落とし穴番外：元廃村への対応 (Part2)
"Well, that should secure the safety of Kirika and her subordinates for the time being. If anything happens, we’ll know soon enough."
"What’s next, then?"
"Setting the perimeter aside, we still need to search the houses, don't we?"
"Right. For starters, Hairen can go solo."
"Why me!? Are you saying it’s fine if I get cursed!?"
"You’re a goddess; don't get cursed. Use your 'goddess power' or something to deal with it."
"Don't talk about 'goddess power' like it’s some convenient little gadget!"
"Well, it was your power that created this situation in the first place, wasn't it?"
"Ugh."
"Don't go praising her too much. Still, I can't guarantee there aren't any cursed objects lying around, but if you bring them to me, I’ll dispel them for you. You don't need to worry about that."
Oh? Luna is being unexpectedly cooperative.
"So, what are you planning?"
"I'm not planning anything. I prepared this place to 'spend a relaxing summer,' after all. I have no intention of putting you lot—let alone the children and the wives—in danger. How’s that? That’s as persuasive as it gets, isn't it?"
"..."
I would love to deny that there is any persuasiveness in her words, but it is true that Luna isn't the type to pull reckless stunts on people she can't handle. Still, I wish she would just deny the possibility of us getting dragged into another supernatural incident altogether.
"Well, well, let's just start the house survey for now. We’ll ask her not to play any pranks on Yuki and the others, too."
Comet-kun, who had come along to observe the state of the settlement, chimed in with a beaming smile.
"That’s right, Luna. Yuki is someone precious to us, and Taizo-san and Taiki are good friends as well. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a break, so why don't you just leave things be for once?"
Agil-kun joined in, offering his own 'request.'
"I never said I was going to do anything. Like I said before, I have no intention of doing anything at all, so hurry up and get the survey done. I’m going to enjoy a nice, lazy summer in the countryside right here."
With that, Luna flopped onto the tatami mats, turned on the television, and began watching a DVD.
...It really is a summer in the countryside, isn't it?
"Sigh, alright. For now, we’ll thoroughly check all twelve houses. If you find a suspicious room, do not enter. The same goes for hidden rooms. If you see an ofuda charm, do not peel it off. We’ll split into groups of three for each building. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Hearing Yuki-kun’s standard, sensible instructions, we all began to move. Naturally, I...
"Sorry to bother you during your summer vacation."
"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I never expected to feel the essence of a Japanese summer in a place like this."
"That’s for sure. If there’s no supernatural nonsense involved, it’s just a simple house exploration. Besides, isn't it kind of fun to have free rein to search every single house?"
"Well, I suppose you're right. Let’s enjoy it."
"Exactly. In times like these, enjoying yourself is the best policy."
And so, we headed toward the houses assigned to us.
"But, Yuki-kun, are you sure it was okay for us to be in the same group?"
"Yeah. Since we know about the supernatural, wouldn't it have been better to spread out?"
"Hmm. I thought about that, but we have strong members like Sota-san, Enoru-san, and the others, so it should be fine."
It’s true; the members involved in this search are either surprisingly resistant to ghosts or heavily focused on research, so there isn't much to worry about.
"I just hope Hairen doesn't do anything."
"Actually, if you let her act alone, there’s a high probability she’ll cause some kind of trouble. In a situation like this, that’s actually useful, isn't it?"
"True. I feel bad for Hairen-kun, but we should probably make use of that bad luck of hers."
"Right? Besides, if we keep ourselves grouped together, Luna will only have us to play her pranks on."
"Ah, so we’re the decoys?"
"Minimizing the damage, I suppose. In that case, we should be extremely careful in the houses we investigate."
"Even though we decided the assignments ourselves, knowing Luna, there’s no telling what she might have set up. So, let’s steel ourselves."
As Yuki-kun said this, he stopped in front of a solitary, old-fashioned, single-story house.
I just hope nothing happens...
Now, everyone.
Whether or not a supernatural entity appears during the house search depends entirely on you.
Do you want to see ghosts and hauntings?