Utsuromura Village (4)

The watermelon split in half and died. Its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠innards spilled out, bright red and glistening. Juice dribbled everywhere.

What the hell is this...?

I'd only poked it with this toy sword I fished out of Grandma's pond. Why did it split clean in two? Is this sword some super dangerous thing? Nah, probably not. The blade's so dull it wouldn't cut anything. Probably couldn't even scratch the surface.

Suddenly, a scenario straight out of a visual novel popped into my head.

—It's inside the sword! A spirit!

Plenty of VNs start with the protagonist unsealing a spiritual entity, especially an ego sword. Usually, it's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a flat-chested loli spirit who speaks in archaic tongue and gets mad if you call her a magic sword or demon blade.

If the sword's spirit had transferred over for some reason, it all made sense.

I cleared my throat with a hem-hem and whispered to the sword.

"Can you hear me? Say something. You're in there, right? Knock knock knock. Hey, sword lady~"

Silence.

My face burned. Stubbornness kicked in. I'd make it submit somehow.

"Fine, let's do this. If my luck holds, show yourself."

I tossed the sword into the air with a determined glare. Whoosh—it spun once. I thrust out my arm. It might nick my skin, but that was fine. Impressed by my guts, it'd transform into a slender beauty and call me "Master."

?

Instead of grazing, the sword properly sliced past my arm.

I clutched my arm and rolled around. What a clown! But my arm... nothing happened.

No scratch. Doesn't hurt at all?

I stopped my dramatics and jumped up. I gingerly poked the fallen plastic sword with a fingertip. Nothing weird. Touched it to the watermelon cautiously—no change.

Got it. It's not the sword that's special. It's me.

I'd awakened. Samurai heart or something. Must be my latent power. Visual novel protagonist buff. Unconsciously activated sword arts out of sheer desire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to split this melon?

Swordsmanship, huh. Useless for countryside healing, but I can work it into heroine routes somehow.

The tough ponytail sword club president who yells, "I won't lose to some city boy!" Challenges ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me arrogantly but gets roughly dominated by talent monster Yuuki. Then she loses on purpose after I hit her obvious weak spot and falls for me♡. Route cleared.

Guess I should keep it.

I sheathed the toy sword. In VNs, you never toss seemingly worthless items. They might trigger an event later.

Sword fiasco over, time to finally taste the watermelon. Grown by an ex-housewife, fully ripened. Should be delicious plain, but... something's missing.

I pulled out my secret weapon: the taste expert pick.

🧂 Salt.

Apparently, in Japan, you eat watermelon with salt. Sugar? Amateur hour. Salt enhances the sweetness. And in sweaty summer, it replenishes minerals. Double win... or so I read on some wiki.

Always wanted to try this whenever it shows up in manga.

Whistling a tune, I grabbed the salt shaker. Just a sprinkle. But the loose lid dumped a torrent onto the melon.

Super disaster—! Klutz stack three!

I was about to scream when I lost my words.

A burning smell rose from the salt-bathed watermelon. Its surface fizzed with smoke—pssssh—then went quiet.

All in under 30 seconds. Too violent for osmosis. Like something nasty had boiled out.

Before leaving home, Guki-san's cryptic words echoed.

What if... That lady injected something into the watermelon? Even if she's pent-up, that's too much.

Feels gross now. Toss it? But... after all that to split it, it'd be a waste.

I scooped red flesh with a spoon and shoved it in my mouth.

"This is insanely good!"

Doubts melted away. No saltiness left with the smoke—the slightly caramelized surface was a bonus. I scraped the rind clean right there, emptying the whole thing.

Thanks for the meal. So full.

I sprawled on the veranda, staring at the night sky. Stars speckled it vibrantly. Stargazing event incoming? Spot Altair, Deneb, Vega, Arcturus with a heroine, play the know-it-all while finding the Summer Triangle.

Cicada chirps blended richly. Nature's symphony had charm. Summer break means bug-hunting events... Hope I catch a stag beetle.

This and that—Japanese countryside life had endless fun. Who said rural boredom's just yaoi?

I wrapped up day one of my Japanese countryside healing life to the sound of fireworks.

Zzz...

D-39

I took a deep breath. Fresh air filled my lungs.

Whew. Feels refreshing.

Just one day in, and I felt healthier. Body normalized, mind too. Yuuki's body was prime 18-year-old vigor, but mood matters.

Early as it was, I finished getting ready and stepped out.

"Good morning, Yuuki-kun."

Still in yesterday's see-through dress and wide-brim hat. Hoozure Reika, village chief's daughter and probably the sass main heroine.

Said we'd meet tomorrow, but morning already?

I returned her greeting, puzzled.

"Reika-san."

"Or perhaps you didn't sleep well? You can tell big sis Reika honestly, you know."

Her face hid under the brim. A shadow fell over me from behind.

"Mguh, gu-eh."

A man over 2.5 meters tall. Abnormally long arms, rippling muscles. Drool dripping from his mouth. Just a fundoshi on, face masked like a talisman.

Clean water and air breed giants like this, huh.

I admired inwardly. No gym needed? Natural gains, jealous.

"You wouldn't already want to leave Utsuromura or whine weakly like that, right?"

"No way, Reika-san. I really feel great."

I thumbs-upped.

"You feel great?"

"Utsuromura's a great village. Full of heart."

⋯ (￣▿￣)

Reika's face reappeared. Amused disbelief.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Glad you're doing well, Yuuki-kun."

"Is this guy your servant too? Hello."

I turned to the muscle man behind me. Caught off-guard, he yelped.

"Mguh-eh!?"

"This is Buntaro. Strong as an ox. Reliable servant."

"Buntaro-san, nice to meet you."

Buntaro scratched his head shyly. The gap moe's cute.

"Perfect timing. Got a question for you, Reika-san. Can I really go anywhere in the village?"

"Like I said yesterday, anywhere but the Old Shrine~. That's dangerous."

I'll sneak to the Old Shrine soon to woo the lonely god... but not today.

"Is there a bamboo grove in the village, Reika-san?"

Fix some takoyaki and slurp nagashi somen. First item on my Japanese countryside wishlist.