Volume 4, Chapter 7 – Marching Through the Snow

“Quite a lot has piled up while we were sleeping, hasn’t it?”

“Snow? Or stones?”

“Fiene-sama, of course I mean snow. I am well aware of how passionate you are about your training.”

I had only meant it as a joke, but she answered with a completely straight face.

Gunu-nu.

We were talking while having a Japanese-style breakfast of miso soup and rice balls.

Incidentally, we bought this miso soup and these rice balls at the village at the foot of the mountain and, naturally, I carried them using my Storage.

Now, the snow that had been falling since yesterday afternoon stopped around dawn, but it had piled up considerably.

The fresh snow had piled up to about my waist. Could we really move forward like this?

“Do you think we can get through this? I’m sure we won’t get lost since Lu-chan is with us, but…”

“I believe so. I received training in rakketsu marching (snow-clearing march) during my time as a knight apprentice However, with this much snowfall, I expect our pace will be considerably slow.”

“Hmm, it’s a tough call, but it would be even worse if we stayed here and it snowed more. Let’s just keep moving, even if it’s only a little at a time.”

“Yes.”

And so, we decided to push forward. However, the journey proved to be far more grueling than I had imagined.

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“Haa… haa… haa…”

About an hour after we started walking, Chris-san was breathing heavily. Chris-san had been at the very front the whole time, continuously carving a path through the fresh snow for us.

The reason was that Lu-chan and I were too small; we were buried up to our waists in the snow and couldn’t push through it effectively.

In that regard, Chris-san was much taller than us, so she didn’t have that problem. Consequently, we had inevitably come to rely entirely on Chris-san.

“Chris-san, thank you for your hard work. Let’s take a short break.”

Whenever Chris-san’s breathing became labored, we would stop immediately, and I would use Healing Magic to restore her stamina.

“Fiene-sama, thank you.”

She thanked me for the magic, but I was the one who wanted to give thanks.

I couldn’t help but feel indebted to Chris-san for doing such grueling work without a single complaint.

“No, Chris-san, the thanks are mine. Really, I wish we could take turns leading the way, but…”

At my words, Chris-san shook her head.

“It would be difficult for Fiene-sama and Lumia due to your physical build. Besides, it makes me happy to be of use to Fiene-sama.”

“Chris-san…”

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As always, Chris-san is truly kind to me.

However, I couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if I lost my position as a Saint Candidate.

“Hey, Onee-sama! I want to be useful too, you know?”

“Yes. Lu-chan, you’re always a big help. It’s thanks to Lu-chan that we don’t get lost in the forest, and it’s also thanks to her that we get to eat delicious food in new towns and enjoy our travels.”

Lu-chan seemed to like my answer and hugged me, saying, “Onee-sama~!”

Having the energetic one of our Party with us always brightens the mood.

I patted Lu-chan on the back to show my gratitude, gently pulled her away, and whispered softly to myself.

“I really am blessed…”

“Eh, Onee-sama, did you say something?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Hmph, I felt like I heard something nice~”

Mumu, she’s sharp.

“Now, let us depart. We have rested enough.”

Taking Chris-san’s words as the signal, we began walking once more along the snow-covered highway.

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By the time the sun began to dip, we reached a small village.

Apparently, this village is called Matsuhata Juku.

According to our original schedule, we were supposed to have passed through this village yesterday after noon, so it wasn’t hard to imagine how much the accumulated snow had hindered us.

As expected, the interior of the village was very easy to walk in thanks to the thorough snow clearing.

If even I—who had been walking in the wake of Chris-san’s path-clearing—felt this way, then Chris-san must have had a truly difficult time.

Thinking this, I called out to a middle-aged man who looked like a villager and was walking outside, hoping to find an inn.

“Hello.”

The moment I spoke, he jumped. I felt as if he were emitting an aura that said “don’t talk to me,” but did I do something wrong?

Come to think of it, I feel like people around us are staring.

“W-what do you want, you lot?”

“Um, we are travelers. Could you tell us where the inn is?”

“That way.”

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He pointed toward the back of the village and then hurried away.

“Hmm, did I do something rude…?”

“I don’t think so. Perhaps it’s just rare to see people who don’t have black eyes and black hair? I’ve been feeling their stares painfully since a while ago.”

“Ah, I see. I suppose not many people take lodgings here.”

Indeed, under normal circumstances, we should have been able to leave the village at the foot of the mountain in the morning and cross the pass to reach the next post town by evening.

In a village that already had few guests, the arrival of a trio of foreign women with colorful hair might be quite a major event.

We walked in the direction we were told and eventually discovered a building that looked the part.

The sign read: Hatago Minaguchi-ya.

“Excuse us~”

We opened the sliding door at the entrance and stepped inside the inn.

“Welcome. Oh, foreigners, are you? It must have been difficult in this snow. Please, come in.”

A middle-aged woman wearing a kimono came out and welcomed us with a smile.

The savory aroma of miso drifted through the inn.