"Picture Book: Akane Shiramine's Adventure (Revised)" 3. Return [Reconstructed Version] / Jan 13 Illustration Added
This episode is a new work that reconstructs the already published "Picture Book: Akane Shiramine's Adventure (Revised) Episode 3: Return," while keeping the characters and world view the same.
You can read the old version from the link below.
Episode 2, which precedes this episode, is here:
The magical beast was glaring at Akane. Fear welled up inside Akane like a storm. However, Akane did not try to resist that fear. Letting the storm of fear rage within her, she focused all five senses she could muster on the magical beast.
While afraid, do what must be done.
This was the method for dealing with fear that had been drilled into her during the "Exorcist Shrine Maiden" training course.
Akane and the others had been taught the following about fear.
Fear creates poison in the blood. Or, the poison created in the blood creates fear. The order is not important. What is important is that fear is a physical reaction.
In a healthy human body, extreme physical reactions do not last long and eventually return to normal. Fear is the same; the poison of fear weakens as it circulates through the body in the blood, and one's composure returns.
The time this takes is approximately 90 seconds (in Earth time). If you try to resist fear during this time, that resistance will stagnate the blood flow, causing the poison to remain in the body and increase the fear.
Accept the fear and endure it for 90 seconds, and while doing so, do what must be done.
Akane was executing this almost reflexively. The 1,000 hours of fear-coping training in the intermediate shrine maiden training course were demonstrating their effectiveness brilliantly.
In that regard, Sachi, who was still a beginner shrine maiden and had not received sufficient fear-coping training, appeared to be swallowed by fear.
Sachi stumbled as she tried to retreat to get away from the magical beast. The magical beast turned a sharp gaze toward Sachi for an instant, but immediately returned its gaze to Akane.
--This magical beast's primary concern is not us.
Akane thought. Even though the magical beast had returned its gaze to Akane, rather than being locked onto her, its eyes seemed to be searching around her, with Akane at the center.
Akane deduced the adult magical beast's objective. She was 80% certain that her conclusion was correct. For Akane, 80% certainty was enough to take action.
"Sachi, you don't have to answer, just listen calmly."
Sachi appeared to nod slightly. It would be appreciated if she would just stay still at a time like this, but...
"This magical beast only came to look for the child magical beast, and it has no intention of attacking us. If it had that intention, we, who had our backs turned, would have been done for long ago. And, it has been looking only at the child magical beast for a while now.
I will talk to this magical beast, so you stay still right there. If I happen to be attacked, run with all your might. This magical beast is not an opponent you can handle."
Akane quietly shifted her body position to make it easier for the adult magical beast to see the child magical beast.
The child magical beast, which was clinging to Akane's hand, tensed its front paws. She could tell it was trying to lean out from between the rocks. Meanwhile, the adult magical beast let out a low growl, 'Gugaga,' and blew air at them.
--Come here. Let's save this child together.
Saying that in her heart, Akane signaled the adult magical beast to come over with her face and eye movements. She wanted to beckon with her hand, but she could not take both hands off the child magical beast for fear of dropping it into the crevice.
The magical beast approached slowly.
The head of the magical beast, which seemed to be three times the size of Akane's, came right next to her. Except for the baby magical beast she was holding with both hands, this was the first time she had been this close to a magical beast. The breath the beast exhaled from its nose kept hitting Akane's face, but it was a relief that it didn't have any particular smell.
The adult magical beast brought its snout close to the baby magical beast and exhaled from its nose. The baby magical beast replied with a "peep-peep" sound, a noise it had never made before.
The eyes of the adult magical beast seemed to be telling Akane to "get away."
But if she let go, wouldn't the baby magical beast get even more stuck in the crack of the rock? Akane conveyed her anxiety through gestures.
The adult magical beast exhaled from its mouth toward the rock fragments burying the baby magical beast. The chunks of rock shattered, turned into grains of dirt, and danced in the air, some of which hit Akane's face.
The adult magical beast stopped exhaling and looked at Akane.
Akane nodded and let go of the baby magical beast.
The adult magical beast began to exhale forcefully. Akane held her breath and watched as dust swirled around the baby magical beast.
After a while, the baby magical beast appeared from within the dust and tumbled toward the feet of the adult magical beast. Thanks to the adult magical beast blowing away the rock fragments that had buried it, it was able to escape from the crack on its own.
“Senior, that’s wonderful.”
When she turned around at the voice from behind, Sachi was standing right there.
“Oh,”
Akane exclaimed, and Sachi said,
“I’m sorry. I was worried, so I came to see,”
and bowed her head.
“Since nothing happened, I suppose it’s fine... no, that’s not right...”
As Akane hesitated, Sachi broke into a beaming smile.
“I was so moved. Helping people is a wonderful thing, isn't it?”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice became tearful.
“Really, truly, it was wonderful.”
Large tears spilled from Sachi's eyes.
I thought I understood this girl after mentoring her for half a year, but perhaps I didn't actually understand anything at all? ...That's how it started to feel.
—Right, more importantly, what about the magical beasts?
When Akane stood up, the magical beasts were walking away in a line toward the tear in the barrier. The baby magical beast stopped and looked back at them. When Akane gave a light wave, the baby magical beast turned back to the front and trotted to catch up with the adult magical beast.
Once the two of them pass through the tear and return to the other world, I will close the tear and pretend nothing ever happened.
Akane realized that the idea of a "seal" had completely vanished from her mind.
—Wait, but what about the people who need "seal points"?
Thinking this, she turned around, and Sachi was waving at the departing magical beasts while wiping her tears with the hem of her shrine maiden outfit.
"Ahaha, this child has completely forgotten, too."
Akane's face softened.
"All's well that ends well."
As she watched the magical beasts depart beyond the barrier, Akane whispered her favorite proverb. Though, "the process is just as important as the result" and "nice try" were also phrases she loved.
(To be continued)