We went to the terrace on the second floor of the Ice Palace to receive the award, where we could see the nine pillars of fire better, and even the icicles that fuel the pillars of fire were getting shorter and shorter at a rate visible to the naked eye. However, under the gaze of many people below, except for me, who has long been experienced in a hundred battles and has seen a lot, most of them are in the mood to pay attention to the melting speed of icicles.

"It's a prize, it's for the team. Be careful not to break it. ”

The woman who presented the award walked up to us with a glass ball almost the size of an adult's head, and said, perhaps because she saw that I was the tallest one in the team, so she handed it to me, and as soon as I took it, Meijia grabbed it: "Fold it, give it to me." ”

She fished the glass ball from my hand and connected to the bottom of the seat, which made me really pinch a cold sweat, fortunately the glass ball is not solid, although it looks big, but the actual weight is less than two kilograms, otherwise I am really worried that she will accidentally drop the prize in front of everyone.

"It's a trophy and it's a team share."

The woman pretended not to see Mika's movements, and shoved the golden trophy on another tray to me, but this time Mika finally didn't reach out and grabbed it, and I held it in my hand for the time being. After that, we were each given a medal made of glass, with our work engraved on the front and back, as well as the top view of the entire ice city, which looked so beautiful that both Rina and Sasa, not to mention Mika and Mamura.

"After that, your winning work will be placed in the most prominent place, on the roof of this ice palace."

A middle-aged man who looked a little similar to Shiyin Aoyama explained to us the role of ice sculptures, and then turned to the townspeople below and said, "Let's congratulate these children, they have a very good aesthetic and hands-on ability, and they will become excellent talents in the future." ”

After a brief remark, there was applause that was neither warm nor cold. I saw my parents up there, smiling at them, and I waved at them too, which caused a good-natured laugh to sound below.

After the awards, we walked down the Ice Palace, and then the town kagashimi Ukei stepped forward to say a few more words, and finally announced the official start of the Ice and Fire Dance.

"Beautiful!"

Mega unveiled a film covering the prize glass ball, and the sealed glass ball revealed a model of the ice city that looked flawless, looking like it was completely reduced to the same scale of the ice city under its feet and then loaded into the glass ball, and every building inside was meticulously detailed, the small details such as stairs and railings were clearly visible, and even the goldfish ice sculpture we carved on the top of the ice palace in the center could be found.

She held the glass ball high and shook it, and a thin "snowflake" suddenly floated inside, and after falling down, it covered the building, as if it was really a heavy snowfall, decorating the already crystal clear ice city into a dazzling silver-white.

"Let me see!"

Zaoji and Rina both came over, and several boys were also full of curiosity, but they didn't dare to get too close to the opposite sex, so they had to stand on tiptoe and watch from the side. With the help of superhuman eyesight that has already surpassed the excellent level, I can see the light inside the glass ball clearly, and I am secretly amazed by the wonder of the magic power and the superb skill of the Kadoki Shoxing, such a glass ball would have become a famous treasure if it had been placed thousands of years ago.

"It's really enviable......"

After looking at the glass ball, Shiyin Aoyama dragged out a long tone in my ears, as if it was my fault that I didn't win the award. Her younger brother Aoyama Ritsu pulled her sleeve and comforted her softly: "Sister, if I return the one you gave me, you won't be unhappy." ”

"Xiaolu, I've already given it to you, my sister can't rob her brother's things. And it was originally given to me by my father, and it didn't make sense to get it so easily—everything I wanted had to be obtained by myself. What's more, this year's one was made by Mr. Kasaki, and the meaning and level are completely different from the previous ones. ”

Shiyin Aoyama touched Ritsu Aoyama's head, fully reflecting her posture as a sister. Ritsu smiled like a gentle sheep: "Sister is so nice. ”

"Of course, Xiao Lu is my most precious brother."

Shiyin Aoyama took her brother into her arms and rubbed Ritsu's cheeks dotingly, but soon stopped doing so and apologized apologetically to her brother: "I'm sorry, Ritsu is so cute, and occasionally I can't help but want to do something more intimate." “

"It's okay."

Ritsu's cheeks were red, and her soft appearance was particularly pleasing.

I was a little envious of this scene of friendship between sister and brother, this kind of sister-brother relationship was much more normal than my relationship with Jing, and it would be nice if Jing could learn from Aoyama - of course, it would be nice to be too intimate in moderation.

"Their brother and sister have a good relationship."

Sha held the trophy I handed her, hugged it tightly in her arms, and looked at the eyes of the two siblings. I smiled, "It's good." But in a few years, when your sister grows up, your sister's relationship will be very good. ”

"Yes."

As if immersed in the beautiful imagination of a few years later, the yarn showed a faint smile.

"Sister?"

After reading the glass ball, Maria heard me talking to Saya when she came over, and her eyes also became shining: "So I also have a sister, although it is from the sister (いとこ), but she will also call me sister, right?" Brother Zhe, right? ”

"Yes."

For me, who used to be the only child in the family, but now I have an older sister but no younger siblings, the emotion of having a younger brother and sister is difficult to experience. But it's not completely incomprehensible, after all, I've been in contact with a lot of only children who are upset when they have more siblings, and their mentality about this is probably not explained by happiness alone, but has more complex mental activities and thoughts, and at the same time, self-positioning will also be shifted - all in all, Saya and Maria are probably the kind of children who can face their hearts calmly.

"That's nice."

Truth Ya tilted her head and thought for a moment, her eyes turned around me and Sha: "Speaking of which, Brother Zhe, do you think I should ask you to do anything?" ”

"Truth, don't mess around, it'll cause trouble."

Yarn scolded Truth softly, which surprised me a little, I couldn't see that Yarn's delicate character actually had this kind of majesty that belonged to her sister. But it's one thing to have majesty, it's another to be able to scare people.

Maruya stuck out her tongue and smiled narrowly at Sa, "Is Sister Saa going to give up that request in the morning?" If you want to lose the bet, Brother Zhe won't cheat, right? ”

"It's not too much to ask, and I'll comply."

I shook my head quietly, and although I had no intention of playing tricks, it was impossible for anyone to make overly mischievous demands, and of course it would not be possible to give in to any request.

"Then I want you to invite Sister Jing to dance as a couple, this request is not too much, right? Just invite. ”

With a smile, Truth pointed to the couples of men and women dancing under a pillar of fire, and the steps they danced were not face-to-face like social dances, but in a simpler way - the woman turned her back to the man, and at the same time stretched out her left hand over her shoulder to support the man's left hand, and the right hand naturally stretched out to the right side, resting on the man's raised right hand, so that both men and women were in a balanced state of one hand holding the other.

It's not complicated in terms of specific steps, but it just maintains a step of advancing and retreating with the rhythm of the music. Of course, there is a certain amount of rotation, but it is not intense, and it looks very relaxed and relaxed from the point of view of the action.

I've seen this dance before, called the folk dance or group dance by the nations of this land thousands of years ago, and it's generally more popular among young people and students, led by a man, and then after one or two laps around the campfire, or a tune, the female companions are exchanged. However, now, the step of exchanging female partners has been eliminated, and the transition from a group dance to a pas de deux has been transitioned.

"It's not excessive, but it's ...... Forget it, so be it. ”

I thought about it and felt that it wasn't too much of a request, so I turned to look at Sa: "Sa, can you go dancing with me?" ”

"Eh......"

Sasha was taken aback, looked at Maria, then at me, and then her cheeks were on fire, and at once they were dyed like roses. Mika, who was on the side, gave the glass ball to Mamura, crossed her arms, and glared at Mariya in displeasure. Shiyin Aoyama, on the other hand, blinked strangely, her face full of doubt, obviously not understanding why the atmosphere of the scene suddenly became strange.

Under the gaze of everyone, Saya lowered her head shyly, but still nodded her head "En" and stretched out her right hand holding the trophy in front of me.

"Let's give the trophy to Mika first."

I reminded her, and then she suddenly came to her senses, and handed the trophy to Meijia, who had "unhappy" written on her face: "Meijia, can you help you get it?" ”

"Got it."

Mika muttered, pouted and took the trophy, then turned around and snatched the glass ball from the hand of Mamura in a daze, and stuffed it into the trophy: "Anyway, it's all mine, I won't give it to you." ”

"Thank you."

Whispering a thank you, Yarn walked over again, blushing and handing her hand over. At this time, the culprit Maria finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, I glanced at her, shook my head, and then stretched out my right hand to hold the palm of the yarn, which was as slender as ever, and I could feel a soft touch even through the gloves - of course, it could also be an illusion.

I suppressed the strange feeling in my heart and pulled the veil towards the seventh pillar of fire, where there were already several couples who looked like partners holding hands, men and women, women and women, and of course men and men. They all danced to the soft music, and talked in low voices from time to time, not like dancing, but like saying something love through the atmosphere of dancing.

Seeing us coming, a pair of young women in the back nodded kindly at us, slowed down, and made a slate. I smiled at them a little awkwardly, put my left hand on the yarn on my shoulder, and held her outstretched right hand with my right hand, adjusted my posture a little more, and when I looked presentable, I took a step forward in the same way as everyone else.

Since they had not practiced with each other, the first step was to step on the heel of the yarn, she exclaimed "ah", only then did she realize that it had begun, and began to move forward in a panic, but her feet seemed to be crooked as if they were soft, so her body staggered forward and fell, but fortunately I was pulled by me and did not fall to the ground.

Once we had gained our feet, we hurried a few steps forward so as not to hinder the others' movements, but fortunately there was no laughter - as the music entered the ensemble, more and more people joined in the dancing procession, dancing in a counterclockwise direction around the nine pillars of fire. There were many beginners among the participants, so naturally not many people would be staring at the two of us.

"Fold, I'll step first, and then you will follow."

After readjusting her posture, Yarn observed the others and told me, "Don't rush, move slowly." I'll guide you well. ”

At this time, under the reflection of the firelight, I looked at the side face of the yarn from behind, and found that her face was no longer crimson, nor did she have a cramped expression, but appeared calm and calm, and the corners of her lips even gave people a feeling of full of leisure, as if she had changed a person in an instant.

"Six Senses...... Miss? ”

The inexplicable familiarity prompted me to ask inquiringly, but it did not cause the slightest change in her expression, she just squinted her eyes, and a smile that seemed to be pleasant and seemed to be teasing: "Follow my movements." ”

There was no answer, although there was no confirmation, but there was no denial.

As if falling into the abyss, I closed my mouth, and there was a trembling tingling sensation on my back, and I couldn't help but be pulled by the familiar but unfamiliar girl in front of me, moving forward like a puppet with a string.

One-step, two-step, three-step, four-step, five-step......

Pause, take a step back, take a step forward......

Repeat four times and move forward again. At the same time, my heart sank with the movements.

……