We'll continue this conversation tonight.
Despite what i said, i probably do have to go look for his object of worship... Mister Serpent's energy might run out if Nadeko waited for her hair to grow back out.
"If."
"If you're really that concerned about your bangs—I could fix them, hmmmm?"
“…”
It comes from nowhere—Mister Serpent offers a real proposal, and it leaves Nadeko speechless.
Huh?
"Y-You can—do that?" i ask back in a whisper.
i do this as i change shoes. So that no one gets suspicious—but i'd be lying if i told you that Nadeko's fingers weren't trembling as she took her slippers out of the cupboard.
"I'm a god, you know—it's my duty to listen to people's requests.
I wasn't planning on offering anything in exchange, but if you retrieve my object of worship, I suppose I could at least grant your wish of having long bangs again."
"Could you not look so excited, dear? I can't have you getting your hopes up too much—to be precise, I can only make your hair grow at a faster speed. I'm not saying I can turn things back to the way they were."
I'm not saying I can turn things back to the way they were—the Serpent repeats in a somewhat suggestive way.
But Nadeko doesn't care what he might be suggesting. There's only one thing that's important, which is Nadeko's hair growing longer.
"Y-You mean.. .right now?"
"You gotta listen when people are talking to you. Snakes, too. Once you retrieve my object of worship, remember? Isn't it obvious I don't have that kind of power now?”
"Oh."
So he kind of gave Nadeko the slip.
In other words, to get her bangs back, Nadeko needs to "rome” around town at night looking like some unknown, original character after all.
Well, i'm happy there's at least some hope—but i wonder.
He might be lying to Nadeko to make her feel better.
And even if he isn't, even if i blindly believe him like nothing could possibly go wrong, i still don't have any idea where his object of worship is. What's more, i've learned that Mister Serpent's dowsing abilities can malfunction, so the path ahead is very uncertain.
It feels like the situation hasn't improved one bit.
Who knows, maybe Nadeko's bangs are just going to grow back out normally as we try and fail to find Mister Serpent's object of worship..
Seriously, how long is his time limit?
"No, no, Nadeko—that's not an issue."
"Hm?"
That's not? What isn't?
"Wh... What do you mean?"
"We might find it as early as tonight—yes, my object of worship.
We'll turn this curse into a blessing, or maybe it's like life handing you lemons and making lemonade—however odd that adage sounds coming from my mouth. Anyway, yesterday's malfunction may have worked in our favor," the Serpent reveals—grinning. No, he's not actually grinning with his face. "While it may have been a disaster for you, the loss of your bangs just might be a lucky break for me. Your sacrifice wasn't in vain."
“…”
Please don't sacrifice Nadeko's bangs.
It doesn't make her feel any better.
"But...what do you mean?"
"Hsshh, hsshh, hsshh. Maybe it's no more than every cloud having a silver lining for you—but at the very least, they're wrong about the ways of heaven being inscrutable."
i don't really understand the fine differences between all these expressions.
Aren't they all just saying the same thing?
"Basically, Koyomi taking you in his care has given me an idea of where my object of worship is—though naturally I won't claim to be certain."
“R-Really?”
Nadeko's hunt for this object of worship could end as soon as today—in that case, you might really say there's a "silvey lining" to what happened last night.
A worthwhile sacrifice...it wasn't by any means, but i do feel like i'm at least being repaid in some small way.
Then again, i also remember feeling the same way last night. i can't be all smiles yet…
"S-So, Mister Serpent. You have an idea?"
"I think I'll tell you tonight—we can't go searching until then, and it's going to be a bit of a surprising location for you. You want to be able to concentrate on your classes.
i wouldn't mind taking a day off if he's absolutely certain where it is.. .but this is a promise that i insisted on. i'd be ashamed to back down from it.
The thing is, Nadeko doesn't want to have to sit through her classes with this hair... That makes it feel all the more like she would be cheating, and she feels guilty.
"A surprising location for Nadeko... So, somewhere Nadeko knows?"
"It would mean that, yes."
"Was there something like a hint in Nadeko's conversations yesterday with Big Brother. ..or Miss Shinobu, or Tsukihi? Something—that rang a bell for you, Mister Serpent?"
It would mean that. But Mister Serpent doesn't give a clear yes or no. "Well, I suppose it would mean that—it doesn't not mean that," he answers vaguely.
The way he puts it makes Nadeko grow uneasy. "Um, Mister Serpent... If you're going to call Nadeko your partner, i'd like you to just tell Nadeko instead of 'consealing' it.. .because it's going to be Nadeko who has to do the actual searching…"
"Oh, no, don't you worry, I'm not trying to put on airs or anything—and I'm not plotting anything, either, I'm just trying to choose the best way to do this."
"But—"
"And anyway, aren't there other things you ought to be thinking about and solving, hmmmm?"
Well, true.
Like why Tsukihi suddenly cut Nadeko's hair—according to Mister Serpent, it's because i rubbed her the wrong way when she was brissling, but...
Tsukihi can get mad on other people's behalf.
Maybe she's just carrying on the ideals of Big Brother Koyomi, who hustles for other people's sake.. .but what i can't figure out is why her rage led to that result.
Maybe i'm just going to have to ask her...
It also feels pointless to ask her...
Also, considering the sentence Big Brother must have exacted on her afterwards, i can't go near the Araragi residence carelessly.
i even want to hold off on phone calls.
"Yeah, i do need to think about it... The ordinary thinking would be that she was breaking Nadeko's heart by force by cutting her hair, but that seems too shortsighted."
"Isn't that the right answer? So you do get it, Nadeko. Bingo—but if you find it shortsighted, I guess you need to think more longterm. Not just about why she cut your hair, but why you still refer to yourself by your name."