第１０３７堀：雪山はマジで寒い (Part1)
**Chapter 1037: The Snowy Mountain is Seriously Cold**
**Side: Labyris**
"Heh. It was just right under our noses, wasn't it? This plaza."
The area I’m surveying is surprisingly vast for being so high up on a mountain. It’s spacious enough that you could easily fit ten container bases here. Well, it’s covered in snow, so I can’t see the ground directly, but unlike the chaotic mountain path we just climbed, it’s flat enough to be called a proper clearing. It almost feels like someone made it on purpose.
"Thank you."
"Thank you, indeed."
"Gogo."
The Rock Ice Golem that guided us here has settled in completely, carrying Aslin and Firia on its shoulders and looking quite happy. Aslin really does have a natural talent for taming monsters.
"Well then, let’s start by setting up the containers and securing our campsite."
"Right. Everyone, let’s give it one last push."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
We’re running a bit behind schedule, so we decided it was best to get the base ready quickly. We immediately brought out the containers and began the final checks on each one. Fortunately, magic still works in this area, so we were able to just place the container bases we’d packed into our Item Boxes. It’s honestly a huge relief. Everything inside the containers is functioning perfectly.
Now, all that’s left is to properly organize the necessary supplies into the storage container.
"Yep. That should do it."
I cross-referenced the amount of supplies stored against our list. We’ve packed enough to sustain exploration for nearly a month, so there’s quite a lot of it.
"Alright, preparations are done. Next is the meeting for our future plans."
Having finished my assigned tasks, I head toward the conference room container. The containers are connected by dedicated passages, so it’s nice not having to step out into this sea of snow every time we need to move. Yesterday was just a temporary setup with only three containers, but now we have six connected for living quarters and storage, with two independent research containers set up for Agil’s equipment.
"Oh, you’re already done unloading the supplies?"
As I was moving through one of the container rooms, the door opened and Agil walked in.
"Yeah. Since we just had to pull them out of our Item Boxes and line them up, it didn't take long. How about you, Agil? You got the lab set up, right?"
"Yeah. My preparations are mostly done, too. Though, in reality, what we need changes depending on the research theme, and there’s only so much you can investigate with a facility of that size."
Well, that’s true. Agil and Comet’s labs are always cluttered with all sorts of things whenever I see them. But I have a question.
"I understand we’re doing research here, but right now we’re just doing basic monster surveys, right? Is a research container even necessary?"
"Well, it’s for monster surveys. I was hoping to dismantle and study the remains of any monsters we defeated on the way here, but unfortunately, we haven’t had any luck with that yet. For now, the most I can do is collect the snow and rocks piled up around here to check their magical content. Oh, and it would be great if I could get a small sample from the Rock Ice Golem that Aslin tamed."
"You’ll have to negotiate that with Aslin and the Golem. Negotiating with monsters is outside my jurisdiction."
"Fair enough. And then there’s the Wyvern, Salamander, and Hydra that Cleena mentioned..."
"Those monsters are likely going to require us to go even higher."
The rest of the team is probably further up, in a warmer location. We suspect it’s near the crater. As we talked about that, we entered the conference room. Since this container was prepared specifically for meetings, it’s equipped with a whiteboard and a projector. Not only that, but it also has a kettle for drinks and a small refrigerator—it’s the kind of place where you could hold a meeting for hours without any trouble.
"Wow, the meeting room is really well-prepared. Did Milly do this?"
"No. We made it like this from the start so that setting up the other containers wouldn't be a hassle, remember? It was like this the moment we brought it out."
"Man, it just goes to show how used to meetings we are. I don't know whether to be happy or sad about that... Oh, by the way, where is Shau?"
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her."
Unlike us, she didn't have to carry containers, so she wasn't involved in the setup. I wonder where she could be?
"For now, let’s call Aslin and the others from outside. If Shau isn't in the containers, she must be out there."
"True. We had them on perimeter guard duty, after all."
Right—since they had the Rock Ice Golem with them, we left the security of the area to them while we were setting up the base. Though, they were probably just playing in the snow. So, the three of us stepped outside the container, and...
"Like this, perhaps?"
"Yeah, that’s it."
"Gogo."
"That’s right. Very good."
For some reason, Shau and the Rock Ice Golem were paired up, building a snowman.
"What are you three doing?"
"Ah, Labyris-chan!"
"We’re building a snowman right now."
"Yes, we are building a snowman."
Yeah, I can see that. But for even Shau to abandon her guard duty to do this with them...
"You were bored, weren't you?"
"Yeah. There’s absolutely no one around, and Igu-chan and Fe-chan haven't reported any reactions either."
"So, while investigating the surrounding rocks, we were packing the snow."
"Ah, yes. That is correct. We were indeed building a snowman, but we weren't just playing around."
Aslin and the others wouldn't slack off on their assigned duties, so building the snowman must have truly been a secondary activity. Well, there’s no need for us to say anything about it. Since they were properly keeping watch, nothing happened, after all.
"Still, there’s absolutely no monster reaction... Does that mean Igu-chan and Fe-chan can't confirm the Wyverns from their aerial patrol either?"
"If that’s the case, they said they’re probably over there."
Aslin pointed further toward the summit. Looking in that direction, I could see that there was indeed still a long way up. We’ve climbed quite a bit and reached the base of the summit, but it’s not the true peak yet. Man, it really makes you realize how vast the world is.
"They said they saw smoke rising faintly from the summit, so the Wyverns are probably over there."
"I see. We’re already above the clouds here. So, in reality, you can’t usually see what’s going on at the crater."
"It’s easy to mistake the smoke for clouds, too. And confirming the Hydra is going to be a real pain."
As Milly said, getting close without being noticed by the enemy is going to be quite difficult. But if we were any closer, we wouldn't be able to deploy the container base so leisurely, so I suppose we should be grateful for that. As I was thinking that, a wind that felt like it was piercing my skin suddenly blew through.
"!?!"
Ugh! It’s freezing. The inside of the container keeps a comfortable temperature, so it was a mistake to carelessly turn off my body-temperature-maintenance magic.
"It’s... it’s way too cold. The base is ready, so Aslin, you guys come inside too. Can you get the Rock Ice Golem to listen to you?"
"Yeah, it’ll be fine. I’ll go talk to it, so wait a second."
"Go."