Once I calm down, I remember how casually I talked to her over the phone. I guess I was acting way too overly-familiar. At least she didn’t seem to notice, but I’m breaking out into a cold sweat on the inside.
“Ah… Sorry. I should bring some tea…”
Katsuragi suddenly gets up. I guess she’s feeling calmer, because she stopped crying.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll do it!”
I guess it’s fine if it will help her calm down. But still, this house… How should I put it? It’s compact, but it gives off the feeling of a fancy log house. It feels western, but it has a Japanese-style veranda. Its construction is kind of odd. I’m assuming the previous occupant built it.
“…Thank you for waiting.”
Katsuragi emerges again from the house, with shoes, and sits on the veranda again. She probably doesn’t want to invite me in. I’d be a bit troubled if she did though.
“Thank you. Hum…I locked the entrance, was that good?”
As I speak, I realize my choice of words is a bit off, but I wouldn’t fix it even if I was told to.
“Ah! Sorry, thank you…”
Like I thought, she’s wary of trespassers.
She brought me tea and rice crackers. They really are the best.
“…I’m sorry for calling you so suddenly…”
After I take a couple of sips, she apologizes quietly.
“It’s fine. Did something happen?”
She doesn’t have to answer if she doesn’t want to. I don’t understand what girls are thinking, but since few are physically stronger than men, that must come with its own troubles. The area around her house is all neatly trimmed, and the road didn’t seem dangerous either. I’m pretty sure the villagers have been helping.
“…I don’t really know how to say it… Can I just say the gist…?”
She sounds troubled.
“…You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
We both have our own reasons for living on a mountain.
“Yes… Please hear me out.”
“Yes.”
I guess she wants to talk, so I zip my mouth. I won’t interrupt or talk back. Just show that I’m listening. My father told me that’s the best way to do things, and I have to adhere to it.
It looks like it’s difficult for her to say, as she starts mumbling.
But let me summarize. Katsuragi lived with her boyfriend before she came here. He was nice when they were dating, but he turned violent once they moved in together. Basically, domestic violence. She feared that she could end up dying if she stayed, so she ran back to where she lived before. And when he went after her, the police got involved. Her ex-boyfriend’s family paid a hefty sum as reparations to keep this case quiet, and she used that money to buy a mountain and live in solitude. That was about two years ago.
Her ex-boyfriend was supposed to be kept in the dark about where she currently lives, but when she went down to go shopping, she heard about a man asking questions about her. His description matched her ex-boyfriend, so she panicked.
Even I think that’s scary.
“Maybe it’s someone else, but I got really scared… I’m sorry.”
“It is scary.”
That said, I don’t know what to do. I think it would be best to go down to the village until things cooled off. There’s a chain-link fence, but… I don’t think it’s going to mean much if he’s coming here specifically. It’s not that tall.
But it’s not like I can stay here either.
“Hum… Does anyone else know your situation?”
“In the village… Yamanaka does…”
The old lady that introduced her to me as Miya. Apparently quite a few people in the village know about me, even if I don’t know them. She even knew my name.
She can’t rely on Yamanaka. Her husband can’t handle the dragon.
Then all she could really do was talk to the police stationed in the village, but there are only a couple of police boxes. And apparently one of them is shared with the village deep in the mountains, which means it’s empty about half the week. It would be hard to ask them to patrol around because apparently Katsuragi has a stalker lurking around.
“Did you tell Yamanaka your ex-boyfriend could be here?”
“…Not yet.”
“I think you should. And then think about what you want to do.”
“What I want to do?”
She looks puzzled.
She’s the one who should decide. But since she’s in a state of confusion, I try giving her options.
“One, Hole up in the mountain. Two, seek shelter with Yamanaka. Three, resume your normal life, while gathering information and being very careful. Those are the options I can think of.”
“Gather information…”
It sounds like she’s not too sure.
“Like asking people if a stranger asked about you. What that person looked like. I think it will make things easier too if you told the gist of it to the police and Yamanaka too.
“…Yamanaka is one thing, but the police…”
“Then are you going to hole up here?”
“I think that’s all…”
“But the fence wouldn’t mean much if he found out you’re here. But… Tatsuki would know if someone got in here, right?”
My chickens noticed someone entering the foot of the mountain. I’m pretty sure the dragon would too.
“You can ask Tatsuki to let you know about intruders and contact me when it happens, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get here quickly every time.”
It sounds cold, but I can’t look after her that much.
“…Of course.”
“Well, there might not be an optimal solution, but I think all you can do is be on the lookout your own way. Ah, I’m going to Yumoto’s place tomorrow morning. What about you?”
“I-I’ll go! Can you contact him!?”
I don’t think it’s bad for her to come along, and I contact him right away.
“The mountain neighbor lady? Sure, bring her along.”
He accepts without hesitation.
“He says it’s fine. I’ll contact you on Line when I’m leaving.”
We’ll go there on our own.
“Yes! Thank you for everything. Hum… I made rice with bamboo shoots. Do you want to take it!?”
“Thanks, I’ll have it.”
“I’ll go get it!”
Katsuragi says as she hurries back inside.
Ah, I ended up getting too friendly again. What’s with that? I sigh, and notice Yuma looking at me. It kind of gets me down how it feels like it’s telling me to get it together.
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