January was over and February had arrived.
As usual, the weather is all snow, and the temperatures are low.
I’m working near the fire, yet my fingertips are cold.
Even so, we continued building the boat.
February 4, Tuesday, Noon.
This day was unusually cold, and it was snowing heavily outside.
The water in the earthenware buckets was frozen, so rehydrating was a challenge.
「 Ah, my concentration broke 」
While we were absorbed in our work in the hideout, Arisa raised her voice.
She got up and disappeared to the back, saying “I’m taking a break!”
「 I’m taking a break too 」
「 Me too… 」
Tanaka and Mana also stopped working and went inside.
「 Everyone’s taking more breaks recently 」
Eri said, and she looked at her hands.
She’s working with Meiko on the sails.
「 It’s clearly getting harder to focus 」
I agreed.
Everyone’s performance is lower compared to January
Within an hour, someone leaves to take a break.
It’s the same for Eri and me.
「 Motivation’s not going up, what could be the cause? 」
Eri glanced at me.
「 Hmm… 」
I can’t come up with an answer.
We have no issues, and we’re in good health.
So far, the only difference in our daily life is that we can’t take a bath.
However, I don’t think that’ll decrease motivation.
「 I think that we lack variety 」
Shiori said.
「 Variety? 」
「 We’ve turned to a winter lifestyle, and everything’s ready, right? It has hindered our ability to switch on and off. That’s why it feels boring
Everyone agreed.
「 We need some alone time and space 」
Eri nodded, saying “True”
「 I’m in charge of cooking so I spent a lot of time here in the past, but sometimes I wish I had some space for myself too. I used to be able to go out and walk
「 But now it’s not possible. Especially today, it’s really harsh 」
Sending a glance outside, I see the snow going stronger than before
The snowfall is so heavy that it looks like some shattered Styrofoam blown off by commercial fans.
Even if the temperatures were warm and comfortable, it was impossible to go outside with such poor visibility.
「 I don’t mind the efficiency loss, but I’m worried that there will be mistakes 」
Meiko said.
「 Agreed, 」 Karin looks at me. 「 Hokage, do you have any plans? 」
「 Let’s see… 」
I think about what can be done in the current environment.
Thanks to Shiori figuring out the cause, I had a flash in my mind.
「 How about we build private rooms? 」
「 「 Rooms?! 」 」
They all roared.
But after that, Meiko had a complicated look.
「 We want to avoid consuming materials. We’re barely making it even now 」
「 I know. Even though I’m calling it a private room, there won’t be doors or anything like that 」
「 What do you mean, Hokage-kun? 」 Eri asks.
「 You see the countless turns between here and the lake in the back, right? We use some of them for storing supplies and other stuff, but there are still paths we haven’t used yet. So, we’re using those as private spaces 」
「 Good Idea 」
Kageyama raised his hand.
「 I think that’s a good idea too 」
Meiko continued.
After that, the number of yes votes followed.
Arisa and others who have returned also agreed, so we decided to make private rooms.
◇
Deeper at the hideout, everyone gets their own space in appropriate order.
Once that’s done, we decided to put nameplates on the wall of the branch road leading to the passage
The nameplates were made from scraps of wood produced in the process of making building materials for the ship.
I carved letters with my survival knife and pressed charcoal on the dents.
The carved indentations are nice and full.
「 This is the last one 」
I was working on the last nameplate, and then I heard a presence coming from behind.
「 Whose room is that, Hokage? 」
It’s Karin’s.
「 No, my room’s in a separate one 」
「 Right. So nobody’s taking this 」
「 No, you’re forgetting another one 」
I showed the nameplate to Karin.
In there, I poorly wrote “Mizuno” as the name.
「 Oh, Mizuno… 」
「 He’s also a part of our hideout 」
「 Right 」
Karin turned silent after.
She watched me work quietly.
When I finished putting up the nameplate, she spoke up.
「 Do you think Mizuno’s alive? 」
「 Yeah 」
「 That’s a fast answer 」
「 Do you think he’s not? 」
「 I don’t know… I want to believe that he’s alive, and I don’t want to think that he died. But, it’s been a long since Mizuno went off. And the weather recently has been harsh. So I don’t know 」
Karin is logical with her answer.
Perhaps others agree with her.
「 I envy you Hokage, you can answer positively so fast 」
「 I’m quite the optimist, or so I want to think 」
I look at my hand.
It’s so black, I can still tell even in the dark.
It’s because of the charcoal.
「 I’ll wash my hands, it’s dirty 」
「 I’ll go with you. I’ll have to check if the laundry has dried off 」
「 Let’s hold hands then 」
Karin’s surprised.
Her face turned red.
「 Hold hands? 」
「 You’re blushing this late? We’re already trying to make a child 」
「 Well yeah, but I still would get embarrassed 」
「 So do you want it or not? 」
「 Of course I’ll take it! 」
I reached out my right hand and Karin immediately replied.
We hold hands with our fingers interlocked.
The next moment, I spout out.
「 Now Karin’s a member 」
「 Eh? 」
「 Look at your hand 」
Karin looked at her hands.
The hand I used was the one holding charcoal earlier.
「 It got stuck on you! Karin! 」
「 ………… 」
Karin didn’t say anything and pushed me on the wall.
Then, she grabbed my balls through my pants with her charcoal-covered hand.
「 You tugged then just let go 」
「 Err, uhm 」
「 Hokage, do you want to know how I felt? 」
Her grip on my balls tightened
「 N-No, I’ll pass 」
「 So what do you say? 」
「 I’m sorry for being childish 」
「 Geez 」
Karin pouts and walks off on her own.
She went to the plaza, not the lake
「 Karin, what about the laundry? 」
「 I won’t go. You check it 」
「 Ah, okay 」
I stand there, motionless, watching Karin go off.
Then, I turned to the nameplate where Mizuno’s name was inscribed.
「 She didn’t have to be so angry. Don’t you think so too? 」
The nameplate fell from the wall.