<b>A bus leaves a tunnel to bypass the mountain</b>
<b>From a distant town by bus, Tomonori Saeki was finally returning home after finishing his mock test.</b>
<b>You could see the snow covered mountains appear on clear days, but today only brought a white sheet covering the surroundings.</b>
<b>(What is wrong with me. . .)</b>
<b>Tomonori lamented missing his precious holiday for a mock test.</b>
<b>There are no major cram schools or prep schools in Hyosei Village. So he usually goes to a small private school in the center of the village.</b>
<b>However due to its size. They decided to outsource the mock test to a major company in a distant venue.</b>
<b>Tomonori sadly looked outside the window. Watching the flickering of snow outside the window streak as the bus went on his way.</b>
<b>He was at the desk all day long, but he was exhausted even though he didn’t move at all.</b>
<b>His parents are both civil servants. It’s a salary working family.</b>
<b>That is actually rare in the village. Most people are self-employed.</b>
<b>It isn’t really a rural family.</b>
<b>The father is a prefecture employee and is currently working at the center office, so he commutes from home by car for a two hour drive, often coming home late.</b>
<b>Despite the teasing by Natsumi-chan and others. Tomonori sometimes envies the Kitahara family. The family has been working locally since they were little.</b>
<b>Moreover Tomonori’s parents are very enthusiastic about education.</b>
<b>So it has already been decided for him his educational path. And the expectation that comes with it. Eventually expecting him to leave the village.</b>
<b>“Next stop is Hyousei grand shrine.”</b>
<b>A female voice came to announce the upcoming space.</b>
<b>Hyousei grand shrine is at the entrance to the village. From there, civilization starts to appear more and more. </b>
<b>The snow was getting stronger.</b>
<b>The hard white carpet was relentlessly filling up the floor. There will probably be a usual sight until the spring.</b>
<b>However this weather is not special. In Hyousei village this weather is every season.</b>
<b>It seems that the winds and breeze from the sea blow onto the mountain side, leading to clouds near constant.</b>
<b>Beautiful blue skies are rare.</b>
<b>(The snow festival. Natsumi-chan and Yukiya-chan are also there.)</b>
<b>By the time he will get home the festival will be over.</b>
<b>He did recall that there were plans that they would go to karaoke. So they are perhaps there.</b>
<b>At this time he can only think about Yukiya(♂)</b>
<b>And he is starting to doubt whether or not he really transferred to another school.</b>
<b>“W-What. . .happened?”</b>
<b>He just suddenly disappeared. And apparently it was to prepare for further education.</b>
<b>(But was there ever an interest in education at Yukiya’s family?)</b>
<b>He knows that Yukiya father wasn’t original from the village – – –</b>
<b>But he is worried about Yukiya.</b>
<b>Emails, messages, etc. They exchanged them, but the kind of life he is living is shallow, and weird.</b>
<b>“How are you dealing with a new school life, club activities, and urban life?”</b>
<b>He asked various questions about the place he was at and how it was. But Yukiya only gave awkward replies.</b>
<b>And it wasn’t just him thinking that.</b>
<b>He had talked about it with Natsumi-chan before.</b>
<b>“I wonder how he is doing?”</b>
<b>The three of them have been together since elementary school school, before Yukiya just suddenly vanished. </b>
<b>Only to be replaced by a girl.</b>
<b>“I’m worried. And. . .I feel like we’re being left out of something. There are also times when Yukiya-chan acts strange.”</b>
<b>Natsumi-chan was filling Tomonori in on things he didn’t even know.</b>
<b>She has good instincts, and he knew she would notice things he wouldn’t.</b>
<b>“About. Yukino-san.”</b>
<b>“Oh, that beauty. Isn’t that Yukiya(♂)’s mother?”</b>
<b>Yukiya’s mother suddenly returned after 10 years for the first time.</b>
<b>She is pretty and seems like a very good person. So why did they even separate? </b>
<b>“Yeah. When I entered the store I overheard Yukiya(♀)-chan also call her their mother. . .I feel like eavesdropping is bad, but. . .It’s strange. She is supposed to be Yukiya’s(♂) cousin, but also his sister?</b>
<b>There are too many doubts.</b>
<b>However she believed that Yukiya(♂) will someday tell the truth.</b>
<b>“Let’s stop here. . . I don’t want to be sneaky, and talk behind somebody’s back.”</b>
<b>Therefore they then ended their discussion.</b>
<b>“Ahh. . .”</b>
<b>Tomonori wasn’t dumb about Natsumi-chan’s depressed express.</b>
<b>He noticed Natsumi-chan’s feelings for Yukiya a while ago.</b>
<b>“Hyousei grand shrine is approaching.”</b>
<b>There was a small shrine with a torii gate before the village.</b>
<b>“!?”</b>
<b>It was then he noticed something weird.</b>
<b>“T-That’s. . .”</b>
<b>Kouko Hikura.</b>
<b>Why is she there. . ?</b>
<b>The daughter of the Hikura group suddenly appeared.</b>
<b>She wasn’t even wearing anything special. Just her uniform, hanging out at the outskirts of the village.</b>
<b>The scenery here is at the foot of the mountain, and is a good place to take commemorative photos in the summer. But it is the winter, and the snow keeps most people away. </b>
<b>And for some reason. It was Hikura </b>
<b>alone there.</b>
<b>Actually, when he looked closely. He could see some other.</b>
<b>“Wait a minute, I’m getting off!”</b>
<b>He quickly pressed the exit button.</b>
<b>Signalling the bus driver to stop.</b>
<b>Leaving the warm bus air, he left into the frozen cold winds.</b>
<b>And went towards the lone girl.</b>
<b>Getting closer he realized the precarious situation she was in. She was behind the guardrails, close to the steep mountain side. If you slip, it could be a dangerous drop.</b>
<b>When he finally reached her, she was alone.</b>
<b>There must have been a mistake.</b>
<b>“What are you doing in a place like this, Hikura-san?”</b>
<b>The girl then looked towards him.</b>
<b>Tomonori took a deep breath.</b>
<b>Frozen sharp eyes, beautiful long black hair. A breathless sight in the snow.</b>
<b>The ice frozen area actually expanded on her beauty.</b>
<b>“Ara, you are. . .”</b>
<b>She didn’t have a surprised expression once she noticed Tomonori.</b>
<b>Rather a calm and collective one.</b>
<b>“You are. . .In the classroom next door, right?”</b>
<b>“Oh, I’m Tomonori Saki. Second year.”</b>
<b>“What are you doing here?”</b>
<b>“Well I just took a mock exam. It’s a Seminar.”</b>
<b>Finally more suspicion. We are getting closer to the big reveal. And also I think Tomonori just set off a flag for the crazy succubus. I am starting to enjoy these 3rd person chapters, just because of all the extra details you can write about.</b>
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