Chapter 316
On the third day of our vacation, we wasted no time going into the city to do some ice skating. After all, the recommended curfew was 9PM. We lost half our night because of the coming snowstorm. However, finding a cab proved difficult. Many people were trying to leave the mountain all at once. Coming back up might even be worse. Not to mention, there were plenty of drivers not taking any chances.
"Maybe we just stay in for today?" Kana suggested. "The snowstorm might clear up tomorrow, and we can do something quick before leaving."
"As much as I like staying in to fuck all day, the next time we can come back is next winter. I wanna play around in the snooooow! What if we flew to the city?" Mio asked seriously.
"Uh, no. Have you been outside? Even the strongest succubus is going to get blown away. We really shouldn't risk it," I said.
Everyone heaved a sigh in unison.
Seeing the others look so down tugged on my heartstrings in all the wrong ways. We should be having fun. Instead, we were sheltering down for the snowstorm. Damn it. If I had set up the itinerary to be two days earlier, we would have been gone before the storm hit.
As we were about to return to the room, an argument drew my attention to the service desk in the lounge. Two staff were murmuring about something.
"Ugh. Looks like the deliveries won't make it today. Good thing guests are leaving, but we still can't feed them all tonight," a female staff member said.
"It's going to be even worse if we're stuck up here until they clear the roads, too. No food for breakfast or lunch tomorrow. One of us could drive into the city ourselves, but…" The male counterpart sighed.
"Excuse me, is something the matter?" I popped over to ask.
Both of them straightened up and put on their best service industry face.
"Oh, there's nothing wrong!" the lady insisted.
"You mentioned something about driving into the city? Maybe we can help each other out?" I offered.
The two of them relented. Apparently, the trucking company that usually delivered fresh groceries to the inn canceled today, citing that their drivers didn't want to risk the snowstorm. The inn had their own work truck.
So, I suggested an exchange. They would drive us into the city, and we would help them. The time it was going to take the staff to collect groceries around the city should take two to three hours. That was plenty enough time for us to ice skate, then hop a ride back.
"Hmmm. I think we should bring this up to the proprietor first," the man said.
They disappeared into the back.
"Saeko, are you sure about this?" Kana asked nervously.
"So we have a chance to enjoy our vacation for a little while longer? Definitely." I nodded.
An older man came rushing out. He was dressed in a black and white yukata with an apron draped over. The two staff, who looked a little troubled, followed after him worriedly.
"Are you the kind soul who volunteered to go into the city to fetch our groceries?" an intense elderly man asked right away.
"Y-Yes, I am!" I answered promptly.
"Great!" he exclaimed. "I'm desperate. Every departing guest is already unhappy. The last thing I want is for the guests who chose to stay to starve. And two of you are succubi, huh. I hear you folks have magic. Maybe you can protect the truck coming back. Just try to return around 5. The sooner, the better."
It was only 9 in the morning. A whole twelve hours before the low-pressure system hit. The two staff introduced themselves as Ms. Serizawa and Mr. Kogiri, long-time employees of Higashi-ryo and born and bred Hokkaido natives.
They led us to the back of the inn, where their truck was sitting in the garage. It was a five-seater cabin with a spacious cargo bed in the back. Since the staff took the driver and passenger seat, the five of us had to cram into the back. Mio, Elendir, and I took a seat. Kana sat on Mio's lap, and Erma sat on mine.
The hour drive to Asahikawa was a bumpy ride down the hill, and Mio teased Kana the whole way by stroking his inner thighs. At the moment, the weather was very fair. However, we were able to see from a far distance how dark the clouds blowing in from the east were. Still, it was quite the ways away. We had time.
"Don't get me wrong. I like nature, but nothing beats civilization." Kana stared at the beautiful city blanketed in snow as the truck entered the streets.
"Alrighty." Ms. Serizawa pulled up a list. "Since we source locally, our groceries are actually in different parts of the city. Normally, our regular delivery guy would have gone to each place. It's up to us now. So… Vegetables at Emerald Mori, meat from Kamina Veal, and fish from Asakana."
"Who named the fish market that… A fish? Morning, I guess? Someone definitely liked their own puns." I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"I'm afraid my understanding of the Japanese language is still too infantile to grasp it." Elendir frowned.
Asahikawa had a sports center in the middle of the city. That was where I booked our ice skating date at. According to Ms. Serizawa, it was right next to Emerald Mori. They planned to leave picking up the vegetables to us, while the two drove across the city for Kamina Veal and Asakana.
They drove us to the sports center first. The place was a lot larger than I expected, with a half-domed roof and many statues of athletes on the outside plaza. As it turned out, Hokkaido was the birthplace of a lot of athletes.
I only took a cursory glance at their website, but they offered a lot of different gyms inside specialized for a variety of sports. Ice skating being one of them.
"We'll call you when we're done on our end. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Also, here." Mr. Kogiri passed me a handwritten letter scrawled in poor penmanship. "Before you say anything, I didn't write this. The old man did. Anyway, the folks at Emerald Mori will know exactly who it's from. Just give it to them, and they'll understand."
"Thanks for the lift! I really appreciate it!" I bowed.
Serizawa and Kogiri drove off, and the rest of us made our way into Asahikawa's sports center. But we weren't the only ones. The parking lot was somewhat packed. Buses pulled up at regular intervals. Police worked alongside the building staff, guiding people inside.
"I wonder what that's all about?" Kana said aloud.
"Excuse me, are you here to shelter in the sports center? You'll have to follow the line!" An officer raced up to us but skidded to a halt after seeing what I was. "A succubus?!"
"I-I don't mean any harm, if that's what you're worried about. We're not looking for shelter. We came for the ice rink," I hastily explained.
"The hell is going on over there?" Mio asked.
"Ahh. In that case, you're welcome to go right ahead. I guess? That there is Asahikawa's first line of panic response. The snowstorm's coming, so the homeless and folks from the rural parts are hauling in for shelter. Problem is we're a little overwhelmed by the numbers. Not enough staff and volunteers to help this year." He turned back to the sports center with worry in his eyes.
"Hm. Efficient, practical, and very forward-thinking. If it were up to me, your problem would be resolved by putting the able-bodied to work in the shelter. Leave them to the elements if they refuse," Erma suggested.
"Yeah… can't do that, even if I do somewhat agree with you. Firstly, it's inhumane. Secondly— Oh, my sergeant is waving at me. I better get back to work. Tell the staff you're not seeking refuge, and they'll send you the right way!" The officer rushed back to join the crew of law enforcement.
We headed inside and were surprised to find the line wrapping around the side of the building. It felt like people were entering Comiket. As expected, a sports center staff bundled up in warm clothes stopped us near the entrance. She even had some fluffy ear muffs on.
"I'm sorry, uh… succubi and dark elves. You're going to have to wait in line like everyone else," the young woman said.
"We're here to go ice skating. Can you show us the way?" I asked.
"Oh. Follow me then. Mr. Hei, I'm going to show these folks to the rink!" she shouted to her coworkers.
We were brought to a large stadium. On the way there, the female staff explained how this place was also used interchangeably for ice hockey. It was a large rink, separated into two sections. One for beginner skaters, and the other for more seasoned. Plenty of people skated around and fell on their asses. That was going to be us soon.
Outside of the rink, a staff helped people at the service station find suitable ice skates. Elendir and Erma were plastered against the glass panel, mouths hanging open as they watched skaters speed past.
"I-I can't possibly do what they do. It looks terrifying!" Elendir gasped.
"And the ice skates… Are those blades attached to the bottom? Isn't that dangerous?" Erma winced as someone slipped onto their butts.
"It's actually not as dangerous as it might seem. You're more likely going to damage your pride before slicing yourself." I laughed.
Naturally, we chose the beginner's side. Two staff members helped us pick out and put on ice skates. They fit incredibly snug, enough that my feet didn't suffocate. The elves were shaking the entire time, and not because it was cold. But because they were scared of going onto the ice.
Mio, on the other hand…
"Wheeeee! Whooo! Look at me gooooo! I could make it on the other rink~" Mio skated along while flapping her wings to stay upright.
"That's cheating, Mio! You need to be using your feet only like when we snowboarded!" I shouted.
"Ah, who cares!" She cackled, then skated right up to Kana to pull him out of his seat.
"Wait, wait, wait! I'm not ready— aaahhhh!" Kana flailed being yanked along.
I returned my attention to Elendir and Erma, both of whom watched in horror as the idea of going, too.
"Just to be clear, I can't use magic?" Elendir asked timidly.
"That would defeat the purpose, but I won't stop you." I sighed.
Elendir got up and promptly slipped. She landed on her ass, but thankfully for her, it was pretty stacked back there. I helped the dark elf up and steadied her. Magic sparked from her fingertips. They traveled up her arms and down her legs, where they bristled with energy at the skate blades. When Elendir let go of my hands, she was able to stand perfectly fine on her own. She skated around our immediate area, but with the grace of a newborn deer.
"This… This is surprisingly pleasant! It isn't so terrifying when you're skating, Erma. I suppose in this, I am your better!" Elendir sneered.
"Oh, I'm sure. When you have magic assisting you! I, however, am not masterfully versed as you are!" Erma huffed.
I rolled my eyes at their rivalry.
"Here, Erma. I'll hold you like I did Elendir," I offered and extended my hands.
"You're using your wings to stay up just like Mio…" Erma correctly accused me.
"Y-Yeah… But hey, at least we'll be able to skate together!"
Erma expelled a sigh through her nose. She relented, grabbed my hands, and very slowly pulled herself up. To say she held onto me was an understatement. She gripped me with the strength of a gorilla, as expected of a martial sports athlete and military officer. Even with my succubus resilience, it hurt to have her hold onto me so hard.
"Erma… can you loosen up? You're going to crush my hands…" I winced.
"Oh, sorry— ahh!" Erma completely let go and slipped, face-planting into the ice. "Ow… Now, I am cold and in pain… This is supposed to be… fun?"
"You can't always be good at something right away like you were at Judo. Are you going to give up already?"
Taking it as a challenge, the legate got up on her own. I skated a few feet away with one hand outstretched to her. Instead of skating, Erma waddled up to me with one foot over the other and stomping the blade into the ice. She got close enough to hold my hand, this time not gripping it with a vise.
We took it slow, recalling the brief lesson the staff provided before we entered. The two of us did small circles, practiced braking and turning, and finally worked our way up to skating longer distances. Erma fell a lot along the way, but she wasn't giving up anymore.
"Alright, are you ready to let go of my hand?" I asked.
"I… I think so." Erma sounded unsure. "But I do wish to try."
"Just remember to put what we did into practice!"
I released Erma, and she skated cautiously along the ring with me beside her.
"You're doing it!" I exclaimed.
"I am! Elendir was right. This is pleasant. I—"
"Erma, eyes forward! Turn! Turn or brake!" I yelled.
Erma faced ahead just as she slammed into the wall. She fell backwards and saw stars. Elendir, Kana, and Mio skated over worriedly, grimaces adorned their faces because of how painful that just looked.
"Are… Are you okay?" I asked nervously.
"I suppose… it isn't a proper lesson without getting hurt a little." Erma shook it off as we helped her up.
The five of us skated for a while longer, and it turned out to be Erma who enjoyed it the most. Well, enjoy might not be the best word. She continued to treat it as a challenge and really wanted to conquer it. Towards the early afternoon, she finally skated for longer periods of time without falling. Too much.
They had a food court in the cafeteria that was preparing meals for people taking shelter in the sports center. It was open to us, too, so we had lunch while going over the many pictures we took.
"Mio… Why are there so many videos of me falling?" Erma groaned.
"Kahaha! Because your wipeouts were the best. How could I not record them?" Mio doubled over in laughter.
I got a text from Ms. Serizawa. They were finally done picking stuff up and were on their way to us. When I told the others, they let out a sigh in unison. It seemed like they wanted to continue, but a promise was a promise. We took one final picture in front of the ice rink, then left the sports center for Emerald Mori.
It had gotten dark fast while we were inside. The winds had picked up much more intensely than before.
"Is it going to be safe going back like this?" Kana asked, shielding his face from the gale winds.
"That's up to Serizawa and Kogiri. For now, let's just get to Emerald Mori," I insisted.
The grocery store was about to close up when we arrived. They bolted down entrances, and a kind grocer let us in when I showed him the note from the inn. The truck pulled up after we grabbed a couple of crates of vegetables, tofu, and fruits. Lots of melons and rice specifically. Including the food from Asakana and Kamina Veal, the back of the truck was completely full.
We piled into the vehicle, now made heavier with all the extra baggage. It was an hour drive back, but looking at the sky… I only hoped we could make it back in time.