While Senya was dealing with the Twilight Police Department and Officer Sato from the Metropolitan Police Department, Nanami Hashimoto was climbing Mt. Fuji with her teammates.

Mt. Fuji is known as "Mt. Sei" by the Japanese people and is a symbol of the Japanese nation. As one of the national symbols of Japan, it is well-known around the world. It is also often referred to as "Hibiscus Peak" or "Fugaku" and "Fuji Kakuto". Since ancient times, the name of the mountain has often appeared in the traditional Japanese poem "waka". Japanese poets once praised it with poems such as "The jade fan hangs upside down in the East China Sea" and "Fuji white snow reflects the morning sun".

Mt. Fuji is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. It is currently dormant, but geologists still classify it as an active volcano. Since records began in 781, there have been 18 eruptions, the last of which was in 1707, and has been dormant ever since.

Nana Hashimoto, who loves to read, also knows that the Japanese government is applying for Mt. Fuji to be eligible for the World Heritage List, and if successful, it will become Japan's 17th World Heritage Site.

Mt. Fuji is divided into 10 stages from the base to the summit, each of which is a "hinge", which is called the 5th station from the foot of the mountain to the halfway up the mountain, and then climbs up from the 5th station to the 6th station, the 7th station, and the 10th station to the summit. There is a place for visitors to rest at each station, and the bus can go up to the "5th station" at a height of 2,305 meters. From the 5th station, it usually takes a few hours to reach the summit. Nowadays, it is only open for one month from July to August every year to reach the summit, and the rest of the time is not open for maintenance.

This time, thanks to the blessing of the operation and a thousand nights, Nanami Hashimoto and others enjoyed the special treatment of climbing the summit of Mt. Fuji once in February. Looking up at the white snow that covers the entire summit of Mt. Fuji, even in Hokkaido, which is known as the "Land of Snow", Nanami Hashimoto, who has become accustomed to snow, has developed a fear of snow for the first time.

Wearing a heavy mountaineering gear, Nana Hashimoto felt the weight of the backpack on her back, and Nana Hashimoto, who was on two trekking poles, walked up the snow with one foot deep and one shallow foot. And Mahiro Kawamura, Kazumi Takayama and Sayuri Matsumura, who were dressed in the same way as Nanami Hashimoto, followed behind Nanami Hashimoto, and walked forward with the same deep and shallow feet relying on the two trekking poles in their hands.

At this time, Mt. Fuji is covered in snow and the roads are buried under the snow. Originally, they were not allowed to climb the mountain under such harsh conditions, but when Nanami Hashimoto and others arrived at the Asama Taisha Shrine in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, last night, they only showed the letter written by Senya to the Shinjo of Asama Taisha, and the Shinjo enthusiastically arranged for them to stay at Asama Taisha and personally arranged for today's climbing. Not only did I arrange for them to be guided by experienced professional mountaineers, but I also personally accompanied them to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji early this morning and climbed Mt. Fuji with them.

They were now on their way from the 5th to the 6th station, and the road was relatively gentle, and the ground was ash, which was not too difficult to walk because of the snow cover.

Nana Hashimoto gasped for a moment, feeling her red nose that had been frozen, and asked the Shinji of the Asama Taisha Shrine on the side, "Shinji-san, why did you come to climb the mountain with us?" You don't have to come in person for something like this, do you? ”

The Asama Taisha Shrine Priest, who looked to be middle-aged, smiled a little breathlessly and said, "Miss Hashimoto is polite, since it was arranged by that Chiba-sama personally, I have to come in person no matter what, which is the respect for that adult." The Shinzo of the Asama Taisha Shrine took a breath and continued: "What's more, the practice of the snow picking ceremony is presided over by the Shinjo of the Asama Taisha Shrine himself, so I can't do it if I don't come." ”

Hearing the explanation of the Asama Taisha shrine priest, Nanami Hashimoto could only nod and say no more. Although I was puzzled by the priest's mention of Chiya, the thin air and cold temperature on the mountain made Nanami Hashimoto, who was already in poor health, feel a great burden, so he could only suppress his doubts in his heart and continue to walk upward.

After an hour's trek, Nanami Hashimoto and his entourage, under the leadership of a professional mountain guide, successfully passed the 6th station, and after a short break to adjust the state, they headed towards the higher 7th station. From the 6th station, the road began to become a little steeper, and the slope gradually increased, and Nana Hashimoto did not feel that her pace, which she had still had a lot of room for, became a little heavy.

Behind her, Mahiro Kawamura, who is good at dancing, and Takayama Ichimi, who has been practicing kendo for many years, are still in good shape, and although they are a little short of breath when they listen to it, there is no problem. And Matsumura Sayuri seems to be a little unable to keep up with the team, and gradually falls behind. Nana Hashimoto didn't stop and shouted to Sayuri Matsumura: "Sayuri, are you okay?" Matsumura shook his head and raised a hand to make an "OK" gesture to indicate that he had no problem.

Seeing that Matsumura Sayuri said that he had no problem, although Nanami Hashimoto still had to write about it, he could only choose to believe Matsumura Sayuri and continue to climb upward. It takes a lot of time to climb Mt. Fuji, but it takes even more time in winter. Although they woke up early today, they didn't have enough time to rush back to Tokyo for tomorrow's prayer ceremony.

Nanami Hashimoto looked at the road sign indicating the altitude on the side of the road, and asked the guide who was leading the way in front, "Guide-san, how long do we have to walk?" ”

The guide looked up at the road signs, raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and said, "We are walking the shortest Fujinomiya Exit Line, and if we come during the climbing season, we can reach the top of the mountain in about four hours." But it's winter, and considering the snow and road conditions on the mountain, it will take us about 5-6 hours to reach the top. We've been walking for more than an hour now, almost a fifth of the way. ”

Hearing the guide say that he had already walked a fifth of the way, Nanami Hashimoto did not feel relaxed. Nana Hashimoto, who had searched the trail last night, didn't know that although the Fujinomiyaguchi Line is the shortest route to climb Mt. Fuji, the short distance also means that the mountain will be steeper. At this point, they have completed the smoothest part of the road, and the rest of the road will become more and more difficult.

By the time Nanami Hashimoto and his party arrived at the 7th station, the cinder-like lava ash pavement had turned into a rocky pavement, and the soft snow had begun to turn into a hard ice sheet. Due to the season, the hiking huts and shops on Mt. Fuji are closed at this time, so Nanami Hashimoto and others can only sit on the side of the road and take out the food they carry from their backpacks and hot water in thermos flasks to replenish their energy and strength.

Nana Hashimoto looked at the videographers carrying various photographic equipment with some admiration, and it was amazing that they not only had to climb Mt. Fuji like herself, but also had to resist the heavy photographic equipment while climbing and shooting under such harsh conditions. Thinking of this, Nana Hashimoto took out a pack of chocolate chips from her backpack, handed it to the cameraman on the side and asked, "Camera-san, do you want some chocolate?" The cameraman waved his hand a little shyly, because he was still filming, the cameraman did not speak, but his eyes still showed gratitude to Nanami Hashimoto.

Seeing that the cameraman said that he didn't need it, Nana Hashimoto had no choice but to hand the chocolate in his hand to Takayama Ichimi, who looked a little pale on the side. Looking at Takayama Ichimi's pale face, Nanami Hashimoto asked, "Kazmi, how are you?" You okay? ”

Takayama Ichimi turned out the chocolate that Nana Hashimoto had not handed over, and put one into his mouth and said, "It's nothing, it's just a little out of breath and my head hurts a little." It's good to take a break. Mahiro Kawamura, who was sitting on the side, also reached out and took a chocolate into her mouth, her face was a little pale, she tilted her head and leaned aside, and she looked a little out of breath.

Seeing that the two people who are physically fit on weekdays are in this state, Nana Hashimoto looked at Matsumura Sayuri without some worry, but found that Matsumura Sayuri, who was originally weak and seemed to be a little unable to keep up with the team, was eating the food he was carrying and did not show physical discomfort.

Nana Hashimoto looked at Sayuri Matsumura with some surprise, a little surprised by her performance, but did not express doubts. Everyone's physical fitness is different, and even people with good physical fitness may not perform better in the mountains than people with poor physical fitness. Nana Hashimoto was a little worried about whether all four of them would be able to reach the top of the mountain together for the ceremony.

After resting for a while, Kazumi Takayama and Mahiro Kawamura, who had replenished their energy, although their faces were still a little pale, they also recovered their state, which made Nanami Hashimoto let go of the worries in their hearts.

Under the guidance of the guide, Nanami Hashimoto and his party headed towards the top of the mountain again.

The trail from the 7th station to the 8th station begins to have rocky terrain that requires both hands and feet to cross, and it is more difficult to climb than usual due to the snow and ice cover. Even with the guidance of a guide, Nanami Hashimoto and others had a difficult way up the trail, and almost everyone slipped and fell because they stepped on snow and ice sheets. Rubbing her knees that had hit the rocks because of the fall, Nanami Hashimoto couldn't help but stop, and said with some complaints: "Why don't you repair this section of the road, the mountain road is too difficult to walk." ”

The Shinzo of Asama Taisha on the side heard Nanami Hashimoto's words and said with a wry smile: "Although the land of Mt. Fuji from the 8th station up belongs to our Asama Taisha Shrine, the mountain trail is not within the scope of the main shrine, and it is said that the mountain path was not built to protect the original ecological environment of Mt. Fuji." ”

Nana Hashimoto didn't hear the words of the priest of Asama Taisha, and while she was shocked that Mount Fuji actually belonged to Asama Taisha's private property, she could only continue to stand up with a wry smile and climb up.