落とし穴外伝：夏祭りの意味 (Part2)
The goblin shopkeeper picked up a plastic mask and bent it with a soft, rubbery sound.
"It’s light and thin, you see. Breaks quite easily. It’s the sort of thing suited for children."
"Ah, I see. So the wooden masks require more labor, which is why they hold the value of an art piece."
"Exactly."
"And yet, from my perspective, even the plastic ones hold plenty of value."
"Once the production method is established, mass production and shaping become quite simple, after all."
"Hmm. I shall have to ask Yuki-dono for the details later. Schans."
"Yes. I shall put in a request for the next meeting."
"Now, enough of that. Today is a day to let my hair down. Let’s see, what shall I choose..."
After finalizing my instructions, I looked over the masks on display once more. The prices ranged from items even a child could afford to those that would make even an adult hesitate. Still, I am the Emperor of the Zurable Empire. Buying the entire lot would be of no consequence.
Actually, I’m glad I spent time playing with Aslin and the others. It allowed me to grasp, firsthand, what a typical income looks like. I’ve even been experimenting with allocating a budget to see if one can truly live on it.
Wait, no. I’m slipping back into work mode again.
Just as I thought that, my eyes caught something. I reached out toward a mask and asked the shopkeeper for confirmation. It was a wooden mask, priced somewhere in the middle of the high-end range.
"That’s a fox mask. White paint, red lines, black whiskers—a classic design."
"Ho, so this is a fox mask as well. It isn't yellow, then."
"It seems that was the standard in old Japan. Ah, well, white is often associated with albinism, which carries a sense of the sacred."
"Ah, we have that in Zurable as well. There are regions where white snakes are considered sacred."
"Indeed. Well, it must be fate that my eyes landed on this one. I’ll take it."
"Thank you for your patronage."
Having acquired the fox mask, I wandered through the summer festival, bought some food at random, and was just about to head back to the mansion when...
"Oh, it’s you from before."
I heard a voice and turned to see the parent and child from earlier, still wearing their fox masks. They seemed to have enjoyed the festival as well, their hands full of various purchases. The child pulled something out and ran toward me.
"Here. This is for earlier—an apology."
With that, she pressed a strangely tattered doll into my hands.
"No, I already accepted your apology. Something like this is..."
I tried to refuse, but she forced the doll into my grip.
"It’s fine, it’s fine. I never thought a time like this would come, anyway. Besides, this was originally yours to begin with."
"Huh?"
At those words, I looked down at the doll I had been handed. It certainly felt familiar, though I couldn't quite place it...
"Your Majesty?"
Just as I was trying to recall, Schans called out to me. Thinking I should ask her as well, I turned around.
"Schans. Do you recognize this doll?"
"Yes? A doll? Since when did you have that?"
"No, this child just gave it to me..."
"There is no one here, Your Majesty."
I looked around, but the parent and child in the fox masks were nowhere to be seen. Could they really vanish that quickly in the middle of a conversation? Well, if they were personnel from Weed, they could likely pull off such a feat with ease, but to do so just to hand over a doll?
I checked the doll for any hidden mechanisms, considering the possibility of a spy, but it appeared to be an ordinary, unremarkable toy. I handed it to Schans and explained what had happened.
"...I see. How strange. I didn't sense anything at all. They must be quite skilled, but would they really go to such lengths just to deliver a doll?"
"It is a curious tale. It could be some sort of surprise from Yuki-dono, so I cannot simply discard it. Besides, something about this doll bothers me. It’s not the sort of thing one would typically find for sale in Weed..."
"Indeed. No matter how you look at it, it’s a worn-out, second-hand item. And the condition is, to put it mildly, poor. However..."
Schans trailed off at the end.
"What is it?"
"I feel as though I’ve seen this doll somewhere before..."
"Ah, you too, Schans? It does feel familiar. Well, it doesn't seem to carry any malice. If it’s worn out, that only means it was cherished. Let’s take it back for now. It won't be too late to decide after we hear what Yuki-dono has to say."
"That is true."
And so, I returned to the mansion with the doll in hand. Incidentally, I bought some extra seafood yakisoba on the way back. After all, one can never have too much of a good thing! Apparently, that’s just how the Obon festival goes.
Then again, mysteries behind the scenes of a festival are surprisingly common, aren't they?