Arifureta SS - Ia! Ia!

Ia! Ia!

It was during the time when Hajime, Kaori, Remia, and Myuu were  staying in the hidden house in Orcus Great Dungeon to prepare for the  final battle. While Hajime was resting, he heard,

「Hajime-kunn, come over here for a bit~」

Kaori’s voice resounded, calling for him. It seemed she was inside  Yue’s costume room that she used when she was staying here with Hajime a  long time ago. When Hajime entered the room……

Half of the costumes were completely disappeared along with the wall behind them. This was an incident. Scary.

「Y-you, what are you doing?」 Hajime asked with a twitching face.

「Ah, t-this is……sorry. You know, the outfits here are all for cosplay right?」

Certainly, other than the casual clothes that they couldn’t bring  with them, there were also a lot of cosplay outfits that Yue made by  herself based on earth standard in order to bewitch Hajime.

Nurse outfit with super short skirt, shrine maiden outfit without  sleeves and open sides, china outfit with slit that reached until the  waist, etc.

「When I imagined Yue slyly seducing Hajime-kun with this kind of  costumes, blood rushed to my head and I unconsciously “disintegrated”  them.」

Kaori-san slyly stuck out her tongue *tehepero☆*.

「You, just now, are you aware that you had just said something really crazy?」

The man who was challenging a god was shuddering. Kaori changed the topic with a slightly panicked look.

「S-setting that aside, look at this! Something like this came out from behind the destroyed wall!」

「Aa? This is……”Yue’s Notebook”?」

It was a book with very old binding. It certainly had the words “Yue’s Notebook” written on the cover.

「Why was it inside the wall? Did Yue hide it there?」

「Hey! Hey! Aren’t you curious?」

Obviously he was absurdly curious. Hajime’s expression was clearly expressing that.

「Want to look?」「Let’s!」, the two instantly kneeled in submission in front of their curiosity.

「She hid it instead of disposing it……fufu, it must be something like Yue’s cringey poem!」

「Perhaps she wrote about her feeling to me? In that case this’ll be a bit embarrassing……」

「After we take Yue back, I’ll use this to tease her to death! I won’t stop till she burst into tears!」

「Stop making such dark gaze while smiling widely like thattt!」

Hajime joked around with Kaori while flipping the cover with his heart beating in excitement.

――There is, something here-

*Bam* Hajime closed the book. He and Kaori looked to each other. Eh? This is different from what I imagined……they thought. They nodded to each other and opened the book with resolve.

――There is, something here-

「「What is!?」」 Such retort surged out from their mouths. They  hurriedly moved their gaze to the beginning of the page. The words just  now were written with big letters and shaky hand at the end of the page,  so their gazes were immediately drawn to them.

――We arrived at a hidden house. So tired. I’m really glad that Hajime started to recover.

It seemed that this writing was done right after Hajime fainted from the fight against they hydra.

――I checked the inside of the house just in case. I’m recording it because it might become useful to Hajime.

「I see. So it’s more like an investigation report rather than a notebook.」

「So she tried to check the hidden house while Hajime-kun was unconscious.」

The two got an understanding. At the same time globes of sweat  started to form on their foreheads. It was because of the writing after  that.

――I wonder why. It feels like there’s a gaze on me. Cleaning golem? No, there’s no way that’s……

――There was nobody there. But, I felt some kind of presence in the last room. I tried pricking up my ears.

「Tsu, this part is connected to the “something is here” part.」

「Impossible. If there was someone here, why didn’t she say anything when I woke up?」

The two were feeling some a disquieting atmosphere that was hard to  describe. They unconsciously leaned closer to each other. Hajime flipped  to the next page.

――It felt like I heard whispering voices but, they immediately fell  quiet when I asked if someone’s there. I continue calling out for a  while. But there isn’t any other sound……

――As I thought, there’s nobody inside the room.

――And yet why is this? I’m feeling a gaze on me. The gaze keep following me everywhere.

――Why? Even though I have the wall behind me, why am I feeling that gaze from behind me?

――Don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look  don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t  look don’t look don’t look

「Hiih, Hajime-kuuunn-」

「Eh, what’s this? Seriously what’s this? What’s this seriously!」

One whole page was filled with nothing but “Don’t look” to the brim.  Kaori looked to be half-tearful and clung to Hajime after seeing that.  Hajime too was making a twitching expression again.

――W-what did I just……something’s strange here. Perhaps it’ll be better if we leave.

――There’s a smell. Unpleasant smell. Is this rot? The smell is coming from outside the house.

――The corridor is wet for some reason. The water splashes feels disgusting. I want to vomit.

――Aa! The window! The window!

「「What happened!?」」, Hajime and Kaori yelled while hugging each other  tightly. They didn’t want to read anymore. They wanted to avert their  gaze from the notebook’s content that was tormenting their mind. But,  they couldn’t for some reason!

――What’s that? I don’t know. It feels like my mind is turning strange.

――But Hajime can’t move right now. I have to manage somehow. I’ll try going outside to check.

――There’s nothing. But, there was something. The ground is wet. It’s from the waterfall further inside?

――Pretty river. There are also fishes swimming. And yet, the rotten smell……

――The smell come from inside the cavern downstream. I fire light sphere inside to cheAAA-, THAT’S, THAT’SSS

――AAAAAA-

「「What happeneddd-」」, Hajime and Kaori screamed while rolling around  and hugging each other. Then in order to calm their heart, they played  thumb wrestling for a while. Like that, they somehow managed to rally  back their mental strength……

――There isn’t anything abnormal at all in this hidden house.

「「You were abnormal Yueeee-」」 They harmoniously almost went crazy  together. The next sentence that leaped into their eyes trampled on  their sanity.

――And that is the pleasant ghost story of the novelist Yue-san.

Kaori froze for a moment, but right after that, she trembled fiercely  and 「Geez-geez-, that Yue! Making this kind of prank!」 expressed her  fury.

And then she said 「She’s horrible isn’t she!」 to seek an agreement  from Hajime and realized. Hajime was covering his mouth with one hand  while his eyes were busily darting around everywhere except her.

「W-what’s wrong, Hajime-kun?」

「No, that, is. I once planned to investigate the cavern when I was  here before but……come to think of it, Yue stopped me every time really  insistently.」

Kaori’s expression stiffened. Hajime also kept talking with a stiff face.

「That cavern, the wall is completely melted out all over after you  entered it for a bit. And you also can’t go any further because of the  stone bars blocking the way……」

At that time, he didn’t think anything about it because he thought of them as the traces of Oscar building this hideout but……

「Perhaps, they are the traces of Yue’s fight against “something”……」

The room fell deathly quiet. The temperature felt strangely lukewarm for some reason. Kaori’s face was white like paper.

「No, my bad! I’m just over thinking it! This is just Yue’s prank!」

「T-that’s right isn’t it! Yep yep! That’s the only possibility!」

In the first place, this notebook was hidden too thoroughly for a  mere prank. It was as though, the writer wanted to dispose it because it  contained something that shouldn’t be known, but she wanted to leave  behind a record just in case the worst happened. But the two  intentionally ignored that point and laughed together in a forced way.

It was then, a raw smell suddenly poked their noses. *Splish* There was also the sound of water drop.

「Kyaah」 Kaori hugged Hajime tightly. Hajime’s gaze snapped to behind him in a flash.

「Ah, papa! Kaori-oneechan!」 It was Myuu who came running toward them. 「Look look! Myuu was given a lot of fishies nano!」 She showed the two of them the inside of the box she was carrying.

「A-aa. So this is fish’s smell huh. Myuu, you said that you would go fishing at the river huh.」

「T-this is real baaad for my heart-」

Hajime and Kaori sighed in relieve. Myuu watched them in puzzlement,  but then she immediately went「Freshness is vital for fish nano! Mamaaaa,  cook theseeee~」 and ran off toward Remia.

She was running while humming a song. Perhaps something good had happened to her. Yes……

「Fungurui, muguruunafuu ♪ Kutoulhuu~luluie! Ugafunaguru, futaguhn ♪」

What an incomprehensible lyric, however, the words sounded somewhat repulsive. ――A second passed.

「MYUUUUUU!! WAIITTT! WHAT IS THAT SONGGG-」

「MYUUU-CHAN STOOPPPP! STOP SINGINGGGG-」

It went without saying that Hajime and Kaori’s screams burst out right after that.

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