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Our exploration of the Eternal Ice Cavern proceeded at a surprisingly leisurely pace.

While mapping the area based on our memories as we’re lounging in Apartment 404, I realized that our current location seemed to be further in than the deepest point, in relation to the entrance.

To be precise, we were near the deepest point but closer to the surface.

The basis for this was the assumption that the direction in which the ice cavern extends should be where the deepest point is, and that it was also sloping downward.

And so our options are; should we dig through the ceilings or should we pass through the deepest point?

Digging up is realistic but time-consuming. Going towards the deepest point is dangerous, but there’s the romance and honor of venturing into the deepest part of an unexplored area.

After much deliberation, the decision our leader, Noche, made is…

“We’re adventurers, nya. Let’s see how far we can go, nya.”

Sufi agreed with that statement, and we decided to continue our exploration within reasonable limits.

To be honest, it was my “blunder.”

After staying here for a while, the true nature of the Eternal Ice Cavern’s difficulty became clear. The greatest enemy here is likely the environment itself.

The cold air that constantly drains your body heat, and the ice worms and golems that attack while blending in with the ice and snow.

Of all the enemies we’ve encountered so far, Sufi and Noche could handle only the worms on their own; as for the ice golem, there’s a high chance we would’ve been in serious trouble if I hadn’t been there.

This isn’t just me being conceited. I was certain of it when, during the battle, a golem that had transformed into a slender, human-sized form charged straight at me, completely unfazed, even while taking blows from Sufi and Noche.

Intelligence that allows it to change its form depending on the opponent, and the judgment to select the most priority target. On top of that, fists capable of shattering the iron-hard ice here, and defense that shrugs off ordinary attacks.

While Filia smashed the core, which I’d easily extracted thanks to the golem’s reduced size, I looked down at the golem lying on the ground and felt a chill run down my spine at the sheer threat it posed.

For me, this is my specialty. Whether they’re heavily armored, leaping through the air, or launching surprise attacks from the ground, I can take them down easily. But without me, even a single golem would have certainly wiped out Sufi and the others.

Even if they tried to flee, it would be like a game of tag inside a freezer against an opponent who feels no cold.

Moreover, within this area, it’s difficult to maintain a fire that isn’t magical. Since no one objected to us crossing the snowfield and we didn’t receive any specific warnings, I suspect this is a characteristic of the area that becomes more pronounced the deeper we go into the cave… or the closer we get to its deepest part.

The deeper we go, the stronger the cold gets, and the fewer ways there are to protect against it.

Food freezes solid, and there are limited ways to thaw it—it’s like fighting magic beasts while marching through a snowstorm on a mountain. No wonder we’re not making progress; any normal creature would be struggling just to survive.

Amidst all that, I have a solution for every single one of those challenges.

The ice feels strange, but I can cut through it just fine with alchemy, and the Apartment 404 door we use for camping has the pleasant warmth of late summer.

The light from the lantern isn’t a normal flame, so it burns just fine, and since it’s a closed underground space, it’s easy to pick up on echoes. I can tell the terrain even with my eyes closed.

I’ve completely eliminated all the elements that would normally pose fatal obstacles outside of combat.

It’s only natural that Sufi and Noche, with their boundless curiosity, would get greedy for the possibility of conquering this place.

I wanted to object, but I’m outnumbered two to one. As long as it’s within the scope of what we can normally handle, I can’t really argue strongly against it.

The option of cutting corners and deliberately exposing the party to danger as a warning no longer exists. At this point, my negligence could lead directly to an irreversible disaster.

In the end, after some compromise, I relented on the condition that I would be given complete discretion over the pace of our rest breaks and the decision to escape.

There was another reason I gave in.

This unexplored area, which looked exactly like the spatial anomalies that occur in specific locations—known as “Area-Type Unknowns” at the Pandora Institution.

It’s true that I was also curious about what exactly lay at its deepest depths.

■■■■■

Day 6 of the Ice Cavern Exploration.

“So, where exactly are we right now, nya?”
“We should have made pretty good progress.”

We’re currently in the middle of a meeting in the living room.

The door leading to the hallway is shut tight. Since we can’t completely seal the front door to check on the situation outside, the hallway side is as cold as a refrigerator.

If we close the door, the view through the peephole just shows a regular apartment hallway.

Right now, Filia is keeping watch by the front door, wrapped in a pile of blankets, listening for any strange noises.

“We’re moving really slow for that, nya.”
“We can’t afford to waste supplies, after all.”

I finally got around to unpacking the storage room, which had been put off for a long time, and found a cardboard box full of disposable hand warmers. I also found long-lasting seasonings, extra food, daily necessities, and miscellaneous items, allowing me to significantly restock our supplies.

That said, we still have a long way to go, so we can’t afford to waste anything. In this environment, it’s difficult to restock hand warmers.

I could just use alchemy to turn the iron oxide inside back into regular iron, but I can’t use my already scarce mana just for that. I have to muddle through, making do as best I can.

“Actually, how far do you think we can go, nya? I feel like the worms are getting bigger too, nya.”
“Yeah, they’re big… hard to cut through.”
“Maybe the nest is nearby.”

If the worms we fought on the snowfields or right after we landed were small, then the ones appearing around here are medium-sized. They’re clearly getting stronger.

Sure, even the “small” ones are already nearly a meter long, but that’s beside the case.

“I wonder if the Lord of the Snowfields’ nest is nearby.”

Frost Hole, right? The ice worm that created that massive hole in the snowfield. Judging by the size of that hole, the creature itself can’t be a mere magic beast, but a Kaijuu.

We can’t possibly think of fighting it, if we ever run into it.

“The one that made the hole, nya…?”
“It’s gotta be large, right?”
“It’s probably bigger than the Alchemists’ Guild building.”
“Nah, it can’t be bigger than that place, right? That’s already pretty huge, nya.”
“Alice, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”

It’s a long, slender arthropod with a “diameter” of tens of meters, you know?

Its total length could be hundreds of meters… or maybe even reach the kilometer range.

“If the deepest point turns out to be a nest, we’re pulling out.”
“I know, nya.”
“Yeah.”

The attack methods we prepared after consulting with our seniors are actually too effective in a closed space with no ventilation—we can’t use them here.

“Still, there aren’t many other adventurers around, nya.”
“It’s just too deep.”

If an ordinary person kept camping out in a freezer, they’d die.

They can’t be like, say, Noche, who’s currently lounging around in just a shirt and underwear on the balcony after a bath, enjoying the breeze to refresh themselves.

If anyone’s exploring this far, it’s probably just a specialized expedition team with rock-solid preparations.

“Speaking of which, Noche, were you okay walking down the hallway dressed like that?”
“I thought I was going to freeze to death, nya.”
“Why did you even take a bath dressed like that?”

After wrapping up a quick meeting, the conversation had drifted into casual chit-chat before we knew it.

“I forgot to change, nya… It’s hard to sleep when the sheets are all stiff and scratchy.”
“Going to the bathroom must be a hassle, too.”
“I tried to open the living room door in the middle of the night, and my hand got soaked—it scared me. It was so cold.”
“Oh well.”

The climate within Apartment 404 is the humid, lingering summer heat of Japan, while the Eternal Ice Cavern just outside is like a natural, powerful freezer. The glass on the hallway side is soaked with condensation.

I didn’t notice it at first either; when I touched it in the middle of the night, I let out a weird little scream.

“Condensation happens when warm air is suddenly cooled…”
“Actually, Filia’s been really quiet, nya. Is she okay, nya?”
“Let’s make a hot water bottle and take it to ‘obsurvashon’ for her.”

Sufi pours hot water from the kettle permanently attached to the hot water bottle she found among the miscellaneous goods and heads out into the hallway.

“Fugyaaaah!?”

As soon as the door opened, a blast of freezing cold air rushed in, causing the lightly clad Noche to scream.

“Ah, are you okay?”
“I’m definitely putting some clothes on!”
“To prevent condensation, you need to keep the surface temperature of the glass…”

For now, I think I’ll just cover the glass on the door with some random cloth or paper…