“Please feel free to come by anytime,” he offered.
“I’d be happy to stop by again.”
We didn’t get to talk much about the snakes, but I had a great time chatting about various topics. That stereotype about men being taciturn couldn’t be more wrong.
Rin-san and Ten-san, having eaten all the crayfish I’d brought them, seemed to have taken a liking to me. They huddled up close to my body. I was happy they’d appreciated the gift, but it was kind of terrifying. I was this close to wetting myself.
There was still a lot I wanted to talk to Aikawa-san about, so I continued to visit him regularly after that.
One day, around the time it was starting to get hotter, I received a call from him that was quite unlike our usual conversations—I could tell over the phone how distressed he was. This was very out of character for him, so I got worried and hurriedly drove over to his place with Pochi and Yuma.
“Sorry to call you so suddenly,” he apologized.
Usually, he asked me to leave the gate unlocked, but not this time—he outright asked me to lock it, which spoke to the graveness of the situation. I know I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but this reminds me of that time I went to see Katsuragi-san.
When I got to his house, I found Aikawa-san with Rin-san coiled around him. I squinted my eyes. He’s not gonna ask me to get her off him, right? Sorry, but no can do.
Ten-san was also there, and he came over to greet us. I kinda wish he’d keep some distance, though.
“So, uh... What’s the matter?”
Aikawa-san had a troubled expression on his face. And yet he still looks good. I bet I’d look ugly as heck if I made that face. Curse my ordinary looks.
“This is really embarrassing, but I was hoping you could give me a word or two of advice...”
“Sure. What’s on your mind?”
I’d figured it might be a sensitive matter, but it was already too late to change my mind and go home. Rin-san finally let Aikawa-san go; I asked her if it was okay to let the chickens graze and eat bugs outside, and after getting the okay, Aikawa-san and I went inside.
He served us tea in his fancy tea set. Every time I come here, I feel like I’ve just wandered off into another world. The snakes were outside with Pochi. Yuma had dutifully tagged along with me.
This time, the tea snacks were pickled cucumbers instead of the usual rice crackers. Aikawa-san, always the perfectionist, had pickled them himself.
“Oh, these are pretty good.”
“I’m glad to hear. I got a bit carried away and made way more than I can eat, so why don’t you take some home with you?”
I feel like I’ve had this conversation before...
“Thank you, I’ll take you up on that.”
As I chowed down on the cucumbers, Aikawa-san let out a deep sigh, and, after some hesitation, started talking.
“So, uh... You know how nowadays, when you tune into the news, you often hear about stalking incidents?”
“Yeah... What about it?”
“In most cases, it’s women being stalked by men... Usually, that is...”
Aha, I see. The price of good looks.
“But there are also cases where the stalker is a woman...”
“Aikawa-san, is that perhaps why you moved to the mountains?”
“Indeed...”
I can’t even imagine what that’s like, but I guess it does make sense.
“I can’t say I relate,” I told him, “but I’m sure it must have been tough on you.”
“Yes. We were coworkers, and somehow or other, she got the idea that we were dating. Before I knew it, she’d somehow made a spare key to my place, and I found her rummaging through my stuff...”
“Yikes...”
That’s even worse than I expected. Isn’t that going into criminal territory?
“So... What did you do?”
Aikawa-san told me about how it had started to interfere with his work life. He’d discussed it with his superior, but that ended up catching the stalker’s ire when she caught wind of it. In the end, it became a police matter, and that put him in a very awkward position in the workplace. An unpleasant situation for everyone involved.
“I do have a restraining order against her, but I’m still afraid of what might happen. Feel free to laugh at me.”
“Oh, no, I can totally understand!”
After that, having made a decent amount of money from trading stocks, he’d decided to quit his job and buy his mountains. He’d managed to keep himself busy for a while—preparing to get his hunting license and maintaining the mountain—but after some time, the loneliness had started getting to him.
One day, when he’d taken a trip down to the village, there’d happened to be a festival going on, and he’d bought two snakes at one of the stalls. At the time, they were snakelets, about ten centimeters long. However, they began to grow larger and larger, and after a year, one of them had strangely grown a half-snake, half-human body. That was, of course, Rin-san, whose upper body looked just like a woman. Is she...a lamia?
But anyway, back to his stalker.
“So, have you perhaps seen her around the village...?” I asked.
“No, I... I think I saw her when I went to do some shopping in the nearby town...” Aikawa-san replied.
“Huh?” By “nearby town,” he must be talking about the one to the west of this road. “Do you mean N-Town?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you sure it was actually her?”
He paused for a moment, then nodded. “I am. That was just yesterday. I did also think it might be someone else, but I gave my lawyer a call just in case, and...it turns out she moved to this prefecture earlier this year...”
“I...see...” I shuddered at the thought. My reason for moving here is starting to feel really petty.
“What about this village...?”
“She hasn’t been here yet, I don’t think. But still, just imagining it...”
“I don’t blame you.” It was a terrifying prospect.
“Sano-san! I’ll help you take care of your mountain or whatever else you want, so please come with me when I go shopping!”
“Uh, I... Okay...”
Not like I’ve got anything better to do anyway.
“Oh yeah, what about Rin-san? Do you take her with you when you go to town?”
“Yes, but she stays in the passenger seat.”
I guess he can’t rely on her in town. She’d probably cause a big commotion if she didn’t stay inside the truck.
“I feel so pathetic...” he lamented.
Aikawa-san had the front of his jacket open, and I could tell even through the running shirt he had underneath that he was fairly muscular.
His clothes made him look a lot thinner. He also had ten centimeters or so on me. It’s a bit odd to think that a man of his build is cowering in fear of a female stalker, but I guess it’s not just about physique.
“Don’t worry, I can’t relate to your situation, so I can’t judge you either,” I told him firmly.
He stared at me wide-eyed, then laughed and said, “Sano-san, I might fall for you.”
“Stop it, you’re giving me the creeps!”
“Just joking. But you did help take a load off my shoulders. Thanks for that.” Aikawa-san laughed heartily.
I’d like to think that her being in a nearby town is just a coincidence, but if it’s not, this might spell trouble. For now, we should probably stay alert and try to gather information about her. At least now I have another person to keep me company when I go shopping. Plus, he did say he’d help with my mountain, so that’s also pretty nice.
I stayed over for lunch and then went home.
“Dealing with people really tires me out... Pochi, Tama, Yuma, I’m glad I’ve got you guys with me.” I hugged Tama and Yuma, and Tama pecked me.
Please, Tama, I’m begging you, don’t be so rough. Pochi was just like, whatever, and paid us no mind.
I was a bit bummed out that Tama didn’t seem to care for my display of affection, but Yuma cuddled up to me, so it was all good. Yeah, I’m pretty simpleminded, but that’s okay.