And so, Sakuya-san once again left from the hotel.
Having just vowed to return to good citizenship, I now sit upon seat cushions in the seiza position. (TN: The position people sit in for tea ceremony that very often puts your feet to sleep.)
Kei: ............
Without much thought, I try again after heaping four cushions together.
Kei: Aaah, Ahem......
As I take a seat at the top, I find myself in a mood as if I were on a stage.
Kei: Even so, Master, to pile 'em in fours is unlucky, you know.
Kei: Why is that? Could it be the "shi" from "shinin"? (TN: Japanese consider four to be an unlucky number, because 'shi,' one of the sounds for 'four,' is also the pronunciation for 'death.')
Kei: Even without such a worn perspective, just read it as it is and it's "shimai" is it not? Just ending it with four cushions is bad enough. (TN: The counter for four cushions is "yonmai." If you use the alternate pronunciation for "yon ("four")," which is "shi," it's "shimai," which means "the end.")
Kei: Ahaha, you aren't funny at all. If you don't like yonmai, ah--- Hatou-kun, you can take them all.
Kei: Dear, no, Master, please don't make me!
Yonmai and yonmai is shishimai, so that's all well and good, but ten and ten is kirikirimai, and that's no good at all!--- (TN: "Shishimai" is "Dance of the Lion." For ten, the usual reading is "juu," but there is another reading for ten, "kiri," that people theorize to have come from the Portuguese "cruz," or "cross." So Kei's "kiri kiri dance" basically means "crucifixion.")
Anyway, Master, you won't make it ten? Ahh, manjuu and hot tea are scary--- (TN: Manjuu are steamed yeast buns, so eating lots of them with hot tea will make them expand in your stomach, with scary consequences. Don't try it at home.)
Right as I am about to continue on that note...
I hear the sound of the door opening and, embarrassed at the thought of being seen, I hurriedly descend from the cotton cushions.
Kei: Wawah! Welcome ba---
Entering my room is a man in a suit.
And not just one, but many, with faces I remember from hotel meals mixed among them.
Kei: Umm... are you sure you have the right room?
Man in suit: ............
Without an answer, he walks straight inside.
Kei: Wha-! Wait! This is my room, okay?
With a thrusting push, I am sent tumbling backward.
Something is clearly wrong. The movements of those men are strangely stiff. A stilted shamble like zombies from a horror movie.
I hear the ring of a bell.
With a feeling of familiarity, I turn to look at them, and see one man in a state clearly different from the others.
That person is carrying a mirror.
Not a typical mirror with a glass face, but an old mirror made of metal.
Announcer: Early last night, a mirror displayed at the Hemidzuka Regional History Museum was stolen.
Could those thieves have been a group of this many men?
I get the feeling the ringing is coming from that mirror.
I get the feeling I've heard that ringing somewhere before.
And now, as that man draws near, his eyes release an eerie red light.
Kei: Aah...... S-someone......
Uzuki-san is away, searching for Kei-kun.
Sakuya-san is running an errand for me.
Yumei-san can't come inside the barrier.
And they say being an owner of the Nie no Chi is truly amazing, but---
Kei: Iyaa------------------------!!
---when alone, all I am is a powerless little girl.
Red Ending: Shimai (TN: By the way, "shimai" can also mean "sisters".)