Lost Property at the Spring
Cast -
Goddess: Renjakuno Hatsumi
Angel: Toneri Nikako
Little Devil: Fudeshima Shigure
Woodcutter: Yorozu Iruru
Act 1 -
One day, while a woodcutter was working in the forest, his hand slipped and he dropped his precious axe into a spring.
A beautiful goddess appeared from the water and told him that the axe had already sunk deep into the spring and could not be retrieved.
"Instead, I will give you either an angel or a little devil. Choose the one you like."
As the goddess said this, two girls appeared in front of the woodcutter.
On the right was a cute but strong-willed little devil.
On the left was a beautiful and gentle pure white angel.
"Hmph, of course you'll choose me, right? I'll give you sweet dreams."
The little devil folded her arms and looked up at the woodcutter.
"Um, you should choose me. I'll definitely lead you to a happy life."
The angel raised her hand slightly and smiled at the woodcutter.
"Huh!? Stop overthinking and choose me!"
"No no, please choose me."
The angel and the little devil were battling before his eyes.
The woodcutter, who had lost his tools, held his head in his hands.
"To be honest, I didn’t drop either of them, you know?"
More than anything, he wanted his axe back...
Despite the woodcutter's earnest wish, the three (?) of them started living together.
Act 2 -
As instructed by the Goddess, the angel and the little devil started living together to make the woodcutter happy.
However, the two were always arguing.
"Why do I have to find another job to get a new axe? We should just steal one!"
"No, you can't. If you do that, the woodcutter will get caught and we’ll be in big trouble."
The devil doesn't care about breaking the rules, while the angel tries to solve the problem rationally.
The two had been arguing for a long time about how to get a new axe.
"Hey, can't you two make an axe with your own strength...?"
"Impossible."
"It's impossible."
The woodcutter sighed and pulled an old axe out of the shed.
"That axe looks really old. Can you use it?"
The little devil frowned. The woodcutter explained that it was a memento of his late father, and if he sharpened the blade, it would be a temporary solution.
"Now that I think about it, even though you're young, you don't live with your family, do you?"
The angel tilted her head.
"I lost my father to illness, and my mother and sister in an accident. So it's been a long time since I’ve had such a lively life."
The woodcutter smileed a little sadly, and the angel and devil looked at each other and nodded.
"Then you can think of us as a family!", the little devil said proudly.
‘That's a tricky suggestion…’, the woodcutter chuckled to himself.
Act 3 -
"Hey, woodcutter, I want to eat the sweets you made! They're delicious, so make some more~"
The little devil was very spoiled and selfish towards the woodcutter, but somehow lovable.
"Here, woodcutter, I've folded the laundry."
The angel took care of the woodcutter and watched over him calmly.
Before they knew it, a lot of time had passed since the three of them (?) started living together.
It was awkward at first, but the angel and devil had become completely accustomed to the woodcutter's house.
"You're glad I'm here, aren't you?"
"Little devil, you just eat sweets, don’t you? I think I'm more useful than you."
"I’m healing the woodcutter with my cuteness! You can't do anything but housework."
"Ha ha ha. You don't have any magical powers or anything. I've just been giving everyone advice."
It was a strange life together, but the woodcutter wasn’t too unhappy about it.
However, mercilessly, the deadline set by the goddess was fast approaching, and the time for choice had finally come-
The woodcutter, who had once again stood in front of the fountain where he dropped his axe, was asked by the goddess: "So, have you decided which one you want to keep by your side?"
Act 4 -
The angel and the little devil watched the woodcutter's choice with bated breath.
After much deliberation, the woodcutter spoke.
"...I'll give them both back."
The angel and the little devil were surprised at this unexpected turn of events.
"Couldn't the two of them help you? Then is there something else you want?", the goddess asked with a gentle smile.
The woodcutter answered with a serious look.
"No. Both are too important to me and I can't choose. Forcing me to choose isn't fair. So I'll give you both back."
The goddess laughed out loud, apparently taken aback by his reply.
"You can't choose! You're an honest man. That's wonderful."
“Very well.”
Saying that, the goddess smiled at the woodcutter in a good mood.
"Take both the angel and the little devil with you. I'll also give you a new axe, and another one as a spare."
The goddess bestowed two axes on the woodcutter, one gold and one silver. The goddess loved honest people, so she’d enjoyed testing the woodcutter.
The angel and the little devil ran over to the woodcutter with joy and held his hands tightly.
"Now we can be together again!"
"Well, it was fun living together, so we'll stay together forever."
"You're really not honest, little devil. You looked worried about whether you'd be chosen."
"Shut up! You looked worried too."
"...Heh heh, come on, let's all go home together!"
The three held hands and walked side by side to the woodcutter's house.
The angel, little devil, and woodcutter lived together for a long time, fighting with each other from time to time.
Aftertalk -
Yorozu Iruru
Wow, being sandwiched between two cute girls - is this what you call a perk of the job?
Toneri Nikako
Heh heh. Irurun, you've been looking happy for a while now.
Fudeshima Shigure
You're grinning too much. And you're sticking to us too much!
Yorozu Iruru
That's fine~
Renjakuno Hatsumi
By the way, Iruru. If you don't want a cute girl, but a beautiful woman, then I, Renjakuno Hatsumi, am available too.
Yorozu Iruru
Oh, my, my. I don't have enough hands for that. A gold axe, a silver axe, a platinum axe? What did I drop? I can't choose. Ahahaha!
Toneri Nikako
A platinum axe... It must be really strong!
Fudeshima Shigure
That's not the right reaction. Iruru-senpai, you've been getting carried away a bit, haven't you? You're starting to get a bit annoying.
Toneri Nikako
Well, it's okay once in a while, isn't it?
Renjakuno Hatsumi
We usually give Iruru a lot of trouble, so let's let her get carried away for now.
Yorozu Iruru
Right! Let's continue with the practice!