a wide field of vision. My eyes were immediately drawn to the huge bonfire. How nice it would be to be there, where it's so warm! I wonder if there's still any sweet sake left, though. Our failure must have caused some trouble for Juumonji.

The shrine visitors were clearly in a very different mood compared to us. I could see a drunk elderly man approach the outhouse. That would be one of the parishioners, right?

"Ah, he's coming over!"

Only then did I realize that Chitanda was also peering at the outhouse world through a different hole in the wall. The crack I was looking through was around my waist, but Chitanda's was around her eye level. As I was leaning over, my hand was right next to Chitanda's purse.

The elderly man did not come all the way to the outhouse. I thought he was headed this way to go to the Inari shrine, but he crouched to pick up something, then turned around and went back the direction he came from.

"What was that all about?"

I muttered, and Chitanda replied in a voice that lacked confidence.

"He picked up something that looked like a mobile phone strap."

"You could see that?"

"I think so."

"At this distance? And at night?"

Her reply was exceedingly earnest.

"I can see quite well in the dark."

So Chitanda possesses night vision in addition to her 20/20 vision? She not only has excellent eyesight, but she also has sharp hearing and sense of smell. On top of that, she's good at cooking, so she probably has a good sense of taste, too.

I lost sight of the elderly man as we were talking, but Chitanda could still track his whereabouts. She spoke after a short while.

"Ah, he went to hand it in."

"Hand it in? Where?"

"At the shrine office. Ah, there's too many people, I've lost sight of him."

At that moment, a stroke of inspiration flashed in the back of my mind.

"Hey, Chitanda... Is it okay if I break the wall just a little?"

"New Year Drama Special - The Winds of Change: Odani Castle" was really entertaining, with its unprecedented direction. What I found really amazing was the opening scene at the Battle of Okehazama. While other dramas would depict Imagawa Yoshimoto to be a master fencer, he was shown here to be a hero unparalleled in history, and cut down the Oda army even in the rain, beating them hands down. That would make Mouri Shinsuke, the warrior who took Yoshimoto's head, an unparalleled hero as well. When I saw Yoshimoto and Shinsuke clash swords amidst mountains of corpses and rivers of blood in the opening, I was laughing so much that my stomach hurt, and that was when I realized that this drama was actually a comedy[21].

I shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion so quickly, as there were some unexpectedly good parts in the drama. As I hummed the theme song, I idly returned to Arekusu Shrine. I flipped open my phone on a whim and read Mayaka's message again.

"Chii-chan and Oreki have arrived. They're waiting at the shrine office."

Well, she probably shouldn't send a message while doing part-time work.

I swung my bag around as I walked down the path to the shrine. With light steps, I ascended up the stone stairs, and with a sidelong glance at the crowd of people looking to buy amulets, I entered the shrine office.

I met Juumonji-san as I opened the lattice door. Of course, she was in her miko costume. Compared to her, Mayaka was unable to hide the pretension in her costume.

I guess I was lucky to immediately bump into an acquaintance, but I'm not that good with Juumonji-san. I started off with my usual lively greeting.

"Ah, Juumonji-san. Happy new year!"

Contrary to my expectations, she followed up with a question.

"Fukube-san, have you seen Chitanda?"

Chitanda-san? Isn't she here?

"I just got here, so I haven't."

"I see."

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Did something happen?

"Sorry I can't take you there right now, but go on inside. There's a stove in the main hall."

With those parting words, Juumonji-san shuffled into a corridor. Well, I have to be thankful that I've been allowed to come in.

I suddenly felt like taking a peek at how Mayaka was doing from the back door. Although this was my first time in the building, I had a general idea of which direction to head in. I don't look like one of those people serving sake, but I put on a face that said, "It's natural for me to be here!" and no one commented about my intrusion.

"It should be around here," I guessed as I slid open the door. Jackpot! Mayaka, clad in her scarlet hakama, was sitting in a proper position, close enough that I could reach out and touch her, and had a slightly tired expression. It must be tough to endure the cold for so long, but it'll be over in thirty minutes.

In the day, the store was bustling with activity, so she couldn't really talk with me, but it looks fine now. I whispered secretively,

"Mayaka."

"Fuku-chan..."

Is it my imagination, or is Mayaka blushing? If it's the latter, I kind of understand the reason. She's still embarrassed about her costume. It would be good if she could get used to it after wearing it for so many hours, but that's not really possible, since Mayaka is still Mayaka this year.

I had already wished her a happy new year in the day, so all I said for now was, "Good work." She was probably tired and didn't have the energy to even force a smile, so she only nodded in a childlike manner.

But then, probably having just thought of something, Mayaka's actions were filled with vigor once more, and she picked up a handkerchief from the lost-and-found tray.

"Hey, Fuku-chan, do you recognize this?"

It was a laced handkerchief that looked pure white, but actually wasn't. It could be considered to be pearl-colored, I suppose. It also looked expensive. I don't think it would be found anywhere, but it didn't strike me as particular special or impressive, even after being asked if I could recognize it.

"Not really."

I shook my head. Mayaka muttered in a vague voice.

"I think Chii-chan had something like this..."

Come to think of it, it wouldn't be strange for Chitanda-san to use something like this. Of course, she wouldn't bring this to school, though.

I smiled.

"Well, it's good that you have an idea of who the owner is. You can ask Chitanda-san when she returns."

Mayaka forced a weak smile and replied, "Yeah, that's true."

"Help doesn't seem to be coming..."

Chitanda, who was looking through the cracks, murmured. I groaned.

"I thought we were on the right track with the handkerchief, though..."

The wind penetrating the outhouse was growing stronger. As they say, you reap what you sow. I had broken part of the wall with the shovel. Due to that, more wind was blowing in. It's cold. Really cold.

I actually only chipped off a small bit of the wall, and I was only enlarging a pre-existing hole. It was now only large enough for Chitanda to stick her small hand out.

It is impossible for us to escape from this outhouse by ourselves.

I had drawn that conclusion earlier. While it was built in a barely noticeable place, there were still people milling about. It's not possible for us to get out without anyone seeing us if by using proper, acceptable methods. If only this room had just one window. It would then be possible to somehow dislodge the bar and open the door.

If we can't escape by ourselves, the only way was to call for help, but we could only contact Ibara or Juumonji. Both Chitanda and I don't carry mobile phones, but sadly, it doesn't seem that humans, even with their wisdom, will ever get rid of this primitive method of communication in this fast-paced, information-oriented society.

Thankfully, Ibara's part-time job as a miko included being in charge of the lost-and-found. As Ibara mentioned, the parishioners patrol the grounds, pick up anything that looks valuable and deliver the items to her.

In other words, if we drop something of monetary value, it would have a very high chance of making its way to Ibara.

There has been nothing wrong up to this point. The item that we dropped was picked up by the parishioners and sent to the shrine office, which was all according to the plan.

However, the problem was still not solved. We've established a method to send an item to Ibara, but we have no way of conveying our message for Ibara to help us.

I muttered,

"As expected, we can't do it with just one handkerchief."

We chose to drop Chitanda's handkerchief. It was our first choice as it looked valuable enough to be picked up and delivered by the parishioners, and Ibara would know who it belonged to.

Chitanda distanced herself from the wall.

"Yes, Mayaka has seen that handkerchief many times already, but it's not really something that leaves a strong impression..."

Even if we assume that Ibara knew that the handkerchief was Chitanda's, it would be difficult for her to make the logical leap and deduce that we're trapped in an outhouse. We would have to give Ibara the train of thought:

"This item was picked up near the outhouse. Why would Chitanda Eru be around that area? Wasn't she at the main hall? Ah, this has to be a serious problem!"

So it's impossible to do this with only one handkerchief, huh?

Then it's time for my next move. What would be the perfect object that would tell Ibara about our predicament when she sees it?

The banquet had started in the main hall.

there were many empty seats, and I'm not the type of guy who gets bashful when doing something alone, but since I was bored beyond boredom itself, I immediately pulled out of the hall.

There was no other destination except for Mayaka's place. I didn't want to be a hindrance to the part-timers. I thought about the two people working with Mayaka, but I felt at ease after exchanging some words with them. Apparently, Mayaka had made a declaration to the two of them.

"I'm aiming to go out with that guy," she said.

The three shrine maidens-for-hire must have gained a feeling of solidarity after working with each other for a long time, for the two of them were supporting Ibara vehemently. I wonder where those girls came from. They're not Kamiyama High students, I think.

As soon as I slid open the door, I could see Ibara beckoning me to enter. But if I stepped out of the threshold of the door, I would be in full view of the customers. No matter how few customers there were present now, I couldn't do that. Instead, I stretched my neck as much as I could.

"Fuku-chan, look at this!"

She produced a foldable wallet with two denim surfaces. Ah, I've definitely seen this before.

"Isn't that Houtarou's?"

"Yeah. That idiot must have dropped it."

"Well, Houtarou's a guy with many chinks in his armor."

Houtarou might think that he backs up Chitanda on many things, but that's only one exceptional case in my memory. Houtarou has actually caused Mayaka and Ibara to worry quite a few times already during our normal club activities. I remember the time when we all went to the hot spring this, I mean last, year thanks to Ibara's connections, Houtarou actually fainted after being in the hot water for only a short time.

Anyway, it would be just like Houtarou to drop his wallet. But if that's the case, I'm starting to doubt that Chitanda is the owner of that handkerchief.

"This is strange. Here, take a look."

Mayaka said as she opened the wallet. It's improper to look into others' wallets! Even so, I concentrated on staring at the wallet. This is...

Mayaka accurately summed up the state of the wallet.

"It's an empty wallet."

There was nothing in the part used for keeping notes, as well as in the part for coins. Not a single yen.

"Isn't that strange? Oreki came here for a shrine visit. He would at least be holding a monetary offering."

"Nah, that's not weird at all. He could have used all his money as an offering."

"Him? Are you serious?"

No, I think that would be unlikely. Then again, he could have had some really intense wish. I pointed at the wallet.

"What's strange is the card slots. Houtarou would usually carry around a point card or membership card, but there's none here."

"Ah, yeah, that's true."

"So this wouldn't be Houtarou's wallet, right?"

But Mayaka strongly rejected that theory.

"No, this is definitely his wallet."

"... Why do you think so?"

"Because this was tied to the wallet at the metal fixture usually used to attach a metal chain."

Mayaka removed a scrap of paper from her purse. It was a small, crumpled piece of paper.

I knew what it was when I received it. It was a fortune.

"Take a look at it."

I unfolded the fortune... and burst into laughter.

"Misfortune! Misfortune! Man, Arekusu Shrine sure is nasty. To think they actually have bad fortunes!"

But Mayaka didn't laugh at the bad fortune. A wry smile surfaced on her lips, but her voice was dead serious.

"That's the fortune that Oreki drew. It also said something like 'Pecked at by birds' or something like that. Oreki dropped his wallet while his bad fortune was tied to it."

I see.

I furrowed my eyebrows. As I had suddenly fallen into silence, Mayaka was worried.

"Fuku-chan?"

"... This means..."

I gulped in awe.

"Because Houtarou tied this inauspicious fortune to his wallet, on top of dropping it, its contents were also removed!"

That's really unfortunate of Houtarou, to suffer hardships so early in the new year.

This is the power of a fortune. It predicted Houtarou's calamity so accurately. I should also make use of this power.

I retrieved a 100-yen coin from my own wallet.

"Mayaka, let me draw a fortune too."

"Help isn't coming, huh... Tchoo!"

Chitanda sneezed.

And I had thought it would be fine since it wouldn't be cold at all. How wrong I was. Being a guy, I've never worn a kimono, but no matter how you look at it, it can't have the best insulation.

"You alright?"

Chitanda gave a troubled smile in response to my mundane question.

"Yes... I should have worn my Michiyuki..."

"Michiyuki?"

"Yes, that black clothing made from crêpe."

Ah, that coat. So it's called a Michiyuki, huh? It did seems very Japanese.

"I also regret not wearing my trench coat."

"It's certainly gotten pretty cold..."

Pretty's a total understatement. To be precise, we're reaching our limits soon. If I didn't have a heater pack in my pocket, I would have definitely given up and shouted for help.

Now, my pocket held various items, besides the heater pack. A 1,000-yen note. Some small change. And a point card for the CD shop.

It had been a momentous decision to throw down my wallet. I had thought that throwing out Chitanda's wallet would have been the better solution. If I tied my bad fortune to Chitanda's wallet, Ibara would understand the situation and would probably judge it to be an emergency.

However, I refrained from using that method. Chitanda's wallet wasn't the one that she normally used when buying bread from the canteen, but was a part of her New Year costume. I had taken a glance at it while she was paying for a fortune. Chitanda's wallet today was made of real leather and looked expensive.

I thought that it we removed the wallet's contents, it wouldn't be so painful if it were stolen instead of returned, but that was naive of me, as Chitanda's wallet was packed. If anyone besides the patrolling parishioners found the wallet, they would definitely go through its contents. That would be a problem.

Having no other choice, I emptied my wallet, and to show that the wallet belonged to Oreki Houtarou, I tied my bad fortune to the wallet. Since it was a piece of paper, I wanted to write "Help", but unfortunately, no matter how much I wracked my brains, I could neither find any writing equipment, nor think of any substitutes. I did think of scratching out "Help", but the creases from tying it to the wallet would make the word unreadable. I could have inserted the paper inside the wallet, but then Ibara wouldn't be able to tell that it's my wallet just by looking at it. I was at a dilemma as to which option I should take.

In the end, it seems that I chose the wrong on. The wallet undoubtedly got delivered to Ibara, but help still didn't arrive. Ibara should have suspected something after receiving Chitanda's handkerchief, followed by my wallet, but... It hadn't made her think of leaving her post and checking on our situation.

"Sorry, Chitanda. We might not have any other options."

I was somehow in a self-sacrificial mood and felt like giving the freezing Chitanda my clothes to wear, but I was also cold. If I removed this sweater, I would probably get hypothermia or something.

Chitanda returned with a smile.

"No, it's my fault for being selfish and dragging you along with me."

"You're not being selfish. It's your responsibility, right?"

"... That might be true, but that's no excuse for getting you caught up with this. Let's just call for help. We'll just have to put up with any rumors that spread."

I was filled with chagrin, having to give up after enduring the cold for so long. But we've exhausted all possible means. Since we can't think of anything else, we shouldn't delay pointlessly any more. I nodded.

However, at the very last moment...

"Ah, I imagine Fukube-san is already here, too."

Chitanda's lamentation reminded me of what I had forgotten. Of course! Satoshi's probably here already. He said that he would revisit the shrine at this time, so it would be natural for him to be here.

AT first, I thought of the physical ways to break out of the room. That proved to be too difficult, so I considered trying to contact Ibara. But Ibara wasn't the only person we could contact. There was also Satoshi. Satoshi would understand!

Ah, but we don't have the tools!

"Chitanda, do you have some sort of string?"

Chitanda faltered after receiving my sudden outburst.

"St-string?"

"About this long... Something around 50 cm would do. That will definitely be enough to convey our situation."

Chitanda started feeling around her body to search for a string.

"How about my sandal strap?"

"Too short."

"Ah! There's a drawstring on my purse!"

I shook my head.

"That's no good, since we'll be using your purse."

Unable to understand, Chitanda tilted her head in doubt. Well, I'll save the explanation for later.

"How about your bootlace, then?"

"Ah, right! There's that!"

With a spirited disposition, I looked down at my feet, but was immediately disappointed. If I was wearing normal sneakers, that would work. However, I was wearing laceless boots today. It's not like i was trying to look good. It's just that I was afraid the grounds would be slippery from all the melted snow. Boy, was I seriously unlucky for that decision to bite back at me here.

"If we absolutely must..."

Chitanda gently touched her obi.

"We could use the string on my obi."

"Is it long enough?"

"Yes."

Chitanda nodded, and for some reason, looked away. Not caring about the small details, I spoke.

"Is it difficult to remove?"

"Well, yes, it is. It will take quite a bit of time."

At that moment, a bout of uneasiness passed by.

"Erm, Chitanda, I'm not familiar with kiminos, but..."

"......"

"Will the kimono be fine after you take off the obi string?"

The answer to that question took a long time to arrive. Chitanda cast her eyes downwards and spoke in a small voice.

"The obi would kind of come off..."

"Come off? We can't do that then!"

"I guessed so. Since it would be difficult to fix..."

That's not the problem here. Even if we manage to get help from Satoshi, if he sees Chitanda's kimono in a mess it would be... Let's just say that it wouldn't look good. It would make all that caution we've practiced up to now absolutely pointless.

"Is there any other string here?"

Think.

This outhouse contains a bamboo broom, a metal shovel, a long pole for housekeeping, a platform to support a taiko, a long rod laid out horizontally, as well as a cardboard box, which is filled with a large quantity of teacups, all with the same design. We've reached this situation where we have nothing but the aforementioned items, but what we really need right now is just one string... If we had a blade, we could cut off the linen string fixed at the end of the broom. Would I be able to cut it by swinging the shovel? I don't think so, but it's not long enough anyway.

As if she couldn't take the silence, Chitanda timidly asked,

"Er... Why do you need a string to get Fukube-san to help?"

More importantly, where's the string? I'm about to freeze soon.

Mayaka shrieked hysterically.

"Why!"

A lost object had been delivered yet again. This time, it was a purse. Not the cheap kind that I use, but an elegant purse that a woman in a kimono would carry.

Mayaka was shocked because that purse belonged to Chitanda. Apparently, Chitanda had taken out that purse before I arrived, and Mayaka clearly remembered that it looked like that. A handkerchief, a wallet, and now a purse. The two of them had lost that possessions three times in a row. Is that the consequence of Houtarou's "Misfortune"? Incidentally, I have a "Middle Blessing". I'm a little disappointed, but if I look down the scale, I do feel a sense of superiority.

"This was also picked up near the outhouse. What are those two doing?"

It was light purple in color, was tied with a plaited cord, and was decorated with balls. That's nice. But it's clearly not something a guy would carry, so I shouldn't compare it with mine.

"And there's some dirty string tied around this, too..."

That line caught my attention.

"String?"

"Yeah, look."

Mayaka held up the purse. Indeed, there was a string tied around at the bottom. A purse that was tied at both ends. My eyes widened.

Th-this is...

I suddenly jumped up to my feet from my sitting position, causing Mayaka to look up in surprise.

"Wh-what is it, Fuku-chan?"

"Mayaka, where is the outhouse?"

"It's over there, near the Inari shrine."

"I'll be right back!"

With quick steps, I left the shrine office. As I ran with all my might under the starry night sky, only one thought crossed my mind.

Houtarou, Chitanda-san, I'm coming to help!

"Satoshi would understand. The meaning of a purse that's tied up at its opening and base."

Since I had done what needed to be done, I was free to give Chitanda an explanation. To be precise, I was explaining while being barely conscious after being driven to the wall by the cold.

"Because he knows a lot of trifling things."

Chitanda was also shivering from the cold. But it seems that her physical suffering was being outweighed by her curiosity. She drew closer and urged me to carry on.

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"The purse is a bag. If the opening and base are tied up, it means that the insides are trapped. This implies that we're 'trapped like a rat'."

In the darkness, a white head tilted in puzzlement.

"I...see?"

She clearly doesn't understand yet. I smiled.

"I didn't come up with it. It came from an episode in history. You know the Battle of Anegawa, right?"

Chitanda, with her exceptional grades, was strong when it came to memorizing details from the textbook. She answered smoothly,

"The Battle of Anegawa was fought in the year 1570, between the Oda-Tokugawa coalition and the Azai-Asakura coalition. Oda Nobunaga won that battle."

"It's a famous story from just before that... Do you know the Siege of Kanegazaki?"

Since this didn't appear in the textbook, Chitanda, even with her superior grades, did not know about it. She shook her head.

I then gave a concise explanation.

"When Nobunaga was attacking Asakura, Nobunaga's brother-in-law, Azai, betrayed him. Nobunaga's sister sent a small bag tied at both ends to Nobunaga, who was at the front lines. Upon seeing the bag, Nobunaga realized that his siter was trying to convey the message that he was 'trapped like a rat'. I don't know how much of this actually happened, though."

This explanation made me seem very knowledgeable, but I only knew about this from the manga I borrowed from Satoshi. I read it at the hot spring inn during the summer holidays, I believe. I also watched that same story unfold in the "New Year Drama Special - Winds of Change?: Odani Castle" in the afternoon. I did doubt if just one bag would work, and I thought that perhaps putting the effort to write a letter would be better... Anyway, if it doesn't work now, it'll be extremely troubling for us.

Well, it should be fine. In any case, Satoshi would be free, and like us, he would definitely go over to see Ibara. He should understand when he sees the purse. He's the one who lent me the manga, and he also watched the New Year Drama Special earlier. He's the type to be easily influenced by something he sees. If he sees the purse tied at both ends, he'll definitely think back to that historical episode.

"I never knew that such a story existed..."

Finally convinced, Chitanda nodded deeply, as starlight illuminated her profile.

Since the wallet was also picked up and sent to Ibara, I could rely on the patrolling parishioners to deliver the purse as well. If not, I wouldn't have been able to throw the purse out.

But in order to get the message across, we needed a string to tie around the base of the purse. It's impossible to convey the message using the purse alone, no matter how you look at it. However, we couldn't find a suitable piece of string to use in the outhouse. Without the tools, it would just be an empty theory. And then I realized that I was following a mistaken assumption... The string that we needed to find was not necessarily inside the outhouse.

The walls of this shack are brittle. Using the shovel, I broke off a corner of the wall, while apologizing in my heart. This brought the number of small holes I made to two. Since the hole was just small enough to put a hand through, Chitanda consented tacitly,

After that, I climbed onto the taiko platform. My aim was to get to the area near the ceiling of the outhouse, right under the eaves.

I pushed my hand out of the hole to get the string. A white "Arekusu Shrine" flag was placed near the outhouse, as if cuddling up to it. The flag pole seemed to be too short, so to stabilize the flag, a vinyl string was used to tie it to the eaves of the outhouse. I was aiming for that string. As expected, the solution was waiting outside the outhouse.

This way, I managed to produce the message "trapped like a rat". The rest is up to Satoshi. Well, it should be fine.

The door clattered. And then, a loud voice sounded.

"Houtarou, are you there?"

Chitanda stared at me with widened eyes, as if not being able to believe it. I shrugged and replied,

"Thanks for helping, I was about to freeze to death."

"There's some hot sweet sake waiting for you in the shrine office. Right, I'm opening the door."

Sweet sake, huh. It was the reason we got in this mess, and I don't think I want to see a cup of it right now.

Clatter, clatter, clunk. The aluminum door slowly opened.

Illuminated by the moonlight and the blazing bonfire, Satoshi smiled.

"Yo. Happy new year!"

"Hey. Sappy new year."

Buffeted by the winter wind, Chitanda sneezed.