Ch.225Riding with Taiga (3)

We decided to enjoy camping for a while.

We had plenty of time. Thanks to the bicycle being faster than expected, it was still only 2:30 in the afternoon. My stomach was still full from lunch. We needed to kill some time.

“Huff… huff… hah…”

Taiga was doing squats while admiring the mountain scenery.

“Aren’t you a bit too enthusiastic about exercise?”

I said with a wry smile.

“Lower body exercises are good. For having healthy babies.”

Taiga replied.

She already had a mother’s mindset. At this rate… she’ll definitely get pregnant right after graduation. I couldn’t help thinking that.

“Maybe I should do some lower body exercises too.”

I muttered without thinking.

“Great!! Let’s do it together!”

Taiga’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“But the lower body exercise I do requires special equipment.”

I smiled and wrapped my arms around Taiga’s waist.

“I need a slim girlfriend.”

I smiled and leaned in to kiss Taiga.

“Oh my… I guess I have no choice.”

Taiga blushed slightly and pulled me toward the tent.

Sex was the best way to pass time anyway. Time flies when you’re having fun. The two of us immediately began passionately making love in the tent.

———-

It was around 4:30 in the afternoon, as the day was starting to fade, when we finally came out.

“Taiga. What’s wrong?”

Something seemed off about Taiga’s condition.

“Ugh… wait… my legs have no strength…”

Taiga gave a weak smile as she tried to stand up.

“Ah… I see.”

Not only had she exhausted her legs from cycling, but we’d also had intense sex afterward. No wonder her legs wouldn’t cooperate.

“Then I’ll prepare the barbecue by myself.”

I said in a considerate tone.

“Mmm… can’t you carry me?”

Taiga was being unusually cute.

“I guess I have no choice.”

I immediately gave her a piggyback ride.

“Shota’s back… so warm… damn… feels so good.”

Taiga mumbled with a relaxed expression.

“I might sweat a bit, so bear with it.”

I told her.

We would take a bath when night came, but it was a bit disappointing that the shower rooms were separate. We wouldn’t be able to bathe together and cuddle. One of life’s pleasures…

“Hehehe. I even like Shota’s sweat smell.”

Being carried on my back seemed to have regressed Taiga to a childlike state.

“Hehehe. Smell all you want.”

I skillfully carried Taiga on my back and headed straight for the barbecue grill.

I’d gained quite a bit of strength from various activities. I could easily carry one person now.

Whoosh!

After lighting the charcoal, I placed meat, mushrooms, and vegetables on the grill.

For someone like me who had mastered barbecuing during summer vacation, controlling this grill was no challenge at all. I had truly become a barbecue master.

Whoosh!!!

The smell of grilling meat woke Taiga, who had been dozing off.

“That smells delicious!!”

Taiga shouted loudly and immediately jumped down. It seemed her legs had recovered.

“Shota. Can I eat now?”

Taiga had already become a slave to the meat. Being a carnivore, she loved meat.

“Not yet.”

I checked the state of the meat. If it were beef, we could eat it medium-rare, but this was pork. Getting food poisoning would be no laughing matter. We were in the middle of a mountain.

The whole mountain… would become a diarrhea field!!!

Poke-poke!

Taiga kept poking my side to hurry me up, but I was focused solely on the meat.

“It’s ready!”

I shouted loudly and turned to Taiga.

“Yay!!”

Taiga immediately grabbed four pieces of meat.

“Sigh…”

She’s my girlfriend, but… she has no table manners? She could at least take some vegetables too.

Munch! Chomp!

But seeing Taiga eagerly munching on the meat immediately melted my annoyance. Yeah. Eat a lot.

“Shota. Aahn~”

Once her basic hunger was satisfied, Taiga held out some meat toward me.

“Alright, alright.”

I opened my mouth and chewed the meat.

“Delicious, right?”

Taiga smiled triumphantly.

“It’s good, but… I’m the one who grilled it. Why are you looking so proud?”

I couldn’t help but nitpick.

“Hey. Don’t be difficult. Want to taste my elbow drop?”

Taiga immediately raised her fist.

Taiga’s hobby was watching professional wrestling. She occasionally tried to use wrestling moves in bed, which always resulted in her getting taught a lesson.

“Wow… it’s really delicious when Taiga feeds me…”

I cleared my throat and said.

“That’s right. That’s how it should be.”

Taiga said with a smile.

Anyway, Taiga and I were having a pleasant barbecue party. Incidentally, I declared to my girlfriends that we’d be taking tomorrow off. The harem group chat was buzzing, but I decided to explain later. Yeah, that’s the plan.

——–

That’s when it happened. A woman appeared with a camera in hand. The mountain caretaker followed behind her with an uncomfortable expression.

Her hair color was quite flashy.

“Beep beep~!! This is Sim Hera from SimTube!!”

There was a woman who appeared to be filming a video with her smartphone.

“Wow… she’s obviously a YouTuber.”

Taiga said.

“Yeah.”

So YouTubers really do come here.

“There are rumors that ghosts have been appearing on this mountain recently!! As a paranormal spot enthusiast, I’ve come to this mountain in person!!!”

Her energy level was off the charts.

“Excuse me… this isn’t a paranormal spot. It damages the mountain’s image.”

The caretaker seemed uncomfortable about that.

“There’s no rule saying I can’t film, is there?”

The YouTuber replied with a fresh expression.

“……….Ugh.”

The caretaker seemed at a loss for words.

“Then!! Let’s hear some stories from the mountain lodge!!”

The YouTuber then approached us.

“Oh! A young high school couple! My goodness! So young!!”

The YouTuber immediately started filming us.

How rude to film without permission. I couldn’t help thinking that.

“Huh? Hey lady. Did you get permission to film?”

Taiga seemed to be channeling her biker gang memories. I quickly silenced her with a surprise kiss.

“Do you know about the scary legend of this mountain? They say there’s a ghost!!”

The YouTuber asked us.

“Ah… is that so?”

I felt like I should react somehow, but honestly, ghosts didn’t impress me much anymore. In terms of impact, they were less shocking than Sasith turning into underwear.

“Yes!! Have you seen or heard anything suspicious?”

The YouTuber continued asking.

“The most suspicious thing I see is right in front of me…”

Taiga said with half-closed eyes.

“Ahaha! What a bold girl!!”

Surprisingly, the YouTuber laughed it off good-naturedly.

“Well!! As night approaches, shall we explore around the mountain?”

The YouTuber, camera in hand, started heading down the mountain.

“Wait!! It’s dangerous to hike at night!!”

The caretaker tried to stop her.

“No way!!! This video absolutely needs to get over 200,000 views!!”

The YouTuber flatly refused and continued down the mountain. This person isn’t right in the head either.

“Sigh… there’s always someone like that. I thought we wouldn’t get any recently.”

The caretaker clicked his tongue.

“You have it tough.”

I said.

“Well… I need to follow that woman. It would be a problem if something happened.”

The caretaker promptly left.

Well… it’s better for the caretaker to be gone if Taiga and I want to spend time alone. I silently wished him good luck.

——–

Anyway, after cleaning up the barbecue, I brewed some coffee.

“Ooh… Shota!! You’ve got good sense!”

Taiga chuckled and snuggled up next to me.

“Coffee is essential in the mountains.”

I smiled and handed her a cup.

Slurp!

Taiga immediately gulped down the hot coffee.

“Kyaa!!!”

Taiga’s reaction was oddly middle-aged man-like.

“Hehehe. Right?”

I sipped my coffee while looking at the mountain scenery.

The great outdoors… wasn’t actually visible. The view was mediocre due to heavy fog.

“Hearing those ghost stories makes the mountain seem eerie.”

Taiga said.

“Yeah.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if there might actually be ghosts.

——-

A little while later.

Thump-thump-thump!!

Someone was climbing the mountain at tremendous speed, rushing toward us.

This footwork was… unusual. It was clearly the footwork of someone who knew how to fight.

“Taiga… step back.”

I immediately grabbed a nearby fire starter. It could serve as a weapon for self-defense.

However, what came running through the forest was a baby doll. Yes, a baby doll.

The kind you’d see in horror movies, with that uncanny valley effect that made it look disturbingly human-like.

“Holy shit!! It’s that thing!!!!”

It’s just like from horror movies!!!

“Kyaaaah?!!”

Taiga screamed at the shocking sight. It was frightening to see such a doll running at incredible speed.

“Die!!! Go back to hell!!”

I immediately swung the fire starter like a sword.

“W-wait!!”

The doll opened its mouth and spoke.

No!! I won’t fall for it!! I’ve seen it in movies!! That scene where it stabs a human in the back with a kitchen knife when they let their guard down!!! I even saw the scene in the sequel where dolls have sex with each other and give birth to a baby!!!

Ever since then, I’ve been terrified of realistic dolls, even secretly throwing away my little sister’s baby dolls… only to receive my doll-loving father’s angry suplex and powerbomb.

“Die!! Source of my trauma!!!”

I swung the fire starter immediately.

The doll tried to dodge, but I had already read its movements.

Whack!!!!

The fire starter hit the doll directly between the eyes.

“Gahk!!!”

The doll let out an ugly scream and tumbled down the mountain.

“Wait!! Don’t just attack people out of nowhere!!!”

The doll then jumped up and shouted.

“People?! You’re a demon!!”

I shouted while protectively embracing Taiga.

“Hey!!! I’m human!! Moreover, I’m an exorcist living on this island!! I came because of an emergency!!”

The damn doll started lying without batting an eye.

This won’t do. Should I hit it more? That’s when I thought:

“I-I have an exorcist license too!! I’ll show you!!”

The doll immediately fumbled around and pulled out something like a talisman.

‘Type 2 Regular Exorcist: Ikutsuki Saeko’

I was curious what an exorcist license looked like, but it was just like a driver’s license. It had the doll’s photo next to personal information.

“What kind of license does an exorcist need!!!”

I was about to hit the doll again.

“Please!! It’s real!!”

The doll immediately screamed and prostrated itself.

Filled with anger at being dragged into something strange during our date, I began to vigorously beat the doll.

“Save me!! Please!!!!!!”

The doll’s pitiful screams echoed throughout the mountain.