After meeting up with Mika and Mamura, we walked around for a while and searched for a while before we found Rina, who was drowsy. She sat in the back row, wearing a thick padded jacket, like a tightly wrapped rice dumpling, and lying on her side on the knee of an adult woman, and she could not be spotted without looking closely. It was only when she waved at us that we spotted her.

"I'm sorry, Rina caught a cold yesterday and hasn't recovered yet. Originally, I didn't allow her to go out today, but this child said that he had made an agreement with you to play together, and now he missed the appointment because of a cold, so he must apologize to you in person. So I'm so sorry, I can't let her play with you, and after I apologize to you, I'll have to take her back to rest and wait until she's well enough to come and play with you, okay? ”

The woman is Rina's mother, and she bows her head apologetically while gently stroking Rina's soft hair with her hand to prevent her from standing up. So Rina had to continue to lie down, her face was pale, but she still tried to make a spirited appearance, smiling: "I'm sorry (ごめんね), I really can't play with you anymore." Ori, Sa, Mika, and Mamura, I'm really sorry (申し訳ございません), because I don't know when it will be good, and I have to miss the appointment to participate in the competition together. ”

(In Japanese, the first sentence is a normal apology, and the second sentence is a solemn apology.) Although I also have a headache with the polite language of neon people, it is still quite interesting when it is reflected in the spoken language, and the Japanese language is just to reflect the character and fit the general environment as much as possible, so don't blame it. ）

"Rina, it's okay, none of us will blame you. It's just a very ordinary thing, but it makes you so worried, I should apologize to you. ”

I bent down slightly and apologized to Rina and her mother, "And Auntie, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. ”

"How can there be such a thing, it is Rina who has caused you trouble. I hope you can continue to be with Rina in the future. ”

Rina's mother smiled and shook her hand, looking happy.

"Yes, Rina, don't think about it, take care of yourself. We can still participate together next year. ”

Mika squatted down to face to face with Rina, and she touched Rina's head comfortingly: "I have to get better quickly, if Rena is not there, I will feel lonely." ”

I said...... If you can stop doing this, I'll get better sooner. ”

Rina didn't slap her hand away, just glared at her weakly.

"Rina, good morning."

Saya squatted down in front of Rina, she reached out and gently tugged Mika's sleeve, signaling not to harass Rina: "Rina, is there anything you want to eat?" We can bring some for you in the afternoon. ”

Mika retracted her hand stupidly, and since her habit of pretending to be a big sister was exposed, her prestige seemed to have plummeted.

"Sure enough, it's still yarn the best, not like some people."

Rina teased, and then nodded gratefully, "Although I really want to eat water yokan and soba noodles, they don't seem to be very suitable." Thank you very much, but I don't think I can eat anything solid these days, and it will be a problem if I infect you with a cold. So forget it, I hope I can make it to the last day of the snow festival when I have a good cold. ”

"That's right...... Narina should have a good rest, we will help you get a souvenir. I'm sorry (ごめんね), we can't help you with anything, we can only pray that you will get back to health as soon as possible. ”

"Don't say that, I'm already glad you could help me get a souvenir. Really, I'm so happy. So you have to have a lot of fun and cheer for the game. ”

The conversation between the three girls made people smile heartily, and I stepped forward and gently pulled the collar of the yarn and Mika, interrupting their conversation: "Okay, if you continue to talk like this, it will be endless, and it is not a serious illness, and you will recover after a day or two. Sa, Mika, let Rina go back and rest, otherwise it will be more serious by then. ”

"It's too much, don't worry about me at all."

Rina stood up with her mother's support, and she looked at me with slanted eyes.

"I'm worried, but it's useless to worry. Just like Sha said, I can only pray that you will recover quickly. ”

I shrugged my shoulders, it wasn't a little joke that I couldn't handle.

"Rina, get some rest."

After Mamura, who was on the side, also greeted Rina, Rina left with her mother.

"There are only four people left."

As soon as Rina left, I couldn't help but sigh, I should have been happy in such a good entertainment festival, but I couldn't be happy, but I felt physically and mentally exhausted.

"Eh, isn't it five? Fold, what about your sister? ”

Mika was surprised that I hadn't told her and Mamura about Shizu's participation in the competition.

"She didn't attend."

"Why?"

"There are some complicated reasons, and it's not easy to explain."

I couldn't explain the complicated things that happened between me and Shizu, but I didn't want to lie and deceive Mika and Mamura, so I had to choose to be vague. Although the two children were a little confused, they were very smart and did not ask again.

"So let's sign up first, and then we'll go and visit the store. No problem, right? ”

After adjusting my mood a little, I recovered from my troubles, and for a person who used to work in psychology, adjusting one's mood is the most basic technique. If necessary, I can even let myself forget all my worries and related memories for a short time, and make myself feel high.

"I think it's better to practice first."

Mika raised her right hand "hi", she exhaled and made a serious suggestion: "Mom said that the food will be more delicious after labor, on the contrary, if you don't eat it, it will become difficult to eat." ”

"Nobody said they were going to eat."

Mamura glanced at Mika with disdain without a trace, and the sneaky look was funny. Of the six of us, Mamura and Kokoro are both a little afraid of Mika, Mamura because the bugs he collected were brutally killed by Mika, and Kokoro was saved by Mika when he almost fell down while climbing a tree, which belongs to fear because of respect.

"Huh? What do you do when you go to the store without eating? ”

Mika didn't see Mamura's disdainful eyes, otherwise she would definitely teach Mamura a hard lesson.

"Not to mention the question of having breakfast not long ago, it's impossible to eat even if you really want to eat now. At this time, the adults have not yet started to prepare food, and if they do, they will not have anything to eat until at least noon. ”

Seeing that Meijia was still a little confused, I explained to her: "After the store is built, there will be a showcase, and we will practice after watching the performance." Mijia shouldn't have been to a show, right? ”

"Why! I watched it last year! ”

Meijia argued loudly unconvinced.

"Yes, yes, so are there any questions?"

I shrugged my shoulders slightly, lifted the subject, and asked their opinion again as a sign of respect. Yarn shook her head, she has always rarely expressed her opinion, usually she follows what others do, but if she doesn't like it, she will stand aside and watch, neither giving an opinion nor getting involved.

"No problem, it's just that there are only four of us left, can the ice sculpture do well?"

Mamura shook his head, he had been looking at the ice under his feet with great concern since just now, and there were a few small fish swimming around.

"It's okay, I originally planned to hand over the polishing work to Jing and Rina, but it's the same if I do it, and it's not a big burden."

I plan to carve a goldfish about one meter high, one of the more complex is the chiseling of the fins and body scales, because the color of the ice itself is relatively monotonous, the light and shadow changes are weak, so the wheel gallery must be more prominent, the lines must be extremely clear, so that the carving signs are clear. Therefore, there is not much work done in the grinding work, and basically the whole work can be completed by one person with the assigned file, which is a very easy link.

"I want to hurry up and practice."

Mika hung her head and muttered, if it was a thousand-year-old comic, it would be pitch black above her head, haunted by resentment. I pretended not to see it and raised my hand: "Since it's okay, let's go." ”

After agreeing on the agreement, we walked in the direction of the gate of the ice palace, where a male person in charge of the town office sat with a table and chair, and the contestants received a special registration sheet from him and filled in their names on the paper.

Most of the people in line were adults, and even if they had children, they were much older than the four of us. When we lined up, many people threw curious or strange glances at us, and some adults smiled and nodded at us from time to time, which made people want to retreat.

Fortunately, both Sa, Mika, and Mamura were much bolder than children of the same age, and they were not deterred by this kind of battle.

The queue was not very long, so it was soon our turn, and after the male person in charge took a look at us, he scratched his head and handed me the registration paper to me standing in front, and said casually: "Remember to ask your parents to sign it with mana, otherwise it won't count." ”

"Thanks, I see."

I bent over him and walked away with them.

The registration paper is about the size of A4 paper, and there are three boxes, which need to be filled in with the applicant's name, the project to be registered, and the adult's magic signature. We each put our names in the box above, and then I filled in the second box for the project I signed up for.

After doing this, I took my three children to find the parents who were still sitting in their seats, and asked them to write their names on the paper with their magic.

"Is it here to sign?"

Mother looked at the paper, and after I nodded "En", her lips trembled a few times, and then the words "White Stone Branches and Leaves" appeared in the three boxes under the paper, the font was twisted and twisted, and it looked very strange, but it had a strange beauty, as if it had become the oldest hieroglyphs.

It is said that this font is the standard font for writing using mana, and it is difficult to imitate the same strokes if you write it by hand.

"Tick, here you go."

After writing, the paper floated out of thin air and hung lightly in front of my father. The father held his chin and looked at it, and muttered, "Well", "Shall I also participate in the competition and give it a try?" Leaf, what do you think? ”

"Honey, I'll cheer you on."

The mother smiled, as if there was an air of malice, so the father suddenly extinguished the intention of participating, and without saying a word, he left his name on the paper with the power of the spell.

"That's it."

"Well, then you should pay attention to safety when you play, don't get hurt. Fold, you are more mature, you have to take care of them. ”

"Yes, okay."

My father handed me back the registration paper, and I listened to his advice while nodding my head again and again, like a chick pecking rice. Meijia beside her puffed out her cheeks: "Uncle, don't underestimate people." In terms of age, I'm a year older than Ori! I should take care of him! ”

It's not a lie, Sasae and I were both born in August, Mamura was born around June, and Mika was born in January. She had just turned seven years ago, so she was a year older than all three of us. It is precisely because of this that she likes to pose like a big sister from time to time.

"Is that so? Meijia, then I'll leave my family's fold to you. ”

The mother smiled softly at Mika and said comforting words to the child. However, Meijia easily believed it, and she patted her chest and swore an oath: "Don't worry, I will protect the folding and yarn." ”

"Where's the real village?"

Yarn inquired curiously, without any malicious intent.

"Mamura depends on the mood."

Mika smiled and threw Mamura out of the scope of protection, and Mamura on the side pursed her lips and looked at her with contempt. The two of them looked so funny, so I

I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh.

"Then we'll go first."

After waving at my parents, a few friends and I set off to find their parents, with the goal of getting their autographs. After working hard for a while, the problem was solved, and then the queue returned the written registration paper to the man in charge.

After checking the signatures, he handed each of us a delicate hexagonal snowflake badge, which was considered a souvenir of the competition.

At this point, the registration is over. We wore a hexagonal snowflake badge on our chests as we headed northwest of the venue, where a long silver-white line loomed into view.

If you look closer, you can see that there are a row of uniformly formed igloos that have been erected, and these igloos are about 100 or so, planned in the shape of a cross, with four ice-carved arches.

According to the direction, the eastern doorpost is wrapped with a long green dragon, the southern lintel stands proudly with wings soaring, the west left door sits a mighty and majestic white tiger, and the north right door has a thick and huge Xuanwu.

There are four elephants in all directions, each one is vivid, as if it is standing alive on the door and looking down on everyone who passes below, which makes people tremble.