Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 1Volume 3 .3 - Mountains, Sea, and... a Town Full of Cats...?

Mountains, Sea, and… a Town Full of Cats…? 3

“Chikage, what’s wrong…? Why are you watching us?”

“Ah, please, don’t mind me, go ahead and continue.”

“No, even if you say that…”

It was quite awkward to be watched so closely.

“I just thought it seemed nice.”

“…What does?”

“The way Hii-chan and Sakuto-kun sometimes have conversations that only the two of you understand… I find that kind of thing enviable.”

Sakuto and Hikari exchanged a blink of surprise.

“Hmm… really?”

“I think there are times like that with Chikage too…”

Then Hikari said as if she had just remembered, “Look.”

“The other day in Sakuto’s room, when I was sleeping, you kissed Sakuto, right?”

“Ah, yes… wait, huh!?”

Chikage’s face turned bright red.

“Hii-chan, you were awake at that time!?”

“Ah──teehee♪”

Hikari stuck out her tongue playfully.

“See, Chii-chan, you also sneakily do things, so we’re even!”

“That’s not what I mean!”

“Then show me a conversation between the two of you that I can’t understand.”

“Eh? Right now? Ah, um…”

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Chikage struggled to think, but──

“Sakuto-kun, please kiss me!”

” “Straight to the point!?” “

Always straightforward, she couldn’t be sly like her sister.

***

After finishing lunch at the villa, the three of them prepared to climb the mountain and headed out from the villa towards the mountain.

Sakuto followed behind the twin sisters, who had changed into their mountain girl outfits, and watched them with a wry smile as they continued their conversation from the bedroom.

“It’s easy. You just have to whisper it softly in his ear, okay?”

“But… I can’t think of what to say.”

“Why not just say what comes to mind?”

“That’s not it, I want to have an exchange like the one between Sakuto-kun and you, Hii-chan!”

Hikari, with a look of exasperation, advised Chikage.

“You just need to do it like you’re rubbing something.”

“Rubbing? How do you do that?”

“Like this… *whisper whisper*…”

Hikari softly whispered into Chikage’s ear.

Sakuto thought they must be plotting something naughty, and just as he did, Chikage’s face turned as red as if steam were about to come out.

“Eeeeh──!? I can’t say something so lewd〜〜〜!”

Hearing that she had just said ‘lewd,’ Sakuto turned towards the mountain, not knowing what kind of face to make.

***

The mountain they were about to climb was called 『Imoko Mountain』, and it was said to be rich in broadleaf trees. He had heard that beech forests were brighter than cedar forests, but he wondered what it was really like.

As he pondered this, he spotted something vermilion halfway up the mountain.

“Is that a torii gate?”

“Ah? It looks like a torii gate?”

“I wonder if something is enshrined there?”

At that moment──

“Hyah!?”

Chikage was startled by something and clung to Sakuto.

“What’s wrong!?”

“A cat… it was looking at us from those bushes…”

Looking in the direction Chikage pointed, they saw a long-haired gray cat bounding through the trees.

“There are cats even in the mountains… Chikage, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine…! I was just surprised because it appeared so suddenly…”

“I see… Well, can you let go of me now…?”

“Oh, sorry…!”

Sakuto was surprised by the sudden embrace but let out a wry smile with a sense of resignation.

As they walked, they arrived at a large parking lot with bungalows on the side.

“We found it. This is the 『Imoko Mountain Climbing Trail』.”

When Sakuto checked the location on his smartphone map, the signal dropped from two bars to one.

“This will probably go out of range once we enter the mountain…”

“Do you have a map?”

“No, I was planning to rely on the smartphone map app…”

They should be fine following the marked trails, but it would be good to have a map just in case.

With no other choice, Sakuto took screenshots of the map, zooming in and out, trying to memorize it in his head.

“Ah… Is someone else already climbing the mountain?”

Chikage pointed towards a compact car and a light truck parked near the bungalows.

Approaching the bungalow, the three of them stood in front of the door and peered inside through the window.

“It seems like no one’s here…”

Just as Sakuto said that──

Bang───!

Caw caw, caw caw──

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot and the cries of birds echoed through the mountains, causing Sakuto and the others to flinch.

“Was that… a gunshot?”

“Yeah, probably…”

“Is it, like, local hunters or something…?”

As the three of them panicked──

“──What are you doing there…?”

Startled by the sudden voice from behind, the three of them jumped.

Turning towards the source of the voice, they saw an old woman holding a sickle who had appeared out of nowhere.

The three instinctively exclaimed, “Eek!?”

Upon closer inspection──

She wore a straw hat with a floral shirt, arm covers, monpe pants, and black rubber boots, looking like she was about to start some farm work.

She was an old lady with a bent back, easily in her eighties.

Under the brim of her straw hat, she stared at them with sharp eyes.

Sakuto, flustered, opened his mouth to speak.

“Uh, excuse me──”

“You shouldn’t enter this mountain.”

His words were abruptly cut off by the old lady, causing Sakuto to flinch.

The old woman’s tone was calm and quiet, but she seemed to not want them near the mountain, exuding a kind of pressure. Sakuto was curious about the reason for prohibiting entry to the mountain.

“But this is a hiking trail, right? We researched and it’s listed as a tourist spot…”

The old woman frowned and said,

“…A bear has been sighted.”

” ” “A bear…!?” ” “

The three of them were shocked and turned pale.

“It happened yesterday. A pair who went mushroom picking were attacked. Luckily, they were both unharmed… but who knows what could happen next?”

The old woman said in a low threatening tone while looking towards the mountain.

“The local hunters have gone bear hunting, so it’s dangerous to enter.”

With that explanation, the three of them exchanged glances, understanding the situation.

“Chii-chan, it’s a shame, but…”

“Yeah… I was looking forward to it…”

“It can’t be helped, Chikage. If that’s the reason…”

Hikari and Sakuto consoled a disappointed Chikage.

Then the old woman stared intently at Chikage’s face.

“...The girl with the ribbon, may I have a word with you?”

“Eh? Are you talking to me?”

“Are you the younger sister of that young lady over there?”

“Yes, that’s right, but...?”

Sakuto tilted his head in confusion.

From their brief exchange, how did the old woman know that Chikage was the younger sister?

“Remember this well──This mountain is a very dangerous place for you...”

“...? What do you mean by that...?”

The old woman’s face grew even more tense.

“This mountain, Imoko Mountain, is──” (TN: Idk how its related, but 妹 in 妹子山(Imoko Mountain) means younger sister.)

Bang───!

…Aaaaaaah───

…──

Just as the old woman was about to say something, another gunshot rang out──

“Ah!? Was that a scream just now!?”

The three of them looked towards the mountain in surprise.

It certainly sounded like a human scream.

However, the old woman laughed with an eerily calm demeanor.

“Perhaps you misheard?”

“But just now, there was a human voic──”

“You misheard.”

“But──”

“Come now, there’s no point in staying here. You should head to the sea──”

Saying this, the old woman turned on her heel and began to walk slowly towards the mountain.

As the old woman rounded the corner of the bungalow, Sakuto and the twins realized something.

Despite having said it was dangerous, was the old woman planning to enter the mountain alone?

The three of them followed after the old woman. But──

“Eh!? She’s gone...!?”

The old woman had vanished into thin air. They looked around, but she was nowhere to be found.

The three of them stood there, unable to move, feeling a chilling sensation.

Finally, it was Chikage who broke the silence.

“What exactly was that old woman…?”

“It’s not a ghost... right? That would be unscientific...?”

Feeling a sense of unease, the twin sisters clung to Sakuto’s arm.

“No, that can’t be it...”

Right, it couldn’t be a ghost. After all, there’s even a song that goes “There’s no such thing as ghosts, ghosts are a lie.” In other words, there are no such things as ghosts.

Sakuto put on a smile to reassure the frightened twin sisters.

Nevertheless──

Ever since meeting the old woman... no, since arriving in this town of Futagoko, Sakuto had been unable to shake a strange sense of discomfort.