To start, we walked slowly to survey our surroundings. It wouldn't have been wise to suddenly break into a full-speed dash before we even knew what the terrain was like.
Just as Yuta-san had pre-emptively warned us, the interior of the mountain—which he’d described as almost entirely untouched by human hands—was choked with tall undergrowth and cluttered with unmaintained, haphazardly growing trees that made visibility poor. There was nothing resembling a proper road, only a few narrow paths that looked like animal trails. The fact that there were so many suggested there was a fair amount of wildlife in the area.
"There really hasn't been much human intervention here. The whole mountain feels even more overgrown than I expected," Yuji remarked.
"Yes. I’m told this mountain was originally used for forestry, but this specific area went out of business around the beginning of the Meiji era," Yuta-san explained. "Apparently, it has been left as a wild mountain ever since."
"I see. But I'm pretty sure I learned that the domestic forestry industry only started declining after the war because of the massive influx of cheap foreign timber. In the early Meiji era, shouldn't there have been enough demand that they wouldn't need to go out of business?"
"Well, housing at the time was almost entirely wooden, and I don't think much foreign timber was coming in yet. So, it’s not that the demand for domestic timber disappeared... but the times were what they were."
"The times were what they were?"
While listening to Yuji and Yuta-san’s conversation, I took the lead, checking our direction on the GPS as I pushed through the brush to forge a path up the mountain. For the record, our current formation was me in the lead, followed by Yuji, then Yuta-san, with Hiiragi-san bringing up the rear.
Once we’d finished assessing the site conditions, the plan was for Yuji to carry Yuta-san on his back and run to our destination. That was why Yuta-san still had the composure to chat right now.
"It was the transition from the Edo to the Meiji period, so there was a lot of confusion," Yuta-san continued. "The person who ran the forestry business on this mountain used to deliver timber to the domain, but when the Abolition of the Han System happened, their transactions were suspended for various reasons. I heard their business became unsustainable and they were forced to close."
"Suspended transactions... that sounds like things got ugly."
"Apparently, the people running the forestry here had deep, exclusive ties to the domain and were conducting rather aggressive, monopolistic trade—possibly even under-the-table deals. They were quite resented by others in the industry, and when the Abolition of the Han System came, they were hit with a wave of retaliation... or so the story goes."
"I see. No matter the era, if you run an unscrupulous business, it’ll eventually come back to haunt you," Yuji noted.
It was a common enough story. Even in modern companies, when a new management structure is established, people who were arrogant or wielded power through sheer force often end up being ousted by those they previously looked down upon. For a corporate employee, that would mean being sidelined or forced to resign; for a forestry business back then, I suppose it meant their performance tanked until they folded. I guess human nature doesn't really change much across the ages.
Letting out a soft sigh, I continued clearing the undergrowth and moving through the mountain while listening to them talk. And then...
"Alright, this should be enough for our status check. I’ve got a general idea of how poorly maintained the mountain is."
"Emphasis on 'poorly.' The underbrush is annoying, but it's not enough to stop us," Yuji added.
"Then we can proceed without issue. That being the case, Yuta-san..."
"Right... I'm in your hands."
When Yuji spoke to him in a light tone, Yuta-san took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Then, with a look of firm resolve, he gave Yuji a slight nod. Given what was about to happen, that was the only appropriate expression to make.
Taking a lesson from our previous experience, Yuji used a harness-style piggyback aid—the kind used in nursing and rescue—to stand up with the now-resolved Yuta-san on his back. Aiding himself with the harness, Yuta-san secured his body and clung on, trying to put as little burden on Yuji as possible.
"Are you okay, Yuta-san? Is the belt digging in or hurting anywhere?"
"Yes, I’m fine. Are you okay, Yuji-kun?"
"Yeah, no problem. When we go to dungeons, I sometimes carry things heavier than you, so don't worry about it."
"It helps to hear that... Alright, the camera is working fine too. Well then, everyone, I'm leaving it all to you."
Now that the preparations for transport were complete, the main event of our journey began. There was still plenty of tall undergrowth, but since we could just push through it with our enhanced strength, it wouldn't be a problem.
I double-checked the destination on the GPS. Alright, let's go!
Ten minutes after we started running with Yuta-san on Yuji's back, we reached the vicinity of the mountain's summit. At first, we couldn't build up much pace because of the brush, but we gradually got used to it. It wasn't a particularly high mountain, but it was still about 500 to 600 meters. The trees were a bit of a hindrance, but since it was an open area, the view was quite good.
That said, something else was weighing more on my mind.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... somehow. I’m just glad I took my medicine beforehand."
I was talking to Yuta-san, who was looking rather nauseous, his face a pale shade of green.
Even though he had taken motion sickness medication, the continuous, violent up-and-down motion of a high-speed mountain ascent seemed to have been brutal on him. Since it looked like pushing him further would be difficult, Yuji unfastened the harness and lowered Yuta-san to the ground. His complexion was better than last time, so the break probably wouldn't need to be long.
"Let's rest for a bit. The path ahead looks like it'll be even more grueling than what we just came through. Look."
I showed everyone the map on the GPS monitor. On the map of the surrounding area, numerous lines were running across our path, drawn in a dense cluster. Those lines were, of course, contour lines. And the fact that they were so densely packed meant...
"This... looks like a very steep slope."
"You're right. With contour lines this bunched up, isn't it basically a cliff?"
Yuji and Hiiragi-san both squinted as they looked at the monitor. If we wanted to take the shortest route to our destination, we would have to pass through a zone where the elevation changed drastically. We could avoid it if we took a detour, but the steep area was so wide it made you wonder if the mountain had been split in two. A detour would be a significant loss of time.
As we were staring at the map, Yuta-san, who had recovered a bit, offered additional information.
"Just as the map shows, once you get past the summit, it becomes a steep slope... basically a cliff. Normally, you'd have to follow the ridgeline to find a way down, but..."
"You're wondering if explorers might be able to handle it?"
"I can't say for sure you can, but seeing the abilities you've shown me so far, I have a feeling that maybe..."
Yuta-san looked at us with a mix of resignation and a slight hint of expectation. I wished he wouldn't look at us like that; we'd never scaled a cliff before.
We looked at each other with troubled expressions, wondering how to respond.
"Haha, I can't say we can do it when we haven't even seen the place yet. We might be able to handle a bit of a slope, but a cliff? That sounds pretty difficult."
"I see, you're right..."
"Well, for now, we'll take a look and then decide. If we think it's impossible, we'll go down along the ridgeline, even if it's a detour."
Yuta-san seemed a bit disappointed by Yuji's answer, but we really couldn't commit to descending a cliff we hadn't even seen.
While we were waiting for Yuta-san to recover, a bush a short distance away rustled. The sound of leaves rubbing together reached our ears. What’s more, the source of the rustling was moving, gradually getting closer to us.
"W-What is it?"
"..."
Yuta-san noticed the movement and cried out in surprise, while the three of us wore expressions of weary annoyance. We cast pitying glances toward the moving shrubbery.
Then, from behind the bushes, the culprit revealed itself.
"A-A bear!?"
"Sigh..."
Emerging from the brush was an Asiatic black bear with pitch-black fur. Just as the materials had indicated, they really were here. Or rather, it just had to show up.
Yuta-san let out a shout of shock and backed away, his face twisted in terror. Meanwhile, the three of us let out heavy sighs, looking at the bear with the kind of pity you’d feel for someone about to make a huge mistake.
"Guaaaah."
The bear let out a low, echoing growl to intimidate us. It wasn't an "I'm going to kill you" vibe, but more like a "Get out of my house" kind of roar. We had likely wandered right into its territory.
To be fair, if you come this far into the remote mountains, you're in the realm of beasts. Even if it was just a path to our destination, if a bunch of strangers barged into its territory, it was only natural for it to be on guard. In this case, we were the ones in the wrong.
"W-W-W-What should we do?! A bear! We ran into a bear! It’s going to attack us!"
"Please calm down, Yuta-san. It's okay. It doesn't look like it's going to pounce immediately, so let's just leave without provoking it further."
"But it's right in front of us! It's growling and everything! Can we really get away safely?!"
"Please, stay calm. If you make too much noise, you'll agitate it, and then it really will attack us."
"!?"
Hearing Yuji's warning, Yuta-san fell silent, covering his mouth with both hands while casting terrified glances at the bear. For an ordinary person, that was the correct reaction, but I really needed him to stay quiet.
If this bear did attack, we would have to deal with it. It would be too pitiful if the bear was just trying to drive out intruders, only to be dealt with because someone's screaming made it lose its cool.
"So, we're going to leave right away. Sorry for barging in like this," Yuji said, looking directly at the bear.
"Guaaaah."
The bear looked momentarily frightened when Yuji addressed it. However, as if summoning its courage, its trembling legs took a step forward, and it let out a roar as if responding to Yuji while meeting his gaze.
It seemed the bear understood the massive gap in our combat strength. As expected of a wild animal, its instincts were sharp.
"However, we'll probably pass through here again on the way back, so I'd appreciate it if you'd look the other way then."
"Guaa."
I don't know if it understood the words, but since Yuji spoke gently and showed no hostile intent, the bear seemed to realize we weren't enemies. it let out a roar in response, radiating an aura of profound relief. I'm sure the bear was regretting showing itself to us, even if it was to protect its territory.
With the "negotiations" concluded, Yuji shifted his gaze to Yuta-san, who was staring in utter shock. For the record, Hiiragi-san and I were keeping an eye on the bear just in case it made any sudden moves. Because of our stares, the bear was casting us terrified glances as if to say, We reached an agreement, right? Please?...Well, it was probably just my imagination.
"Let's go, Yuta-san."
"..."
"It's okay to speak in a low voice now. I've already... sort of reached an understanding with him."
"I-Is it really okay?"
Yuta-san, who still hadn't quite processed the situation, kept his eyes fixed on the bear as he whispered to Yuji. He clearly didn't believe for a second that we were safe. Being told Yuji had "reached an understanding" with a wild bear probably sounded like gibberish to him.
"It’s fine... Now, get on."
"O-Oh, right."
Yuta-san, looking dazed, climbed onto Yuji's back and let himself be secured. In less than a minute, we were ready to go.
"Alright, here we go."
"Y-Yeah."
After calling out to Yuta-san, Yuji also spoke to the bear still standing there.
"Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Bear. We'll be going now."
"Guaa."
In response, the bear let out a roar that sounded almost like a sob, as if saying, Just please leave already. At that moment, I actually thought I saw tears in its eyes.
After we walked slowly away to avoid further stressing the animal, I thought I heard the sound of something big and heavy collapsing to the ground behind us... but well, it was probably just my imagination.
It’s always best to avoid a fight if you can.