Snow Country's Little Girl

If it were just the killing of twenty-odd people, it certainly wouldn't be enough to make the Mysterious Affairs Department nervous.

However, a single Joker card can put the entire Mysterious Affairs Department on high alert.

After all, when the Joker last appeared, he almost uprooted the foundation of the Age of Gods in Western Europe, and the Kashima Corporation's Time Walker also suffered heavy losses.

Because there was no initial control over public opinion, everything that happened at the airport quickly spread online.

Too many tourists took videos with their phones, and even airport surveillance footage was leaked.

Before the Nohi Bus even arrived in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, other tourists on the bus had already seen the news.

Qing Chen sat quietly in the last row, the speed at which he turned the two Rubik's Cubes in his hands slowed down, but he never stopped.

He overheard the tourists on the bus discussing why the killer could use other people's hair to kill, and he thought to himself that using hair was simply because it was the easiest weapon to find, and the reason he pulled hair from the middle-aged man's head was simply because he wouldn't feel pain when pulling someone else's hair.

Moreover, this way, you don't have to study health manuals for middle-aged people like your master did.

The bus drove along a long mountain road and entered the Snow Country.

Every winter, Shirakawa-go is covered in snow, sometimes up to a meter deep, making the whole world seem like a fairy tale.

There are also traditional "Gassho-zukuri" houses here. Gassho-zukuri are thatched huts with gable roofs. Dozens of Gassho-zukuri houses are connected together, with their roofs covered with thick white snow. Even oil paintings cannot capture the beauty of this place.

In summer, backpackers set off from here to traverse the challenging "Northern Alps Mini Loop".

In autumn, Turbid Sake Festival is held here, where the people of Shirakawa-go invite visitors to drink a cup of cloudy sake mixed with rice.

In winter, skiers come here to rent family-run hot spring inns, skiing during the day and soaking in the hot springs at night.

After getting off the bus, Qing Chen, carrying a backpack that was almost as tall as a person, followed the map to find the family-run hot spring hotel he had rented.

In this Snow Country, a narrow pebble path has been cleared by the locals, with snow piled up to almost waist height on both sides, resembling a unique "winding path leading to a secluded spot".

But when Qing Chen arrived at the hot spring hotel he had rented, he was stunned.

The snow in front of all the other hot spring inns had been cleared, but this small hot spring inn still had a thick layer of snow in front of it.

Actually, when he rented this place, almost all the other hotels were already booked, but this hot spring hotel was the only one that no one wanted.

Qing Chen looked through the reviews of the hot spring inn, and almost all of them were negative...

"The old lady at this hot spring inn doesn't know how to cook, and the food is terrible and hard to swallow."

"The hot spring temperature isn't high enough."

"The hotel wasn't very clean."

There are several negative reviews like this.

However, Qing Chen didn't care. After all, he wasn't here for a vacation, and the conditions here couldn't be worse than those at the A02 Secret Military Base.

He stepped across the waist-deep snow and went up to knock on the wooden door.

The wooden door opened quickly, and a little girl of eight or nine years old stood in the doorway, looking Qing Chen up and down.

Qing Chen said in Japanese, "Hello, I'm the tenant."

The little girl immediately greeted them enthusiastically, "Onii-chan! You're finally here! Come on in!"

As she spoke, the little girl quickly got slippers for Qing Chen and even took out a soft, short broom made of straw to gently pat the dust off Qing Chen's body.

This puzzled Qing Chen. Why was an eight or nine-year-old girl working at a hot spring inn that was still in operation?

Where have all the adults gone?

But then the little girl invited Qing Chen to sit down in the living room and carefully brought out a cup of hot tea from the kitchen.

She handed it to Qing Chen before carefully explaining, "Onii-chan, I'm sorry, because Grandma fell ill a few days ago, I couldn't get up to shovel snow or do these things to serve the tourists... Are you hungry? I'll prepare some food for you."

Qing Chen didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

He saw the little girl carrying a small chair into the kitchen.

The other person stood on a small chair, laboriously tending the fire, frying fish, making thick omelets, and preparing miso soup.

The work technique was not very skilled, so it's likely that they had only been learning for a short time.

The way they worked so hard showed a strength beyond their years.

Qing Chen watched silently, somewhat lost in thought.

The little girl is very pretty, with thick, fluffy hair that is very cute.

Her clothes were very old, and there was a notebook next to the dining table in the living room, indicating that she was writing her homework before Qing Chen arrived.

He heard faint breathing sounds coming from one of the bedrooms, accompanied by occasional coughing; this must be the little girl's grandmother.

"What illness does your grandmother have?" Qing Chen asked.

The little girl paused for a moment, then turned back and forced a smile, saying, "Onii-chan, Grandma has lung cancer, it's not contagious, don't worry."

Qing Chen didn't say anything more, but he probably understood what was going on.

So, the negative reviews from tourists were actually because the little girl's grandmother had been in poor health for a long time, which prevented her from running the hot spring hotel properly.

The little girl's cautious demeanor reminded Qing Chen of himself when he was a child.

Like a wild grass, it grows wildly yet stubbornly.

She tried her best to show enthusiasm and then keep Qing Chen with her.

Normally, guests at hot spring hotels only stay for two or three days. It's rare to find a guest like her who stays for a month. The little girl was afraid that if she neglected her, Qing Chen would switch to another hot spring hotel.

So even though it was their first meeting, the little girl used the more affectionate term "Onii-chan".

This is a title only a very close older brother would use.

Qing Chen took out two more Rubik's Cubes and slowly turned them.

This wasn't just multitasking; while he was "solving" the Rubik's Cube, he was also thinking about the little girl and the hot spring inn's situation—it was actually multitasking.

It is unknown where the little girl's parents went, which is why she has to learn to please customers and take on things that she shouldn't have to take on at such a young age.

A short while later, the little girl returned to the table with the tray.

She slowly placed the tray on the table, then tentatively asked, "Onii-chan, have you seen any reviews of our hotel online...?"

Qing Chen nodded. "I saw it."

The little girl lowered her head. "We don't have any other options, but could you please not change hotels? I can wash your clothes for you, and I'll wash them very clean!"

Qing Chen shook his head. "No need, thank you."

"Profound..."

He picked up the bowl of rice in front of him, took a bite of the fried fish, and found it too salty.

It was exceptionally salty.

The little girl watched Qing Chen eat with Qing Chen eyes, afraid that he would say it wasn't tasty.

To her surprise, the man in front of her didn't say anything and ate all the food without leaving a single bite.

Seeing that Qing Chen ate so cleanly, she assumed it was because she had cooked a great meal.

But she knew her own cooking skills very well, so she hesitated for a while before asking, "Onii-chan, is it good...?"

Qing Chen glanced at her. "It's not tasty."

The little girl was unsure how to respond. She felt that the older brother had a distant and unapproachable air about him, as cold as the weather in Shirakawa-go.

It also resembled the thick snow piled on the gable roof of a thatched hut Gassho-zukuri Japanese house).

After Qing Chen finished eating, she brought out a bowl of cloudy white wine from the kitchen. Holding the bowl in her two small hands, she looked particularly pitiful.

Jingūji Maki said, "Onii-chan, this is our family's cloudy white sake. It's brewed with spring water that my grandma brought back. It tastes better than other families' sake."

Qing Chen shook his head. "Sorry, I don't drink."

He wanted to stay sober and didn't want to touch even a drop of alcohol.

Jingūji Maki stood there, at a loss. The white sake was meant to be served to guests, and she had never imagined that she would be refused.

She lowered her head and said softly, "My name is Jingūji Maki. Your room is on the left, connected to the hot spring in the backyard. Don't worry, Grandma and I won't go there. The beds are already made up, so you can call me anytime if you need anything."

After saying that, the little girl named Jingūji Maki humbly returned to the kitchen, took out a small, cold rice ball from the cupboard, and ate it in small bites.

As I ate, tears started falling down my face.

In her opinion, this new guest would probably leave like the other tourists because of the poor service.

Qing Chen ignored it. After finishing his meal, he returned to his room, where a mattress and quilt were laid out on the floor and were fairly clean.

Jingūji Maki wiped away her tears, collected the used dishes and chopsticks, and washed them in cold water, her little hands turning red from the cold.

Other houses have diesel boilers outside, which can be used to generate heat and boil water.

But she kept the heater on because it was essential for entertaining guests.

The little girl felt it would be a waste of diesel fuel to use it to boil water, so she simply used cold water.

In this way, their diesel fuel for heating can at least last until Qing Chen's lease expires.

After the little girl tidied everything up, she quietly opened the kitchen drawer, took out the medicine, boiled a cup of hot water for her grandmother, and brought it into the room. Only then did the small hot spring hotel return to tranquility.

Snowflakes were falling heavily outside, creating a colorful scene reminiscent of a fairytale paradise where the seven dwarfs lived.

Some people are having a snowball fight, and some are building snowmen.

The room was quiet; everyone had gone to bed early.

The next morning.

Jingūji Maki woke up next to her grandmother. She first touched her grandmother's forehead and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the fever had subsided.

The little girl glanced at the quartz clock hanging on the wall, suddenly exclaimed, and quickly got up to go out and cook.

She overslept. According to the agreement with the hot spring hotel, she was supposed to prepare breakfast for Qing Chen before 8 a. m., but it was already 8:10 a. m.

When Jingūji Maki entered the living room, she was stunned because the door to Qing Chen's room was already open, and the bedding inside was neatly folded.

However, Qing Chen had disappeared.

Her expression darkened, wondering if the other person had indeed left and moved to another hot spring hotel.

But then, the girl saw a wad of cash on the table, along with a note written in Japanese: "I'll be back before 8 p. m. Please save some food for me, thank you." The money was the full prepayment for rent; she accepted it without hesitation.

Jingūji Maki stood silently in front of the dining table.

In Shirakawa-go, most of the time the rent is paid when you leave, and you only need to pay a deposit when you check in.

She understood that the older brother had noticed her financial difficulties, which was why he had given her the rent in advance.

Jingūji Maki pushed open the door, wanting to see where Qing Chen had gone, but when she opened the door, she saw that the snow in front of the door had been swept clean, and a neat pebble path had been cleared out.

Just like other hot spring inns, it's even cleaner in front of them.

The girl was stunned for a long time, recalling Qing Chen's aloof behavior last night.

I thought to myself that although that guy was aloof, he was very kind.

... But where could they be going so early in the morning?

She glanced inside and noticed that Qing Chen hadn't taken his skis with him.