Volume 10 - CH 49

Touno Tatsuyuki washes away

“Hey, you’re finally here. Also, it’s been a while, Takeru.”

“Good morning”

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Out of the blue, I received a message from Tatsuyuki-san.

[Training?(^^)/]

And my immediate reply was.

[LET’S GO! ε=(ノ゜Д゜)ノ]

Just like that, I was invited out to this camping trip.

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It looks fun and I’ve already had some experiences going camping on an inhabited island. It’s been a long while since though.

When I told Takeru about it he said [Risa and the girls are having a Girls’ Party this weekend so I’m going with you!] 

In the end, it was decided that Tatsuyuki-san, I, and Takeru would go on a camping trip together.

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Tatsuyuki-san will cover all the expenses and most of the equipment had already been prepared so I was told to just bring some clothes that I won’t mind getting dirtied and some daily necessities. That’s the reason why Takeru and I are dressing lightly today.

Today, we met up with Tatsuyuki-san in front of the station since he will be driving us.

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“Alright, Let’s be off. Put on your seatbelt.”

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Tatsuyuki-san looks back at me and Takeru in the back seat.

It’s admirable how he’s always looking out for everyone’s safety.

In my mind, Tatsuyuki-san is the exact image of an ideal man.

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“Ah, that’s right. Make sure to keep this with you at all times okay.”

“?”

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Tatsuyuki-san handed each of us a talisman.

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“Is this like, a charm……?”

“Yeah, just a good old protective charm.”

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Tatsuyuki-san replied.

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…….I have a bad feeling about this.

Why would we need such an amulet just to go camping?

The atmosphere turned eerie.

I sure hope this is really just a regular camping trip.

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“Haha. Well, it’s just a charm to ward off danger, that’s all.”

“Is, Is that so! Certainly, having an accident in the mountains would be bad! Here’s yours, Takeru.”

“Yeah……..”

“Make sure to keep it in your pocket okay? Also, you must never lose it for the entire trip. You absolutely can not lose it alright.”

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Tatsuyuki-san repeatedly emphasized that we must keep the amulet close to us at all times.

Takeru and I looked at each other in silence. The bad feelings only seem to intensify.

But without paying any attention to that, Tatsuyuki-san started the car and we are off.

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“So? How’s school been? Fun?”

“It’s, it’s okay.”

“The classes were tough.”

“I see, I see. Hideyori didn’t have time to train with me lately because you guys apparently joined a club right? Make sure that your body doesn’t go dull okay?”

“I’ve been running and doing muscle training every day.”

“Good.”

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Takeru and I were so nervous even though we only had some small talk.

The existence of the amulet in our pocket brings us nothing but a bad feeling.

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“I bought some delicious meat for today. Look forward to the BBQ alright.”

“That’s definitely the highlight for me!” 

“………..”

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When Takeru looks anxious it makes me get anxious too.

I want to ask if Tatsuyuki-san has some plan for us and Takeru doesn’t seem like he’s going to ask this himself.

That’s why I open my mouth first.

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“Tatsuyuki-san!”

“………what is it?”

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I don’t know if he just didn’t notice the awkward atmosphere inside the car or if he’s just acting nonchalant about it before but this time he answered with a low voice.

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“Uhh…….we’re not going to some haunted place right?”

“Haunted place……? Nah. it’s just a deserted village.”

“A village?”

“Yep. It’s located near a river and the mountains you see. It’s a really peaceful place. I haven’t heard of any ghost there either.”

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Tatsuyuki-san inspired confidence.

I exchanged glances with Takeru.

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“So, rest assured. There’s no need to worry about ghosts showing up at all.”

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Tatsuyuki-san affirmed with a gentle voice.

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“WE’RE HERE, MOUNTAIN!”

“WE’RE HERE, RIVER!”

“Haha, you guys really are full of energy huh……”

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We arrived at our camping destination in the evening.

[Ahh, My butt hurts] exhausted from all the driving, Tatsuyuki-san complained.

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Not far from where we parked our car, there was a tattered sign with the word [Campsite] written on it.

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“Still, I don’t see any other campers here.”

“Yeah, this place has such a nice view too.”

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The only car in the parking lot is Tatsuyuki-san’s.

It’s such a quiet and peaceful place that it would not be strange that we might lose ourselves thinking that the three of us are the only ones left in the world.

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“Tatsuyuki-san, we can really camp here right?”

“I got the permission. Also, you can camp anywhere in this area without asking for permission in the first palace. Well, let’s head in.”

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With his luggage in hand, Tatsuyuki-san starts walking. 

I pick up the cooler box and follow him.

Since Tatsuyuki is briskly walking in without taking a look at the signs at the entrance, he’s probably familiar with the place.

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“Nn?”

“What’s wrong, Takeru?”

“No, I just saw some candles…….that’s all.”

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Takeru spotted some melted candles.

However, the dirt didn’t get mixed in with the white wax so this should be pretty recent.

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“This looks new isn’t it.”

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It seems Takeru has the same opinion as me.

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“Come on, those probably belong to the other campers anyway.”

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That was how Tatsuyuki-san explained it.

For some reason, he seems to be walking while deliberately keeping the candles out of his field of vision.

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Tatsuyuki-san was the one who taught me the observational technique that enabled me to notice that Eien-chan is plumper than her game self. Would a person like that miss a trace like this?

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“Ah, is that a notebook?”

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I found a notebook on the grass.

It’s a little wet but no matter how I look at it, I can see that it was recently abandoned here.

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“Candles, and a notebook huh, people just love to litter here don’t they.”

“Yeah. How terrible.”

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It would be understandable if it was abandoned here for a long time but it looked like someone just threw it away recently.

Curious about what kind of despicable trash would litter the mountains like this, I open the notebook.

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“This looks like a child’s diary.”

“Yeah, and the most recent entry is this year too……”

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Takeru peers into the diary from my side.

Some letters were unreadable because of the dirt and stains.

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[Today, M–m nd D– d—– -y —–. I –s betr—-, b–ray-d, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betr—-, –trayed, betra——betrayed.]

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“………this is bad right?”

“Nah, Nah, he was probably practising writing [Betrayed]. Come on, just turn the page, I’m sure it will be filled with fun memories of school or something.”

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Prompted by Takeru, I turned the page.

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[Shinji-kun ki—- me. Id—, dum—-, Di-, Whe– – k—– hi- back, Sensei just sc—– -e. —orgiv-ble, unfo-g–able. Die, Shinji, Die, Sensei.]

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“……….Takeru?”

“See, fun memories of school……..right?”

“No way, this is clearly a bullied kid’s diary right!?!?”

“Nah, it just sounded like that. Come on, next page.”

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I awkwardly opened the next page.

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[I’ll never forgive anyone who read this.]

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“HOLY SH–!? Hey, seriously!? What the heck is this!?”

“…….sh, should we bring this to a TV show?”

“What kind of nerve do you have!”

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I don’t even want to lay my eyes on this page so I hurriedly flipped to the next but it was blank.

The next and the page after that are also blank.

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“Wh, what’s up with this? That’s all? What a waste of a perfectly fine notebook.”

“That’s what you’re focusing on?”

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I retorted to Takeru the same way I did Risa.

And when I turned to another page.

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“!?”

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It was filled with jumbled creepy black lines that made Takeru and I gasped.

Then, the black lines started to pour out from the page to the ground.

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“WOAH!?”

“……!?”

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The page was left blank.

No, that’s not it.

They were not black lines, they were black hair stuffed between the pages.

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And they just fell to mine and Takeru’s feet.

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“AWAWAWAWWA…….”

“NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE…………”

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I threw the notebook on the hair to block them from entering my sight.

It was so unreal that my brain couldn’t keep up.

For the first time I reincarnated into the world of [Breaking the Chain of Sadness], I started thinking that I may have entered the world of a horror game.

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“T, Tatsuyuki-san!”

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Frightened, Takeru called out to Tatsuyuki-san.

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“Nn?”

“H, Hair!? The b, book!? Inside………”

“Kamihasami huh……”

“Ha?”

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Tatsuyuki-san calmly picked up the notebook along with the hair and burned it with his lighter.

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“Kamihasami. The word is a mix between Hair(Kami) and Scissors(Hasami) you see. It came from a culture where you filled your grudges into your hair and cut it with scissors. It is a spell that transforms a person’s guardian spirit into an evil spirit. Curse you and those who laid eyes upon this, something like that. ………the notebook itself was filled with grudges and resentment.”

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Tatsuyuki-san grimly watches as the notebook turns to ash.

Then, he took out a bottle of water from the cooler box and pour the water on the notebook.

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“God, please wash away the grudge with this water.” He whispered a prayer.

He then sent us a quick glance. Understanding what he wanted to tell us, we shut our eyes and put our hands together in prayer as well.

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“Now then, let’s get back to camping shall we.”

“What kind of nerve do you have!!!!!!!!”

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Tatsuyuki-san’s mood switched so fast that I couldn’t help but put in a retort……

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Author Note: The Girls’ Party will come in chronological order.

Next up, the camping trip continues……

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TLN: Welcome, to the Shounen Horror sub-arc.