Aikawa-san elaborated, probably sensing I wasn’t following. “There were also people living on my mountain before me, and now I’m living in one of the old houses that was left behind. It had an earthen-floor kitchen with one of those old cooking stoves. I thought it would be way too much of a hassle to use that kitchen, so I had it renovated.”
Oh, I see. True—older houses usually have earthen-floor kitchens.
“It was already like this when I moved in,” I explained. After all, the old village head had been coming here until recently.
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“Yeah, I got lucky.”
On the other hand, maybe because the village head used to live here, the house was a bit too big, with three large bedrooms. I didn’t have that much stuff, so for now I just swept the empty rooms regularly.
Aikawa-san straightened his posture, and I did the same.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he said.
“Oh, no, it’s all right...”
Still, what’s up with my chickens? Did they sense the presence of an invader or something? Maybe Katsuragi-san was right and they really are cockatrices...? But I think cockatrices have claws on their wings...
“I also wanted to ask about your chickens... Were they already on the mountain when you came here?”
Of course he’s curious about them. I gave a wry smile. “No, I bought them at a festival stall shortly after I moved here. They were still chicks.”
“Oh, those dyed ones? You don’t see many of them these days.”
“That’s right. The dye has already worn off, though.”
Aikawa-san’s expression became stern. “By the way... Have you met Katsuragi-san already?”
“Yes, we met for the first time just the other day...”
I don’t see what Katsuragi-san has to do with this. Wait! Don’t tell me he’s after Katsuragi-san? Well, not that it’s any of my concern, I guess...
“So I take it you’ve also seen Katsuragi-san’s, uh, pet?”
For some reason, the topic had shifted to Katsuragi-san’s lizard. I think he might be a bit too big to call a pet, no?
“Yes, that big lizard, right? I thought he looked kind of like a dragon.”
Aikawa-san nodded. “Right? I was surprised too. I heard she also got him from a stall at the village festival.”
“Oh yeah, I heard the same.”
Aikawa-san’s information was secondhand, though. Does Aikawa-san also have a pet? I decided to ask.
“What about you, Aikawa-san?”
“Well... I moved here three years ago, and the first time I went to the village festival, I got two small snakes.”
“I see... Three years ago, it was snakes, huh?”
“Yes, I also made sure they weren’t venomous before buying them...”
Aikawa-san then sighed.
“Er... Is something the matter?” I asked.
There are snakes that grow to enormous sizes, like pythons and anacondas. Is that what happened? Why in the world were they selling those? Last thing you’d want is to end up getting eaten by the snake you raised.
“You see... They turned out to be pretty big ones...”
“Pythons?”
“Probably close, but I really have no idea why or how they ended up like that.”
“Hmm...”
He seemed troubled, but I’d need to see the snakes myself to offer advice. Aikawa-san gazed at Yuma, who was standing beside me.
“Sano-san, your chickens are pretty big too, aren’t they?”
“Yes, I measured them the other day, and they’re about half a meter tall...”
“And their tails aren’t feathered either.”
“Yeah, they look sort of reptilian. Katsuragi-san even compared them to cockatrices...”
“That’s it!”
“Huh?”
Aikawa-san stared at me with wide eyes. What is it?
“I don’t know why, but don’t you get the impression that the animals sold at this village’s festival stalls resemble mythological creatures?”
“What?” I asked. Is he a fantasy nut too? Weirdo. “Well... It might just be a mutation...”
I thought about it. Three chickens that all have tails like that...? But maybe they gathered chicks with the same mutation and sold them...
“That doesn’t explain my snakes...” he pointed out.
I wondered what his snakes were like. Some Yamata no Orochi-type multiheaded thing? Heh, right. But in that case, he should’ve noticed it when he bought them, no? Did it grow another head?
“Uh, do they have more than one head or something like that?” I asked.
As it turns out, the truth was stranger than anything I could imagine.
“Sano-san, you saw her yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Who?”
“Long hair and fair skin...”
“Ah...”
I thought back to what I’d seen yesterday and shuddered. It’d been a frightening scene, even after I’d learned that she wasn’t a ghost.
“She was also in the passenger seat today.”
“Wh-What?”
That’s his girlfriend from yesterday, right? I could still hear Pochi clucking at her outside.
Wait... No way...
“You’re joking, r-right?” I stammered. I prayed he was just trying to play a prank on me. I started breaking into a cold sweat.
“Let me introduce her to you,” Aikawa-san said, standing up. I reluctantly stood from my seat too.
It was still daytime, but I could feel an unpleasant cold sweat building on my back. What in the world is happening around here?
Walking out the front door had never felt this terrifying. We stepped outside and headed toward the trucks. Pochi was still clucking furiously at Aikawa-san’s truck.
Seriously? Is he for real?
“Ouch!”
My legs were shaking. Tama poked me sharply, as if telling me to get my act together. I just had to laugh. Sorry for being such an unreliable owner. I took a look at Aikawa-san, and he also had a nervous expression on his face.
Aikawa-san walked over to the passenger seat and called out to her. “Rin.”
The truck’s windows were down, and you could see the woman inside raise her head to get a look at what was happening outside.
“I told Sano-san about you. These are his chickens, so don’t attack them, okay?”
There was a long pause, and then she said, “Okay,” in a droning voice.
The door opened...
“Huh?!”
I’d already gotten the gist of it from our conversation earlier, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was seeing. I felt myself getting dizzy. This has got to be a dream, right? Or some sort of practical joke?
Pochi sharply jumped away from the truck and stood in front of me.
“This is one of my snakes,” explained Aikawa-san. “As you can see, it’s a female. The other one is at home.”
“O-Oh, i-is that so...?”
My voice was trembling, my mouth all dried up. Her face was that of a beautiful woman, with long black hair and fair skin. She was wearing a long-sleeve graphic T-shirt. But under that...