19 Conifer Village / Hot Springs, Again

Previously, on Usagi Days: The monster from Firgrove Village clings to the top of the Usagi as Ruby and Anemone race through the Backwoods toward Conifer. When they drive through a wooden archway, the force of the top beam strikes the monster, killing it.

- 19.1 - The Usagis Take a Dip -

The four girls sat huddled together in the hot springs.

Not the one in Evergreen Lodge—they were outside, in a small clearing in the middle of a forested area far outside Conifer.

Ivy: "Nice eyes, Violet. I would never have seen this place in a million years."

Violet: "E-he-he. Praise me more."

Ruby: "We just had to get in one more soak before we leave, huh?"

Violet: "Well, yeah—especially considering we can never come back here again."

The four of them had been kicked out—banished, as the Professor put it—from Conifer Village.

The Usagi sat by the opening of the clearing, the roof still torn open, the entire body banged up and covered in claw marks. There hadn't been time to wait for a tarp-cover repair. The Professor had wanted them gone as soon as Ruby and Anemone delivered the die.

No follow-up questions, no thank you. Just a simple, "Get out of my village," and the warning, "If I ever see any of you in my life again, I won't be so nice."

- 19.2 - Violet Remembers Something Funny -

Violet burst into laughter.

Ruby: "What's so funny all of a sudden?"

Violet, giggling: "I was just remembering when you two stormed into the warehouse, demanding to know where we were." She put on an exaggeratedly worried face, and mimicked her friends' voices: "'HEY! WHERE ARE OUR FRIENDS! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE HURT THEM!' … And meanwhile"—she dropped the voice, and started giggling again—"… and meanwhile! We're just sitting there, staring at you guys! Ha ha ha!"

Anemone, blushing: "… Shut up. We were really worried, you know. The first place we went to when we got back was the prison. And when we didn't see you guys there …"

Ivy: "The Professor moved us to the warehouse as soon as you two had left for the Backwoods."

Ruby: "I wonder what the Professor would have done with you two, if we didn't make it back."

Violet shrugged. "I knew you would make it back. Ivy and I never doubted you for a second. Ruby and Anemone, together? Unbeatable duo."

Anemone: "Ha. Yeah, right. If I'd known what the monster looked like beforehand, I wouldn't have agreed to go in the first place."

Ruby: "Why didn't it ever find its way to Conifer?"

Anemone: "Creature of habit, maybe. I don't know that it would even want to attack Conifer, honestly. If you think about it, we're the ones who invaded its home. Maybe it was just defending its territory."

Ruby: "Sure, at first. It stopped being defense when it chased us all the way through the Backwoods."

Violet: "What'd the Village do with the body?"

Ivy: "Who knows. Maybe they cooked it. Monster stew."

"Come on, Ivy. Even you wouldn't eat that."

"N-no. O-of course not …"

- 19.3 - The Girls Talk About the Future -

Ivy: "What do we do now?"

Ruby: "Head south, I guess."

Violet: "What's south?"

Ruby: "I dunno. What's anywhere?"

Ivy: "If we didn't get kicked out, we could've taken delivery jobs here. I'm sure somebody has packages they need taken south."

Violet: "You know, it's really kind of a mess down there."

Ivy: "Bandits, right?"

Violet: "No, not even. I heard some locals talking about … something like warlords down south. Controlling territory. We should be careful, considering … you know." She nodded her head at the world's only functional automobile.

Ruby: "Sounds like fun to me! Right, Annie?"

The girls turned to Anemone. She seemed to be deep in thought.

- 19.4 - Anemone Shares Her Reservations -

Anemone, shaking her head: "I don't know, guys. It just doesn't feel right."

Ivy: "What, heading south? That's fine. We can go—"

Anemone: "No. I mean … Are you okay with leaving things like this? There's the computer that doesn't hold up to the tiniest scrutiny. That girl assistant. The monster in Firgrove Village. The bunker underneath … I didn't tell you guys yet, but … I found a photo there."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "… What photo?"

- 19.5 - Anemone Shows Ruby the Photo -

Ruby and Anemone, wearing nothing but towels, in the driver and passenger seats. Their hair still dripping wet.

The other two were still in the water.

(Ivy: "Uhh … I don't wanna get up yet."

Violet: "Me neither. Fill us in on the details later, 'kay?"

Ruby, winking: "Okay. Sure. You two want some 'privacy'. I get it."

Ivy, Violet, blushing: "Shut up!")

Ruby was looking at the photo Anemone had taken from the bunker.

Ruby: "That's … clearly the Professor. A very young Professor, but still."

Anemone: "It was framed and hung on the wall. The Professor used to live down there."

"Who's she with?"

"Parents, I guess?"

"And the girl next to her. That's … her assistant. The one Ivy thought was a ghost. The one we saw in the Lodge that one time."

"Yeah."

"I remember, Eimi said she's not as young as she looks … But what does it all mean?"

"We'll never know."

Ruby, sighing: "Unless we go back."

Anemone nodded. "Unless we go back."

- 19.6 - Anemone Has an Idea -

The girls had all dried off, and were in the middle of getting dressed.

Violet: "Man, Annie … You gotta hold on to your anxieties until after we finish bathing."

Anemone: "… Sorry."

Ivy: "She's just kidding, Annie."

Ruby: "Okay. So. What's the plan?"

Anemone: "Can you get us as close to the Village as possible?"

"I can. But how do we get in? There's always guards at the gate. How are we going to get around them?"

Ivy: "Oh! Oh! If we wait until night, those two twins will be on shift. One of them is always sleeping on the job."

Violet, smugly: "Heh. I've got an even easier way in. The part of the outer fence behind the Lodge? There's one board there you can lift up. Eimi taught me that one."

Ivy: "(Alright, Violet. It's not a competition …)"

Anemone, rubbing her chin: "Speaking of Eimi … I think I've got an idea."

The three other girls looked at Anemone, expectantly.

"Alright. So …"

- 19.7 - Misa Oversees the Warehouse -

Professor Kay truly was a genius.

Only a genius could have pulled off the impossible, the way she did.

So thought the Professor's assistant, Misa, as she tried to contain the chaos of the early morning line-up. Directing guests to the keyboard, resolving arguments in the line, kicking out unruly customers, trying to hurry up users who were taking too long … She'd been run off her feet all morning.

In between all the madness, she had caught the Professor coming in and out of her office.

"Professor! You have to rest! You haven't slept since the girls brought back your … die."

Prof K, smiling weakly: "Yup. My lucky die. It brought me the motivation I needed to finish the work."

And finish she did.

Misa still didn't quite get all the details, but somehow the Professor had managed to get the SOLA9in3 working again. And she had done it with less than half the original parts! The fire had destroyed so much of it already, that Misa had begun to despair that the computer was done for good.

But the Professor had found a way. And as far as Misa could tell, so far things looked good.

Better than good, actually.

All the strange bugs that had been going on before the fire seemed to have been ironed out during the restoration work.

Professor Kay had single-handedly pulled off the impossible.

Misa sighed in awe.

The Professor truly was a genius, she thought to herself, again.

Misa waved the next guest in.

"Ah, Eimi! Rare to see you here! I don't believe you've ever been to the SOLA9in3!"

Eimi: "Oh, thank you, dear. You should come down after your shift is over. We've got pancakes on the menu today. Your favorite, if I'm not mistaken?"

"I appreciate the thought, but I'm going to be too busy the entire day. Next time, though. Now, if you would follow me here, I'll take you to the keyboard …"

- 19.8 - Eimi Makes a Query -

Misa stood next to Eimi as she sat at the keyboard.

"Asking the computer for some new recipes, maybe? Or need some help with calculations?"

Eimi: "Oh, something like that …"

Misa had to admit, she was a bit surprised Eimi knew how to type. She was a bit slower than the more experienced users, sure—but Eimi seemed to know what she was doing.

"Oh, I had a typewriter in my younger days. Clunky old thing. Would take hours just to write a sentence. Not the typewriter's fault, of course. The SDF … Typewriters still worked, sort of … They just jammed a lot more than they used to. And the ink ribbon would get stuck all the time … Ultimately, it was just easier to write by hand."

Misa smiled politely and nodded, as Eimi rambled on. She had a propensity for that kind of thing. Thinking to herself, Yes, yes, Eimi … We're all aware of how the SDF works …

She was so busy pretending to listen that she hadn't noticed what Eimi had been typing on the screen.

But the Professor, all the way up on the second floor, sure did.

Prof K, screaming: "HEY! STOP!"

All eyes turned to the Professor, who was running down the stairs.

Prof K, pointing at Eimi: "STOP HER RIGHT NOW!"

Eimi pressed Enter.

On the screen, it read:

> tell me where the professors other assistant is. and where is the 20-sided die?

- 19.9 - What the SOLA9in3 Showed -

The normally black screen flickered.

The crowd gasped collectively as they suddenly saw themselves on the display. A live feed of the crowd, viewed from above, as though there were a camera on the roof of the warehouse.

Misa's jaw dropped. The screen was only capable of displaying text. She knew this. There was no possible way crystal-clear video could appear on it!

Even this was beyond the Professor's capabilities.

She looked to the Professor. Her face had turned pale, her eyes wide. She was gripping onto the handrails for support, looking like she was about to topple over.

The live feed began to zoom in, and seemed to be headed toward the SOLA9in3 itself.

Confused whispers ran through the crowd.

When the perspective on the video had reached the side of the SOLA9in3, it didn't stop.

It kept going, until it was inside the computer.

The crowd could now see into the SOLA9in3.

The mess of tubes, the sprawl of logic gates, and …

… what looked to be the Professor's "assistant", the nameless girl, sitting in a dark, cramped space no bigger than a travel luggage, rolling a single 20-sided die.