Takanashi Rikka quickly pulled the black-haired girl over and happily introduced her.
"It was Yukino who helped me clear the game the first time I played."
The pink-haired girl raised a hand in greeting and introduced herself. "Fujiwara Chika. Nice to meet you."
The black-haired girl spoke softly, her voice cool and clear.
"...Yukinoshita Yukino."
By then, some players had already started heading for the castle at the mountaintop.
"It's so cold." Fujiwara Chika wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "Should we head to the castle too?"
It was May Day Golden Week in the real world. The sun was shining, and the temperature was well over twenty degrees, so everyone was dressed lightly.
But here in the game, everything was covered in snow and ice. They hadn't felt much when they'd first woken up, but after just a couple of minutes talking, the bone-deep cold came rushing in. They had to find shelter to keep their body heat from draining away.
So even though they knew the castle at the mountaintop was dangerous, they still had to go there.
"Let's go."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, then took one last look at their surroundings.
A low mountain blanketed in snow. They had appeared about halfway up, with a snowy forest behind them. The thick branches of several trees had buckled under the weight of the snow.
[You look closely and notice something strange about the forest before you.]
"Hm?"
Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but pause at the prompt that suddenly appeared.
What's strange about it? Why don't you spell it out?
"Natsuki-classmate, hurry up!" Fujiwara Chika urged him. "We'll freeze to death if we don't get moving."
Amamiya Natsuki turned away and braved the wind and snow alongside the girls as they headed toward the castle.
The castle wasn't far