A Family Day Out on Mount Takao

I was utterly exhausted last night.

The exhaustion wasn’t just physical before sleep; it persisted even while I slumbered.

As Chen Ran slowly roused himself from bed, he could almost hear his brain gurgling and sloshing around like a muddled mess.

Every joint and muscle in his body creaked and groaned, sounding like an ancient, decaying house settling on its foundations.

“I’m so tired…”

He couldn’t help but let out such a sigh of weariness.

Fortunately.

It seemed that with his current 15 points in Endurance and Strength, his physical prowess far surpassed that of an average person.

Thus, merely sitting on the tatami mat for a few minutes proved sufficient.

Gradually, Chen Ran felt his once-scattered “soul” finally coalesce back within his body.

Soon after, a message from Jiang Zilin arrived.

[Xiao Ran, Xiao Ran, are you awake yet~]

[I’m up.]

[Hurry and come for breakfast, then we’re going hiking, hiking, hiking, hiking (#^.^#)!]

[…]

Jiang Zilin, brimming with boundless energy, was clearly overflowing with anticipation for their outing today.

After resting for a few more minutes, Chen Ran finally rose to wash up, took a quick shower, and changed into a clean set of clothes before stepping out.

In the hotel’s breakfast restaurant, he found Jiang Zilin and Jiang Lengleng already seated and eating.

The older sister, as always, maintained her furtive demeanor.

Only her hoodie had changed color, shifting from yesterday’s deep brown to a sky blue, and the mask covering her face was now white instead of black.

At that moment, she pulled her mask up slightly, concealing her nose, and was daintily nibbling on fried eggs and sausages.

As for Jiang Lengleng,

The young girl wore simple grey capri pants and a short-sleeved white shirt, paired with black athletic shoes, her golden-blonde hair tied back in a single ponytail, presenting the image of an effortlessly youthful and beautiful maiden.

Chen Ran quickly took a seat and accepted the breakfast the two sisters had prepared for him in advance.

It was a sandwich, a rice ball, milk, and a fried egg with sausages.

The taste, of course, was merely passable.

How delectable could hotel breakfast possibly be?

“Sigh, if only there were a kitchen in the room; otherwise, nothing beats big sister’s cooking.”

Jiang Zilin’s soft murmur was met with unanimous agreement from both Chen Ran and Jiang Lengleng.

It was already past nine o’clock after breakfast.

By then, Chen Ran had largely recovered, feeling as though he had finally returned to reality from some “peculiar world.”

The early autumn sun, nearing October, still shone with fervent warmth; the weather was splendid, promising an excellent day for hiking.

They soon located the starting point of the trail.

With his usual foresight, Chen Ran had already purchased several bottles of water and stored them in his day bag.

The entire route up Mount Takao (TL Note: 高尾山, Takaosan, is a mountain in the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan.) wasn’t particularly long; according to online guides, one could reach the summit in at most two hours.

But…

Observing Jiang Zilin, who had barely started ascending the stone steps, walking for less than five minutes, before she began gasping for air as if on the verge of collapse, her entire body limp as she draped herself onto him.

Chen Ran knew this was precisely how things would inevitably unfold.

He exchanged a glance with Jiang Lengleng.

The beautiful young girl, not even breaking a sweat, clearly wished to feign ignorance of her mortifying sister, swiftly turning her head to admire the increasingly vibrant red maples blanketing the mountainside.

“Wuwuwuwuwu, help me, Xiao Ran… Big sister is going to die…”

“…”

Such was the fate of an otaku (TL Note: A Japanese term for a person with an obsessive interest in popular culture, often anime, manga, or video games, often implying a reclusive lifestyle.) who spent every day lounging at home, either indulging in sweets or glued to their phone.

Though she did occasionally tidy the house.

Yet, Jiang Zilin’s meager daily exercise regimen was clearly next to nothing.

However, Chen Ran had long anticipated this very situation, and so…

“Then I’ll carry you, Sister Xiaolin.”

“Okay!!!”

He knew it would come to this.

The soft, pliant woman promptly hopped onto his back.

His hands supporting her thighs, he felt the soft flesh pressing against his back, slightly deforming under the pressure, making Chen Ran even more acutely aware of just how “plump” she was.

Lewd, utterly lewd!!

Whenever this happened, Chen Ran inexplicably felt an urge to playfully smack Jiang Zilin’s bottom or her chest… or something similar.

The mere thought of it brought a strange sense of satisfaction.

“Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph~ Xiao Ran is the best, MUA!”

She playfully pretended to kiss his cheek, though with the mask between them, he felt absolutely nothing.

Still, it hardly mattered.

Chen Ran motioned to Jiang Lengleng, and they resumed their ascent.

The mountain trail was carpeted with fallen autumn leaves; though the sun blazed warmly, the occasional flutter of withered branches and leaves drifting down served as a constant reminder that autumn had indeed arrived.

Carrying Jiang Zilin on his back, however, proved to be no great challenge for Chen Ran.

Given his current strength, sufficient to push a truck, the woman on his back felt almost as light as cotton to him—a soft, yielding, yet warmly comforting kind of cotton.

Consequently, throughout their journey,

Chen Ran carried Jiang Zilin, even finding time to be directed by her, admiring the scenery while using the snacks and drinks he carried to feed little squirrels or monkeys.

Mount Takao was home to many monkeys, and there was even a dedicated monkey park nestled within the mountain.

However, Chen Ran and the two sisters didn’t specifically visit it; instead, they stopped at a temple halfway up the mountain, where they partook in a vegetarian meal and viewed the statue of a red-nosed Tengu (TL Note: 天狗, Tengu, are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion and are also considered a type of Shinto god or yōkai (supernatural being). They are often depicted with both human and avian characteristics, typically with a long red nose and wings.). It was said to be a legendary yōkai (TL Note: 妖怪, yōkai, are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore.).

Chen Ran couldn’t quite grasp why a yōkai would be associated with a temple, let alone have a divine statue erected in its honor.

He was told it was because training Tengu resided on Mount Takao, akin to what he understood as “mountain gods” or similar entities.

They rested for a while at the temple named Yakuo-in Yukiji (TL Note: 薬王院有喜寺, Yakuo-in Yukiji, is a Buddhist temple located on Mount Takao, famous for its association with Tengu.).

They also bought the local specialty, “Tenguyaki” (TL Note: 天狗焼, Tenguyaki, is a local sweet from Mount Takao, similar to taiyaki but shaped like a Tengu.), which was similar to taiyaki (TL Note: 鯛焼き, taiyaki, is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, usually filled with red bean paste.) but shaped like a Tengu and filled with distinct black bean paste.

The taste was quite pleasant, as it wasn’t overly sweet.

After a prolonged rest,

They set off again nearing one o’clock in the afternoon, and in just about an hour, they reached the summit of Mount Takao by shortly before two.

This was considered a relatively slow pace.

It wasn’t due to Chen Ran carrying Jiang Zilin; rather, it was because throughout the hike, both Jiang Zilin and Jiang Lengleng were constantly snapping photos with their phones.

In truth,

It wasn’t just the older sister.

The younger sister, who spent every day either studying or studying, had also rarely been on vacation trips.

Consequently, both sisters were perpetually thrilled, whether they arrived at a renowned scenic spot, a popular “check-in location” (TL Note: A place that people visit and post about on social media to show they’ve been there.), or simply encountered a beautiful vista.

They simply had to take a photograph.

Sometimes Jiang Zilin or Jiang Lengleng would take individual shots, sometimes they’d pose for a sisterly photo, and occasionally they would even pull Chen Ran into the frame.

Upon reaching the summit, Jiang Zilin even made a video call to their mother, Jiang Ruohua, and then, holding her phone, planned to take a family photo with her sister Jiang Lengleng and Chen Ran.

She asked her younger sister to request a passing elderly gentleman to help them, and he took several photos in succession.

Looking at the photos, the sisters Jiang Zilin and Jiang Lengleng, with their eyes curved into crescents of joy, each clung to one of his arms, while holding up Jiang Ruohua’s image on the phone to his chest, all of them flashing “V” signs.

This made Chen Ran feel a profoundly real sense of happiness, a feeling he identified as “family.”

Hmm…

This, indeed, felt like a normal world.