With a creaking sound, the cable car stopped at Jizo Mountain Summit.

I thought that the cold had reached the extreme, but the moment I stepped out of the cable car, the starfish was still frozen by the extreme cold on the top of the mountain, and my body trembled, and my footsteps stopped.

“……”

The back bumped into a sturdy piece of warmth.

Before she could turn back, Naruse had already grabbed her left and right arms and pushed her forward a few more steps, "Don't stop here." ”

Stepping off the cable car, he also let go of his hand and couldn't help but stomp his foot.

"It's cold! …… How can it be so cold. ”

The brief warmth on both arms was fleeting, and the starfish looked at him and then followed his gaze outside.

Outside the cable car station, there was a vastness.

The wind and snow howled at the top of the mountain were far more intense than they could be felt at the bottom of the mountain.

Hikaru Takikawa held his sister's hand and kept rubbing it, raising his voice: "The visibility is so low-"

With such a big wind and snow, not to mention the tree ice, I can't even see clearly four or five meters away.

A few steps further out, there is a sign outside the cable car station that shows that there is a restaurant on the top of the mountain, in addition to the lucky bell and the Jizo Bodhisattva statue.

"Let's go to the restaurant for a while, it's too cold in here."

"Okay—"

Hikaru Takikawa pulled Takigawa Moon in front, and Naruse looked back at Naoko, Morimi, and Starfish, choosing to walk behind them.

"Keep going—" he shouted, and Hikaru Takikawa looked back with an OK gesture.

As soon as he stepped into the wind and snow, the cold escalated again, not letting go of any loophole in several people, desperately looking for it.

Naruse pulled the zipper of his down jacket to the highest level, pressed the scarf wrapped around his neck, and when he raised his eyes, he saw the starfish in front of him shivering.

He followed, "Where's your scarf?" ”

The wind and snow blew in his face, and the starfish turned his head and looked at him blankly.

"Huh?"

"Scarf—"

"I forgot about the hotel—"

“……”

Naruse had nothing to say, and with the muddled state she had when she went out in the morning, she couldn't expect anything.

He grabbed her, took off his scarf, and stuffed it into her hand.

“……”

She opened her mouth and seemed to say something.

"What-"

She glanced at Naoko, who was walking in front, and leaned closer, "This is Naoko?" ”

"Mine."

"She knitted the ...... for you"

Naruse glanced at her and pulled away, "Forget about freezing to death." ”

"What-"

"Stand still."

He came closer, picked up the scarf in her hand, ran it through her long hair, and wrapped it around her neck.

“……”

Starfish looked at each other, and he lifted her head up again—tucking the scarf that had been circled twice into her clothes.

Realizing that the two were left behind, Naoko and Morimi in front also stopped and turned around to wait for them.

Looking at the starfish with her head raised and squinting, Morimi looked at Naoko beside her again, her expression did not change significantly, as if frozen in the wind and snow.

Wrapping the starfish in a scarf, Naruse waved his hand and motioned for the two of them and the Takigawa sisters, who had also stopped and waited for them in front of them, to move on.

After walking for a while, Naruse followed the few people who had stopped, and looked at the lucky bell that was gathered among them.

The body of the bell was already covered with thick snow, and the rope that rang the bell was also frozen stiff, and Hikaru Takikawa tried to pull it a few times, but it didn't move.

"It looks like I'm out of luck today. Let's go—"

I didn't go far, and there was a statue of Jizo Bodhisattva dressed in snow.

"It's Jizo Bodhisattva."

There is also a cash box in front of the statue, which is also covered with snow.

Naruse took out his wallet and took out a few coins to give to his companions. I couldn't throw it in, so several people stuffed it into the snow together and prayed at the same time.

"Please let the wind and snow stop sooner...... Just stop for a while, let's just look at the trees and ice on the mountain. ”

The Jizo Bodhisattva did not respond, and the wind and snow did not stop, so they could only continue to move forward.

The snow is vast, but fortunately, there are brightly colored road signs on the side of the road to guide the way.

Passing by a few skiers coming from the other direction on the way, Naruse understood that the summit restaurant was not far away.

Sure enough, after walking for a short while, a conspicuous building suddenly appeared in the increasingly violent snowstorm.

A few people quickened their pace, pushed the door in, and shut the wind and snow outside.

Morimi suddenly glanced back, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't speak.

Naruse looked at her, "You don't want to say: encountering such a warm cabin in a snowstorm is usually the beginning of some incident, right?" ”

“……”

Morimi glanced at him before turning back, but the corners of his mouth curved.

"Only you think that."

The restaurant was air-conditioned, and it was heaven for the few people who had frozen out.

Just being inside is satisfying, and the food is warm and tasty.

Rushing all the way from Silver Hot Springs to this side, the few people who had only eaten a few sandwiches in the morning were already hungry.

Naruse ordered a local specialty, Yamagata taro boiled soba noodles.

In addition to taro boiling, there are also foods such as curry rice, fried noodles and French fries to choose from, but when it is cold, it is better to eat some soup to warm the stomach, and the girls' choices are the same as him.

The interior of the restaurant is long and narrow, and the seats are set in front of the glass windows, like a bar, more like an extension of the windowsill.

Sitting on the barstool, as far as the eye can see, there is only wind and snow.

There were many customers who hid in the restaurant to escape the cold, and after a while, the first bowl of soba noodles boiled in taro was delivered and served in front of Naruse.

He sniffed quietly, suppressed his appetite, and pushed it to Naoko next to him.

Naoko smiled at him and pushed over to the starfish.

“……”

Haixing was stunned, and when she was about to emulate the two, Morimi on the other side directly pressed her hand.

"If you don't eat it, it'll be cold."

"Then I ate ......"

The aroma was pervasive, and the starfish took a deep sip and took a sip of the soup first.

In addition to the taro, the soba noodles are also filled with sliced beef, shallots, and unknown mushrooms, and the soup is extremely delicious.

She took another sip of soup, scooped up the soba noodles and put them in her mouth, the noodles were tough but not hard, and they were very strong.

The taste is solid, and the taste is rich, and the starfish can't stop after taking a bite, completely ignoring the direct gaze of the few people next to him.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, and the remaining bowls of noodles were quickly delivered.

The delicious hot soup is served with the noodles, which is satisfying and warm.

A few people were eating noodles, and the wind and snow outside the window were gradually subsiding.

As the visibility gradually improved, Naruse suddenly noticed that there were many strange-shaped trees and ice standing outside the restaurant window.

Morimi pushed his glasses, "I saw it with my own eyes, and it really looked like a frozen person......"

"With teeth and claws, I think it's more like a monster." Starfish said, wanting to go out and get up close now, but not daring to stare at it for too long, especially those with strange shapes.

When the wind and snow stopped raging, several people had already eaten and drunk enough and left the restaurant.

It's still cold outside on the mountain, which is more than 1,000 meters high, but it feels much better than when I first arrived.

Step by step, a few people walked into the snow and into the jungle of trees and ice.

The shape of the tree ice is strange, none of them are repeated, and there are all kinds of things.

Naruse looked left and right, raised his arm, and punched a tree ice in front of him.

Rustle –

A large cloud of snow fell, revealing the branches inside.

"It's not a frozen person in there." Morimi said.

"It's not a youkai either." The starfish also took a look.

Naruse smiled and turned his head to say something, when another cloud of snow fell on the ice of another tree not far behind him.

He looked up, and there was a palm growing on the ice.

“……”

The palm of a person's hand.

(End of chapter)