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"That's why the glasses themselves are of no importance,"
Yako said, getting back to the point. "For someone without
any vision problems, glasses are something unnatural, that is
always in their line of sight, and they naturally focus on them.
That's what makes my curse effective."
"Huh? Yako-san, did you say curse?"
"I did not."
"You did so! You said it makes your curse effective! I
heard you!"
"I said it makes my neurosis effective."
"In accomplishing what!?"
How could a neurosis be effective?
He couldn't begin to guess.
"She knew what was the best option without it being
pointed out to her. She was avoiding it precisely hecalMe she
o NeurOJiJ
Untranslatable pun. "Curse" is Iloro~ "neurosis" is 1l0lroU. I played around
with using "spell" and "spelling," but ended up deciding that keeping the word as "curse"
was more important than awkwardly trying to make the pun work.
ANOTHERHOLIC: LANDOLT-RING AEROSOL
knew. So ... if you look at it a different way, all I had to do
was make conscious what was unconscious. As time passes,
what was unconscious may well become part of her, which
would grant her wish. People who always wear glasses ap-
parently feel them to be part of the face. It should take a few
months for that to happen ... and it won't be easy."
"Won't it? Once you get used to them, it's not a big deal."
''I'm not talking about glasses," Yako said, full of malevo-
lence. "Nurie Kushimura has never experienced the happi-
ness she deserves; she has been busy avoiding it. It's built up
inside her."
"B-built up?" What was? Happiness?
"By 'built up' 1 mean like sedimentary deposits are built
up, and by 'deposits' I mean mud. Despite that, she will be
forced to harvest happiness - if she is physically up to the
task. But there's nothing else she can do; she has to payoff
the price she promised herself before the bill is settled. She
won't be finished till the receipt is in her hand."
Watanuki looked blank.
"The fair price she paid for the loss of her escape routes
was the escape routes themselves. No matter how much pres-
sure she is under, she will not allow herself to run away. I can
only imagine how ugly that must be."
"u I
?"
g Y ....
"Ultimately, it's up to her what she does next. She might
choose to change nothing and keep running up her tab. If she
throws away the glasses, she will continue to live a life of
second-best options, as she always has. That might not be
happiness ... but neither is it misery."
That was as much as Yako would involve herself.
--
64 165
OUTERHOLIC
She might touch upon the cause, but never reach down to
the root of it.
Yako probably viewed her lack of involvement as only
natural. She never questioned morality, never asked if some-
one was good or bad-that was her way. Yako was neither
good nor deserving of being called evil; she simply was.
Someone in her position had to maintain those standards, or
she would eventually find herself thoroughly taken advan-
tage of.
And presumably, she did not want that.
"Enough work! All done for the day! Ah, so draining!
Watanuki, the coffee's gone cold, so make some more? Don't
forget the milk and sugar."
"Ok
h
? W
. yAk
?"
ay, t en ... mm.
-walt,
u o-san ....
"What? I'm not giving you a raise."
"I don't mean that ... "
"What? I'm not giving you a raue."
Don't say it in italics, Watanuki thought. Makes it feel
unpleasantly real.
"You mean Kushimura-san's urges were her own problem,
a problem entirely related to her contract with herself ... and
nothing to do with spirits at all?"
"Exactly," Yako said, rolling her eyes, as if this had been
covered hours ago. "You couldn't see anything, could you?"
"Well, no ... but the first time? At the crosswalk, on her
shoulder ... "
"Something sewn on her shoulder bag that reflected the
streetlights into your eyes?" Yako said, giving him a bewitch-
ing smile.
That's why she had said ...
ANOTHERHOLIC: LANDOLT-RING AEROSOL
"I told you this would be a good experience for you,
didn't I? Remember that there are people like her."
•
"p
I I·k h
?"