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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 156 Part 1

Unknown Raid

―― ＊＊＊＊『unknown』, ＊＊＊『unknown』――

―― Style 『unknown』, ※Space-time Pressure Difference 『unknown』――

*Pop* There’s a snapping sound.

In the very dimly-lit field of vision, a faint crimson color is reflected.

There’s no other noise, and it’s infinitely quiet and calm

It’s akin to a snowy night.

Even the sound of flickering flames can seem to be heard.

However, I can’t afford to stay asleep forever.

Let’s wake up, shall we?

「Good morning.」

A white girl sitting in front of the irori (sunken hearth) turns around.

Yuki-chan, who is burning charcoal with tongs, gives a small smile.

Somehow, it feels very nostalgic.

The place turns out to be inside an old-fashioned room.

Looking at the deep amber-colored wood looks, it seems to be an antique-looking, old Japanese-style house.

A small iron kettle is hung on a pothook stretching from the ceiling.

As the fire in the irori illuminates the wooden door, the shadows reflected on the blinds sway.

What I’ve been let to sleep on is a patchwork-like cotton futon.

It’s a little heavy, but very warm.

As I sit down on a zabuton made of woven straw by the irori, Yuki-chan pours me a cup of tea.

No, is this hot water, I wonder?

It tastes wondrously sweet and gentle.

「Hmm.」

My memory is a little hazy.

It feels as if I’m still half asleep, hovering between dream and reality, or rather, it has this sense of unreality, as if I’m daydreaming.

This sense of déjà vu must be due to that.

Yuki-chan, getting on my lap, looks up at me as she flaps her legs.

Well then, where is this place, I wonder?

I remember diving into the mysterious hole in the underground floor of Asagi-sou, but my memory is cut off there.

Did I fail on my landing, fall down, and hit my head?

If Yuki-chan had dragged me all the way here, I guess I’ve ended up putting her through unnecessary trouble.

「…..」

She had a maid carry me here, so there seems to be no problem.

Given the fact that there’s a maid, could it be Yuki-chan’s home, I wonder?

As Yuki-chan claps her hands, the wooden door is quickly opened.

The one waiting there is, how should I put it, your stereotypical maid.

Wearing a white apron dress over black clothes is a blonde-haired foreigner.

Her melted gold-like blonde hair is tied into a ponytail.

She’s a very beautiful woman with strong-willed looks.

When such a blonde maid sees me, she sports a pouty expression and turns her face away.

Yuki-chan, her employer, is a little fuming.

I feel that she’s going to be punished later.

「…..」

Yuki-chan strongly tugs on the string that has slithered down from the ceiling.

The maid, having her underfoot snap open, falls down as she is.

What a swift and merciless punishment it is.

Or rather, is this place the Karakuri Ninja House?

Yuki-chan, pretending the spectacle just now has never happened, once again claps her hands.

Then, without a pause, the door is swiftly opened.

Waiting there is similarly a stereotypical maid, Maid No.2.

From the very beginning, she’s on her knees, bowing her head in Japanese-style courtesy.

She’s similarly a blonde-haired foreigner, but unlike the slender No.1, she boasts a curvaceous, voluptuous figure.

Like the first maid, I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.

However, the moment she looks up, she becomes weak on the knees as she catches sight of me.

She lets out a small shriek and shakes like a fawn, and then she wets herself incontinently as it is.

「…..」

Yuki-chan is giving her the stink look, but I’m of the same opinion as her.

And then, once again, the string slithers down from the ceiling, but what kind of mechanism does it work under, I wonder?

Maid No.2, who is making an ecstatic look for some reason, goes and takes her leave as she is.

◇ ◇ ◇

　Third time’s the charm, the maid who appears next turns out to be Linda-chan.

As expected, it seems that she’s been employed by Yuki-chan’s house as a live-in maid.

Looking at the Maid No.1 and No.2, I can’t help but a little worried about her working environment.

「No, problem. It’s a nice place.」

Yuki-chan is patting Linda-chan, who is a bit tottering in her speech.

Although Yuki-chan is smaller than Linda-chan, her being affectionate towards her like a big sister is very charming.

Their looks may be completely different, but they have a similar air around them, so they do look like sisters.

Unlike the deplorable maids, they seem to have formed a good relationship.

Although it’s a sight for sore eyes to see these loli girls frolicking around, we must not forget our purpose for going here.

「Christmas Tree?」

「Yea.」

I nod to Linda-chan, who tilts her head slightly.

「Hmm… Tannenbaum (fir tree)?」

As Linda-chan sways from side to side, *pop* a lightbulb flashes above her head.

It’s a bare bulb that has come down from the ceiling.

No, Yuki-chan, we don’t need those props.

Yuki-chan is so cute as she gets all puffed up, so let’s poke her on the cheek.

At that moment, I notice that there’s a braid wrapped around my right wrist.

Rather than a misanga, it’s more like a shimenawa you’d find at a shrine.

「Hmm, you mean I mustn’t take it off?」

「…..」

Yuki-chan nods her head.

I don’t quite get it, but it seems that it’s sealing my divine power.

It’s something like a primitive Japanese accessory, moreover it’s a gift from Yuki-chan, so let’s keep it on.

「Nm.」

It seems that Linda-chan has an idea about it, so I decided to ask her to lead me to the place.

As for Yuki-chan, it seems that she’s going to prepare a banquet to welcome me.

I was about to say: no need to bother; but this is the first time I’ve visited Yuki-chan’s home.

Our relationship isn’t one where we need to be strangely reserved with each other, so I decided to take her up on her offer.

「Then, let’s, go.」

Linda-chan, the tiny maid, holds my hand.

Also, the automatic translation seems to be working, so I think it’s fine even if she doesn’t force herself to use Japanese.

「Learning.」

「I see.」

I guess she’s aiming to become a caring, capable multilingual maid.

As we walk through the hallway, turning a number of corners, I come to feel that the residence is unexpectedly large.

It’s a bit like a maze.

However, there’s no sign of people.

After putting on her shoes on the dirt floor, which seems to be the entrance, Linda-chan opens the door.

「— A beautiful day, isn’t it?」

「Koharu zora (Late fall sky)?」

I guess that’s not incorrect, but quite the elegant expression there.

The zenith is blue, and the closer it is to the foot of the sky, the more indigo you see.

Perhaps because the air is so clear, you can even see the stars.

It’s a sky that’s akin to a mixture of day and night in equal parts.

Even though the air is carrying winter chill, the snow is neither falling nor piling up.

In the surrounding paddy fields, harvested rice is hung on stakes to dry.

A stream is flowing between the terraced rice fields.

The nostalgic childhood Japanese landscape is beautiful.

No, that’s not the point.

Why is there such a different world spreading beneath Asagi-sou?

「Another world (raid), huh.」

I pride myself as a not bad guesser of a man.

I can easily imagine that much.

The question is, why does such a raid exist in the underground of Asagi?

It’s not a small-scale other world like the one we encountered during the end-of-term test practice.

The sense of presence (detail) and depth is on a wholly different level.

Most likely, it has existed since a long, long time ago.

It gives off a hard to describe something, like the years of time that has accumulated over the years.

「Danna-sama.」

Linda-chan, who is walking in tiny steps in front of me, stops on her tracks.

Red torii gates are standing in a row at the end of the path between the paddy fields.

There’s no shrine beyond it, simply a number of torii gates standing in disorder.

There being only tori gates standing a row here and there makes for a somewhat surreal sight.

Besides, they seem to be imbued with some kind of power, so for the time being, let’s try passing them through.

「This is, hnn~ auu …『Fairly Ring』… transfer gate. You might get lost, so hold hands… Err?」

◇ ◇ ◇