The restaurant was reserved for my farewell party for the day.
Normally the shop always closed before dusk, but today the plan was to keep on partying it up through dinner. Plus, most of the regulars said they didn’t mind us being closed the next day. Mom and Dad usually believed in staying open no matter what, but since they wanted to see me off, they took the opportunity.
The restaurant was full of conversation from all sides.
“Still, to think that little Ann’s gonna be leaving us...”
“Hey! Don’t spoil her big journey be getting all maudlin!”
“Bring back a husband who can cook or something!”
“Pryce’ll work hard, so things’ll be fine here!”
“H-Huh?! What about getting someone new?! Y-You are planning to hire someone, aren’t you?!”
“Don’t be so soft, you dang fool!”
“Gwahaha! Looks like you won’t be opening your own place till the little miss comes back!”
“No waaaaay!!”
I-Is it just me, or is this turning into a party for Pryce? I thought I was the star here!
Evening came, and still not a single one of those jerks from school had dropped by. Apparently they’d started studying practical skills with their magic. I get that that’s fun and all, but from what I’d heard, they were practicing to failure, going home to collapse only once they’d run out of mana. Well, I guess once you learn magic, you want to use it as much as you can...
Running out of mana, huh...? Do I even have a mana limit? That priestess had said she couldn’t see that or stamina or anything like that for me...
Was the “overheat” thing Crown had mentioned my version of that...?
I don’t really get my Gearcraft...
“Miss Ann...”
“Oh, you guys.”
While I was busy pondering my weirdo skill, Ana, Logg, and Yuuta had wandered up to my side. Ah, that’s no good. The star of the day can’t be going all absentminded like that, right?
All three of them had prettily wrapped boxes.
“This is for your new... new... departure!”
“Yeah, your departure!” the boys chimed in.
“Hehe, thanks.”
I held the presents from the three runts with both hands. I never imagined I’d be receiving so many gifts today. Guess that just went to show that I was one lucky poster girl.
“The Fakers are always your allies, Miss Ann!!” the kids all shouted together.
“T-Thanks.”
Apparently, these three had started going around doing good deeds for people. What did “Fakers” mean, though? And hold on, Ana... Why do you have that wooden staff? Shouldn’t you be getting angry with Yuuta and Logg?
“Anti...”
“Ah... Thanks.”
It was Yuuta’s mom. I could see Ana and Logg’s parents behind her, too. Come on, don’t look at me like I’m some sort of goddess or something.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. This isn’t much, but...”
“Ah, a towel!”
“Hehe, you can never have too many of those, right? Take it with you, if you want.”
“Thank you!”
I could fit a crazy amount of stuff in my gear item bag (or whatever you wanted to call it). I mean, heck, I had a whole forest fire stowed away in there. I’d jammed a whole lot in there as part of the preparations I was doing up until yesterday, too. And I even intend to put my whole bed in there tomorrow morning after I wake up. I mean, they say you can never be too prepared. Plus, I’m so glad I can bring along all the presents I got today, my good Madame Lady Queen Crown.
[—Unable to determine reason behind excessive use of titles.]
Just as my partner shot back with that quip, someone burst out in song. Gradually, everybody else started to join in. And they were all looking at me.
It was an ordinary song, the sort of thing people usually sang before someone headed out on a journey.
But still... This just wasn’t fair...
Just hearing that was enough to get the tears flowing. So this is what it’s like when a song really moves you, huh?
Everybody there was thinking of me when they sang that song. And to think... if I hadn’t done what I did back there, I’d never have experienced this feeling.
“T-Thanks, everybody...!”
They applauded.
I swear, I’ll try my hardest, everyone! I’ll become the best gear-slinging poster girl in the whole dang world!
By the time night fell, I was lost in thought in my room.
Guess I can kiss this desk and chair goodbye for the time being...
Ah, wait. I have my item storage. I’ll just toss them in later.
...The forest fire in there wouldn’t burn everything up, right?
“It won’t, will it?”
[—Affirmative. Each item is separated into a unique space.]
“Thanks, Teach!”
[—This unit has no record of having worked in an educational capacity.]
Oh, so you’re my straight man now?
It seems like you’re kind of loosening up. Maybe I’m just imagining things... I did feel like I was hearing a bit of emotion there, though.
Well, you did get all scared when I got angry at you for dropping my bed, so maybe you’d always been that way.
[—Crown Gear expresses dissatisfaction.]
“Ah, are you reading my mind again? So I can’t even hide in there, huh?”
There was a mountain of small packages and wooden boxes in my room. Everyone really went overboard, didn’t they? Normally you wouldn’t give someone this much stuff the day before they were heading off on a trip. Seriously, what would I have done with all this if I didn’t have my item storage?
“Well, I can bring it all along, so it’s fine. Hmm...?”
There was one package there I didn’t recognize.
That’s odd. I should’ve either opened everything up or at least been told what was inside.
It was a pretty, beige silk bag tied with an orange ribbon.
“Who gave me this...?” I pondered, standing up and picking it up.
I went ahead and untied it.
Man, this sure is a nice ribbon... You are so going in my gem.
“Huh? That’s a strange shape...”
The thing inside the bag looked to be shaped sort of like a plate. The bag was just made of too nice a material, though, so it slipped right out of my hand.
“Ah!”
In a panic, I reached out and grabbed a corner of the falling bag.
Aah! The contents are falling, now!
Snatch!
Somehow... I managed to grab it before it hit the ground.
Hmm? What is this thing...?
“Is it actually a plate? Ah, but there’s a hole. No wait, two of them...”
[—Warning: Indicated item is in a cursed status.
—Curse is continuously spreading with contact. Analyzing danger...]
“Wha...?!!!”
W-W-What did you just say?!
“C... C-C-Crown! Analyze!!”
[—Analyzing.
Name: Cursed Mask
(Skill medium/Item)
Status: Curse
Target: Anti Kythera
Unique factor: Vector designation
—The curse remains active.]
...Huh?
What’s going on here...?
I... I saved the town, right...?
So... why should I end up cursed...?
Gwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
This was the first time I’d had anything like this happen.
I was cursed.
“Noooooooo...!!!”
When you’re really scared, your screams come out all quiet, because you sort of stifle them in your mouth like you’re trying to drown them out. Well, okay, I can’t speak for others. But it’s what I do, because I don’t want to worry the neighbors.
“This isn’t the time for thinking about that, it’s not the time, just not the time...”
①Raise a scream (stifled)
②Throw the mask (towards my desk)
③Pull up the covers over myself (leaving my face sticking out, to keep watch) ←I am here.
All that took about one second.
Tremble, tremble, tremble, quiver, quiver...
Why, why is this happening...?
Ah, I think I just heard the mask I threw land on the desk.
Before I was looking at it from behind, so it just sort of looked like a plate. But now the moonlight was illuminating it.
U-Ugh... This is scary!
I don’t wanna be cursed...
I was on the verge of tears by this point.
Could this be a prank from the other students...? No, that’d be too malicious, even for them...
To think that you can get cursed just by touching something...
“Crown... What’s gonna happen to me...?”
[—Analysis complete.
—No signs of abnormalities in status can be detected.
—Curse is likely to have a directional trigger.
—Predicting that movement not following the indicated vector will result in activation of the curse.]
“I don’t get it! Make it simpler! I mean, what’s a ‘vector’...?!”
[—It is possible that moving in a direction other than the one provided will activate the curse.]
“What...?”
You can’t just go saying that on the night before I head out on my trip! And how am I supposed to know which way a mask wants to go in the first place? Ugh...
Scratch, scratch...
Gah!
“What was that just now?!”
...
“...”
...Scratch, scratch.
“Gah!”
I-I-I-It’s moving it’s moving it’s moving the mask is moving ah it’s moving that way towards the window yeah it wants to go that way doesn’t it I’m scared scared so scared why is it moving I hate this I wanna go home oh wait this is home though I guess it’ll change tomorrow ugh what should I do...?