Again, Yuta-sensei and Azuki were given use of an empty hut while Shota scoured the pine trees for seeds and found a roost. This hut's usual occupants were in town with their families. The charcoal burners worked on some kind of complicated shift system, with some in the woods, some in town and some in transit at any given time. Rikuto, who seemed to lead this group, explained it to Yuta, but Azuki was too tired to follow. They'd been told they were welcome to use the bedding and supplies in the charcoal burners' vacant hut.
There was no hot spring, so Yuta bathed from a bucket while Azuki helped cook, and she took her turn after a dinner of the prized Matsutake mushrooms, some grilled and some stewed with root vegetables, miso soup, a few pickles, and, as always, grain, this time millet.
