"Is this the end?" (Kagari)
"There's nothing around." (Yuna)
In my detection, they were in a faraway place, but there was no sign of them coming towards us, so this was the end.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu would tell me if they approached.
"Kagari-chan! Amazing" (Lise)
When Kagari-san and I returned to the bear bus, Lise-san hugged Kagari-san.
"Are you hurt?" (Lise)
"It's okay." (Kagari)
"Both of you are amazing. I can't believe you were able to defeat such a monster." (Lise)
"It makes sense that these two ladies came to this town, just the two of them."
"And what about the horse?" (Baran)
Baran-san the fisherman, was about to jump out to the hut where the horse was, so I held and took him back on the bear bus.
"It looks like the hut is safe." (Yuna)
It didn't look like the hut has been destroyed. Looks like I made it in time.
Baran-san got off the bear bus, ran to the hut, and opened the door.
I followed along and entered the hut.
The horse was fine.
Baran-san felt relieved when he saw the horse, then approached and gently rubbed the horse's neck.
"Luga, I'm glad you're safe." (Baran)
The horse's name was Luga.
"Well then, Luga. It's dangerous here, so let's move." (Baran)
He tried to let the horse out of the stall, but the horse didn't like it.
"Luga, the monster may come again. So please come." (Baran)
The horse resisted.
"Looks like he doesn't want to go outside in a snowstorm." (Kagari)
Kagari-san said after seeing the horse's reaction.
Maybe because she's a fox she could understand the feelings of a horse?
I sometimes saw them talking with Kumayuru and Kumakyu, which made me wonder if they could communicate with horses as well.
"Then we'll build a tunnel to the mine entrance." (Yuna)
I moved to the entrance of the hut and drained mana on the ground.
Earth rose up from beneath the snow, creating a tunnel to the mine entrance.
"If this is the case, the horse will be fine."
Baran-san pulled on the reins, and the horse obediently began to walk through the tunnel.
After all, Kagari-san can talk to horses?
It's dark inside the tunnel, so I had already installed light magic here and there.
Everyone else also headed through the tunnel to the mine entrance.
I put away the bear bus and walked with Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
Kagari-san was carefully riding on Kumayuru's back.
"Thank you, Yuna-san and Kagari-chan. We came back safely." (Lise)
"The horse was safe, thank you." (Baran)
Baran-san was giving water to the horse.
The water hole that Kagari-san and I created would be put to use right away.
When they returned to the room where beds were, everyone sat down on the bed, feeling relieved.
"Do they always show up like that?" (Yuna)
"Monsters will appear, but we don't know how many."
"Whenever there's a blizzard, we hide in this room in the mine."
So that was it.
If even one monster appeared, they ran away.
If I were to encounter wolves or bears in my original world, I wouldn't check how many were around. The only option was to leave the area. Above all, confirmation was the adventurer's job. But that adventurer wasn't there.
"Can't they come inside here?" (Yuna)
"So far, never."
"Maybe they don't move to places where there's no snow."
Well, it's an ice monster, and they said it only appeared during blizzards.
"For now, we have no choice but to wait for the blizzard to stop."
"Is it always like this and suddenly it snows?" (Yuna)
"Snowstorms come without warning. That's why we've been in danger so many times. It was especially bad when Baran-san was caught in a blizzard while he was out at sea fishing."
"He always goes out to catch fish despite such danger."
"That's my job, so don't worry about it." (Baran)
"It would be nice if we could grow crops, but because of the snowstorm, we can't grow them to harvest."
It's true that no matter how much effort you put into growing crops, a blizzard would ruin everything.
"You guys must have been having a hard time." (Kagari)
The moment everyone calmed down and Kagari-san sat down on the chair in the room, Kumayuru and Kumakyu cried out in unbelievably loud voices, "Kyuu~n!!"
"What!" (Kagari)
Kagari-san almost fell off the chair.
I had a bad feeling about Kumayuru and Kumakyu who cried in unusual voices.
I used detection skill.
There was a reaction from monsters. But the display was "no data"
This was my first time.
But the one that came to mind was the Ice Dragon.
"Yuna-san, what happened to Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan?" (Lise)
"I think something came outside. I'll go check it out. Everyone stays here." (Yuna)
"I'll go too." (Kagari)
"Yuna-san, Kagari-chan, please be careful." (Lise)
I left everyone to Kumayuru and Kumakyu and headed outside the mine.
"I have a bad feeling. My tail is sticking out." (Kagari)
She didn't have a tail or ears until now.
But now, something that looked like a tail was bulging out from under her clothes.
"So, what's coming? Well, I can guess without asking." (Kagari)
"I hope that prediction turns out to be wrong." (Yuna)
"I agree with that. But I can't stop my tail from shaking." (Kagari)
"I'll come see it by myself." (Yuna)
"I can't let the little girl go alone. That's the role of the elders." (Kagari)
She's a little girl younger than me now.
But it's reassuring that she was coming with me.
Kagari-san and I arrived at the exit of the mine with heavy steps.
"It's a clinging mana that's different from when it was a big snake." (Kagari)
I didn't feel anything.
Even when I touched the snow, I couldn't tell.
Kagari-san seemed sensitive to this kind of thing.
Because she's a fox?
If you said that, I was a bear.
"Nothing here." (Yuna)
But there were reactions.
We were moving.
As we exited the mine and checked our surroundings, Kagari-san shouted, "Up!"
When I looked up, I saw a large object coming down. The ground shook.
"... Ice dragon" (Yuna)
In front of me was a beautiful dragon with a white body.
It had horns on its forehead, sharp claws gouging the ground, and large wings spread out.
I thought I saw a big tail swinging from side to side, and then I saw the stable being destroyed.
The ice dragon turned its attention towards us.
Its eyes were sharp, and it had an intimidating feel that could be considered the strongest creature in this world.
"This is not good. My body is shaking even more than when it was a big snake." (Kagari)
Kagari-san, who was sensitive to mana, hugged her body.
I also felt that it was a monster worse than a large snake.
"Don’t make a move first." (Kagari)
I nodded.
It's someone I didn't want to fight if possible.
If it were a game, I would have killed it by saying things like collecting materials, but this was reality. There were Kagari-san, Lise-san, and others in the mines.
If the entrance was blocked, it would be a disaster.
Above all, I didn't know how strong the dragon was.
Even if the bear equipment was strong, I had never been attacked by a dragon.
"I thought I felt nostalgic power just now, and when I came back, I saw two children." (Ice Dragon)
As I was looking at the dragon, I suddenly heard words in my head.
"Is the Ice Dragon talking to you?" (Kagari)
Kagari-san said while holding her head.
The ice dragon spoke to me...
"Yuna, you should never touch it." (Kagari)
Even if Kagari-san didn't tell me, I won't do anything about it.
Cold air leaked out of the ice dragon's mouth.
"A black human child with nostalgic mana." (Ice Dragon)
A black human child.
Kagari-san wore white Japanese clothes.
I was wearing a black bear costume.
I other word, it was talking about me.
But what is nostalgic mana?
I had never met an ice dragon.
"What is it?" (Yuna)
"Are you a blood relative of that person?" (Ice Dragon)
Am I a blood relative of that person?
I had no idea.
There's no way my parents were in this world, relatives?
In the first place, were there other people other than me in this world?
"I don't know who that person is." (Yuna)
I answered politely so as not to offend her.
"Are you not going to answer?" (Ice Dragon)
It's not that it didn't exist, it's that I didn't know.
Who is that person?
I wanted to ask, but this time it asked Kagari-san.
"Why is that strange magical power here, white child?" (Ice Dragon)
If I was a black child, then the white child would be Kagari-san.
"The only reason I am here is because I followed this person." (Kagari)
Kagari-san answered while looking at me.
"I'm going to ask you, sir. Do you know about the me?" (Kagari)
"A long time ago, only the village knew how to bathe, just like the white ones." (Ice Dragon)
Do you know someone from a long time ago who had the same mana as Kagari-san?
Kagari-san's family? Related person?
Does that mean there's a demon fox?
"Can I ask too?" (Yuna)
"What is it?" (Ice Dragon)
"Who is this mana that looks like me?" (Yuna)
"I can't answer that" (Ice Dragon)
"Why" (Yuna)
"A promise" (Ice Dragon)
Saying that, the ice dragon flapped its wings.
"Wait!" (Yuna)
Ignoring my words, the ice dragon flew away.
"Lord, don't stop the ice dragon." (Kagari)
Because I would be curious.
Why don't you just say something meaningful before leaving?
"I understand how you feel, but think about the time and situation." (Kagari)
"Yeah, sorry." (Yuna)
If Kagari-san had gotten angry and had to fight here, Kagari-san might have died.
The mine might have collapsed in the attack, and Lise-san and the others might have been buried alive.
Above all, maybe even Kagari-san wanted to ask a lot of questions.
"Well, I never expected an ice dragon to talk to me." (Kagari)
"Can we talk about dragons?" (Yuna)
"I've never heard of people being able to communicate with each other. Maybe I just haven't met them before, or the ones I'd talked to were silent, or the ones I'd met had died." (Kagari)
"We're alive, aren't we?" (Yuna)
"Perhaps it was just a whim that kept us alive. This is something only the ice dragon knows." (Kagari)
He came on his own, said what he wanted to say, and left.
As Kagari-san said, I didn't know how the ice dragon felt.
Author's Note
...
*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.