Chapter 19

Mel-san and her group departed at sunrise. They wanted to reach Dortranfur as quickly as possible to take down the zombies before they could wander too far. Fortunately, with the snow on the ground, tracking them should be easy—it was just a matter of following the footprints.

On the other hand, our departure was going to take a little longer. We needed a guide. Navigating snowy mountain shortcuts to a specific destination in an unfamiliar land is difficult; only the incredibly lucky ever make it. Unlike mountain trails in Japan, there are no course tapes or helpful signposts anywhere. Naturally, there are no accurate maps either. While one might follow human footprints, our destination was a mountain village with little outside contact. We couldn’t count on much. Therefore, we needed someone intimately familiar with the local geography.

Right now, we were in the middle of consulting with the Priest to find someone who could act as a guide.

“Attendant-san, I’ve found someone!”

The pudgy Priest arrived, slightly out of breath. A small girl stood waiting behind him. Could this girl really be our guide? She looked like she was barely in junior high.

“Go on, introduce yourself.”

Urged by the Priest, the girl gave a polite bow.

“I’m Fiene. Nice to meet you.”

Her voice sounded a bit young too. Was this really okay? I couldn’t help but stare at the Priest.

“Ah, you’re worried because Fiene looks so young. Despite her appearance, Fine is…”

“I am eighteen years old! I am already an adult.”

She’s older than Ria? She looked barely 140 centimeters tall, and because she was so thin, she came across as quite young.

“Do you have experience going to Hoehne Village?”

“Many times. Besides, I am a hunter. I’ve been heading into the winter mountains with my father since I was a child.”

That was a major plus. She might look like a kid, but if she was a hunter, she’d know the mountain geography inside and out. Though she appeared delicate at first glance—with her haphazardly tied blonde hair in a cute side-tail—she had eyes that showed a strong will.

“Understood. I’ll introduce you to my Master.”

Clara-sama was concerned about Fiene’s youth at first, just as I was, but she seemed relieved to hear she was eighteen. She began to detail the situation on the spot.

“What I am about to tell you must not be repeated to others. Is that understood?”

She explained to Fiene that Dortranfur had become a village of zombies, and that we needed to reach Hoehne Village to deliver the warning.

“As such, the situation is urgent. In the worst-case scenario, Hoehne Village may already be under attack by zombies. Even so, can we count on you to guide us?”

“Um… how much… will the pay be?”

“Six hundred Marques.”

The standard Ansbach wage, then.

“I request eight hundred Marques, paid in advance.”

That was some bold wage negotiation. She had more guts than I did even with Courage x6.

“…Is there some circumstance behind this?”

“Not particularly… life is just difficult. My father was injured during a hunt last week…”

There’s no social security in this world, after all.

“Akito, can I ask this of you?”

Yoshioka nodded at Clara-sama’s words.

“Clara-sama, you only need to command me. I am your attendant now.”

“My apologies. Fine, the injury to your father can be healed with Recovery Magic by Akito here. In exchange, how does a wage of six hundred Marques sound?”

“R-Recovery Magic!? Is this gentleman a High Priest!?”

No. He’s a “Sage’s Egg” who failed to become a mage because he couldn’t protect his virginity.

“If it is just an injury, my humble Recovery Magic should be more than enough to heal it.”

“Th-thank you so much!! In that case, I would be happy to guide you for six hundred Marques.”

It seemed we had a deal.

“Then we shall pack our bags and wait at the village entrance. Akito, go with Fiene.”

We gave some money to the Temple to look after Blitz in our absence.

Not just Blitz, but my bike and Clara-sama’s armor were left behind as well.

The village of Dortranfur, where the zombies appeared, and the surrounding settlements were all tucked away in mountain valleys, making travel by horse difficult. I was incredibly worried about leaving Blitz and my bike, but Mel-san had handled the negotiations with the Temple Priest, so it should be fine.

Today, Clara-sama was lightly equipped, wearing only a breastplate called a brigandine. For weapons, we were all equipped with spears. These would double as walking sticks, which are a godsend on snowy paths. Clara-sama carried a shortbow, while we slung crossbows over our backs. Fiene carried a hunting bow.

If possible, I wanted to avoid close-quarters combat. A single bite or scratch could turn you into a zombie. To avoid being surrounded, we needed to settle things with long-range attacks.

I only had thirty of the aluminum bolts I’d bought from my world. Since that was a worryingly small number, I tried loading local wooden arrows into the crossbow; they fired without a hitch. The accuracy dropped slightly, but it couldn’t be helped—the wooden arrows probably had a slightly off-kilter balance.

As I maintained my weapons, Emi’s face flickered through my mind.

Come to think of it, I couldn’t exactly blame her for everything. Emi probably never imagined that I’d be in another world literally putting my life on the line. I knew that, normally, I shouldn’t be doing something like this without consulting my wife.

But… I couldn’t suppress this surging impulse anymore.

Maybe I was the one having an affair. I was falling head-over-heels for this world. And the longer I stayed here, the more Emi’s presence in my mind began to fade.

The forest path gradually grew steeper. The snow cover wasn’t deep, so it wasn’t a major obstacle, but Yoshioka—who wasn’t used to walking on snow—kept slipping and falling. If the season progressed and the snow piled up, we might need snowshoes or skis. Snowshoes, or “Western kanjiki,” prevent your body from sinking into the powder when you strap them to your feet.

“Just a bit more to the top of the pass. Hang in there!” Fiene called out to Yoshioka.

It seemed that having her father’s injury healed had planted a small seed of affection. Had Yoshioka’s “popular phase” finally arrived?

I’d heard it was about an hour’s walk to Hoehne Village once we crossed the pass. It was getting close to noon, but…

“Let’s take a short break at the top of the pass. It’s lunchtime, but time is precious. Please bear with me until we reach Hoehne Village for a proper meal,” Clara-sama said.

I understood her sense of urgency, but I should at least have everyone hydrate and have some portable rations. There was no guarantee Hoehne Village would be safe. It would be a problem if we lacked the strength to fight when the time came.

From the top of the pass, we could look out over the mountain ridges gleaming in silver. In a valley far off in the distance, a settlement was visible. That was Hoehne Village. Seeing the smoke rising from the chimneys of the houses, everyone let out a sigh of relief. It was a sign of normal life. The reach of the zombies hadn’t extended to Hoehne Village yet.

“It seems there’s no abnormality for now.”

I handed an instant coffee to Clara-sama as she nodded in relief.

“Did you… just make this?”

“Yes. It’s a simple coffee made by just pouring hot water over this powder. However, the taste is several levels below what I usually serve you.”

Clara-sama took a sip and broke into a smile.

“It’s true that the usual kind is more delicious. But even just having something warm under this cold sky is a blessing. Besides, something sweet is good for a tired body.”

“Please, have a chocolate biscuit with it.”

“Cho… chocolate… and… bis-ke…”

I handed Clara-sama one of my favorite snacks: a whole-grain biscuit coated in chocolate.

“D-Delicious, isn’t it?”

Clara-sama was cute as she tried to maintain her composure.

“If you like it, how about another? I’ll give you my portion.”

“Wh—Don’t… don’t treat me like a child!”

“You don’t want it? I’m quite full, myself…”

“Well… if you aren’t going to eat it, Kota…”

I couldn’t help but find joy in pampering Clara-sama today. Once we finished eating, we’d have to hurry to Hoehne Village. There were still other villages that needed to be warned of the danger.