The chickens exchanged looks and clucked at one another, probably discussing what to do.
“Together!”
“Mountain!”
“Together!”
“G-Got it... Thanks.”
It seemed Tama preferred to stay here, which meant I’d be taking Pochi and Yuma along. Sorry, but please bear with me.
I called Yumoto-san to inform him about this, and he said, “Yeah, sure, that’s actually a good idea. It’ll make things easier if they see the chickens.”
This happened on Friday night. Then on Saturday, at about three in the afternoon, I left Tama to take care of the house by herself and headed down to the village with Pochi and Yuma. It was already July, and you could feel the sudden jump in the temperature when you descended the mountain. It really is a whole different environment up there.
I was approached by a few children at the general store while I was shopping for something to bring to the meeting.
“Ah, it’s Pochi-chan! Pochi-chaaaan!”
The children immediately surrounded Pochi and Yuma. They’re really popular, huh? Isn’t it too hot to hug them?
“Could I have some frozen chicken?”
“Here you go. Thanks.”
I bought some chicken meat and called out to Pochi and Yuma, saying we were leaving. The children glared at me, but that was just how it was.
“Hey, mister, let us borrow the chickens!”
“Nah. They’re mine.” I knew I was being rather childish, but the chickens’ contract was over. And no, pouting is not gonna make me change my mind. Pochi and Yuma obeyed, and we went on our way.
At the Yumotos’, Pochi and Yuma headed to the fields. Lately, they’d developed the habit of ignoring the house itself and going around to look for something to nibble on.
“Hello there, Sho-chan,” said Machiko-san.
“Hello. I came a bit early—hopefully that’s not a problem. Oh, and it looks like the chickens went over to the fields before I could stop them. I hope that’s not a problem either...”
“It’s all right. My, thank you for the present, as always.” Her face beamed up when I handed her the frozen meat. I get it. You can never have enough meat, after all.
“Oh, he’s here already?”
A bunch of old ladies came outside, one after another. They must be here to help get everything ready for the meeting.
“Good afternoon,” I said.
“We haven’t had any young men around in a while, have we?”
“Would you like some crackers?”
“Oh, um... Excuse me, I have to go watch my chickens, so...”
Feeling a bit intimidated by the old lady aura, I retreated outside. I’d come a bit earlier than planned, thinking I might be able to help with preparations, but it looked like that was not necessary.
“Chickens? Are you Sano-kun, perhaps?”
“Oh, so he’s Sano-kun.”
I could hear the women chattering as I walked away. Pochi and Yuma were near the fields, poking at something or other on the ground. Probably found some bugs or something. I spent a while just watching over the chickens absentmindedly until Yumoto-san came by to greet me.
“Hey, you should’ve let me know you were here already.”
I scratched my head in embarrassment. Sorry, but I’m not socially adept enough to be able to call out to him in that situation.
“Er, uh...”
I stole a quick glance at the house. Yumoto-san followed my gaze. “Well, uh, yeah...” he mumbled. He’s not any match for them either, it seems.
We spent some time watching over the chickens together. The fields were decently large, and the chickens at the other end looked pretty small from here. However, the mere fact that you could see them clearly from here, despite the distance and all the crops growing, was extraordinary. Are they getting bigger again? Just how big are they gonna grow? Hopefully not big enough to burst through my ceiling. Pfft, right.
After we’d spent a while there, the guests started coming in—the old folks who would be participating in tonight’s meeting. The property was large enough to fit everyone’s trucks without feeling cramped. Some of these guys are old enough to be my grandfathers.
Akimoto-san, who’d previously helped me with the boar, came to greet us. “Yo, did the old lady kick you out?” he asked.
“Yeah, something like that,” Yumoto-san replied nonchalantly.
“Hey, Sano-kun.”
“Hello, Akimoto-san. Thanks again for your help.”
“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, let me know if you manage to catch another one. Oh, so those are the chickens who caught it, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“They’re pretty huge, all right... Were they always that big?”
“They’ve, uh...gone through a growth spurt or two. They’re already over a meter tall...”
“Now that’s quite something. What’s going on with them, I wonder.”
After chatting for a while, we decided to go inside. I called out to the chickens. “Pochi, Yuma, we’ll be in the house, okay?”
They both looked at me in acknowledgment, and I assumed it was probably okay to leave them there.
Most of the food was ready when we went inside. At Yumoto-san and Akimoto-san’s behest, I sat down in the room with the tatami floor. They’d taken down the sliding doors separating the rooms to make space for everyone. The other men were already sitting down and waiting for Yumoto-san’s signal to start the meeting.
Yumoto-san opened a can of beer and served me and Akimoto-san a glass. Wait, I thought the person of lowest standing—that’s me in this case—was supposed to serve the others? Well, it’s a bit too late for that.
“Sano-kun is joining us today. As you know, he’s the one who dispatched the chickens. Anyway, cheers!”
Upon hearing Yumoto-san’s rather haphazard greeting, everyone took a sip. Pretty good. And now I really have no choice but to stay the night.
Although they called it a “meeting,” it seemed to me that this was really an excuse to gather, drink, and party. That’s one, two, three...over ten people in total, I think. The women, after finishing off all the work, held a gathering of their own with food and drinks.
“How ’bout extending the contract? There’s a bunch of other folks who’d like their help,” one of the men—a senior with a head full of white—suggested.
However, Yumoto-san immediately rebuked him. “For the pittance they’re offering? Hah! No way. Tell ’em to figure it out on their own.”
“Money, money, money... It’s just a single day, for god’s sake!”
“So why not do it yourself for free?!”
Wait, wait, wait. Why are they already breaking out into a fight?
“Just think of it as, uh...what do they call it again? Volunteer work?”
“You know, the whole point of volunteer work is that you do it of your own volition! The chickens ain’t doing that!”
Yeah, I have to agree. I don’t think you can expect that much charity out of my chickens. Tama, for instance, would probably react to that suggestion with a glacial stare. I’m feeling cold just imagining it.
“But they’re pets!” insisted the old man. “They listen to whatever the owner says!”
Some of the other elderly men cheered him on. Uh, that’s not really how it works. I decided to prioritize the food so that I could enjoy it before it went cold.
“Eh? What’s that? Your dog doesn’t listen to you that much?”
This tempura is pretty fantastic. Gotta eat the sashimi while it’s still fresh too.
“How about it? Would you tell him to go to so-and-so’s farm and hunt venomous snakes? And that it’s his own business if he gets bitten?”
“Th-That’s not...”
“That’s how it is with venomous snakes and insects. You pay someone to get rid of ’em, or you do it yourself. So what’s the big idea? Who’s trying to get that work done for free?”
Did his wife make these pickles? They’re really good.
“Well, Sano-kun, I gotta say, you’re one cool customer...” Akimoto-san murmured to me with a smile. You’re eating too, Akimoto-san.
“Ah! Shohei, put some of that sashimi on my plate too!”
“Okay.”
Yumoto-san noticed that, at this rate, there wouldn’t be much left at the table for him. I set some food aside for him on his plate. This should probably be enough.
“That kid’s the owner, right? C-Come on, kid... Do it for the village’s sake, won’t you?”
I was put on the spot, but Yumoto-san shot him down again. “I told you, we can’t have ’em working for free.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to refuse,” I replied with a smile.
“Wha...?!”
“You outsiders are always like this...!”
Remember, you’re the man asking one such “outsider” for a favor. I straightened and faced him.
“I think my chickens have done a great job over the past month. They’ve got a lot of pent-up stress from work, and I want to give them some time to wind down and rest. I hope you will understand.” I don’t even want to think about how they’d react if I asked them to keep patrolling the village.