Under the tense gaze of everyone, a man wearing a mountaineering outfit, short and stout, yet carrying a backpack as large as himself, emerged from the forest.
Seeing that it was a human, Kaen Kozue and Hiryu, who had been secretly preparing for battle, immediately felt relieved.
“Oh! It’s Professor Kawahara!”
Just as everyone was wondering why a dirty and strange old man appeared here, Kiyotsugu Kiyosumi, however, lit up with joy, waving at the man in greeting.
The man was none other than the monster doctor—Kawahara, who had invited Kiyotsugu and his group to Meru Garden.
“Hee hee, I didn't expect you guys to find the Meru Marusama shrine so quickly. I was thinking of waiting for you a bit earlier.”
Professor Kawahara scratched his head and chuckled, but although he was a living person, his wide, toothy smile made him look like a puppet.
“No, no, it’s an honor to see Professor Kawahara! How could we let you wait for us!”
Kiyotsugu Kiyosumi rushed forward in three strides and excitedly clasped Professor Kawahara's hand.
“Anou, why is there a shrine of Meru Marusama here?”
Just as the two were about to exchange more pleasantries, Nura Rikuo's voice rang out inappropriately.
Hearing the voice, Professor Kawahara leaned forward, his gaze passing over Kiyotsugu Kiyosumi and landing on Nura Rikuo.
The moment he saw Nura Rikuo, a glimmer of light flashed in Professor Kawahara's eyes, and his smile widened.
“Meru Marusama… he is, the protagonist of the monster legend of this mountain.”
“Follow me.”
Kawahara said, ignoring the puzzled and bewildered expressions of the others, he turned and led the way.
Under Kawahara’s guidance, the group traversed the forest, they didn’t know how long they walked, the sky began to turn faintly yellow, they finally reached the end of the stone steps and came to a wide clearing.
Upon entering the clearing, the group's eyes were immediately drawn to the strange decoration of the clearing. The towering trees that reached into the clouds were tied with red shimenawa ropes, obviously sealing something.
In the clearing, there were also several large, sharp, wild beast claws scattered around.
Standing next to the wild beast claws, Kaen Kaname looked fearful, and said:
“What is this?!”
“Those are monster claws.”
Professor Kawahara chuckled, showing no sign of fear or surprise.
“Claw, claws?!?”
Receiving the answer, everyone looked shocked. Those claws were taller than they were! Now, you tell me those are just monster claws?!
“There are really monsters living on this mountain, don't be so surprised when you see a broken claw.”
Noticing the group’s reaction, Professor Kawahara gave a disdainful look, and as soon as he finished speaking, Kiyotsugu Kiyosumi’s excited words came over:
“There really are monsters on this mountain! Great!”
“What if we really encounter a monster?”
Unlike Kiyotsugu’s expectation, Kaen Kaname muttered with worry. Those big claws, they probably couldn’t even fill the monster’s teeth, right.
“The protagonist of the monster legend of this mountain, Meru Marusama… is that.”
Professor Kawahara took in everyone’s reaction, nodded in satisfaction, then pointed his finger towards the high mountains in the front.
Climbing up the high ground, a giant monster statue with a bull’s head and a mountain spider’s body appeared before the group.
Professor Kawahara pushed up his glasses and broke the group's shock with a statement:
“Actually, in the past, Meru Garden had another name—Twisted Eye Mountain! Because it was rumored that there was a monster that would eat passing travelers, the name was changed to Meru Garden to reduce the impact of the legend during the development of the scenic area.”
Hearing the name Twisted Eye Mountain, Nura Rikuo’s eyes narrowed sharply, Hiryu beside him also leaned forward, whispering softly in Nura Rikuo’s ear:
“Young Master…”
“Yeah, I know.”
Nura Rikuo nodded, his tone heavy.
Hidden in this mountain, the monster of Meru Garden that was widely circulated was actually a member of the Nura clan’s executives—Ushioni!
“It’s getting late, I’ll take you to the hotel.”
Hearing Nura Rikuo’s low voice, Professor Kawahara’s strange smile stretched, he said, and turned to lead the way.
Unbeknownst to everyone, under the setting sun, fine long lines appeared on Professor Kawahara's body, those lines stretched up, disappearing into the dense tree canopy.
In the tree canopy, a strangely dressed man with a bull’s skull on his head manipulated the lines, smiling at Nura Rikuo.
...
“Such a dangerous place! Let’s go back?”
“Yeah! Those claws are so big, that monster will eat people!”
“It looks so dangerous, Kiyotsugu, how about we go down the mountain…”
On the way to the hotel, Maki Ori, Toriya Natsumi, and Shima Jiro were all around Kiyotsugu Kiyosumi, trying to talk him out of it.
Now they were certain that there were monsters on this mountain, after all, those big claws! One touch would pierce through a person!
“Hey, Kaen-san, are there really monsters on this mountain?”
“I’m not sure, but this mountain is definitely not simple.”
Kaen Kaname chatted with Kaen Kaname worriedly about this mountain, looking at her pale face, it was obvious that she was scared.
Nura Rikuo and Hiryu were each thinking about their own thoughts.
“The Ushioni group is a group with considerable strength in the Nura group, and they have not returned to Ukiyoe Town for years, except for the group leader. If they don’t recognize the young master and cause accidental injury…”
Hiryu thought in her heart, she glanced at Nura Rikuo without showing any sign of emotion.
Nura Rikuo also knew that he, who only wanted to be human, was not liked by monsters like Ushioni. If he stayed here, those monsters of the Ushioni group might attack those around him.
With the precedent of the Old Rat group, Nura Rikuo couldn’t, or dared not to stay here anymore.
“Kiyotsugu, Toriya-san and the others are right, it’s too dangerous here, let’s leave as soon as possible!”
He found Kiyotsugu, who was surrounded by Toriya Natsumi and the others, and Nura Rikuo tried to persuade him.
“Right! Let’s go back!”
Hearing someone stand with her, Maki Ori didn’t hesitate, she echoed, then grabbed Nura Rikuo and wanted to go down the mountain.
“Wait!”
“Even if we go down the mountain now, there’s no bus back, Professor Kawahara has reserved a high-end hotel over there.”
“As long as we get to the hotel, there will be outdoor hot springs and luxurious kaiseki dishes waiting for us!”
“Of course, the cost will be covered by my Kiyosumi family!”
With a series of moves, Maki Ori and Toriya Natsumi, who had been clamoring to leave just now, hesitated.
They really wanted to leave, but it was getting late now, and there was no car to go back. In this wilderness, it would be very dangerous for them two girls to leave the group, and besides… outdoor hot springs and kaiseki dishes…
“No, in any case, it’s better to go back!”
Seeing everyone hesitating, Nura Rikuo hurriedly said, as soon as he finished speaking, Professor Kawahara's strange tone rang out:
“Humph, haha, in any case, Ushioni is just a legend, there’s no need to be so afraid. Besides, the hotel has anti-monster measures, it’s very safe, why don’t you stay there for a few days?”
“No, this…”
Nura Rikuo wanted to say something, but he was hugged by Kiyotsugu:
“Don’t say anything, Nura-san! Let’s go to the hotel now, at worst, we can go back tomorrow!”
After saying that, Kiyotsugu Kiyosumi didn’t care what Nura Rikuo thought, he pulled Nura Rikuo and left.
The others behind them looked at each other, and finally chose to follow.
Professor Kawahara, the monster doctor, walked at the back, his eyes looking at the group with malice, it was unknown what he was thinking.
......