Headphone Actor (16 page)

“…. Anyway, where did you and Momo split up? Is it a little further ahead?”

“…. I-it was around the next corner. Probably ….”

Leaving the zone where the hands came out of the wall, and turning the next corner as Kido had said, we arrived at a path where there were rows of coffins were lined up on either side. …. If I remembered correctly, didn’t the owner of this mansion turn his guests into dolls?

Then what was the use of coffins?

However, if I were to really thin about it, the bloody zombies didn’t make sense either, and the hands coming out of the way made even less sense.

I was far from being a guy that would point out these little details, but to think that we’d been so scared of this kind of attraction …… At any rate, we continued onwards, and then, for a split-second, I saw a glimpse of brown hair from behind a coffin on the right.

“….. There.”

Once I muttered this, Kido jumped back in an instant.

“Wh-wh-what is!? Where!? Oi, Shintaro!”

“No, it’s not a ghost! Look, Momo’s hiding over there.”

Kido looked to where I was pointing, and after seeing what appeared to be Momo’s hair, her shoulders relaxed.

“Oh, it’s just Kisaragi ….. I’m glad we found her. You have my thanks, Shintaro.”

Kido stuffed her hands in the pocket of her parka and tried to look cool again, but by now, I could only see it as a gag.

“L-leaderrr …..”

We heard Momo’s voice from behind the coffin. She probably wasn’t coming out because she was waiting for Kido to come closer.

…. But there were only the three of us here right now, so I didn’t think it would be a problem even if she walked out in plain sight.

“Kisaragi! It’s me! I’m sorry about leaving you behind, but you can come— …..!!”

Kido moved closer to the mound of coffins while speaking.

However, when Momo turned around, Kido fainted at the sight.

Watching from afar, I’d also been surprised, but to faint without even screaming was worthy of a medal.

“H-huh!? Leader!? D-did I scare her too much ….?”

Coming out from behind the coffin, Momo’s face was covered in blood, and there was an ax stuck in her head.

Approaching Kido while looking like that, it looked like she was attacking her.

“….. What are you even doing ……”

Momo noticed me when I came closer, and turned around quickly.

Seeing her up close, she really did look terrible.

“Eh!? Onii-chan, you came into the haunted mansion!? Even though you get scared so easily ….”

Covered in blood, Momo made a face as if she were genuinely surprised.

“If it’s something of this level, of course I can come in!! So? What’s with you looking like that?”

“Oh, this? Well, after Leader left me, I hid here, but then I found this ax prop. And then, I thought I might as well scare her with it when she came, so I was waiting this whole time with make-up on. I didn’t think it’d work this well …..”

My sister really was terrible for making her leader faint.

However, as long as Kido was unconscious, we wouldn’t be able to get out of here.

“What’re you gonna do, huh!? We can’t get out like this!”

“Uwaaaaaah! Y-you’re right! Wh-what should we do …. Oh, I know, if we just wake her up …..”

Saying this, Momo gently shook Kido’s body.

“No, first, do something about that face of yours! If she wakes up now and sees your face, she’ll faint again!”

“Th-that’s true!”

Nodding quickly in agreement, Momo darted behind the coffins again.

If we left Kido here, the other guests that came would probably be really freaked out.

I had no other choice, so I dragged Kido along and also went behind the coffins.

Momo had crouched down, removed the ax from her head, and begun to wipe the make up from her face with a wet tissue she’d taken out of her pouch.

I sat down beside her, and heaved a sigh.

In the end, I hadn’t been able to be on my own and enjoy my private time at all.

“Somehow, I’m extremely worn out …..”

“I’m sorry …. It’s my fault that things turned into a mess.”

After she finished wiping her face, Momo said this in apology, and took out her cell phone.

There, she had set the group photo taken this morning as “celebration for her cell phone’s revival” as her wallpaper. However, after cropping it to wallpaper size, I had been cut out of the frame, so it hadn’t been a very good photo.

“It’s gotten pretty late …. But we still have a little time left to play, right?”

Closing her cell phone, Momo gently shook Kido’s body, who had been placed beside her.

“Leader, Leader! Wake up! The amusement part is going to close!”

“….. U-unngh …. Huh!? Kisaragi! Wh-why was I asleep here?”

Kido sat up quickly, and looked around at her surroundings. It would seem that she didn’t remember being scared by Momo and fainting.

“Ah …. Um ….. You just fainted, all of a sudden?”

Momo said this while avoiding eye contact with Kido, and lightly winked in my direction.

“I-I see ….. Well, whatever. We’ve met up with Kisaragi now, so let’s leave here soon.”

After saying this, Kido’s eyes changed from black to red.

“For the time being, I’ve made it so that only Momo won’t be visible. Shintaro and I, we’ll leave just as-is.”

When I turned to where Momo had been crouching, I could no longer see her.

If I focused my eyes and concentrated, I could tell that she was there, and once again, I realized how convenient this power was.

If someone like me has this kind of power …. Then maybe, I would be able to go into a public bathhouse.

Putting that aside, I stood up and walked out into the path again, and headed for the exit.

I thought about how I hadn’t been able to calm down for a while now, and my mood grew heavy.

Ever since I’d started walking at that time, I’d felt a kind of unease for some reason.

I’d started feeling like this since meeting up with Momo, but when I really thought about it, I understood the reason immediately.

No, but wait just a minute. “If that were true,” then everything that had gone on since then ……

For just a moment, I felt a chill, and decided to ask Kido, who had started shaking again.

When I stopped walking, Kido also stopped.

“….. Hm? What’s wrong, Shintaro? Come on, let’s get a move on.”

No …. My hunch was probably right.

Because I had unconsciously confirmed it just a while ago.

“Hey …. Kido. After we rode the roller coaster …. What happened to Ene?”

Hearing this, Kido made a face as if it were obvious.

“Ene? Right after that, she said she’d be going with you, and disappeared …..”

—As soon as she said this, the cell phone in my pocket vibrated cheerfully, as if laughing.

            *

Once again, I sat alone on a bench.

“U-Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! My … My jerseeeeeeeeeey!!”

At first, that haunted mansion had been scary, but later, it hadn’t been at all.

In the end, it was just an attraction at an amusement park. No big deal.

After we’d come out, Momo and Kido had gone off to search for the other members, saying that they’d contact me once they’d met up with Mary and everyone else.

The two guys aside, Mary probably didn’t have a cell phone, so it seemed like it would turn into a challenging task.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! I’m sorry I’m sorry! Please spare me!!”

In the end, my dream of private time had been an illusion.

Was this the result of sprouting wings so poorly …..? Ah, how pitiful ……

“Ugh ….. I feel siiick ….. Uee ….. Ughh …..”

“—Ahhhhhhhhhh!! Stop!! Don’t play that!!”

When I finally yelled at the cell phone I held in my hand, a girl with blue twin tails ran into view of the screen, grinning widely.

“Aaah, my stomach hurts …..! Oh, I do apologize. It’s just that Master has provided such wonderful material that—pfft!! Ahahah!!”

“Who’s material, huh!? ….. Ahh …. If I’d know you were there, I would have stuck duct tape over my mouth …..”

“Higyaaaaaaaaah!! Gyaaaaaaaaah!! That scared meee!! What’s with this thing!? I’m sorry I’m sorry!! …… I feel siiiiiiick.”

Even though I was being overwhelmed with despair, Ene was still roaring with laughing, cutting and pasting together a “scream sound sampling.”

In the end, it turned out that she’d been in my cell phone since that time I was talking with Kano and Seto.

And, recording all of the times I’d looked and sounded like an idiot, she was currently addicted to using them as a new way of having fun.

“I should think that’s enough for now ….. Phew. Now then! Master! Did you have fun today?”

Grinning and coming up close so that her face filled the screen, she asked me this happily, but I felt not a shred of goodwill from her face.

“….. Yeah …. Because of you, I had the worst day. Thanks a lot.”

Even if I got angry about being dragged along by her, I knew that it would be no use.

However, I gripped the phone I had in my hand with so much force, the display might crack.

“Oh, no, it’s much too early to call it a day, you know? After all, I still haven’t played at all yet! We still have a long way to go!!”

“What!? Haven’t you had more than enough fun!? Let’s just go home already ….”

“No way! I still haven’t had any fun at all! Master promised that we would play together. 
I haven’t forgotten
.”

Saying this, Ene’s face swelled up even more than it usually did when she was trying to intimidate me.

In times like this, I’d be forced into saying the right thing, and the rest would be history; it was the usual pattern.

There had been a time previously where she’d said, “Let’s play a game together.”

At that time, I’d decided to thoroughly ignore her, but immediately afterwards, my computer was infected with a multitude of viruses, and as a result of their destruction, I ended up even having to pay money for the game that we played.

…. Thinking about all the troublesome things that would follow, it probably a good idea to not compromise her mood from the start.

However, even that was a pain …..

“….. If you won’t play with me, then I’ll send Master’s precious folder to the little sister, and …..”

“Aaalright! I feel like having fun now!! So, which one should we ride first!? Preferably one that doesn’t move so much!”

I was desperate. I stood up from the bench and faced Ene. A very satisfied and triumphant expression spread on her face.

As for me, I still wasn’t fully satisfied with my first outing in so long.

It was a little annoying to have to be with her, but it was the amusement park, after all.

I also still wanted to have a little more fun.

“As I thought, Master!! Then, first is ….. Ah! What about that one!? The one where you sit in a chair and fire at aliens!! Master, you’re good at shooting games, right?”

“Haaah? How do you know something like that? We’ve never even played one together, have we?”

“Oh, is that so? Well, no matter. I know everything there is to know about Master! More importantly, let’s hurry up and go!”

Ene said this, and pointed in the direction of the destination.

“….. Fine ….. ‘Can’t be helped, so I’ll tag along with you. Just try not to make so much of a fuss, would you ….?”

“Got it!”

Ene answered with a broad smile.

She was really such a selfish,

Ill-tempered,

And elusive thing.

I almost started reminiscing about the past, but I stopped myself.

I had enough on my plate right now, just listening to her selfish requests.

—Until the sun sets, how much would we be able to play?

I held the phone like a compass, and began walking in the direction Ene pointed in ….