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The skies above us are clear, and the weather is perfect.

It’s been ten days since we left Forligen. Our leisurely journey has continued without any major incidents so far.

We’ve only been attacked by magic beasts three times in the past ten days. We occasionally pass by carriages or groups of travelers, but nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

The only unexpected development was that Sufi and the others were faster on foot than I’d anticipated, which might allow us to shorten our travel time just a little. There’s still no sign of pursuers, and if things continue this way, there’s a high chance we’ll manage to escape completely.

“With the wind—”
“And the breeze—”

As for me, I was feeling a bit under the weather and couldn’t move, so I was being rocked along on Sufi’s back while listening to the cheerful singing of the other three.

The fact that the three of them are still full of energy even in the middle of this journey is largely thanks to Apartment 404.

Even though we take turns keeping watch, we don’t rest in tents pitched on the ground—we sleep on proper futons. There’s a toilet and a shower, we can do laundry, and we get proper meals.

We couldn’t make full use of it during our escape to Forligen due to various circumstances, but this time we’re taking full advantage of it. Thanks to that, even though we’re traveling on foot, it’s been nothing but comfortable so far.

“We should veer off soon.”
“Aren’t we going straight?”
“If we keep going like this, we’ll end up at a post town that doubles as a checkpoint.”

On the map, it’s the country to the left of Panadia—was it Nardia…? It’s confusing.

As far as I know, it’s quite the human supremacist country. According to information I heard from Chytis Khaleed and others, beastkin have been banned from entering there for several years now.

Since the detour route goes through that country, we’ll head straight south from here and cut through the Eternal Ice Cavern.

“Just put on our winter gear and head south—”
“Ooh.”
“That’s why I’m the leader, nya.”

We pulled winter coats out of the Amazing Pocket and put them on. Honestly, they’re heavy and hot… I thought it would be too late once we entered the snowfields, but maybe I was too early.

“It’s hot, nya…”
“Mm.”

By the way, the hoods were made in the shape of ears, and the tails were altered so that ours could move freely.

Since our ears and tails are a source of trouble, I’d thought that covering them with the hoods might help a little… That was the idea, anyway.

So I tried a few things, and I discovered something rather shocking.

If we cover our ears, we can’t walk properly; and if we cover our tails, Sufi and Noche can’t run.

The only one who can move properly is Filia, but even she seemed to find it quite difficult and was reluctant to do so.

My human values told me we could just cover them up, but now I totally get why beastkin don’t do that. Since our senses are far more acute than that of a human’s, we rely on them quite heavily.

We’re training to get used to it, but it looks like it’s going to take a while.

Anyway, with preparations finished, we leave the highway and head straight across the grasslands.

As we make our way through this sea of grass, I suddenly feel like I’m about to lose my bearings.

“Are we going the right way, nya?”
“…Yeah.”

I checked my bearings using a regular compass I had on hand and continued straight ahead, heading slightly east of southeast.

The downside of leaving the main road is that the chance of encountering magic beasts increases, but I’ve brought along a beast repellent that works on the magic beasts in this area.

I burned the incense-type repellent as we pushed through the grasslands.

At this pace, we should reach the snowy plains in about two days.

■■■■■

Relying on the beast repellent, we kept walking while camping in the grasslands, when a strange, cold wind began to mingle with the gentle breeze of the grasslands.

It got really cold all of a sudden.

After enduring the cold and moving forward for a while, we could see a space ahead where white powdery snow was swirling.

“Whoa! What’s that!?”
“Something white is swirling around!”
“Sufi, Noche, that’s called… snow…”
“It’s really snowing…”

Right in the middle of the grassland, a distinct boundary line of white and green was drawn. Beyond that line lay an unexplored region perpetually sealed off by ice.

It’s sunny over here, but over there it is snowing.

“Are those things why it’s so cold?”
“Never seen them before, nya.”
“It falls from the sky when it gets cold.”
“When it gets suddenly chilled, ice particles formed in the clouds absorb water vapor and grow into geometric crystal patterns, eventually falling due to their own weight.”
“Alice, aren’t you cold? Are you okay?”

…I’m not rambling.

“Let’s just hurry up and get through it…”

Even if everything goes smoothly, it’ll take three to four days through the snow, and we’ll have to camp out a few times, so I’d rather just get through it quickly.

“Yeah nya, I hate the cold, nya.”
“Eh~? Sufi wants to touch the snow.”
“We’re going to be buried in it for a few days whether we like it or not.”

Chattering away as we walk, a white line looms ahead.

Even though we’re on the outskirts, the air is cold.

Exchanging glances out of the corner of our eyes, we step into the snowfield on the count of three.

“HYAA!?”
“FUGYA!?”

SO COLD!!!

The air was just cold outside the area, but this is the kind of cold that cuts right through your skin.

It would’ve been bad without our winter gear, but maybe we should bundle up even more.

“Wait a sec, I want to put on a few more layers.”
“I agree, nya!”
“Agreed!”
“Yup, yup.”

We dash out of the snowy area and set up a door in the grassy field. Actually, the moment we stepped out of that zone, the cold eased up drastically—it’s really strange.

Once inside the warm room, we put on socks, underwear, shirts, and pants—just enough so we can still move freely—and then give it another try.

“My face is freezing, ya!”
“My ears hurt a little!”

It’s so cold that the thin patches of fur on my ears are starting to hurt. I just want to get through this snowy area as soon as possible…

“So glad we’ve got the door, nya.”
“It’s the key, okay?”
“It’s reassuring to have that door, isn’t it?”
“The key… never mind.”

The essence—or rather, the core—of Apartment 404 is actually the key, but somehow it’s come to be recognized as a door… Well, I guess it’s true that from the outside, it just looks like a mysterious door leading to a nice room.

“Which way?”
“…That way.”

I point in the direction we’re heading while checking our route, but I can’t see ahead through the swirling powder snow. It’s calm now, but if it gets rough, we’re in trouble.

If we didn’t have a compass, we might be stuck.

“Alright, let’s get out of here quick! Let’s go!”
“Wooo!”
“Wooo.”

Following Noche’s command, we finally set out to challenge the unexplored territory.

Strangely enough, even though it’s snowing at a steady pace, the snow only reaches about ankle-deep. It’s soft, fresh snow—a little hard to walk on, but not so much that we can’t move.

We keep walking, slowing our pace significantly and frequently checking our direction with the compass. Our direction should be correct, but all we could see was a vast expanse of white.

After walking for a few hours, just as I was starting to feel a little uneasy…

“What’s that, nya?”
“…”

Noche stopped and looked to her left, relative to our direction of travel. Beyond the swirling powder snow, a cloud of dust… or rather, a cloud of snow was rising.

With the sound of metal scraping, Noche drew her sword.

The Eternal Ice Cavern is a fairly valuable source of ice and snow in these parts. It serves as a source of income for adventurers of a certain skill level, and its layout has been largely mapped out.

I’d heard that it was extremely rare for domain magic beasts to appear near the outer perimeter…

Listening closely, I could make out the sound of people’s voices mixed in with the sound of snow being pushed aside.

“…Looks like trouble.”
“Myu?”
“Nya?”

Even as I sighed in exasperation, the cloud of snow drew closer, and I could see a carriage with wheels that looked more like a sled.

It’s being pulled by a huge wolf with ash-silver fur, so is it a dog sled instead of a carriage?

“What’s that!?”
“It’s a dog sled. Why is it here?”

While Sufi was surprised, Filia seemed to know what was going on.

“I heard adventurers from Panadia Port mainly use them for mining. Since they’re also involved in fishing, ice and snow are really useful there, and I’ve even heard there are adventurers who specialize in harvesting ice.”
“But we’re on the western edge of the map. If they’re adventurers from Panadia, they’d head north or south—whether they’re fleeing or pushing through.”

It can only mean trouble. I’d rather pretend I didn’t see that.

The dog sled seemed to be chased by “Ice Worms,” magic beasts—arthropods that inhabit the Eternal Ice Caverns.

They aren’t that strong individually, but there are so many of them, and they swim through the snow. In places with shallow snow like this, it’s easy to spot them, but the deeper the snow gets, the more troublesome they become.

“Wait, isn’t that sled coming this way?”

I think we can handle the Ice Worms just fine once we get this far… Oh, the dog sled has tipped over.

“Ah!”
“Oh… We can’t just leave them behind, nya”

Personally, I’d rather not get involved at all, but Sufi and Noche chose to help. Maybe it’s Sister’s influence… If that’s Noche and the others’ decision, I guess there’s no choice.

I suppose we’ll go help them.