SWNOVELXO Chapter 35
Chapter 35. The Weather Over There, The Weather Over Here (2)
Inari-san brought me some tea in a teacup.
“Please, have a seat over there.”
I was guided to a chair at the small table beside the counter and obediently sat down.
Green tea and rice crackers. Suddenly, I found myself thinking of my late grandparents.
“It’s coming down pretty hard now, huh?”
Hearing that, I turned my gaze to the window. It wasn’t a downpour, but the rain was steady.
“Well, the weather and climate are almost the same, so I can see why people get confused.”
A crisp crunch echoed as I bit into a rice cracker.
“We didn’t explain enough on our end, either. Sorry about that.”
According to Inari-san,
over there, just like here, there are four seasons, but the temperature extremes aren’t as severe. That said, it still rains, and snow falls in winter. However, typhoons don’t come. No hurricanes or cyclones, either.
“Though, once in a while, some idiot pisses off a spirit, and you get crazy storms or droughts. Oh, right—tornadoes can be created with wind magic. They do occur naturally, too, but…”
“Wait, what?”
“Lately, I haven’t heard of any incidents, so it should be fine.”
“Did you just say… magic?”
“I did.”
Well, the tablet itself is kinda like magic, right? Now that I think about it, didn’t they say I don’t have any magical power? But more importantly—
“Did you just say… spirits?”
“I did.”
“…So, those exist?”
“Yep. I mean, gods exist, so it’s only natural, right?”
“…Oh. Right.”
The one right in front of me was a god.
I’d completely forgotten.
“I’ve never seen one before… Huh, so they are real.”
(Even when they’re right in front of her, she can’t see them… Poor things.)
At least now I knew the weather over there had nothing to do with the weather here—that was a relief.
Still, if rain could fall and snow might come in winter, I’d better prepare for it.
“I should head back before the rain gets worse.”
“Right. Oh, wait—”
Inari-san stepped away again and returned holding something—several vacuum-sealed lumps of meat, each slightly larger than a palm.
“These’ll keep for a while, but try to eat them soon.”
“What’s this?”
“Venison and wild boar from a hunting buddy the other day.”
…Whoa. Game meat.
I’ve never had it, but I’ve seen it on TV and videos. Come to think of it, I did buy some fancy seasonings for camping—maybe I could try using them.
“Ah, thank you.”
I accepted it gratefully and placed it on the passenger seat.
Oh, right—I should fill up on water. I grabbed one of the water jugs and headed to the spigot. The forceful stream from the tap made me sigh—no way that droplet’s filled up yet, huh?
I got a little wet from the rain, but when I got back to the car, Inari-san handed me an assortment of rice crackers, saying, “Here, take these too.” Not that I minded—I was just happy. Oh, right, was there any green tea left?
And so, I continued driving slowly through the rainy campground.