He unsheathed his sword and began to chant some kind of spell. A magic circle appeared and shot a pillar of light straight up to the heavens. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a blue sky. All the clouds steadily drifted away from his spell.
Just like that, the sky had turned sunny. The winds died down and the weather became perfect for harvesting food.
“There. That should do the trick, don’t you think?” he asked.
“Y-Yes…”
I was amazed. I didn’t know great heroes could control the weather too.
“The snow is still deep. Be careful where you put your feet down,” he warned.
“R-Right.”
Our search of the mountain had begun.
We climbed upwards and upwards, exhaling white breath as we moved. It wasn’t that steep of an incline, but it really drained my stamina over time.
We also encountered the occasional monster. Rabbits with sharp horns had been lurking in the snow, jumping out to attack us as we passed.
“Horned rabbits are coming!” As he shouted that, Zara used his massive ax to chop the monsters in two. Ulgus struck them right in the skulls with his arrows.
Sir Aiskoletta defeated one horned rabbit after another with his crystal sword.
“Wooow, everyone is so strong!”
Now that I thought of it, Charlotte had never seen us in a real battle before. I’d been shocked when I witnessed my squadmates fighting for the first time too. They were like totally different people compared to how they normally acted.
Charlotte praised Ulgus after the fight, telling him he looked really cool in battle. Ulgus giggled happily. He was the type of person who thrived on praise, so I hoped Charlotte would keep it up.
“I just haven’t seen anything that looks edible yet.”
“Me neither…”
It was nothing but trees on the mountain. I didn’t see anything that looked like it might grow berries.
“I’m surprised you ever found them here, Sir Aiskoletta.”
“I came in search of a missing relative when I was young. That is when I came upon the snowberries.” He said that was over fifty years ago now. “The tree had vines all around it from which it grew the fruit.”
“I see.”
In other words, they weren’t buried under the snow. I thought that tip would make it easier, but we didn’t come across any tree with vines around it at all.
“Pant, pant, pant, pant…!”
The farther we went, the steeper the slope turned. I felt like the oxygen was getting thin too.
“Kreh?”
“Ah, yes…I’m all right.”
“Kreh kreh.”
Amelia, sounding concerned, asked me if I wanted to ride on her back. I decided to take her up on the offer, just for a little bit.
I stole a glance at Charlotte, but as a beastfolk, she still had plenty of energy. Her eyes were sparkling, thoroughly enjoying her first time on a snowy mountain.
I wanted to get that same light back in my eyes, so I made a suggestion. “Um, w-would you like to stop for lunch, everyone?”
“Very well.” Sir Aiskoletta gave a deep nod. I was hoping to have our break in a cave, but that would be too convenient. We had to just crouch on the ground to regain some energy. “Stand back.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
What in the world was he planning? Sir Aiskoletta unsheathed his crystal sword and chanted a spell. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared over the snow on the ground, causing it to swell upwards.
It turned into a massive ball of snow I had to crane my neck to see the top of. Then he applied pressure and shaped it into a neat semicircle.
“Wh-What is this for…?”
“I’m not finished yet.”
Zara gasped, having figured out his intentions. Charlotte, Ulgus, and I were still left confused.
Another spell activated, this time sending a ball of fire into the snowball. The snow in the center melted away…leaving us with a perfect cave on the inside.
“Ah, I understand now. You were making a snow hut!”
“Right you are.”
Sir Aiskoletta never ceased to amaze. I would have never thought of making a snow hut with spells like that. He’d even used magic to make sure it didn’t collapse. I wasted no time stepping inside and found the hut’s interior was spacious enough to fit more than ten adults.
“Wow, I didn’t think it would be this warm!”
The walls, floor, and ceilings were all made of snow, yet it was strangely toasty. I spread out a blanket for us to sit on.
“Awesome! A snow house!”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. But you recognized it right away, didn’t you, Zara?”
“I sure did. We made these all the time when I was a kid. They were just a lot smaller.”
“That reminds me, you’re from a snowy country, aren’t you, Ahto?”
This snow hut was like a nostalgic memory for Zara. I could practically see the longing for his hometown deep in those eyes.
“Please rest here for a while, everyone. I’ll go outside and cook.”
I tried to stand up, but Sir Aiskoletta stopped me.
“Wait one moment. You’re free to cook inside if you please.”
“But won’t the hut melt if I light a fire?”
“Fear not, as my spell shall prevent any melting or collapsing so long as it is active.”
“I-I see.”
“Let us all prepare our meal together.”
“Okay!”
Sir Aiskoletta cast another spell, providing me with heat to cook on. This new magic circle would heat up once anything was placed on top of it.
“I think I’ll use this opportunity to make soup with snow.”
First, I filled a pot with mushrooms, onions, and boar-pig meat that I’d been preserving in salt. Then I piled snow on top of them.
“Ulgus, Charlotte, could you pack this pot full of snow? Then place it on the magic circle when you’re done.”
“Okay!”
“Roger.”
It was time to start the second dish.
“Zara, please cut these potatoes into thin wedges. Sir Aiskoletta, can you cut the bacon up into thick strips?”
“Sure thing.”
“As you wish.”
“What should Album do?”
“Please watch over the soup for me, Album.”
“You got it!”
I oiled another pot and stir-fried the potatoes Zara cut with salt and pepper. Once they were cooked, I topped them with bacon.