It was dark early in Hokkaido, and when Naruse and his party arrived at the hotel, it was around five o'clock, and it was already very dark. After checking in at the front desk, and then coming to the room for the night tonight, Naruse walked to the balcony, looked out the window, and felt that the sky was a little darker than when he came in just now.

"It's the end of the day again."

"Hell Valley is still tomorrow morning...... Let's go again tomorrow morning. Morimi changed his words.

"It's close." Hikaru Takikawa also came over, "It's a few minutes walk from the hotel." ”

"Then we're at the gates of hell." Morimi walked to the window and looked down, "So there's no need to worry." ”

"I don't plan to go over now."

Naruse went back inside, sat down at the low table, and looked at the room where he stayed tonight, "Can you really fit five futons?" ”

"That's fine." Morimi tapped the balcony under his feet with his feet, "The futons are put together, and it's okay to squeeze them, and in fact, it's enough to make three futons." ”

"Eh, am I the one who wants to sleep alone?" Hikaru Takikawa shouted.

Morimi glanced at her, "Then I'll sleep alone." ”

"It's okay for three people to squeeze together."

"How can the futon be so big......"

While the two were discussing how to sleep at night, Naoko had already opened the yukata provided by the hotel and was ready to take a bath.

"Dinner is reserved at six o'clock." Naruse said, "You can soak it for a while before coming out." ”

"Uh-huh."

He's going to the hot springs too, alone, alone - there's still no mixed bathing here.

They went downstairs together, followed the instructions in the hotel to the hot spring place, and there were two warm curtains hanging at the entrance, one with "Hime" and the other with "Temple".

"It's very ceremonial. We went in. ”

"Hmm."

Both sides went in, undressed, and rinsed themselves indoors, and Naruse opened the glass door and came outside.

"That's nice......"

The open-air hot spring pool surrounded by boulders is full of steam, and the pool itself is not small, giving it a natural feel. Next to it is a pavilion where you can lean inside and admire the half of the sky outside, or you can be directly exposed to the snowflakes flying in the sky.

After testing the temperature of the water, Naruse slowly sat down on the edge of the pool, and looked left and right, and there were few people in the pool, all sitting in the corner.

He didn't care about them, and when he got used to the water temperature, he sat down in the hot spring.

"Hiss......"

The temperature of the hot spring is not too high, but after freezing on the snowy mountains for most of the day, and braving the wind and snow, Naruse only feels comfortable when he sits in the all-round warmth.

After soaking for a while, he moved to a place and sat down next to a black boulder in the middle of the pool.

The stones were soaked in the hot spring, and the snowflakes that kept falling in the sky melted as soon as they fell on the stones.

Leaning on the boulder, Naruse was so comfortable that she almost fell asleep, and suddenly she was glad that there was no private bath here, otherwise she would definitely not be able to focus on the hot spring itself with them......

Across a thick log wall, starfish sat by the hot spring pool on the other side of the women's bath.

"Do you still feel hot?"

Morimi sat in the pool and looked at her, "It's almost time to sit in, or the snow that will fall on your shoulders will be thicker than your chest." ”

“…… Dislike! ”

There are many more people in the women's bath than in the men's bath, both young and old, and naturally all the people in the bath are honest with each other, and the upper body can be seen clearly.

"If your breasts are too big, you'll be sagging like those aunts in the future."

Takikawa Hikaru covered her mouth, bowed her head to the few eyes that looked at her, and said in her ear: "There are so many aunts here, if the starfish is beaten, I can't stop it." ”

“……”

Starfish immediately became honest.

She pulled her back into the pool, "Sit down and try it, I've been used to it for a long time." ”

Hikaru Takikawa sat down first, and the starfish slowly squatted down, grinning his teeth.

"Hot Hot Hot ......"

"It's not very hot, is it?"

"Hmm......" she looked back at where she had been sitting, "is there a water outlet over there, it feels warmer than this one?" ”

"Possibly."

Naoko sat next to her, and the part she had "predicted" would droop in the future was floating on the water, whiter than the snow outside the hot spring pool.

“……”

After squinting intently for a moment, Starfish felt that her eyes were a little sour.

"It's so comfortable, I feel like I'm about to fall asleep...... "Hikaru Takikawa leaned against the boulder in the pool, "When you come over the summer vacation, you should really enjoy the hot springs here." ”

"Just came to see Hell Valley at that time and left?" Morimi asked.

"yes, I'm going to travel around Hokkaido, and I can't stay anywhere for too long."

"After all, it won't take long to come in on a motorcycle."

"That's right."

Morimi looked at Naoko again, "When Hikaru arrives here, Naoko and Harumi should still be on the side of Magomejuku." ”

Naoko thought for a moment, "Almost, I remember when we first arrived at Magome-juku, the light seemed to be in Lake Toya. ”

"Anyway, we didn't go to Lake Toya this time."

"It's a little farther away from Sapporo after all...... Although there is not much distance left here. ”

"I'll take you next time."

"Riding a motorcycle?"

"Huh...... Good idea! ”

The topics of the girls kept jumping, from Lake Toya to motorcycles, to motorcycle driver's licenses, to exams, to universities, to what to eat tonight...... After soaking, it was already half an hour later.

Naruse was sitting in the lobby of the hotel in a yukata and drinking coffee milk.

"It's out."

"Come out." Naoko sat down next to him, took his hand and took a sip of the milk to her lips.

Seeing that her eyes widened slightly, Naruse smiled, "The combination of coffee and milk tastes unexpectedly good." ”

"Yes."

They each bought a bottle of coffee and milk, sat on a bench next to the hall and drank it relaxed.

They were the last guests of the day, and no one else would come, so a few of them high school students were sitting in the hall, and the other guests went back to their rooms after soaking in the hot springs and waiting for dinner.

"I don't know what will be at dinner."

"It shouldn't disappoint."

"Can you go to the kitchen now?"

"Don't scare them."

After drinking coffee and milk, there was still a while before dinner, and the few people went back to the upstairs room first.

Naoko then noticed that there was a missed call on the mobile phone left in the room.

"Ah, Mom's phone."

She dialed it back.

The call was answered quickly.

Naruse listened to the side, and just listening to Naoko's words, he could almost guess what Kazuko Hanasa told her.

"Eh, really? …… I got it, I'll be ready in advance...... No, it won't get tired. I'm looking forward to it, Mom. ”

After chatting for a while, she hung up the phone and said, "Mom said that she might be able to come back a day earlier." ”

Naruse nodded, "Don't go back before us." ”

Naoko smiled, "Not so fast." ”

"Miss Song." Hikaru Takikawa asked, "Do you still get the last day?" ”

"That's what I said the other day, anyway."

Naruse lay down on the tatami mat and stared at the slightly old ceiling above him for a moment, "This inn must be some years old. ”

"Well, aren't there a lot of such luxurious but old inns now?"

Morimi sat on the other side of the low table, his feet against the soles of his feet, shaking gently, "Most of them are products of the bubble economy era. ”

"yes."

Naoko also lay down next to him, her hair hanging down on the tatami mat and pressing it to her cheek as she turned her head.

Eyes met, and she naturally came up.

"Hmm......"

Kissing Naoko's lips, Naruse felt the force on his feet suddenly increase a little.

In the end, it was almost time to eat, and the two of them only tasted it.

After a break of about ten minutes, when it was time for the reserved dinner, several people went downstairs to the restaurant.

There are no private rooms, all guests sit in a hall, a low table in each room, but some distance from each other, not too close.

"I guess I can ask the hotel people to bring dinner to the room." Morimi said suddenly.

"Absolutely." Naruse responded, "But you need to say hello in advance, it's too late now." ”

"Okay."

Eating with other guests is not a problem, but it is not as casual as in a private room. The dinner was hearty and quickly drew their attention to the food itself.

A variety of local specialties are served to the table one after another, and it takes almost an hour to serve them all.

The five of them ate together, and the table was full of food boxes and dishes, and Naoko was very interested in the small wooden box containing two cooked shrimp in front of her, "I've never seen a wooden box of this size, is it custom-made?" ”

"I guess so." Naruse said, turning over the beef roasted on the small stove.

The clay plate underneath has been burned hot with charcoal, and the fat pieces of meat are spilling out and sizzling, and the vegetables on the side are gradually changing color.

Because there were five of them, if the oven was all on the table, there was no need to put anything else, and Naruse only needed a stove and baked it for everyone.

Each person had two large chunks of beef, and one person had a piece first, and now it was the second round.

"Not so fast, let's eat something else first." Naoko said.

"Hmm."

Fresh tuna fillets are served together with seaweed, ginger slices, shiso leaves and mustard, and Naruse sandwiches a little bit, piles them on the fillet, and then clips them together and sends them to the mouth, which is delicious and richly layered, and the tender and smooth texture of the fillet perfectly neutralizes the stimulation of the mustard, and the aftertaste is endless.

"This tastes good, too."

"I ate it."

After eating two tuna fillets, Naruse picked up the tongs again and turned over the beef on the small stove.

"It's almost cooked." Starfish stared at the beef, which had shrunk much from when it was first roasted.

Naruse flipped up a piece, picked it up and looked at it, "This piece doesn't seem to be ripe yet, give it to you." ”

"Don't—" starfish screamed.

He gave the beef to Naoko.

She blew twice and put it in her mouth.

"Not bad, right?"

"Uh-huh."

The starfish realized that he was joking, glared at him, and waited for the next piece of beef.

And the next piece was indeed given to her.

After handing out a circle, he gave himself the last slice of beef, and Naruse asked them to take the corn, shiitake mushrooms, and bell peppers that they were roasting together.

"Grill this sashimi for me." Morimi pointed to the dishes in front of him.

Naruse glanced at it, "It's not delicious when it's baked." ”

"I want to eat."

He took it and fried it on a clay plate.

"Chunhai eat first, I'll help you bake."

Hikaru Takikawa took the clip and said without thinking too much: "I miss the barbecue at the Ichiha house in the summer......"

She paused abruptly and looked at Naoko again.

Their last barbecue at Morimi's house was when she found out everything.

Naoko also looked over and just smiled.

"Not anymore. Even if it wasn't snowing, it was too cold outside, and I couldn't stay. ”

"Yes......"

"Next summer, let's come to my house for barbecue." Morimi also spoke.

Naoko nodded, and Hikaru Takikawa smiled again, "Okay." ”

I continued to grill the fish fillet, continued to eat and drink, and when several people had eaten about the same time, dessert was also served.

"It's ice cream."

"Hmm......"

Starfish took a bite and tightened its neck with coldness.

"Good ice...... But the taste is so delicate. ”

"Well, it's not bad."

After eating the ice cream and resting for a while, a few people left the hotel and walked around a little outside.

As with all hot spring towns, there are hardly any buildings in the vicinity except for large and small hot spring inns.

"Ah, there's a Jiaoban over there."

"Muroran Police Station Noboribetsu Onsen Koban...... Woo wow, there are evil ghosts on even the crossing. ”

It was freezing outside, the temperature was very low, and several people did not go too far, and soon they were blown back to the hotel by the cold wind.

When he was about to go upstairs, Hikaru Takikawa pointed to the walkway that connected to the hot spring, "Do you want to go take another dip?" ”

"What time does the hot spring open at night?" Naruse asked.

"By ten o'clock."

"Then I'll go clubbing at nine o'clock and go to bed with a good soak."

"That makes sense, then I'll come down and go clubbing at that time."

A few people went upstairs and went back to their rooms, and found that the people of the hotel had already laid out the futons for them, and they were half a meter apart from each other, covering the ground.

"It's really five beds."

"yes."

"It's too divided." Hikaru Takikawa dragged the futon together, leaving no gaps, and then sat down on the futon in the middle.

Naruse turned on the TV and looked at the time again, "It's still early." ”

"Do you want to play something?"

"Forget it, I'm a little bent, I don't want to move, let's watch something." He took the remote control and flipped through it.

But apart from him, basically no one is watching TV.

Naoko leaned on him, looked down and flipped through her phone, starfish lay down, sorting out today's photos, Morimi and Hikaru Takikawa were lying together, chatting about something.

After watching a lap and not wanting to watch a show that he wanted to watch anymore, Naruse stopped at a channel that he wouldn't be able to watch, picked up his phone, and put his other hand into Naoko's arms.

She leaned on him again and said, "When I go back tomorrow, I will buy everything I need to buy in the city, such as door pine, mirror cake, and Zhu Lian Lian rope and so on." ”

"Hmm."

Naruse nodded, and then looked at Hikaru Takikawa, who didn't know when he rolled to the side and was lying on his stomach, "After returning to Tsuzen tomorrow, you can bring back my and Naoko's luggage first." ”

"Yes." She answered, thought for a while, and said, "Do you have a lot of things to buy, just let Yue drive to pick it up." When the time comes, everyone will go back together, so you don't have to wait for the bus. ”

Naruse was stunned, "Sister Yue can drive?" ”

"yes, I went to get my driver's license at university."

"I'm talking about the level to which you can drive on the road."

"That's what I'm saying, she doesn't have a problem driving Dad's car."

Naruse thought for a moment, but still shook his head, "It's better not to trouble her." ”

"What's the trouble?" Hikaru Takikawa took out her phone, "I already told her, and she agreed." ”

“…… You're blind, and you've just taken out your phone. ”

"Sister Heart, my thoughts have become radio waves and are automatically sent."

Naruse shook his head and didn't say anything.

"Then let's buy more tomorrow." Naoko smiled.

"And the luggage of the five of us, can you put it?"

"I can fit my car."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Naruse's hand changed again and continued to knead, and Naoko glanced at him and followed his movements.

"Anyway, do you have to clean up after you go back?"

"yes, and it's two houses."

"Help......

Chatting idly and staying in the room until nine o'clock, Naoko yawned, then got up, "Let's go to the hot springs." I was a little sleepy, so I soaked for a while and then came up to sleep. ”

"Okay." Hikaru Takikawa and starfish followed.

Morimi lay on the futon and didn't move.

Starfish crawled over and looked, "Kazuha is asleep." ”

"Then let her fall asleep." Hikaru Takikawa said, "Let's go down." ”

Naoko glanced at her hand holding Naruse's ankle, "Harumi is also going down to the hot springs, and he is going to 'rest' today." ”

“……”

Morimi turned over, got up, stretched, and looked at a few people without changing his face, "Are you going to go to the hot springs, then go down." ”

"Kazuha is too cunning."

"Huh?"

"Don't play stupid!"

They went downstairs together, separated at the entrance, and Naruse walked into the men's bath alone, took off his clothes, washed his body, and then came outside.

When he came to the hot springs in the evening, it was already dark, but at this time the pure darkness was a different feeling.

The hot spring pool is open until 10 p.m., and naturally there are lights.

"There's no one left......

In the dead of night, the men's bath was foggy, and he was alone.

"Spring Sea—"

On the other side of the log wall, Hikaru Takikawa's voice came, "There's no one else over here, are you going to come over?" ”

“……”

It seems that the women's bath is also there.

Of course he wouldn't go there, even if it was only his girlfriend.

"Why don't you come—"

"No, I can't. If you shout again, the whole hotel will hear it. ”

It was quiet again.

After sitting by the pool for a while, and after his body adjusted to the temperature, Naruse sat down in the middle of the pool and concentrated on enjoying the hot spring soaking.

"The New Year is getting closer......"

(End of chapter)