Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 627 Noboribetsu Stay

It gets dark relatively early in Hokkaido. When Naruse and his party arrived at the hotel around five o'clock, it was already very dark. After checking in at the front desk and going to the room where he would spend the night tonight, Naruse walked to the balcony and looked out the window. He felt that the sky was a little darker than when he came in.

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

"Let's go to Hell Valley tomorrow morning... tomorrow morning." Morimi changed his words.

"It's very close." Hikaru Takigawa came over, "It's only a few minutes' walk from the hotel."

"Then we have arrived at the gate of hell." Morimi walked to the window and looked down, "So there is no need to worry."

"I don't plan to go there now either."

Naruse went back inside, sat down at the low table, and looked at the room where he would stay tonight, "Can it really fit five quilts?"

"It doesn't matter here." Morimi tapped the balcony under his feet, "The quilts are put together, so it's okay to squeeze them in. In fact, three quilts are enough."

"Hey, am I the one who wants to sleep alone?" Takigawa Hikari shouted.

Morimi glanced at her and said, "Then I can sleep alone."

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

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

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

"The dinner reservation is for six o'clock." Naruse said, "You can stay in there for a while before coming out."

"uh-huh."

He also wants to go to the hot springs, alone, alone - there are still no mixed baths here.

We went downstairs together and followed the directions in the hotel to the hot spring area. There were two warm curtains hanging at the entrance, one with "Ji" written on it and the other with "Dian" written on it.

"It's very ceremonial. Let's go in."

"Ah."

Both sides went in separately, took off their clothes, and washed their bodies indoors. Naruse opened the glass door and came outside.

"It's really good..."

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

After testing the water temperature, Naruse slowly sat down by the pool and looked around. There were not many people in the pool, they were all sitting in the corner.

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

"hiss……"

The water temperature of the hot spring was not too high, but after being frozen in the snow-capped mountains for most of the day, and having to brave the wind and snow all the way here, Naruse felt comfortable all over as he sat in the all-round warmth.

After soaking for a while, he moved to a place and sat next to a black boulder in the middle of the hot spring pool, leaning against it.

The stones were heated by the hot springs, and the snowflakes that kept falling from the sky melted as soon as they landed on the stones.

Leaning on the boulder, Naruse felt so comfortable that he almost fell asleep. Suddenly he was glad that there was no private hot spring here, otherwise he would not be able to focus on the hot spring itself when he was with them...

Separated by a thick log wall, over there in the women's bathhouse, Starfish was still sitting by the hot spring pool.

"Do you still feel hot?"

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

"……Hate!"

There were many more people in the women's bath than in the men's bath, including young and old. Naturally, everyone in the bath was open to each other, and their upper bodies could be seen clearly.

"If your breasts are too big, they will sag like those aunts in the future, huh, huh—"

Hikaru Takigawa covered her mouth, bowed his head and apologized to the glances, and said in her ear: "There are so many aunts here, if Haixing gets beaten, I can't stop him."

"..."

Starfish immediately became honest.

She pulled her towards the pool again, "Sit down and try it. It's been a long time since you got used to it."

Takigawa Hikaru sat down first, and Haixing slowly squatted down, grinning.

"Hot hot hot hot hot..."

"It's not very hot."

"Well..." She looked back at where she was sitting just now, "Is that the water outlet over there? It feels like the temperature is higher than here."

"It's possible."

Naoko was sitting 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 for a while, Haixing felt his eyes were a little sore.

"It's so comfortable, I feel like I'm about to fall asleep..." Hikari Takigawa leaned on the boulder in the pool, "When I come here during the summer vacation, I should definitely enjoy the hot springs here."

"At that time, Hikari came over to see Hell Valley and then left?" Morimi asked.

"Yes, I want to travel around Hokkaido. I can't stay in every place for too long."

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

"Yes."

Morimi looked at Naoko again, "When Hikaru gets here, Naoko and Harumi should still be over there at Magomejuku."

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

"Speaking of which, we didn't even go to Lake Toya this time."

"After all, it's a little far away from Sapporo...although it's not that far away from here."

"I'll take you there next time."

"Ride a motorcycle?"

"Eh...what a good idea!"

The girls' topics kept jumping, from Lake Toya to motorcycles, to motorcycle driver's licenses, to exams, to college, to what to eat tonight... It was already half an hour after they finished soaking.

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

"Out."

"Come out." Shangzi sat next to him, held his hand and brought the milk to his lips and took a sip.

Seeing her eyes widen slightly, Naruse smiled, "The combination of coffee and milk tastes surprisingly good."

"Yes."

They also each bought a bottle of coffee milk and drank it while sitting on the bench next to the hall.

They were the last guests today, and no one else would come. They were the only high school students sitting here in the hall. The other guests returned to their rooms after soaking in the hot springs, waiting for dinner.

"I wonder what's going to be for dinner."

"Shouldn't disappoint."

"Can you go to the kitchen now and have a look."

"Don't scare them."

After drinking coffee and milk, there was still a while before dinner, so they returned to the room upstairs first.

Only then did Shangzi realize that there was a missed call on the cell phone left in the room.

"Ah, mom's phone call."

She dialed back directly.

The call was answered quickly.

Naruse listened beside him, only listening to Naoko's words, and he could almost guess what Hanasawako said to her.

"Eh, really?...I know, I will prepare in advance...No, I won't be tired. I'm looking forward to it, mom."

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

Naruse nodded, "Just don't go back before us."

Shangzi smiled, "Not so fast."

"Where's Miss Matsu?" Hikaru Takigawa asked, "Do you still get the last day?"

"That's what I said a few days ago anyway."

Naruse lay down on the tatami and stared at the slightly old ceiling above his head for a while, "This hotel must be old."

"Yeah, aren't there a lot of luxurious but old old hotels like this now?"

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

"Yes."

Naoko also lay down next to him, her longer hair hanging on the tatami and sticking to her cheeks as she turned her head.

Their eyes met, and she naturally came closer.

"Well……"

Kissing Naoko's lips, Naruse felt that the force on his foot suddenly became a little stronger.

After all, it was almost time to eat, and the two of them only tasted the food.

After resting for about ten minutes, at the scheduled dinner time, several people went downstairs to the restaurant.

There are no independent private rooms. All guests sit in a hall, with a low table in each room, but they are separated by some distance and are not too close.

"You can probably ask the hotel staff to deliver dinner to the room." Morimi said suddenly.

"Of course." Naruse responded, "But I need to say hello in advance. It's too late now."

"Ok."

It's not a problem to eat with other guests, it's just not as casual as in a private room. The dinner was so sumptuous that their attention was quickly drawn to the food itself.

Various Noboribetsu local specialties were served to the table one after another, and it took almost an hour for them to be all served.

Five people ate together. The dining table was filled with food boxes and dishes. Shangzi was very interested in the small wooden box with two cooked shrimps in front of him. "I have never seen a wooden box of this size. Is it custom-made?"

"Probably so." Naruse said, turning over the beef roasting on the small stove.

The pottery plate underneath has been burned hot by charcoal, the fat meat pieces are overflowing with fat and sizzling, and the vegetables on the side are gradually changing color.

Because there were five of them, and if the ovens were all placed on the table, there would be no need to place anything else. Naruse only had one oven and cooked it for everyone.

Each person had two chunks of thick beef, and each person got a piece first. It was already the second round. "Not so fast, let's eat something else first." Shangzi said.

"Ah."

The fresh and tender tuna fillets were served together with seaweed, young ginger slices, perilla leaves and wasabi. Naruse picked a little bit of each, piled it on the fillet, and then put it together into his mouth. It was delicious and rich in layers. The tender and smooth texture of the fish fillet perfectly offsets the irritation of the mustard, leaving you with an endless aftertaste.

"This tastes good too."

"I ate it."

After eating two tuna fillets in this way, Naruse picked up the tongs and turned the beef on the small stove.

"It's almost done." Haixing stared at the beef, which was much smaller than when it was first roasted.

Naruse turned over a piece, picked it up and looked at it, "This piece seems to be not yet cooked, give it to you."

"Don't—" Starfish screamed.

He gave the beef to Shangzi.

She blew it twice and put it into her mouth.

"its not bad, right."

"uh-huh."

Starfish then realized that he was joking, glared at him, and eagerly waited for the next piece of beef.

And the next piece was indeed given to her.

After distributing it in a circle, Naruse took the last piece of beef to himself, and asked them to take away the corn, mushrooms, bell peppers and other things that were roasted together.

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

Naruse took a look and said, "It doesn't taste good when grilled."

"I want to eat."

He also took it over and grilled it on the earthenware plate.

"Harunami, eat it first, I'll help you bake it."

Takigawa Hikaru took the clip and said without thinking too much: "I kind of miss the barbecue at Kazuha's house in the summer..."

She paused suddenly and looked at Shangzi again.

The last barbecue they had at Morimi's house was when she discovered everything.

Shangzi also looked over and just smiled.

"It's not possible now. Even if it doesn't snow, it's unbearably cold outside and I can't stay here."

"Yes……"

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

Naoko nodded, and Takigawa Hikari smiled again, "Okay."

They continued to grill the fish fillets and continued to eat and drink. When several people had almost eaten, desserts were also served.

"It's ice cream."

"Well……"

Starfish took a bite and tightened his neck due to the cold.

"It's so cold... but the texture is also so delicate."

"Hmm, not bad."

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

Like all hot spring towns, apart from large and small hot spring hotels, there are almost no other buildings nearby.

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

"The Muroran Police Station Noboribetsu Onsen hot spring police station... Wow, there are ghost statues on the police station's police station."

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

When he was about to go upstairs, Hikaru Takigawa pointed to the walkway connected to the hot spring, "Would you like to take a dip again?"

"What time does the hot spring open in the evening?" Naruse asked.

"Until ten o'clock."

"Then I'll go clubbing after nine o'clock, then go to bed after drinking."

"That makes sense, then I'll come down to the bar then."

Several people went upstairs and returned to their rooms, and found that the hotel staff had laid out bedding for them, with a distance of half a meter between each other, and spread it all over the floor.

"There are really five beds."

"Yes."

"They are too separated." Hikaru Takigawa dragged the quilts together, leaving no gaps, and then sat down on the quilt in the middle.

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

"Want to play something?"

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

But except for him, almost no one was watching TV.

Naoko leaned against him and looked down at his phone. Haixing lay down and was sorting out today's photos. Morimi and Hikari Takigawa were lying together, chatting about something.

After watching a circle, there was nothing he wanted to watch. Naruse stopped at a channel that he couldn't watch anymore, picked up his phone, and put his other hand into Naoko's arms.

She leaned against him again and said, "When you go back tomorrow, buy all the things you need to buy in the city, such as kadomatsu, mirror mochi, and other things like shuriken ornaments and shuriken ropes."

"Ah."

Naruse nodded, and then looked at Hikari Takigawa, who had rolled over to his side at some point, "When you return to Tsumae tomorrow, you can take my and Shoko's luggage back first."

"Okay." She responded, thought for a while and then said: "If you have a lot to buy, let Yue drive to pick you up. Then we can all go back together, so we don't have to wait for the bus."

Naruse was startled, "Sister Yue, can you drive?"

"Yes, Yue took the driver's license test in college."

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

"That's what I said. She has no problem driving daddy's car."

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

"What's the trouble?" Hikari Takigawa took out his mobile phone, "I already told her and she agreed."

"...You think I'm blind, you just took out your phone."

"Sisters are connected, my thoughts have become radio waves and are automatically sent out."

Naruse shook his head and said nothing.

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

"There is also luggage for the five of us. Can it be accommodated?"

"My car can fit in it."

"let's talk tomorrow."

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

"Speaking of which, do you still need to clean up after you go back?"

"Yes, and there are two houses."

"Help……"

After chatting idlely and staying in the room until about nine o'clock, Shangzi yawned and then got up, "Let's go to the hot spring. I'm a little sleepy. I'll go to bed after soaking for a while."

"Okay." Takigawa Hikari and Haixing followed suit.

Mori Jian lay on the quilt and didn't move.

Haixing crawled over and took a look, "Yiye is asleep."

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

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

"..."

Morimi turned over, climbed up, stretched, and looked at the people without changing his expression, "Are you going to the hot springs? Let's go down."

"Kazuye is too cunning."

"Ok?"

"Don't act stupid!"

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

When he came to soak in the hot springs in the evening, the sky had already darkened, but the pure darkness at this time was a different feeling.

The hot spring pool is open until ten o'clock in the evening, and of course there are lights.

"There's no one left..."

It was late at night, the men's bath was filled with mist, and he was the only one.

"Chun Hai——"

From the other side of the log wall, Hikaru Takigawa's voice came, "There is no one else here. Do you want to come over?"

"..."

It seems that the same goes for the women's bath.

Of course he won't go there, even if it's just his girlfriend there.

"Why don't you come over?"

"But come here. If you shout again, the whole hotel will hear you."

It was quiet again over there.

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

"The New Year is getting closer..."

(End of this chapter)