'............ one dress'
'Z, it's not fair!I've just thrown a snowball at you before the spurt!
'......It's eat or be eaten in a race.'
'Was it that deadly?
'I lost.
'I'll be eaten.
'The loser becomes flesh...'

Magda and Loretta ran across the snow, followed by their brothers.
...... They're so energetic, these guys.

'I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad you're feeling better, Magda.'
'Yeah, well.

We ate at the church, drank a pot full of oshiruko together, and returned to the sunny pavilion.
Magda had recovered her energy and was no longer shivering in the cold.
It seemed that Magda was not particularly vulnerable to the cold after all.

Magda was striking a victorious gut pose in front of the sunlit pavilion.
As I stared at him, our gazes suddenly met.

'............ oof'.

As soon as our gazes met, he quickly averted his gaze.
...... Hmm... I think he's avoiding me.
After the meal, Magda started to show some signs of avoiding me.
He was normal at dinner. As soon as he became calm after a while, he must have suddenly started to feel embarrassed.

'Hooaaaah!

Loretta, who was heading for the garden, made a strange noise.
What is it?
What's going on?

'O,oni,oni,oni,oni,oni!

Loretta comes back on all fours, flapping her feet. Is she hunched over?

'Hi, hi, hi, someone's down!
'Oh my God!

Ginette rushes out at Loretta's words. ...... And then she gets her foot caught in the snow and takes a big fall.

'............It hurts. ......'

It's because you're dashing with your hobbles,...... and you have to walk with your feet straight up and down.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.
The entrance to the store.
There's a man lying in front of the door.

Most of his body is buried under a huge pile of snow.

Around the man, there were only footprints that seemed to belong to him and those of a person wearing kimonos.

'The murderer may have been wearing kanjiki. ......'
'Those are my footprints!
'Loretta ............ you ......'
'I'm not the culprit!It's just my footprints from when I went to check it out earlier!
'Mr. Yashiro!Look at that person's fingertips...... there are some words written on them.'

Ginette was right, there was what looked like writing on the hand of the man buried in the snow.
It was a dying message. It's a kind of dying message, in which the victim uses the last of his strength to leave a clue to the killer.
And the words written on it were: ...... 'Magda Tan'.

'............ Magda'
'...... frame-up'.

Magda denies committing the crime. However, the dying message clearly states that Magda is the culprit. ......

'But Magda was with us the whole time.
'd*mn, so ...... Magda has a perfect alibi ......'.

I never thought I'd be the one to prove a suspect's alibi. ............ No, but I'm sure there's some trick to ...... ............Oh, yeah!

'I get it!

I clench my fists and assert to all those present.

'The killer is in here!

The air ripples with a ...... buzz.
As everyone's attention is drawn to me, I begin to tell them the perfect theory I've constructed in my brain.

'The murderer somehow summoned the victim to this place, somehow came from the church to this place in an instant, somehow killed the victim, and somehow returned to the church with an unsuspecting face!
'You don't understand a single thing, big brother!
'Yeah, shut up!That's what tricks are all about!

It's the mystery that makes the impossible possible!

'In other words. The culprit is Magda ............, who worked a little harder today than ...... Loretta!
'Wait a minute, sir!You can't decide like that!
'Oh, um, Yashiro-san ......, before you do that, you need to help those who have fallen .......'
'Oh, you're right. You have a point.'
'A point, is it? ......'

A troubled Jeannette told me to help a man up who was buried in the snow.
The man was ...... Umaro, as most people expected.



'Yeah . It was an accident.'

If the victim is Umaro, there's no need to speculate. A suspicious death wouldn't be surprising at all. Rather, he would have said in an interview, 'Oh, I knew that would happen someday.

'Hey, Umaro.

I lightly slapped Umaro's cheek, which was frozen to a crisp by the cold.

'......'s ............'s ......'.

Oh, there's an 'is' in there too.

'......Hey, is that you, Yashiro ............?'

Umaro opens his eyelids.
His cheeks seem to be puffed up.

I look into Umaro's eyes and say in a clear tone.

'Don't illegally dump in front of the store.
'I'm not trash, you know!

Yeah. I'm glad to see you're feeling better.

'...... Oumalo'.
'Oh ...... Magda-tan ............ I miss you ......'
'...... almost made me a criminal.'
'Aah!I don't know why Magda-tan is so angry!
'......punpunpun'


Haha, why don't you ask him to take you there? To an angel. I'll leave you next to Patrach. I'll take Paula. - Substitute?She's a Canis Major.

'Why did you write Magda's name?
'What?It's ............. Why did I write this ......?'

It seems I wrote it unconsciously.
In the midst of the extreme cold, I wrote "Magda-tan" with the last of my strength in my fading consciousness. ............ Yeah, it's too late for this guy.

'I don't remember much, but did you think it would be good to be near Magda-tan when you die?
'You don't care if it's a letter? ......'

These feelings of his aren't love, they're faith.

'Anyway, please come inside. I'll have some hot soup for you in a minute.'
'Oh ...... I'm sorry.'

Jeannette hurriedly entered the dining room.
She made a pretense of passing by so that Umaro wouldn't get nervous and lose his strength.

'Excuse me, sir. I haven't turned on the stove yet. ...... If it's too cold, I'll bring you a blanket. ......'
'Oh, don't worry about it.
'Even if it's Magda's blanket?
'.................. Gokuri-ssu.'
'Mr. Manager!There are two perverts here!
'Oh, no, no, no!I'm not the only one!

Hey, hey. Am I unanimously recognized as a pervert?I'll throw you out in the snow, you son of a b*tc*.

'...... seven rings'

Magda will bring you a chicken and a shichirin from the kitchen. He's not going to ...... eat them, but he's going to heat up the chickens. He's been sitting in the cold dining room all day. Now he's curled up in a ball wrapped in straw.

'What's this?Shichirin?'
'...... Magda's favorite.'
'Great stuff!I like it too!

'I like simple things, Umaro.

''Hey brothers.''
'''Aye aye!'''
''You haven't said anything yet!
'''I can do almost anything!
'''Then go kick Umaro in the face.'''
'''Aiai-sa!'''
'''Don't listen to those bad things!I'll re-educate you!
'''I can't go against the master!

I see. They're master and apprentice, aren't they?
Then let's have them do their best to help their master.

''Help me assemble the stove.''
'''Aye aye!
''If we have a stove, everyone will be warm and we can get money from Umaro.''
''There's a fee?



The charcoal in the shichirin is lit, and little by little the coals turn red.
Wait a little longer.

I take my brothers and start to set up the stove.
Magda is at the fire with Umaro, and Loretta is helping Ginette.

'There you are. The guests.'
'Yes, I did. Mmm-hmm.'

As she exits the kitchen, she calls out to Ginette, who smiles at her funny.
You're here even on a snowy day, aren't you, Umaro? Well, I knew you'd come.

It took about twenty minutes to set up the stove. The chimney was tucked inside the stove. Three separate iron tubes are connected and fixed to the holes in the wall.
During the renovation, they had drilled a hole in the same place as before, and the length of the chimney was perfect. That's Umaro.

'It may still take a little while for the wood to burn,' he said.

Ginette came out of the kitchen to watch, happy to see the stove installed. She seemed to be excited about it.

I asked Loretta, who had a lot of energy, to bring me some firewood and I lit the stove.
............ Yeah. It's going to take a while.

'In the meantime, drink this to keep warm.

That's what Ginette brought me, oshiruko.
It was a good thing that I had prepared a little more than I had expected to serve at the Sunlit Pavilion.
We put the oshiruko on a table away from the Umaro. It's a seat near the stove.

'Oh ...... thank you ...... thank you ............'.

Umaro gets up slowly and moves to the table.
It will get warmer soon.

'Ah ......'

Ginette exclaims, looking at the window.
As I followed her, I saw that it had started to snow.
It hadn't been falling while we were at the church. It's snowing a lot.

'It might be a really snowy season this year.

Ginette muttered, and Umaro agreed with her.

'Yes. It's rare that it snows in the daytime.

Apparently, it's common for snow to fall at night during heavy snowfalls.
Looks like it's going to pile up again. ......

'Maybe I won't be able to go to church tomorrow.
'Is that so?'
'Yes. When there's a lot of snow, people lose their sense of direction and can get lost even on familiar roads.

It's called a whiteout.
When you are hit by a blizzard of snow that makes it impossible to see what is in front of you, the world looks completely white. Even if there is no snowfall, the diffuse reflection of light creates an illusion that the boundary between the snow and the clouds is lost. Even people who are accustomed to snow can get lost because they cannot recognize height, width, and perspective. ......

'Maybe we should go to the church again while the sun is high and share some food with them.
'The church has reserves, right?'
'Of course we do. But it's selfish of me to want to do something for .......'

Ginette said it was selfish of her to donate.
No one would think of it as meddling, though.

'Oh, well, I'll help!I'd like to thank you for this soup as well.

Umaro raises his hand vigorously, as if he likes the soup.
What's so important about a guy who was almost lost in a store? ......
I'll go along with you if I have to.

'Magda and the others can stay here. I don't want to turn off the stove.'
'............'

Magda is staring at me.
'...... That's not what I meant.

'Just stay here and wait for us to come back.'

When I fluff up his chemo ears, his eyes narrow and he lets out a 'mmm'.

'...... If that's the case.

He seemed to be convinced somehow.
But we'll have to go through those snowy roads again. ............ I sigh.

'Anyway, let's see how the snow goes for a while longer. Hopefully it will stop.

It was decided to wait and see while the snow was falling.
The quietly falling snow was beautiful and ...... somewhat eerie.

'Well, let's take it easy. There are no stupid customers coming in the snow like this.
'......, did I just get dissed?

Well, only the magda-addicted Umaro would come here in the snow like this.
The only other person who would want to come here so much is ......

'I'm sorry, please!
'......It's cold ......'



............ There you are.

The door of the sunlit pavilion opens and two beautiful women rush in.
Natalia is wearing a black maid's dress that has been turned white by the snow, and Estella is being carried on her back by Natalia.

'Can someone please give my daughter something warm?
'Even tits have human rights!
'...... demand is sure to be there.
'Women are charming!Even if you don't have breasts, it's okay!
'No, gentlemen. It's not a warm word, it's ......!
'Wait a minute, Natalia. ...... That wasn't even a warm word. ......'

Shivering and breathing hard, Natalia and Estella give me a last-ditch effort.
Where do they get that kind of power......?They're burning up their life force to make a comment?

While I was making a fool of myself, Ginette came over with oshiruko for the two of us.

'Yes, sir. It'll warm you up.'
'Ginette-chan, ...... you are the only one who is kind.'

Estella got off Natalia's back and hugged Ginette around the waist. Ginette, who had left some soup stock by the stove, pats Estella on the head as she hugs her.

Natalia stands up, goes to Ginette's side, and bows condescendingly.

'Thank you very much. Two bowls of soup like this for me: ......'
'One for me!

They've been in some kind of trouble again,...... there's so much snow on the ground,...... I wonder if they had a dispute over whether to shovel or not.



'Why did you come here in the snow like this?Why don't you just stay home and do your work?
'There's no one at my house right now. ...... My father and mother are evacuating before the heavy snow season, and everyone else has gone back home. ......'
'No planning!

What are these people doing?
Why are you letting everyone take a break at the same time?Why don't you leave some of them behind.

'Then, isn't it hard to eat and stuff?
'Yes, sir. It's hard.'
'...... Natalia. Whose fault do you think it is?'

Natalia replies with a straight face, while Estella stares at her.
I see. The trouble happened because Natalia, the head waiter, gave the waitresses a vacation. ...... You're easy to understand, you know.

If so, why don't you stay with us during the heavy snowfall?It's not the most comfortable place.
'Really?That would be great. ...... I'm sorry, Ginette.'
'Thank you for your kindness.

We've got a new houseguest.
Well, there's an empty room.

'''We're here too!
''Oh, I want to be here too!

said my brother and Loretta.

''I know Loretta is a pain in the ass, but ......''
'That's not what I meant!
'You can go home to Newtown, right?I'll implicitly say that to Umaro as well.''
'...... something, I could sense that kind of atmosphere.

I can understand why you want to stay here, but there isn't much room.
Estella and the others, but I can't carry Loretta and her brother with me. ......

Boom, boom, boom!

Suddenly, the door of the sunlit pavilion was slammed, and everyone in the room shuddered. Everyone in the room shivered.

'What the hell is ......?
'Sir, is that ......?'
'Wait, Jeannette!

He stopped Jeannette as she went to open the door.

'I don't know what's in ...... here, but I'm ready for anything to happen ...... Umaro, pick up.'
'Come on, you're gonna cry.


As soon as the door opened, a cold wind blew in.
In the midst of it all, standing there like an ice statue was a ............ bear!

'A ............ sweet thing ............... ...'

It was Delia.
I'm not sure if she cried a lot or not, but her eyes and nose ...... are now covered with ice all over her face.

You can find a lot of people who are looking for the best way to get the most out of their lives. I forgot to buy some ............ sweets, and when I woke up ...... at night, I couldn't sleep. ..................Hiccup......'

She curled up her big body and sobbed while squirming like a little girl.
At any rate, I take her in front of the stove.

'Miss Delia. Here's some sweet oshiruko. Here you go.
'Hmph!It smells so good!Can I eat it?


'Yes, sir. It's hot, so please be careful.'
'Okay!I'll eat it!It's hot!

...... You don't know anything, do you?

According to Delia, she was so excited about playing in the river that she forgot to prepare for the heavy snow season. Naturally, she also forgot to stock up on sweets, and by the time she realized it, the snow had already piled up.

I guess there are girls like this in the world who don't plan ......

Hey!Can you leave it here during the heavy snow season?
'Huh?
'I'll do anything you want!I'll even share a room with Yashiro!

No, no, no. You can't have the same room as me.
And 'I'll do anything' in such a situation is too dangerous.

'No, that's as good as ......'.
'I don't have anything sweet to eat. ............'

Large tears trickled down from Delia's eyes.
I feel like I'm being stared at by an abandoned dog. ...... It's really big, but ......

'Yashiro-san. That's fine. If you want to stay in your room, you can stay with me. As long as Delia-san is okay with it.
'Is that okay?That's the manager!You have a big heart and big tits!
'I don't care about your tits!

Delia hugged Jeannette and made her tail twitch.

'How many people are going to be staying at ...... after all?'

I asked with a sigh, and eight hands went up.
'......,' she said.

'Oumalo. Are you going to stay too?'
'No, because I'm planning to come here for three meals anyway,......, so it's a little hard to go back and forth,.......'

If I'm going to let the bastard stay here, then I'm going to get my own room. ...... Good grief.

'You'll have to pay extra.
'Why not?...... No, if you can get him to stay, ............ might be a good idea. I'm sure Yashiro won't mind throwing you out in the snow. ......'

This guy is getting used to being an abused character. I'm not sure what to make of it.

Oh, man. Ginette's sycophancy is getting to be a bit much. After all, she's planning to let everyone who wants to stay at the sunny pavilion. ......

Let's see, Estella, Natalia, Loretta and her three brothers, and then Delia, Umaro and Becco. ............

What?When did you get mixed up in this?
'I'm embarrassed to say that I've neglected to prepare for winter shelter. ...... Please be lenient with me. ......'

I'm ashamed to say that I've neglected to prepare for winter shelter.
So now we have nine housemates.
You could throw Estella and Natalia into the empty room, Delia into Ginette's room, and Loretta and her brothers into Magda's room. Or we could offer Magda's room to Loretta and her siblings, and Magda could go to Ginette's room ...... and the bastard could end up in my room ............ Ah, It's annoying.

'We don't have enough bedding...... we might have to ask you two to share one, is that okay?'
'We'll be fine. Umaro and Bekko don't need a futon.'
'Yes, they do!
'They will freeze without bedding in this cold weather, that they will!
'Let's warm each other with human skin!
'I don't like men together!
'I don't want it either, that I don't!

How selfish of me!
I might have to get some bedding for you. ......

'Maybe there are some extra blankets in the church.
'Yes, they do. I'll borrow them in exchange for food.'
'Well, I'll help you. I don't want to be left in the lurch.''
'Oh, Delia. You're very reliable.'
'Hey, ......, I said the same thing a while ago.

It's snowing outside my window. It's getting a little weaker.

'Should we go earlier?
'Yes, it is. ...... And it doesn't look like it's going to stop. ......'
'This snow will intensify by midday.

Natalia says confidently.

'Natalia's weather predictions are quite accurate. There's some kind of observation method that runs in the family. I don't know much about it.


'It's a family secret. But we're confident in our accuracy.'
'So now's the time to go.
'Then I'll go get ready.

I just got back, but I think I can make one more round trip.
I'll donate enough food for a few days. I'm sure Bertina won't let her children starve and eat themselves to death. ...... Well, it's better to have a full stomach.

Ginette went to the kitchen and brought in food from the pantry.
Delia helps her, and Umaro and I carry the food out of the store. Umaro and I carry the food out of the store, to be loaded onto a sled.
When Umaro saw the sled, he said something like this.

'This sled could be more stable if you modify the legs a bit.
'Can you do it quickly?
'I can do it in five minutes.
'Okay, go ahead.

We're carrying a different amount of food than we did when we only carried breakfast.
If it's going to be sturdy, it might as well be.

And then--

'Hey, Yashiro!

A familiar crocodile came.
Mormat came in with a backpack full of vegetables.

'You're the one who wrote strange words in my field!
'You're so quick to suspect people like that .......'
'You're not?
'No, it's not.
'Isn't this the jackpot?

Right or wrong doesn't really matter right now.
I'm talking about the fact that he's immediately suspicious of people. ......

'd*mn. Here, give this to little Jeannette.

I said, dropping the basket full of vegetables onto the snow.

'Are you sure?'
'Yes. We've got more than enough for ourselves. The sunny pavilion is likely to have customers even at a time like this. ...... You're here, aren't you?

Mormat looks into the store and smiles.

'You can add to it.
'Sorry about that.'
'That's okay. I've got a stable life thanks to you guys. This is a small price to pay.'
'Oh, well, be my guest.'

I take the vegetables Mo-Matt brought and smile at him properly.

'Another one!
'You're being too cavalier, aren't you?

I'll take what I can get for free!Especially if it's someone who won't be hurt in any way whatsoever!

I'm not sure.I mean, what's this?
'It's a sled.
'Oh, it's a ...... sled to move your stuff on the snow. ......'
'Do you want one?'
'No, of course I want one. ......'

Did we find the materials yet?
............ hmmm ...... could we use old barrels or crates ...... ......Okay.

'I'll give you a pair of snow boots and this sled to make it easier to walk on the snow. So give me the vegetables!'
'Oh!Are you sure?...... So, what's a pair of hammocks?'
''My brothers!
'''Yes!'''

At the sound of my voice, my brothers came running out. They dexterously walked around on the snow with their walking sticks attached to their feet.

''Oh!My feet aren't sinking!What's that?
'It's a good one, isn't it?
'Give it to me!I'll bring a lot of vegetables!

Okay, okay, this should be enough food for the housemates.

'So, Umaro. Thanks.'
'I don't know how to make it!
'My brothers will teach you.'
'What?You guys know how to make it?
'Of course!
'Accumulated knowledge!
'You're the experts!
'Then I'll teach you how to make it.


'Is that how you ask for things?
'Your figure is too high, boss!
'A lowly carpenter's rise to power!
'...... You guys have some nerve. ............'

Umaro shakes his head at his arrogant brothers.
'Well, I hope you get along.

'Are you ready?'

Delia pokes her head out.

'What the hell, you're not done at all.
'I'm reinforcing the sled. Umaro, how much longer?
'Oh, it's done. Now it's pretty sturdy.'

As they are loading the reinforced sled with food, Ginette comes out.
She finds Mormat, greets him, and after hearing his story, agrees to exchange the sled for the ingredients. In fact, she welcomes him.

So, in the end, it was me, Ginette, and Delia who went to the church.
Well, we're just going and coming back, so it shouldn't be a problem.

'Well, I'll see you later.
'...... Take care.'
'Thank you for the blanket!

Magda and the others saw us off, and we set off.


...... I never thought I'd pick up something like that on the road. ............






It's not too much of a waste of time.
The one who picked it up was Imelda, the princess of the woodcutter's guild.