation, didn't it?"

Both of them apologized immediately, so there wasn't a problem, but...

"Well, students are just like that, aren't they?"

"Yeah, it’s a real pain to deal with, but we just have to do our best."

Teasing people like this is the default setting for students.

It’s just the kind of vibe they have. Still, it’s tiresome.

Well, it’s far better than the daily routine of being forced into adventures in bizarre, otherworldly places...

Anyway, moving on to future plans.

"For now, it’s late, so let’s just get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, we’ll check with the police, look for Meue’s wallet and phone, and move Sudo-san’s luggage."

"That sounds good. Let’s leave it at that for tonight and get some rest. Is that alright, Ayano-chan?"

"Sigh, I suppose so. It’s too late to go back out into the cold now, so I’ll just get some sleep."

"Right then. As for the rooms, I’m going back to my own place to sleep, so are you two okay using the spare room at Kazuya-san’s place?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. By the way, do we have extra futons?"

"I’ll go check."

"Oh, I’ll help with that at least."

"Yeah, me too..."

I held up my hands to stop the two of them.

"You two are guests, after all. Why don't you go take a bath in the meantime? Also, do you want separate rooms, or together?"

"Eh? I don't really mind either way, but..."

"You don't have to be so considerate. And since there’s a chance Ayano-chan might try to sneak out alone, I’ll keep watch."

"Eh—I wouldn't do that!"

"Then it shouldn't be a problem to be together, right?"

"Ugh... fine, I understand."

And so, after shooing the two of them off to the bath—perhaps this, too, was part of that useless goddess's machinations—we found some brand-new futons tucked away in the closet. We laid them out in the spare room, finished the preparations, and moved to my room.

"Now then, let’s reorganize the situation."

"Yes. It’s only the second day, and things are already moving quite rapidly. I never expected two heroines to end up in this house."

"Yeah, it’s a huge surprise. Well, Sudo-san was Luna’s doing, so that’s fine. And fortunately, Meue was before the trouble started, which is a big deal."

"Yes. We’ve prevented Meue-san’s situation from turning into a ghost story, so she’s safe now."

"She won't be attacked by paranormal phenomena, but the problem is we still have to investigate the causal link to the town being wiped off the map. There’s a possibility that someone other than Meue could take her place."

"Ah, that’s true."

This time, one of the heroines didn't get her hands on the catalyst for the story, but the possibility remains that someone else could fill that role.

After all, we haven't confirmed if Meue herself is necessary for the mechanism that wipes half the town away.

"Wait, hold on. Did we actually do something troublesome?"

"...I thought it was a brilliant idea when we saved her, but I hadn't considered the possibility that it didn't have to be Meue-san. There’s a chance the heroine could just be swapped out."

"Damn. If that’s the case, was checking the shrine mandatory?"

"It seems so. Shall we go now?"

"Yeah. I’d like to say that, but if the two of us leave right now, Sudo-san and the others will get suspicious. Or rather, they’ll be shocked. We should wait for them to get out of the bath and say we’re going to the convenience store. Or, one of us goes to the shrine while the other provides cover."

"No, that won't work. The possibility of dealing with a supernatural entity alone... isn't that a death flag?"

"True. For now, we’ll wait for them to finish their baths, and after that, we have to be prepared for a battle with the supernatural."

"But we don't have any ofuda or anything, do we?"

"Hmm. Is there anything in this house that could help? Luna prepared this place, right? I’d think there might be some gear for this sort of thing. Like a Camera Obscura?"

"Taking pictures for a combo? But I think the shrine entity is the type that turns the background black and white and becomes invincible."

"You’re right. Well, is there any item to avoid instant death? Like an amulet?"

"Ah, if we had one of those, we might be able to at least run away."

With that, we searched our respective houses, but found nothing of note. Finally, Sudo-san and Meue came out of the bath.

"We’re done!"

"I’ll at least praise you for not coming to peek."

"Yeah, yeah, that kind of thing only happens in manga and anime. Anyway, I was going to say let’s take a bath, but we’re going to head to the convenience store to pick up some things. We forgot a few items. You two can go ahead and sleep."

"I see. Don't catch a cold. We’ll take you up on your offer and get some rest."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Thus, we naturally ushered them off to sleep and immediately headed out into the pitch-black, early-morning town of the new year.

"Still, we’re supposed to be in a dream, so why are we out in the middle of the night? It’s freezing!"

"Tell me about it. We’re supposed to be in our futons, aren't we!"