Volume 4 (Novel)

is the fourth novel in the Otherside Picnic series. It was released in Japanese on December 19, 2019 and December 27, 2020 in English. The series is written by Iori Miyazawa and illustrated by shirakaba.
== Synopsis ==
Winter is coming.
Having been attacked by a group that worshiped Satsuki Uruma, Sorawo and Toriko head to the cult's former base—the Farm in the Mountains. The other world is still chock full of all kinds of dangerous mysteries, but the allure of exploring the unknown is ever present. Sorawo prepares for more adventures with Toriko, but the most terrifying of threats is silently closing in on them. Not to mention the fact that it seems there's something Toriko needs to tell Sorawo...
There's no turning back now—a whirlwind of bizarre exploration and survival is upon them!J-Novel Club Synopsis
== Chapters ==
* File 12: The Matter of That Farm
* File 13: Pandora in the Next Room
* File 14: The Inviting Hot Springs
* File 15: Overnight on the Otherside
== Additional Content ==
* Works Referenced (Vol. 4)
== Summaries ==
====== File 12: The Matter of That Farm ======
Broad Chapter Summary: The girls, Migiwa, and a military group explore the Farm and deal with remaining anomalies. Sorawo requests management of the site, intending to use it for Otherside exploration, and strange Sorawo-related phenomena appear.
Characters in order of appearance: Toriko, Kozakura, Sorawo, Migiwa, Runa's Cultists, DS Labs Doctor, Sasazuka, Torchlight, Falling Man, Fourth Kind #5, Kudan, Cow Woman 
Locations: Kozakura's house, DS Labs, the Farm, the Otherside (various) 
Summary of Parts:
# Toriko, Kozakura, Sorawo, and Migiwa clean up Kozakura's house. We see a flashback of Toriko removing the mind control from Runa's cultists.
# Sorawo and Toriko head to the Farm alongside Torchlight, a private military corporation working with DS Labs.
# Sorawo explains that the Farm was built to replicate ghost stories.
# Torchlight backs up the Girls in their exploration of the complex. Sorawo realizes that the fourth kinds here have escaped, and warns the group about one particularly dangerous one.
# Sorawo discovers a connection to the Otherside in one of the rooms, and has Toriko close it, confirming that phenomena are indeed leaking through here.
# Inside a bunch of rooms, various strange phenomena and connections are discovered, and closed, while having effects on Torchlight. The group discovers the Falling Man, and dispose of him, then #5, a vicious Fourth Kind, attacks and is killed. Sorawo ponders the dangers of the other world.
# At the Round Hole, the group confirms the gate to DS Labs still exists. Migiwa ponders destroying the Farm entirely from the danger, but Sorawo offers to take over management of the place. Migiwa will consider the offer.
# Sorawo and Toriko stay back at the Farm to check the place over again, but also to assess its use as a gate hub to the Otherside. Sorawo and Toriko discuss Toriko's increasing affection, with Sorawo's density blinding her to the obvious.
# The girls find several usable gates. They discuss their intention to continue exploring the Otherside, even though Satsuki is a lost cause, and how they mean to stay together no matter what.
# They notice a smell in the Cattle Barn building, and discover a Kudan warning that the "Red Person" is coming, and a Cow Woman that calls Sorawo cursed, horrifying Sorawo when she recognizes them as wearing her father's and grandmother's appearances.
====== File 13: Pandora in the Next Room ======
Broad Chapter Summary: A strange phenomenon next door to Sorawo's apartment causes her to stay at others' houses, until she and Toriko can deal with it.
Characters in order of appearance: Natsumi, Sorawo, Room 103's Occupant, Akari, Red Person, Kozakura, Toriko 
Locations: Ichikawa shop, Sorawo's apartment, Akari's house, Kozakura's house, Room 103 
Summary of Parts:
# Sorawo gives the AP-1 to Natsumi for upgrades and customization.
# Arriving at her apartment, Sorawo spots a strange neighbour going into the next door room, and strange phenomena begin to surround her house.
# Sorawo gets poor sleep, and Akari offers her house if Sorawo's place isn't comfortable. 
# Sorawo resolves to take an active stance in the intrusion, but a Red Person appears... and Sorawo awakens an hour later, and calls Akari.
# Akari lets Sorawo stay, but Natsumi is jealous and defensive, coming to guard Akari from Sorawo's theoretical advances. 
# Sorawo asks Kozakura for a room for the night.
# Sorawo stays with Kozakura, but strange phenomena follow and terrify Kozakura, who huddles in bed for protection. Toriko arrives in the morning, upset at Sorawo.
# Toriko calms down after a while, and offers her apartment to stay at, but Sorawo would (jokingly?) rather bring Toriko over to hers. 
# Toriko and Sorawo look around Sorawo's place and confirm nothing out of the ordinary.
# They go to Room 103 and discover the Pandora, or Kinkisaki, phenomenon, based around a mirror-turned-gate. Sorawo has a strange vision in the mirror, until Toriko breaks it and the phenomenon disperses. The girls plan to stay the night at Sorawo's apartment - but what will Toriko be wearing?
====== File 14: The Inviting Hot Springs ======
Broad Chapter Summary: Sorawo and Toriko visit a hot springs hotel with Kozakura, and the Girls have a heart-to-heart leading Sorawo to admit love for Toriko.
Characters in order of appearance: Kozakura, Sorawo, Toriko, Mannequins 
Locations: Kozakura's house, Ikebukuro, Chichibu, Chichibu hot springs, Interstitial Space 
Summary of Parts:
# Kozakura gives Sorawo and Toriko a pair ticket to hot springs, but Toriko and Sorawo get flustered and invite Kozakura.
# The flustered girls plead with Kozakura to come along, and she eventually relents.
# The three meet to go on the vacation.
# The group takes the train to Chichibu, and Sorawo reflects on the awkwardness and momentous feelings that led them to invite Kozakura.
# They arrive at Chichibu and check in at the hot springs.
# The group begins the vacation, with Toriko and Sorawo being anxious and awkward around each other.
# Sorawo, Toriko, and Kozakura go to the bath, with Toriko's attraction towards Sorawo and other women evident, while Sorawo's own confused attraction towards Toriko present as well. The group make it to the onsen, though Toriko overheats easily. Sorawo discusses the Otherside with Kozakura, and the probability of Sorawo having some kind of attachment that was manifesting phenomena, like the Kudan and Satsuki.
# The group has a big dinner, and they all go to bed, though Toriko and Sorawo wake up late at night for a 2 AM bath. The two have a heart to heart in the bath, with Toriko reiterating her love for Sorawo, and Sorawo reciprocating in a somewhat uncertain manner. Toriko promptly ruins the mood, but the two quickly realize that the people in the hotel have been replaced by mannequins, which stalk and chase them until they discover the phenomenon's source.
# Sorawo and Toriko wake up screaming, but with evidence that the whole sequence really did happen, with Kozakura none the wiser.
====== File 15: Overnight on the Otherside ======
Broad Chapter Summary: Sorawo and Toriko prepare for an overnight journey across the Otherside, and while staying at an abandoned love hotel, they encounter the Red Person and share their first kiss.
Characters in order of appearance: Sorawo, Toriko, Natsumi, Kozakura, Kudan, Cow Woman, Red Person 
Locations: Ichikawa shop, Kozakura's house, Christmas Highway, Abandoned Love Hotel, Farm River Gate
Summary of Parts:
# Natsumi returns the souped-up AP-1 to the girls, who take it to the Otherside for a test drive.
# Sorawo and Toriko build a garage for the AP-1, and Sorawo reflects on the hot springs, her slow realization that Toriko is into girls, and her own uncertainty of what to do with the situation.
# The two camp out next to Kozakura's gate and search out the spotlight they left by one of the Farm's gates, their next destination for a new road. They manage to find the light, and sleep through the night on the Otherside.
# The girls plan their expedition on a snowy December day, and set out in the right direction. Toriko gets pat and called a good girl, at her request.
# Some time into the journey, Sorawo spots a Kudan statue on a ridge. They travel onwards and encounter a Cow Woman made of glass lying across the road. Night falls on the Otherside, and the girls travel towards a bridge that never gets closer, while kudans and the cow woman keep appearing. They encounter a Kudan with Sorawo's face.
# Sorawo and Sorawo-Kudan speak about the Red Person and fire, until Toriko shoots the Kudan. A ruined love hotel appears from Sorawo's memory, and the girls go inside to spend the night and take shelter from the snow. Wielding an axe and crowbar, they search and secure the hotel, promising to hold a Love Hotel Girls' Party as Toriko calls Sorawo's bluff, and go to sleep.
# Sorawo wakes up in the middle of the night to find Toriko missing, and a Red Person at the door. The Red Person hugs Sorawo and causes her to relive slightly warped memories of her childhood, and seems to nearly take her away from Toriko. However, Toriko attacks the Red Person with an axe, as Sorawo realizes that the Red Person tried to make her *burn herself alive* and nearly separated her and Toriko. After the Red Person is defeated, Sorawo nearly goes crazy imagining the possibility of reuniting with her family on the Otherside, and demands Toriko slap sense into her. Instead, Toriko kisses her, tongue and all, and reminds her that they share "the closest kind of relationship in the world" and that Toriko loves her. The girls go to sleep together, holding hands.
# The next morning, the two play in the snow of the other world, and they finish the journey. Toriko gives Sorawo a christmas present, a pair of knives with a bird and fish symbol on each of them, and dubs the path the girls took "Christmas Highway".
== Illustrations ==
Novel Cover 4 Clean.png|Cover — Clean
Volume 4 Insert 1.png|File 12: The Matter of That Farm
Volume 4 Insert 2.png|File 13: Pandora in the Next Room — 1
Volume 4 Insert 3.png|File 13: Pandora in the Next Room — 2
Volume 4 Insert 4.png|File 14: The Inviting Hot Springs
Volume 4 Insert 5.png|File 15: Overnight on the Otherside
== References ==
Category:Novel