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The After Celebration
Time: 2:42 pm
I have already mention I am very unlucky.
When I was hugging the black ball and was thinking of finding a place to put it down, the door behind me was suddenly and fiercely kicked open. The door smacked me right on my ass and in less than a second, I immediately flew!
“We won!”
Leido, who was the first person to rush in, was also the culprit who kicked the door. He did a Superman pose, and yelled arrogantly.
Whose behavior was this similar to!? In the end, who was he similar to!?
“Yang~ Why are you lying down on the floor?” Shoving Leido away, who was blocking the entrance, the five-colored rooster head, the second one to enter, picked me up from the floor, “Even if you want to sleep, don’t sleep at the entrance of the door. If you get stepped on, then what will you do?”
I never wanted to sleep at the door entrance.
A very crisp “crack” sound came from under me. I’ve already said I am very unlucky.
“Chu! Move back!”
Senior immediately issued a warning. I grabbed hold of the five-colored rooster head and moved back, bumping into Leido, who was still standing at the entrance and was ignored, out of the room together.
A sound resounded from the black ball on the floor, and a crack appeared from the middle.
…I beg of you, please don’t let anything weird appear…
“What is this?” The five-colored rooster head leaned forward from above my shoulder, narrowed his eyes, and curiously reached out his hand to take it.
Without any consideration, I slapped at his arm. The sure-kill attack which every mother uses when their children steals food from the table!
Right after I slapped his arm, similar to when I hit his head, I regretted it. I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it…
Everything could be explained as my natural instinct. Which is to say, five-colored rooster head, you actually deserved to be beaten.
“Yang~ if I chopped off your hand on reflex, don’t worry, ’cause I will properly use formalin to help you preserve your hand. I heard my third uncle would help his assassination victims to make commemorations.” The five-colored rooster head said with a strange smile that would make one’s scalp tingle.
“I’m sorry, I was wrong.” I apologize in the next second.
“What is formalin?” Leido leaned on the five-colored rooster head’s back, extremely curious, and asked like a good boy.
“You’ll know when I chop you and throw you inside.” The five-colored rooster head said with an extremely disgusted voice, and kicked him away.
The two of them really were in a one-sided love and a one-sided disgust relationship…
As they carried on with the unhealthy process of questions and answers, the black ball made a sound once again. This time, there was a long black object slowly climbing. Out. From. Inside.
It has eyes! It has eyes, it has eyes!
A pair of golden eyes appeared on the part of the black long object that came out.
Well, I guess it could called a black snake.
With a “swish,” the snake had its head grabbed onto by a hand, and was dragged out from the black ball. It was very long, probably about a hundred centimeters long, and the snake’s body was estimated to be about five centimeters in diameter.
After the black snake had came out, the black ball completely turned into powder.
The hand that was grabbing onto the snake was senior’s. He pulled the entire snake out, and let it hang it in the air, “This is the form of the curse. You should rejoice it is a snake. If what came out was a tiger or some other wild beast, your head would have been gone by now.”
I touched my neck and took a step back.
“Can you give it to me?” The five-colored rooster head was actually overflowing with interest towards the black snake.
I can pretty much guess what he wanted to do.
“For what reason do you want this thing?” Senior narrowed his eyes, casually holding onto the snake, which has its mouth opened and kept hissing.
“I can use it the next time when I’m doing my business.”
Sure enough, it would be used to kill someone.
“It’s impossible for me to give it to you.” Senior replied in a second, “If you want it, go and learn it yourself!”
Wait a moment, that was the main point?
* * *
“Where’s Yado?” Yido, who was sitting on the bedside, asked. His first question was actually not how they won.
I secretly took a peek at Leido. He looked rather clean, and didn’t look like he just finished a final match.
“Yado went with the general assembly to do some qualification procedures, he’ll come over later.” Leido bounced over to the bed and rolled around on top of it. After he lied down, he didn’t seem like he wanted to get off of it. “Those two Purple Robes were very troublesome. I don’t want to fight with them anymore. Fortunately, Yado already dealt with one of them in the last match.” He lay on the bed, said lazily, and smiled.
Yido’s lips faintly curved up, but he didn’t say anything.
“Yang Yang, we will be going for a celebration later!” Leido only lied on the bed for less than a minute before he suddenly jumped down. He then hooked onto my neck and dragged me in, “Prince Icy Flame, Sir Gasai, and Ziray do come along, too!”
Urk! I was almost strangled to death! Fortunately, Leido immediately loosen his grip.
He was definitely in the same group as the five-colored rooster head! The last time, I almost died thanks to the five-colored rooster head hanging my neck.
I would probably be killed off first before I get crushed by the classroom. This was really depressing…
“I don’t have any problems with it.” Gasai was unexpectedly very easy to get along with.
With a “bang” sound, senior threw a black bowknot on the table, “I’m alright with anything.”
As long as you’re not working, you alright with anything, right? Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! A black bowknot!?
I opened my eyes wide as I looked at the top of the table.
The pitiful black cursed snake turned into a black bowknot, wriggling on the table. Never mind, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything… I absolutely didn’t want to know how senior tied it into a knot.
“I’m also ok with it.” The five-colored rooster head was still peeking at the black wriggling bowknot.
I suspected that when senior wasn’t paying attention, he would steal it.
“Then, it’s decided!” Leido clapped his hands, looking extremely happy as he rolled back onto the bed, “I’ve already booked an awesome shop, let’s go there and eat together.”
So, don’t you need to ask for my permission…? Obviously Leido had already ascribed me as someone who “wanted to go,” because I saw him talking a round shining ball, and said to the ball that there would be a total of seven people.
Fast order restaurant?
“Yido should be fine, right?” I looked at Yido, who was still rather pale, feeling rather worried.
Yido smiled at me, “Don’t worry, the self-healing power of Water Fairies is very quick, and with the help of Sir Gasai, I think it would only take a while to fully recover.”
What he said was also true. I saw the injuries on Yido’s body were almost completely healed, but his bloodied clothes were rather scary.
Talking about injuries, I suddenly remembered the five-colored rooster head was also injured, turning around to take a look, the injuries on his body had also disappeared!
A sound came from behind me, someone walked into the lounge.
“The procedures are done, and I also took Prince Icy Flame’s team winning qualification.” The one who came in was Yado, and in his hands were two silver items, handing one of them to senior, “I’ve already told Giya about the match with the two schools. They want to take the recordings in Jieer and Dier to have a look. They should be able to obtain the attacker’s investigation report soon enough.”
“I understand, thanks.” Senior picked up the silver item, and it was only then when I realized it was a silverish-blue necklace. The pendant was a transparent oval gem, and on each side, there was a silver scorpion on top of the gem, quietly holding it. It felt like it was warning people that if they wanted to steal the gem, they will be stung.
It felt really cold.
Senior put the necklace inside his backpack.
“Since Yado is already here, let us go and eat!” Leido jumped up from the bed, and shouted energetically.
“Let’s go.” Yido, who took off his robe, was wearing a simple but a really good quality shirt beneath. He looked like a current mainstream actor.
To be honest, if they walked on the streets in the human world, they would most probably be carried away immediately by dozens of talent scouts.
A few people walked out of the lounge, Leido was outside and he threw the restaurant ball on the floor. A magical array appeared on the floor, and senior and the others went to the array.
I suddenly remembered one thing. What about the snake!? To leave it just like that?
I turned around, and the bowknot snake opened its mouth wide. It should be issuing an angry roar, (but snakes couldn’t make any sound, so I couldn’t hear anything.)
I shouldn’t simply throw this, right? Was it’s really alright to leave it here? What would we do if someone, who didn’t know better, touched and was then cursed? But if I don’t leave it here, where would I keep it? If their school saw it, they should be able to deal with it, right?
Something known as conscience and black-heartedness was struggling in my mind.
“Ah! So troublesome!” Why should I become the school’s little attendant——!!!
Opening my backpack which holds only my notebook, and took it out. Since I dare not touch the snake, I used the notebook to sweep the snake inside the empty backpack. After the snake was safely inside, I tied the backpack up tightly, used a decorative ribbon to fiercely tie it up a few more loops.
I believe that after the snake was turned into a bowknot, it wouldn’t be able to hurt me!
“Chu, come quickly!”
Then, I immediately ran out of the lounge and jumped into the magical array.
The bowknot shouldn’t be able to hurt me!
* * *
After one second, the scenery in front of me changed. Appearing in front of us was a… was this really a restaurant?
“Butterfly Pavilion, Felnala’s shop.” Standing before the entrance, Leido smiled as he gave the introduction.
Was it really a restaurant? It was the question I wanted to ask.
I saw an old and large Japanese building, uh, which had a Japanese type of arrangements. However, the entire building felt like an antique, and there was a kind of feeling I had really come to the City of Kyoto of the past. The surrounding of shopping street was very busy, but I’ve never seen this place before. It couldn’t be our school’s shopping street, since the place felt completely different.
But this was not the problem.
On top of the wooden horizontal door, a human’s head still dripping of blood was hanging there. His forehead was pierced through by an arrow, nailing it to the door. With his eyes rolled up showing the whites, tongue hanging out, and the entire face looked completely rotten.
Was this really a restaurant…? I felt rather suspicious…
I almost vomited even before entering. Can it be that the restaurant promotes its customers to first throw up everything inside their stomach before they can go in and eat?!
“That’s strange, when did this new decoration come about?” After noticing the bleeding head, he turned around. Because of the general light novel readers’ protection, description had been censored. Leido was very puzzled as he stared at the human head for a while.
Swiiish~ The door was suddenly opened.
“Dear customers, welcome to our shop.” I saw a Weasel wearing clothes had came out to greet us.
After a bloody scene, now it was a fairytale, right!?
“Aiya! It’s here again!” The Weasel looked at the human head on the door. Using its short legs to jump up high, he pulled down the human head together with the arrow, “I’m so sorry to have scared you. Lately there have been some people who kept pulling these kinds of pranks, please do not let it bother you.” The Weasel suddenly opened its mouth wide, and swallowed the human head and the arrow in one gulp.
…
…
“Yang~ Where are you going?” The five-colored rooster head grabbed onto my back collar when I turned around.
“Nothing, I suddenly wanted to leave first…” I no longer had any appetite left..
“That human head is a shikigami, not a real human head. It must have been a competitor’s prank.” Senior said, “After the incantation disappears, it wouldn’t be a human head anymore. Killing here would cause trouble, so the person could only think of this boring prank. We had already dealt with several of these cases in the past.”
Then, it really is very boring.
To specifically use incantation to make a human head and nail it on someone else’s door, is the person really bored or what…
“Let’s go in, Chu. I’ve heard the Butterfly Pavilion is a very high class restaurant of the Elfin clan.” Gasai, who removed his mask and curved up a very light smile, explained to me, and followed Yido, Leido, and the others into the restaurant.
There were many unknown objects walking around the shopping street, and I didn’t want to stay outside. Thus, I could only follow behind the last person, the five-colored rooster head, and went in.
Swiiiish~ After I entered, the door automatically closed. I was very used to this already; our school and dorm also love to close automatically by themselves, so after I’ve seen it plenty of times, it no longer bugs me.
“We’ve already prepared the reserved seats for you. Please do follow our waiter towards the balcony upstairs.” The weasel standing beside the counter politely bowed to us. Then, I saw an even freakier thing happening. I saw a thirty centimeter bug-eyed goldfish swam out from behind the weasel, with the word “guide” on a wooden plaque hanging on it.
To be honest, when it wasn’t moving and was hanging in midair, it looked rather like a type of wind chime.
The goldfish swam towards one side, and a wooden staircase suddenly appeared.
Our long line of people followed the flying goldfish as we climbed up the stairs. When we reached the second floor, it was very wide, with not even a compartment. It was three to four times bigger than my room, and it was also surrounded by paper sliding doors painted with bamboo patterns. There were also shadows of bamboo leaves on the square paper doors. In the middle of the room, there was a very huge Japanese styled table. On the one side, there was a pile of cushions, and we were standing on tatami mats.
The whole place was a high class Japanese restaurant.
“Everyone do sit down first.” Leido pounced on top of the white cushion, very pleased as he called to the others.
There were also some small items inside the room, such as dolls with Kimonos, calligraphies, sword rack; the whole thing looked like retro Kyoto style.
Some of them had already casually picked a place to sit down. I looked around, and decided to sit beside senior Gasai.
Since sitting beside the five-colored rooster head would be seeking a horrible death, and I also don’t want to get kicked by senior while I’m halfway eating my food. Thus, the empty seat beside senior Gasai was a super treasured seat!
Senior who was sitting across fiercely glared at me.
Yido and the two brothers sat side by side, and the five-colored rooster head also sat at one side. The four sides were nicely filled with people, enclosing into a circle.
“Chu, is there anything you want to eat?” Gasai passed a book that seemed to be the menu.
When I snapped out of my trance, I realized everyone had a book in their hands. Written on top were a bunch of words I couldn’t read. So even if I wanted to order, I wouldn’t be able to, alright!?
“You’re really very troublesome. You better take up universal language in your second year!” Senior, who was sitting on the opposite side, put down his menu, and with a slap, he smacked the top of my menu, accompanied by a loud “bang” sound, scaring me.
A faint light appeared below senior’s palm, and as he slowly removed his hand, I saw that the words on the menu had actually changed! Changed into Mandarin words I could read!
That’s too amazing! This is the legendary human body translator!?
“Thank you!” With tears in my eyes, I was touched as I picked up the menu, but senior had already went back to his seat without caring about me.
The items on the menu were actually rather common. Even in general Japanese restaurant in our world, we could see these dishes occasionally mixed with a few Chinese dishes. Although there weren’t any coo chickens type of weird-until-one-couldn’t-understand type of thing.
These types of dishes were considered as unusual for them?
Looking at the dishes, I suddenly thought it has been a long time since I went home. The time in school passed really quickly, and I was also very busy. Before I realized it, I actually haven’t been home for almost two months.
After I’d ordered two dishes, I passed the menu back to Gasai.
“I’ve heard Felnala really like the human world, so she spent a long time there, and when she came back she opened this restaurant.” Leido suddenly said, smiling as he looked at me, “I guess Yang Yang would like to eat the food here.”
Because I’m a human? In fact I don’t really like to eat Japanese food, but I guess I would the taste of it.
I’m not sure if Leido purposely brought us here to eat, but this place caused me to think of some things, such as my mother, father, and my sister. This was the first time I’ve been away from home for so long.
I’m homesick.
* * *
After the menu was taken away, in less than one minute, our table was already filled with dishes.
After a fox wearing a waitress kimono carried the last dish, she swayed as she walked out through the paper door.
To say that we’re celebrating… this is too exaggerated, right…
I saw the type of scene where super luxurious dishes filled the whole table, which only appears in manhuas. The two Chinese dishes I ordered were very plain compared to rest.
There was a big ship filled with sushi placed in front of my eyes, and was pushed aside by an even bigger ship was filled with seafood.
“Chu, eat more, you also worked hard today.” Gasai was really nice, he took his chopsticks, picked up a large prawn and placed it inside my bowl.
To be honest, I had a I don’t know where to start eating type of feeling.
“Everyone worked hard today!” Leido held up a huge glass bottle, and inside was some unknown orange liquid. He uncorked the stopper, bubbles appeared, and he stood up as he poured drinks for everyone, “Do your best to eat!”
In fact, even without him saying, someone was already doing his best to eat.
The five-colored rooster head, who ate umpteenth servings during lunch, was currently gobbling the food on the table.
… You are trying too hard to eat.
Although it was said to be human food, several enigmatic ingredients were mixed inside. For example, on the boat, I saw a two-headed white octopus with only four legs… I better stick to the sushi and the dishes I ordered.
Secretly glancing about, not including the five-colored rooster head’s crazy way of eating, the others were also rather happy as they ate.
While eating, Leido would harass his twin brother by occasionally stealthily putting something in his bowl, and he would peek at the five-colored rooster head’s hair from time to time.
While eating, Yido would sit neatly, looked completely elegant, with a completely different world kind of atmosphere compared to the two brothers beside him.
Senior’s eating speed was very consistent, neither too quick nor too slow, slowly and carefully. Only after he finished eating what was on his bowl would he pick more food — a good boy eating method.
And Gasai beside me…
Uh, to tell the truth, I don’t know if it was because he had a Japanese family background. When he was eating, there was a type of… looping method. His eating method was rather exquisite, also rather different from the atmosphere on my other side.
Nn, now that I think of it, this seemed to be the first time I had this kind of dining together outside of school.
Because I was very unlucky in the past, almost every time I went out, something would definitely happen. Thus, only when there were no other available classmates would they come and look for me. At most, it would only be the once or twice during class trips. But since I also didn’t want to spoil the mood of everyone who went, in the three years of class trips, I didn’t go along with them.
I suddenly saw a human’s figure appearing on the paper door behind senior.
In a few seconds, the paper door was pulled opened, and behind it was a beautiful woman dressed glamorously. While she sat on the floor, she held onto a zither, wearing a very thick and luxurious kimono, the kind where if it fell forward, it would crush the passer-by in front to death.
Her clothing was filled with butterfly totems.
The people, who were originally eating, stopped their actions, turned around and looked at her.
“Felnala.” Leido smiled, and slightly nodded towards the woman.
The beautiful woman was smiling while she bowed, “Are my dear customers satisfied with our shop’s service?” She was holding a Shamisen*, and without moving her body, she stably sat down, “To compensate for the bad feeling at the entrance earlier, the desert served later will be fully entertained by my shop. Please do relax and have a good rest.”
[T/N: A three stringed Japanese musical instrument.]
“We definitely won’t be polite.” Leido said and smiled. He looked like he was rather familiar with the beautiful woman, and both of them were talking while laughing, “Oh right, today I brought humans with me. Yakushiji Gasai is someone of the ancient origin that you like, and Chu Ming Yang is an Asian, who just entered our world about two months ago.”
Felnala raised her head, and tenderly smiled at me, “Sir Gasai is someone whom many people recognize in this world.” Then she bowed at Gasai and they both greeted one another, “Chu Ming Yang, from the eastern countries, is your world well?”
Uh, that’s a strange way of greeting.
“Should be very well, thank you.” I didn’t know how I should answer. If there’s no volcano erupting and natural disasters, then it should be well, right?
“Then, that’s great.” She revealed a very beautiful smile, “I have not visited the eastern countries for a long time, probably about a few hundred years now. The current environment is already different from what I know of. If I ever chose to return there, I would like to ask of the both of you to take care of me.”
She’s very polite. She was so polite that I don’t know how to reply.
“Sure, please do allow us to show our friendship as the landlords.” Gasai generously responded, while lifting me off my embarrassment.
Sure enough, his level was different from mine.
Afterwards, Felnala respectively had a few pleasantries with the others. When she heard senior using a different language to speak, she was shocked for a moment. She said there was actually someone who knew of the Butterfly Fairies’ language, and she happily started talking to senior for a while.
The meal went on smoothly, at least there wasn’t any ceiling or crystal lights falling on top of my head while I was eating.
As usual, most of the food was completely consumed by the five-colored rooster head, but luckily this time, I was smarter and worked hard to eat. I ate a lot of sushi and other cuisines, stuffed myself to the utmost. By then, the table was almost already empty.
The bowls, plates, and whatnot were taken away by the fox waitress, and a tea tray was placed on the table. Felnala personally made tea for us, and the whole room was filled with the fragrant smell of tea.
Even if they spoke in different languages, I didn’t feel so out of place anymore. In fact, doing this once in a while, felt really good. Although everyone was busy this morning, but by evening, everyone got together to eat and relax. It felt really good.
“Feeling so relaxed, of course it feels really good.” From the opposite side, came a cold snort. I lifted my head, and I just so happen to see senior picking up his tea cup. He slightly curved up the side of his lips.
Nn, this is indeed really good.