He hadn’t said anything funny, so being laughed at like that got on Kusamakura’s nerves.
“What?”
“What, I see, you&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;hohohoho.”
The cat seemed to understand something, but Kusamakura didn’t understand her at all. The cat’s lips arched as she chuckled.
“I’ll give that to you.”
“Huh&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;?”
What was he supposed to do with something like that? He had no interest in playing the shamisen, plus he didn’t even have one to begin with. Before Kusamakura could tell her he didn’t need it, the cat spoke quickly.
“That’s not a pick. It’s a mirror.”
“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;mirror?”
He took one more look at the “mirror” that was small enough to fit in her kimono sleeve without getting in the way. There was a flower pattern embossed on one side which contrasted with the smooth opposite side. The cat told him the surface supposedly had a film of mercury and tin affixed to it. The moment he tried to touch the surface, she yelled at him to stop.
“Aah, you can’t touch mirrors. It’ll get cloudy. There’s a polisher in the town, but there’s no way you’d be able to ask him. If it gets cloudy, you won’t be able to use it, and you’ll have no choice but to throw it away.”