I give Lise my coat, I step on the snow and keep walking.
There are only a few trees growing around, no sign of anything else.
...... cold. Every time I walk, my strength is shredded.
My throat is drying up, and I'm hungry.
I lay my hands on the snow on the ground and I just shuddered to get on my hands.
I try to carry it straight into my mouth, but reason stops where it is.
"... Sure, the snow didn't hydrate well."
They use extra strength to warm your body up when it's cold.
But as it is, I'm going to drink it instinctively again, as I did earlier.
"I wish I had something in it..."
I explore my pockets, but I can't find anything I can use to boil them.
Drop your shoulders, keep walking, and suddenly someone will call you to a stop.
"Stop, those two!
Turning around, a man wearing a blue hat deep and a blue coat featuring a white fur around his neck was pointing something very similar to a bow and arrow at us.
I can't act on it any more than I don't know what it is.
For that reason, I immediately raised my hand and indicated my intention to surrender.
"No, I'm sorry to surprise you. I don't see you dressed like this, just to be on guard."
"No, that's okay. We're from Isel... uh, we were on our way, but we got lost."
"... Isel? So you're from far away again."
The man breathes like he was impressed, showing us a shitty map from the bag he was lowering to the side.
"Ready? This is Isel. And going north from there, it's our country, 'Peswen'. You're a little far from where you are."
"... Peswen?
"Come on, you've never heard of it? Well, our country is one of the worst places in the Four Kingdoms, so you don't have to know."
Lise opens her mouth to a man who says so and laughs luxuriously.
"Um, what is the 'Four Powers'?
"Huh? Oh, can't a lady not have to know? The Four Kingdoms put together the names of great countries."
"Isel, too, to those four powers?
"Oh. Isel, Mactoria, Forse. And here's Peswen."
I've heard it when I'm reading and fishing for books, too.
Isel says everything is one of the best academics in the world, and the literacy rate is among the top in the world.
Conversely, rude talk, but I guess I also have a faint impression because I didn't find anything distracting about a country called Peswen.
"Peswen is certainly in a low position among the four powers. But this country is going to be a tech country that pulls the world apart, right?
"Really?
"Oh. Have you seen this in that evidence?
The man laughs niggardly and shows me the kind of bow and arrow he had for me.
When I look at it, it explains to me that I'm good at it.
"Say 'crossbow'. I was recently paid, but this is what's inside. Take a look."
"Yes, sir"
I look at that crossbow as I was told, and he goes straight for a nearby tree and pushes a little on the index finger area.
Then he cuts the wind as he squeaks, and the arrow pierces deep into his mind.
"It's amazing. Even this can cross with the other four powers."
"... Indeed. This is amazing."
"And most importantly, it looks cool. Like me..."
As the man tried to start talking, Lise sneezed to block it.
I shudder as if I'd remembered the cold when I saw her, too.
"... ah. Bad. Thanks. Don't take too long with these stories."
"Right. Is it called a man's saga?"
"Oh, will you understand! I knew it would be nice to have a man's romance."
The man removes the top button and puts the muffler inside on Lize.
"It may smell, but it's better than dying, isn't it?
"... thank you, sir"
"You're welcome. Well, you're the victims, aren't you? For now, come to us. You're hungry, aren't you?
"Oh, yes!
The man has a luxurious leg and walks all the way down the snow.
We decided to follow him like that, too.
When he gets home, he walks straight into the house without taking off his shoes.
His house looks from the outside, on a thatched roof, a white wall. And it amazes me that there are two doors that would be the front door.
Interior includes black wooden floors, white walls. And because the ceiling was above all as high as it could push through, and there were no walls that separated the room, as soon as I entered the house, I saw what kind of tears were in my eyes.
"... oh. Isel's people took off their shoes. Well, either way."
You realize we're in there, and you're sitting near us waving at us.
After a while of thinking, we decided to go up with our shoes on after we paid them by hand.
"No, you didn't hear the name. What are your names?
"It's Lazareth. So, this is Lisette."
"I'm 'Rick'. That's a rare name, isn't it?
After I tell him to see through our thoughts, he laughs out loud.
And after a while, he lit a nearby torch.
"I'm sorry about the rest of breakfast. Eat while you can."
"Thank you"
"... thank you, sir"
"Oops. It's these cold places that help each other out. Um"
While I appreciated his grace, I received a plate and chopsticks handed to me by him, and when I opened the pan, a chunk of round meat and green vegetables drifted through the hot water.
I take meat and vegetables at the same time and keep them in my mouth.
"... good"
"Right? You can eat them all. 'Cause I still have a lot of money."
"... it will be a treat"
My reluctant attitude was funny, it makes me laugh again.
But there's nothing like dissatisfaction with him, and he watches us smile.
"No, you guys, you said you were from Isel, right?
"Yes. What's that?
"Do you know a guy named Bettenburg? Actually, I know that guy for a little while."
He waits for my answer like it's nothing.
I opened my mouth after answering a few questions.
"… is that about the predecessors?
"Ah? Is the Lord of Bettenburg different now?
"Yes, now a girl named Sophia has succeeded to the Lord"
"... well. Is he gone?"
He hears my words and darkens his expression.
After all, I guess many people admired him.
That fact pierces my chest.
"... Actually, my sister married him."
"Really?
Speaking of which, Meir was spilling stories out of her mouth about when Bethenburg had a wife.
But I kept my mouth shut because it was somehow difficult for me to put it in my mouth, but I never dreamed of hearing it here and now.
"Oh. So, he passed away a while ago, too. I don't know why, but at that time, he wasn't as hectic as if people had changed."
"... that's hard to imagine"
"Sort of. So I wanted to encourage you... Oh, my God, he's gone."
Rick closes his eyes and shuts up for a little while.
In the meantime, I thought the silence would flow, but the sleep of one girl prevented it.
Seeing, Lisette seems to have been quite tired, leaving her body with me to sleep.
Rick also looked at her like that, grinning bitterly, but holding a crossbow, he headed to the front door.
"Well, I'll be back around. For once, I'm serving as Deputy Commander of the Knights of Peswen!
"Okay. Just a little, I'll rent you this house."
"Whoa. If it's cold, you don't mind if you come and like your clothes. Well, they might say it stinks!
Rick laughs luxuriously again, closing the door tightly.
I carried the meat on the plate to my mouth, which was completely cold, replacing her pillow for a while.