Since then, I had looked into the Adventurer's Guild, but I hadn't found anything to confirm the current situation.
To be more precise, it may had happened, but I couldn't confirm it, but it might be correct.
Unable to obtain any information, we left the Adventurer's Guild.
"Well, the situation will be the same even if you go to other places. Of course, there may be things that can be miraculously confirmed." (Kagari)
But it seemed difficult to search.
There's no way there's something convenient like paper that didn't bleed ink even when submerged in water, or metal such as iron that has this information engraved on it.
"All that's left is a place that is not affected by the ice." (Kagari)
"A place not affected by ice…outside the city?" (Yuna)
If we moved away from the city, the impact would be less.
The further away we were, the less the ice would affect us.
Simply put, Crimonia and Land of Harmoni were not affected.
Well, if it affected other places, this world would end.
"It's the basement." (Kagari)
Indeed, the deeper you went, the less you should be affected.
"So, are you looking for the basement?" (Yuna)
"It's not easy to search for it. There are several problems. First, is there a basement somewhere? Second, even if there is a basement, is there any material that describes what happened this time? Only lowly people would store materials in a basement. Originally, it was often used to store grain, weapons, and other things, or to prevent people from escaping." (Kagari)
A place to be confined.
"You mean prison." (Yuna)
If I had to say it myself, I had a bad idea.
If the dungeon was safe, what about food? That's what I thought.
In this situation, no one would bring you food...
"Also, even if there is a basement, there is a possibility that it is frozen underground. That's how much this ice is different from normal ice." (Kagari)
Even if the basement wasn't frozen, or even if it was frozen, the only thing that comes to mind was a tragic scene.
However, as Kagari-san says, was there a basement in this city? And if so, where was it located? It seemed difficult just to search.
"Besides, it would be a hassle to build a basement. They wouldn't build one unless there was a good reason." (Kagari)
Basements were often created to hide something.
If you had land to build a building on, you could just build it normally.
There were many reasons to build a basement in the small and densely populated city of Tokyo, but no one would build a basement in a vast countryside for no purpose or reason.
"So what are we going to do?" (Kagari)
Kagari-san spoke her mind and seemed to leave the decision of his actions to me.
"For now, let's check other places and see if there's anything underground." (Yuna)
That didn't mean they didn't have a basement.
If it froze recently, there might be some people still alive.
However, even if there were people trapped underground, I didn't think they would know about the current situation above ground.
Afterwards, we entered and checked buildings that might give us information, but we were unable to obtain any new information.
"It's almost nightfall. I have the same question, what should we do?" (Kagari)
Return to Land of Harmoni using Bear's Transfer Gate.
I would give up and went back to Crimonia.
I would look into it tomorrow as well.
"What about Kagari-san?" (Yuna)
"I'm planning on going with you. If you give up, then the search is over. However, if you want to continue exploring after tomorrow, I'll go with you." (Kagari)
"Thank you. Well then, I'll stay here today." (Yuna)
"Are you going to stay in this town?" (Kagari)
"We could go back to the Land of Harmoni. Something might happen at night." (Yuna)
In games, there were events that occured at night.
Additionally, there was a possibility that it might cause ice build-up at night.
"Is that so? My body was cold, so I wanted to take a hot spring and warm up." (Kagari)
Even with the heat retention magic, it seemed like it was cold.
Or was it because of the ice that mana was trapped in?
"You can go back to the hot springs." (Yuna)
I looked around and set up a bear house in the middle of the road.
"Why would you build it in the middle of the road?" (Kagari)
"Is it because it’s something you can’t normally do?" (Yuna)
Bear houses could not be placed on roads in the capital or Crimonia.
If I did, it would stand out, attract people, and become a spectacle. Above all, it became a nuisance. Maybe a removal order would be issued soon.
However, as it stood now, it wouldn't cause any trouble to anyone in this town, and no order would be issued to remove it. On the other hand, it would be helpful if someone could order the removal.
"Besides, if someone was there, they would definitely notice us, right?" (Yuna)
I was not talking about Kagari-san though. There was a basement, and there were people there, and there was a possibility that they would come out at night.
If you imagine it, it might be scary.
"It's true that this bear's house stands out. If there are people, they might come closer." (Kagari)
Kagari-san agreed, so we moved to the Land of Harmoni and took a hot spring bath to warm up our cold bodies before dinner.
"Kagari-san, do you know what the situation is after all?" (Yuna)
I asked Kagari-san who was soaking in the bathtub.
"I don't know" (Kagari)
"Even Kagari-san has some things she doesn't understand." (Yuna)
"No one knows everything in this world." (Kagari)
Maybe it's God.
"All I know is that there is a trace amount of mana in that ice. It's spreading throughout the city." (Kagari)
"Does the small amount of mana mean someone did it?" (Yuna)
There was also a magic circle that took away mana. It wouldn't be strange if there was a magic circle that could freeze the city.
"Well, it certainly didn't happen naturally." (Kagari)
I felt like I was going to get into some kind of trouble.
I knew it's best not to get involved.
However, I was concerned about what the "Bear Signpost" was pointing to.
The "Bear Signpost" must have finished its purpose, and it hadn't been lit since then. It seemed that even when I return to Crimonia, it didn't have to keep shining.
"Thank you, Kagari-san." (Yuna)
"It's the ship I boarded. I'm killing time, but I'm curious." (Kagari)
I agreed with that.
I was curious as to why this happened.
I was so worried that I could only sleep at night.
We returned to the ice city and went to sleep with Kagari-san, Kumayuru, and Kumakyu in case something happened.
I asked Kumayuru and Kumakyu to wake me up if anything happened.
I also asked them to wake me up in the morning.
A convenient bear alarm clock.
And nothing happened at night, and Kumakyu woke me up in the morning.
Next to him, Kumayuru was shaking Kagari-san's body.
"Is it morning already? I'm going to wake up, so why don't you stop shaking my body?" (Kagari)
Kagari-san got up, rubbing her eyes.
"Nothing happened." (Yuna)
"That's right. However, something may have happened that I didn't notice." (Kagari)
Surely.
After we finished breakfast, we cleaned up the bear house and started exploring the ice city.
Even though I said I was going to explore, I didn't know where to look, so I just walked around town randomly.
This was the road I took yesterday. There was an Adventurer's Guild.
It seemed like we were walking down a side street and came back.
I checked yesterday, so I was going to pass by the Adventurer's Guild building. But Kagari-san told Kumayuru to stop.
Kagari-san was looking at the Adventurer's Guild.
I wondered if there's something she was concerned about.
I also watched Adventurer's Guild.
Something didn't feel right.
I wondered what?
"The door is frozen" (Kagari)
It was true.
The ice that Kagari-san magically melted had returned to its original state.
"What does it mean?" (Kagari)
Kagari-san got off Kumayuru and touched the icy door.
"Did it freeze over night?" (Kagari)
"So something happened that night?" (Yuna)
"I don't know. Maybe they just repaired it." (Kagari)
"Repair?" (Yuna)
"Even if there had been a blizzard at night, your bear house wasn't frozen. And yet, it's frozen." (Kagari)
Indeed, the bear house was not frozen.
I didn't know if the bear house was special or if there wasn't a snowstorm.
I had never left a bear house in the cold, so I couldn't judge what would happen.
When Kagari-san approached the Adventurer's Guild, she used fire magic to melt some of the ice on the door.
"You'll find out later when you come back. Is it some kind of influence or is it something artificial?" (Kagari)
There were many things to think about.
There was a blizzard yesterday and it was freezing. The bear house was special so it didn't freeze.
There was something like a magic circle that freezes, and even if you melted the ice, it would freeze over time.
Also, although the possibility was low, people and monsters were frozen.
There were so many things I didn't understand.
We left the Adventurer's Guild and resumed our exploration.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu carrying Kagari-san and I arrived near the center of town.
"What is this?" (Kagari)
The place where the fountain was believed it was there, had been destroyed, surrounding buildings had collapsed, and the ground had been gouged out.
"There was a fight?"
The surrounding area was destroyed, as if there had been a fierce battle. The destroyed scene was also frozen, as if time has stopped.
"Did you not notice it when you looked at it from above yesterday?" (Yuna)
"I was looking outside the city. Also, the surrounding buildings were tall and everything was frozen, so I couldn't tell from a distance." (Kagari)
That means it's not necessarily what happened last night.
"I have a bad feeling." (Kagari)
Kagari-san looked around and said.
Kagari-san's hunch was likely to come true, so we were in trouble.
She's a demon fox after all. (I was just saying that)
Kagari-san descended from Kumayuru and touched the surrounding frozen ground and buildings.
"Do you know something?" (Yuna)
"It's just that it has more mana than other places." (Kagari)
"Then we're at the heart of the cause of this frozen city?" (Yuna)
Was there a magic circle near here?
Or was it another cause?
Kagari-san floated up and saw the destroyed building.
Then, the moment she turned around, she looked surprised.
"What happened?" (Yuna)
"My bad premonition may have come true. You come here too." (Kagari)
I jumped and landed on top of a building.
Then, I looked where Kagari-san was looking.
What I thought was a hole left by a fierce battle turned out to be a giant footprint.
Author's Note
Thank you for always correcting the typos.
Regarding the expressions "freeze" and "ice", we use the term "ice" to refer to watery objects, and "freeze" to refer to people.
I have written them differently based on the nuances of the author, so I hope you will understand.
...
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Please note that some kanji have been revised to match the book, so some may not have been revised.