Chapter 2 (1/2)
Day 2: A Conversation with Mary-san
”… Nagasaki?”
'Yes… it's approximately two thousand kilometers from Aomori'
”And you're going to travel that distance?”
'Yes On foot'
The next day Mary called again at the same time, and I let a fed-up voice into the receiver
”No No no No no no That's not how Mary-san is supposed to be, right? Isn't she the wielder of some sort of sot a job that specializes in search and ht?”
'No, um, I'm of the same opinion, but…'
”And nohat? On foot? You're walking? Walkht with that, Mary-san?”
”A Walkh, um I'm well aware this is a horrible state of affairs for a Mary-san”
Now then, I keptanother phone conversation with this Mary-san trainee Mary-chan, but this Mary-chan is saying sos
”No, I' two thousand kilo it… in the first place, why are you walking? You're supposed to be the urban legend Mary-san of all things, right? Don't you have any inherent abilities? Like the ability to warp fro?”
'Ah, I'inal Mary-san did have an ability like that It was a power called Hide and Seek: Beware the Other Side of the Line'
”Kickass!”
ESP! The source of eternal dreas!
My tensions rose just a bit For soether, and I had a slight urge to retort that she just called her clairvoyance plain old clairvoyance, but this is this and that is that Man is a creature ill long for ESP no e
But that doesn't eli, Mary has fallen to a terrible state of walking across the japanese Archipelago
'It's because I'm a trainee I wasn't able to learn the ability I didn't have enough skill points, so I…'
”It's on a point system!?”
… Eh?
The elevated spirits I had fro somewhat… this sort of, that's not how it's supposed to be, 'This forbidden technique concealed and passed down throughYou get me? … You don't? I see
'T-there's no helping it! I mean, if I don't have the clairvoyance, I can't even do Mary-san's duties… I used all the skill points I had on clairvoyance'
”Yeah, I don't think you'd be able to do anything if you just had the movement ability either”
I mean, without clairvoyance, she would have to call and ask for their present location She'd just be a shady caller
Compared to that, perhaps clairvoyance really was et's position, for the tiuess
”… But does that really ?”
'I-I mean… I don't have any money And I don't have avehicle'
”Hmm… then couldn't you just hitchhike?”
I just rando that's a surprisingly good idea
If Mary's appearance was a ht be impossible, but as luck would have it, Mary's appearance was a refreshi+ng little girl I doubt there was anything preventing her froht be difficult for her to conveniently find a straight route to her destination, but even so, it should be leagues better than walking
… No, ah, but I see Is that precisely why such a simple notion was inconceivable? The world's as it is Precisely because she is a beautiful girl, there ht be some whose minds wander where they shouldn't In that case, perhaps it rong for me to throw it out there
I was thinking over such things, but Mary's response betrayed my expectations
'No way, Akira As a Mary-san in training, there really is no way I could ever hitchhike'
”Hh”
'Yes Though froht be of little iends like me are formed out of?'
”Oy, oy, are you e student here, I at least know that much”
'As I thought, as I thought To tell you the truth, urban legends are… wait, what!? You knew!? Are they teaching that sort of thing at colleges these days!?'
As Mary's voicemy shoulders
”Hht Listen well, the hu phosphorus, 250g salt, and–”
'No, that's enough To start off, you're wrong You even said it yourself, that's not urban legends, that's the human body'
”Don't screith irl! I surpassed my limits to memorize it! In order to say it fluently if a half-way adequate scene ca, I did my best to remember it! At least let me say it to the end!”
”E-eh!? I-I'm sorry…?”
How cruel, for you to run soh the ot the idea that after I listed off all the ingredients of the human body, I'd make a nihilistic face and say, 'Hu a nihilistic expression In the end, such a situation never popped up, so it had always been useless information
By the hen it comes to other pieces of trivia of the sort, I've also h that's never been useful either
I took redients of the hu Mary
”And so? What are urban legends made up of?”
'T-this man is…! … Hah, whatever'
Mary let out a slight sigh and began to talk
'Starting froularities as a whole; those sorts of existences classified as occult are born froination'
”Hmm… is that hoorks?”
'That's hoorks'
Honestly, even if you tell me that, hmm is all I can see I mean, I can't picture it at all
But, for now, let's just nod
”I've heard, 'Extraordinary claiance,'[1] after all Now that you ht”
'You're bringing a degree of fabulousness into the field!? Not evidence!? … T-that aside… Urban legends hold precisely the ie of how humans think they're 'supposed to be''
”Well, otherwise, I guess an urban legend can't be set up If the Kuchisake Onna[2] held a chainsaw instead of scissors, then she wouldn't be the Kuchisake Onna any about?”