manynovel Page 83
Page 83
"Wow--!"
Eriri's eyes instantly lit up with admiration as she looked at Yuto Itsuka: "Yuto! You're amazing!"
"Itsuka-kun, you're very handsome." Kato Megumi smiled and nodded.
Nearby tourists also frequently glanced at him, and several female tourists seemed eager to come over, but gave up the idea after seeing the three girls beside him.
Kasumigaoka Utaha also showed a surprised expression. She looked Yuto up and down and exclaimed, "Junior, you're really hiding your true abilities! Is there anything you can't do?"
"Just lucky." Itsuka Yuto laughed nonchalantly, though he was actually extremely arrogant.
Thank you, hero Guo Jing!
He then shot the remaining arrows one by one, hitting four out of nine, but failing to hit the bullseye again, just as he had said, it was a fluke.
……
The four of them had a great time, and it was almost noon when they came down from the mountain. Yuto Itsuka suggested going to the cactus zoo next to Mount Omuro, since there was a restaurant there, and they could have lunch there.
This zoo is known for its extensive collection of cacti and its free-roaming animals.
As soon as they entered the park, the group was captivated by the sight before them.
Many animals roamed freely in the park; several peacocks swaggered past them, and even a kangaroo sunbathed on the grass not far away.
"Wow, aren't the animals here afraid of people?" Eriri's eyes sparkled; she had no resistance to furry little animals.
"It looks like you can get up close and personal with the animals," Kato Megumi said, checking the guidebook. "It seems you can even feed them here."
"Let's go buy feed!" Eriri excitedly ran towards the feed sales point.
They first arrived at the capybara area.
Dozens of large, adorable capybaras were lazily soaking in the hot spring, while others were dozing on the shore.
"So cute!" Eriri was immediately drawn to these creatures. She crouched down and offered the feed to a capybara.
The capybara chewed its food slowly and leisurely, looking very content, and even let Eriri stroke its rough fur.
Kasumigaoka Utaha also tried feeding one, but she didn't seem to like the animal that looked like a giant rat. After feeding it, she immediately took out a wet wipe to wipe her hands.
"Kato-kun, why don't you give it a try?" Itsuka Yuto looked at Kato Megumi.
Kato Megumi nodded, walked into the capybara group, and squatted down.
Surprisingly, the capybaras seemed to regard her as one of their own, gathering around her and rubbing against her, creating an unusually harmonious atmosphere.
“…” Yuto Itsuka looked at this scene and couldn’t help but say, “Kato-kun, it seems like you’ve become one with them.”
"Really? Maybe it's because they think I'm not a threat." Kato Megumi stroked the head of a small capybara, a faint smile on her face.
"Is this what they call 'camouflage'?" Eriri remarked.
……
After leaving the capybara enclosure, Yuto Itsuka suggested having lunch at the forest animal restaurant in the park.
This restaurant, where you can sit at the same table as capybaras, is very popular with tourists.
As the four entered the restaurant, they were immediately drawn to the adorable capybara dolls inside.
Almost every table had one or more huge capybara dolls sitting on it.
"Wow! So cute!" Eriri immediately hugged a capybara plush toy, unable to put it down.
"Itsuka-kun, let's sit over there." Kato Megumi pointed to a four-person table by the window, where two capybara plushies were already sitting.
After everyone sat down, Eriri placed a doll between herself and Yuto.
Seeing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha also picked up a doll, placed it on her lap, and then smiled at Yuto and said, "Junior, doesn't it look like Sawamura-kun?"
“How is it similar!” Eriri retorted.
“They all have a big appetite.” Shiyu pointed to the “Capybara Curry Rice” on the menu.
"Humph!"
The restaurant's menu is quite unique, featuring not only regular Japanese light meals but also some animal-themed specialties such as "cactus curry" and "capybara burger".
The former is a green curry that looks like Indian food, but the taste is surprisingly good.
The latter is simply a redesigned burger, but the overall taste is pretty much the same as a regular burger.
……
Around 3 p.m., after experiencing the animal boat tour, alpaca zipline, and cactus picking, the four left the cactus zoo with great satisfaction.
The original plan was to take a bus to Lake Ichibi, which is not far from the east of Mount Omuro, but after getting off the bus and walking for a while, Eriri's physical strength had reached its limit. The morning's mountain climbing and the afternoon's visit to the zoo had exhausted her.
Seeing Eriri panting heavily, leaning against the roadside railing, and covered in sweat, Yuto Itsuka offered, "Why don't you take a break?"
Eriri didn't even have the strength to agree verbally; she looked at Yuto pitifully.
Yuto smiled, walked up to her, squatted down, and patted his shoulder. "Come on up."
"Huh?" Eriri was stunned.
"Hurry up, stop dawdling, or we won't be able to get out before dark," Yuto urged.
Eriri fidgeted, twisting her trouser leg incessantly. After a moment's hesitation, she carefully climbed onto Yuto's back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Yuto stood up, weighed the weight on his back, and complained, "How come you're lighter than at the amusement park? Have you been eating properly?"
“Stop nagging…” Eriri buried her head in Yuto’s shoulder.
Kasumigaoka Utaha and Kato Megumi silently followed behind them, watching this scene unfold.
Yuto Itsuka carried Eriri on his back and continued along the trail. He walked steadily, and even climbing the steps did not cause much of a jolt.
Lying on Yuto's not-so-broad back, Eriri smelled the fresh scent of soap mixed with the smell of sweat on his body, and felt a long-lost sense of security.
She remembered her childhood, probably when she was in the third grade of elementary school? She had fallen off the slide and sprained her ankle because she was playing. It was this same guy who carried her on his back without saying a word and walked her all the way home.
Yuto wasn't this tall back then, and it was hard for him to carry her, but he didn't stop for a single step.
“Yuto…” Eriri called softly.
"Ok?"
"……nothing."
Eriri pressed her cheek against Yuto's sweat-soaked back. The warm, damp feeling on her face transformed the sweaty smell that she had initially found repulsive into a sense of comfort, making her no longer feel disgusted as she used to.
"Is it heavy?"
"It's okay, I don't think you weigh even 80 pounds. Carrying you on your back feels like carrying a bag of rice."
"……Fool."
Midway through the trail, they passed a shrine, a very small shrine built in the woods beside the trail, called "Ichigo Shrine".
"Would you like to go in and pay your respects?" Kato Megumi asked.
"Never mind, I'm too lazy to move," Eriri muttered on Yuto's back.
"Then let's keep going." Itsuka Yuto showed no sign of stopping.
For the second half of the journey, the group didn't talk much. Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't try to start a conversation, but would occasionally glance at the backs of the two people ahead of her.
麇贰IXliu（九）异III（八.）溜……
More than half an hour later, they circled the lake and returned to the starting point.
Wuhe Youwo lqi Liu IX Yishan Woliu Dou put Eriri down. Her feet were still a little weak when they landed, and she was unsteady on her feet.
"Thank you..." Eriri lowered her head, not daring to look Yuto in the eyes.
"Go back and ride your bicycle more," Yuto suggested, stretching his shoulders.
"It's getting late, shall we head back to the hotel?" Kato Megumi asked, glancing at her phone.
"Let's go."
Yuto felt this trip was a bit of a waste. This lake, known as the "Eye of Izu," looked very small, not even as big as the reservoir in his hometown in his previous life. Having seen many great rivers, he was rather uninterested.
At most, the environment is nice, the air is fresh, and it's suitable for a walk, but there's really no need to make a special trip here.
The group took a bus back to the East China Sea Pavilion.
……
……
[P.S.: I watched a video today analyzing the characters from "A Silent Voice." Regardless of the video content, the comments section surprised me.]
A significant number of people agree that Ishida Shoya has turned over a new leaf and reformed, believing that since he has acknowledged his mistakes and corrected them, his past transgressions should not be held against him. They argue, "Just because he made mistakes when he was young and immature, does that mean he's a bad person for life?" or "Can you guarantee you've never done anything wrong?"—these are roughly the kinds of viewpoints they hold.
[On its own, I can agree with some of this viewpoint; I also think some minor incidents are forgivable. But everything has its limits. Bullying has a high probability of affecting the victim's entire life, causing severe psychological trauma. At that point, it shouldn't be easily forgiven.]
[In the original work, Ishida Shoya also only realized his mistakes after being bullied. If he had actively realized his wrongdoings as a bully and wanted to make amends, then I could hold him in higher regard...]
As for the original work pairing the bully and the bullied together... it's hard to say, it just feels like it's meant to disgust people...
Volume 1: Chapter 103: The Shrine Cool-Off Festival
By the time I returned to the Tokaikan, it was already dusk. The dim streetlights along the Matsukawa River illuminated the quaint hotel buildings, creating a serene atmosphere.
Hiking around Lake Ichibi was nothing to Yuto Itsuka, but for Eriri, even though Yuto carried her for most of the way, she was completely exhausted.
Back in her room, she collapsed onto the tatami mat in a starfish position, remaining motionless.
"Sawamura-kun, that's not very elegant of you," Kasumigaoka Utaha teased, leaning against the doorframe. "Should I call my junior to give you CPR?"
Eriri rolled her eyes and retorted weakly, "It's so noisy... Let me lie down for a bit..."
Kato Megumi quietly packed her things, then looked at Utaha and said, "Kasumigaoka-senpai, it's almost dinner time, shall we go downstairs?"
“Alright.” Shiyu straightened up. “Let this exhausted loser rest for a bit. But if she misses the special seafood feast in Izu, don’t blame us for not inviting her.”
Upon hearing the words "seafood feast," Eriri's ears twitched, and she struggled to sit up: "Who said I'm not eating!"
Shi Yu chuckled softly, then turned and left.
Dinner was arranged in the banquet hall on the first floor of the hotel.
Unlike the home-style cooking at Grandma Matsumata in Atami City, Tokai-kan offers more refined kaiseki cuisine.
The four sat around a low table, which was laden with a variety of exquisite dishes.
Izu specialties include golden snapper sashimi, grilled abalone, Ise lobster, and other dishes made with local wasabi.
"Wow..." Eriri's eyes lit up instantly, her fatigue vanishing completely. "It looks so delicious!"
Yuto Itsuka picked up his chopsticks: "Eat quickly, replenish your energy."
“Junior, you carried Sawamura for so long today, you should eat more.” Shiyu picked up a piece of sashimi and said meaningfully, “After all, raising a pet is also very tiring.”
“Who’s the pet!” Eriri retorted immediately, but her mouth was full of food, and her voice was muffled.
"Itsuka-kun, this simmered golden snapper is quite delicious," Kato Megumi said, pointing to a dish in front of her.
Yuto took a bite; the fish was tender and the broth was rich—it was indeed delicious.
Dinner proceeded in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Perhaps due to the exertion of the day's activities, Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri stopped bickering, and all four of them ate to their hearts' content.
……
It was just past 7:30 after dinner.
"I feel a little full." Eriri rubbed her stomach and sighed contentedly.
“After all, Sawamura ate most of the lobster by himself,” Utaha teased.
"I want you to take care of it!"
"Let's go for a walk to digest our food," suggested Yuto Itsuka. "There seems to be a Matsukawa Hiking Trail nearby."
“Okay.” Kato Megumi nodded in agreement.
The four left the hotel and strolled along the stone path by the Matsukawa River.
Ito City is much quieter at night than Atami, with the river flowing gently and a cool breeze carrying the unique humid atmosphere of a summer night.
As they walked, they noticed that there were more and more people on the road, and many of them were wearing yukatas and wooden clogs, walking in twos and threes in the same direction.
"How strange, is it a special day today?" Eriri looked around curiously.