Chapter 20

After each of them took a few more futile attempts at trying to get the bronze altar bell to chime, the trio sat defeated. The bells had been placed carefully back on the green silk. Gakuto was sitting backwards in the chair, facing the girls, as Kaede gazed listlessly at the ceiling while Yurika was staring at the door in a huff.

“To think that all it takes to make you two be quiet is a bell doing the same.”

“You could learn a thing or two from that bell, Gakkun!” Yurika snarled.

“If you would’ve only believed me that it didn’t ring, we wouldn’t all be so frustrated right now!” Kaede chimed in, looking between the two of them.

Gakuto didn’t have a retort for that, merely letting out a small “sorry”.

Yurika had placed her elbow on her thigh, resting her cheek in her hand, as she looked back and forth between the other two before sighing. She decided to push the mystery of the bronze bell’s lack of sound from her mind for the moment, as they already had plenty of other puzzles to work through.

“So, what’s next, Kaede-chan?”

Kaede leaned back on the bed, her arms stretched behind her as her gaze turned back to the ceiling. “Honestly? I’m not really sure. The hint Kagura gave me is pretty simple, all things considered: ‘Take the three bells to reflective windows by week’s end.’”

Yurika’s eyes had shifted to Kaede as the oiran spoke, the riddle of the moon princess sounding almost too easy in her head. “She clearly meant these three bells, right? And the windows have to be the mirrors from the story, don’t they?”

“That’s what I suspect, but that brings up the question...” Kaede sat upright and leaned closer to Yurika, bringing her right hand up with the index finger extended. “...if it is such a simple riddle, where are the three mirrors located? If we find them, which bell is paired with each mirror or do we need all three bells at each mirror? If they are paired, what happens if they are the wrong mirror? And, perhaps, most importantly…”

Kaede turned her gaze to the bronze altar bell.

“...what happens if one doesn’t make a sound?”

Yurika crossed her arms in deep contemplation, fully agreeing with the questions that Kaede had raised. “Maybe there’s a hint with each bell?”

Kaede turned back to Yurika and Yurika let out a slight giggle, almost as if seeing the question “what do you mean?” above her head. She brought her hand up, precisely imitating Kaede as she continued.

“Let’s look at the folktale real quick. The princess sealed herself, the Serpent and the thieves in each of the three mirrors, correct?”

Kaede nodded along, urging Yurika to continue.

“From there, let’s look at the three bells. They are all different types, we know the purpose of all three. Let’s exclude the fact the altar bell won’t make a sound as we’ll have to cross that problem when we come to it. From the other two types of bells and their sounds, what comes to mind?”

Kaede brought her hand to her chin, deep in thought before bringing up her hand to match Yurika’s. “Well, we all thought of the moon princess when we heard the sound from the golden handbell!”

Yurika nodded, now urging Kaede to continue.

“The silver bell is like something from a carriage or sleigh, so it must belong to…”
The two girls looked at each other excitedly, saying the answer simultaneously: “The Serpent!”

“They must be one of the bells from the celestial reins!” Kaede said, jumping up suddenly, a renewed fire in her eyes. “We know the shrine at the edge of the village is dedicated to him, so we just have to take the silver bell there and see if the mirror is there.”

Yurika was nodding along, her arms crossed in satisfaction at Kaede’s renewed vigor.

“I hate to bring it up, ladies, but…” Gakuto suddenly spoke up and the girls looked at him, having almost forgotten he was present. “...if you two are right about the other bells, who does the altar bell belong to? Surely not the thieves right? If they did, do we really want to free them? No matter how you look at the story, either from the mainland or here on Tsuiraku, the role of the thief or thieves is as the bad guys. Would the princess really want us to free them?”

“Wow, way to bring the energy down, Gakkun!” Kaede said, glaring slightly.

“You contribute nothing to solving the riddle and then throw that negativity at us, Gakkun!?” Yurika asked, giving him her own glare.

Gakuto sighed, raising his hands up in surrender to their gazes, suddenly feeling like a punching bag.

Realizing that they wouldn’t find the answers staying around Nagato, the trio bundled up the three bells inside the silk taking extra care to have them not rattle against each other. Kaede volunteered to carry the bundle before tying a large piece of cloth around her shoulders and tucking the bundle of bells within.

Yurika had run down to her bedroom to change, meeting Kaede and Gakuto at the entryway in an outfit not dissimilar from Kaede’s, but her hakamashita was dark gray with an embroidered cherry blossom motif across the chest. Gakuto’s was a multi-colored checkerboard pattern with black umanori. He had his dagger tied off his right hip, the jian blade on his back once more. The trio nodded to each other before stepping outside into the slightly overcast early afternoon, their first destination in trying to unravel the mysterious bells already decided.

They headed once more to the Shrine of the Celestial Snake.