Translator: raggykoshka
Editor: raggykoshka
When they slowly drove up to the blue light, they saw Mutsu standing there, holding it. And just as she had said, there was a narrow road right behind her. It was so narrow that it had been easy to overlook.
When the car turned to enter the small road, Mutsu turned around, light in hand, and started to walk ahead.
“She wants us to follow her I think.”
“Wow, she just started walking away completely without fear. Sometimes I wonder if she really is a girl.”
“Maybe there’s nothing particularly dangerous around?”
The car held a fixed distance from Mutsu and after a while the concrete path changed into a stone stairway.
It seemed that Mutsu had stopped because the blue light disappeared. Instead, a bright yellow light shone at the car. Mutsu had switched to the flashlight on her phone and was walking towards them.
“Can you give me a flashlight?”
Sousuke handed one over after getting out of the car. Mutsu stuffed her phone into her pocket and started climbing the stairs.
As they were walking the shrine path that didn’t even have any lanterns, the door to the shrine office suddenly opened.
“We can always rely on you, Mutsu-san.”
“I’m so glad that Mucchan is with us.”
When they peered into the pitch-dark shrine office, there was suddenly a hint of movement inside.
Mutsu put out her flashlight and they became enveloped in complete darkness. Sousuke and Hiroto became uneasy, thinking that she was planning to do something and stood still without moving in the darkness.
“Kitsune-san, it’s Mutsu.”
As Mutsu said this, the bushes nearby started to rustle in the darkness. In the blink of an eye, Mutsu, Sousuke and Hiroto were surrounded by something, but nothing could be discerned other than the constant rustle of the leaves.
“Mmhm, I see. That sounds reasonable.”
The kitsune scampered about next to Mutsu, taking out a chopping board and a saucepan, then it asked her if it was in the way. She laughed.
“What are you making?”
“A stew probably. They say that people eating from one pot become close and all.”
Mutsu cut vegetables with a rhythmic tapping sound and put them in the pot. Then she added water to cover about half of them and turned on the heat.
“It seems that Mutsu-dono is good at cooking. I want to eat a rolled omelette.”
Mutsu laughed and fetched three eggs and cracked them into a bowl.
“This is going to take some time. Can you be on the lookout for any strange things in the vicinity in the meantime? I’ll serve some deep-fried tofu too.”
After Mutsu said this, the kitsune immediately hurried outside.
“You’re good at dealing with them.”
Hiroto dropped by the kitchen after the kitsune left.
“Maybe it’s because I’m friendly?”
“Huh?”
“Where is Sou-san?”
“He’s cleaning the room we’ll be sleeping in. We got some clean sheets from the kitsune, so he’s making our beds too.”
Mutsu had finished cutting up some spring onions and was in the middle of putting them into the bowl with the eggs. Then she slightly shifted the lid of the pot. The sweet and tender scent of boiled vegetables drifted up into the air. Then she quickly chopped some onions and started cutting up chicken meat.
“Hhmm, there is a decent amount of seasoning to choose from. Hiro-chan, add only the egg yolks. Put the whites over here and mix in a little soy sauce.”
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