The old man's spirit body in front of him was short in stature and had a soft voice. Zonggu had to lower his head and get close to her to hear what she said clearly.
"Although I have passed away from this world, I returned here unknowingly..."
He repeated the old man's words, and Kurihara Narumi listened blankly.
"Really...is it grandma?"
"Of course." Soya said, "I don't need to deceive Kurihara-san about this kind of thing."
"Is it true?" she asked again.
This person is a bit too suspicious.
Soya turned his eyes and realized that there were tears on Kurihara's face, staring intently at the emptiness in front of him.
"..."
He sighed silently.
"It's true."
"I have never met Kurihara-san before, and I have never met Kurihara-san's grandmother. If she is as tall as here on my chest, her short hair is neatly trimmed, and she has age spots here and here on her face..."
Kurihara was already crying.
The white clouds in the sky have gone forever, and the setting sun has lengthened the shadows of the woods.
Before Kurihara stopped crying, neither Soya, Yoshikawa nor the kind-faced spirit said anything.
...
It was already dusk when I left Kurihara's house.
Standing on the stone bridge he passed when he came here, Zonggu watched the setting sun until it completely sank under the horizon before turning around and leaving.
"I'll get it."
He extended his hand to Yoshikawa.
"Need not……"
She shook her head and picked up a large bag of fresh vegetables in her hand.
"I can still hold it."
Being able to carry it and walking easily are two different things, but Sogu didn't force it, after all, he was carrying the same amount of vegetables in his left and right hands.
These are Kurihara Narumi's thanks to the two of them for coming here today.
The incident she entrusted was not complicated, or it could be said that it was just a misunderstanding caused by the inability to communicate between the two parties. It had been perfectly resolved with Soya's intervention.
Kurihara's grandmother just passed away last year. After the spirit consciousness returned, she returned to her hometown unknowingly. Because she didn't want to disturb her family, she chose to linger outside.
"Meimei gets scared every time she passes by here, so I wait for her here."
When Soya relayed these words to her, Kurihara Narumi, who finally stopped crying, hid her face again.
Back to the present.
After sunset, the sky quickly turned dark, but Soya and Yoshikawa were still walking on the road in the countryside, and the street lights dozens of meters apart were not yet lit.
"...Looking at it this way, Kurihara-san's home is really far away from the station." Yoshikawa suddenly said.
Zong Gu looked back at her, "Can't you carry it anymore?"
"..."
She changed her hand to hold the bag, "It's okay."
He waited for her to follow, "Don't force it."
"Is there anything I can do? We can't let Sogu carry everything by himself..." Yoshikawa paused and looked at his hands again, "I guess he can't hold it, right?"
Zong Gu looked at her without saying anything.
After walking for a while, he suddenly realized that someone was missing beside him.
Looking back, I saw Yoshikawa squatting in the middle of the road.
"The station is really far away..."
She opened her hands and showed him her palms. Both sides were red.
Souya sighed.
Although they were all the freshest seasonal vegetables, it would cost a lot of money to buy them in the supermarket, but Kurihara's gifts were too many, so maybe some of them had to be discarded here... He suddenly noticed the vegetable patch on the roadside.
"Yoshikawa."
"What?"
Zonggu put down the bag he had been carrying, shook his hands, and took a short rest.
"See that?"
Yoshikawa turned his head and looked at the vegetable patch next to him, "What...scarecrow?"
"Um."
"What happened to the scarecrow?"
She looked at the dressed and hooded dummy in the vegetable field, her eyes suddenly widened a lot, "Can Zonggu make it move and help carry the vegetables back?!"
"..."
Her whims almost led Zonggu astray.
"No. How could the scarecrow move?"
Yoshikawa was immediately discouraged, "Oh."
She stood up, "So, what happened to the scarecrow?"
"I want that log."
Soya pointed at its body, "It can be used as a carrying pole to carry back these two big bags of vegetables. I can also carry Yoshikawa's bag."
"..."
Yoshikawa was stunned for a while, "What about the scarecrow?"
"Replace it with this one."
Zonggu kicked the dead branches on the side of the road, "It's not enough to be used as a pole, but it's enough to support a scarecrow."
"Is this really okay..." She struggled and looked around again, "What if I'm discovered?"
"I will be scolded."
"That……"
"That's why I asked Yoshikawa to get it."
"..."
She glared at him.
But after all, it was Soya who was going to contribute in the future, and this was not a big bad thing, so Yoshikawa agreed after hesitating.
Just as she was about to go down, a small truck came from behind and stopped on the side of the road.
"Hello."
The window rolled down and the driver was a middle-aged man with a beard.
"You are students, right? What happened?"
"..."
Yoshikawa was almost caught in the act and looked at him blankly, speechless.
"Excuse me."
Zonggu picked up the bag and walked over, "My relatives gave me too many vegetables, and we can't carry them anymore. Can you give us a ride?"
"Oh, okay."
The bearded man nodded first, and then said: "But I still have something to do, so I can't send you too far."
"Just get to the station."
"That's no problem, let's get in the car."
Including the driver's seat, this minivan only had two seats. Considering safety issues, Sotani asked Yoshikawa to sit in the front passenger seat, while he and Vegeta sat in the back compartment.
"..."
Yoshikawa didn't get into the car, but held his uniform sleeve with one hand.
Zonggu was slightly startled, then smiled helplessly.
"I'm sorry." He looked at the driver, "She is more afraid of strangers, so just let me sit in the back with her."
"is that so."
The driver looked at Yoshikawa, who had his head lowered, and didn't mind. "What a lovely girlfriend. Then please pay attention to your own safety, I won't drive too fast."
"OK."
Soya bowed slightly, thanked him again, and then pulled Yoshikawa to the back.
Three big bags of vegetables had been put into the cart. The two of them climbed up one after another and sat down holding on to the fence.
"Are you seated securely?" the driver asked.
"No problem."
The pickup truck restarted and started driving Soya and Yoshikawa on the country road at a speed that was neither too slow nor too fast.
"..."
Zongya turned his head and looked to the side, and Yoshikawa leaned on his shoulder.
"Saved."
"Um."
"Take all these vegetables Zonggu back." She stretched out her legs and tried to pick up the bag of vegetables with her toes, "Including my share."
"Too much will not fit in the refrigerator and it will be wasted."
There was a slight bump in the carriage. Sogu looked at the mountains in the distance that were gradually turning into black shadows and said, "I'll help Yoshikawa take it back later."
She neither agreed nor refused, her head leaning on his shoulder swayed back and forth with the bumps of the car.
"Sogu..."
"Um."
"Do all people who die come back as spirits?"
"It depends on luck."
"Really?" Yoshikawa looked at the same sunset with him, "Has Soya seen any spiritual beings near my house?"
"No. I was wearing an amulet when I went last time."
"Then let's take a closer look today."
Zong Gu nodded, "Okay."
"Do you want to go back after dinner?"
"It's better not to disturb me."
She curled her lips.
It takes half an hour to walk, and it takes less than ten minutes to hitchhike.
Back in the city, Soya and Yoshikawa got off the bus at an intersection a little distance from the station. After all, this was against the road traffic law.
Saying goodbye to the bearded driver, the two of them walked the rest of the way carrying the vegetables and finally got on the return tram.
It's already dark outside.
Soya looked at the opposite car window, looking at Yoshikawa and himself reflected above.
"So sleepy..."
She closed her eyes, "I feel like I'm about to fall asleep... Zonggu can't fall asleep."
"Yeah." He should be weak.
"If you fall asleep, these vegetables will be stolen."
"..."
Although it didn't last long, Zonggu immediately became energetic and sat upright.
Yoshikawa laughed, opened one eye again, and looked at Soya in the opposite car window and himself leaning on his shoulder.