Ch.229Riding with Taiga (7)

Anyway, after the incident was resolved, we returned to the campsite.

“Shota!! Look!!”

At that moment, Taiga’s expression brightened tremendously.

“Ah…..”

I unconsciously let out a gasp of admiration.

Whoosh-!

The fog that had shrouded the mountain had cleared. Now it felt like we could finally enjoy the scenery.

“The cause of the thick fog on this mountain was the spiritual energy emitted by the Eight-Foot Ghost. Now that the culprit has been eliminated… the mountain has returned to its original state.”

Saeko said, toddling along beside us.

No. Why are you naturally joining our group? Go away already.

“I see! Then we can enjoy our date now!”

I immediately clapped my hands and said.

Right. Although we got caught up in trouble, we were originally on a date.

“Indeed. Thank you for your help with this matter, young couple. If it weren’t for you, something terrible could have happened.”

Saeko said.

“Yeah… this one was more incompetent than I expected.”

Taiga nodded as she spoke.

Not only did she have to download the spirit into an outdated console, but the download speed was surprisingly slow.

“In-incompetent…..”

Saeko’s expression turned gloomy. But she seemed to have nothing to say in her defense.

“So… are you going to continue living in the form of a doll?”

I asked Saeko.

“Well, as long as the curse isn’t broken, that’s how it’ll be.”

Saeko replied.

“That’s kind of sad.”

Taiga said.

“Taiga… I didn’t know you were capable of empathy!”

I said, looking at Taiga.

“Hey. What’s that supposed to mean?”

Taiga immediately raised her fist. She’s always ready to throw a punch at the slightest provocation.

“What!! Every curse has a solution!! I intend to find that solution!”

Saeko declared spiritedly before gathering her equipment.

“Well then!! Let’s meet again if we get the chance!! I’ll return as a stronger exorcist!”

With those words, Saeko began toddling down the mountain.

Yeah, good luck. I was worried she might suddenly insist on becoming our companion or something… this was fortunate.

Halt!

Just then, Saeko stopped. What now? Shit. I’m starting to get a bad feeling…!!

“Um, the thing is, I’ve run out of funds. Honestly, I have nowhere to go.”

Saeko predictably started freeloading.

“Could I… stay at your place for about a month?”

Saeko asked hesitantly.

“Well… our leader lives alone. I’ll ask him.”

I immediately activated Arigiri Shota’s special technique.

Basically… let’s dump her on Sasitsu. We already have an alien living there anyway. What’s wrong with a doll living there too?

——–

I couldn’t sleep after experiencing so many things.

It was well past bedtime, and dawn was approaching.

“Shota. Over here.”

Taiga, seemingly determined to watch the sunrise, patted the wide rock beside her.

“Alright.”

I sat down next to Taiga.

Whoosh-!

Beyond the mountain where the fog had cleared, the sun rose brilliantly.

“Wow… it’s beautiful.”

Taiga’s eyes sparkled.

“Yeah. It’s beautiful.”

The sunrise was beautiful, but Taiga’s profile was even more so.

Before we knew it, Taiga and I were facing each other. Without any signal, our faces drew closer.

And the distance between Taiga and me became zero.

“Haa… haa…”

As we confirmed our love for each other with heated breaths, I said to Taiga:

“Taiga… take off your clothes.”

That’s what I said.

“Really… Shota, you’re such a pervert.”

Taiga said with a smile, but immediately stripped off her clothes.

Afterward, Taiga and I passionately intertwined our bodies in nature, like Adam and Eve.

Sex with Taiga was always good, as usual, but… we had underestimated the mountain mosquitoes.

Taiga and I got bitten tremendously by mosquitoes. The Asian tiger mosquitoes were truly formidable. To my military friends, look forward to seeing them often in summer!

———

It was a time when everyone was feeling regretful about getting bitten so much by mosquitoes.

“By the way, isn’t this a big incident? There was a dead body after all.”

Taiga said.

“Ah… you’re right.”

If we just mindlessly reported it to the police, we’d be called in for questioning. They wouldn’t believe us if we said we fought an Eight-Foot Ghost.

At times like this, there was only one person to ask for help.

“Let’s just ask Kana.”

Kana is a really big shot. She had connections with the police. If I explained the situation to her, she’d take care of it. She did the same during the previous “natural person” incident.

I just called her right away at dawn.

“Sho-Shota! Did you call because you wanted to hear my voice?! Even though Taiga is with you… hehehe. You bad boy.”

Kana answered the phone in just three seconds. It was honestly scary.

“No, Kanaemon. There’s a situation!!”

I immediately started explaining.

“…So you’re just calling about work.”

After my explanation, Kana’s voice quickly cooled.

This is bad. However, I was good at making moves.

“If it was just about work, I would have texted. You know why I called.”

I immediately spoke in the sweetest tone possible.

“Really… Shota, you’re so unfair.”

Even while condemning me, her tone was gradually softening. Easy. Too easy.

Anyway, Kana said she would take care of the matter quietly. That was all we needed.

————

And only when morning came did Taiga and I descend the mountain.

Ring-ring! Ring-ring!

There was a tremendous sense of guilt in leisurely riding a bicycle on a weekday afternoon.

I had Saeko riding on my back.

“The spirit of the samurai still lives in this country!!! Not ignoring a woman in distress!! You are a true warrior! Arigiri Shota!!”

Desperate not to be abandoned, Saeko was frantically wagging her tongue.

“If you keep talking, I’ll just abandon you.”

That’s what I said.

“That’s too cruel!! I know you’re not that kind of person!!”

Saeko shouted.

“It’s fine. There was an exorcist who did a cross-country journey even after turning into a chair.”

That’s what I said.

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Saeko didn’t get the reference. Damn… hasn’t she seen the masterpiece “Suzume’s Door-Locking”?

———

After riding the bicycle for quite a while, we arrived at our hometown, Emoshita.

“Phew… let’s shower. Shower. My whole body is drenched in sweat.”

Taiga opened the door and came in.

I thought it would be just Taiga and me, but… surprisingly, everyone was there.

“Hey! What about school?!”

I immediately shouted loudly.

“Well… I thought there was no need to go if Shota wasn’t there.”

Eri nonchalantly made up an excuse.

“I’m originally from a different school, but… I felt lonely, so I just skipped.”

Mika said while writing a novel.

“I can’t study anyway… and my career goals are either becoming a model or Shota’s wife. I don’t care what happens to school.”

Umi also spoke calmly.

“Whatever I do, I’m going to be a queen anyway.”

Tina flaunted her silver spoon status.

“I was busy handling the matter Shota mentioned yesterday…”

Kana said with a tired smile. She was probably trying to show off her supportive wife skills. To boost Kana’s morale, I patted her head.

“Pirates don’t study!!”

Kirtan declared proudly.

“………”

Right. Taking her to school would probably cause a disaster.

“To think everyone missed perfect attendance because of me alone…..”

But this was my fault.

My girlfriends… loved me to an almost frightening degree. I made a mental note to be more careful with my behavior from now on.

———

“But… what’s this creepy doll?”

Suddenly, Mika looked at Saeko behind me.

“Ah… there’s a situation. She’s a person trapped in a doll due to a curse. She helped us with this incident. But… it’s a bit awkward to keep her at our place, so I’m planning to dump her on Sasitsu.”

That’s what I said.

“Shota, you’re pretty ruthless with Sasitsu.”

Eri said with a bitter smile.

“Hehehe. He’s always claiming to be Sasitsu’s only loyal retainer while being incredibly shameless.”

Umi snickered.

Hey. No facts allowed.

——–

And that night.

Although we had gone hiking, we couldn’t skip monster hunting. Actually, there weren’t many monsters left, so there wasn’t much to do… but we decided to patrol around the neighborhood anyway.

“Sasitsu. Anyway, please take care of this child. She’s an orphan with nowhere to go.”

That’s what I said.

“Who’s an orphan!! Both my parents are healthy and living in my hometown!!”

Saeko objected.

“I don’t want to bring strangers into my personal space.”

Sasitsu replied coolly.

Right. Sometimes I admire that. Enjoying solitude is enjoying oneself. I’ve been there too, so I understand.

For someone like that, he allows Prill too many openings… anyway.

“Wow!! So cute!!”

Prill came to the rescue here. Prill looked at Saeko with sparkling eyes.

Saeko also seemed to know exactly whose ass she needed to kiss.

“Kyuung?”

Saeko immediately tried desperately to act cute.

“Human culture is really the best!! We didn’t have such cute dolls in my homeland!!”

Prill immediately hugged Saeko.

She thinks that’s cute… it looks like a creepy doll to anyone else.

“Sasitsu!! You’re going to have a baby eventually anyway!! Let’s practice in advance… treat her like a baby! Okay?”

Prill immediately tried to persuade Sasitsu.

If a creepy doll-like baby is born… I’d definitely wet myself.

“Well… alright.”

Sasitsu said.

“And… Sasitsu has a lot of doll clothes at home… mmph!!”

Just as Prill was about to say something, Sasitsu desperately covered her mouth. Ah. I wanted to hear the rest.

Anyway, I successfully dumped Saeko on Sasitsu.