***

Today would be the local hunters’ first day on my mountain, and they would be coming over every day until the end of the year.

Brrr. Cold. I opened the glass door and peeked outside to check whether there was frost or snow on the ground, as I’d been doing every day recently.Whew, looks like it’s frost. I always get nervous—the ground in front of the house is not paved, so frost also makes it all white. I bet there wouldn’t be any frost if it were paved.

“It’s so cold...”

In this weather, simply getting out of my futon was an ordeal. There was probably a risk of thermal shock too, with how cold the hallway was. The bathroom was reasonably warm, but you felt a huge difference in temperature as soon as you stepped outside.

“Maybe I need a heater in the hallway too...”

I should at least leave it running while I’m bathing. Might not help that much, but I figure it’s better than nothing. My only concern is that Yuma might knock it over. She’s pretty big...

The hunters had said that they’d be bringing their own food for lunch, but I thought I should at least prepare some miso soup for them. I added tofu, seaweed, and konjac to a large pot. The konjac, cut diagonally into cubes, was something of a jack-of-all-trades veggie for me—I used it in stir-fries, stews, and even in miso soup. (I understand that it has almost no calories or nutrients, but whatever. It shouldn’t be a problem as long as I’m not eating too much of it. Plus, I like it.)

Before long, the hunters arrived. I’d already told the chickens that they’d be coming, and that was