Stop looking, it's just a little bird made of snow.
As soon as the words had barely landed, the Guide, who was intimately familiar with everything in the Frost Forest, laughed first.
She pointed her trekking pole toward the location the tourist had just mentioned. "That's where you just saw it, right?"
That was a Japanese kinglet made of snow by someone. Although it doesn't look quite like one, it's certainly easy to mistake it from a distance.
Upon hearing the Guide's words, the tourist who had become stuck in the snow took on a melancholy expression. He loved birds very much, he had come to the Frost Forest specifically for the snowy spirits, the Japanese kinglets.
After learning it was just a substitute made of snow, he couldn't help but feel a bit dejected.
This is too much!" the tourist condemned indignantly. "How can they use a fake to play such a prank on people?
The Guide said nothing, only smiled.
The other tourists in the group, however, found it quite amusing. After asking for the Guide's opinion, they also followed the example of the person before them, grabbing handfuls of snow and concentrating intently on molding them.
Among them, the tourist who had been deceived in his feelings was the most enthusiastic about sculpting; he argued quite forcefully that he was merely following local custom and simply wanted to give the tourists arriving later a surprise.
Kisaragi Chiyo was not very interested in this activity. He knew his own lack of manual dexterity, the fact that the cold of the snow could penetrate his skin even through his gloves made him want to move even less.
Compared to the enthusiastic Hara Kenji, Kisaragi Chiyo stood straight on the spot like a tree, his eyes darting around as he tried to search for any traces of small animals.
“Kisaragi.” Matsuda Jinpei walked over from the other side and lightly tapped the hand hanging at his side.
Kisaragi Chiyo turned her head and saw Matsuda Jinpei with one hand behind his back, seemingly wanting to show her something, his expression carrying a rare hint of tension.
"What's wrong?" Kisaragi Chiyo wondered in her heart about the reason for Matsuda Jinpei's nervousness.
"This is for you." Matsuda Jinpei took the object he had been hiding behind his back and held it out before Kisaragi Chiyo, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalance.
"However, I haven't molded anything in a few years, so it might not look very good," Matsuda added, glancing at his work.
Wow!
Kisaragi Chiyo looked at the object being handed to her with some confusion; he was truly surprised.
He had actually imagined that what Matsuda wanted to show him might be some small animal made of snow, his nervousness might have been due to worrying that it wasn't sculpted well enough.
But he truly hadn't expected that Matsuda would give him a rose made of snow.
"It's truly beautiful." After being stunned for a moment, Kisaragi Chiyo reached out and took it.
The Snow Rose was pure white and translucent, its petals thin and delicate. It was hard to imagine how Matsuda had managed to rub them out one by one by hand and then painstakingly piece them all together.
The stem of the Snow Rose was a long, slender, tough twig, which likely appeared to have been prepared in advance by Matsuda Jinpei. After all, Kisaragi Chiyo hadn't seen anything fallen on the snow along the way, it happened to be a twig perfectly suited to serve as a rose stem.
"I like it very much." Kisaragi Chiyo lowered his eyes, looking at the rose in his hands with a gentle expression. He curled his fingers toward Matsuda Jinpei, signaling for him to lower his head.
Matsuda Jinpei subconsciously licked his lips; he knew exactly what Kisaragi Chiyo's gesture meant.
Snow and roses are both cold, but a lover's lips are warm and soft.
Matsuda Jinpei gave the young man's lips a lingering, affectionate peck. He reached out to tidy the scarf that had just been disheveled for Kisaragi Chiyo, while the young man's beautiful heterochromatic eyes stared at him unblinkingly from outside the scarf.
His eyes shimmered with a captivating, flowing gaze.
"What request did Hara just make of you?" Matsuda Jinpei asked in a low voice, resting his hand on the young man's shoulder.
"You care about that?" Kisaragi Chiyo's eyes curved as she looked at him teasingly.
"Yeah, I'm very bothered by it." Matsuda Jinpei admitted his feelings quite bluntly.
Even if his relationship with Hara Kenji is very good, even if the three of them are in a relationship now, wouldn't feeling jealous be hard to avoid emotionally?
Matsuda Jinpei had always been straightforward about his own emotional needs, he wouldn't hold any grudge against Hara Kenji just because of his own little bouts of jealousy.
If one were to use a phrase from Hara Kenji, would such behavior be considered a little bit of romantic playfulness in a relationship?
Although they didn't know how other couples interacted, all three of them accepted this well.
"Hmm.." Kisaragi Chiyo stared at the Snow Rose in his hands and fell into deep thought; although he had already come to terms with it and had convinced himself.
But even so, saying something like that out loud was still a bit embarrassing.
Kisaragi Chiyo hesitated for a moment, then chose a more tactful way to put it.
He said that next time, he wants to see a rabbit.
“Rabbits?” Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Exactly." Kisaragi Chiyo nodded calmly; although she felt her ears beginning to burn again, at least her scarf could provide some cover.
"By the way, do you have any way to preserve this Snow Rose?" Kisaragi Chiyo began to change the subject in a calm tone.
As expected, Matsuda Jinpei's attention was quickly drawn to the Snow Rose.
He could tell that Kisaragi Chiyo was very happy and also loved this Snow Rose. Naturally, he wouldn't say anything to dampen the mood, such as saying he would make her other Snow Roses once they returned.
"Maybe you could hide it in my shadow first," Matsuda Jinpei suggested.
He pointed to the light-colored shadow at his feet and said he had always used it as a storage locker, even stuffing the toolbox he usually carries when going out into his shadow.
Kisaragi Chiyo thought for a while and felt that Matsuda Jinpei's suggestion was worth a try; he also didn't ask Matsuda why he carried a toolbox with him whenever he went out.
"What if it melts?" Matsuda Jinpei asked jokingly as he tucked the Snow Rose into the shadow.
That's alright too." Kisaragi Chiyo smiled, she raised her hand to press against her heart. "Because the way you felt when you gave me that rose, I have already etched it into my heart, I will never forget it.
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
Matsuda Jinpei crouched down and slowly covered his face, feeling that he might be just like that tourist, needing to bury his face in the snow to cool down.
-----------------------
Author's Note: While writing this chapter, I suddenly thought of Ishikawa Takuboku's poem [The feverish cheek
Like being buried in soft, accumulated snow
I want to try falling in love like that for a bit.
Thanks to all the little angels for your support, mwah 030
Chapter 146
By the time the three members of Kisaragi Chiyo's group had crossed the Frost Forest with the climbing team and arrived at the small town at the foot of the mountain, it was already around eleven in the morning.
The sun rose high in the sky, illuminating the distant snowfields into a brilliant white. Occasionally, black birds swept across the sky; the Guide said they were eagles kept by residents in the nearby town, it was currently their time to be active each day.
After taking roll call once more to confirm the number of people, the Guide let everyone disperse to their own activities, they were to regroup at one o'clock in the afternoon to prepare for the climb.
The snow-capped mountain near the town was not particularly high; based on the Guide's experience, it would take approximately two to three hours to hike from the foot of the mountain to the summit.
In winter, it gets dark early. Even if one travels at the slowest possible pace, they should still reach the summit before nightfall. As for the descent, one can take the cable car, which takes only about twenty minutes to get from the summit back down to the base.
“Why did they only build a cable car for the return trip?” Hara Kenji held a brochure about the snowy mountains and the town's local delicacies.
He, Matsuda Jinpei, Kisaragi Chiyo were all crouching together in the shadow of a roadside building, the sunlight reflecting off the distant snow so brightly that it was almost blinding.
"I heard from the Guide that the funding allocated from above is insufficient." Kisaragi Chiyo was looking down at his phone, one hand pressing on the screen and swiping left and right, struggling to decide which of the two photos of the snow foxes was better to keep.
After agonizing for about ten seconds, he decided to keep both photos.
While crossing the Frost Forest, with the help of Hara Kenji, Kisaragi Chiyo was able to see all the small animals he wanted to see, just as he had hoped. Although the small animals still avoided him to some extent, being able to observe so many fluffy creatures from such a close distance was enough to leave the young man feeling satisfied.
Over a hundred photos, each one capturing the figures of animals.
Even the Guide was marveling; in all her years of doing this work, it was the first time she had encountered so many wild animals on a journey, even the rarest Ezo sika deer had emerged from the forest in the distance.
The Guide also chimed in from the side; today was truly a lucky day.
"So, what are we eating later?" Matsuda Jinpei flipped through the small town's gourmet food guide several times before finally locking his gaze onto a soup curry shop.
Although he didn't say it directly, Kisaragi and Hara could see from Matsuda's entire being that he was craving food.
"Then let's go to this one!" In the end, Kisaragi Chiyo made the final decision, the three of them would have their lunch at this Soup Curry Shop.
*
The street was bustling, the air filled with laughter and the aroma of various foods; the winter chill could not dampen the excitement of the tourists.
"So many people." Kisaragi Chiyo and her group stood at the entrance of the Soup Curry Shop, peeking inside to see that every single seat was occupied.
"Doesn't that just prove this shop must be delicious?" A hint of anticipation appeared on Matsuda Jinpei's face.
"That makes sense." Hara Kenji nodded in agreement; since they were already here, they definitely had to eat at this local specialty shop.
After taking their numbers, the three of them stood to the side to wait in line. After about forty minutes, they finally walked into this Soup Curry Shop.
The shop's decor was simple, bright, spacious, dominated by warm wood tones. Some greenery was placed on the counter, various awards the shop had received in the past hung on the walls.
This curry is really great," "This curry is delicious.
Seeing this, the three of them grew even more expectant for the delicious soup curry.
Following the waiter, the three were led to a seat by the glass window in the back. After deciding on the sets they were interested in, they began waiting for their food to be prepared.
The process took about fifteen minutes, as some items in the set meals needed to be deep-fried to order.
"The air in here smells like curry." Kisaragi Chiyo took off the scarf around her neck; under the influence of the indoor heating, the temperature gradually rose, she soon felt a slight warmth.
"It's like walking into a world dedicated solely to curry." Hara Kenji rested his chin on one hand, curiously observing the guests who were buried in their meals; judging by their attire, they were likely tourists preparing to climb the mountain this afternoon.
Because of the temperature difference between day and night, in addition, to protect the natural environment, development of the snowy mountains has not actually been extensive; when night falls, there are still some risks present on the snowy mountains.
Sometimes it is the temperature and the weather, sometimes it is the animals from the forests of the snowy mountains.
I heard that someone once saw a bear on this snowy mountain," Hara Kenji said, suddenly changing the subject to this matter. "I just searched for travel guides for this snowy mountain on social media.
One user mentioned that two years ago, during the winter, he and his friends encountered a bear while climbing the mountain.
Because several tourists might have eaten something during lunch that made their stomachs upset, they rested in place for about half an hour. By the time their group reached the summit, it was already close to 6:30.
Even though it wasn't completely dark at this hour, it had already become somewhat eerie. On top of that, the temperature at the summit was much colder than at the base, so this hiking group only wanted to finish taking photos quickly so they could take the cable car back down.
"And the cable car isn't built directly on the summit. To get from where they took their photos to the cable car, you have to walk about another six hundred meters." Hara Kenji lowered his voice, creating a chilling atmosphere akin to telling horror stories in the middle of the night despite the noisy surroundings.
"And then?" Kisaragi Chiyo leaned forward slightly, her hands resting on her lap gripping her scarf tightly.
Although Matsuda Jinpei acted as if he were unmoved, his eyes were fixed intently on Hara Kenji.
A strange thing happened during that short three-hundred-meter stretch.
That netizen said that as soon as they reached the mountain summit, it had started snowing lightly. At first, none of them took the snow to heart, thinking it wouldn't matter since they were leaving soon anyway.. but right after they finished taking their group photo, the snow suddenly became much heavier.