Chapter 2
A few weeks prior.
Uuun…
C'mon, c'mon! No matter how long it’s got you stumped for, your tiles won't change!
Quit your worrying and just choose your discarded tiles already, Kohaku-chan!
Shut it. You're distracting me so just shut up already.
Okay, I've decided! I'll pick this tile.
Fuu~n. I'm starting to see what your plan is now, Kohaku-chan, but I guess that goes both ways.
Woah…! This tile! It feels good in my hand! Not only that, but these four bumps I feel on my fingers…!
Alllllright! It's here, it's here, it's here! I've been waiting for you, Goddess of Luck-chan~!
Gyahaha! Today's my lucky day! I'm gonna win this game in a flash! Riichi[1]!
—Fu. Amagi, you can get heated all you want, but please don't make such a racket. This is still a public place of relaxation. HiMERU doesn't want to be side-eyed.
On top of that, HiMERU will also call "riichi".
Wha—? Rinne-han went, and then HiMERU-han did it too?! Uun…
(Will this tile work…? —No way, isn't that too risky? I guess I really can only play this one here…)
Kohaku-chan, Kohaku-chan! That tile there is too dangerous, this tile here might be cheaper.
Really? So then, in that case, Niki-han is right. I'll cut this tile right here, so there.
Arrrgh! Niki, you bastard! The hell are you advising him for? You're working, so get your ass back to it!
Oh no~ …I was just gonna leave it as is, too. But I just felt really bad for Kohaku-chan falling for Rinne-kun's poison, since he doesn't know much about mahjong.
Right, here's each of your orders. Even though there's so many limited autumn specials, everyone is still getting their usuals. If I were any of you, I'd choose the specials above anything else!
Dumbass. A man should always have a one track mind with what he sets his heart on.
Big talk coming from the most careless person here.
Right, right. Niki sure loves my knuckle sandwiches doesn't he? I'll feed you as much as you want, so eat up!
Agyagaga! Mmphhrmmph (As much as I love anything I can eat, I definitely won't eat thooose…!)
C'mon, Rinne-han. You too, Niki-han. Quit getting violent, you'll cause a scene.
Fine. Yeah, I got it.
Augh! Come on… I was totally dragged into this. I didn't even say anything wrong.
And, for the record, as a chef I couldn't possibly let myself ignore these limited time offers. A time that's limited like this means that it’s the perfect time to enjoy ingredients that are in season. Autumn is like a treasure chest of food~!
Speaking of autumn. There's an event next month called "ES Halloween" that will be held.
Amagi, is "Crazy:B" not going to participate? Up until today, the subject hasn't been brought up.
Nn…?
.........
Ah. That's right! I totally forgot to let you guys know. Rinne-kun's such a careless little bee~
Just what are you on about?
"Crazy:B" is also gonna participate in "ES Halloween"!
Hah?! You should've said so sooner!
“Crazy:B” is participating too...just what on earth are we gonna do?
A live concert, of course! Called "Foooo! Let's Halloween Night"! Sounds like a super fun event for us, right? So let's get fired up and excited!
Halloween, huh…?
Hm? Kohaku-chan, you don't look too interested?
It's not that I'm not interested… I'm just not familiar with it.
—Well, it's true that Halloween hadn't become so popular until recently.
Not long ago, Halloween was simply seen as a Western event that was almost unfamiliar to people here in Japan. At most, Christmas may have been the only other important holiday here.
It’s like my time has finally come for me! Halloween is my favorite holiday~, so I’m glad it’s getting popular!
Fuu~n…I don’t get why it got so popular so fast.
Ah. What’s that? Could it be you don’t know about Halloween, Kohaku-chan? You’re a pretty boxed up kid, aren’t you?
That’s because I’ve been “boxed up” in a zashikirou.[2]
There, there. I’m gonna give you a full time course on etiquette so that you don’t feel left out at the event, Kohaku-chan!
Don’t pat me so casually. I know what Halloween is. I may not have experienced it, but I learned about it plenty from the Internet.
These days, it just seems like an excuse for younger people to walk around in cosplay. Well, either way, it’s just a childish event.
Agreed. But apparently, the Halloween event held at ES this year is not just child’s play.
Hah…?
Chapter 3
Merumeru. When you say it's not just child's play, what do you mean by that?
That's simply what HiMERU overheard.
Tenshouin-senpai seems to be the one running the project, and at "ES Halloween", the entirety of the management staff are going to be wearing full-scale costumes.
Hoon. Full-scale costumes you say… but they're still only just costumes aren't they?
That may not be entirely correct. Special makeup and effects are supposedly going to be used to make elaborate ghosts and spirits.
Eh?
At this time of year, some major theme parks hold large Halloween events, did you know that?
Theme park events?
Isn't that what they usually show in commercials and stuff? Like, where there's a bunch of zombies roaming around the park or something?
That's right. It's said that it will be quite similar in size and quality to those.
Hibiki-senpai is also said to be the one overlooking the project, and he's quite involved in drama and theater, so that will certainly add to the level of quality.
Just like the real thing…
So! The expectations set for our costumes are sky high. I wonder how scaaary they're gonna be~
.....!
It is an event after all, so I wanna scare the hell out of some people too.
Ah, speaking of scaring people! This upcoming Halloween, aren't they gonna set up an actual haunted house on ES grounds?
I heard they're gonna use it as an attraction during the day, and then at night it'll become a live venue. The manager here at "Cinnamon" is super thrilled, because they're expecting there's gonna be an uptake in customers.
Is, i-is that right? A haunted house, huh…
Nn?
........
Nnnn~?
What? Quit staring at me.
Kohaku-chan. Don't tell me you're scared of ghosts?
A-Absolutely not!
Auuugh, that's ridiculous. Me, scared of ghosts, at my age. No way. Absolutely not.
........
..........
What, what's with those smiles.
Kohaku-chyaaan~, are you really sure? You're not scared of ghosts at all?
You should admit it while you still can for your sake, shouldn't ya?
Like I told you… I'm not scared.
Alllright~ As long as you say it's okay.
In that case, let's all go to the haunted house downtown tomorrow~
Hah?!
Eh? There's a haunted house downtown?
Th-that's right! I haven't seen anything like that! Haunted houses are only in theme parks.
No no, that's what you think~
You know the arcade right? There's a haunted house that just opened down there. It's like a haunted house that remakes popular Japanese horror films.
I've heard that even though it's really small, it's super scary!
Ah. Now that you mention it, the makeup artist working with HiMERU had talked about that as well.
In order to be able to scare the hell out of people this Halloween, we're gonna need to follow that haunted house's example, right? If we're gonna do it, then I wanna be the scariest one there.
Hmph. I'm not scared, but why do I have to go to a place like that with you, Rinne-han.
Oohohoh~! In that case, I really wanna go to the cafe near the arcade!
Eh?
Word is that their pancakes are super popular. I haven't gotten the chance to try them yet.
—That's the cafe right on the street corner, isn't it? HiMERU is also interested in going there.
If we go to the cafe, then we can also go to the haunted house.
Ehhhh?!
He~h. HiMERU-kun, it's really rare to see you take part in things like this. Did you want to stop by the cafe that badly?
Yes. Well, there were circumstances that came up. So HiMERU wanted to go there, but hadn't been able to.
They truly are famous for their pancakes, but HiMERU was nervous going by himself since most of their customers are women.
Oh, nice. Then let's stop by that cafe while we're at it.
What about you, Kohaku-chan~? Of course you're coming along too, right?
Ug…ghhhh…
(Why is the one time Niki-han and HiMERU-han are on Rinne-han's side now?! Usually we would have just shut him down…!)
What's wrong?
(It's easy to say no. It's actually so easy to say no, but if I do, there's no way Rinne-han isn't going to make fun of me for the next year. I mean, just look at that stupid face of his! It's so obnoxious…!)
…Fine, I got it. I'll go. I am not scared of some haunted house!
Alriiight~, it's settled! So that "Crazy:B" wins the number one spot at "ES Halloween", let's go tackle that infamous haunted house!
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Translation Notes
(1): Calling riichi is a possibility of winning mahjong. The player can’t change their hand in any way and they have to hope their next drawn tile is a winning one. It’s definitely a fitting game for Crazy:B considering it’s based on chance.
(2): For those unaware, a zashikirou is like a confinement room used in the Edo-period. Kohaku spent his childhood in one (reasons why are explained in Sudden Death).