MTLNOVEL Chapter 16
Chapter 16. Escape to the Otherworldly Campsite
My grandparents had apparently gone out to the fields in the heat and collapsed from heatstroke. They were found that night. Even though it was after dinner, my aunt grew worried when no one answered the house phone and rushed over to find them.
My mother wasn’t called to the funeral. I guess that’s to be expected.
“Satsuki-chan, these are for you, from your grandparents.”
What my aunt handed me was a bankbook and seal under my name.
“You’ve been repaying your grandparents for your college tuition, right? They’ve been saving that money for you all this time.”
When I checked the balance, it was exactly 2 million yen. I had been repaying them little by little from my part-time job since my student days, but I didn’t think I’d paid back that much. When I looked at the last deposit, about 300,000 yen had been deposited under my aunt’s name.
“Auntie, what’s this?”
“Yeah, well, inheritance stuff is such a hassle, right? We don’t have enough to give you their full share, so we rounded it off to a neat amount.”
My late father was the second son, and there were several other siblings. Dividing it up probably wouldn’t have amounted to much.
“I’ll gratefully accept it.”
Now that I’d become a little richer, I received another email from Inari-sama.
[Won’t you come play in the mountains?]
Needless to say, I immediately decided to head to the campsite.
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Because I had taken bereavement leave, I unfortunately couldn’t connect it with my summer vacation paid leave. If I could have, I would’ve stayed longer at the otherworldly campsite.
“Let’s see, four days, right?”
“Yes, um…”
“What is it?”
For some reason, there was a young man at the reception today. Maybe Inari-sama wasn’t around.
“Is Inari-san here today?”
“Ah, the owner? He had some urgent business, so he’s off today.”
“I see… Then, can I borrow that hatchet?”
“The hatchet? We don’t lend out tools like that here.”
“Huh? But I borrowed it last time.”
“That was probably the owner’s personal one.”
…I see. So that was Inari-sama’s personal tool. No wonder it had such performance. Maybe a hatchet I prepared myself wouldn’t have those kinds of features.
“Alright, Mochizuki-sama, huh? Hmm? Special zone?”
So that’s what they call it—the special zone. Or maybe this guy is also a deity?
“Where is that?”
Apparently not.
“Ah, I know the place, so can I just head over?”
“Sure, yes. That should be fine.”
After checking in, I made sure to buy firewood this time—two bundles, just in case. If I could gather some deadwood there, I might be able to save on firewood.
I headed to the destination in the usual rental car.
If I’m going to use it this often, maybe I should buy a used car. But then again, I don’t have a parking space. Even if I did, parking fees would probably be expensive.
Thinking about such things, I drove through the tunnel and entered the mountains of the otherworld. And when I arrived at that open space…
“There’s no toilet!? What about the bath!?”
The portable toilet and bathhouse were gone.