Chapter 27

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“Hey!” squalled the little kaii.

“Sorry Subaru, for making you do these errands.”

“Don’t worry about it, but in the meantime, change your clothes. Aren’t you in a bit of a mushy state?”

Shouma chuckled and changed into the clothes that Subaru had brought for him. His former clothes were heavy and brown from absorbing the muddy water.

Behind them the Mikoshi Nyuudou dropped his head.

Next to the kaii was the Tofu Boy who peered at his father anxiously.

“Father?”

“Why don’t you give up that disgruntled look on your face?”

Tendou stood before them, in his hand the usual book, the Collected Records.

Although the kaii didn’t show any kind of intention to resist, one could see the reluctance in the eyes of the Mikoshi Nyuudou as it sat up, legs crossed.

“Father, shall we go back to the book then?”

“But still, our…”

“Father, maybe, are you worried about Mother?”

The Tofu Boy’s words made the Mikoshi Nyuudou twitch in reply.

Earlier, Shouma had asked Subaru about what living was like in the inside of the book.

He said that the book was overflowing with kaii’s and was formed similar to a city constructed by humans. According to him, it was comfortable and easy to spend time there.

However, the number of the kaii in the book was so enormous that sometimes even the creatures inside get separated from each other. Moreover, once they got dissevered it was quite difficult for them to be reunited again.

Maybe the Mikoshi Nyuudou thought that “If we are going back to the book, we should all do it together…”

“It’s okay, Mother will surely find you…”

The Tofu Boy shook his father’s arm, trying to persuade the other, but then…

“Dear!!”

Just when the kaii thought it heard someone’s voice, the Mikoshi Nyuudou was blown to the side.

Startled by the sheer force of the event, Shouma could only blink dumbfoundedly. He looked over and saw a woman sitting on the Mikoshi Nyuudou as it fell and at the same time grabbing the other by its collar.

She was a beautiful woman with long wavy hair, and even just after he took a look at her dress, he could immediately know that her style was on top. However, only after taking a closer look, he could see the purple marks on her neck.

These marks were kind of similar, as if she had been strangled. The thought sent shivers down Shouma’s spine. These characteristics paralleled Yamato’s story, which he heard a few days ago of the female ghost that appeared at the Rokko Hachiman Shrine.

“How long did you want to hide there? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!!”

At that moment, the woman’s neck stretched out and began to get wrapped around the Mikoshi Nyuudou’s neck.

“Gu, gu…”

“Really! I was so worried!”

“Mother!”

“Ah! Tofu Boy!” called out the woman.

The mother-son reunion took place on top of the father, with the mother’s unnaturally long neck still completely stretched out.

“He? Rokurokubi? [1] They are…the parents and a child?”

“Oya, I see you know about the Rokurokubi.”

Tendou responded to the trembling Shouma with a radiant smile.

“The Rokurokubi and the Mikoshi Nyuudou are husband and wife and their child is the Tofu Boy is quite a famous story. I thought I hadn’t heard anything about the Rokurokubi from the Tofu Boy, but I guess they simply split up to find his shy father.”

“Haa…”

“By the way, that scar on her neck is not from being strangled, it’s just one of the features of the Rokurokubi.”

“…You could even read people’s minds too, Tendou-san?”

“Good gracious no! It’s not like I’m a Satori.” [2]

Tendou shrugged his shoulders.

The Rokurokubi continued to cuddle the Tofu Boy as hard as she could.

“I was worried about what happened to you when you said you were already going to ask people for help.”

“I’m sorry Mother!”

The emotional reunion still continued on top of the father.

Was it just Shouma’s imagination or did the Mikoshi Nyuudou seem to be losing his consciousness?

—

“Thank you so much, we are really grateful for your help!”

It was the Tofu Boy who bowed first, the Rokurokubi followed. Perhaps embarrassed that the extremely overbearing wife had been exposed, the Mikoshi Nyuudou scratched the bridge of its nose, even blushing a little.

Tendou opened his book.

“Then, let’s get all of you back to the book…”

—–

Translator’s Notes:

[1] ろくろ首 ’pulley neck’ The Rokurokubi could seem like an ordinary woman during the day but when night comes and the woman sleeps, their necks begin to stretch into incredible lengths. Sometimes they took small animals as their prey, while in some legends they suck out the life energy of animals, for example horses, or simply scare people while their head roams freely. (example)

[2] 覚 (the kanji can mean ’to understand’, ’to sense’ or ’to attain enlightenment’) This yokai is an ape-like, man-sized creature which mostly lives deep in the mountains. One of the characteristics of these creatures is that they are able to read minds and can speak the language of people. They usually attack lone travelers and later eat them. (example)

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