Sapporo International Ski Resort.
This is one of the most famous ski resorts in Japan, receiving nearly three million visitors annually. It's a lively place.
To ensure that everyone had the best time possible on this trip—fully enjoying themselves without regrets or stress—Chisato had thoroughly prepared even before departure.
He compared details on the resort's official website, consulted popular travel bloggers' guides, and drafted a detailed itinerary of activities for each day of the trip based on projected weather changes to make sure no one got bored halfway through.
Even though Eriri and Utaha joined unexpectedly, and now even Seika had expressed that she didn't mind sticking together, Chisato naturally accepted their company with gratitude.
Truthfully, he had always hoped that Eriri and Utaha could build a good relationship with the members of Kesshoku Band.
Regardless of how things played out in detail, both groups were likely to be irreplaceable parts of his life going forward.
If two such important sides of his life could accept each other as friends, that would truly be ideal.
It had been a wish of his for a long time, but one he had hesitated to act on due to various concerns.
Yet now, it was unexpectedly realized in such a smooth and natural way. It really was a pleasant surprise.
Sapporo… truly is a wonderful place!
Since they were at a ski resort, the first full day after resting had to begin with skiing.
The various ski equipment needed—snowboards, goggles, thermal gloves, and so on—were all to be covered by President Suzumiya himself, who had recently struck it rich.
After all, they had agreed beforehand that all expenses for this trip would be reimbursed.
So, with everyone now set on sticking together, Chisato, in excellent spirits, led the group not straight to the ski slopes… but first to the ski equipment shop.
The shop was warmly heated, and shelves and walls were lined with all kinds of ski gear and accessories.
Everyone was dazzled for a moment by the sheer variety.
Around nine in the morning was the peak hour for customers, so the store was a little crowded and noisy.
The employees were all busy either promoting products to customers or maintaining order and had no extra attention to spare for them.
But that was fine.
"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. When I was a kid, my family took me skiing a bunch of times, so I've got a bit of experience."
Ryo volunteered enthusiastically.
Although she usually came off as pretty scatterbrained, she had this baffling tendency to suddenly become reliable in the most unexpected situations.
Even so, despite her eccentric personality, her words were generally trustworthy. After exchanging glances, the group nodded and obediently followed her lead.
In fact, because of her affluent family background, Eriri had often traveled abroad with her parents when she was younger.
Skiing was a skill she had already picked up and, thanks to her own interest, had developed to a fairly proficient level.
But since Ryo had already offered, there was no need for her to speak up. She simply stayed silent at Chisato's side.
"Skiing is divided into snowboarding and alpine skiing. They have different entry thresholds and postures.
From my experience, snowboarding is harder to pick up at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
Skiing, on the other hand, is easier to learn, but difficult to truly master…"
Ryo gave the others a basic rundown of the pros and cons of each type of equipment.
The Ijichi sisters, Ikuyo, and Hitori, who didn't know much about skiing, nodded with an expression that suggested they only half understood.
Utaha walked slightly behind them, following Chisato along with Eriri at the very back.
She covered her mouth with one hand and let out a small yawn.
"If you're that sleepy, you can go back," Eriri snapped at her with a glare. From the moment they got off the plane, she had found everything about this girl irritating.
"What's with you this early in the morning? Did you swallow a stick or something?"
Utaha was puzzled by Eriri's barely veiled hostility.
After a moment's thought, she leaned closer and whispered a guess,
"Is it because I didn't let you go first last night...?"
"Are you some kind of caveman who only thinks about that kind of thing?"
Eriri quickly cut her off.
Her tone was cold, but her expression faltered just slightly into one of shy embarrassment.
"Hah!"
Utaha gave a mocking snort and turned away, unwilling to entertain the nonsense anymore.
When they were doing those things, this blonde idiot had been even more sensitive and affectionate than her, constantly clinging and begging for kisses in a sugary voice.
And now she acted all aloof and icy, as if she were above the mundane.
Talk about hypocritical.
Their tension hadn't gone unnoticed by Chisato.
But he wasn't particularly worried—petty quarrels like this between the two were all too common.
A little pat on each of their butts at night would sort things out.
Right now, his focus was on the rest of the band members.
As Ryo explained the basics of skiing, she also helped the others pick out snow gear.
There was a warm, cheerful atmosphere around them.
That said, the price of the gear did give them pause. They spent a long time comparing styles without being able to settle on anything.
Ski boards, goggles, thermal hats—everything in the specialty shop next to the slopes was pretty expensive.
Neither the Ijichi sisters nor Ikuyo or Hitori were the type to take advantage. If possible, they wanted to pick gear that offered the best value.
Even though Chisato repeatedly told them not to worry about saving him money, they still insisted.
Eventually, it was Hitori who noticed something.
Her eyes lit up and she led the group to a section of last season's clearance items, finally breaking the stalemate.
Since they were off-season products, the prices were heavily discounted—up to 30% off.
Now they didn't have to agonize anymore. Everyone picked a set of snow gear they liked.
It was supposed to be an anything-goes company retreat, but not long after it began, the vibe had somehow shifted into that of a frugal family outing.
What could he say… Watching them excitedly chattering while holding their reasonably priced gear, Chisato felt something between warmth and helpless resignation.
Given the company's current income, he could easily afford the full-priced gear.
But thriftiness was a virtue. There was no need to correct them. He'd just make it up to them with a good meal after skiing.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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