12 Chapter 12: The strangely ordinary escort

"Should we call the poilce?"

"Let's wait for her to wake up." grandma suggested.

And so we waited until Mimi came to. When she did, she took out a piece of paper, but couldn't write anything because she lost her pen a while ago. Panicked, she looked around and searched for a pen.

"It's okay!" grandma said, "We can just talk here!"

She paused and nodded her head sideways.

"…Is she mute?"

"Dunno. I only met her yesterday."

Grasping the situation, grandma gave her a pen from my grandpa's office. She immediately took it and wrote on the paper:

I'm sorry for disturbing you! I'll go back now! (>~~<*)

"Another emoticon?"

She then got off the bed and went straight for the door, bowing her head and walking in small steps.

"It was nice to meet you!" grandma exclaimed.

Grandma easily let her go, but not me. She knew about the ero-book, and I just couldn't wait the next day to ask her. So I went after her. Just as she was about to leave through the front door, I called out to her.

"Wait!"

She stopped and turned around.

"I… need to ask you something!"

Then grandma cut me off and said, "I just remembered: The bus won't be here for two more hours!"

That took me by surprise. I didn't think she'd cut me off. Then again, she wasn't the type who listens, just speaks. But why couldn't she have said that earlier?

"If you'd like, we can call the nearby police box and escort-"

Then she sat on the ground, covering her ears and shaking her head.

"H-hey, are you okay?!"

"P-perhaps you need to cool your head." Grandma suggested, "why don't you use our bath?"

"Wha-!?"

Minutes later, I was trapped in an awkward situation. Mika took a bath inside the bathroom, while I stood outside, keeping guard. I asked grandma to guard instead, but she claimed that she had "stuff" to do. So there I was, keeping watch from outside, just in case she loses consciousness again or slips or something…

"What a drag…"

Usually, boys would get aroused in this situation, but not me. I was more concerned with her current condition. Moments later, she knocked on the door, indicating that she was done.

"Do they fit? Those are mom's clothes, so I don't know if…"

Then she slightly opened the door and signaled me out.

"O-oh! Sor-"

Then I suddenly noticed the scars and bruises on her arms. Before I could take a closer look, she retracted her arm back inside. So I left her alone, completely shocked.

"What were those…?"

I went to my room, asking myself why she had scars and how she got them. Was she being bullied? Was she a victim of delinquency? Or perhaps…

Before I could go on further, grandma entered the room.

"The bus is almost here."

"Got it. So?"

"Go escort Mika." She commanded.

"Huh?!"

I wanted to decline, but I had so many questions to ask. So I took the opportunity and escorted her to the bus. We took our seats at the back. Once the bus started moving, I popped out the question:

"Where did you get those?"

She turned to me, confused.

"Your scars, I mean."

Then she froze. I waited for her response (in paper), but it never came. Perhaps I shouldn't have meddled on her affair.

"N-never mind…"

I felt nothing but concern for her. Perhaps being a public morals committee member changed me without realizing, despite being one for only a week. And so, I said something fit for a PMC member:

"If you need help, tell me. And we'll do everything we can to help."

Yep, those were the same lines I said to Mimi. But like I said, I wasn't good with words. She was taken aback, but then smiled and nodded. It seemed we had a mutual relationship already.

When we got off the bus, we went straight to her home. It was a run-down apartment with a creepy vibe to it. I was surprised she even lived there. She shivered in panic, as if she was avoiding returning home. I tried to comfort her as much as I could.

"I-it's not that bad… hehe…"

Then she wrote something on a paper and gave it to me.

You're not scared?

"Of what?"

The monster…

"Monster?"

She was confused. She paused for a while before replying.

Can't you see that violent aura it's emitting?

"Sorry, I can't see the supernatural…"

I wasn't sure what she meant by that. I could see that it was old and creepy, but that's about it. It was just an ordinary apartment in my eyes. Keeping her cool, she replied:

Then please give me courage…

Those words struck me. Despite having a fear of men, she asked a guy like me to help face her fear. And so she proceeded onwards to her supposed home, and I cheered her on. And I could feel the midday heat already…

The next day, I went to visit Mika in the library. She was reading a book as usual. As I approached the desk, she put down her book and greeted me with a smile. It was then that my heart throbbed… for a girl… for a young girl… who was possibly a virgin… It was strange how I could interact with her despite my Parthenophobia. I didn't even imagine that my "junior" would get squished, and that's what I always thought of when I saw young girls. But for her, it was a different feeling.

"Glad to see you're okay!"

She grabbed a piece of paper and replied:

It's all thanks to you. ^_^

"But I didn't do anything…"

Yes, you did. You helped me get back on my feet when I had fallen on the ground. Thank you.

I never thought that a small act of kindness would amount to a great deal of gratitude. Of course, I wouldn't have done it without grandma. Then while in thought, she gave me another piece of paper.

In return, I'd like to give you this. I feel like I can entrust this to you.

Then she handed me a small box. Mystified by its contents, she gave me another piece of paper and said:

It's the ero-book.

Shocked, I accidentally dropped the box, then picked it up at the last minute before anyone noticed.

"T-thank you!"

Don't mention it! V(^_^)V

Excited, I rushed to the PMC room to surrender the book. I overheard them talking about resuming the search, and entered at just the right time.

"H-how did you get it?!" Mimi asked.

"Well, color me impressed, Inu!" Suzuna complimented.

"Are you sure you weren't just hiding it from us?" Mako asked.

"Even if I was, I wouldn't have any use for it."

And so they closed the case of the ero-book, but they still discussed it proper disposal.

"D-disposal?!"

"Yes." Mimi said, "We can't have this item scattered here in school."

I was in a pinch. I needed the ero-book as offering for Kinbaku, but Mimi demanded it be disposed of. Then like a knight in shining armor, Mako stood up and said

"We'll burn it after school."

"O-oh, okay…" Mimi responded.

And that was the end of that. I was so glad he had my back. If he didn't, I wouldn't have known how to explain myself.

"But I can't leave this task to you guys." She said, "We'll have one of us accompany you."

It was one trouble after another. We obviously couldn't bring either of them because we didn't want them to get involved with Kinbaku. Luckily, someone from outside declared:

"I'll go with them!"

We turned to the door and saw Kanon, raising her hand.

"It's okay if I go, right?" she asked.

Mimi hesitated for a bit, but decided it was for the best, "We can't leave these guys alone with that thing."

"Don't care. Not into 3D girls."

"Same here." Mako seconded.

And so the three of us left the room and went straight to Kinbaku's "shrine".

Upon receiving the book, he jumped for joy.

"Ooooh! This really is amazing!" he exclaimed as he viewed each page.

"You haven't changed, have you?" Kanon asked.

"Oh, you were here?" he replied.

"Don't act like you didn't know!"

Those two seemed to know each other. Perhaps they were already acquainted. Come to think of it, she mentioned Kinbaku before as well. Was she also a follower asking for blessing? Speaking of which…

"We got the book. A deal's a deal."

"Very well…" he said as he threw my console to me.

I was glad to have my gaming console back, but even more after my miasama was purified.

"There, we're done. I'll call you again when I need something." He said,

"But… how long until my miasama completely disappears?"

"Who knows?" he answered, "With that much miasama, it might take weeks, even months."

"How would you not know!? You're a deity, aren't you?!" Mako furiously asked.

Kinbaku ignored the question and showed us out, "It's getting dark! You don't wanna get scolded for arriving home late, now would you?"

Then just as we were about to leave, Kinbaku advised us: "One more thing: My next requests won't be as easy as these ones. Be prepared."

That brought shiver down my spine, and it was understandable, for the following days would be darker and more twisted compared to earlier ones. And it was all the false deity's fault…