Yukimura Suzune shyly took Natsume Chikage's hand and sat down on the tatami beside him, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.
She looked at her grandfather before them.
"Grandpa, I brought Chikage over."
Yet Yukimura Takahiro showed no reaction at all. He was still writing away furiously.
Yukimura Suzune sighed softly and turned to Natsume Chikage beside her.
"My grandfather is usually like this. He'll come back to his senses soon enough once he's done writing. Let's wait a little."
"Mm."
While waiting, Natsume Chikage studied Yukimura Suzune's grandfather. His face was heavily lined, and he looked to be in his sixties.
Watching him write with such focus, Chikage could only marvel at how fitting it was for a family of literary pedigree.
Just as Yukimura Suzune had said, after writing out a several-hundred-word outline, Yukimura Takahiro slowly returned from his own world to reality.
When he noticed the two people in front of him, he froze for a moment before delight flooded his face.
"Suzune, could this be Natsume Chikage, the author of Snow Country?"
Yukimura Suzune nodded slightly. "Yes, Grandpa."
"This is—truly astonishing!" Yukimura Takahiro's pupils shook. "To think there is such a handsome man in this world—compared to you, I'm afraid every male character I've ever written pales into insignificance."
"Haha... You flatter me." Natsume Chikage had no idea how to respond and could only laugh awkwardly.
Yukimura Suzune cleared her throat twice. "Grandpa, get to the point. Why did you ask Chikage to come here this time?"
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Yukimura Takahiro asked, "Did you write Snow Country?"
"Yes." Natsume Chikage nodded faintly.
"It's truly unbelievable. You're so young, yet how could you write emotions so beautiful and steeped in such profound pathos?" Yukimura Takahiro pressed on. "Could it be that you experienced