My love index is at its maximum.

After breakfast was prepared, Tsukasa Tazaki carried it back to the cabin.

Shiori Ninomiya was already up, wearing a headscarf and gloves, diligently cleaning the room.

She was so diligent that she would wipe the table legs and the edge of the stove, and she was very skilled at shoveling ashes to start a fire.

Is there anything I can do to help?

"How could we let a young master from Tokyo do such rough work?"

"You're teasing me again." Tsukasa Tazaki chuckled as he sat down, tucking his legs into the kotatsu and idly watching her busy back.

Shiori Ninomiya wiped the table clean with a rag, then took the dirty water out to pour it away before returning to eat breakfast.

The room was filled with sunlight and felt warm and cozy.

The two sat side by side at the table, eating bread, salad, and drinking tomato soup.

"The soup was delicious."

"It would be even better if we added bay leaves or something."

“Kiki really knows everything,” Shiori Ninomiya smiled, wiping the tomato soup from the corner of her mouth with a tissue. “Does this mean I can be lazy from now on?”

“That won’t do,” Tsukasa Tazaki shook her head. “I just love the hardworking Ninomiya-kun. If she becomes a lazybones, wouldn’t she lose her original charm?”

"You bad guy!"

"Hmm, that's something I can foresee." Tsukasa Tazaki chewed on his bread, his mind drifting to their future life. "If we end up living together, I'm sure you'll always scold me for being lazy."

“What’s there to scold?” Shiori Ninomiya said with a helpless yet amused tone, “Do you think I don’t want to be a little lazy? It’s just that I was never waited on since I was a child, which is why I developed this diligent habit.”

"Keep it up, so you'll be able to serve me well in the future."

"You're such a strange person. Why do you have such a self-righteous attitude in demanding that Shiori-chan serve you?"

"Of course, it's because I want to keep my little cutie by my side."

"Nonsense! Tokyoites love to lie, they're disgusting!"

"Look at you, you changed the subject as soon as I brought it up."

"Who changed the subject?" Shiori Ninomiya suddenly put on a stern face. "You don't actually think that just because I say a few nice words, I'll become your devoted concubine, do you?"

“Yes,” Tsukasa Tazaki nodded, “that’s what I thought, and I took it seriously.”

"You lied again. You're clearly a womanizer, yet..." As she spoke, Shiori Ninomiya smiled and genuinely laughed as she scolded him, "How annoying! If you say anything that will make me cry, I'm going to send you back to Tokyo."

"Eat bread." Tsukasa Tazaki picked up a piece of bread covered in honey and stuffed it into her mouth.

"I'll eat you, you bad person!" Shiori Ninomiya swallowed the bread viciously, then picked up the tomato soup and took a few sips. The steaming vapor rising from the bowl warmed her heart as well.

In the beams of sunlight on a winter morning, the dust particles around the two people tangled together.

After breakfast, while Tsukasa Tazaki was washing the dishes at the sink, Shiori Ninomiya was humming a song and feeding the chicks in the chicken coop.

I couldn't quite make out what song they were humming, but there was a strange voice shouting insults like "idiot."

After washing the dishes and chopsticks, drying them with a cloth and putting them in the cupboard, and then washing his hands again, Tsukasa Tazaki went to the henhouse and scolded the parrot for a while on behalf of Little Cutie. Only after scolding the green parrot away did the two of them leave the house and go for a walk in the fields on the outskirts of the village.

The reason for choosing to take a walk instead of feeding the ducks...

It was mainly because Tsukasa Tazaki said he wanted to see the snow scene, and Shiori Ninomiya instantly forgot that Duck was still hungry and happily became the tour guide.

The air in the mountain village in the early morning is cold and quiet.

The stream by the roadside flows gently, creating a pleasant sound.

Above us was the clear Hokkaido sky, and pure white snowflakes drifted endlessly among the mountains and rivers, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty.

"It's so cold!" Shiori Ninomiya exclaimed, shrinking her neck.

Tazaki Tsukasa turned his head and looked at her petite face, which was accentuated by the thick white down jacket and scarf.

The little cutie is the kind of girl with big eyes and thin lips, whose eyebrows and eyes contain a quirky and mischievous charm, but when she is wrapped up tightly and only her face is exposed, it highlights her cuteness and innocence.

How can I describe this aura?

He looks a bit like that silly Shikami, hahaha...

Seeing his strange smile, Shiori Ninomiya subconsciously touched her face and asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong with my face?"

Tsukasa Tazaki suppressed a laugh: "There are snowflakes on your eyebrows."

"Hey? Quick, take a picture of me!"

Tsukasa Tazaki took out her phone and exclaimed, "Wait, let me get myself together."

As she spoke, she opened her mouth wide, took several deep breaths of the cold air, and then pursed her lips.

Her little face turned red from the cold, and at the same time, her eyes became watery.

Her stubborn expression as she held back her tears evoked a poignant sense of sadness, a unique feeling of a disabled but determined country girl.

"Click~" Tsukasa Tazaki took a picture.

"Let me see!"

Ninomiya Shiori leaned closer, and Tazaki Tsukasa could smell her body fragrance.

"awesome!"

I'll send it to you.

"hurry up."

Upon receiving the photos from Tsukasa Tazaki, Shiori Ninomiya immediately opened a four-person group chat and sent the photos out.

[Ninomiya: @Kuriyama, Sakura, Tazaki bullied me ╥﹏╥]

[Tazaki:? 】

[Kuriyama: How did he bully you?]

[Ninomiya: I told him not to kiss me, but he insisted, and even pinned me against the wall by holding my hands down. Last night he even crawled into my bed and wouldn't let go of me.]

[Tazaki:? 】

[Kuriyama:...Scum! 】

[Kikawa: Scumbag...!]

[Tazaki: She's slandering me.]

[Ninomiya: No, I didn't.]

[Ninomiya: Shiori-chan is so innocent, what bad intentions could she possibly have?]

Tazaki Tsukasa wanted to argue a bit more, but by then the two had already left the village and their cell phones lost signal.

It seems they can't shake off the blame for bullying innocent country girls anytime soon.

Putting away her phone, Shiori Ninomiya snapped her fingers coolly and said with a smile, "Today's match is a great victory for Shiori-chan."

“People from Hokkaido love to lie the most,” Tsukasa Tazaki muttered weakly, his hands tucked into his sleeves because they were so cold.

"They were all corrupted by people from Tokyo."

Shiori Ninomiya snuggled up to him, wrapping her arms around his, and the two of them happily admired the snowy scenery of Hokkaido.

The sky is high and the land is vast, covered in white snow, with layers upon layers of mountains stretching as far as the eye can see.

The trees along the way were all bare, their branches covered with a thick layer of snow. Looking up from under the trees, the sense of separation visible through the dark brown branches resembled cracks in the sky, a unique atmosphere of winter.

The two walked side by side, slowly moving away from the village, strolling through a field covered in snow. As they walked, they would occasionally see a dog frolicking in the snow, and they could also see cattle and sheep wandering in the snow.

“That piece of land over there belongs to our family,” Shiori Ninomiya said, pointing to a ridge in the field.

Tsukasa Tazaki looked over there, but it was completely bare and there was nothing there.

“We were originally going to set up a plastic greenhouse to grow vegetables,” Shiori Ninomiya said, “but because my mother’s condition worsened, my father simply couldn’t find the time, so we didn’t do it.”

"Unfortunately, I also wanted to experience picking fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse."

“Come with me.” Shiori Ninomiya took his hand, and the two ran towards the terraced fields on the mountain. Before long, they arrived in front of a plastic greenhouse.

From the entrance, it appears that the planted area is filled with out-of-season fruits and vegetables.

There was a row of tomatoes, a row of cucumbers, a row of green peppers, and some scallions and garlic sprouts scattered around.

Stepping inside, the temperature was unusually warm.

"Can I pick some?" After walking in, Tsukasa Tazaki looked around curiously, his eyes finally settling on the cucumber trellis.

“Of course you can.” Ninomiya Shiori picked a cucumber, wiped off the prickles with her sleeve, and handed it to him. “Eat without worry. Shiori-chan is here to protect you. No one will bother you.”

Tazaki Tsukasa looked at the bluish scratches on the sleeve of her white down jacket and silently put the cucumber into his mouth.

The juice is sweet and refreshing, making it exceptionally delicious.

"Want some tomatoes?"

"Give me one."

Shiori Ninomiya picked two ripe tomatoes and wiped them with her sleeve. When she saw Tsukasa Tazaki bite off half of one, revealing the yellow seeds inside, she smiled with exceptional joy and satisfaction.

After eating the tomatoes, the two left the greenhouse and continued their walk up the mountain.

Along the way, Shiori Ninomiya turned around several times to look at the town at the foot of the mountain.

As the altitude increases, magnificent snow-capped mountains come into view. The air and sky are crystal clear, and everything in sight is sparkling, as if frozen in ice.

The snow crunched underfoot as Tsukasa Tazaki stood atop the mountain, looking down at the layered valleys below. The town's rooftops were covered in snow, resembling a vast snowfield. Further ahead, the gaze reached the azure sea.

An endless expanse of breathtaking beauty.

"It's so beautiful~" Tsukasa Tazaki, who had never seen snow before, was stunned by the scene and couldn't help but open his arms, stand against the wind and shout: "Ah~ let me sleep here tonight."

“Sleeping in the snow will freeze you to death.” Shiori Ninomiya couldn’t help but laugh as she looked at his childlike face. “Kiki always pretends to be an adult, but now he’s finally showing his true colors.”

White steam escaped from her alluring little mouth, only to be dispersed by the cold wind.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a real boy.” Tsukasa Tazaki turned around, suddenly reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, and the two of them fell down together on the thick snow.

There was no one around, only desolation and sparseness.

A boy and a girl lay side by side in the snow, gazing at the clear sky.

"We're going to the hospital at noon. How are you feeling right now?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked.