The Nightmare arc
This page is translated from the Japanese original. For anything drawn in the manga, the Japanese original is the reference. Read the Japanese original ↗
What is this story about?
While studying for the weeding certification exam, Chiikawa hears a song offering to make a late-night snack. Following the voice into the forest, Chiikawa gets a snack from a black, elephant-like creature, and in return has to play a staring game.
Key scenes
Read the full summary (spoils the ending)
After losing the staring game and getting tickled that night, Chiikawa starts having nightmares where the exam gate shuts right in front of them. Chiikawa tells Hachiware about the snack and the staring game.
The elephant dances even in the dreams, and just when the list of passing results comes into view, the dream wavers. Chiikawa heads back into the forest with Usagi and some tools.
Ending
In the second staring game, Usagi doesn't laugh even when tickled by the elephant's tail. When they find the soles of its feet are its weak spot and go for them, the elephant bursts out laughing and its form bursts apart.
Story arcs
- The Siren arcExtermination jobs with 100 times the pay, plus limited-edition ramen and all-you-can-eat food. Lured by a flyer that fell from the sky, Chiikawa and friends head to an island with Rakko-sensei. The island they reach is lively, and for a while the trip is fun, with parfaits, hammocks, and the seaside at night.
- The Yamanba arcWhile picking up sweet berries in the woods, the three get caught in a trap and can't move. At night, a white-haired old woman appears and rescues them, and at her hut she serves them pork miso soup and inari sushi with pickled red ginger.
- The Parallel World arcHachiware comes to deliver corn to Chiikawa, who is sick in bed with a fever. The moment Hachiware rushes over, light surrounds them, and when Hachiware comes to, they're in a world where familiar things are each slightly different.
- The Three-Star Restaurant arcAfter getting paid, Chiikawa and Hachiware find a reasonably priced “three-star” restaurant and nervously go in.
- The Muchau Man arcUsagi brings a flyer for an event with new-product tastings and an appearance by the hero Muchau Man. The three go together, and Hachiware is all fired up to take a photo with the hero using the camera.
- The Complimented Ribbon arcComplimented on a ribbon that came with some cookies, Hachiware happily displays it in a vase. But one morning, the ribbon in the vase is nowhere to be found.