“So then, whatcha gonna do?” Tenyuu said, acting like it wasn’t his problem.
“Even if you ask me. Weren’t we taking a look at what can be useful?” Maomao replied.
She looked at the courtyard.
Since Rihaku was on night patrol, they decided to let him sleep. In exchange, he gave them a sketch map of the residence.
In addition, they went out after talking the quack doctor into it, so they had to finish it as soon as possible.
“I’m a pair of scissors. If you don’t tell me what paper to cut, I won’t be able to cut. It’s okay if you’d rather I stab anything from the back though,” Tenyuu muttered.
“….”
It seems he was holding a grudge over not being trusted by Maomao and Rihaku.
(But there’s how he is.)
His sense of morality appeared to be lacking somewhat.
“For now, shall we head to where the monster in question appeared?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said.
The first location was the courtyard where the floating mask was often seen.
“Eyewitness reports lean towards that tree over there and the top of the building.” Maomao glanced at the sketch map of the residence. It was quite large for a villa.
“Hooh.” Tenyuu looked at the tree and building interchangeably.
“Anywhere you’re interested in?”
“Not really. What about you, Nyannyan?”
This was what Tenyuu called Maomao.
“Just two things for me.” First, she looked at the tree. “The tree is a bit different to trees that grow in places outside the western capital. It’s taller.”
“What about it?”
“Aren’t you curious? Different species of trees make different types of medicines. I won’t know unless I get closer though.”
“Alright, how does that relate to this?”
Such an unappealing personality. Maomao made a bored expression.
“And the other thing is?” he asked.
“The other thing is that what they saw at the tree and the building appears to be a mask.”
“That’s because they’re saying a mask appeared.”
“Yes. A mask or a face appeared. But, no one said anything about a head appearing.”
The one thing Maomao was curious about was how the testimony for a face and for a head would be different.
“Could a mask and head be different in terms of a flat surface and a solid object?” Tenyuu asked.
He had a pretty good head on his shoulders. It came with disappointing parts.
“I have no idea about that, but I’m a little interested. I’m thinking about checking out that tree,” she said.
“Sure. Anything I can do?”
It seems the scissors got interested in working.
“Yes, in that case.” Maomao took out a hand towel from her bosom pocket. She wrapped a stone from the ground with it. “Please hang this securely on that tree.”
“Don’t ask for the impossible,” Tenyuu said as he held it aloft in a beautiful form, and threw the towel onto the tree. With this, she can unreservedly climb the tree.
Maomao trudged over to stand under the tree. The tree was broadleaf, and two jou (6m) high.
“So this is sweet osmanthus,” she said, identifying it at close up.
The tree was blooming small fragrant flowers. It was used in cassia wine and flower tea.
Maomao placed her hand onto the tree, then exclaimed, “Uwah.”
“Uwa, filthy,” Tenyuu said.
(Shut up.)
There were bird droppings on Maomao’s hand. Half-dried droppings. She was going to rub it onto the tree trunk, then stopped.
“Eh? What are you smelling?”
Tenyuu drew back.
“Eh? What are you stirring with a stick?”
Tenyuu watched her coldly.
“Eh? Pick up? Pick up poop like with chopsticks?”
Tenyuu retreated half a step.
It wasn’t that Maomao enjoyed doing this. But animal excrement contained all sorts of information.
“It looks like this bird mainly eats insects,” she said.
“They’d eat insects at least, no?”
“There’s also fur from mice or some small animal mixed in it.”
“It eats mice? Could it be a falcon or a kite?”
If it eats small animals, insects aside, it would have to be a fairly large bird.
“Yes. But…” Maomao looked around. This estate had a lot of greenery and was also abundant with water, so birds would gather here, but at least, there wouldn’t be large birds that eat mice. Also, with such a large bird, the smaller birds will fly away.
At least, not during this time period.
As Maomao wondered, she then looked at the building. “That building. We can’t climb up onto the roof, right?”
“The roof, huh. Shall I throw the towel again?” Tenyuu asked.
“Will it reach?’
“Looks impossible.”
We’ve no idea for a solution, so let’s head back, Maomao thought when she noticed something move in her peripheral vision.
When she looked to see what it was, there was nothing special. Decorative carvings could be seen under the roof.
“…yeah, I really want to climb the roof,” she said.
“Ehhh, that’s impossible..”
“Let’s borrow something. A ladder.”
“Even if you say that. We’d have to ask the gardener,” Tenyuu said, unmotivated as if his interest had mostly faded.
(Come to think of it, the gardener would be…)
The grandpa who said he saw the head yesterday.
Maomao headed for the shed where the gardener was.
.
.
.
“Even if you suddenly ask me to lend you a ladder.”
The grandpa responded crankily. He seemed somewhat out of sorts, perhaps due to the strange thing he saw yesterday. “I was told to treat the guests kindly, but I wasn’t told to help out with stirring things up at the residence though.”
“That’s reasonable,” Tenyuu agreed.
(Whose side are you on?)
Tenyuu was utterly unreliable.
“In the gap of the roof of this residence, it looks like there’s a bird’s nest though,” Maomao said.
“A nest? Which reminds me, there’s been a lot of droppings lately,” the gardener said.
“Yes. It’ll be a pain if a bird had built a nest, so shall we clean it up, we thought. And while we’re at it, I’ll be happy if I could get the eggs. To make medicine.”
“Medicine, you say. And you don’t even know what kind of bird it is?”
“Yes. Eggs are high in nutrients after all.”
Maomao gave a sloppy reply.
She then added one more thing. “The recent commotion about the monster. I think I know where it came from.”
“Y-you serious!?”
“Yes.”
At least, I can solve half of it, Maomao thought.
.
.
.
The gardener immediately took out a ladder for them, but it was more unstable than expected.
“Could it be that I’ll be the one climbing?” Tenyuu asked Maomao.
“From the way you’re speaking, it means you’re not in the mood to climb?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
They couldn’t ask the gardener to do that much, so Maomao decided to climb herself. However, when she stepped up onto the large ladder, leisurely officials and servants gathered around.
“….”
Unfortunately, the other person who could climb the ladder in place of Maomao wasn’t around. He was just on a jaunt.
Incidentally, the original leisurely person also turned up.
It was Jinshi. With the entrance of the big shot, everyone took three steps back.
Jinshi, with an inexplicable expression, said something to Basen. Basen nodded and walked over to Maomao.
“It looks like you’re going to climb the ladder. I’ll take over. What do you want me to do?” Basen asked.
“Basen-sama, is it?” Maomao said.
Honestly, if he were to go, it would be faster for Maomao to climb. Basen was better in terms of athletic ability, but she felt that his quick judgement was lacking. Besides…
(He’ll make a mess of something with his stupid strength.)
“No, it’s fine. I’ll do it.” Maomao turned him down cleanly.
But Basen won’t budge. “I said I’ll take over. What do you want me to do?”
He assumed he’d take over. Maomao could only give in.
“…I think, probably, most likely, a bird built a nest in the gap of the roof. If there’s a bird, can you catch it for me?” she asked.
“A bird, huh.”
“Yes. I think it’s a nocturnal bird. If it’s sleeping, please do it slowly. That’s only if you can reach though.”
“Got it.” Basen breathed heavily. Maomao got uneasy on the contrary.
“Basen-sama, you won’t be able to reach the Pure Land with pointless killing, so please try not to strangle it.”
“Without strangling it…”
At that moment he lowered his voice.
(I’m uneasy.)
She thought that she really should’ve woken up Rihaku to have him take over, but she looked at the gap in the roof. Rihaku won’t fit.
“With the size of the gap, I think it’s better I go,” she said.
“N-no. I’m going. Leave it to me!” Basen exclaimed.
Maomao, while feeling uneasy, watched Basen ascend the ladder. The one fortuitous thing was that his body was sturdy so even if he were to fall, there would be no worries of him getting hurt, huh.
Basen climbed the ladder, then peered into the gap under the roof carving. He made a ring with his index finger and thumb.
(So there is a bird’s nest.)
When he was able to detach the decorative piece, Basen slowly removed it. He pushed a cord through the carving to lower it all the way to the floor. He twisted himself into the gap.
Not only Maomao, everyone around her gulped.
Everyone had gone silent, but it turned out Chue had shown up before she realised, displaying a board written with ‘Be quiet’.
For a moment there was no response, then there was a loud rattle.
“It escaped…” Basen’s voice echoed out.
(Heeeeyy!!)
Maomao panicked, and Chue put down the board and climbed the ladder. When she wondered what the woman was doing, Chue stood before the front of the gap Basen crawled into, then caught something that flew out with a net.
“….”
Maomao was also shocked at the woman’s great performance.
“I caught it!” Chue held the net up high. Her expression was triumphant, boasting, and a little irritating.
The show-off didn’t let the best part of the show get away.
(´◉◞౪◟◉)
