CHAPTER 255.2 - MOUNTAIN CROSSING I

Camping right in the middle of the red vulture's territory was suicidal. Even though the vultures didn’t attack in packs, if we were too relaxed, they might rip out our throats.

Meaning that we had to push forward even if it got dark, until we made it out of this area… I'm really glad we decided to camp at the mid-slope yesterday before moving on.

It worked out in the end, but it really made me reflect on how amateurish my foresight was.

「But I really want to get over the summit in one go within a day… there's still quite a bit of distance left though…」

We were currently around the sixth post in terms of mountain climbing. It seems that the posts weren't officially divided into equal parts, but at the very least, there was no doubt we'd made it past the halfway point.

The summit was a dangerous area suspected to be the home of the salamander. While I wanted to get through it quickly, the past two days had made me painfully aware of just how challenging it was to climb the mountain. If we rushed ahead recklessly, we could end up with casualties, even without being attacked by the salamander.

「The weather is starting to look dangerous too…」

Thanks to having climbed more than halfway up, I could see much more of the open sky compared to when we were walking through the forest. Today, beyond the lingering glow of the setting sun, I could see thick, massive clouds coiling in the distance.

When it comes to shamans, the first thing that comes to mind is people who do something like rain-making rituals or something along those lines, but as of now, I hadn’t received any weather-related spells. I couldn’t manipulate the weather, let alone make a decent weather forecast. Should I just toss my shoe and divine the outcome based on which side it lands?

「Let's hit the bed already, Momokawa. Climbing a mountain two days in a row is exhausting.」

「Ah, my bad, I'll turn off the light soon.」

The inside of the bunker built by Kyouko was illuminated by Sakura-chan's lantern.

Inside was a little cramped with the three of us, Rem, Kinako, and Benio crammed together inside. Naturally, roirops and grimgore were waiting outside.

We had to hit the bed immediately right after dinner. I couldn't keep staring at the hand-drawn map forever.

「Randou is already fast asleep.」

「I guess she's really exhausted.」

Kyouko built this bunker, ate dinner, and then lay down to sleep right away. Well, we’d been walking non-stop today, and having those red vultures watching us the whole time must have been a subtle but constant pressure.

In normal situations, she could build this kind of bunker without a hitch, but when you add the physical and mental exhaustion, it was a different story.

「Let's take one day off tomorrow too at this place.」

「Are you sure about stopping here?」

「I still think we need to find a route past the summit. Tomorrow, I’ll go for a reconnaissance mission. Besides, it seems like this is the only place we can stop for now.」

「Yeah, you’re right. If we rush ahead, we might get into an accident. You can’t underestimate the mountain.」

===

The next day, the sky was overcast with light rain. It looked like the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

However, that was not a big deal for my shadow.

That day, I spent the whole day exploring the route using my clone and the corpse doll red vulture.

The silver lining was the fact that neither my shadow nor the corpse doll red vulture were attacked along the way. It seems there weren't many monsters living near the summit.

Unfortunately, the footing was worse than I expected. Even with a shadow that could handle some strain, most areas were impossible to walk through. It wasn’t impossible to pass through, but it would take more time than anticipated.

As if that wasn't bad enough, that night, the light rain suddenly turned into a torrential downpour.

「Woaaah, this rain seems like bad news, Momokawa! Ain't this going to become a literal landslide!?」

「This area isn't made of soft sediment but solid rock, that's why there's no need to worry about a landslide.」

Surrounded by the intense sound of rain, not just a pitter-patter but a rumbling roar like a waterfall crashing down, we huddled together in the cramped bunker.

「Thank goodness there's a geomancer in our party… If we were just camping out in the open, it would’ve been a disaster for sure.」

The roaring sound of fierce winds swirled around us. It was only because we were in this sturdy rock bunker that we could chat so casually like this.

「We might need to take a break tomorrow, Kotaro.」

「That seems to be the case… Let's wait till the weather gets better.」

「If the weather is still like this tomorrow, too, there’s no way we can continue climbing the mountain.」

「Fortunately, we still have plenty of food. We'll be fine even if we’re stuck here for two or three days.」

「But just sitting here doing nothing is kind of boring.」

「Beggars can't be choosers, Kyouko.」

In the end, the rain didn't stop, even the next morning.

Although it wasn’t raining as heavily as a torrential downpour, it was still coming down steadily enough that climbing the mountain would be impossible.

Thanks to that, we spent another day inside the bunker.

「Rem, come here.」

Rem then sat on my lap with a thud.

Rem just blinked her eyes with a deadpan face, but I interpreted it as her being content nonetheless. Plus, since she was in her little girl form, I felt like I should pamper her.

「Oh, doing that makes you look like her mother, Momokawa.」

「Is that a compliment?」

It was actually the other way around, I felt like I was the one who needed a mother.

I'm seeking a pampering, busty mama. I dream of a paradise-like life where I could sleep while being nursed by my mama and have all three basic desires fulfilled.

「… Mama.」

「Please, for the love of god, don’t call me ‘Mother,' Rem.」

Geez, don’t say weird things, Hayama-kun. It would be bad for Rem's education.

By the way, my real mother looks just like me. We were not twin sisters or anything.

「But Momokawa does look like the kind who looks after others.」

「It’s not like I do it because I want to. In fact, I’d rather be the one being pampered.」

「Well then, Kotaro, you can lean on me.」

T-That was a blatant temptation…

「Aa~~~ng」

「There, there.」

A smile spread across my face as I enjoyed the comfortable lap pillow.

「Guys, you're way too easygoing.」

I'm sleeping with my head on Kyouko's lap, Rem was sleeping on my lap, and yeah, I feels like to slack off today.

「Well, I think you're the one who are too easygoing here, Hayama-kun.」

Lying sprawled on top of Kinako, with Benio in his arms, wrapped in soft, fluffy fur, was Hayama-kun. Without a doubt, he was the one enjoying the warmest and softest comfort in this entire space.

We had been spending two days lazing around like this. Yes, the rain didn’t stop for two whole days. Wasn't mountain weather supposed to change quickly?

Even so, just as I said, we had plenty of food. We were simply bored without anything to do, but getting through two days of rain wasn’t much of a problem.

「A~h, it's been a while since I saw the sun.」

After being held up for three days at the sixth post, we could finally continue our journey.

The muddy ground was certainly dangerous, but waiting any longer would be tough both schedule-wise and mentally.

Hopefully, we could push past the summit and make it to the other side by the end of this day.

「Once we climb a bit further from here, the temperature will drop quickly. Make sure to gear up with fur while you can.」

「Ooh, it's finally this fella's turn.」

「Sigh… I prefer the coat from before though.」

In contrast with Hayama-kun, who happily puts on his new fur jacket, Kyouko had a grim look on her face.

I made a 『Grand Boar Coat』 using the same wild boar fur I used to make at the school tower, but all of Kyouko’s carefully chosen decorative details, like the pure white fur around the collar, were completely removed. Because there was no material left.

In the end, this Grand Boar Coat was made entirely of brown wild boar fur, resulting in a rather shabby finish.

But beggar couldn't afford to be picky, and it was warm.

「Uhm, Rem look adorable too.」

「Adorable.」

Rem's gear was a particularly proud creation of mine. It was a rabbit coat made from the rabbit fur that Benio diligently hunted back when we were at the riverside base. Of course, the hood had real rabbit ears attached to it.

Kinako was extremely frightened when I was making this real rabbit ear hood, desperately holding his own rabbit ears, probably because it looked like a creepy design to him. I mean, I’d think it’s gross if a hood had real human ears attached on it too.

The difference in values aside, the finished rabbit coat had become quite popular, being praised as cute.

By the way, the clothes Rem wears underneath the coat had long since graduated from the simple spider silk outfit I first made for her.

Now, the everyday outfit for the little girl Rem was a sham sailor suit.

I mean, it's better to wear the same kind of outfit as everyone else, right? So, with the materials I had on hand, I’ve made clothes as similar as possible to the Shiramine High girls' uniform and have had her wear them.

It looked just like an elementary school student’s uniform, and it was actually really cute, so it received a favorable impression.

「Ooh, Rem + Rabbit ear hood are invincible combo of cuteness.」

「P-Pugaga…」

「Don't worry, Kinako, no one is going to take your ears.」

And so, with our gear updated, we could finally be setting off toward the summit.

===

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