Chapter 058
"Oh, Mai-chan, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Mom! I'm accompanying Saeko-chan."
We entered the office and followed the sign that said "Temporary Examination Room." down the hallway, where Mom was sitting in front of a desk marked "Reception."
"Are you Mai's mother? My Saeko was scared, but Mai persuaded her to come with us. Thank you."
"I see. Thank you, Mai-chan."
Mai puffs out her chest after being praised by the two moms. I don't think it's because I'm a doting older brother that I think her smug face is cute.
"So what's your name then... Yes, thank you. Please come in. Ah, Mai-chan..."
"Onee-chan, come with me too!"
Mom tried to make Mai, who isn't part of Saeko's family, wait here, but Saeko wouldn't let go of her hand. She's become very attached to her.
"Well, what should we do?"
"They're the doctor's family, so as long as they're not sick, there's no problem. Mai-chan, will you stay with her?"
Saeko-chan's mother answered with a wry smile to my confused mom. Before Mai could answer, Saeko-chan pulled Mai's hand and went inside.
"Yu, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, we just wandered around the hot spring town, so nothing unusual happened except for Saeko-chan."
Even though there was no one in sight, my mother asked in a low voice. So I answered in a low voice.
"Okay, that's good. When Mai-chan comes back, you two stay at the inn and wait. We'll explain when we get back."
"Got it."
It seems like something's wrong. If that's the case, it's best not to go out and get too close to danger.
"It really was over with just a squeeze of hands!"
"See, it wasn't scary, was it?"
I heard Saeko-chan and Mai's voices after the examination. If the patient is healthy, the examination is very short, as it only requires a squeeze of hands.
"Mai, it's almost time for lunch, so let's go back to the inn."
"Okay. Well, Saeko-chan, take care!"
Saeko-chan didn't seem to want to leave Mai, but she went home half crying in her mother's arms. We couldn't stay together forever, so it had to be.
I took Mai back to a nearby inn and had lunch. The mushroom tempura and miso konnyaku, both produced locally in the prefecture, were very delicious.
"Shall we go for another walk after lunch?"
"No, let's take it easy in the afternoon. Shall we watch a video?"
I followed my mother's instructions and took Mai back to my room. I spent the night watching anime and animal videos on my smartphone.
Soon my father and mother came back. After eating an early dinner in the room, Mom took Mai to the large public bath. Dad and I went to the men's bath.
It was still early, so there were no other bathers. I whispered to Dad.
"Dad, what happened?"
"Yeah, it seems like the conflict between the tourist-attracting and anti-tourist faction has intensified and become unsettling. Apparently the village mayor changed from a tourist-attracting faction to an anti-tourist faction this year."
Even though the pro-tourist mayor put effort into tourism, the number of tourists did not increase. The anti-tourist group blamed the tourist-attracting group, saying that they should have used the budget for the villagers instead.
As a result, the mayor was replaced and the anti-tourist group became more powerful, and they are acting as if they are venting their frustrations.
"That's a nuisance..."
"Exactly. Well, that's why, so please stay at the inn tomorrow."
Can the village provide everything? I wonder, but it's not for an outsider to say anything. We'll just go back the day after tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment