The name’s Shohei Sano—twenty-five, bachelor.

I bought myself a mountain far away from my hometown, and I’ve been living there for about four months now.

Due to certain circumstances, my original plan had been to live out my days as a recluse in the mountains. However, I moved in late March, when it was still fairly chilly, and it only took three days for the cold and the loneliness to get to me.

That day, I headed down to the village at the foot of the mountain, and it just so happened that they were holding a spring festival. I stopped by one of the stalls at the shrine and bought three colored chicks.

I thought they would help stave off the loneliness, and I did my best to raise them despite the cold. For some reason, it didn’t even take them a month to grow into adult chickens. And not regular chickens either—they sprouted dinosaur-like tails and had mouths full of jagged teeth. But that wasn’t even what surprised me the most.

“Play!”

“Play!”

“Sano!”

Somehow, they learned to communicate in human language.

These chickens learned to eat snakes and even hunt boars. I’d met the Yumotos—a couple from the village who were friends with a relative on my mother’s side—and they’d helped me out when I’d bought the mountain. Thanks to their cooperation, I was able to treat the villagers to a feast of boar.

On that occasion, I got acquainted with the young lady who lives on the mountain to the east of mine—Miyako Katsuragi—and Tatsuki, her big lizard (I call him a dragon).

A few nights later, I also met my neighbor to the west—a handsome fellow named Katsumi Aikawa—and his two large snakes. One of them, Rin, looks just like a woman...from the waist up. Wait, she’s a lamia?! The other one, Ten, appears to be a normal huge snake. Though it feels weird to call a huge snake “normal.” They can speak as well, but that’s a secret for now.

Just what in the world is going on in this village?

And it’s not only our pets that are, uh, unusual—both my neighbors endured strange circumstances that led them to live in the mountains. Katsuragi-san sought refuge from her abusive ex-boyfriend, and Aikawa-san fled from a stalker. Thankfully, Aikawa-san’s stalker problem has been all but dealt with, but the same can’t be said for Katsuragi-san.

Now to introduce the chickens: There’s Pochi, an overactive rooster always full of vim and vigor; Tama, the ultra-tsundere but dependable hen; and Yuma, the kind and cuddly hen who always comforts me. I really have no idea why, but the chickens have grown to enormous sizes. (They’re already each over a meter tall, if you can believe it.) Still, they obey me as their owner, and they are pretty adorable, so I’ve decided to just roll with it.

There was a commotion down at the village about an unusual number of venomous snakes cropping up, which my chickens ended up helping out with. They took turns patrolling the village, and that was more or less the end of the whole venomous snake problem.

Now, wait a minute.

I bought this mountain intending to become a recluse. Why is there so much going on in my life? I’m a bit confused, but I guess this is what it’ll be like for me and my huge chickens.

1. My Chickens Need to Get Vaccinated

It was a rainy morning in July. When it came to the fickle mountain weather, you couldn’t rely on the forecast at all.

I’m glad I got a lot done yesterday. I wish they’d give us the weather forecast for the mountains too. Preferably for my mountain. (Yeah, as if.)

There’re these stories about how swallows fly low and cats lick their faces when it’s about to rain, and there does seem to be some truth to them, but well...there aren’t any swallows flying up here, and I don’t have a cat. Though that might be nice, now that I think of it—sitting on the veranda basking in the sun with a cat, or watching them cozy up in the kotatsu... But I don’t think a regular house cat would make it up here in the mountains. They’d need the vitality of a wildcat, I think. A cat probably wouldn’t hunt my chickens. More likely, they would hunt it.

“This rain sucks...”

I prepared myself a quick breakfast and washed the inedible parts of the vegetables I’d received from Yumoto-san yesterday (or rather, the chickens had received them as a reward for their work). I planned to feed these scraps to the chickens. I’ll just throw out the leftovers near the fields anyway. Not that I make that much food. Usually the excess goes into the fridge.

“Vaccines...”

I remembered Yumoto-san had told me back in June that I should get them vaccinated if I wanted them to lay eggs. I’d had the vet who goes to the chicken farm regularly check up on them as well. Not Pochi, though—he ran away. The vet had given me a detailed explanation about chicken vaccines, and I’d said I would get in touch with him at a later date.

Today, Tama and Yuma were out somewhere patrolling the mountain. Pochi stayed home.

Still, that was quite the ordeal with Tama last night.

Two days ago, I’d had her stay the night by herself while we’d been out. That in and of itself was not a problem. However, when we’d come back yesterday after the gathering at the Yumotos to celebrate the end of the chickens’ work term, we’d found her completely filthy. I’d asked her if she’d spent the whole night running around, and she’d turned away. Then a bunch had happened, and she’d run away from me.

“Running away means you’ve got a heavy conscience! You do, don’t you? Wanna apologize?” I’d scolded her when she’d come back, but she’d just kept turning away. “I’m thankful that you stayed behind and looked after the mountain, but there’s such a thing as too much. I’m worried about you, Tama.” I’d explained this, making sure to express both my gratitude and my concern.

I mean, I’m helpless on my own against a wild boar, after all. Not that encountering one should happen that often, but Yumoto-san mentioned that there were more of them recently.

That time, Tama hadn’t run away—she’d pecked me. Whyyyyyyy?!

***

At the bare minimum, I always had to check around the house and the fields, no matter how tired I was or how bad the weather was. Well, I mean, unless it’s pouring outside. At least I had Pochi’s company today, which was very reassuring. Next year, I might try planting more kinds of vegetables.

It wasn’t long before Pochi caught a viper. This one was a bit unusual—it looked somewhat swollen and bloated. Oh yeah, their spawning season is supposed to be pretty soon, I think. If I’m not mistaken, it happens around August, or maybe a little later. I guess some might spawn earlier than that.

“Pochi, gimme a sec.” I told him to keep hold of it for now and gave Old Man Yumoto a call.

“Yo, Shohei. What’s up?”

“Pochi caught another viper, but it looks kind of swollen around its belly.”

“It’s still a bit early, but I reckon it might be pregnant. Can you bring it to me? Viper eggs are pretty nutritious, y’know!”

Huh. Guess that means this one’s becoming food, not alcohol. I asked Pochi to let me have the viper, then went inside to get a bottle. And...done. Because the belly was too swollen to go through the mouth of the bottle, I cut the top off and carefully sealed it with tape. I gotta remember to restock on plastic bottles. It’s a pretty bizarre feeling buying plastic bottles for catching snakes—normally, you’d be more concerned with drinking out of them. I work outside every day, so I definitely do need to stay hydrated, but still.

I’ll give it to Yumoto-san tomorrow. I also gave the vet a call before I forgot, and I mentioned that we’d met previously at Matsuyama-san’s farm.

“Oh, right, those feathered dinosaurs!” the vet exclaimed.

Are they really not chickens after all? Not that I’d mind if they turned out to be feathered dinosaurs. Still, it just doesn’t sit quite right with me. Dinosaurs are cool and all, but the chickens aren’t that reptilian. (I may be in slight denial here.) Wait, dinosaurs are reptiles, right? They’re the ancestors of birds. Agh, my head’s spinning.

“I would like to get them vaccinated,” I told the vet. “When would be a good time for you?”

Rather reluctantly, the vet replied, “I don’t mind doing it, but I feel like it’d be a good idea to avoid being seen by the neighbors. Wouldn’t want anyone to take pictures and post them on the internet, right?”

“Ah, you make a good point...” What about their portrait rights? Or does that even apply to chickens? We could try going at night, but that wouldn’t be one hundred percent safe either. “In that case—”

The vet interjected. “Actually, I’m supposed to go to Matsuyama-san’s place on Thursday to take care of a different matter. If he’s all right with it, and you’re not busy, I could vaccinate the chickens while I’m there.”

“Yes! Thank you! I’ll see you on Thursday, then!” I accepted without a second thought. And since I was the one asking for a favor, I took the initiative to contact Matsuyama-san and ask for his permission.

“Oh, you decided to get them vaccinated, huh? That’s good to hear. You wanna do it here? Sure, no problem.” He graciously accepted. I owe him another one. “Oh yeah, by the way, remember that chicken you ate the other day? I changed the recipe a bit, and I’d like you to give it a try when you stop by.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Bring your friend too.”

Looks like he’s treating us to some samgye-tang. I gotta make sure to find a good gift for him by Thursday. I relayed this to Aikawa-san, and he said he’d be glad to go. I also took the opportunity to ask if he had any good suggestions for presents.

“I recall you mentioning that the Matsuyamas like fruit,” said Aikawa-san. “How about picking out some seasonal selections and then asking whether they have any favorite foods?”

Nice! I knew I could count on him.

“By the way...” Aikawa-san continued. “I remember you talking about how Pochi-san ran away last time you tried bringing up the subject of vaccines. Will he be all right?”

“Ah...” Yeah, I still have to do something about that. I doubt I can catch Pochi myself through normal means. Suddenly, I had another problem to deal with.

After some consideration, I decided I had to come up with a plan to catch him off guard. I also needed to make sure Tama and Yuma wouldn’t be scared away by the word “injection,” since I would need their cooperation. If that happened, I would be left with no other choice but to use the drinking-water vaccination. This is pretty complicated.

I lectured Tama and Yuma on the importance of vaccines, though I’m not quite sure they were able to follow everything. Yuma’s head was tilted the whole time. That’s adorable, but I’m pretty sure it means she didn’t understand what I said. I decided to try a different approach and explain as plainly as I could.

“You’re getting vaccines. If you don’t, you won’t be able to move anymore, and food will taste bad.” This should be good enough.

My chickens didn’t really understand the concept of illness or death. I explained that if they got sick, they could lose mobility and have trouble breathing, and they might even die, so they had to get vaccinated to remain strong and healthy. I’ll drill this into their heads every day, and hopefully, that’ll help with dragging Pochi along. If it doesn’t, well, I guess I’ll have to give up. I can’t do anything about Pochi on my own.

***

The following day, I went over to Yumoto-san’s place to hand him the viper.

“Whoa... It really is pregnant. Thanks, Shohei,” he said with a smile. He headed inside with the snake in hand.

“Another viper? Eeeh? Eggs? I don’t want anything to do with that...”

I could hear Machiko-san, his wife, complaining. Well, yeah, I wouldn’t want to butcher a snake either. Who butchered that yamakagashi from the other day, I wonder?

“I know, I know, I’ll take care of it. Sheesh...” Yumoto-san said as he came back outside.

He can butcher snakes. Impressive.

“Wanna come in for lunch?”

It’s almost noon—I don’t want to give the impression that I was hoping to score a meal.

“I don’t want to be a nuisance. I’ll do some shopping at the village and then go home.”

“Eh, we don’t think it’s a nuisance.”

Well, I do. I don’t want to get on your wife’s bad side.

It wasn’t raining, so we chatted outside for a while. I’d let Yuma out of the car too—she was pecking at the ground nearby. Probably found some bugs. It’s a pretty quaint view, if you ignore the size of that chicken.

“No more snake-related troubles at the village?” I asked.

“Still too early to tell. We’ll have to stay alert for a while.”

“Fair enough.” Expecting quick results was a bad habit of mine. If they do become a problem, we might have to enlist the chickens’ help again. “Incidentally, when is the summer festival supposed to happen?”

“Early August,” he replied promptly.

We were almost halfway through July. Speaking of which, wasn’t he supposed to help with the festival this year?

“Wait a minute, doesn’t that mean you should be busy with preparations?” I asked.

“Stalls are already taken care of. All that’s left is deciding who will be on duty, which we’ll do next week. And since there’s no portable shrine this year, there’s not that much to do.”

“I see.” That’s good to hear.

“Sorry, but I’ll need your help too, Shohei. We’ll need to get started two days before the festival.”

“No problem.” I owe them far more than that. I was also a bit excited to see the stalls. I wonder if they’ll have any unusual creatures for sale this year.

After I left the Yumotos, I stopped by the store to buy some meat. It was still a bit early in the morning, and there weren’t any children around. I finished up my shopping and headed straight home, sorted some stuff, then went out to patrol the mountain. Good thing it’s not raining.

Later that week, on Thursday, it was time to visit Matsuyama-san. I was having lunch there as well, which meant I had to leave the house in the morning. We would be getting the chickens vaccinated before lunch.

“Yuma, Tama, can you go get Pochi? I’m counting on you guys.”

Aikawa-san and I had agreed that he would procure a present for our visit. He would be bringing Rin-san along too, but as usual, she’d stay inside the truck, which she actually didn’t seem to mind. Well, snakes can go a long time without food. Guess it’s not a problem.

“Heeeey, we’re heading out!” As soon as I called out to the chickens, Pochi made a run for it. Wait, does he know what vaccines are? I haven’t told him that they hurt or anything like that. Tama chased after him, with Yuma following closely behind.

“Kwaaaaah, kwakwah! Kwaaaaah! Kwakwakwah! Kwaaaaaaah!”

They don’t sound much like chickens, that’s for sure.

Tama went around Pochi, blocked his path, and pummeled him with her thick, robust tail, resulting in a loud thwack. Yikes, that must hurt... Pochi tried fleeing, only to be greeted by Yuma’s tail. Uh... Was vaccination supposed to be this violent...?

I could hear sounds of thrashing and battering and whacking. Ah, they’re all disheveled... The three chickens struggled for a while, but eventually, Pochi threw in the towel. Bad at dealing with girls, Pochi? That makes two of us. Let’s do our best...

All three of them hopped onto the tonneau. I could feel Tama and Yuma’s determination to not let Pochi go no matter what, which I did appreciate, but at the same time... Surely there must be a better way to go about this, right? Then again, I’m the one who enlisted their help, so...

The truck creaked under the three chickens’ weight as we drove down the mountain. How much do they weigh, anyway? I’m pretty sure they’re lighter than me. I mean, they’re chickens, right? Right...? I mused all the way to Matsuyama-san’s house.

The vet was there before I was. Well, I managed to bring all three of them, so now I just need to make sure they behave. I talked to Tama and Yuma about this, but I’m still a bit worried...

“Hello there!” I called out resolutely. Matsuyama-san and Kimoto-san, the veterinarian, soon came out to greet me.

“Hello, Sano-san,” Kimoto-san greeted me. He then turned to Matsuyama-san and said, “I guess we should have them wait inside for now.”

“Yes, I suppose so. This way, please.” Matsuyama-san ushered us in.

“Er, my friend Aikawa-san is coming too. Maybe I should wait for him.”

“I’ll wait for him outside,” Matsuyama-san offered.

That was only a small trifle, though. There was another, much bigger problem.

Kimoto-san’s eyes lit up as he stared at the three chickens—Tama and Yuma surrounded Pochi on both sides.

“Ooooh! What a big, strong rooster! Do you mind if I take his measurements? It won’t be long!”

“Um, you see...he’s a bit nervous about all this, so...”

“I see, I see! They’re pretty clever!” Kimoto-san kept nodding to himself gleefully.

The chickens’ feathers were all disheveled—Pochi’s were, by far, the worst—but Kimoto-san seemed to be in a great mood as he gazed at them. We borrowed a spot near the entrance to Matsuyama-san’s house and measured them. It turned out they’d grown another ten or so centimeters. Is there no end to this growth spurt?

As for today’s main event, the vaccines...

“Don’t worry, I’ll be quick,” Kimoto-san reassured us, and he really was. The chickens apparently didn’t feel too much pain, and it ended up going pretty smoothly. Or maybe it’s because Kimoto-san is just that skilled. In any case, I wasn’t expecting it to be over this fast.

“Aaaand we’re done. Good job,” Kimoto-san praised them.

I thanked him, and as soon as it was all over, the chickens bolted and went off running outside. Well, I guess we can leave them be for now. Ah, that loud, powerful cry must be Pochi. Yup, you guys did great.

“It’s been some time since you got them, right?” asked Kimoto-san.

“Yes, I bought them as chicks in late March... That means it’s been just about four months.”

“Ah, okay. Then as far as vaccines are concerned, they should be all right for the time being. Optionally, I’d also suggest giving them drinking-water vaccines for avian infectious bronchitis.”

“Does the method of administration change depending on the vaccine?” I asked.

“That’s right—same as for humans.”

“I see.” I remember the BCG vaccine was a stamp injection, for example. I think the proper term is “percutaneous” or something like that.

Anyway, looks like they grew even larger. Their weights didn’t change too much—they just grew taller.

“Your chickens are quite intriguing, Sano-san. I feel like I’ll never get bored of looking at them. Show them to me again sometime.”

We went outside and let Matsuyama-san know it was over. Kimoto-san was happily gazing at the chickens, who were nearby pecking at the ground. After a while, another truck came in—it was Aikawa-san.

He got out and greeted everyone. “Hello, pleased to meet you. Sorry for being late. My name is Aikawa.”

“Hi there. No problem—I’m Matsuyama. You’re quite the looker, eh? I hope you enjoy the meal today.”

“Thank you for the hospitality.”

Rin-san was in the passenger’s seat, as always. Tama had been nearby, but she ran away at breakneck speed as soon as she spotted Aikawa-san. I still don’t understand why you’re so afraid of his snakes...

Speaking of snakes, I went over to greet her. “Hello, Rin-san.”

“Hello, Sano.”

Then I walked back to Matsuyama-san. It seemed they’d been having a brief conversation about Rin-san while I was away.

“I think we can let the chickens stay outside and do as they please. Just tell them not to get near the chicken coop, just in case,” Matsuyama-san suggested.

“Okay.”

The farm chickens were all inside the coop, but obviously, it had openings for ventilation. It was better to avoid letting my chickens get too close, as they could possibly pass on diseases. I don’t think my chickens have any diseases, but again—just in case.

Tama had run off somewhere, but Pochi and Yuma were still around. I told them to stay away from that building. The two went running in the opposite direction.

“You’re the owner of this mountain, right, Matsuyama-san?” I asked.

“That’s right. They’re welcome to go anywhere they like on the mountain. And, while they’re at it, if they want to catch some snakes and other dangerous animals, it’d be a big help.”

I guess everyone’s heard about how I was lending the chickens to the farmers in the village. “Sure. If they find anything, I’ll ask that they bring them over.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“Yup, they really must be feathered dinosaurs.” Kimoto-san nodded, seemingly to himself.

They’re chickens. There might be some kind of atavism going on, but they are chickens. Really.

We went inside and were treated to the delicious meal Matsuyama-san’s wife had prepared for us. This chicken’s fantastic. So good.

Speaking of his wife, she blushed at the sight of Aikawa-san. “My, my, my, my! What a handsome young man!”

“Th-Thanks...”

I imagine this sort of compliment must leave him stumped for a reply. At least it’s not a young woman, so he’ll be able to talk to her normally.

As a present, he’d brought them some cherries grown in Yamagata prefecture.

“Oh, these are some nice, plump cherries! Thank you!” she exclaimed. I agree—they look mouthwatering. “Feel free to help yourself to some blueberries!”

In addition to the chicken farm, the Matsuyamas also grew blueberries. They bloomed a bit later up here in the mountains, but we were at the peak of the season.

The samgye-tang was excellent, and it didn’t have that strong of a herbal scent. They gave us some sets to make our own samgye-tang at home, as well as a bunch of blueberries. Gosh, I feel a bit sorry for taking so much.

Dr. Kimoto’s advice regarding blueberries was that it was okay to let the chickens eat them in moderation.

“What happens if they eat too many?” I don’t know what would be an “appropriate” amount.

“Hmm, well, given their weight, I don’t think it should be a problem to let them have a handful. Just watch for loose stools. If that happens, it means they’re eating too many.”

“I see.” I don’t know what it’s like when they’re outside on their own, but as far as I can tell, they haven’t had any bowel problems. Actually, it’s strange how I’ve never even seen any bugs in their feces, given how they roam around the mountain eating all kinds of stuff.

Pochi caught two vipers while we were there, and our hosts saw us off in a great mood thanks to his hard work. Nice job, Pochi.

Once back at home, I recalled how previously, when I’d bought cherries and let the chickens have some, they’d ended up eating all of them—there hadn’t even been any left for me. So this time, I set aside my share of blueberries and stored them in the fridge. Only then did I let the chickens have some...and, as expected, they ate everything. Not only that, they also somehow appeared to be aware there were more in the fridge—they kept staring intently at the fridge door.

I just hope they don’t open the fridge on their own and eat them. It’s scary how this idea doesn’t even sound that absurd. Speaking of scary, the blueberries made their beaks and the insides of their mouths blue. This is straight out of a horror movie.

I used wet tissues to wipe their beaks—dry towels would just smudge the color. I wonder if there’s a better way to get rid of the stain.

Aikawa-san had given me some cherries he’d bought online. “The ones you shared with me before were delicious, but I think these are pretty good too,” he’d said.

By “the ones I shared with him,” he meant the ones that I hadn’t gotten to eat because the chickens had eaten my share. I owe him yet again.

The chickens stared at me, but I didn’t give them any. I’d learned that seeds from plants in the rose family were harmful to chickens, so I definitely wasn’t giving them any—last time they ate cherries, I hadn’t known about that, and it’d been a big hassle collecting all the seeds to make sure they didn’t eat them. Plus, look how big these cherries are! They must be incredibly expensive! Fancy cherries?! No way I’m letting anyone else have them! I felt some resentful glares on me, which I simply ignored.

Oh, right. Back at the chicken farm, just as I’d been about to leave, Kimoto-san had said something that was still weighing on my mind.

“We can’t know for sure, as they’re not exactly ‘normal’ chickens, but...there’s a decent chance they’ll start laying eggs next month.”

“How do you tell fertilized and unfertilized eggs apart...?” I’d asked.

“You can’t tell from the outside—you gotta try cracking them open. But sometimes you can kinda see if you shine a light on one in a dark room after about ten days of incubation.”

“I see.”

Even if they did lay eggs, I didn’t know if Tama and Yuma would let me have them. Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes too high—it’s not like I could take their eggs by force if it comes to that. Those chickens are just way too big.

Anyway, once again, I had to decide what to do with the chicken meat they’d given me. Last time, I’d invited Aikawa-san over and we’d eaten it together, but this time, he’d also been given the same food.

Speak of the devil—here’s a message from Aikawa-san. “What are you doing with the samgye-tang?” Huh, who would have thought...? He’s wondering the same thing.

“Wanna eat it together again?” I replied. Again... Well, fine by me, but it’s a lot of work for the host.

“How about sharing it with Yumoto-san?” he replied.

“Why didn’t I think of that?!” Just giving it to him would probably feel a little tactless, but there’s the option of inviting them to eat with me. Better than trying to feed it to the chickens, that’s for sure... Apart from the samgye-tang, I’d also bought some plain chicken meat from Matsuyama-san, which would make a decent gift.

“You should still come over to help me eat my share,” Aikawa-san insisted. “How about staying over the day after tomorrow?”

“As long as we’re not drinking.”

“Oh, come on—just one little beer should be fine.”

After some chatting, we decided I’d be sleeping over at Aikawa-san’s mountain on Saturday. Since he’s always helping me out with all sorts of stuff, it’s a bit hard to decline his invitations. Besides, though I always have the chickens by my side to keep me company, sometimes, I could use some human company too. (Wait, who am I even explaining this to?)

“Now I need to decide when to go to Old Man Yumoto’s place...” The samgye-tang would be good in the fridge for a week—I could bring it to him on Monday or later. Either way, looks like I’ll be eating a lot of samgye-tang in the coming days. But I don’t mind because it’s so delicious. I enjoy chicken meat. Not my chickens, of course—I’m no match for them anyway.

“Kimoto-san said I should also keep an eye on the chickens to make sure nothing went wrong with the vaccines...” I’d been told that since there was a possibility of anaphylaxis, I should stay close to them for at least thirty minutes postvaccination. But at the chicken farm, they’d seemed fine, and now, they were running around the mountain like they always did. It probably meant there was no problem. Wait a minute, is it okay to move around that much after getting vaccinated? I don’t think I could get them to stay put if I tried, so that’s beside the point, but still.

I’d told Kimoto-san about how Yuma bathed with me every day, and he’d suggested that she skip the bath today, just in case. I doubt there’ll be any issues, but there’s no precedent for chickens like mine. I guess it’s better to be on the safe side. He’d also requested that I let him know about any side effects that might show up.

“I almost feel like going to your mountain to do daily checkups,” Kimoto-san had said excitedly.

“Are you that interested in them?”

“They’re feathered dinosaurs! Don’t you find that exciting?!”

Funny old guy. Don’t get too excited about my chickens. They’re just chickens, after all!

That night, Yuma gave me a hard time.

“Bath!”

“Sorry, no bath today.”

She tilted her head. That’s cute, but no means no.

“You can’t get in the bath today because of the vaccine. Let’s take a bath tomorrow.”

“Bath...”

I felt terribly sorry for Yuma as I watched her dejectedly walk back to the earthen floor. I got the urge to call out to her and say, Never mind that—let’s take a bath!

She cunningly glanced back at me. Gaaaah, too cute! But still, no means no. It’s for your sake, Yuma!

“Tomorrow, okay?”

Yuma had her back turned to me, and she looked low-spirited. I got in the bath by myself, but I kept mulling over it the whole time. Maybe I’ll take a morning bath tomorrow...and then the usual nightly bath... Morning bath... It barely felt like I’d bathed. And then when I got out, Yuma was in the hallway outside the changing room with her back to me. Where did she learn to be this adorably devious?

“Y-Yuma... Tomorrow morning, okay?”

She glanced back. I know she’s doing it on purpose, but she’s just too cute!

“Morning.”

“Yup, let’s take a morning bath!”

“Bath!”

Apparently, that was enough to persuade her, and she went trotting away. All that was left for me was to clean up the hallway after her.

The next morning, I bathed with her like I’d promised... It’s all for my adorable chicken’s sake! Don’t give me that “What are you two doing this early in the morning?” look, Tama!

If there was one thing I’d learned from this incident, it was that I wasn’t too fond of morning baths. I made sure to let Yuma know that this was a onetime thing.

Although she’d grown taller, she hadn’t grown much wider, and she still fit in the bathtub with me. She seemed taken aback when I mentioned we wouldn’t be able to bathe together anymore if she grew much larger.

There’s no deeper meaning to that...right?

2. It’s Been Four Months Since We Met

“It sure is hot...”

The end of the rainy season brought with it an abrupt surge in temperature. Up in the mountains, the sunlight was strong, but the air was fresh. At the foot of the mountain, it felt completely different. Must be related to the number of trees and the unpaved soil.

I’d decided to deal with the abandoned buildings before the winter snows began in a few months. Aikawa-san’s hunter friend would be coming over to help with that in late November—in exchange, I’d let him hunt on my mountain. The man had said that he appreciated it because there weren’t that many mountains where he could go hunting. It was still a bit early to think about that project, but I’d be paying him a visit sometime next week.

The weeds on my mountain, hardy as always, were growing rapidly and expanding their territory—during the rainy season, it was because of the rain, and now, it was because of the sunlight.

I stole a quick glance at Yuma, who was keeping me company as usual. It’s possible that my chickens keep growing larger and larger because of the “energy” on the mountain or something like that. If so, maybe they’ll stop growing in the winter. But that’s still a ways away. Just how large will they grow, I wonder?

I plucked the weeds around the house one by one, and it didn’t take long before I was drenched in sweat. That morning bath was kind of pointless, huh? I had a lot to do: looking for anything unusual near the house, the fields, the parking area, the river, the roads, and of course, near the abandoned buildings.

“The graves... I’ll go check on them later...”

I prepared myself a quick lunch. By the time I took a breather from work, it was already three o’clock. I wanted to get as much done as I could today—I’d be staying the night at Aikawa-san’s tomorrow, and I wouldn’t be returning home until the following day. And I still need to go clean the graves.

When I’d first started doing all this manual labor, I would get muscle pain every time, but by now, I was getting used to it. Having said that, it had been a while since I’d worked this hard—I probably had some more soreness in store for me tomorrow.

As I was getting myself some blueberries for an afternoon snack, I noticed Yuma staring at me. I took a handful from the package and put them on a plate for her.

“Don’t tell Pochi and Tama, all right? This is our secret.”

“Secret!”

After those two ate breakfast, they usually didn’t come back to the house until evening. Where do they go, anyway? Maybe I could try putting cameras on them.

“These blueberries are delicious. So sweet.” They also had a hint of sourness, which served as a nice accent.

“Sweet!” Yuma concurred. Her mouth was blue.

I broke into a smile. Pets really do have some amazing healing powers.

After that, I got into the truck and drove higher up into the mountain. The cemetery was also rife with weeds, which was a bummer, but I resigned myself to it and proceeded to pull them out one by one. I wonder if the former villagers are coming to visit the graves next month. I still need to decide what to do about my visit to grandpa’s grave too.

I drew water from the nearby river and scrubbed the graves thoroughly, decorated them with flowers that were blooming in the vicinity, and then clasped my hands before them. I may not be related to any of these people, but as long as I’m making this mountain my home, I think this is my duty.

“And tomorrow, I’m going over Aikawa-san’s place...” Hope I can catch a lot of crayfish for the snakes. Wait...shouldn’t I bring something for Aikawa-san too?

“Gaaah, why am I always like this?!” Eh, I’m going in the evening, so I can just stop by the village store to buy something beforehand.

“Here’s hoping I don’t make a fool of myself like last time...”

I felt like I could hear a voice from beneath the graves saying, Get your act together!

Yes, indeed.

***

The next day, we headed down to the river in the morning to catch crayfish. All three chickens were enthusiastically running up and down the river—there was a limit to how many crayfish you could catch in one place. We ended up nabbing enough to fill a bucket and a half. Is there no end to these things?

“Are there crayfish in the other rivers too...?” True to its moniker, Brook Mountain had quite a few other rivers besides the one close to my house. There’d been rice paddies back in the day, but they’d long since been swallowed by all the weeds—the scenery of days past had disappeared with the aging population. I don’t feel like taking up the mantle either.

Just as before, Tama wouldn’t be going to Aikawa-san’s with us. She’d chosen to stay behind again to watch the house. I don’t really mind, but...

“Tama... Don’t stay out playing all night, okay?” She looked away. “Or else I’ll have to bring you with us...” She recoiled from me in an exaggerated motion straight out of a cartoon. What’s up with these chickens? “Come on now, Tama.”

There was no reply. I tried pushing further. “I’m worried about you, y’know?” I understand their night vision is good, but still, she’s on a mountain with no source of light other than the moon. What if she falls into a hole and gets attacked by, say, a bear? Even Tama wouldn’t be able to defend herself in that situation.

“Don’t stay out too late, got it?” Tama, stubborn as she was, didn’t reply. I think she got the memo, though. That’s good enough.

“Well then, shall we get going?” I loaded Pochi, Yuma, and the bucket full of crayfish onto the truck and drove down the mountain, stopping by the store to buy a case of beer. I doubt we’ll drink all this, but just in case... I was partial to the taste of bottled beer, but I went with canned beer since I thought it would be better for storing.

“Eh?! You really didn’t have to...” Aikawa-san was slightly taken aback when I handed him the twenty-four-can case of beer.

I owe him at least this much, though there’s probably a better way to express my gratitude.

Rin-san and Ten-san had been waiting for our arrival, and when I handed over the bucket of crayfish, they slithered off in high spirits.

“Sano, nice guy.”

“Sano, good.”

I understand why Rin-san is able to speak, but how is Ten-san able to vocalize anything? But then again, I suppose I could ask the same questions about my chickens.

Pochi and Yuma stood between Aikawa-san’s snakes and me. Okay, yeah, I get it. Thanks.

“Sano-san, you brought so much beer—you must be ready to drink all night, right?”

“Please go easy on me...”

Maybe a six-pack would’ve sufficed. I got a bit carried away, huh? But, come to think of it, I’ve never seen Aikawa-san drunk. I’m kind of curious about that.

Aikawa-san, hospitable as always, showed me inside and served me an eggplant-and-cucumber salad.

After we finished eating, Aikawa-san said, “I’ll go run the bath.”

Outside the house, there was a lavish, wood-fired bath. It was open-air (other than a roof to protect it from the weather) and large enough to fit five people. In lieu of a changing room, there were duckboards connecting it to the house so that you could reach the bath barefoot. Last time I visited, it’d been a bit too chilly to bathe outside, but the temperature today felt just right.

“Pretty large bath you’ve got here.” Apparently, Aikawa-san had built it himself. He preferred large baths, and the snakes would use it too, so that explained the size—it was definitely better for a bath to be too large than too cramped.

“It has its downsides, though,” Aikawa explained. “It takes a long time to heat up in winter, which is a bit of a problem, even if we do have enough firewood.”

Bathing while watching the sunset sounds pretty swell. This bath alone is enough to merit bringing him a present. Since Yuma wanted to get in the bath too, I had Aikawa-san bathe before us.

“Sure is a great view...” I murmured. The bugs got on my nerves, but the open-air bath was still fantastic.

We relaxed in the water for a while, and by the time I went back into the house, dinner was already laid out on the table.

“Whoa, that looks great!” I exclaimed.

“For the samgye-tang, I just followed the instructions... Anyway, please help yourself.”

“Thanks. Let’s eat!”

We toasted and began our meal. There were pickled vegetables, samgye-tang, Chinese-style fried chicken, boiled komatsuna, and stir-fried goya chanpuru. All of it was delicious.

“I thought this would be a nice change of pace from regular fried chicken...”

“It’s fantastic!” I chowed down on another piece of chicken, which, like the samgye-tang, had come from the farm. I just can’t get enough of this sauce. I definitely can’t cook like this—I always just fry the meat normally. Gotta ask Yumoto-san’s wife to teach me some recipes again.

“How did the vaccinations go?” Aikawa-san asked.

That reminds me, I was supposed to be on the lookout for any side effects. I glanced over at the chickens, who were in the corner eating some vegetable scraps. Pochi was munching on them loudly. How do you even manage to make that much noise? I called out to Yuma.

“Sorry to interrupt your meal, but come here for a sec.”

She swallowed what she was eating and came trotting in my direction.

“Hold on.”

I searched for the spot where she’d been vaccinated. There seemed to be no swelling or anything else out of the ordinary.

“Thanks, Yuma. Looks like there’s nothing wrong.”

Aikawa-san chuckled. “You forgot about it, didn’t you, Sano-san?”

“O-Of course not. There’s no way I’d forget...” I said awkwardly.

He smiled. “You did, didn’t you?”

“W-Well, yes...” You’re absolutely correct.

“I called the vet too—to ask about my snakes.”

“How’d it go?”

“Unfortunately, it seems there are no vaccines for them...”

“I see.”

“I was told there are vaccines for mammals, birds, and fish, but not for reptiles.”

Hmm? My chickens are birds, right? Not feathered dinosaurs or whatever...right?

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about reptiles. I guess there’s not much we can do,” Aikawa-san explained.

“Sure.”

“But regardless, before you brought it up, I hadn’t even thought about vaccines for them. I’m thankful that you gave me some food for thought.”

“You’re...welcome?” Talk about a positive thinker.

“I’d like them to stay by my side for as long as possible. Lately, I’ve begun to think more about their health.”

“It seems to me that you’re plenty concerned...” More than I am, really. That’s for sure.

Aikawa-san was a great conversationalist and drinking buddy, and despite my original intention to drink moderately, I once again ended up getting drunk to the point of blacking out halfway through.

Looks like I just can’t hold my booze.

***

This time, there was no headache.

But I did wake up to something else that was rather uncomfortable: a huge chicken face, dangerously close, covering my field of view, looking like some bizarre creature.

Er, I don’t see a large comb, so...

“Yuma, you’re way too close... Morning...” I said in a hoarse voice.

“Morning.” After greeting me, Yuma walked out of the room. Boy, that was surprising.

“Sano, woke.” I heard a voice from outside—it seemed she was telling Aikawa-san I’d woken up. I lifted my tired body from the futon. I bet it would be nice to have someone to share life with—other than the chickens, of course. Though I can’t picture that “someone” at all.

I folded the futon, washed my face, and headed to the earthen-floor room by the front door, which had a table and also served as the living room. Pochi and Yuma were in the corner, pecking at some vegetables. Aikawa-san, always attentive and solicitous, had already laid out some pickled vegetables and a pitcher full of cold tea on the table.

“Morning, Pochi, Yuma...”

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

Such good chickens, greeting me and everything. And Yuma even did it twice.

I felt a bit sorry for imposing on Aikawa-san—he made us breakfast and lunch. When you’ve had a good amount to drink, the alcohol takes a while to work through your system. Because of this, after a night of drinking, I always took care not to drive until at least the following noon. Down at the village, however, it seemed they were pretty lax about this, and the local policemen didn’t really bother to crack down on DUIs. It was honestly fairly common for the men at the village to drive after drinking. I’m praying they don’t cause any accidents.

Apparently, it’s common in Italy to drink during the day, and so they mount the traffic lights vertically and make the red light larger. I wonder if this actually contributes to accident prevention.

“Sorry for imposing...” I apologized.

“Please don’t fret. I’m doing it because I want to,” Aikawa-san replied with a smile. “It’s only once in a while, after all.”

He’s got a point. When you think about it that way, the women from the village are pretty tough—they take care of the housework, raise the children, and even work in the fields. We leave so much to them. Wait, “we”? Well, not me, since I’m all by myself, but yeah. Really makes me appreciate my mother.

After noon, I told Aikawa-san goodbye and headed home. The chickens’ health has been on my mind. Should I brush their teeth too? Assuming they even let me, that is. Their sharp, jagged teeth...

“Might as well buy some large-sized toothbrushes...” Maybe something like shoe brushes? But first, I’ll try looking for regular toothbrushes. I want them to stay strong and healthy. Aikawa-san said he brushes the snakes’ teeth. It makes sense—food is the cornerstone of everything. I’ve heard cats can get gum diseases, so there is a precedent of sorts.

“I’ll try buying them tomorrow...” I don’t think I’ll be able to do much today. I opened every window in the house for ventilation and threw myself down on the tatami.

There had been a small commotion when we’d gotten home. I’d come back to find Tama curled up next to the front door, which was uncharacteristic for her.

“I’m back, Tama. What’s...up...? Aaaaaah!!!” How could I be so careless?! I’d locked the front door out of habit last night. Tama’s feathers were all disheveled, and some of them were standing on end. Did she spend the night running around outside again? This time I couldn’t chide her, though, since she couldn’t have gone inside even if she’d wanted to.

“Tama, I’m really sorry!” The door was indeed locked. All I could do was bow and apologize profusely. I got pecked to hell and back, naturally. Sorry. Sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.

With great effort, I managed to calm her down. I then washed her and had her take a nap. It’s a good thing she’s a chicken, because if she were a human, this would be a pretty big deal. I really gotta be more careful.

In spite of the heat, Pochi and Yuma dutifully went out on patrol.

“It sure is peaceful...” I still feel bad about Tama, though.

That night, I gave Old Man Yumoto a call and asked for the old lady—I wanted to talk about cooking.

“I have some samgye-tang I got from Matsuyama-san’s place the other day, and it’s too much to eat by myself. Would you like to eat it together?”

“Oh? Wouldn’t you rather share it with your friend from the next mountain over?”

“Aikawa-san visited the farm with me, so he also got his share, and we’ve already had some together.”

“Is that so...?”

She seemed a bit reluctant for some reason, but we agreed to share a meal on Tuesday.

On Thursday of this week, I’d also be visiting Aikawa-san’s hunter friend—sort of a leader figure for the local hunters, I was told. I wonder if Akimoto-san is also part of that circle. I’ll give him a call.

“Ah, him. You should probably bring the chickens with you,” Akimoto-san advised. Apparently, the hunter in question was a bit of a tough nut to crack—maybe the chickens would make for a good icebreaker. I don’t really get it, but sure, why not?

The week ahead was going to be rather busy. Tomorrow, I need to go back to looking after the mountain. And at this rate, I don’t know when I’ll have time to start exploring my other mountain. Living on a large property has its perks, but it’s also a whole lot of work.

***

On Tuesday, I was having samgye-tang with the Yumotos. I got out of the house a bit earlier than usual. At least I don’t need to worry about presents today—I’m already bringing the samgye-tang.

Tama had caught a viper with a swollen belly yesterday and had come to show it to me, but she’d wanted to eat it, so I let the chickens have it. The three of them greedily gobbled it up. I kept my distance and looked away, of course. Chickens feeding on their prey is a frightening sight. (What am I even saying?)

At this rate, we shouldn’t be having any viper problems next year. Fewer venomous snakes means one less thing to worry about, though I can’t get too complacent. The crayfish population has also decreased drastically. Hopefully we’ll get some fish next year.

Anyway...

Tama, Yuma, and I were at the Yumoto residence.

“So this is the ‘samgye-tang’ I’ve heard about. I’ve never seen this recipe before. How do you prepare it?” Machiko-san read the paper with the instructions as she added a generous serving of vegetables. We also had other dishes, like fried chicken, tempura, and a stew. I feel like lately, I’ve been getting treated to meals all the time.

“So they all got vaccinated? That’s great news! You don’t need to worry about diseases now,” she exclaimed. The Yumotos were very glad to hear about the vaccines. As for the chickens, they were over on the earthen floor eating vegetable scraps, and they would probably wander around outside after they were done.

“We’re really grateful to you, Sho-chan. Now we can work in the fields without worrying about snakes, and the chickens also eat harmful bugs when they’re around. Well... I could do without all the snake wine bottles, though...”

“What’re you saying?!” Yumoto-san exclaimed. “You gotta age it for three years before it gets good!”

I’d almost forgotten—the shelves in their shed were chock-full of bottles with snakes in them. Not a place I’d like to walk into at night, that’s for sure.

“And just how many more bottles do you plan on adding during these three years?!”

“I-I’m sure we won’t get as many vipers next year...right?” Yumoto-san, taken aback by the old lady’s fierce protests, turned to me for reassurance.

“I do believe there’ll be fewer of them next year, since my chickens have been catching pregnant ones,” I explained.

“I hope so...”

“Eh? There’re still pregnant ones around? That’s...” The topic seemed to have piqued Yumoto-san’s interest.

“The chickens already ate them.”

“Bah...”

“Oh, please, it’s his mountain! Give it up!” the old lady scolded.

There aren’t many pregnant vipers, but they’re pretty hard to catch—a lot more aggressive than regular ones. Personally, I feel safer just letting the chickens eat them.

The cup of tea I had after the meal made me feel relieved. As a child, I used to dislike the bitterness of tea, but I’d grown to enjoy it. I remember Aikawa-san was telling me about how boiling water was okay for brown rice tea, but when making green tea, you should steep the leaves in water that’s slightly cooler than that. I’m impressed with how knowledgeable he is about all kinds of stuff.

“By the way, Sho-chan, how is the young lady from Loud Mountain doing lately?”

I almost spit out my tea. Machiko-san had brought up the topic of Katsuragi-san after Yumoto-san had left his seat and was no longer at the table with us. She’d definitely caught me off guard.

“I-I wonder...”

“I’m glad you’re getting along with that charming friend of yours from West Mountain, but don’t you think you’re old enough to start thinking about settling down already?”

I could feel my face tense up. Wait, did she talk to my parents? From an outsider’s perspective, four (going on five) months probably seemed like enough time to heal my wounds, but as far as I was concerned, I still needed more time.

My ex-fiancée, who’d gone to study abroad, was probably attending a language school to prepare for university. I doubted that was something you could finish in just six months or so. Even if she did, she would then start attending college in September, and it would be another four years until graduation. I suppose four years is enough time to get over it, but I don’t know how long it’ll take me.

And besides, this conversation is rude to Katsuragi-san.

After a long pause, I firmly said, “It wouldn’t work out. I also think it would be presumptuous of me to talk about Katsuragi-san in that way. Right now, looking after the mountain and my chickens keeps me busy and fulfilled. So please, don’t worry about me.”

“Is that so...? Sorry, Sho-chan, that was thoughtless of me.”

“No, I understand that you’re just concerned about me. Thank you.” I don’t even mind it that much myself, if I’m being honest. I realize a lot of people are prone to jumping to such conclusions if they see a young man hanging out with a woman his age.

“These pickles are pretty tasty,” I said. That was a bit too on the nose for a change of topic, but it’s true. Especially the rice bran pickles. I don’t think I could go through all the trouble making these at home.

After chatting for a while about how we’d been doing, I took my leave.

“There hasn’t been any more trouble in the fields your chickens worked on,” Yumoto-san said as he saw me off. “Well then, I’ll be counting on you for the festival.” He would be letting me know as soon as he had more concrete info on the festival.

“And I’ll be counting on you to show me the ropes,” I replied. “It’ll be my first time working, but I hope I can be of help.”

The days had gotten long—it was still bright outside at this hour. But when the sun disappeared behind the mountain, the world was suddenly shrouded in darkness.

As I drove off in my truck, I wondered what Pochi was up to.

3. Paying the Hunter a Visit

It was Thursday—the day I was supposed to pay a visit to one of Aikawa-san’s hunter friends. And since we would be drinking, I’d be staying the night with him...even though it was my first time meeting the guy. Hope I don’t make any faux pas.

Tama would, once again, remain at home. “Don’t stay out all night, okay?” I said emphatically. I then checked that the front door was unlocked and headed out.

Aikawa-san was waiting down at the base of my mountain. He’d left Rin-san at home, since he would be returning home tomorrow—the alternative was having her stay inside his truck all night, which would be pretty suspicious, to say the least.

“Shall we go, then?”

Aikawa-san led the way, and we drove along the road that led to the chicken farm. At a certain point, there was a fork in the road—one way led to the farm, and the other to a flat area with several fields. It’s a bit surprising to see an area this open near a mountain village. We followed the field road and eventually reached our destination—a single-story house on the mountainside. The nameplate on the outside said “Mutsu.” Must be the owner of the house and the fields around here.

“Is he a farmer?” I asked Aikawa-san.

“Yes, though these days, his son runs the farm. It’s a pretty large property. Not as large as our mountains, but it encompasses that whole area with the forest—way back over there.”

“I see...”

Pochi and Yuma hopped out of the truck and looked at me with expectant eyes. Hold on, I can’t give you permission yet. I don’t want you to go off running and catch some weird animal. “Let’s ask the owner first,” I told them. The two seemed to get the memo, and they stayed close to me, pecking at the ground. This should be okay.

Before long, three other local hunters arrived in their own trucks.

“Whoa. I’d heard they were big, but they’re really something...” muttered one of the men. He then turned to greet us. “Ah, pleased to meet you. My name is Kawanaka. I’m an office worker, but I also enjoy hunting in my spare time.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Aikawa-san’s next-mountain neighbor, Sano.”

“You’re pretty early, Kawanaka-san,” Aikawa-san asked. “What about your job...?”

“Since there wasn’t anything urgent that needed my attention, I took some time off.” Kawanaka-san looked a bit older than Aikawa-san, and he gave off a neat and tidy impression. He then added, “Oh, by the way, I’m still looking for a wife!”

And he’s a bachelor...

“Shut up, you.” Someone suddenly whacked Kawanaka-san on the head from behind. This man, who seemed older than Kawanaka-san, introduced himself. “Hello. I’m Hatano.”

“H-Hello...” I squeezed out a greeting. Aikawa-san let out an awkward laugh.

“Ow! Hatano-san, that hurts!” griped Kawanaka-san.

Hatano-san scoffed. “Can’t you see you’re weirding them out?”

“If anyone’s weirding them out, it must be you, Hatano-san! You’re hitting people on the head for no reason!”

Amid this squabbling, a third man walked up. “Give it a rest already,” he said to the two hunters before turning to Aikawa-san and me. “Sorry about that. Nice to meet you—my name is Toyama.” This man was a personable elder with a smile on his face and a head full of gray hair.

Gotta make sure I remember their names.

“Everyone’s here, right?” Toyama-san confirmed before ringing the doorbell. I prepared to greet the host.

“Hmm...? Is he not at home?” We waited at the door for a while, but no one answered it. Toyama-san tried ringing the bell twice more, but still nothing.

“Oh well... Did he go out somewhere?” Toyama-san came back scratching his head, and then, looking behind us, he said, “Oh.”

We followed his gaze. An old man with a straw hat on his head and a basket full of vegetables in his hands was slowly walking toward us.

“Oh, you’re here already?” the man said.

“Mutsu-chan, you’re late!”

The old man’s eyes widened at the sight of my chickens. Well, yeah, that’s the usual reaction.

“Aikawa-kun, this is...”

“This is Sano-san from the mountain next to mine. Sano-san, this is Mutsu-san.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Sano. Thank you for inviting me today.” As I’d thought, this was indeed Mutsu-san. I bowed and greeted him.

“So these must be the huge chickens I heard were working in the village...”

“Yes. For a while, I was dispatching them to the village to help with the snake problem, though that’s over now,” I explained. “If it’s not too much to ask, would you mind if I let them roam around the property?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. All the fields around here are part of our property, including a few that I lend out. They’re welcome in the forest on the back side too. They can catch whatever they want.”

“Thank you very much. I’d also like to avoid causing any surprises for your family, so could I ask you to show us around so we can greet them?”

Mutsu-san nodded. “Good call. I can picture the old lady flabbergasted at these massive chickens running around the farm.”

Although I didn’t want to trouble him too much, I had him accompany me so I could show Pochi and Yuma to his family, as well as to the neighbors whom he lent farmland to. Luckily, the whole family was out working in the fields. Everyone seemed very surprised at the sight of my chickens, though there were a few who’d seen them before from a distance.

“You know, I was just thinking I could use their help too...” one of them told me.

“I’m afraid I can’t lend them to you,” I replied, “but they’ll probably be in the area until tomorrow. I’d appreciate it if you’d let them roam alongside you.”

“They’ll be a big help, actually.” It seemed the chickens had built up quite the reputation for hunting venomous snakes, and everyone welcomed them warmly.

“Well then, let’s go.”

Ushered by Mutsu-san, I finally stepped into the house. Pochi and Yuma were shown some vegetables they could eat, and they’d also been given free rein to roam the forest. They ran off happily. They must be excited about getting to explore unknown territory.

“Come back when it gets dark!” I yelled at the top of my lungs at the two chickens, who had almost disappeared into the distance. I heard a loud “Kwaah!” in response, which probably meant they’d gotten the memo. Good chickens.

Mutsu-san owned all of the land around here, and his house was particularly large. He lived with his older son and his son’s family, with whom I once again exchanged greetings. His grandchild, a middle schooler, lived here too and would apparently be getting home pretty soon.

“Sano-kun, was it? So, what’s the deal with those chickens?” Mutsu-san asked cheerfully.

“I bought three dyed chicks at one of the stalls at the spring festival.”

“Hmm...” The other people present hummed as well. “Come to think of it...Aikawa-kun’s snakes are also from a festival stall, right?”

“They are,” I replied. “That’s also pretty unusual, don’t you think? For a snake to grow that large...” I imagine they don’t know about Rin-san, but from the looks of it, they do know about Ten-san.

“Those chickens are really something. Did you see their tails? No feathers on them!” Well noted, Kawanaka-san.

“Atavism? Dinosaurs?” Hatano-san murmured with a perplexed expression.

“Feathered dinosaurs, huh? How exciting!” Toyama-san exclaimed warmly. He was a soft-spoken old man with a very gentle, pleasant aura.

It was still bright outside, but we were served the beer I’d brought, and Mutsu-san’s wife and daughter-in-law brought food. His son went out to check the fields again. Diligent guy.

“Here’s to Sano-kun and his big chickens!” Mutsu-san made a toast, and we began drinking.

Beer tastes even better during the day—I wonder why?

Mutsu-san then brought up the reason I’d wanted to meet with him. “So you’ve got some abandoned houses you wanna deal with, eh? How many of them?”

“Four of them,” I replied. “All are single-story houses, and none are that big. One of them was used as a warehouse, I believe.”

“We’d need heavy machinery,” Mutsu-san said after some consideration. “Is it okay if I go over and have a look?”

I nodded. “No problem. I’d appreciate it if you could let me know beforehand when you want to come over and have a look at the houses.”

I’m glad he cut right to the chase. How long does it take to tear a house down, I wonder? I should also look into the usual rate.

“And the mountain... It’s the one behind Brook Mountain, yeah?” Mutsu-san asked.

“That’s right,” I said. “I still haven’t been there myself, actually...”

“Well, that’s a lot of work for one person... I get it.”

“It definitely is,” Aikawa-san agreed. “The first time I went to the other side of my own mountain was a year after I moved here—and it was just to have a look at it.”

Seems like it really is too much for one person to handle.

“How’s your mountain these days, Aikawa-kun?”

“The other one? I haven’t been able to take much care of it. I can get enough firewood from the one I live on, so I don’t have much use for it.”

“Right. You’re all by yourself—you don’t need that much fire.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Despite this, I knew that Aikawa-san took care to thin the trees periodically.

“Well, anyway, let me know if you need help with anything,” Mutsu-san said. “I’ll go help if I can. You too, Sano-kun. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Thank you.” I appreciated the offer, even if he might have just said it out of politeness.

***

Around the time it was starting to get dark, we heard a loud, rumbling sound reminiscent of a large creature running, and we all exchanged looks. It was enough to sober us up in an instant.

The rumbling continued for a while, and it was punctuated by sharp squealing noises. Suddenly, we heard a loud “Kwaaah!” that sounded like Pochi, and that was enough for us—we all scurried outside to see what was going on.

It turned out that Pochi and Yuma had hunted down a large wild boar.

Everyone stood speechless, their mouths agape. Pochi had a smug, proud look on his face. Uh, looks like we’re having a boar banquet again.

“I can hardly believe my eyes...” Mutsu-san murmured in wonder. I’m sorry for all the fuss my chickens are causing.

The boar was considerably larger than the one they’d previously caught on my mountain—it was probably a male. As with last time, it seemed they’d caught it by aiming for the legs with their tails.

“Let’s give Akimoto-chan a call,” Toyama-san said. He quickly reached for the phone.

Akimoto-san, the butcher—I remember he said to give him a call next time I caught one. He said he didn’t want to lose his touch.

“Hi, Akimoto-chan? Listen, we’re at Mutsu-chan’s place, and Sano-kun’s chickens just caught a wild boar. Oh, not the first time? That’s amazing... Yeah, it’s still alive. What should we do with it? Huh? You’re coming over? Hey, Mutsu-chan, he said he’s coming over!”

“We can leave it to him, then.”

Typically, wild boars were caught using traps. Since they were designated as pests, you didn’t need a hunting license for that, and regular farmers were also allowed to set up traps to catch them. Though, of course, setting up traps didn’t necessarily guarantee a catch. Boars could do a number on crops very quickly, so Mutsu-san and the other farmers were all really grateful that my chickens had caught this one. Pochi put on that smug grin of his again. Fine... I suppose it’s justified.

Apparently, when people here caught one in the mountains, they killed it, drained the blood, and gutted it before washing it (if possible). Then they would haul it down the mountain and take it to Akimoto-san. In our case, since we were in the valley instead of up in the mountains, Akimoto-san would just be coming over to collect it—we would leave the whole process to him. He’d be doing the prep work here before taking the boar with him to butcher later.

“Sano-san, we’ll be gutting the boar. Please don’t force yourself to watch if it makes you feel queasy,” Aikawa-san whispered to me. Honestly, yeah... That’s something I could do without seeing. “Some people even feel lightheaded to the point of passing out...”

“Excuse me. Do you folks mind if I go inside after saying hello to Akimoto-san?” Kawanaka-san asked the other men lightheartedly.

“But you’re a hunter too!”

“I can’t help it! I’m just not good at dressing game. Aikawa-kun, Sano-kun, will you join me?”

Hatano-san seemed disappointed in Kawanaka-san, but Kawanaka-san didn’t seem to mind at all. He’s probably also being considerate of me and Aikawa-san.

“Butchering it will take until tomorrow at the earliest. We’re not eating it today,” Mutsu-san said. Upon hearing that, Pochi and Yuma, who were loitering around the boar, turned to me.

Hey, it’s no use looking at me. I can’t do anything about it.

“You heard him,” I told them. “Thanks for catching it. Feel free to go play.” They quickly went off running again.

“They can understand you, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah, they’re fairly intelligent.”

Before long, Akimoto-san arrived in his truck. “Hey there, Sano-kun. Caught another boar, eh? Hats off to your chickens.”

Akimoto-san seemed to be in a great mood, and after greeting us all, he soon got to work. While they were busy with preparations, such as boiling water, Kawanaka-san, Aikawa-san, and I went inside. I don’t feel psychologically ready to watch a boar being gutted.

We sipped on some beer, had pickles for snacks, and chatted away while we waited for Mutsu-san and the others to finish. We have it pretty easy, huh?

“So it’s not the first time the chickens have caught one?” Kawanaka-san asked. “That’s impressive.”

“The first time was on my mountain,” I replied. “I really wasn’t expecting it.” Where did they even find it in the first place? How did they get it to follow them?

“Right, I don’t think anyone would expect chickens to catch boars. It’s great that they caught it, though. I heard there’ve been a lot of boars around here recently.”

“Is that so?” That’s a bit unexpected. Is it because the hunters can’t deal with them?

“See, you gotta use traps to catch them, but a trap might not even be able to handle a boar that big. Those chickens managed to lure it out and catch it safely, though. Pretty amazing... I could use chickens like that too.”

Aikawa-san chuckled. “I don’t think you could keep them at your place.”

Kawanaka-san laughed along. “Right. Not chickens that huge, that’s for sure. I’d need a mountain of my own.”

He lived by himself in the western part of the village, near Aikawa-san’s mountain, in a house he’d bought secondhand. He apparently worked in N-Town—something to do with printing, though I wasn’t too sure on the details. His family ran a farm in the Tohoku region in northern Japan, and he’d worked in the city in his younger days before deciding he wanted to live in a place with lots of nature. Then he’d moved here, gotten a hunting license, and started hunting and trapping as a hobby.

“You know, I moved here looking for a place with more nature, and it delivered in that regard, but I didn’t account for how hard it’d be to meet people here,” he said.

“I see...” I replied.

“I pretty much only get to socialize with the old ladies from work. Some of them have daughters, but they’re way too young—around high school age. Plus, usually, owning a house would make me a good catch, but they all say they wouldn’t want to send their daughters to live out in the boonies...”

“Uh, but...don’t they already live right next to those ‘boonies’...?” Well, technically, there’s a mountain separating them, but still.

“Actually, the weather’s pretty different between here and there. Like Snow Country, but with no tunnel.” Coming out of the long tunnel...as Kawabata would say.

“I can see that—it’s also pretty different up in the mountains, right?” Aikawa-san asked, turning to me. I nodded in agreement. That’s true. You can feel the difference clearly when you travel down the mountainside.

Kawanaka-san chuckled. “So the mountains are even more remote than the boonies, huh?”

“I feel like there’s a difference between ‘the boonies’ and ‘the mountains’... Anyway, it’s pretty enjoyable up there.” I laughed. Especially when you have three massive chickens to keep you from getting bored.

“I’m a bit jealous of your enthusiasm. Well, you’re still young, after all. At my age, it’s hard to work up the courage to do something like buy a mountain.”

“At your age...?”

“People say I look younger than my age. Believe it or not, I turned fifty this year!”

I see, he’s fifty... Wait, what? “Eeeh?”

Kawanaka-san laughed playfully.

At fifty, it’s no wonder he doesn’t consider high schoolers prospective partners. Well, neither do I, of course.

“You’re still young, Kawanaka-san.”

“I may look forty, but my body sure does feel its age, you know? Time is a cruel mistress. And to think that me and Hatano-san are only a year apart...”

“Wait, Hatano-san is fifty-one?”

“No, no, he’s forty-nine. Just about to enter his fifties.”

“No way...” You really can’t judge a book by its cover. I thought Hatano-san was older.

Eventually, Mutsu-san popped his head inside. “We’re just about done. Akimoto will be coming again another time to finish it up.”

“Sorry for not being able to help.”

“We’ll go bathe,” said Mutsu-san, “so wait a bit.”

Kawanaka-san wrinkled his nose. “Please make sure you get rid of that smell.”

Mutsu-san laughed. “Got it. Easy on the drinks—make sure to leave some for us.”

Although he’d just popped in briefly, the smell of blood was overpowering. I guess that’s part of the act of taking a life.

After a while, the hunters came back clean and refreshed.

“The chickens are over there,” Mutsu-san said, pointing toward the earthen floor.

“Thank you, I’ll go check on them,” I replied and got up.

It was already pitch-black outside. Akimoto-san had gone out to leave the boar at the slaughterhouse, and he would be coming back soon. Tomorrow, he’d finish butchering it. The hunters asked me to stay all day tomorrow too, but since I didn’t want to leave Tama all by herself for another day, I’d be going home to pick her up and then coming back.

“Pochi, Yuma, great job today.”

I took them outside and brushed their feathers—I couldn’t do much more than that tonight since we weren’t at home, but they didn’t seem to mind.

“We’ll be eating boar tomorrow. I’ll bring Tama too.”

The two chickens nodded.

In the darkness, all I could see was the lights of the houses here and there and the starry sky up above—it was so full that I felt like I could reach out and touch the stars. I see the stars pretty much every night, but it’s still a breathtaking sight nonetheless.

“Thanks, guys.” Thanks for coming into my life.

After gazing at the stars for a bit, we went back inside. Akimoto-san returned shortly after.

“All right, now that Akimoto’s back, it’s time for another toast!” Mutsu-san exclaimed, his face already rosy.

They all had lots of questions for me, mostly concerning the chickens. I’m glad they’re all so considerate.

“I froze the innards in case there are any parasites,” Akimoto-san explained. “Normally, you’d leave them in the freezer for at least two days... Sano-san, what do you think?”

Wait, why are you asking me?

“Do the chickens eat that?” he clarified.

“Oh! Right! Yes, they do! In that case...can I ask you to leave them in your freezer for now?”

“Sure thing. You can come pick ’em up after Saturday night.”

He graciously offered to let us have all the organs, since it was the chickens who’d caught the boar, and he even cleaned them up for us. Last time, he’d also left the innards in the freezer for as long as possible—he owned a commercial freezer and could easily quick-freeze meat.

Incidentally, it’s said most parasites can be killed by exposing them to temperatures below negative twenty degrees Celsius for at least forty-eight hours, though there are exceptions, of course. Thus, the consensus is that you should freeze organ meats for at least two whole days. For more info, check the Food Safety Commission’s website. (Wait, who am I talking to?)

“The meat is good to eat tomorrow, right?” Mutsu-san asked.

“Yep. I think I’ll be able to bring it here tomorrow evening.”

Mutsu-san laughed heartily. “Hats off to the chickens!”

“You’ll be bringing the other chicken tomorrow, right? What’s that one like?” Kawanaka-san seemed particularly interested in the chickens.

“She’s a hen. If I had to describe her in one word...she’s a tsundere.”

“Tsundere?”

“More ‘tsun’ than ‘dere.’”

“I see...”

She’s kind most of the time, and I can tell she cares about my well-being, but she just pecks me waaay too often—basically any time she’s even slightly displeased. Tama, I love you, but I could do with less pecking.

“You know, Sano-kun, that might be because you don’t know when to stay quiet...”

“Urgh...”

I recounted some of my episodes with Tama, and Kawanaka-san laughed at me. “At this rate, you won’t have any luck with girls.”

“You’re one to talk,” Hatano-san replied mercilessly.

“Huh? I just don’t get the opportunity to meet people, that’s all.”

“You know the village administration holds some of those matchmaking events, right? You could try going to those.”

“An old man like me would just spoil the mood,” Kawanaka-san said playfully. He says he’s looking for a wife, but I bet deep down, he doesn’t feel like settling down yet.

“I didn’t know they held matchmaking events...” I remarked. It did make sense—these days, it was getting harder to meet new people, and helping form couples was also in the village’s interest. Government workers have it tough too.

“What about you, Sano-kun? Interested?”

Kawanaka-san, you’re too close. “Not really... I’m okay for now. I just didn’t know that was a thing.”

“You’d better not think you’re gonna stay young forever! Time flies as swiftly as an arrow,” Hatano-san said earnestly. Yeah, maybe. But I’m twenty-five—I haven’t had enough time for that to sink in.

Toyama-san soon bailed me out. “Well, nowadays, things are a lot more diverse, y’know. I think it’s fine for everyone to live however they want.”

“We’re eating boar tomorrow. Bring your families!” Mutsu-san exclaimed. His face is even redder than before—looks like he’s pretty drunk already.

“I wonder if they’ll eat it...” Toyama-san let out a strained laugh. Does he mean his wife and kids?

“Er, excuse me. Do you mind if I take some home with me?” Aikawa-san inquired. Oh, I guess he wants to take some for Rin-san and Ten-san.

“For your snakes? Sure, why not?” No one seemed to object.

We ate, drank, and had a good time well into the night. The houses around here were all a good distance apart, so we didn’t need to worry about bothering the neighbors—though I felt a bit sorry for Mutsu-san’s son and his family.

The next morning, Mutsu-san’s wife gave the chickens some vegetable scraps to eat. By the time I woke up, they were already running around in the fields.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Oh, there’s no need to be so formal to an old lady like me.” She gestured to the chickens. “What are their names?”

“The rooster is Pochi, and the hen is Yuma.”

“I...see.” Yes, I know. I suck at naming. “I heard there were three of them...?”

“Yes, the other one, Tama, is also a hen...”

“O-Oh...”

Well, they’re nice and simple names, and the chickens themselves don’t seem to have any problem with them... I’m starting to think Yumoto-san and his friends are even more open-minded than I thought.

“Are Pochi-chan and Yuma-chan fine with meat?” she asked.

“Yes. To be honest, they’ll eat just about anything...”

“I imagine chicken meat might not be a good idea, though...”

“Well, yes. They probably wouldn’t mind it too much themselves, but it just doesn’t feel right...” The chickens seem to be aware that they aren’t like other chickens. Either way, it’s more of a matter of how we humans feel about cannibalism. The chickens really do eat anything. Guess there’s no point.

“Is it better to give them unseasoned food?” she asked.

“I suppose so. Thank you.” Things that we use as seasonings and condiments can be harmful for other creatures. In that sense, maybe humans are the biggest omnivores of them all.

Mutsu-san’s wife seemed eager to feed Pochi and Yuma. I was happy that she’d taken a liking to them.

After lunch, Aikawa-san and I went back to our respective mountains. I let Pochi and Yuma know I’d be going to pick Tama up, and Yuma walked over to the passenger-side door as if it were the most natural thing. I’ll be back soon, you know.

“I’m just gonna go fetch Tama real quick,” I told her.

She still pecked the door, so I opened it for her. It was cute how snugly she fit in the passenger seat. Well, it does feel nice having some company for the drive.

4. Since When Was I Under the Impression That I Could Catch the Chickens on My Own?

Of course, I also had to look after my own mountain. I would leave for Mutsu-san’s in the early evening, which meant I had the day to make my usual rounds. First, I decided to look for Tama.

“Yuma, we’re taking Tama with us tonight. Will you go fetch her for me?”

Yuma nodded and ran off.

The sun was high in the sky. Tama had probably been at home earlier in the morning, but at this time of day, I doubted she was still there.

I went inside, opened every window, and then made my rounds near the house and the fields.

I see that, as usual, the weeds are strong and full of energy. Why don’t I ever notice them growing?

Yuma came back with Tama while I was pulling weeds near the fields.

Great job, Yuma.

“Tama, we’re home,” I said.

“Welcome back.”

Ah, what are these feelings? Happiness and fulfillment? My face was breaking out into a smile.

Tama took a step back and gave me a “What’s up with this weirdo?” kind of look.

Hey, stop it! That hurts my feelings...

I pulled myself together and explained the situation to her. “Have you heard from Yuma already? Yesterday, Pochi and Yuma caught a wild boar on the hunter’s property, and we’re going there again tonight to eat it. Aikawa-san is going too— Ah, wait! I’m not done talking! Yuma, after her!”

Tama had made a run for it as soon as she’d heard Aikawa-san’s name. I still don’t understand why you’re so afraid of his snakes. Luckily, Yuma blocked her path before she could get away.

You know, I would’ve been completely helpless if I’d come back from Mutsu-san’s on my own like I’d originally intended. Thanks, Yuma, for nonchalantly getting in the passenger’s seat. I really gotta be more attentive. But now’s not the time for self-reflection.

“Tama, listen! Rin-san and Ten-san aren’t coming! We’re staying the night at Mutsu-san’s again, so they’re definitely not coming! I promise!”

Aikawa-san couldn’t take Rin-san with him and have her spend the whole night in the car, and Ten-san wasn’t good with vehicles—he’d only come over to my mountain the other day because he’d been lured by the crayfish. Plus, given that Aikawa-san would be taking some of the boar meat home with him, it seemed unlikely that he’d bring only Ten-san.

There was also no way Aikawa-san would drive around at night. The driving conditions weren’t too bad at the village, but the mountains around here didn’t have streetlights or anything fancy like that. Only someone with a death wish would risk it.

Despite my best efforts, Tama still seemed skeptical. I gave Aikawa-san a call.

“Sano-san? What’s up?”

I put him on speakerphone so Tama could hear. “Hi, I just wanted to confirm something. You’re not taking Rin-san and Ten-san to Mutsu-san’s house, right?”

“Oh, of course not. Rin would have to stay in the car the whole time, and Ten is...you know, a bit of an assault on the eyes. I wouldn’t want anyone to report him to the authorities.”

I let out a stifled laugh. “All right, thank you. I’ll see you later.”

“Later.”

An assault on the eyes, huh? True, most people would be shocked by the sight of a giant snake coiled up in the middle of the fields. I’ll bet he could even induce heart attacks in some folks. If that happened, it’d be a police matter, an ambulance matter, and maybe even the Self-Defense Forces would be called in.

After hanging up, I turned to Tama. “See? Just like I told you. Come on, let’s go.”

“Let’s go!” Yuma cried.

Tama paused for a long while and then reluctantly said, “Let’s...go.”

She’s a real piece of work, though that’s also part of her charm. So, this means it’s okay to leave the door locked, right? I pointed to the house, as if to ask her for confirmation. Apparently, that’s a yes.

Yuma got in the passenger seat and Tama on the tonneau, and we drove down the mountain. At the bottom, I also locked the gate. Since I already knew the way to Mutsu-san’s house, Aikawa-san and I would be going there separately. I stopped by the general store on my way—it was just around the time the children got out of school, and a bunch of them were hanging out there.

“Oh! It’s the chickens! They’re sooo big!”

“Hey, mister, can I touch them?”

“Chickens!”

“Sure,” I replied, “but make sure you ask them first, and be gentle. Don’t pluck their feathers or anything like that unless you want to get kicked.”

I bet a kick from them would result in some serious injuries. Maybe I need some “Beware of Chickens” signboards on my mountain...

“Okay!” The children dutifully heeded my warnings—I’ve heard there are other homes around here that let their chickens roam free too. The kids probably understand how strong chickens can be.

I bought a case of beer to take along to Mutsu-san’s and turned to leave.

“What, you’re leaving already?”

“That’s too soon!”

“’Til next time,” I said, despite the children’s protests. I got back in the truck alongside Tama and Yuma, who didn’t seem particularly reluctant to go.

Speaking hypothetically, think of a large dog—while they’re trained to be docile, they’re still dangerous animals at heart. Since they’re docile, some people might try petting them without warning while you’re, say, out walking them, but there’s no telling how a dog will react to being touched without its consent. There’s always the chance it might bite the person instinctively, no matter how well trained it is. And if that happens, people tend to blame the dog, even though it’s the fault of the person who touched it. In the worst-case scenario, the dog might even be put down. I wish people would always make sure to ask for permission before touching an animal—and if they are allowed, I hope they pet it gently.

Although my chickens didn’t seem to mind the children touching them, I was sure they still felt some degree of discomfort.

“Pochi’s waiting for us,” I told the chickens as I started the engine. He’s probably running around in the fields. Wonder if he caught any more snakes. Must be fun for him, with how large and open Mutsu-san’s property is. I broke into a smile as I imagined Pochi zipping about. I’m such a doting owner.

The route to Mutsu-san’s house was pretty simple—at the fork in the road, turn the opposite direction from the chicken farm. I was able to get back without much trouble.

Even though it was my second time coming here, I was still impressed by how open and wide the area felt for a mountain village, with vast fields, rice paddies, houses scattered here and there, and a forest to the east. Feels like stereotypical Japanese countryside. That said, the mountains were still rather close, so the environment felt closed-off too—there was a mountain to the east of the forest and another one to the north, beyond a river.

Once we arrived at Mutsu-san’s, I got out of the truck. Tama and Yuma followed, shaking their limbs. Probably stiff from riding back there, huh? They look pretty adorable, though. I looked around for Pochi, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he’s exploring the forest. Well, he should return before it gets too dark.

Mutsu-san suddenly appeared from the direction of the fields and called out to us. “Oh, you’re back!” It seemed he’d been assiduously working with his crops, as usual.

“Hello again!” I replied. “This is Tama, my other chicken.”

Mutsu-san’s eyes moved back and forth between Yuma and Tama several times. “They’re both hens, but when you compare them up close, they’re pretty different, huh? Tama-chan is, uh, what do you call it again? Right! A ‘cool beauty’!” He gave me a thumbs-up.

“Cool beauty”? She’s just a tsundere, no? And much heavier on the “tsun.” Tama walked over to me as I was lost in thought. Perhaps she sensed my thoughts because she began to peck at me.

“Ouch! Hey, Tama, stop it! Why are you doing that?”

“Animals can be pretty perceptive.” Mutsu-san laughed and just stood by watching instead of helping me out.

I don’t think he can help me out anyway. It’s probably best that he stays back.

“And Yuma-chan’s more of the cutesy type,” he continued. “How about it? Yuma-chan, will you go on a date with me?”

Yuma took a step toward Mutsu-san.

Huh? You will? Seriously?

“Good girl! Good girl! Here, I’ll give you some tasty veggies.”

Yuma followed Mutsu-san as he walked away.

Whaaat...? “Yuma, no...”

After that, I had to run laps around the house to avoid Tama’s onslaught. It seemed she’d begun to have fun just chasing me for the heck of it—this had turned into a one-sided game of tag.

This must be what their prey feels like...

Gradually, more and more vehicles rolled into the parking area. I hadn’t noticed it until now, but no one else had been here when I’d arrived. They must’ve gone home for a bit too. Well, all of us except for...

“I see everyone’s back!” Kawanaka-san stepped outside of the house—it seemed he’d stayed behind.

“Sano-kun, what’s up? Playing tag? Looks like you’re having fun.”

“T-Trust me, I’m not!” Although I felt like I’d gained more strength since moving to the mountains, I still didn’t have that much stamina. Being young helped make up for some of it, but I was probably in for some muscle pain tomorrow.

Hatano-san and Toyama-san observed me running around.

“He sure is full of energy...”

“Must be nice to be young.”

Aikawa-san just spectated with a smile.

Come oooon, help me out here. Well, that’s probably a tall order. Yeah, I know, I know. But seriously! It’s getting hard to keep this up...

Just then, a voice called out, “Sano-kun, I brought the boar meat!”

It seemed Akimoto-san had arrived.

“Tama! You hear that? Meat!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. She finally came to a halt and stopped chasing after me.

I crouched down on the spot, wheezing and panting. God, that was rough. These chickens sure do have some stamina.

“Wow, do you always need to play with your chickens that much? I don’t think I could do it,” Kawanaka-san said with admiration.

Trust me, I can’t do it either. It took a while before I could finally catch my breath. And the kicker is, in the end, I still got pecked. It didn’t hurt, but it seemed Tama just wouldn’t rest until she gave me at least one peck. Jerk.

Toyama-san walked over to me, and I noticed for the first time that there were three women here I hadn’t met yet. “Sano-kun,” he said, “allow me to introduce you. This here is my wife, and this is Hatano-kun’s wife. And that’s Mutsu-san’s granddaughter.”

“Pleased to meet you. My name is Sano.”

Toyama-san’s wife was an elegant, dignified woman whose gray hair suited her well. Hatano-san’s wife was slightly younger, and Mutsu-san’s grandchild was a girl who looked to be in middle school.

“Nice to meet you. This must be one of the chickens I’ve heard about. My, she’s quite big!”

“Oh? It’s my first time meeting this one. Tama-chan, was it?”

Toyama-san’s and Mutsu-san’s wives seemed delighted by Tama, who just tilted her neck coyly, as if she hadn’t been chasing me around up until now. You sly fox. Hatano-san’s wife and Mutsu-san’s granddaughter, meanwhile, stared at Tama dumbfounded. Yup, that’s the normal reaction. Seems Toyama-san’s wife is not easily fazed.

“Yep, this is Tama,” I confirmed.

Mutsu-san’s wife glanced around. “Where’s Yuma-chan?”

“On a date with your husband.”

“Oh my, I see he’s still a smooth operator!” She laughed.

Whew, I can tell from her eyes that she’s not mad.

“Then shall we begin?” she asked. “There’s a lot to do, so I’ll need everyone’s help.”

Akimoto-san handed the boar meat to the women, who then went inside. After that, Kawanaka-san received instructions, and we all briskly took to our assigned roles. I didn’t help at all the last time we did this at Yumoto-san’s place... Gosh, I really gotta start being more considerate.

Mutsu-san wasn’t present at first, but he soon returned in high spirits—followed by Yuma, who was dexterously carrying a basket full of vegetables on her back.

After the sun had slipped below the horizon, Pochi returned with a viper in his beak. Apparently, he’d been looking for something to bring as a present. Mutsu-san happily accepted his gift, intending to make snake wine. You know, at this rate, I feel like snake wine might become a village specialty. You can’t sell it, of course, but as a hobby, it should be fine.

Our feast began a little while after the sun had set, with boar hot pot as the main dish.

I set the chickens’ share aside on top of a plastic sheet: boar meat, pork, and some vegetables. I felt really grateful for everyone’s kindness.

As for the boar innards, I told the chickens I’d go pick them up on Sunday—I would rather not go on Saturday evening, since driving back to my mountain at night would be dangerous due to the lack of streetlights, and I also didn’t want to stay the night at Akimoto-san’s workplace.

Some of the boar meat was boiled before being barbecued and some sliced raw for boar hot pot. Other than boar, there was also chicken meat and pork, as well as vegetables like bell peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, green onions, white onions, and shiitake mushrooms—all delicious. Although I wasn’t a particularly picky eater, I still felt like I’d been eating a lot more vegetables since moving here.

“How are these vegetables so good?” I wondered. When I lived with my family, there was a small farm nearby, but I don’t remember our vegetables tasting this good.

“I’m glad you like them. My husband must be happy to hear that too,” Mutsu-san’s wife said as she passed by.

It was common at the village for men and women to break off into separate groups during gatherings like this—we men were seated on a plastic sheet just eating and drinking, as the men tended to do, while the women had their own group elsewhere and also took care of the food and drinks. I was also making sure to keep an eye on the chickens every now and then. I’m sure they’ll come and let me know if anything’s wrong—there’s not much to worry about anyway.

“The pickles are great too. When I was young, I wasn’t too fond of the saltiness and sourness, but...” Aikawa-san trailed off timidly.

“What’re you saying?” asked Mutsu-san’s wife. “You’re still young, Aikawa-san!”

“I wish that were the case, but lately, it’s getting harder and harder to stay awake late at night...”

She laughed and went back inside.

I’d already downed a couple of beers when Mutsu-san’s granddaughter and a few other kids came over to me sheepishly. Hmm? What’s up?

“Um, Sano-san, was it?”

“Yep, that’s me.”

“This is for you!”

She handed me a plate with some meat and vegetables.

“Oh, uh...thanks.” What’s going on?

“Um, your...chickens...?”

“Hmm? What about them?”

It seemed that the kids—four of them, led by the middle schooler—were quite interested in my chickens. The chickens, in turn, paid no mind to the curious glances and just kept nibbling at their meat.

“Where did you get such big chickens?” she asked.

“Well, uh, from a stall at the village’s spring festival.”

“Whaaaat?!”

The children began to noisily chatter among themselves.

“Did you see them at the festival?”

“Nope...”

“Oh...”

One of them then turned to me and asked, “Um, were they selling chickens?”

“Oh, no,” I replied. “They were still just chicks when I got them.”

The children once again started talking among themselves.

“Oh!”

“Right, I remember I saw them selling some blue chicks!”

“I saw one with a pink head!”

“That explains it.”

It seemed they had also seen the stall I’d been to. Up until now, everyone I’d asked had no recollection of seeing it. I’d seriously started to believe that maybe it’d been invisible to everyone else but me and that there’d been some supernatural powers at play. Good to know that’s not the case.

“Have you seen any other stalls selling animals or living creatures at village festivals?” I asked.

“Yeah!” one kid replied. “I remember there was one selling, like, small snakes? I was creeped out and didn’t get a good look.”

Probably Aikawa-san’s snakes.

Another child spoke up next. “Uh, two years ago, I think? They were selling lizards. Who even buys that?”

And that’s probably Katsuragi-san’s dragon.

“I remember seeing turtles too, a pretty long time ago. They just looked like normal turtles you could find anywhere.”

“They sell crayfish too, but I don’t think anyone would buy that.”

The crayfish are probably safe to ignore, but turtles? Sounds suspicious...and worrying.

“Huh. I guess there are stalls that sell live animals, then?” I asked.

“What do you mean? The goldfish scoop stall is always there.”

Oh, true. Goldfish scooping is definitely a festival staple.

“Ah, right,” I said. “This year’s festival was my first in a while, so I’d forgotten.”

I started dating my ex last year, in early autumn, after most of the festivals had already happened, and we ended up not going to any together. Then we got engaged near the end of the year, and then...

She crossed my mind every now and then—I still didn’t know whether to be sad or angry.

Stop it. Now’s not the time for that.

“I wonder if there’ll be any dyed chicks for sale this summer...” said one of the kids.

I shrugged. “Well, even if they have them, there’s no guarantee they’ll grow to be like my chickens.”

“Oh, right.”

The kids were still stealing glances at my chickens and probably thinking, But maybe they will.

“And besides... It might be better for you if they don’t,” I added. “If you don’t live on a mountain like I do, you’ll probably have to spend a fortune on food for them, and you also need to trim their feathers, watch out for their health, and everything else. Also, you need enough space for them to run around and get enough exercise—otherwise, they wake up in the middle of the night and make a lot of noise.”

“Oh...”

I get that my chickens are pretty adorable, but raising them is a lot of work. The kids seemed to get the memo after I lectured them on some of the difficulties.

“Can I touch them?” one child asked.

“Not now—they’re in the middle of their meal. Just wait, and I’ll call them over when they’re done.”

The children nodded obediently. They’re good kids. I ate the food they’d brought for me, which had unfortunately already gone cold.

After I’d eaten my fill, I went over to check on the chickens. It looked like I’d given them too much—they’d eaten all the meat, but there were still some vegetables left. I set aside the ones that still looked edible and washed the plastic sheet. They’re my chickens, so it’s my responsibility. I was told not to bother, but I insisted. I washed the vegetables as well and asked the Mutsus to give them to the chickens again tomorrow morning. They also offered to boil the vegetables for me, since they’d come into contact with raw meat.

The chickens then went to play with the children—it was dark outside, but Pochi played tag with the boys, while Tama and Yuma chattered with the girls. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Looks like my chickens are a lot more thoughtful than their owner... I sighed.

I woke up the next morning with a headache—it seemed I’d had a lot more to drink than I thought. No driving for me until after lunch, it looks like.

Aikawa-san, who’d slept next to me, was doing fine. I wish I could hold my liquor that well.

“Good morning,” he said. “How about it, Sano-san? Do you feel well enough to eat breakfast?”

I pondered for a bit. “Hmm... If it’s...just a little...”

“Okay, I’ll let them know.”

I felt a pang of jealousy as I watched him get up and walk away with seemingly zero symptoms of a hangover. He’d even neatly folded his futon already too. Handsome, assiduous, and personable (there might be some slight overlap here)—how do you compete with that?

Even just crawling out of the futon took me some effort. That’s odd. I thought I was supposed to be younger than Aikawa-san...

Kawanaka-san and the others had also stayed the night, but they were still fast asleep. Just as I was thinking I also ought to fold my futon, Aikawa-san came back holding a tray topped with plum chazuke, pickles, and tea.

“How about eating on the veranda?” he suggested.

It was the same lineup as the breakfast I had at Yumoto-san’s place the other day. Must be a staple hangover breakfast. I folded my futon and walked over to the veranda, taking care not to wake anyone up.

The veranda had a good view of the fields, and I saw that the chickens were already up and about. I took a sip of my tea.

“They sure are full of energy...” I murmured.

I think they were up playing with the kids until pretty late last night, though I guess that wasn’t that different from the amount of exercise they usually got. Maybe even a little less. Making noise at night back at home is one thing, but I really don’t want them to bother other people with that.

“They really are. I can feel them brimming with energy...” Aikawa-san muttered. Up until a moment ago he’d appeared to be doing fine, but for some reason, he now seemed fatigued.

“Is something the matter...?”

“It...looks like I can’t handle middle school girls either...”

“Ah...” Well, they do hit puberty earlier these days. Not that I’d really looked for that, mind you. “Did Mutsu-san’s granddaughter talk to you?”

“I think, probably...just being treated nicely by a young girl is enough to trigger it. I just... I felt a cold sweat breaking out, and...”

I suppose being handsome is not all fun and games. I can imagine her blushing at Aikawa-san, even if there weren’t any romantic feelings or anything like that. Kind of like how I can’t help but be dazzled by a pretty woman. Especially one with an ample chest... Uh, but that’s beside the point.

“I guess it’s not something that can be overcome so easily,” I told him. This sort of thing probably needs a specialist’s assistance if you’re serious about curing it.

“I know that I have to learn to live with it... I just don’t want to pass out from it or something...”

Did talking to her really make him feel lightheaded? That is pretty bad, yeah. “Did you feel like that might happen?”

“If she got too close...”

“Shouldn’t you go see a psychiatrist about that?”

“Hmm... I don’t know of any around here, though. I hope I can count on you to help me out...” he said with a smile.

Honestly, it seems like a bit of a pain for me to deal with, but I’m pretty indebted to him in many regards. Plus, I guess it means less competition for me for the time being, heh.

“I don’t know how much I can help with that. I’m pretty uncaring...”

“That’s not true. You take very good care of me.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Stop it, will you?” I’m breaking out into a cold sweat here.

“Just kidding. But really, I appreciate you being good friends with me.”

“Same here.”

Yup, plum chazuke after a night of drinking is the best.

I was lazing around in the living room, intending to relax until about noon, when Yuma came to me with something in her beak—it looked to be some kind of branch.

“Hmm? What’ve you got there, Yuma?”

There were large, dark-colored fruits at the ends of the branch. Blueberries? They’re pretty big.

“Ah, right, they grow blueberries over there,” Aikawa-san explained.

“Oh? Are they common around here?” I remember Matsuyama-san from the chicken farm also grows them, though his are on the smaller side.

“Not particularly—not that I know of—but they’re probably easy to grow in this type of climate. For example, I think Nagano Prefecture is famous for its blueberries.”

“Gotcha...” I guess you can grow them in relatively cool places too? I’m not really sure, though.

Yuma gave me the branch.

“You can’t just take stuff from other people’s farms, you know? Where did you get this?” I inquired.

“Do you want me to go ask about it?” Aikawa-san offered. “I think it’s that house over there, if I’m not mistaken.”

“I’ll go too,” I replied.

Aikawa-san, Yuma, and I headed over there.

“Good morning,” I called out to the figure by the house to the north—an elderly woman with a slightly bent back.

“Oh, Aikawa-san, Sano-san. Thank you for the meal yesterday.”

“It was my pleasure. Um, sorry, but it looks like one of my chickens took a branch of blueberries from somewhere. Would you happen to know which house it’s from?”

“Oh, that? I gave it to her. Would you like to pick some blueberries to take with you?”

“Really? Is that all right?”

“Really, really!” she exclaimed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal as good as last night’s,” she said, beckoning us to the back of the house. “We plant these berries for the children, but they haven’t been coming here too often recently. Feel free to take as many as you like.”

“Wait, for sure?” I asked. “Are you positive?”

There were three rows of evenly spaced blueberry bushes. A lot more than I expected—but really, is it okay for me to pick them?

“I’m sure the blueberries will be happy to be picked by someone who’s gonna eat them,” she explained. “The ones we have don’t attract bugs, and we don’t use pesticides—there’s no need to worry about anything harmful on them.” She cheerfully handed me a bowl for blueberries. “The chickens eat them too, huh? We could also use some chickens to help with pests.”

“Oh, do you get a lot of pests here?”

“We sure do! I think they’re raccoon dogs, civets—things like that. Just where are they hiding...?” she grumbled.

“That’s definitely a problem,” Aikawa-san said.

Apparently, he doesn’t have any issues talking to old women.

She told us that they usually dealt with such pests using nets, but the critters would occasionally chew through them. Aikawa-san seemed to be pondering something. Yuma stayed close to me, her eyes on the blueberries.

“You can eat them after we go back to Mutsu-san’s house, okay?” I told Yuma. “Otherwise, I can’t keep track of how many you eat.”

Yuma tilted her head. I guess she doesn’t understand what I mean. Gaaah, why does she have to be so deviously adorable? She knows that’s gonna make me want to feed her. But I can’t. I have to be patient. Too many blueberries could upset her stomach, after all.

“I care about your health, you know.” I petted her gently, and she stared at me with her cute, round eyes.

Stare as much as you want! I won’t give in, Yuma. And that’s final.

I picked around half a bowl of dark blueberries. Red blueberries existed too, but the ones at that stage weren’t ripe yet. If someone picked them because they were drawn to the color, they’d be in for a sour and unpleasant surprise. Even though they’re called “blue” berries, their actual color was a very dark, almost black navy blue. They also had a whitish coating—a powdery substance called “bloom” the blueberries themselves produced that helped retain moisture and keep them fresh. It was the same stuff that grew on cucumbers. (Huh? You don’t see it on cucumbers these days, you say? Well, the ones I grow have it.)

Anyway...

“Thank you,” I said.

“Is that really enough for you?” she asked, and in the end, we got a bunch more. Aikawa-san just laughed awkwardly.

“Come again!” the old woman called out as she saw us off in a merry mood. We then headed back to Mutsu-san’s house.

Aikawa-san’s share was too much for him, apparently, and he shared some with Mutsu-san’s wife. As for my share, the chickens would be helping me eat them. I kept all my berries except for the ones I’d promised to give to Yuma at Mutsu-san’s. I wiped around her beak with a tissue as she flapped her wings in delight.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had blueberries,” Mutsu-san’s wife said joyfully. I was told that their grandchild used to go there often to pick blueberries, but she hadn’t gone yet this year.

“The lady there and her blueberries miss the children,” Aikawa-san informed her.

Whoa, he called her “lady.” If it were me speaking, there would’ve been an “old” in there—exhibit number 134 of why this guy’s popular with women.

Mutsu-san’s wife laughed. “My, Aikawa-san, you’re quite the smooth talker, aren’t you? I’ll let my granddaughter know.”

After a quick lunch at the Mutsus’, we went on home. I still had to go to Akimoto-san’s place tomorrow. Gotta ask him to teach me the best way to defrost innards.

As soon as I stopped the truck, the chickens, seemingly glad to be back home, jumped outside. Pochi and Tama soon zoomed off into the mountain wilderness. As I thought, they didn’t get enough exercise.

“You can go too if you want, Yuma.”

“Bath.”

It took a moment for my brain to process that. “Huh?” I said after a pause.

Oh... Now that I think of it, Yuma hasn’t bathed these past two days. Not even a sand bath. I groomed her a little, but that was it.

“Can we bathe tonight?” I asked. “It doesn’t have to be now, right?”

“Now!”

“Oh well. Hang on, I’ll go run the water.”

While the bathtub was filling up, I threw open every window in the house—I told Yuma to take a look at the fields and to eat any bugs she came across. I’m using that organic pesticide, but just in case... Weeding and all that other stuff...can wait till tomorrow. I owe Yuma some quality time.

“We’re back...” I muttered. Even though I’d been home briefly yesterday, I felt like I’d been away for several days.

5. Summer in the Mountains Is Ruthless

The week after my chickens caught a boar on Mutsu-san’s property, I got a call from Katsuragi-san.

“Sano-san, you’ve been so cold and distant lately!”

I mean, we do exchange messages on the regular, but it’s true that we haven’t seen each other in a while. Having said that, “cold and distant” seems like an exaggeration...

I didn’t want to beat around the bush. “What do you want me to do?” I asked. I’m not good at reading people’s intentions, and frankly, I shouldn’t need to—it’s not like we’re dating.

“Come with me when I go shopping in town!” she exclaimed.

“Uh... Well, you see, women can take a long time to shop...”

“Oh, so you’ll go with Aikawa-san but not with me?!”

Oh boy. What have I gotten myself into?

“Like I said...women’s shopping trips can end up taking pretty long, and I’d rather not get caught up in that.”

“Well, what’s it like when you and Aikawa-san go shopping?”

“Huh? I guess...we drive to town in our trucks, take care of our respective bits of business, eat something in the parking lot, and go home.”

“So what’s the point in going out together?!”

“There’s no ‘point,’” I replied. “We just both happen to have stuff to do in town.”

Plus, with Rin-san in Aikawa-san’s truck and Yuma in mine, our options are quite limited. Aikawa-san and I chat with each other too sometimes, but it mostly feels like we go together so Rin-san and Yuma can meet up.

Katsuragi-san scoffed. “That’s lame! Did you hear about the big shopping mall that just opened in S-Town? Let’s go together!”

Oh, right, I did hear about that. Not interested, though.

“Why not go with Yamanaka-san?” I asked. Yamanaka-san was a woman from the village who was friends with Katsuragi-san.

“She’s busy and can’t go. She’s the one who actually suggested, ‘Why not invite Sano-san?’”

Ah. That’s where Katsuragi-san got the idea. I bet she wouldn’t have asked me out otherwise. If you ask me, I think it’s much better for women to go shopping together.

How do I put this...? I feel like Katsuragi-san is the type to be easily influenced—the type to take other people’s suggestions at face value. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but, well, she is an attractive woman. I feel like she could stand to be a bit more cautious.

“I mean... Yuma would go with me too, so I couldn’t stay too long,” I said.

“Huh? You take the chickens with you when you go to town?”

“It’s not that I want to, but she usually just gets in the car without asking.”

Lately, she pecks at the passenger-side door. Before I know it, I’m sure she’s gonna learn to open doors with her beak.

But honestly, if I had to choose between Katsuragi-san and Yuma, I’d prioritize Yuma.

“Oh... I guess not, then...” Katsuragi-san sounded disappointed, but she quickly brightened. “Then hook me up with someone who’ll go with me!”

“Machiko-san, maybe?”

“Okay, give me her number!” She decided to invite Yumoto-san’s wife, Machiko-san.

I guess I can see how going to a shopping mall by yourself might feel a little awkward, especially if it’s in the next town over.

An hour later, I got a message from Katsuragi-san thanking me.

Looks like she’s going shopping with Machiko-san. Good—one less problem for me.

We were in the dog days of summer.

The summer festival was drawing near, and I’d be participating in a committee. We would meet this weekend to plan.

The festival itself would last a whole weekend—apparently, if it was only held for one day, the stall owners wouldn’t bother coming. And then, on the weekend after that, there’d be a different festival in another village deeper in the mountains. I imagine the towns and villages around here must coordinate to hold their festivals on different dates. August is a pretty busy month, with Obon and all.

Oh yeah, come to think of it, for all her complaints about me being “cold and distant,” Katsuragi-san didn’t ask me to go to the festival with her. Not that I could anyway, since I’m helping out this time.

On the first day of the festival, I’d be busy helping out the whole time. Since the festival kept going after dark, I wouldn’t be able to drive home on the dangerous mountain roads afterward, so the chickens would have to spend the night by themselves. I did think of asking Yumoto-san to let them stay at his place, however, I was concerned that they might not be able to get enough exercise. It would be rude if they bothered the neighbors at night. So, reluctantly, I had to ask them to stay home by themselves.

This would be the first time since getting my chickens that I would be spending a whole night with none of them by my side. Though when we spend the night at someone else’s place, we sleep in separate rooms, so that’s essentially the same thing. Yup, same thing. Nothing to worry about.

Wait, does this mean I can’t just pet Yuma whenever I want? Just the thought of that immediately made me feel blue. I’m way more attached to my chickens than I thought...

The week flew by in a flash. I kept myself busy pulling weeds around the house, mowing the grass by the roads, checking the river—the usual stuff. Will I ever be freed from all these weeds? Only time will tell. Ah, the classic man-versus-nature conflict. (Not really.)

The festival committee meeting was scheduled for tonight at Yumoto-san’s house. I left my house in the evening, with Tama and Yuma tagging along. We’d be staying the night there, as usual. Since the girls ran around to their heart’s content during the day, I probably don’t need to worry about them waking up in the middle of the night and making a racket.

“Well then, Pochi, I’ll be trusting you to watch the house.”

He clucked in response.

I can always count on him. I just hope he doesn’t stay up all night like Tama.

“Pochi, don’t stay out too late, okay?”

He brushed me off.

Now wait a minute—what was that all about?

I didn’t have time to pursue it further, though, so I just told him one more time to play in moderation.

As we were leaving, Pochi caught a viper with a swollen belly. I slipped it into a large plastic bottle with the top cut off and took it with me for Yumoto-san. The baby snakes should start hatching pretty soon. That’s something I could do without seeing.

“Whoa, great job, Shohei!” Yumoto-san exclaimed when I showed him the snake.

“If you want to thank someone, thank Pochi. He stayed behind today, though.”

The gift put Old Man Yumoto in a great mood.

We didn’t actually have all that much to discuss about the festival, since most of it had already been decided. So, we just went through the motions confirming the relevant times, places, and everyone’s assigned posts—then we started to drink. Because there weren’t too many elderly people on the festival committee, the average age for tonight’s gathering was much lower than usual.

The weather may be mild, but it’s still summer. We don’t want to overwork the old folks.

Tama and Yuma ran all around until it was almost dark outside.

Matsuyama-san, the chicken farmer, and Akimoto-san, the butcher, would be setting up their own stalls this time. Good call on Matsuyama-san’s part—the meat from his farm is great. I wonder what Akimoto-san is selling...

“You know, Sano-kun, I was wondering if I could maybe ask your chickens to catch a boar or two for me...” Akimoto-san said nonchalantly.

I shrugged. “I’m afraid there’s not much we can do except hope they run into one.”

“A deer would be fine too...”

“Are we even allowed to hunt them at this time of the year?”

“We might not be, but the law doesn’t say anything about your chickens, now does it?”

Uh, he’s got a point.

Suddenly, I remembered something that had been weighing on my mind. “That reminds me—lately, I’ve been seeing murder hornets on my mountain.”

“Ah... Murder hornets, huh?” Akimoto-san asked. “I guess there’s still a little time left.”

“Yeah. If you’re hoping to find their nest, you’d better hurry,” advised Yumoto-san.

Apparently, murder hornets became a lot more aggressive from summer into autumn. We hadn’t had any troubles with them yet, but I definitely didn’t want my dear chickens to get stung.

“What’s the best way to get rid of their nests?” I asked. Of course, we’ll need to find them first.

“Before you start, you’re gonna need some protective clothes. You can probably borrow some at the village office,” Yumoto-san said. He pondered something for a moment, then blurted out, “You know what? I haven’t had hornet larvae in a while. I could really go for some!”

I could only stare in amazement. Where does he get all that energy from?

“Oh boy... You can count me out.” Akimoto-san was put off by the suggestion. Perfectly understandable.

“How about it, eh? Anyone wanna go with me?”

None of the other villagers seemed very enthused. Takes a special kind of person to be excited by the prospect of dealing with murder hornets.

“Come on, Shohei, don’t you know anyone who might wanna join me?”

“I’m...afraid I don’t know anyone into that sort of thing.”

Having said that, I still sent Aikawa-san a message, just in case, not expecting anything...but, much to my surprise, he was interested. Apparently, Ten-san was into that sort of thing. I let out a bewildered chuckle.

Do snakes eat bugs? I thought they were supposed to feed on mice and other small animals. Oh, but they do have a soft spot for crayfish. I guess it’s not that weird for them to eat bugs too...

I explained to him that Yumoto-san wanted to find the hornets’ nest and collect the larvae to eat. Aikawa-san offered to help in exchange for half the nest.

What the heck is up with these savages? They’re scaring me.

“Looks like Aikawa-san from West Mountain is also interested...” I murmured.

“Booyah!”

“On the condition that he can keep half of the nest. It’s for his snake...”

“Sure thing!” Yumoto-san exclaimed. “If I can get even one scoop, that’ll be enough for me! First thing next week, let’s go borrow some protective clothes!”

Oh boy...

“Is this really safe?” I asked. “I’m starting to worry for my life...”

“Don’t be such a wuss!”

“What are you saying? One wrong move could spell death! Anaphylaxis is no laughing matter!”

“What’s that? I’ve been stung by these things a dozen times and I’m still doing fine!”

“You’re an exception among exceptions, Yumoto-san!”

Absolutely do not try this at home. Avoid wearing black. Avoid perfumes and other strong smells. And, in case you find a nest, enlist the help of a professional!

I got some sympathetic looks from Matsuyama-san and Akimoto-san. “Good luck, Sano-kun...”

Noooo, I don’t want to get dragged into this! Let’s hire someone! Pleeeeease!

I’d been a fool to tell Old Man Yumoto about it.

After all that commotion, I snuck out to talk to Machiko-san, hoping she’d knock some sense into her husband. She just sighed.

“Sorry, Sho-chan. You know how he is...”

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Well, once he’s made up his mind, he just won’t listen.”

To think the coup de grâce would come from Machiko-san, my last hope!

“Just be careful out there, okay, Sho-chan? You’re up in the mountains—there’s probably more than one nest...”

That makes sense. Maybe I ought to look into this more seriously. Just when I thought the viper problem was solved, now I’ve gotta deal with murder hornets... I wasn’t prepared for all the dangers lurking on the mountain. Though I guess it’s not that dangerous if you put in the effort to deal with them properly.

All this talk was enough to completely sober me up.

Tama and Yuma were sitting on the earthen floor, looking like two big balls of fluff—they always slept like this. It seemed they were still awake, though, and they raised their heads when they saw me.

“Did you get enough to eat?”

I gently petted them. Their feathers were soft and fluffy, since they were groomed daily. I wonder if they’d eat larvae too. They might even eat adult hornets. Not the ones flying around, of course—even the chickens probably can’t do much about those.

Tama gave me the cold shoulder, probably put off by the smell of alcohol. Sorry.

It was now the start of a new week, with the summer festival waiting for us on Saturday and Sunday. Old Man Yumoto barged into the village office in high spirits to borrow protective clothing.

I really can’t understand how someone can think it’s a good idea to try to get rid of murder hornets on your own. I let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll help look for them too!” Aikawa-san was enthusiastic, as if he were headed for a picnic—his excitement was palpable. He took a deep breath and, in a matter-of-fact tone, said, “Since murder hornets are carnivorous, maybe we could try luring them with meat. If we set some out, we can allow them to swarm and collect it, then follow them back to their nest.”

I do hear they’re attracted by smells, but I wonder if it’s really true.

“You’ve seen them near the house a few times,” he continued, “so I’d wager they have a nest nearby.”

“Ten-san didn’t see any when he was here, right?” I asked.

“Well, he likes eating them, but that doesn’t necessarily correlate with being good at finding them.”

Fair enough. It’s not as if someone who likes boar meat is automatically good at tracking down wild boars.

Today’s outing was just a recon mission. We began searching the areas where I’d spotted murder hornets, and we gradually expanded the search area. We were all decked out in work clothes, gloves, towels around our necks, more towels on our heads, and boots. In addition, we also avoided the color black as much as possible because this would irritate the hornets—the towels on our heads were meant to hide our hair.

Aikawa-san, Yumoto-san, and I walked around holding sticks with pieces of meat on the end. A surreal sight, to say the least.

We had just paused for a breather after searching for over an hour—I suddenly caught sight of something moving at the end of the stick.

It’s heeeeere!

As I trembled in fear, Aikawa-san gestured to me to stay quiet.

The hornet appeared to be shaping the piece of meat into a ball. After that, it would pick up the meat and take it back to its nest to feed the larvae.

After a while, the hornet took flight, and we chased after it, eventually reaching a spot where we found several hornets gathered. It seemed they had a nest in a tree hollow. After we took note of its whereabouts, we returned to our previous location, disposed of the rest of the meat, then returned home slowly and carefully. We definitely don’t want them to notice us. Yuma had also tagged along, but I instructed her to lie low for now. And I most definitely don’t want her to get stung!

“They’re closer than we thought,” Aikawa-san noted.

Yumoto-san shook his head. “Whew, that was a thrill.” Yumoto-san blurted out.

“My hands are all sweaty...” I groaned. That was definitely thrilling, all right. I can’t remember the last time my palms were this sweaty.

“I imagine there must be other nests too,” Aikawa-san said.

Yumoto-san nodded. “Yup, definitely.”

It’s a big mountain. I can’t even begin to imagine how many other nests like this must be out there...

I only cared about the ones near my house and the places I usually roamed. I didn’t see much of a need to exterminate them thoroughly from the mountain.

We made our move shortly after the sun had gone down. Ideally, you should do it at night, but it would be too dark to see anything—also, during the day, many of them wouldn’t be in the nest. We wanted to get rid of them all at once, so a daytime attack was out of the question. Thus, we chose twilight.

It was a pretty intense battle. We fought off the hornets that came out of the nest with insecticide. It was sweltering in the protective clothes, and after the adrenaline wore off, we found ourselves drenched in sweat. Can we just wash these normally? Maybe I should buy myself a set in case I need some again.

“Stay on the lookout for about a week,” advised Yumoto-san. “And if you still see them around, we can go looking for nests again.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“If they stay away from your place, we can leave the rest of them for some other time—like maybe November or later.”

“All right.”

We’d only bothered to get rid of them because they’d been flying near the house—they were most dangerous from mid-July to late September.

Aikawa-san looked at me sympathetically. “It would be terrible if you or your chickens got stung, Sano-san.”

Thanks, but I think that’s all the more reason to get a professional to do it. I was still on edge about the nest, which we’d placed inside a heavy-duty plastic bag.

Since it was already late, Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san both stayed over at my house. We drank in moderation—only a can of beer each—and had a modest dinner—pickles, kung pao chicken, Chinese-style soup, and rice. The kung pao chicken was a dish made by stir-frying chicken meat and peanuts with a sweet and spicy sauce, and went perfectly with rice.

“This is great!” Yumoto-san exclaimed. “I don’t think we’ve ever had this at home!”

“I remembered my mother used to make this recipe,” I said.

She was interested in cooking sites for a while, and she would try every recipe featured. The other day, I remembered how kung pao chicken happened to be a particularly big hit at the Sano household, and I looked for the recipe online. Sadly, I’m not as good of a cook as she is, but it’s still serviceable.

“This really goes great with rice.” Aikawa-san really seemed to be enjoying the food. Good to hear.

On the subject of the hornets, he had brought some wood vinegar with him, which he’d sprinkled in the tree hollow where the nest had been.

“Spritzing this in there regularly should prevent them from building another nest there or coming back to the area,” he explained.

“Huh. Thanks.” I wasn’t too sure how it worked, but apparently, the smell kept murder hornets at bay. It seemed wood vinegar could be made as a by-product when making charcoal too. I glanced at Old Man Yumoto—we’d made charcoal together previously.

“Well, yeah, if you’ve got the equipment. Takes some effort to filter it, though.”

“Oh, I see...” It’s not that simple, then. Just makes it all the more impressive that Aikawa-san is doing all this stuff by himself.

“The equipment itself is not that hard to build,”Aikawa-san explained. “The real problem is disposing of the wood tar that comes with it.”

“Could it be useful for covering the soil?” Yumoto-san asked.

I couldn’t really keep up with their conversation—I was clueless about all this. At least they seem to be hitting it off.

The next day, Aikawa-san took the nest home with him. He brought Yumoto-san’s share of larvae to him a day later.

“Thanks for finding me a new hornet-killing buddy, Shohei!”

I’m, uh, glad for you, Yumoto-san. Just please don’t drag me into it again. Ah, but we’re supposed to go on another recon mission after the festival is over. I understand that we have to, I really do, but still...

After that, I still came across the occasional hornet, but the chickens and I never got stung.

Hopefully, they just leave for good. I wonder where murder hornets go after they’ve lost their nest...?

6. Festival Tropes Don’t Always Work Out

Soon enough, the weekend arrived, and with it, the summer festival.

I prepared breakfast for the chickens, then set aside some for tomorrow in a cool place in the shade. Mornings and nights were relatively cold, but the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the day—it was so hot inside the house that I had to turn the AC on full blast. I decided to leave it running all day because I was worried the chickens might get heatstroke.

When I told Aikawa-san I’d be leaving the chickens alone on the mountain for a whole night, he seemed concerned and offered to stay over to take care of them. I was grateful, but given Tama’s attitude toward his snakes, I had to turn down his proposal.

“Thanks, I appreciate the thought. But with all three of them together, there’s not much to worry about.” I then turned to the chickens. “I’ll leave tomorrow’s breakfast here. Don’t stay up too late. I’ll be back tomorrow night—you guys take care until then, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Okay!”

“Not okay.”

Hmm? What was that, Yuma?

“Yuma...?”

She gave me the cold shoulder. Despite the attitude, she’s still cute! How frustrating!

“You know, I was thinking I might bring you a present if you behave...”

Clearly, my words piqued her interest. She turned back to me, and after a brief pause, she said, “Okay.”

She’s so easy to read. I cracked a smile.

The door was left unlocked. After checking everything one last time, I got in the truck. “All right, I’m off.”

“Later.”

“Bye-bye.”

“Sano, see you later.”

Each of the three chickens saw me off in their own way—Pochi’s sounded the most casual. Yuma followed the truck until I got on the road.

You adorable chicken! Maybe I’ll remove the passenger seat. That’s Yuma’s spot, and I feel pretty lonely without her there.

The festival would begin after dark, but preparations started in the morning. We went over to the Inari shrine, paid our respects, and checked the locations for the stalls. Soon enough, the other stall vendors came and began setting up. We got to work too, hanging up lanterns and putting up banners until we were drenched in sweat.

After a while, Machiko-san came by and brought us some onigiri. I was amazed at how delicious a simple salted onigiri could taste after working up a sweat. People of all ages joined forces and worked together to make sure everything was ready for the festival, from high schoolers to old folks well into their seventies.

Then, in the evening, kids wearing yukata started coming by. I was working at a stall, but I was also wearing a yukata I’d borrowed from the Yumotos. It was incredibly hot in our stall—we were selling yakisoba. I went through several bottles of sauce as I stir-fried meat and vegetables almost nonstop, and sweat poured off me like a waterfall.

“God, this heat!” I complained.

“You’re doing a great job,” Yumoto-san said. “How about taking a break? Have some yakisoba too—on the house.”

“Ah, thanks!”

I couldn’t keep working for hours on end, so Yumoto-san and I took turns, each working for about ninety minutes. And after I finish eating my yakisoba, it’s back to making more yakisoba.

Old Man Yumoto handed me two servings of yakisoba topped with fried eggs.

“Uh, Yumoto-san, this is a bit too much for me, y’know.”

“Fool, who said this is all for you?”

He pointed somewhere. I looked in that direction to find Katsuragi-san dressed in a yukata. She seemed to have noticed us too, and she bowed her head in our direction.

“Why...?”

“Machiko invited her. Show her around for a while, will ya?”

Oh, that makes sense. Katsuragi-san wouldn’t be able to turn Machiko-san down. I hear they’ve been getting along pretty well lately.

“I see you’re hard at work,” she called out to me as I approached her.

“Gosh, you have no idea how hot it is in there... Hi. Want some yakisoba?”

“Thank you.”

We walked around for a few minutes buying drinks and shaved ice from the stalls, then found a blue tarp set up on the ground where we could sit and eat.

Yup, it’s not summer without some good old shaved ice! An old rumor crossed my mind suddenly. I’ve heard the different syrup toppings for shaved ice are all actually the same flavor, just with different colors. I doubt that’s the case...or is it?

“There are going to be fireworks too, right?” Katsuragi-san asked.

“Oh, right, now that you mention it...”

I’d been worried about the visibility here—the shrine grounds were a decent size, but there were a lot of trees growing around, which could make it hard to see fireworks. Thankfully, my worries were unfounded. After a loud bang, I looked up and saw the fireworks bursting against the backdrop of the night sky. Quite a nice view.

“Tatsuki’s watching the house tonight. I’ll be staying over at Yamanaka-san’s.”

“Oh?” So the dragon is also house-sitting, huh? Well, I can’t imagine he’ll run into any danger, even if he’s by himself.

“Sano-san?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you...view me that way?”

My eyes wandered to her. Now what could she possibly mean? Well, I guess the answer is no, but how should I respond...?

Since I was unsure how to reply, I kept it simple. “Um, not really.”

“Oh... Right...”

What, did Machiko-san give her ideas?

“You know, I think I get lonely very easily,” she murmured.

Uh... I’m not too sure what to say.

“I thought I’d manage fine as long as I had Tatsuki with me, but there are times when I feel a strong craving for human contact.”

“Well...I think everyone feels like that every once in a while.”

“I know this is really inconsiderate to you, but I was actually thinking of making a move on you tonight.”

“Wha—?!”

Don’t say that kind of stuff with a cute face like that! And give me back the tea I just spat out!

“But at the same time, I also think of you as an older brother, so I changed my mind. It seems you don’t have feelings for me either. But hopefully, we can still be friends!” Katsuragi-san said this brightly, and she didn’t sugarcoat things.

What would anyone do in this situation?

“You know...men are depressingly simple creatures,” I said. “I think in most cases, you wouldn’t even need to be the one to make a move.” If men think they have a chance to get laid, romantic feelings and all that take a back seat. But I couldn’t do that—I don’t want to ruin the relationship we have.

Katsuragi-san seemed bemused. “So what you’re saying is...you’re not a man?”

I take that back. Maybe I should show her what’s what.

“Ever heard the saying, ‘A hedge between keeps friendship green’?” I asked with a smile, though one glance at my eyes was probably enough to tell that I wasn’t amused in the slightest.

“I’m sorry!”

Well, she did apologize immediately. I guess I can let her off the hook this time. Plus, it would be too risky to do that sort of thing with someone from the village anyway—rumors spread like wildfire in small towns like this.

Wait, by that logic, isn’t being together with her at the festival already enough fuel for gossip?

“Ah, it’s the chicken guy!” a kid said, pointing at me.

Hey, it’s rude to point at people. Also, I’ll have you know that I’m not a chicken.

“Are you on a date? Is that your girlfriend? Where are the chickens?”

I see someone’s never heard that old saying, “Curiosity killed the cat.”

Katsuragi-san was visibly flustered.

“First, don’t point at people,” I said curtly as I stood up. “This is my neighbor from the next mountain over. Just an acquaintance. The chickens are back at home.”

“Aw, they’re not here?” The kid promptly lost interest in me and ran off.

“I’ll throw out the trash,” I offered. “I need to go back to the stall soon. Have fun at the festival, Katsuragi-san.”

“Oh, okay... Thank you!”

I waved her goodbye, taking our trash with me. I didn’t get a good look at her expression as we parted.

Wouldn’t be surprised if they’re already gossiping about us tomorrow. Eh, I guess that’s one of the perks of mountain life—not really having to deal with that sort of crap.

“Back already?”

“Yes. The yakisoba was great.”

Yumoto-san let out an uneasy laugh. There weren’t many stalls, which meant there wasn’t much to see. Fewer and fewer customers came by.

“You didn’t actually have to come back, y’know,” said Yumoto-san.

“Are you being serious?” Well, I suppose all of us are adults here.

At around eight o’clock, there weren’t too many people left at the festival, and we decided to call it a day.

Boy, it sure is hot.

We walked back to Yumoto-san’s house. When we got there, Machiko-san looked at me as if she’d seen a ghost. What’s going on?

“Oh, Sho-chan. Back already?”

“Well, since there weren’t any customers left, we called it a day.”

“That’s not what I meant...” She had an awkward look on her face.

I know you’re trying to hook me up with Katsuragi-san, but I’m afraid I’m not interested. I can tell Katsuragi-san is putting up a front and probably still hasn’t gotten over her past. I guess she’s looking for a man to help her with that—she’ll have to look somewhere else, though.

Is it really so inconceivable for a man and a woman to just enjoy each other’s company without any of that other stuff? Does everyone really think there’s no such thing as an opposite-gender friendship?

I drank with Yumoto-san for a while and then went to bed. I had another day of work at the festival tomorrow.

“I miss Yuma...” I muttered to myself the next morning. If only I could hug her and feel her fluffiness to help me forget about all my troubles. That made me feel embarrassed. I looked around—thankfully, there was no one around to hear me.

After breakfast, we headed to the shrine. Our work for today was mostly yesterday’s cleanup: We walked around picking up any trash on the ground, not only from the festival site itself, but also around the shrine.

What’s up with these people who can’t even throw trash in the trash can? Those kinda people pollute the mountains.

The “No Illegal Dumping” signboards help, but they’re not a one-step solution by any means. Oh yeah, I’ve heard putting up torii gates can also help—it takes someone with nerves of steel to throw trash away near something considered sacred. Though I think it takes a, shall we say, “special” kind of person to litter in the first place. They say Japanese gods are lurking around every corner, after all.

After cleaning for a while, we returned to the Yumotos. There, we had lunch, and I took a quick nap. I was told there were years where the villagers would carry a portable shrine around during the day—that had been called off this year due to lack of interest.

“How about it? Wanna give it a try?”

“I don’t know, I’m worried about my back...”

One of the villagers had asked me if I was interested, but I’d turned him down. Who knows—might be an interesting experience to try it sometime. Not this time, though.

If someone agreed to do it, they’d have to start looking for other people to help. I’d feel bad for them—those things are pretty heavy. Terrible for your back. Then again, that’s just my opinion. If someone wants to do it, more power to them, and I might even help them out if they don’t have enough people.

Huh, now that I think about it, I didn’t really get to take a look at the other stalls yesterday. The whole thing with Katsuragi-san threw me for a loop. What else was there besides food stalls?

Were there any stalls selling living creatures?

Today, I’d just be helping set up—after that, I was free to leave. I wasn’t particularly in the mood to check out the other stalls either.

If, by chance, one of them was selling dyed chicks, I feel like I might give in to the temptation. Let sleeping dogs lie. Or, uh...sleeping chicks? Chickens? Anyway, I’m leaving.

Machiko-san kindly offered to wash the yukata for me. “I bet you don’t know how to wash it properly, do you, Sho-chan?”

A good point indeed. Their sons would be visiting during Obon, and I was asked to stop by and say hello.

“Thanks for helping out with the festival,” she said with a wave.

“It was my pleasure,” I replied.

“It sure is nice having someone young to help...” This didn’t seem to be aimed at me in particular—it was more like she was thinking out loud.

“I think I’ll get going. Thank you for everything.”

As I was about to leave, she handed me a large number of vegetables.

“There’s too much for us to eat by ourselves. Send my regards to the chickens too.”

“I really appreciate it.” Gotta think of something to repay the gift.

I left the Yumotos, and finally, I was back on my mountain.

7. After the Festival Comes Obon

Back at home, Yuma was waiting by the front door...covered in mud.

I wanted to run up to her and give her a hug, but not in that state. I brought out a large washbasin and gave her a good scrub. How did she get this dirty?

Pochi and Tama were nowhere to be seen. Must be running around the mountain as usual.

“Yuma, I’m back.”

“Welcome back.”

I grinned widely.

The river water was very cool and refreshing this time of the year. Although it looked clean and clear, it wasn’t drinkable as is—we drew water from the river (or rather, its spring), filtered it along the way, and used it as tap water, but it had to be purified and boiled before we could drink it. I kept a stock of bottled water that I’d bought in bulk, just in case I wanted a drink immediately. It was kind of a hassle, but I’d already gotten used to it.

Now that Yuma was clean, I had her shake the water off her body a few times, and then I dried her off with a towel. Gotta wait until she’s fully dry before I get to hug her. I’m glad she doesn’t seem to dislike it.

In the twilight hours, as the sun sank into the west and the sky was beginning to turn dark, Pochi and Tama came back...covered in mud. Again, how did you get this dirty?

“Pochi, Tama, I’m back.”

“Welcome back.”

“Gift!”

That’s the first thing you say to me? Oh, Tama, what am I going to do with you...

The two chickens sat obediently as I washed them. Afterward, I let them inside. Mountain climate had a characteristic sudden drop in temperature when the sun went down, and I didn’t want them to get chilly.

I cut the vegetables I’d gotten from the Yumotos into good-sized chunks and fed them to the chickens. Tama raised her head and said “Gift!” again. You have a pretty good memory when it comes to gifts, huh? Apparently, the vegetables weren’t enough to appease her.

“All right, hold on.”

I trawled through the fridge and picked out some of the pork belly I’d set aside for myself, which seemed to satisfy her. Of course, I also had to share it with the other chickens. Are chickens carnivorous? Eh, we’re already way past the point of thinking about that.

Aikawa-san hadn’t participated in this year’s summer festival in any form—apparently, he had helped out in the past when one of his hunter buddies had run a stall.

Seems reasonable. No one likes working for free, if we’re being honest. It’s one thing if you need something to occupy your time or if you’re really into this kind of thing, but otherwise... The women in the community had also kept to supporting roles like preparing ingredients.

“I gotta think of a good present...” I needed something to express my gratitude to Yumoto-san... Well, mainly his wife. I’ll see if Aikawa-san has any more suggestions. He’s much better with this sort of stuff than I am.

Back to my usual routine, I got in the bath with Yuma, gave her another, more thorough wash, and made sure her feathers were all nice and fluffy. I’m all about this fluffiness.

After getting her permission, I hugged her tightly. Ah, so this is what happiness feels like.

“Sorry, Yuma, but do you mind if we stay like this for a bit?”

“Sure.”

Aww, Yuma, you’re so kind.

We were visible from the living room, and I could feel Pochi’s and Tama’s cold, judgmental looks. Come on, this is my oasis. I need this. Staying away from the chickens for a whole night had taken a larger toll on me than I’d expected. How am I supposed to visit my family when I feel like this? I can’t just bring the chickens with me...

“Oh, right... I gotta visit grandpa’s grave, don’t I?”

The best time to do it was either now—before the Obon rush—or after it got a bit cooler. Hmm... Let’s go with the latter. October or so?

I was aware that I was just postponing things, but I wasn’t yet in a good enough mental state to meet people from my hometown. Thinking about that triggered a deluge of memories from the end of last year up until now.

Maybe my mistake was getting engaged too soon.

If things hadn’t gone wrong, we would’ve married in July—I’d been keeping myself busy enough to forget all about that, but it was already past our planned wedding date. I was still bitter about it. I still got angry just thinking about it.

There’d been no cancellation fee for the venue, and I had received a hefty sum from her parents as compensation.

“Here’s some money, now shut up,” huh? Judging by how things turned out, she’d told her parents about wanting to call it off shortly after going abroad. Talk about acting quickly.

Things can take a one-eighty in the blink of an eye. I’ll never forget how I felt when I heard she wasn’t coming back—it was like my world was turning upside down.

It was already my fifth month here, but every now and then, I still thought about it and got the urge to yell at the top of my lungs.

The perpetrator quickly forgets about it and moves on, while the victim carries it with them for the rest of their life. It’s an unfair and unreasonable world we live in.

Stop it. That’s enough. No use dwelling on it.

I stretched out my arm, and my hand touched Yuma, who was curled up next to my futon.

“Thanks, Yuma...”

Oh yeah, I still haven’t given them those drinking-water vaccines. I’ll have to ask the vet again. If I want them to live a long life, I’ve gotta take good care of their health.

Finally, I managed to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

***

The next morning, I woke up considerably later than usual.

“Gweeeehh?!” I screamed out in shock—Tama had climbed onto my chest, probably tired of waiting for me to wake up.

Stop it! Are you trying to kill me? You may be a bird, but you’re still too big and heavy for that!

Seeing that I’d woken up, Tama jumped off me and darted away before I could scold her.

“Tamaaaa!”

I reached for the clock and discovered it was already way past our usual breakfast time. Sure, I guess I’m at fault too, but you didn’t have to climb on top of me. Maybe I should start setting an alarm clock.

“Jeez...” I grumbled as I got ready to begin the day. I headed toward the living room. Come on, I don’t have any obligations—why can’t I sleep in every once in a while? I quickly made breakfast for everyone.

After the chickens finished eating, I opened the front door, and Pochi and Tama immediately bolted off. Impressive—don’t they get sick running like that on a full stomach? Don’t their sides hurt? Though maybe that’s just a human thing. I’ll look it up some other time if I can remember. Anyway, time to go check on the crops.

Yuma stayed behind with me, and we headed over to the fields. Our main crops were cucumbers and komatsuna, with the former being especially abundant around this time of the year. I harvested them by cutting the stems with a pair of scissors. I’m glad they haven’t grown too big.

Yuma loitered around with a look of curiosity. Hey, maybe she can cut these stems with her teeth?

“Yuma?”

“Hmm?” She tilted her head and came closer.

So cute.

“Do you think you could bite through this part here to pick the cucumbers?” I pointed to the stem. “You can just let them fall on the ground.”

“Okay.”

She dexterously moved her head and used her teeth to cut through the stem the cucumber was attached to. The cucumber fell to the ground.

Ooh, she did it.

“Thanks, Yuma. Keep it up.” There were about ten of them. I had her pick three—one for each chicken. “Yuma, you’re pretty good at this. Thanks.”

“Thanks?” She cocked her head quizzically.

Gosh, not only is she adorable, but she also helps with farmwork!

“Yuma’s just way too cute!” I muttered.

“Cute!”

She seemed to understand the meaning of the word “cute,” and she giddily flapped her wings.

That’s also cute! Just a cuteness overload all around! (Yes, I can hear you there criticizing my limited vocabulary.)

I put the cucumbers in the basket and went back home. There was a message on my phone from Aikawa-san: “Good job with the festival. Do you have any plans for Obon?”

He’s as courteous as always. I pondered the meaning of his message. Aikawa-san said he hasn’t been back home even once since moving here. Does he intend to go this year?

“Thank you,” I typed out. “No plans. I’m spending it here.”

“I see. Have you heard about what Obon is like here?”

Hmm? What does he mean by that? Does the village have some kind of unique Obon tradition?

I was curious, so I gave him a call to ask about it. He picked it up promptly.

“Is there something special about Obon here?” I asked.

“It doesn’t really have anything to do with us, at least not directly, but in a way, it’s even more troublesome than Golden Week.” He gave a heavy sigh.

Oh... I think I get it. Tons of people visiting family. You see it on TV every year.

Golden Week was more of a tourism-focused holiday—a huge amount of people traveled here and there across the country, but very few chose to go to remote mountain villages like this one. Obon was different in that regard—most people went back to their hometowns, which, for us, meant a temporary increase in traffic and more strangers in the village.

“The Yumotos asked me to visit them during Obon,” I said.

“That’s probably fine. I just wouldn’t recommend bringing the chickens along.”

“You...make a good point.” The last thing I want is for strangers to take pictures of my chickens and upload them to social media to fish for likes. “Sounds like the best course of action is to stock up on food before Obon and just stay cooped up the whole time, huh?”

“You should still patrol the mountain. Some people don’t realize it’s private property.”

“Oh, right.” I’d hung up some signage on the fence down at the base of my mountain, but naturally, there were bound to be people who just ignored that. I don’t mind that much if they just climb the mountain—I just hope no one plays with fire. I know they’d just flee the scene if a wildfire broke out.

“There’s usually an increase in illegal dumping as well,” Aikawa-san said. “Mostly just small items, but still.”

Isn’t there a good way to deal with that? Installing cameras...would cost money. I guess.

“The villagers do tell their relatives that the mountains are private property and to stay away from them, but...” He trailed off.

In that case, who’s doing it? “So where is the illegal trash coming from?” I asked.

“Basically, people from outside the village.”

I don’t really get it, but I guess there must be some ill-mannered folks out there.

“What about you, Aikawa-san? What do you usually do during Obon? Measures against illegal dumping and stuff...”

“Since most of it seems to happen while it’s dark outside, I have Ten patrol the mountain—with a flashlight strapped under his head.”

“Yikes...” Just thinking about it gave me the chills. The flashlight-under-face thing is already pretty scary when a human does it... Imagine if a giant snake was illuminated instead...

“Doesn’t Ten-san find the light to be too dazzling?”

“Not really. He says it’s actually easier to see his surroundings, and he seems to have fun with it.”

Ah, he’s enjoying himself too.

“And does it work?”

“Hmm... Well, I can tell you that I hear screams pretty often.”

If someone runs into Ten-san at night, it means they were up to no good—I don’t have much room for sympathy there. Could be a dare or something like that, but I hear there’s also a correlation between trespassing and illegal dumping.

“Other than that, I also take care to keep the area around the base of the mountain as clean as possible. It’s actually pretty difficult...”

“I see...” That’s a wide area, after all, even if you stick to the places along the roads.

“But in your case, you’ve got the chickens to help. I think you could get things rather clean if you wanted.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” I asked. What do the chickens have to do with it?

“Eh? The chickens helped out in the village, no?”

Oh...I see what he’s getting at. “We could ask the children for help...”

“We could. Of course, the chickens’ cooperation would be essential,” he remarked.

“I suppose so. That was a big help! I’ll thank you properly some other time.”

“Oh, there’s no need.”

I hung up and immediately called Yumoto-san.

“Taking the kids on a litter cleanup walk with the chickens? Nice idea, Shohei!”

“Well, it was mostly Aikawa-san’s idea. The plan is to start in the morning with the road in front of my mountain, then move from the base of West Mountain to the area around Loud Mountain. After that, they can stay around the foot of my mountain playing with the chickens if they want.”

“Y’know, you really gotta learn to take credit when it’s due. Anyway, sounds like a fun time. I’ll try reaching out to the kids—I’m sure they’ll be interested.”

“Thank you.”

I guess I should at least prepare a barbecue for them too. It’ll cost me, sure, but I think it’s more than worth it, compared to the cost of dealing with illegal dumping. And, more importantly, it’ll be fun for everyone.

Aikawa-san was happy to hear about it. “A barbecue with everyone? Sounds great. There’s plenty of time. I think it would be a good idea to do three events on different dates over Obon. I’ll have Ten patrol your mountain too. I’d also like to help pay for the barbecue.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that. It was my suggestion...”

“No, I want to. Please let me.”

Contrary to his mild-mannered demeanor, Aikawa-san was quite obstinate.

“O-Okay...”

I guess I might as well let Katsuragi-san know too. She called me right away after I messaged her.

“That sounds so fun! I wanna join too!”

“Not visiting family?”

“Huh? There’s no way I could! Okay, I definitely wanna participate at least once! Oh, and I’ll also help cover the cost for the barbecue, of course!”

Why’s everyone so generous? Now then, if Katsuragi-san is joining, I’ll have to make sure it’s on a different day than Aikawa-san. Still need to work out the details.

There was a week left until Obon, and it seemed I was in for another busy few days.

The preparations were going pretty smoothly, thanks to the rapport the chickens had developed during the rainy season.

This year, August 15th would fall on a Saturday, meaning that a lot of people would have the preceding week off (though of course, it could vary depending on the employer). Thus, you could generally think of this year’s Obon holidays as the nine-day period between August 8th (Saturday) and the 16th (Sunday).

The “Let’s Pick Up Trash with the Chickens!” Walks (very creative naming, I know) would be held on the mornings of the 8th, the 12th, and the 16th. We would start at my mountain and split into two groups: One would go all the way to Aikawa-san’s mountain, and the other to Katsuragi-san’s. Almost all the children from the households the chickens had helped would be participating—fifteen kids in total. I don’t know if that’s a lot or not enough.

Yumoto-san was holding a gathering at his place with me and Aikawa-san to discuss the event.

“There’ll probably be a bigger turnout on the 12th,” he said. “We gotta make a ‘no phones’ rule...”

Yumoto-san was well aware of how unusual my chickens were—the locals were already used to seeing them, but we still had to be careful with visitors, even if they were related to the villagers.

“Or...maybe we could put zippers on the chickens’ backs or something like that?” Aikawa-san suggested.

Nice! I gave him a thumbs-up. Just zippers might not be enough—someone could try fiddling with them. We could put zippers on their backs and then a poncho or something made of thin fabric so that only the top part of the zipper is visible—that way, it might look like a costume with a person inside.

“Do you have ponchos for them, though?” I asked.

“Uh...either of you into sewing?”

The three of us looked at each other.

“Machiko-saaan...” Yumoto-san called out.

“Sewing? We do have a bunch of old pieces of cloth lying around, but...”

She turned us down—she wasn’t too confident in her sewing skills.

I thought I had a good idea there...

On a whim, I tried sending Katsuragi-san a message. “Katsuragi-san, would you happen to know how to sew?”

“Sure thing! Just leave it to me!” she replied. “I’ve got a sewing machine and everything! Oh, I guess it’d be better if you could put it on over their heads. Do you mind if I go over to your place to measure them?”

It was settled, then—Katsuragi-san would be helping with that. I got some old cloth from Machiko-san to use for the ponchos. I feel a bit sorry for imposing on everyone.

I also decided to have the participants enroll in one-day sports and leisure insurance. It cost three hundred yen a day, which worked out to a total of nine hundred yen for someone participating on all dates. Still, I decided to set the participation fee to three hundred yen regardless of the number of days, and I would cover any additional expenses myself.

Matsuyama-san from the chicken farm offered to help with chicken meat for the barbecue—of course, I still paid him for it. I’d actually intended to pay Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san for their help too, but they both declined.

Why? “Because it sounds fun.”

I appreciated it, but I felt like they were being excessively generous.

A few days later, Katsuragi-san and her dragon came to visit.

“Hello there!” she called out.

“Hello. Thanks for coming.”

“Oh, the chickens... Pochi-chan, Yuma-chan, and Tama-chan, wasn’t it? Thanks for having me and Tatsuki. Do you mind if he hunts some bugs and animals around here?”

On behalf of all three chickens, Pochi nodded his head.

Katsuragi-san’s a pretty nice girl. “Hunting animals,” huh...? I remember hearing about him eating deer. That’s dragons for you. I’m a bit terrified.

Tatsuki-san moved sluggishly. He seemed to hit it off with my chickens quickly—he took a spot in the shade under a tree, a little distance from the house. Tama walked over to him and began to peck at his body. Probably picking bugs off him.

“So first, I’d like to get a measurement for the circumference of their necks.”

“All right. Let’s do it in the living room.”

We all went inside, and she measured the chickens one by one. I asked her to make them ponchos with zippers peeking out from behind the neck seam—the zippers were just for show, and they should look large enough for a child to climb inside. In the end, we decided to make them more like capes than ponchos.

“They should be ready by tomorrow. Should I deliver them to Yumoto-san’s house?”

“Yeah, can I ask you to do that?”

Although the local kids were already familiar with the chickens, we had to consider the possibility that someone from outside the village might want to participate—this was why we were preparing camouflage for the chickens. It’s a pain, but if we want to protect our peaceful lives here, we have to put in the effort. Well, it’s not like I’m doing much myself, but still.

We had lunch in the living room, since the area in front of my veranda wasn’t properly trimmed.

“Sorry, if it’s bland. It’s not much, but...”

“Oh, no, this is great!”

I served a pretty simple menu—miso soup, rice with nametake mushrooms and tuna (I literally just put everything in the rice cooker and pressed a button), pickles, salad, and stir-fried meat and vegetables. When I was by myself, most of the time, I’d just fry up some meat and make do with pickles and plain rice. I also had a lot of vegetables at home, since the chickens ate a ton of them. For vegetables that could be eaten raw, I cut them up into appropriately sized pieces and ate them as snacks. Mountain life involved a lot of manual labor, which whetted my appetite for pickles.

“Ahhh, I really like guys who can cook...” Katsuragi-san murmured.

Stop saying it like that. “This barely counts as cooking, really.”

“That’s not true! There aren’t too many guys who can make proper miso soup!”

Isn’t it just adding stock and dissolving the miso at the end? Well, I definitely wouldn’t bother if I didn’t have a miso strainer. What a wonderful invention that is.

“I think it’s a lot easier than other kinds of soup where you have to think about what to put in it...” There’s only seasoning—miso, obviously.

“You know, you’re a surprisingly good catch, and I find that a bit annoying...”

“What?”

What does that make Aikawa-san, then? He’s got it all, including actual culinary skills. I’ll keep that to myself, though—Aikawa-san might resent me if Katsuragi-san gets too interested in his cooking. Now, on the other hand, if he had designs on her (do people still say that?), it would be a different story.

After spending some time relaxing, she got up to leave.

“It’s pretty nice here on Brook Mountain. Can I come visit again?”

“Bring some food next time.”

“That’s so mean! Don’t you think you’re a bit too cold to me, Sano-san?!”

“Hmm? Not really.” Well, I’m not very eager to have anyone intrude on me, that’s for sure.

After Katsuragi-san went home, I was contacted by my home’s original owner, the former village head. He said he’d like to come here with the other folks from the old settlement around the 9th to visit the graves.

“I’m afraid I already have plans for the 8th, but if you’d like to come on the 9th, that’s all right with me,” I said.

“The litter cleanup walk, right? I’ve heard about it.”

“Ah, yes...” I was surprised the news had already reached him.

I continued to make preparations for the event over the following days. Before I knew it, it was the day before the Obon holidays.

8. Let’s Pick Up Trash with the Chickens!

Ten-san, Rin-san and the dragon had been patrolling the area around the foot of the mountain for a few days now. I offered to tell my chickens to go help too, but Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san both declined.

“They won’t be able to help on the big day!” they said.

It appeared the fight against illegal dumping was also an inextricable part of life in the mountains. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there...

“We haven’t seen any suspicious vehicles, though we’re staying alert,” Aikawa-san reported to me. There hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary at Katsuragi-san’s place either.

“Got it. Thank you.”

Apparently, their patrol areas stretched as far as the borders between my mountain and theirs. I appreciate it.

The litter cleanup event began early in the morning. We gathered down at the base of my mountain, and I gave the participants bread and milk. Can’t do anything if you don’t get some energy first. A few of the kids barely made it in time—it was likely that some of them hadn’t eaten anything. Sorry for dragging you out here this early.

“Thank you for joining us for the ‘Let’s Pick Up Trash with the Chickens!’ Walk today. First, I’ll ask you to check the leaflets I handed you.”

I’d distributed leaflets containing a few important reminders and warnings to the adults in advance—I’d written up a draft and had gotten Katsuragi-san to print them out for me.

“Please turn off your phones and keep them off the whole time. It’s dangerous to use them while walking or picking up trash! We’ll also be walking along the river, so be careful not to drop them in the water—if you do, you won’t be able to get them back!”

I was very emphatic about this.

“Also, please don’t take any pictures without permission. Uploading content to social media can expose you to dangers, such as ill-intentioned people who can track you down using your data. Please raise your hand if you’ve heard about ‘digital literacy.’”

A few kids raised their hands.

“Did they teach you about it at school? You already know about the dangers of uploading pictures to the internet, then, right?”

I got affirmative replies from the children. Guess most schools must teach about that these days. Good to hear. It’s an important lesson in this day and age.

After these initial considerations, we—including a few adults who had come to accompany the kids—set off.

For the first day, I joined the group that would be heading in the direction of Aikawa-san’s mountain—the same group as Yuma. Our group consisted of seven kids, Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, and three other adults. Thirteen people and one chicken... A larger group than I expected.

We walked single file along the narrow road by the river, with Aikawa-san and Yuma leading the way, and started picking up any trash we came across. Normally, you wouldn’t expect a narrow road like this to get much traffic, but there were a considerable number of cigarette butts on the ground. We found a few other light items too, like plastic bags carried by the wind. Eventually, a truck passed by, despite it being this early in the morning.

“Yumoto-san, is that...?”

“Could be.”

Other than the parents, who were accompanying their children, the adults were evenly distributed across the group—they would let us know if they noticed anything unusual. Illegal dumpers could be arrested on the spot. We’d notified the local police about the event, and there was someone stationed nearby to assist us in case we caught someone red-handed.

We walked all the way to the foot of Aikawa-san’s mountain, picking up any litter we came across. It was already quite bright outside.

“Please remember to keep yourself hydrated,” I said. “It’s only getting hotter.”

We took a quick break to rest in the shade, and I also gave Yuma something to drink—she didn’t have any trouble sipping from a plastic bottle using a straw.

The children laughed at this sight. “It really looks like there’s a person inside Yuma-chan!”

“Hey now, remember—we’re not supposed to talk about that. We’re lucky it’s just people from the village here today.”

“Okaaay.”

After we’d gotten enough rest, we went back the way we came until we eventually reached my mountain again. I usually traversed this path by car, and it wasn’t a long drive, but on foot, it was much more taxing than I’d expected. The round trip had taken us over two hours, though that also included the time spent picking up trash. A while later, the group that had gone in the direction of Katsuragi-san’s mountain came back too.

“It’s so hot!”

“I’m hungry!”

The children threw themselves on the grass. I wish they’d at least lie on the tarp and not on the ground. But then, I guess kids don’t really mind that kind of stuff.

They were having fun rolling on the grass. Good thing I mowed it.

“Yuma-chan’s cape is cute!”

“I like Tama-chan’s!”

The girls were all gathered around Yuma and Tama. I guess girls prefer the company of other girls. Yuma and Tama seemed to be having fun too—they pecked lightly at the girls’ clothes, and the girls thanked them in return. Must be picking off bugs. The girls were all laughing merrily. Some of them also took off their parkas and other outerwear items and put them on the chickens, squealing about how cute they looked.

I’ve heard of dress-up dolls, but dress-up chickens is a first for me... I don’t really get it, but as long as they’re having fun, it’s fine.

“Thank you for coming today,” I said to the adults.

“It was my pleasure. I never knew there was this much trash lying around.”

“I spotted a suspicious truck driving around earlier, though I didn’t see it after it got brighter.”

“That might be a problem...”

I wish these dumpers would at least cover the cost for disposing of their trash. If you buy something, you should be responsible for it, including disposing of it.

“Was it okay for us adults to participate too?” one of them asked me.

“Sure, I don’t mind that at all... But we just walk around with the chickens cleaning up trash, so I imagine it must get boring for you.”

“We don’t usually get the chance to do that, and it’s also a good opportunity to socialize with other villagers.”

Makes sense. There are probably not too many opportunities to meet people—regardless of gender—here.

We and the other adults made preparations for the barbecue and grilled the food—vegetables, chicken meat, pork, and so on. I set aside some veggies and pork for the chickens. I’m not giving them chicken meat, of course. Some participants had also brought other food, such as onigiri, and they graciously shared with the others.

The moms seemed to have enjoyed the event too.

“Thank you for coming today,” I said to them. “Um... Please don’t strain yourself too much.”

“Please don’t mind us! There aren’t many good opportunities to educate children about environmental issues.”

Judging by everyone’s appetites, it seemed all of us had gotten a good workout. The barbecue was enough to fill everyone up, but we ate everything.

Whew. Maybe we should provide more food next time.

“That was fun. Can I come again?”

“Sure. We’re doing it again on the 12th and the 16th—join us if you can.”

The kids’ eyes lit up, and they begged their parents to let them participate on the other dates.

“Regarding the cleanup walks on the 12th and the 16th, if you will be participating, please let me know as soon as possible. The deadline is on the previous day at noon, as I need to make sure everyone has insurance.”

“Okay!”

I’m glad everyone’s so nice and understanding—both the kids and the adults.

After cleaning up, everyone went home in a great mood.

Haaah... We managed to get through it without any major hiccups.

The land on the inside of my fence—at the base of the mountain—was pretty wide and flat. We’d had everyone park their vehicles outside the fence, and we’d used this flat area for the barbecue. Everyone had thrown their trash into plastic bags, but it was possible that there was still some left on the ground. Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, and I had a look around for any trash to pick up. We then set the trash bags aside in a spot that wasn’t visible from outside the fence. Yumoto-san would be picking them up on his way home and throwing them away for us.

After it was all over, I had a debrief meeting with Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, and the chickens. “Thank you for helping today. Let’s go to my place.”

I also called out to the chickens, but instead of getting in the truck, the three of them just ran off up the mountain.

“Oh boy...” Look, I get that we just spent the day walking and you must be itching to get some proper exercise, but really? Running down the mountain is one thing, but running up it?

“Whoa, those chickens really are something,” Yumoto-san said in a casual tone.

“We’re no match for them,” Aikawa-san agreed.

Good thing I already collected their ponchos and zippers. At that speed, if the chickens were still wearing them, they’d be torn to shreds.

We pulled ourselves together and drove up to my house in our vehicles. The tools we’d used for the barbecue all belonged to Yumoto-san but I’d be keeping them with me for now. I’m always so indebted to everyone.

“So how about some...?” Yumoto-san made a drinking gesture with his hand.

I shook my head. “Sorry, but no. No alcohol for you today.”

“We still need to drive down the mountain back home. It would be dangerous to drink,” Aikawa-san said in support of me.

There are spots with no guardrails or anything. You shouldn’t drive drunk in the mountains if you value your life.

“Bah, that’s a bummer...but I guess you’re right.”

We did have some sodas left—a few of the parents who’d joined us today had been kind enough to bring beverages to share.

“Is tea okay?”

“Gimme some F*nta.”

With pickles and rice crackers for snacks, we began the meeting. As for the chickens...Yuma was by my side, but Pochi and Tama had long since disappeared into the mountain wilderness. Those coldhearted jerks.

We made a toast—coffee for me and Aikawa-san, and F*nta for Old Man Yumoto.

“So, that was it, huh?” Yumoto-san grumbled, clearly unsatisfied.

“Well, this was only the first day. By the way, when are your sons coming?”

“They said they’d be here between the 10th and the 14th. I’ve got a grandkid who might wanna join the walk. When was the deadline again? The 11th at noon?”

“Yes, I’ll be applying for insurance that afternoon. You just have to tell me their name and birth date.”

“Nowadays, you can do that stuff at convenience stores, right?”

“Yep, it’s pretty handy.” I’d done my fair share of research on this while I’d been planning the event. Enrolling in sports and leisure insurance as an individual cost five hundred yen, but you could knock it down to three hundred if you did it as part of a group. I also found out that some insurance companies wouldn’t allow people over seventy to enroll.

“How many people have we got for the 12th right now?” Yumoto-san asked.

“Ten so far, and that’s just counting the children. Some families said they have relatives visiting who might want to join in too, and they’ll let me know as soon as they find out.”

“It’s looking like a bigger turnout, then.”

“Indeed.”

“Katsuragi-san said she’d like to participate on the 12th. I’ll go with the group that takes the route to her mountain,” I proposed.

“Got it.”

“G-Got it...” It seemed Aikawa-san had no intention of skipping the 12th.

“I think we’re also gonna need more food for the barbecue,” I said.

“Yeah. Buying too much won’t be a problem—we can just take it home.”

“True.”

Yumoto-san and Katsuragi-san were providing vegetables from their farms, and other farmers from the village had also mentioned that they could give us some. The problem was the meat.

“Our priority should be procuring pork.”

“Yeah, we can get chicken meat from the chicken farm, after all.”

“Shohei, can’t you ask the chickens to hunt some boars?”

“Well, they found one just the other day, but I don’t think they can just find one on a whim.” It’s a pretty wild idea, in more than one sense, to go hunting in the mountains when you need more meat.

“I...don’t think my snakes could help much either...” Aikawa-san murmured.

Giant snakes... I imagine they coil themselves around their prey and squeeze them hard enough to break every bone in their bodies...

Just thinking about it gave me goose bumps.

Hey guys, don’t look at me like that. You either, Yuma. No, I’m not telling the chickens to go on a hunt.

“Hunting wild animals is very much a matter of luck...” I said.

“Right, guess so.” Yumoto-san nodded. “Wouldn’t want to trouble others by buying up all the pork in the village either.”

“How about buying it in town? That shouldn’t be a concern. We’d have to buy it early and freeze it, but...if we go tomorrow...” I paused, remembering something. “Aaaah, shoot!”

“Is something the matter?”

“People from the old settlement are coming here tomorrow to visit the graves.”

“You can just leave the meat to us, then,” Yumoto-san said.

“I second that,” Aikawa-san added.

Boy, I really depend on other people for everything, huh...?

“I can go too if it’s on the 10th...”

“How about this: We’ll go to S-Town tomorrow, and if we’re not able to buy enough meat, you’ll go to N-Town on the 10th and buy more,” Yumoto-san suggested.

“That’s fine by me,” I replied, though deep down, I already knew they would almost certainly buy enough tomorrow. Yumoto-san appeared to be just a regular middle-aged guy from the countryside, but I was well aware that he was just as capable and dependable as Aikawa-san. With age comes experience, I guess. Still, it feels awful not being able to help, even though it was my suggestion.

I slumped myself over the tea table.

“You know, Sano-san, I think your idea was really fantastic. For example, giving everyone bread and milk. I would never have thought of that.”

Yumoto-san nodded. “Yup, me neither.”

I paused for a moment. “Did you ever do radio calisthenics when you were in elementary school?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“Me too.”

“I remember we would all gather in the park early in the morning, and there were kids who would collapse because they didn’t eat breakfast. It was really scary having someone fall down to the ground right next to me...”

Later, I would ask why they’d collapsed, and I would find out that they hadn’t had anything to eat for breakfast. Doing radio calisthenics in that state is a terrible idea.

“I see. Sounds like you learned an important lesson from that.”

“I sure did.” A proper breakfast is essential. At the very least, you have to eat something—anything. Even a piece of chocolate will do.

I hoped we could make good use of the lessons from today to make things go more smoothly on the 12th.

9. Obon Hubbub and the Second “Let’s Pick Up Trash with the Chickens!” Walk

Tomorrow was the 9th, and the people who used to live in the old settlement would be coming here to visit their ancestors’ graves. There would be five people in total: Yamakura-san (the former village head, who lived in the village to the east of Yumoto-san’s house), his son, another couple, and one other person.

I pulled the weeds growing near the graves and had the chickens look around for any dangerous animals, such as vipers—there was always the risk that one of them might bite the villagers during their visit.

The next morning, after I got a call saying they were on their way, I went down to the foot of the mountain to unlock the gate. They’d be heading straight to the cemetery, then swinging by my house on their way home. If I’m being honest, I’m not too crazy about them stopping by, but I guess that’s just how it is.

“Do you have plans for lunch?” I asked over the phone. Apparently, they would be bringing food. Oh, okay. They’ll be eating it here, then. I picked some cucumbers from my crops. We still had plenty of them, but if you left them untended, they could quickly grow to massive sizes and become annoying to deal with. When that happened, the seeds inside also grew bigger, which sort of ruined the texture. Well, I just end up feeding those to the chickens. It’s not so bad.

Yamakura-san and his son were already aware of my chickens, and the couple who lived in the village should have at least heard about them. As for the fifth visitor, he had moved to a nearby town with his parents. Just in case, I asked Yamakura-san to tell him about the chickens—I didn’t want to surprise him too much.

I also explained the situation with the abandoned buildings and asked him to tell the others about it. The buildings were abandoned, after all, so I couldn’t imagine they’d have any objections to me tearing them down, but I figured I should let them know about the conditions of the homes before they saw them. It had already been more than five years since the couple had moved away from the mountain, and the other man’s family had moved when he was still a child.

“I mean... It was my fault for not asking about any details, but...I’m getting a bit anxious here...” I muttered. I wish they’d just get here already. Being left hanging like this is the worst.

Pochi and Tama were out on patrol today. They always come back in the evening—I wonder what they get up to all day. Though, it might be a good thing they’re not around when we have visitors.

“I did clean around the graves, but...” I’d skipped scrubbing the graves themselves this time. I’ll go check on them another time and clean them if needed.

Two hours passed after I spoke to Yamakura-san on the phone, and finally, two trucks stopped nearby. I walked over with Yuma to greet them.

“Hello there, Yamakura-san.”

“Sano-kun, thanks for letting us in today. Do you mind if we stop by for a while?”

“Not at all.”

I exchanged greetings with Yamakura-san—the oldest in the group. Another man who looked to be in his forties got out of the truck next.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Yamakura’s son. Thanks for everything.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Sano. Please make yourself at home.” I assume he’s thanking me for tending to the cemetery, but it’s not like I go there every day.

I spotted the other couple from the village standing in front of one of the abandoned houses. That’s probably where they used to live.

The fifth visitor—the youngest in the group, though he still seemed to be older than me—then offered his greetings. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for today.”

“So that’s one of those chickens I’ve heard about, eh?” said Yamakura-san. “They really are huge.”

I nodded. “Yep. They’ve been a great help to me.”

I ushered my guests into the living room and served them tea, crackers, pickles, and some cucumbers I’d picked that morning—I’d sliced them into sticks.

“Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t offer you much...”

“No, no, Sano-kun—please don’t mind us. We’re the ones being pushy and imposing on you, after all.”

“It’s no trouble...”

Yamakura-san, his son, and I kept bowing our heads at each other repeatedly, drawing laughter from the woman.

“Sano-san, it must be difficult for you living out here in the mountains, no?” she asked.

“Honestly, it is.”

“I bet. Our children didn’t want to live here either, so we moved away, but I hope you won’t mind us coming to visit the graves from time to time.”

“Not a problem. Just let me know at least a day in advance, if possible.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve been taking good care of the house as well. Thanks, Sano-kun,” said Yamakura-san.

“Actually, I should be the one thanking you,” I replied. “I don’t know what I would have done if the house hadn’t been here already.”

“Well, yeah... It’d be a lot of work building a house from scratch,” said the husband of the village couple.

“Sano-san, what’s the appeal of living in the mountains? At least, from your perspective?” the young man asked.

“The appeal?” I wonder... I came here because I kind of wanted to isolate myself from society to begin with. The appeal...? Uh...

“Well, I suppose... Being able to lead a quiet life surrounded by nature is appealing.” I’m not too sure on this one. I think my chickens are the reason I’m able to enjoy living here.

“So you’re, like, retired from society?”

“I...guess you could say that.”

“At your age?”

“Uh, yes.” I chuckled awkwardly. It’s hard to put into words.

“Well, in any case, thank you for taking good care of the graves,” the young man said. “Could I come visit them again sometime, if it’s not too much of a bother?”

“Of course. Just let me know in advance.”

Guess they’ll be visiting again. The wife shared a few onigiri she’d brought—they were delicious. Is it just my imagination, or does onigiri made by women taste much better?

Although they were all surprised when they saw Yuma, the topic of my chickens didn’t really come up in conversation. I also got to hear a bit about the history of the settlement on my mountain—it’d begun when Yamakura-san’s ancestors five generations back had come to live here. Five generations ago would be around the same time as the Meiji Restoration... Or maybe the tail end of the Edo period? That’s a pretty long time ago.

And after seeing the graves and sharing a meal, they all returned home before sunset.

Around the time the crimson sky had turned dark, Pochi and Tama came back to the house covered in grass.

“Full of energy—as usual,” I remarked. I took out a washbasin and wiped them off. “‘The appeal of living in the mountains,’ huh? Well, for one, I get to enjoy a slow life with you guys...”

Considering how physically active my chickens were, the mountains seemed to be the ideal environment for us—I didn’t want them to have so much pent-up energy that they woke me up in the middle of the night.

“Yuma, if you want, you can go play too. Don’t mind me.”

Tama threw an icy stare at me. Yuma also gave me the cold shoulder.

Why?!

***

On the 10th, I began patrolling around the foot of my mountain before the sun rose. I knew Aikawa-san’s snakes and Katsuragi-san’s dragon would be making their rounds around here too—although I definitely appreciated their effort, just leaving everything to them didn’t sit well with me.

“I’ll be there on the 12th!” Katsuragi-san texted me.

I texted back, “Okay, see you then.”

After that, I went to have a look at the graves. Yamakura-san had taken all the trash with him and trimmed the weeds that were growing in the area. I cleaned the incense ashes on the graves, then offered some incense myself, which I collected before going back. It’s probably dangerous to leave it there burning.

“What about those fires that people light at the start of Obon to welcome spirits? When was that again...?” Well, I suppose it’s not really any of my business.

Yuma had come to the graves with me—she was poking at the ground. There must be a lot more bugs around than I realized. It’s nice that I can leave the chickens outside and they’ll procure food on their own, but that probably won’t be an option during winter. Oh, that’s probably why they cull chickens at the end of the year. Not that I have any plans to do that! Obviously! And even if I tried, I’d be no match for them...

Since Aikawa-san was worried we might not have enough meat for the barbecue, we decided to go shopping in N-Town. I’m pretty sure they already managed to buy enough, and he’s just doing this so I don’t feel too useless. That’s fine, though. Too much meat is not a problem—we can just eat it at home or save it for the 16th.

Maybe we should have ordered it online. Might be worth considering if we do this again next year.

Rin-san was in the passenger’s side of Aikawa-san’s truck. I’d recently removed the seat from that side of my truck, and Yuma was snugly seated there, fluffy like a cloud. It looked more comfortable for her now without the seat. I should have removed it sooner. I had her sitting on top of a cushion to avoid any potential issues with the components under where the seat had been.

“It’s not as big as a shopping mall, but there’s a pretty big supermarket. Let’s go there,” Aikawa-san suggested. I followed him as he drove to town. The weather was nice and sunny.

Arriving in N-Town, we hopped out of our trucks. The air in town was sweltering. Must be two whole degrees hotter than in the village. After checking that the ACs were on, the windows were cracked, and there were bottles with straws in case they got thirsty, we turned to our respective companions.

“I’ll be going there to buy some stuff real quick. Be back soon,” I told Yuma.

I then got out of the truck and walked into the supermarket with Aikawa-san.

“Is Rin-san okay with this heat?” I asked.

“She’ll want to bathe in the river when we get back. I left her something to drink in the car, but still, it really is quite hot here.”

Yup, it’s clearly hotter here than in the village. “Goes to show how important vegetation is to keep us cool, huh?”

“That’s why some people put ‘green curtains’ in front of their windows—shade-bringing plants that don’t attract too many bugs,” Aikawa-san explained.

“What plants do they use for that?”

“I’ve heard bitter melon is a common choice.”

We chatted leisurely as we bought a large amount of pork for the barbecue. Maybe we could also buy mutton and grill it up for some Hokkaido-style jingisukan as well, though that’s a bit hard to come by here. We also bought something to eat for lunch. Then we went back to our usual parking lot, which was a fair distance away from the supermarket.

“Yuma, I’m back.”

I gave her some boiled, shelled edamame I’d bought, as well as a small, unseasoned onigiri. (Note: Avoid feeding cooked rice to regular chickens because they could get sick.)

Her meal’s a bit lacking in protein. I’ll give her some meat when we get back home. Rin-san didn’t get anything to eat—she was a carnivore, and she didn’t really need to eat that often to begin with.

“Oh, right,” I said to Aikawa-san. “The other day, Katsuragi-san asked me what it’s like when I go to town with you.”

His expression turned awkward. “Oh...”

“So I told her we just take care of whatever business we had, eat in the parking lot, and then go home. She asked me, ‘What’s the point?’”

“Ha ha ha.”

We always brought Yuma and Rin-san, meaning we couldn’t sit down for a meal, and anyway, it would feel a little weird going to a restaurant with just the two of us. I don’t have a problem with just buying whatever and eating in the parking lot.

“We come here to shop, so yeah. If I were with a girl, I might think about having lunch at a nice restaurant with her, but with Rin and Yuma-san here, that’s not really possible.”

“Right. By the way, how was the shopping trip yesterday?”

“I didn’t bring Rin with me, but other than that, it was the same as always—buy whatever we need, eat in the parking lot, and go home.”

So when Aikawa-san and Yumoto-san go shopping, they do the same thing. Makes sense. Ah, but I feel like it’ll get harder and harder to find a girlfriend if I get used to the mentality that it’s easier and more comfortable to hang out with other guys.

Well...I suppose I’m not gonna go looking for a girlfriend anytime soon.

“Do you not hang out with her?” he asked.

“Uh... She did invite me to go check out this shopping mall that just opened in S-Town, but I didn’t feel like it—honestly, going shopping with a woman sounds like a pain.”

Aikawa-san snickered. Hey, what’s the laugh for?

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” he said.

I cocked my head. “Huh? I don’t get it.”

“After we wrap everything up on the 16th, let’s go drinking with Yumoto-san,” Aikawa-san suggested.

“Hmm? Sure, sounds good to me.”

But first, we had to get through the 12th, which was looking to be our busiest day for the cleanup walk.

Right, I gotta do all the insurance paperwork tomorrow after I go visit Yumoto-san.

The number of children who’d be participating on the 12th had swelled to sixteen people—some of them had been here on the 8th, and some would be joining us for the first time. I didn’t really know who was who based on only names and birth dates, though.

I’d woken up early and was doing my rounds when I spotted a suspicious vehicle driving slowly past. When I walked in that direction, it sped away. I bet you thought no one was looking. These people, I tell you... Seriously, you gotta at least be responsible enough to deal with your own trash.

I’d be meeting with Yumoto-san’s family today—I took all three chickens with me to his home. As usual, I brought them some rice crackers as a gift. Sorry for being boring.

When I stopped my truck, I could see children playing outside. Hmm, what should I do about the chickens?

As I was deliberating, a clever-looking boy gingerly called out to me. “Can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Sano. Yumoto-san asked me to come by today.”

“Hello... By ‘Yumoto-san,’ do you mean grandpa?”

“I guess so? You’re Old Man Yumoto’s grandkid, huh? Will you go let him know that Shohei is here?”

“Okay.”

The boy, apparently the oldest, told the other kids to wait there and called out in the direction of the house. His gaze was fixed on me the whole time. Pretty dependable kid.

Machiko-san soon came outside. “Oh, Sho-chan, thanks for coming. Come inside. The chickens...”

“Guess I should introduce them, right?” I asked.

“Yes, I think so. Otherwise, it’ll be quite a surprise.” She turned and yelled for the people inside. “Yuji, Koichi, Ake-chan, Fumi-chan, come here!”

As she did that, I helped the chickens out of my truck. The children all stared at them, wide-eyed. Well, yeah.

“Mom, what is—”

“Did something hap—”

“What’s the mat—”

“Is there— Wh-Whaaaat?!”

Those must be Yumoto-san’s two sons and their wives. And then six grandkids. Pretty big family.

Machiko-san smiled proudly and said, “This is Shohei Sano-kun, and these are his pet chickens, Pochi-chan, Tama-chan, and Yuma-chan. They’re a bit bigger than usual, but they’re always a huge help to us. They also eat bugs and weeds around the crops. You’ll be joining them tomorrow for the cleanup walk—get used to them.”

Everyone was speechless.

I’ve gotten so used to the people in the village that I almost forgot—this is actually a reaction. Gotta be more careful from now on.

“Pochi-chan, Tama-chan, Yuma-chan, how about some veggies?” Machiko-san asked. “Here, come with me—we have some damaged vegetables.” She led them over to the fields, and the chickens followed her. They really will eat just about anything. It’s a win-win.

Yumoto-san then stepped out of the house. “Oh, Shohei, you’re here. Come inside. You guys too.”

We all went into the house, and I formally introduced myself to everyone. “Nice to meet you all. My name is Shohei Sano. I’m really grateful to Yumoto-san for always helping me out.”

His sons were considerably older than me. After greeting one another and lounging in the living room for a while, they offered me a glass of beer, but I turned it down. I still had to go to town later to take care of all the insurance stuff.

Koichi-san, their eldest son, looked surprised by my refusal. “I thought folks around here were okay with driving after having a beer or two.”

I glared at Old Man Yumoto, who just looked away.

“We live in the mountains, you see,” I explained. “The roads up there can be dangerous.”

“Ah, I suppose you’re right about that. Sorry.” Koichi-san scratched his head.

“So, those chickens...” Yuji-san, the younger son, muttered. “What’s with their tails...? Are they actually feathered dinosaurs or something like that?”

Here it is—the usual question.

“I’m actually not too sure...” I replied. “I got them from a stall at the spring festival. Speaking of which, we just had the summer festival the other day...”

“The only animals they sold were goldfish,” Yumoto-san said.

“Oh...” Seems there weren’t any dyed chicks at the summer festival. I had been a bit curious about that.

“The spring festival, huh? I should’ve come to that...”

“Darling...?” Yuji-san’s wife was smiling, but judging from the menacing look in her eyes, she was clearly not amused.

“Didn’t you see them? Feathered dinosaurs! All men are into that sort of thing!”

“Sure, that might be fine if you were still single. But do you understand what raising an animal entails? Sano-san, if I may ask, how much do your chickens usually eat in a day?”

I was suddenly put on the spot, and I started fumbling for words. “U-Uh, let’s see... Lately, I just feed them in the morning... About two heads of lettuce for the three of them...?”

“Oh, that’s a lot less than I expected.”

“They basically spend the day running around the mountain, so they’re able to find their own food, like bugs and edible plants. I give them some other vegetables sometimes. I think if you don’t have the right environment, it would be pretty difficult to keep them.”

“I see...”

Plus, they require a lot of exercise.

Yuji-san frowned. “Guess that’s a no, then. Oh well.”

I understand that the prospect of raising a “dinosaur” seems exciting, but a normal household in town really wouldn’t suffice. Wait, I mean chickens. They’re chickens, I promise. I just said “dinosaur” as a figure of speech!

“By the way, about tomorrow’s event...” I began.

“Oh, right. All of us except my mother would like to go. Is that okay?” Koichi-san asked.

I pondered for a moment. “Um, yes, that’s not a problem. But...it starts pretty early in the morning. Are you fine with that?”

“Yeah, no problem. You don’t get the chance to do this kind of thing very often.”

I imagine they want to participate because of the kids, but some of them are pretty young. Will they really be okay?

“I’m afraid I can’t look after every child,” I said, “so I’ll have to ask you to keep a good eye on them. I’ll also need three hundred yen per person for the sports and leisure insurance. Could you tell me everyone’s name and date of birth?”

“Wait, we have to pay?” Yuji-san asked. “Even though we’re already helping out with vegetables and other food?”

Looks like he’s the type to, shall we say, speak his mind.

“Darling...” his wife murmured.

Yumoto-san just laughed. “Yuji, if that’s a problem, feel free to sit it out. More meat for the rest of us.”

Machiko-san, who’d just come back, stared at her son disdainfully.

“Wh-What?” Yuji-san stammered. “Am I not allowed to ask?”

“Sure you are,” said Yumoto-san, “but we planted the vegetables, not you. I don’t think you have any right to talk about ‘helping out.’ These events take money to organize and run, y’know?”

“R-Right. I guess so...”

Honestly, if someone’s unwilling to pay a three-hundred-yen fee, I’d rather they just not participate.

Machiko-san sighed. “Stingy as always, aren’t you, Yuji?”

“It’s not about that.”

The mood at the table is kinda uncomfortable...

We ate lunch, and by that time, it was past noon—the deadline to sign up for the cleanup walk was now closed. I was ready to head to town to apply for insurance.

“Excuse me, can I ask you to look after the chickens while I’m away?” I asked. “I’ll be back to pick them up after I take care of all the insurance paperwork.”

“Sure, sure,” Yumoto-san replied. “They’ll help us out with the crops.”

At first, the children had only observed the chickens from a distance. I’d told them they could play as long as they didn’t do anything mean to them, and now, everyone was running around together. Kids are able to adapt to new situations much quicker than adults. As I left, I could see them playing tag, and they all seemed to be having a lot of fun.

“I’ll be back later, then.”

I checked the list one more time—twenty-two kids and around the same number of adults. That’s way, way more than I expected. Will there be enough room for everyone? Oh gosh.

I grew a bit concerned and messaged Aikawa-san. “There’ll be fifty people in total, including us. I’m getting a little worried.”

“Fifty people? Can I call you now?” Before I could reply, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Sano-san? I didn’t think we’d get this many people.”

“Me neither... I don’t know if there’ll be enough space for everyone’s vehicles.”

“We can just ask them to park somewhere near the mountain. It’ll be pretty early in the morning, and there’s not much traffic around there. You’ve talked to the police, right?”

“Yeah, I told them we were doing a trash cleanup event.”

“You should also inform them about the number of participants and see if they can help with the vehicles.”

“I’ll give it a try.” Reliable advice—as always.

“By the way, do we have enough bread and milk for all fifty people?” he asked.

“Oh, right... I forgot about that. I’m in town right now—I’ll see if I can buy more.” Aaaah, how dumb am I?!

“Okay, just take it easy. I’ll go talk to the police myself. See you tomorrow.”

God, I really can’t thank him enough.

Later, after getting the insurance, I managed to buy a large amount of bread and milk. I left it all at Yumoto-san’s house, then went home with the chickens.

The next morning, there was indeed a massive crowd gathered at the foot of my mountain. Oh boy... I’m getting dizzy.

Just like last time, I requested that everyone turn off their phones. I could hear some of the kids in the crowd who had participated on the 8th yelling “We know!” but it was still something that had to be said—I didn’t want the chickens going viral on social media.

I directed the adults to evenly distribute themselves along the route.

Katsuragi-san approached me, seeming impressed by the crowd. “Good morning, Sano-san. This is a lot of people.”

Aikawa-san discreetly took a few steps back. Still not very comfortable around her, I see.

“Good morning, Katsuragi-san. Yup—the Loud Mountain group will consist of eleven children, Pochi, Tama, you and me, and four other adults. It’ll be a total of seventeen people and two chickens.”

“Got it. Let’s do our very best!”

This wasn’t anything so complicated that it warranted “doing our very best,” but the sentiment was nice. Besides, there’d been a good amount of traffic around here these past four days, so we still had to stay vigilant.

“All right then—let’s go!”

“Let’s go!” the children repeated. Thanks.

The chickens were wearing the ponchos Katsuragi-san had made for them, with the zippers poking out from underneath. The people who didn’t live in the village stared at them curiously.

Despite it being so early in the morning (the sun hadn’t fully risen), the kids were as peppy as ever. Along the route, we came across way too many cigarette butts. I wish people would throw them out properly. I let out a sigh every time I saw plastic bottles and such on the ground, though I figured some of them must have been carried here by the wind.

Shortly after crossing Loud Mountain, we stopped for a quick break, and after, we turned around and headed back the way we came. The adults standing along the road joined us on our way back. The nonlocals seemed particularly intrigued by the chickens, who were looking around here and there, pecking at all sorts of things, and informing us when they saw trash on the ground. These chickens really are something.

By the time we were back at my mountain, I was already pretty strained mentally—interacting with adults from outside the village took a toll on my nerves. The people who’d stayed behind to organize the barbecue had already started preparing the food. We’re almost done—just a little bit left.

Aikawa-san’s hunter friend, Kawanaka-san, was also participating today, and he came over to chat once everyone had started eating. “Sano-kun, good job out there.”

“Hello. Thanks for joining us today.”

“You know, I came because I was interested in the chickens, but I didn’t expect there to be so many couples... It’s tough being a bachelor here.”

“Hmm? I don’t really think so.”

As we spoke, Kawanaka-san’s eyes weren’t pointing at me but in another direction. I followed his gaze to find...

Well, yeah. Katsuragi-san is pretty cute.

Katsuragi-san seemed to be having fun chatting with Yumoto-san’s sons’ wives.

“Say, Sano-kun, how old is the young lady over there?”

“Younger than me. Too young for you.”

“Your girlfriend...?”

“Uh...no, I’m like an older brother to her or something like that.” At least, that’s what she said at the festival. I feel like I’ve gotta play the part.

“Whaaat, really?”

“I don’t want to be rude, Kawanaka-san, but I think she’s out of your league.”

“That is pretty rude!” He laughed.

I really hoped Katsuragi-san would be able to find a suitable partner, and, honestly, I didn’t think a fifty-year-old man was appropriate, even if he looked younger.

We’d bought a lot more food this time, and there was even some meat left after the barbecue. I didn’t mind—quite the opposite, actually.

“Thank you, everyone, for attending today’s litter cleanup walk. The next one will be on the 16th, and the deadline to sign up is noon on the 15th. Please let me know by then if you’d like to participate.”

The volunteers all clapped, and with that, today’s event was finally over.

The kids were still gathered around the chickens, chattering away.

After the adults finished cleaning up, they called out, “It’s time to go!”

“Whaaat?”

“I want to play more!”

“Let’s go, chickens!”

The children booed. Wait, wait! Don’t take the chickens with you!

Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, Katsuragi-san, and I stayed and saw everyone off.

“Good work today. I’ll be taking my leave too. Oh, and I’ll talk to the police before going home.” Aikawa-san gave a quick smile and briskly went on his way. Ah, I see. He’s running away.

“I’m leaving too,” said Yumoto-san. “I’ll take the trash with me.”

“Thank you.” I loaded the trash bags onto the back of his truck.

The only ones left now were the chickens, me, and Katsuragi-san.

“Aikawa-san went home,” she blurted out.

“He did. We should get going too.” I’m not too keen on the idea of being alone with her away from the public eye. Well, I mean, we are neighbors and all, but still...

“Earlier...”

“Hmm?”

“Earlier, you were talking to someone.”

“Right.” That was Kawanaka-san. I don’t think we were close enough for her to hear our conversation...or were we?

“I think it was probably because of the wind... I could kind of hear what you were talking about...”

Which means Koichi-san’s and Yuji-san’s wives also heard us? Well, that’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it? I felt cold sweat running down my back.

“Thank you... I hope I can count on you to keep being my big brother, Sano-san.”

“Er, yeah... Sure, no problem.”

I couldn’t help but be enchanted by her bright, bubbly smile. However...

“Now then, my dear brother, please teach me the secrets to getting closer to Aikawa-san!”

“You still haven’t given up?!” I exclaimed.

“No way!”

She sounded half joking and half serious. Must be joking, though...

We were laughing at each other as we parted ways. The chickens, as they’d done last time, immediately bolted up the mountain. I seriously don’t know how they’re always so lively. But I guess it’s better than having too much pent-up energy...right?

When I got home, Yuma was near the house, but Pochi and Tama were nowhere to be seen. It’s crazy to think that they’ve been up since before sunrise and they still have enough gas left to keep them out until evening. Just big balls of energy, those chickens.

After a while of being back at home, I got a message from Aikawa-san saying he’d informed the police that the event had ended—he’d also asked for help one more time on the 16th. Now I feel bad for saying he was running away. Though it’s probably still true.

Later, I was told that Yumoto-san’s family had thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and Koichi-san’s son, the clever-looking boy, was especially taken with the chickens. Apparently, he’d nodded and said, “You couldn’t raise chickens that big anywhere else.”

It’d be nice if this gets him interested in life in the countryside.

10. So I Like Eggs—So What?

The morning of the 13th brought with it something unexpected.

“Hmm?”

After waking up, I walked over to the living room to find a couple of eggs. And pretty big ones, at that—two eggs, a size or two larger than regular chicken eggs, on the earthen floor.

Huh? Could these be...?

The chickens kept a straight face.

“Hey, Tama, Yuma... Did you two lay these eggs?”

“Laid!”

“Came out!”

As I thought. I glanced at Pochi, who just had a clueless look on his face. Now the question is, are they fertilized?

“Eat?” Yuma cocked her head and asked.

“Huh? Can I?” I’m not too crazy about the idea of eating a fertilized chicken egg, though.

Tama unenthusiastically gave the eggs a kick in my direction.

“Whoooooa! Tama, what are you doing?!”

“Eat it!”

“Eat it,” she says... No plans to incubate them, then?

“You sure about this?” I asked once more, and this time, she started pecking at them lightly.

Stoooop! Don’t be mean to the eggs! “O-Okay! Okay, got it! I will! Tama, Yuma, thanks!” I yelled. Then I secured the eggs.

Man, they really are huge. Larger than L-sized chicken eggs. XL? Or XXL, if that exists? I never thought I’d see a chicken egg this big.

I decided to fry them, since eating them raw didn’t seem like a very good idea. Tama, Yuma, thank you for the eggs.

As usual, I cut up some vegetables for me to eat. I put the scraps in a bucket, along with a bunch of other veggies, since just the scraps wouldn’t be nearly enough for the chickens. As I’d told Yuji-san’s wife yesterday, I usually fed the three of them an amount of food roughly equivalent to two heads of lettuce. I also gave them some meat scraps, which they happily gobbled up. Sure is nice that they’re omnivores.

I divided all of that into three bowls and fed it to the chickens. Although they didn’t make too much of a mess, they did chow down at a rather breakneck pace.

I opened the glass door at the front, and Pochi and Tama immediately zipped off like they always did. Business as usual.

“Feel free to go too, Yuma.”

She pretended not to hear me. Heh, how cute.

“Well, guess it’s time to eat...”

I made myself some pork miso soup with plenty of vegetables and fried one of the eggs. As I cracked it open into the frying pan, I couldn’t help but marvel at its size once again.

“I think the color of the yolk is supposed to change based on the chicken’s diet. Anyway, looks like these aren’t fertilized.” If they were, there’d be something noticeably different in the yolk. I sighed in relief—I didn’t need to worry about having yet another chicken to raise. Well, it’s not like incubating them guarantees they’ll hatch, but still.

As for the taste...

I served some rice in a bowl and put the fried egg on top, then drizzled on a little soy sauce.

“Here goes nothing.”

I put a bite into my mouth and chewed.

It’s...delectable!

What is this?! One of those fancy premium eggs?

I figured I should avoid eating them raw, since I didn’t know what they really were, but still—it had a rich flavor, even the whites, and it suited my palate perfectly.

“Yuma, this tastes amazing! Thanks!” Maybe this one is actually Tama’s, but whatever. All that matters is that it’s delicious. Good thing I have another one.

I knelt down in adoration before Yuma. Thank you so much, Yuma and Tama, for laying these delicious eggs. It felt like a reward from the heavens.

Yuma just tilted her head at me with an expression that said, What is this guy doing?

I don’t care if I’m weirding her out. I need to express my gratitude. Some people might say, “Don’t exaggerate! They’re just eggs!” but let it be known that I love eggs!

My pork miso soup paled in comparison.

How often will they be laying these? I decided to turn to the internet for answers. Apparently, chickens (normal ones, that is) could only lay an egg a day, and they did it in cycles where they’d lay them every day for several days in a row before taking a day or two to rest. An egg every other day... Even once a week... Either is fine! Just give me more of these delicious eggs, please!

All of this had put me in a great mood, and I was able to soar through my daily chores, grinning the entire time—all thanks to a single egg. I even went the extra mile and pulled the weeds that were growing in front of the veranda. All right, now I can enjoy some quality teatime on my veranda. Yuma just looked at me curiously, cocking her head every now and then.

Whew... I’m all pumped up thanks to Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs!

By the time dinner rolled around, my legs were already shaking from exertion, but I ignored that. For dinner, I made omurice, though I didn’t know how to roll it up the proper way. I just fried the egg into a thin layer (as thin as I was able to with an egg this huge, anyway) and slid it on top of the rice. The meal was fantastic.

Afterward, I went another extra mile and thoroughly cleaned the toilet and bathroom.

When I bathed later with Yuma, my legs were all swollen. Jeez, I’m so feeble...

On the morning of the 14th, I had a hard time getting up due to the soreness affecting my entire body. Tama, who seemed tired of waiting, came to my bedroom and sat on me.

“Tamaaa! Get off meeee! You’re heavyyyy!” Seriously, you are. Please, give me a break here.

After getting up with significant effort, I made my way to the living room to find more freshly laid eggs waiting for me.

“Tama, Yuma, I love you!” I’ll take care of you for all my life!

I was probably being obnoxious, because Tama pecked me hard.

Whyyyyy?!

I wasn’t able to get anything done the whole day due to my muscle pain. I guess it’s important to know my limits. Still, I’m impressed by how good their eggs taste. I decided to make ramen today with boiled egg as a topping.

I’ve never seen a boiled egg this large. These are definitely way, way bigger than normal chicken eggs.

I meticulously peeled the egg. It didn’t go too well. If I’m not mistaken, eggs are easier to peel when they’re about a week or so old.

I’d just followed the instructions for boiled eggs I’d once seen on a cooking site: For normal eggs, pour only around a centimeter of water into a pot, put your eggs in, pop the lid on top, then bring the water to a boil. After you reach a boil, leave the pot on medium heat for five minutes. Then, turn off the heat and leave it on the burner with the lid closed for another three minutes, and you should have a perfect hard-boiled egg. This was also a good recipe for saving on gas.

Of course, this was all for normal eggs. Tama’s and Yuma’s were most certainly not normal. To compensate, I boiled them for ten minutes and left them in the pot for another five.

“This is great! These eggs are the best!”

The egg carried me through the entire day.

Wait, tomorrow’s already the 15th. I’d heard from Yumoto-san that his sons were leaving tonight. I considered going to see them off, but if I did that, I would have to stay the night and come back home in the morning. Even though summer days were long, it got dark much faster in the mountains.

I decided to just stop by briefly.

“Hello there.” I parked my truck by Yumoto-san’s house. The children who were playing outside all beamed at the sight of Yuma, who’d come along with me.

“Hello, mister!” Koichi-san’s eldest called out to us. “That’s...Yuma-san, right?”

“Yep, that’s right. I’m impressed you could tell.” There weren’t that many people who could tell Tama and Yuma apart. In motion, it was easy to tell—each had their own distinct quirks—but this boy had been able to tell as soon as Yuma had gotten out of the truck.

The boy scratched his head. “Well...” Maybe it was just a lucky guess. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

He quickly went over to call for the adults. What a nice, considerate kid. The other children only had eyes for Yuma.

Machiko-san soon came out to greet me. “Oh, hi there, Sho-chan. Stay for dinner, will you?”

“Hello. I’d love to, but if I did, I’d have to stay at your place until tomorrow morning. I just stopped by to say hello to everyone before they leave.”

“You know, Sho-chan, my boys could learn a thing or two about etiquette from you.”

“Ha ha...” I laughed awkwardly. The grass is always greener on the other side.

I stepped into the house and greeted Koichi-san and Yuji-san, who were in the living room. “Hello. I heard you’re leaving today.”

“Hey, Shohei-kun. Thanks for coming to see us off,” Koichi-san said in a bright tone.

Yuji-san perked up. “Shohei-kun, what about those feathered dinosaurs?”

“They’re chickens. Yuma is outside playing with the children.”

“Mind if I go take a look?”

“Go ahead.” It seemed Yuji-san was really fond of dinosaurs.

“Sorry about him,” said Koichi-san. “He’s still got a childish side.”

“No, no, I can relate. I also like animals.”

“Hey, Shohei. Fancy a drink?” Yumoto-san was already drinking beer.

“No, thanks. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

“’Kay.”

Since I’d already accomplished my goal of greeting Koichi-san and Yuji-san before they left, I decided to head home before it got too dark.

“Yuma!” I called out. “We’re leaving.”

Yuma was surrounded by the kids. She raised her head to look at me, then tilted her neck as if to ask, Already?

“I won’t be able to drive back home if it gets dark.”

“Whaaat? Yuma-chan is leaving?”

“Can we see her again?”

I helped Yuma onto the truck amid the children’s disappointed voices.

“Just let me know when you’re visiting again, and I’ll bring them here,” I said.

“U-Um...” Koichi-san’s son stammered.

“Yeah?”

“You’re not gonna...slaughter them, right?”

My eyes widened. “I’m surprised you know that word. But don’t worry—the chickens are part of my family.”

“Thank you,” he said, breaking into a smile—the most joyful one I’d seen from him yet. It made me happy as well.

Really, don’t worry. The chickens will always be with me. Besides, even if I did try slaughtering them, I doubt I’d be able to— Well, I’m just repeating myself here.

Back on my mountain, I checked my phone to find that my mother had called me, which was unusual. I deliberated for a moment before calling her back.

“Hi, mo—”

“Hi? Hi? Shohei? How are you? Are you okay?”

I felt a pang of guilt when I heard her concerned and somewhat urgent voice.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m doing fine,” I replied after a pause. I’d rather not go into details, but I’ve had a lot going on recently.

“You didn’t even visit for Obon...”

“I’ll go visit grandpa’s grave when I can.”

“Okay, don’t forget... Send me a message every now and then at least. I’m worried about you.”

“Right. Sorry.”

They say no news is good news, but I was living in an isolated place in the mountains—if I fell ill or something happened to me, there would be no one around to report it. Maybe I ought to message mom at least once every three days or so.

“You’re raising chickens, right?” she asked. “I heard about it from Yumoto-san.”

“Yeah...” She must mean Machiko-san. How much has she told my mom about my life here?

“Are they just livestock? Or pets?”

“Uh, pets, I guess.”

“Well, take good care of them.”

“I will, mom. Thanks.”

We spent a while making small talk, and I was relieved to hear that she seemed to be doing well.

I’m doing just fine. I have the chickens with me, plus I still have another egg! (Yes, I like eggs that much. Problem?)

11. Drama on the Last Day of the Cleanup Walk and Asking My Neighbor About Her Situation

It was the 15th—the eve of the third and last cleanup walk.

Almost everyone who had been in the village visiting relatives had already returned to where they lived, so there were fewer unfamiliar vehicles around. This time, fourteen children had been signed up for the cleanup walk, meaning that the total number was about the same as the first one.

Sure, I spent quite a bit of money organizing this whole thing, but considering the cost of disposing of illegal dumping, I think it was more than worth it. And, most importantly, I’m glad it was a good time for everyone.

Today, Aikawa-san would be stopping by the chicken farm. I’d be going to town to take care of all the insurance stuff and buy pork, bread, and milk. Just before the deadline, one more person signed up—an adult man whose name I’d never heard before.

Hmm? New face in the village?

I stopped by Yumoto-san’s and dropped off some food. Because I was already tasked with bringing the equipment for tomorrow’s barbecue, I couldn’t also bring the food.

“Yumoto-san, I’ll be counting on you again tomorrow.”

“Sure thing! Just leave it to me!”

“I’ll be there too,” Machiko-san said. She’d kindly offered to join us to help cook for everyone.

“Thank you very much—you’ll be a big help.”

“Don’t be so formal, Sho-chan! Both of us are doing this because we want to contribute!”

I know, but I still shouldn’t just take it for granted. I had already prepared a gift to give them after everything was over: a set with black tea, snacks, and honey. And, of course, I would still continue trying to help them in any way I could. I want to repay their kindness.

Not long after that, I got a message from Aikawa-san saying he’d talked to the police about the last day of the cleanup walk. And here’s someone else who’s been kind to me.

Katsuragi-san wouldn’t be participating this time, but she delivered a large amount of vegetables to Yumoto-san’s house. She’d messaged me to say that she’d donate some vegetables, but Machiko-san had arranged the handoff with her. According to Machiko-san, Katsuragi-san had said she had a “bad feeling” about the walk and would be staying home—and she’d also asked Machiko-san to send me her regards.

A bad feeling, huh? She was free to choose whether to participate or not, and I had no intention of saying anything about that, but I did wonder what she could have meant.

And then, on the morning of the 16th, I loaded all the barbecue equipment onto my truck and drove down the mountain.

The chickens ran down to the foot of the mountain by themselves, just as they’d done the previous two times. Well, I guess that’s understandable, but I still feel a little weird about them climbing it on their own.

My group, which also included Tama and Yuma, would be taking the route to Katsuragi-san’s mountain. This time, we were able to split the children neatly into seven for each group. Not that it really matters if they’re not even—this isn’t a school event or anything. There was also the adult who’d signed up just before the deadline.

“Nice to meet you. I heard about a litter cleanup walk with chickens and got curious. I’m excited to join in.” The man, who’d introduced himself as Nagi, looked around my age. He was a pretty dashing fellow, in a different way from Aikawa-san.

“Do you have relatives or acquaintances in the village?” I asked.

“I suppose you could say that... I happened to be in the area yesterday, and I heard some children at the general store talking about this event. They said someone who owned a mountain nearby was organizing it.”

“Oh? You weren’t invited by someone else, then?” Thinking back, it was the old man from the store who called. Yesterday, I’d gotten a call from him saying there was a young guy who wanted to sign up. Since the deadline had been about to close, I’d just asked for his name and date of birth before hurrying to apply for the insurance.

“Huh. Why did you come to the village...?”

“I was here a while ago looking for a certain person, but since I wasn’t able to meet up with them, I stopped by again. I was hoping I could find a lead here...”

He must have come today to ask the other participants for information. “I see. Well, I hope you get to see them.” Since I was still new around here and probably couldn’t be of much help, I didn’t ask in more detail.

“I heard your mountain is called ‘Brook Mountain.’ Is that right? This one is called ‘Loud Mountain,’ if I’m not mistaken. Is there a story behind that name?” Nagi-san asked me these questions while we were taking a quick break at the base of Katsuragi-san’s mountain. We’d stopped to rehydrate, and I’d handed out salt tablets to the kids.

I pondered for a moment. “In my case, the locals gave it that name because it’s abundant with water from rivers and streams, but I don’t know about Loud Mountain.” I might have heard the origin of that name from someone before, but if so, I forgot about it—I’ve already got my own mountain to worry about.

“Look here—it says on this signboard that there’re dangerous animals around here. I heard there used to be lots of wild boars,” one of the kids explained.

“Huh. So what is ‘Loud’ referring to?” I asked.

“See, there wasn’t anyone taking care of the trees, and the boars would ram into them and make a loud bang!”

“And so they called it ‘Loud Mountain,’ huh?”

Makes sense...I guess?

Nagi-san was standing by a tall wire fence, and he looked up at it. There were thorny-looking things all along the top. “Oh...” he said. “I suppose that must be to keep birds away?”

The fence was much taller than the one I had—probably over four meters tall. There were also multiple locks both on the inside and the outside, which made it clear that keeping intruders away was a top priority. And this fence was actually erected after Golden Week—there was actually another one farther inside.

“Yes, I think so,” I replied. I turned back to the kids. “Okay, we’re heading back now!” We started walking back the way we’d come, traveling toward my mountain. However, for some reason, Nagi-san spent a while staring in the direction of Loud Mountain.

“Hmm?” I’m just overthinking it...right? I must be watching too many TV dramas. There’s no way something like that would really happen.

And yet it still kept weighing on my mind. Women have pretty good intuition about this kind of thing, I think. Hopefully I’m just overthinking things.

On our way back, I hid behind Tama and Yuma and pulled out my phone. I typed out a message in a hurry: “Does ‘Nagi-san’ ring a bell? You wanna see him?” It came out a bit weird, but my phone pinged with a text back almost immediately.

“I definitely don’t!!!” replied Katsuragi-san.

Bingo. I couldn’t be positive that this person was the abusive ex in question, but I now knew he was someone she didn’t want to see.

“Got it,” I typed back. “Take care not to leave your mountain.”

I messaged Aikawa-san and Old Man Yumoto as well. “If anyone asks you about Loud Mountain, please play dumb and don’t tell them anything.”

This was the most I could do without telling them about Katsuragi-san’s situation, and they each quickly replied with a “Gotcha.”

I tried to avoid thinking too much about Nagi-san and went on cleaning up with the children.

Back at my mountain, we gathered all the trash together, I had everyone wash their hands, and then it was finally time for the barbecue. A few of the women had brought onigiri again, and those were a big hit with everyone. Though I’d supplied some beverages, we’d asked everyone to bring their own as well. I’m glad they’re all such nice people.

Around the time everyone started eating, Nagi-san came up to me. “No alcoholic beverages, huh?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s driving,” I replied. It’s worrying how many people seem to think drunk driving is normal in the countryside.

In the village, things were generally far enough away that you couldn’t really walk to other places—this meant that most people got driver’s licenses as soon as they were old enough. Maybe this is not the case for the older folks, but the younger generations are well aware of the dangers of drunk driving. Plus, the penalties have gotten stricter too.

“How did you come here today, Nagi-san?” I asked.

“I came with some of the general store owner’s family members.”

“Oh... You must be pretty friendly with them, huh?”

“Well, I had the chance to talk to them a lot the last time I was here. You see, I work as a school counselor.”

“Wait, what?” That was very surprising to me. “In other words, a clinical psychologist?”

“You’re well-informed. Well, not all school counselors are necessarily clinical psychologists, but yes...” He smiled awkwardly.

“What sort of conversation did you have at the store?”

“I’m afraid telling you would be a breach of confidentiality.”

“Ah, right.”

He’s a school counselor—must be something to do with the store owner’s grandkid, I guess. But with him being a clinical psychologist, it could be something else too.

We chatted for a while, everyone enjoyed themselves, and today’s barbecue also ended without a hitch. I pretended to be oblivious and bombarded Nagi-san with questions. I was sure he would avoid me if he ever came to the village again.

At the end, Nagi-san turned to me and asked, “Um... Would you happen to know anything about the person who owns Loud Mountain?”

I tried my best to put on a calm facade. “Uh, well... I just moved here a few months ago, and I haven’t met them yet. We are technically neighbors, but that doesn’t mean much when we both live up in the mountains.”

“Oh...” He was visibly dejected. I could tell he was probably itching to ask other people too, but I stuck close to him. The others also sensed that something was up and stayed away from us—after the barbecue, when I was busy cleaning up, I still didn’t see anyone talking to him.

Whew, I think we’re safe for now.

The store he was talking about... Was that the one near Katsuragi-san’s place? I wonder how much he already knows.

The third litter cleanup walk was finally over. When I said it was time to go, there were several kids who cried or threw tantrums because they wanted to stay with the chickens—it was pretty difficult to get them to calm down. Today was the last day, after all.

“When are you doing it again?” I was asked, but I didn’t really have a proper answer, and I just said, “I’ll think about it.” This was my first time doing something like this, and I hadn’t exactly planned it out meticulously.

Some kids also asked if they could come play on my mountain, but I had to say no. It wasn’t well-kept enough for that—I didn’t want to be held responsible for anything that might happen. All I could say was, “I’ll see you in the village when I’m there shopping.” Of course, the children weren’t too happy about it, and they went home with their parents in sour moods. The chickens didn’t have a care in the world and were still basking in the afterglow from eating their fill of vegetables and pork.

After seeing everyone off, I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned to the Yumotos and Aikawa-san, who’d stayed behind. “Good job today, everyone,” I said, feeling exhausted.

“You worked the hardest out of everyone, Sho-chan.”

“Good work, Shohei.”

“Nice job, Sano-san.”

I looked around, checked for any trash left on the ground, and put away all the equipment. After this, we’d be having an after-party at Yumoto-san’s house. But first, I sent Katsuragi-san a message to check on her.

“We’re done here. So...what’s your relationship with Nagi-san?” Her response would dictate my attitude toward him the next time we met.

“A close friend of my ex. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Oh?” I blurted out when I read her reply. It’s surprising that someone in that position would come all the way here looking for her.

“I’ll tell you more about it another time,” she said in another message. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Okay. Take it easy.”

I have to remember to ask about him at the general store some other time too.

At the after-party, I was made to drink copious amounts of alcohol on the pretext of “celebration.” Aikawa-san was an expensive drunk, and Yumoto-san was in high spirits—it was difficult to find an opening to stop drinking. If he were my boss, this would definitely classify as power harassment.

“Ugh...”

It had been a while since I’d gotten a hangover this bad. I wish they’d go easier on me.

Tama and Yuma were with me at Yumoto-san’s place, while Pochi had stayed behind watching over the house. I feel like he’s starting to enjoy house-sitting. No idea what he gets up to while I’m away, though.

“Don’t stay up too late,” I’d told him, but he’d just looked away and pretended he couldn’t hear me. He must be getting all psyched up by himself...whatever that entails. I can’t even imagine. I really gotta put some cameras on them.

There’d been some meat left over from the barbecue yesterday, which Machiko-san had used for our dinner. Tama and Yuma had also enjoyed the meal.

Last night, I hadn’t thought it right to bring up Nagi-san.

I was the only one here who knew about Katsuragi-san’s predicament, and even then, she hadn’t told me in detail. I didn’t even know what her abusive ex looked like. She’d said Nagi-san was a friend of his, but I didn’t know how much truth there was to that either. In any case, she and I would be talking on the phone tonight once I went back home. I wasn’t too sure how much I could disclose to Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san—I just said I’d fill them in some other time.

“Sure. Just tell us when the time’s right,” Yumoto-san had said while we’d been drinking. Aikawa-san had just smiled.

Machiko-san, on the other hand, had seemed interested in pressing further, but when her husband signaled to her with his eyes, she’d shrugged, apparently deciding to leave it for another time.

Waking up with a hangover is the worst.

It’s not just a stomachache. It’s like...I’m in the middle of a desert, crawling around desperate for water, and someone shows up and offers to guide me to an oasis, but it turns out to be a mirage. That would probably give me some serious murderous urges. Unless that “someone” happened to be Tama or Yuma—I’d just give up and collapse on the sand because I know I can’t beat them.

“Sano-san, can you stand up?” Aikawa-san asked, looking exactly like his usual self.

“I-I don’t think so...” Even the slightest movement made my head spin like a wheel.

“I’ll bring you a glass of cold water.” He let out a faint chuckle and walked out of the room. Yes, yes, laugh at me—I deserve it. But remember, you kept insisting that I drink more! This is your fault too!

I barely managed to sit up and look around me. The futon Aikawa-san had slept in was already neatly folded away.

I’ll fold mine too...when I can.

Aikawa-san returned with a glass and handed it to me. “Here you go.”

“Thank you...” Taking slow sips, I managed to keep some water down. I still felt sick, but now I was slightly refreshed.

“Do you want more?”

“No...”

“How about some food? Can you eat? Machiko-san offered to prepare some chazuke.”

“Sure...”

I slowly dragged myself over to the living room, where Yumoto-san was waiting for me.

“Hey, Shohei! Hangover?”

My head hurts... Don’t be so loud. “Ugh... G-Good morning...”

“Can’t you be a little quieter?” Machiko-san scolded him. “Sho-chan, there’s no need to eat everything—just eat as much as you can.” She served me a bowl of plum chazuke.

I’m so happy I could cry. “Thank you...”

It seemed everyone had been waiting for me. I just ate my chazuke quietly, and as I did so, I could feel my hangover getting better little by little. Plums really work wonders for this kinda thing.

I sat down on the veranda and spaced out. Machiko-san didn’t say anything—she probably understood that I wouldn’t be of any use today. Fortunately, I’d already given her the set of black teas yesterday, which she’d really appreciated. Though it turns out she’s more of a green tea person.

Tama and Yuma came back every now and then to check on me, then ran off again. Are they trying to ask me when we’re going home? At this rate, I feel like I might not be fully sober until the evening... We actually have to leave by the evening.

Aikawa-san brought over some tea and crackers for me. “When do you plan on going home?”

“Probably around evening,” I replied. “I don’t think this hangover is going away anytime soon.”

“Yeah... We did have a lot to drink.” He laughed. After a pause, he said, “You did a great job with the cleanup walk.”

“Thanks. You too.”

“Thanks to your efforts, there wasn’t as much trash this year. Usually, I have Ten and Rin patrol the area, but they can’t cover everything by themselves. It also helped to have so many people walking around...”

“Litterers don’t litter if there’re people watching, huh?”

“Not when there’s a considerable risk of them getting caught.”

“Then why take the risk at all? Why not just dispose of trash properly?”

“Who knows. There are all kinds of people out there.”

I guess so. I don’t expect to be able to understand every single person’s thought process. I do think if everyone were like me, a lot of troubles could be avoided, but that might just be arrogance on my part.

After a while, Aikawa-san and I went back to the living room, and I told him vaguely about my plans for tomorrow and after. I wanted to have an after-party with Katsuragi-san too, but that also depended on her plans. Ultimately, I decided to schedule it for some other time.

Then, in the evening, he and I went back home. (After folding my futon, obviously.) Machiko-san handed me a few jumbo-sized onigiri on the way out, saying, “A little something extra for dinner.” I really appreciate it. Her onigiri are great.

I made a slight detour and took the road that went along Katsuragi-san’s mountain—I figured it was a good idea to stay vigilant of sketchy characters for the remainder of August.

And then, finally, I was back on my mountain.

Pochi wasn’t home yet. How long does he plan on staying out there playing?

“Tama, Yuma, can one of you go fetch Pochi for me? He must be pretty dirty. I want to wash him before it gets too dark.”

Tama straightened up, then raised her head and took off. After watching her disappear into the mountain, I went inside. The earthen floor in the living room was quite dirty. Pochi. While I was cleaning up, Tama came back with Pochi, covered in dirt. Great job, Tama. I knew I could count on you.

“Well, looks like you’ve been going at it pretty hard, haven’t you, Pochi? Thanks, Tama.”

I brought out the washbasin and gave him a bath outside. The hot weather made the cold river water feel really refreshing. Probably won’t be like this from October onward, though. I changed the water several times and got Pochi all nice and clean. Ah, where would we be without water? While he was shaking the water off his feathers, I went ahead and washed Tama too. Although those two didn’t get in the bath with me, they did seem to enjoy water bathing.

“I also need to go to the chicken farm to thank the Matsuyamas...” I muttered. They’d sold me chicken meat—quite a lot of it—at a wholesale price. I really couldn’t thank them enough.

“I wonder if they’ve already had dinner...” Summer days were pretty long, but even now, the sun set at around six thirty. It wasn’t quite that late yet, but around this time, a faint tinge of red appeared in the sky to the west—the so-called twilight hours.

I figured I could just call them again later to see if they were still having dinner. I decided to give Katsuragi-san a ring instead.

She picked up the phone almost instantly. “Hello!”

“Hello, it’s Sano.”

“Hi! Sano-san, thank you!” She seemed to be in a peppy mood.

“Uh, so, do you mind if I ask about Nagi-san?”

“Sure!” she replied promptly. “Go ahead and ask me anything!”

According to her, Nagi-san was a close friend of her ex-boyfriend, who she used to live with before he turned violent. Nagi-san was apparently a good person at heart, but he was rigid in his way of thinking and had a hard time changing his views. As such, he trusted his friend pretty much unconditionally, and he had visited Katsuragi-san several times to try to persuade her to get back together with him.

Ah, I can imagine how much of a pain it must be to deal with someone that nosy.

“He tells me I can speak my mind to him and that he’s willing to mediate between us if I want,” she said in a fed up tone. “But abusers are, like... They have two sides to them, y’know? And they’re often kind to everyone other than their victims. So even if he tells me I’ve got the wrong idea, that doesn’t inspire any confidence at all, and I’m just like, ‘How can you be friends with someone like that...?’”

“Definitely sounds like you won’t be seeing eye to eye.”

You hear stories about people who make their homes a living hell but turn into saints as soon as they step outside. I can remember times when my parents were scolding me harshly, but when the phone rang, they picked it up and immediately turned calm and collected. Must be something like that. What is up with that, anyway? It’s like they flip a switch or something.

“And you know what makes me even madder? My ex knows his friend all too well. He makes up excuses and claims it was just a misunderstanding or it was all in the spur of the moment—to try to get Nagi-san to empathize, of course. That’s why he’s so eager to mediate. But then, it’s not like I’m being actively stalked or anything like that, so there’s not much I can do to stop Nagi-san’s unwelcome ‘kindness.’ There was even a time when I was so scared of the sound of my phone that I couldn’t leave the house...”

“That sounds rough...” It’s not a small act of “kindness”—it’s a big act of “kindness” that snowballed into a huge mess. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Sure...”

“You mentioned back during Golden Week that there might have been someone who looked like your ex hanging around the village, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I get the feeling that it might’ve been Nagi-san. Could that be true?”

“Maybe it was him... They are kind of similar...”

If it hadn’t actually been her ex, that was a good thing, but Nagi-san was a troublesome visitor in his own way.

“Still, what should we do about this whole mess...?” I muttered.

“Ah, gosh... Sorry for dragging you into this, Sano-san...”

“Nah... No skin off my back. Still, I find it odd that your ex never came here himself but had his friend come here twice.”

“Well, yes... He does live pretty far away...”

Could it be that all the “mediation” stuff is just a front, and Nagi-san is actually interested in Katsuragi-san? I considered that hypothesis but didn’t say anything. Loose lips sink ships.

“So, anyway, if you could use more help, I could always try talking to Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san. If that’s okay with you, of course. But you should definitely talk to Yamanaka-san about this, at least.”

“Right... I don’t want to be a bother...”

“Don’t worry about that. You can just tell me if you’re fine with sharing only part of it—or if you’d rather keep the whole thing a secret.”

It’s no trouble. We’re just worried, that’s all.

I don’t feel like I’m capable of protecting her all by myself. Needless to say, it’s up to her—if she wants to keep it to herself, that’s her prerogative. I’ll just have to look for a way to help her out while respecting her will. At the end of the day, it’s got nothing to do with me. I can only imagine what she must be going through.

“Sano-san, thank you... Please give me some time to think about it.”

“Sure. Let me know if anything comes up. I’ll try to help however I can.”

“Thanks...”

I hung up the phone. That was draining.

I munched on Machiko-san’s gigantic onigiri, which were delicious, got in the bath with Yuma, and then went to bed.

12. Late Summer Days

I woke up to find two more eggs in the living room.

Oh, right, I wonder how it went yesterday.

“Did you two lay eggs when I was gone?”

Tama and Yuma both cocked their heads. Apparently not. Maybe they just happened to not ovulate yesterday? That’s a nice coincidence.

The eggs were just lying around on the earthen floor, which I assumed meant I could eat them if I wanted.

“By the way... Is it okay to feed these to other people? Like, say, Aikawa-san? Or Katsuragi-san...?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

I nodded. “Thanks, you two.”

Well, they’re not fertilized. Shouldn’t be a problem. I’d be keeping today’s eggs for myself, though. These big, flavorful eggs are all mine!

I thought about taking them to the chicken farm too, but I didn’t want Matsuyama-san to get too interested in them. I thought there might be other households out there raising chickens like mine, and if there were, they probably wanted to keep these eggs a secret. Uh... Okay, okay, I admit it—I’m just projecting. Sorry. (Who am I even apologizing to?)

I gave the Matsuyamas a call—I wanted to thank them, and it was better to do it sooner rather than later.

That was what I’d thought, but they actually told me to come by on a later date—and bring my friend. They must be talking about Aikawa-san.

I was still waiting for Katsuragi-san’s call, so I decided to spend the day taking care of my mountain. I’d been keeping up with my daily chores—except for the days when we’d had the cleanup walks—though these past few days, I hadn’t done much but pull weeds. The organic pesticide I’d learned about from an idol group did a great job of keeping bugs away, but the chickens always got mad when I used it. The smell’s pretty strong. Sorry.

After I fed them breakfast, Pochi and, atypically, Yuma ran off into the mountain. Probably because I told them I’d be staying home all day. I hope they can play to their heart’s content.

“Tama, let’s go see the graves.”

I picked out a bunch of stuff—a bucket, a ladle, incense, a lighter, some newspapers—and drove up the mountain with Tama.

Incidentally, I didn’t subscribe to a newspaper. Aikawa-san had once told me that he subscribed to two or three different papers and had them delivered to the mailbox at the foot of his mountain. I’d asked, “Why? Aren’t they all the same?” and he’d said he liked to compare them—they each reflected the needs of their readership or something. That had sounded interesting, but it’d probably be only a few days before I got bored—I didn’t want to purchase a whole subscription for just that. The ones I had at home had all been given to me by the Yumotos. Guess I could buy them myself if they sell them in nearby shops. Ah, maybe I’ll buy the sports newspaper when I’m in town.

***

I hadn’t left this area unattended for that long, but it was already rife with weeds.

“Whoa.” You don’t have to grow this fast, you know. “Hopefully some of them are edible for the chickens.” But then again, maybe the edible ones already got eaten by bugs or other birds. Wild creatures have a much keener nose than humans when it comes to that sort of thing.

After plucking weeds, I would usually let them dry for a few days before picking a day with relatively little wind to burn them in an open space—with a firepit, of course, to protect the trees and prevent fires. Plus, using a firepit enabled me to easily collect ashes, which were surprisingly useful.

After spending some time vigorously pulling weeds, I was completely beat. I collected some water from the river, then tended to the graves—decorated them with some pretty flowers that were growing nearby. Since there wasn’t much wind today, I also lit some incense to offer to the deceased. I’ll put it out when I go back.

“Obon’s already over. I guess the spirits must be back in their graves...”

That’s a conundrum, actually. Do our ancestors’ spirits actually stay in their graves? Most of us like to think so—we pay our respects to them by visiting their graves.

There was a copse of trees close to the graves that I wanted to get rid of. If I did, the village would be visible from here, and that was where the descendants of those buried here lived. I wanted to show the spirits how their families were doing.

“I’m beat...”

Just pulling all the weeds had taken a toll on me, and now that I’d finished, I returned home.

I do have these eggs, though! Well...better not get too carried away.

For lunch, I had rice with stir-fried meat and vegetables and a fried egg. Quite a nice meal. Tama quietly munched on meat and vegetable scraps. It’s great that they’re not picky about their food.

After lunch, I checked the river, which still had a surprising number of crayfish, and pulled weeds near the house.

“Phew...”

By evening, I was already exhausted. Did I always have such poor stamina? Wait, just yesterday I had a hangover. I might be young, but I can’t recover that quickly.

I was lying down on the earthen floor with my legs stretched out—Tama pecked me.

“That’s enough for today...”

The hangover was definitely gone by now, but my body was still craving respite. Not even the egg had been able to replenish my energy.

There was probably also a mental component to my exhaustion. It must’ve been my conversation with Katsuragi-san yesterday.

“What should we do about it?” I murmured. Tama pecked me again.

“What? What do you want me to do? Gah, just go eat bugs outside or something...”

I opened the glass front door, but Tama just stood there in a sullen mood. Oh, I think I get it.

“Tama, can I ask you to go look for Yuma? Will you request for her to trade places with you?”

She immediately zipped off. As I thought—she can’t get enough exercise if she stays with me... I should have realized that.

Not long after, I heard a cluck coming from outside and sluggishly got up. Looks like Yuma’s back. I apologized for summoning her, but she just gave me the usual reaction of tilting her head obliviously. Gah, too cute! What would I do without my daily fill of Yuma?

It seemed my chickens had an arrangement: One of them should always stay by my side, and that was probably why Tama wouldn’t budge when I opened the door for her. Yuma apparently didn’t need as much exercise as the other two—she would often stay behind to keep me company. Still, I bet she’d probably like to spend more time outside too.

Then again, she often tags along when I go out, like to Yumoto-san’s house. Come to think of it... As far as I can remember, there’s always been one of them by my side, be it on my mountain, or when I go to Aikawa-san’s place, or to Katsuragi-san’s place... Except when I go to the village. What’s up with that? Oh well. I’m too tired to figure it out.

“Guess I’ll take my bath earlier than usual...” I mumbled. I thought I could see Yuma’s eyes light up when she heard that. Just my imagination...right?

“Bath!”

“Yep. I’ll go get everything ready.”

Yuma is an unusual chicken. I’ve never heard of chickens being this fond of bathing.

Once in the tub, I gave her a good scrub. Although there wasn’t much dirt or grass on her body, she’d still spent a good while running around the mountain and was surprisingly dirty. I rinsed her body with hot water several times, checking her feathers for dirt.

“Ah... It’s so peaceful...”

It must be nice having an open-air bath like Aikawa-san, but I bet it’s a lot of work to maintain, and I’m not as diligent as him. I’m fine with just a regular bathtub.

After spending some time relaxing in the warm water, I noticed it was already getting dark outside. The other two will be home pretty soon.

We got out of the bath, and I dried Yuma off. Pochi and Tama soon returned, covered in dirt. As I rinsed them off, I gazed at the western sky, which was a beautiful crimson color.

I saw this coming—I really did. God, why did I bathe so early? Ugh, I’m already all sweaty again...

After everyone was clean, it was time for dinner. “Oh... I gotta go shopping. Looks like we’re out of meat.”

I still had some canned tuna in water lying around, which I mixed with vegetables and fed to the chickens. Personally, I prefer oil over water, but that’s terrible for them. I stir-fried a can of tuna in oil with some vegetables for myself. Yeah, this tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t give me much energy. I need some meat.

I checked my phone to find a message from Katsuragi-san. Has she made up her mind already? It turned out to be an invitation: “Would you like to come over for lunch tomorrow?”

I told her I’d come since I didn’t have any plans. It’ll probably be easier for her to collect her thoughts if there’s someone with her. I don’t mind going to visit her as many times as she asks—it’s a lot better than leaving her to mull it over on her own. Though I’ll never tell her that, of course.

“I’m going to Katsuragi-san’s tomorrow. Who wants to come with me?”

“No!”

“Go!”

“Go!”

Pochi would be staying behind. I’m starting to sense a pattern here. Tama and Yuma seemed to join me when I went to Katsuragi-san’s house, while Pochi and Yuma would tag along when I went to Aikawa-san’s mountain. I’m not too sure why Pochi doesn’t like going to her place... Regardless, they all like my mountain the best.

“Thanks, guys.”

They just stared up at me, clearly confused. What, can’t I show my gratitude? Stop looking at me like you’re asking, What’s this guy on about?

13. Checking on My Next-Mountain Neighbor

Today, I’d be visiting Katsuragi-san. After finishing my daily chores, I realized I hadn’t prepared anything to bring to her as a gift.

Maybe I’d subconsciously thought that I didn’t need to bring one. After all, I’m already doing her a “favor” or whatever... Still, I don’t want to go empty-handed.

“Guess I’ll stop by the store.”

I helped Tama and Yuma onto the truck and left home a bit earlier than planned. We headed toward the general store that Katsuragi-san frequented. Maybe I can get some new info on Nagi-san too.

“Hello there,” I said.

“Hey, long time no see,” the shopkeeper greeted me. True, I usually go to the other general store. They both stock the same stuff for the most part—there’s not much of a difference.

“Your children joined us for the litter cleanup walk, didn’t they?” I asked. “Thank you for that.”

“Well, you see, I actually wanted to participate myself, but you know how it is with us old folks. My back isn’t what it used to be.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, and please send my regards to your kids. Oh, by the way...” I stopped for a moment to think of how to bring it up in a natural manner. “Um, a certain Nagi-san joined us for the walk on the last day. Is he a relative of yours?”

“Nah... He’s not from around here. He’s been here before, though—said he was looking for someone. Pretty handsome guy, eh? My grandkid took a liking to him and invited him to the event. He didn’t cause trouble, did he?”

“No, nothing of the sort,” I assured him. “I was just wondering what your relationship with him was. Did he mention anything about the person he’s looking for?”

“Uh...” the shopkeeper thought for a moment. “He said it was a young woman—big round eyes, pretty cute. Something like that...”

“Did you catch her name?”

“Hmm? I think...Karatsu or something?”

Karatsu? So it’s not Katsuragi-san? Or did he just mishear it?

“I see... Well, I don’t know anyone with that name.”

“Yeah, I told him I didn’t either and that maybe he’s looking in the wrong place.”

He’s probably never heard that name, or at least not more than once. If it rang a bell, he would’ve asked about it himself and would’ve remembered it better, but it seems it really didn’t register.

I decided to press a bit further. “Did he mention anything about why he’s looking for this person?”

“Eh, I think he might’ve touched on it, but I don’t remember.”

I couldn’t discern whether the shopkeeper was playing dumb or if he’d really forgotten. It looked like I’d have to ask his other family members if I wanted more information—I didn’t want to make them suspicious either.

In the end, I couldn’t get much information out of him.

I bought some cookies—they’d apparently just come in today—to give to Katsuragi-san, then hurried on my way.

Katsuragi-san greeted me when I arrived at her mountain. “Thank you, Sano-san!” She was standing near the foot of her mountain on the inside of the fence, concealing herself from the outside. Her vehicle wasn’t visible from my position.

“Sorry, were you standing out here for long?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it.”

After I parked my car inside the fence and locked it, something ran through my mind. Wait a minute... “Ah, Katsuragi-san, don’t tell me you haven’t been able to go shopping at all...”

She nodded sheepishly, her face looking troubled. I suppose she can live off her homegrown vegetables for a while, but not having any meat is a problem.

“I know it’s a pain to unlock the gate again, but I’m gonna go buy some stuff real quick,” I said. “I’ll message you when I get back.”

“Do you really not mind...?”

“You need at least some meat, right?”

“Okay, I’ll message you the shopping list. Could you also go to the general store and buy a few things for me?”

“Sure. Though I can’t guarantee they’ll have everything. Sorry if they don’t.”

Katsuragi-san shook her head as if to say, Oh, no, not at all.

“I’ll leave Tama with you. Tama, can you stay here and look after Katsuragi-san?”

Tama hopped out of the truck bed and clucked in response.

“I’ll try to be back as soon as I can.”

“No need to push yourself...”

Katsuragi-san saw me off with an absent-minded expression. By the time I get to the store, she’ll probably have sent me the shopping list. I really wish I’d noticed earlier. I can totally understand why she’d be too scared to leave her mountain. Gosh, I gotta be more considerate...

To avoid raising any suspicions, I didn’t go to the store I’d been to just a few moments ago. I opted to go to the general store near the Yumotos’ house instead. I bought the stuff I needed—pork, eggs, ground meat, etc.—and then went back to Loud Mountain.

Katsuragi-san was waiting for me with Tama by her side.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not at all. Thank you...”

Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I could see tears shimmering in her eyes. She must have been in a real pinch. Katsuragi-san kept petting Tama’s feathers, and Tama stayed close to her.

I went inside and locked the gate. When I glanced at the wire fence, I recalled the impression I’d gotten when I’d seen it during the cleanup walk—its sturdiness made it clear how serious Katsuragi-san was about protecting herself from any suspicious trespassers. The fence wasn’t a perfect solution, and you could still get around it from the sides, but you’d be risking losing your footing, and on a pretty steep mountain to boot. There was also another wire fence a little farther up ahead, which really drove home Katsuragi-san’s fear of intruders.

We finally arrived at Katsuragi-san’s house, albeit slightly later than I’d planned. Tatsuki-san was lounging in the shade of a tree near the parking area, which was odd for him. Usually, whenever I came over, he would be near the fields or by the house. I assumed he must have been worried about Katsuragi-san today—he’d probably been waiting here for her.

“Hello there, Tatsuki-san. Do you mind if my chickens eat some of the bugs around here?”

He cracked his eyes open and gave a small nod, like he always did.

“Tatsuki, I’m back!” Katsuragi-san called out to him. He snuggled up to her, then followed her sluggishly toward the house and plopped down by a tree. Tama immediately gave his body a light, grooming peck. Always such a soothing sight. This is another reason I gotta be more attentive to Katsuragi-san.

“Hang on! I’ll go get everything ready!” Katsuragi-san exclaimed.

I handed her all the stuff I’d bought, as well as the cookies I’d brought as a present, and she rushed inside. I took a seat on the veranda at the back of the house. The grass around the veranda was neatly trimmed. Yuma stayed close to me, occasionally pecking at the ground and eating small bugs. She’s got great eyesight. I don’t think mine is particularly bad, but I can’t spot those bugs for the life of me. Maybe I’m just not looking the right way.

Katsuragi-san came outside holding a tray with barley tea and vegetable sticks, plus aurora sauce for dipping. “I’m heating up the food—it should be ready in a little bit.”

“Thanks.”

She quickly went back inside. I drank the cold barley tea in large gulps. I was thirstier than I thought.

“Ah, right. I should’ve bought some bottled drinks too...” Like those two-liter tea bottles. I really gotta learn to be more attentive.

The vegetable sticks consisted mainly of cucumbers, which were pretty tasty, and I started munching down on them. Katsuragi-san came back earlier than I’d expected.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” An appetizing aroma of spices wafted through the air—we were having curry for lunch.

“Nice!” I blurted out. Katsuragi-san giggled at my reaction.

“Men really like curry, huh? You seem really happy.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I wonder why that is.”

“Sorry for the lack of meat. It’s vegetable curry, but there’s more in the pot. Feel free to eat as much as you want.”

“Thanks.”

The curry was delicious and full of seasonal vegetables. She’d also added some canned tuna, so it wasn’t only vegetables, strictly speaking. It’d been a while since I’d last eaten curry, and I ended up having another two servings.

Katsuragi-san wore a smile on her face the whole time. Hopefully this made for a nice change of pace for her. But, urgh, I ate too much... It’s not my fault, though. It’s curry. No man can resist the temptation of curry!

“I’m glad you ate so much,” she said. “And, um... I made too much food again. Would you like to take some home with you?”

“Absolutely!” I was well prepared for this offer—I’d brought the plastic container I’d borrowed from her previously.

“Good to hear. I made it this morning and put it in the fridge. I’ll give it to you when you leave, okay?”

“Thanks.”

Katsuragi-san was smiling, and so was I. This must be the magic of curry.

After the meal, I spent a while just spacing out, but I eventually needed to bring up Nagi-san. “Did anything come up after the cleanup walk?” I asked.

“No, not really...” she replied. “I did tell Yamanaka-san about it. She said it was weird for my ex’s friend to come looking for me.”

Right, I think anyone would agree.

“And also that...maybe this friend might also have a thing for me...”

I thought so as well, though I didn’t mention it to her.

“So how do you feel about Nagi-san?”

She gave me a very displeased look. “He creeps me out. He’s annoying. Looks are all he has going for him.”

“I heard he’s a clinical psychologist. Must be pretty smart too, right?”

“I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I just... I really can’t stand that ‘I’m doing it for your sake’ kind of pushy attitude!”

“Oh...” So that’s what he’s like? I wouldn’t really know, having only met him once. But then again, he did come all the way here to try to convince her to get back with her ex. Her characterization of him makes sense, I guess.

“I think...if he tries saying that kind of thing to me one more time, I won’t be able to hold myself back from hitting him!” Katsuragi-san exclaimed, raising her fist.

Well, at least she seems to be doing fine.

“It’s good to hear you say something that assertive. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything troubling you, and I’ll try to help to the extent that I can.”

Katsuragi-san made a pouty face and mumbled something under her breath before glaring at me and saying, “You’re my brother...right?”

“Right. You said it yourself.” Or, what, am I getting laid off from that position for not being reliable enough?

“Then can I ask you to do my shopping for me until things settle down?”

“Sure. I’m not particularly busy or anything.” There’s nothing really on my docket now that the summer festival and Obon are over.

“Ooh... Then next time you’re here, bring Aikawa-san with you.”

Still hung up on that? “Why not give up already?”

“I just want some eye candy.”

“Oh, okay. My bad—sorry for not being eye candy enough!” What a rude girl. I mean, I understand I’m not particularly handsome, but still. I heaved out a sigh. “I’ll try asking, but don’t get your hopes up. Aikawa-san’s girlfriend is pretty jealous, by the way.” I was referring to Rin-san. I didn’t know if she got jealous easily, or if she was his girlfriend, but that was the running story. I think.

“Oh? I remember there was a pretty girl in his car. Is that her?” It seemed Katsuragi-san had forgotten about Rin-san.

“Yup.”

“Oh... I give up, then.”

Huh, I didn’t think she’d back down this easily. And here I was, just about to message him.

“I like seeing him and Sano-san together...” I heard her murmur as she cleared away the dishes.

Goose bumps immediately appeared all over my body. I r-remember her saying something about being into watching “bromances” unfold... No deeper meaning there, right? R-Right...?

On my way out, she handed me a large plastic container filled with curry. “Thanks,” I told her.

“Th-This should be good for a while if you freeze it!”

Well, it’s curry. I could eat it for every meal without getting sick of it. It’ll probably be gone in the blink of an eye. “Got it. Thanks again, and let me know if anything comes up. Or call me if you prefer.”

“Okay! Thank you!”

Katsuragi-san escorted me down to the base of the mountain so she could lock the gate, and we saw each other off. I had also told Tama and Yuma to let me know if they sensed anyone’s presence nearby. Not that it’d be a big problem if anyone saw us...but just in case.

Tama seemed to have had a lot of fun exploring Katsuragi-san’s mountain. I brushed some weeds from her body. Once we’re home, I’ll give her a proper wash.

Back on my mountain, I realized I’d forgotten to ask something very important: I wanted to know how much of her story was okay to share with other people. But it’s more important that she invited me for lunch, and I was able to see that she’s doing fine.

I messaged her to ask about another thing I’d forgotten. “By the way, what do you think about holding an after-party for the cleanup walk?”

She replied in no time. “I think I’ll be too scared to go outside for at least another week. Feel free to do it without me. Sorry.”

Right... That makes sense. I’ll probably need to keep looking after her for a while. “Got it,” I replied. I then texted Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san about it.

“I’m so useless...” I muttered. I can’t even protect a single girl. I already figured out as a kid that I couldn’t “save the world” or anything that grand. But I still wanted to become a hero.

The western sky burned red once more. Yuma came strolling in my direction, stopped in front of me, and tilted her head. I petted her gently. Tama was already nowhere to be seen.

Thanks so much, Yuma. You’re an angel.

I hoped that I’d be able to help Katsuragi-san take her mind off her woes today, even if just a little.

14. Q: How Do We Get Her to Come Out of Her Cave?

“She probably needs some more time.”

That was Aikawa-san’s conclusion.

Sure, I think so too. Take Aikawa-san himself: His predicament has more or less been dealt with, but it took him over three years to really solve it. And even now, he still has a hard time interacting with women. When it comes to Katsuragi-san’s problem, we’re not at that stage yet. We just found out the identity of the guy who’d been in the village during Golden Week. This does seem like something that would solve itself if Nagi-san, her ex’s close friend, gave up and went home. Though we don’t really have any means to make sure.

Either way, I don’t think we can expect an actual resolution here like what happened with Aikawa-san. That’s pretty rare, and it’s a lot more likely for this kind of thing to just fade away with time. Of course, sometimes you get people like Nagi-san, who come looking for an involved party. What even prompted him to come here in the first place? I’m still not too sure.

“I’m thinking of paying the chicken farm a visit, just to tell them thanks,” I told Aikawa-san. “When are you free?”

“Anytime’s fine with me.”

We decided to go the day after tomorrow, around noon. I’d already prepared a set of tea and snacks to bring them. Gotta make sure to express my gratitude properly.

The next day, the battles without honor and humanity between me and the weeds raged on. I was beginning to think I should just stop being stubborn and start using weed killers.

No, wait. I can’t do something that might cause harm to my precious chickens. I have to admit... It does feel a bit weird calling them “precious,” given what they look like.

On the day I’d be going to the chicken farm, Yuma and Tama decided to join me.

“We’ll be back by this evening,” I told Pochi, who would be staying home. I still left the door unlocked, though, just in case something came up and I wasn’t able to get home until tomorrow. I still feel guilty about that time I locked Tama outside. No wonder she pecked me so hard. Ever since that incident, I always made sure to point at my keys and check them every time.

Oh, that reminds me... Other than the keys to the house, I also had keys to the gate at the foot of the mountain, which I occasionally forgot to lock. That’s probably not a good idea. Nothing had happened yet, but if someone like Nagi-san came here, that could spell trouble. I really need to be more wary of trespassers.

I’d already informed Aikawa-san that I’d be leaving around this time, but we would be arriving separately. I mean, not much point in going together if we’re both gonna drive.

I checked one more time that I hadn’t forgotten to bring the gift before leaving my mountain. I drove toward the back of the village, then to the mountain near the border with the next village, and finally arrived at the chicken farm.

“Hello.”

Matsuyama-san’s wife, who was near the parking area, came out to greet me. “Hi, Sano-kun. Thanks for your large order the other day.”

“Likewise, thank you very much. The chicken meat was great.”

She seemed to be in high spirits. When I helped Tama and Yuma out of the vehicle, she exclaimed, “I see they’re doing great! Have they gotten even bigger?”

Huh? Seriously? They’re still growing?

“Do you think so?” I asked. “I see them every day, so I’m afraid it’s hard for me to tell.”

“Oh, I totally understand. It’s hard to notice changes if they’re part of your daily life.”

After receiving her permission, I had Tama and Yuma go over to the other side of the farm to play, making sure to tell them to stay away from the hennery.

“You know,” she said, “we’ve been getting a lot of inquiries ever since your cleanup walks.”

“For meat?” I asked.

“Yep. I feel a little sorry because everyone seems disappointed when we tell them we don’t also sell eggs.”

We spent some time chatting, and after a while, Aikawa-san’s truck drove onto the farm. Rin-san was in the passenger’s seat today.

“Hello there.” He greeted the old lady with a smile. “Thank you for the other day.”

“Handsome as always! The pleasure is all ours—we were able to sell our excess stock.”

While they were talking to each other, I walked over to Aikawa-san’s vehicle and called out to Rin-san, leaving a little distance between us. “Hello, Rin-san.”

“Hi, Sano.”

“Is she staying in the car?” Matsuyama-san’s wife asked Aikawa-san.

“She’s very shy, you see.”

“Oh. Then I’ll give you some chicken meat to take home. Have her cook it for you!”

“Thank you.”

She ushered us into the house, and we handed her our respective gifts. I’d originally planned to say my gift was from the both of us, but Aikawa-san had brought his own. Yeah, I should have probably checked with him...

“You’ll be staying for lunch, right? Tell me all about how the litter cleanup walk went.”

Our meal consisted of pickles, kimchi (also technically pickles, but I feel like that’s its own thing), fried chicken, samgye-tang, and even some dak-galbi on a hot plate. Matsuyama-san was busy working on the farm, and he only came back around the time the food was ready.

“Hey there, Sano-kun, Aikawa-kun. Lunch is always so lavish when we have guests over!”

His wife didn’t seem to react very well to this last comment, judging from the way she hit him.

I wasn’t too familiar with dak-galbi—it was a meal where you seasoned chicken meat with gochujang for a sweet and spicy flavor, then stir-fried it directly on a hot plate with vegetables, rice cakes, and other ingredients. Aikawa-san probably knew more about this kind of thing. It seemed Matsuyama-san’s wife was quite into Korean cuisine.

With three men at the table, there was no such thing as too much food. “My, I’m happy to see you ate so much!” the old lady said giddily, looking at our empty plates. Honestly, I didn’t have to eat that much. I just couldn’t help myself.

We told them all about the cleanup walk, and Matsuyama-san chatted about the stall he’d run at the summer festival. He seemed particularly interested in the cleanup walk. “It makes sense that there’s less illegal dumping when there’re more people around. Maybe we should do something like that here too.”

I also reported that the meat from their farm had been a big hit at the barbecues, which they were very happy to hear.

“It’s really nice having young people around!” the old lady exclaimed.

As we were about to leave, they told us to come again, and since it seemed they were being sincere and not just saying it out of politeness, I replied saying I’d love to.

I wish Katsuragi-san could have come too. I’ll try bringing her with me sometime. She also loved the chicken meat from the farm.

***

Yumoto-san chuckled awkwardly when I told him about Katsuragi-san. “Well, sounds like there’s not much we can do. I’m not really sure what’s going on with her, but try to make her feel more at ease. Gee, you young folks have it pretty tough too, huh?”

We all came to the mountains to flee from our respective troubles, but we weren’t all in equally dire predicaments. There might even be some young people who move to the countryside full of hope. Though compared to stalking and domestic violence, my problems seem pretty minor. Still, just thinking about it makes my heart ache. I have to remind myself every time that it’s all in the past.

“That’s how it is,” I said. “Sorry we can’t hold the after-party sooner.”

“No problem—anytime. I’m just looking for an excuse to drink, y’know.” Yumoto-san laughed heartily. His personality might have seemed crude at a glance, but I could tell he was attentive in his own way, and I really appreciated it.

And thus, the wrap-up party for the litter cleanup walk was postponed. Doing it without Katsuragi-san would feel wrong. I’m not gonna tell her that, though—I don’t want to put any pressure on her. I’ll just wait until she feels like coming out of her cave. (Listen, I know it’s a mountain, not a cave. It’s called a figure of speech.)

For a while after that, nothing out of the ordinary happened. The only difference from my usual routine was that Katsuragi-san asked me to go shopping for her every two or three days. I would meet up with her at the foot of her mountain and hand everything over.

“Would you like to come up to the house?” she would sometimes ask with pleading eyes, but I always declined. She’s probably still a bit nervous about the whole thing with Nagi-san. I get that she must be feeling lonely, but she’ll probably be fine.

That aside, I still haven’t gotten over how good Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs are. Truly, these must be the greatest eggs on Earth!

I wanted to share my joy and excitement over these eggs with someone, so I decided to message Aikawa-san.

He replied right away. “Tama-san’s and Yuma-san’s eggs? I’d love to try them!”

Right? Right?! They’re my adorable chickens’ eggs. There’s no way anyone wouldn’t want to try them. I kept nodding to myself before noticing that the chickens were staring at me coldly. What are you giving me those looks for? Are you trying to make me cry?

“They’re bigger than regular eggs and have a rich flavor. Do you know of any recipes they could be good in?” I asked, and Aikawa-san suggested Chinese-style fried eggs and tomatoes.

“I’ll come over tomorrow,” he texted back. “Actually, I could cook them myself if you’d like.”

He must be serious about this. Chinese food, huh?

I decided to leave the fried eggs to him and started thinking of what other dishes I could prepare. I soon got a message from him asking me to cook the rice in advance.

“Sounds like one of those girlfriends who move in on their boyfriends...” I murmured. Wait, what the heck am I saying? I shook my head. The hot weather must be getting to me.

“Aikawa-san will be coming over tomorrow,” I told the chickens. For some reason, Tama pecked me.

“Ow! Ouch! Hey, I’m not at fault here!”

As usual, Tama wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being around Rin-san. The worst part is that Rin-san doesn’t pose any threat—it’s just Tama’s irrational dislike. There isn’t anything I can do about that.

“He’s coming over to try your eggs. That’s okay with you, right?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

They both replied immediately. So you don’t want him to come, but you’re fine with that. “Well, thanks.”

Pochi just looked unbothered, as if none of this had anything to do with him. Don’t you have reproductive instincts? Or what, do you get rejected every time? I couldn’t be too sure.

Thanks to my exchange with Aikawa-san, all I had on my mind now was Chinese food.

Yum, Chinese-style fried chicken... Chili shrimp... Pepper steak... Twice-cooked pork... Wait, wasn’t this about eggs...?

***

The next morning, I suddenly remembered about the crayfish—I rushed down to the river with the chickens and a bucket in tow.

Where are these things coming from anyway? We’ve caught so many... I hope we don’t have this many next year. At this rate, we’ll never have fish here again, no matter how clean the water is.

“Wait a minute. If Rin-san is coming here today, then we don’t need to catch them ourselves, do we?” I realized this only after filling half the bucket with crayfish. Yep, the heat is definitely getting to me.

On top of that, I got another shopping request from Katsuragi-san. We exchanged a few messages.

“Can you wait until evening?” I asked.

“Feel free to go tomorrow if you’re busy.”

“Aikawa-san’s coming over today.”

“Bring him here along with my food.”

“I don’t think so.”

Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual going on with Katsuragi-san today—except, of course, her still being unable to leave her mountain.

I put a lid on the crayfish bucket and sighed.

Generally speaking, it wasn’t that hot up in the mountains, but there was still no getting around the fact that it was summer. Although it was already late August, it felt like we were still in the dog days.

“It’s too freaking hot...”

It was even worse down in the village. There’s no way I’m visiting my parents in this heat. I wonder what it’ll be like in winter. It might be freezing cold.

As I wondered about the weather, I saw Aikawa-san’s truck come in. Rin-san was in the passenger’s seat. Same as always. I interrupted my pointless train of thought and waved to them.

“Sano-san, hello there.”

“Hello.” How come he looks so much better than me, even though we’re both wearing work clothes?

Aikawa-san hopped out of the truck and greeted the chickens. “Hello, Pochi-san, Tama-san, Yuma-san. Is it okay if I let Rin eat some of the bugs around here?”

“Okay.”

“O-Okay...”

“Okay.”

Aikawa-san was as polite as ever. Rin-san got out of the truck too.

“Hello, Rin-san,” I greeted her.

“Hi, Sano.”

“I imagine she’ll want to go catch crayfish herself, but I also have some here that we caught earlier. What should I do with them?”

Aikawa-san seemed happy when I showed him the bucket. “Can I bring these for Ten?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“I’ll be borrowing this bucket, then.”

Aikawa-san glanced at Rin, who seemed to get the message—she picked it up and slithered in the direction of the river.

I guess she’s gonna eat what’s in the bucket and then fill it up with fresh ones. What’s the relationship between her and Ten-san, anyway? Are they a couple? I’m not sure how that sort of thing works.

After seeing that Rin-san had gone to the river, Tama ran off in the opposite direction. She really has a problem with her. Pochi also went off somewhere. As usual, Yuma stayed with me. I always feel bad for her—she stays by my side instead of playing with the other two.

“Can I have a look at the eggs?” Aikawa-san asked.

“Sure.”

We went inside. I’d also saved the ones from yesterday, meaning there were a total of four eggs in the basket.

“Whoa... They really are huge!” he blurted out.

I puffed up my chest, even though they were Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs and I had nothing to do with them. So childish.

“I’ve tried a bunch of different recipes that use eggs,” he continued, “but as I said before, I think fried eggs with tomatoes would work the best. I assume you can’t eat them raw, right?”

I nodded. After all, I know for a fact that the chickens who laid them spend all day in the mountain wilderness and will eat just about anything. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in adding some raw eggs with a dash of soy sauce to rice to make TKG, but I was concerned about the sanitary conditions. Sure, maybe it’d be fine if I washed them well, but I’d rather stay on the safe side.

“I honestly wouldn’t want to risk a salmonella infection,” I told him.

“Right? Of course, in Japan, it’s normal to eat raw eggs. Ryo from City Hunter likes them too.”

“There was also that scene in Rocky where he drinks raw eggs. Apparently, the reactions are very different between Japanese and overseas viewers. In Japan, it just looks disgusting, but overseas, it’s considered so unthinkable that people are like, ‘Does he have a death wish?!’”

We chatted idly for a while before going over today’s menu again. Aikawa-san really did intend to do all the cooking. After showing him where the pans, pots, utensils, and ingredients were, all that was left for me to do was wait. Watching him from behind, I could tell how skilled he was in the kitchen.

“Sorry, the dumplings are frozen, not fresh...” Aikawa-san let out an embarrassed laugh as he served boiled dumplings and seaweed soup into an udon bowl. For side dishes, we had fried eggs and tomatoes, stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts, and pepper steak. With a meal this varied and visually appealing, it was hard to decide where to start.

“Well, it’s not much, but...”

“Not much? What are you saying?! This is a really lavish meal, and it all looks so delicious!” The seasoning is just right too. Really, if he were a woman, I’d want her as my wife.

We each joined our hands together in thanks and then began to eat, both of us with smiles on our faces.

“This egg... It’s so flavorful!” he exclaimed. “This is great!”

Right? Right?! They’re my adorable chickens’... Wait, I think we’ve already been through this one before.

The chicken meat was from the farm, which tasted much better than the stuff you could buy at regular stores and supermarkets. All the dishes were excellent, and we ate as much as we could.

“I had too much...” I muttered. Again. What can I do? It was all so good. Chinese food is the best. Though, needless to say, a lot of it is thanks to Aikawa-san’s cooking skills.

“We did, didn’t we?” Aikawa-san cleared away the dishes for me, since I was too full to get up.

Gosh, this must be what it feels like to be a deadbeat husband. Obviously, I’m not gonna say that out loud.

“I’m sorry for making you clean up the table... Thanks so much.”

“No problem. I’m very happy you invited me over, plus I also got these rare, valuable eggs... Although, of course I can’t really raise chickens at home.”

“I guess so...” They’d just become meals for Rin-san and Ten-san, I’m sure.

“Do you mind if I join you again from time to time?” he asked.

“Not at all. They lay eggs almost every day—I’ll definitely be inviting you over again.”

“I’ll just have to brush up on my egg recipes.”

After a while, a silence fell between us. Aikawa-san must be worried about Katsuragi-san too.

After a long moment of quiet, he asked, “You can’t tell me about it, can you?”

“I’m afraid she hasn’t given me permission to talk.”

Aikawa-san smiled. “You know, that’s one of the things I like about you.”

Oh boy... Give me a break. Look at these goose bumps! “Hey, stop it.” I rubbed the goose bumps on my arms.

“Ha ha ha. Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t mean it in a weird way or anything. It’s just that—” He paused for a moment. “You can keep a secret, and you’re also pretty considerate of others.”

“I wouldn’t call myself considerate at all...” In fact, I’m constantly frustrated at myself for not being considerate enough.

“This is just a hunch on my part, but I think Katsuragi-san probably has feelings for you.”

“Huh? Definitely not,” I retorted firmly. She’s my clumsy younger sister.

“I wonder...” He let out an awkward chuckle.

Aikawa-san and Rin-san went home before it got dark, taking a bucket full of crayfish with them. Where did she even find so many?

Tomorrow, I’d be going shopping for Katsuragi-san. “Sorry, I’ll go tomorrow,” I messaged her.

“You were busy getting all lovey-dovey with Aikawa-san, weren’t you?!” she replied, along with an angry-looking sticker.

I felt something snap inside me. I think I’m done helping her out. (Just kidding.) But seriously, I don’t appreciate this kind of joke at all.

I told her I’d stop talking to her if she didn’t quit it with that sort of thing, and she apologized profusely. Jeez, this really must be what it’s like having a younger sister.

I recalled my conversation with Aikawa-san from earlier. It had flowed really well, as usual, but we’d kept going for so long—by the time he’d left, it’d been too late to buy all the stuff Katsuragi-san had requested and deliver it to her. Aikawa-san had looked surprised when I’d told him about how I needed to go shopping for Katsuragi-san.

“Oh, right. Could you give this to Katsuragi-san?” he’d said.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

It was an oblong box wrapped in brown wrapping paper.

“Chocolate. I don’t know what she’s going through, but hopefully this can help offer a little respite.”

What a nice guy. No wonder he’s so popular with the ladies.

“You could just give it to her yourself, right?” I knew he couldn’t, but it slipped out of my mouth anyway. He smiled bitterly.

“I...wouldn’t want to pass out in front of her...”

Is it that bad? Is your condition getting worse? I’m a bit worried about him now.

“I can give it to her, sure, but I can’t hold myself responsible for what she makes of it.” That girl has a tendency to interpret things in a way that’s convenient for her...but those interpretations don’t necessarily match reality. Though she does have somewhat of a grasp on reality.

“Uh... Just tell her it’s from you,” Aikawa-san said.

“Whaaat...?” I can picture her getting really smug about it. No, that won’t do either. We need a middle ground.

“Then...how about saying it’s from the both of us?”

I wasn’t too fond of that idea either, but it did seem like the best way to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings. I nodded. “Okay, I’ll take it. How much was it?”

“What are you saying? I’m not letting you pay for it.”

I thought I’d at least pay him back for half of it, but he stubbornly refused. I feel bad about this because I’m always so indebted to him. He did everything today too. I only provided the eggs. Ugh...

“Sano-san, I’m older than you, you know. Besides, I’m always so indebted to you. Let me handle this one, as your senior.”

Well, I guess if we both feel indebted to each other...

“Today’s lunch was fantastic,” I said.

“Feel free to come visit anytime. I can’t offer you much, but I can at least make a meal like this.”

Aikawa-san is diligent and caring. I need to police myself to avoid relying on him too much.

Yumoto-san is a friend of a relative on my mother’s side—in other words, a complete stranger. Yet he always takes good care of me, and they treat me as a family friend. I guess the whole village is like one big family in a way. And the Yumotos are like an uncle and aunt to me.

When I told Aikawa-san about how Katsuragi-san was like a clumsy younger sister, he said, “Then I suppose I’m part of your family too, huh, Sano-san? Your older brother?”

“Just remember... That makes Katsuragi-san your sister as well.”

“I’ll...have to think about this one.”

Looks like he wants to avoid interacting with young women as much as possible, even if it’s his sister. Quite the predicament.

***

The following day, I went to buy all the things Katsuragi-san had asked for. I checked off the items on the list one by one, then delivered them to the foot of her mountain. Yuma had come with me today, and she was pecking at the grass while she waited for me to hand everything over.

“Thank you so much, Sano-san!”

“Sure. Also, here’s something from me and Aikawa-san.”

I handed her the box of chocolates, and she broke into a smile.

“Whaaaat? For me? But it’s not my birthday or anything!”

“We thought it might help cheer you up or something.”

“Wooow, thanks so much! I’m so happy! Bring Aikawa-san with you next time!”

“Enough of that already.” This exchange had become part of our usual routine.

As she put the food I’d brought into the cooler, she asked, “By the way, what was the reason for Aikawa-san’s visit yesterday?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s because my chickens started laying eggs recently, and he wanted to try them.”

“Wait, whaaaat?! Yuma-chan and Tama-chan are laying eggs? That’s news to me!”

“Yeah, I haven’t told you.”

“Sano-san, that’s so mean!”

I just didn’t see any reason to tell her.

“I want to try them too. Please bring me some!”

“How about no?!”

“You jerk!”

“I don’t have a container for them. They’re pretty big, you know. I don’t want them to crack on my way here, and above all, I don’t have any reason to give them to you.”

She sniffled. “Ah... Yuma-chan’s and Tama-chan’s eggs...”

Do you want to eat them that bad? Well, I eat them every day, of course!

“I want to eat them! I want to eat them!” she whined.

“I’ll let you eat them if you come visit me on my mountain.”

“Eh?! Okay, I’ll go!” she said instantly. Whoa. The power of eggs is not to be underestimated.

“Really? Can you?”

“Ah, ugh... But...I do want to eat the eggs.”

“I don’t have any left today.”

“Tomorrow, then! I’ll go to your place tomorrow. Come pick me up!”

“I can pick you up, sure. But I’m afraid you’ll have to go home on your own.”

“U-Urgh...” Katsuragi-san was conflicted.

How likely is it that Nagi-san will come here looking for her? The place Katsuragi-san used to live is apparently pretty far from here. He couldn’t make it on a day trip, and he would have to stay at least one night in a nearby town. Realistically speaking, in the event that he did come here, it would have to be on a weekend. And since tomorrow’s a weekday, chances are almost null.

“I guess... I’ll go to your place with Tatsuki tomorrow.”

“All right. We’ll meet up here, then.” Hopefully this can be a good opportunity for her to start going outside again. She can just give me a call if anything happens.

Back at home, I had a drink and did some work on the mountain. I think these weeds could really use a vacation.

15. The Answer Is...

Come rain or come shine, the weeds just kept growing, as strong as ever. Seriously, just give me a break already.

I puttered through my usual morning routine of preparing breakfast, eating, feeding the chickens, and letting them outside. A few of the spots where I’d pulled weeds only a few days ago were already green again. Wow, so hardy... Such vitality...

Tama and Yuma laid eggs again this morning. I was glad to see it—I’d been a bit worried about it, and I’d told Katsuragi-san that I would let her know as soon as possible if they didn’t. But luckily, I found two eggs lying on the earthen floor as usual.

This is ovulation, right? The same thing human women go through once a month. And they’re doing it every day. It seemed they hadn’t laid any fertilized eggs. Or at least, I had a feeling that was the case. They haven’t been doing that sort of thing with Pochi, then. I actually think I might want to try raising their chicks, but not now. Maybe next year would be nice for that.

Anyway, I managed to lure Katsuragi-san out of her mountain with Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs. That’s all well and good, but... “What should I do about lunch?”

I didn’t mind her coming over to visit at all, but I had no idea what to make her for lunch—I just knew that I needed to use eggs in one of the dishes. That’s right! How about oyakodon (a chicken and egg bowl)? We have chicken meat and onions! Just add some miso soup on the side, and that should be perfect. After checking that I had all the necessary ingredients—I still had some frozen chicken meat from the farm—and finding a recipe that seemed promising, I felt relieved.

“Heh. I’m something of a chef, you could say...” I muttered. For some reason, Tama was nearby. Wait, I thought you were playing outside?! She stared at me coldly before turning the other way and running off. I dropped to my knees. Come on now, can’t I have some fun every once in a while?!

As I was drowning in shame, Yuma snuggled up to me.

“Yumaaaaaa!” You’re such an angel! I’ll treasure you forever!

I hugged her softly and petted her, but sadly, I also had other things to attend to. I messaged Katsuragi-san saying I’d go to pick her up at eleven, but before that, I needed to tend to the fields and the area near the house. As for the house itself, I’d already vacuumed it. Yup, we’re all set.

I got to the foot of Katsuragi-san’s mountain right on time, and just as I stopped my truck in front of the wire fence and was about to send her a message, Katsuragi-san’s vehicle showed up. She got out and locked the gate behind her. No one wants to leave the house unlocked and come back to find a stranger there. Wait, did I lock mine when I left? I did...right?

“Hey there,” I greeted her. “You okay?”

“Hello. Um...not exactly, but I do want to eat the eggs!”

It’s impressive how much power these eggs have. Her dragon was riding in her tonneau. And speaking of impressive...

“Is it just me, or did Tatsuki-san grow bigger?” I asked.

“He did. I can’t lift him at all anymore.”

“Huh, so how did you get him—”

“We used a metal ramp, and he climbed up there.”

I see. Well, I guess it’s not a problem if he can get on the truck by himself.

This was the second time Katsuragi-san would be visiting my mountain. The first time had been quite recently—she’d visited just before the litter cleanup walk, when she’d come over to get the chickens’ measurements for their ponchos. Back then, we talked about how we were looking forward to the after-party... I felt rage toward Nagi-san bubbling up inside me, though I took care to keep Katsuragi-san from noticing.

At my mountain, I opened the gate, then locked it again after we both went inside. As I was doing that, I could catch a glimpse of Katsuragi-san’s relieved face through her truck’s window, and my anger toward Nagi-san flared up again.

Back at home, we hopped out of our vehicles, and Katsuragi-san stretched her body. “Aaaah, I feel liberated! Oh, Pochi-chan, Tama-chan, Yuma-chan! Hi there. Do you mind if Tatsuki eats bugs and hunts around here?”

Oh, Pochi and Tama are here too? Since I’d only gone to pick up Katsuragi-san, I hadn’t brought Yuma along—she’d stayed at home. But I guess Yuma must have called the other two back for me. I can always count on her.

Pochi walked over to us and nodded to Katsuragi-san, giving Tatsuki-san permission. Katsuragi-san put a ramp by her truck to help the dragon down.

“Sano-san, here,” she said, handing me some vegetables that were in her passenger seat.

“You didn’t have to bring anything.”

“I wanted to. You helped me break out of my shell. I know it isn’t much, but please accept it.”

“Fine, if you say so.” She’s got it the hardest, though... Despite her usual demeanor, Katsuragi-san was quite caring and considerate. I felt privileged to be surrounded by such nice people—and that only made it all the more unforgivable when someone from outside came and ruined the mood.

I let Katsuragi-san inside the house. Tatsuki-san found a nice spot in the shade to lounge, and Tama was doing her usual thing—picking bugs off him. Pochi was nowhere to be seen. Probably went back to his rounds. Yuma stayed by my side like she always did. Ah, gotta love moments like these...

Katsuragi-san’s eyes widened in awe as soon as she went inside and saw the eggs. “Wooow! They’re really huge! Imagine making TKG with these!” She stole a glance at me, and I shook my head. No way.

“Eh? Why not?”

“Ever heard of a little something called salmonella?”

“Uh, those bacteria that can contaminate eggs, right? I thought we didn’t have that in Japan.”

“Store-bought eggs can be eaten raw because there are strict sanitary standards in place. These, on the other hand, were laid by chickens who spend all day running around in the mountain wilderness eating god knows what. Plus, I don’t really bother disinfecting the shells. If you want to eat TKG, buy some regular eggs and use those.”

“Awww...”

Katsuragi-san still didn’t seem too convinced, but she finally backed down after I explained that Japan was the only country where people ate TKG. After that, I followed the recipe for oyakodon, plated it up, and served it to her.

“Wow, this is incredible! These eggs are so flavorful! They’ll be a big hit!”

“I’m not selling.” We only get two a day. I’m keeping them for myself.

“Maybe I should also raise... Wait, no. They’d just end up as food for Tatsuki...”

I’ve heard that one before...

“If you ever get chicks, please give them to me!” Katsuragi-san begged.

“No way. You just said they’ll end up as food.”

“Waaaah, but these eggs are so tasty!”

Everyone goes crazy for these eggs. I don’t want to share them with anyone else, though, other than maybe the Yumotos. If too many people find out about them, there won’t be any left for me!

“This miso soup is also great...”

Today’s miso soup featured eggplant and fried tofu. Eggplant is so good around this time of the year. That reminds me of the saying “Don’t feed your daughter-in-law autumn eggplants.” There are a few different interpretations, and it’s not clear what the intended meaning is. Some people say it’s about bullying, like a mother-in-law saying she doesn’t want to waste a delicacy like autumn eggplants on her daughter-in-law. Some claim it’s saying you shouldn’t let a prospective mother eat eggplant because it cools the body, and there’s even a theory that “daughter-in-law” is a euphemism for “mouse.” I don’t know which one is correct. All I know is that autumn eggplants taste great.

Katsuragi-san asked for another serving. “When I make miso soup at home, I’ll try using eggplant too.”

“Oh, you’ve never made it this way?”

“Nope. I think this kinda thing varies from household to household.”

Now that instant miso soup is so popular, there’re probably fewer people making it at home. I make enough in a pot for a whole day—it’s easier, not to mention cheaper, especially because I’m on my mountain most of the time.

I don’t drink much, and I don’t smoke—I’ve actually been spending a lot less money than I expected. I do have a monthly source of income, of course. But I can’t afford to be too loose with money because I don’t know how much I’ll be spending on food when winter comes around.

“Just the other day, we were walking by the bottom of the mountain...”

She must be talking about the cleanup walks. I could feel a tinge of sadness in her voice, but I pretended not to notice and just replied curtly. “Yeah.”

“I feel so pathetic for not being able to leave my mountain... But, you know, when I think of possibly running into you-know-who or his good friend, I just can’t bring myself to step outside the fence...”

“There’s no need to force yourself.”

“By the way, Sano-san... Why did you buy this mountain, anyway?”

She’d shifted the topic from herself to me. Well, I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. But it’s up to me whether I want to talk about it. “Uh, no particular reason, I guess?”

Katsuragi-san gave me an incredulous look. “If you say so...”

“Yup.” I don’t want to talk about it unless I think there’s a really good reason to disclose my past. “So, I was wondering about Tatsuki-san...”

“Yes?”

“Does he hibernate?”

“Hmm...” Katsuragi-san tilted her head. “I’m not sure if you can call it hibernation.” She explained that during colder seasons, she generally kept him inside the house—except on sunny days, when he’d sluggishly crawl outside to bask in the sun, then come back inside when it cooled off again. Because of this, she left the house unlocked in winter.

“Well, I’m not too sure. He’s not that active to begin with. Even if there are no vaccines for him, maybe it would be a good idea to show him to the vet...”

“The vet did mention that reptiles are hard to deal with, but yeah...maybe you should do that.”

“Right.” Katsuragi-san nodded. “Could you ask him for me?”

“Sure thing. Oh, you mentioned before that Tatsuki-san hunted deer, right?”

“Yes—he’s very nimble when he’s hunting.”

“His fast-twitch muscles must be well-developed... Have you actually seen him hunt?”

“I have... And I was pretty surprised.”

I can imagine. I saw that boar the chickens caught, but I didn’t see them actually taking it down. I really gotta get to work on that wildlife camera idea. I’ll look into it later.

“He was just lying there motionless in the middle of a flat area in the forest,” recalled Katsuragi-san. “He must have looked like a rock or something, and then, when a deer passed by...”

“He went for the kill, huh?” Lying in ambush and waiting for his prey... Animals sure are scary. “What do you do about his food during the winter?”

“Well, last winter, I ordered some large cuts of cheap meat in bulk. He doesn’t eat three meals a day like humans do, but I still spent good money on the amount of meat he needed. I didn’t really have to buy anything else. Also, during the coldest months, I usually spend most of my time in the village. I had to come back every now and then to feed him.”

Looks like large cuts of meat are the best option, then. I’ll try asking Aikawa-san too.

As Katsuragi-san was about to go home, I stopped her and asked, “So, do you think you can go outside again now?”

“Sorry, I’m not sure yet...” she muttered with a downcast expression.

“You’re stopping by the store on your way home, right? I’ll go with you. I’ve got some business there too.”

Katsuragi-san now seemed even more troubled. “Sano-san...”

“Yes?”

Yuma wanted to go with me too. It’s still a bit early, but maybe some of the kids’ll be there.

“It’s...nothing.”

We did some shopping at the general store near my mountain, then parted ways there. Though I’d told Katsuragi-san that I needed to go to the store as well, that wasn’t entirely true. I just bought some pork belly and canned goods—stuff I could have bought anytime and that I clearly wasn’t in urgent need of. I could tell from her expression that she probably realized I’d made an excuse to go with her. I only did it because I’m worried, though.

I could have gone all the way to her mountain with her too, but I felt like it might be a bad idea to coddle her too much. Just in case, I asked her to call me when she got to her mountain and unlocked the gate, then hang up after she went inside. That way, I’d be able to tell right away if there was anything wrong. Since the dragon’s with her today, I probably don’t need to worry about it, but again, just in case.

Then again, if Tatsuki-san is acting as her bodyguard, I feel like that could lead to some, shall we say, excessive use of force in the event that anything happens. And then, suddenly, we’ll have a murder case on our hands. I’d rather keep that kind of stuff in movies and TV shows. I quietly prayed nothing of the sort would happen.

Oh yeah, I forgot again to talk to her about the after-party and ask how much was fine to tell other people about her situation. Eh, not much point in fretting about it now.

Before I’d arrived back home, I got a call from her. I stopped the car, petted Yuma gently, and listened in silence.

I could hear a few different sounds. I listened attentively for anything out of the ordinary. Then the sound of a vehicle moving and Katsuragi-san’s voice came through the phone.

“Thank you. That was really reassuring,” she said before ending the call. There wasn’t anything strange about the tone of her voice either—I felt relieved.

Nagi-san’s got a job—if he comes again, it’ll probably be during the holidays in September. Well, if he’s coming here that often, it would reinforce the theory that he’s got a thing for Katsuragi-san. Not that I can do anything about that.

“Yuma, this is all such a pain...”

“Such a pain.”

Yup! As always, Yuma’s adorable.

***

I decided I would go visit grandpa’s grave after the holidays in September. I know I already messed up majorly by not visiting during Obon. I’ll go pay my parents a visit while I’m at it.

Every month, I had some passive income deposited into my bank account from a parking lot and an apartment I’d gotten from my grandpa before he passed—I also wanted to go check on those. I received those last spring because of the whole marriage thing... I’ll admit, I hadn’t been that happy about the apartment—it’d been a bit too far from my workplace at the time, so it wouldn’t have been convenient to live in. But he paid the gift tax too. Said it was a marriage gift from him. He passed away shortly after. He had the best intentions, I’m sure.

I basically used up the inheritance and all my savings when I bought my mountains, but my passive income is enough to get by on. Well, I also dabble in stocks and have a savings plan. The hardest part is keeping up with taxes... Not much I can do about that. Anyway, I don’t really need to worry about money, at least for as long as I’m all by myself here—I pretty much just buy food, though with the chickens around, that’s an unexpectedly big expense, and it’ll probably get even more costly when it’s cold. I can’t afford to splurge. But at the same time, I don’t want to cut back on my food expenses...or rather, there’s not really anything to cut back on.

For dinner, I stir-fried tomatoes, tofu, and pork belly seasoned with soy sauce and sugar—this went on top of some rice. There was also miso soup left from lunch. For a meal for one, this kind of rice-based dish was quick and convenient. Why do tomatoes go so well in stir-fries? I guess the oil must bring out the flavor.

It was business as usual with Pochi and Tama—they came back some time after sunset all filthy from playing on the mountain, and I still hadn’t the faintest idea what they’d been getting up to. I’m actually starting to think they do it on purpose because they want me to wash them. Maybe they want to cool off from the heat? I think I saw a kiddie pool in the storeroom. Wonder if it’s still good to use...

I’d finished washing Pochi and was in the middle of washing Tama when suddenly—

“Ah! Hey, stop shaking! I’ll get wet too!”

—Pochi started shaking the water off his body right next to me. Eh, I would’ve had to change anyway after washing Tama since I’m all sweaty. Pochi stayed still for a brief moment, but he soon began to shake his body again.

“Hey, come on now!” You’re doing it on purpose, right? You definitely are!

As soon as I finished with Tama, she started doing the same thing right next to Pochi, and then they both went at it like they were in a competition to see who could fling around more water. It was an amusing sight, sure, but I was soaked.

“Give it a rest, will you?!”

I caught the two of them and wiped them vigorously with a large bath towel. Why do you look so satisfied about this? And why are you making those weird noises?

“Don’t give me any of that crap! Just stay still!”

With much effort, I wiped off their feathers and groomed them. It’s a lot of work when they’re this big.

Yuma just tilted her head and spectated quietly. I let the other two inside the house and got in the bath with her.

Yup, business as usual. And that’s for the best.

In the bath, I hugged Yuma softly—with her permission, of course.

“Yuma, you’re so adorable!”

“Adorable.”

“Yup, adorable.” Ahhh...this is so soothing.

Aikawa-san’s pretty serious about stock trading... Maybe I’ll ask him to teach me about that stuff sometime. Yeah, that’s a good idea! More money, hooray! But...it does seem pretty complicated... Maybe too complicated for me...

What’s a job where you can secure a steady income? Writer, maybe? Uh... I don’t think I have any talent for that sort of stuff. Even writing book reports in school was a chore for me.

Well, whatever. Right now, I can keep myself fed for another day, at least.

16. The After-Party in September

It was now September.

The cicadas were restless. Occasionally, Pochi would bring me dead ones, much to my chagrin. “Keep that away from me.”

Wait, wait, don’t eat it in front of me! My chickens really did eat just about anything.

The days were gradually getting shorter. During the daytime, it still felt like summer, but the chill of autumn was starting to creep into the mornings and evenings. Thankfully, I hadn’t run into any murder hornets since that time we’d gone looking for their nest. Probably not any of them left around here. Still, it was very likely they had nests deeper into my mountain, and I intended to exterminate them more thoroughly when winter came around. On this mountain, there was no end to my struggles against nature, be it insects or weeds.

One thing did change, though: Katsuragi-san finally decided to come out of isolation.

She would be going to Yumoto-san’s place tomorrow, and Aikawa-san was also making an effort to join. His condition is not something that can be dealt with easily... As for me, I was once again racking my brain trying to think of something that might make for a good present.

***

Pochi caught a viper—the first one in a while—and gave it to me. While it was a gift that would please Old Man Yumoto, I needed something different for his wife. I opted to buy some nice-looking rice crackers at the general store, though I was aware that this lacked any novelty. (But these crackers are pretty good, you know? Really. And, as usual, I have no idea who I’m making excuses to.)

We were having an after-party—naturally, this meant there would be alcohol involved. I would make it to the Yumotos by the early evening, with Tama and Yuma joining me. Pochi had already grown used to staying home alone—I think he liked watching the house. We stopped at the store first, and some kids chatted with us.

“Tama-chan? Yuma-chan? Long time no see!”

“Have they grown bigger?”

“They’re about as big as my little sister!”

Seems like they really did grow larger. I’m a bit afraid to measure them now. I guess I’ll try talking to Kimoto-san, the vet. Katsuragi-san wants me to ask him about her dragon anyway. Hopefully he has business at the chicken farm sometime soon.

“Hey, mister.”

“Yeah?”

The children called me “mister,” but not in an old man kind of way... At least, not yet. Most of the kids in the village recognized me now. Some met me that time the chickens helped out with the village crops, and then I was around a lot more of them during the cleanup walks. Actually, on our walks, I heard some of them calling Aikawa-san “that handsome old guy,” which came as a shock to me—from my perspective, he was still a long way from an “old man,” but the kids didn’t seem to think so.

Then again, I suppose I must also be an “old man” to kids in their single digits. Better not to think about it too deeply. Anyway...

“When’s the next cleanup walk with the chickens?” one of them asked me.

“Hmm... Haven’t got any scheduled for the time being.”

“Whaaat? Let’s do it again! Come on! We’ll help pick up the trash!”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

“I want to have a barbecue again!”

I’m not exactly opposed to it, but to be honest, a lot more people attended than I expected, and the barbecues ended up taking a toll on my wallet. If we do it again, I’ll have to ask for a higher participation fee—at least high enough that I don’t end up too deep in the red. That’ll attract fewer people, I think. Last time, I only asked for three hundred yen per person—the cost of one day of insurance—and that was probably a major factor for the large turnout.

“What’re you guys talking about?” I asked. “You have school, don’t you?”

“We have four days off in September—how about then?”

I shook my head. “You kids just focus on your studies.”

“Boo!”

Besides, if we do it too often, they’ll just get sick of it. Once a year seems like a good pace. I’ll try increasing the patrols during the September holidays and see how that goes.

When I arrived at the Yumotos, I felt relieved to see Katsuragi-san’s truck parked there. She did say she was coming, but we couldn’t be too sure. Her dragon probably came along too. I’ll greet Tatsuki-san later.

I rang the doorbell and opened the glass front door. “Hello, it’s Sano... Wh-Whoa!” I opened the glass door to find the dragon lazing around right in front of me. Whew, that was a shock... “Ah, Tatsuki-san. Hi there...”

He cracked his eyes open and nodded faintly. Sorry for disturbing your rest.

“Oh, you’re here.” The sliding door by the entryway that led to the living room opened, and Yumoto-san poked his head out with a mischievous smile. “Caught you by surprise there, huh?”

Jeez... Well, at least he’s enjoying himself. I spotted Machiko-san and Katsuragi-san in the kitchen.

“You sure did. Here, I brought this for you.”

“Ooh! A viper! Really? I can have it?”

“Of course. It’s a gift from Pochi.”

“Pochi’s...not here today, eh?”

“He’s watching the house.”

“I see. Well, tell him I said thanks.”

“Okay.”

Yumoto-san went outside in high spirits with the snake in a bottle. Probably going to the warehouse. I wonder how much snake wine he’s got in there. I remember he was saying something about how you have to leave it there for three years or so before it gets good.

“Make yourself at home, Sho-chan. I’ll be there shortly,” said Machiko-san.

“Please don’t mind me. I brought you some crackers—I’ll leave them here.”

“Oh, thanks!”

Katsuragi-san smiled at me. I’d just seen her recently when I’d gone shopping for her, but it felt like we hadn’t met up in a long time.

“Hi, Sano-san.”

“Hey, Katsuragi-san.”

“I just want to say... It’s thanks to you that I was able to come here today.”

“I didn’t really do anything...”

Aikawa-san showed up while we were chatting. We would all be staying the night, so he’d come by himself. He and Yumoto-san stepped into the room holding drinks.

“Hello there,” Aikawa-san called out to everyone.

“Hi there,” I replied.

He froze for a moment when he saw Katsuragi-san, but he soon regained his smile and greeted her. It can’t be helped.

“Tama and Yuma are in the fields,” Yumoto-san told me.

“Got it. Thank you.” They should be back before it gets dark. My chickens are pretty clever. Maybe even more so than their owner...

In the living room, the table had already been set with cups, plates, chopsticks, and some pickles. After adding enough cans of beer for everyone, Yumoto-san turned to the kitchen and said, “We’ll get started, then!”

“Go ahead!”

Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, and I toasted and began to drink. It finally feels like the whole cleanup walk thing is over.

“And here’s the food!” Machiko-san said as she and Katsuragi-san brought various dishes to the table, one large plate after the other. There was fried chicken, tempura, and even sashimi, as well as a few other sides. Even in this small village in the middle of the mountains, there was one sushi restaurant, and you could ask them to prepare sashimi to eat at home. It wasn’t as affordable as those conveyor belt sushi chains, of course, but it made for a nice occasional treat. I should go check it out sometime.

After all the food was at the table, Machiko-san and Katsuragi-san, still wearing aprons, sat down with us, and we did another toast. Katsuragi-san sipped on her beer shyly.

“I’m glad we were all able to gather here today. Katsuragi-san, how’ve you been?” Yumoto-san asked.

That’s right—I told them she was cooped up on her mountain because she hadn’t been feeling too well. That was an excuse, of course, to avoid any unnecessary prying.

“Thank you. I’ve...gotten better, I think,” she replied.

I don’t know about her physical condition, but I feel she’s still under some amount of mental distress. And usually, when people gather in this village, the women end up working in the kitchen. So it’s really better for her to sit it out if she’s not feeling well.

“That’s good to hear. Why don’t we go out together again sometime?” Machiko-san said cheerfully.

“Thanks for your concern...” Katsuragi-san said timidly.

“Oh, don’t mention it. Sho-chan was going over to check on you and buy groceries for you, right?”

“Yes, I’m really grateful to Sano-san.”

“Wonderful! You should just leave that stuff to people who are feeling healthy.”

“Thank you...”

Katsuragi-san still looks a bit strained, but this is something that should heal with time.

“So, Shohei, how about those murder hornets?” asked Yumoto-san.

“Ah, right. I haven’t seen any recently—I doubt there are any near the house.”

“Oh yeah? Well, you’re on a mountain. There’re bound to be more of them somewhere.”

“You’re probably right.” Come November or so, I’ll probably go looking for them again.

This was a topic that also concerned the two other mountain owners gathered here today. I turned to them and asked, “By the way, Katsuragi-san, Aikawa-san, what’re you guys doing about them?”

Katsuragi-san was the first to speak. “I think there might be a nest somewhere, but...maybe Tatsuki eats them...”

Uh, wow. That dragon really is something. “Have you seen any evidence of that?”

“Um... I haven’t seen him actually eating them...but I did find quite a few scraps of hornet nests lying around on my mountain...”

That certainly does sound like it could be the dragon’s work, but who’s to say it wasn’t some other animal?

“Yumoto-san, do you know of any animals around here that eat murder hornets?” I inquired.

The old man deliberated for a moment, then said, “Well, if it wasn’t our big lizard friend over there, chances are it was a bear.”

“A bear?!” Wait, I thought bears ate honey? Like Winnie the Pooh? Then again, those hornet larvae are supposed to be pretty tasty... I think I remember hearing there might be bears on my other mountain.

Katsuragi-san went pale. Murder hornets are scary, to be sure, but bears are even scarier. “A b-bear, you say...?”

“If it was a bear, it should have left other traces around the mountain. D’you mind if I go over to Loud Mountain sometime to take a look?”

“Not at all! Please do!”

Old Man Yumoto’s curiosity knows no bounds. “But, Yumoto-san, can you identify those bear traces when you see them?” I asked.

“Well, it’s not my area of expertise, I’ll give you that—but I used to dream of becoming a hunter, and I went along on quite a few hunts in my day. I still haven’t forgotten the stuff they taught me back then.”

That’s great to hear. I couldn’t tell if a bear was around—not even if my life depended on it. I turned to Katsuragi-san. “Do you mind if I join? I want to see what it looks like when there’s a bear on your mountain.”

“That would be great! Please do!” Katsuragi-san was getting a little teary-eyed. She must be really anxious now...

“I’ll go too, then...” Aikawa-san offered. “I am a hunter, after all.”

Of course, as a hunter, he still had to abide by hunting seasons, but his expertise should still have been able to keep us safe from wild boars. He could also check for anything that might indicate the presence of bears and warn other people if needed.

As for Aikawa-san’s own mountain, he told us Rin-san and Ten-san ate hornets. In the case of smaller nests, they simply swallowed them whole... Whew, large snakes are terrifying... They were also completely unfazed by murder hornet stings. Actually, can the hornets’ stingers even penetrate their skin? His snakes are way OP. I’d better take the utmost care not to get on their bad side.

“Looks like we only need to check for nests on my mountain, then...” I blurted out.

“We can leave that for late autumn,” Yumoto-san said.

“Sounds good.” I don’t see any near the house anyway. We should definitely prioritize Katsuragi-san’s mountain.

“Oh yeah.” Yumoto-san suddenly switched topics. “I also heard from Matsu-chan that he’s thinking of doing something like a cleanup walk at his place.”

The “Matsu-chan” he speaks of must be Matsuyama-san. “The man who owns the chicken farm?”

“Yup. It’s a bit far from the village, but his property is pretty big too. And it’s pretty out of the way, so when people throw away their trash there, it’s usually large stuff.”

“Sounds like a pain to deal with.” Seriously, people! Learn to take care of your own trash. Or maybe it’s companies doing it? What a mess.

“Shohei, he says he wants to ask you a few things about the cleanup walk. If you could drop by sometime, that’d be nice.”

“Got it.” Given that they run a chicken farm, they shouldn’t have any issues securing meat for some barbecues. Yum! Fresh chicken! Of course, the barbecues are optional—we did it mainly to attract people to our event. That said, the hosts should provide some beverages and snacks at the bare minimum.

Katsuragi-san had a distressed look on her face the entire time we chatted. She seemed hesitant about whether she should tell the others about her circumstances. Though she was supposed to have put all that in the past, the situation had changed, thanks to a certain someone meddling in her affairs. Regardless of his actual intentions, I thought it was better to keep Nagi-san away from Katsuragi-san.

She’s already hurt pretty badly, and she’s cowering in fear of him. And now, on top of that, she’s conflicted about telling the others here—it’s definitely not an easy decision. Though this type of thing could happen to anyone, it shouldn’t happen.

That night, Katsuragi-san didn’t touch on that topic. We all just ate, drank, chatted, and had a good time.

And with that, our after-party was over.

The next morning, I woke up to find that my body felt oddly heavy, and I couldn’t move. Especially my chest—it felt like there was a weight on it. Sleep paralysis? Wait—

“T-Tamaaaaa! Get off meeee! You’re too heavy!”

For some reason, Tama was sitting on top of me. Stop it! You’re way too big and bulky for this. And no amount of cocking your head cutely is going to change that!

“Wooow... Tama-chan, that’s adorable!” I heard Katsuragi-san’s voice—she’d probably come to fetch me—and the sliding door was open.

“Tamaaa! Get off me!”

She slowly got up and moved away from me. And in between her legs...

“Hey, don’t lay eggs on me!”

A large egg rolled away. Gah, I gotta wash this T-shirt.

When I took off my shirt, I heard a loud squeal. “Eeeek!”

“Oops, my bad.” It seemed Katsuragi-san was still there.

I took a spare T-shirt from my bag and changed. Katsuragi-san averted her eyes, muttering, “That’s harassment, you know!”

Wait, wait! That’s a misunderstanding.

I looked around me. The futon Aikawa-san had slept in was neatly tucked away, as usual.

“Is it time to eat?” I asked her.

“Yes, breakfast’s ready.”

“All right—let me fold my futon first.”

Tama trotted away, passing by Katsuragi-san. I gotta clean up properly later.

I folded my futon, though not as neatly as Aikawa-san had. Katsuragi-san was still there.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Men sure have some...impressive muscles...”

“You think so?”

I mean, yeah, I’ve put on some muscle over these past six months. My muscles don’t ache on a daily basis like they used to. I still get sore if I exert myself too much, though, like on the day Tama and Yuma laid their first eggs.

I looked down at my arms. True, I’ve definitely gotten in decent shape. How did that meme go again? “Your muscles will never betray you,” or something?

“It’s nothing special. Mountain life will do that to you,” I explained.

“Not to me, it seems.” Katsuragi-san flexed her biceps, but they barely bulged. Well, I suppose that’s what it’s like for women. Or maybe Katsuragi-san just has a hard time putting on muscle.

Tama and Yuma were on the earthen floor nibbling on vegetable scraps. Machiko-san was thrilled when I brought Tama’s egg to her.

“Yuma-chan laid one earlier too—it was pretty big. Can I have these?” she asked.

“Of course. There’re only two, though.”

Machiko-san grinned, clearly in high spirits. “I’ll make some scrambled eggs, then.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

In the living room, Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san were sipping tea.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning, Sano-san. Did you sleep well?”

I laughed awkwardly. I hadn’t overdone it with my drinking last night because the whole thing with Katsuragi-san had been weighing on my mind. Plus, I feel like the shock of waking up with Tama crushing me also sobered me up.

“You see, when I woke up, Tama was sitting on top of me...”

“Whoa... She must be pretty heavy...” Yumoto-san shuddered.

“If my snakes tried that, I wouldn’t live to tell the tale...” Aikawa-san chuckled.

One of those massive snakes coiled up on top of him... Yup, he’d be crushed to death.

“And if that wasn’t enough, she laid an egg on top of me! Can you believe that?”

“An egg? Oh! They’re laying eggs now?!” Old Man Yumoto beamed.

“Food’s ready! Tama-chan and Yuma-chan scrambled eggs!”

I don’t like that name at all... Sounds like Tama and Yuma were used as ingredients.

“Ooooh! Can I try some?” Yumoto-san asked, full of childlike excitement.

“Go ahead.”

He took a bite of egg, munched on it, swallowed, and then...

“What is this?! Such a rich, savory taste!”

“Oh, really? I’ve gotta try some too,” Machiko-san said as she brought us some chazuke. Yep, plum chazuke is the best cure for hangovers. “Oh, my... This is so delicious!”

“Shohei... How about running a chicken farm?”

“Come on now.” Let’s content ourselves with two eggs and not get too greedy. Plus, I can’t afford to feed a farm of chickens like these.

At the breakfast table, everyone scrambled for the scrambled eggs.

“These eggs really are something,” Aikawa-san marveled. “Maybe I should have chosen chickens too...”

Katsuragi-san nodded. “They’re marvelous. Sadly, I can’t raise chickens at home...”

Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs were a big hit with everyone. Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san sighed deeply, well aware that it would be impossible for them to raise chickens—the chickens would end up as food before they had a chance to lay eggs.

“Well, I’m just glad I got to try them. We can’t raise ’em here either,” said Yumoto-san. The properties in the village were quite large, but chickens like mine could easily lead to trouble in the neighborhood—for example, making a racket at night because they have too much pent-up energy. They could get quite noisy. That was one reason Matsuyama-san also lived in the mountains.

“Right? We’re lucky to have gotten a taste,” Machiko-san agreed.

“Well, in any case,” Yumoto-san continued, “it’s great that they’re laying eggs now.”

“It really is. I look forward to it every day.” I get to enjoy the luxury of eating fresh eggs every morning.

Yumoto-san pondered for a bit, then said, “Shohei, have you let anyone else eat these?”

“No one who isn’t in this room—just Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san.”

“Good. These are way too tasty. Be careful not to let anyone else find out. You never know what sorts of people are out there.”

“G-Got it.” I most definitely wouldn’t want anyone to kidnap Tama and Yuma for their eggs or something like that. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to brag about my chickens and their eggs, but it looks like that might not be a good idea. I’m glad I let the Yumotos try them.

Since we’d been drinking last night, I spent the day taking it easy at the Yumoto residence—later in the afternoon, I went home.

In the end, Katsuragi-san never brought it up. I think that’s fine. The whole thing will just fade away with time, provided a certain someone doesn’t come around again.

Back at home, Pochi returned to the house around the time the sun set. He was filthy, as usual. I feel like he gets even dirtier when I’m not around. Does he lose all sense of restraint when he’s all by himself? I don’t really get it.

As I was washing him, Tama came scurrying toward me.

“Hmm? What, you also wanna take a bath?”

“Bath.”

Must be the heat, huh? “All right. Hang on a bit.”

After I finished washing Pochi, I instructed him to shake the water off far away from me. Then I washed Tama. She seemed to enjoy it greatly.

Oh, and as for the kiddie pool? Turns out there’s a big hole in it—I had to throw it away, sadly. Maybe I’ll buy one next year. Then again, with how sharp the chickens’ claws are, I can’t see it lasting very long... Eh, I’ll think about it another time.

Now that I had washed both of them, it was time for dinner. I’d been gifted some lovely autumn eggplants. Maybe I’ll try expanding the fields next year... I also still had a lot of komatsuna, but cucumber season was almost over—I picked some overgrown cucumbers from my fields and cut them up. I stir-fried some of it and fed the rest to the chickens.

“These cucumbers have huge seeds... Well, I suppose they’re a type of gourd, after all.” The seeds are probably edible if you roast them, but overgrown cucumber seeds don’t seem very appetizing.

“I should have planted some sunflowers too.” I’m pretty sure you can eat roasted sunflower seeds. If I recall correctly, one of my old coworkers used to buy them and munch on them all the time. Seems like a great way to kill time or as a snack to eat while watching TV.

While eating dinner, I thought about my plans for the farm for next year. And afterward, I got in the bath with Yuma.

This just wouldn’t be the same without her. Ahh, this is so blissful... I can forget all my troubles when I’m here. I hate the fact that I still haven’t forgotten about the reason I came to the mountains in the first place, even though my failed engagement is fairly far behind me now...

I hugged Yuma tightly, and she snuggled up to me.

“Thanks, Yuma...”

She just cocked her head at me. Then, after getting out of the bath, she ran off toward the living room. There were now three balls of feathery fluff sitting on the earthen floor, looking cuddly and adorable. Well...at that size, maybe “adorable” is not the most appropriate word.

I felt a sudden urge to take a picture, and I sent it to Aikawa-san. But immediately after, I reflected on my actions. What am I doing? Am I a girl or what?!

“They’re very cute,” he soon replied.

I’m so sorry...

Just as I was thinking about how silly it was to randomly send people pictures of your pets, I received a picture of Rin-san and Ten-san.

Whoa, that’s...pretty freaky. But, looking at them more attentively, I noticed that the pattern on their scales was really beautiful and sort of hypnotic.

“Their scales are very beautiful,” I replied.

Maybe Aikawa-san was looking for someone to exchange pet pictures with? I cracked a smile.

The next morning, I contacted a bunch of different people. First, I called Kimoto-san, the vet, to ask if he could have a look at Katsuragi-san’s dragon. I asked when he would be in the chicken farm, and he said he’d be there in three days. Then I confirmed that we could take Tatsuki-san there on that day, and I also called Matsuyama-san to ask if that would be okay with him. Gah, my head is spinning.

“Oh, that huge lizard, right?” Matsuyama-san asked me over the phone. “Sure thing. While we’re at it, I’d like to ask you a few things about the cleanup walks. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Of course. What time should we show up?”

“Why don’t you come around noon and have lunch with us?”

“Will do. Thank you very much.”

“My pleasure. It’s always nice getting to spend time with younger folks. You’ll bring the chickens too, right?”

“Yes, if that’s not a problem.”

“Not at all. Bring your friend from last time too.”

And thus, all three of us—not only Katsuragi-san and me but also Aikawa-san—would be going to the chicken farm on that day.

When I messaged Aikawa-san about it, he said, “Sure, I don’t mind going, but...uh, can I ask you to sit next to me at the table?”

“Oh, sure, don’t worry about that.” Is this about young women in general? Or about Katsuragi-san specifically? Either way, I’ll be careful about it.

Between all the calls and messages, I had a pretty busy day.

With everything arranged for our appointment at the chicken farm, I also scheduled a visit to Katsuragi-san’s mountain in the near future. I’ve got a surprisingly hectic schedule.

Even though all I’d done was make calls and send messages, I was fairly exhausted. It would be terrific if I had eggs from Tama and Yuma to replenish my energy, but it looks like it was an off day for them—no eggs today. Ah, I feel so lethargic...

This eggless morning, Tama had pecked me relentlessly for being too overt about my disappointment. Yuma didn’t really seem to understand and just looked on obliviously.

“Well then, time to pull some weeds...”

I focused on the weeds growing in the shade and braced myself for another chapter in my endless battle against their rapid growth.

I really, really should consider sprinkling some salt to kill them.

17. Gathering at the Chicken Farm

I kept myself busy with the usual tasks—checking on the graves, pulling weeds, checking the river, pulling weeds, checking the roads, pulling weeds—and before I knew it, it was the day of our visit to the chicken farm.

You weeds are on notice. As soon as you wither, I’ll burn you all to a crisp. On a day with no wind, of course. I hope the weather forecast plays nice.

We had entrusted Aikawa-san with procuring a present for us to collectively give to Matsuyama-san. The wife’s got a soft spot for Aikawa-san, plus he’s definitely better than us when it comes to buying gifts.

When I got to the farm, Katsuragi-san was already there. The dragon was outside, and Kimoto-san, the vet, was looking at him excitedly.

Matsuyama-san greeted me. “Oh, Sano-kun! Hi there.”

“Hello, Matsuyama-san, Kimoto-san. I see Katsuragi-san is already here.” Katsuragi-san seemed relieved to see me. I can see how she might be feeling out of her element. “Hi, Tatsuki-san.” The dragon returned my greeting by narrowing his eyes and nodding. Calm and collected as always, I see.

I’d brought Yuma and Tama along today. I had invited Pochi as well, but it seemed he now associated the chicken farm with injections, and he’d run away from me. Well, next time I get them vaccinated, it’ll be drinking-water vaccines, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

“Sano-kun, you sly devil!” Matsuyama-san said in a teasing tone. “I didn’t know you were friends with such a pretty young lady!”

“Now, now, easy on the inappropriate remarks,” I replied with a smile.

“My bad, my bad. Sheesh...” Matsuyama-san scratched his head.

I glanced at the dragon. “Tatsuki-san, I brought Yuma and Tama with me today.”

Meanwhile, Kimoto-san turned to Katsuragi-san. “Tatsuki-san, was it? Mind if I take a look at him?” The dragon just nodded magnanimously. “Here we go, then. Length is...two and a half meters. Weight... Has he eaten anything unusually big recently?”

“Sorry, I’m not too sure what he usually eats... He just roams the mountain by himself.”

“Should be okay, then. If you wanna get him weighed, come to my clinic in S-Town. I figure he’s gotta be at least seventy kilograms. If he’s heavier than that, it could be because of something he ate recently.”

Kimoto-san conducted the rest of Tatsuki-san’s examination very skillfully, touching him here and there and checking inside his mouth.

“Oh, I guess it might also be a good idea to brush his teeth? I’m not quite sure how it works with reptiles. Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him, but if something comes up, please let me know.”

Katsuragi-san nodded. “Th-Thank you.”

“Anything you’d like to ask about?”

“Um, well... I got Tatsuki from a festival stall.”

“I see...” I felt like I caught a glint in Kimoto-san’s eyes.

“He was still really small at the time—only around ten centimeters. I thought he was just a regular lizard. But now, two years later, he’s...well, as you see.”

“That’s indeed impressive.”

I agree. How does an animal grow from ten centimeters to this in the span of two years?

“Ten centimeters...” Kimoto-san pondered for a moment. “That eliminates the possibility of him being a Komodo dragon.”

“Oh, he’s not?”

“I thought he might be, but he also looks a bit crocodilian. He’s closer to a dinosaur than a lizard, if you ask me.”

“A...dinosaur...” Katsuragi-san muttered with a troubled expression.

“You got him from a stall in this village, didn’t ya?” Kimoto-san’s tone seemed to be constantly alternating between polite and casual.

“That’s right,” replied Katsuragi-san. “During the summer festival.”

“Same for your chickens, huh, Sano-kun?”

“In my case, it was the spring festival.”

“Hmm... Looks like we’ve got a mystery on our hands. Tatsuki-san’s a large lizard resembling a dinosaur. Sano-kun’s chickens also resemble dinosaurs—except with feathers. This is making me want to go look for the people who were running those stalls.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it is quite strange.”

Before long, Aikawa-san’s truck pulled up. “Hello! Sorry for being late!”

Rin-san sat in the passenger’s seat. It’s still quite hot, but she should probably be okay as long as he keeps the windows open or turns on the AC...I think?

Matsuyama-san greeted him with a smile. “Hey there, Aikawa-kun. Don’t worry—you’re just in time.”

I exchanged greetings with him too, then walked toward the passenger’s side. “Hello, Rin-san.”

“Hi, Sano.” A stoic beauty. If only it weren’t for her lower half...

This was Kimoto-san and Aikawa-san’s second time seeing each other. Aikawa-san smiled and said, “Hello there.”

“Right back at ya. Hey, you own a mountain too, don’t you, Aikawa-san? I forgot to ask you last time, but you wouldn’t happen to own any, uh, outlandish pets like the other two mountain owners here, would you?”

“Outlandish, you say...” Aikawa-san seemed a bit taken aback. He glanced at Katsuragi-san’s dragon and my chickens, then turned back to Kimoto-san. “Just a moment.” He took out his phone and showed him a picture of Ten-san. “I’m raising this snake here.”

“Oh!” Kimoto-san exclaimed loudly. The chickens seemed annoyed at the sudden outburst. “Are you the person who called me previously to ask about vaccines for snakes?”

“I’m surprised you still remember.”

“Yeah, it was a pretty unusual question, so it left an impression on me. Interesting... A big snake... He looks a bit like a python, but the pattern on his scales is quite complex...”

Looks like Aikawa-san called Kimoto-san—not the vet from N-Town—to ask about vaccines.

We suddenly heard a voice coming from the house. “Oh? What’re all of you doing outside? Come in!” Matsuyama-san’s wife beckoned to us, and we decided to continue the conversation inside.

Heeding our warnings to stay away from the hennery, the animals each went their separate ways: The dragon lay down in the shade of the house, Tama ran off somewhere, and Yuma went over to Aikawa-san’s truck, next to Rin-san.

Aikawa-san gave the gift he’d brought to Matsuyama-san’s wife, and she seemed grateful. “Aikawa-kun...” she said, “is it really okay to leave your girlfriend in the car?” She seemed rather worried.

“Ah, well, she’s extremely shy, you see. Sorry.”

“And yet she still came here with you. How admirable!” The old lady smiled warmly.

Aikawa-san let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Yes, I suppose so. Oh, and she also gets jealous very easily—I’ll sit next to Sano-san.”

“That’s probably for the best. Katsuragi-san...was it? She’s quite pretty...”

Looks like no one’s got anything to say about me. Yup, I’m just an ordinary, regular guy, after all. And that’s a good thing. Really, I mean it! It’s not just sour grapes!

The living room was filled with people. Matsuyama-san’s wife served us crackers, pickles, and tea.

“Did you have business here today, Kimoto-san?” I asked.

“Yeah, I come here regularly to do a quick checkup on the chickens. Speaking of chickens, I’m also quite interested in yours. Can I take a look at them later?”

“Of course—I’d appreciate it.”

Right, the chickens at this farm are raised for food—if they get sick or have any health issues, Matsuyama-san won’t be able to sell their meat. They need regular checkups.

Matsuyama-san soon changed the subject. “So, about those litter cleanup walks...”

Aikawa-san and I explained details about the background of the event, what the schedule had been like, and so on.

“Picking up trash with the chickens, huh? Sano-san, you really struck gold there.” Kimoto-san seemed pleased with walks. “And putting zippers on them in case any outsiders show up... Yeah, that was an excellent idea. Nowadays, people are always snapping pictures of everything without even asking.”

“Tell me about it. I was worried people might take pictures of my chickens without permission.”

“A hazard of the smartphone age.”

Yeah. A drawback of making it too easy to take pictures. I wish people would at least ask.

“You managed to gather quite a lot of people for the walks, eh?”

“I only asked for a three-hundred-yen participation fee per person to pay for the insurance. It was my first time organizing something like this, so I kept it simple and made it a onetime fee, regardless of how many times the person actually participated.”

“Is that enough to cover three days of insurance?”

“No, three hundred yen is what it costs per day.”

Matsuyama-san’s wife cocked her head at that. “Shouldn’t you have charged the total fee, then?” she asked in a concerned tone.

“Well, I guess.” She’s got a point. I was just thinking of the cost relative to what it would usually cost to dispose of illegally dumped trash...

“Any plans to do it again?” Matsuyama-san asked.

I glanced over at Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san. “Well...” Aikawa-san began. “First, I think we’ll wait and see what things will be like during the September holidays.”

“Oooh, right,” Matsuyama-san remarked. “We’ve got a four-day holiday this year. I enjoy these breaks as much as anyone else, but I could do without the increase in illegal dumping.”

“Exactly, and litterers can only be arrested on the spot.” This is probably a big problem for every mountain owner.

“You know, I heard there’re people who stopped having problems with illegal dumping after putting up torii gates,” said Kimoto-san. I’d also heard about that.

Aikawa-san nodded. “Yeah, apparently, it does work for some. But there are also places where torii gates had no effect. If you wanted to go that route, you’d need to be pretty serious about it.”

Matsuyama-san looked pensive. “Any idea why some worked and some didn’t?”

I got curious and looked it up on my phone. People had tried using torii gates as littering deterrents all over Japan, but it looked like some people had just put together a bunch of tree branches and painted them in a way that they resembled torii gates. Yeah, this kind of stuff probably won’t do. You’d have to build a proper one, even if it’s small.

“These cheap-looking ones didn’t have any effect,” I said, showing the pictures to Matsuyama-san. He seemed convinced by this.

Ah, right. “The cleanup walks were a success, but I’ve got another idea: How about getting the kids to help build torii gates?” I suggested.

We can easily get as much wood as we want—all we have to do is thin out some of the plentiful trees on the mountainside. Then cut it into beams, paint, put the beams together, and have the kids come up with shrine names and messages and such. Afterward, we only need to hang a shimenawa rope to ward off evil spirits. All of that should help keep illegal dumpers away.

“That’s a pretty novel idea!” Matsuyama-san exclaimed. “I’ll think about it.”

“Food’s ready!” Matsuyama-san’s wife called out. She set the table before us with dishes of food and also a hot plate—we paused our conversation to enjoy the delectable chicken dishes.

Ah, nothing beats fresh chicken. Not my chickens, though. I’ve already said this a hundred times, but I’d be no match for them.

How is this fried chicken so good? I’ve tried making it myself a few times. For seasoning, I just use ready-made stuff, but I can never get the oil temperature quite right—if I’m not careful, my chicken burns to a crisp, but then the inside is still undercooked. It’s pretty difficult to get right.

The way I learned it back at home was to double-fry: cook in oil for a few minutes, take it out to rest and let the lingering heat cook the chicken inside, then fry again to the desired golden color. That method prevents undercooking. Frying food isn’t so bad, but since you’ve gotta deal with all that oil and clean the grease from the kitchen, I generally just avoid it. I don’t have one of those pots for filtering used cooking oil either. I’m always impressed at how often the villagers make fried food—fried chicken, tempura...the works. And it’s always so delicious. Thank you all very much!

As with the last time I was here, we had dak-galbi on a hot plate. I love the spiciness. It goes great with rice. Everyone scrambled to take some.

I turned to Matsuyama-san’s wife to ask about something I’d been curious about. “I was wondering, do you make fried food often?”

“I do, since it doesn’t take too much effort—you just need to batter and fry.”

Well, only someone who’s used to it would say that. I appreciate it very much, of course. But that’s not what I meant. “How do you dispose of the oil?”

“Oh, the oil? We use it to make soap.”

“Soap...?” Oh, right. You can make soap out of oil. Kinda weird to think about how something made out of oil can be used to remove oil when cleaning.

“You know, since we’re up in the mountains, there’s no shortage of wood and weeds. So instead of caustic soda, we use ashes.” Caustic soda? That stuff’s dangerous. Please be careful.

“You mix oil with ashes?”

“No, no, we soak the ashes in water—lye floats to the surface, and we skim it from the top. The only thing is that our soap is softer, unlike the regular soap you find in stores.”

Katsuragi-san seemed excited about this. “Please, tell me more!”

I didn’t use cooking oil that often myself, but I still thought it’d be better to have some way to dispose of it when I did—I took notes alongside Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san. Apparently, you could also use the same method of processing oil to make scented candles. Katsuragi-san’s eyes were glittering. Girls are really into this kind of thing, huh?

“I’ve noticed the Yumotos also make fried food pretty often. Are these skills common knowledge in the village?”

“I don’t know about ‘common knowledge,’ but the Yumotos definitely do know how to do it. We’ve even made soap together.”

“I see.” Come to think of it, it was Yumoto-san who told me about the chicken farm. I guess basically everyone in the village must know everyone else.

“Well, then again, this is just our way of doing it. I’d still recommend looking up the proper way to make soap. You never know what could happen.”

“Gotcha. Thanks for the advice.” I’m probably not gonna be making any scented candles, but I might try making soap. Not that I usually have much oil to dispose of, since I don’t really make fried food at home.

“Aikawa-kun, how about you bring me your snake next time?” asked Kimoto-san. “Just for a quick checkup.”

“Thank you. I’ll let you know,” Aikawa-san replied courteously.

They’re just talking about Ten-san, though. But since he and Rin-san hang out in the same environment, I assume they have a similar diet. Well, what do I know?

“By the way, Kimoto-san, I wanted to ask you about drinking-water vaccines...” I’d been wondering when would be the best time to administer them.

After some deliberation, Kimoto-san said, “Hmm... Well, I would definitely advise you to administer them. Sano-san, have your chickens ever had loose stools? Or have you spotted any bugs or parasites in their feces?”

“Bugs...or parasites?”

I pondered for a moment. I’d placed cardboard boxes on the floor of my home for the chickens to use as toilets during the night, and I made sure to check them daily, but I’d never noticed anything unusual. I’d been prepared to find parasites in there, since they spend all day outside eating god knows what, but there’d never been any.

When I told him that, Kimoto-san seemed confused—he kept tilting his head. “I suppose your chickens must have some awfully strong stomachs? Ah, wait, do they often peck at mugwort or similar plants?”

“Mugwort?” What does that look like again? I wasn’t very good with plants. I remember I helped Machiko-san pick that once... Was it those green leaves?

“Those over there,” Kimoto-san said, pointing at some leaves that Tama was pecking at as we spoke.

“Oh, right, those.”

“Yup, those.”

“I guess we do have mugwort growing around the house, then.” I often see them pecking at white clover, but I think they eat mugwort too. “Now that you mention it, mugwort has antiseptic properties, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. The mugwort that grows in Japan is not strong enough to act as a parasiticide, but it seems feeding it to chickens helps with roundworms, at least.”

“Interesting...”

“Well, in Japan people say it’s good for worms, and we use it in folk medicine. Even if it’s not a parasiticide, it must contain other substances that help.”

The mysteries of biology...

Incidentally, the first domestically produced drug for treating roundworms was called “santonin,” and it used a compound of the same name found in European mugwort. Sadly, Japanese mugwort doesn’t contain any santonin. Still, it seems to be doing good for my chickens.

I started getting a little worried that I might have pulled some mugwort from my mountain, mistaking it for regular weeds. I’ll check when I get home.

After that, I told Kimoto-san about how I’d asked my chickens to avoid eating earthworms—they seemed to avoid them anyway, but I still asked just in case—and he gave me a weird look.

“If they’re actually doing as you asked, then that might be the reason they have no parasites. Earthworms are a common host for roundworms that find their way into a chicken’s digestive tract. There are other routes, of course, but still.”

“Whaaaat, seriously?” I’d told them to avoid earthworms because I thought they were important for the soil—I’d had no idea about any of this. I made that rule more for the earthworms than the chickens, but I’m happy it seems to have worked out. I’ll make sure they continue to not eat earthworms. Of course, this hinges on them listening to me.

I decided to also mix some mugwort into their food from now on. I’m glad I got to talk to Kimoto-san today—I learned a lot. I offered him some cash for his services today, which he sadly refused. Oh well, I’ll pay him extra the next time I take the chickens for a checkup.

“I’ll think about the torii thing. Thanks for all the ideas, everyone,” Matsuyama-san called out cheerfully to us as we were leaving.

“How about building one and seeing how it works out?” I asked. “We can decide whether to build more after that.” No point in making a bunch of them if they don’t help with the trash problem.

“I guess I can do that. Will you help out?”

“Of course. Just let me know.”

“That’s great to hear. You’ll be a big help.”

“Don’t mention it. Illegal dumping is a big problem for all of us.”

I also bought some frozen chicken meat before leaving—the meat from the farm was delicious, even when it wasn’t fresh. Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san also bought some.

Kimoto-san would be staying a while longer. We three mountain neighbors would be caravanning out—with Aikawa-san’s truck leading the way, Katsuragi-san in the middle, and me in the rear—and we would stop at Katsuragi-san’s mountain first. You can never be too careful.

“Aikawa-san, Sano-san, thank you,” she said before we departed.

“No problem. We’ve gotta look out for each other,” Aikawa-san replied, averting his gaze—he clearly had the best intentions, but his reaction was involuntary. Must be rough.

Puzzled by Aikawa-san’s demeanor, Katsuragi-san looked over at his truck, then nodded to herself, as if she’d understood something. I followed her gaze to find Rin-san staring at us blankly. Her appearance was a form of mimicry—although she looked like a beautiful woman, she was always expressionless. To Katsuragi-san, she must have looked like a woman burning with jealousy.

Well, Rin-san seems to only be looking at Aikawa-san, though. Boy, it sure was scary when I saw her that one night... I shuddered, remembering our first encounter. That was much more frightening than your average horror movie. I could have had a heart attack.

I pulled myself together and asked Yuma to go find Tama and tell her we were leaving. Then, when both were back, I helped them into the truck. How did she manage to find Tama so quickly, anyway? Did they talk about it in advance? Probably not.

“We’ll be dropping Katsuragi-san off on the way,” I told them before getting in the driver’s seat. Yuma was right next to me in the passenger’s seat, and Tama was behind us, riding in the truck bed on top of a cushion—she looked like an adorable ball of fluff all bundled up like that. Will they get even fluffier in winter, I wonder? We were still in the beginning of autumn, but the prospect excited me.

“Thanks so much for today,” Katsuragi-san said to us when we dropped her off at the foot of her mountain. She bowed her head politely. After she’d gone inside the fence and locked the gate, Aikawa-san and I went our respective ways.

Today was a good day.

18. Showdown in Autumn

The days leading up to the four-day weekend in September flew by hectically.

Katsuragi-san’s dragon caught a deer, and we all ate it together. I injured my hand, and Aikawa-san cared for me like an overprotective mother. Luckily, my hand healed in time for the holidays, but we’ll leave that story for another time.

In truth, I was still quite concerned about the whole debacle with Nagi-san. I figured if he did indeed have feelings for Katsuragi-san, it was very likely he would come again during the September holidays.

As soon as the holidays came around, I got a message from my mother telling me to go visit them. I understand—I couldn’t go visit grandpa’s grave during Obon, after all.

“I’ll go on a weekday,” I replied, and then she called. I could hear her sigh deeply over the phone. I know mothers will be mothers, but I wish she’d let me be.

During the holidays, lots of people were busy picking wild vegetables—their presence near the roads doubled as a good way to ward off illegal dumpers. I also received a number of invitations to friends’ homes.

I visited Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san and was treated to several scrumptious meals. Now, you might be wondering why I don’t go pick wild vegetables myself. I do have an illustrated guide with various species of edible plants, but I’m afraid I’m not able to make the leap from looking at pictures of plants to identifying those plants when I see them in real life. Thus, I leave the picking part to others and just focus on eating.

Finally, it was the last day of the four-day weekend, and I thought the holidays would end without any major incidents.

I was wrong.

I got a message from Yumoto-san in the early morning saying he’d be coming over to my mountain again at some point to pick wild vegetables. Everyone’s always so full of energy.

Today, I’d actually be going over to their place for lunch, taking Pochi and Yuma with me. I had stopped by the general store near Katsuragi-san’s mountain—as usual, racking my brains trying to think of a good gift—when I ran into someone I could have definitely done without seeing.

You’ve gotta be kidding me. I thought about just doing a one-eighty and walking away, but it was already too late for that.

“Er... Sano-san, was it? Hello.”

You didn’t have to remember my name. Just go home, please. “Hello...uh... Sorry, I recognize you, and I remember our conversation, but...”

“It’s me, Nagi.”

“Right, Nagi-san! What brings you here today?”

What should I bring the Yumotos? I guess I’ll have to go with meat? I peered through the glass door to the store’s freezer. I do have a cooler for transport, but I want to minimize the time the meat spends outside the freezer.

“I’m looking for someone,” Nagi-san said. “I haven’t had a lot of free time, and I only managed to travel here today.”

“No luck yet?” I asked nonchalantly.

“I...do have a general idea of where they live, but...it seems it’s not gonna be that easy to meet them.”

I pretended not to notice him stealing glances at me. “You don’t know their contact info?”

“I don’t—that’s why I’m having such a hard time getting to them.”

Then just give up already! What’s with you, coming here this often? This guy really must have a thing for Katsuragi-san. It’s not mutual, though—trust me.

“That’s a shame. Well then, bye.”

I bought a cut of pork meat and left the store. The shopkeeper was wearing an uncomfortable expression—probably thinking about how to deal with Nagi-san. I feel you.

“Pochi, Yuma, I’m back.” I’d kept them inside the truck, thinking it wouldn’t take me long at the store.

I headed straight for Yumoto-san’s. Wait... I think I see something in the side-view mirror. Oh boy, don’t tell me he’s following us... Stalker freak. After a while, I drove onto Yumoto-san’s property and parked my truck.

As soon as I helped the chickens out of the truck, Pochi started running back the way we’d come—toward the main road.

“Pochi?”

I was about to tell him that a chicken crossing the road was dangerous when I saw something unusual near the roadside—it was the same car I’d caught a glimpse of in my side-view mirror.

So he did follow us. Oh, give me a break.

“Pochi, just ignore it.” I beckoned him back and went inside the Yumotos’ house. I opened the glass door and collapsed on the spot.

Machiko-san poked her head around the corner. “Oh, Sho-chan, hello. What happened?”

“Um, sorry... I have to make a call.”

What should I do? Does he think I might have something to do with Katsuragi-san? Or is he just asking anyone and everyone he knows? Maybe it’s because I live on the mountain next to Loud Mountain?

Katsuragi-san picked up the call promptly. “Sano-san? What’s up?”

“Sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to go shopping today.”

“Oh, okay, no problem.”

“Also...don’t leave your mountain today.”

There was a moment of silence.

I couldn’t really find the right words, but it seemed Katsuragi-san got the hint—which made me feel a bit sorry for her.

After a long pause, she finally said, “Seriously...?”

“Yeah, I ran into him at the store, and he followed me. I’m at Yumoto-san’s house now.”

“What a creep! What is up with him? Okay...got it.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“Sorry for making you keep it a secret for so long. Please feel free to tell others about my situation—like Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san. I’ll call them later too.”

“Wait, there’s no need to...” I felt myself growing nervous. I already knew I couldn’t protect Katsuragi-san all by myself, but still. She shouldn’t be forced to talk about her past, her trauma, because of something like this. “Sorry... I’m really sorry, but...I don’t think it’s right for me to tell them.”

“Okay, no problem. I’m sorry too. I’ll tell them myself.”

Why won’t he just leave her alone? Both Katsuragi-san and I are just trying our best to live normal lives. Why is this world so unfair?

After I ended the call, I heard Machiko-san’s phone ringing. Katsuragi-san’s really made up her mind about this.

“Hello, Miya-chan? What’s up?” While speaking on the phone, Machiko-san gestured at me to come in.

In the living room, Yumoto-san greeted me. “Hey, Shohei. Why the long face?”

“Well, you see, there’s been a lot going on...”

I still haven’t even gotten over my own trauma—it was arrogant of me to think I could help someone else overcome theirs. Even then, I really wish I could’ve done something for Katsuragi-san so that she didn’t have to tell others about it.

“Right, right... Okay, thanks for telling me. It’s okay—it’s okay now. Just leave it all to me.”

I could hear Machiko-san’s reassuring voice. Soon, she charged into the living room, phone still in hand.

“Come on, get up!” she exclaimed. “We’ve got a pervert to deal with!”

“All right!” Yumoto-san looked ready to rumble. “We can’t leave someone like that to do whatever he wants!”

Right, I guess there’s a lot of overlap between stalkers and perverts...though they’re not necessarily the same thing.

Machiko-san was still on the phone with Katsuragi-san, and she alternated between reassuring her and filling in Yumoto-san. After a while, they finally decided on a course of action.

Machiko-san turned to me and said, “We’ll have Sho-chan call you when we catch him! Huh? One ring? Sho-chan, did you get that?”

“Got it.” I was supposed to only ring once.

“We’ll be back soon. Sho-chan, we have some snacks over there!” Machiko-san seemed energetic as she put on a farmer’s hat and headed outside with Yumoto-san.

“I’m so useless...” I sighed and slumped over the table. What the hell is wrong with me, calling Katsuragi-san out of desperation over Nagi-san’s stalking? Am I a damsel in distress or something?

I spent a while wallowing in self-loathing until I heard the sound of the front door rattling open.

“Come on, get inside!”

“E-Excuse me...”

Whoa...she really did catch a pervert...

“A visitor?” I asked, feigning ignorance. I opened the living room’s glass door, and as expected, Nagi-san was on the other side. “Oh? Nagi-san, what are you doing here?”

“Ah... Um, hello again... I, uh, got lost...”

Oh, really now? You got lost? Well, would you look at that? I could’ve sworn you were following me. “Oh, is that so? Machiko-san, what happened?” I decided to keep playing dumb for now.

“I was down there picking wild plants, you know? And then I spotted someone, and I thought, Hey, I recognize him! And he’s so handsome, I just had to drag him here with me!”

Pushy aunties—one of the unstoppable forces of nature. “Uh, I see...”

“I picked a lot of edible plants—there’s plenty for everyone! Eat up! See, we have this much!” She showed me the plants she’d gathered. It was indeed a pretty large amount.

“Oh... How about giving Katsuragi-san a call then too?” I suggested.

Machiko-san grinned. “Good idea! Will you call her for me?”

“Sure thing.” We now had a natural pretext to call Katsuragi-san over.

“U-Um...” Nagi-san had a somewhat menacing glare in his eyes.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Katsuragi-san, you say...?”

“Oh, that’s the young lady living on the mountain next to mine. We just got acquainted recently.”

“I-I see...” He glared at me sharply. Hey, I just said we “got acquainted.” Don’t get any funny ideas. Don’t assume everyone’s the same as you.

“Miya-chan’s such a good girl,” Yumoto-san said in an overly affectionate tone.

Gah, Old Man Yumoto’s such a terrible actor. It might be better if he just stays quiet.

“Miya-chan?!” Nagi-san’s eyes were wide. “This ‘Katsuragi-san’ you speak of... Is her name Miyako-san, by any chance?”

“Huh? You know her?”

So that’s really what this is all about. What a bummer. He came here during Golden Week, Obon, and now he’s here again—that’s deep into stalker territory, all right. And Katsuragi-san’s hometown is supposed to be pretty far from here. Horrifying.

“Yes, I... I’ve been looking for her. I’m glad I finally found her.”

I’m not. I’m not glad at all. Do you have any idea how terrified she was because of you? And so was I...as much as I hate to admit it.

“I’ll make a lot of tempura—dig in!”

“Okay!”

“Th-Thank you...”

I decided to at least hear him out while I ate. “Why have you been looking for Katsuragi-san?”

“Um... It’s, uh... It’s a private matter...”

Oh, is it now? Huh, you don’t say. Funny, I thought perverts like you had little regard for privacy.

“If you say so.”

If he doesn’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. We’ll find out either way when Katsuragi-san gets here. Man, these wild vegetable tempura are incredible...

“Is there enough left for Katsuragi-san?” I asked Machiko-san.

“Of course. I’ll fry more when she gets here.”

“Okay!” No reason to hold back, then. We’ll also be having mushroom hot pot later. Oh, I love these wild vegetables.

My phone rang. “Okay. Got it—I’ll be out soon.” I hung up and said, “Looks like Katsuragi-san is here—I’ll go help her park her truck.”

“Go on ahead.”

“I’ll help too,” Nagi-san offered enthusiastically.

“Don’t worry about it, Nagi-san. Please don’t mind us—enjoy your meal.” After I gently declined, I hurried outside.

I had Katsuragi-san park her truck behind mine. Her dragon had come with her today.

“Sorry, Sano-san.”

“I should be the one apologizing. I wasn’t able to help...”

“That’s not true. You helped me realize that I can’t just keep running away all the time. Thank you.”

We had the dragon stay outside in the shade of the house, so he could keep any other threats away.

Katsuragi-san looked ready for battle—her makeup was pristine.

“I’ve made up my mind,” she declared. “I’m going to deal with my past properly. Please back me up, Sano-san.”

“Got it.”

Katsuragi-san sounded awfully reliable. Much more reliable than the damsel in distress here—me.

Though she had clearly done a full face of makeup, she was just wearing her regular old work clothes. That suits her—for us mountain dwellers, work clothes are our battle gear.

“Oh, also, could you call Aikawa-san too? At this point, I honestly feel like it’s better to let everyone know!”

“Huh? You want to call him here?” I don’t think he’ll be able to make it in time.

“I’ve caused trouble for everyone because of Nagi-san. I’d like Aikawa-san here to witness this too. Assuming he can come, of course. If he can’t, that’s okay!”

“Well, I guess it’s better to take care of everything in one fell swoop.”

And besides... I do feel sorry for Aikawa-san, but I think if we have him pretend to be Katsuragi-san’s boyfriend, Nagi-san might give up more easily. Me? Oh, no—I couldn’t do it myself. I haven’t got the looks for that, damn it...

I hastily gave him a call. He was quick to pick up the phone.

“Aikawa-san, sorry for the sudden call. Remember Nagi-san, that guy who showed up for one of the cleanup walks? He’s here again...”

“Huh? I thought he wasn’t from around here.”

After I explained the situation to him, he said he’d be coming over by himself as soon as possible—but if he didn’t make it, well, that was fine. “I’m on my way.” His voice sounded more reliable and reassuring than usual.

I went back to the house and opened the front door. “Katsuragi-san’s here.”

“Hey, what took you so long?” Yumoto-san interjected.

“Sorry, Tatsuki was having a hard time picking a spot to rest,” she explained, scratching her head.

“Oh? I guess that’s the way it goes.” Yumoto-san laughed.

Nagi-san stood up suddenly. “Miya-chan...!” His expression was that of a man who’d finally found a lover he’d been long apart from.

In contrast, Katsuragi-san’s expression more or less said, What’s with this weirdo? That’s a bit scary.

“Nagi-san? I heard you were here, but...why?”

“Oh, um, well... I got lost, and these kind people helped me out. They even treated me to a wonderful lunch...”

“Okay, but why did you come to this village? What about your job?”

Katsuragi-san sat down next to me. Nagi-san was on the other side—I was stuck in between them.

“Don’t worry, I have the day off today... I see you’re kind as always, Miya-chan.” His sweet, cloying tone gave me goose bumps.

God, what a creep.

Katsuragi-san pretended not to hear Nagi-san and turned her gaze to all the dishes on the table. “Ah, thank you for the food.”

“Eat up!” Old Man Yumoto replied.

She began to eat delicious vegetable tempura. After spending some time savoring her meal, she spoke to Nagi-san again. “So, for the second time, why did you come to this village?”

“Why, I, uh... I came looking for you...”

“And why are you looking for me? We have no reason to talk to each other anymore.”

Nagi-san scanned all the faces in the room—he appeared to be contemplating whether it was okay to talk about the situation here.

“Everyone in this room already knows about my circumstances. I still don’t understand why you came here, Nagi-san.”

Nagi-san cast his eyes downward. “I just...wanted to apologize...”

“For what?”

He let out a deep sigh. “After breaking up with you, he started dating another woman.”

“Oh? Good for him.”

“And then they moved in together, and...he got arrested again for hitting her.”

“He did, huh?” There wasn’t even the slightest hint of surprise on Katsuragi-san’s face.

“And so, I... We were good friends up until that point, but I finally realized what kind of person he is... I feel terrible about what I did to you, Miya-chan. Really, I’m so sorry for all the insensitive crap I told you back then.”

“You were quite insensitive indeed—telling me he’s a nice guy and I should give him another chance and all that. I couldn’t believe my ears. I accept your apology. Please just go away.”

Wow, she’s relentless. I was deeply impressed by her resolute poise.

But Nagi-san wasn’t finished. “Uh... That’s...not all...”

“Is there something else?”

“Miya-chan, I know I have no right to say this after everything I put you through, but... All that stuff I said defending him? I finally realized that was really just an excuse to talk to you.” He took a deep breath. “I’m in love with you, Miya-chan. I’m okay with a long-distance relationship too. Will you go out with me?”

He finally showed his true colors, but really... Couldn’t he have picked a better place? So standing up for her abuser was just a pretext to talk to her, huh? I’m afraid that backfired spectacularly.

Katsuragi-san sat in stunned silence for a moment before blurting out, “What...?” Her voice was cold as ice. “Absolutely not.”

Nagi-san’s face contorted in despair. Really? Really, really? You actually thought she’d say yes? Seriously? Pfft, come on.

“B-But... I’ve cut all ties with him. I came all the way here looking for you!” Nagi-san pressed.

It’s disturbing how you seem to think that entitles you to anything. Machiko-san was right about this guy being a huge pervert.

“That’s none of my business,” Katsuragi-san said. Then she grinned. “Oh, also, I have a big pet lizard. If someone wants to date me, they’d have to be okay with that.”

I guess she plans to use the dragon to scare him off.

“A-A big pet lizard?”

“That’s right. His name is Tatsuki, and he’s always with me. So you would need to be someone who can accept him.”

Nagi-san’s eyes lit up. “I-I can do that! No problem!”

Ah, poor sod. He has no idea what she means by “big.”

“He’s always with me—I need someone who can lift him up easily without breaking a sweat.”

Is there anyone who can do that? Back when Kimoto-san examined him, he said he must be at least seventy kilograms or so. And he didn’t get a chance to actually weigh him. Plus, Tatsuki-san’s scales are all sharp and pointy, aren’t they? If you tried holding him, you’d probably get stabbed all over...

“Bring it on! I’m sure I can lift him!”

“Really, are you sure? Okay then, have a go at it,” she said playfully. She had a bright expression on her face, but one look at her eyes was enough to tell she wasn’t amused—quite the opposite.

Scary...

Nagi-san seemed oblivious to that and was just waiting for Katsuragi-san to finish eating. She ate slowly and deliberately, savoring every bite. I had a hard time eating due to my nervousness, but I still managed to finish my meal. This tempura’s superb. It is, but...it’s impossible to enjoy my food with these two sitting next to me. Aikawa-san, where are youuuu?!

I really am like a damsel in distress. I looked over at Yumoto-san, and he was smirking mischievously. What is this? Someone help me.

“Ah, that was so good!” Katsuragi-san, finally satisfied, put down her chopsticks and joined her hands together.

“Time for mushroom hot pot,” Machiko-san said cheerily.

Katsuragi-san pondered for a moment but apparently decided to prioritize her goal. “I’ll go outside to introduce Nagi-san to Tatsuki. Could I ask you to wait a bit?”

“Oh, is that so? Okay, just let me know when you’re done.”

“Miya-chan, I don’t mind waiting—”

“No, I think it’s better to get these things done quickly. Or”—Nagi-san and Katsuragi-san were both smiling, but she suddenly went serious—“are you afraid of my lovely lizard?”

“O-Of course not... I can’t wait to meet him.”

Well, I, for one, am seriously afraid of you two. Aikawa-saaaan, pleeeeease! Where are you?! Sandwiched between the two of them, I despaired quietly. Gosh, I’m so pathetic.

“You too, Sano-san. You’re supposed to watch over me, remember?”

“Ah, right...” I felt terribly reluctant, to say the least, but there was something about Katsuragi-san today that made it almost impossible to disobey her. I resigned myself to my fate and stood up.

“Why is...Sano-san coming along...?” Nagi-san stared at me as if I were intruding on them. I know how you feel. Really, I do. But, see, I’m supposed to play the role of Katsuragi-san’s older brother.

“Why, who knows what might happen if my darling pet lizard isn’t too fond of you? Sano-san is coming with us to help if anything happens, of course!”

Wait, what? I didn’t know anything about this. Just so you know, I definitely can’t stop that dragon if push comes to shove. Really, I can’t!

Nagi-san turned pale in an instant. “M-Miya-chan...?”

“What is it?”

“I’m worried about you... K-Keeping such a dangerous lizard as a pet...”

His voice was trembling. Is he afraid of reptiles? Well, even if that’s not the case, that talk of needing someone to help “if anything happens” is not very encouraging, I guess.

“What? But mountain life requires dealing with much more dangerous creatures, you know? In fact, I’ll be having people come over to my mountain to check for bears.”

“B-Bears?!”

We’re in the mountains, you see. Probably safe to assume there must be bears deeper in the mountains. I just hope I never run into one.

“I also see a lot of murder hornet nests around.”

“Murder hornets?! That’s seriously dangerous!”

I stepped outside. The weather was nice today. Above us, the clouds in the autumn sky looked formless and indistinct.

“Yes, very dangerous indeed. There are a lot of bugs too. But...” Katsuragi-san turned to Nagi-san. “Compared to getting hit over and over, in your own apartment, by your boyfriend, for no reason, I feel much happier here.”

I was speechless. In her apartment—which was supposed to be her sanctuary—by her boyfriend—who was supposed to protect her from harm...

I should have never let Nagi-san get ahold of her, no matter what.

“M-Miya-chan...”

Soon enough, Katsuragi-san wiped the serious expression off her face and regained her smile. “Just kidding. Tatsuki always keeps me safe. That’s why I can’t accept someone who won’t accept him. Tatsuki, come here.”

The dragon slowly rose from the shade—a gigantic lizard, two and a half meters in length. Well, his tail’s pretty long, so he’s actually a lot slimmer than you’d think.

“Wha—?!” Nagi-san went pale. “A-A lizard?”

“Yep—though I think he could also be a Komodo dragon. Pretty big, don’t you think?”

“R-Right...”

“Tatsuki is quite clever too. Just the other day, he caught a deer.”

“A d-deer? And what did you do with it?”

It was clear that Nagi-san was deeply disturbed, but Katsuragi-san pretended not to notice. She continued in a nonchalant tone.

“He caught it alive, and we all ate it together.”

“What? You ate a deer?!” Wait, I don’t think that part is that weird. Nagi-san shook his head in disbelief. “How barbaric...” Hey, now, who are you calling barbarians?

“What do you mean by that? The deer population around here is so numerous that they’re considered pests.”

“I... I see... But still...”

“Deer is really tasty. I hope we get to eat it again. Right, Sano-san?”

“Right.” I was impressed at Katsuragi-san’s ability to stay unmoved.

“Nagi-san, please say hello to Tatsuki.”

“O-Okay...” By this point, even Nagi-san could tell there was something off about this whole situation. “You know, M-Miya-chan...”

“Yes? What is it?”

Just then, we heard the sound of a vehicle. I looked in the direction the sound had come from—it was Aikawa-san’s truck, driving into the property. The window opened.

“Ah, Sano— Uh... Miyako-san. Where should I park?”

At first, Aikawa-san was about to ask me, but he changed his mind and called out to Katsuragi-san instead.

“Right, let’s see...” Katsuragi-san looked around. Well, yeah, we’ve got more vehicles here than usual.

Suddenly, Nagi-san looked visibly relieved and said, “O-Oh, you—Miya-chan, uh... If you have such a handsome boyfriend, you could’ve just said so, ha ha! W-Well then, I’ll be on my way!” He stumbled toward his car, got in, and quickly started the engine. “I’m leaving, so feel free to park here! Miya-chan, goodbye and best wishes!”

“Okay, thanks...”

Nagi-san’s vehicle sped off as if he were fleeing from something.

What a guy...not in a good way.

The sound of the engine gradually faded into the distance. He didn’t forget anything here, right? I’m pretty sure he showed up empty-handed.

Aikawa-san seemed taken aback, but he soon regained himself and parked his truck. Yeah, yeah, I could have done the same, if only I had the looks for it...

“What was that?” Katsuragi-san blurted out. “I can’t believe I was cowering in fear of that. So silly.” She wore a radiant smile on her face as she muttered to herself.

I glanced over to the front door of Yumoto-san’s house...to find two faces peeking out. When our eyes met, they broke into a smile, then waved their hands and went back inside.

I think we’re finally done here.

Katsuragi-san asked her dragon to go back to his earlier resting spot—probably an apology of sorts for getting him involved in all of this. Tatsuki-san didn’t seem to mind at all, and he just plopped down in the shade of the house again. What a trusty partner.

Pochi and Yuma came running toward us, probably curious because we were all gathered. They circled around Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san, tilted their heads, then stopped as if to say, Why are you here?

Oh, that’s adorable.

“Aaaah, Yuma-chan, Pochi-san, you’re both so cute!” Katsuragi-san exclaimed. “I love these chickens.”

I’m glad she’s enjoying herself.

“But it’s too late to start raising chickens of my own,” she continued, still smiling. “They’d just become food for Tatsuki.”

I felt my face twitch. “Uh... Uh-huh.”

If I recall correctly, the first time Tatsuki-san met my chickens was here at Yumoto-san’s place... I imagine he doesn’t hunt outside of his turf, and we were all gathered here—that might have been why the chickens were safe. Well, they were already pretty big at the time. Yeah, we probably got lucky with the timing. Let’s just leave it at that.

“Er... Katsuragi-san. Sorry for calling you by your first name earlier.” Aikawa-san, standing a distance away, looked contrite.

“Oh, no, not at all. It was thanks to you that we were able to get rid of that creep. I’m very thankful, Aikawa-san.”

Yuma pecked at me lightly.

“Oh, it’s nothing. You can go play.”

The two chickens nodded and ran off in the direction of the fields. Just business as usual. Okay...back to reality.

“Looks like I happened to arrive at an opportune time,” said Aikawa-san.

“I think so. I just told Nagi-san about how I couldn’t be with someone who couldn’t accept Tatsuki.”

“Ah...” Aikawa-san stole a sideways glance at the dragon, then nodded to himself and smiled, though he seemed a bit astonished.

“U-Um, Aikawa-san!”

“Yes?”

“Well... If you could keep this a secret from your girlfriend... That’d be nice...”

“My girlfriend...? Ah...right. Sure, I won’t tell her about it.” He chuckled awkwardly.

Looks like it slipped his mind that Rin-san’s supposed to be his girlfriend. That was a close one.

“Thanks... And Sano-san, you can’t tell her either!”

“Okay.” I don’t think Rin-san would care at all even if we did tell her about what happened today, but... Wait, would she? I’m actually not sure.

“Heeey, you three! How long do you plan on staying out there? Hot pot’s ready!” Old Man Yumoto called out to us impatiently from the doorway.

“Okaaay!” we replied in unison and went back inside.

The mushroom hot pot was delectable. The nameko mushrooms were freakishly huge.

“I didn’t know they could grow this big.”

“If they grow too big, they lose the sliminess.”

True, the ones you find in supermarkets are on the smaller side, and they’re really slimy. These, on the other hand, are not that slimy. They’re pretty good, what with the flavor and chewy texture, but I don’t think I’ll try foraging them on my own anytime soon.

“Thank you for letting me join in,” Aikawa-san said gleefully.

“Aikawa-san, there’s rice too. Just tell me if you want more, okay?”

“Thank you very much.”

Machiko-san seemed very happy about his presence. Damn his good looks! Or...at least that’s what I’d like to say, but I’m well aware now that good looks bring their own set of troubles. Then again, my looks are also the reason I wasn’t able to fend off Nagi-san like he did. Ugh, it’s all over now, but it’s still so frustrating.

“I’m glad it all worked out in the end,” Machiko-san said.

“Yes, thanks to everyone’s help... Sorry for all the trouble.” Katsuragi-san was about to bow her head to us, but...

Old Man Yumoto stopped her. “Katsuragi-san, there’s no need for you to apologize. The only one who should be apologizing is that Nagi fellow. What a rude good-for-nothing—eating his fill and leaving without even saying goodbye!”

That is pretty rude, yeah.

“What was all that nonsense about? He came here to apologize? He actually liked you? Give me a break!” He slapped his knee loudly. “Next time he comes around, I’ll show him what’s what! Just leave him to me!”

Katsuragi-san clapped her hands. “Wow, that’s very reassuring! Thank you...”

I caught a glimpse of something glistening in the corner of her eye as she bowed her head, but I pretended not to see it.

This should put an end to the whole Nagi-san commotion. He ran away with his tail between his legs—probably won’t be coming back to this village. Katsuragi-san mentioned she’d also tell Yamanaka-san about it and also talk to her family back at home. That should be the end of it.

The wild vegetables were delicious, as was the mushroom hot pot, but somehow, I still felt like I hadn’t eaten much. I’m in no position to complain, though. I went to call Pochi and Yuma back, still feeling some indescribable unease bottling up inside me. We’d better get going soon, before it gets too dark.

Katsuragi-san came over to me. “Sano-san.”

“Katsuragi-san, about today...” I hadn’t been able to speak to her about it—I felt too pathetic about my behavior. However, Katsuragi-san turned to me and bowed deeply.

“Sano-san, thank you so much.”

“Huh...?”

“If you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to confront him. I would’ve just stayed cooped up on my mountain, crying and trembling in fear.”

“That’s...not...”

“Trust me, it is. I was only able to do something about it because I knew you were there for me. I’ll thank you properly another time!”

“Huh? Oh, no need to...thank me...”

“I won’t be satisfied until I do! Please let me show you my gratitude!”

I was knocked for a loop by her assertiveness. “Uh, okay...” I really am no match for her.

Pochi and Tama got in my truck, and Katsuragi-san’s dragon climbed into the bed of her truck.

“Next time, I’ll be the one to help you, Sano-san! I won’t lose to Aikawa-san!” she shouted, pointing her finger at Aikawa-san.

Now, now, it’s rude to point at people.

Aikawa-san pointed at himself, completely clueless about what was going on.

“See you later!”

Katsuragi-san, her face glowing in the light of the sunset, disappeared into the driver’s seat, and then her truck sped off. Aikawa-san and I looked at each other and laughed.

The evening sun was a bright, burning red. Let’s get home before night falls.

Extra Chapter: I Bought Some Dyed Chicks

Three days after moving to the mountains in late March, I went down to the village’s spring festival and bought myself three dyed chicks.

They were small and cute; they chirped and tweeted adorably. It was also cute how they would keep trying to get out of the cardboard box I’d prepared as a bed for them.

Well, basically, everything about them is cute.

It was still cold up in the mountains. I got one of those cage heaters people use for parrots and other birds and put it in their box. Even with that, I often woke to find the three of them huddled together. Still, the living room was the warmest place in the house, so I adjusted the temperature by covering the box with towels when needed. They’re still weak and frail—I have to take good care of them.

They ate and pooped properly. They would chirp loudly when they pooped. I guess they must be telling me to clean up? Okay, okay.

Cleaning their box was just a matter of changing the newspaper I’d lined it with. Taking care of the chicks took some effort, but their cuteness made everything worth it.

I touched their fluffy feathers and cracked a smile. It had only been two days since I’d bought them, but there was something about them that was bugging me—their tails.

I’d noticed that one of these chicks had a blackish, lizard-like tail protruding from her rear amid the yellow, fluffy feathers.

At first, I thought it was some dirt or something, and I tried to pick it off her—I ended up lifting her into the air.

“Oh, sorry!”

I put her back down in a hurry. She rose from her sitting position and started tweeting and pecking at me.

“Sorry, my bad. I didn’t think that was your actual tail!”

This was Tama, who would peck me often. She had a tinge of red on her head. After gratuitous pecking, Tama wagged her tail—it was still only around five centimeters long, but I already felt there was something odd about a tail like that on a chick.

And then, I looked at the other two: Pochi, whose head was painted blue, would often try to escape from the cardboard box, and Yuma, who had a green head, mostly stayed put inside the box and stared up at me—I noticed they also had these tails on them.

“Huh?” Are chicks supposed to have tails like that?

Well, all three of them do. I guess so, then? I decided not to think about it too hard. They’re still adorable.

I’d often catch Tama pecking at me or at other things, but she was small enough that it didn’t hurt at all. Will she keep doing this even after growing into a chicken? That could hurt. Can chickens be trained?

“Ah, Pochi. Come on, you gotta stay in there.”

Pochi looked adorable trying to escape from the cardboard box—he used his beak as a hook and lifted up his short legs. I grabbed him tenderly with both hands, brought him up to my face, and rubbed my nose against him. He tried to run away from me, which was also adorable, and I couldn’t help but keep doing it. This is just basic skinship, not harassment or anything.

Ahhh, it’s so nice and relaxing being around them.

I put Pochi back in the box, and he ran toward the opposite corner and tried to climb out once again. I was impressed by his tenacity.

I felt a gaze on me and glanced into the box to find Yuma staring up at me intently with her bright, round eyes.

“Yuma.”

It was irresistibly adorable how she nuzzled up against my hand when I picked her up. Gah, I can’t take this much cuteness.

“You’re so precious, Yuma.”

I brought her up toward my face and cuddled her—she reciprocated my cuddles.

After enjoying the soft, fluffy touch of her feathers for a while, I felt a different gaze upon me. At the other end of the box, Tama was glaring at me.

“Oh? Tama? What’s that? You want to cuddle too?”

I put Yuma down and reached for Tama, but she pecked my hand and ran away. Huh? Are you a tsundere or what?

It was fun to note how different their personalities were, even as baby chicks.

“Ah, Pochi!”

Pochi had managed to escape from the opposite corner of the box, but he had fallen on the floor, where he was floundering about. I’ve gotta catch him.

“Hey, Pochi! Stop right there!”

After using his tail to help himself up, he was surprisingly quick on his feet.

“Pochiii!”

He trotted across the living room with tiny, nimble steps. If he were a grown chicken, I don’t think I could catch him. I barely managed to catch him by the tail.

Pochi cried out in protest.

“Hey, it’s your fault for running away. What would you do if you fell down on the earthen floor there?”

That said, Pochi was very energetic, and I ended up letting him hang around on the earthen floor starting the next morning. Why does a chick have so much pep, anyway? I heard from the old man at the stall that he’d grow into a white leghorn—I hope he doesn’t actually turn out to be one of those breeds that grow way too big...

It took a lot of care to avoid stepping on him when I was on the earthen floor working.

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I feel like his tail has grown a bit longer.

“Pochi, easy with the exercise, okay...?”

He just ran across the earthen floor without a care.

On my fourth day with them, Tama picked up the habit of pecking at the glass front door. I doubt she’s strong enough to crack it, but I’m worried about what might happen when she’s bigger.

“Come on, Tama, don’t peck at it so much!”

I wonder what weather we’re having today.

I turned on the TV, and the chicks stopped in their tracks—it seemed they still hadn’t gotten used to the sound of the TV. They all cried out loudly the first time I turned it on with them around. It was a lot of work getting them to calm down.

The forecast said we’d be having clear weather. Up here in the mountains, I couldn’t rely on the forecast too much, but judging from the chance of rain in this area, we would probably have clear skies.

“A sunny day, huh...”

I glanced over at the chicks. Can I take them outside, or are they still too small for that? Well, I’m pretty sure chickens can be kept outdoors, at least. I’ll give it a shot. Should be all right as long as I’m with them.

I turned to Tama, who was still pecking at the door, and lifted her up. She was still small enough that it was easy to catch her. “I’ll open the door. Move away from there for a sec, okay?”

Tama chirped and pecked at my hand. Just one sec.

I threw the door open, and Pochi, who was still running all around the earthen floor, made a dash for it.

“Oooh...”

I heard the sound of his agile steps, and then a light thud.

It seemed he’d gotten his foot caught on the sliding door’s rail and was now lying face down on the ground outside.

“P-Pochiiiiii?!”

I hurriedly let Tama go and scooped him up with both hands. He’s not hurt, is he? I lightly brushed the dirt from his feathers and watched him closely. Soon enough, Pochi flipped around in my hand and raised his head. Whew, looks like he’s okay.

“Pochi, you gotta be more careful.”

I lifted Pochi up to my face and rubbed against him—he tried to escape from my embrace. Hey, it’s your fault for making me worry!

I helped him up and looked around me. Tama was nowhere to be seen, and Yuma was at my feet, staring up at me.

“Huh? Where’s Tama?”

Pochi bolted off nimbly across a patch of yard that didn’t have too much grass.

What a ball of energy.

I scooped Yuma up and let her outside. Tama was over near the fields, pecking at some grass. I felt warm and fuzzy inside seeing her wagging her small tail happily.

Looks like it’s okay to take chicks outside.

From that day onward, I started letting the chicks play outside on days with nice weather.

It was only later that I learned the truth: Chicks were not supposed to have lizard-like tails. I scratched my head in confusion.

What the heck is up with my chickens?

The end.

Afterword

Hello, this is Asagi.

It’s been three months since the first volume came out. Thank you to all the readers who bought it! You probably spotted it at a bookstore and were drawn in by the fluffy chickens flying around on the cover illustration. Also, a big thanks to all the readers who have been following the series since its web novel days.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to W-san, my editor, who approached me and asked me to start preparing the second volume; Shino-san, who once again provided adorable illustrations of the chickens; and everyone involved in the making and publishing of this book.

Of course, I’m also grateful to my family, who helped provide me with a good writing environment. I handed the first volume to my son, who dislikes reading—he finished it in a day and said, “When’s the next one coming out?”

I don’t think it had anything to do with his request, but as it happens, the second volume is coming out three months later. That’s very fast. Thank you.

There’s also a manga adaptation in the works! Hooray! Thank you for the reprint of the first volume as well.

I hope you will continue to follow the adventures of Sano-kun and his chickens!

Asagi