Chapter 106 New Members
"Hangchi, bangchi!"
On the mountain path, sounds similar to those of wild animals eating could be heard continuously. Inosuke was walking while holding a pot and eating the radish rice left over from yesterday.
Following him was the Tokito brother who was pulling the carriage, and was looking at Inosuke with disgust.
"Your eating manners are so ugly, please eat slowly."
Soon, Ichiro couldn't stand the strange noises Inosuke was making anymore and warned him quietly.
But Inosuke didn't take it seriously after hearing this. Instead, he puffed up his cheeks and gave a provocative smile to Ichiro, then started eating even harder.
Ichiro was so angry that veins appeared on his forehead, but Muichiro beside him was smiling and happily clapping and cheering for Inosuke.
"You eat so fast, so amazing!"
What’s so great about it!
He screamed in despair in his heart, and looked back and forth between his brother and Inosuke with a frustrated look, but finally he sighed helplessly and lowered his head.
After receiving the praise, Inosuke touched his nose happily, pointed his thumb at himself and spoke proudly.
"Of course, I'm the king of the mountain!"
This word reached Ichiro's ears, arousing his curiosity, and he asked Inosuke with a puzzled expression.
"Why do you keep calling yourself the King of the Mountain?"
Ignoring Youichiro, Inosuke put the last mouthful of rice into his mouth, then rushed out of the team with the rice pot and ran straight into the forest beside him. Just then, the Toru brothers were shocked and were about to tell the wolf that the wild boar had run away.
Carrying a clean pot, Inosuke rushed out from the other side of the forest, roaring "Zhu Tu", which startled Busei who was walking in front and he almost drew his sword to chop him.
Fortunately, he reacted in time, turned his head and looked at the three little kids who had reunited, and yelled.
"Hey! Stop running around!"
Then, without caring whether anyone paid attention to him or not, he turned around and continued on his way, muttering to himself.
"How come there's one more kid... Is this Hirata addicted to picking up kids?"
"..."
The wolf following behind Busei naturally heard the whispers, but he didn't say much because it was indeed his decision to let Inosuke join.
Recalling what happened in the camp not long ago...
------
Holding the map, Busei was determining the next route when a pig's head popped in front of him and quickly glanced at the map.
Before Fuzugawa could teach him a lesson, Inosuke pointed at the map and shouted.
"Here's a path that's closer to your destination!"
Hearing this, Busei moved closer to the map and looked at it carefully with a frown on his face, but he couldn't see where the path was.
Turning his head to look at Inosuke who was busy cooking, he saw that he looked like a starving ghost. Busui wanted to scold him, but with a hint of helplessness on his face, he said in a low voice.
"You are making this up..."
Inosuke, who had his head buried in the rice pot, heard Busei's question and responded in a muffled voice without even raising his head.
"It's absolutely true!"
Tianyin came over, took the map from Busui's hand and looked at it carefully, but found nothing. However, seeing Inosuke's determination, Tianyin said to Busui.
"…This map is quite old, so it's normal that new roads have appeared in recent years."
Hearing this, Busui looked suspiciously at Inosuke who was eating desperately.
"Is it…"
Wolf, who was listening to everyone's conversation quietly, asked Inosuke at this time.
“…If we take the small path, when can we get out of the mountain…”
Hearing that it was Wolf who asked, Inosuke looked up and thought for a moment before speaking firmly to the Wolf.
"This afternoon."
The wolf nodded in imperceptible satisfaction at the time. If he continued along the original route, he would not arrive until tomorrow noon at the earliest.
But if we can get out of the mountain in the afternoon, we might be able to reach the ancestral home of the priest family if we hurry a little tonight.
With his eyes slightly narrowed, the wolf looked at Inosuke who was still concentrating on eating and asked him.
"...Can you... lead the way for us?"
With rice grains stuck to the corners of his mouth, Inosuke raised his head and did not look at the wolf who had invited him, but at the Tokito brothers and Amane who were packing blankets not far away.
"nice and warm."
After muttering something in a daze, he nodded to the wolf.
"can."
------
The memory ended, and the wolf stopped and turned to look behind him.
At this time, Inosuke was holding a clean pot and showing off to the Tokito brothers that he knew exactly where there was water in the mountains.
Although Yuichiro looked disgusted and claimed that it was nothing, Muichiro still smiled and praised Inosuke in a supportive manner, causing Yuichiro to roll his eyes.
Tianyin, who was walking in front of them, looked back from time to time at the three children playing, with a gentle smile on her face.
Call ~
A cool autumn breeze blew by, and I don't know if it was the coolness of the wind or the pleasant scene before my eyes, but the burning feeling deep in the wolf's soul temporarily dissipated a little.
At this moment, the helpless voice of Busei Kawai came from behind.
"Stop being in a daze and hurry up and catch up!"
At the same time, he muttered something in the corner of his mouth.
"Shouldn't we let that pig-headed brat lead the way? Why am I still the one walking in front in the end?"
…………
Time passed quickly, the sun had climbed to the zenith, and after several people moved forward without stopping, the originally sloping terrain had gradually become flat, which proved that they were almost at the foot of the mountain.
After walking for a while, a huge lake appeared in front of everyone. The water in the lake was clear, reflecting the blue of the sky like a mirror.
"Oh!"
Having never seen such a beautiful scenery, Muichiro shouted with joy and ran quickly towards the lakeshore, followed closely by Inosuke.
Standing on the shore, the tide hit the shore, and the cold autumn lake water soaked Wuichiro's feet, causing his toes to curl up.
"Hiss~ So cool!"
Inosuke who was following behind him was even more wild. He took a running start and jumped high into the cold lake. When he floated up again, he was holding two struggling fat fish in his hands.
Throw it to Wuyilang on the shore, and Wuyilang will cheer and praise it again.
"You are worthy of being the mountain king!"
Hearing Muichiro's praise, Inosuke, who was swimming in the cold lake water, laughed exaggeratedly a few times.
"Pfft hahahaha!!"
Then he dived into the lake, kept catching fish and throwing them to Wuichiro on the lakeshore.
Behind him, Ichiro arrived late after settling the carriage. His eyes lit up at first when he saw the beautiful lake view, but dimmed when he saw Inosuke fishing in the water in a disgusting but extremely fast posture.
Eye-catching...
She just touched the lake water with her toes and felt its coldness, then looked at Inosuke in disbelief and shouted loudly.
"Hey! Get out of the water if you're going to catch a cold!"
Inosuke, who was swimming in the lake, stopped, laughed, and then pinched his fingers together and said to Ichiro with contempt.
"Wahahaha! How could I possibly catch a cold?"
Muichiro, who was guarding the fish mountain on the side, also pretended to agree with him.
"That's right! Inosuke is the king of the mountain!"
…………
"Ah!"
Crystal clear snot flowed out of the nostrils of the pig head mask, hanging on it, making Inosuke, who was warming himself by the campfire in a blanket, look particularly funny.
Beside him, Yuichiro said coldly while grilling fish with an expressionless face.
"I have a cold."