After rushing from the hotel to Lake Toya, Hikaru Takikawa rode slowly around the lake until about 4 p.m. to complete a full circle.

Returning to the starting point where she had come, she looked at the time, did not rush to leave, turned the head of the car, rode in the other direction, found a place to stop the car, and then came to a pavilion by the lake and sat down.

Lake Toya is a volcanic lake surrounded by many hot springs, and this is a free foot bath.

"Ah...... It's so comfortable. ”

Taking off his shoes and socks and dipping himself in the scorching foot soup, Hikaru Takikawa suddenly felt that most of the fatigue on his body had disappeared, and his eyes were a little blurred in comfort.

"What a great place."

After enjoying it for a while, she took out her mobile phone, took a picture of her feet soaking in the hot spring, and then pointed the camera at the vast lake more than ten meters away.

At the beginning of twilight, the sky is no longer pure blue, but takes on a warm color, and the clouds are also brilliantly dyed. There are many large and small pleasure boats floating on the lake, floating at will, anything, quiet and leisurely.

After taking a casual photo, she put down her phone.

"It's still early......

She was waiting for the fireworks display in the evening.

The Lake Toya Fireworks Festival is one of the few long-term fireworks festivals that lasts for half a year from the end of April to the end of October.

Every night at 8:45 p.m., the fireworks will be set off for 20 minutes, and a total of 350 fireworks will be set off over the lake.

She didn't come for the fireworks show, but she came here, and it was a pity not to see it.

It's just that it's too early.

Whoop -

After a moment's pause, Hikaru Takikawa shook his feet at the bottom of the water, tilted his head, and looked at the other little girl sitting next to him.

She had been staring at her for a long time.

She presumably caught her attention by the rider dress on her body.

With the middle finger of the index finger together and a slight wave in front of the forehead, Hikaru Takikawa smiled, and the little girl's eyes widened, and her face quickly turned red with excitement.

As a result, when she spoke, she spoke in a language she barely understood.

Foreign tourists......

Hikaru Takikawa didn't care, and smiled at the little girl's parents, who were also looking at her.

Smile is the universal language.

After soaking for a while, there was no towel, she raised her feet to dry, picked up her phone again, and looked at her schedule.

The fireworks festival doesn't start until eight or nine o'clock in the evening, so how do you spend this time before...... Do you want to go back to the hotel first?

When his feet were almost dry, Hikaru Takikawa put on his shoes and socks and returned to the car.

She decided to do one more lap by the lake.

"Well, there's a lot of oil."

The fuel tank of the motorcycle under the seat is surprisingly large, and it can run for a long time with a full charge, which is not at all comparable to her Honda cub.

After checking the motorcycle, Hikaru Takikawa put on his helmet, and his mobile phone suddenly vibrated one after another.

It's a message in a group.

She looked at it, and Naoko sent more than a dozen photos of Magome-juku in a row.

Naoko: I'm going back to the hotel.

After clicking on the photo and looking at it, Hikaru Takikawa put away his phone, held the handlebars with both hands, and prepared to go.

“……”

After a pause, she exhaled and let go again.

Buzz –

Hikari: Are they all old buildings from the Edo period?

Naoko looked up at the road in front of her, continued to be pulled forward by her boyfriend, and replied on her phone with her head down.

Naoko: No.

Naoko: Harumi said that there was a fire here before, and the original buildings were burned down, but now they were all rebuilt later.

Naoko: Only the stone path under your feet is the original one.

Hikari: It's incredible.

"Here we are." Naruse reminded.

Naoko looked up and walked around Magome-juku for a long time, and they returned to the hotel.

"It doesn't look like much of a place, and it's quite difficult to get around."

Naruse smiled, "The main thing is that there are more ramps." ”

"Yes."

The two walked into the hotel, it was almost five o'clock, and they were naturally ready to check in.

And because it was not too early, the woman checked them in, and then asked about the dinner arrangement.

"As soon as possible."

"Then it's scheduled for six o'clock, is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Follow the general to their room, and after the entrance, there is a foyer, and in the middle of the floor there is a conspicuous hearth, and under the iron hook hanging from the beam, a black iron kettle hangs.

There is still unburned charcoal underneath, and if you get closer, you can feel the scorching heat released from it.

"I thought it was just decoration......" Naoko whispered.

Naruse stared at the iron kettle, "I thought so too." ”

Japan's hearth, which dates back to the Jomon period, is a practical place that combines many functions such as cooking, heating, and lighting, but the hearth in the hotel in front of you is probably more valuable for viewing than for practical purposes.

Seeing that the two of them were wandering on the hearth, their footsteps slowed down a little, and the female general did not urge, but introduced the two of them, and then took them around the hotel.

The Hakuba House is spread over two floors, with the rooms on the upper floor and the baths and restaurant below.

To the slight regret of the two, there are only two large baths for men and women, and there is no separate hot spring pool, so they can't soak together.

After walking down, they came upstairs, and the female general led the two into the room and went downstairs.

The room is not small, divided into two parts, inside and outside, the inside is the bedroom, the outside is equivalent to the living room, and the sliding door in the middle is completely open, which is no different from a room.

Putting down their luggage and closing the door, the two casually looked around the room and quickly rolled onto the tatami mats.

"Hmm...... Wait, I'll take it off first, or I'll crumple it......"

It's just that both of them are a little tired, roll a few laps, nibble on each other a few times, and both lie down on the tatami mats.

Looking at the old-fashioned overhead lamp, Naruse said, "Ms. Yukieda said that there will be a Kabuki performance at the tourist center at night, so let's go and see it." ”

Lady Yukieda is the lady of the White Horse House.

"Okay."

Naoko rolled over, straddled his legs on top of him, and suddenly touched something, and slowly rubbed under his abdomen.

“……”

The two looked at each other, smiled at the same time, and kissed again. But it was only a little indulgent, and it wasn't fun.

It was still not dinner time, and Naoko said that she wanted to go down to the hot springs for a while, so Naruse also took the yukata and went down.

"How long will it take to soak in the spring sea?"

"Come out when you've soaked enough."

"Uh-huh."

The two men are separated at the entrance of the men's and women's hot spring pools and go in separately.

The hot spring pool is semi-open-air, and the light is not very good, and when Naruse entered, several lanterns by the pool were already lit up.

There were already a few people inside, sitting separately, without any communication. After rinsing his body, he sat down nearby.

Immersed in the hot water, he couldn't help but moan.

"It's so comfortable......"

Leaning against the edge of the pool, looking at the sky above him where the twilight was becoming more pronounced, he closed his eyes slightly.

Once you're done, you're ready to go for dinner.

I don't know what's on the table, is there any special cuisine here, and I didn't care about it before...... What will Kabuki's performance be about, will it take place in Magome-juku, or will it be the same as anywhere else...... After all, next to the hotel tourist center is the memorial hall of Shimazaki Fujimura, the home and poet who pioneered Japanese naturalistic literature......

The hot spring soaked, churning and blowing through his body, and his spirit relaxed with his body, and his thoughts were like a loose horse, galloping freely.

- What is Morimi doing at this time?

“……”

Without warning, she suddenly appeared in his mind, and his thoughts were cut off.

Immediately afterward, the small distractions that poured out of nowhere did not give him time to stop at all, just an instant, and her flag was planted in all corners of his mind.

He was like a lone soldier surrounded by thousands of troops, and his eyes were full of her shadows.

The slender figure walked through it, put one hand on his shoulder, and the other under his skirt, tugged at something off, and stuffed it into his pocket, and whispered in his ear:

"Let me be your lover......"

Crash!

The others in the hot spring pool followed the sound to the edge of the pool, only to see a tall young man who had just come over, splashing water on his face.

"Oh, that's not how you soak in the hot springs......"

(End of chapter)