Chapter 238: A Foxian Tale of the Haunted 『 Part Thirteen 』
「 Stelle and the others arrived at Aurum Alley, and after asking around extensively, they finally discovered Bailu… or rather, Bailus, in a secluded little corner.
Huohuo rubbed her eyes, and after confirming she wasn't seeing things, she tugged at Stelle's sleeve. "Why are there two… two Lady Bailus…"
Sushang looked toward the voice and saw two identical Bailus chatting away. Her vision went dark from sheer terror, and she let out a world-ending high-pitched shriek on the spot: "—GHOOOOOOOOST!"
"Sister, you scared me to death… Those two identical Bailus didn't startle me, but your howling nearly sent me to the afterlife…" Guinaifen covered her ears, shooting Sushang a resentful look.
Sushang apologized profusely in embarrassment, but amidst the commotion, Bailu and the Heliobus had vanished again. The group searched the vicinity painstakingly for a good while before finally pinpointing the duo's location in front of a dilapidated house.
Using Huohuo's bell, they pushed open the door and entered directly into the illusion constructed by the Heliobus. Not far away, the two Bailus were happily frolicking.
Sushang put her hands on her hips. "Hey! You Heliobus over there, let Lady Bailu go immediately!"
"You meddlesome jerks, we were having so much fun here! 'Lu doesn't want to go home with you!" A-Zhuo shielded Bailu behind her, declaring that as long as Bailu was willing, she could conjure up an endless supply of Berrypheasant Skewers and Stellar Boba, and they could play together forever.
There was only one condition—they couldn't get caught by Stelle and her gang.
With that, the two Bailus took to their heels. Within this illusion, Bailu's short little legs churned like the needle of a sewing machine, moving so fast they were nothing but a blur of up-and-down motion.
Stelle felt like she was about to run out of breath, yet she still hadn't managed to touch even the hem of Bailu's clothes.
Only Bailu's voice drifted back on the wind from up ahead: "Why do I have to live the way adults do? Adults always say, 'Don't be so playful now, wait until you grow up to play.' But from what I see, those adults in the Alchemy Commission don't have any time to play either!" 」
「 .....」
〜Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid World〜
"Whoa—"
Tohru's eyes went wide, her tail wagging unconsciously.
"The High Elder of the Luofu has amazing stamina! She can run even better than Kanna!"
"No way!"
Kanna puffed out her chubby cheeks, letting out an unconvinced hmph.
"If Kanna is fully charged, I can definitely run faster than Bailu! If Lady Tohru doesn't believe me, I'll go right now!"
"Okay, okay, settle down."
Tohru rubbed Kanna's head with a grin.
"Who does Kobayashi-san think is faster, Kanna or Bailu? Hmm… Kobayashi-san?"
Not hearing the familiar response she expected, Tohru turned her head only to see Kobayashi staring blankly at the Sky Curtain, her eyes somewhat dim.
"Kobayashi-san?"
Tohru tilted her head, leaning in closer.
"What's wrong?"
Kobayashi remained silent for a long while before the corner of her mouth twitched into a weary smile.
"Just now, Bailu said… 'Don't be playful now, wait until you grow up to play'… Adults said the same thing to me when I was little. Hearing it now just struck a bit of a chord, I guess."
Saying this, she grabbed the beer on the table, tilted her head back, and chugged it down with a glug-glug sound.
Kanna looked up, asking curiously,
"Kobayashi-san, is it true that you can't play anymore after you grow up?"
"Ah… it's not that you can't, it's just…"
A drunken flush began to rise on Kobayashi's face, and the force with which she slapped the table grew stronger.
"Every day you have to deal with crappy bosses and endless code! Sometimes you have to work overtime until eleven at night! By then, the trains had stopped running! Damn, boss, pay me my overtime properly! Hungover on Saturday night and construction noise on Sunday morning! And car loans and mortgages that never end! CHIKUSHOOOOO—!"
Finally, slapping the table wasn't enough to vent her frustration. Kobayashi strained her voice and screamed at the Sky Curtain:
"Bailu! Growing up means becoming a corporate slave! It's hell out here! You have to play as hard as you can while you're still small! Don't let them catch you!"
—
「 "Reignbow Arbiter above… This guy runs way too fast…" Sushang was so tired she couldn't stand up straight, panting as she made a suggestion: "Let's… let's hold a strategy meeting. I don't think chasing them relentlessly is working. We need to use our heads…"
"…Even a stamina-type like Sushang is resorting to using her head!"
Even at this point, Stelle remained stubborn: "I can run all day!"
"Then you… are very impressive!" Sushang looked at Stelle speechlessly. "Maybe… wipe the foam from the corner of your mouth before you speak."
After calming down, Guinaifen came up with a method she used to catch floating weasels when she was a child. She suggested closing the gates everywhere in advance to corner Bailu and lure the Heliobus into a trap.
The plan was effective; Bailu was soon cornered by the group, crying and shouting that she wanted to go out and play.
Hearing Bailu's cry for help, A-Zhuo appeared as expected, speaking coldly: "Adults are truly despicable. You'd even steal away a child's rare moment of happiness!"
Despicable?
Upon hearing this, Stelle put her hands on her hips, actually looking quite proud. "Hehe, I am pretty despicable, aren't I!"
A-Zhuo was stunned. It hadn't expected this person to take pride in it rather than feel shame. It gritted its teeth in hatred, deciding to counter them with violence.
"Violence. Violence is the only language you adults speak and the only one you understand, right?! Just like whenever you lecture children!" 」
「 .....」
〜JoJo's Bizarre Adventure World, Golden Wind Timeline〜
For once, Fugo found himself agreeing with this Heliobus from the bottom of his heart.
If he possessed me, we'd probably get along quite well, wouldn't we? —The thought suddenly surged in his mind, and Fugo let out a soft, light laugh.
He had qualified for university at age thirteen, a veritable genius boy. Yet when the professor he admired molested him, the only thought in his mind was "violence." Only violence could make the other person stop; only violence could secure safety. It was the only language that the professor could understand at that moment.
That was why he had picked up that encyclopedia weighing four kilograms and mercilessly smashed the professor's face into a bloody pulp.
And then came the expulsion from his family—
Until now.
"Phew…"
Fugo let out a long breath. Only now did he realize he was trembling. His skin felt as if it were in direct contact with ice, shivering uncontrollably.
It was the sensation of having the most unbearable scar in his memories ruthlessly torn open—a moment of intense pain, but once accustomed to it, a profound sense of release.
He looked up at the Heliobus on the screen, and surprisingly, he began to faintly look forward to seeing it exercise its "violence."
—