The shuttle from the hot spring inn had been waiting for a long time. Kaito, as always, didn't lack money, so he generously booked the entire place, making him the inn's top-tier client. Naturally, the inn gave their full effort and service.
"There really are so many tourists~"
The group got into the shuttle. Seeing the streets full of stylishly dressed young women, with an occasional couple here and there, Kita couldn't help but exclaim.
Hoori Town wasn't big, with only around one to two thousand permanent residents. Life here was slow-paced, or rather, somewhat behind the times.
But for tourists from big cities who were used to fast-paced living, this kind of slow, everyday lifestyle felt fresh and was even worth experiencing on its own.
"Maybe it's because of Golden Week?"
Nijika was holding her phone, looking at all sorts of travel guides on Hoori Town, "Actually, April and July are the busiest times here. There are grand festivals both months, and the entire town joins in. I heard there are a lot of fun activities, and even the shrine head shows up personally to bless the townspeople and tourists."
Yumiko showed interest, "The shrine head? I remember Hoori's Mochizuki Shrine is pretty famous. Isn't the current head super old?"
"Yep! Supposedly ninety-nine years old already, but she looks no different than an old lady in her sixties or seventies."
Nijika wanted to look for a photo, but couldn't find one, so she had to give up with regret.
The shuttle soon stopped in front of a quaint, traditional courtyard. A kimono-clad attendant gave a slight bow, confirmed their identities, and led the group to the front desk to check in.
Because they'd booked the entire place, they could pick any room they liked. And as if they'd planned it in advance, after Kaito chose a guest room deep on the second floor, the girls all knowingly picked rooms surrounding his.
Yumiko was the fastest, grabbing the room to Kaito's left. Ryou followed right after and took the room on the right.
Kita went for the room across the hall, while Bocchi and Nijika picked the rooms on either side of hers.
Although it was a remote-town inn, the lodging conditions were actually pretty good. Spacious rooms with excellent lighting.
The beds were wide enough for three people, and all kinds of appliances were available. Not much different from hotels in big cities.
After settling their luggage, everyone gathered in Kaito's room.
Since it was a rare chance to travel, they were determined to have fun.
Nijika had done plenty of homework before the trip and studied lots of travel guides on Hoori Town. Now, she naturally took on the role of tour guide, "There's a kagura dance performance every night in Hoori, hosted by the local Mochizuki Shrine. It's pretty famous. Almost every tourist who's seen it gave it a great review. It's in the town center plaza, but it doesn't start until 8 PM."
"8 PM... but it's only 1:30 PM now. We still have to wait forever."
Kita pulled out her phone, checked the time, and couldn't help rubbing her belly, "Also, I'm kinda hungry"
To maintain her figure, she usually skipped breakfast. She had a few snacks on the road, but they didn't do much.
"M-Me too", Bocchi timidly raised her hand beside her.
She didn't have the habit of dieting to stay in shape, but she had insomnia and was afraid of being late, so she completely skipped breakfast.
Even Yamada Ryou was rubbing her slightly flat belly, the meaning clear without needing words.
Of course, Ryou's reason for skipping breakfast had nothing to do with dieting or being too busy. It was simply because she was poor.
Among the girls, Nijika probably had the most normal lifestyle. Early to bed, early to rise, three meals a day. So she felt fine for now.
As for Yumiko, her body had been supercharged with protein, so you couldn't judge her with common sense.
The inn provided three meals a day, but the girls decided to go out and explore the town, and find something to eat while they were at it.
Originally, Kaito planned to let everyone do their own thing and meet up at night to watch the kagura dance. But the girls around him stuck to him like little tails. He couldn't shake them off, so he just went along with it.
Around the inn was the hot spring street, lined with local snack shops run by town residents. Takoyaki, crepes, grilled sweetfish The streets were filled with mouthwatering aromas.
Nijika ran off and bought six skewers of grilled sweetfish, handing one to each of them. When it was Kaito's turn, the one she handed over was clearly a size bigger than the rest, "Kaito-senpai, careful of the dripping oil."
'Nijika, you've changed.'
'I highly suspect the only reason you bought six skewers of sweetfish is so you could righteously give it to the one you wanted to share it with.'
'But my suggestion isgo even harder!'
Ryou, once again mooching food, was fully satisfied. She let out an "Ah-woo" and took a big bite of sweetfish.
The shop owner's skills were good. The fish was crispy on the outside, cooked just right, evenly salted, smelled great, and tasted even better.
Kaito gave her a soft thanks and was rewarded with a radiant smile from the girl.
Kita saw this and looked thoughtful.
Then, unwilling to be outdone, she also "ta-ta-ta" ran over and "ta-ta-ta" ran back, bringing six crepes, one for each of them.
"Kaito-senpai, this one's yours!", Even as she said that, the girl's emerald eyes blinked and blinked, clearly expecting something.
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Chapter 63: Inugami Statue
"Emmmm..."
Looking at her face full of expectation, Kaito pondered for a moment, then probed, "Then, thank you too, Kita?"
"Ehehe~ You're welcome~", The normie girl revealed a satisfied smile, like a cat who had sneakily eaten a dried sardine.
'S-So it can be like this too?'
Bocchi-chan on the side, her pupils shook.
'As long as I buy food, I can get Kaito-kun's thanks'
'This kind of thing, I simply have no no'
'No way to refuse!'
Even a little socially anxious girl couldn't help but show signs of eagerness.
After a while, she clenched her teeth, her face filled with the tragic determination and under everyone's surprised gaze, she walked up to a street stall selling tri-color dango.
"P-Please g-give, give me o-one serving of t-t-t-tri-color dango", Just like that, she stammered for a long time, her delicate face flushing bright red, and finally mustered the courage to stumble through her request.
The stall owner was a kind old lady with a smiling face, but due to her age, she had somewhat blurry eyesight and wasn't good at hearing either.
"Dearie, what did you say?"
Bocchi: o(ЇЇ)o
'I finally mustered up the courage once, and you made me fail so thoroughly!'
"P-Please please give me o-one, o-one serving of tri-color dango", At this point, she had no choice but to brace herself and repeat it again, slightly raising her voice.
The old lady leaned forward, "What did you say? Speak louder!"
"T-Tri-color dango"
"Dearie, louder!"
Bocchi: "..."
Bocchi: o(ЇЇ)o 'The outside world is so scary, I want to go back into mommy's belly!'
In the end, unable to bear watching any longer, Kaito stepped forward and clearly said, "Please give me one serving of tri-color dango, thank you."
"Oh oh."
This time, the old lady didn't miss a beat, and handed over one skewer of tri-color dango very neatly, smiling as she said, "Come again next time."
Kaito nodded politely at her and returned to the group with Bocchi.
The little social anxiety girl looked a bit down.
'I can't even handle such a small thing. Sure enough, I am a useless girl.'
Seeing the girl's expression that screamed "Sorry for being born human," Kaito couldn't help but rub her head and encouraged, "Actually, daring to take the initiative to speak with strangers is already great."
This wasn't just flattery.
Bocchi would stammer even when facing classmates, yet now she could take initiative to speak with a vendor. For her, it was indeed a big step forward.
"Ugh", Bocchi was a child who was easily coaxed, revealing a slightly shy silly smile, and rubbed against his hand.
This scene made Kita very envious. The girl once again "dun dun dun" ran to another stall, bought a serving of takoyaki, then "dun dun dun" ran back, her pair of emerald green big eyes looked over with anticipation, as if they could talk.
'Me too, I wanna get patted!'
Kaito was crying and laughing inside, but still reached out and rubbed her slightly curly red hair, successfully making the girl let out a satisfied "gulu gulu" sound, even her eyes narrowed in comfort.
Seeing that even Nijika and Yumiko on the side were eager to try and seemed to also plan on buying snacks in exchange for head pats, he had to speak up and stop them, "No more buying, it's already enough."
Which made Ryou a little disappointed, thinking she could get two more snacks.
But looking at the takoyaki and tri-color dango in her arms, as well as the grilled sweetfish she hadn't finished Hmm, one shouldn't be too greedy in life. Even if there's more, she might not be able to eat it all.
The group continued walking along the hot spring street. Underfoot were slightly uneven cobblestone roads, and the buildings on both sides were all traditional Japanese-style houses, very full of antique charm. Walking within, it felt like strolling through a prosperous town from the Edo period.
The only downside was
'Aren't there too many bad women trying to flirt?'
This was the shared thought of the girls.
Hoori Town did not lack tourists, let alone during Golden Week, where there were even more visitors than usual.
Groups of six like theirs were relatively rare, especially with a group that included pretty girls and a radiant beautiful boy.
Naturally, they attracted a lot of attention from tourists.
People who were willing to go on trips, if nothing else, usually had outgoing personalities.
Of course, people like Bocchi were rare exceptions and not statistically significant.
Facing someone they liked, shy and timid girls might only dare steal glances from the corner of their eyes.
But bold girls dared to come up and flirt directly, in an endless stream.
"Sorry, my phone's out of battery."
After rejecting the sixteenth girl asking for his contact info, in order to reduce such occurrences, the group discussed and decided to find a place to rest.
Just by chance, there was a dessert shop named "Suori House" nearby. There weren't many customers inside, and it looked very quiet.
They entered and found a seat in the corner.
Kaito handed out the menu, "See if there's anything you want to eat?"
Suori House didn't look big, but the variety of sweets was quite complete. Besides traditional Japanese sweets, there were also foreign-origin desserts like parfaits and puddings.
After the girls finished ordering, he handed the menu to the still slightly spaced-out waitress, "Everything we checked, please bring one of each, and try to prepare them quickly."
"Y-Yes", The soulless waitress left, and because she wasn't watching her step, almost tripped on the spot.
"Finally, some peace and quiet"
After all, it wasn't like outside where they not only had to deal with girls trying to flirt, but also had to endure stares from all directions.
Nijika, a bit tired, lay down on the table, but quickly realized this posture was improper, and hurriedly sat up straight and added, "O-Of course, I'm not saying Kaito-kun is flirting around"
She just felt those girls were too bold. If they only asked for contact info, it would've been fine, but some even directly slipped him room cards, with suggestive hints that the inn was right nearby.
'T-T-This This was clearly what people usually call an invite, right?'
And under the girls' vigilant and worried gazes, Kaito rejected them all, without even a moment's hesitation.
While that made Nijika let out a sigh of relief, she also couldn't help but think in her heart, 'Kaito-kun really is a righteous gentleman!'
The ordered items came quickly. Kaito, as usual, ordered a cup of black tea, took a small sip, "More than that, let's first discuss where we'll go play next?"
Upon hearing this, the waitress who was walking away slowly suddenly perked up and suggested, "Are you guests who just arrived in Hoori? You might want to check out the Inugami Statue in the town center square. It's the town's symbolic attraction, and quite interesting~"
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Chapter 64: Ryou: This One's My Fault
Inugami, in Japanese legends, is also a very famous kind of Yokai.
Usually formed from the souls of dogs that linger after death, it is said they can possess humans, causing fever, mental confusion, and even hallucinations.
Generally speaking, they are evil spirits, but in some places, Inugami also have the ability to protect families.
The shop assistant lady said the town plaza was located in the center of town, a spacious open area.
There were also many vendors and tourists strolling around here, bustling with life and full of human warmth.
The Inugami statue, as the symbolic structure of Hoori Town, was very popular. A long line formed in front of it, and many tourists came here especially to take pictures, leaving behind group photos as mementos.
Under the statue were piles and piles of offerings, showing that the incense was thriving.
The types of offerings were also diverse. Steaming grilled squid, cookies deliberately shaped like puppies, and chicken wings skewers with two bites taken out...
Using leftover food to worship the Inugami, are you really not afraid that a dog spirit will come knocking on your door in the middle of the night?
Kaito wasn't interested in these things. When he saw a stand selling taiyaki not far away, he decided to go buy a few to try.
Several girls, however, stayed behind to wait in line.
After they finally finished lining up and stood before the Inugami statue, they looked up. The tall statue entered their vision.
About three meters tall, the figure was a giant upright dog, but dressed in an extremely luxurious kimono, holding a katana. If one ignored the very obvious dog head, it looked just like a dignified and mighty samurai.
