落とし穴番外：田舎の夏 (Part2)
"Even so, wouldn't it be more problematic if we didn't invite her?"
"Yeah."
Indeed. Because we left Luna to her own devices in the past, she’s crashed our tests of courage, improvised a haunted house complete with a school and actual ghosts, and even tossed all us men into an interdimensional inn. She’s done whatever she pleased.
I had, at the very least, laid down the law before we started, but...
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the terrain data displayed on my call screen shifted abruptly.
"What the—!?"
"What is it?"
At that voice, Kirika stepped closer, peering at the screen I was watching...
"What!? There shouldn't be any buildings in this district other than the cottages, should there?"
"Exactly. It’s impossible to maintain anything else. I prepared a small hill for hiking and the like, but that was just for a light climb. I certainly never built a village inside that mountain."
It was true. On the call screen before us, right next to the hiking hill, a basin had appeared, surrounded by small peaks, with a dozen or so houses nestled within.
That area had been a forest—our 'Adventure District' where we’d go to catch rhinoceros beetles and the like!
"There’s only one person who would do something like this. Let’s go."
"Understood."
I completely forgot about our original goal of 'swimming in the sea,' and immediately bolted from the cottage, sprinting toward the source of the chaos: Luna.
Good grief, I had told her until I was blue in the face not to do anything!
*Sigh.* Why can’t my days off ever be relaxing?
Lamenting my fate, I suppressed the urge to take flight—lest I be spotted by my wives or Yuyu and the others—and arrived at the scene where Luna was waiting.
A tranquil, pastoral landscape stretched out before us.
It felt like a quiet, secluded village hidden away in the mountains.
"Oh, you’ve come at just the right time."
Luna noticed Kirika and me, turning around to face us.
I was honestly on the verge of snapping—why was she looking so smug?—but I held it back. I had to hold it back.
"What is this? Explain yourself."
"Well, when you think of a 'summer in the mountains,' this is the kind of thing you imagine, isn't it?"
"Is that so, Master?"
"Ah... well, I suppose."
It was true. Lush, green rice paddies and fields of sunflowers.
Yes, from every angle, it looked like a perfectly ordinary 'country village.'
"See? The sea is nice, but why not spend some time relaxing here once you're done playing? I’ve even prepared the quintessential summer staples, like watermelons."
Where Luna pointed, groundwater bubbled up steadily, and in the irrigation channel, watermelons bobbed, looking perfectly chilled. Further ahead, on the veranda of a house, a wind chime swayed in the breeze, ringing with a soft *chirin... chirin...*
This was, in every sense, the definition of a rural summer.
"As for the houses, everyone can just pick one they like."
"Yeah, it’s exactly the kind of place to spend a quiet country holiday."
But I couldn't just let it end there. I had to get the truth about what this village really was.
"So, did you create this village? Or is it..."
Before I could finish, Luna declared with a grin:
"I wouldn't bother with something as tedious as creation. I just moved an abandoned village from Japan here, lock, stock, and barrel, and restored it. Look, there’s even a shrine and a Jizo statue, see?"
"Are you kidding me!?"
Damn it. A summer staple, and the quintessential setting for a ghost story, no less!
What’s more, there was a high probability that some truly nasty supernatural entities were lurking here.
Villages deep in the mountains like this often had no contact with the outside world in the past, leading to bizarre, isolated customs—and frequently, horrific events stemming from them. And knowing Luna, she had specifically chosen this one.
And so, I hurriedly began summoning the 'Supernatural Countermeasures Team.'
A rural summer deep in the mountains, a village, a settlement.
Man, it looks like it’s going to be a 'fun' summer vacation!!
I wonder just how 'fun' it’s going to get?