Chapter 245: A Case of Encounter with a Mysterious Person (2)

Chapter 245: A Case of Encounter with a Mysterious Person (2) A Case of Encounter with a Mysterious Person (2)

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“Uwah!”

Kappitetron, pushed hard on the shoulder, unintentionally fell on his bottom onto the dirt of the vacant lot.

A few days had passed since he encountered the mysterious cursed child.

In other words, it was still winter, and in Serelirin, snow falling and melting repeated.

The children’s playground was a vacant lot on the outskirts of town and, of course, was not paved with stone or the like.

The cold mud made slushy by the melted snow dirtied Kappitetron’s clothes, and dried scallops, his snack, rolled out of his pocket.

“Oh! Hehehe, you still have food on you, huh!”

The one saying that with a vulgar laugh was his senior by two years, the bully leader Gougindatz!

This bully’s physique, even though he should still be 9 years old, was already no less than an adult’s, and combined with the fact that his family was wealthy and powerful, none of the boys in this town could defy this tyrant.

Grinning like that, Gougindatz’s lackeys, Idakudakku and Taikomothi, stepped forward from his side and picked up the snacks Kappitetron had dropped and put them in a bag.

And after finishing picking up the snacks, these two lackeys each kicked Kappitetron meaninglessly once.

“Ow, ouch! W-What are you doing!?”

Kappitetron unintentionally raised his voice in protest.

However, Gougindatz didn’t like that!

The kid leader stopped grinning and glared at the chubby boy.

“Huh!? You, don’t talk back to me!! Where’s your polite language? Want me to ask my dad to crush your dried fish shop!?”

What an overbearing way of speaking!

But Kappitetron had no way to resist this unreasonable demand.

The chubby boy looked down bitterly and bit his lip.

This is the epitome of the dog-eat-dog world reflected in children’s society.

“Oh, but ‘what are you doing.’ I’m kind, so I’ll tell even you, Fatty! Why I’m collecting snacks!”

After kicking Kappitetron a few more times and finally seeming to be in a better mood, Gougindatz started saying such things while grinning, even though no one was listening.

“I’m thinking of trying to call... that rumored cursed child or whatever!”

“Eh!!?”

Hearing those words, Kappitetron was greatly surprised and stared at Gougindatz with his eyes wide open.

“Hehehe! What’s with that dumb face, Fatty!? ...Oh yeah, you were the first to discover it, right?”

Yes, as Gougindatz said, Kappitetron was the first discoverer.

Of that... terrifying cursed child.

What does it mean to be the “first discoverer”? Well, after him, there were several other children who encountered the strangely dressed cursed child girl.

The cursed child appears when children are not with adults and demands food.

If you give her food at that time, she will always give you a beautifully shining white churro in return (although it’s inedible) and disappear like smoke.

If you don’t give her food, what will happen... no one knows.

Among the children, there are various rumors being whispered as if they were true, such as “you’ll be eaten” or “you’ll be taken to the country of the Dark Spiky Rock Man.”

“W-What are you going to do by calling it?”

Kappitetron asked with a pale face, recalling the terror of that time.

Gougindatz laughed at him through his nose.

“Of course, we’re going to beat it up! There’s a cursed child in our town, you know? Isn’t that creepy!? I don’t care if it’s a girl, we’ll beat the crap out of it!”

“N-No, you can’t!”

Kappitetron, who knew the terror of the cursed child in question, unintentionally said that out loud.

But...

“You, don’t be scared of some cursed child!”

Gougindatz, whose mood soured again, kicked Kappitetron, and he fell on the mud.

The remaining dried scallops, cleverly hidden deep in his pocket, spilled out again.

The two lackeys quickly swarmed there and collected the scallops.

“Alright! Have we gathered enough bait? Hehehe, then let’s go and protect the peace of the town!”

Gougindatz and his lackeys each gave Kappitetron one more kick and then left the vacant lot, grinning.

Kappitetron, rolling on the mud, watched them intently.

He had no intention of stopping them anymore.

* * *

“Aah~, delish~~!”

“This snack is the best~!”

“No, no, the most delicious is this cookie~! Not only the rich flavor of Mekena butter, but the elegant aroma of wheat that spreads the moment you put it in your mouth makes you feel as if you’re lying in a golden wheat field just by taking one bite~!”

A few hours later.

Gougindatz was walking around a deserted back alley with his two lackeys, making a commotion while greedily eating the food they had extorted from the children.

It was to lure out and get rid of the cursed child.

(Damn it! The cursed child isn’t taking the bait at all!)

But after walking for a while, the cursed child in question was nowhere to be found, and Gougindatz’s irritation was reaching its peak.

His brows furrowed, and veins stood out on his forehead.

“It’s delicious! It’s delicious!”

“Ah, I’ve never eaten a cookie this delicious~! The modest sweetness and slight saltiness bring out the goodness of the ingredients~! At this very moment, eating this cookie, I’m confident I’m the happiest person in the world~!”

And he glared at his two lackeys who were still making a fuss without a care.

Gougindatz started thinking about kicking the crap out of these two to relieve his irritation... right at that moment.

“Hey.”N/nêw n0vel chap/ers are published o/n n0v/e/(lb)i(n.)co/m

From behind them, an unfamiliar girl’s voice echoed.

“Huh!!?”

When Gougindatz woke up, he was lying on a fluffy bed.

He jumped up with a start.

He looked around restlessly.

It seemed to be Gougindatz’s own room.

The cursed child was no longer here.

“Haa, haa... haa.”

After taking a few deep breaths, Gougindatz wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His memory was hazy.

He certainly encountered the cursed child, was terrified of it, and lost strength in his legs.

The two lackeys carried him, somehow made it home, and then...

“That’s right, there I... lost consciousness...”

And he had been lying in bed since then.

Light was streaming in through a gap in the curtains of the east window.

In other words, the current time was morning.

It seemed he had been in bed for at least one night after fainting.

Having sorted out his memories, Gougindatz sank his body back into the bed with a thud.

What on earth was that cursed child?

Was it human?

Or was it a monster?

His head was filled with questions, and gradually, the terror of the cursed child began to vividly revive.

The cursed child hadn’t done anything to him.

But it was terrifying.

To Gougindatz, it was the first irrational monster he had encountered.

A being on a different level from himself.

An absolute predator.

He knew from just its presence that it was such an existence.

Terrifying.

There was no way it wouldn’t be terrifying.

There was no way a being that could easily hunt his life on a whim wouldn’t be terrifying.

Especially for Gougindatz, who had mercilessly oppressed those he considered beneath him, the existence of a superior being was unbearably terrifying.

Because he unconsciously believed that the strong could torment the weak as they pleased.

In other words, that thing could do whatever it wanted to Gougindatz.

If he denied that, the legitimacy of Gougindatz’s usual actions would be lost within him.

Gougindatz hugged his shoulders and trembled in the futon.

(Calm down, calm down, calm down... The cursed child isn’t here now. This is my house. It’s safe. It’s safe. Calm down...)

Gougindatz repeated that over and over in his head while trembling, trying to suppress the fear that welled up from within and wouldn’t stop.

His family was the richest in town, running a large store.

They had guards in front of the house to prevent suspicious people from entering.

In other words, it was fine.

If he stayed home, he would never encounter that cursed child again.

He was safe.

“Phew...”

Finally, Gougindatz calmed down here.

He let his strength go limp and relaxed his stiff body.

He took a deep breath and exhaled.

And without thinking, he rolled over.

Because his back was soaked with sweat and it was uncomfortable.

Then, on the futon in front of him.

A white, shining stick-like object was stuck in it, bathed in the morning sun.

This was... a churro.

The inedible churro that the cursed child was said to give to children!!

Gougindatz hadn’t noticed at all until then, but on the futon next to his pillow, that inedible churro was thrust in and standing there!!

In other words, the cursed child!

Was already inside this house...!?

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Gougindatz’s scream echoed throughout the house.

The mysterious person’s thought process was like,

“What’s with that guy, he’s annoying.”

↓

“But he dropped food and left... I have to give something in return.”

↓

“Here, a churro~ (invades his home and thrusts it into the futon)”

So she didn’t do it with the intention of scaring him or anything.

I’ll start moving the story from the .