Part 2

When we got off the direct bus that took us to the ski slopes, the eight of us decided not to go into the ski resort immediately but to take a stroll nearby.

It was not planned, but since there were several souvenir shops around the area from the bus, it began with Amikura's offer after noticing them. It's not like the skis will run off after 20 or 30 minutes, so.

"Whoah ~ It's so cold in the morning here. The inside of the car was warm, so I can feel the extra temperature difference."

Saying so, Kushida rubbed her gloves together and shook her body.

"That's right. This cold at the end of November is very surprising. It also feels strange that there's snow."

"If you want to look around, just do it quickly. Though, I'm sure everything is still closed." Having said that, Ryuen called out to the group that was stopping.

The time is still just after 9:15. The ski slopes open at 9:30, but the shops around them are still largely closed.

As for Ryuuen, I guess he intends to just enjoy skiing for the day, and it looks like he will stay and wait for the slopes to open.

Among the few stores already open at this point in time is an unusual apparel store, and for some reason Kitou quickly approached it and started staring at the clothes inside.

A lot of flashy and unusual clothes are on display, but I guess he was wondering if there is anything he'd like.

Just as I thought so, he put back the clothes he had in his hand, and started searching for others.

"Still, your feet are huge, Kitou. It's like the footprints of a snowman."

Watanabe was impressed to see the footprints of the snow that lasted up to the apparel store, and compared them to his size.

Although Kitou is tall, even without taking this into account, it seems certain that the footprints are large.

"Let's all go."

The one who came up with the idea, Amikura, said so, and walked off in a hurry.

Kushida immediately took the invitation from Amikura, but it seems that Yamamura is going to refuse and stay here.

It seems that Watanabe and Nishino also decided to walk individually.

"Yamamura-san? You're not going?"

"... oh, I'll stay... Please don't worry about it."

Only me, Ryuuen, and Yamamura remained.

I really wanted to look around with Amikura and the others, but I missed the wave because I didn't hear anything like "would you like to come with me?"

Now, what should I do? I could go around by myself like Watanabe and the others...

After Yamamura refrained from the invite, she intends to stay here and wait for her companions to return.

If I leave, she'll be left alone with Ryuuen.

It would have been fine if these two got along, but they had almost never met each other before. I can't imagine them getting along with each other, so it would be cruel to leave.

Therefore, unless Yamamura or Ryuen begin to act alone, it would be correct to remain, although frustrating.

"..."

Yamamura shuddered as she looked at Amikura and the others, whose backs are getting smaller and smaller.

The cause, after all, is her hands hidden inside her coat. It is almost certain that she has come this far without gloves.

So, should I lend them to her?

However, if she refuses to accept, it will be a little awkward.

Kitou and the group 6 had already left, and the situation is quiet, with just the three of us.

Yamamura seemed to be trying to endure the cold as much as she could, but she still couldn't hide it.

"Hey, Yamamura, take out your hands."

"Huh..!?"

As I continued to wonder whether I should call out to her, Ryuuen instructed Yamamura in a tight tone, who was standing there with her hands in the inside pockets of her coat.

Apparently, Ryuuen noticed the coldness of Yamamura and the unnaturalness of her keeping her hands in her coat. I thought that her cold hands would come out,  but Yamamura averted her gaze, and...

"No."

Although it was a quiet voice, she turned him down completely.

"Huh?"

"I don't want to take them out. Because it's cold."

She did not mention whether or not she is wearing gloves, but stated a reason. You can feel the cool breeze even through the gloves in Hokkaido.

So it is certain that if you put your hands inside your coat, they will be warmer.

I thought this was the end of it, but Ryuen stepped on the snow path and came over to Yamamura.

Then he grabbed her right arm and forced it out of her pocket.

"Ah~"

Confirmed that she was not wearing gloves, Yamamura rushed to hide her hands in her coat when Ryuuen let go of her arm.

"That must be cold. What happened to your gloves?"

Ryuuen confirmed that she is bare-handed, but Yamamura did not answer.

Turning her back, as if saying to leave her alone.

"You're not even good at this, and you want to hurt yourself by paralyzing your hands?" Ryuuen made a valid point.

As a beginner, Yamamura must not even be satisfied with her skiing yet.

In such a situation, if your hands are useless due to the cold, you will not be able to make progress. On the contrary, it only increases the risk of falling.

"If you get seriously injured and make a fuss, my skiing will be cancelled. Can you take that responsibility?"

Emphasising his own skiing, it sounded like a mixture of Ryuuen-like egotism and clumsy kindness.

"No, that's..."

Yamamura seemed unable to talk back on an issue that was not merely a matter of emotion.

"So... Gloves?"

"...I forgot them."

"Ha, who would be so stupid?"

Under this cold weather, no one will forget their gloves. Laughing with his nose, Ryuuen lowered his gaze to his own gloves.

No way, does he intend to lend his gloves to Yamamura?

"Yo, Ayanokouji. Give her your damn gloves."

"...Come on, me?"

He didn't just show such gentle development and threw the whole thing over to me.

"But I'm a novice skier too?"

"If you're injured, it's no problem."

I don't quite understand what the rationale is, but... Unfortunately, the store that sells gloves around here doesn't seem to be open.

In that case, I'll have to lend these to Yamamura.

There may be special gloves in the ski resort, but even 10 or 15 minutes of warmth would make some difference.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine, so."

Yamamura is already exhaling as she distanced herself by saying so.

"I'd suggest you stop. Cold causes vasoconstriction. Your body is shaking because your muscles are reacting to raise your body temperature. It might be dangerous to start skiing in that condition. Wouldn't it be most frustrating if things turn out like Ryuuen said they would?" "That's..."

I hal forced the gloves I removed onto Yamamura.

"But... what about you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm fine. It's most important that you don't do anything to injure yourself while skiing."

They don't have a special resistance to cold, but as Ryuuen says, if you control it with technique, it won't be a problem.

"...sorry about this..."

With gratitude, Yamamura put on the pair of large gloves, her hands trembling slightly.

Then, she put her hands inside her coat again.

They will remain cold for a while, but after a few minutes it will improve.

"Later, you'll need to buy a new pair of gloves of your size."

"Okay. Um, when we get to the ski resort, please let me pay for your gloves, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Pay?"

"I've already worn them, so it would be rude to return them now. They're dirty."

"I don't think they'd get dirty. No, you don't have to worry about falling down and dirtying them, just return them to me as they are."

"That isn't what I mean. When I put things on, they get dirty, so..."

Does she have a germophobic way of thinking? No, but Yamamura wore the gloves without resistance, albeit reservedly.

I don't understand her.

"I want you to let me pay for them, after all."

When it came to reimbursement for the gloves, I don't think she would blatantly choose the cheapest ones and return them.

It would be too high an expense for actions for which reimbursement is unnecessary.

"It'll just be a waste of private points. There is no need to do something like that."

"Won't you be disgusted by the gloves?"

Again, I don't understand what she is saying.

Why would the gloves end up becoming disgusting, just because Yamamura wore them? Even if this was not Yamamura, I would have felt the same way.

"It's okay. It would be worse to make a weird fuss about it and pay for it."

I expressed myself firmly to show that I would be uncomfortable if she paid.

"Then, let me at least give you a different kind of thanks."

I didn't think a thank you was necessary, but maybe I should do something to make the Yamamura feel better.

If she is going to be so stubborn, should I provide her with a path that is acceptable to her?

"Then, in exchange for a thank you, can I ask you a question?"

"...Yes?"

"Is there a reason that you weren't wearing gloves since the time we were waiting for the bus in the morning?"

"I just forgot."

I know that she didn't leave her hands bare on purpose.

"You had as much time as you needed to go back to get them. Did you forget that too?" I took another step and asked what I was curious about.

"... because it wasn't that kind of atmosphere..."

"Atmosphere?"

"It felt like it would be hard to come back."

It is true that there were a lot of students in the lobby, but I doubt it would be that hard to come back.

No, that's just how I feel, and I have to look at it differently from how Yamamura feels.

It was only a few minutes of interaction, but I could understand a little bit of the student called Yamamura.

After that, I was interested.

"Yamamura, who do you hang out with the most?"

What kind of students do these types of students make friends with?

Are they the same quiet kids or are they in a circle of popular people like Kushida who welcomes everyone?

Or are they the type of people who avoid others?

Yamamura, however, did not answer the question immediately.

Her expression didn't change much, but she narrowed her eyes slightly awkwardly.

"No one in particular. I spend most of my time alone. "

"By yourself? I don't think they'd leave anyone alone in A-Class."

"I have a faint presence, so... they don't even notice that I am by myself. It's an everyday occurrence, so I'm not particularly concerned about it."

It is true that there are those with a faint presence who are overshadowed by others. If asked which one I am, I would be classified as that type too.

In the case of me and Yamamura, however, we are likely to have completely different characters.

Thinking about it, if Kushida noticed that Yamamura was cold, there was no way she would ignore it.

Even Kushida, who is always concerned about the reactions of others, seems to have become desensitized to Yamamura's shadowy presence.

Well, if she in fact has such a faint presence, I don't think anyone would have paid much attention to her going back to her gloves.

The faintness of her presence.

If I analyze it objectively, I can see some of her true character too.

"Yamamura, do you like yourself?"

"I don't like myself at all. It's impossible. "

Yamamura answered honestly, maybe because of the weakness of having to borrow gloves.

When the thing you want to hide is yourself, that is one of the causes for you having a faint presence.

If you don't want to let people see you or to show yourself, you will inevitably act inconspicuously.

She hides behind someone in a conversation so they don't see her.

It's like wearing black clothes in the middle of the night and not knowing why you don't stand out.

Also, because she does not make unnecessary movements, there are fewer chances for her to be seen.

Her presence is as faint as possible.

Moreover, Yamamura seems to be twice as vigilant towards people.

In other words, she is afraid of the other party and has saved their assertiveness as long as possible.

The combination of these factors has resulted in the creation of a student called Yamamura who is not easily recognized because of her faint presence.

The problem is that even if the cause is known, it cannot be solved immediately.

Yamamura would only become more vigilant if I said something like this, which you would not usually say to someone you have nothing to do with.

Words coming from someone closer to you are easier to accept.

After all, our conversation ended here, and we went silent.

Then, about 10 minutes later, everyone came back just before the opening.

"So, how do we divide? We don't all have to ski together, right?"

Group conduct is required, but we don't have to match every detail with each other.

There is a mix of beginner and advanced skiers, and it's hard, or even rude for everyone to fit in with everyone.

The important thing is balance. Whether it can be judged as reasonable when the surroundings see it.

We'll probably have to think about splitting up the team, starting with the least skilled of the eight.

"Yamamura and I are set for the beginner course, but what should we do? Should we go together?"

First of all, there is a gentle course for beginners underneath the ski slope, so it is definitely necessary for the two of us to ski there.

Yamamura also immediately agreed to Watanabe's offer.

"I think it would be good for someone who can ski to follow along with Yamamura and

Watanabe. I could do it, if you want."

"Ah, it's okay, Kushida-san. I'll do it at the beginners' place. "

"Huh? You sure?"

"You can ski without worrying about it. I know I can ski, but the advanced course is still a little scary for me."

Nishino was able to ski normally, but said that and offered to follow Yamamura.

"I'm not sure about the advanced course either...alright, let's do that."

Perhaps Amikura had intended to do so from the beginning, but as soon as Nishino answered, she told so to everyone around her.

Unexpectedly, we agreed to split into groups of four people each and ski in different courses.

"If you feel like skiing on a course above intermediate level, you can always say so. I'll be around to support you."

In case Nishino and Amikura were holding themselves back from saying anything, Kushida added so.

"Well, lunch is at noon. Let's all meet at the restaurant."

When the group began to move to the entrance of the ski slopes... I thought I heard the unfamiliar sound of horses' hooves, and then I saw Kouenji riding a horse galloping past us, kicking up snow. The students in the other class looked deeply surprised, and Kitou seemed to pull back a little.

For students who were not used to Kouenji, this was not an unreasonable reaction.

"Mr. Customer, that is not the course!"

Immediately after that, several staff who were fumbling from a distance screamed and chased after him.

"What was that..?"

"Amazing, huh..."

In a daze, Nishino and Yamamura stared at Kouenji, who became smaller like a bean grain.

"I wonder. It's a sight I've never seen before, but I'm not that surprised." Kushida said so in a way that I could only hear her.

"As his classmate, I'm used to Kouenji's unusual behaviour, so..."

Strangely, I feel that it is not surprising at all for something like this to happen with Kouenji.

To be blunt, I'm just used to it.