They skied for half an hour, sliding down the beginner slope several times until Azlan mastered braking and turning quite well. Once they stopped at a flat area, he was busy fixing the binding on his skis.
Suddenly, Akane launched a surprise attack.
*WHUPF!*
A packed snowball hit right at the back of Azlan's unguarded head.
"...?"
Turning around, Azlan looked at her puzzled, snow beginning to melt in his newly cut brown hair, as if asking what Akane was doing.
Akane quickly bent down, taking snow again and packing it into a ball in her gloves.
"Throwing snowballs at each other is a mandatory game that shouldn't be missed during winter! That's tradition!"
Without waiting for an answer, she swung her arm and threw the second snowball aimed right at Azlan's chest.
*SWISH!*
However, this time Azlan was already alert. With a very fast and minimal head movement to the right, the snowball sailed past his shoulder and hit the snow pile behind him.
"There's such a thing?"
Not quite understanding, Azlan saw Akane's enthusiastic and hopeful expression, he followed along to play.
"Alright, then let's do it."
Seeing him agree when she was ready to be rejected, Akane's smile widened even more.
"Yay! But don't use supernatural powers!"
"I won't."
The scene that was previously calm turned into a lively snow battlefield (though only inhabited by two soldiers).
With the spirit and creativity of a veteran (at least in terms of playing), Akane nimbly sought protection behind snow mounds, stacking up ammunition, and launching surprise attacks.
On the other side, Azlan moved calmly and efficiently. He didn't hide much, preferring to move and dodge. He wasn't serious in attacking, only throwing snowballs with enough force and speed to please Akane without making her hurt.
*WHUPF!* *WHUPF!* *WHUPF!*
Several snowballs from Akane successfully landed on his shoulder, back, and even once on the side of his face which made Azlan wrinkle his nose from the cold.
Even so, Akane got hit more. Azlan's snowballs, though gentle, were always on target—hitting her arms, legs, or shoulders. It seemed he knew exactly where the girl would move.
"Not fair! Azlan-kun must be cheating! You must be using your Heavenly Eye to see where I'll throw!" Akane protested while hiding, her breath forming white clouds.
"No." Azlan refuted honestly from behind a small pine tree he used as shelter.
*SWISH!*
He threw a snowball that landed right on top of Akane's hat, showering her with snow flakes.
"My motor nerve speed has increased with progress in Senjutsu training. Your movements are easy to predict, Akane."
"Grrr... that's technically the same as cheating!" Akane complained, but her breathless laughter mixed in.
Finally, after the umpteenth snowball landed on her back, she waved her white gloves.
"I give up! I surrender! White flag! I'm raising the white flag!"
Akane raised both hands, laughing breathlessly, the entire front of her jacket and pants wet from melting snow. Her hair was also filled with snow flakes beginning to melt.
Azlan came out of his hiding place, approaching with calm steps. His jacket was also wet in several places, but not as bad as Akane's.
"So cold..." Akane shivered, rubbing her hands in front of her mouth to warm them. "My clothes are soaked by you. We've played long enough. Before going home, wait for me to change clothes first. I don't want to catch a cold."
Being sick in an apocalyptic world, where there were no functioning doctors or health facilities, could be a death sentence. Fortunately, Akane and Azlan had done quite thorough looting at a large mall some time ago, including cleaning out its pharmacy.
They had stocks of basic medicines like paracetamol, decongestants, and antibiotics. Just a common cold and fever shouldn't be a serious problem, but it was still better to avoid it.
"Mm. The weather is overcast, there might be a snowstorm. We'd better go home before that happens."
Azlan observed the sky beginning to be covered by thick gray clouds.
Although appearing to be relaxing, his vigilance never slackened when outside. His eyes kept scanning the surrounding environment, preventing potential dangers—whether from man-eating monsters like zombies and Titans, or from unexpected nature's fury.
"Wow, what is this? It looks so cute!"
Just as they had walked a few minutes, Akane suddenly exclaimed admiringly, pointing toward something floating in the air.
The creatures were shaped like soft white fluffy balls, the size of a palm. They floated calmly, without wings or clear means of movement, just as if carried by gentle wind even though the air was almost motionless.
Two small black dots like sparkling beads on their "faces" functioned as eyes. Their adorable and soft appearance immediately captivated Akane's heart.
"Don't touch that, Akane!"
Azlan quickly grabbed Akane's wrist which was already reaching out to touch the nearest creature.
"We don't know yet if those creatures are dangerous or not."
"Although it's hard to believe something this cute is dangerous, I'll listen to you."
With a slightly disappointed but obedient expression, Akane pulled her hand back, though her eyes still sparkled looking at those magical creatures.
(Do you know what this is, Albion?)
Azlan tried to consult with Albion, whose insights were vast after living since ancient times.
[If I'm not mistaken, they are Spirits.]
Albion's answer came quickly and surprisingly.
"Spirits?" Azlan muttered softly.
[The form of Spirits in front of you is indeed different from the Spirits I usually know in my original world. But, I can sense their essence is the same as the Spirits in my original world. Hmmm... Through my observation, this type of Spirit is an immaterial being, and similar to the concept of Mana in this aspect. They have high resistance to magic, and their bodies don't have a permanent physical form.]
[Call them Snow Spirits. They seem tame, not aggressive. I don't sense bad intentions or danger from them.]
Getting assurance from Albion, Azlan nodded slowly. He turned to Akane.
"Albion says, they are Spirits. Precisely, Snow Spirits. He says they're not dangerous."
"Snow Spirits? This world is getting stranger and stranger. Fantasy creatures are starting to appear one by one."
However, Akane didn't think too much about this world's great mysteries, she knew it was futile and would only be confusing. Rather than that, she was more interested in the cute creatures in front of her.
Carefully, after making sure Azlan was no longer holding her back, Akane reached out again and touched one of the Snow Spirits floating nearby.
She removed her right glove, and gently caught the tame Snow Spirit, holding it carefully in her bare palm. The Spirit didn't resist, only trembled softly like jelly.
"It feels soft like cotton!" She exclaimed in wonder. "The temperature is cold, but not as cold as ice... more like freshly fallen snow. Try it, Azlan-kun, feel it too."
Azlan observed. After making sure there was no negative reaction, he extended his index finger and touched the fluffy surface of the Snow Spirit.
"You're right. They're very soft."
The texture was indeed unique, like touching a dense and cold cloud. Behind his curiosity, there was a scientific desire emerging—wanting to dissect, study, understand how immaterial creatures like this worked, how they survived.
As if it could sense the terrible wave of intent emanating from the man before it, the Snow Spirit resting in Akane's palm suddenly trembled more violently. Then, with a quick movement, it freed itself from Akane's grip and floated away, joining the others of its kind.
"Ah, don't run away!"
Akane reached out toward the departing Snow Spirit, as if wanting to pull it back.
"There are still many Snow Spirits around here. No need to be too disappointed."
Azlan looked around. Indeed, dozens of small white fluffy balls were still flying in the air, creating a magical scene.
"Azlan-kun doesn't understand." Akane complained, putting her glove back on with a sad expression. "That was my first Snow Spirit! The first always leaves the deepest impression."
Azlan could only sigh, not fully understanding that sentiment, but respecting it.
"If so, maybe next time we can try to interact longer. But for now, we have to go. The snowstorm won't wait."
"Huuuh... Too bad, I couldn't capture this magical scene with a camera." Akane complained while walking, her eyes still glancing back toward the Snow Spirits.
This magical experience solidified her decision to ask Azlan to look for a camera at an electronics store later. She wanted to immortalize every precious moment, every unexpected beauty, as a tangible memento of her new life with that man.
"Ouch! Why did Azlan-kun suddenly stop?"
Too absorbed in her future photography plans, Akane didn't realize Azlan in front of her had stopped suddenly, causing her to bump into his solid back.
"Something's coming."
Azlan's voice sounded heavy, but Akane could catch a very deep serious tone in it.
Azlan had a premonition that whatever was approaching was very dangerous, even for his current self.
How did he know?
Consider it pure intuition.
"..."
Akane fell silent, following Azlan's sharp gaze direction. At first, she saw nothing but gusts of wind beginning to pick up that rolled snow like thin fog. But then, behind the whisper of wind, her sensitive ears caught a sound.
Not a natural sound. It was the sound of heavy footsteps, interspersed with the distinctive creak of metal like iron scraping against iron.
Several seconds that felt long passed. Then, from behind the curtain of swirling snow, the figure began to manifest clearly.
"A... Samurai?"
Akane rubbed her eyes with her gloves, thinking maybe her eyes were playing tricks due to snow glare.
Not far from them stood a figure that looked taken directly from ancient painting scrolls. The figure was pale bluish, as if made of ice or perhaps frozen cold light.
He wore samurai-style armor, layered by a fur coat that fluttered gently in the winter wind. In his hand, he held an unsheathed long katana that reflected dim light with a blade that looked colder than the surrounding ice.
His helmet covered most of his face, only leaving darkness behind the visor, from where two pale blue points of light like eyes shone with an unfriendly intensity.
If there were adventurers from the Beginner Town of Axel in the Kingdom of Belzerg present there, they would immediately recognize him: Winter Shogun!
"Don't move carelessly, Akane. This person... No, this monster is very dangerous."
Azlan instinctively stepped half forward, placing himself between Akane and that mysterious samurai figure.