Chapter 302: Eat, Everything Can Be Eaten!
"What are you two... talking about?"
Hearing Utaha's question, Kaede and Eriri exchanged a look.
After a moment of silent communication, Eriri beckoned Utaha over. Only then did she tell Utaha what Kaede had just told her.
"...Eh?"
Utaha was clearly surprised as well, asking in disbelief, "Is that true or false? The Club President actually said that? He couldn't be pulling Asakura-kun's leg, could he?"
Kaede shook his head and said, "It's highly unlikely he was messing with me; he has no reason to. It's just... the Club President didn't give any detailed information. It's too intriguing."
Eriri, standing nearby, also said, "I estimate there's no way the Club President will tell you anything more. He's definitely going to keep it a secret."
Thinking about it, that made sense. Usually, when the Club President was at the club, he spent most of his time sleeping, so it was impossible for anyone to discover any useful clues.
However, just knowing that this matter existed was enough; there was no need to delve deeper.
As for Usami and Uchimaki Subaru, Kaede and the others observed them from afar, ultimately deciding not to go over and join the fun. They wanted to let Usami take advantage of this opportunity and make the most of it.
They played until noon, when everyone had a simple fast-food lunch at the restaurant inside the Ski Resort. They chose to continue playing inside during the afternoon because most of the morning had been spent on initial practice and getting familiar with the slopes, which wasn't nearly enough fun.
By the afternoon, the group, whose courage had gradually increased, finally started running around freely, skiing long distances from top to bottom, and then taking the cable car back to the starting point, having a blast.
It wasn't until nearly four in the afternoon that everyone left the Ski Resort, each person feeling completely satisfied.
Stretching her arms, Eriri happily said, "Ah~~~ This is the first time I've felt the joy of skiing! Although it was only a beginner slope, sliding all the way down that loooong stretch to the finish line without incident felt amazing! Kaede-kun, if we have a chance next winter, let's find another place to ski!"
Eriri felt that she had already fallen in love with the feeling of skiing.
Kaede naturally had no objections; he was eager for Eriri to exercise more. He immediately smiled and agreed, "That works. Next time, we can invite our parents, and both families can come play together."
"Great!"
Meanwhile, Uchimaki Subaru and Usami's interactions were still not much different from before, but 70 to 80 percent of the day had been spent with just the two of them. Furthermore, Uchimaki Subaru hadn't shown any signs of rejection, which made Usami feel that she could try other approaches later.
After exercising all afternoon, everyone was hungry, but since they had eaten seafood and roasted lamb yesterday, they wanted something relatively ordinary today.
After searching around, they arrived at a ramen shop, ready to try the ramen unique to Sapporo.
Kaede and Eriri both ordered the famous Sapporo Ramen—which is essentially Miso Ramen—but when the ramen arrived, both of them were stunned.
Miso Ramen usually doesn't have too many ingredients; besides the noodles and soup, there are typically just a few slices of chashu pork and the like.
However, in the bowls in front of Kaede and Eriri, there was a huge, towering pile of chopped scallions, several times more than the scallions they had ever eaten in ramen before.
After recovering from the shock, Kaede leaned in to smell it and said, "The soup flavor is so rich. I know without tasting it that it's delicious."
Just then, the others' ramen arrived—some had seafood ramen, others had tonkotsu ramen. Although they all smelled good, they didn't look as impactful as Kaede and Eriri's two bowls.
Slurping her noodles, Eriri happily narrowed her eyes. "Mmm~~ Even though there are a lot of scallions, the flavor isn't overpowering. It smells wonderful!"
Kaede nodded in agreement, his hands not slowing down at all. He had heard of Sapporo Ramen's reputation before, and tasting it now, it certainly lived up to the hype. Moreover, Kaede could taste lard added to the soup base, meaning that eating this whole bowl would probably warm him up completely.
After comfortably finishing a bowl of ramen and filling their stomachs, everyone was in no hurry to return. Since they weren't far from their accommodation, they decided to stroll back slowly.
Halfway back, they spotted a stall selling Oden (Japanese hot pot).
Smelling the fragrance wafting from the stall, Eriri swallowed hard, grabbed Kaede's arm, and said, "Kaede-kun, let's buy some, okay? I want to eat it."
Kaede was also tempted. He glanced at the others and found that they all felt the same way. After finishing a bowl of ramen and walking for a while, they had room for more food.
So everyone immediately went over and ordered a selection from the dazzling array of Oden items.
The variety of Oden here in Hokkaido was genuinely quite different from what they had in Tokyo. Seafood broth, various types of snails and shellfish were very common here, and they were added to the menu without hesitation. Kaede even saw abalone, so he immediately chose a skewer.
After another purchase, everyone started eating the delicious Oden as they walked.
Kaede was the first to pick up the abalone skewer, biting into a piece of abalone that wasn't small.
"Mmm~~ As expected of Hokkaido's Oden, it's very unique."
While praising it, Kaede offered the remaining piece to Eriri's mouth.
Seeing this, Eriri happily opened her mouth and took the abalone, then showed the exact same expression as Kaede.
"Mmm! Delicious!"
The two of them showed affection publicly, feeding each other bite by bite as if no one else was around.
The Club President watched the pair's actions, shivered, and then said, "I've figured it out. Everything you two chose was non-repeating. How calculating."
Then, he picked up his own skewer of kelp, held it in front of Uchimaki Subaru, and imitated them in a sickening tone: "Here, ah~~~"
"Ew!!!!"
Everyone recoiled in disgust and kept their distance. Even Kaede and Eriri stopped their actions.
It must be said that the Club President's move was somewhat effective. The only downside was that in the end, he grossed himself out too.
On the way back, while eating Oden, everyone bought some local specialty snacks, and finally returned to their accommodation.
As for what happened after they returned... first, a bath, to relieve the fatigue in their bodies after a day of exercise.
And then, Mahjong!
Sitting down at the Mahjong table with great intensity, Kaede said with a serious expression, "I won't believe in the so-called 'Beginner's Protection Period.' Bring it on, bring it on!"