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

About six months ago, I bought myself a mountain far away from my hometown and moved to a house on the mountainside.

Due to some personal circumstances, my original plan had been to live out my days as a recluse in the wilderness. However, when I moved in late March, it was still chilly, and as the saying goes, the cold makes people weak. (Eh? You think I should speak for myself? Oh, shut up.)

Three days after moving, I went down to the village at the foot of my mountain and stopped by the general store. There, I learned that the village’s spring festival was happening that very day.

At one of the festival stalls, I bought three dyed chicks.

I thought they might help stave off the loneliness of my isolation, and I began to raise them. Not even a month later, they were already full-grown chickens.

Normally, chicks shouldn’t grow into adult chickens in only a month.

Mine did, though. They also developed scaly, dinosaur-like tails, which I only noticed after I started raising them. Also, chickens are not supposed to have teeth, but mine grew sharp, jagged ones inside their beaks. And also...

“Boar!”

“Boar!”

“Eat?”

They can...talk?!

Oh, and one more thing—my chickens prey on all kinds of snakes, and they even hunt wild boars! How do they take down such large prey, you might ask? Well, because they’ve gotten huge.

I’ve gotten used to all of this, though, and now I just write off their strangeness as “quirks.”

Anyhow, I’ve been living in the mountains with my chickens, but rural life is a lot of work, and there’s a lot that I can’t take care of by myself.

Soon after moving out here, I met the Yumotos, a couple from the village at the foot of the mountain. They’re friends with a relative of mine, and they’re always so kind to me. They even helped me out when I was buying the mountain.

Yumoto-san is retired but still very active—he took the initiative when I told him about how I was having trouble with murder hornets on my mountain. I worried that trying to exterminate the hornets would be dangerous and tried to get Machiko-san, his wife, to stop him, but that didn’t deter him.

Machiko-san is very kind and caring, plus her cooking is amazing.

I also got acquainted with my neighbors: On the mountain to the west of mine lives a handsome guy called Katsumi Aikawa-san, and to the east, Miyako Katsuragi-san, a cute girl who’s a bit younger than me.

Aikawa-san lives with two massive snakes, and their size is not the only unusual thing about them. One of them is a female—though her lower half is that of a normal snake, her upper half looks like a beautiful woman! It’s a form of mimicry. The first time I saw her, which was at night, I thought she must be an apparition or something. Aikawa-san’s other snake is a male, and he looks like a huge normal snake. Though maybe calling him “normal” is a bit of a stretch.

Aikawa-san moved to his mountain about three and a half years ago due to some personal circumstances. Those “circumstances” were basically solved not too long after I met him, but the trauma lingered, and he still has a hard time interacting with young women. He says he doesn’t mind, though, so I don’t concern myself with it either.

Katsuragi-san lives with a big lizard (more like a dragon if you ask me), and she came to the mountains about two and a half years ago. She had her own set of circumstances, which she was finally able to break free from on the last day of the extended holidays in September. Though I wasn’t able to help much, I’m glad she regained her smile.

I also got to know the Matsuyamas, a couple who run a chicken farm on the eastern side of the village, and Kimoto-san, a veterinarian who visits them regularly to do checkups. I had Kimoto-san administer vaccines to my own chickens.

Then there were Aikawa-san’s hunter buddies. My chickens hunted a wild boar while we were visiting one of them, which was a big surprise for everyone.

During the summer, I helped out with the village’s summer festival and enlisted Yumoto-san’s, Aikawa-san’s and Katsuragi-san’s help to organize litter cleanup walks—these were a big hit with the kids. Seems I’ve gotten pretty acclimated to the folks in the village.

Oh, and if you can believe it, my chickens were a big help with the cleanup walks. They’ve grown pretty big, but they’re still my adorable chickens. There’s Pochi, the rooster who’s afraid of vaccines but goes head-to-head with wild boars; Tama, the tsundere but considerate hen; and Yuma, the kind and affectionate hen who’s always by my side.

I have no idea just how big they’ll grow, but anyway, I’m enjoying my life in the mountains with my enormous, trusty chickens.

1. This Time It Was Deer

This story happened before the September holidays.

We’d recently held the after-party for the cleanup walks, and I’d gone to the chicken farm with Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san—Matsuyama-san had also been having problems with illegal dumping, and he wanted some advice.

We’d agreed to wait and see how things fared during the holidays. Though we wouldn’t be holding any events, we figured that Matsuyama-san might ask for help building torii gates.

Also, we’d discussed going over to Katsuragi-san’s mountain to look into the matter of hornet nests—she’d spotted a few hornet nest remains around the mountain, and we weren’t sure whether her dragon had eaten them or if this was a sign of a nearby bear. We were still waiting for her reply. Other than that, it was just the usual stuff: the eternal struggle against weeds, Pochi coming back home covered in dirt, Tama pecking me, Yuma comforting me.

I was enjoying a mouthwatering breakfast with Tama’s and Yuma’s freshly laid eggs when I got an SOS call from Katsuragi-san.

“S-S-S-S-Sano-san! P-P-Please help! T-T-T-Tatsuki’s—! Tatsuki—!”

“Wait, wait, wait, just calm down! What happened?”

I told her to take deep breaths and tried to make sense of what she was saying. Apparently, her dragon had hunted some deer—two of them. He’d dragged them to her house by their legs, and when she’d gone outside to see what all the commotion was, she’d found two live deer lying there.

“Wh-Wh-What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?!”

“So, the deer are still alive?”

“Yes! But it looks like they have leg injuries!”

“Deer are considered pests, right? So what do you want to do? Call a vet? Or eat them? First you need to decide that.” If it were me, I would’ve already called Yumoto-san and asked Akimoto-san to take care of them, but I suppose some people might feel bad for deer, what with how cute they look and all.

“I’d like to eat them, but...I...don’t know how to butcher them and stuff...”

Good choice. Oh yeah, she did say she’s seen Tatsuki-san hunt and eat deer before. She probably doesn’t mind venison, then.

“I’ll give Old Man Yumoto a call,” I assured her. “We’ll talk to you again later—just relax and don’t worry about it. Oh, and tell Tatsuki-san not to eat them.”

“Got it...”

Oh, I guess it’s not a good idea to eat the parts that the dragon already bit into. We can give him those bits after butchering them, I guess.

When I called Yumoto-san, he was enthusiastic about the idea. “What’s that? The dragon caught live deer? Two of them? All right, I’ll call Akimoto-chan! Hang on!”

I’m impressed he can be this lively early in the morning.

I then texted Katsuragi-san, who was probably waiting anxiously: “I talked to Yumoto-san. I’ll let you know what’s up once we work out the details.”

Now, you might think there’s no need to contact her so frequently and keep her updated on every single development. I’d agree if she were a man like Aikawa-san, but this is Katsuragi-san we’re talking about—she called for help because she was worried about having two wild deer lying in front of her house. Probably a good idea to placate her nerves as much as I can. (Wait, who am I making excuses to?)

“Yuma, I’m going to Katsuragi-san’s place later. Wanna come along?”

“Come along.”

“Okay. Just wait a little, then.”

I guess we can check for bears some other time.

Shortly after, I got a call from Yumoto-san. “Hey, I talked to Akimoto-chan,” he said. “I just need to go to Loud Mountain to pick them up, right?”

“That’s right. Is Akimoto-san going too?”

“Nah. If it’s just pickin’ ’em up, I can do it by myself.”

“I’m going too.”

“Got it. I’ll let you know when I leave.”

Yumoto-san and I would be on deer duty. I prepared everything I thought we might need—gloves, ropes, other bits and bobs—and waited for his call. I had Yuma tell the other two chickens we were going out. And of course, I also let Katsuragi-san know about our plans. She might need some preparations of her own.

Not an hour had passed before Yumoto-san called me again, and soon after, I drove over to Katsuragi-san’s. She was waiting for us, teary-eyed, by the wire fence at the foot of the mountain.

“Thank you so much...”

We all greeted each other, Yumoto-san and I drove inside the fence in our respective trucks, and she locked the gate again. Then we all drove up to her house.

Yumoto-san got out and surveyed the deer. “Oooh... Parent and child, eh? It’s okay to butcher and eat them, right?” Yumoto-san asked.

Katsuragi-san nodded. “Yes, I’d like to eat them with everyone.”

“All right. I’ll let Shohei know when we’re done. Should be by tomorrow evening or so. Then we’ll have the barbecue, and everyone can stay over.”

“Okay! Thank you very much!”

Unusually, the dragon was lying there next to his prey. Yumoto-san approached him.

“Um, Tatsuki-san, was it? You can have the innards, but we’ll need some time to butcher them. Come to my place tomorrow with Katsuragi-san, all right?”

The dragon narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded. Guess that’s a yes.

“Jeez, what’s up with these animals? So he can understand us, just like your chickens. They make other animals look stupid by comparison.”

“Ha ha ha...” I chuckled. “My chickens are quite something, but Tatsuki-san’s no slouch either...”

I helped Yumoto-san lash the deers’ legs together, and we loaded them onto the truck. I won’t lie—their big, round eyes did inspire some sympathy in me, but we had to do what we had to do.

“Thanks, Tatsuki-san. We’ve been having trouble with deer—too many of ’em around. Let me know if you catch any more.”

“Thank you very much,” said Katsuragi-san. “I really appreciate it.”

“Two deer to the butcher... We’ll see how much it’ll cost for everything—ask Akimoto tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Katsuragi-san replied.

Wait, what? I didn’t have to pay anything when my chickens caught those boars.

Yumoto-san looked at me and said, “I’ll call you later.”

He’ll probably explain what that was all about. Come to think of it, they didn’t ask me to pay, but it goes without saying that butchering is labor that you’d usually have to pay for. And I was just taking it for granted... Gah, I’m so dumb.

“We’ll be on our way, then. Will you be okay?” I asked Katsuragi-san.

“Yes, no problem!”

Yumoto-san and I left—Katsuragi-san would have to go down with us to lock the gate, so I thought it’d be easier for her if we took off together. After seeing that she’d locked the gate, we went on our way home.

“I’m so naive...” I don’t know how I would manage without all the help from everyone around me, not to mention my chickens.

A short while after I returned home, I got a call from Yumoto-san. I asked him how much it would cost to butcher an animal, and he promptly replied, “Between butchering the animal and dressing the meat, it should work out to around five thousand to ten thousand yen per animal.”

“Um... I didn’t pay anything, though...”

“Eh? It’s okay. I just wanted to eat some boar meat then.”

“But I also didn’t pay for the time my chickens caught one on Mutsu-san’s property.”

“What do you mean? Mutsu-san paid for it—it’s only natural, since it’s his property.”

“But then, doesn’t that mean I should’ve paid for the one they caught on my property?”

“Gah, enough! Don’t sweat the small stuff, okay?! We’ll just ask her to pay for the butchering this time. It should be about five thousand for the two of them.”

“What about dressing the meat?”

“We’re eating it at my place, so I’ll pay for that.”

I sighed. Old Man Yumoto’s a bit too generous with his money... “I’ll pay five thousand too. I was the one who asked for your help, after all.”

“What a pain...” he griped.

“Weren’t you the one who told me that when it comes to money, you have to do things properly?!”

“You guys don’t need to worry about that!”

“We do!”

We argued back and forth over the phone. In the end, we reached an agreement—from now on, when someone caught wild boars or other animals, that person would cover the cost of dealing with it, from butchering to dressing the meat. I think I’ll ask the chickens to go hunting for boars or something when we have the time. Though that feels a bit weird.

That night, I got another call from him saying that Akimoto-san was done butchering the deer and would be dressing them tomorrow. Yumoto-san told me to head to his place tomorrow evening. The innards were already set aside for Tatsuki-san—the MVP of our meal. Old Man Yumoto also said that Machiko-san would be calling Katsuragi-san, and he asked me to invite Aikawa-san as well.

I decided to text him. “Katsuragi-san’s big lizard caught some deer. We’re having a barbecue at Yumoto-san’s house tomorrow. Would you like to come? We’ll be staying the night.”

Aikawa-san replied almost instantly, saying he’d be joining us.

“Do you think there’ll be any meat left over? I’d like to buy some, if possible.”

“I’ll try asking.”

Right, I guess since he’s spending the night there, it makes sense to want to bring some meat for Rin-san and Ten-san as a gift—like how he did when we visited Mutsu-san.

I asked Yumoto-san about it, and he told me to talk to Katsuragi-san. It was her dragon who caught them, after all. She gave me the A-okay, so Yumoto-san said he’d set some of it aside and freeze it. I reported all this back to Aikawa-san.

Hey, wait a minute... Why did I have to do all the communicating? Couldn’t they just have talked it out among themselves? Ah, well—too late now.

I went to bed early, full of anticipation for tomorrow.

I’d be taking all three chickens with me tomorrow. Pochi’s and Tama’s eyes lit up when they heard the word “venison.” True carnivores, you two. I thought chickens were supposed to be omnivores, but it seemed mine had a particular liking for meat.

The next morning, Pochi and Tama were uncharacteristically restless. I told them we’d be leaving in the evening and they could go and play until then—they bolted off. Those two really get along well, huh? I guess they’re not worried because they know Yuma will go fetch them when the time comes. Though I’m still not sure how she’s always able to tell where they are.

Anyway... Deer, huh? I’d actually never eaten game meat before coming to the mountains, so I’m still not quite used to it. Apparently, unlike domesticated livestock like cows and pigs, it’s normal for each individual animal to have their own unique taste. That boar we ate at Mutsu-san’s place was tasty, but I found the meat a bit tough. To me, at least.

I was lost in thought as I mowed the grass. That turned out to be a bad idea...

“Oww?!”

I was wearing gloves, but they weren’t thick enough to protect my finger.

“Blood, bloooood!!!”

I put pressure on my finger to try and stop the bleeding, to no avail. I began to panic.

“Sano? Sano?” Yuma loitered around me, looking worried. Or rather, she seemed flustered. The sight of her helped me calm down a little.

First, I gotta do something about the bleeding. With my sickle still in hand, I went inside and looked for a rubber band that could help stanch the blood flow. I tied it around my finger until the blood congealed slightly and stopped gushing out, then washed the gash with water, bearing the stinging pain. My biggest worry was a tetanus infection—I’d gotten a vaccine before coming here, but it was best to be on the safe side. I tied and untied the rubber band several times until eventually, the bleeding stopped entirely.

I guess it’d be a good idea to see a doctor and have it properly stitched? Though with how little flesh there is, I’m not sure if you can stitch up a finger.

I put on a big Band-Aid I had lying around, and that seemed to do the trick.

Oh yeah, I think you’re supposed to elevate the wound above the heart to stop the bleeding, right? But holding my arm up like that seems tiring...

“Yuma.” I beckoned her over. She came over to my side, and I placed my hand on her. All right, above the heart.

“Ah...” But after losing this much blood, I won’t be able to drink tonight. The meat should actually help, but I’ll refrain from alcohol. This sucks...

The glove I’d been wearing when I’d cut myself was all torn up. But if it hadn’t been for the rubber grip, my injury would have probably been much worse. When I threw it out, I made sure to join my hands together and thank it for its service.

Despite the cut only being on one finger, it still hurt like hell—I felt like my entire left hand was out of commission.

“Can I...drive like this...?”

I glanced at Yuma. “Well, I doubt you can drive...” Duh, obviously. Still, I can’t just sit tonight out either... I decided to give Yumoto-san a call and told him about how I’d cut my finger badly and didn’t know what to do.

He groaned over the phone. “Sounds rough. You’re coming with all three chickens, right?”

“Uh, I...intend to...”

And besides, how am I supposed to tell the chickens we’re not going? With how much they were looking forward to eating venison, they could very well decide to eat me instead.

“I’m actually pretty busy today... Ah, right, how about asking that Aikawa-kun for a ride?”

“I’ll give it a try...”

And if that doesn’t work, oh well—we’ll just have to sit it out this time. Although my dominant hand was fine, I didn’t want to risk driving a truck one-handed—especially not up in the mountains. We might get there no problem, but what if I’m not able to drive home? I think I’ve gotten more used to it, but I’m still not very good at driving a stick-shift truck.

And then, on the phone with Aikawa-san...

“Eh? You cut your finger? That’s serious!”

It was serious, apparently.

“I’ll drive you there and back home, then! Pochi-san, Tama-san, and Yuma-san too. That’ll put one of them in the passenger seat, and then you would have to ride in the tonneau... Ah, but that could be bad for your injury...”

“I’m fine with that.”

Aikawa-san had removed the actual passenger seat so that Rin-san could ride beside him—Pochi could sit there too.

“In that case, I’ll put some cushions in the tonneau! But first, did you already go to the hospital? Of course you did, right?!”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll take you!”

“What? No, I’m good...”

“But what if something happens?! You could get tetanus...”

“I’m vaccinated.”

“You could get sepsis or cellulitis too! You should definitely go to the hospital and get some antibiotics at least!”

His tone was assertive and final. Sepsis? I’ve heard of that—some infection that can cause organ failure? Yikes.

Aikawa-san said he would be at my mountain as soon as possible. I waited for him with Yuma. This really did get serious.

I asked Yuma to tell the other two that we’d still be leaving in the evening, but in the meantime I would go to the hospital. After around an hour, Aikawa-san showed up. I wondered how he’d gotten past the gate at the bottom—it turned out he’d borrowed Yumoto-san’s spare key. Yumoto-san had met up with him nearby to save him some time.

I really couldn’t thank them enough. And Aikawa-san had even put the passenger seat back in. Actually, I was kind of looking forward to riding in the truck bed...

He took me to the village’s clinic right away.

“Thank you,” I said along the way.

“Don’t mention it, Sano-san. You’re always helping me out.”

This was my first time seeing the village doctor, who was younger than I’d imagined.

“Whoa... You cut yourself up pretty badly, eh?”

“Yeah...” I’d rather you not touch—it hurts.

Aikawa-san was accompanying me with a stern expression, so I didn’t want to complain and embarrass myself. My cut was disinfected and sewn up. Three stitches—they hurt pretty bad.

“Refrain from drinking alcohol for now, okay? Also, these stitches will dissolve on their own, so there’s no need to come back to have them removed. Do you need some antibiotics? Painkillers? Stomach medicine?”

Dissolving stitches, huh? That’s convenient.

“Yes, please—all of the above.”

“Sure thing. Come back if you feel anything unusual. Okay, that’s about it.”

“Thank you very much.”

Well, that hurt quite a lot, and I don’t just mean my finger. My poor wallet... I bought medicine at the drugstore next door and got back in Aikawa-san’s truck. Did my insurance cover this? I’ll have to check when I get home.

“Let’s buy something to eat on the way back,” Aikawa-san suggested. “The bento shop should be open at this time.”

“Oh? I didn’t know there was a bento shop here.”

“Yup, there is.” He gave me a relieved smile.

Apparently, you had to make a reservation to get a bento, but depending on the time of day, you might be able to buy one without calling ahead. The shop looked like a regular house, and it was run by an elderly retired man who was passionate about cooking.

“Hello there. Do you have any bento left?”

“Welcome. We sure do. On today’s menu we have a fried chicken bento and a fried whitefish bento.”

An old lady came out to greet us. Apparently, they put the food in the bento boxes after getting an order, and anything left at the end of the day ended up as a side dish for their dinner. A very rational system. I was feeling pretty hungry, and we ended up buying three bento—two chicken and one fish—to eat together at my place.

“Aikawa-san, you aren’t going back to your mountain before we leave for Yumoto-san’s place?”

“Nah, it’s all right. I’ve already talked to Rin and Ten about it.”

“I see. Sorry for the trouble.”

“I’ll pop home tomorrow after dropping you off, but after that, I’ll be back here to spend some time taking care of you. About a week or so...”

“Eh?! Wait a minute... I can’t ask you to do that much for me.”

“With one hand incapacitated, even bathing will probably be an ordeal for you.”

“Uh... Uh-huh...” Still, a whole week seems like too much. “Can we talk about this later?”

“Sure. I don’t think it’s really sunk in for you yet,” he replied with a smile.

Yuma, who’d been waiting for our return, wore a concerned expression. Sorry for making you worry. She trotted up to me, and I hugged her warmly. But perhaps because of the angle or something, her feathers just so happened to prick my hand.

“Gaaaaaah!!!”

Yuma made a funny noise and jumped up in surprise. Normally I would’ve laughed at her animated reaction, but due to my hand injury, it was no laughing matter.

“S-Sorry... I-I’m fine...”

I can’t even hug Yuma? What kind of cruel torture is this? I feel like crying...

Being unable to use one of your hands was a lot more inconvenient than I’d imagined—I also learned that hands were a body part we often unconsciously bumped into all sorts of things. In the short time before we left, I bumped my injured hand into a bunch of different stuff, crying out in pain each time. And every time, Yuma would jump up. I’m really sorry.

“The bleeding was pretty bad, huh? Did you disinfect it properly?” Aikawa-san asked nonchalantly.

“Oh? I just washed it with water.”

As soon as those words were out of my mouth, he grinned, but the intense look in his eyes didn’t match his smile. Uh-oh.

“Sano-san, the water here is from the nearby river, right?”

It was. More precisely, it was drawn from the spring.

“Ah...”

“What were you thinking, using water without chlorine to rinse out a wound?! I could understand if you at least boiled it beforehand, but you didn’t even do that, did you?!”

“I didn’t! I’m sorry!”

Aikawa-san was furious. He’s right—I was just thinking of it as regular tap water. At the very least, I should’ve sprayed the cut with disinfectant after washing it. Did I have any at home?

“Well, I do have some kumquats...” I murmured.

This seemed to incense Aikawa-san even further. “Do you think you can treat a cut with kumquats?”

“Huh? I mean, I remember grandma saying that back in the day they used kumquats to cure everything...”

Aikawa-san sighed deeply. “Kumquats are not some miracle medicine, you know. You should at least read up on what they work for! Do you have a medicine chest?”

“Afraid not.” And I’d only bought the kumquats because I’d been told to.

Aikawa-san let out another exaggerated sigh. “Just show me all the medicine-related stuff you have...”

I showed him some stuff I had in a box. Band-Aids, but no bandages.

Aikawa-san seemed even more distressed. “Sano-san, have you heard of something called ‘okigusuri’?”

“Hmm? What’s that?”

“It’s a system where a salesperson comes to your home and gives you a medicine box to keep at home, and you pay later for any medicine used. There aren’t any drugstores nearby, so I think it could be a good choice for you.”

“Oh, that. I’ve heard it’s a tradition in Toyama prefecture, right?”

“Yeah, that. However, it’ll be difficult to convince a salesperson to come all the way to your mountain. If Yumoto-san is fine with it, you could decide on a set day and go to his house to pay for what you used, exchange any medicine past the expiration date, and so on.”

Interesting... He makes a good point—it’s definitely prudent to have medicine for colds, stomach pains, and things like that at home. Up here in the mountains, if you fall sick and can’t go get help, it’s over. Having medicine at home would make a big difference.

“So, do you have that at home?” I inquired.

“I should, really, but...you know. Since we’re up in the mountains and all...” He scratched his head. Aikawa-san had some acquaintances in the village, but it wasn’t as if he interacted with them on a regular basis—it was probably hard for him to ask for help with that.

“Why don’t we try asking Yumoto-san together?” I suggested.

I didn’t have a medicine box myself, but I did remember seeing one at a friend’s house in the past. He showed me the box with all sorts of medicine inside, and then we played with the paper balloons that came with the box as freebies. Good times.

“I wonder what Katsuragi-san is doing about medicine...”

She’s doing pretty well for herself, I think. I messaged her asking about it. It turned out that she’d already done exactly what Aikawa-san had suggested—she was notified whenever the salesperson came to the village, and she took her box to her friend Yamanaka-san’s house.

“You didn’t think of that before?” she asked.

“No, not really.”

“Why are men so terrible at looking after themselves?”

Sadly, I couldn’t argue with that—especially not now, with my finger injury. Aikawa-san helped me prepare everything I needed to spend the night away, and in the evening, he helped the chickens into his tonneau.

“Weren’t they heavy?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure Rin weighs more than the three of them put together.”

Fair enough. Birds are often lighter than they look, probably because their bodies are made for flight. I mean, other than, like, ostriches. Why did ostriches end up like that, anyway? I guess just because they’re birds doesn’t mean they need to be able to fly.

“Ah, we should bring something with us...”

That had slipped our minds. We looked at each other. Meat is probably not a good choice—there’s already enough venison. Well, I suppose we can just ask.

I called Old Man Yumoto. “Yumoto-san, is there anything you need? Like meat or something?”

“Ah, Shohei—nah, no need for any of that. Matsuyama’s coming too.”

Oh. If Matsuyama-san from the chicken farm is coming too, he’s probably bringing some chicken meat already.

“I got Aikawa-san to give me a ride. We’ll be there pretty soon.”

“You guys take care, okay?”

We’d both been panicking and had forgotten to report to Old Man Yumoto up until now.

Though he’d said not to bring anything, on our way, we stopped by the general store and bought some rice crackers.

Yeah, boring choice. Oh well—if they don’t want them, we can just eat them at home.

2. I Made It to the Party

We arrived at the Yumotos. It seemed Katsuragi-san was already here, and some other vehicles were also parked. I’m guessing Yamanaka-san, Akimoto-san, and the Matsuyamas are here too.

“Hello, sorry we’re late,” I called out as I slid the glass front door open. Everyone suddenly turned in our direction, which was kind of freaky.

“Uh, um...”

“Sano-san, your hand! What about your hand? Are you okay? Let me see!”

“Aaaah! Ouch! That hurts! Stop it!”

Katsuragi-san came over to me with an intense expression and grabbed my hand—the injured one. Does she have a grudge against me or what?

She seemed startled by my anguished scream, let go of my hand, and bowed profusely. “I’m so, so, so sorry!”

“All right... Just...watch out, okay?”

Regrettably, as a result of Katsuragi-san’s reckless behavior, some blood had oozed out from my wound. Glad I got stitches. Yay! (Don’t get excited, idiot—you still messed up.)

“So this is why you were asking about medicine.”

“Yeah, pretty much...”

I averted my gaze—I didn’t want to linger too long on this topic and embarrass myself.

Aikawa-san had helped the chickens out of the truck, and they’d already run off to the lawn. And then, without saying a word, he also changed my Band-Aid. Thanks so much.

“Still, I’m glad...that you still have your finger.” Katsuragi-san murmured, apparently having imagined the worst. Wait a minute! If I’d lost my finger, there’s no way I would’ve come here tonight. I would’ve gone straight to the hospital.

“Oh, Miya-chan, you’re such a worrywart. Do you like Sano-kun that much?” Yamanaka-san teased her. Probably an attempt to lighten the mood, since Katsuragi-san had gone pale at the sight of my finger.

However, that backfired spectacularly.

Katsuragi-san started tearing up but then put on a determined expression.

Ah, I’ve got a bad feeling about this...

“Sano-san, I’ll look after you!”

“Huh...?”

“I’ll stay at your place and take care of you until your finger heals!”

The men all cheered at us. Oh, come on—give me a break.

“Girls shouldn’t say that sort of thing. I’ll be all right, really,” I admonished her with a strained smile.

The cheering turned to booing. Listen, you’ve got the wrong idea here!

“But—”

“Don’t worry, Katsuragi-san,” Aikawa-san interjected. “I’ll be there to take care of Sano-san,”

Hey, don’t butt in!

“Have we got a love triangle here?”

Yamanaka-san! Not you too... Please stop. I’m getting goose bumps.

Katsuragi-san blushed.

Wait, why?!

“I’ll leave it to you, then, Aikawa-san! If any unexpected costs arise, let me know, and I’ll cover them!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Aikawa-san replied with a smile.

What about my opinion? The onlookers soon dispersed amid groans of disappointment. What were you expecting? Why are you disappointed?

My hand hurts. I wanna go home. But I’m in for a good pecking if I go home before the chickens get to eat venison, aren’t I? A pecking or worse... Much worse...

The preparations for the barbecue were mostly finished, and we all moved to the room with the tatami floor that faced the garden.

“Hey, Shohei. You had it pretty rough, huh?” asked Old Man Yumoto.

“Yeah...”

“You know, alcohol is the best disinfectant there is! Drink up!”

“I can’t. I’m taking medicine.”

“Oh, okay. Make sure to eat your fill of meat, then!”

I’m glad Yumoto-san gave up so easily. “All right.”

The men were absentmindedly watching over the kids. Machiko-san and Katsuragi-san started grilling the deer and chicken meat—they weren’t chatting much.

The innards all went to Tatsuki-san, and my chickens got some of the meat, plus some vegetable scraps. I feel terrible not being able to help with anything...

“Hey, let’s at least toast together,” Yumoto-san said.

“All right.”

We all held out our drinks and waited for Yumoto-san to make a toast. Everyone’s already started drinking, but let’s not sweat the small stuff.

“Tonight’s deer meat was provided by Katsuragi-san from Loud Mountain. Akimoto-chan took care of the butchering and dressing. And Matsuyama brought us some chicken meat from his farm. A toast to them and to all of us gathered here tonight!”

“Cheeeers!” Everyone bowed to Katsuragi-san, Akimoto-san, and Matsuyama-san, then toasted. I was drinking orange juice. This is pretty good.

The rest of the guests had all brought vegetables and beverages. I decided to come by on another day and bring Yumoto-san a case of beer as a gift. During the dinner, I did nothing but eat the meat and vegetables that were brought to me.

As a student, I went to a few barbecues back in the day, but they were hectic affairs where everyone had to do something—unlike these barbecues here in the countryside, where there’s a nice division of roles. The men are charged with carrying all the equipment and other heavy stuff, and the women take care of most of the cooking. Whoever is free looks after the children. This time around, I’m just eating, but Aikawa-san will be helping with the cleanup later.

“I’m pretty useless, huh...?” I muttered. I’m just deadweight.

“What’re you talking about?” asked Yumoto-san. “You mediated things with Katsuragi-san, didn’t you, Shohei? Sure, we might’ve arranged most of it, but it was you who she turned to when she needed help. And thanks to that, we got to have this barbecue! You weren’t useless at all.”

Aikawa-san nodded in agreement. “That’s right. I’m also only here because you invited me. But you should be more careful not to get hurt.”

I must be such a pain to deal with.

“Sano-san, are you eating?” Katsuragi-san brought forth a plate stacked with meat.

“Yeah, I am. Thanks. Venison doesn’t have much of a gamy flavor, huh? Pretty tasty.”

“I agree. The flavor is not as strong as beef. I’ll bring you some vegetables too!” Katsuragi-san went back to the kitchen.

I could feel some meaningful stares on me. Look, I already said it’s not like that. She’s like my clumsy younger sister, and... Ugh, here I am again, making excuses to no one in particular.

Yuma came trotting over. Huh, I wonder what’s up. Her beak was dirty, so I wiped it with a wet towel. “What’s up, Yuma? Still hungry?”

I glanced over at the chickens—there was still plenty of food left for them, but it seemed they’d already eaten all the meat.

Yuma cuddled up to me and then returned to the other two. What was up with that? Was she itchy or something?

“Was that her way of asking for more meat?” Yumoto-san asked.

“Could be.”

He asked Machiko-san to bring them some more meat. Sorry, and thanks.

Yuma came again while I was eating. “Come on, I think you’ve had enough.” I said with a smile. She snuggled up to me and returned once more.

I guess that was her way of saying thanks.

“The chickens are very cute...” Aikawa-san muttered.

Yup, my chickens are the cutest in the world, no mistake about it!

***

The Yumotos’ bath was quite large. I’d figured it wouldn’t be a problem to skip one day, but they insisted, so I was now in the bath with Aikawa-san. Since he’d be taking care of me starting today, they let him off the hook for post-barbecue cleanup. I felt a little sorry about that.

I did tell him I could bathe on my own, but with the plastic bag I’d wrapped around my hand to keep the wound dry, I couldn’t wash my hair. It’s just a single finger, but it’s actually kind of a big deal. So, although I could take care of my body, I needed Aikawa-san’s help to wash my hair.

(Now, you may be thinking I could just go a day without washing my hair, and I agree, but between all the sweat I’d worked up today and the smoke from the barbecue—yeah, I didn’t help grill anything, but you see, the wind happened to be blowing in my direction—my hair was pretty dirty, and I didn’t really have a choice.)

“Please tell me if your scalp feels itchy, okay?” Aikawa-san said, imitating a hairdresser.

“Okay,” I replied, playing the part of a customer.

Two grown men playing pretend... I’m glad no one’s around to listen.

“Ahhh... I feel refreshed. Thanks.” I sank down into the water, enjoying my soak in the bathtub.

I ate to my heart’s content, my finger still hurts but not that much, and my hair feels clean and refreshed. Ah, I feel great.

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad I could be of help.”

And this is also part of the reason he’s so popular with the ladies.

“By the way, you were talking to Katsuragi-san earlier without any issues, weren’t you?” I asked.

“Huh? Was I?”

It was when she’d proclaimed that she would take care of me. It looked like he hadn’t even realized.

“Hmm... Well, it’s a mental thing, after all. Maybe I can talk to them normally if I don’t think of them as young women.”

That seems pretty questionable too. But, if you avoid thinking of them as young women, doesn’t that mean you won’t be able to hold romantic feelings for them? Not that it’s any of my business. I don’t want to butt in and get on Rin-san’s bad side. If she coiled herself around me, I’d end up dead and with every bone in my body broken. Yikes...

After getting out of the bath, I talked to Yumoto-san and the others briefly, then checked on the chickens and went to bed. The chickens were already on the earthen floor, curled up into big balls of fluff—they looked like round mochi.

In the large tatami floor room, Aikawa-san kindly laid out my futon for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever, ever be able to make things even between us...

The next morning...

“Aaaaah!”

If there was one thing I’d learned from this ordeal, it was that I used my left hand much more than I thought. When I woke up, I put my hands on the floor to get up, like I always did, before being stopped in my tracks and paralyzed by overwhelming pain.

Oh god, this seriously hurts like hell. I’d gotten the wound stitched, so it shouldn’t take too long to heal, but it still hurt like crazy. Ouch.

I was at least able to keep from crying out loudly in anguish. Matsuyama-san and Akimoto-san were still fast asleep and snoring loudly. They went pretty heavy on the drinks yesterday. Aikawa-san was nowhere to be seen, though I could see that he had folded his futon neatly in his usual manner. I wonder if I can fold mine by myself...

Just then, Katsuragi-san walked into the room. “Good morning, Sano-san. I see you’re up already.”

“Morning. Yeah, I just got up.”

“Come eat when you’re dressed. Breakfast is ready.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Getting dressed was a bit of work. Well, yeah—yesterday I had Aikawa-san undress me. He was so efficient that I didn’t really think anything of it, but I really should avoid depending on him too much. Speak of the devil...

“Good morning. Where are your clothes?”

“Good morning. Huh?” It seemed he intended to help me get changed. I had to decline—I didn’t want to rely on him that much, and besides, I didn’t want other people to catch me in such an embarrassing situation. Even if there aren’t any ulterior motives at play...

After I got changed with some effort, he folded my futon for me. Just how much are you going to spoil me? Really, how much?

“Let’s go.”

“Thanks for the futon.”

“Don’t mention it.”

I felt like I might quickly give in to sloth if I started letting Aikawa-san take care of everything for me, and that prospect scared me.

“Good morning.”

“Hey, Shohei. How’s the hand?”

“It’s still here, see?”

“Finger, I mean finger.”

“It hurts.”

I’m glad I still have my hand. Yumoto-san was already awake, despite having had a lot to drink last night.

Today’s breakfast menu was the usual plum chazuke. I hadn’t drunk a drop of alcohol myself, but I had eaten a lot of meat, so I still appreciated the refreshing flavor.

I really gotta work on making pickled plums at home too so I can always have a stock of them. A stock of chazuke seasoning would also be nice, although that’s optional. All you really need to do is brew some green tea. Speaking of which, I’ve heard some people like to cook rice using roasted green tea. I’ll have to try that sometime.

“It’s nothing special—just the same as usual. If it’s not enough, I can make some onigiri too,” Machiko-san offered.

“Don’t worry. Thank you,” Katsuragi-san replied cheerfully. I was sitting between her and Aikawa-san. Just like our mountains.

“Shohei,” Old Man Yumoto called out to me.

“Yes?”

“If you feel anything weird, anything at all, make sure you go to the hospital, got it?”

“Okay, got it.”

I guess he must also be worried about tetanus and all that. Thank god for vaccines. I saw in the news that nowadays, there are vaccines you can get as a baby—as young as two months old. I think it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to prevent so many diseases like that.

I hadn’t gotten to drink any alcohol, but that was not the case for Aikawa-san. Because of this, we didn’t end up leaving until well after noon.

Aikawa-san would be staying over at my place for a while. I need to figure out some way to repay his kindness...

3. In the Care of My Neighbor from West Mountain

The chickens understood that I was injured, and even after we were back on my mountain, they seemed reluctant to go out and play like they usually did. I could have told them to carry on as usual, but then again, if they came back home covered in dirt from running around the mountain, I wouldn’t be able to clean them up. And I can’t just ask Aikawa-san to do that...

However, he seemed to notice that I had something on my mind. “Hmm? Is something the matter?” He turned and called out to the chickens. “I’ll be taking care of you today, so feel free to ask me anything!”

Pochi took a step forward. “Play.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Aikawa-san replied.

“Wash.”

Aikawa-san pondered for a moment.

“Um... Whenever they go patrol the mountain, they always come back all dirty,” I explained. “I wash them every time before letting them inside...”

“I see. All right, don’t worry about it—I’ll clean them off when they come back.”

Pochi and Tama stared up at him.

“Okay.”

“Aikawa, nice guy.”

After those rather brazen replies, they bolted away.

I suppose they were also being considerate in their own way. They’re such good chickens! (Yeah, I’m a doting owner, so what?)

“Thanks, and sorry for the trouble. They need to get enough exercise, you see, or else they’re really noisy at night...”

“Ah, right,” Aikawa-san nodded. “I remember you mentioning that. It’s definitely important for them to release pent-up energy. The same goes for kids...” He gazed off into the distance, as if he’d remembered something. “I’ll spend the night here, but I’ll need to pop home briefly tomorrow, just to check on things.”

“Of course—no problem at all. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better tomorrow too.”

“Still, I’ll stay around to help you out for a week. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.” He had a smile on his face, but his expression remained serious.

Yikes, he definitely doesn’t trust me... Sorry for my clumsiness.

“Yuma-san, feel free to go play with the others too,” he suggested.

“Stay.”

Guess Yuma’s sticking by me. What an angel.

Aikawa-san chuckled. “Seems like all three of us mountain owners have pets that fit our needs. The pets themselves are very clever too...”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“All right, I’ll go harvest those vegetables now.”

“Ah, right! Sorry!”

I couldn’t help much, but I did at least tell him where the necessary tools were. My vegetables were overgrown, and I was grateful that Aikawa-san had offered to harvest them for me.

Cucumber season should be over soon. Might be time to pull them out. I mean, wait, it’s already mid-September. Definitely gotta pull them out. I also need to pull out the komatsuna to level the ridges and sow the seeds...

“Aikawa-san, how are your autumn crops coming along?”

“Huh? Oh, I just wing it. Leafy vegetables, mainly. I also plant some other things, like turnips and Broccolini.”

“Broccolini?”

“Kind of like broccoli but with a longer stalk.”

“Sounds tasty.”

“They’re easy to work into all kinds of dishes.”

Sounds like he’s planting a nice variety. He knows a lot... I mean, he does have three years on me when it comes to mountain life. He also got rid of the abandoned buildings around his house and expanded his fields.

“Don’t you need to tend to your own crops too?” I asked.

“In this weather, it shouldn’t be much of a problem to leave them unattended for two or three days. Plus, Rin waters them,” he said cheerfully.

“But Rin-san doesn’t eat vegetables, right?”

“Right—she’s a carnivore. She does seem to enjoy watering plants, though.”

“I see. How nice...” Must be a dreamy sight—a pretty lady watering the crops... Well, uh, it’s dreamy except for the fact that her lower half looks like a snake. And a huge one, at that. Pretty surreal.

“You can’t have her,” Aikawa-san said pointedly.

“I’ve already got way too much on my hands with the chickens!” What, did I really look that covetous?

Aikawa-san giggled—it seemed he was just making fun of me.

I was glad to see that Aikawa-san and Rin-san cared deeply for each other. They’ve got each other’s backs, even if there’s no romance there. I guess me and my chickens are like that too... Though I do sort of get the feeling they don’t think of me as their owner.

“Ah, that’s right!” Aikawa-san suddenly blurted out as he carried the vegetables. “I got some venison! But I need to get it back to my mountain!”

“Aaaah! Go, go, go!”

“I’ll hurry back home to drop it off! And I’ll wash the chickens when I get back!”

Whew, that’s almost a one-hour round trip.

“U-Um... If it gets too dark to drive, you don’t have to force yourself to come back.”

“What are you saying?! I’ll be quick!”

He scolded me again. This guy’s got a lot of vitality.

“Yuma-san, I have to head out for a bit, but I’ll be back soon. Please keep an eye on Sano-san while I’m away.”

“Okay.” She looked adorable when she cocked her head...despite her huge size.

Aikawa-san wasn’t gone long. He was back before dark, exactly as he’d promised. Impressive.

Pochi and Tama came home after the sun had sunk below the western horizon. They weren’t the dirtiest they’ve ever been, but it was still enough to give Aikawa-san a hard time—after all, he wasn’t used to it.

I’m really sorry, but I appreciate it.

Something else had been on my mind. What about Yuma’s daily bath? We bathe together, and I wash and dry her every night.

After Aikawa-san made dinner and we finished eating, I noticed Yuma was acting all fidgety. What now?

Aikawa-san noticed that we were both sorta twitchy.

Ah, sorry, sorry...

But then, his expression brightened. “Oh, right, Yuma-san bathes with you, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah...”

“Yuma-san, could I ask you to make do with normal chicken baths until Sano-san’s finger heals?”

“Okay...” She was visibly dejected, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much we could do.

Yep, that’s one good reason not to get hurt. I’m also sad that I can’t bathe with Yuma. And I can’t just ask Aikawa-san to bathe with her either.

“Or...” Aikawa-san continued. “How about bathing with me?”

“No way.”

Yuma’s reply came faster than a heartbeat. That’s so cute! She won’t bathe with anyone but me! Yuma, wait for me! I’ll get over this injury as soon as possible!!!

My bath wasn’t that large, so I just had Aikawa-san help me wash my hair. Thanks a bunch.

Since I hadn’t expected anyone to stay over, I had only hung out my own futon to dry. The other futons I had seemed a bit damp, so the two of us ended up sharing mine. Needless to say, there wasn’t anything weird going on... Seriously! I mean it!

Before we went to sleep, he asked me what my morning routine was like, and I replied that I prepared the chickens’ breakfast. That was probably why the next morning, as I still felt a little groggy, I heard him call out to me with a smile.

“Good morning, Sano-san. Breakfast’s ready.”

He’d prepared a classic Japanese breakfast: rice, miso soup, pickles, bacon and eggs, natto, boiled komatsuna, and a stew made with some kiriboshi daikon (dried, shredded daikon radish).

“Good morning. Thanks... Aikawa-san, you’d make a great wife, huh?” I said nonchalantly.

“Well then, if I end up a spinster, I hope you’ll take responsibility.”

Is someone in their thirties old enough to be called a “spinster”? Aikawa-san is, like, thirty-one or thirty-two, right? Nowadays, you’d probably be in serious trouble if you dared to call a woman in her thirties a “spinster.”

“I’m sorry... That remark was out of place. Please let me off the hook,” I apologized, bowing deeply enough to hit my head on the table. I may have no intention of finding a girlfriend, and I think my prospects for marriage are extremely slim, but I still have zero interest in other men.

“Why so serious, Sano-san? I’m just kidding.”

Even then, my hair was standing on end without any sign of flattening, and goose bumps were prickling all over my skin.

“Let’s eat.” We joined our hands together at the table. Aikawa-san had used Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs as ingredients. He’s looking after me and my chickens—it’s only fair that he gets to eat their eggs.

The chickens were over on the earthen floor, quietly nibbling on vegetables. All things considered, it was a pretty calm and peaceful morning, except for my finger injury.

“Sano-san, any plans for today?”

“Not really. I’ll go shopping if there’s anything we’re running low on, but other than that, just the usual stuff—checking around the house, checking the crops and the river, and oh, the roads too. The cemetery up there... I can leave that for after my finger heals. Forget about that.”

“I see. Well, let’s just do what we can. I’ll go back home briefly after lunch. Could I ask you to lend me a bucket? I’d like to catch some crayfish to bring home.”

“Sure. And you can ask the chickens for help. They’re pretty good at that.”

“That’s great to hear.”

I wonder if there are still a lot of crayfish left. It’s scary how they never seem to go away no matter how many we catch. I expect there should at least be fewer of them next year, considering we’ve caught so many this year.

I opened the glass front door, and the chickens stepped outside.

“Crayfish?” Pochi asked, already raring to go. Yuma seemed excited too.

“Could you take care of that first, then?” Aikawa-san asked them merrily. Pochi and Yuma agreed, and I walked over to the river with them.

Pochi caught crayfish one after the other, snatching them out of the water with his beak and throwing them up for Aikawa-san to skillfully collect. Yuma did much the same.

Jeez... I just leave the mudbugs alone for a little while, and they start multiplying.

There wasn’t a whole bucket’s worth in this area, so we headed downstream until we filled the whole thing.

“Pochi-san, Yuma-san, thank you. This should be enough,” Aikawa-san said in a satisfied tone.

Pochi replied, “Okay,” before running off into the mountain wilderness. As for Tama, she hadn’t cared to join us and had gone somewhere to play on her own. She’s definitely a lone wolf.

“I’m not sure how to put this, but...you can really tell there was no one taking care of this mountain for quite some time,” Aikawa-san said. “Besides the old village head’s house and the nearby fields, that is. And even then, I guess he had no choice but to move down to the village—age caught up with him.”

“Yeah, for sure.” I’m still in my twenties, but I’m sure in another ten or twenty years, I’ll get tired much more easily. Come to think of it, my parents are already past fifty, huh?

For lunch, we had chicken fried rice, some miso soup leftover from breakfast, pickles, and cucumber salad.

“Sorry, it’s not much,” Aikawa-san said in an apologetic tone. I shook my head profusely and explained that it was pretty common for me to just have rice and pickles for lunch. Even bringing out the cucumbers was a ton of effort.

“Sano-san... Don’t you know that you are what you eat?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Sorry for being so slovenly...

Yuma’s lunch consisted of some vegetables and some scraps. I know she must be getting a good amount of protein from eating bugs outside, but I’m still a bit worried. I can worry about that another day, though.

After we finished eating, Aikawa-san went home for a while. Hope the snakes enjoy the crayfish. I lounged, lazed around on the floor, and took a nap. Yuma sat nearby, keeping me company. Ahhh, this is too much happiness for one person.

***

Aikawa-san came back before I stirred from my nap. He served me a snack—some tomatoes and cucumbers—with a smile.

He’s starting to look like one of the old ladies from the village to me. Yeah... I see it now. Aikawa-san feels like a mother. A handsome mother. I’m never telling him that, of course.

I ate the veggies with Yuma, whose beak got all red. She looked like something out of a splatter movie, and it gave me the creeps—she thanked me when I wiped away the tomato with a dish towel, though. Adorable! And then she cuddled up to me. Cuteness overload!

“Sano-san, do you mind if I also pay a visit to the graves?”

“Not at all. Only one road leads up there—it’s just a short drive. Let’s go.”

I made preparations—newspapers, lighter, bucket, brush, incense, sickle, gloves, trash bags, and oh, I can’t forget the hat. Gah, having one hand out of commission is so inconvenient.

I got in Aikawa-san’s truck, and Yuma, who was joining us for the trip, sat on the tonneau. I never get tired of seeing her curled up into a ball of fluff. (Yeah, I know, I dote on them too much. Shut up.)

At the end of the ascending road was an open area. Huh? I thought I mowed the grass around here just the other day...

“I had no idea there was a cemetery here. There must be one on my mountain too...” Aikawa-san remarked.

“Didn’t the previous owner say anything about it?”

“I know there should be some graves there, but I believe they usually took the remains to the nearby town. The graves of the people who spent their whole lives on the mountain should be there, though. I’ll try asking sometime.”

We fetched some water from the nearby river and scrubbed the graves. Aikawa-san kindly offered to take care of the grass around them.

“Look, the cosmos are blooming,” Aikawa-san said.

“Oh. Nice...”

“Let’s leave them be. I’m sure someone must have planted them here.”

“Yeah.”

Maybe there were some cosmos among the plants I’ve been pulling, and I just assumed they were weeds. Aw, crap...

There was a spot a little distance away from the graves where a cluster of cosmos was in full bloom.

“They might not flower next year if there are too many weeds around. I’ll try to pull out as many as I can,” Aikawa-san reasoned.

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“The trees around here have grown quite tall too. If you cut them down, I think this area would get some more sunshine.”

“I think so too. Improving the visibility around here is a goal of mine—this spot overlooks the village, and I want to see the view.”

“Hmm... In that case, when we deal with the abandoned buildings, maybe we can cut some of these down while we’re at it.”

“I’d definitely appreciate that.”

“I’ll try asking the others about it.”

“Appreciate it.”

That makes things easier. The demolition of the buildings will happen around November. If we can get rid of some of these trees too, I’m sure the mountain’ll look very different. I got excited just thinking about it.

Yuma skipped around lightly, pecking at grass. Must be bugs. Sorry for making you get your protein all on your own.

We lit the incense sticks and joined our hands together before the graves. I don’t know any of these people, but they all lived here on this mountain—the least I can do is pay them my respects. I spent a little while watching the smoke rise from the incense. Though the weather was still quite hot, the breeze was nice and refreshing.

“Aikawa-san, thank you.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. It was a fruitful experience for me too. Thank you as well.”

We bowed to each other, then cleaned up after ourselves. We made sure to put out the incense sticks and take them back down the mountain with us. Wouldn’t want to cause a wildfire.

On the drive back, Yuma sat in the same position in the tonneau, looking adorable.

“By the way, did the snakes enjoy the crayfish you brought them?” I asked.

“Oh, thanks for that. Yes, they were both very happy. Rin and Ten hunt for prey on their own, and they don’t need to eat every day, so they kind of feel more like neighbors than pets. I don’t feel lonely, though—they come home every night to sleep.”

“Oh, that definitely sounds more like neighbors.”

We kept ourselves busy cleaning the house (brought in the futon we’d put out to dry in the morning—stuff like that). I say “we,” but let’s be honest, I’m not doing any work here!

Living with someone else might be pretty nice, actually. Then again, maybe it just seems that way because I’m not doing any of the work. I’m sure I’d find it a hassle if not for this injury.

I was lost in those thoughts when I got a message from Katsuragi-san: “Are you having trouble with anything? If you need groceries, just let me know, and I’ll help!”

Hard to believe this is the same person who refused to leave her mountain a while back.

“Aikawa-san, I got a message from Katsuragi-san offering to help with groceries...”

“Eh? Don’t worry, I already bought meat and vegetables,” he replied casually.

Wait, I didn’t know you were doing that...

“Aikawa-san, how much...”

“No need to pay—I’m eating too.”

Wipe that smile off your face. “Come on now. You’re already looking after me, so if anything, I should pay for your half as well.” And I should also compensate him for his trouble. Can’t take this kind of stuff for granted.

Aikawa-san looked troubled. “Quite diligent, aren’t you?”

That’s not gonna change my mind. I’ll definitely pay you, and if you don’t accept it, I’ll just have to pay you more! I’ll pay you if it’s the last thing I ever do!

“You know, Sano-san, I’m doing this out of gratitude, so don’t expect me to accept more than I think is fair.” His expression morphed to one of determination.

Uh, gratitude? For what? I don’t think I did anything...other than maybe going shopping in town with him. And that was really because I wanted to buy stuff, so I don’t understand why he’d feel grateful about it.

I explained this to him, and he sighed at me. Hey, what’s up with that?

“Sano-san, this is how I feel. Please don’t think you’re burdening me. If I’d been all by myself when Kano-san’s little sister came up to me in town, I’m sure I would’ve run away. I would’ve kept thinking that Kano-san had chased me all the way here. I would’ve gotten that letter—and I would’ve been cowering at shadows to this very day. All of that, if not for you, Sano-san.”

Apparently, Aikawa-san thought of that moment as a much bigger deal than I did. Thanks to our conversation with his stalker’s siblings, he was able to keep that apology letter at bay, putting an end to the incident that had tormented him for so long.

“But still... I don’t want to get carried away,” I said. “I feel like if I get used to this, I might start taking it for granted.”

Aikawa-san chuckled. “You really are a diligent person, aren’t you? Don’t worry—I don’t think that’ll happen. If you’re so worried, though, just make sure to help me out if I’m ever in trouble again.”

“That’s—”

“I think we’re done here. Well then, what’s next on the schedule?” Aikawa-san cut our conversation short and, sickle in hand, went to mow the weeds around the house.

Wait, I appreciate it, but I’m not done talking...

“I can’t imagine a situation where he’d need my help...” I muttered.

I texted Katsuragi-san back saying we were good for now. Why’s everyone so kind to me when I haven’t done anything for them? I’d like to repay their kindness in some way, but I’m terrible with gifts... For now, I think all I can do is focus on healing my injury. The rest comes later!

On the fourth day after cutting my finger, I got another message from Katsuragi-san—she asked about my injury and if I needed any help with groceries.

With a smile on his face, Aikawa-san said, “Tell her we’re good.”

I see his fear of young women is acting up again.

The Band-Aid was still wrapped tightly around my finger. I think it’s gotten a lot better, though. “Maybe it’s time to take this off...”

“It’s not.” Aikawa-san rebuked me immediately with the usual hollow smile. Okay, sorry...

The next few days passed by peacefully.

It felt like an unusually slow week. Thanks to Aikawa-san, I was able to laze around for most of it. At this point, I’d already taken the Band-Aid off. It should be fine now.

Katsuragi-san kept texting me, but every time, Aikawa-san would say, “Tell her we’re good.” I did as I was told. She still kept at it, though. Frankly, I was a bit impressed by her tenacity.

“Thank you so much,” I bowed deeply to Aikawa-san. Before he went to his mountain for good today, he planned to catch as many crayfish as he could. I told the chickens he was leaving, and they all seemed eager to help him catch some, including Tama—she was actually the most eager of them.

Uh, Tama, you realize this isn’t a competition, right? Just don’t go too hard and come back covered in dirt...please.

“Your chickens really are amazing, Sano-san. I wish I’d bought three snakes too.”

“That...would probably be quite something, yeah.” With three giant snakes, they might just fuse into King Ghidorah. I just hope they wouldn’t breathe flames and cause wildfires. King Ghidorah is serious trouble! Actually, I don’t think his power is fire but gravity beams. Dunno.

“But then again, with three of them, they might have trouble fitting in my truck,” Aikawa-san mused.

No idea about the weight, but they certainly might be too large to fit.

He and the chickens managed to fill a whole bucket with crayfish. When will we be rid of them, I wonder...? Next year! There should definitely be fewer of them next year! Yep, let’s leave it at that for now. I don’t want to dwell on the future too much. I’ll be bummed if there’re still too many of them, though.

“Let me know if anything comes up, and I’ll be here as soon as I can,” he said.

“Okay, got it.”

“Seriously, let me know,” he reiterated before leaving.

Yup—a handsome mother. Thanks, mom. I joined my hands together, facing the mountain to the west.

Aikawa-san had already taken care of all of my chores for today, so I was left with nothing to do. Plus, I was feeling some post-lunch drowsiness.

After he was gone, Pochi and Tama ran off into the mountain—they no longer had any business here. You guys, remember that I’ll be the one washing you. Go easy on me. I know this’ll fall on deaf ears, of course.

I gazed at Yuma. She’s grown quite a bit taller.

“Yuma, let’s take a nap.”

“Nap.”

I went home and lay down near the earthen floor. Yuma sat down nearby. The two of us fell into a peaceful slumber.

Oh, right... I thought as I was drifting off. What should I make for dinner? Do we have anything?

4. It’s More or Less Healed Up

I was able to manage fine on my own after Aikawa-san went back to his mountain. Though I did bump my hand here and there and writhe in pain every time! (I’m sure you’re thinking, “Hey, that’s not ‘managing fine’ at all!” but keep it to yourself, invisible interlocutor.)

I concluded that it was indeed much better to put a Band-Aid on my cut when I did manual work. Still, it shouldn’t take long to heal completely, since I got it stitched up.

Thanks to my finger injury, the whole torii gate-building business had gotten postponed—as far as I was concerned, they could have just gone ahead without me, but apparently they just didn’t have the time. Plus, the more the merrier and all that.

The day after Aikawa-san left, I spent time taking stock of the mountain, taking note of any spots he’d mentioned to me, and making a list of things I needed to buy.

One of the problems I’d been having was the increase in mosquitoes following the cooler weather. While days were mostly sunny, it would often rain at night, and I’d wake up to find puddles scattered across the mountain. We didn’t get enough rain to make the ground muddy, but the puddles became breeding grounds for mosquitoes. There was a silver lining, though—thanks to Yuma acrobatically jumping up in the air and chomping any mosquitoes she came across, we didn’t really have any in the house. Wait, are chickens supposed to eat mosquitoes? Eh, at this point, nothing surprises me.

Welp, I should get to work on the fields soon, or I won’t be able to plant my new crops in time for autumn.

I then got a message from Katsuragi-san—the usual one. “How are you feeling? Let me know if you need help with groceries!”

You know, maybe I should take her up on that. Though, honestly, it’s faster to go buy them myself. And besides, I oughta go to Old Man Yumoto’s place too...

“I’m good, thanks,” I replied. Shortly after, I got an actual call. Whoa. I picked it up reluctantly.

“Sano-san!” she yelled, her voice loud even through the phone. “Why won’t you let me help out?!”

“Oh, uh, you see, Aikawa-san stopped by the store on his way back, so there’s no—”

“I already know that Aikawa-san went home yesterday!”

“Well, I don’t need to shop for groceries every day...” I’m usually all by myself—I don’t really need that much. I’d mentioned to Aikawa-san yesterday that I needed a source of protein for the chickens, and he’d kindly bought them some pork. “Really, don’t worry about me,” I continued. “My finger’s almost healed too. I plan to visit Yumoto-san tomorrow.”

“Oh? In that case, please let me know if you can’t drive! I don’t mind giving you a ride!”

“I told you, I’m all right.” Why’s she being such a busybody, anyway? Maybe she also feels like Aikawa-san? I mean, sure, I understand that it’s important for us mountain dwellers to keep in touch and look out for each other. “But hey, there’s a four-day weekend coming up, huh?”

“Are you going somewhere?!”

“No, not really...” That attempt to change the topic did not go well...

“So what are you planning...? Oh! Should we organize some preventative measures against illegal dumping?”

“I wanna do that, yeah.”

That reminds me—I think the Yumotos said they’d like to come over to pick wild vegetables on my mountain. Maybe if I get a bunch of people to do that during the holidays, it might keep the litterbugs away.

“I’ll try asking Yumoto-san tomorrow.”

“Um, is it okay if I join?” Katsuragi-san asked.

“Join our talk about how to deal with illegal dumping?”

“Yeah...”

“How about you tell Machiko-san about it—I’ll tell Yumoto-san.”

It was easier for one person to talk to both of them, but to be frank, I’d been through a lot lately, and I couldn’t really be bothered. Although my finger was healing, I was still unable to use my hand normally, and that was putting me under a good deal of stress. I’ll hit the hay early tonight.

I rang up Yumoto-san to let him know what my plans were.

“Hey, Yumoto-san, I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. Bring your trash with you.”

I could dispose of food waste by burying scraps next to my fields, but I had no way to get rid of plastic or paper by myself. Yumoto-san helped me out with regular trash, and for the odd oversized garbage, I took it to the town’s disposal site. (I think I already told you about this.)

He told me to come over tomorrow around noon—apparently, I’d be joining them for lunch. It seemed Katsuragi-san had already talked to Machiko-san, given how Yumoto-san was talking about “you two.” Well, it does concern the two of us. And maybe Aikawa-san too, actually. Urgh, now I’ve got to make another phone call...

And so, I called Aikawa-san.

“Wild mountain vegetables during autumn... Those’re mainly mushrooms. I also have to check my signboards...” He sounded a bit anxious over the phone.

Mushroom hunting was a lot more complicated than one might expect. You often hear about people mistaking poisonous mushrooms for shiitake. Apparently, the Yumotos are veterans when it comes to foraging—they never pick anything unless they’re one hundred percent sure it’s safe. I suppose you can never be too careful.

“Do you mean those signboards that say ‘Private Property—Keep Out’? That kinda stuff?”

“Yes, those,” said Aikawa-san. “It’s fine for friends and acquaintances to visit my mountain, but sometimes random people just show up and start wandering around.”

“Ah...” Those’re the kinds of people who don’t realize mountains have owners, I imagine.

“That’s why I ask my fellow hunters to help patrol the area. Of course, I do pay them.”

Money is indeed important. You can’t expect people to volunteer for that kind of job.

“Is there anyone else who might be able to help with that on my mountain?” I asked.

“I think there’s sort of an employment center for elderly citizens. They have fixed rates depending on the job, which’ll probably make it easier for you.”

“I see. Thanks.” I really am clueless, huh? And with that, I ended the call.

Tama and Yuma laid eggs again today. I’m a lucky man.

***

It was now evening, and I was having a hard time getting the chickens clean—they’d come home completely covered in dirt. I wish I could just ask someone to do this, but obviously, I can’t.

When Aikawa-san had been staying here, they had restrained themselves from coming back too dirty. But now that he was gone, I could no longer count on their consideration.

Look, guys, my finger is better, but it’s not fully healed, okay? It still hurts, okay? Bah, I already know it’s useless to tell you. Whatever. You did contain yourselves for a whole week. Guess I just have to suck it up.

It wasn’t that bad, as long as I wore rubber gloves. Even then, sometimes their feathers pricked my finger because of the angle, and that hurt. The feathers themselves weren’t particularly hard, but the cut on my finger was pretty sensitive.

I also started bathing with Yuma again.

“Bath!” she exclaimed gleefully, flapping her wings in the tub, which she normally didn’t do.

Hey, stop splashing around! But that’s really cute.

“Sano, bath!”

“Yeah, yeah... Blergh!” I was getting water in my mouth. I can’t breathe!

After she calmed down, we spent a while just relaxing together. Ahhh, this is bliss.

“Caution does no harm,” goes the saying, and the opposite was also true—a momentary lapse of caution could lead to a week of harm, just like in the case of my finger. I felt bad for not being able to care for the chickens as I usually did—not to mention, my injury was inconvenient for me in a lot of different ways. I really need to be more careful from now on.

“Yuma, is the water not too hot?”

“Not too hot.”

How adorable. Yuma really loves her baths, huh?

After we finished soaking and got out, she shook her body to get rid of most of the excess water. I dried her off gently with a towel.

As I was drifting off to sleep that night, I thought, We’ll need a hair dryer when it gets cold. Or a stove? I gotta buy some oil.

***

The next morning, thanks to Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs, I was full of energy. However, I got a bit carried away while cooking breakfast and bumped my finger against the pan.

“Oooouuuch!!!”

Pochi and Tama stared at me coldly. Why are you two so mean? Even though I’m always washing you and looking after you!

I turned to them, still panting heavily from the pain, and said, “I’m going to Yumoto-san’s today. What about you guys—you wanna go? I won’t be long. Should be back before evening.”

“Going!”

“Playing!”

“Going!”

Looks like Tama’s staying behind to hold down the fort. Generally, Pochi seemed to be the type to enjoy going out. Tama, on the other hand, made it her job to protect our mountain. She’s definitely an outdoorsy type. Recently, I’d started to think she might have been going to patrol my other mountain. Sometimes she comes back covered in types of leaves I’ve never seen around here. I’m just praying she doesn’t run into a bear.

It was still morning, which meant Pochi was around too. He spent some time loitering around the house and near the abandoned buildings, then came back with a viper. He cocked his head up at me, snake in his beak, seemingly asking, Do you want this?

I accepted the gift. He probably eats the ones he comes across while on patrol.

“Thanks, Pochi.”

Viper bites were dangerous—I really appreciated the chickens getting rid of them. I put the snake in a plastic bottle. Now I don’t need to worry about getting Yumoto-san a gift for today’s visit.

“Speaking of gifts... Some beer should do.” I remembered that I’d wanted to bring him something extra as thanks for the venison barbecue he hosted. One case should do.

I bought a case of beer at the general store. The shopkeeper asked, “Some party going on?”

“No, it’s just a present.”

“Oh, that’s generous of you.”

“Oh, no...” I waved my hands. I mean, it’s just a case of beer.

He also asked me if I wasn’t going to buy any rice crackers today. I might be buying those too often. But you see, not only do they make for a good gift, but they’re also great to keep around as snacks. You can’t blame me! (Who am I even talking— Ah, I’m just repeating myself.)

When I got to the Yumotos, I spotted Katsuragi-san’s truck. The women in the village were quick on their feet, especially when food was involved, since that usually meant there’d be a need for helping hands. On the other hand, it was typical for the men to just sit back and do nothing but eat—the anachronistic idea that “men didn’t belong in the kitchen” still lingered here. In this sense, you could say Katsuragi-san was simply doing as the Romans do. I guess that is the correct course of action if you don’t want to stick out... Kind of sucks for her, though.

After I helped Pochi and Yuma down from the truck, Katsuragi-san came out to greet me.

“Ah. Sano-san’s here!” she called out into the house. “How’s your finger?”

“Still got it.”

“I know that!” Oh, you do?

I peeked my head in through the front door. “Hello there. Do you mind if Pochi and Yuma go to the fields?” I heard Machiko-san give the A-okay, and I relayed that to the chickens, who darted off. They don’t dig up the vegetables or anything, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Katsuragi-san handed me a beer, and I went inside. I could see her grimace at the snake I’d brought.

“Yumoto-san, I brought you a viper!”

The old man came running down the hallway with loud footsteps. “Oooh! Thanks, Shohei!”

Meanwhile, his wife wore an unsettled expression, understandably—the warehouse right next to their house had shelves upon shelves of bottles filled with sake and vipers, and there was no way she was happy about one more such bottle. I’m sorry, Machiko-san...

“Just what do you plan to do with all these snakes?” she griped. “Leave them in there for three years, and then what? Become an alcoholic?!”

“There’s no way I’m drinkin’ all of that by myself!” Yumoto-san exclaimed.

Uh-oh, I hope I’m not creating a rift in their marriage...

Machiko-san quickly noticed that I was in an awkward social position. “Ah, don’t worry, Sho-chan. It’s not your fault.” There was a hint of embarrassment in her voice. Then she turned back to Yumoto-san. “Let’s broil it!”

“Wh-Whaaat?” Yumoto-san cried out.

Honestly, that sounds pretty tasty.

That one viper wasn’t the end of it, though. I noticed that Yuma was being unusually noisy, and when I went over to see what all the commotion was, I found another snake in her beak. Whew, looks like I need to watch out for them in autumn too.

“Oh, Yuma-chan, you caught one? Thanks.” Machiko-san smiled, then forcefully grabbed the snake by the neck.

Ouch, that’s gotta hurt. Don’t try this at home, kids. By the way, it’s more dangerous to hold them by the tail. Snakes have countless muscles all over their bodies, and they can bend themselves back to bite you. Yikes.

“One more for lunch!” Machiko-san said.

“Nice.” Yumoto-san seemed happy about it too.

Well, vipers aren’t the only snakes around. One or two fewer shouldn’t make much of a difference.

“Boy, do I hate snakes,” Machiko-san lamented, but contrary to her words, she skillfully and speedily butchered them. She also commented on how vipers were much easier to butcher than yamakagashi snakes. True—I’ve heard it’s a lot of work getting rid of the venomous parts of those. I think there are two different glands?

She coated the snakes with flour, grilled them, then broiled them in eel sauce. The vipers curled up slightly during the cooking process, but they tasted pretty good. The fried chicken, pickles, and stew were also great. Machiko-san’s cooking is the best.

After we finished our meal, I regaled them with my troubles over the past week and then asked when they’d be coming over to pick wild vegetables.

“Maybe the holidays would be a good time... Do you mind if I invite the neighbors too?” Machiko-san asked.

I nodded. “Sure. I don’t know the first thing about wild vegetables, so I leave them alone—there should be plenty.”

“Wonderful! I’ll let you know if we have a good harvest, and then we can get together to eat them.”

“Sounds great. Thank you.”

“Oh, no, thank you.”

Yumoto-san had the spare key to the gate at the base of my mountain, which meant if anyone else was coming over to gather vegetables, he’d be with them. There was actually a mountain just behind the Yumotos’ fields, but apparently, there weren’t too many wild vegetables growing there.

“Heh, or maybe we just picked ’em all!” Yumoto-san laughed heartily.

“If you’d like to come to my mountain too, just let me know!” Katsuragi-san added.

“Oh, really? Thanks!”

The old folks in the area were all master mushroom hunters, but most of them had moved away from the mountains, so they appreciated mountain owners like me and Katsuragi-san welcoming them onto our properties.

Apparently, the Yumotos each had their own specialties when it came to foraging. Machiko-san was quite skilled at telling the different species of mushrooms apart; Yumoto-san didn’t have the same sharp eye. For that reason, when they went foraging for mushrooms, she took the lead.

“And it’s not just mushrooms—there’re other kinds of plants you can only find in the mountains,” she explained.

As far as I’m concerned, people coming over to pick vegetables means there’ll be a lower risk of illegal dumping. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

“Oh yeah, Aikawa-san was saying you were welcome on his mountain as well,” I said. “He just asked that you let him know in advance.”

“I reckon there must be some slight differences in what grows on each mountain. I’m looking forward to it!”

Yumoto-san smiled. It looked like their plans for the holidays were set.

He turned back to me and said, “Shohei, is your finger really okay now? Make sure you go see a doctor if anything feels off, got it? Give me a call if you don’t think you can make it on your own—I’ll be there in a flash.”

“Thanks, Yumoto-san. Really, though, I’m fine.” It hurts, sure, but I feel better after eating those vipers. I guess they must be really nourishing.

I thought I might as well try foraging for mushrooms myself sometime...but that was exactly the sort of mentality that could easily lead to trouble. I decided to leave it to the experts. I mean, I can’t even tell garlic chives from daffodils. At least I know hydrangeas are poisonous, and so are lilies of the valley, despite their inoffensive appearances. There’re a surprising number of poisonous plants out there.

As I was about to leave, Katsuragi-san came over to me. “Sano-san, for real—is your finger okay?”

“It’s still attached, as you can see.”

“I’m being serious here!”

I mean, I think the fact that it’s still attached is a pretty big deal. I almost lost it! Thank god for gloves. “It’s healing better than you might think. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

“Really? Are you sure you’re not just putting on a front? Because there’s no need for that.”

I’m not, seriously. It’s just easier and faster to take care of things on my own now that the injury isn’t debilitating. Though I still occasionally holler when I bump it on something. I never learn, do I?

I decided to change the subject. “You like to pick wild vegetables too, don’t you, Katsuragi-san?”

“Yeah. Not mushrooms, though. I’m too scared to pick those.”

Sound judgment. “How about this—let me know when you get some veggies, and then maybe you can treat me to a meal?”

“All right! I’ll go all out, so look forward to it!” She went home in high spirits.

What could she mean by “going all out” on a wild vegetable meal? Well, maybe tempura. That does require some skill.

I walked with Pochi and Yuma toward the truck. On our way, Pochi proudly showed off another viper he’d caught. There are a lot more of them around than I thought.

“My, are there that many snakes here? It’s quite worrying.” Machiko-san’s face looked unusually pale. At this rate, there must be a lot of them on the nearby properties too.

Yumoto-san shook his head. “We might need to ask for help again if there’re too many of ’em...”

By “help,” he was talking about using my chickens. Vipers were active until around October, and during this time of year, you could run into them in unexpected places—it was pretty dangerous. People with fields on their properties had to be especially careful. Plus, there’s the fact that we’re in a mountainous area.

The Yumotos kindly offered a reward for the chickens’ valiant efforts: a small sum of money plus a whole heap of vegetables.

On the way home, I had a nagging feeling. I feel like I’m forgetting something...

When we arrived back at the mountain, I realized that Tama wasn’t back yet. I turned to Pochi, who was clearly itching to go play on the mountain, and said, “Make sure you bring Tama with you when you come home, okay?”

“Okay,” he replied before sprinting off. Yup, make sure you get your exercise in.

I brought the vegetables into the kitchen. Suddenly, I finally remembered what had been bothering me. “Ah, the hornets...”

We should have a look at Katsuragi-san’s mountain. If her dragon’s eating their nests, then no problem, but if not...

We—Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, and I—decided to go to her mountain after the four-day weekend. During the holidays, the Yumotos’ acquaintances would be coming over to my mountain to pick wild vegetables. Well, not exactly “coming over”—they would just pick some vegetables near the foot of the mountain, then tell me when they were leaving. I don’t really have to do anything. Yumoto-san’s got the spare key too, so for me, it’s business as usual.

There was one thing I was a bit worried about regarding the holidays—Katsuragi-san’s personal issues concerning Nagi-san weren’t quite solved yet.

***

The next few days passed by without anything noteworthy happening—Katsuragi-san treated me to a meal at her place, and I dodged my parents’ questions about when I was going to visit them.

It was now the last day of the four-day weekend, and the Yumotos had invited me over to eat some of the wild vegetables they’d picked. Things had been so peaceful that I’d honestly let my guard down. But then, as I was stopping by the store on the way to the Yumotos, I ran into someone: Nagi-san. It was that stalker weirdo who had come all the way to the mountains—who had even joined the litter cleanup walk—just to look for Katsuragi-san.

This guy had the nerve to follow me.

I got in touch with Katsuragi-san, who explained the situation to the Yumotos, and I also called Aikawa-san.

Long story short, Katsuragi-san’s predicament came to an abrupt conclusion.

The real MVP was her dragon, no mistake about it. Nagi-san just brushed Katsuragi-san off when she said she couldn’t be with someone who couldn’t accept her pet lizard...but he was definitely not expecting Tatsuki-san.

In the end, Nagi-san scurried away with his tail between his legs. It was a rather disappointing ending, but I was just glad it was over.

As usual, Katsuragi-san was saying something or other about “not losing to Aikawa-san.” Whatever that means. Aikawa-san seemed to feel similarly about helping me out, but I really didn’t understand why they were all so eager. Doing me favors didn’t really benefit them in any way.

Everyone’s just so nice here.

***

I left the Yumotos’ house before sunset.

As I was driving up the mountain road to my house, I got confused for a moment. Wait, why did I even go to the Yumotos in the first place? I think they invited me to eat some wild vegetables, right?

I cocked my head and glanced at Yuma on the passenger’s side. Katsuragi-san should be fine now. There’s no way Nagi-san’s coming back here after that.

Yuma tilted her head as well, staring up as if to ask, What is it? Seriously, how can Yuma be this freaking cute?

By the time we got home and parked, dusk was sinking into night. Oddly enough, Tama was waiting for us in front of the house, which was unusual for her.

“Tama, sorry I’m late.”

“Late!”

“You know, Tama, when someone says that, you’re supposed to reply, ‘Oh, I just got here too.’”

As always, Tama’s gaze was ice-cold. Come on, it’s called a joke!

I gave everyone a quick wash, dried them off, and let them into the house. By now, it was pitch-dark outside. The chickens nimbly picked off the few bugs that had gotten inside. Ooh, that’s a good source of protein. Thanks to them, I hardly ever see any bugs in the house. Though I wonder about that room at the back. Maybe I gotta clean it again.

Since I didn’t have any plans for tomorrow, I decided to take the opportunity to get some cleaning done. My cut was healing well, at least on the outside—I didn’t know whether it was healed on the inside, or if I’d damaged a nerve, but it still twinged sometimes. I kept quiet about it, though.

“Hurt?”

Yuma tilted her head. I must have been making an anguished expression.

“I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, Yuma.”

When I raised my head, I found Pochi and Tama looking at me curiously. My chickens are so adorable. Pochi and Tama must be concerned about me too, in their own ways.

It was already getting late, so I decided to make dinner. I fed the chickens fresh veggies and some scraps, as well as some pork. They gobbled it all up. Yup, adorable.

Now that the holidays are over, I really should go pay grandpa’s grave a visit. My mom called me to talk about that during the holidays. She also said that my uncle had some business with me.

I sighed. Frankly, if possible, I’d rather not meet with any of them.

5. Family Visit

The next morning, I recalled that Katsuragi-san had asked me yesterday to go shopping for her—I’d offered to help her with that during the holidays because of the whole thing with Nagi-san. Plus, I owed her for that meal the other day. I wonder if she went shopping for groceries by herself after that. Or should I do it?

I looked over the shopping list she’d sent me two days ago and shot her a text: “Good morning, Katsuragi-san. What should we do about that stuff you asked me to buy?” I wish I could say, “I already bought everything.” Sadly, I’m too inept for that.

I soon got a reply saying, “Morning! I’ll give you a call.” My phone immediately rang.

“Hello...”

“Thank you so much for yesterday!” Katsuragi-san exclaimed.

“Oh, uh, right...” That’s a lot of pep this early in the morning.

“Don’t worry about my groceries. Sorry for the bother. I can go by myself now! But feel free to ask me if you ever need help with shopping. I’ll be there anytime!”

“Huh? Oh, I’m good.” What’s got her so pumped up?

“I talked to Yamanaka-san on the phone yesterday,” she continued.

“I see. What did she say?”

“Um...” She trailed off, her tone playful. “Well, she was mad at me!”

If this were a face-to-face conversation, this would be the part where she says “Oopsie!” and sticks out her tongue.

She explained that Yamanaka-san was furious that she hadn’t been told about the whole Nagi-san situation sooner. Katsuragi-san said she’d also called her parents for the first time since Golden Week to tell them about it too—they were also livid at her, especially her father, who was on the brink of going after Nagi-san and beating him to a pulp.

She’d tried to appease them by saying that there were people here in the mountains who looked out for her—like me, Aikawa-san, and the Yumotos. This had made both her parents want to come all the way here to express their gratitude. Apparently, her mother was particularly eager to meet me. No need for any of that, really. And just what did she tell her parents about me...? Maybe it’s better not to think too hard about it.

“So, they might be coming here sometime to thank everyone. Can I ask you to meet them if they do?”

“‘Thank everyone,’ huh? I mean, seriously, there’s no need for any of that. We all gotta look out for each other...”

“You say that, but I haven’t been of any help to you, Sano-san! I just rely on you without returning the favor!”

“Well, uh, just repay me whenever you can. No hurry.” I can’t really think of anything I’d like to ask a girl for, anyway. “Wait, what about those deer Tatsuki-san caught? They were pretty tasty.”

“That was all Tatsuki’s doing, not mine.”

“You always treat me to meals, don’t you?”

“Those barely count as proper meals!”

First Aikawa-san and now Katsuragi-san—what’s up with these people, always trying to do stuff for me? I’ve barely done anything for them.

I cocked my head. There was actually one thing I wanted some help with, but I was a bit reluctant to ask Katsuragi-san. The alternative was simply being chewed out by my mom for an hour or so whenever I went to visit them.

“Is there really nothing I can help you with, Sano-san?”

She’s very kind.

“Hm, actually... How about picking out the picture you think you look cutest in and sending it to me? I’ll show it to my parents—that way I can say I got a girlfriend and tell them that they don’t need to worry about me.”

I wasn’t actually expecting her to go along with it, but—

“Sure, no problem. Can I send it to you later?”

—she readily agreed...?

“Eh? Really?” I was a bit taken aback—I was sure she’d immediately say no.

“Yes, really. In fact, how about I go visit them with you? I actually wanted to ask you for the same thing.”

“Whaaat? I’m not sure...” I mean, I don’t mind, but is Katsuragi-san really okay with this?

“My dad is a big worrywart, and I’m afraid he might want to move here if I tell him I’m still single. He’ll probably be relieved if I tell him we’re seeing each other.”

“Is that something to be relieved about?”

“We’re more or less neighbors, after all.”

She’s got a point. Since I live on the next mountain over, I can go help her right away if something happens. I mean, not literally right away. It’s at least a twenty-minute drive from my place to Katsuragi-san’s. But still!

“I’ll pick out a picture and send it to you later, okay?”

“Sounds good. Thanks.”

I hope this keeps my parents quiet for the time being. Still, I didn’t expect Katsuragi-san to be so nonchalant about this. I don’t know her exact age, but I believe she must be two or three years younger than me. There might be a small cultural gap here—like how when you’re in your last year of high school, the freshman kids look like aliens to you.

A while later, Katsuragi-san sent me...a picture of her in typical gyaru fashion, with tons of flashy digital stickers around her. I replied with a single word: “Nope.”

“Whaaat? But it’s so cute!”

“I think this one will just make them more concerned...”

“Jeez, you’re so picky.”

Am I being picky? Is that what this is about? I tilted my head. I really don’t understand young girls these days.

Soon enough, she sent me another picture—this time of her in her early twenties, looking cute in a normal way. Fewer stickers too.

Yup, this is a good one. Wait, will I really be able to convince my parents that I have a girlfriend this cute? I’m starting to get worried.

For now, I sent a message thanking her and saying I’d be visiting them tomorrow.

“I see. What are you doing about the chickens? Would you like me to watch them while you’re away?”

“No need—I’ll be back tomorrow evening. But I’ll let Aikawa-san know if I end up staying the night. Don’t worry about it.”

“Come on, you should rely on me more!”

I think you’ve done enough for me this time. “Thanks for the pic.”

“Boo...” Katsuragi-san wasn’t too happy about it, but that was the end of our chat. I’d feel bad relying on a girl too much.

I called Aikawa-san too, just to fill him in on everything: I’d be visiting my grandfather’s grave, then stopping by my parents’ place, and I would show them a picture of Katsuragi-san and claim she was my girlfriend to avoid having to listen to their sermon.

“Katsuragi-san is your girlfriend now?” He sounded surprised over the phone.

No, it’s just a cover.

“All I did was get a picture from her. I hope they don’t pry too much, or I’ll get busted.”

“Parents are pretty sharp when it comes to that kind of thing. You should probably say you two just started dating recently. Ah, but new couples are usually all lovey-dovey. You might get busted if you’re not able to convince yourself that you’re deeply in love with Katsuragi-san.”

“Seriously?!” What if I really do convince myself that we’re dating? Like, for real? That’d make me a creep like Nagi-san. I need to avoid that at all costs!

“Maybe showing them her picture is not such a good idea...” I said, now feeling pretty concerned.

“You could tell them Katsuragi-san was the one who asked you out. That might work...”

“I think that’s kind of rude to her, though...” I never thought I’d be racking my brain over something like this.

“The only other option I can think of is just showing them the picture and then leaving as soon as you can.”

“Uh... Sounds like a plan.”

I don’t even want to visit my folks. Can’t I just visit the grave and come back without stopping at their place? But I can already imagine the storm of phone calls I’d get if I did that. Ugh...

“Help, grandpa...” I murmured.

Now that it’s come to this, I’ll just have to take the opportunity to say a specific prayer when I visit grandpa’s grave. Gosh, I’m pathetic.

I decided to spend the day tending to the cemetery higher up on my mountain. They might not be gods, but hopefully they can give me their blessings. Or is it inappropriate to expect something from them? Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m the only one taking care of them now.

Yuma came along with me and kept herself busy hunting for bugs while I mowed the grass. Every now and then, she would lift her head and feel the breeze. The sight of that soothed me. Autumn had barely begun, which meant the weeds were still full of vim and vigor. I took care to avoid pulling the cosmos this time.

***

The next morning, I prepared breakfast and tried to distract myself from my unwillingness to visit my parents. I couldn’t manage without Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs. Or Tama and Yuma themselves, of course.

After feeding the chickens, I told them about my plans for today.

“I need to go on a trip today, and I can’t take you with me this time, Yuma,” I explained. She seemed incredibly shocked.

Being separated from my adorable Yuma hurts me too! I wish I could take you with me! But...I can’t.

I could tell how sad Yuma was. And so am I! So am I...

“I’ll be back this evening, so please behave yourselves. If for some reason I’m not able to come home today, Aikawa-san will be coming by to check on you.”

Yuma came close enough for her beak to almost touch me. I involuntarily pulled my head back.

Yuma’s eyes looked much more serious than normal.

“Come home.”

“Yeah.”

“Today, come home.”

“Yeah, I plan to.” I petted her.

“Today, come home. Promise.”

“I-I’ll try...”

She inched one step closer, close enough that her face started looking weird. Yuma’s got a menacing aura right now... Okay, I’ll do my best! I definitely don’t want to stay the night there either!

Meanwhile, Pochi’s and Tama’s expressions more or less said, Are you done yet?

I know you guys are eager to go out and play, but I do wish you’d act a bit more emotional at our parting. Look how restless your legs are...

I put on some casual street clothes—it would be too weird to visit them in my usual work clothes. I also made sure to take a pair of sunglasses to hide my face. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t spotted by anyone in my hometown.

Finally, I got in my truck and set off.

The closest towns to my mountain were N-Town and S-Town. N-Town was closer to the highway. It took a while to get on the highway, but once I got going, it would take me quite close to my family’s house.

If everything goes well, each leg of the trip should take me about three hours. I hope I can visit the grave before noon. As for presents...I can look for a gift at a rest area on the way. It might be a lousy present, but it’s not as if we have any local specialties around here.

Gosh, I really don’t wanna go. Grandpa, please watch over me.

I felt like I could hear a voice telling me to take care of my own problems. I mean, yeah, you’ve got that right.

I followed the GPS’s instructions until I reached the highway. It’s been some time since I last used an ETC toll gate. At first, I had only borrowed this minitruck from Old Man Yumoto, but I’d ended up buying it from him since it was a necessity for life in the countryside. He’d asked me if I wouldn’t rather buy a new one, but I preferred to keep the vehicle I was already used to.

I couldn’t manage up in the mountains without it. Maybe I should get a small excavator too. I don’t really have the money to buy one, though. I’ll have to discuss it with...uh, someone.

The highway just went on and on in a straight line, with nondescript scenery passing me by. When I felt like I was getting numb to the speed, I decided to stop at the next rest area. Can never be too careful.

I bought some manju sweet buns as gifts for my folks. A pretty boring choice, honestly. Then I drank a can of coffee and went on my way. Luckily, the road wasn’t congested, so I was able to get off the highway much quicker than I’d expected.

It had been half a year since I’d left my hometown. It looked just about the same, though that was to be expected. I was still on the outskirts, and there wasn’t anyone in sight yet, but I put on my sunglasses just in case.

I should be okay. I got this truck after moving, and my hair’s quite a bit longer, though I asked Aikawa-san to cut it for me once. Maybe I should cut it again soon. Are there any barbershops in my hometown? Or I could just cut it myself with clippers when I get back? Other than the bangs, I think I should be able to do it on my own. I don’t want to spend too long in my hometown anyway.

I drove straight along the wide road before taking a turn down a familiar street. After a few more turns, I reached an intersection—there was a quiet residential area to the left and a cemetery to the right. I took the right.

“Which one was grandpa’s grave again...?”

I’d brought incense, newspapers, and a lighter, but I’d forgotten to buy flowers. There happened to be a flower truck nearby, probably because it was a rather large cemetery and also because it was Higan, the period around the equinox in which people visited their ancestors’ graves.

“Can I have some flowers...these five-hundred-yen ones, please?”

“Okay, that’ll be 550 yen. Would you like them wrapped?”

“No, thanks.”

Ten percent sales tax, huh? I groaned.

The cemetery featured a large temple in the center, with the graves laid out around it, and the cemetery grounds were quite vast. I can see how it’d be convenient to have a flower shop by the entrance, in case you forgot to bring them. I borrowed a pail from the watering area and headed toward my grandfather’s grave.

Whew, good, there’s no one around. It was a weekday—I could spot a few people here and there visiting other graves, but there wasn’t anyone in the area near my grandfather’s grave.

“Sorry for not being able to come during Obon, grandpa.”

I collected the trash lying around, cleared away the dead flowers, and cleaned the grave. It was more or less the same thing I did back on my mountain when I cleaned the graves there, though they weren’t as splendid as this one. After I was done cleaning, I put up the flowers and incense as offerings, poured some water on the gravestone, and joined my hands together in prayer.

I told my grandfather about how I’d been doing—that I’d been getting by just fine on my mountain, that I was raising three chickens, that they were big, strong, and kind...

I think I’ll live out the rest of my days there. I might not be able to get married, but that’s not such a big deal these days, right?

At the risk of sounding like Katsuragi-san, I don’t think I can be with someone who doesn’t accept my chickens. Though in my case, I don’t think there are any women who’d go to those lengths for me. I’m not handsome and skilled at everything like Aikawa-san, and unlike Katsuragi-san, I don’t have much in the way of looks. Not that Katsuragi-san is all looks. She’s also got IT skills—she mentioned that she works remotely from her mountain. And she’s got a bunch of other skills as well. I’m the only one who’s got nothing going for him. This is depressing...

I hadn’t come here to spend all day standing around a grave, so I put out the incense, cleaned up after myself, threw out the trash, and got back in my truck.

Boy, I really don’t want to go...

I drove a little farther away and stopped at the convenience store to buy lunch—an onigiri and a sandwich. I ate them in the truck, then heaved a deep sigh.

I seriously don’t want to go...

I took a sip of my bottled tea.

Can’t I just call it a day and go back to my mountain?

“Okay. I just need to go... That’s all. I’ve got this.” I roused myself up, then drove straight toward my family’s house.

It’s not that I don’t want to see my parents. I just can’t stand being treated with excessive care, like I’m made of glass or something.

They lived in a calm residential area not too close to the station, with rather large properties. There were only two cars in the driveway, both belonging to my parents. I was relieved to see no other vehicles. I parked my own truck in an empty space and looked around me. It was a peaceful weekday—very quiet, no one to be seen.

While I did have the keys to the house, I decided to ring the intercom.

“Coming!” called a voice from inside.

“It’s me,” I called back.

“You sound like one of those scammers.” The door opened—my mom was as lively as usual.

I stepped inside. The house made me feel nostalgic, but it also felt like it was no longer my home.

“What’s with those sunglasses?” she asked.

“Ah, I forgot to take them off.” I wasn’t used to wearing them, and I didn’t know the right time to remove them. I slipped them into my breast pocket.

Suddenly I felt a pointed stare on me—I followed it to find my mom carefully examining my face.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Is it just me or...have you gotten more handsome? I might be biased, but you look great!”

“What’re you talking about?” I felt a little embarrassed. My mom was just a chubby old lady now, but back in middle school, I’d honestly thought she was the cutest girl in the world. Some of my friends’ mothers had looked more beautiful, sure, but I’d still thought my mom was the cutest.

When I put it that way, it sounds like I had a serious case of Oedipus complex... Well, that only lasted until high school, when I got a girlfriend.

“Is dad home?”

“He is. Did you have lunch already?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? You could have eaten lunch here...”

See, the thing is, I don’t plan on staying long.

I peered into the living room. My father was staring intently at the newspaper with a stern look. Doesn’t look like he’s even reading it.

“Dad, I’m here.”

“Oh, Shohei? Welcome back. You haven’t been giving Yumoto-san any trouble, have you?”

Come on, that’s the first thing you ask?

I handed my mom the manju and sat diagonally across from my father.

“They’re definitely helping me out a lot, that’s for sure.”

“I see. So, today...”

“I just came to visit grandpa’s grave and decided to stop by. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“What, you’re not staying over?”

“I’ve got pets to take care of.”

“Come on... It’s just one night,” my mom pleaded as she brought us tea.

I chuckled. “Sorry, but I only prepared for a day trip.”

“Oh...” she murmured.

Their expressions were downcast. It had only been six months, but to my eyes, they looked quite a bit older than when I’d last seen them. Some of that might be my responsibility for making them worry so much...

Ah, that’s right, she mentioned something about my uncle on the phone. “So, what did my uncle want?”

My mom sighed. “It’s about that apartment building you own. He wants you to sell him one of the apartments at a discount so his children can live there. I turned him down.”

“At a discount? I don’t think so...” He’s as tightfisted as always. Though I am indebted to him for his help managing the building. What now?

“I told him that if he kept insisting, we’d just manage the building ourselves, and that seemed to work.”

“For real?” Wait, so basically, the whole thing was solved without my involvement. I felt relieved.

My mom, on the other hand, still wore a stiff expression. “I know it’s probably pointless to say this now that you’ve already gone and bought the mountain, but...how about moving back here?”

“I...don’t think I’m coming back.” My home is somewhere else now.

My parents were visibly dejected by my reply. My siblings don’t live too far from here. Aren’t they good enough? I think it’s normal for children to move away when they’re adults.

“Well... Is it because of those animals you’re raising?” my father asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, I guess there’s that too.” My chickens probably can’t live anywhere but on a mountain. Even the village down there wouldn’t be enough for them. They’d end up not getting enough exercise and staying up all night every night.

“All animals die sooner or later.”

“I know...”

Stop! You’re gonna make me cry... I’d sob so hard if my adorable chickens died. I think that would send me into a depressive slump I’d never recover from.

“But I already bought the mountain and all. And also...” Should I tell them this? I kind of don’t want to, if I’m being honest.

“And also?” My mom had an austere look on her face, as if she was commanding me to be truthful.

“I got a girlfriend too...” I said, my eyes downcast. Not a real one, though.

The two of them were speechless, and an awkward silence lingered in the air. I knew they wouldn’t fall for it... No one would believe that.

I scratched my head, but then...

“Whaaaaaat?”

“You already got one?!”

After a long pause, they both yelled in surprise. Gah, you’re too loud! I covered my ears instinctively.

“I don’t understand young people, not even my own son... You already found a girlfriend?” My mom was dumbfounded.

I nodded. Yeah, but again—not a real one. Is it really that strange for me to already have one, though? Maybe I was jumping to conclusions when I thought it’d be better to fake it.

“I see... Well, I guess that’s for the better.” My father laughed awkwardly. “You got any pictures?”

“Sure.”

I took out my phone and showed them the photo of Katsuragi-san. They both sighed in admiration.

“Oh my, she’s very pretty.”

“How’d someone like you land such a cutie?!”

Once again, it’s very simple—she’s not my real girlfriend. Though, obviously, I’m not telling them that.

My mom was visibly excited. “So? Who asked who out?”

Good thing I thought this through. “Uh... She did...”

My dad scoffed. “Bullshit! There’s no way you’re popular with girls!”

That’s pretty rude, you know. Sorry about my average looks. Not like you two had anything to do with it, huh? Who do you think I got them from?

“But...I think he’s gotten handsomer. Compared to before, I mean.” At least my mom covered for me.

Dad shrank back a little. “Hmm... You think so?”

“Not as handsome as you, of course,” she said playfully.

Urgh, you two lovebirds keep me out of your flirting. At least it’s a good thing they get along well. I felt a bit relieved.

I finished my tea and stood to leave. If I don’t get outta here soon, I might trip myself up. I gotta get away before they call my siblings here. Especially my sister—I’ve got a feeling she’d see right through my lies. “I’ll be on my way, then.”

“Eh? Already? At least stay for dinner,” my mom protested.

“I can’t.” I won’t be able to get back home. My mountain isn’t illuminated, except at the bottom near the gate. (I hear you there saying, “Just install some streetlights!” Those things cost money, y’know.)

“What do you mean, you can’t?” She turned to my father. “Dear, say something!”

“Well, he wants to get back to his girlfriend. Bring her with you next time you come.”

“I’m...still not sure about that.” I cocked my head. Who knows, we might “break up” before I get the opportunity. “Mom, let me know if anything else comes up regarding my uncle. I have no plans to sell it for a while—and certainly not at a discount.”

“Right? My brother is always like this... If worse comes to worst, we can always manage the building ourselves. But in that case, there’ll be some paperwork involved, so we’ll ask you to come here again.”

“All right. Thanks.”

“Wait just a second. I have a few things for you...” She stopped me and started handing me various things—cup noodles, instant curry, canned goods, frozen food...

What did they have cup noodles lying around for? They don’t eat those. I guess they have them for when my siblings come to visit.

“And since you’re a picky eater... Here, take some green juice too.”

“Sure...I’ll take it.” I’ll have you know that I’ve been eating a lot of vegetables recently. But I don’t want to get into an argument, so I’ll just shut up and take it.

“How about medicine for colds? And stomachaches... You never know what might happen on a mountain.”

“Don’t worry—seriously, don’t worry about that!”

“Please...look after yourself. You know we fret over you.”

“Okay. Thanks.” There’s no way I can tell them about how I cut my finger...

“Also... This! Give this to Yumoto-san!”

“Okay.”

She handed me a fancy-looking box of sweets. It must be tough being a parent, always having to be considerate of this and that.

I told them to stay inside the front door, as I didn’t want any neighbors to notice us. I got in the truck, hauling my ton of souvenirs with me, and quickly put on my sunglasses. And then, I sped out of my hometown as fast as I could.

I’m so glad I didn’t run into anyone I knew. On the way back, I stopped at a rest area and checked my phone. There was a message from my mother.

“Thanks for trying to reassure us. We want you to live your life the way you choose to. Send us pictures of your pets when you can.”

They...totally know I was lying. I knew it was dumb to claim that Katsuragi-san is my girlfriend. Dad seemed to buy it, but mom saw right through it.

I’ll take a bunch of pictures of the chickens when I get home.

6. My Chickens Are Just Way Too Cute

I’m finally back home... Here I am, in front of my house in the mountains. It’s pretty dark, but I did my best to get back today! I did my best, Yuma!

Wait, why do I only see Yuma? When are the other two coming back? They’re so coldhearted.

“Yuma, I’m home.”

“Welcome back.”

Cute. It’s so adorable how she trots up to me. She’s pretty dirty, though—I’ll have to wash her before hugging her.

What did they get up to while I was away?

“Hang on, I’ll give you a quick wash after I put my stuff inside.”

First, I opened the freezer and stored all the frozen food, which included delicacies like an expensive pack of meat marinated in miso and some sanuki udon. I didn’t look through all the stuff mom gave me... I felt a little bad about it. That said, I didn’t regret not staying over. Though maybe I could’ve had dinner with them and stayed at a hotel or something along the way.

The packs of instant curry they’d given me were all high-quality brands—a far cry from your regular hundred-yen-a-pack curry. I’m sure I would’ve never noticed this kind of stuff if I’d stayed in my hometown. I would’ve gotten married, gone to visit my folks every now and then, and gotten gifted a bunch of stuff like today... But it’d be my wife checking the contents, so I’d have no clue.

Still, mom and dad, I’d like you to leave me be for a little longer. It might take time. Maybe around three years, like it took Aikawa-san. Or maybe that’s not enough, and it’ll take me a lot longer. All I know is that it still hurts—unbearably.

After putting everything away, I stepped outside, and at around the same time, Pochi and Tama came into view.

“Pochi, Tama, welcome back.”

“Welcome back,” Tama replied.

“I’m home? You’re welcome?”

Pochi tilted his head in confusion, while Tama’s face more or less said, That’s the wrong greeting. Just say what I said.

I may be turning into a weirdo if I’m feeling this relieved at the sight of chickens. “I’m home. Come on, I’ll wash you guys.”

As night fell, the air was fairly cool and breezy. With the lights outside the house and a flashlight aiding me, I washed the three chickens.

“Don’t stay out so late. You’ll catch a cold,” I told them. Now that it’s autumn, I might need to start washing them with hot water. Sure wouldn’t want them to get sick. Actually, I don’t know if they’ll even let me wash them when it gets cold.

After drying them off, I let them into the house.

“No present?”

“Present.”

“Present?”

Wait, what? I didn’t expect them to be so upfront about it...

“Uhhh... Hold on a sec...” Frozen food won’t do... Oh, we have some canned stuff too. I rummaged through the canned goods and found a can of salmon with bones, which I thought would be a nice choice, since it wasn’t seasoned and was a good source of calcium. Wait, can I feed salmon to chickens? Someone tell me! (Who?)

I made myself dinner, then served them the scraps from that, plus some vegetables, and put the salmon on top. They should have no problem chewing through the bones, right? They won’t get caught in their digestive tracts, right? I mean, look at how sharp their teeth are... These are hardly your plain old chickens, that’s for sure.

“Tasty!”

“What’s this?”

“More!”

Looks like they liked it. Yuma, it’ll do no good for you to stare at me with sparkles in your eyes. That’s it for today.

“Afraid that was all I’ve got. Sorry, guys.”

Yuma seemed shocked by my words. Okay, sure, I’ll buy you some more. Not sure if the general store stocks canned salmon, but the supermarket in N-Town should have it. I’ll make a note of it.

After dinner, I finally began to feel at home again. I messaged Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san.

Katsuragi-san replied first. “Welcome back! Glad to hear everything went well.”

And then Aikawa-san: “Did you get to visit the grave? I’ve also been thinking of visiting my grandparents’ graves. Get some rest. You deserve it.”

Their personalities really shine through, even in a text. Hope I didn’t make them worry.

“The trip wasn’t anything special,” I replied to Aikawa-san. “I bought them some stuff at a rest area along the highway. I brought you a gift too.”

Next, I called Old Man Yumoto.

“Oh, hey, Shohei. What’s up?”

That’s right—I don’t think I told him when I’d be going to see my parents. “I just got back from visiting my grandfather’s grave and my family.”

“I see. Good to hear.”

“My mother asked me to give you something. I’ll bring it over next time I visit.”

“Gotcha, thanks.”

After I finished telling everyone I was home, I heaved a sigh of relief and felt a wave of exhaustion hit me.

“I’m...so glad I didn’t run into anyone in my hometown...”

My next visit will probably be around spring, after the next Higan. I hope I can visit grandpa’s grave again.

I gotta figure out how to get through winter here. Seems like we get snow in the mountains. I looked around the house. Must get pretty cold in these large rooms during winter. I’ll just have to cuddle with Yuma when it gets cold. I spotted a few feathers on the floor here and there.

As I was lounging around, Yuma came to ask me to bathe with her.

“Bath.”

“Just a sec.”

It wasn’t easy taking care of them, but the joy they gave me made it more than worth it. They’re more like friends than pets, I think. I hope they live long lives.

“Speaking of friends, we gotta go take a look at Katsuragi-san’s place too...” I muttered. Who’s responsible for the hornet nest remains? Hopefully it’s her dragon eating them and not a bear...

There might be bears. There are murder hornets. There are vipers too, and lots of bugs. Even then, Katsuragi-san said she’d much rather stay in the mountains. The guy who caused her to think that way is out there, leading a normal life as if nothing happened. It’s not exactly one of those shows you see on TV where good prevails over evil, but at least everyone’s moving forward, one step at a time. That’s good enough for now. It’s gotta be.

I decided to go to bed early.

***

I was woken up by Tama’s weight crushing me. I wish she wouldn’t be so quick to resort to force... I felt pressure on my chest and stomach. “Whoa! Tamaaa, you’re heavy!”

“Breakfast!”

“Got it... Now get off me!”

“Breakfaaast!”

“I said I got it! Ugh, you’re too heavy!”

I wake up feeling something heavy on my stomach and open my eyes to find a chicken at point-blank range, beak full of teeth sharp enough to easily rip through my flesh... As if the weight wasn’t enough, it’s also a terrifying sight, so please, just get off me already!

After finally getting her away from me, I stood up. Ugh, I’m still exhausted from spending a whole day away... I was usually tired when I spent an entire day tending to the mountain, but this felt like a different kind of exhaustion. There was also the mental strain from driving for a whole six hours and spending time in an area I didn’t normally go to. It had only been six months, but the house I grew up in had already stopped feeling like home.

“Humans really will adapt to anything, huh?” I mumbled to myself as I chopped up some komatsuna. I’d be using some of it to make miso soup, and the rest would go to the chickens. They were omnivores who often ate vegetable peels and stuff like that, but they couldn’t eat things like onions, leeks, chives, or garlic. It was also recommended to avoid feeding them cooked rice or bread, though uncooked brown rice was apparently fine. When I looked it up, I was actually surprised by the amount of things you shouldn’t feed chickens.

And yet vipers are not a problem—go figure. How do they deal with the venomous bits? I don’t really understand my chickens.

Tama and Yuma laid eggs again. Yup, this should get me through the day! I nodded to myself for a while, which drew weird, judgmental looks from Tama. You know, Tama, you could use a little less “tsun” and a little more “dere.”

I took the pork I’d left out to thaw last night, cut it into bite-sized chunks, and served it to the chickens along with some vegetables. After they gobbled it all up, I opened the door and let them outside. Pochi and Tama immediately zipped off.

“Don’t stay out too late,” I called to them as they grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Pochi clucked loudly in response. At least they’re obedient.

Next, I ate my own breakfast. Yuma was outside, but she mostly stayed near the house. It’s already late September. I’ll go check the fields later... What should I do about my crops? My mind drifted, and I spaced out for a bit. I’m more exhausted than I thought. I was well aware that under normal circumstances, my parents’ house would be too far away for a day trip. I didn’t want to spend the night there, and I didn’t want to be away from the chickens.

“For today...guess I’ll just have a look around.” No point in overexerting myself. I checked the crops, pulled a few weeds around the house, and took a nap. Just taking it easy.

Yuma joined me for the nap, which made it even more enjoyable. My chickens really are the apples of my eye! I snapped a few pictures of Yuma.

In the evening, after Pochi and Yuma came back and I washed them, I took pictures of them too.

Now then, which of these should I send to mom? I suddenly had a realization that made me feel uneasy. “Hmm?”

I stared intently at the screen.

“Uhh...? I’m...not too sure about this...” The pictures themselves seem like normal shots of chickens...except their bodies look way too big compared to the background and the objects near them!

“They’re clearly way, way larger than chickens are supposed to be...”

It’s probably not a good idea to send these. I suppose my only choice is using some perspective trick to make them look smaller. Sounds too hard to do by myself. Or maybe I could just erase the background entirely? No, this is mom I’m talking about. I’m sure she’s also curious to see what the mountain looks like...

“Aikawa-saaan!” I yelled out before dialing him up for some advice. Yumoto-san won’t be much help—I don’t think he knows much about this kind of thing.

“So, you want to send your parents pictures of the chickens?” Aikawa-san asked over the phone.

“Yeah, but...they’re way too huge.”

“Right. There are ways to remove the background...”

“Yeah, but I feel like it’d be better to keep the background in there.”

We threw some ideas at each other and soon settled on the following: First, it was better to take a picture of the three chickens playing together, and second, I should photograph the mountain separately. That way, I wouldn’t need to worry about the chickens’ size.

“But, Sano-san... Your chickens are quite different from other chickens—be careful not to let their tails or feet show in the pictures.”

“Ah... Good point.”

Right, I’d forgotten about their tails...and their sharp claws. Those would be a dead giveaway that they’re not normal chickens. Good thing I thought twice before sending the photos.

“Thanks, you were a big help.”

“No problem—let me know if anything comes up.”

I really can’t thank Aikawa-san enough for everything he does for me. I wasn’t satisfied with any of the pictures I took after that, so I decided to postpone any further photography until tomorrow.

***

I spent the morning snapping pictures of the chickens from various angles in different poses: “All three together,” “Okay, now face that way,” etc. Yuma kept walking in my direction, so I had to ask her to keep some distance. They didn’t really seem to understand what I was doing and just cocked their heads, which looked extremely cute. After my phone’s storage was filled with chicken pictures, I browsed through them.

There weren’t too many candidates left after I discarded the pictures that were out of focus or ones that had their tails showing. I suppose this must be why professional cameramen take so many.

Afterward, I took a few pictures of the scenery, and after Pochi and Tama ran off into the mountain wilderness, I went over the pictures again with Yuma. She peered into the screen, adorably tilted her head, and asked, “Pochi, Tama, who?”

“Hmm? Oh, this is you, Yuma.”

“Yuma?”

She didn’t seem to recognize herself in the picture—she would stare at the photo for a moment, then look down at her own body, then back to the photo, repeat. Suddenly, for some reason, she sat down on the spot.

“Yuma? What’s up?”

She looked as soft and fluffy as always, but her feathers also had a glossy luster to them, probably from washing them in the bath every day.

“Yuma?” she asked.

“Yup! Pretty cute, huh? This is you.” I showed her the picture again.

“Cute?” she asked, cocking her head again.

“Yep, Yuma is very cute.”

“Cute.”

“Yeah.”

She stood up briskly. “Yuma, cute.”

“Yup, Yuma is cute.”

This odd conversation went back and forth. I just couldn’t get enough of watching her happily flap her wings. She was so precious that I had a dumb smile on my face the entire time. So cute! Some of her feathers were even flying around. Thankfully, there was no one nearby to hear us.

After that, I messaged Katsuragi-san to ask about the topic we’d been putting off: What to do about the hornet nests. “Anything unusual at your mountain? When should we go?”

“Anytime is fine with me.”

I’d have to talk it out with Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san. “Okay, I’ll let you know when we decide.”

Next, I tried asking them, and their replies were the same as Katsuragi-san’s. Ultimately, we decided to go the day after tomorrow.

“You don’t need to prepare anything—just tell us where we need to go,” I texted her.

The mountain where Katsuragi-san lived had a rather steep incline, but there was a vast forested area near the base. Apparently, that was where the dragon spent most of his time during the day when no one was around. I was surprised to hear this, since he was always nearby whenever I visited. He spent the night in the house with Katsuragi-san, making him essentially her bodyguard. What a reliable Prince Charming.

At a glance, the foot of her mountain appeared to be inaccessible from the road along the river. I asked her if there was another way onto her property—it turned out you had to go through the wire fence at the base to get inside. The only other way in was a long detour along the mountain road.

Although all that was left were the remains of hornet nests, we’d still be inspecting them closely. I thought we might need protective clothes, and I asked Yumoto-san about it, but he told me there was no need. “Though if you’re really worried about it,” he said, “you could try getting one of those anti-bee hats.”

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to simply borrow some protective clothes? Then again, it gets pretty hot in those. I decided to go with my usual work attire, plus a long-sleeve T-shirt underneath and a towel around my neck—I also set aside a hat and some other stuff. I definitely don’t want to get stung.

“I’m going over to the forest on Katsuragi-san’s mountain to look for some hornet nests. Anyone wanna go with me?” I asked the chickens. Pochi offered to join, which was rare for him.

“Go!”

“Play!”

“Go!”

They answered in their usual order. Tama would be staying behind to look after the mountain and play by herself. At least she’s honest.

“Hornet, eat?” Pochi asked.

“Hmm, I wonder... I guess you can eat them if you can catch them?”

Pochi seemed particularly interested. I’m not sure if he’s reliable or just a glutton... Either way, it’s a good thing he’s eager to help. I’d be pretty bummed if they all refused to go as soon as they heard the word “hornet.” Are those feathers enough to protect their bodies, though? They were fine back in the summer, but who knows—they could get stung. Well, the same goes for me.

The next day, I checked over all the stuff I needed to bring to Katsuragi-san’s one last time. Then I hauled out the electric mower to stage a grand, epic battle against the weeds. I mean, not literally. There’s nothing grand or epic about it—you gotta get in the mood. The tough part is pulling out all the scattered weeds. The war against weeds is a huge part of mountain life. It’d be nice if there was some use for them, though I guess humans are the only ones who think they’re a bother.

I’d eaten fresh eggs again this morning. Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs really kept me going every day; I felt a little melancholy every time they didn’t lay them, and even though I understood they also needed some respite, I couldn’t help but feel lethargic without them. I’m pretty selfish, huh?

They both treated their eggs without much care. Do they not even consider the possibility that they might be fertilized? I don’t know if they give Pochi the time of day. If not, then I guess the possibility is nil, and there’s no need to consider it. But if two girls are ignoring Pochi, I guess I feel a little sorry for him...

Also, I feel like I’m seeing more mushrooms near the river these days. I’m too scared to pick them, sadly. Yuma also stays away from them, so I guess that’s for the best. Mushroom hunting is not for amateurs—a lack of proper knowledge can spell death. Let’s leave it to the pros.

I finally got a reply from my mom—she wasn’t the most timely texter. “You’re raising three chickens? Take good care of them.”

“I will.” Whew, looks like she didn’t notice anything weird.

7. Checking the Hornet Nests

It was time for us to go to Katsuragi-san’s mountain. The weather was nice and sunny.

All my hornet-hunting gear—check!

Keys—check! (I left the house unlocked just in case.)

Pochi—check!

Yuma—check!

I ticked off each of these things on my mental list, pointing my finger as I went. Tama fidgeted about restlessly, as if to say, Just go already! But even so, she still politely saw us off. She is pretty kind...right? I had my doubts, but there wasn’t much point in thinking about it.

I also brought the presents I planned to give out. Before long, the chickens and I arrived at our destination—the foot of Katsuragi-san’s mountain. About twenty minutes by car to get to your neighbor... That’s pretty far when you think about it. It’s a challenging drive too—the downhill road’s treacherous.

Katsuragi-san was waiting by the gate on the inside of the fence. She parked her truck there and opened the gate for me.

“Hello, Sano-san.”

“Hi, Katsuragi-san. We’re waiting for the others here, right?”

“Yeah. Pochi-chan, Yuma-chan, hi there!” She cheerfully greeted the chickens, who nodded their heads. They’re staying quiet—probably because they know Yumoto-san is coming too. They’ve never talked in front of him. What’s with them, anyway? Same goes for Katsuragi-san’s and Aikawa-san’s pets—they’ve never spoken to him either. Aren’t our animals a bit too intelligent?

It didn’t take long for another two vehicles to show up.

“First place went to Shohei, huh? Hey there.”

“Hello, sorry for being late.”

“Hello!” Katsuragi-san called out. “Yumoto-san, Aikawa-san, I’ll be counting on you today. Well then, let’s go!”

Katsuragi-san’s dragon was riding in her truck. I’ll say hi to him later. Also, Aikawa-san had brought Ten-san along as insurance, since we didn’t know what we might stumble across—he was riding in the truck’s tonneau. It was quite a sight to behold. A dragon, a giant snake, and two giant chickens. As a human, I feel totally biologically outmatched. Yumoto-san’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. He must be into kaiju movies.

I’d thought there was only one road that led to Katsuragi-san’s house, but a more attentive look revealed another, less beaten side road stretching to the east. It wasn’t very well maintained, nor was it paved, making for a bumpy ride—it would’ve been hard to get through if we’d had normal cars instead of minitrucks. After some time driving along the bumpy road, we reached a flat area where Katsuragi-san’s truck came to a stop. Looks like we’re here. We all got out of our vehicles and waited for Katsuragi-san’s instructions.

“Sorry, I haven’t really been taking care of this area... I spotted two hornet nests to the east of here, close to the other eastern mountain. Both were destroyed, and I didn’t see any hornets around. I assumed it must’ve been Tatsuki who did it, but...”

“Let’s go take a look.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Luckily, we’ve been having nice weather. The weeds had grown tall enough to reach our waists, making it hard to walk, but after we reached the forest, they weren’t much of a problem. Goes to show how important sunlight is for plants.

“I’d suggest getting rid of some of the grass here,” Yumoto-san muttered.

“You’re right. I’ll try asking next time,” Katsuragi-san replied.

Oh yeah, she pays some of the villagers to help out with that sort of stuff. I think that’s a great idea if she doesn’t feel up to the task.

Pochi and Yuma followed with nimble steps. Katsuragi-san’s dragon stayed beside her, keeping her safe. Ten-san slithered along steadily, crushing the grass in his path with his massive body. Scary stuff. We must have walked for ten or fifteen minutes, parting the tall grass in our way.

“Look, here.” Katsuragi-san pointed to the mouth of a cave. I could spot a large shadow in there—Yumoto-san approached it carelessly.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Will we be okay?

“Oh... Yeah. It’s a hornet nest. Probably been...at least a month since they abandoned it. Can’t tell if it was a bear who shredded it or your big lizard, but anyway, they didn’t eat the whole thing, so there’s a chance the queen managed to get away. That could be trouble.”

Yumoto-san beckoned to me, and I went to look, taking careful steps. The nest was a big, round object, around thirty centimeters, half destroyed. It resembled the one I’d found on my mountain. That’s a murder hornet nest, no mistake about it. Yumoto-san examined the land around us—he picked up a strand of hair.

“Hmm... Looks like boar hair... Or maybe not... Katsuragi-san, can you show us the other nest?”

“Okay, sure. This way!”

Katsuragi-san led the way, and after around five minutes, we reached something that looked like the remains of a hollow tree.

“This is it...”

“Oh... This one looks more recent... Seems they got attacked shortly after they started building it...” Yumoto-san glanced over at the dragon. “Given the height, I reckon this one could be the work of our lizard friend.”

There weren’t any hornets nearby—uh, thankfully—nor was there any animal fur on the ground, and we decided to head north to look for another nest. Actually, can’t we just point at the nest and ask Tatsuki-san, “Did you eat this?” If he says no, we know it was some other animal that did it. Though honestly...I’m really hoping he did eat it.

“Yumoto-san, what d’you think?” I asked.

“Hard to tell for sure... I don’t think it was a bear—it woulda brought the nest home with it, and the ones we saw were still there, just destroyed. No signs of trying to take it home. Those hairs looked like they could belong to a deer or a boar, but definitely not a bear. I’m thinking it was most likely this big lizard here, but...we’ll just have to wait and see...”

I see, so that’s why we’re looking for more nests. After walking northward for a while, Aikawa-san grunted in surprise. I peered above us to find a hornet flying in the air. We should be able to find its nest if we follow it. That orange-and-black coloration looks so threatening...

“After it!” Yumoto-san declared. We nodded, and thus began our hunt for murder hornets.

There were a few different methods used for finding them: One involved hooking pieces of paper onto a hornet’s legs and chasing it. We didn’t need to do that, though—it seemed we’d stumbled upon their regular route, since we spotted a few of them flying. Katsuragi-san promptly put on the anti-bee hat she’d brought. I should’ve gotten one of those too... The hat I was wearing wasn’t black, at least, but I still didn’t feel safe. Gosh, I hope I don’t get stung...

We searched for the nest, with Yumoto-san leading the way.

“See, those are murder hornets. Pretty scary, huh?” I told Pochi and Yuma, who both cocked their heads. It was like they were saying, Scary? Why? or something like that.

You’re in for a world of hurt if you get stung. You can even die from the venom. Don’t try this at home, kids! If you spot a murder hornet, stay away! (Who am I even talking to?)

I remember hearing that murder hornets’ action ranged from a radius of one or two kilometers around the nest. Though it might be wider now that it’s almost October. Still, the fact that we’ve already seen a few of them means the nest can’t be too far. We delved deeper into the forest, spotting a few deer along the way.

“Tatsuki, later.”

“Ten, later.”

Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san reprimanded their respective pets, who were about to lunge at the unsuspecting prey. Whoa... I shuddered. Tatsuki-san and Ten-san seemed disappointed, but they obeyed and ignored the deer. You lucked out there, huh?

“Ah, another one...”

“The nest must be close.”

We spotted another two hornets flying nearby. One of them was flying low, and Pochi devoured it.

“P-Pochiiii...”

He munched loudly, then turned to me and tilted his head, as if to say, Something wrong?

“Whoa, nice going, Pochi!” Yumoto-san exclaimed in admiration. Listen, don’t we have something else to focus on?

“Pochi, we’re looking for their nest, so if you see it...” I paused and turned to Katsuragi-san. “Uh, is it okay to let Tatsuki-san eat it?”

“Hmm...” After some deliberation, she said, “Well, if he wants to eat it, please let him have it. If he doesn’t, then that means some other animal ate the others. And yeah, in that case, sure, your chickens can eat it.”

Yumoto-san seemed dejected. “Ah... Right... We should let the animals have it...”

Huh? Yumoto-san... Don’t tell me you were planning to take it home with you...? You didn’t even make preparations for that. I stared at him. “Our goal today is just looking into it, right?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah. Right. Uh-huh, of course.”

This old man likes hornets way too much. You’d need at least a sturdy plastic bag or something. How were you planning to take it home?

We spent another good ten minutes marching on, mindful of our footing to avoid tripping on weeds and roots, and just as I was thinking that we must have already walked over a kilometer, the dragon sped up and got ahead of us. There were a fair number of hornets flying around—it was clear that the nest was close.

“Tatsuki? Go ahead—do whatever you want,” Katsuragi-san called out to him. In response, her dragon popped his head under a fallen tree, and...

I’ll be honest, I wish I could forget what happened next.

“Pochi, Yuma! Feel free to eat any hornets that come flying!”

“Ten, you can eat the ones around the nest!”

“Whew, this is quite something!” Yumoto-san muttered nonchalantly.

I covered almost my entire face with the towel and pulled my hat down, leaving only my eyes exposed. I hope the back of my neck is covered too... Crap, I should have also brought sunglasses. Maybe next time I’ll need some swimming goggles. Actually, I’d rather just not have to deal with murder hornets at all... But that’s not really possible here in the mountains.

A swarm of murder hornets had erupted due to Tatsuki-san disturbing them—they were buzzing viciously and flying around. Katsuragi-san retreated cautiously. After a few moments, she sat herself down far away from the nest—she’d managed to get away safely thanks to the anti-bee hat she was wearing. Meanwhile, I crouch-walked away very carefully to avoid provoking the hornets.

Pochi skillfully used his beak to catch any hornets that came flying in our direction. He gobbled up each one. Whoa. Yuma stood in front of me like a shield to protect me from harm. Like Pochi, she munched on hornets. Wow, nice job, Yuma!

As for Old Man Yumoto, he was catching hornets and throwing them into the bug cage on his hip, one after another. Wha—?! What’s with this old man?! Ten-san protected Aikawa-san, eating any hornets that went flying their way.

What a bizarre situation. I bet if we caught this on film, it’d go viral.

As for the dragon, who was closest to the nest, he was completely unfazed by the hornets’ offensive—he just chewed his way through the nest. So it was him, then.

After the onslaught against us started winding down, Yuma and I moved closer to Katsuragi-san.

“This is crazy...” she murmured.

“It really is.”

For real, it was a sight out of this world. Though that might be a little rich coming from me, since I’m not the one risking my safety out there. Yuma stayed by my side, chomping any hornets that came flying by—as well as other bugs.

“Looks like it was Tatsuki-san after all,” I said.

“Yeah. I’m glad it wasn’t a bear. Still, how should I put this... The word ‘pandemonium’ has never felt more fitting.”

“Yeah...I agree. I need to get one of those anti-bee hats too...”

“I’m really glad I had it...”

Aikawa-san was also completely covered apart from his eyes—he seemed to have avoided getting stung. Ten-san’s scaled skin was tough and sturdy; Pochi and Yuma were also unaffected and continued to feast on hornets. The dragon... Well, he had scales too. The hornets’ stings were no match for him.

Looking at these animals, you almost get the impression that murder hornets aren’t really that dangerous. But to us humans, they certainly are.

“Whew, that was shocking.” Aikawa-san came by, looking drained.

“Good job,” I replied.

Yumoto-san was still gleefully catching hornets. Isn’t he getting stung?

“Uh, is Yumoto-san okay?” I asked.

“I’ve heard some people just never get stung.”

What the heck?

It seemed the dragon had finally finished his meal too. We all gathered, though there were still some hornets flying about.

“Yumoto-san, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll go see the doc later.”

“So you did get stung!”

“Well, y’know, I was having so much fun catching them. Can’t wait to make hornet wine!”

“Wh-Whaaat?”

At any rate, we were relieved to learn it was Tatsuki-san who had been eating hornet nests. Murder hornets were a menace to us humans, but to our pet kaiju, it seemed they were just another snack.

We made our way back to our trucks and called it a day.

Boy, I’m beat. I didn’t get stung, sure, but I could’ve had a heart attack there.

You know... I felt like a character in one of those disaster movies. They’re only fun when you’re on the other side of the screen. It’s a different story when it’s your own survival that’s at stake.

It wasn’t over yet—as I got in the truck and closed the door, a hornet flew in. Just as I was about to panic, Yuma caught and ate it. Oh god. That was the last of them, right? Right?

Yuma also picked off any bugs stuck to her body that she could reach. There were a surprising number of them. I’ll have to give her a wash when we get home.

Back on my mountain, I brought out a big washbasin and scrubbed Pochi and Yuma thoroughly. They’d had a lot of grass and dirt stuck to their bodies, and as they shook the water off themselves, they seemed to feel quite refreshed. Jeez, I’m all wet now. Pochi apparently didn’t get to play enough, so he’d probably be going out again. I’m sure he’ll come back dirty as always, but I’m not sure I have it in me to wash him again.

“Ahh, I’m beat! I can’t do it today...” I should have saved one of the eggs from this morning instead of eating them both. Pochi and Yuma were in a great mood, I assumed thanks to all the bugs they’d eaten. Those hornets seem pretty nutritious.

“Ah, right.” I was worried about Yumoto-san—I decided to give him a call.

Machiko-san picked it up. “Oh, Sho-chan. What’s up?”

“Is Yumoto-san home?”

“Not yet.” Which means he must’ve gone straight to the doctor. “Did something happen?”

“He got quite a few hornet stings. I was wondering if he’s doing okay...”

“Whaaat? Again? Oh dear.”

Uh... She doesn’t seem very concerned. What’s up with that? Aren’t hornet stings a big deal?

“Um, they’re murder hornets...”

“Right. If he dies on the way home, I should get a call right away. We’ll be fine. Thanks for worrying!”

“Okay. Uh... He caught a bunch of them too.”

“What? Again?! Oh, for crying out loud...” It seemed those were a bigger problem for her.

If I’m not mistaken, the reason hornet stings are dangerous is because they’re prone to causing anaphylaxis. So maybe the first time’s not that bad, but from the second time onward, you’ve already developed antibodies and could go into anaphylactic shock... Sure, that’s not necessarily the case for every single person. If that happened with everyone, no one would be able to work as an exterminator. Yikes...

I immediately ordered an anti-bee hat and other protective gear. Might get hot and stuffy in summer, but protecting myself is more important.

“Gah, I’m so tired... Thanks, Yuma.”

“Tired?”

“Yup. Hornets are scary...”

“Not scary. Tasty.”

I tip my hat to you, Yuma. Pochi had already darted outside. Wonder if he’s meeting up with Tama. I really need to work on that camera idea. I feel like I’ve already said that to myself several times.

After lunch, I got a little drowsy and took a nap in the living room. Yuma joined me. How cute.

Before evening, around the time I woke up from my nap, I got a call from Yumoto-san.

“Today was pretty fun, eh?” he said.

Are you serious? “No way...”

“Heh! They gave me hell at the clinic! I kept telling ’em that the hornets would stay inside the cage and it was safe, but they wouldn’t have it.”

“Wait, you went to the clinic with that bug cage on you?!”

“Sure did. If I’d left it in the car, they could’ve died from the heat.”

“Oh...” Fair enough. If he’d left it on the passenger seat with the windows closed, the heat might’ve indeed killed them. “You could’ve left the window open...”

“What if other hornets nearby had shown up?”

“Huh? Do they call other hornets?” What the heck?

“They call for help using pheromones and sounds, so I couldn’t just leave ’em there.”

“Just refrain from catching them, then! Anyway, are you all right?”

“Well, I got five stings. Hurt pretty bad when the doc squeezed ’em out.”

“Yikes...” I feel like I’d die from the shock. But still, five is actually fewer than I expected. “Please be sure to wear one of those anti-bee hats next time you go hornet hunting.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I will. We still need to check your mountain too.”

He plans to do the same thing on my mountain? He’s really crazy about hornet nests. Poor hornets. “Sure, we can talk about that another time...”

I ended the call and heaved a sigh. I was completely drained. But suddenly, I got a text from Katsuragi-san.

“I’d like to go check the nests again tomorrow. Could you come with me?”

“Wait, whaaat?” Give me a break. I’ve had enough of disaster movies, and I’m not a professional actor. But if I refuse, Katsuragi-san might go by herself...

“Aikawa-saaan!” I didn’t want to go by myself, so I decided to drag someone else into it.

“Tomorrow? Sure, no problem. First, let’s borrow some protective gear. We might run into hornets again.”

Good call. We can borrow some from the village office. “Are you bringing Ten-san this time too?”

“No, I’ll go by myself tomorrow. It shouldn’t be as dangerous as today. If we do find another nest, let’s make a run for it.”

“Okay...” I’m definitely doing that. I don’t want anything to do with murder hornets.

So it was decided—we’d be going again tomorrow. We’re just checking the nests, so it should be okay...right?

Needless to say, I didn’t ask Yumoto-san to come along this time. Maybe I should at least tell him that we’re going there again. Not inviting him, though. Definitely not. Absolutely not.

I gave him a call. “Tomorrow, we’re going to check the nests we saw today one more time—just to be sure they’re done for.”

“What about me?”

“You’re not invited!”

“Hey, come on. Why can’t I go too?” he protested.

“We won’t be looking for new nests tomorrow!”

“Bah, boring.”

How are you still so energetic after five hornet stings? “Anyway! You’re injured, so you can’t come with us.”

“Sheesh. Let me know if you find another one.”

And what do you plan to do with that knowledge? Barge onto the mountain? Old people these days, I swear. Try not to make Machiko-san worry too much, please.

I told the chickens I’d be going to the forest on Katsuragi-san’s mountain again tomorrow. “Aikawa-san is going too, but he said Rin-san and Ten-san are staying home.”

Upon hearing that, Tama took a step forward.

“Tama?”

“Hornet.”

“Yeah, we’re going to check their nests.”

“Eat hornet.”

“We don’t know if there’ll be any.”

“Eat, go!”

“Hey, listen to me...”

She must have heard about it from Pochi. Tama was visibly excited at the prospect of eating hornets—if the snakes weren’t going, she wanted to prioritize her own appetite, apparently. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be straightforward about your desires. Still, I made sure to let her know that there might not be any hornets there tomorrow. I didn’t want her to go all “Hey, this isn’t what I signed up for!” and peck me.

It was decided—Tama and Yuma would be joining me tomorrow. Aikawa-san would be stopping by the village office to borrow gear for us. I’m sure it’ll be pretty hot in those anti-bee suits, but a little heat is preferable to the fear of getting stung.

***

“I’ll get the drinks!”

Katsuragi-san enthusiastically offered to provide beverages for us. It’s important to keep yourself hydrated. Wouldn’t want to get heatstroke. As soon as we were ready, we headed out and did the exact same thing as yesterday: entered Katsuragi-san’s mountain, drove along the bumpy road, and parked just before the forest. Katsuragi-san’s dragon was riding in the bed of her truck again today.

Suddenly, I remembered something that had been on my mind yesterday. “Katsuragi-san, uh...”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Yumoto-san’s not here today, so I think it’s okay to talk about this... You know yesterday, when we saw the nests, couldn’t you have simply asked Tatsuki-san about them?”

Katsuragi-san’s eyes widened, and she slowly, mechanically turned her neck to face Tatsuki-san. “Ooh...” Eh? Don’t tell me it never even crossed your mind...? “You’re right... Why didn’t I think of that?! I should have just asked him back when I found the remains! Aaaaaahhh!!! I’m so sorry!”

“Sure, no problem. Happens to everyone. Probably. I think. Uh, maybe?”

“That doesn’t help at all!”

Aikawa-san was trying to hold back his laughter. “It’s hot, so let’s get going... Pfft...ha ha ha...”

Trying and failing. Yeah, that also happens to everyone. No problem. None at all.

Tama, who was fidgeting impatiently, walked alongside me with an expression that asked, Are we there yet? We went to check the first nest we’d seen yesterday. Katsuragi-san approached the nest with her dragon and started discussing something with him—she came back with a relieved look on her face.

“It turns out it was Tatsuki eating them. It seems he really likes wasps, bees, hornets—buzzing things like that...”

“I see. So does Tatsuki-san eat honeybees too?” I asked.

“How about honeybees? They’re around this size,” she gestured to him.

“Small,” the dragon replied curtly and turned away. It seemed honeybees were not to his taste. I guess they must not be satisfying to eat.

Aikawa-san stared, wide-eyed. “I...didn’t know Tatsuki-san could talk.”

“Huh? Oh? Aaah! S-Sano-san!” Katsuragi-san started panicking. Now, now, just calm down. Easy, easy. (What is she, a horse?)

“It’s okay. Aikawa-san also knows that my chickens can talk.”

“Oh! I-I see! So does that mean Ten-san can also...?”

“Yes, Ten can talk too, though not very fluently.”

“Eeeeeh?! C-C-C-Could Ten-san be Jörmungandr?!”

That legendary serpent from Norse mythology? Talk about grandiose.

“Your moon gan...? What’s that?”

Aikawa-san didn’t really seem to understand what she was talking about. If anything, it’s Rin-san who looks like a mythological monster. So, Rin-san’s a lamia, and Ten-san is Jörmungandr, huh? Wait, wasn’t that a venomous snake?

“I don’t think Aikawa-san knows much about that sort of thing,” I explained.

“O-Oh... Sorry, my bad.”

“No problem...”

Katsuragi-san was visibly dejected. Not too many people are into that stuff. Huh? Me? Well, you know, everyone has that phase in their teens where they get into it. Reading about mythological creatures and all that. You know what I mean. (I don’t know who I’m making excuses to.)

After jolting back to reality, I noticed that Tama was walking quietly farther ahead, in a tottering gait.

“Hey, Tama, wait for me.”

She cocked her head in response, keeping her distance. Not very cooperative, are we?

“I think it was this way...”

We headed north through the forest. It didn’t feel as far away as it had yesterday, since it was our second time walking it. We saw some hornets still buzzing about along the way, which scared me, but Tama dexterously caught and ate them. Very impressive.

“Katsuragi-san, Tama’s eating the hornets. Is that okay?” I asked.

“Sure, no problem. It’s not like Tatsuki can catch them in the air anyway.”

Fair enough. Tama pecked the dragon lightly. I was a bit worried about it, but Tatsuki-san narrowed his eyes and looked kind of satisfied. She must be picking the bugs off his body.

We’re lucky there’s not much sunlight today—in these protective clothes and this hat, we would’ve baked under the full force of the sun. I don’t think I can spend too long wearing these, even if I understand their importance. But now that I know how much they matter, I’m glad we got to borrow them, even if they end up being unnecessary this time.

Aikawa-san led the way with Tama close behind—it seemed she only had a problem with Rin-san and Ten-san, not with Aikawa-san himself. Tama just couldn’t handle big snakes at all. Well, everyone’s got one or two things they’re deathly afraid of. I mean, if you think about it, pretty much everyone’s afraid of big snakes.

Tama made her way through the forest, munching on hornets, until we reached the spot we’d found yesterday. There were still hornets flying around the nest, which unnerved me. I would’ve fled in fear if I hadn’t been wearing these protective clothes. Tatsuki-san crawled toward the nest remains, while the hornets made clicking noises and prepared for combat. This is terrifying...

The dragon was completely unfazed by the hornets swarming him, and he gobbled up any bugs flying close to his face. Tama covered his blind spots and caught one hornet after the other. Yuma stood in front of me, picking off any hornets that flew in our direction.

In one word, they were overwhelming.

The hornets attempted to stage a counterattack, but our animals were completely immune to their stings—it turned out my chickens’ feathers were much tougher than I’d imagined. I once thought of collecting the feathers that fell off them to make a duvet, but they’re clearly not soft enough for that. I heard duvets, down jackets, and stuff like that use waterfowl feathers. Land birds like chickens have very little down, and it’s mainly other types of feathers not suitable for padding. But enough pointless trivia. Back to the murder hornets!

Now that their nest had been destroyed by the dragon, the hornets were furious and attacking anything that moved. Yet to Tatsuki-san and my chickens, this was just lunchtime. The whole situation was a huge mess.

Today, thanks to the power of protective clothes, I got to watch a disaster movie up close. The downside was that it was too thrilling—enough to nearly give me a heart attack. It wasn’t an experience I’d like to repeat.

“There are still this many of them nearby, even after the nest was destroyed...” Katsuragi-san murmured.

“Yeah. It’s like a natural disaster to them—they have nowhere to go, so they stay around for a while.” I looked it up this morning.

“When you put it that way, I feel a little sorry for them... But in the end, it’s the fate of all living beings to either live or die.”

“Yup, and they are dangerous.” We humans don’t have any natural protection against them.

Hornets have venomous stingers to protect themselves, but then, if that makes people afraid of them and leads to their extermination, it’s kind of pointless. Then again, I bet they never thought there would be creatures who killed them not for food, but out of fear.

There’s a Laozi quote that goes, “The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight.”

Basically, it’s saying that a crooked tree can also fulfill its purpose to the fullest, and if you’re bending over, you can straighten your body...or something like that. This passage is describing the way people live, so it’s a bit different from the situation that triggered this tangent, but in reality, crooked trees are often cut down because they’re in the way and no longer needed. And it’s humans who cut them down. From the perspective of other creatures, humans must be the weirdest things in existence. And yet humans are also alive, and, like all living creatures, we’re just trying to survive.

After they were done eating, Katsuragi-san’s dragon and Tama came back in a good mood. We’d only ventured here today to check the nests, but we ended up delivering the final blow to the hornets, which made me feel a tinge of remorse. Sorry. Better luck next time.

Come to think of it, murder hornets are pretty terrifying to us, but they actually have a few natural predators in Japan. I’ve heard of giant mantises and jumbo dragonflies preying on them. I guess praying mantises are pretty strong.

“We don’t get any on my mountain, but...murder hornets are quite scary, huh?” Aikawa-san said.

“Yup, they are.”

“They sure are.”

We walked back to our trucks with awkward expressions on our faces. Yumoto-san had asked us to stop by, so we decided to drive there together.

Katsuragi-san would wash our protective clothes and return them to the village office. I felt bad about it, but when I mentioned it, she said, “I had you come all the way here, so this is the least I can do!” I decided to take her up on it. Aikawa-san was also smiling awkwardly as he handed her the clothes.

Aikawa-san and I headed toward the gate by ourselves, while Katsuragi-san stopped by her house briefly to leave the clothes there. We waited inside the fence, as we didn’t want to unlock the gate yet—it was unlikely that Nagi-san was ever coming back, but regardless, there was a young woman living all by herself on this mountain. You could never be too careful.

We waited for Katsuragi-san’s truck to show up, then she unlocked the gate, and we all drove to Yumoto-san’s house.

“So, what about the nests?” he asked the moment he saw us.

“Same as yesterday. There were some hornets around too... Pretty scary,” Katsuragi-san answered.

“Oh, okay... The hornets will still be aggressive for a while, I think. You wore protective clothes, right?”

“Yep, Aikawa-san borrowed them for us... We couldn’t have done it without them.”

“I should’ve warned you about it. Nobody got stung?”

“Thankfully not.”

“They should still be flying around for a week or two. Stay away until then.”

“Okay, thank you.” Katsuragi-san bowed courteously.

“Jeez...” Machiko-san shook her head. “You should know that the worker hornets stay around for a few days after you remove the nest! Why didn’t you warn them about it?!”

“Shut up, I just forgot!”

“I bet you forgot because you were too busy thinking about making hornet wine, weren’t you?!”

“So what if I was?! Hornet wine’s the best!”

Yumoto-san flinched at Machiko-san’s relentless scolding. I hear this is the ideal power balance for a healthy marriage. We smiled and watched in silence.

“You see, he still has this childish side to him no matter how old he gets. I should have warned you too. Sorry.”

“Oh, no, no!” Katsuragi-san shook her head.

Machiko-san hadn’t known we were checking the nests again today, and now, for some reason, she was apologizing to us.

“There were a lot more hornets than I thought, so they made for a good meal for Tatsuki... I should be the one to apologize for making you worry.”

“I’m glad it worked out this time...but don’t get cocky. You never know how things will end up.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you.”

Yumoto-san laughed. “Makes for a nice experience at least!”

“You just stay quiet!”

After the harsh chastisement, Yumoto-san turned to us dejectedly. “So, how was it?”

You never learn, do you? “I mean... We told you, the hornets were angry, and it was really scary.”

“No kidding. I’m sure they were angry—they had their nest destroyed.”

“I guess.”

“Doesn’t need to be so soon, but...we should have a look at your mountain too, Shohei.”

“Certainly won’t be anytime soon!” We can wait until winter. We already dealt with the nest we found near my house, and that should be enough for now.

“Incidentally, what did you do with the hornets you caught?” Aikawa-san asked in an intrigued tone.

“Oh, I soaked ’em in shochu to make hornet wine. And I also set a few aside to fry.”

“Huh? You’re going to fry and eat them?”

“Yup. I smoked them first, so they should be pretty fragrant and tasty!”

Aikawa-san was dumbfounded. Humans will eat just about anything...or at least, the humans who live here in the mountains will. I hear back in the day, kids used to catch locusts from rice paddies for homework, and they’d make food out of them by boiling them in soy sauce. Sure, I guess they’re edible, but I’m not too sure how I feel about eating bugs...

But fried hornets don’t sound bad.

Yumoto-san had managed to catch a lot of them, and there were a considerable number of fried hornets laid out on a plate. Given how many there were, it was no surprise he’d gotten stung a few times. Katsuragi-san was speechless.

“You...caught a lot of hornets, huh?” Aikawa-san blurted out.

“Sure did!” He puffed out his chest. Uh, is this something to boast about...?

“The cage was completely full! I was scared to death!” Machiko-san chuckled.

No wonder they didn’t want to let him into the clinic. They might already have put up a safety sign saying “No Hornets Allowed!”

As for the fried hornets... It was hard to describe the taste, but perhaps due to the cooking method, they tasted kind of like shrimp, although with a distinct “buggy” flavor. The scorpion I ate once tasted closer to shrimp, though the aftertaste was definitely all bug. As for hornets, there are apparently people who like to simmer the larvae and pupae in syrup. This time, the dragon had eaten all of those himself, and Yumoto-san had only caught adult hornets. Yup, no wonder he got stung.

“By the way, have you recovered from the stings already?” I asked.

“Ha ha ha! The painful part was getting the venom squeezed out!” He laughed heartily.

“No, I mean... Aren’t you feeling unwell or...?”

“Huh? Just take a look at me. I’m doing great!”

“Good to hear.”

I was glad to see he was all right. That being said, you never knew what might happen and when it might happen, so I still wished he’d behave himself for a while. Maybe learn a lesson from it...but this is Old Man Yumoto we’re talking about.

There was also plenty of food apart from the fried hornets, and we were treated to a delicious meal. Tama and Yuma were in the fields, eating bugs and some vegetables that the Yumotos intended to throw away. Tatsuki-san rested in the shade of the house. Guess he doesn’t need to eat every day either.

My finger was healing smoothly, though it still hurt like hell sometimes. After it’s fully healed, I want to visit the chicken farm.

8. Entering October

It was now October, and my finger was just about fully healed. Apart from the occasional day off, Tama and Yuma continued to lay delicious eggs almost every day (to my delight). I’d stopped worrying about whether they were fertilized like I had initially. If the eggs were important to them and their future kids were in there, they’d take better care of them. Since they don’t do that, I’ll assume that’s not the case. I stole a glance at Pochi, who tilted his head with a clueless look on his face. No reaction from Pochi either. Yeah, we’re good.

By now, Yumoto-san’s hornet stings were no longer noticeable. When I saw him the day after he went to the hospital, he wasn’t wearing Band-Aids anymore. Apparently, there wasn’t much you could do about anaphylactic shock except use something called an “epinephrine auto-injector” and go see a doctor. (No idea where to get one of those injectors, though, or if you can buy them that easily. If anyone’s listening, look it up on your own.)

Everyone had already finished planting their autumn crops, and they’d prepared accordingly—for example, you could see fields covered with plastic sheets in the morning and at night, which serves to protect the crops from the cold. The Yumotos also had a greenhouse. The farmers around here were more or less self-sufficient when it came to vegetables, but they still had to buy meat and fish. Oh, and I’ve heard there are also some people around here raising dairy cows. The population wasn’t huge, but since the village itself spanned a wide area, there were still a lot of people I didn’t know and places I’d never been. The maps aren’t exactly one hundred percent precise either.

That reminds me—rice harvesting season’s just around the corner, isn’t it?

Lately, I’d been seeing more golden ears of rice down in the village. The sight of green rice paddies in the summer had also been beautiful, but personally, I felt more excited when I saw them drooping, almost ready to harvest. We had quite a few rice paddies around here, but it was rare to find large areas completely covered in rice, perhaps because we were up in the mountains.

The Yumotos also grew rice, but if I wasn’t mistaken, only enough to feed them and their sons’ families. What about the other households around here? Wonder if I could get somebody to sell me a bit of rice...

I felt like eating tofu, so I took a trip to the tofu shop with Yuma. The small store was usually empty, but today, there happened to be another customer. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I thought I’d wait outside...but then I noticed a chicken standing next to my truck.

Not one of my chickens—a rooster from someone else’s farm. Needless to say, it was smaller than my chickens. I was startled at first, since I’d heard roosters tended to be aggressive, but when I got a better look, I realized I recognized him from somewhere. Hmm... Just where did I see him?

He took a look at Yuma and raised his head sharply, then approached her in a light trot. Is he trying to pick a fight? I think he’s punching above his weight if so... Wait, should I protect Yuma? However, the situation wasn’t as I predicted.

With his eyes fixed on her, the rooster began to move in circles around Yuma, for some reason skipping and jumping. Yuma, on the other hand, didn’t pay him any mind—she just stood next to me, grooming herself.

What was that about?

The other customer came out of the tofu store, and seeing him, I finally remembered his rooster’s name. “Ah. The rooster’s name is...Butcher, right?”

“Hmm? Oh? That huge chicken... Is that you, Sano-kun?”

“Ah, hello.”

The man put a plastic bag, presumably full of tofu, inside a cooler he had on his truck’s bed. “Your chickens were a huge help to us this summer. I wanted to tell you thanks, but I never got the chance. You got some business at the tofu store?”

Summer, chickens... He must be one of the people they helped out with the snake thing. Yeah, I’m starting to remember. “I do. Er, Kakegawa-san...was it?”

I recalled seeing him at the Yumotos’ gathering. If I’m not mistaken, he’s about the same age as Yumoto-san. Did he stay the night there after the party? Hm, not sure. Anyway, I hope I didn’t get his name wrong... I think he raises chickens too and lets them roam free. The south side of the village also has a lot of open areas with rice paddies and fields—it’s similar to the northern side but feels a bit different. That area’s surrounded by mountains and forests, so the land’s not as wide. I remember seeing some pretty large fields there, though not nearly as large as the ones at Mutsu-san’s place.

“Ooh, I’m glad you remembered.” He broke into a smile.

Honestly, I remembered him as “that guy with the chickens,” so I was worried I’d get his name wrong. Kakegawa-san hadn’t left much of an impression on me at the gathering where we’d met, but some time later, I’d spotted him riding with his rooster in his truck, and I vaguely remembered him calling the chicken “Butcher” on that occasion.

“Uh... I heard from Old Man Y— Yumoto-san...”

“I see. Well, I do want to thank you, so why not stop by my place? The tofu store’ll still be open for a while.”

“Oh, um...sure. I’ll take you up on that.” I felt a bit of pressure from Kakegawa-san and decided to do as he said. I don’t have anything on my docket for today, so why not?

Butcher continued to move in a circle around Yuma, but he stayed a moderate distance away from her. Maybe due to that, Yuma didn’t seem to pay him any mind.

Huh? Is he trying to woo Yuma? I’ve heard about chickens doing a little courtship dance... Or maybe not?

I had Yuma get into my truck, then followed behind Kakegawa-san’s truck. Butcher sat in his passenger seat. It was kind of cool seeing him flap his wings as he’d gotten in the truck, because Yuma didn’t do that—she just hopped in. But I do feel like she used to do that back when she wasn’t as big. Anyway, kind of cute.

We drove south for about five minutes, with not much in the way of scenery apart from farmland and a few houses here and there. Kakegawa-san parked his truck by one of the houses in a gravel-covered spot. I parked next to him, leaving a little space between our vehicles. We had arrived at his home—a single-story house with a meticulously tiled roof and an old-fashioned vibe. It’s about as big as Mutsu-san’s, I think.

“Sano-kun, wanna take a look at my chickens?”

“Chickens? Sure.”

Kakegawa-san got off his truck, and his rooster followed through the driver’s door, flapping his wings. Guess he couldn’t wait for him to open the passenger’s door.

I hopped outside and opened my own passenger’s door. But Yuma didn’t get out by herself, which was unusual for her. “What’s up, Yuma? You want me to help?”

She responded with a cluck. So cute. I love how she acts a bit spoiled and clingy every now and then.

Kakegawa-san smiled when I picked her up and helped her out of the truck. “Yuma-chan, was it? She’s huge, that’s for sure, but also very cute.”

You’ve got that right—my chickens are the cutest. They’re so cute, it’s hard to find ways to describe them other than “cute” or “adorable.” I can’t help it—just look at Yuma!

The rooster approached again in a leisurely manner. Kakegawa-san snickered. “Hey now, Butcher, you’re no match for Sano-kun.”

Actually, I don’t think I could fend him off if he attacked me... Please don’t add fuel to the fire. I chuckled awkwardly.

Yuma snuggled up to me. “Yuma? What’s got you acting so spoiled today?” I couldn’t help but break into a smile.

“Butcher, just give up. Yuma-chan couldn’t care less about you.”

The rooster glared at me intensely. Huh? Don’t tell me he can understand us too...? Well, I mean, they’re actually pretty clever animals. Who knows, maybe he does understand what Kakegawa-san’s saying. Chickens can be pretty scary if you think about it.

“Sorry about that, Sano-kun. Come over here.”

“Okay.”

I followed Kakegawa-san to the back of the house, where he had a large chicken coop with a couple of hens inside. The other hens were outside, pecking at the ground. No other roosters in sight.

“Oh? Is he the only rooster?” I asked, glancing at Butcher, who was tagging along. He was visibly much larger than the hens.

“That’s right. Already butchered the other ones,” Kakegawa-san explained. “We were supposed to get him too, but he sort of slipped by, and before I knew it, he’d grown this big. Ha ha ha!”

“I-I see... Uh...” I guess that is the natural course of things for poultry. I’ll refrain from asking if he still intends to butcher him.

However, Kakegawa-san seemed to realize what was on my mind. “Ah, no plans to eat him for now. We were actually supposed to butcher him this year, but I guess he was influenced by your chickens—he helps catch snakes, and just the other day, he caught an illegal dumper red-handed.”

“Whoa, that’s very impressive!”

“Right?” Kakegawa-san replied proudly. Butcher also had a boastful look on his face. He really must understand what we’re saying. “He used to be very aggressive and hard to handle, but ever since he saw your chickens, he’s stopped attacking people indiscriminately. Now he’s like a guard dog—uh, guard chicken.”

“Oh wow, that’s great to hear.” I was relieved to find out that they had no plans to butcher Butcher. Would be a bit awkward to find out that an animal I’d gotten to know had become someone’s food. “Incidentally, I was also wondering... Why’s he called ‘Butcher’?”

“He’s named after a pro wrestler. Heard of him?”

“He’s, uh, a Canadian wrestler, was it?”

“Oh, so you do know about him.” Kakegawa-san grinned.

Glad to hear the name has nothing to do with meat. Still, bit of an odd name for a chicken, no? Not that it’s any of my business.

“I see, so that’s where you got it from. By the way, do your hens lay eggs?”

“Yup, and they’re edible. Wanna try ’em?”

“Oh, I appreciate the thought, but I don’t want to impose.”

“Really? I don’t mind at all. I’d like to give you something to take home.”

“No, no, really... You already gave me tons of vegetables!”

I’m happy to see he’s thankful to us for the chickens’ help in the summer, but there’s no need for him to give me so much stuff. While I appreciate the kindness, I feel like the farmers around here can be generous to a fault. I let out a stilted laugh. Yuma was pecking at the grass around me.

I glanced over at the rice paddy stretching to the south of the house. The rice ears were heavy and drooping, almost like they were begging to be harvested.

We’re already here—might as well ask.

“Um, I also wanted to know... When do you generally harvest rice? Do you think you could sell me some when you do?”

“Tomorrow, actually. Ah, right—how about helping out with the harvest? I’ll treat you to a nice lunch at least.”

The proposition caught my interest. “Really? Can I?”

“If you could bring the chickens too, they’d be a big help.” Kakegawa-san chuckled.

True, it’d be good to have them around so we don’t need to worry about snakes and other critters while we harvest. “Good idea. I can’t make any promises yet, but I’m sure that Yuma at the very least will be glad to join. Can we help?” I helped plant rice when I was little, but I’ve never harvested it. Should make for an interesting experience—I’ve always wanted to give it a try.

“Sure thing. Even just one of your chickens would be a tremendous help. The other folks don’t feel at ease if it’s just Butcher.”

“Butcher catches snakes too, right?”

“He does, but the problem is that he also attacks people sometimes.” Kakegawa-san laughed awkwardly.

I guess roosters are pretty aggressive. Maybe that’s why he’s called “Butcher.”

We sat down on the veranda to drink tea and nibble on pickles and other snacks. Kakegawa-san went over how things would go tomorrow. I was also given oodles of snacks.

“Do you like these? We don’t really eat them much,” his wife said. She handed me manju buns, rice crackers, and other assorted snacks. Apparently, whenever someone came over for tea, they’d bring these. “Your chickens really helped us out, Sano-kun. And you’re even helping us with the harvest tomorrow. Thanks so much.”

“Well... It’s my first time—I don’t think I’ll be able to help much.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Everyone has to start somewhere. We’re grateful that you’re willing to lend a hand!” The old lady was in high spirits—she slapped me on the back, making me choke a little.

And so, my rice-harvesting plans for tomorrow were set. I graciously accepted the snacks they’d offered and then took my leave. I almost forgot about wanting tofu, but I remembered just in time and stopped by the shop before heading back to my mountain.

Back at home, Yuma was still acting clingy.

“Sano.”

“What’s up, Yuma?”

After I put away the stuff I’d bought, I sat down in the living room. She gave me a big cuddle and stared up at me. Her big, round eyes looked like they were expecting something.

“Sano.”

“Yuma, you’re so cute!”

“Cute?”

“Yep, you’re adorable.”

She flapped her wings happily. Gaaaah, Yuma’s just way too precious!

“Yuma, remember how I was talking to Kakegawa-san about going to his place tomorrow? How about you? Are you going too?”

“Going!”

“Thanks.”

“Sano, together.”

“Yup, we’re going together.”

Yuma rubbed her head against me, and I petted her feathers. I didn’t pet them too hard, but a bunch fell off onto the floor. What’s with all the feathers?

That evening, we followed our usual routine: Pochi and Tama came back all dirty, and I scrubbed them clean using the big washbasin. Though I filled the tub with hot water, it didn’t take long to cool down in the evening air, so I had to be quick and efficient about cleaning them up.

After feeding everyone, I talked about our plans for tomorrow. “Pochi, Tama, tomorrow I’ll be heading out to help harvest rice. Are you guys coming along? It’s one of the farms you went to back in the summer—the one where they raise chickens.”

Pochi seemed to have lost the thread at some point—he tilted his head, and it stayed that way.

“Uh... Tama, did you get that?”

Tama did the same. It seemed my words had been hard for them to understand. Or maybe I just suck at explanations. I tried again.

“Okay, so tomorrow I’m going to the village.”

Pochi clucked in response.

“I’ll be at a house with a lot of chickens. Not the chicken farm. You’ve been there before with Old Man Yumoto.” I explained things to them step-by-step. “There might be snakes there, so we want you to help out by patrolling near the rice paddy. Can I ask you to go?”

“Go.”

“Go.”

“Sano, together.”

Explaining things in more detail seemed to do the trick, thankfully. Looks like I need to collect my thoughts better before speaking. I’ll try to be more careful about that.

Tama pecked me lightly, as if to say, Your explanation sucks!

I sighed. Sorry.

The next morning, I awoke from the shock of Tama sitting on my chest.

“Gaaaah?!” You know, Tama, you’re getting way too heavy for this. “T-Tamaaaaa!”

Tama darted off toward the living room without even bothering to check whether I was getting up.

“If you know you’re gonna get scolded for it, how about not doing it...?” I muttered. I then noticed a lot of chicken feathers scattered around. “Huh? Are they supposed to lose this many feathers?”

As I got ready to start a new day, I stepped out of my room and checked the hallway. I spotted feathers on the floor here and there, presumably belonging to Tama. Walking in the direction of the living room (which also doubled as the kitchen and the entryway), I could see a large number of them on the earthen floor.

“What’s going on here...?”

After preparing the chickens’ breakfast, I looked it up on my phone. Hope it’s not some sort of disease. “Oh, I see... Molting season.”

Pochi flapped his wings, causing a bunch of his feathers to detach and take flight. Wish you’d refrain from doing that inside the house. I don’t want your feathers getting in the food. It crossed my mind that a bunch of the feathers on the floor had likely fallen off yesterday when I’d scrubbed them clean—I just hadn’t noticed it because it’d gotten dark while I’d washed them.

Although the timing could vary, usually it took at least two or three days for chickens’ feathers to stop falling out. I feel like Yuma’s been molting a lot recently. I should check under the passenger seat of the truck.

I’d been told that the rice harvest would begin around nine o’clock—it was time to get ready for work. The water had already been drained from the rice paddies, but I still wore a pair of boots. I wrapped a towel around my head and another one around my neck. Finally, I put on my usual work clothes and got in my truck. I also made sure to bring a change of clothes, just to be safe.

Pochi and Tama were on the tonneau, and Yuma sat in the passenger seat—their usual spots.

“Well then, off we go!”

“Off we go!” Yuma repeated, cocking her head.

Heh. Thanks for going along with it.

Our destination was Kakegawa-san’s place, on the southern side of the village. There wasn’t much to see in the area other than rice paddies, fields, and a few houses here and there. In one of the paddies, a few people were already gathered. I parked and made my way over to them.

“Good morning. My name is Sano. I’m glad to be joining you today.”

Kakegawa-san came to greet me with a smile on his face. “Morning, Sano-kun. Are the chickens all here?” He was wearing tabi boots on his feet. I think these are supposed to make manual labor easier.

“Yes, I brought all three of them. I think they’ll probably be hanging around nearby, if that’s okay with you.”

Among the crowd were a few children, who were quick to spot the chickens.

“Ah, it’s Pochi-chan!”

“Tama-chaaan!”

“Hi, Yuma-chan!”

It’s Friday—why are there kids here? In contrast with the adults, who stared at the chickens from a distance, the children didn’t hesitate to get closer.

“Hey now, we didn’t come here to goof around!” I said. “What’re you kids doing here on a weekday, anyway? What about school?”

“Closed for the rice harvest!”

“Huh, you get days off for that?”

“Mister, you didn’t know about that?”

Due to the large number of farming households in the area, it was apparently common to have what were effectively local holidays during the rice planting and harvesting seasons. We didn’t have those back in my hometown, but it is a residential area.

“Ah, well, we don’t have those where I’m from,” I explained. “By the way, aren’t you kids supposed to be helping with the harvest?”

“We’ll help tomorrow!”

“Oh.” Guess the harvest will take two days—today and tomorrow—to finish. Yumoto-san’s place too, I imagine?

I clarified to the kids why my chickens had come along: They would be patrolling the area around the rice paddies for any dangerous animals, and therefore, everyone should let them focus on their work and not get in their way. The children all nodded and went off to play somewhere else. Glad they’re all such good kids.

“Ah, it’s Butcher!”

“Run away!”

Butcher, Kakegawa-san’s rooster, appeared from the back of the house and dashed straight in our direction.

“Wh-What?” I was trying to make sense of what was happening when Pochi stepped forward and cried out loudly.

“Kweeeeeeh!”

He then used his tail to forcefully thwack Butcher, who was sprinting toward us.

“Whaaaat?” What the heck is going on here?!

Butcher was knocked down by the powerful blow, but he soon got up and bravely charged at Pochi again. He repeated this a few times—running at Pochi, getting knocked down, getting up again... He was quite persistent.

I grew concerned and called out to Kakegawa-san. “U-Uh...”

“Oh, that’s just his way of saying hi. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

“O-Okay then...”

Pochi went along with it, though he looked annoyed. Tama and Yuma paid Butcher no mind and loitered around, pecking at the ground. I’d forgotten how scary roosters can be...

Kakegawa-san helped me tie a bundle of straw around my waist and pointed at the area I’d be responsible for. I picked up a sickle—wearing gloves, of course. I know all too well to be careful with sickles... I’d hate to cause trouble for Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san again.

“Well then, let’s get started.”

“Let’s go!”

Kakegawa-san’s neighbors had all joined us today for the harvest. I was taught how to do it: Collect stalks of rice in the center curve of the sickle, hold the bundle of rice stalks together, then use the sickle to slice through the base of the stalks near the ground. I put this into practice and found that the process didn’t require a ton of strength. Rather, it was about knowing the right way to do it.

I grabbed a bundle of rice stalks with my left hand, making sure not to let my thumb get underneath (in the path of the sickle) and cut it. Then I set the cut bundle aside—I would tie it up using pieces of straw.

I remembered seeing an idol harvest rice on TV, and she would intertwine the bundles of rice before tying them together. That seemed beyond my skill level, though. I bet if I tried doing it that way, the bundles would just fall apart. I’m here to help out, not to get in their way. But if I’m being honest, even doing it the “simple” way is already pretty hard for me.

I was having trouble properly wrapping the bundles with straw, and the rice stalks kept falling out, attracting amused giggles from the old folks. By the end, I had more or less gotten the hang of it, but I still wasn’t very good. I’m kind of clumsy with these things, huh? At least it was worth the experience.

I kept at it, harvesting bundles of rice stalks and tying them up with straw. I was drenched in sweat, which I wiped off with a towel every now and then.

“Keep at it, Sano-kun! You’re almost done.”

I’d been doing my best, but I still ended up being the last one to finish. Cheered on by Kakegawa-san, his neighbors, and even the children, I let out a self-deprecating chuckle and did my best to finish the work I’d been assigned. My legs were already shaking from the strain.

Everyone else was quite used to the whole thing, and they could gather a huge handful of harvested rice stalks before needing to set them on the ground. I, on the other hand, wasn’t very skilled, so I could only hold about half as much at a time—this led to me working at a slower pace than everyone else. Still, the area I’d been assigned was narrower than the others, so I was able to finish without it taking too long.

“Thanks, Sano-kun.”

“Good job, mister!”

“You did your best!”

Being praised by the kids is a little embarrassing...

“Hey, mister, there’s some mud on your cheek!”

“Seriously?”

We all laughed. Eh, I can wash my face later. Yuma walked over and cuddled up against me, despite all my sweat. Ahhh, I already feel invigorated.

“He’s acting all lovey-dovey!”

“Yuma-chan’s so cute!”

The kids jeered at us. I agree about Yuma’s cuteness, though.

“Yuma, I’m all sweaty. Can you wait until later?”

I helped load the harvested rice onto the rice rack. This was a job reserved for relatively well-built men, which allowed me to save some face. The old folks showered me with praise.

“Young people these days are so big and strong.”

“So impressive.”

Well, I’m only a little over 170 centimeters tall, though.

“Phew...” I let out a sigh.

“Great job, Sano-kun,” Kakegawa-san’s wife said. “Here, I brought you some barley tea!”

“Ah, thank you very much!”

I was impressed at how sprightly the old ladies were, even after all that work. Me, on the other hand... Oh well. Now that the harvest was over, all the children gathered around the chickens. Butcher also joined the fray. He would chase them, but he apparently never pecked the kids. Must be a pretty smart chicken after all. The kids seemed to enjoy playing tag with him, and Pochi also joined in. Their cheerful laughter echoed in the air.

It was a sunny, pleasant autumn day. Soft, fluffy-looking clouds loomed in the distance.

I drank the barley tea in large gulps. “Whew!” That really hits the spot. I can’t remember the last time I concentrated so hard on a task. It’s tough work, but it makes for a nice change of pace.

“Good job, everyone. Time for lunch.”

The women brought out food from the kitchen, and we laid some plastic sheets on the ground by the paddy. After sitting down, I realized I was unable to stand up again. “Aw, man...” I can tell I’m in for some major soreness tomorrow. I’m in such bad shape.

“Here you go, Sano-kun.”

“Thank you.”

The children who had been playing nearby also gathered and helped hand out onigiri—plain salted onigiri, but they were really good.

“This is tasty...” Nothing like good old salted onigiri after working up a sweat. These pickles are also delicious. Did one of their neighbors make them? Vegetables pickled on rice bran are just perfect.

“Sano-kun, how about a drink, eh?”

“Sorry, I’ll pass.” I don’t live nearby—it’d be dangerous to drink when I still need to drive back home.

The men were already red in the face. They look like they’re having a good time. Guess they all live around here.

“Hmm? Tama?”

I was wondering what she’d come over here for when...

“Wh-Whoa?!”

She held a snake in her beak—it didn’t look like a viper. Maybe a yamakagashi?

“E-Excuse me! Tama caught a viper—what should I do with it?” I asked for assistance, since I couldn’t be bothered to deal with it myself.

“Oooh! Nice job catching it! Hm, that looks like a yamakagashi.” Kakegawa-san walked over and slipped the yamakagashi into a bag. “Didn’t know there were any of these still around. Good thing you guys came today!”

“H-Ha ha ha... Glad we could be of help...” You know, maybe I should’ve just told the chickens to bring any snakes they catch to Kakegawa-san. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?

“Can I have this?” he asked.

“Oh, of course. It’s all yours.”

“Thanks.”

Kakegawa-san was all smiles. On the other side of the rice paddy, I could see Yuma pecking at grass, and near her, Pochi and Butcher were still sparring. Don’t they get tired?

“Huh? What’s up, Tama?”

Tama was still nearby, and she clucked in response. Is she hungry, maybe?

“Excuse me, would you happen to have any vegetable scraps lying around? If so, could my chickens have some?”

Heeding my request, the women went inside and came back out with a bunch of vegetables—a lot more than I’d expected. I appreciated the kind gesture and summoned the chickens. Looks like they also wanted to eat some veggies, not just bugs. Tama nibbled the vegetables without hesitation.

I ate more of the food they’d brought out—some miso soup in a paper cup and some stew. The tofu fritters were delicious, as was the stewed taro. Not to mention the burdock root stir-fry and radishes simmered with kelp and shiitake mushrooms.

“You know, I’m a big fan of stewed and simmered food. This is all so tasty!” I exclaimed.

“Hey, I’m sensing some preferential treatment toward the young man,” one of the men chortled.

“Well, you never praise our cooking, do you?!” The women also chuckled, and they continued to offer me all sorts of food until I was nearly at my limit.

“Um, the food is all really fantastic, but I’m already full...”

“Oh, really? Wanna take some home with you?”

“Ah, no, I couldn’t...”

But as usual, I was no match for the old ladies. Even if I took some food home, I doubt I’d be able to eat it today...

I got a minute to myself and was winding down when Kakegawa-san sat down next to me. “How’d you find the harvest, Sano-kun?”

“It’s hard work...but I had fun.”

“Can I invite you again next year?”

“Of course. Please do. Ah, but only once a year, if possible...” I don’t think I could handle doing this every day.

“Sure thing, ha ha ha.”

Kakegawa-san said he’d thresh the rice at a later date, after the insides of the ears were dry. The ears were the golden parts at the tops of the stalks that contained the rice, and they still held a lot of moisture after harvesting, so you needed to dry them thoroughly. Usually, they’d leave stalks out to dry in the sun for a few days before moving them to a warehouse to dry artificially. This was the fastest method, and it meant that the rice should be good to eat by mid-October.

“Sano-san, we owe you some rice,” Kakegawa-san said. “Would you rather I give it to you as brown rice?”

“Well, I don’t have a rice polisher...”

“No problem—you can leave some of your harvest here for me to polish and drop by to pick it up when you’re running out of rice. And when you need more polished, just give me a call!”

“Is that okay with you?”

“Sure. You and your chickens have been a huge help!”

The other people around nodded in agreement. Wow, the villagers here are way too kind.

“Are you really sure about this...?”

“I told you, it’s okay. My grandkids will also be happy to see you.”

“Well, if you say so...” Can’t argue with that. And I can bring the chickens along when I come so the children get to see them—not sure about the other two, but Yuma will probably always come along.

“Oh yeah, do you prefer regular or prewashed rice?” Kakegawa-san asked.

“Prewashed, I think, but is there any difference in taste?” I’ve been wondering about that.

“Not really. Not that I’m aware, at least?” Kakegawa-san tilted his head.

Prewashed rice doesn’t need to be washed as thoroughly—you can tell because the water doesn’t turn white when you rinse it. But are there any other advantages? I’ll have to look it up later...if I don’t forget.

Hearing a loud thump nearby, I looked over to see Butcher once again charging at Pochi and getting pummeled by his tail.

“Um... What is that...?” When we’d first gotten here, Kakegawa-san had said that this was Butcher’s “way of saying hi” or something like that. But still...haven’t they already exchanged more than enough greetings?

Kakegawa-san shrugged. “Not too sure myself. I figure it must be a rooster thing, no? I’m sorry for Pochi, but I guess ol’ Butcher’s taken a liking to him.”

“Taken a liking to him,” huh? Well, Pochi looks annoyed, but he is going along with it. Maybe Butcher is into cockfighting.

“Still, must be pretty tough for you, huh, Sano-kun? Raising chickens that huge.”

“Oh, uh... It’s not bad, actually...” They say roosters tend to be rough and rowdy, but Pochi’s pretty easygoing. Is it because, in our case, Tama’s the violent one?

And speak of the devil—she happened to be nearby.

I jolted in surprise. There’s no way she read my mind...is there? Tama strutted closer. Waaah, I’m sorry, Tama! I didn’t mean it!

I was shaking in my boots when Tama began to peck at my clothes, but it seemed some kind of large bug had landed on me. Whew, she just saved my life. “Thanks, Tama.”

She clucked in response and started pecking me in a different spot.

“Sano-kun...?”

“Ah! I-It’s nothing!”

Kakegawa-san seemed to have caught on, but I didn’t want him to say it out loud. I tried to play it cool.

“I see. It’s tough, huh?” he muttered. I simply nodded in response. He must have caught on.

Butcher put up a valiant fight up until the very end, but sadly, he was no match for Pochi, who gave him one last disinterested smack with his tail. Butcher got knocked down around once every three times, but he would soon get back up and lunge at Pochi again. You can tell Pochi is holding back. I mean, obviously—after all, he can defeat a wild boar with those claws and that tail. Poor Butcher wouldn’t stand a chance if Pochi got serious.

The children watched in amusement from a distance. What was to me an intense, frightening scene seemed to be nothing more than entertainment to them.

“I wonder why he keeps trying when he must know he can’t win,” I blurted out.

“Beats me. Must be doing it out of instinct, I guess?” Kakegawa-san replied with a chuckle. Instinct, huh? In any case, I just hope he doesn’t get hurt.

Tama walked leisurely along the paths between the rice paddies, sometimes being stopped and hugged by the girls. Yuma also did her own thing, but she would occasionally come over to me and tilt her head—perhaps her way of asking, When are we going home? I was happy she checked in with me, and I would pet her gently every time.

We agreed that Kakegawa-san would get in touch again when my rice was ready. After the meal and a quick break, I took my leave.

Before I got in the truck, they handed me some presents to take home—vegetables and pickles—and said they were a reward for helping out with the harvest. It was impossible to refuse their generosity. However, I planned to pay them properly for the rice when the time came.

“Phew, I’m beat...”

I helped the chickens get into the truck, and we took off for my mountain. Yuma let out a short cluck.

It was a bright, sunny day, and it was a bit hot inside the truck, so I opened the window. When I passed by the general store, I saw a few children hanging out there. I heard a loud cry from the truck bed, and Yuma looked outside the window and clucked. Looks like they were saying hi to the kids. I couldn’t see whether the children were waving at us, but I did hear their bubbly voices.

“Pochi-chan!”

“Tama-chan!”

My chickens had gotten quite popular among the villagers. Thanks to their hard work during the whole snake thing—and then the litter cleanup walks. I think they’re blending in pretty well.

“Butcher was also riding in the passenger seat, huh?” I mumbled. Though unlike my truck, I didn’t think Kakegawa-san had removed the actual seat. I mean, Butcher’s pretty big, but he’s about as large as normal chickens get, huh? You could probably even carry him if you wanted to, unlike my chickens. Well, I don’t think he’d let you, but still.

I glanced at Yuma. You know, I always find it cute when I see a chicken sitting in the passenger seat. I broke into a smile.

Back on my mountain, Pochi and Tama jumped out of the truck by themselves. It was still light outside, but not for too long. They didn’t run off into the mountain wilderness—rather, they stood there, moving their legs restlessly, like they were waiting for me to give my permission. Ahhh, how adorable!

“Are you going out to play?”

“Going!”

“Play!”

“Make sure you’re back before it gets dark, okay?”

Pochi and Tama clucked in response and zipped off, disappearing among the trees. I’m happy they came along today, but it looks like that wasn’t nearly enough exercise for them.

Yuma didn’t get out of the truck on her own—I helped her down. After that, I did some chores around the house.

I had a bad feeling, and it soon came true—around the time Pochi and Tama came home, I started experiencing terrible muscle pain in my legs.

Most people think you only start feeling muscle pain the day after exercising, but in my case, I usually feel it later on the same day. I’d told Yumoto-san about this before, and he laughed it off, saying it was proof that I was still young. But I could really do without the achiness...

“Agh, ouch ouch ouch...”

I whimpered as I washed Pochi and Tama. Then Tama started pecking me.

“Ouch, it hurts, Tama! It freaking hurts!”

She pecked me again.

“Hey, listen here!”

And again.

“Tama, stop it!!!”

Watching me squirm with muscle pain amuses her, doesn’t it? What a meanie.

“Dammit! Just you wait—I’ll make you regret this!” After I yelled out a line that made me sound like a generic villain, Tama paused for a moment with a puzzled look on her face. Oh, she looks kind of cute now. Then, the next moment, she resumed pecking me.

“Gaaaaaaahh!!!” This is so cruel. She’s aiming for the legs—she’s doing it on purpose!

“Stop,” said Yuma.

It was unusual to see Yuma addressing Tama. But Tama did stop pecking me for a brief moment. I thought Yuma had gotten her to quit completely, but Tama just started pecking me with a little more restraint. She kept at it—lightly, this time—until I made dinner.

Look, I understand that this must be fun for you...but I really wish you’d stop.

9. Chestnuts Are Tasty, but Maybe Not Worth the Effort

The next morning, I woke up feeling mostly normal, but my legs were sore. Thankfully, Tama hadn’t come to wake me up, probably because we had no scheduled plans. Or maybe I just managed to get up before she started feeling impatient... Well, whatever.

As I was preparing breakfast, I remembered that I’d had a conversation a while back about building torii gates—I gave Matsuyama-san from the chicken farm a call before I forgot about it.

“Hello. How’s the finger, Sano-kun? Still attached?”

Fortunately, yes.

“Hi there. Still attached, yes. Do you remember that we talked about building torii gates to fend off illegal dumpers?”

“Oh, right... I guess it’d help to have at least one of those, maybe...”

Matsuyama-san’s reply seemed kinda iffy. I suppose it’s not surprising that he’s not so enthusiastic now that the holidays are over. Still, illegal dumping is a big issue for us, so I’d like to do something about it if possible.

Torii gates aside, Matsuyama-san mentioned that lately, there’d been more cases of damage caused by wild boars and other harmful animals. Between illegal dumping and animal-related troubles, it’s not easy living in the countryside...or I guess this is more of a mountain thing.

The weeds on the mountain were as strong and hardy as always, and the beautiful autumn foliage was still nowhere to be seen. Although the mornings and evenings had gotten a lot chillier, that was apparently not enough to put a damper on the plants’ vitality. The weeds especially could use a little less vigor.

I tried asking Yumoto-san about the boar troubles.

“Well, yeah. It’s gotten pretty cold up in the mountains, so they come down here sometimes. We have trouble with them too occasionally. There’re a bunch of ’em living on the mountain to the back, but we haven’t been able to do anything about it.”

“The mountain to the back...”

“Belongs to the next neighbor over. They don’t live in the mountains like you do, so they don’t really take care of it. Some of the mountainside crosses my property line—I try to take care of it, but as for the rest...”

“Sounds like a bit of a predicament.”

I was lucky to be on good terms with both of my neighbors—if something came up, we could work together to find a solution. However, if you didn’t interact much with the other party, that made things more difficult. What if, for example, you wanted to lodge a complaint with them (the neighbors, not the wild boars)? Hardly knowing them would prove to be a hindrance. This was especially true for a village like this, where the same families stayed here generation after generation—everyone knew each other, so people tended to avoid conflict.

“By the way, what about the part of the mountain that’s on your property?” I asked. “Do you use it for anything?”

“Well, we used to. Nowadays it’s hard to keep up, so we just trim the trees and weeds.”

So it’s hard work even for someone as sprightly as Yumoto-san, huh?

“Oh, but we do have persimmon trees,” he added. “How about it? You can go pick some if you want.”

“Are they sweet?”

“Yep. We’ve got bitter ones too.”

“The bitter ones need to be dried, right?”

“Yeah. Wanna try your hand at it? Though it’s still a bit early in the season.”

“What about the sweet ones?”

“Should be ripe for the picking.”

Persimmon trees bear fruit...around mid-September, I think? We’re in October, so they should be more or less ripe and sweet by now.

“Can I go pick some tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure thing. Feel free to invite the folks from the other mountains too.”

“Okay, I’ll ask them.”

That reminds me, I haven’t eaten any chestnuts this year. I did eat a lot of mushrooms, though, as far as autumn delicacies are concerned. Definitely a great season for food.

I reached out to Katsuragi-san first.

“Huh, I didn’t know Yumoto-san owned a mountain too,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure most of the households around here own at least part of one.”

This was a village in the mountains—it wasn’t uncommon for people to own half of a mountain or so. Some families lived on smaller properties, which were apparently split plots of land that the original owner had sold to avoid paying an excessively hefty inheritance tax. When I’d first heard about that, I’d been surprised that there were people who moved here from elsewhere...though, of course, I was one of those people. It was mostly folks with family living here or those who pined for rural life.

Oh, speaking of which, Aikawa-san’s acquaintance Kawanaka-san lives by himself, doesn’t he? He works in N-Town by day. Doesn’t he feel lonely coming home to an empty house? At least I’ve got the chickens.

“Okay, tomorrow it is! I’m looking forward to the persimmons!” Katsuragi-san said enthusiastically. “Also, I’ve got a lot of chestnuts. Do you think Machiko-san would like some?”

“Why not ask her?” Just as I was thinking about chestnuts... Boy, I could go for some chestnut rice.

“I will! See you tomorrow!” Katsuragi-san sounded in high spirits as she ended the call.

I mean, she’s always been the peppy type, but I feel like it’s even more pronounced these days. And that’s a good thing.

I also contacted Aikawa-san, and he said he’d be joining us. Guess everyone likes having an excuse to get together and have fun. It can get lonely sometimes with only animals to keep us company.

I turned to the chickens. “So I’m going to Yumoto-san’s tomorrow. Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san are going too. Anybody wanna come along?” Or should I say “anychicken”? Eh, whatever. They don’t seem to mind what word I use.

“Go!”

“Play!”

“Go!”

Looks like Tama’s staying behind. Ah, right, I forgot to ask Aikawa-san if Rin-san is also going. Then again, we shouldn’t be there too long, so it doesn’t really matter.

All three chickens had different personalities and stamina levels, and lately, I’d been getting the impression that Tama was even more physically active than Pochi. The downside to all this energy was that they required a lot of exercise to keep them from making a racket at night—it would make it hard to raise them in a city. Especially chickens like mine, which are way bigger than normal ones. They’ve gotta have a mountain to run around on. That aside, I had no idea chickens could be this cute. You never know until you actually try raising them.

I felt disappointed that I didn’t have anything on my mountain I could give away as a gift. There were some wild vegetables growing here and there, but I didn’t have the knowledge necessary to pick them—even cross-referencing them with an illustrated guide to mountain vegetables didn’t help. And mushrooms were too dangerous for an amateur to forage.

Well, anyway, I’ll go clean the graves.

“Ouch...” I muttered. My muscles still felt sore from harvesting rice. Tama pecked me lightly before going to play with Pochi. Come on, do you really need to do that? I hope I’ll be better by this evening.

Yuma tagged along with me when I drove up to the cemetery. I went through the usual routine—mowing, cleaning around the graves, offering incense, joining my hands in prayer—and usually that’d be the end of it, but today, something else caught my eye. Huh, are those chestnut trees? I could see thorny things growing on the trees in the direction of the village. They were up high enough that you’d need a stick or something if you wanted to knock them down.

“What should I do about those?”

There weren’t that many chestnuts on the ground—only a few scattered around in sunny spots. Maybe if I trim the trees so they can get more sunlight, we’ll have a better harvest next year. Or, at least, maybe the fruits themselves will be bigger. I could have picked them today, but I opted to leave that task for after I talked to the others about it tomorrow. I did crack one chestnut open just to check, and as I thought, it was on the smaller side.

“I’ve heard the ones on the ground tend to have bugs in them...” Although if the insect eggs were freshly laid, you could still salvage the nuts by soaking them in water and then boiling them.

I glanced at Yuma, who was pecking at grass. Can chickens eat chestnuts? I picked up a few chestnuts from the ground that didn’t have holes in the shells. Chestnuts found in the mountains were visibly smaller than the ones you could buy elsewhere. Not that I can complain—it’s also my fault for not tending to the trees.

I’d been seeing fewer bugs around, perhaps due to the colder temperatures in the mornings and evenings, though I couldn’t afford to let my guard down—there were still mosquitoes and horseflies on my mountain. Still, thanks to the chickens’ agility and sharp eyesight, there weren’t too many bugs near my house. They were quick to eat any insects they spotted flying around, while also taking care to avoid eating spiders, dragonflies, and other bugs that posed no harm, as I’d instructed them to. As for spiders, the ones that spun webs could be a bit troublesome, but the jumping spiders in my house didn’t web things up, so we coexisted harmoniously. I mean, except for the times when they catch me off guard and make me jump in surprise. When I shout, they also get startled and jump back. I feel a bit sorry for them when that happens. They’re kinda cute, actually.

The mountain was abundant with food for the chickens, so they always promptly obeyed when I asked them to refrain from eating a particular insect. The mountains are basically paradise for bugs. It’d be impossible for someone squeamish about them to live here.

I brought home just a few chestnuts and left them soaking overnight—that way, the ones that weren’t dense enough or were badly eaten by bugs would float to the surface. Besides those, the ones that were too dark or were coated in a whitish powder had also likely been eaten by bugs. They say bugs that eat chestnuts aren’t harmful, and some people even claim they taste good, but...I’d rather stay away from them...

In fact, I tried opening a chestnut with a hole in it—Yuma was pecking at it. However, it didn’t take long for me to regret that action. Yuma dexterously picked off all the bugs that squirmed out of the shell. Can chickens eat the bugs that eat chestnuts? Not too sure. (Disclaimer: Check for yourself before letting your chickens eat them—I can’t be held responsible.)

Wait... The chestnuts Katsuragi-san said she picked are also wild from the mountain. Did she check for bugs?

I grew a little worried.

***

The next day, I was at Yumoto-san’s place.

“You helped with the rice harvest, huh? Good job!” Yumoto-san said playfully. He must have heard from Kakegawa-san.

I explained to him that it’d left me sore all over.

“Chestnuts take a lot more effort than I thought.” Katsuragi-san said with a laugh.

It turned out that they really did—she’d just finished drying them in the sun yesterday. First, you had to soak them in water and remove the ones that were too light, then dry them in the sun and throw out the ones with powder on them, and finally, boil and peel what was left.

“Well,” she continued with a serious expression, “I went through the same thing last year... But man, these chestnuts reminded me that maybe hell does exist.”

I’m sorry you had to go through that. At least any bugs you encountered were already dead, since you boiled the chestnuts beforehand. She also said she gave the bugs to her dragon, who, surprisingly enough, enjoyed the snack. Huh. Didn’t expect him to eat dead bugs.

After that, she’d carved out the edible nuts from the shells and brought them over—it’d taken a lot of effort. The amount of edible nuts she’d ended up with was paltry compared to how many she’d originally collected, but even so, there were a ton of chestnuts here. Machiko-san offered to use them to make chestnut rice.

Yay, chestnut rice! Thank you.

“It’s my own land and all, so I’m thinking of spraying some pesticide starting next year!”

I guess Tatsuki-san doesn’t like eating bugs enough to mind if they die off. “Is it that easy to acquire pesticide?” I cocked my head.

“I’ve heard you can find them for sale if you look,” she replied.

“I’m not too sure...” I said. “I don’t really care about chestnuts. But you should check with the pest control center first.”

Wait, what did I mean by “I don’t really care about chestnuts”? Am I saying I don’t care if I eat chestnuts with bugs in them? No, that’s not true at all—I’m afraid I’m not on Yumoto-san’s level.

“The pest control center... Good idea. Thanks.” Katsuragi-san nodded to herself as she took notes on her phone.

This earned a chuckle from Yumoto-san. “You young people are all about your phones these days, eh?”

I turned to Aikawa-san. “Do you like chestnuts?”

His face contorted in a strained smile. “I tried picking some back during my first year here, but I didn’t know anything about them. It was...a terrible experience.”

“Did you...?”

“I didn’t bother checking to see whether they had holes or anything—I just put them all in a pot and boiled them. Imagine my surprise when I peeled them...” Dry laughter echoed in the air.

“Was that the last time?”

“Yep. Haven’t tried again.”

“I can see why...” My deepest condolences. That being said, wild chestnuts are quite delicious and flavorful. I’d love to buy some if I could find a good, reliable source. “I just found out that I have some chestnut trees to the south of the cemetery. I was thinking that if I take better care of them, I could eat chestnuts next year.”

“Oh, those were chestnut trees, huh? Let’s tend to them over the winter, then.” Aikawa-san seemed enthused by the idea. What’s he doing about his own mountain, though?

“Then in return, I’ll go over to help with your mountain sometime,” I offered.

I felt an inquisitive pair of eyes on us and found Katsuragi-san staring. “Ah, friendship between two men is such a wonderful thing.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Is this what they call ‘moe,’ I wonder...? I’ve never cared much for BL with older characters, but...”

Hey, hey, what do you mean by that? I’m still in my twenties, you know.

Aikawa-san let out a stifled laugh. “Sure, I guess I’m already that age...”

“Aren’t you in your early thirties?” I asked. Wait, that’s not the part we should be objecting to! What the hell does she mean by “BL”?! I feel like I’ll draw the short end of the stick if I make a fuss about it, though, so I’ll keep quiet...

“All righty, let’s get to picking persimmons!” Yumoto-san exclaimed.

The three of us followed him a small ways up the mountain—we were decked out in work gear and carrying baskets on our shoulders. Pochi and Yuma also tagged along out of curiosity since they’d never been allowed in this area. They pecked at grass and nibbled bugs along the way, and all the while, they were adorably bouncing up and down, probably excited by the adventure. After climbing for a brief while, we reached a clearing.

“Oooh! A persimmon orchard!”

Several persimmon trees stood before us, bearing big, splendid fruit. We picked the ripe, red persimmons using the ladder we’d brought along.

“These are bitter. Use ’em if you wanna make dried persimmons,” Yumoto-san explained as he picked them. It was still a bit early in the season, so he didn’t pick too many.

The persimmons were so huge that you could tell the trees were well cared for. Most of the trees were covered with nets, but there were a few without nets that had birds pecking at the fruit—those were left uncovered for that purpose.

“We don’t sell the persimmons or anything—we can afford to let the birds have some. Of course, not all of ’em. That’s why we have these nets.”

Also, apparently, the birds stayed away from the bitter persimmons. I see. So they can tell which ones are sweet...

“Ah, shoot, they’ve been here too...” Yumoto-san grumbled as he checked the ground near the trees.

“They?”

“Remember how I was telling you about the boars? Look here—there’s some fur.” He picked up a tuft of hair from the ground and showed it to me. It was dark brown and looked coarse.

“Oh...”

Katsuragi-san and I looked at each other. Though I didn’t say it out loud, we’d been so concerned with chestnuts and persimmons that we’d forgotten all about the wild boars.

“Hey, Pochi, Yuma.” Yumoto-san called out to my chickens as if he’d just had an idea. They strolled over to him. “You know, we’ve been getting a lot of boars around here recently, and they’re giving me a hard time. Can I ask you to hunt them for me if you spot any?”

Pochi clucked loudly, as if to say, Roger that!

“Heh, as if. Just kidding... Huh?”

It seemed he’d only meant it as a joke, but it’d sounded like a legitimate request to Pochi. The rooster took off at a tremendous speed and ran higher up the mountain.

“Sh-Shohei?!”

“I doubt he’ll actually do it...” A chicken who hunts boars on command? Give me a break. But with that tail... You never know. Getting hit with that’s gotta hurt like hell if he gets serious. Not to mention those claws—they’ve been getting even sharper lately.

Yuma came over to my side. “Yumoto-san’s just joking around... Pay him no mind, okay?” I told her.

Pochi was taking way too long to come back, so we lugged the persimmons back down to the house without him. Should I ask Yuma to go look for him later?

I was concerned about Pochi, but I ignored that for the time being and went back inside Yumoto-san’s house. Pochi seemed pretty eager about it. Who knows, maybe he really will hunt down a boar. Ha ha, as if...

Machiko-san, who had stayed home cooking, was quick to notice Pochi’s absence. After hearing about what happened from her husband, she was livid. “You said what to Pochi-chan?! What were you thinking?!”

“I was just kidding...”

“You know very well how clever Sho-chan’s chickens are! You should know that if you say that, he’s not coming back until he manages to hunt one!”

“Machiko-san, it’s okay...” I said. Even if he doesn’t find one, he’ll have to come back eventually. He will...right? “Don’t worry about it. He’ll be back when he gets tired...”

Then again, Pochi’s the fickle type... Wait, I guess that fits Tama better. Pochi’s more the type to get carried away easily when you flatter him. Gah, I’m starting to get worried. But still...

At any rate, we should just let him run around the mountain to his heart’s content. He might wander onto someone else’s property, but according to Yumoto-san, the mountain owners don’t spend any time there, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. They probably don’t bother checking that area for anything unusual either.

There are no roads there, so illegal dumping is probably not a concern. Must be nice. I mean, if you ignore the inconvenience and all that.

We decided to enjoy the meal Machiko-san had prepared for us—vegetable tempura, fried chicken, chestnut rice, and miso soup with mushrooms. And, of course, you couldn’t forget the usual pickles and stew.

“Sorry it’s not much,” she said despondently.

“No, no, what are you saying?! We really appreciate it!” We all vehemently shook our heads. She always treats us so nicely, and she even cooks for us on top of that—there’s no way we could possibly have anything to complain about.

As for Yuma, she went outside after being given some vegetable scraps. She felt at home whenever we visited the Yumotos.

Katsuragi-san held up a piece of sweet potato tempura with her chopsticks. “I’m always amazed by how you can fry it so thick but still keep it soft and fluffy. This takes some serious skill.”

I agree—must be difficult to cook them evenly. Machiko-san’s sweet potato tempura were all large, thick pieces. The rice was also more substantial than usual thanks to the chestnuts. Chestnuts are pretty filling, huh?

After eating everything I could, I began to feel drowsy. Machiko-san saw me yawning and said, “You all must be tired. How about taking a nap? You can use that room over there.”

“Thank you.” Sure, I gotta wait for Pochi to come back anyway. I moved to the room she’d pointed to, which had a veranda, and Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san followed.

I spent all day at home yesterday, but the day before that, I worked up a good sweat helping with the harvest. No wonder I’m tired.

“Aaaah, I’m pretty sleepy...” Katsuragi-san yawned.

“The fine weather makes you tired too,” Aikawa-san added with a chuckle.

The three of us lay down on the floor, using cushions as pillows, with me in the middle. The cooler weather lent itself well to a nap. Autumn is known for its delicacies, but I guess it’s also the season of good sleep. Ah, wait, that was spring, wasn’t it? “In spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn,” as they say.

Waking from my slumber, I noticed Yuma peeking at us from beyond the veranda. I crawled over to the veranda and hugged her softly. I’ll take a nap with her tomorrow if nothing else comes up.

“Is Pochi not back yet...?”

I craned my neck to scan the garden for him, but it was no use—you couldn’t see the other side of the fields from here. Yuma tilted her head forward in a nodding motion.

“I see. What are we gonna do with him?” I laughed. He must be still hard at work trying to find a boar. I hope he comes back before it gets dark, at least. At the same time, I couldn’t help but admire his initiative and tenacity. Sure, I’m as biased as can be, but I still think my chickens are truly amazing.

Yuma started pecking at the nearby grass. While I was lazing around on the veranda, Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san also woke up.

“You can sleep some more if you want,” I said.

“No, I can’t.”

“I can’t either.”

I chortled at their almost identical responses. The three of us sat down on the veranda, with me in the middle once again. Is it just me, or am I acting as a kind of buffer between them? Am I just overthinking it? Or maybe it’s supposed to mirror our mountains’ positions.

After a while, we neatly folded our blankets, then spent some more time just gazing absentmindedly at the garden. Yuma had gone over to the fields.

“I’ll go let Machiko-san know we’re up,” Katsuragi-san said.

“Okay. Thanks.”

She left the room in high spirits.

“Pochi-san’s still not back?” Aikawa-san asked me.

“Yeah, I have a feeling he’s serious about this...”

“He’s definitely got the skills for it.”

“I wonder...” Pochi, I’m worried about you. Come back already.

Katsuragi-san soon walked in holding a tray with tea and a bowl of snacks. Must be Machiko-san’s idea. I don’t have enough words to thank the people around here for their warmth and kindness.

Although it was still light outside, I thought it might be a good idea to ask Yuma to go fetch Pochi. After taking a sip of my tea, I said, “I need to go talk to Yuma real quick.”

I put on the slippers that were on the veranda and headed toward the fields. Yuma was at the edge of the fields, right next to the mountain—she tilted her head cutely when she saw me.

“Yuma, can I ask you to go look for Pochi?” I called out to her from a little ways away. I could see her nodding her head.

And then, she turned to the mountain and ran up its slope at incredible speed.

“Wh-What...?” What’s up with that crazy acceleration? And she doesn’t seem to care about roads or any of that. She probably intends to just run between the trees. The same could be said for Pochi, but my chickens’ sheer ridiculousness never ceased to amaze me. Nah, my eyes must have deceived me. There’s no other explanation. Yup, that must be it. I nodded to myself as I went back to the veranda.

“Did Yuma-chan accept the mission?” Katsuragi-san asked.

“Yup. She went running up the mountain.”

“Their explosiveness and stamina are quite impressive,” Aikawa-san muttered.

“True. They spend all day running up and down the mountain, so I figure they must have a lot of stamina.”

Pochi and Tama are pretty much always running around. Plus, they’re getting taller too. Seriously, what’s up with my chickens? Ugh... I hope they don’t grow taller than me...

My outlook was optimistic—I thought they’d be back soon. I didn’t even imagine it’d take over two hours for them to return.

10. Be Careful Who You Tell Jokes To

The sun had already set, and the western sky was burning red. It’s too late to go home. There’re no streetlights on my mountain, and I can’t drive around at night.

Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san had reluctantly left before it’d gotten dark. Machiko-san was standing right next to me, while Old Man Yumoto paced back and forth between the garden and the fields.

“Don’t worry about it, Yumoto-san. He should be back soon.”

“My bad... Didn’t expect him to actually go search for one.”

“Pochi has a tendency to get a bit too amped up, you see...”

“Sorry about this, Sho-chan. I’ll make myself useful and go prepare dinner.”

“Ah, sorry, Machiko-san.”

“It’s fine. Make sure to eat properly, and please stay over tonight.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

I left the door to the house unlocked, so Tama will be able to sleep inside. It’s just one night—she should be all right by herself. Aikawa-san had offered to drop by and let her know I’d be returning tomorrow, but I’d declined, since I knew Tama would only be home after it was around this dark outside. Even if that weren’t the case, I’d feel bad about Aikawa-san taking longer to get home because of that.

“It’s okay—it’s just one night,” I’d argued.

“Are you sure?” Aikawa-san had seemed more concerned than me.

Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll just get pecked to hell and back tomorrow when I get home. Wait, that’s not okay at all, is it? In fact, it seems a bit unfair...

“Want me to go look for him?” Old Man Yumoto offered apologetically.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that rare for him to spend the whole night running around. If he doesn’t come back by tomorrow morning...that would be a cause for concern.” This had been on my own mountain, but I’d kicked Pochi out of the house before when he’d been making too much noise at night. If I recall correctly, he’d come back after running around the mountain. Just how much stamina do these chickens have?

“Gotcha. If he’s not back tomorrow morning, we’ll go look for him.”

“Sure.” That’s probably for the best. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, but I kind of have a feeling he hasn’t gotten himself in any trouble. Most likely, he’s lost... Went too far and can’t find his way back home—something like that. Pochi’s surprisingly airheaded.

“Dinner’s ready!” Machiko-san announced.

“Okay.”

First things first—can’t go looking for someone on an empty stomach.

Then, during dinner—“Kwaaaaaahh!”—we heard a loud cry coming from outside.

“Eh? Pochi?” I knew it was bad manners, but I interrupted the meal, grabbed my flashlight, and stepped outside.

The sound was getting louder—it was coming in this direction.

“Pochiiiii?!”

He cried out loudly again, as if replying to me. Along with his call, I heard loud, rumbling footsteps. You can hear the weight—it’s definitely Pochi. I went from the garden toward the fields, shining the flashlight around me, and saw Pochi dashing fiercely in my direction.

“Pochiiii!”

He tackled me, still clucking loudly. But he was going so fast that I fell down on the ground trying to catch him. Come on! Try to go easier on me.

The Yumotos put on their slippers and came outside.

“Oh, Pochi! You’re back!”

“Pochi-chan’s back? What about Yuma-chan?”

That’s right—it’s a good thing Pochi came back, but where’s Yuma? I thought she might have followed right behind him, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Heeey! Pochi! What about Yuma? Did you see her? Where’s Yuma?!”

I was still on the ground holding Pochi, and I shook him violently. His eyes rolled back and forth. Pochi cried out and managed to raise his comb through the dizziness.

“Yuma’s up there? She’s still up there?”

“Kwaaah!”

“Why?”

“Kwaaaahkwahkwah!”

“I can’t understand you! Speak my language!”

Pochi stopped for a moment and gave me a look that seemed to ask, Is that okay? I paused too. Wait, no, it’s not. I shook my head. Good thing my chickens are so smart.

“So, she’s up there?”

“Kwaaah!”

Pochi and I stood up. Maybe there’s more than meets the eye here. “Okay, I’ll go get ready. Can you take me to her?”

Good thing I bought this extra-bright flashlight. But what in the world happened?

Mountains at night were not to be underestimated, and I prepared accordingly: I took care to avoid exposing my skin as much as possible and sprayed myself with repellent. I wore a headlamp and held a flashlight in my hand. Also, I brought a small backpack with food and drink (Machiko-san had made us some onigiri).

Then we set off. Yumoto-san and I started walking up the mountain, with Pochi guiding us.

Pochi was restless and impatient the whole time, but there was no way around it. We weren’t on my mountain, and we were walking along a mountain path—we had to be extremely careful. In fact, had the circumstances permitted it, I should’ve been wearing proper hiking boots that supported my ankles, not the regular sneakers I was wearing. Those boots are pretty heavy, but they’re fantastic for stability.

“Kept you waiting, huh? Pochi, don’t go too fast. Remember that we need to keep up with you,” I said.

He clucked resolutely in response. Let’s hope his actions reflect his words...uh, chicken sounds.

“Pochi, seriously, I mean it! Pick a path that Yumoto-san and I can also walk on!” I knew that if I didn’t drive it home, he’d try braving a wild route that did not have a proper path.

Pochi looked around before settling on a route—apparently, the same one he’d taken during the day. Whew, looks like he heard me out.

At first, Pochi climbed in brisk steps, but soon enough, he noticed we weren’t able to keep up and slowed down. Sorry, but we humans can’t climb that fast. Especially at night. We wouldn’t be able to see a thing if not for these flashlights.

For about an hour, Yumoto-san and I followed Pochi up the mountain, always mindful of our steps. Eventually, Pochi stopped and let out a loud cry.

Then, after a short while, we heard the sound of rustling grass growing closer and closer. I assumed it must be Yuma, but I still didn’t let my guard down. Yumoto-san and I both held branches in our hands and crouched low, waiting for whatever it was that was approaching us. If it’s a wild boar charging at us, we’ll need to think fast. What’s the best retreat?

The rustling sound was now right next to us—I looked in that direction to find Yuma peeking her head out.

“Y-Yumaaaaaa!!!”

Instinctively, I spread my arms wide and waited for Yuma to jump into them. Yet, sadly, she did no such thing. Instead, she pecked at my clothes and motioned for us to go in the direction she’d come from. I’m almost dying of shame here, you know.

“Looks like she’s telling us to follow her,” Yumoto-san said, ignoring my embarrassing blunder. Wait, you could at least give me a quick comment about it! This is even more embarrassing...

“It...seems so.” Still full of shame, I started following Yuma.

And then...

“Whaaaaat?”

“Whoa... Quite the haul...”

After following her for about five minutes, we finally understood why Pochi and Yuma hadn’t been able to come home. It was too dark to get a proper look at our surroundings, but shining a flashlight around, I could see that the grass was flattened. Pochi and Yuma must have dragged them all the way here.

Before us lay one huge wild boar and three smaller ones that looked a bit older than piglets. They were probably all dead already.

“Pochi, thanks a bunch,” Yumoto-san said. “We should’ve brought a wheelbarrow. What now? If we just leave ’em here, a bear could find them.”

“Are there bears around here?”

“Yeah, they stay on the mountain, but they’re definitely around. Especially in autumn—they’re probably prowling for food to help prepare for winter.”

“That could be trouble.”

“Guess there’s no other choice. I’ll stay here until morning—you go back with the chickens.”

“There’s no way I can do that!” I yelled, surprised by the suggestion. My voice echoed through the mountain.

Pochi cried out loudly and sat down next to his quarry. Is it just me, or have his feathers gotten fluffier?

“Pochi?”

“Oh? You’ll help me watch over them?”

Pochi cried out again in response. Apparently, he was staying behind with Yumoto-san. In that case, I guess there’s nothing to worry about. I mean, Pochi’s strong enough to hunt wild boars.

On the other hand, even if I stay behind, I won’t be of much help. We can’t carry them back in the dark either, or butcher them, of course. It’s better to get back to the house soon and make some calls—that way, we can get help first thing in the morning.

“Pochi, are you staying with Yumoto-san to watch the boars?”

“Kwaah!”

Pochi’s cry sounded like he was saying, Leave it to me! or something like that. How dependable.

“Yumoto-san, who do I need to talk to?”

“First of all, definitely call Akimoto-chan. Other than that...probably better to ask the missus. Would be nice to have a wheelbarrow, but it’s gonna be tough pushing it down the mountain. We’ll need rope and also something to hang it from. Hmm... Just a rope should do for now. I could braid one myself, but it’ll take time.”

Braid... Like, with materials from the mountain? Sure, I guess it’s possible, but you’d need to extract fibers from stems and leaves. Definitely way too hard for someone clumsy like me. Best I can do is probably straw weaving.

“Rope and plastic bags, I guess? I’ll leave the bug spray here too,” I said.

“All right, thanks.”

“I’ll be back in the morning as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Shohei. Pochi, Yuma, you guys too. I really appreciate it.”

I signaled to Yuma by raising my hand, and the two of us descended the mountain. The trip back didn’t take that long, but I was feeling quite nervous. Once we reached the house, I explained the situation to Machiko-san, who had been waiting anxiously. She was taken aback.

“Three? No, four of them? Wow, that’s very impressive of Pochi-chan... Thanks, Sho-chan. Sorry about this.”

I called Akimoto-san (the local butcher), and also Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san. After that, I took a bath. I asked Machiko-san for some warm water and gave Yuma a quick wash outside. Can’t let her inside with all that dirt on her. She was on the mountain this whole time. I stroked her feathers and told her we’d bathe together tomorrow when we got home. She squinted her eyes blissfully and let out a short cluck.

“Thanks, Yuma.”

I thanked her over and over again. Would we have been able to act sooner if Tama were here too? Maybe it’s wrong of me to think that way—I should let Tama do as she pleases. Or maybe not? Dunno. Anyway, I really don’t know what I’d do without the chickens. I’m supposed to be the one taking care of them, but I feel like it’s the other way around.

After all of the commotion, I finally went to bed. Getting proper rest is also important.

***

The next morning, I rose before dawn, ate the breakfast Machiko-san had prepared for me, and waited for sunrise. As soon as dawn broke, Akimoto-san and one more person rolled up, and then Aikawa-san joined us.

“Good morning,” said the person I hadn’t met. “My name is Yuki—I work at Akimoto-san’s place. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Sano. Thank you for coming today—I appreciate it.”

“So you’re Sano-kun, huh? The one with the chickens? I’ve heard great things about you.”

I had no idea what he’d heard, but in any case, I explained our predicament to them.

“The boars are already dead... In that case, draining the blood will be the hard part. It’ll be better to work on them after we bring them back,” Akimoto-san explained with a slight frown on his face.

“But with the cool weather, the temperature outside shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Yuki-san asked.

“Depends on when they killed ’em.”

The two of them, holding ropes and sickles, discussed the situation. I carried some plastic bags, and Aikawa-san carried some food.

“For the pole, we can look for something along the way. Hopefully there’ll be something usable.”

“Be careful out there. I’ll be waiting for you with a nice meal,” Machiko-san said, seeing us off.

“Leave it to us!” Akimoto-san reassured her.

And so, in the chilly morning air, our party once again set off for the mountain, with Yuma leading the way.

“I’m impressed you climbed all the way up here,” Aikawa-san said. I hadn’t realized last night, but we had indeed climbed pretty high up the mountain.

Rin-san and Ten-san had stayed home today. Well, I feel like that’s for the best.

“Since this is Pochi we’re talking about, I bet he searched the mountain with a fine-tooth comb. He gets carried away easily, you see...” I explained.

“Pochi-san’s the diligent type. I’m sure he only took on the job because he knew he could do it. Very admirable.”

“Right, I guess so.” I agree that he seems to have a good grasp on his own abilities. Most likely, the reason it turned out this way is because he found a whole family of them, and it’d taken more time than he expected to hunt them. Otherwise, he would’ve probably come back before evening to let us know.

We managed to climb up in less time than it had taken last night. But even then, it must have taken us about fifty minutes total. We soon spotted some smoke and headed that way.

Yumoto-san greeted us with a smile. “Ah, you’re here. Thanks.”

He was currently chowing down on a grilled onigiri. Last night, I’d given him all my onigiri except for one—he’d apparently skewered them on a tree branch and grilled them just above the fire. He didn’t have any soy sauce on him, so the smell wasn’t that fragrant.

Looks like he’s doing fine. Maybe I worried too much about him.

Pochi was pecking at something or other near the boars—probably some bugs.

“That looks pretty good,” Akimoto-san said, pointing at the grilled onigiri.

“I’d be glad to give it to you—if I can trade you for a fresh one.”

“No need for that. We brought some that Machiko-chan made for you.”

The two of them laughed together.

Aikawa-san took out the onigiri from his backpack. “Here, this is from Machiko-san.”

“Hey, thanks.”

We all sat down and ate onigiri by the fire. We’ve got work to do here, so we need some nourishment.

“Are these all the children?”

“Who knows—there may be others out there,” Old Man Yumoto replied. “Pochi, can you show Akimoto to the spot where you found ’em?”

Pochi clucked energetically. Does he never get tired?

Akimoto-san and Yuki-san stood up. “Pochi, I’m Akimoto. This here’s Yuki. We’ll be counting on you.”

“Ah, I’ll go too...” I said, also standing up.

But Akimoto-san declined my offer. “It’s okay. We’ll have you help carry the little boars later, so get some rest while you can.”

Guess it’s better to leave it to the pros. I sat back down.

“I’m going too,” Aikawa-san said.

“Aikawa-kun, you’ve got a hunting license, don’t you? Come with us, then.” Akimoto-san turned to me. “We might take a while. Wait here.”

“Okay.”

Pochi and the three of them soon disappeared into the mountain wilderness. They look pretty badass, I have to say. There was a pretty thick wooden stick lying around, which Old Man Yumoto had apparently procured.

“Shohei.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna catch some z’s. I’m pretty sleepy. Wake me up when they’re back.”

“Okay, got it.”

The mountain was quiet and peaceful, but if you didn’t have anything on your mind, you began to pick up on all kinds of sounds—the chirping of birds and insects, the sounds of various creatures moving... They all joined together, producing a natural symphony of sorts. I sat in silence listening to these sounds while I waited for the hunters’ return. Yuma often pecked me and Yumoto-san, probably picking off small bugs.

It was quite common for me to unwittingly take home bugs that had landed on my clothes. I was always quick to close the door behind me when I got home, so if there were any bugs inside, they probably came from my clothes. Thankfully, my chickens always dexterously disposed of them, so my place was relatively free of bugs for a house in the mountains.

We didn’t get any phone signal on this mountain, but my phone did at least make a good clock. About an hour had passed when Akimoto-san and the others came back. They brought along another two boars, which also looked only slightly older than piglets.

“Look at this haul!” They were in a great mood.

“Oh, they’re still alive?” I asked.

“Yeah, easier to work on them that way. Hey, Yumoto-chan, wake up.”

“Hmm... Hmm...? Oh, you’re back. Nice haul.”

“Yeah. We’ve got a problem, though—we can’t find any males. Worst-case scenario, the other mountain to the back could be full of ’em.”

“And bears usually don’t attack them either...” Yumoto-san murmured. “That’s a problem, all right.”

They spent a while discussing the situation with one another, and eventually, we settled on who would do what: Akimoto-san and Yuki-san would carry the big one, tied to a pole, I would put the smaller dead ones into plastic bags and carry them, and Aikawa-san and Yumoto-san would carry the two other live ones they’d just caught.

Then we went down the mountain. Now that I had some more experience with mountains, I noticed some things. Although the descent took less time than the climb, it was very dangerous. This was compounded by the fact that usually you were more tired going down than going up, which made it easy to get injured. We were cautious with each step we took. Yuma led the way, while Pochi brought up the rear—it was unlikely that we’d be attacked, but in the mountains, you could never be too careful. There was always the possibility that a wild boar might come charging at us.

It took us about the same amount of time to get down as it had to climb up.

“You know, thanks to Sano-kun and his chickens, this year has been fantastic for us hunters. Pochi and Yuma, was it? I hope you’ll conti—”

Yumoto-san hurriedly cut him off. “Akimoto, not another word! We can talk about that later! Pochi, Yuma, thanks. Why don’t you guys go play outside?”

The two nodded and ran over to the Yumotos’ fields. Pochi was hanging around the edge of the fields near the mountain again, while Yuma was next to the fields pecking at the ground.

“Sheesh, that was close...”

“It really was...”

Old Man Yumoto and I both sighed in relief. We had to be careful with our words—otherwise, the chickens might’ve gotten the wrong idea. It would be bad if they went back up the mountain to look for more boars.

Akimoto-san stared wide-eyed before breaking into laughter. “Uh... Sorry, did I say anything weird?”

“You almost did,” Yumoto-san replied. Akimoto-san nodded.

Akimoto-san and Yuki-san would be taking the boars with them and coming back later. Meanwhile, we took the opportunity to take a bath and unwind. By the time I got out of the bath, it was already noon.

Oh, crap, I forgot about Tama. She’s gonna kill me. I can already tell I’m in for a ton of pecking when I get back.

Soon enough, Akimoto-san came back elated. “Boy, I really got to put my skills to use!”

“Thanks again. I’ll be asking you to dress the meat too,” Yumoto-san said.

“No problem. But I gotta warn you, the ones that were already dead when we got there might smell. They were pretty badly injured.”

“Not much we can do about that. They were up against these chickens.”

“Machiko-chan, sorry if the meat smells bad. I think if you use it for a miso stew, that’ll help with the smell.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I was planning to make hot pot anyway. I heard you managed to catch more of them.”

“Yeah—the ones we caught live should be pretty good if you just grill them normally. We’re chilling them thoroughly—I’ll bring the meat to you tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

Looks like there’ll be a party tomorrow.

“Sano-kun, I froze the smaller ones’ innards. I’ll bring them to you tomorrow too. Just the ones we caught live, though—the ones that were already dead were no good.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

I’m sure Pochi will be disappointed to hear that, but that’s just how it is. Mornings and evenings are cold, but we’re still in that awkward transition between seasons. When an animal dies, it starts to decompose quickly, especially if it’s a warm-blooded animal. It’d be one thing if the temperature had plummeted all of a sudden during the night and cooled the carcass, but it’s not like it was submerged in water or anything. We’ll just have to give up on the innards.

With everyone gathered again, we made a toast. Pochi, exhausted from his night vigil, had gone to sleep after eating some meat. I broke into a smile when I saw him bundled up in a ball of fluff on the earthen floor.

“Pochi’s sleeping, but let’s make a toast to him, for catching those boars!”

Yumoto-san had also barely gotten any sleep, but he was surprisingly peppy. I can already see it—he’s headed straight to slumberland after a few drinks.

“No need to bother waking him up when he falls asleep,” Machiko-san said as she laid out the food. She knew her husband well.

“What’re you talking about?! I can still handle an all-nighter no problem!”

I have to admit that I was very impressed when I saw him grilling onigiri on the mountain. He must have had a lighter on him, so all he needed to do was gather some dry leaves and branches to make a fire. But what’s seriously amazing is being able to do that while making sure there’s no risk of accidents. The animals around here are generally quite timid and will stay away from smoke. And as for bears, they tend to live deeper in the mountains, so the chances of running into one are not that high.

“Listen up, Shohei—if you run into a bear, you absolutely cannot turn your back to it and run away. They’ll chase after you, and they’re much faster than you think. Sometimes bears stand on two legs, but most of the time they have all four on the ground, so from their perspective, humans are pretty big. The best thing to do is back away slowly until you’re out of reach. Maybe you should buy some bear spray too.”

If I’m not mistaken, bears can run at about...sixty kilometers per hour or so? Much faster than humans, that’s for sure. “Bear spray... Do you have any?”

“I think we have at least one bottle somewhere...?”

He sounds awfully disinterested. Guess he doesn’t need it that much.

Machiko-san wasn’t too sure either. “There should be a bottle in the storage shed.”

“I believe it’s around ten thousand yen a bottle. I have one at home too,” Aikawa-san said.

Ten thousand... Maybe I should buy one, just in case.

“Well, actually, I don’t think I have any use for it anymore...” Aikawa-san stared into the distance. Good point—I don’t think it’ll be of any use on his mountain.

Akimoto-san seemed intrigued. “You raise some big snakes, don’t you? You think they could take on a bear?”

“Probably, yes. I’ve seen them eating deer before.”

“Snakes coil themselves around their prey, right?”

“Yeah. It looks like one of those horror movies.”

“Whoa. I think I might like to see that sometime.”

Well, I definitely don’t want to see it.

At some point, I noticed that Yumoto-san had fallen asleep. No wonder—he was up all night. And the alcohol definitely helped.

“Heh, check out his face.” Akimoto-san chuckled.

Aikawa-san and I still had to drive back home, so we were only having soft drinks. Kinda sucks not being able to join in, but drunk driving in the mountains could be a matter of life and death. Yuki-san also wasn’t drinking. Looks like he’s driving too.

“I’ll bring the meat tomorrow afternoon,” said Akimoto-san. “Let’s have a party tomorrow night.”

Machiko-san nodded. “Good idea. This is all thanks to Sho-chan’s wonderful chickens!”

Yep, they really are wonderful.

“Hopefully the boars they caught were the ones that were giving you trouble.”

Akimoto-san made a good point—there was the possibility that the troublesome boars were still out there. I wonder how big wild boars’ territories are. Are they territorial, anyway? (I learned about this at a later date. FYI: They are, but their hold on their territory is not that strong. They tend to keep to a range of about two kilometers.)

“Yeah, it’s just... There’s not much else we can do about them except lay traps. Oh dear...” She heaved a sigh.

I couldn’t just offer to let them borrow my chickens either. If this were my own mountain, they’d have a good sense of the geography and could get around at night without much issue, but this mountain was uncharted territory for them. There was no way I could risk letting my chickens get hurt.

After having lunch at the Yumotos, I got ready to head back to my mountain. Aikawa-san was negotiating to see if he could buy some of the boar meat for Rin-san and Ten-san. Makes sense—he can’t bring them to the barbecue, obviously.

I hadn’t worked that hard, if I was being honest, but I was still tired. Oh, and good work, Pochi and Yuma.

It was about two o’clock by the time I got home. I’d been worried that Tama might be standing menacingly in front of the house waiting for me, but it turned out she wasn’t even home. I sighed in relief.

But still, who would’ve thought that Pochi would actually go hunt wild boars on command... I’d gotten some beer as a gift, and I cracked one open. This should leave my system by noon tomorrow at the latest. We’ll be having a party then—boar meat is best enjoyed with everyone.

Pochi was a lot dirtier than I imagined. I’d given him a quick scrub earlier, but evidently, that hadn’t been enough. I was debating whether to wash him now or later with Tama whenever she came back, but as it turned out, he was raring to go play outside—probably since he’d just gotten some sleep. He was wiggling his legs restlessly. Okay, okay, I get it.

I looked up at the sky. Sure, why not? The fact that he was just standing there after getting off the truck meant he was waiting for my permission—in other words, Pochi respected me. I cracked a smile.

“Make sure you come back before it gets dark. Got it?”

“Got it!”

“And if you run into Tama, bring her home with you.”

“Got it!”

Pochi gave me a loud and clear reply before darting off. He’s been running around since yesterday—where does he get all that energy from? Then again, he just slept. Might be a good idea to let him get some exercise to avoid messing up his sleep schedule.

“You can go play too, Yuma.”

I said the usual line, but Yuma brushed me off.

“Yumaaaaa!”

It really hurt my feelings when Yuma acted cold toward me. But when I let out a pathetic cry, she came up to me. What am I going to do with you? is more or less what her expression said.

Gosh, she’s such an angel. I petted her feathers.

I checked the house and the crops with Yuma by my side, and before I knew it, the sky started getting dark. I hope they come back soon—I need to wash everyone. Not long after, I saw Pochi and Tama running over.

“Heeey, Pochi, Tama.” I waved at them. For some reason, Tama wasn’t slowing down in the slightest.

Hey, wait... Is this—

Bang!

Uh... So, I guess I deserved that flying kick. Sorry for leaving you all by yourself yesterday.

When I got a good look at Pochi, I saw that his feathers were all disheveled. I see... So she didn’t let you off the hook either, huh? Yup, girls can be hard to deal with.

“I’m really sorry for not coming home yesterday!” I bowed deeply and apologized to Tama. She just brushed me off. This hurts...though not as much as when Yuma does it.

“We’re eating boar at Yumoto-san’s place tomorrow. Are you coming, Tama? Aikawa-san will be there, but he said the snakes are staying home...”

“Eat.”

“O-Oh, okay.”

Right, I thought so. We’re having a boar meat extravaganza tomorrow.

When I’d been getting ready to leave, Yumoto-san had still been fast asleep, so I’d just said bye to Machiko-san. She’d said, “Let’s have hot pot tomorrow!”

Apparently, you couldn’t do anything about meat having a strong smell unless you processed it immediately after killing the animal. The best way to get around that was to boil it in miso or something like that. I’d also heard that the longer you boiled boar meat, the more tender and flavorful it became. Oops, I’m already salivating just thinking about it.

Oh, right. Looks like Tama didn’t lay an egg this morning. Yuma didn’t either. “I need something to give me energy so I can get through the day...”

I brought out the washbasin and washed the chickens, adding warm water when needed. In Yuma’s case, we would be bathing together later, so I just gave her a quick wash before drying her with a towel and letting her inside. Incidentally, it seemed Tama had come home and slept inside last night, judging from the dirt on the earthen floor, which I’d already cleaned.

“It’s gotten pretty cold, huh?”

Soon enough, it might be too cold to wash them outside. The hot water’ll cool off too quickly.

“I bet Aikawa-san’s open-air bath won’t be an option for too much longer this year...”

Or does he bathe while the sun is still out? I’ll ask him tomorrow.

I’d gotten some pork from Yumoto-san, which I served to the chickens along with some vegetables and scraps. They had finally calmed down, and they chomped on their food greedily. You know, I always think about how there’s no way they can get their fill just eating bugs out there. Especially not when they’ve grown this big.

I checked their feathers, remembering how a few days ago, a bunch of them had fallen out at once. I’d been concerned enough to consider giving Kimoto-san, the vet, a call to ask about it, but I’d first decided to turn to the internet. It seemed chickens had this thing called a “molting period.” Prior to that, there’d been times when I’d thought their feathers looked different from before, but I must’ve been seeing things. They’d lost a lot of feathers during that three-day period, probably due to the drop in temperature. And then, after that, new feathers had grown back.

In the bath with Yuma, I was now sure of it—I couldn’t quite put it into words, but her feathers clearly felt different from before. They feel...thicker, I guess? Or maybe it’s just my imagination.

“Let’s eat a lot of boar tomorrow.”

“Eat!”

She splashed around happily. I was happy too.

(Huh? You think I dote on my chickens too much? Shut up.)

***

Thankfully, Pochi managed to keep to his regular sleep schedule. I thought it might be because he’d gone out to play as soon as we’d gotten home, but it could’ve also been due to exhaustion from the severe pecking he’d gotten from Tama. It’s Pochi—I’m sure he was upfront with Tama about everything that happened. And anyway, we’re no match for women. Though that might be beside the point here.

Before leaving, I tried thinking of ideas for a nice gift, but I decided not to bring anything this time. After all, it was Pochi who caught the boars to begin with. I’ll give them a set of tea or something next time. I do owe them, especially Machiko-san.

Katsuragi-san would also be joining us tonight. She’d been furious at me when I’d told her about yesterday. “Why didn’t you invite me too?!”

“What, you want me to ask a girl to help carry wild boars? What if something happens?” I argued.

“A-A girl?! B-B-But Yuma-chan’s also a girl, isn’t she?!”

What the heck is she talking about? There’s a big difference between Yuma and a human girl. “Yuma can run up a mountain all by herself. Can you?”

“Ugh...”

“Back when she was out there with Pochi, she helped hunt a wild boar.”

“Gah, enough! That’s not what I mean!”

I don’t get it. Anyway...

I said I’d see her later and ended the call. I really don’t get women.

Before nightfall, I left my mountain. As always, Yuma sat in the passenger seat, and Pochi and Tama rode on the tonneau. I imagine it’s pretty shaky back there. I’m always impressed that they’re fine with it. Well, it’s not like they’re standing up, and I do put down blankets for them to sit on. Yumoto-san made fun of me for being overprotective. Sure, go on and laugh. I will spare no effort if it’s for my precious chickens’ sake. I think looking after them improved my physique too. These biceps aren’t just for show!

Arriving at Yumoto-san’s place, I saw that the parking area was full. I saw that the Matsuyamas from the chicken farm were also here.

“Hey there, Sano-kun. I heard your chickens caught some boars again? That’s incredible.”

“Hello, Matsuyama-san. Yes, that’s right.”

“Your chickens really are amazing, Sano-kun. Whenever I see them, I can’t help but feel that maybe they’re not chickens, but something else entirely.”

“Trust me, they’re much bigger than normal, but they’re just chickens.” I replied.

I mean, I’d be lying if I said they didn’t remind me of cockatrices. But I don’t want them to end up in a lab or something, so I’ll always insist that they’re chickens.

“Sano-kun, thanks again!” Akimoto-san was in a cheerful mood. “Y’know, the extra income is a huge help for me. Plus, I get to keep my butchering skills sharp!”

“That’s great to hear.”

That’s right—butchering, like any other labor, is not free. This time, since it was Old Man Yumoto who’d asked Pochi to hunt down the boars, he didn’t let me pay for it. Gah, why?

“Pochi-san is really something else, isn’t he, Sano-san?”

Aikawa-san showed up next—all by himself, of course. Rin-san and Ten-san had stayed at home. Oh yeah, I saw Katsuragi-san’s dragon lying by the house. She must be here already, helping out in the kitchen.

“Ah, Sho-chan. Make yourself at home. I left Pochi-chan’s share in the garden. Can you check to see if that’s enough for him?”

“Hello, Machiko-san. Thank you.”

We all moved to the garden, near the veranda. There were some plastic sheets with vegetables and raw meat on top—presumably my chickens’ meal. As for where the chickens were, well, they’d run off as soon as I’d parked my truck. I spotted them over in the fields. I’d made sure to tell them not to peck at the area where the autumn crops had been neatly planted. Looking in that direction, the three of them all seemed to be pecking at something or other. Probably bugs, I guess.

The sun had already set, so it wouldn’t take long to get dark. Autumn days go by in a flash.

Since there wasn’t much meat that could be simply grilled, the Matsuyamas had brought some chicken meat to go with the boar. I was once again reminded of the importance of chilling meat as fast as possible.

The women had already begun grilling meat, fish, and vegetables. The rest of us stepped up onto the veranda.

“Okay, is everyone here?” Yumoto-san asked, addressing all of us. “It’s thanks to the valiant efforts of Shohei’s chickens that we’re able to gather here tonight to enjoy ourselves. I reckon there’re still plenty of boars around, but let’s keep hunting them down and eating them! Cheers!”

Everyone raised their cups and toasted noisily. The chickens also seemed to read the room, and they only began to gobble their meat and vegetables after Old Man Yumoto’s cheers.

There was a large, varied crowd tonight, starting with the Matsuyamas, Akimoto-san, Yuki-san, and a few others who got along well. Then there was Aikawa-san, Katsuragi-san, her acquaintances the Yamanakas, as well as families from the neighborhood and such. I wasn’t exactly a social butterfly, but I did enjoy this kind of gathering, and knowing that it was my Pochi who’d hunted those boars made it all the more enjoyable. Filled with pride, I ate the grilled meat, then relished the miso-flavored hot pot that was served afterward.

It does have a strong smell, but not enough to be unpleasant. Must be thanks to Akimoto-san’s skill. Meanwhile, Akimoto-san and Aikawa-san were chatting enthusiastically. Aikawa-san’s a hunter—maybe he’s asking for advice.

“I wonder if I should get a hunting license too,” I said. Akimoto-san and Aikawa-san looked at me awkwardly.

“Well, Sano-kun... You’ve got the chickens, so I don’t think you have any need for that, do you?”

Aikawa-san nodded. “Yeah, I feel like you’re more fit to be a beast tamer than a hunter.”

Uh, Aikawa-san, if anything, doesn’t that fit you and your snakes? I’ll keep my thoughts to myself, of course. I was a bit curious about what it’d feel like to hold a hunting rifle in my hands, but it would be weird to get a license for such a silly reason. You can’t buy rifles that easily in the first place.

It didn’t take too long for the alcohol to kick in. I was also ecstatic that I’d gotten to eat the boar Pochi had hunted.

Katsuragi-san and then her dragon flashed across my mind. I wonder if Tatsuki-san has already eaten dinner.

I drank beer. I drank shochu. I ate lots of boar meat. I also ate lots of chicken meat. The meat from the chicken farm really is fantastic. I’m never eating my chickens, though. Not that I could even if I wanted to. The opposite is more likely to happen.

Had Katsuragi-san found any time to eat? I went to check on her and saw that she was enjoying her meal with the other women. Okay, that’s good.

The children had already finished eating, and they were playing tag with Pochi. Turns out my chickens are pretty good at looking after people. It seems the only one who can’t make himself useful is poor old me...but I’ll try not to dwell on that.

***

It was now morning. I’d had way too much to drink last night, and my headache hurt. (I know that’s redundant. Whatever.)

What’s the deal with headache medicine, anyway? Is it medicine that causes headaches? Shouldn’t it be “anti-headache” medicine, like anticancer drugs? I don’t want to take cold medicine—I might catch a cold. Aaah, my headache hurts.

I was lying on my futon with my head in my hands and my mind filled with nonsense. Aikawa-san soon brought me some water.

“Good morning, Sano-san. Can you drink this?”

“Th-Thanks...”

“Your voice’s all hoarse and raspy.”

“I...had too much to drink.”

This water tastes so good. My head aches, but at least there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with my stomach.

“Thanks to Pochi-san, I managed to get lots of gifts for my snakes. Thank you.”

“Oh... Don’t mention it.”

I wasn’t the one who paid for the butchering and all that.

“I can bring you some food if you think you can eat.”

“I... I think I can.”

I’m sure the kitchen and the living room must be full of women... Sorry about that, Aikawa-san, but I’ll be counting on you.

“I’ll go get some.” Aikawa-san left the room cheerfully.

Now then, I gotta fold my futon.

The old men were still in deep slumber and snoring loudly. They’d covered themselves with futons, unlike that other party back in the summertime, and they all looked quite comfortable. One futon was already folded—probably the one Aikawa-san slept in. I see he’s as neat and tidy as always.

I folded my own futon and sat on the veranda absentmindedly. Yuma came trotting in my direction from the other side of the garden.

“Morning, Yuma. I see you’re doing great as always...”

Yuma came closer to let me pet her and started munching away at the bugs flying around. Perhaps due to the more pleasant weather, there were lots of mosquitoes. There was a mosquito coil on the veranda that kept them away, but even just seeing them flying around was unpleasant.

Yuma dexterously ate them all up. Are chickens’ eyes supposed to be this good? I cocked my head.

After a little while, Aikawa-san returned, and Katsuragi-san was with him.

“Here, I brought some food,” he said. “Let’s eat.”

“Thanks. Good morning.”

Katsuragi-san smiled. “Good morning, Sano-san. Good morning, Yuma-chan!”

Aikawa-san and Katsuragi-san sat on either side of me as if it were the natural thing to do. Would it kill them to let me have one of the corners every now and then? Alas... Yuma slid in between me and Katsuragi-san.

“Yuma-chan is so cute!” Yuma sat there quietly, letting Katsuragi-san pet her. “The boar meat was so tasty.”

“Did Tatsuki-san eat some too?” I asked.

“Yep, he did. You hunted a lot of them this time, huh? I wish I could have seen it.”

She must mean that she wanted to see the boars—not that she wanted to witness the chickens hunting them. I don’t think many people would want to see that. I get shivers just imagining it. But hey, I’m just glad I’m on the chickens’ side, not their prey’s.

“Wild boars, snakes, deer, murder hornets... I guess next it’ll be bears, huh?” Katsuragi-san said nonchalantly.

I let out an awkward laugh. “I, uh... I don’t think bears are on the same level...” Sure, I think my chickens could win against one, but I don’t see any point in going after them. I mean, I don’t even see any around.

“They say bears live pretty deep into the mountains.”

“Yeah,” I replied, “so let’s leave them be.”

I’ve heard the bears around here are mostly very timid. If they don’t pose a threat to us, then I don’t see anything wrong with leaving them alone...far away from us. There aren’t any plans to develop this area or anything.

“Well, they do eat deer,” she pointed out.

“Deer are harmful animals that cause damage to crops.”

“Oh, also, I don’t think I’ve seen any macaques around here.”

“There might not be any. Or maybe they’re somewhere we don’t know about?”

As we chatted, we ate plum chazuke—the best breakfast for a hangover. The nozawana was also delicious. This reminds me, I saw something called shakushina pickles on TV before. Supposed to be similar to nozawana. (Or maybe I just have a bad tendency to lump all leafy vegetables together.) I’d like to try it sometime.

“Yum.”

At some point, my headache dissipated.

“I wish I could hunt something to share with everyone too...” Aikawa-san lamented.

I shrugged. “You still have plenty of time.”

“Well, yes... I hope we can catch lots of boars. I guess traps would be the best option.”

Hunting season started in November. That’s just around the corner. “What do you do with the ones you catch during hunting season?” I asked.

“Usually, I get Akimoto-san to butcher them for me, and we eat the meat at Mutsu-san’s place.”

“Have you thought about selling the meat?”

“Oh, I can’t hunt enough for that to be worth it.”

Must be tough being a hunter. We chatted away idly, and soon enough, it was noon, and the neighbors started to go home.

“Thanks again, Shohei,” said Yumoto-san. “I don’t know if this’ll help with the boar problem, but at least it took a load off my shoulders.”

I thought all the credit should go to Pochi, not me, but I still appreciated the gesture.

“Please let me know if anything else comes up,” I replied. “Uh... It seems Pochi and Tama are eager to help...” The two of them were pacing restlessly at the edge of the mountain, raring to go. Needless to say, I stopped them.

He laughed heartily. “I’m jealous of how full of energy your chickens are.”

I left for home before it got dark. Nothing like the comfort of my own mountain.

11. Getting Rid of Invasive Species Is Tough

Thanks to Tama’s and Yuma’s delicious eggs, I was able to start the day on the right foot once again. These eggs are the best. I could sing their praises all day every day.

The chickens were also doing great—maybe even better than usual, thanks to the boar meat. Are chickens supposed to be this carnivorous? As usual, I served them some meat and vegetables for breakfast, and after finishing their meals, Pochi and Yuma ran outside. Looks like Tama’s staying with me today. Despite everything, she’s a kind chicken in her own way. I felt an ice-cold stare on me as I grinned to myself. Still, Tama, you could definitely do with a little less “tsun” and a little more “dere.”

I gave Old Man Yumoto a call to ask about his crops.

“There weren’t any signs of boars messing with them when I had a look this morning. We’ll just have to stay alert and see what happens.”

Since wild boars weren’t very territorial, they were prone to flock to an area in droves when they found a spot they thought might have plenty of food.

“At the end of the day, the best way to deal with them is exactly what we did—hunt ’em down and eat ’em. If their population grows too large, they come down to the village, as you can see. And it’s also a problem if they stay in the mountains, ’cause it means less food for other animals, like bears, and then those’ll come down. Bet no one imagined that hunting wolves would have such a long-lasting impact.”

The Japanese wolf is said to have gone extinct in the early twentieth century. Some say they’re still out there somewhere, but it’s safe to assume that’s all hogwash—they definitely don’t exist anymore. With their extinction, animals like wild boars, deer, and monkeys lost a predator and saw a populational boom, which led to a new set of problems.

No monkeys around these parts, but according to Katsuragi-san, deer are a common sight. Oh yeah, I did see one the other day. It was on her property, but still. Then again, maybe the reason I don’t see many animals on my mountain is because the chickens are always on patrol.

I didn’t have anything scheduled for today, so I decided to have a look around the mountain. “Tama, let’s check on the fields, then head over to the river.”

“Okay,” she replied.

Depending on what I said, Pochi and Yuma would sometimes give me confused stares, but Tama seemed to be a little better at understanding human language. She must be brighter than the other two.

Tama skillfully caught and munched on any bugs that flew near her. I did spray repellent on my body, but there wasn’t much I could do to protect my face. Or wait, maybe there is. I just got that anti-bee hat yesterday.

“Hang on a sec, Tama.”

I put it on. This is probably too hot to wear during the summer, but it feels great in the current weather. Tama stared at me as if asking what the heck I was wearing.

“It’s to protect against bugs,” I explained.

“Huh.”

I just got huh’d by a chicken... They really are eerily humanlike.

After pulling myself together, I checked the fields for anything I needed to attend to, such as torn plastic sheets. There seemed to be nothing wrong for now—just the cold mornings and evenings affecting the crops. Tama munched away at bugs. Leave the earthworms alone, okay? After pulling some weeds around the fields, we went over to the river.

The stream was as clear as always. This was the same water I had at my home, though not exactly in this form—I drew spring water, then ran it through a natural filter, which required periodic maintenance. After that, I boiled it and used it to cook, make tea and coffee, etc. Most of my water intake was from either that, plain hot water, or bottled drinks. I could get by on those sources thanks to the relatively mild mountain summers. But if it got hotter than that, I’d have to add another step—cooling the boiled water. Well, I actually do that to make ice. Now that I think about it, I’ve certainly gotten my act together here, if I do say so myself... Saying it myself is kind of sad, though.

“Might be time to start thinking about getting Aikawa-san’s snakes to come here and thoroughly exterminate these crayfish...” I muttered.

Tama gave me a peck.

“Ouch! Stop it, Tama!”

I get that you’re not fond of the snakes, but we need to do something about the crayfish.

“I wanna get rid of them. If someone can help with that by eating them, there’s no reason not to take them up on it, right?”

Tama slowly stepped into the river, then plunged her head into the water.

“T-Tama?” I was taken aback.

When she resurfaced, she held a crayfish in her beak. Really, to what lengths are you willing to go to avoid interacting with Rin-san and Ten-san?

However, as I’d previously noted, their shells were too hard for my chickens to be able to eat them comfortably. Tama seemed annoyed the whole time as she loudly cracked the shell open with her beak. Maybe she doesn’t like crayfish very much?

“Come on, Tama, let’s just ask them to help. No need to force yourself to eat it.”

She paused for a moment and then said, “Won’t eat.”

Yeah, as I thought, she doesn’t really like them. Probably less to do with the actual taste and more with how hard they are to chew. Hey, don’t just spit the shell out.

We patrolled downstream, removing any stones and pieces of wood that had piled up along the way—we also checked some other streams that flowed nearby. To my dismay, they were also infested with crayfish.

“Well, it’s looking like we’re gonna need to ask the snakes to make a couple of separate trips over here to eat all these crayfish.”

Getting them to stay over is probably off the table—if nothing else, for the sake of Tama’s sanity. And maybe also for the sake of my work clothes. In any case, if I wanted to enlist their help, I’d have to make it quick, before the crayfish went into hibernation. I decided I’d drop Aikawa-san a message when I got back home.

After lunch, I drove up to the cemetery. If I didn’t make a habit of it, the area would get covered with overgrown vegetation in no time. There were lots of chestnut burrs on the ground. Better to avoid eating these... Maybe I should also spray pesticide next year.

I moved to my mountain in late March, and we’re already in October. I counted it on my fingers—it’d been over half a year. I was told it snows here in winter. Wonder how much we’ll get. What am I gonna do about food when winter comes? I had a lot on my plate to deal with, but I figured I could just ask others for advice. I’m all by myself here, but I’ve got plenty of people I can turn to.

I got a reply from Aikawa-san, and when I got back home, I gave him a call.

“Crayfish, huh? They can be quite tenacious.”

“Yeah, they seem to breed like rabbits...”

“If you see one, it’s likely there’re another thirty you can’t see... Well, maybe not that many, but you get the idea.”

Whew, they’re like cockroaches. I guess the lack of natural predators makes rivers in Japan an ideal environment for them. They’ll eat just about anything, and if there’s no other source of food, I hear they’ll even resort to cannibalism. Yikes.

“By the way, do Rin-san and Ten-san hibernate?” I’d been thinking about the crayfish’s hibernation earlier, and that had reminded me of the snakes.

“Rin doesn’t, although she does get a bit sluggish. Ten does, yes. There’s a small shed on my property that I don’t use for anything, and I let him have it all to himself. I keep it locked so no one will disturb him.”

Makes sense—at that size, it would be an ordeal to bury himself in the ground.

“I imagine you must feel a bit lonely, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Aikawa-san replied. “But I know he’s there in the shed nearby, so there’s no cause for concern.”

Apparently, Ten-san hibernated from around late November to mid-March. As for Rin-san, she didn’t hibernate, but her body temperature dropped, and she lost some of her appetite.

“Soon enough they won’t have much of an appetite, so I’d like to pay you a visit tomorrow or the day after, if that’s okay. I’ll bring Rin and Ten along.”

“Sure, I can’t offer much, but provided you don’t mind that...”

“Of course not. I’m very thankful to Pochi-san for the boar meat. I think boar is a great option for the winter too.”

The story goes that pigs are the result of domesticating wild boars, but I feel like pork is pretty different from boar meat, both in terms of taste and the way it’s handled. Apparently, pigs and boars are considered the same species and can crossbreed. I find both tasty, but the big difference is that wild boar meat can only be acquired through hunting.

“Do you lay boar traps on your mountain, Aikawa-san?”

“I do—after Ten goes into hibernation. For now, it’s good to have them around as food for Rin and Ten.”

Massive snakes preying on wild boars... The mere thought makes me shake in my boots.

“Do they also patrol your other mountain?”

“I don’t think so. They’re not exactly the most agile animals, after all.”

That was part of the reason Aikawa-san kept his other mountain open for his hunter buddies. I barely go to my other mountain too. I hear it hasn’t been taken care of in a long time, even before I bought it—I don’t even want to think about the state it’s in... But I guess the chickens do go there on patrol.

“Feel free to come tomorrow or the day after—I’ll be glad to have you over,” I said.

“All right. I’ll let you know tomorrow morning. Sano-san, really, you don’t need to go out of your way for us.”

“Got it. Talk to you soon.” I then ended the call.

Despite my reply, I knew I couldn’t take his words literally—Aikawa-san was probably being sincere, but even then, I thought I should make an effort to provide at least a minimum amount of hospitality.

I got enough vegetables from Yumoto-san yesterday. The problem is meat.

“Now, what should I make him...? Maybe stewed ramen...”

A package from my parents had arrived the other day, and among other things, it’d contained some stewed ramen. Each pack serves two people, so I could definitely use someone else to eat it with. I see Akiko Wada is not on the package anymore. Well, that commercial aired a pretty long time ago... I still strongly associate her with stewed ramen, though, so I feel a bit sad not seeing her on the label. But maybe it’s just me.

The Yumotos had given me a bunch of mushrooms, foraged both from my mountain and theirs. Machiko-san was the expert when it came to mushrooms. As far as I was concerned, my mountain was always open to them whenever they felt like foraging for mushrooms or other wild vegetables. I don’t pick them myself anyway—or rather, I don’t know how.

Ah, right—my other mountain. “Hey, Tama. I was wondering, do you ever go to that other mountain to the back?” I asked, pointing north. Probably best to just ask her directly.

“Play,” she promptly replied. So they do, huh?

“I see. Anything interesting there? Wait, that’s a poor way to ask. Are there any animals there, like boars or tanuki?”

Tama cocked her head. “Boar, hunt?”

So there are boars, huh? Okay, got it. Now, please stop fidgeting like that. I can’t handle another hunt right now.

I shook my head violently. Gotta make sure she understands I’m saying no. “No need—not today. Maybe I’ll ask you to hunt them another time. Is that okay with you?”

“Got it.”

It’s good that the chickens are able to fend for themselves, but that also makes them a lot more proactive when it comes to exploring the mountain. And since I don’t clip their wings, they can even flap to fly short distances. Kind of like jungle fowl or something. But then, they have way too much strength in their legs to be mere chickens—more like diatrymas, if anything. Birds are descended from...maniraptorans, was it? My chickens also have long, thick, reptilian tails, but they still look like chickens.

Yup, that’s exactly what they are—chickens. I do think their jagged teeth kind of resemble troodons...but they’re chickens. I make sure to brush their teeth too. Teeth are important! Pochi was super reluctant at first, but thanks to Yuma being curious about it and letting me brush her teeth, the other two also gave in, and now they all let me brush their teeth before bed. They’re such good chickens.

These days, I use a soft, wide toothbrush. They go through toothbrushes really fast, though, so maybe I should start looking for another option. Is there anything else I could use?

Shortly after the sun had started to set, Pochi and Yuma came back. It wasn’t very cold yet, so I brought out the washbasin and gave them a quick wash outside, adding more hot water whenever necessary. Coincidentally, I’d recently been thinking about how nice it’d be if they came home around this time every day. Hmm, but I am in the habit of complaining to Yuma about this sort of thing—maybe Yuma took heed of my whining and brought Pochi home with her.

Really, what would I do without my chickens? I gotta get my act together...

***

The next morning, I got a message from Aikawa-san: “I’ll be there this afternoon.” Guess this means he’ll be eating lunch before coming over. Since I was the one who’d invited him, I’d feel bad about not at least treating him to a meal.

“I’m having stewed ramen for lunch,” I texted back. “Wanna join me?”

He replied almost instantly: “In that case, I’ll be there around noon.”

Good. Stewed ramen doesn’t taste as good if you don’t make properly sized portions. In my opinion, at least.

“Aikawa-san is coming over for lunch today. Rin-san and Ten-san are also coming to help me get rid of the crayfish. They’ll be mostly patrolling along the river.”

“Got it.”

“No!”

“Got it.”

Look, Tama, it’s already settled. Give it up.

“Just stay away from the river—it’s that simple.”

I get that you don’t like them, and you can’t do anything about that. I’m not telling you to become friends with them or anything. But the crayfish are a real issue! I wanna go fishing in that river! Catch some sweetfish or something...

Since we were having guests over, I stayed nearby after breakfast, checking around the house and by the fields, pulling weeds and such. Pochi and Tama zipped off into the mountain wilderness. Probably not coming back until evening. Well, that’s not really an issue. I’ve also gotta remember to check the roads when I have time.

Aikawa-san arrived a bit before noon—I’d left the gate at the foot of the mountain unlocked for him. It just used a padlock, so he could click it shut after driving inside. Today, his truck’s suspension system was visibly under a lot more strain than usual. No surprise there—he’s got two huge, heavy snakes riding with him. Can it even handle that much weight?

“Hello,” he greeted me as he hopped out of his truck.

I’d assumed Pochi and Tama would stay away until evening, but for some reason, they were back, as if they’d been summoned. When Aikawa-san parked his truck, they went trotting in its direction. You guys don’t need to go to the trouble, you know... I chuckled.

“Hello, Pochi-san, Tama-san, Yuma-san. Is it okay if I let Rin and Ten eat some bugs and critters around here?”

“Okay.”

“O-Okay...”

“Okay.”

Tama’s reply wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, but having received the chickens’ permission, Rin-san and Ten-san slithered out of the truck. Rin-san’s lower body was surprisingly slim, which probably allowed her to just barely fit in the passenger seat. No way that’d work out if she were as thick-bodied as Ten-san. The fact that her upper half is bigger kind of reminds me of cobras, but her pattern looks the same as Ten-san’s, so they must be the same species—except she went through some sudden mutation.

“Hello, Sano, thanks.”

Rin-san was the same as always—her upper body had the appearance of a beautiful woman. Today, she was wearing a thin jacket over a shirt. Since her human half was just mimicry, she remained unnaturally still, and her eyes still looked like those of a snake. Those eyes are pretty scary when you see them up close...

“No problem,” I replied. “The crayfish are a real headache—I appreciate you helping out with them.”

“As you wish,” Ten-san said.

He seemed to like using these slightly old-fashioned expressions. Befitting of Jörmungandr, I guess. Despite his python-like pattern, his length and size made him look more similar to an anaconda, which sent chills down my spine. At this size, I bet he doesn’t have any trouble devouring large prey. He could swallow a person whole. Yikes...

“Do you mind if we go to the river first?” Aikawa-san asked.

“Ah, nope.” I pulled myself together and walked to the nearby riverbank with them. I explained that there were a number of waterways on my mountain, and if possible, I’d like the snakes to check all of them. They didn’t have to do everything today, of course—if Rin-san and Ten-san were fine with it, I’d be glad to have them over however many times was necessary.

“Sano, nice guy.”

“Sano, kind.”

The two snakes were about to slither up to me, but Tama and Yuma got in between us. I don’t have anything against Rin-san and Ten-san—I respect them, in fact—but it’s still a bit frightening when snakes this big get close to me. If they coiled themselves around me, I’d be a goner in no time...

Aikawa-san admonished them with an awkward smile. “Rin, Ten, don’t get too close.”

They both cocked their heads in confusion—apparently, they didn’t understand how much of a threat they could pose to me if they wanted to. Well, when they’re this big and powerful, it must be hard for them to hold back on their strength.

“Don’t touch the chickens either. Remember, you’re only here for the crayfish today. If anything else comes up, make sure to ask me.”

“Okay.”

“As you wish.”

The two snakes positioned themselves on the bank, then stuck their heads in the water.

Wh-Whoa...

I asked that the snakes return when it got dark, and then the rest of us left them there to do their thing. We walked back in the direction of the house. Pochi and Tama ran off to play. Did those two come back because they were worried about me? Aww, that’s sweet.

“Your chickens are very kind, aren’t they, Sano-san?” Aikawa-san remarked.

“Yeah, I agree. But I think Rin-san and Ten-san are very kind too.”

“Right... They’re kind.”

They don’t really feel like pets—more like partners or housemates, despite the species barrier.

Yuma was strolling casually in front of me. Once we made it back home, I served tea and some pickled vegetables that I’d seasoned with udon soup stock. Lately, I’m all about udon soup. I’d been using the soup stock I’d bought at the supermarket in N-Town for all kinds of dishes. It was granulated, which made it easy to use. (No, this is not a paid advertisement. I just love things that help me cut corners. Wait, that’s a bad way of putting it. I think people call it “convenient” these days. Nice word there, “convenient.”)

“I’ll go get the food ready—in the meantime, here are some snacks.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I made stewed ramen with a bunch of vegetables in a clay pot, and I also added eggs—laid by my chickens. Nothing like fresh eggs. I made sure to cook them thoroughly, as I didn’t want to risk a salmonella infection.

“Here it is,” I said, carrying the pot.

“Wow, that looks great.”

We ate lunch on the tatami floor in the living room. The layout of my home was a bit unusual—there was a section of earthen floor, then a step up to a higher level where the kitchen was. The tatami floor was next to that. Apparently, the kitchen area used to have an earthen floor too. But even without that, the earthen floor in my home covered a much larger area than in most houses—usually, you only had a small area by the front door where you could take off your shoes. But in the end, the earthen floor is a good spot for my chickens to hang out on. The weird layout works out well for us.

“These eggs...” Aikawa-san began.

“They’re Tama’s and Yuma’s eggs.”

“Ah! These alone make the trip here more than worth it.” Aikawa-san grinned gleefully. “Stewed ramen is pretty nice. It’s one of those meals that you don’t usually make when you’re alone.”

Yeah, I agree—it’s best eaten with other people.

After eating ramen and working up a small sweat, I was lazing around. Yuma was eating the vegetables I’d served her, as well as any bugs she spotted. More of them than I thought are getting into the house.

“Looks like you don’t even need bug spray,” Aikawa-san remarked.

“Yup, I barely use it.”

Every two or three days, I washed the chickens’ feet and got them to come inside and help with the cleaning. Mostly, they just ate any bugs we found around the house. Some of their feathers fell off on the floor, but that was just a minor detail. Usually, I swept the floor then vacuumed it, and occasionally, I also mopped. I need to make sure the house is kept in a good state, or it’ll get damaged easily. The area around the sink needs particular attention.

I was outside getting advice from Aikawa-san about crops when Rin-san came by.

“Bucket, please.”

Guess she wants to take some home with her.

“Sano, thanks.”

After I handed her two buckets, she slithered back toward the river—although she remained expressionless, she seemed to be in a good mood.

“Can I bring you the buckets back next time I come over?” Aikawa-san asked.

“Sure, no problem.”

I ended up asking them to visit again next week. Hopefully this should be enough to get rid of almost all the crayfish. I wanna eat some river fish soon.

The snakes were in high spirits—they’d caught so many crayfish that the buckets’ handles dug into Rin-san’s slender arms as she carried them. Good for them...but seriously, how the heck are there still so many crayfish here? This is disturbing.

“There’re a lot more than I thought. We’ll definitely come again next week,” Aikawa-san said. “Hopefully the chickens won’t mind.”

“Thanks for the help. See you next time.”

Aikawa-san and his snakes went home before sunset. During our chat, we’d touched on the topic of the maximum load capacity of our trucks, and Aikawa-san mentioned that he wanted to get something that could support a heavier load. In that case, he’ll probably need a proper truck rather than a minitruck like the ones we have. Though I doubt you could drive an actual truck through the narrow mountain roads here.

“I feel like the snakes have grown even larger this year... Maybe due to external influences,” Aikawa-san murmured, looking at Yuma.

What, are they competing to see who can grow the largest? When are these crazy animals gonna stop growing?

“I wonder how big your chickens will grow.”

“Hopefully not much larger than their current size,” I replied.

At the moment, due to his large comb, Pochi was the tallest of them—he was up to my chest. If they kept growing, Yuma might no longer fit in the passenger seat of my truck. I discussed this with Aikawa-san, and Yuma, who was apparently listening in, snuggled up to me.

“Hmm? What’s up, Yuma?”

“Looks like your chickens are really fond of you, huh, Sano-san?”

“Well... Yeah...” I mean, yes, I’m aware, but I don’t get why she suddenly wants to cuddle. And staring up at me with those big, round eyes is not gonna help me understand. “Yuma? Y’know, we’re not going anywhere today...”

“Okay...”

What, did she think I was going out? Is it because we were talking about trucks and passenger seats? Looks like she can’t understand us as well as Tama does. But that’s part of her charm! (And if you think I’m too enamored with my chickens, well, keep it to yourself.)

Some time after I saw Aikawa-san off, Pochi and Tama showed up.

“Pochi, Tama, welcome back. Aikawa-san left already.”

“I’m home.”

“I’m home.”

The two chickens dutifully said their greetings—I brought out the washbasin, filled it with hot water, and washed them. I stared at the western sky, which was growing darker and darker. It’s gotten pretty chilly—sure feels like autumn. Soon enough, I’ll probably have to start washing them inside. I’m okay with the temperature, but I don’t want the chickens catching colds.

“Aikawa-san and his snakes will come again next week. They said there are a lot more crayfish than they thought—not just in the river nearby, but in all the other streams too.”

You crayfish don’t have to reproduce so fast, you know. Then again, it’s also my fault for not taking good care of the waterways. I hear there used to be rice paddies on this mountain back in the day, but you’d never be able to tell from its current state. Maybe if I dug around a bit. Don’t really feel like it, though.

***

The next day, I did a thorough check of the roads on my mountain. I’d seen on the news yesterday that a typhoon had blown into Japan. Thankfully, this area hadn’t been affected yet, but I needed to prepare accordingly—inspecting the roads for cracked asphalt or other issues and checking the mountain in general. The spots where I’d put up plastic fences (at Aikawa-san’s suggestion) were in good shape, but the rest, not so much.

“Maybe I should just put up fences everywhere or cover the entire road with nets...”

For areas on the mountain that were dense with trees and other vegetation, it would be prudent to thin out the foliage and tend to the land as much as possible. I didn’t have heavy machinery, so I’d probably need to use a chainsaw.

“I could cut these trees down too. Hmm...”

That wood could make for some nice charcoal, though preparing it is a lot of work for one person. But I do need charcoal for the water filter.

There was only so much I could do by myself. Even just cutting down a tree might be difficult for an amateur like me—I could get trapped and crushed beneath it...

In times like these—

“Aikawa-san, thanks for yesterday. Actually, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about...”

—the best thing to do was to ask someone more experienced. Apart from Aikawa-san, I also reached out to Old Man Yumoto. I want to avoid excessively relying on others, but it’d also be a waste not to ask when there are people with much more knowledge nearby.

“I see,” said Aikawa-san. “There’s a typhoon approaching too... I’ll be there at your place the day after tomorrow, then. Let’s see what we can do. In exchange, I’d like to ask you to help with my mountain.”

“Of course! Thanks, you’ll be a big help!”

I called Yumoto-san as well, and we decided to check on the mountain next to his fields. He said he hadn’t had any boar troubles recently. Then again, it’s only been a few days.

The day after tomorrow, we’d be looking around my mountain and seeing if there was anything we could fix. Then, at a later date, we’d check Aikawa-san’s mountain and the mountain by Yumoto-san’s place after that. As for Katsuragi-san, she’d already enlisted someone from the village to help her out. She got to it way before I did—very responsible.

“What? You’re doing it all by yourselves?” she said when I called her. “Aww! In that case, I should’ve asked to join in too...”

“No, it’s pretty hard work for a girl, y’know?”

“Isn’t that a bit prejudiced?”

“It’s just my opinion, Katsuragi-san. I mean, if you were a muscle-bound she-hulk, it’d be a different story, but...”

“I’ll have you know that I’ve put on some muscle!”

“Look, I just can’t bear the responsibility of protecting someone who can’t hold their own.” At least if it’s a man, I can just tell him to do something about it himself.

I could hear her annoyed grumbling over the phone.

“Just let me know if you need anything,” I told her. “Though I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to help.”

Katsuragi-san sighed. “You’re always like that, Sano-san.”

I didn’t really understand what she meant, but at any rate, she finally let me go.

Now that I think about it, always hanging out in all-male groups kinda sucks. Wait, I’ve got Tama and Yuma. They’re girls. They’re much stronger than I am, though.

12. Starting Preparations for the Typhoon

The next day, I traversed the mountain on foot, taking note of any potentially dangerous spots—this included areas with trees that were densely packed together or falling over. If you’re not careful about this kind of thing, it could become a problem later down the line. I’ll have to remove the fallen ones. If I’m not mistaken, I can borrow heavy machinery at the village. I should give them a call.

However, when I called the village office to ask, they informed me that the machinery had already been lent out and reservations were full for the rest of this month. “We’ve got lots of people preparing for the coming typhoon, you see.”

“Ah... Right, I guess that makes sense...” Looks like everyone had the same idea.

“But even when there’s not a storm coming, from September onward it’s hard to get a hold of them unless you make a reservation early. In your case, since you live in the mountains, I would suggest buying one.”

Yeah, I know, but those things are pretty expensive. It’s not as simple as just “buying one.” Anyway, heavy machinery, huh? Having an excavator would make a huge difference for me. Wait, hold on. Even if I were to buy one, don’t you need a license for that stuff? And, of course, licenses cost money too. In the end, this world we live in is all about money, for better or for worse... In any case, even if they let me borrow one, I don’t have a license. That won’t do.

I lamented the situation to Aikawa-san and Yumoto-san when they came over the next day.

“Sure, it’s better to have a license, but I think as long as you don’t drive it on public roads, you should be okay without one...” Aikawa-san suggested nonchalantly.

Oh, that does make sense—licenses grant you permission to drive vehicles on public roads. But then, if I borrowed it from the village office, I’d have to drive it on public roads to get it to my mountain. That won’t work.

“I do have all the licenses, so if you manage to borrow some equipment, I can operate it for you...”

That’s our Aikawa-san.

“How about you, Yumoto-san?” I asked.

“Well... I did complete training to operate the small, vehicle-type ones. I can operate hydraulic excavators and bulldozers under three tons, I think.”

“Whoa...” Right, you need training and all that. Maybe buying a mountain is not something one should do casually...

“I’d definitely recommend learning how to operate an excavator, at least,” he added.

“Yeah, I suppose so. Is there something like a driving school for that?”

“I think since you already have a regular driver’s license, you just need to take some courses for a certain number of hours. But it also depends on the type of equipment.”

“I see. I’ll look into it.” Sounds like there’s a lot involved. “By the way, do you own one?”

“Well, we used to,” replied Yumoto-san. “But after we downsized the farm, we no longer had a need for it, so we sold it.”

Looks like age caught up to him—must be hard to keep at it as you get older. I wonder who’s inheriting the farm... Eh, not really any of my business.

“Maybe I should look into buying one. Then I could help you out,” Aikawa-san suggested.

Wow, he must be making a killing with those stocks.

“Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to have one around, but...” Yumoto-san trailed off for a moment. “Well, Aikawa-kun, in your case, you don’t interact that much with the villagers, so it should be fine.”

“Huh? Why is that a good thing?” I cocked my head.

“You know, it kind of pains me to say this, but...if people catch wind that so-and-so owns one, there’ll always be someone looking to freeload. Collectively using the village’s machinery is one thing—they belong to everyone—but you can’t go around pestering someone to borrow stuff that they own.”

Ooh, I see.

Aikawa-san smiled. “Thank you for the warning, Yumoto-san. For the time being, I’m making do with the heavy machinery I borrow from Mutsu-san. It’s just, in times like these where there’s a typhoon or something coming, it’d be better to have my own equipment. Plus, I can help Sano-san and Katsuragi-san if they’re in need.”

“I understand. You’re a nice, thoughtful guy, Aikawa-kun. I’m glad to see you mountain dwellers getting along well. Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

Aikawa-san nodded. “Thank you for the concern.”

In any case, it might be a good idea to get a license to operate heavy equipment. I’ll make sure to look into it.

We tried to prepare for the typhoon as best as we could—I hung up some netting around the mountain as a stopgap measure and also put up some fences I had lying around in the storage shed. As for paving the asphalt, since this was my private property, I’d need to ask someone in that line of business to come here and give me a cost estimate.

For lunch, we had stewed udon—Old Man Yumoto had made the noodles himself and brought them.

“Just did it on the side—I’m more about making soba,” he explained.

“This is delicious...”

“The fact that they’re homemade makes it taste even better,” Aikawa-san added.

Making soba noodles was indeed one of Yumoto-san’s hobbies—he’d given me some of his handmade noodles a few times before. But if you’re eating with other people, hot pot-style stewed noodles like this are the best.

This time, since Rin-san had stayed at home, Tama hadn’t given me too much of a hard time—she’d just climbed on top of me this morning to wake me up.

Although...maybe that does count as a hard time.

“Gaaaahhh?!”

“Wake up.”

“Okay, okay, got it.”

That’d probably been her way of saying, Give me food already so I can go out and play! or something. See, the nasty thing about this is that I do set an alarm clock every morning, but Tama wakes me up before it rings. Come on, would it hurt to let me have another ten minutes of sleep?

When I’d fed Tama and groaned about this fact, she’d pecked me.

After that, Pochi and Tama spent all day running up and down the mountain. Yuma hung out on the earthen floor, nibbling vegetable and meat scraps, then she joined us as I led Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san on my usual patrol around the house and the fields.

“By the way, Aikawa-kun, does your snake hibernate?” Yumoto-san asked.

“Yep, he does.”

“Oh. Guess you don’t need to worry much about food, then.”

“Not really, no.” He let out an awkward laugh.

Rin-san stays awake through the winter, though, so he does need to worry a little bit.

“What about you, Shohei? Whatcha doing about the chickens’ food for the winter?”

“I’ll have to make a trip or two to N-Town to stock up on food...and I’ll also buy some from the chicken farm.”

“Right, you can’t just butcher ’em, after all,” he said, staring at Yuma.

“I...think I’d be at a huge disadvantage against them, to put it lightly.”

“Hah, no doubt about it.” Yumoto-san laughed heartily.

Yuma’s gaze remained fixed on us, which was a bit scary.

***

The next day, Yumoto-san and I went over to Aikawa-san’s mountain. The roads were neat and well maintained, befitting his personality. My mountain, on the other hand...

“The grass is a bit of a mess, though. Ten doesn’t care about whether there’s a path—if there isn’t one, he’ll just make his own. So if you go just a little deeper into the mountain, you’ll see a lot of fallen trees and such, which can be dangerous,” Aikawa-san explained.

Yeah, maybe that’s not the case for Rin-san, but I can certainly imagine Ten-san knocking down thinner trees to make his way through the mountain.

At any rate, we all agreed that it’d help to have proper equipment. The only thing we’d done was clear away some broken trees that seemed like they could fall down and block the road, and we were all already gasping for breath. And since the trees weren’t dry, they were quite heavy. Well, even if they were dry, they’d still be heavy.

“I wish I had a crane,” Aikawa-san murmured.

Yeah, that’d definitely be useful.

“Maybe I should have kept my excavator.” Yumoto-san gave himself a light slap on the forehead.

That’d be useful too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a crane.

Anyway, we soon got back to work.

For lunch, Aikawa-san prepared a ton of fried chicken, plus some shredded cabbage, miso soup, and rice. Oh, and some pickles too, of course.

“How come fried chicken tastes so good?” Yumoto-san mused as he gobbled down a piece.

Aikawa-san and I, not wanting to be left behind, followed suit. Fried chicken is justice! (Don’t give me that weird look.)

“Say, what about that shy girlfriend of yours?” Yumoto-san suddenly asked Aikawa-san. Ah, right. I’d forgotten that Rin-san was supposed to be his girlfriend.

“She’s very timid around people, so she’s out there in the back with Ten,” Aikawa-san replied with a strained smile.

“Guess there’s nothing to worry about, then, if that big snake’s with her.”

“Yeah.”

I wonder what would happen if Old Man Yumoto found out Rin-san is a snake too. Maybe it’s better if he never finds out—it’s not like he needs to know. Anyway, Aikawa-san’s enoki mushroom salad is fantastic.

“Nowadays, a man’s gotta be able to cook too!” Yumoto-san exclaimed.

“Yes, I agree,” Aikawa-san said with a nod. “Speaking of which, I’m impressed that you make your own soba noodles. The udon from yesterday was also lovely.”

“Ooh! Glad to hear. I only got into making noodles after I retired. Up until then, I always left all the cooking to my wife, but now I try to help in any way I can.”

“I see.”

Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san’s conversation was flowing well. It’s too bad we can’t have a drink to spice things up, but that’s just how it is.

“I make pasta too,” Yumoto-san said.

“That’s impressive!” I replied. “What kind of pasta?”

“I’ve got the stuff to make, uh, that flat kind? You can come over and try it sometime.”

“Oh, fettuccine? Nice, I’m looking forward to it.”

I didn’t know Old Man Yumoto was into that fancy sort of stuff.

Pochi and Yuma had come with me today. I’d talked to Aikawa-san about it yesterday, and I’d gotten permission from Rin-san and Ten-san, so there were no issues. We always need to make sure to ask beforehand, since we wouldn’t want to intrude on their territory.

As for why we couldn’t have asked today... It was because Yumoto-san was also here. Apparently, Ten-san wasn’t the quickest thinker, and he might’ve replied in words if we’d addressed him. As such, we’d decided it was better not to ask him in person. Funny how each of them has their own quirks.

In the afternoon, we cleared away the more problematic trees and also checked the hut that was used to make charcoal. There was one of those on my mountain as well, but Aikawa-san’s was better equipped and used more frequently, so we agreed that I’d join him here when we wanted to make charcoal.

The process wasn’t as simple as just lighting a fire and waiting. You had to keep vigil at night to make sure the temperature inside the kiln remained constant—in other words, making charcoal involved all-nighters. I’d tried making some with Yumoto-san in the past, but between all the smoke and the fact that we had to stay awake through the night, it’d been pretty rough. Having more people probably makes it easier.

“Charcoal is quite handy, since it can be used for a bunch of different stuff,” Aikawa-san noted.

I nodded in agreement. Yeah, I could definitely use some—my water filter requires charcoal.

“Yeah, like for grilling yakitori!” Yumoto-san exclaimed.

Looks like someone’s hungry.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t had yakitori in a while,” I said. I’ve had skewered chicken meat, chicken steak, and fried chicken, but it’s been some time since I last ate proper yakitori.

“Yeah. Are there any yakitori restaurants in the village?” Aikawa-san asked. “I don’t recall seeing any...”

“Hmm... There used to be, up until a few years ago, but they went under. Who knows—they might grill us some if we bring the chicken meat and charcoal.”

Sounds good—I’m sure yakitori grilled by a pro, former or not, must taste better. Is that legal, though? Well, I imagine it shouldn’t be a problem if a friend or acquaintance brings you the ingredients and you cook and serve it only to them.

The topic wasn’t quite enough to make me hungry, but it might have made my sense of smell a bit more sensitive. “Hmm? I smell something sweet...” I recognize this smell from somewhere. What is it?

“Oh, that’s the flowers—sweet osmanthus. They just started blooming recently. I’m sure there must be some on your mountain too,” Aikawa-san said.

“I wonder... I don’t remember seeing any.” Was there ever such a nice aroma on my mountain?

“They don’t grow naturally in Japan, so there aren’t any on your mountain unless the people who used to live there planted some,” Yumoto-san explained.

“Huh? Is that so?” First I’m hearing about this.

“Yeah. Since there are only male plants in Japan, the only way to grow more is through cuttings. Well, that’s what my wife says, at least.” He scratched his head.

At least he’s honest about it.

So they’re kinda like Yoshino cherries in that regard. Or was there a different reason for cherry blossoms? I’ll have to look it up sometime.

Tomorrow, we were going to the mountain by the Yumotos. After today’s grueling labor, I now understood the need for heavy machinery much better.

Gotta work on getting that license.

***

Next up was Old Man Yumoto’s place. This one was a bit more complicated—it wasn’t as simple as taking a quick detour to the mountains to pick wild vegetables or hunt boars.

The Yumotos’ property extended a little beyond their fields into the mountain, and the boundary was clearly defined. But to further complicate things, the owners of the rest of the mountain—an elderly couple who lived two doors down—weren’t Yumoto-san’s relatives or anything.

Old Man Yumoto detailed the situation. “Well, I did tell them there was a typhoon coming, and I wanted to prepare for it. Thing is, they’re long past their prime, if you catch my drift—even older than us—and they’re physically unable to do much. The old man’s got a bad leg too. And their kids don’t live nearby, so we can’t count on them showing up to help.”

Everyone’s got their own set of circumstances—life out in the countryside isn’t easy. As such, we’d be checking on this elderly couple’s part of the mountain as well. Yumoto-san had already let them know.

Today, Tama and Yuma had tagged along. Tama had decided to come after hearing that Aikawa-san’s snakes would be staying home. Are you ever going to get over your irrational dislike of them?

There was a path by the Yumotos’ fields that stretched up into the mountain. The area was full of persimmon trees, and it was technically accessible by truck. However, since the road wasn’t paved, they’d been avoiding driving up there. Driving back down is probably the hard part.

“Y’see, a few years back, I had a small truck accident there,” Old Man Yumoto explained. “Was thiiis close to bitin’ the dust. That’s why I don’t drive there anymore.”

“Fair enough. Sounds like it’s not worth the risk...” You could never be too careful about driving on unpaved roads.

Thus, we chose to once again climb on foot. The mountain itself wasn’t all that tall, but having to check for spots with dense or fallen trees slowed our pace. On the bright side, with this many watchful eyes, we were unlikely to miss anything.

We made our way toward the top, clearing away fallen trees and such along the way.

“Phew... I’m in worse shape than I thought...” I let out a despondent sigh. What a sorry excuse for a mountain dweller I am, running out of breath like this.

“You say that, but I bet you’ve never climbed your own mountain all the way from the bottom to the top, have you?” Yumoto-san retorted.

“Well, you’ve got a point there...” I can just drive up to the cemetery. And now that I think of it, I’ve never been any higher up than that. I don’t even know what’s on my mountain... Actually, I haven’t figured out how to climb farther up from that point.

What about here? We’re supposed to be near the top, but with all these tall trees obscuring the view, it’s hard to tell where the top actually is. But then, Tama and Yuma aren’t showing any signs of wanting to climb farther, so this must be near the top. Anyway, I’m in poor shape...

“Let’s take a quick breather here,” Yumoto-san suggested. He sat down on a relatively flat spot.

It doesn’t really feel like a mountaintop with all these trees around, but I guess this must be what it’s usually like. Most people’s image of mountaintops is probably those flat, wide-open spaces with signs indicating the altitude and all that. But privately owned mountains like this one have a bunch of trees everywhere, and you can’t see a thing.

I munched on the onigiri Machiko-san had prepared for us—the sourness of the plum filling really hit the spot. She had also wanted to come along with us, but Aikawa-san and I had turned her down. Apparently, when there weren’t other people to help, she helped her husband tend to the mountain. But with Aikawa-san and me here, there was no need for that. Besides, even knowing how strong and vigorous the women in the village were, I still didn’t like the idea of asking a woman to help with this sort of heavy work.

Her eyes had widened when I’d explained this to her. “Sho-chan... You’re behind the times, y’know? Well, I don’t mind it much.”

Sure, I guess gender roles are outdated. But I can’t help it—I just don’t like burdening women with manual labor.

“Heh, Shohei would make a good husband.” Yumoto-san laughed heartily. He’d also asked Machiko-san to stay home, though, claiming that, with three men around, there was no need for her to help out. In exchange, she would prepare a nice, filling meal to welcome us back. In the end, maybe this means more work for her...

I took gulps of the bottled tea I’d brought with me and began to prepare for the descent.

“Gotta do a better job at thinning the trees too,” Yumoto-san said, scratching his head.

On our way down the mountain, we rolled down the trunks of the trees we’d cleared away. Yumoto-san would chop them up later to use as firewood.

“It’s not so bad down there, but it’s hard to do much about the areas higher up,” he groaned.

“Yeah, carrying the trees is pretty tough.”

He nodded. “Yup. That’s the crux of the matter.”

Since you couldn’t simply send a log rolling down the mountain all the way to the bottom in a straight line, a lot of the time, all you could do was trim the branches and leaves to carry down.

The more time we spent on the mountain, the more problems we began to notice. But if we hadn’t come here, we wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

Tama and Yuma helped us carry the wood using their long tails and legs. Maybe it’d be easier if we’d brought ropes or something like that. My chickens happened to be much, much stronger than one would imagine, given their weights.

“Your chickens really are something else, Shohei. Well, I’ve already gotten used to ’em.” Old Man Yumoto guffawed.

We’d started working on the mountain somewhat early in the morning, and we were able to get back down in the afternoon. Machiko-san was waiting in the fields, with a concerned expression on her face.

“Sho-chan, Aikawa-kun, thanks for the help.”

“Don’t mention it—you’re always helping me out,” Aikawa-san and I both replied simultaneously, then chuckled at our identical responses.

“My, you brought this much wood?”

“Lots of fallen trees up there. Tama and Yuma helped out too,” Yumoto-san explained.

“Ah, thank you, Tama-chan and Yuma-chan! You must be hungry, right? Come on, food’s ready.”

We took her up on that. The more I learn about mountain living, the more I realize I don’t know.

Tama and Yuma were over in the fields, running back and forth across an area that Machiko-san had pointed out to them—she’d said they were free to eat anything there. Pretty much an all-you-can-eat vegetable buffet. My chickens would gobble down even hard vegetables and parts that people normally threw away, so at a glance, one might think that they ate pretty much anything. However, they were also able to tell what they could and couldn’t eat—for example, they stayed away from leeks and cabbages.

I’m still deeply impressed by that. Not sure if they’re smart or if they have something like a sixth sense for that. Or are they just special in some other way?

“Sorry, it’s not much,” Machiko-san said apologetically.

What do you mean? We couldn’t possibly ask for more!

The twice-cooked pork was scrumptious and full of meat. The tempura she fried for us after we got back was also amazing. It was mostly vegetables, but when it tasted this good, who could complain? We sat in silence, chowing down on the food she’d made for us.

Machiko-san stared at the empty plates and platters on the table with a worried look. “Still hungry? We have rice—how about eating some with natto and eggs?”

Aikawa-san and I both turned her down politely.

“I’m good, thank you.”

“Thank you for the meal—it was delicious.”

I like natto and eggs, sure, but I’m already full to the brim. Still, I understand why she gets worried when she sees our plates are empty—my parents are the same. Oh, but pickles are an exception. For whatever reason, no matter how full I got, I always had room to snack on some pickles.

“How was the mountain?” she asked.

“It’s not in terribly rough shape, but we gotta do something about the areas higher up,” Yumoto-san answered. “I also need to get rid of the weeds.”

“Oh dear, it sure takes work to keep a mountain nice and neat. How about you, Sho-chan, Aikawa-kun? Do you tend to your mountains every day?”

Not sure if it counts as “tending to it” per se, but yeah. “I just pull weeds every day. I don’t cut down the trees,” I replied. I suppose I should at least trim the branches and leaves to let in more sunlight, but I can’t quite find the time.

“As for me, other than weeds...I just make an effort to keep the roads in a decent state.” Aikawa-san chuckled. “Sadly, even if I’m on my mountain all the time, it’s still a lot of work for one person.”

“Ideally, we should check on the mountain regularly instead of trying to do it all at once in a rush like we did today, but that’s easier said than done...” Yumoto-san mused.

Having too large of a property had its downsides. Previously, if you owned a mountain, you could make a decent living just from forestry, but nowadays, that was no longer enough.

“Oh, right—I forgot to tell you,” Yumoto-san blurted out. “Looks like those boars showed up again.”

My eyes widened. “That’s concerning.”

“Hmm, I didn’t see any traces of boars today, but maybe they’re deeper into the mountain...” Aikawa-san murmured.

“Well, actually...” Old Man Yumoto paused and trailed off.

All right, I can see where this is going.

“I could lend you my chickens if you’d like. I just can’t guarantee they’ll obey.”

“That’s the only problem...”

“If you’d like them to keep vigil over several days, I could stay over too. I think it would be easier to convince them that way.”

“Then could I ask you to help with that after the typhoon?”

“Sure.”

I’m sure Pochi and Tama will be more than glad to help. Let’s just hope they don’t run off into the mountain screaming “Boar!” at the top of their lungs or anything like that. I’ll have to ask Tama to keep a good watch on Pochi.

“Oh, speaking of which, I saw on the news recently that there have been bear sightings in other regions. Have there been any around here?” Aikawa-san asked.

Oh god, please, not the bears.

“Haven’t heard of anything of the sort for now,” Yumoto-san replied. “That said, I’m told their numbers are on the rise. If there’re too many of ’em around during hunting season, we might need to do something about it.”

“Agreed. Better safe than sorry.”

They usually ventured to lower elevations when they couldn’t secure enough food on the mountain, but more sightings could also be due to an increase in their population. Unfortunately, such things happened when we encroached on each other’s territory.

“If bears start showing up around these parts, we’ll have to put up some electric fences,” said Yumoto-san.

“Do you have those?”

“We put ’em up around the crops during harvest season. They’re not there now because we took ’em down to replant the crops. It ain’t easy being a farmer, you know.”

“Right, I can imagine.”

If you don’t tend to crops, they’ll get ruined by insects. They’re easily influenced by the weather, and they’re also susceptible to pests like boars. Those old people who dream of moving to the countryside, picking up farming, and taking it easy have no idea what they’d be in for. Well, other than the ones who have actually done farmwork before when they were younger. I feel like your youth is the best time to live in the countryside. Taking care of the fields is hard work.

After letting my food settle a bit, I took my leave.

“Looks like it’ll rain tomorrow evening. Possibly a bit earlier than that in the mountains,” Aikawa-san muttered while looking up at the sky. There weren’t that many clouds in the sky yet.

“If it rains, I guess I’ll just stay cooped up at home. Maybe I’ll grab some extra food on my way back.”

“Are you going to N-Town?”

“Hmm... That might be a good idea.” I turned to the Yumotos. “I’m gonna go shopping real quick—could I ask you to look after Tama and Yuma until I come back?”

“Sure thing.”

“Of course. Actually, since you’re going all the way there, could I ask you to buy a few things for me?” Machiko-san asked.

“Sure, no problem. Just give me a list of what you need.”

I could take the chickens with me, sure, but then Tama would have to ride on the tonneau, and I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention. I doubt she’d be okay with riding in the passenger seat of Aikawa-san’s truck.

Aikawa-san and I got in our vehicles and drove toward N-Town.

My first typhoon since moving to the mountains... I’m starting to feel a little excited. You know, like when you’re a kid you get excited about typhoons, storms, that kind of stuff. Maybe I’m still a kid at heart.

Leaving the cooler in my truck in case I needed it turned out to be a good idea—I managed to buy everything I needed, as well as all the items from Machiko-san’s shopping list. Perhaps due to the approaching typhoon, the supermarket’s shelves were noticeably emptier than usual—especially the cup ramen shelf. Must be hard for them to keep up their supply in times like these.

I wonder if I should cook a bunch of rice in advance, in case there’s a power outage. I’d mostly bought canned goods and instant food. Worst-case scenario, as long as I have instant curry, I can survive. I also bought some pasta sauce. I can eat that with rice. I had propane gas, so I didn’t need to worry about a power outage affecting my ability to heat things, and I also had a portable stove. I think I have gas for that somewhere too. I had batteries for my flashlight and enough water. I’ll take an early bath tomorrow, just in case. Also, my home was equipped with a generator that I could turn on if there was a power outage, but I preferred not to use it unless absolutely necessary.

“I hope the typhoon doesn’t cause too much damage,” I told Aikawa-san.

Back at the Yumotos, I handed Machiko-san all the stuff she’d requested, fetched Tama and Yuma, and set off for my mountain.

The windows of my home had shutters that I could simply close when it rained, but I was worried about the glass front door. Should I put some masking tape on it, just to be sure? Yeah, probably a good idea.

Some people bemoaned how everyone made such a big deal out of typhoons, but if you asked me, they were looking at it the wrong way—rather, they should be thanking their lucky stars that they were safe and sound. No one was immune to natural disasters.

“You know... I’m realizing that if you don’t take mountain life seriously, you’re not long for this world...”

That only made it all the more astonishing that people back in the day had possessed the gumption to try to live in such an inhospitable place. Then again, they used to let you keep any land you developed, so in a way, even the top of a mountain could be someone’s own paradise. Moreover, I couldn’t speak for other mountains, but mine at least had a lot of waterways. Although that did come with the drawback of having some areas with unstable soil, it also meant it was easier to eke out a living here—having plentiful water was a massive advantage. Even then, you never know what might happen these days, so you gotta be careful and prepare for every situation. It’s important to keep the mentality of “anything can happen.”

I dropped Katsuragi-san a message. Even with her trusty dragon keeping her company, she was still a young woman living by herself. Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s anxious about the storm. “How are preparations for the typhoon? You think you’ll be okay?”

“Oh, I’m totally stressed. I did tape my windows and all that, but who knows if that’ll be enough. If the typhoon blows my house away, maybe I’ll have to ask you to let me crash at your place for a while, Sano-san.”

Judging from the tone of her message, Katsuragi-san was probably as excited as I was. I know it’s inappropriate and all, but yeah, I know how you feel. Kind of a morbid curiosity... Or to put it another way, in times like these, you need to enjoy yourself and make the best out of the situation. Either way, it concerns us directly, so I don’t think anyone can blame us.

“Sure, if it comes to that,” I texted back. “You can stay until your new house is up.”

“Wait, in times like these, aren’t you supposed to say, ‘Leave it to me!’ or something like that?”

“I can’t be held responsible for that.”

“Jeez!”

Her last message came with an angry emoji at the end. In any case, I was just glad to see that she seemed to be doing well. I wasn’t too sure how quickly we’d be able to move if something actually happened, but as mountain dwellers, I assumed we were all prepared for difficult situations—to a certain extent. Other than that, she always had the option of asking the Yamanakas or the Yumotos to shelter her for a couple of days.

The next day, the wind was blowing strong. I put away all the stuff outside the house and told Pochi and Tama to come back before it started to rain.

Pochi turned to me and cocked his head. “What’s ‘typhoon’?”

Aha, good question.

“Hmm, you see, there’s a ton of wind and a ton of rain at the same time. I don’t want you and Tama to get blown away by the wind—or get hit by something that comes flying. That could injure you. You agree, right? It gets slippery out there when it rains too. So that’s why I want you to come home before it starts raining. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Got it.”

I’m glad they’re so obedient...though I’m not sure to what extent I can trust them to keep their word.

It’ll probably rain the whole day tomorrow. Usually, they don’t go out when it rains, but if they try to, will I be able to stop them?

To be on the safe side, I turned to them and said, “The typhoon will still be around tomorrow, so stay inside.”

“Got it.”

Tama took a brief, very suspicious pause. “Got it...”

Look, I don’t want to have to go looking for you during a storm.

In times like these, Pochi was usually the first to scram, but there was something off about him. It seemed he had a particularly sharp instinct for sensing danger. Well, he also tried to run away that time I got them vaccinated, so yeah.

The abandoned buildings near my house were the biggest cause for concern—I’d cleared away everything around them, but getting rid of the buildings themselves wasn’t something that could be done that easily. If I knew there’d be a typhoon, I would’ve tried to get them demolished sooner... Oh well.

“Wonder how many more typhoons we’re getting here...”

The nasty thing about them was that you couldn’t be sure there’d only be one a year. The Japanese archipelago has earthquakes all the time and is always in the path of typhoons. Why are there so many people living in such a dangerous place? Wait...I’m also one of them. Then again, I’m sure there’s no such thing as heaven on Earth. I can’t imagine anywhere on this planet where I’d have absolutely nothing to complain about. But that’s just me.

Anyway, I think I did everything I could. Pochi and Tama came back later, before dark, heavy clouds began to loom overhead. Yup, my chickens are the best.

“Thanks, guys.”

I gave them a quick wash and let them inside. Shortly after, it started to rain. Good thing I got to wash them before that.

I checked the news on my phone—the typhoon was already quite close. Apparently, it wasn’t making landfall, but it still had me on the edge of my seat.

Here’s hoping nothing happens. I hurried to the bath with Yuma.

There was no power outage, but the rain and wind were stronger than I’d expected, and throughout the night the house rattled loudly, keeping me on my toes.

My home used to belong to the village head, and that probably explained its size. I spent most of the time in the living room, which was connected to the earthen floor area by the front door and a tatami room (there used to be a sliding door separating them, but I removed it). There was another tatami room to the back of my bedroom. These two rooms stood between two hallways, one leading to the bath and toilet and the other to the veranda. Separating the tatami room and the veranda was a half-glass sliding door—apparently, it used to be a normal sliding door, but they’d changed it to a half-glass one, since repairing the paper had been too much work for them. Uh, that still leaves the other half, but anyway... Beyond the glass door, there was an indoor veranda, and on the outside, a window with a shutter. Then, on the other side, the actual veranda—that is, the outdoor one.

Older buildings like this one were especially vulnerable to the weather, and powerful gusts of wind made the whole house creak, rattle, and shake. And if that weren’t enough, the glass sliding door made a sharp crackling sound that terrified me. There’s a good reason people don’t use glass doors for everything...

Given all that, it should come as no surprise that I wasn’t able to get much sleep. I woke up groggy. The wind wasn’t blowing as strong as it had been last night, but it was still enough to make the house rattle and creak, with the occasional shake. Let’s hope it doesn’t break down...

“Natural disasters are no joke...”

I’ll go prepare the chickens’ breakfast. And then maybe I can go back to sleep. I can, right?

I made my way to the living room. The three of them were still bundled up on the floor, perhaps because of the weather, but when I went over there, they got up and greeted me.

“Morning.”

“Morning...”

“Morning!”

“Good morning,” I replied. “Slept well?”

“Slept.”

“Slept...”

“Slept!”

It seemed Tama hadn’t gotten much sleep either. Hope it wasn’t the noise from my bedroom. I’m sure it’ll be a huge hassle, but maybe I should change that glass door back to a normal sliding door. Either way, I’ll have to think about it after it stops raining.

They didn’t lay eggs this morning. Oh well—too bad. I served them some leafy vegetables and pork for breakfast. For my own breakfast, since there wasn’t much I could get done today, I took some time and used the leftover rice, meat, and vegetables from yesterday to make myself some rice porridge. Not to toot my own horn, but this turned out pretty good. The seasonings were granulated soup stock and miso—simple but delicious. I did have some other seasonings in stock as well—soy sauce, mirin, sake. I still don’t really know the difference between mirin and sake. I just do what the recipe tells me to. I also had chicken soup stock, which I bought in the largest size available because, as a mountain dweller, I didn’t want to have to buy more too often. I used it pretty often for stir-fries and stuff like that, and it was the granule type, which was quite convenient.

Despite the time, it was still dark outside—not surprising, considering the typhoon—so I’d had the lights on since early morning. I explained to the chickens that the light might go out due to the strong wind and rain so that they wouldn’t be too surprised if it happened. I don’t want them panicking and getting hurt.

After breakfast, I opened the glass front door just a little but soon regretted it.

Gah! The wind! You’re supposed to keep it closed during times like these, right? What the heck did I intend to do if the glass broke?

Pochi and Tama stared at me curiously, tilting their heads. It was like they were asking me, Can we go outside now?

“No, stay inside today. The typhoon’s making the wind crazy strong.”

They both looked shocked at my answer. Sorry, I guess I got your expectations up when I opened the glass door.

“One sec.”

I grabbed Pochi and lifted him up. He was heavier than I thought, but still probably only around fifteen kilograms or so.

“At your weight, if you go outside, you’re gonna get blown away by the wind. And also, if something comes flying at you, you could get hurt pretty bad, you know? The wind’s really strong,” I reasoned. Pochi seemed a bit confused, but in the end, they all nodded and acquiesced. Even then, Tama spent a while standing still by the front door. She must be full of pent-up energy.

They hadn’t been able to get outside much during the rainy season either, but back then, the issue had been only the rain itself, and it hadn’t been that cold, so there’d still been days when I could let them out.

I squatted down and looked Tama in the eye. “Tama, I think it’ll be all right tomorrow. Can I ask you to stay home today? I’m worried about you guys.” She nodded at me...but sadly, since this is Tama we’re talking about, that wasn’t the end of it—she also gave me the usual pecking.

“Ouch! Hey, Tama, stop! It’s not! My fault! Ow!”

Good thing I’m wearing my work clothes. Sheesh, why does she have to be so violent...?

I decided I’d spend the day housecleaning. I swept the floors, dusted the tatami mats, and vacuumed the house.

I’d also been concerned about toilets and sewage and all that, which are apparently big issues when it comes to living in the mountains, so I’d done my homework. I happened to luck out—thanks to the former village head, my house had a septic tank installed.

(For those of you who might be wondering what the heck a septic tank is, fear not! I’ll explain it to you: Septic tanks employ microorganisms such as bacteria to break down waste, meaning that wastewater discharged through a septic tank ends up with less waste. That said, they don’t decompose all the waste—some of it accumulates inside the tank as sludge, and you need to hire someone periodically to remove it. I just had mine cleaned, so I should be good until next year. I also get someone to come inspect the tank. I want to keep Brook Mountain clean, after all.)

After that, I cleaned the bath and the toilet and also took a nap. Soon enough, the day was over.

The weather the next morning was so nice that it was almost like there had been no typhoon at all. Pochi and Tama, full of excitement, darted out of the house as soon as they finished their breakfast...only for Pochi to slip and fall down. The damp, muddy ground proved that the typhoon had been real after all.

I looked at him, slightly concerned, but he quickly got up like nothing had happened and ran off again. He never learns, does he?

“I’d rather not think about how dirty he’ll be by the time he gets home...”

It’s only been a day since the typhoon, and the wind’s still rather strong. I bet Tama will also slip and fall down all over the place.

During the day, I checked around the house with Yuma and cleaned up all the branches and leaves that the wind had blown in. My crops weren’t flooded and seemed to be doing fine, but it was still too early to tell. The river to the east of my house appeared to have swollen from the rain. Doesn’t affect the house, so I’ll leave it for tomorrow. Also, I don’t want to risk getting swept away by the current. I can’t understand what goes on in the heads of people who go to check on fields or rivers during typhoons—do they have a death wish or what? Rivers are still pretty dangerous even the day after a typhoon. The roads can also wait until tomorrow.

I also went to have a look at the abandoned buildings near my house, which seemed to have survived the typhoon without any major damage. Whew, that’s good.

Tomorrow I’ll check on the roads and also drive up to the cemetery to check on the graves while I’m at it.

I messaged Katsuragi-san and Aikawa-san to ask if they were doing okay post-typhoon. They both replied promptly.

“No big issues here as far as I can tell,” Katsuragi-san said. “Just been having a hard time cleaning up all the stuff that got blown around by the wind. What about you?”

Aikawa-san was also doing fine, it seemed: “No issues here. How about your mountain, Sano-san? If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

I messaged them back, saying we were okay too. Well, to be fair, I only checked the area around the house, but the most important thing is that my home is undamaged.

“Ah, but...”

If any trees fell down and blocked the road, that could be a problem. I don’t want to deal with that now, though. It can wait until tomorrow. After all... Tomorrow is another day! Where was that quote from again? Some old song? I remember my dad used to say it a lot.

Before sunset, Pochi and Tama came back covered in mud, and I scrubbed them clean. They had crabby looks on their faces when they came back... But I hope you understand that I have it the hardest. Not you!

I’m glad I prepared more hot water than I thought we’d need—they actually do need it. Sand bathing is one thing, but I wish you guys would refrain from coming home covered in mud from head to toe. Thankfully, Yuma wasn’t nearly as dirty, since she’d just spent the day patrolling close to the house with me.

The next day, I headed to the cemetery first thing. I’d told the chickens I was going to check on the graves, and as a result, all three of them seemed eager to join me—we all got in the truck. Luckily, the road leading to the cemetery seemed to have suffered no damage from the typhoon.

The cemetery itself, on the other hand, was a mess. There were chestnuts all over the ground, which I didn’t bother picking up. There didn’t seem to be any fallen trees near the graves, thankfully. The chickens loitered around, and I cleaned around the graves and pulled weeds while keeping an eye on them. The weeds were quite easy to yank out, thanks to the softer, saturated soil. I feel like two days after it stops raining might be the best time to pull them.

“Here’s hoping there are no more typhoons.”

I lit the incense and joined my hands in prayer. I felt like I could hear the spirits saying, We’re not gods—can’t help you there, but whatever.

I’m praying to the deceased, like in the Buddhist tradition. Well, I have no idea if the people who used to live here were Buddhists, but yeah. Maybe I’ll ask Yamakura-san, the former village head, next time I get a chance. Which probably won’t be soon.

After putting out the fire, we went back home. Pochi and Tama zipped off into the wilderness to play. Wonder if they had something on their minds.

Now then, next up is the road that connects us to the foot of the mountain. “Hopefully there’s nothing wrong there...”

I helped Yuma back onto my truck and drove down leisurely.

13. Post-Typhoon Cleanup? Give Me a Break...

To cut to the chase...there was something wrong. A tree near the foot of the mountain had fallen down.

“Oh jeez, just what I needed...” I could hear a comedic sound effect going off in my head. “Looks like I should’ve gotten that heavy machinery license...”

Standing around like a fool would do me no good, so I gave Old Man Yumoto a call.

“Eh? A fallen tree? You think it’s too much to get rid of by yourself?”

“Well, I suppose I could try cutting it with a chainsaw, but I don’t think I can manage moving it off the road by myself...” It was a pretty big tree, and since it had fallen across the road, it wasn’t going to be easy to clear it away.

“Got it. I’ll head there with Aikawa-kun. Is that the only one you’ve found?”

“Yes, but I haven’t checked below that point yet, so there could be more.”

“All right. I’ll call you again. Just go home for now.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I guess these things happen. I’m thinking I really need to get to work on that license.

I stared at the fallen tree. Still... Any way you slice it, I’d need to go up there, find the spot on the trunk that cracked, and start cutting up the tree with a chainsaw. If I could operate a crane, I could try using the hook to lift the tree up and move it somewhere else, but that’s definitely not something you can do all by yourself. I mean, technically you could, but if there were people willing to help, it’d definitely be a much better idea to ask them.

Living on a mountain can be pretty inconvenient sometimes.

Back at home, while I waited for them to call back, I mixed some rice seasoning directly into the rice cooker and ate rice with miso soup. I also picked out some leafy vegetables and pork to feed to Yuma. I think I oughta give Matsuyama-san from the chicken farm a call pretty soon. It’s important to make sure my chickens have enough food to survive the winter.

I had way too much stuff to think about and get sorted, and I began to feel a little dizzy. Yuma tilted her head and looked at me, as if she were asking, What’s wrong? and that helped me calm down a little. Thank god for my chickens.

“Thanks, Yuma.”

“Thanks?”

She tilted her head the other way. I feel like I could watch her do this all day.

The chickens had been a big help to me—not only in the sense that they provided me emotional comfort, but also literally, in a physical sense.

After Yuma finished eating, I wiped her beak clean and petted her feathers. She stood still, narrowing her eyes blissfully. She’s such a kind chicken. I don’t know how I’d manage without her.

I had a light meal for lunch, and not too long after, Old Man Yumoto called. Apparently, Mutsu-san—one of Aikawa-san’s hunter buddies—would be kind enough to lend us a small crane he owned.

“No point in asking at the village office. They’ll just say they already lent it out,” Yumoto-san grumbled.

That’s bureaucracy for you. Not much we can do about that. Still, it’s great that they let the villagers borrow machinery.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I’ll first go have a look with Aikawa-kun, and then we can decide what to do after that.”

“Sounds good. Thank you.”

“Also...don’t expect any miracles. It’s not really something that can be done in a day. For one, the soil’s still soft and loose from the rain.”

“No problem—I understand.”

Stocking up on food in preparation for the typhoon turned out to have been an excellent decision. As far as the chickens were concerned, while it had gotten chillier, there were still plenty of bugs outside, so they were able to find enough food for the time being. I had given Yumoto-san the spare key to the gate at the foot of my mountain, so I didn’t need to worry about that either.

I made basic preparations to go out and waited for them to call again. After a while, I got word from Yumoto-san saying they were down at the foot of my mountain. I got in the truck with Yuma and drove down to the spot with the fallen tree.

“Hey.”

“Hello.”

“Hello, thanks for coming,” I said from the other side of the tree. “Did you see any other problems on the way here?”

“Hmm... There was a lot of grass and other stuff on the road. We cleared away what we could.”

“I see... Thanks.” As I thought, seems like the wind blew a bunch of grass, branches, and leaves onto the road.

“Same thing on my mountain. But this...” Aikawa-san stared at the fallen tree. “This is definitely a problem. Looks like it’s cracked... Up there. First, we need to climb up there and cut that spot...”

The tree hadn’t cracked all the way through and fallen down flat—it had split at an angle. The bark hadn’t peeled off either, so it’d be hard to cut it down if we didn’t have a solid footing.

“Well, first we need to make sure we’re standing someplace stable,” Yumoto-san interjected.

“True.”

It wasn’t as simple as just cutting the tree down and calling it a day. We needed to prepare accordingly, and that took some time.

“All right, tomorrow, then. You’ve got a chainsaw, right, Shohei?”

“Yep, I do.” I bought a big one too, just in case.

“We can use that to cut the tree.”

And so, the next day, we used our trucks, a crane, and a chainsaw to clear away the tree: First I cut it away from the splintered stump, starting from the spot where it had cracked, then cut it into four pieces—we loaded them onto our trucks using the crane. We intended to dry them and use them for firewood. Green wood won’t work for that.

Earlier in the morning, I’d told the chickens about the fallen tree, and they’d been eager to take a look—even Yuma, who had already seen it with me yesterday.

“Fallen tree?” Pochi cocked his head.

“Yeah. A big tree fell down, and it’s blocking the road.”

“Tree?”

“Broke?”

Pochi and Tama kept tilting their heads. That’s kinda adorable.

“Wanna see!”

“Wanna see!”

“Wanna see!”

“Seriously...?”

Why? You must’ve already seen fallen trees before on the mountain, no?

The three of them looked on curiously as I cut the tree down with a chainsaw. I had them keep their distance because of the pieces of wood that occasionally shot out. As for myself, I’d thankfully bought a helmet and other equipment to protect me. Just another item on the long list of things to prepare for when you live in the mountains.

Aikawa-san went to return the crane, Yumoto-san followed behind him on his truck, and we agreed to meet up at the Yumotos later.

I underestimated the mountains... I had no freaking idea it was that hard to cut down a tree...

My chainsaw was on the large side...for a lightweight model. That probably made it even harder. But then, if I got a heavier one, it’d probably be a pain to carry around... Pros and cons.

“Still, I’m glad it worked out...”

Aikawa-san offered to take the wood, which we’d cut into logs. I definitely owe him one for the trouble.

After leaving his truck at Mutsu-san’s place, Aikawa-san came back on the crane, and Yumoto-san came back in his own truck—we all helped Aikawa-san carry the logs, and the two of them went back to Mutsu-san’s and used the crane to transfer the logs from Yumoto-san’s truck to Aikawa-san’s truck. They then returned the crane...

Gosh, this is like a puzzle. My head is spinning. Either way, the important part is that cranes are wonderful machines. I’m really lucky Mutsu-san owns one. I need to find some way to thank him—it’s the least I can do.

Now that the road was clear, I set off for the Yumoto residence with the chickens.

Machiko-san sounded concerned as she greeted me. “Oh, Sho-chan. I heard a tree fell down on your mountain! Sounds like you had a hard time.”

“Not really, thanks to Yumoto-san’s and Aikawa-san’s help.”

“It’s a good thing the damage was small enough to manage by yourselves...”

True, it could have been much worse. Like numerous trees falling down or a landslide. I’m sure there are cases where those plastic fences I put up wouldn’t be enough. At least this served as a good reminder that I should be more thorough in looking after my mountain.

After getting Machiko-san’s permission, the chickens ran off toward the fields.

Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san came back while I was sipping the tea I’d been served. I heard the sound of their vehicles and went outside.

“Thanks so much for helping today,” I told them.

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

The tonneau of Aikawa-san’s truck was loaded with the wood we’d cut up. “You’re using that to make charcoal, right?” I asked.

“Yes, that too, but I need some firewood first.”

Machiko-san came out and greeted them too. “Welcome back. You brought the tree with you? Let me see.” She peered into the tonneau. “Oh, it’s not that stout.”

Not that stout? This? I have no idea what I’d do if an even larger tree fell down... I’ve already had this same thought several times over the past two days, but again—I underestimated the mountains.

While we were having lunch at the Yumotos, I got a call from Katsuragi-san. Apparently, the wire fence at the entrance to her mountain had broken down.

“I didn’t go out yesterday or the day before, so I didn’t notice until now,” she explained in a whiny tone.

Sure, there was no need to leave the mountain if you stocked up properly for the typhoon. But because of that, however, it’d taken her longer to notice the damage.

“That sucks. I’ll go have a look,” I replied.

“Okay, thanks.”

Katsuragi-san paid some of the villagers to help with the upkeep of her mountain, but that didn’t cover unexpected troubles like this. How did she deal with the typhoon last year? Was there not much damage?

“Is something the matter?”

“What’s up?”

Aikawa-san and Yumoto-san got curious and asked me.

“No, it’s just—looks like the wire fence on Katsuragi-san’s mountain is broken. I’ll drop by to take a quick look.”

“I’ll go too.”

“Me too.”

“Oh, what happened?” Machiko-san asked. After we explained the situation to her, she said, “Give me a few minutes,” and made some onigiri for us. “Even if you don’t feel hungry, having a bite can help you wind down. Give some to Miya-chan too if you can.”

“All right.”

After she gave us enough onigiri for three—plus extra for Katsuragi-san—we hurried toward her mountain. The chickens stayed behind, and I told them to watch the house while we were away. They can get worried easily sometimes. We also left Aikawa-san’s truck at Yumoto-san’s place.

Then, at Katsuragi-san’s mountain...

“Whoa...”

Things looked pretty rough. There wasn’t really any other way to put it.

“Sano-san, thanks for coming!” I could see Katsuragi-san’s face on the other side of the fence.

“Katsuragi-san, stay away! It’s dangerous!”

After warning her, I took another look at the crushed wire fence. The fence here used to be about two meters tall, and then, after all the stuff that happened during Golden Week, she’d replaced it with an even taller fence, over four meters tall with some thorny-looking things along the top. And now, the fence that ran along this area was in a sorry state, all bent and crushed.

“Well, this is...something...”

“Oh wow.”

Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san muttered, looking at the fence.

There were a couple of small trees on the ground, providing a hint as to what had transpired—most likely, these trees had fallen from up above and destroyed the wire fence. Yikes.

“I guess we’ll need to remove it and put up a new one, but...”

“If we can replace it in a day, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but if not... That’d be a bit worrying.”

Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san examined the broken fence and tried to assess the situation.

“Are there any other exits to this fence?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not! Oh, but I do have another fence farther back, so I don’t think there’s much cause for concern even if we remove this one.”

Oh, right—there’s another fence here around the corner and farther back.

“Oh, right.”

“Right.”

At any rate, it’s dangerous to leave it like this, so we should remove it as soon as we can. It’s pretty big, though. I was aware she’d replaced the old fence, but how did she manage to move this around?

“Now we need to figure out how to carry this...”

“Does anyone have tools to cut iron?”

Cutting the wire mesh itself was no big deal, but the frame was made of iron, and since it was warped, we probably wouldn’t be able to remove it by simply unscrewing it. I thought a chainsaw might do the trick, but I wasn’t sure if mine could cut through iron. In any case, here’s yet another tool that might be a good idea to buy.

“I think we have some power tools back at home,” Yumoto-san said. “Anyway, let’s take it off!”

“All right.”

“Shohei, put on your gloves. And hold it there.”

“Okay.”

We removed the wire mesh pretty roughly—it was already falling apart at the joints. We placed it down on the ground in the clearing next to us. It was quite heavy, as one would expect from a four-meter-tall fence, and a double-layer one at that. We also moved some of the fallen trees out of the way. The work was grueling enough to leave three men panting and drenched in sweat, so there was definitely no way Katsuragi-san could’ve done it by herself. Another big con of living by yourself in the mountains.

“We can’t take it back with us today. Is it okay if we just leave it here for now? We’ll bring something to cut that iron tomorrow. For the rest of this stuff, you can throw it away as industrial waste.”

“Sure, no problem. Thank you.” Katsuragi-san seemed relieved.

“I understand you have another fence already, but I still think it’d be good to have one here too,” Yumoto-san advised her. “Dunno how long it’ll take to arrive, though...”

“Oh, um, I do have the old fence stored away in the shed...”

“Hopefully we can put it back up...”

The wire fence opened outward like a double door, with an iron post to the side supporting it, and the previous one was also like that. Thankfully, the iron post was intact, so it seemed likely that we could put the old fence back up as long as we had the tools for the job.

Now that we had removed the fence, Katsuragi-san’s vehicle was outside the fence—the inner one, that is.

“Here, this is from Machiko-san.” I handed her the onigiri.

She brightened up. “Oooh, thanks so much!”

We ended up eating the onigiri in our own respective vehicles (except for Aikawa-san, who sat in the passenger seat of Yumoto-san’s truck).

“By the way, why did Yumoto-san and Aikawa-san decide to come too?” Katsuragi-san asked me.

She hadn’t been expecting to see other vehicles following behind my truck when we’d gotten here. I explained to her that we’d spent the morning removing a fallen tree from my mountain.

The revelation surprised her. “What?! I had no idea you were having such a hard time too!”

“Yeah, I had them help me out.”

“Mountains can be pretty dangerous, huh?”

“Yup.”

“At that height, there was no way the wire fence was making it through a typhoon...” Yumoto-san muttered. He’s got a point...

“Yeah... I think it should be all right now—if I can put the old fence back up again, that’s enough for me...” Katsuragi-san trailed off. “I only changed the fence because I heard that guy was snooping around in the village, so...”

We all looked at each other. Dammit, Nagi, you creep!

We decided to drop by Yumoto-san’s place and get back to the whole wire fence thing at a later date. Old Man Yumoto and Aikawa-san knew she had another fence, and they must have deemed it okay to leave things be for a day or two. I pretty much agreed. Her stalker’s not around anymore—a two-meter-tall fence should be more than enough to keep her safe.

“I think maybe four meters was overdoing it,” Katsuragi-san said playfully, sticking out her tongue. She jokes about it now, but I’m sure the height of that fence was proportional to the terror she felt at the time. That stalker freak left some lasting scars during his short time here.

Back at the Yumotos, Machiko-san was pacing restlessly outside the house waiting for us.

“Miya-chan, are you okay?” she asked.

“Sorry for making you worry...” Katsuragi-san said. I, too, felt a bit sorry about that.

“Oh, don’t mention it! So, the fence at the entrance broke down? Did you get hurt? Just tell Sho-chan or my husband if you need anything, and they’ll be there for you! Work them as hard as you need to!”

Sure, I’ve put on quite a bit of muscle, so feel free to ask me for help with manual labor.

Yuma came over to see what was going on.

“Hey, Yuma, I’m back. I’ll see you again later.”

She stayed next to me, tilting her head over and over. I guess she’s concerned too. Touched by her cuteness and kindness, I broke into a smile and petted her. As soon as she understood there was nothing wrong, she went back to the fields.

“Yuma-chan’s so sweet,” Katsuragi-san fawned.

“She could’ve been checking to see if we brought her any presents,” Yumoto-san said mischievously.

As for me, I didn’t mind either way. “As long as Yuma’s good, I’m good.” I smiled. I’m happy she came to check on me.

“Look at him crushing on his chicken.”

“Yumoto-san, no one says that anymore...”

“What, really?!”

We all laughed and chatted merrily. Katsuragi-san had brought her dragon along—he was riding on the bed of her truck—and he sluggishly crawled down. It didn’t take long for him to lie down by the shade of the house. He doesn’t move much most of the time, but I know when it comes to it, we can rely on him.

“Hello, Tatsuki-san. My chickens are here too—I hope you don’t mind.” I greeted him, and he narrowed his eyes and gave a slight nod. Although the possibility seemed remote, the last thing I wanted was for him to think to himself, Those are some tasty-looking chickens, and before we knew it, there’d be an all-out war. Between the dragon and my three chickens, I feel like they’re evenly matched, and it’d go on and on before reaching a conclusion.

We went inside and spent some time lounging in the living room. Soon enough, Machiko-san brought us food and drinks, and we all ate together.

Katsuragi-san offered to help, but Machiko-san declined. “You must be tired from all that happened today. Just take a seat and leave it to me.”

“Um, I didn’t really do anything...” she mumbled.

“Still, you must be mentally tired, right?” I asked. “Listen to Machiko-san and let her take care of things.” I can help out in your stead if needed. Don’t expect much, though—all I can do is help carry the food.

Today, Katsuragi-san sat at the back of the table, and Aikawa-san helped carry the trays and such. And me? Why, I’m useless, of course.

“Sorry, it’s just leftovers,” Machiko-san said as she laid out the food on the table—tempura, fried chicken, stew, and pickles. Are you telling me this counts as leftovers to you?

It turned out everyone was fairly hungry, and we all ate a lot. I mean, it does make sense—we spent the morning cutting a tree and carrying wood around, then in the afternoon, we worked on Katsuragi-san’s wire fence. No wonder we’re hungry.

“I heard you have another fence on the inside. Will you really be okay?” Machiko-san asked Katsuragi-san in a concerned tone.

“Yes, I think so. It’s around two meters tall, so I should be all right.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to put the other one back up tomorrow?”

“Sure, just need some fittings,” Yumoto-san answered.

“Still... I’m worried. How about staying over tonight?”

Katsuragi-san turned her down courteously. “I appreciate the thought, but I didn’t bring a change of clothes, so...”

“Oh, I have some brand-new underwear that you can borrow if you want.”

Uh, I dunno. Even if they’re brand-new, isn’t that a little...? I mean, obviously it’s none of my business...

I could understand her concern—even if there was another fence, that was still one less fence compared to before.

It suddenly occurred to me that we’d just left the remains of Katsuragi-san’s wire fence lying there on the ground. Hopefully there won’t be more trash nearby when we go there tomorrow, but you never know who might get the wrong idea and just start dumping storm debris. Also, if Katsuragi-san ends up spending the night here and only goes back tomorrow, it might be a good idea to go there and tie a rope or something to the poles.

I brought that up to the others, and after some deliberation, we agreed to cover the fence remains with a plastic sheet. Katsuragi-san was apologetic about it and insisted that we needn’t bother, but it was important to keep things clean and tidy as a deterrent against illegal dumping.

(See, humans have this peculiar thing about them where they won’t litter in clean-looking places, but they have no qualms about throwing trash away if there’s already trash scattered around. That reminds me of something else. Not really trash-related, but have you ever parked your bicycle in front of the bank, gone inside to run a quick errand—say, five minutes—and come back to find several bikes lined up there, even though you’re not actually allowed to park there? It’s happened to me before, and I kept apologizing profusely—don’t ask me toward who—while I scurried away.)

I told the others about this, and we all had a great laugh.

Someone once said, “Crossing against the red is not dangerous if we all do it together!” and the rest is history. Mob mentality works in mysterious ways.

Machiko-san just couldn’t get over her concern, and as a result, Katsuragi-san ended up staying the night at the Yumotos. After a post-lunch break, we went to Katsuragi-san’s mountain again to do some more work on the fence, then made a checklist for tomorrow and went back to Yumoto-san’s place.

As we were preparing to go home, Pochi and Tama were staring up at the mountain next to the Yumotos’ fields again, but they lost interest when I told them we weren’t going up there. Meanwhile, Yuma was hanging around in the fields, pecking at something or other.

Today was a busy day. I checked the tools I had at home and took my usual bath with Yuma before going to bed.

***

It was surprisingly hard to get ahold of the necessary parts. I thought I must have some in my toolbox, but I couldn’t find anything appropriate for attaching the fence door. After rummaging through his storage shed, Old Man Yumoto finally managed to find something—he said he’d given it a polish, since it had been a little rusty. Katsuragi-san gave him the A-okay.

“Hopefully this does the trick,” he said.

We brought out the old fence from the shed next to her house and carried it down to the foot of her mountain. With some effort, we managed to get it back up, and we all sighed in relief.

“Ah, the padlock...” someone muttered, and we picked the padlock out of the bit of broken fence. We can reuse it, no problem. These things are surprisingly sturdy.

“They’re comin’ over tomorrow to collect the old fence as industrial waste,” Yumoto-san said. “Let’s cut it in half to make their job easier.” He used a tool he’d brought with him to cut through the fence’s iron frame.

Huh, I didn’t know there were saws that could cut iron. We were cautious in breaking the wire mesh, so there was little risk of anyone getting hurt. Gotta be careful with these things.

“Thanks so much for your help,” Katsuragi-san said with a deep bow. “I’ll be sure to repay the favor.”

Yumoto-san guffawed. “Hey, don’t mention it! We gotta look out for each other!”

“No, please allow me to. I want to show my gratitude.”

We decided to gather here again tomorrow when the waste collector came by, and since everyone was probably tired, we called it a day.

Katsuragi-san locked the fence and waved at us from the other side—we waved back. After that, Aikawa-san turned to me and asked, “How about going to N-Town to do some shopping tomorrow after we’re done here?”

Sure, why not? “Wanna invite Katsuragi-san too?”

“Hmm, well... I wouldn’t mind that, but...Rin’s coming too, so...”

“Ah, I see...” Apparently, Rin-san always tagged along when Aikawa-san went shopping. We definitely don’t want other people finding out about Rin-san. And, that aside, I think he still doesn’t feel comfortable interacting with women. “So does that mean Rin-san will also be here tomorrow?”

“Well, no, that’s not really feasible. I’ll have her wait near the foot of my mountain, then I’ll pick her up later. She’s quite fond of going for drives, you see.”

“Huh.” Unlike Ten-san—I remember Aikawa-san mentioning he doesn’t like to go out much. “Sure, sounds good to me. Yuma seems to enjoy Rin-san’s company.”

The next day, we were back on Katsuragi-san’s mountain waiting for the waste collector, whose services Yumoto-san also employed from time to time. I left the chickens at home, since we hadn’t met this guy before. I don’t want to shock him with my chickens’ size. Later, I’d be going home to pick up Yuma.

Eventually, two people showed up: a personable man who seemed to be in his forties and a younger one with dyed blond hair.

The older man—the one who ran the business—introduced himself. “Hello, my name is Kono. Do all three of you live in the mountains? It must be difficult in a lot of ways, no?”

“It is, definitely. But you know what they say—home is where you make it,” Aikawa-san answered smoothly.

“Please let us know if you ever need any help. We also deal in demolition and a few other services.”

I was quite surprised to hear that.

“Oh, right, you do that kind of stuff too.” Yumoto-san, scratching his head, had blurted this out as if he’d completely forgotten about it until now.

No surprise there, I guess—Old Man Yumoto’s the type to take care of everything by himself.

“What can I say? It’s hard to make a living out of only garbage disposal. I’d say our specialty is actually demolition and other similar services, such as removing fallen trees.”

I glared at Yumoto-san.

“H-Hey, no biggie, right? We managed to do it ourselves,” he reasoned.

I nodded. “Right, I suppose so. You were a big help back then. Thank you.”

It had only been a couple of days since the typhoon, but so much had happened that it felt like quite a while ago—that was why it felt natural to use the expression “back then.” I’ve got a lot of people I need to thank. Luckily, most of them were people that I already interacted with on a regular basis, so it wasn’t like I had to go out of my way to do so, but if that weren’t the case, expressing my gratitude would feel like a bit of a chore. In any case, if I didn’t have anyone around I could ask for help, there’s always the option of hiring a professional like we’re doing now.

Kono-san handed me his business card and carried away the broken wire fence.

“Thank you. Disposing of this stuff costs money too, huh? Looks like it was a bad idea to put up such a tall fence on impulse. Sheesh, I might just send the bill to a certain someone—the person who made me do it!” Katsuragi-san ranted angrily.

“You could do that, sure. But do you wanna deal with that guy again?” I asked.

Her reply was immediate: “Ab-so-lute-ly not!”

“Oh, and I’m going shopping in N-Town today. Do you need anything?” I asked her. That seemed to pique her interest.

“Wait, am I not allowed to go too?” she asked.

Aikawa-san and I looked at each other.

“Uh, Rin is...also going...so...” Aikawa-san stammered.

Katsuragi-san seemed to get the memo. “Oh... Okay. I’ll pass, then.” She turned to me. “I’ll message you the list later.”

“Got it. I’ll stop by on my way back.”

“Okay, thanks.”

After that, we each went our separate ways. I picked up Yuma, Aikawa-san brought Rin-san, and we met up at the foot of his mountain.

“So... Still haven’t gotten over it?” I asked.

“Yeah... Sorry for the trouble.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

It seemed Aikawa-san’s aversion to young women still lingered. Well, no need to rush things, and besides, it’s not really my business—it’s Aikawa-san’s life, not mine.

The two of us set off for N-Town.

14. Yet More Autumn Delicacies

We parked our trucks in the usual parking lot and opened the windows, after which Rin-san and Yuma started talking to each other...or maybe not. There was the occasional utterance, but mostly they just stared at each other. No idea what it’s like when they’re by themselves, though. Either way, it’s good that they seem to get along well.

Meanwhile, Aikawa-san and I each went to take care of our respective bits of business: shopping at the supermarket, running errands at the bank, that sort of thing.

I bought everything I needed, as well as all the items on the list Katsuragi-san had sent me. While I could fit everything in my cooler box, I thought it’d be better to bring Katsuragi-san’s stuff to her as soon as I could. Back in my truck, I told Aikawa-san this—if we had lunch here, it would take longer to deliver her things.

“True, it’s better to get them to her as soon as possible. How about coming over to my mountain for lunch after that? I actually have something I’d like to ask for your help with.”

“I’m not sure if I can be of much help, but sure.”

“There’s just something I want to try... If it doesn’t work out, no problem. You can decide whether you’re up for helping when you see it.”

Huh... I wonder what it is.

I headed over to Katsuragi-san’s mountain to deliver her stuff.

“Thanks so much!” She bowed her head with a bright, bubbly look on her face. Looks like she’s doing great. She paid what she owed me right there at the foot of her mountain. Afterward, her expression suddenly turned inquisitive. “So, Rin-san... She’s Aikawa-san’s girlfriend, right?”

“Yup.” At least ostensibly, as far as other people are concerned...

“And does she get along with Yuma-chan?”

“Yeah, they adore each other.”

“Ha ha, that’s a funny way to put it.”

“You think so?”

Katsuragi-san chuckled.

Okay, good, looks like she doesn’t intend to pry any further. I waved goodbye.

She waved back at us. “See you later, Yuma-chan!”

Although she probably couldn’t see it, Yuma was also flapping her wings a little. I guess she’s imitating our movement in her own way? Pretty cute.

After getting home and putting away my own stuff, I messaged Aikawa-san. “Sorry for the wait. I’m home now, about to head to your mountain.”

“Okay, I’ll be here.”

It felt a bit weird going to Aikawa-san’s place to eat the bento I’d bought in town, but I tried not to think about it too hard. No point in trying to make sense of it. Or is there? Dunno.

It was around a ten-minute drive down to the foot of my mountain. Getting to Aikawa-san’s house, which was pretty far up his mountain, took at least thirty minutes—about the same as going down to the village. Thirty minutes by car to your nearest neighbor is pretty far if you think about it.

The gate at the foot of his mountain had been left unlocked for me. I got inside and closed the gate but left it unlocked—he’d told me not to bother—and drove up. Living in the mountains, you end up spending a ton on gas... But you can’t get anything done here if you don’t own a vehicle.

I soon parked in front of the house. Rin-san leisurely slithered toward Yuma and me.

“Hello again, Rin-san. Is it okay if I let Yuma eat some bugs and grass around here?”

“Hello, Sano. Okay.”

With her permission, I let Yuma off the truck. She soon walked over to Rin-san and they started staring at each other.

Aikawa-san came outside to greet us. “Hi, Sano-san.” I could tell he was feeling much more comfortable than when we’d been at Katsuragi-san’s place. I’m sure he’d like to help her however he can, but he can’t really do anything about his trauma.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said, stepping inside his house.

Aikawa-san smiled awkwardly. “No problem. Thank you for coming.”

The interior of his house was as stylish as ever. I sat down on a chair, and he served me some pickled vegetables. Woo, nice. The main dish was sadly nothing special—just plain, store-bought bento—but that wasn’t bad either.

“Would you like me to reheat that for you?”

“Please.” I handed him my mapo tofu bento—I’d bought it at the supermarket because of how appetizing it looked.

He went to the kitchen and took the trouble of moving the food from the bento box onto a plate. He’d done the same for his own bento as well. This guy puts your average housewife to shame.

“Whoa, thanks!” I was weirded out for a brief moment, but indeed, the food looked even better on a plate. It really does make a difference. But then, I absolutely never do that if I’m by myself, and I’m also not particular enough about it to ask others to do it for me.

“I just thought it’d look better this way.”

Yeah, I guess so.

“I agree, but I’d definitely never do it myself, so I still find it impressive.”

“Ha ha ha, come on, flattery won’t work on me,” he said, going back into the kitchen. This time, he brought out some vinegary fried salmon nanbanzuke. Just how much food did he prepare, anyway?

“Uh, it seems to have worked...?” I said.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s marinated enough...”

“Looks good to me.”

Usually when we go to N-Town, we just eat bento in our trucks and go home, so I feel like I lucked out today with all this extra food.

After a quick post-lunch break, Aikawa-san cut to the chase. “So, I was thinking of digging up some yams.”

“You mean like...wild yam?”

“Yeah. I found some growing near the foot of the mountain. Up until now, I figured I wouldn’t be able to dig them up properly, so I contented myself with picking the bulblets. But I have a feeling that since the typhoon from the other day softened the soil, it could be a good chance to try.”

“True... It did rain a lot.”

“It’s a lot of work for one person, though. Would you mind helping out?”

I can’t tell for sure until I see them for myself, but I think wild yams are supposed to be quite long, right? That really does sound like a lot of work for one person.

“Sure, I can help.” I’m even already in my work clothes. And I also brought rubber gloves.

Rin-san would be coming along, and so naturally, Yuma also joined the fray. We all got in our trucks and drove down the mountain.

Aikawa-san stopped his truck by the foot of the mountain. “Look, up here...”

There was a plastic fence, and above it, I spotted a thin, vine-like stalk with small, bulbous brown things growing on it. This spot got a good amount of sunlight, and probably thanks to that, there were quite a few of them. Well, no idea if it actually has anything to do with sunlight.

Suddenly, Yuma took a bite.

“Ah!”

Aikawa-san chuckled. “Those are the bulblets.”

To start things off, we picked the bulblets, then searched for the root. After pushing aside some fallen leaves on the ground, we were able to pinpoint its general location.

“Okay, first we need to dig out the soil around it,” Aikawa-san said with a serious expression.

I wonder how long this thing is... I was starting to get excited. We spent about ten minutes digging around it little by little, trying to get a feel for the yam’s general shape. By that point, we were already drenched in sweat.

Aikawa-san also used a brush to carefully comb through the soil—according to him, this was a necessary step because he couldn’t be sure that the yam was growing straight. Just how long does he think this yam is...?

I glanced behind us, and Rin-san was standing a small distance away. She was facing our direction and had her hands clasped as if in prayer. Where did she learn that from, I wonder? She was wearing her usual blank expression, and she wasn’t bowing or anything, but to me she looked kind of apologetic.

I waved to her, as if to say, Don’t mind us!

Who knows, maybe Aikawa-san actually gives her a lot more trouble than I think.

Yuma was hanging around pecking at the trees and the grass. There must be quite a few bugs around. I mean, that’s only natural considering where we are, but I hope they don’t fly around my face...

It took us a good while to dig up a single yam. I was able to judge its true size once I got a better look at it. The yam seemed to be around a meter long, tapering toward the end. There was a bump in the middle—presumably, it had bent in that shape to get around a rock in its way—but the root as a whole was still in great shape.

“Whoa, nice...” I muttered.

“It really is. Thanks for helping out.”

“No problem. Digging one of these out is no joke, huh?”

“Yeah. I found a couple more, but...”

“Wh-What?!” That caught me off guard. You still want to dig up more of them?

“Let’s call it a day. It really is a ton of effort.” Aikawa-san stared off into the distance.

I know wild yams are supposed to be pretty tasty, but given how much of a struggle it is to dig them up, the question is...are they worth the effort?

My work clothes were all dirty now. Aikawa-san apparently felt bad about that and offered to wash them for me, but I declined. It’s just dirt and mud—brushing it off should be enough.

One thing became clear to me: Aikawa-san probably had a lot more stamina than I did. Even after all that labor, when we went back to his house, he still had enough energy left to treat me to some deep-fried yam. Does he just not get tired?

The wild yams from the mountain were fresher and fluffier than regular, grocery-store yams. “Wow, this tastes amazing!” I exclaimed.

“Right? Especially when they’re this fresh.”

We gave some of the bulblets to Yuma.

“Tasty?” I asked.

“Tasty!” she replied.

“These are safe to eat raw, right?”

“Yeah, same as normal yams,” Aikawa-san said with a smile.

I thought about asking Yuma if I could try one of the bulblets too, but I decided against it. I’ll be sure to pick them if I spot them around. Not sure if I’m up for digging out any more yams, though.

As I was about to leave, Aikawa-san handed me some of the salmon nanbanzuke from earlier to take home. Wow, I’m glad I helped him out with the wild yam. I’m pretty easy to please, huh?

15. Preparing for Winter

I’d had a fairly busy day yesterday, so I’d been yawning nonstop since waking up this morning.

Gotta go check on Yumoto-san sometime. He said he was having boar troubles again. When should I go, I wonder...?

Pochi and Tama went out to play like they always did. I bet they’ll come home covered in mud again since the soil is still softer than usual... Oh well.

While I was putting the laundry out to dry, I got a call from Kakegawa-san. “Hi, Sano-kun. Your rice’s ready. Come over to pick it up whenever you have the time, all right?”

“Ah, it’s good to go already? Uh, how about I head over there right now—is that okay?”

I’d been thinking it’d feel like a pain having to go there to pick up the rice when the time came, but surprisingly enough, I was raring to pick up my rice as soon as I heard it was ready.

“Oh? Sure thing. I’ll polish it and wait for you, then. Is thirty kilos enough?”

“It is!”

The rice I’d been anxiously waiting for was finally ready. I decided to bring Yuma with me.

“Yuma, let’s go out to buy some fresh rice.”

“Rice?” She tilted her head.

“Remember earlier this month when we went to Kakegawa-san’s place? That guy who keeps chickens.”

“Hmm?”

She didn’t quite seem to understand what I was talking about, but either way, she sat in the passenger seat like she always did. I’m really blessed that she always keeps me company.

I drove toward the southern side of the village, along the same road from last time. Kakegawa-san, wearing a straw hat, stood in front of his house and waved at me.

“Thanks a lot,” I said, hopping out of the truck.

“Hey there. You got here pretty fast, Sano-kun.” He smiled. “All right, we’ve got some fresh rice for you—and we might as well treat you to a meal.”

“What, really?”

After helping Yuma out of the truck, he led me in the direction of the garden. Yuma followed along, letting out a few short clucks, as if to ask what was going on.

“It’s okay, Yuma,” I said in a reassuring tone.

From the garden, we stepped up onto the veranda and then into the living room, where we’d be eating lunch.

“Where’s Butcher?” I asked. I didn’t see him around today.

“Oh, he usually just wanders around the place. Every now and then he’ll run off somewhere, but he always finds his way back before it gets dark, somehow.”

It seems chickens have a wider range than I thought. “I see.”

Yuma was near the veranda, looking at me with a concerned expression.

“Yuma, really, it’s okay. Can I ask you to hang around nearby?”

She clucked in response—that’s probably a yes.

Kakegawa-san’s wife served me some tea and pickles. “Sano-kun, please make yourself at home.”

“Thank you. Sorry for the sudden visit...”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We hardly ever get visitors, so we appreciate it. You’ll be staying for lunch, right?”

“Ah, yeah, I will.” I couldn’t bring myself to say no. There’s one thing I gotta ask her, though. “Um, I know this is a little impudent of me, but could I ask you to spare some food for my chicken?”

“Sure, of course. That’s...Yuma-chan, was it?”

“Yep.”

“Well, she is quite big...” She kindly brought out some vegetables for Yuma.

As for me, I was served some brand-new freshly cooked rice, red miso soup, a stewed dish with radish boiled to a light brown color—“Not quite in season yet,” according to her—and salt-fried yam bulblets, among other things. I felt joy seeping into my body as I savored it all.

“It’s sweet...” The fresh rice had a characteristic flavor to it, even on its own. Each grain was firmly shaped and snow-white. This is incredible. Whew, eating rice like this makes me happy that I’m Japanese.

There was also a stir-fry with burdock root, konjac, and dried bonito flakes, which tasted as great as all the other side dishes.

I ended up buying thirty kilos of white rice and five kilos of brown rice—the latter was mostly intended for the chickens, though I also ate it sometimes.

“Lucky chickens, getting to eat fresh brown rice,” Kakegawa-san said with a chuckle. “Let me know when you want more.”

“Thank you very much.”

After some small talk—how they’d fared during the typhoon, how he’d managed to dry the rice in such a short time, etc.—I went home.

After carrying the huge bags of rice into the living room, I was already beat. “Yuma, sorry, but I’m gonna take a quick nap. You can go play outside...” I immediately collapsed onto the floor.

“Sano.”

I felt like I could hear Yuma calling my name, but I was no longer able to keep my eyes open. Sorry for making you worry.

Some time later...I was woken up by Tama’s pecking. Sheesh, does it not occur to you to wake me up by calling out to me instead? Eh, I guess Tama finds it easier to peck me.

“Hey, thanks. Jeez, I see you were going pretty hard, huh?” Tama had spots of dirt on her here and there, and her feet were covered in mud. Maybe she ran through a muddy area, what with all the rivers on this mountain. As for Yuma, she had seemingly joined me during my nap—she would sometimes take naps on the earthen floor, leaning against the raised edge of the living room floor. Some of her feathers were still standing on end. So cute.

I brought Tama outside and swept the earthen floor. It had already gotten quite dark. Pochi was outside by the front door, pecking away at bugs, and he was about as dirty as Tama.

“All right, you guys wait here while I go get some hot water.”

After the sun went down, it got a bit too cold to wash them with only room-temperature water. I was careful about that—I didn’t want my chickens catching colds, after all.

“Gotta change the gas again soon... Might as well do it sooner rather than later.”

My house was equipped with propane gas. Nowadays, a lot of places used methane gas, which was cheaper, but out here in the boonies, that wasn’t an option, since we didn’t have the infrastructure for that.

Ah well, it is what it is. Gotta make the best out of the situation. At least I have electricity, thanks to the former village head—because of that, I was able to get through the typhoon without any major issues. I also have the generator (like I told you earlier), though I still haven’t run into a situation where I’d need it.

“Wonder how cold it’ll get here...”

It had been fairly chilly in the mountains when I’d first moved here—cold enough to make me regret the choice a little. I remember going to the festival, buying three colored chicks, and then the four of us shivering from the cold. I covered their box with towels, got one of those cage heaters... They were so small and cute back then, and I thought if I didn’t protect them properly, they’d die. Then, when they grew a bit larger, I brought them to sleep with me in my futon.

And look at them now...

I glanced over at Pochi and Tama, who I’d given a quick wash. Tama, seemingly noticing my gaze, turned in my direction. She’s really sharp when it comes to this kind of thing.

I mean, it’d obviously be a problem if they’d remained chicks forever, huddled up with me and shaking from the cold. Plus, at that size, they could get attacked by other animals. Oh, right, I remember I broke into a cold sweat when I saw a large bird flying nearby. Glad nothing happened.

But on the other hand, them being this big comes with its own set of problems. They hunt boars and snakes, and they even go toe-to-toe with murder hornets... I’m kinda worried they might just hunt a bear one of these days. Guys, don’t be mean to bears, please. Or rather, I hope the bear runs away from them as fast as it can.

Speaking of chickens... I gave Matsuyama-san from the chicken farm a call to ask about chicken feed to get through the winter. Actually, I haven’t even asked him if he could sell me some yet.

“Chicken feed? Oh, yeah, sure. We made a lot of it in advance, so I can afford to spare you some. Not sure if it’ll be to your chickens’ taste, though...”

“Right... Could I bring them there so they can try it? I’ll pay you, of course.”

“Come on, I don’t mind giving you a free sample. Feel free to come whenever—I don’t really have any plans for the near future.”

That’s good to hear.

“Also, if you think you’ll need to buy some every winter, I’d appreciate it if you could let me know during the summer, so I can prepare accordingly.”

“Ah, right! Sorry, this is pretty sudden...” Gah, I’m such a klutz. I shouldn’t have waited so long to ask.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I understand this is your first year here and all.”

“I’ll be sure to let you know in advance next year. Anyway, do you mind if we come by tomorrow?”

“No problem. You can stop by tomorrow around noon, then.”

“Thank you—I’ll be there.”

I could hear his wife saying something to him over the phone. I guess they’re treating me to lunch again. I gotta think of something to bring them. Well, it’s not like it’ll be my last time visiting, so I think I can make do with something from the store... Then maybe I’ll order some quality black tea or fruits to bring another time.

Oh, I should also get Rin-san and Ten-san to help clean up the rivers again before they go into hibernation. I’ll ask tomorrow after I go to the chicken farm.

Whew, I’ve got a lot on my plate... But I guess that’s only natural—you gotta prepare properly for winter.

“I wonder what it’ll be like here when it snows...”

I’d bought chains to put on my truck’s tires. The roads on my mountain were paved, but even then, winter tires weren’t enough by themselves. They were still important, of course—I’d gotten some of those too.

The mountain had taken on quite a bit of color, with plenty of leaves turning yellow and the maples turning red. “Sure feels like autumn.”

It might be nice to enjoy an open-air bath while watching the autumn foliage. I’ll ask Aikawa-san to borrow his bath sometime.

The next day, I stopped at the general store, bought a thick cut of pork, and drove to the chicken farm. With all three chickens in tow, naturally.

I’d told them we were going to the chicken farm earlier during breakfast. Pochi and Tama had looked disinterested, as if that had nothing to do with them. But after I’d explained that I wanted to take them there so they could sample the chicken feed they made at the farm, Pochi had reluctantly agreed to go. Well, I did make sure to tell him the vet wasn’t coming, but I guess he’s still not exactly enthralled. Tama and Yuma, on the other hand, were excited to try the feed.

We got there a little before noon.

“Pochi, Tama, Yuma, hang on a bit. Don’t go out to play yet!” I made sure to tell them this, then rang the doorbell. Matsuyama-san’s wife promptly answered the door.

“Hello,” I greeted her. “Sorry for the sudden visit.”

“Hi, Sano-kun! Oh, you didn’t have to!” she said as I handed her the pork. “But thanks! I appreciate it.” She giggled.

I wasn’t too sure if pork was a good choice, but it looks like it was.

“Will you wait a minute?” she asked. “He’s over at the chicken coop.”

“Okay. My chickens are here too, so I’ll wait outside with them.”

I think Matsuyama-san was saying the chicken feed was his own original blend. Hopefully my chickens will like it.

While we waited, the chickens hung around the parking area, pecking away at bugs. As always, I was impressed by their eyesight—they could catch flying insects easily. Yuma stayed near me, eating any bugs that came flying in my direction. She’s pretty agile, yeah, but I also love how thoughtful she is. I appreciated the help, since bug spray wasn’t enough to keep them away here in the mountains.

After a while, Matsuyama-san came out of the chicken coop.

“Oh, Sano-kun. Hi there. Do you mind waiting just a sec?”

“Hello. No problem.”

Matsuyama-san walked over to the back of the coop and came back holding a large plastic bucket.

“And now...” he muttered to himself.

“If you tell me what else you need, I can help.”

“Hmm, in that case...” Matsuyama-san stared at my chickens and pondered for a moment. “Sano-kun, how do you usually feed them?”

“Huh?” I don’t really understand the question. “Um, I just put the food in a bowl, I guess...”

“What about the height?”

“Height?” What does he mean?

“If we’re talking about normal chickens, just putting a bowl on the ground for them to eat from is fine, but your chickens are a lot larger, right?”

“Ah!” I finally understood what he was getting at. Now that he mentions it, I’ve been using bowls to feed them since they were only a little larger than chicks. So they have to lean forward... I was shocked at myself. Ugh, how careless can one person be?!

“I mean, I’m sure no one could have predicted that they’d grow this large,” Matsuyama-san reasoned. “Well then, I figure it’ll be easier for them to eat if we place the food at around the same height as a beer crate.”

We brought out a few beer crates from the storage shed and placed them on the ground upside down. Right...must be hard for them if their food’s not at least this tall. Next, we placed bowls on top and filled them with chicken feed.

“Pochi, Tama, Yuma, give this a try. If it’s to your taste, you’ll be eating this during the winter.”

The three of them came closer, waggling their heads, and stuck them into the bowls. It seemed they did, in fact, find it easier to eat from that height. I think I have some beer crates in my shed too. If so, I’ll clean them and start doing this at home. If not, I’ll try to find something else to use as a substitute.

“Seems they like it,” Matsuyama-san said. “I’m glad.”

They ate the finely chopped chicken feed with gusto. After licking their bowls clean, they raised their heads again and tilted them. Yeah, I know what this means—they’re asking for more.

“Uh...sorry, could they have a bit more?” I asked.

“Sure, no problem. You know, getting your chickens’ seal of approval is quite an honor!” he said with a grin. He scooped up some more feed from the bucket and served it to them.

“This is it, though, okay?” We’re here to sample it. Don’t make this hard for Matsuyama-san.

Pochi raised his head and stared at me with a defiant look.

“Uh, Pochi... We came here today to try it... You understand?”

After a pause, he let out a short, reluctant-sounding cluck. Good, I’m glad you do understand. Just...don’t take it out on me after we get home, okay?

“Well, if they enjoy it that much, you can take this bucket home with you. Just bring it back to me next time you come.”

“Okay. How much do I owe you?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

“No, I insist. Please let me pay for it.”

We went back and forth for a while until his wife came outside. “Listen here! He’s saying he wants to pay, so let him pay! We can make it up to him by treating him to a nice meal!”

“You’ve got a point there...” Matsuyama-san replied.

“U-Uh, um...” Isn’t that a bigger burden than giving this chicken feed away for free...?

“So when are you gonna need it?” he asked.

“Let’s see... I’d like to have it by November or so.”

“They must be pretty big eaters... I feel like they might go through an entire barrel in less than three days,” his wife remarked.

Seriously? Well, sure, they do eat a lot... I glanced at my chickens. They had once again licked their bowls clean, and they looked like they were eager to go out and play. Looks like that was enough food for them.

“Hmm, true. Could I buy a barrel in advance, see how it goes, and decide based on that?”

“Yeah, sure.” Matsuyama-san turned to my chickens. “Had your fill? You can go play around the area—just stay away from the coop.”

Pochi clucked in response and, after looking at me, ran off with Tama. As soon as they finish eating, they’re already running all over the place. If I tried that, I’m sure my sides would hurt like hell, but I guess chickens are built different.

“What about her?” Matsuyama-san’s wife asked, referring to Yuma, who stayed by my side and tilted her head.

“Yuma likes to stay with me. She worries about me, you see,” I explained.

“Oh my, how sweet of her! Make sure you take good care of her, okay?”

“Thanks, I definitely will.”

We went inside to discuss the details. Yuma stayed outside relaxing.

I was treated to a lovely meal—lots of pickles, chicken steak, deep-fried chicken, and a stew with chicken meat. Man, I love chicken. (Don’t worry, I won’t eat mine. Not like I could catch them anyway.)

“Sorry it’s all chicken, heh.” Matsuyama-san chuckled.

“No, no, I love it. It’s all so delicious!”

The food put me in a great mood. Not too many vegetables, but that’s fine. At the end of the day, meat is best for giving you energy.

After lunch, I chatted with Matsuyama-san’s wife for a while before going home.

Since they ran a chicken farm, the Matsuyamas’ day generally consisted of taking care of the chickens and doing house chores, leaving little time for much else. I suppose it’s better than not having anything to do, but she mentioned that she doesn’t really have anyone to talk to unless someone comes to visit.

“It’s not much fun talking to my husband,” she said with a laugh.

“Well, yeah, not much variety,” Matsuyama-san agreed, scratching his head. The only form of entertainment they had was TV, so they usually ended up talking about the same topics. They couldn’t really go on trips either. “We can’t afford to leave the house unattended.”

“Right...” I murmured.

Not much you can do about it—that’s just what it’s like when you’re responsible for other living beings. Especially when they’re plain old chickens and not my chickens. And even with mine, I was still pretty worried about them when I left them at home while I was visiting family, even though it was only a quick day trip. Not sure how I’d feel about leaving them all by themselves for even one night.

The Matsuyamas had a child who lived far away and came to visit every year in the spring and during Obon—he was about their only regular visitor, apparently.

“Well, you know how kids are—he doesn’t call us too often...” his wife said in a dejected tone.

I kept in touch with my mom, but we didn’t exchange messages that often either—I mostly just replied to whatever she sent me. Maybe I should make more of an effort to let her know about how my life here is going.

Hearing their story, I also wondered why their son hadn’t visited for New Year’s, which seemed like a natural thing to do. It turned out they’d asked him not to come because the roads were dangerous with all the snow. No getting around that—we are in the mountains, after all. The Matsuyamas’ house was also a ways up into their mountain, though not as high up as mine.

“So I guess it must snow a lot here in winter?” I asked.

“For sure,” replied Matsuyama-san. “When there’s sleet falling at the foot of the mountain, it’s snowing up here.”

“There’s that much of a difference depending on the altitude, huh?”

“With how high up your house is, I imagine you don’t have any need for an air conditioner in the summer, no?”

“Well...I wouldn’t go that far. But yeah, mornings and evenings are relatively cool.”

“See? Just like that.”

Fair enough. That makes sense. Temperatures in the mountains are generally lower—I think I heard it was about three degrees colder for every thousand meters or something. Obviously, my mountain is under a thousand meters, but even a one-degree difference is actually a big deal.

“How long have you been living here again?” Matsuyama-san asked.

“Since late March of this year.”

“So you saw a bit of snow back then, right?”

“Yeah. Just once, though.”

At the time, I was huddled up with the chickens—or chicks, rather. The four of us were shivering from the cold, so I didn’t really get to see what it looked like outside. I was more focused on preventing them from dying. If you’d told me what they’d turn out like, I’m sure I wouldn’t have believed it...

“We’ll start getting snow here in the mountains as early as November, so I suggest preparing yourself for it.”

“Thank you for the warning.” November, huh? That’s sooner than I thought.

I soon left the Matsuyamas and headed back home. After seeing Pochi and Tama run off to play in the mountain wilderness, I rummaged through my shed, which was right next to the house. It was essentially used as a convenient place to store away random unnecessary items. That said, there’s a surprising amount of useful stuff here too... Though really, I should take the time to clean it up properly when I can.

I thought I’d closed the door tightly, but when I opened it, I was greeted by an unfortunate sight: a spider’s web. Why?! At least spin it somewhere else, not right in the doorway! A big joro spider scuttled out, as if saying, Hey! What are you doing?! and began repairing the web.

Oh, come on, not here!

“Please, you’re not gonna find any food here. Go somewhere else...” I groaned to myself.

I found a bunch of plastic yellow beer crates lying on the floor, which made me feel nostalgic. I remember seeing these all the time at grandpa’s house. Back in the day, it was bottled, not canned... I took three crates, brought them outside, and washed them thoroughly—they were covered in dust, as one might expect. Antiques, you could say... Or maybe not. I leaned them against the wall of the house and hoped that they’d dry by this evening.

These things are pretty old, though... Maybe I should buy some proper stands to use instead. How do you dispose of beer crates like these, anyway? I’ve heard some of these plastic crates used for beverages are actually rental items, though I’m not sure about the stuff in the shed.

There wasn’t much time left until dusk, so I spent a little while doing some light cleaning around the house.

The beer crates came in handy at dinnertime—the chickens seemed to have a much easier time eating their food from that height. Not too sure about using them as stands, though. They’re full of holes. Guess I gotta buy some proper ones after all. But I can think about that later.

“Sorry for not noticing until now...” I’m such a lousy owner...

I didn’t have time to wallow in self-pity, though, since Aikawa-san would be visiting tomorrow.

“Hey, Aikawa-san and his snakes are coming over tomorrow to help out with the crayfish,” I told them.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Tama remained silent, as I’d expected.

“Come on, Tama, please. The snakes probably won’t be coming over anymore after the crayfish are gone.”

“Okay...” she replied reluctantly.

“Thanks, guys.”

Although they had their quirks, my chickens were very kind and caring animals. I understand that you don’t like the snakes, and I’m not saying you have to. I just want you to compromise a little sometimes. That’s all.

Along with the chicken feed, I’d also bought some chicken meat from the farm. Being able to buy fresh chicken meat is one of the best parts of visiting them. The only problem was that sometimes, if they had frozen meat, they’d try to give it away for free, which I couldn’t possibly accept. I always made a point of paying them properly.

“What should I make tomorrow for lunch...?”

There are a lot of chicken dishes... Which one would be the best for tomorrow? We’ve got chicken meat and we’ve got eggs—oyakodon would be the natural choice. Well, I suppose it’s not “oyako” in the literal sense of “parent and child” if the meat and eggs don’t come from the same chicken, but yeah. Then again, I already made oyakodon recently. Oh yeah, I also have a lot of Chinese cabbage. Or...how about hot pot? Yeah, I guess that’ll do.

The menu was settled, and the next morning, I left home early to buy some tofu. They started preparations pretty early at the tofu store, so if you called them the day before, they’d have your tofu ready early. I bought some regular firm tofu, tofu patties, tofu skin, and fried tofu too. I was also given some grilled tofu and a large amount of okara as freebies.

“Is it really okay to take this much?” I asked.

“Oh, don’t worry. We appreciate you taking the okara, since not everyone does,” the lady at the tofu store explained. “You feed it to your chickens, right?”

“Well, I eat it too, but yeah...”

“And besides, we’re thankful to you, Sano-kun.”

Hmm? What does she mean? “Eh?”

“Even though it’s so close, we had no idea there was a chicken farm there, you see.”

“Wh-Whaaat?!”

That was a big surprise to me. The Matsuyamas’ farm was in a secluded spot, but it was still within the bounds of the village. The tofu store had been here for a long time; the chicken farm, on the other hand, had only been in business for around ten years, and it was on the eastern outskirts of the village, on the mountainside. It did make sense that they didn’t have much contact with each other. Matsuyama-san had mentioned previously that when he’d started the chicken farm, he’d had no connections, and he’d also developed his chicken feed recipe slowly through trial and error. At first, it had been mostly grain-based, and later on he’d refined it by adding leafy vegetables.

By utter chance, I’d mentioned to Matsuyama-san that the tofu here was delicious, perhaps because of the water quality, and that was how he’d first learned about the tofu store’s okara. I seemed to remember him saying he didn’t even know there was a tofu store in the village.

“You didn’t hear about him buying okara?” the lady asked.

“Not a thing, no.”

The Matsuyamas were pretty busy and must have forgotten to mention it, but thanks to them getting to know about the tofu store, they were now able to get ahold of the okara that was usually thrown away. This was mutually beneficial for both the tofu store and the chicken farm. It is a tofu store, after all—they produce a ton of okara every day.

“We can’t get locally sourced eggs, but he suggested that we try selling this dish... What was it called again...? Sundubu-jjigae?”

“Huh, really?”

“The idea is to sell a set with soft tofu and this hot pot sauce. How about it? Will you give it a try?”

“Ah, I’ll take one set, then, please...”

“Here, this is a free sample. Let me know what you think. Make sure you don’t forget the egg!”

“Thank you very much!”

After getting a sundubu-jjigae set, I changed my plans for lunch. All right, we do have eggs. What should I do with the chicken meat? Kung pao chicken, maybe? Do I have enough peanuts at home? (I love peanuts and eat them all the time, so I always keep some on hand.)

Aikawa-san arrived before noon. Pochi and Tama, who had gone out to play after breakfast, were back for whatever reason. How are they able to tell the time? From the sun’s position?

“Hello, Sano-san. Thanks for inviting me today.”

“Oh, no, I’m the one who asked you to help. Thanks for coming.”

After getting out of his truck, Aikawa-san turned to my chickens. “Pochi-san, Tama-san, Yuma-san, is it okay if Rin and Ten eat crayfish and other critters on your mountain?”

“Okay.”

“O-Okay...”

“Okay.”

Tama was reluctant, as usual. Still... What does he mean by “critters”? I got chills imagining what the snakes would look like preying on wild boar.

“Thank you. Rin, Ten, you can come out. Make sure you leave the chickens alone.”

“I know.”

“I shall.”

Rin-san, who was half snake, and Ten-san, who was snake from head to toe—uh, tail—slithered out of the truck. I never can get used to seeing them, even when I understand they won’t do me any harm...

“Well then, shall we go over to the river?”

I brought out two large buckets for them to use. I went along with them today, as I wanted to get a good look at the river—it was my own river on my own mountain, and I was used to seeing it, but recently, the scenery around the mountain had been changing. The foliage on the trees nearby had begun taking on an orange hue, painting a beautiful autumnal canvas.

“What a nice view.”

“Let’s take some pictures.”

I took out my phone and snapped pictures of the scenery, which I wouldn’t be sending to anyone other than Aikawa-san, since you never knew what might be in the pictures—sometimes there were things that shouldn’t be in a normal picture, like huge snakes, massive chickens... I wasn’t exactly the most skilled photographer, but I was rather satisfied with the results.

“It sure feels like autumn.”

“Yep.”

We left the rest to Rin-san and Ten-san and went home. My chickens had also tagged along to the river, and after seeing the snakes thrust their heads into the water, Pochi and Tama went out to play again. I still don’t understand why they came back in the first place, but yeah.

“I got ingredients for sundubu-jjigae from the tofu store,” I said.

“Ooh. Nice, I’m looking forward to it.”

I boiled water in a pot, added chives, bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, the sundubu-jjigae ingredients, eggs, brought it all to a boil, and it was done. This is the nice thing about hot pot. I also served some pickled Chinese cabbage, kung pao chicken, and rice.

Aikawa-san was delighted. “I love sundubu-jjigae. I’ll have to go buy some at the tofu store too.”

“I’m supposed to go there to let them know how it was, so we can stop by together if you want.” It was still an experimental product, after all.

I told Aikawa-san about the chicken farm and the tofu store, and we hung out at home waiting for Rin-san and Ten-san to come back.

Come November, I gotta ask for help demolishing the abandoned houses too... My schedule’s gonna be packed. Yuma happily munched on the Chinese cabbage and okara I’d served her. It’s nice having food, isn’t it?

The sundubu-jjigae was pretty great. We added some rice at the end to make it into gukbap, which turned out to be a fantastic idea. I think this was originally meant to be eaten with rice anyway. The sauce was ready-made, but the tofu was fresh from the tofu store, and it tasted so good. Aaah, I ate too much.

The rice was also fresh—bought from Kakegawa-san—and it was delicious. When I’d bought it, he’d also given me some barley as a freebie. They grew barley too, as a backup grain in case the rice harvest was bad. They were about to plant this year’s barley, meaning that what I’d gotten was planted last year.

“I hear barley’s very popular these days as a healthy food,” Kakegawa-san’s wife had told me at the time. “Would you let us know what you think? I could use a young person’s opinion.” I find it admirable how the people here are always willing to try new things.

The Yumotos grew enough rice to keep themselves fed and share with their sons’ families. They also grew barley and had given me some previously, when there had been more of it left over than they’d expected.

“This is whole barley—make sure you boil it first before mixing it with rice and cooking it,” Yumoto-san had said back then. The most commonly available type of barley was pressed barley, which was heated with steam, flattened, and dried. This was the kind that Kakegawa-san had given me. In contrast, the whole barley I’d gotten from Yumoto-san had only been polished, and it hadn’t been heated.

“We don’t have the equipment to roll it, you see. We leave it as is,” he’d explained. He also said they always boiled it first.

Incidentally, the rice from today’s lunch had pressed barley mixed in.

“That was barley rice, right?” Aikawa-san said after we’d finished eating.

“Yep. I got some pressed barley as a freebie, and I thought it’d be better to mix it with rice instead of eating it by itself.”

“Who did you buy the rice from?”

“A farmer living on the southern side—wait...southeastern?”

“Speaking of barley, when I was a child, I didn’t know barley was its own thing. I called it ‘rice with lines.’”

“Well, it does look exactly like that.”

“For my parents’ generation, eating barley was unthinkable, apparently.”

“You mean like...at restaurants, or...?”

“Yeah. They thought it was preposterous to pay money for barley.”

“Oh, I guess that’s understandable for that age range.”

Back then, barley was much more common than rice, so maybe they thought it didn’t make sense to pay for it. Come to think of it, grandpa always got angry when he was served rice mixed with other grains, didn’t he? Saying that was “food for animals” or something. But I also heard it simply used to taste bad.

We chatted away for some time. Aikawa-san was a good listener, so it was easy to lose track of the time while talking to him.

Rin-san and Ten-san came back before sunset. Rin-san held the two buckets, filled to the brim with crayfish. Although you couldn’t tell from her expression, she seemed to be in high spirits.

“Sano, thanks.”

“Sano, nice person.”

As they were about to approach me, Yuma got in between us. Yeah, I know they don’t pose any danger to me, but still, at their size, I feel a little uncomfortable when they get too close...

“Thanks, Yuma...”

She stood firmly in front of my body, as if protecting me. The two snakes didn’t get any closer.

Aikawa-san let out an awkward chuckle. “Rin, Ten, I know you like Sano-san, but try not to get too close. So, were there a lot of crayfish?”

“Not a lot.”

“Huh, did they start hibernating?”

“I don’t know.”

“I see...” Aikawa-san faced me. “Could we come by just one more time?”

I nodded. As many times as you need to get rid of the crayfish, really. “Feel free to come by whenever suits you.”

“In that case... How about in five days? I’ll message you again.”

“Sure.”

Pochi and Tama came back to see them off. Wait, how can they tell what time they’re going home? Some sort of sixth sense?

For dinner, I served my chickens the feed I’d bought from the farm. They gobbled it all up.

“Ah, right, this feed...” I suddenly remembered about the chickens from Matsuyama-san’s farm.

Those are all broilers, right? In other words, the fate that awaits chickens who eat this feed is... I glanced at my chickens. Tama glared back at me. Just kidding, just kidding. Sheesh, of course I don’t mean it. There’s no way I could eat my precious chickens! In a literal sense too—if it comes down to kill or be killed, we all know the result!

“No wonder they slaughter them in the winter when it takes this much to keep them fed...” Well, obviously it doesn’t take as much for the broilers as for my chickens, but still... I hope Butcher will be okay...

Pets in general were expensive to keep. Even Aikawa-san’s snakes, who were on the cheap side since they were carnivores and hunted in the mountains, required some money to get through the winter. Ten-san is just about to go into hibernation, but Rin-san doesn’t hibernate, so there’s that...

“They’re my dear family—it’s only natural to spend money on them,” Aikawa-san had said matter-of-factly.

What an awesome guy. I mean, he is an extremely capable and dependable person—I’d just kinda forgotten about it after seeing him acting all jittery in Katsuragi-san’s presence. Sorry, Aikawa-san. I faced the mountain to the west and bowed quietly.

It’s gotten pretty cold. I wonder what winter in the mountains is like. Bet we’re getting a lot of snow... I shivered as I remembered how cold it’d been back when I’d moved here.

Still... I glanced over at the chickens, fluffily bundled up on the earthen floor.

It’s pretty cold now, but I’m sure I’ll be all right if my chickens are with me.

Extra Chapter: My Pet Chicks Are Too Cute

It had been about ten days since I’d begun raising three dyed chicks.

We were now in April, and snow was no longer a concern. In its stead, I could see the mountain turning greener and greener. The grass hadn’t grown that much yet, but I could tell already that I shouldn’t let my guard down.

“Yeah... If I’m not careful, this’ll turn into a jungle before I know it.” I hear plants grow extremely fast. I’ve already bought an electric mower and a fire pit, so I think I should be okay.

We’d had some spring snow a few days ago, but there was no longer any trace of it. Pochi, Tama, and Yuma were hanging out in front of the house, each doing their own thing. They were still pretty small chicks, although their necks had grown a little longer.

I’d set boundaries for how far from the house the chicks could go, like, don’t go where trees are growing, don’t go farther than the truck, and so on. That restricted them to a pretty narrow range, and I wasn’t sure if they’d obey. Maybe I should stay outside to keep an eye on them for a while. They could also get lost and not be able to find their way back.

It was fairly warm during the day, but mornings and evenings were still cold. Since I was worried about the chicks, I’d been bringing my futon to the living room and sleeping there.

Although they always remained within my view, Pochi and Tama ran around without a care. Meanwhile, Yuma stayed near me, and I made sure not to accidentally step on her. She looks so adorable strolling around me.

“Yuma, just a moment.”

I thought it was dangerous for her to move around near my legs, and I held her up. She chirped and squeaked, sounding like she wanted me to pamper her.

“There, there.”

It’s so cute how she loves being held. As I was petting her, I spotted a bird flying up above. Must be pretty large if I can see it so clearly from here.

Wait a minute... Is it targeting my chicks?

It’s not that weird for birds to eat other birds—they’re a category as large as mammals. Carnivorous birds prey on weaker animals, and that makes baby chicks a prime target for them. I shot a hostile glare up at the bird.

It’s a bit too far away to tell, but that could be a hawk.

I could go inside and get a broom to defend ourselves with, but what if something happens in the meantime?

Thankfully, my worries were in vain, and the bird soon soared away elsewhere. Still, I should keep my guard up. If it does attack them, it’ll be over in an instant. Like hell I’ll let you do anything to my precious chicks!

I noticed Pochi and Tama falling over a couple of times, and I picked them up. They must be pretty tired already if they’re tripping over nothing.

They chirped loudly in protest. Unlike Pochi, who only made noise, Tama also pecked at me, although it didn’t hurt that much yet.

“Falling over like that is proof that you’re tired. Just stay in the living room and relax.”

I might be overprotective, but I can’t help it. Plus, if they stay outside, I’ll be too worried to get anything done. I closed the glass door. Pochi was still hanging around the entrance, and Tama kept on pecking me.

“Come on, take a breather.”

Yuma came up to me—apparently, she wanted to stay by my side. I had them stay on the earthen floor while I prepared their food.

“I wouldn’t worry if you guys were big enough that there wasn’t any danger of getting swept away by a bigger bird, but see, that’s not the case. I’m pretty concerned about you.”

I served them plates with chick feed and some vegetable scraps. I can use bowls instead when they get bigger. I’ll have to remember to buy some.

After a few nibbles of his food, Pochi tilted his head.

“At your size, you’re gonna be helpless if you get attacked by other animals. Wait until you’re bigger, okay?”

I won’t have to worry so much once they grow as big as your average chicken, but right now, while they’re still chicks, I think I need to keep an eye on them.

While they ate their food, I picked out a bamboo broom from the storage shed—to scare away any birds that might come flying down.

Even then, I was still quite worried.

“Maybe get some leashes for them? Nah... How am I supposed to put collars on chicks?”

We’re talking about chicks here—smaller than even the smallest dog breeds. And I bet people would think I’m crazy if I asked for chick leashes. Besides, with how active and energetic Pochi is, the leash could get tangled up, which would be more dangerous than not using one.

“Hmm, there’s no easy solution...”

In the afternoon, I let the chicks outside again and watched over them.

“Make sure you get a lot of exercise. Grow big and strong!”

It was easy to tell when they got tired because they started falling over. They got mad when I picked them up, but there was no way I was letting them run out of stamina and collapse outside.

Pochi and Tama once again chirped in protest, but after a while they just fell silent and collapsed. Looks like their batteries ran out. Aww, they’re so adorable.

Yuma had stayed awake until then, but after Pochi and Tama went quiet, she soon followed. I guess twenty-four hours is a pretty long time for a chick.

After they woke up from their nap, I brushed the dirt off of Pochi and Tama. Yuma joined me in the bath.

Pochi and Tama are still traumatized by the bath, I take it. Well, it’s my fault...

Yuma was still quite small, so instead of the bathtub, I filled a washbasin with hot water and put her in there, then put it on top of the bathtub cover so it would feel like we were in the bath together. She looked really cute bathing. I should have done this from the start, huh?

The sight of her flapping around happily soothed me.

“They’re plenty cute now...but I bet they’ll still be cute even after they grow bigger.”

I think it takes about over two months or so for them to grow into adult chickens, right? I’ll make sure to take good care of them until then.

It was still quite chilly at night. I dried Yuma off with a towel, since I didn’t want her catching a cold.

When I laid out my futon in the living room, she started chirping.

“Yuma, wanna sleep together?”

She peeped in response.

“But I toss and turn in my sleep. I could crush you...”

I brought out a thin futon, only a little thicker than a blanket, and had the three of them get in there. I don’t mind if it gets dirty—I can just wash it.

“Good night, Pochi, Tama, Yuma.”

They chirped and tweeted in response, which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

***

The next morning, I woke up to find that the chicks had grown visibly larger for some reason.

“H-Huh?”

Did their tails get longer again? On the earthen floor, Pochi swung his tail around. Eventually, it hit Tama, who got angry at him.

It looks like they don’t have a good feel for the size of their bodies.

“Are...? Are chicks supposed to grow this fast?”

Pochi got pecked by Tama over and over and ran away from her...at a pretty decent speed. I was worried about getting down onto the earthen floor because they were running around so quickly that I’d risk hurting them. Yuma, meanwhile, leisurely sauntered over to the bathroom—I’d laid out some newspaper on the floor in there.

The futon that they’d slept in was neat and clean. They probably don’t like getting dirty either.

Can you even potty train birds, though? Maybe my chicks are just that clever? Yeah, that must be it.

Still... How did they grow this fast?

There was a lot that I couldn’t make sense of, but I set that aside for the time being and watched over my chicks—with a broom in hand, just in case.

Extra Chapter: While the Owner’s Away—Sano Visits His Family

On that day, Sano left home in the early morning.

Yuma had been told that she couldn’t come along this time, since he would be going quite far.

In exchange, she made him promise that he would be back on the same day. If he’d remained silent, Yuma had intended to stay in front of his truck and not budge—that was how important Sano was to Yuma.

As she was sulking in the parking area, Tama pecked her lightly, snapping her out of it.

That’s right—how about I hunt some prey for Sano? Yuma thought. She stared at Tama expectantly.

However, to her dismay, Tama didn’t agree to help.

Yuma let out a few short clucks, asking why, and Tama explained that humans wouldn’t eat their prey unless they were freshly caught and killed. As far as Yuma was concerned, she didn’t see any issue in eating prey a day or so after catching it, but Tama’s stance was loud and clear.

How unfortunate...

Even then, she did not intend to ask Pochi to help. She had a feeling that, if she were to ask him, he would go to the ends of the earth in his hunt. Yuma thought that they should restrict their hunting to this mountain—otherwise, Sano wouldn’t be able to retrieve the prey. She didn’t want to hunt far away from here and have their efforts go to waste.

Tama clucked at her, inviting her to go out and hunt for their own food. Sano had set their lunch on the earthen floor of the house before leaving, but there was always the possibility that he wasn’t coming back today. It was important to secure proper sustenance.

Praying in her heart that Sano came back soon, Yuma followed behind Pochi and Tama. She paid no mind to the gentle, intermittent breeze that blew on her along the way.

On this mountain, she would occasionally feel a wind like this. It felt comforting and reassuring, but Yuma had no need for that.

All she desired was Sano.

Making her way through the mountain, she fed on insects and grass. She also ate a snake she caught.

The sun began to set, and it grew darker and darker.

Yuma was getting worried.

She clucked at Pochi and Tama, saying that she would go back first, and she scurried toward the house.

She thought Sano might be home already.

“Sano.”

Unfortunately, he hadn’t come back yet...

Or so she thought, but just then, she heard the sound of a truck.

Yuma didn’t want to be apart from him, even if it was only for half a day.

Soon enough, the truck came into view and stopped at the parking area. Sano got out of the driver’s seat.

“Yuma, I’m home.”

“Welcome back.”

Relieved, Yuma sauntered in his direction.

The end.

Afterword

Hello, this is Asagi.

Thank you for following this series. I’m really thankful to all my readers.

The third volume is out. A third volume! I’m so happy! Woo-hoo! (Calm down.)

For this volume, I wrote over fifty pages of new content, including the events leading up to the four-day weekend in September. A certain chicken, who is quite popular with some readers of the web novel version, also makes an appearance! There are also more story developments that differ from the web novel. I hope you enjoy it.

I’d like to express my gratitude to Shino-san, the illustrator, who drew a beautiful Rin-san and an awesome-looking Ten-san; W-san, my editor, who suggested that I add a lot of new content to this volume; and everyone involved in the making and publishing of this book!

I’m also grateful to my family, who kept asking me when the third volume was coming out.

There’s also a manga adaptation! The chickens! The dragon! Moving! How exciting. Thank you, Hamada Mifumi-san!

I hope you all continue to enjoy the adventures of Sano-kun and his chickens.

Asagi