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Published at 14th of October 2018 05:10:18 AM


Chapter 27

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When the break-time bell rung, I immediately stood to go out to the hall.
That alone was something I wouldn’t concede even if threatened,  and investigating the charm was tied to Ryouko’s case regardless. Thankfully, I managed to escape today. I set about my independent investigation.
The first year had five classes, ranging from A to E. I stretched my feet to Class E, directly opposite to the A classroom. It was to strike up a conversation with whatever girl I found randomly having a snack.
Hey, would you look at that? A bullied kid (and now a loner) is talking to a girl. It’s like I’m a pickup artist or something. Class E was distant, so the rumors about me hadn’t even reached yet. If I played my cards right, they’d even talk to me normally. There was no need to be discouraged if I was turned down, I could just talk to another girl. I never had these sorts of social interactions before. Humans can change if they really put their mind to it, right?
Albeit, if anything, my precedent proves, even if you change, that doesn’t mean you’ll succeed.
“Hey, I’m looking into good luck charms. Do you know anything?”
“… Good luck charms?”
While I was rejected occasionally, there were times I’d get an answer. As long as one out of five people said something back, I knew I was in luck. If I kept polishing the skill, I might actually be capable of pickups someday. I can search for a girlfriend outside of school with no qualms. Isn’t that wonderful? My motivation was on the up and up.
“One that uses a silver metal stick, you ever heard of it?”
“Stick? I don’t think I have.”
“It was apparently kept in a seal case.”
“Sorry, I really don’t know.”
Even if conversation was established, it usually yielded zero results.
It was only classes D and E that my ill repute had failed to reach, and around class C, they had started pointing at me with some choice words. Speaking to efficiency, these two classes were best for gathering information.
“I see, sorry for holding you up. Thank you.”
How many times did that make it? If I didn’t find the dragon terminal, I’d be Ryouko’s toy forever. My head hurt just thinking about it.
Break time between classes was a brief ten minutes. Talking to more than a few people would already put me in overtime. I could likely only reach out to one more this time around. My eyes raced to find who the last person I’d talk to would be.
My eyes locked onto a girl acting out a flower on the wall as she fiddled with her phone. I’d seen her face a few times before. She was always alone.
“Do you have a minute?” If it was just starting a conversation, it barely took any courage anymore.
“… Me?”
While she looked surprised, she promptly folded her phone and turned towards me. From the mild gratitude I picked up from her expression, she must have been looking for something to spend her free time on.
“I’m looking into good luck charms. One that uses a silver rod.”
“Charms. Silver rod.”
“It’s apparently trendy with girls. My sister’s researching local trends for a college report, and she told me to go gather some data at school.”
I nonchalantly threw out a lie. It looks like my human power’s risen from middle school.
“Do you mean…” she tapped away at her phone again before showing it to me. “This?”
She was connected to the net, so I thought she’d searched up an occult site or something, but judging by the letters lining the black background of the small screen, this was one of those so-called internet message boards.
“Our school’s underground site. It’s pretty new.”
“So we had something like that… an underground site.”
“We used to have another one, but it was spammed with porn and taken down.”
Her intonation was bounding. I know this is a rude notion, but I’m pretty sure this was her first conversation in a while, and she was in high spirits. It made me feel like I was using her, making my chest a little tight.
Making friends takes nerve, but if you fail, you end up feeling like this girl.
Is it bad that it’s embarrassing to be alone? While it had to do with the school I was still attending, I couldn’t see any solution to the societal problem. All I could tell was that what the adults were up to was always ‘a little off’. If only those powerful people like Takahashi could just get together and resolve it. But I guess that’s not happening.
“Look. It came out in completely irrelevant gossip, right?”
I immediately found the post.

‘Hey, has anyone here done that dragon’s nail legend? The one that curses you.’

“Dragon’s nail?”
“Right. It’s mentioned here and there,” the girl seemed to want to talk more and more.
“Umm, it’s like this town’s specific variation of Kokkuri-san. You’ll find pretty much the same legends all over schools in this area, and the topic came up on other schools’ underground sites as well.”
She’s checking the underground sites of other schools. She must have a lot of time on her hands.
“So it’s a charm for our town alone.”
“And what’s used is the dragon’s nail. It’s an essential item. To put it simply—”
There are multiple dragons nails, either in someone’s possession, or hidden in various places across town. Someone who wants good luck should do their best to get a nail. The nail has the power to grant wishes, and just carrying it with you will have an effect. No need for any troublesome rituals. No initiation fee or annual payments. Spells these days have really upped the game in usability.
When your wish is granted, or you see signs that it’s working, you have to relinquish the nail. Otherwise, you’ll receive its curse. And so once again, the important item slips into the town’s circulation.
“Hmmm. Does the nail have any rules for relinquishing it? So it doesn’t get tossed?”
“You’re sharp. There are. You can’t just throw it away, it has to be in a spot where someone will definitely find it someday. And it has to be within the scope of this town. You can’t take it out.”
“Otherwise a curse?”
“Yep. You’re cursed. When you have it in hand, it works on its own, but the risks are high.”
So it’s one of those charms with a fluid nature. The dragon stake would continue granting wishes as it circulated around town. Whether it was handed off or hidden somewhere wasn’t set in stone.
“What sort of places are they usually hidden in?”
“Now that’s something that doesn’t come out on the boards too often. You can’t use the same place twice, after all. Though they sometimes say I hid it in so and so.”
“Hmhmhmm.” The information just keeps coming. Loner girls are the best. Adorable.
“And the nails, there are quite a few of them.”
“Hmhmm,” I did witness two of them.
“If you’re researching them, I’m sure you’d like to see a real one, but they’re cursed, so perhaps you shouldn’t stick a hand in too carelessly.”
“But you know, hypothetically, even if they do grant wishes, if you hide it in the wrong place, someone who doesn’t know anything might find it and throw it out.”
“That’s also a cause to be cursed; so lately, a lot of people post on the net if they’ve hidden one.”
“I see. So I’ll have to monitor the site in real time if I want one.”
“Ah, but. If you just want to see it,” The more I talked with this girl, the more information she gave me.
“The dragon nails are still just metal, so they can wear down from time to time. When that happens, you’re supposed to offer it to the shrine.”
“And then what happens?”
“Who knows… I’m not really… but it’s a dragon and all, so once its role is over, won’t it ascend to the heavens? Also, it’s a shrine, so the god might look after it and replenish its power or something?”
“Hahah, I see.”
Perhaps there really is mystery in the world. I was getting incorrigibly restless.
“Do you know where the shrine is?”
“Yeaaaaaah,” The girl’s expression turned dark.
“Sorry, I don’t know yet.”
“By yet, you mean you might figure it out eventually?”
The girl thought to herself. The warning bell rung. During our break time, the bell would ring a minute before classes begin.
“… I might. I check the site quite faithfully.”
I put my hands together and lowered my head.
“Please, if you do find out, could you tell me?”
“Sure, how can I contact you?”
“Could you send it to my phone?”
“No problem. Let’s exchange numbers.”
Well, would you look at that? That was the fair and proper way to exchange cell phone numbers. I rock.
I gave my thanks and returned to class.
The investigation was proceeding favorably. But another problem was emerging where I least expected it. Right at the moment I wasn’t there.





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