“This is Agent Snake. An armored vehicle is on sight. We must get past it to reach the base. There seems to be no sign of the enemy near the base!”
“This is Agent Fox, our position is clear…The armored vehicle has left!”
“Ohhhhh…wow, it’s crazy, the offering box is already full!”
It had only been a week since we emptied the contents the other day. Despite that, miraculously, there was still the same amount of money inside as last time.
“Wow…wow. No, it’s really amazing…!”
“We should be considered as clergymen of ‘Ohone-sama’, shouldn’t we? Clergymen of a cursed god!”
“What’s this? An envelope?”
Amidst the shiny coins that were poured on the ground, the tip of something like a folded envelope poked out. The cheap brown envelope was empty of any writings, concealing the information of the sender. However, it was heavy enough to intrigue us.
“Surely there couldn’t be more bills inside, could it!?”
Although that was what we expected, in our hearts, we thought that it was nothing but a bunch of worthless doodles on some pieces of paper stuffed inside. However, once we opened the envelope, we could only gape at the content. Because inside the envelope, it truly contained 10,000 yen bills. And there wasn’t only one or two… a whopping five 10,000 yen bills, totaling 50,000. After a long dreadful silence, Hiroyuki was the first to open his mouth.
“Oh…hey hey hey…what is this, are you serious…”
The words that came out of his mouth were not of joy at the large amount of pocket money that had fallen into his wallet. It sounded more like mumbling at the ridiculous amount, astonished as how and why would someone offer such a large sum of money in such a shabby shrine.
“Ah…hahahaha. Seriously? Seriously?! That’s so pathetic! Who in their right mind would believe in the ‘Curse of Ohone-sama’?! Who in the world offers 50,000 yen?!”
If it had been just one 500-yen coin, we could justify it by thinking it was just a poor prank.
But…the equivalent was like hundreds of 500 yen coins were put together…it seemed the person who offered that much amount never considered it as a prank.
Who would offer 50,000 yen for a simple and silly legend of a school? Was that person crazy? That’s absurd… I thought the three of us were wondering the same thing.
However, even if the others couldn’t understand, I somehow understood it.
For us, the existence of ‘Ohone-sama’ was just a silly prank… But the person who offered such a large sum of money, the ‘curse’ was worthy enough for them to offer 50,000 yen in the offering box.
The sudden and unexpected development made me realize more than ever that the ‘Curse of Ohone-sama’ had completely left our grasp and grown stronger and stronger.
But among the three of us, I was probably the only one who was getting worried.
After a while, Hiroyuki and Toru gradually found their composure and slowly began to come to their senses. The excitement of the big pie that fell on us quickly grasped them. They were ecstatic about the large amount of pocket money that they just earned which they hardly ever got even in New Year. Soon, the conversation shifted to how we would be dividing the 50,000 yen.
…The fact that I was the only one worrying about something wrong happening was probably the proof that I was also the only one with a terrified heart.
If it was someone like Auntie Yuka… I was sure she would have also felt as happy and lucky as Hiroyuki and Toru.… For a moment, I couldn’t help the envy that washed over me thinking about Aunt Yuka’s boldness. I only felt pathetic and scared that the situation couldn’t make me happy.
I thought nothing more was inside the envelope, at least that was what I thought it should be. However, as soon as I turned it upside down and shook it. A small folded piece of paper fell out with a soft thud.
What’s that?
Intrigued, I picked up the piece of paper and looked over. The paper felt rough to the touch. If you put starch glue on paper, it becomes scratchy and rough. The texture felt very similar to that.
Once again, I thought it was some meaningless doodle of teru teru bozu with a skull and skeleton body. That was what I imagined before opening the note.
Briefly showing the note to Hiroyuki and Toru, I spread the note in front of them, hoping to use the doodle as a topic of conversation.
…But my expectations were greatly betrayed.
Because none of the three of us could have predicted what was written on it.
“Wha….”
A sigh of disbelief was heard.
If only this piece of paper had been in the envelope, perhaps it would not have been as absurd as we felt. However, considering that the envelope also contained 50,000 yen, the contents written on it were not something to laugh at.
『Please curse Miyoko Tanashi.』
That was exactly what was written on the piece of paper.
‘Written’ perhaps wouldn’t be the right word to describe. The letters of the simple request were cut out and pasted from newspapers or books. The unexpected appearance was not only strange but terrifying to us. It reminded me of letters written to threaten someone in movies. This whole situation was becoming more and more absurd.
Since the request was found in the same envelope of 50,000 yen, then it must have been… intended as payment for that.
For a while, none of us could form a single coherent word, the silence made us feel like we even forgot to breathe.
…Unable to bear the silence any longer, Hiroyuki snatched the piece of paper and stared at it, as if confirming what he read was right. Next to him, Toru took the note from his hand and stared at it hard enough as if he wished a hole could appear. Then it was returned to me, and my eyes landed on the cut out letters again.
…It didn’t seem like the sender was just playing a prank.… It was clear that they wanted to put a curse on the person called Miyoko Tanashi. Even I could sense the ‘malice’ emitting from the note.
What Aunt Yuka said the previous night flashed in my mind.
“I think that the fictional existence of Ohone-sama was probably just some mischievous student playing pranks. But if there are already people who believe in the curse, then a god already resides in the existence of Ohone-sama. In other words, you could say that the cursed god called ‘Ohone-sama’ has already started existing.”
…I had begun to wonder if this prank was just a prank to others, as we believed it to be.
This 50,000 yen was offered to the cursed god ‘Ohone-sama’, hoping to curse another person. If we embezzle it, doesn’t that mean that we will be offending ‘Ohone-sama’ and get punished by him…?
More importantly, if someone accidentally witnessed a curse ritual, where someone hammers nails into a straw doll, doesn’t that mean that person would be killed for witnessing it?
If…the person who offered 50,000 yen in the envelope knew that it landed in our hands, then…
My eyes landed on the five bills of 10,000 yen… The realization that the person was extraordinarily rich and could also kill us with money dawned on me…
“Hey, is it alright…?”
“It’s fine….It’s fine I think. No one saw or knew about it anyway.”
Hiroyuki, who had always pretended to be bold and courageous, also couldn’t stop the rising uneasiness… Perhaps that was why he responded to my weak-willed remarks in such a foul mood.
Without uttering a single word, he began tailing the coins, as well as the bills, silently. After evenly dividing it into three parts, he distributed a share to everyone.
Each of us was presented with our share of coins. However, for the first time since we started this prank, both Toru and I hesitated to accept them.
Our hesitation must have made him even more uncomfortable. With a look of extreme unpleasantness, Hiroyuki roughly shoved his share into his pocket and looked away.
His rough behavior brought Toru to his senses. He also gathered up his share of coins, scowled at them and similarly to Hiroyuki, roughly shoved them into his pocket.
…I was the only one who was still unsure whether I should touch this money, even at this point.
“What’s the matter, Tomohiro? Are you scared?”
“…No… nothing. I’m not scared at all.”
“Why are you getting scared over such a small change like this, hey!”
“Take it, we’re friends, right? I divided it evenly!”
Surprised washed over me at the sudden mention of the word ‘friends’ at a time like this. It was unexpected on my part.
If anything, it just seemed like he was urging the two of us to cross the thin line of goodness and reach the other side. He seemed like pushing the decision to us because he didn’t want to be the only one being punished.
At the time, I was a bit puzzled at his behavior. I couldn’t comprehend as to why he had decided to take the money if he was terrified…. But, I thought perhaps I was too young at that time to express my confusion.
“Damn, Tomohiro, you’re a scaredy-cat!”
“I’m not a scaredy-cat! Don’t make fun of me!”
I was already scared in my heart for partaking in something I didn’t wish to. But when he taunted my inner fear, I reflexively got angry. To show them I wasn’t scared, I hurriedly gathered up my share and shoved them into my pocket.
After witnessing this, both Hiroyuki and Toru showed a relieved smile, as if they were glad to see I was still with them. The smile on their faces expressed a sense of relief, as if I had completed a rite of passage into their cult.
…But now that I think of that time, if I hadn’t gotten angry and just refused to accept the coins of my share, what would have happened to our friendship?… Such thoughts never failed to make me sorrowful.
After a while, I couldn’t stand the silence any longer and started thinking about how to start a conversation.
“…But anyway, who is Tanashi?”
“Miyoko seems like a girl’s name, so she must be a girl. Is she someone from our school? I don’t remember someone in our class having that surname.”
“Ah… well, I think she’s a girl from our school. I remember there was a girl with the surname Tanashi in our class in the first year. I never talked to her, so I don’t remember what she was like.”
“Then she must be in another class now.…Then the one who sent this letter must be from the same class as well.”
“Maybe? If there was such a girl in our class who is disliked by everyone, we would have known. She’s definitely from another class.”
“Maybe both of them are from the same class. A guy would never offer 50,000 yen just to put a curse on someone. We take revenge with fists.”
Hahahahaha.
As the three of us laughed heartily, the previous gloomy atmosphere finally cleared up a little.
But Aunt Yuka’s words once again came back to my mind.
That’s right… She also mentioned it. She said that things like curses tend to be more popular in the world of girls.
What Toru said was correct. Offering up 50,000 yen just to curse someone you dislike isn’t something a boy would do.
In the first place, if a guy has a strong distaste towards someone, he would think about getting revenge by himself rather than asking for someone’s help. Curses are for those only who are weak, so there aren’t many boys who believe in them. I didn’t think any guy with a brain would offer 50,000 yen and pray to God just to punish the person he dislikes.
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the person had already offered 50,000 yen. They would be sad if their prayer isn’t accepted to some extent.”
“Ahh! But what are we supposed to do? Are we going to change our target on Tanashi now?”
“… I think it’s wrong to target a girl we aren’t even familiar with…”
“Tomohiro, you also accepted your share from the money, didn’t you? Aren’t we all friends? We’re professional mercenaries. As long as we receive the money from our clients, we can handle any operation!”
“Alright then, let’s start our new operation.”
It seemed like a new plan had already begun brewing in the minds of Hiroyuki and Toru. Then… If we change our target to the girl named Tanashi and bothered her in the name of the curse, would a new setting be added with the already existing ones of the ‘Curse of Ohone-sama’? Does that mean people would get the message that you can also curse whoever you wish? Even now, without us doing anything, the curse continued to evolve and grow, becoming a mysterious entity that couldn’t be contained in the palm of our hands.
Was it really okay to encourage such a cursed spirit…? My mind was filled with questions and worry, but I didn’t dare to ruin their excitement lest I be called cowardly again. Therefore, burying all my anxiety and hesitation, I decided to play along with their new plan on the surface. Starting tomorrow, the two of them would start pulling some prank solely targeting a girl surnamed Tanashi from a different class than ours…However, to the girl on whom the prank was played and the students witnessing it, it would not end just as a simple prank. It was a dangerous gamble where we were trying to scatter empty cola bottles… Untill all hell broke loose, it never occurred to me that it could be the beginning of something irreversible…
T/N: If you like my work, consider supporting me on Kofi.
