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Harukara Rescue Mission
“Umm, how about this?”
Leica raised her hand first.
“If Rosary’s situation is like she’s packed into a box, wouldn’t she be able to come out if we bang it enough?”
…Can such an old-fashioned, home TV-fixing remedy work?
“Can spirits be beaten out of whoever they possess?”
Beelzebub was also folding her arms, and tilted her head to the side.
“Whatever. Why don’t we just try it out? Better than not trying, right?”
“Azusa-sama! If we carelessly beat Harukara up, she’ll be dead for sure!”
That’s right. Times like these make my seriously high status a problem….
So, it was decided that she would receive a beating from Sharusha.
“Alright. Beat her up gently, but strong enough that Rosary’s soul leaves.”
“The hurdle is high….”
Even I who was giving guidance thought that way.
“Well then…here it goes. Harukara-san, sorry….”
Strike! Strike! Strike!
“Ah! That hurts! It hurts!”
Seems Rosary can also feel pain. …The one receiving damage is Harukara though.
“So you feel like you’re coming out?”
“I-it doesn’t feel like it but…. Ah! It hurts! It really hurts!”
“Sharusha, stop! You can stop now!”
This time Farufa raised her hand.
“Umm…ok. How about we scare here? Maybe we can scare her to the point that she gives up the ghost?”
That’s also a classic. Surprisingly, their line of thought is the same as Japan.
“But how are we going to scare her silly?”
“Ah! Farufa has a good idea!”
I unsteadily rose up in the still dark sky with levitation.
Along with me I brought the Rosary-possessed Harukara.
“N-nee-san…. F-for the love of G-God, pl-please stop!! Ha-haven’t we a-already re-reached an a-absurd h-h-height?!”
“Well then, you think you can come out? …Still not possible?”
“It-it’s no use…. I d-don’t think I c-can co-come out y-yet….”
It seems the fear factor from being this high up is weak.
“It can’t be helped. Moving on to the second phase.”
“…Eh?! Th-there’s a second phase?!”
There wouldn’t be any point if Rosary wasn’t surprised, so I didn’t tell her.
“Alright, it’s time for you to fall~.”
“EHHHHHHHHH?! Pl-please don’t do it!!”
“Don’t worry. Leica will turn into a dragon and catch you…I think.”
“S-SAVE ME!! I’M GOING TO DIE!!”
If she got scared with just this, maybe she’ll come out. Seems this might actually work.
“Sorry. Harukara’s life depends on it. Endure it.”
Then, I let go of her hand.
“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
After a bit of tremendous wailing, I could her Leica’s voice say “You’re safe”. I slowly descended and assessed the situation.
“So how’d it go? Did she finally come out?”
“Ane-san…. I’m still in here…. I thought I was going to die again….”
Rosary slumped on top of the dragon-form Leica with a pale face. She’s still in Harukara’s body.
“Seems this is also a failure….”
After that, we kept on with the trial and error. For example, at first morning light, we called for the village’s clergyman and had her receive an exorcism.
“AAAAAH!!! I’m dying! I’m really going to die again here!!”
Rosary was in danger of being exorcised instead of just leaving Harukara’s body so we stopped that.
As we were still thinking of solutions, it was nearly noontime.
Beelzebub told me that, according to her, “If Rosary doesn’t come out soon, Harukara will be in danger of having bad influences manifest. This all depends on the strength of Harukara’s soul.”
“We’re almost out of time…but we haven’t slept yet. Our minds are becoming dull because of that. This is bad….”
Leica was already repeatedly bobbing her head. Farufa and Sharusha were already at their limits of drowsiness so they already went to sleep. …There’s no way for us to find a solution like this….
“I’m…also sleepy…. However….if I nod off here…Harukara will die…. …Wait….”
I may be onto something.
“Leica? Whenever Harukara drinks alcohol, she always drinks herself dead drunk, right?”
“Yes. She does have that quirk.”
“What if…if we get the Harukara right now with two souls to sleep…maybe only Rosary’s soul will be put to sleep. Won’t something like Harukara switching places with her happen then?”
I didn’t have any scientific basis for this. It was only a suggestion.
“There might be some merit in trying this method where we put her to sleep.”
Therefore, we had Rosary, who was using Harukara’s body, rapidly drink alcohol.
“I-I haven’t ever drunk alcohol before though….”
“Don’t worry! It’s Harukara’s body after all, so it’s fine. Drink to your heart’s content!”
Harukara almost always falls dead drunk on her fourth cup. Since she pulled an all-nighter though, she passed out right there after finishing the third cup.
We watched as Rosary in Harukara’s body collapsed.
Before long, Harukara groggily woke up.
“Ugh…my head…. I don’t recall drinking though…. Also…it’s really bright around…. Is it noon? What’s going on?”
“It’s Harukara!” “She’s back!” “Oh! It worked!”
“Ehh…? Why is everyone so happy even though I just woke up after being drunk…? …Come to think of it, my body feels really heavy. Rather…I feel that something’s stuck to me….”
Yeah. Stuck is probably the right word….
“This…. If Harukara’s consciousness is stronger than before, it might be alright. It’ll be hard to possess her if she’s like this.”
“But still, what should we do?”
“Just leave it to me! I’ve got a sure-fire magic spell that’ll wake one up to the point they’d be angry!”
It seems like Beelzebub has a plan. She immediately yanked on Harukara’s hand.
“Alright, come with me. Come on, hurry up!”
“Eh? Wait…over there is…. Isn’t that the bathroom? Why? The bath water is…isn’t it already water?” [1]
“Like I said, it is fine!”
Beelzebub grabbed hold of Harukara, and tossed her right into the bath.
SPLASH!!!
A magnificent spray of water rose, and a soaked Harukara came out.
“Wh-what was that for?! Come on!! I was already wide awake!!”
“Seems so. Looks like she was able to properly separate.”
Behind Harukara, the transparent body of Rosary can be see.
“Eh…… I’m, out……?”
Rosary mumbled absent-mindedly.
“Hooray! The separation operation is a success!”
Footnote:
1. This is kinda weird because bath water and normal water are classified differently in Japanese. Harukara is saying that the bath water got cold so it’s almost like normal water.