in the day."

It seems that she's admitting that she's free now.

Ibara certainly wasn't lying when she said she was busy in the day. There was a tray next to her filled with items like phones, wallets, keys and foldable umbrellas.

"The shrine parishioners patrol the area, and if they see anything that might be valuable on the ground, they bring it here. There were also many lost children. That's why I was busy in the day."

Even if you didn't emphasize it, I wouldn't think that you're slacking on your job. Not in the slightest.

Changing the subject, Chitanda spoke.

"A fortune sounds like fun! May I draw one?"

Chitanda, who had been leaning over, stood up. As she turned back, Ibara called out.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Going around to the front..."

"It's alright, you can draw it here."

Having gotten permission from the salesperson, Chitanda retrieved her wallet from her purse, and took out a 100-yen coin. The wallet looked like it was made of leather, so it was probably expensive. Ibara, however, had laid eyes on Chitanda's purse.

"Ah! That purse is really nice too! It looks so elegant!"

"Ufufu."

Having received praise for her personal effects, Chitanda smiled joyfully. I found that to be surprising.

Chitanda seemed to have a different set of values from that of other girls her age, so I felt that it wasn't like her to show honest feminine reactions like "feeling happy after her bag was admired". Of course, those were just my arbitrary thoughts. Thinking that I can deduce everything about someone with the little information I have about them would be committing the sin of pride. I should turn over a new leaf this year.

Indifferent to the extremely unreliable decision that I just made, Ibara was deep in thought about something. She muttered,

"Yeah, I suppose purses would normally be like this..."

Well, the linen drawstring bag that Satoshi always carries around definitely wouldn't be considered elegant.

It's my first shrine visit in such a long time. It can't hurt to draw just one fortune. I took out a 100-yen coin, and dropped it into Ibara's hand after Chitanda. Ibara placed the two coins on the offering stand, and held out the hexagonal cylinder towards us.

"Here you go... May the gods' divine protection be with you."

That seems a little wrong, I think.

Chitanda was the first to draw a fortune. She opened the starched paper tensely. Before I had even opened mine, Chitanda shouted excitedly,

"Wow! It's a 'Great Blessing'!"

That's auspicious, but she should probably wait for me to check that there's nothing bad written on my fortune before rejoicing about hers. I opened my fortune.

"......"

"What's wrong, Oreki-san?"

"Nothing. Looks like this is going to be a great year."

The sleeve of Ibara's white robe fluttered as she pointed at me.

"You've drawn a 'Future Blessing'[17], right?"

Is that really shown on my face? I sighed and showed my fortune to the two girls.

The ear of grain that reaches the heavens

Is pecked at by the birds

And shows signs of being bent by the wind.

Good fortune does not reach the body.

And in large text,

MISFORTUNE

It is rare to draw a "Misfortune". It is auspicious to get something rare. Ergo, drawing a "Misfortune" is actually a sign of good luck.

The conclusion that can be drawn from that perfectly sound Modus Ponens[18]?is that this bodes well for the new year. We returned to the guest hall, leaving behind Ibara, who was looking at me like I was an abandoned puppy.

Chitanda, on the other hand, was beside herself with joy.

"What would a 'Misfortune' be like? I'm curious!"

Chitanda exclaimed as she grabbed my fortune and stared at it intently. Her first subject of curiosity in the year was actually about the text on a bad fortune I drew. I couldn't help but respond to that excessive innocence.

"Are you that happy about my misfortune?"

Chitanda tilted her head in puzzlement, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

"Didn't you mention earlier that you don't believe in these kinds of things?"

Yeah, I did, I think.

If I had to choose between believing and not believing in superstitions, I would have to say that I don't believe in them. But it would be a lie to say that I have never been drawn into believing in certain things, thanks to some rare cases. As I was thinking deeply about this, Chitanda's face suddenly drew near, denying my chance to reply to her question.

"Wh-What is it?"

"I am sorry."

Her head abruptly bowed down.

"That was just a show of courage, right? You're actually quite worried about it."

I couldn't think of any words to say regarding that statement.

"Just give it back."

A person swiftly walked past my field of vision as I reached out to retrieve my fortune. Juumonji was going down the corridor with quick steps and a tense face. Chitanda held out thte fortune.

"Ah, of course. Thank you for letting me see it... But, what should we do about it?"

"Nothing at all."

It can't be helped. The only thing that can be done is to dispose of it somewhere in the shrine, but I would feel so awkward doing so. I could just tie it on a sakaki[19], I suppose. Juumonji walked by again. She could probably tell us a suitable method to deal with it.

"......"

I thought that she had left, but she returned again. Unable to let her walking around pass unnoticed, Chitanda called out.

"Kaho-san."

Juumonji did have some errands to do, but it didn't seem like she was so busy that she had to fight for every second. She stopped when she was called, dropped her firm expression and put on an apologetic one.

"I'm sorry, Eru. I didn't bring you any tea..."

'No, that's alright. Did something happen?"

Juumonji's lips slightly slackened. I had already learned that that was her way of smiling. In these circumstances, it would be a wry smile, I suppose.

"Well, sort of. One of our part-timers tipped a pot. We're currently remaking all the dumpling soup and sweet sake for the guests."

"I see."

Chitanda's eyes widened.

"Did they get burned?"

"No, they're fine. They escaped with an amazing backstep."

With such strong reflexes, how did they tip the pot in the first place?

Although there were somewhat less shrine visitors at night compared to the day, there were still quite many of them. Sweet sake was definitely still needed. Furthermore, the pot was tipped when the banquet was about to begin, which explains why Juumonji had to run around the guest hall.

Chitanda did not hesitate at all.

"I'll help."

She was about to stand up, but Juumonji stopped her. Was it impossible for Chitanda to help?

"No, you don't need to."

"Why is that? I think my cooking should be fine..."

"I know that you can cook, but do you plan on going into a kitchen wearing that?"

Chitanda took a long hard look at her own clothing. It was a kimono that was red all over, an elegant piece with dancing butterflies and flowing wind. As expected, it was impossible to cook while wearing that. It seemed that Chitanda also understood.

"Is there anything else I could do, then?"

Juumonji thought for a moment and swiftly came up with a decision.

"Could you go to the warehouse and get some sake lees? You should see them on your left when you go in."

"On my left, got it!"

Chitanda immediately stood up and wiped her sleeves. Then to me, she asked,

"I'm sorry, but could you please help me look after my purse?"

No matter how much of an energy-conserver I am, I can't just sit by while Chitanda helped out in her kimono.

"I'll go as well."

"Sorry for your inconvenience, and thanks for helping."

With those parting words, Juumonji left the guest hall with haste. Chitanda held on to her own purse.

After some consideration, I concluded that it was just a small matter. I probably don't need my trench coat for something like this.

At the entrance, Chitanda asked me a question while I was putting on my boots.

"She said that it was in the warehouse, correct?"

"Yeah."

These boots were difficult to put on, as might be expected from something cheap. There was a buckle, but the hole was small, so I could only continuously force my foot in. I succeeded in putting on my left boot, and answered while squeezing my right foot into the boot.

"It's behind the Inari shrine, I believe... Right, my boots are done."

I opened the door. As the freezing wind hit my face head-on, I suddenly regretted agreeing to help out.

Not even a second had passed before I started longing for the daruma stove.

It number of worshipers hadn't changed much. The number of silhouettes surrounding the huge bonfire in the middle of the grounds hadn't decreased, either. There was probably still some sweet sake left, for there were still many people holding paper cups.

"I guess that's it."

I said, pointing at the outhouse. Since Chitanda was wearing wooden clogs, it was probably difficult for her to move quickly, so she followed behind.

As we drew nearer to the outhouse, we could clearly tell that it was really dilapidated, even in the semi-darkness of the night. The wooden walls and ceiling looked totally unstable. It looked like it would collapse if you gave it a good kick, like in a comic. Was the Arekusu Shrine that strict with its finances? Or was is perhaps unnecessary to rebuild an outhouse in a corner of the grounds? Although the red "Number One" flag for the Inari shrine was just nearby, there was a white "Arekusu Shrine" flag in front of the outhouse, leaving an extremely shabby impression. Furthermore, it seems that the flag picket was too short, so the flag couldn't stand stably on its own, and as a result the top of the flag had to be tied to the eaves of the outhouse with a vinyl string. That's seriously run-down.

But there was one part that was shining with a radiance enough to catch one's eye. It was the door, which was made of aluminum and was mostly likely brand-new. It was probably just replaced, the evidence being the fact that the remains of the previous door were still there. It was locked by a wooden bar, of all things. The bar was supposed to be put through the handles of the door, then it would be fixed with a padlock. However, on New Year's Day, with an unspecified large number of people moving around the shrine, the padlock was unlocked. They were probably careless, or perhaps magnanimous. Then again, there's probably nothing worth stealing in that outhouse.

After removing the bar, we opened the door and entered the outhouse.

"I hope there's a light..."

But we couldn't find a switch for an electric lamp. Come to think of it, the outhouse didn't seem like it was connected to any power cables, so it would naturally have no electric lighting.

"She said that it would be on out left upon entering, right?"

But this instruction caused a great deal of bewilderment to the two of us, because the only thing on the left of the entrance was a wall.

"Perhaps she made a mistake, and it's actually on the right?"

"No, I don't think Kaho-san would have made that mistake."

"But it's definitely not on the left."

I turned to look at the right side of the outhouse. We were in a building without light at night. We couldn't see anything in the absolute darkness. However, I said,

"It's not there, I think."

"That must mean..."

"Maybe it's further in?"

I reached out with my hand in the darkness and shuffled forward. It would have been quite dangerous if I hadn't done that, although it would have been much better to wait for my eyes to get accustomed to the dark. I gradually advanced to the inner part of the outhouse, trying to feel for the sake lees, but there was no positive response from my hand.

"I thought it would be an easy job, but it's turning into a pain..."

"Erm, Oreki-san..."

Chitanda, who was suddenly right behind me, called my name. A gust of wind blew the aluminum door shut, causing the light outside to be unable to enter.

"Yeah?"

"I don't know how to say this, but..."

Indeed, it did seem difficult for er to voice it out, as she was holding her purse with both hands and fidgeting restlessly. I continued groping in the darkness, while thinking that it was rare for the usually direct Chitanda to be so hesitant.

"This is an outhouse, right?"

"Right. You could also call it a shack."

"You are searching for the sake lees as requested by Kaho-san, right?"

"What else would I be doing?"

"I'm sorry if I misunderstood, but, erm, this is an outhouse."

I sighed.

"Yes, but what about it?"

In the darkness, Chitanda shook her head and for some reason, spoke in her smallest voice.

"No, the warehouse."

"Huh?"

"It's in the warehouse. That was where Kaho-san told us to get the sake lees. This is an outhouse, but the sake lees are in the warehouse."

By inverting her word order in her second explanation, Chitanda finally gave me a complete picture of what was happening.

I was at a loss for words. I instantly thought of hitting my head and saying, "Oh, man! I got it wrong since I don't have a warehouse at my place!", but I couldn't really say that, so I gave up on putting that idea to action. Instead, I replied quietly,

"You noticed from the beginning, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but I was not sure of myself. I do know that there is a warehouse behind the shrine office."

"You could have told me earlier..."

It's common for people to hide their embarrassment by finding fault with others. Well, I'll apologize later, but we have to hurry. The sweet sake's running out, and more importantly, it's too cold.

It was at the moment when we changed direction in the darkness.

We could hear a drunk voice outside the shack.

"Hey, the bar's off."

Then, an inauspicious thud sounded.

"Eh? That was..."

Chitanda still didn't realize it. I immediately raced to the door, or rather, since it was too dark to actually tell, the place where the door should stand according to my memory. I felt the cold sensation of the aluminum doorknob.

But then...

The door would only shake and clatter a little. I turned to look back at Chitanda. I could not clearly see her outline, but I imagined her tilting er head worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

She probably couldn't see it, but I shrugged anyway.

"We've been locked in."

"Hey, Chitanda, would you say that the phrase 'whatever you do on New Year's Day, you repeat all year' is true?"

I asked, and I could sense Chitanda thinking about the question.

"Well... I don't think that superstitious belief would be true. If it were, then if you didn't do anything on New Year's Day, then you wouldn't do anything all year. That seems too unreasonable. But Oreki-san... I'm more curious about the situation we're in right now, rather than the remaining 364 days ahead of us."

The wind blew in through the cracks, so cold that it was as if our cheeks were being cut. At the same time, those small cracks brought in a little light into the darkness. It seems that my eyes have gotten used to the dark.

I could now see a bamboo broom, a metal shovel, a long prole probably used for housekeeping, and a cardboard box of which contents I was unaware of. As well as Chitanda, who was wearing a kimino and a troubled face.

And also, the four walls that surrounded us.

A late grumble escaped from my mouth.

"How did we get in this mess?"

"I wonder. Perhaps..."

Even in the darkness, I felt that Chitanda was smiling.

"It was because you drew a bad fortune?"

I sighed deeply.

Could that really be the reason?

...No, that can't be it. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the old man was drunk, so he locked the door using the bar without checking if there was anyone inside. I said the other reason, or rather, the root cause of our problem, aloud.

"Sorry. It was all because of my stupid mistake."

Chitanda shook her head.

"It's okay. Neither of us imagined that we would get locked in."

That might be true, but I hadn't apologized for my mistake yet.

We might be locked in, but fortunately, we weren't trapped in a soulless factory or the school premises in the summer. This outhouse is on the edge of the grounds, in a place that is hard to notice, but those praying to Inari shouldn't miss it. If we shout, it should be simple to get someone outside to help us remove the bar.

"I'll try calling for someone. I'm going to shout as loud as I can, so you might want to cover your ears."

I certainly couldn't get Chitanda to shout. I practiced getting my voice out a couple of times.

"Ah, wait."

I was troubled about what I should actually shout. A competent high school student wouldn't go "Helllp meeee!", right? "Heey!" would be good enough, I suppose. Anyway, I just need to shout loud enough to get someone to come over and help. I took a deep breath and was just about to yell, when...

"I said, please wait!"

A white thing suddenly reached out in the darkness, and then a soft object covered my mouth. Startled, I swallowed my words, focused my eyes to my front and saw that Chitanda was using her palm to cover my mouth.

Surprised, I darted my eyes about, while Chitanda leaned over and used her left hand to roll up her right sleeve, with her right hand still firmly on my mouth.

"I'm sorry, but please wait."

There was an unusual graveness in her tone, causing me to nod unconsciously. However, what was the basis for asking me to wait? Removing her hand from my mouth, Chitanda asked,

"If you yell right now, what do you think will happen?"

Although I didn't know what was going on, I answered anyway.

"Someone would come over here?"

"And we would ask them to take the bar off the door."

"Yeah, and they'll probably help us."

"And they can open the door."

"Yeah, they can."

"And how will they interpret this situation?"

I couldn't reply immediately.

I finally realized what Chitanda was so afraid of. If I had been trapped together, with Satoshi, or if Chitanda had been locked in with Ibara, there would be no problem. However, that was not the case.

Would the kind person who removes the bar from the door understand our situation, given that the two of us are in an unnoticeable outhouse at the corner of the grounds in the middle of the night?

After a brief moment of silence, Chitanda spoke in a voice so soft that it was difficult to catch.

"It would be absolutely fine if our rescuers were people who do not know me at all. However, the parishioners patrolling the area know me well."

I recalled an old man's reaction upon hearing Chitanda's name at the shrine office.

"If we are rescued by one of them... they would definitely get the wrong idea. Moreover, the sake lees are in the warehouse, not the outhouse, so we do not have room for explanation. Oreki-san, I'm here today representing my father. It would be a different story if it were another time and place, but it would be troubling if rumors of me being seen with you in an outhouse in Arekusu Shrine on New Year's Day spread..."

I groaned.

Just by listening to her explanation, one would think that she cares too much about her reputation. Or that she would like others to think that she's such a person. But I would think that way only because I'm Oreki Houtarou, merely a plain high school student.

On the other hand, Chitanda belonged to a different world. She's acquainted with the son of the Tougaito clan, who have a great degree of influence in educational administration, as well as the daughter of the Irisu clan, which runs the largest hospital in Kamiyama City. They not only have a senior-junior relationship in school, but are also quite good friends. Furthermore, Chitanda is representing her father on New Year's Day in giving a bottle a sake to the Juumonji clan, which runs the Arekusu shrine.

That's a world that I'll never understand. I don't know if Chitanda's worry, that raising our voices now would lead to rumors, is a valid concern or a needless anxiety.

For a short moment, I felt that it must be quite lonely to be in that world.

I let out a short sigh.

"Fine, but what should we do?"

While there were many cracks here and there on the walls, there were none at all at the door, so it would be impossible to unhinge the bar from the inside.

"In any case, we have to get help from outside, and as soon as possible. If someone really needs something from here and opens the door, they would definitely get the wrong idea. Come to think of it, who would understand our situation?"

"Only Kaho-san..."

"...and Ibara, I suppose."

"Now that I think about it, we should have shouted immediately when the bar was placed on the door, but it was so sudden that I could not react in time..."

Chitanda's downhearted voice suddenly turned bright with hope.

"But that's alright!"

"Oh, you thought of a good idea?"

"Yes!"

She was awfully confident of herself. Did she really have such an eye-opening solution?

I could imagine her smiling in the darkness.

"It's simple. We just have to give them a call."

Well, that wasn't really a jaw-dropping proposal...

"It's certainly simple, Chitanda, but I don't think there would be any public phones in a place like this."

"What are you talking about? Are you joking? Of course, we use a mobile phone."

My head hurts. The wind from the cracks was penetrating my bones.

"I see. It's a good idea. Please go ahead."

"Ah, but I don't bring a mobile phone around."

Are you serious? You're just confused about this situation and forgot that you do have one, right? Right? I spoke in a subdued voice.

"Me neither."

And the, silence fell once again.

"Oh no! What do we do?"

It's a little late to be foaming at the mouth only now.

Besides shouting for help, would there be other ways to escape from this outhouse? I tried thinking for a while.

Is there a way to remove the bar from the inside? I should think this through seriously, without immediately dismissing it as impossible.

First, to consider the structure of the closed door. This door has no key, so if you push it hard enough, it would open a bit. However, it would open only up to the bar.

In the short moment I had to observe while entering the outhouse, I noticed that there were metal fixtures shaped like the character コ installed on the door and walls. Obviously, I don't know the details of these fixtures, like whether they were installed using nails or screws, but it can be assumed that they were fixed well and will not fall off even if we knock on them. Also, there is a wooden pole through these fixtures. That would be the bar.

This means that thee bar slides horizontally through the fixtures. If the bar fits vertically or in some weird position, we could probably be able to force a gap in the door somehow, then use that gap to lift up the bar. But it would be impossible for a bar that fits horizontally.

In conclusion, it is impossible to remove the bar from the inside.

However...

"There's more than one way to open the door."

Upon hearing my mutterings, Chitanda reacted with an "Eh?" I waved my hand at the door.

"For example, we could take the entire door off its hinges. Depending on how it was installed."

In the darkness, I focused on the point where door met wall. There were two hinges, one near the top and one near the bottom. Well, that's how a door is usually fixed.

The problem with these hinges is that to remove them, we would need a screwdriver to loosen the screws, and on top of that, the door has to be open for that to be done. With the door closed, the screw heads are blocked by the edge of the door.

The plan to remove the hinges is also impossible.

"Besides that..."

"Erm, Oreki-san..."

Chitanda whispered in a bitter voice.

"Hmm?"

"I forgot that you don't carry a mobile phone, which is why I asked you not to yell... But now the situation's changed. We should just call for someone. At this rate, you'll..."

What will happen to me? Chitanda was being really unclear.

"You'll catch a cold!"

Indeed, my entire body was shivering from the cold. I had assumed that retrieving sake lees would be an easy job that wouldn't even take a minute, so I didn't wear my trench coat. With only my sweater on, it was painful to be out in this weather, but it's not like I would die from the cold.

"But you're still worried that someone will misunderstand after seeing both of us together, right? If we completely run out of options, I'll resort to calling for help. Until then, I'll try to think of some other way."

"Oreki-san..."

Chitanda lowered her head. I didn't know if Chitanda could see me in this dark room, but I smiled the biggest smile I could manage.

"Well, it's not that bad. We can't remove the bar or unhinge the door, but there are still four ways to escape that we haven't considered."

"Wow! That many?"

"Yeah."

I started counting with my fingers.

"First, break the door. Second, break the wall. Third, dig a tunnel under the wall. Fourth, make a hole in the ceiling."

Having counted off four fingers, only my little finger was left pointing outwards. Chitanda kept silent, but that silence seemed to say that she was tired of my jokes.

Except that I wasn't joking at all. There's a phrase from a Sherlock Holmes book that I borrowed from Satoshi: "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however unreasonable, must be the correct way." Or something like that[20].

I pushed against the wall with my fist.

"All of these can be done if we try hard enough, I think. The door might be sturdy, but the wall it was fixed on is brittle. If we kick it a few times, the area around the hinges should give way.

"Also, the wooden walls have corroded, so if we use the tools here, we could break through without much effort."

"Wh-What?"

As expected, a voice of restraint rang out.

"These are all no good! No matter how old this outhouse is, it's still part of the shrine!"

"No good huh. I guessed so."

The shrine owners would probably get angry at us. Even if that doesn't cause us that much trouble, if we made too much noise, the parishioners would rush over, and it would defeat the purpose if we're seen escaping. In that case, breaking through the ceiling would also be out of the question. That leaves...

"How about the tunnel-digging operation, then?"

Thankfully, in this outhouse there were shovels that had sharp edges and looked reliable. Furthermore, there were no floorboards on the ground. Ah, that must be the reason for this abnormally cold temperature, because with no flooring, the coldness from the ground is directly transmitted to us.

"...Shall we begin digging?"

"How long would that take..."

I think we should be out by morning. Assuming I don't collapse in the midst of digging.

There's no use changing the direction of the escape plans. This is an outhouse, so it contains a few tools. However, a tool that could possible help us escape has not yet appeared in this present stage. Besides the broom and shovel, there was also a long metal pole used for housekeeping or attaching flags, as well as a platform for a taiko. The cardboard box turned out to contain a large quantity of teacups... What should we do with these?

The wind continued to enter through the cracks in the walls.

In any case, it's probably impossible. There's no way we can get out without opening the door, since this outhouse doesn't have a single window. But as we wait longer, it would become more difficult to come up with an excuse if a third party does come to rescue us. If we wanted to get help by shouting, we should have done so much earlier. I realize that I keep thinking if I can do anything more to get us out of this situation. Would that be considered willpower? No, I don't have that kind of spirit. It's just that I felt that Chitanda's fears are real, and I just wanted to be considerate to her, I suppose. Ahh, but even so, there's so much space outside!

Yearning for freedom, I took a peep at the outside world through a crack.

while it was a small hole, it unexpectedly provided -->>

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