“The soup’s boiling, Pancake Girl!”
“Charlotte, can you add herbs to the soup until it tastes good?”
“Okaaay!”
I roasted the potatoes and bacon until they were nice and crispy. As a finishing touch, I laid sliced cheese over them and removed the pot from the heat. Then I covered it with the lid and waited for the cheese to melt.
Next, I sampled the soup itself. The broth turned out tasty thanks to the rich flavor of the mushrooms. Not only was the soup ready to eat, but the cheese in the pot was melted too.
I’d completed two dishes in hardly any time at all. My “snow-thawed boar-pig soup” and “potatoes and bacon with cheese sauce” were ready to eat.
Sir Aiskoletta sliced up some bread, so I handed it out to everyone before digging in.
“These potatoes with bacon and cheese are just as delicious when eaten with bread.”
Album raised his slice up and started to beg me. “Th-That sounds amazing! Put some potatoes on my bread, Pancake Girl!”
“Okay, okay.”
I dipped his potatoes and bacon into the soft cheese and placed it all on a slice of bread. I repeated the process for the others.
Everyone stuffed their cheeks with the steaming warm bread. There was no better combination than potatoes, bacon, and melted cheese. All of those delicious tastes mingled together to form the ultimate delight to the tongue.
“Aaaaaaah! It’s soooo good!”
“It’s delicious, Melly.”
“So yummy!”
“Most delicious indeed!”
I was glad everyone enjoyed the meal. The salted boar-pig soup was full of tender onions and crisp mushrooms. The meat itself had soft fat and the perfect level of saltiness. It was a wonderful soup that seemed to convert my fatigue back into energy.
Now that we had a second wind after our meal, it was time to get back to hunting for snowberries. My body was nice and warm after all that soup. This time, I wouldn’t be shivering like before.
“Mell, I too hot now, so I give you Album back,” Charlotte said.
“S-Sure.”
The warm weasel was fast asleep. I stuffed him in a bag so that I wouldn’t accidentally drop him.
“The path will be even more treacherous from here on out. Perhaps Miss Mell and Miss Charlotte should proceed on Miss Amelia’s back.”
“Kreh kreh!”
Amelia told us she didn’t mind. I decided to accept her offer so that we didn’t slow the others down. Charlotte and I mounted Amelia. With that, the group returned to our search.
The path grew more dangerous, just as Sir Aiskoletta warned. It was a steep slope that we had to climb carefully, going from boulder to boulder. Zara and Ulgus, as knights from an expeditionary squadron, weren’t even out of breath as they followed Sir Aiskoletta’s lead.
The weather worsened the longer we climbed the cliffs. Thick clouds streamed in overhead and soon darkened our surroundings. The wind picked up and snow started to fall.
It came down harder and harder until we were practically in a blizzard.
“How are you all faring?”
“I-I’m doing good. What about you, Ahto?”
“I’m fine. How’s it going for you guys, Amelia, Melly, and Charlotte?”
“Kreh kreh, kreh kreh kreh.”
“We’re good!”
“I feel much more stable on Amelia’s back.”
We managed to climb the mountain without the wind or snow putting a stop to us, only to find something unbelievable waiting at the peak.
“Hmm?”
Sir Aiskoletta froze, looking up at the summit. Then he suddenly jumped up to the clifftop in a single leap.
“Huh?! Wh-What is it?!” I cried.
Charlotte answered, “Maybe a monster!”
“Whaaat?!”
How could we run into a monster just when we finally made it to the summit? We really had terrible luck.
“Grrrrrooooh!”
“Wh-Whoa!”
The entire mountain shook from that roar. Fearing an avalanche, I wondered if we should hurry up to the top with the others too.
Zara and Ulgus were ready to join the battle. We reached the top of the mountain, but I was completely shocked when I saw the monster Sir Aiskoletta was fighting.
“I-It’s a snow bear?!”
The beast was over thirty-two feet long. I hugged Charlotte tightly when she started to tremble.
It was rotten luck. We’d encountered the worst monster of them all.
When was the first time I ever saw a snow bear? I felt like it was during our search for the runaway nobleman on that mountain. We’d been looking for a human only to run into a bear in the forest—a bear that turned out to be impossibly strong.
But perhaps that was only natural. Even wild bears were excellent at fighting. It didn’t take a genius to see how a monster version would be unimaginably powerful. Not only that, but this snow bear was significantly larger than the last one and mighty enough to shake the ground with nothing more than its roar.
We’d only managed to defeat it when the members of the Second Expeditionary Squadron put all their talents together. But this time…
Zara’s battleax was no match for the bear’s thick pelt. Even Ulgus calculated the wind speed and struck the beast, only for his arrow to bounce off fruitlessly. It was like its entire body was covered in ice.
Still, they continued the battle fearlessly.
How could they ever defeat such a thing? I had no choice but to pray to the gods.
That was when, out of nowhere, the snow bear trembled and fell to the ground.
“What?!”
Behind it, I watched as Sir Aiskoletta drew his crystal sword from the snow bear’s body. As unbelievable as it seemed, the great hero had pierced the beast’s heart with a single thrust.
Ulgus collapsed with relief. Zara dropped his battleax to the ground.
“Are you all right, everyone?!”
“W-We’re fine!”
“Is that so? I’m most relieved.”
After confirming we were all unharmed, Album began to stir in my bag. Then he poked his head out.
“What is it, Album?”
“I smell something sweet!”
“R-Really?”
“Really. This way!”
We followed his directions deeper into the forest. Suddenly, I spotted white strawberries growing off a tree with vines.
“A-Are these…snowberries?”
“Right you are.”
We finally found them. I was so happy it almost brought tears to my eyes.