“Thank you…”
As she carefully took the hot coffee from me, she sipped it cautiously.
Of course, my coffee was a chilled ice coffee. I took a refreshing sip while looking at the woman, who seemed to be in much better condition than when we first met.
What could her true identity be?
I could guess about five possibilities.
First is a lost explorer.
Second is the spirit of a victim who died in the mountains.
Third is…
“Um… thank you, kind one!”
“…You don’t need to thank me; it’s only natural.”
I replied casually while observing her reaction.
Her face was mixed with relief and joy from being alive. On the surface, she looked like a mere victim who happened to find me.
That’s what made it even more suspicious.
Where exactly was this place?
Crevasse Mountain Range.
One of the most dangerous terrains on the continent.
As they say, even dragons could freeze to death in this brutal mountain.
What were the chances of a lost survivor quietly bypassing the traps I set up and entering my igloo?
Even a dropout could guess.
“Do you have any companions?”
“Um, my companions all…”
[Can’t quite make sense of that?]
How can I judge the truth with such vague trailing off?
If she’s indeed who I suspect, even Rue’s ability would struggle to determine the truth. For now, I decided to humor this unknown survivor.
It’s not that hard to pretend.
“Sorry. I asked something unnecessary.”
“Oh, no! If it weren’t for you, Johann, I’d be…”
Did I mention my name?
[Is she really that dumb to lie?]
I almost nodded without realizing it.
I turned my gaze from this strange and clumsy survivor to measure the area of the igloo. Since I had let her in, I should at least prepare for the minimum protection.
“I understand your situation, so for now, rest over there. I have business to attend to on the summit, so I need to sleep.”
“Um… could I possibly have a blanket…?”
I tossed the sleeping bag I was planning to use at her.
“If you give me this entire thing, what will you…?”
“I have my ways.”
As a person who is overly cautious, there’s no way I couldn’t foresee a situation like this. I took out another blanket from my backpack and used my skill on the floor.
“Crafting.”
A bed made of dirt appeared on the icy ground. Normally, this might not allow me to sleep, but I had my ways.
“Sprinkler.”
I evenly sprinkled oil on the bed and set it on fire. Instantly, a flaming bed materialized in the igloo. It didn’t burn for long and quickly extinguished, though.
I placed my palm on the now warm dirt bed to check the temperature.
It would be ready in a few minutes.
Once it cools down a bit, I can lie down on the dirt-sheeted bed, covered with a blanket. It was actually a decent way to simplify my gear, although it was a bit annoying to do each time.
“Um, um…”
Why does she look so stunned? Is this her first time seeing something like this?
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“W-Wendy.”
[Wow…]
“Alright, Wendy. What’s your goal? Are you heading down or up?”
“I-I have to go up!”
“Going up, huh… Is the summit your goal?”
“Th-That’s right!”
“Why is that?”
“U-Um, I have my father’s heirloom at the t-top…”
[Can’t verify the truth, but I can tell she can’t act.]
As Rue said, since she was clearly reading from a textbook, there’s no room for doubt. But it only bothered me because her tone was somewhat forced.
“Is that so.”
“Yes!”
Look at her, not even a change in color while telling a dark story.
With such poor acting, it’s actually harder for me to remain inconspicuous.
As I swallowed a sigh, having unexpectedly teamed up with this odd lump, I contemplated what to do next.
Should I continue to pretend and let her follow me to the summit?
I have no idea what her actual intentions are.
If possible, it would be wise to find a way to separate, but given the uncertainty of her aim, I can’t choose that option.
If she really is the person I’m looking for and is testing me, there’s no way to get rid of her anyway.
If that mischievous one has his way, he could definitely pull this kind of stunt.
What draws my attention is her exact identity.
“That’s good. Then we’ll set off early tomorrow morning, so sleep well. It’s going to be a tough journey.”
“Okay?! Y-Yes!”
…Maybe I’ll pick up on something while traveling together.
—————
The hiking with an additional suspicious survivor was not much different from yesterday.
I was following the simple cycle of stepping on the crunching snow to leave footprints and occasionally glancing back to confirm the ambiguous survivor following me. After walking for a couple of hours, we finally took a break.
“Crafting.”
“Wow, awesome! You made this igloo so easily!”
[Really seems surprised, huh?]
Is that so?
I entered a smaller igloo than I made last night and started a fire. The survivor cautiously looked around, stealing glances at me as she joined and held her hands to the fire.
Should I grab some coffee?
I deliberated a bit but decided to stick with some cool water. Since I didn’t have an endless supply of coffee beans, I should save them; otherwise, I might end up drinking only plain water eventually.
“Wow…”
“Drink up.”
I made an ice cup and filled it with lukewarm water. The survivor, named Wendy, thanked me repeatedly as she received the cup.
“An ice cup… I didn’t think that was possible!”
“It’s really not that hard.”
Just要 play around with some snow.
I chugged the cool water in the icy cup. The cold sensation seeped through to my bones. It’s a bit odd to say in a snow mountain, but it felt like proof of being alive.
Wendy, too, followed suit and took a refreshing gulp of water, looking at me with a somewhat pleased expression.
“It’s refreshing!”
Isn’t this a tad sloppy?
Or wait, should I consider this as another kind of a trap?
It’s so simple that I couldn’t distinguish whether she was trying to deceive me or just acting foolishly. They say high-level acting can fool even oneself, is this one of those instances?
I absently tried to pull my hand away from the shovel handle.
Hold it together.
I can check her identity after confirming things.
With that awkward atmosphere, our break ended, and we resumed our grueling journey. One thing that had changed was that the distance between me and this strange survivor had narrowed slightly.
About 1.5 meters.
Whether it was the biting cold that felt well below minus 30 degrees or that damned Wendy, I had no clue.
But what could I do?
All I could do was keep moving.
“Wendy, what was your team name?”
“My team name?”
“Weren’t you part of an exploration group?”
I pointed to the badge on her chest. It was the same badge as the exploration group I had encountered in Wendigo Village.
If this woman is indeed a person with an extremely low probability, she would spill information about her exploration group. If not…
“Um, I don’t really remember…”
“Don’t remember?”
“I-I really do! I became disoriented wandering the mountain… everything feels fuzzy.”
[Contractor, how about asking her outright what her identity is? I can’t take hearing this…]
“I see… I’m sorry.”
“Ah, no! That could happen!”
How long should I keep playing along? I gauged where to draw the line and stood up.
“I’ll start moving again. From here on, the path will be more perilous, so stay alert.”
“Yes!”
————-
It’s already been three days traveling with the suspicious survivor, Wendy.
I glanced back at the suspicious survivor who was still following me while looking up at the uphill slope without stairs. The absence of stairs meant we were approaching that ‘section’ soon.
I rummaged through the frozen body of a survivor nearby, lost in thought.
“Just a wild goose chase.”
I wished there had been something useful — I wasn’t sure if someone had already picked it clean or if it had vanished in the face of time. I carefully examined the visibly torn arm and rose to my feet.
“What… what are you doing?”
“Most explorers who climb this mountain have likely either frozen to death or fallen. But look at this corpse.”
“Why this body?”
Is she pretending not to know or genuinely clueless?
“The arms were ripped off. That means something must have pulled them off, wouldn’t you say?”
“The arms were ripped… off?”
“Right.”
I didn’t know what her true identity was, but it was just one more unfortunate thing for me. If there’s something lurking ahead, that means I’m surrounded by enemies.
I have no idea if Wendy is truly an enemy.
“Isn’t that dangerous then?”
“Still, I’m not thinking of turning back. Don’t you need to go find your father’s heirloom?”
“Y-Yeah, I can’t back down now!”
How long does she plan to keep up the charade? I watched Wendy, who had a determined look, while gripping the shovel attached to my backpack. From here on out, I needed to be thoroughly cautious.
“Then… I shall start again.”
Not long after I said that, a faint roar echoed from ahead.
“Looks like something is indeed here. Wendy, right now… hide…”
…where did she go?
What on earth does she want? I felt a headache creeping in as I tried to grasp Wendy’s unpredictable actions, choosing to look ahead again. The howling winds wailing through the snow-covered peaks.
A massive shadow loomed amid the icy gusts. The form of flames distinctively visible from afar. I uttered the name of that shape.
“…Phoenix.”
This is bad. It’s really bad.
I had no time to complain as I used my skill against the incoming avalanche.
“Crafting.”
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