The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 4 [Complete] by Natsu Hyuuga

Author:Natsu Hyuuga
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 13: Festival

Maomao was given a traditional-looking outfit to wear: a pure-white jacket and a red skirt. She covered her face with her fox mask and carried a lantern decorated with pampas grass and rice stalks. Thus attired, she was told, they were going to walk to the shrine at the edge of town.

The men wore blue clothes, while the children had bundles of rice and pampas grass draped behind them like tails. These people appeared to worship Kosen, a fox deity. The fox was a spirit of abundance, and venerated in many places. It was only natural that there should be a major festival in autumn, when so much came from the land.

Maomao heard the chiming of a bell. Beside her was someone who had outlined the eyes of their mask in a way that looked faintly ridiculous, despite its being a fox. The normal color to paint around the eyes of a mask like this was red, yet this person had used green, and the corners of the eyes seemed to droop down somehow.

“Looks more like a tanuki,” Maomao commented to the mask’s owner, Shisui. Maybe she was better at drawing bugs than beasts. The thought brought an unexpected smile to Maomao’s face. Guess this is hardly the time, she said to herself. But she also knew that denying herself a pleasant thought wouldn’t help her under the circumstances.

“You remind me of a cat, Maomao,” Shisui said. There was a bell on her hair stick that jingled every time she laughed. It sounded oddly like the bugs she’d once collected. Just on the end of the hair stick, Maomao could see a small bug carved from a jewel. The girl really did like insects.

“Here, Maomao, make sure it’s nice and tight,” she said, and then snugged down the string of Maomao’s mask. The string went right over where Maomao had tied her hair, though, and Shisui couldn’t quite get it to stay. “Hrm. Hang on, I’ll try again. Sit down.” She helped Maomao seat herself on the railing of the inn. Then she brushed Maomao’s hair aside and retied it.

“Hmm, it needs something else. It looks so lonely with just a hair tie.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Oh, I know! I’ll lend you a hair stick. I have one shaped like a spider’s web. It’s really cute!”

Maomao wished there were some way to politely refuse. She dug into the folds of her robes and managed to come up with the hair stick Jinshi had given her. It looked plain, but the quality was fine. Maomao, who was perfectly happy to get by with a simple hair tie, tended to leave it in her robe.

“Use this, if you would.”

“Aww...” Maomao didn’t have to turn around to picture the pout on Shisui’s face. She pressed the hair stick into the other girl’s palm. “Gee, this is nice, Maomao,” Shisui commented.

“Someone gave it to me,” she replied. Given it to her without much ceremony, true enough, still.

“What if I asked you to give it to me? Would you do it?”

After a moment’s pause, Maomao said carefully, “I’m afraid not.

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