My name is Yoshizō Yukawa, 35 years old, single.
Among a certain community in a particular field, there isn’t a soul who doesn’t know of me – a self-proclaimed super-famous, ordinary local government worker.
No, that’s not quite right. It’s not me who is super-famous, but rather my online alter ego, “Onsen Manju the Third.”
You see, Yoshizō Yukawa, also known as Onsen Manju the Third, is an onsen (hot spring) enthusiast who runs a hot spring group on a globally famous social networking service, and I’ve even published a modest guidebook about hot springs.
Wait, first things first, I should introduce myself with the respectful nickname given to me by the members of the circle. (Said very rapidly up to this point)
My name is Yoshizō Yukawa, also known as Onsen Manju the Third, dubbed the solitary Onsen Hunter, a 35-year-old single local government worker.
At this very moment, I’m running at full speed.
“There he is! I saw him running that way!”
Oops, it seems the pursuers are close at hand.
I roll down the slope and run, yet I haven’t done anything wrong.
It’s just that I was born with an unusually keen sense of smell, which allows me to track down hot springs in the mountains. Today, as usual, I encountered the fragrant scent of sulfur in the mountains and followed the smell through the bushes…
And there I found it: a secluded hot spring inn, its open-air bath for women quietly standing in the woods, popular among young office workers and light-minded college girls, once featured in a fashion magazine.
This is indeed a stroke of great luck—or rather, unfortunate luck.
For 35 years of my life, I have been nothing but a man cultivating a love for hot springs.
One might even say I’m utterly immersed in them.
For me, the allure of women is as light as a feather compared to that of hot springs. It’s that incredibly light and fluffy. A mere puff would send it flying. Heh, that’s how it is.
Moreover, these days, even during work, one could technically see naked women if they poke around on a computer, not that I’m looking, I assure you. I don’t look at work, really, I’m not looking.
Well, whatever, it’s not that rare of a sight anyway.
Thus, for me, this is simply bad luck, and moreover… a major crisis.
I must make it clear that, as I’ve said many times, I am a local government employee.
If, just if, I ended up being caught as if I were a molester.
Even if it later turns out to be a complete misunderstanding.
My life would be over. Completely and utterly over, without a trace.
Just like the feeling of complete refreshment you get after washing off the sliminess from your skin with water after a dip in a bicarbonate spring and then drying off with a fan, my life would be declared completely and cleanly over.
Not a blade of grass would remain.
This is a problem.
Let’s be clear, the cold stares of those around me if I were exposed as a sexual offender are irrelevant to me. If I were 35 and single and still concerned about that, I would’ve already been crushed by the cruel gaze of society and be in the afterlife by now. That’s not the point, I am a local government employee, with a modest salary but stability is the selling point of the job. If I lose this impressive stable income…
How could I continue my journey to hot springs all over the country?
There are scores of hot springs I haven’t visited yet.
Not to mention those abroad, which I haven’t been to at all.
Therefore, I must avoid being caught at all costs.
I, Yoshizō Yukawa, also known as Onsen Manju the Third, called by some the Solitary Hot Spring Hunter, a 35-year-old single local government employee. This could well be called the biggest pinch of my life.
“Ah, over there! Something moved!”
Persistent, aren’t they?
I hate to say it, but I haven’t seen a single woman who would need to pursue that persistently – wow! What a feast-for-the-eyes body. None like that at all.
If anything, I’m the one who should be paid… never mind.
But cornered as I am, I realize there’s nowhere to go but over the cliff. My life is quite literally on the edge.
“There! You are there, right there!”
The voice is right behind me.
“Genzou-san, have you got the hunting rifle?”
No way! That’s bad.
If shot with that, I’d die, definitely would die.
Looking down, there’s a steep cliff. Behind me, Genzou-san with a hunting rifle.
The cliff, Genzou, and I. Genzou-san and GUN.
Wait, no, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that. Damn it, why hesitate? There’s no reason to choose Genzou here!
Farewell, Genzou!
Damn it all!
With that exclamation, I step off onto the steep cliff. And then.
“Woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah!! Aaaahhhhhh!!”
I’m not so much running down as naturally stepping out, my right and left legs in a fierce dead heat. It’s high-speed downhill falling more than anything.
Yet, this feels surprisingly doable.
If my right and left legs keep this wild race going without any mishap, I’ll surely reach the bottom of the valley, and from there, it’s a graceful and brilliant escape.
Dead Heat & Runaway.
That actually sounds cool.
“I can do it!!”
That’s when I shout, and just as I’m getting carried away, perhaps the gods didn’t overlook that moment because a small torii gate appeared before me.
A torii gate? In a place like this… a gate!?
While running, I squint to see better, yeah, there’s no mistake, it’s a torii gate, quite a miniature one at that.
It seems to be just a normal torii gate—one that you’d think you could leap over easily since it’s about knee-high. Why it’s on such a slope, I have no idea, but it certainly looks like the torii of an old and historic place.
I mean, seriously, it’s just incredibly torii-like.
And it’s right in my path. Of course, there’s no way to change direction.
What to do, what to do, Yoshizō Yukawa—or should I say, the Third Generation Onsen Manju—or no, the solitary Onsen Hunter! Even if I try to look cool, this won’t continue into next week!
But this is no time for jokes!
No, I’m not actually saying that, I’m just muttering it in my heart!
And it’s not time for that either!
What to do? What to do? Jump over it? No, it’s a torii, right? Shouldn’t really jump over it… Should I stop? No way I can stop……So, I have to go under… but can I even make it, you idiot!! It’s knee-high!!
—Thud!
As I panicked, I stumbled on a pebble right in front of the torii. This is bad, at this rate, I’ll do more than just jump over; I’ll knock down the torii. That’s not good, my deceased grandmother would be so disappointed if she heard about it.
“Damn it!!”
As a loner Onsen Hunter, and as a devoted grandchild who respected my deeply religious grandmother well-known in my hometown, I attempted a diving roll with a shout.
…Why did I even think to do that?
It’s a cliff, with rocks below.
Of course, I hear a plunk, an “oh no, this is bad” kind of sound, and my consciousness fades.
My name is Yoshizō Yukawa, also known as Onsen Manju the Third, but called by some the solitary, unmarried, 35-year-old local government Onsen Hunter.
Sorry to drop this so suddenly, but here is where I die.
“Hey, master, oh dear master.”
“Huh?”
“It’s not ‘huh,’ dear master.”
“What is it?”
“You may not be aware, but, master, you have died.”
“Eh, oh, well, I suppose so.”
“Indeed, you’re such a carefree soul. Nonetheless, master, you died protecting my shrine.”
“Oh, is that so? Were you safe?”
“Yes, thankfully. Now, it may be rude to speak of rewards, but I shall grant you a revival.”
“Really?”
“Yes, though I cannot send you back to your original world. How about being reincarnated in a trendy different world instead?”
“Ah, eh, that’s popular?”
“One shouldn’t be concerned about popularity here, truly, you are an odd one, aren’t you?”
“Ah, I hear that often.”
“Well, truly amusing. This promises to be entertaining.”
“Sigh.”
“Now then, you may sleep a little more…”
“Uh… um… huh…”
—
“Gwarrah!”
Whoa, I let out an unexpected, strange shout. Or rather, my eyes… my eyes are awake. I’m awake? That means…
“Am I alive?”
“Yeah, seems like you’re alive.”
“Hmm, I had a strange dream.”
“It’s not a dream, it’s real.”
“Is that so… was that real… wait a minute!”
Surprised by an unexpectedly sprightly Kansai dialect response, I look beside me to find a girl… a girl with the height of an upper elementary school student… A female… woman? No, a female? Wrong, it’s not that I’m dismissive of women, and it’s not like I have that sort of hobby, you see, look…
This child has ears and a tail growing out of her.
“This child here has ears and a tail.”
“Who the devil are you?!”
In my confusion, I blurted that out, and she, who could be called a girl, or rather a female cub, puffed her cheeks and sulked.
Oh, that’s quite adorable.
The slight slant to her eyes is charming, and her peach-fuzz skin is splendidly smooth. Cherry colored lips and a pert nose, both leave a nice impression.
And she’s in a shrine maiden outfit too. That’s another plus.
But more than that, more than anything, it’s the tail, the tail indeed. Hmm, it’s better than I imagined, this fluffy tail.
Perhaps I stared too intensely because she blushed and muttered,
“You could show some respect. I’m a venerable messenger of the Inari deity named Mayudama.”
A messenger for the Inari deity? So,
“Are you a fox?”
“Not ‘you’, I’m Mayudama. ‘Ma-yu-da-ma-sa-n’!”
No, that’s not the point.
“So, you… I mean, Mayudama-san, you’re a fox?”
To my question, Mayudama-san puffed up her chest—though flat, rather poor, but still her chest—proudly and replied,
“That’s right! I am a fox, a messenger of the Inari deity!”
“Not some beastman fox, but a fox?”
“Exactly, a proper fox, just disguised at the moment.”
Well, so this is the famed disguised fox… uh, nnngh!
“But now, as for your current situation,”
“Quiet!”
“What is it?”
Despite the confused fox, or Mayudama-san, I concentrated all my nerves in my nose. Every cell in my nostrils seemed to roar—which would be terrifying—but they’re working at full capacity.
Yes, there is no mistake.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mayudama-san, but let’s pause our conversation here.”
“What? Why the heck?”
Why the heck…? Well, there’s a good reason for that!
“There’s a hot spring ahead! No doubt about it! This rotten egg smell… it’s a sulfur spring!”
“Eh, what? A hot spring?”
“Yes, a hot spring! Let us go forth, to the undiscovered new hot springs!!”
“Wait, wait, just wait a minute!”
Panicked and flustered… no, with Mayudama-san in tow, I run toward the hot spring.
My name is Yoshizō Yukawa. Also known as Hot Spring Manju the 3rd, called by some the Lone Hot Spring Hunter, 35-years-old, a single civil servant.
On that name I stake my claim.
I can’t stop this pursuit.
Mayudama-san speaks in faux Kansai dialect.
