After finishing breakfast, we began gathering our things and preparing to pack up.
"Yuji, what’s the right way to clean up this stove?"
"Wait until the firewood burns down to white ash, then carry it over to the ash disposal area," he explained.
"And the stove itself? We can't just leave it like this, right?" Hiiragi-san asked.
"Once you've cleared the ash, just cover the spot with some soil. If you leave the stones stacked neatly, it'll serve as a marker to show the next person where the fire spot is."
Following Yuji's instructions, I peered into the stove. There were still a few bits of wood that hadn't completely burned out, so I'd have to leave the final cleanup until they were gone. I decided to focus on the other gear first.
I started with the cookware I'd pulled from my Spatial Storage. I wanted to put it all back while the privacy tent was still up.
"Yuji, Hiiragi-san. Bring me the cooking supplies from yesterday. I'm going to start packing them away."
"Sure thing. I'll bring over the stuff we've finished washing," Yuji called back.
"It’s probably best to sort our personal items now, isn't it?" Hiiragi-san added.
"Yeah, that’ll make it much easier to find everything later. Please do."
I began stashing the unused gear inside the tent. Yuji brought over the pots and dishes that Hiiragi-san had treated with her Cleansing skill, and I filed them away one by one. We hadn't taken out that much to begin with, so the task was over in minutes.
"The tent's still wet with night dew. Wipe the surface with a towel and leave it in the sun for a bit to dry. If we fold it up while it's damp, it'll be a nightmare next time we use it," Yuji advised.
"I doubt it'll dry completely in such a short time. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, a little humidity is fine. We’ll just hang it up properly once we get home before we store it for good."
"Got it."
I wiped down the exterior of the tent. I managed to get most of the droplets off, but the fabric itself had absorbed quite a bit of moisture. It would definitely need some proper sun to dry out entirely.
Once I was sure the tent was positioned in the best sunlight, I went back to check on the stove.
"Alright, it's all burned down. Yuji, can you give this a look?"
The wood had turned into white ash, though a few pieces still held their shape. Yuji peered into the stove and gave one of the charred remains a light poke with the tip of his shoe. It crumbled instantly, sending a small cloud of ash into the air.
"It’s ready. Let's dump the ash and clear the site."
"On it."
Yuji, who knew the way to the disposal area, bagged up the ash and headed off. While he was gone, Hiiragi-san and I covered the site with sand and moved the stones back to their original positions. By the time Yuji returned, all traces of the stove had vanished.
"Stove is done. Last thing is the tents... How's it looking, Daiki? Dry?"
"Still a bit damp. Better than before, but not perfect. How about yours, Hiiragi-san?"
"Mine is the same. Hirose-kun, should we just fold them anyway?"
"Yeah... if we wait for them to dry fully, we'll be here all day. Let's just pack them up and finish the job at home."
With Yuji’s somewhat reluctant go-ahead, Hiiragi-san and I began the process of striking the tents. The moisture made them a bit stubborn to fold, but we had them packed away in about five minutes.
I was definitely getting the hang of this.
"Alright, cleanup complete."
The site was finally empty, looking exactly as it had when we first arrived. It was just before 7:00 AM. We’d all made sure to get an early start.
With the campsite cleared, we headed toward Koarashi’s log house.
"Hey, Yuji? Are you sure about this?" I asked, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Hm? Sure about what?" Yuji tilted his head, looking genuinely confused.
"I mean... it's barely past seven. If we just show up this early, won't we be a nuisance to Koarashi-san?"
"Oh, is that what you're worried about? It’s fine."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I ran into him when I went to dump the ash earlier. I told him we'd be coming by for the boar meat."
...First I'd heard of it. Honestly, if he'd already touched base, he could have told me sooner. I looked over at Hiiragi-san; she was letting out a small sigh of relief as well. Communication is key, man!
"You could have mentioned that!"
"My bad, my bad. I thought I already had." Yuji raised a hand in a casual apology. He was definitely taking this a bit too lightly for my taste.
My slight annoyance evaporated the moment I saw Koarashi outside his log house, busy splitting wood.
"Koarashi-san!"
"Hm? Oh, Hirose. You lot all packed up already?"
"Yes. We've come for the boar, just like I said."
"Right, right. Well, hold your horses. I've only got a few logs left here. Give me a minute to finish up."
He gestured to a small pile of logs resting nearby. Yuji glanced at us for a second before calling out to him.
"We can help with that."
"Oh? You sure?"
"Yeah. With three more pairs of hands, we'll be done in no time. Right, guys?" Yuji looked at us with a 'you're helping, right?' expression.
The sudden suggestion caught me off guard, but I didn't really mind. I gave him a nod.
"I don't mind, but I've never split wood before."
"I haven't either," Hiiragi-san admitted.
"It's easy. I'll show you the ropes."
"Alright then, I'll give it a shot."
Seeing that we were on board, Koarashi pointed to a shed next to the house. "If you're helping, there are spare axes in the shed over there. Grab those."
Yuji went over and fetched two axes similar in size to the one Koarashi was using.
"Just be careful not to hurt yourselves. If it feels like too much, just leave it," Koarashi warned before returning to his work.
"Okay, watch me first," Yuji said. He set a log upright on the chopping block and gripped his axe. "You don't need to try and split it in one go. First, just give it a light tap to let the blade bite into the wood."
He lifted the axe slightly and let it drop, using the tool's own weight. The blade sank into the top of the log. When he lifted the axe back up, the log came with it.
"Then, you just swing it down again like this..."
With a few controlled strikes, the log split perfectly in two.
"Whoa... impressive." He barely looked like he was using any strength at all.
"Just keep doing that until the pieces are the size you want."
"That's nothing like I imagined," I said. "I thought you were supposed to swing it over your head and slam it down as hard as you could."
"Yeah, that's a common mistake. That’s how people lose their grip or have the wood fly off and hit someone. It's dangerous."
That made a lot of sense.
"Alright, your turn. Give it a try. Experience is the best teacher, after all."
"Right. Let's see how this goes."
I took the axe from Yuji and aimed for one of the halved logs.
Once the wood was split, we followed Koarashi to the dismantling shed. It was time to skin the meat that had been cooling overnight and cut it down into manageable portions.
"Alright, the meat’s cooled down nicely. First step: we take the skin off."
"Yes, sir!"
"Start by making an incision at the ankles. Peel the skin back from there and keep going until you hit the neck. Once you're there, we'll take the head off with the skin still attached. Give it a go."
Koarashi handed me a skinning knife. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a second to center myself, and focused.
"Alright... here goes."
I touched the blade to the boar's ankle and began the work.
An hour and a half later, under Koarashi's careful instruction...
"Good work. For your first time, you did a damn fine job."
We all let out a long, collective breath as we stood before a massive pile of boar meat, all neatly packaged in portions.
"That is a lot of meat..." I muttered.
"Well, it was a big boar. Though... being that size, the meat's going to be a bit tougher than the younger ones," Koarashi said with a note of regret.
"Does size affect the quality that much?" I asked.
"For boars, the ones around sixty kilograms are usually the most tender and flavorful. Once they get over eighty, the texture starts to get pretty firm."
"Huh..."
We all nodded in unison. That was the kind of practical knowledge you only got from someone who actually did this for a living. When you're buying meat at the supermarket, you look at the brand or the origin, but nobody ever thinks about the weight of the animal it came from—unless you're a professional chef, I suppose.
"So, if you're going to cook this, I'd recommend stews or braised dishes," Koarashi suggested.
"Understood. We'll do that."
I'd been thinking about grilling it, but I figured I should take the expert's advice. Stew, huh? Maybe a boar curry.
As we were staring at the bounty, Koarashi suddenly let out a bit of a mischievous chuckle. "Anyway, you guys handled it well for beginners. You want to try it again sometime?"
"Ah, well..." I started.
"I think I’m good for a while," Hiiragi-san said, her voice a bit thin.
"Maybe if the opportunity arises," Yuji added with a polite, non-committal smile.
To be honest, I was perfectly happy not seeing the inside of a dismantling shed again for a long time. Koarashi just laughed at our reactions.
"I’ll take my share as promised, then."
"Please, go ahead. There's no way we could finish all this ourselves anyway."
We packed as much as we could into our bags along with cold packs, leaving the rest for Koarashi. He mentioned he had a large commercial freezer back at the log house, so the surplus wouldn't go to waste. He even took the bones and the hide, claiming he had uses for them. I couldn't even imagine what those might be.
After thanking him and saying our goodbyes, we left the camp and started the trek back down the mountain.
"...Is it safe?" I whispered after a while.
"I think so," Yuji replied, checking our surroundings. "I don't sense anyone nearby. Hiiragi-san?"
"Nothing. The coast looks clear."
"Okay, let's put the meat away. Even with the cold packs, carrying raw meat in this summer heat is a recipe for disaster."
We stepped off the path into some tall brush. I quickly transferred the meat from our bags into my Spatial Storage. The cold packs were already starting to feel a bit soft; a standard backpack was no match for the midsummer sun.
"Alright, that’s better."
"That was close. Those packs were already melting."
"It would be such a waste to lose all that meat after we worked so hard for it," Hiiragi-san added.
With our bags significantly lighter, we resumed our hike. By the time we reached the road leading to the station, we still had plenty of time before the next train.
"Hey, Yuji? We made pretty good time. Are we just going to hang out at that empty station until the train shows up?"
"Actually, I was thinking... do you guys want to make a quick detour?"
"A detour? Where to?"
Yuji pointed in the opposite direction of the station.
"A hot spring. It’s a couple of stops away along the line, and they allow day guests even at this hour. We didn't get a proper bath yesterday, so I thought maybe..."
"Let's go!"
Hiiragi-san didn't even let him finish. She had her hand up before the words were out of his mouth.
"We are going. Absolutely. We're going right now!"
"Uh... Hiiragi-san?"
"Neither of you is going to say no, right?"
She was smiling politely, but she was radiating a strange, overwhelming intimidation that made it very clear that 'no' was not an option. Yuji and I both felt our lips twitch as we nodded frantically in silent agreement.
"It's settled! Hirose-kun, lead the way. If we run, we'll be there in no time, right?"
"Ah... yeah. It's about a ten-minute drive, so if we push it, we can get there pretty fast..."
"That's practically next door! Come on, move it!"
And so, practically driven by Hiiragi-san, Yuji and I began running toward the hot spring. I have to admit, the place Yuji found—a lukewarm alkaline spring—felt incredible.
Thus, our sudden camping trip came to an end, leaving us with valuable lessons and a whole lot of souvenirs.