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Perhaps thanks to the long-tailed tit, Rimona explained the situation to me, even though she remained suspicious of me.

They are an adventurer party called the “Steel Blade.” Led by Geist, an axe-wielding commoner, the party consists of Braje, a mage; Meia, a scout; and Rimona, a spirit user who is a tanuki beastkin. They’re all B-rank, making them a pretty strong party.

Apparently, Rimona came from an island nation in the south, and back home, she’s somewhat well-known as a spirit priestess. I probed her for confirmation, and sure enough, it seems spirit mages can distinguish spirits.

She said the nature of their power appears different from that of ordinary creatures, and the Long-tailed Tit is in a completely different league—it’s obvious to her at a glance.

Incidentally, I couldn’t tell the difference at all. Even when it tilts its head, it just looks like a big, round, ordinary bird to me.

The other members were also from the eastern part of the continent. Apparently, after building up their strength, they’ve been using Panadia as their base for the past few years to take on this Eternal Ice Cavern.

After several attempts, they reached the End Portal leading to the deepest part. After waking from the Sleeping Trap, they pursued and challenged what appeared to be the Lord—a being of immense power—only to be swallowed by an avalanche.

An “End Portal” is something like a path that exists deep within unexplored territory, connecting to the heart of that realm. Its shape isn’t limited to a hole; apparently, you can tell it’s one just by looking at it because the atmosphere is different.

Now that you mention it, that hole did indeed have an otherworldly aura about it.

“And then, we ran into another expedition team…”

To begin with, the reason they ended up rushing deep into the region this time was due to an accident—or perhaps just bad luck. It doesn’t seem to have been intentional.

Members of an expedition hired by some noble used them as decoys to retrieve Snowblossom from the nest of a giant ice worm—known as the “Lord of the Snowfields.” While the adventurers, now being chased by the ice worm, were scrambling to escape, they came face-to-face with the “Steel Blades.”

Incidents in uncharted territories beyond human reach are generally a matter of personal responsibility. Even if there were witnesses, they could be held accountable, but once they’re gone, it’s as if it never happened.

If things continued like this, they’d be saddled with the blame for some dangerous individuals. In an effort to avoid that, they ended up in a fight with the other party’s adventurers.

In the midst of the battle, a giant ice worm burst in from above, and a massive amphibian joined the fray from below.

Other magical beasts, drawn by the commotion, gathered one after another, and a massive monster war broke out.

Even for a party of skilled adventurers venturing into uncharted territory, this was simply too much. So, they escaped while the initial target—the other adventurers—were being attacked.

Driven into a situation where death was inevitable, they resolved to make a desperate leap into the Glacier of Death.

In the midst of their desperate escape, they stumbled upon an End Portal and jumped into it… that seems to be how it went.

“The Glacier of Death?”
“It’s the glacier where the End Portal was located. The temperature drops to a point where even living people freeze, so if you enter without a powerful fire shield, you’ll die. Our shield was powerful, it drains our mana in an instant…”

By “fire shield,” she must mean the red mist the adventurer was wrapped in. Apparently, it’s a magical artifact that stays active by drawing on the wearer’s mana. I’d like to see the real thing, but… it’s a hassle, so I’ll stop prying.

“I get the gist of the situation.”
“Y-yes… um, so… I’m truly sorry for all my rudeness, but—”

Her gaze drifted to the long-tailed tit that’s been plucking lint off my old robe with its beak for the past few minutes.

It seems I’ve been labeled “that weirdo who lets the Spirit God groom him.” On Earth, it’d be like some mysterious person who has the embodiment of a typhoon or tsunami taking care of their personal needs.

It did this when we first met at the Pandora Institute too, but I remember how incredibly clumsy it was back then—I used to be its practice dummy all the time.

I trusted it, but honestly, seeing it pluck hair from the researchers’ scalps so often was a little scary…

“…They hadn’t come at us with malice, so perhaps we should just let it slide.”
“Cheep.”

I’m trying to imitate the manner of speech I’ve once read in the “Analects of the Emperor of the Zergia Empire,” but his haughty attitude is exhausting.

He doesn’t know how to use the polite language that kids use; I tried to have Filia teach us about it, but she flatly refused, saying she wasn’t confident enough. His way of speaking just feels off, too.

If these people understood Japanese, I’d have a few more options.

“I… I thank the Spirit God and Her Friend for their merciful consideration.”

Rimona curled her already round tail even tighter as she prostrated herself. It’s kind of hard to watch.

“…So, who the hell are you—ough!?”

I felt a sense of kinship with the groan that cut into the middle of the conversation.

Apparently curious, Geist tried to question me, but he seemed to get elbowed simultaneously by his trembling companions on either side.

Seeing how we were acting, his tension seemed to ease—it wasn’t fear that was making his companions shake.

“I am a friend of the spirits… If I must name myself, you may call me Al.”

Struggling to come up with a pseudonym, I ended up using a play on my own name. I could have just made something up on the spot, but I was confident I wouldn’t be able to react if called by a random name on the spur of the moment.

I’ll probably be using the Plague Doctor style again down the road, so I want to minimize any confusion.

“So, why are you in a place like this? …You’re human, right?”

When they say “human” in this context, I don’t think they mean the commonfolk—I think they’re asking if I’m of mankind. There are actually quite a few races whose members remain as short as children even after reaching adulthood.

Smallfolks (Gnomes) and Mountainfolks (Dvergrs) are prime examples, and since they’re highly suited to spirit magic, I suppose I’m being mistaken for one of them.

Still, as for why I’m here… I can only say we just explored the region out of curiosity and somehow ended up being here.

But if I were to be honest, that would probably just make them suspicious.

So I decided to make up a plausible-sounding excuse on the spot.

“……I came to see an old friend who’s very important to ow ow ow.”

The fur on my tail, sticking out from under my robe, was yanked hard.

What’s with this snow hut? Is there some kind of curse on us where only Uncle Geist and I can’t have a conversation without being interrupted?

“Cheep…”
“Ahem. I have come only to see a friend. If you lot will return quietly, I shall say nothing. This child has also said it will forgive your rudeness.”
“Even so, we can’t just leave empty-handed…”
“Once again! We beg for your mercy! Thank you so much!”

After gazing with pity at Geist, who was being silently beaten up for saying something he shouldn’t have, I turned my gaze back to Rimona, who was interrupting the leader’s words while prostrating herself.

Well, after seeing that massive avalanche, I can understand why they don’t want to fight. My friend here is beyond anything humans can handle.

There might be some who could stand up to it, but those would likely be the kind of people called ‘outliers.’

The four of them—who’d decided to head back before the leader could say anything else—began conferring while glancing our way.

Of course, I pricked up my ears to eavesdrop; my hood was a bit of a hindrance, but at this distance, it wasn’t a problem.

“In the end, we came for nothing?”
“Just finding the End Portal is a huge victory, isn’t it?”
“Come on, man…”
“Let’s not keep dithering. Besides, challenging the Spirit God would take more lives than we have.”
“More importantly, aren’t you forgetting something? Those ancient magical beasts are waiting outside the End Portal, right? It’ll be tough for us to escape on our own.”
“Ah…”

The mage Braje’s words pointed out a blind spot for me, too.

That’s right—if they’re waiting on our way back, we could end up in a brawl with those monsters the moment we step outside.

It’d be too optimistic to think it’s lost track of us and gone somewhere else. After all, the Ice Worm is so relentless that it’ll chase us right up to the very edge of the snowfield.

This is an issue that affects our return journey as well.

The Long-tailed Tit would probably help us if I asked… but the thought of encountering those creatures on our own is very unsettling. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s right to just leave everything to it and let it carry us just because it’s strong.

“Say.”
“Cheep?”

I whispered to the Long-tailed Tit, who was preening my robe.

“…If I asked you to fight alongside us, would you lend us a hand?”
“???”

Just as I was about to confirm if it would help, it gave me a look of utter bewilderment. It was like, “Huh? Are you asking something so obvious?”

……I wonder—am I completely missing the point here? Friendships are complicated.

But I’m sure I’m not wrong in thinking it’s important to confirm our intentions.

“I have a proposal.”
“Huh?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Rimona turned around with a start.

“It’d be a bit of a hassle if those creatures targeted me on my way home too… So, how about it? Shall we join forces?”
“Join forces, you say?”

Seeing her confused expression, I nodded with a smirk. With free combatants right in front of me, I’d be crazy not to take advantage of it.

“We’ll lend a hand too. Shall we join forces and take down those beasts?”

—Needless to say, I’d completely forgotten that my mask made my expression completely invisible.