Crete, why don't you go to the secret base?
After some snow removal, Nina made such a suggestion.
A little hole I found while hunting mushrooms in the fall.
After that, I stopped by several times to bring furniture and play, but I haven't been there since winter.
If you stay in the residential area, the villagers will ask you to snow, so there are times when you can't move, so it's not bad in the sense of evacuating.
"Oh, well, let's transfer so the villagers don't find us."
Yeah!
It is possible that they will ask me to travel to the forest by transfer.
When we thought that our vision was distorted, we came to the forest in an instant.
The forest is wrapped in snow just like the village.
"Well, you can relax here."
Crete, you were popular.
"I don't want that kind of popularity."
Bitterly smiles at Nina's teasing words.
I could help with a few walks, but it was different for twenty or thirty.
If I had walked through the settlement like that, I would have snowed all over the village today.
After the transfer, we move to a location with a secret base.
There is snow in the bushes and trees, but it is not completely buried, so it is easier to know where they are than in the village.
"... hey, Crete. What's with the footprints?"
Yeah?
When I lowered my gaze, there were animal tracks at the end of Nina's stare.
"It's like a dog's footprint."
But I feel a little different from a dog.
Well, maybe a fox or a tanuki?
Because it is in the woods, it is not strange to have such animals.
"This footprint leads to the secret base!" Maybe there's a fox or a seagull! "
Ah, Nina!
Even if I let out a still voice, Nina shrank her body and entered the hole.
I don't know if these tracks are really foxes or eels.
Maybe it was a small monster, so it was dangerous.
There was also a way to pull her back because of the transfer, but she was already in the hole and couldn't see it.
It is one of the few shortcomings of spatial magic that cannot be transferred without visual inspection.
I peek into the hole and transfer to chase Nina.
Transfer to a space I can fit in, and shrink my body to chase.
Then I saw Nina standing in the back space.
Nina!
"Crete! Check it out!" There's a pure white fox! "
Nina gestured with an innocent smile as she spoke in a hurry.
While I was relaxed, I went to Nina's side, and there were two foxes with pure white hair.
It looked like an Arctic fox, but it looked different because it had blue hair on its ears, feet, and swollen tail.
Nina, it could be a monster. If you get close, it could be dangerous.
"It's okay! These kids are so nice! Look!"
I tried to pull it away because I didn't know what kind of creature it was, but a small fox already missed Nina. I'm stroking my head to make it feel good.
The large individual beside me also showed no hostility, and I was rubbing my head just to stroke it.
Isn't it too early to nostalgize?
"I gave you dried fruit!" If you give it to Crete, I'll definitely stroke it for you. "
It seems very comfortable to stroke these foxes with pure white hair.
Losing that temptation, I offer dried fruit exactly as Nina says.
Then the foxes all came to us and started eating the dried fruit in their palms.
In the winter, there may have been less food to eat, and I may have been hungry.
I stroked the foxes with my left hand as I watched them eating into obsession.
"Oh! It's so soft!"
Isn't that right?
The pure white hair was very fluffy.
When I press it with the palm of my hand, it has a slight elasticity and it is interesting to push it back.
I have touched various animals, but this was again an unknown softness.
Even after the foxes had finished eating their dried fruits, they did not hesitate to accept them as pleasant. At least it wasn't a dangerous animal or monster.
It looks like our secret base is now home to the foxes.
"Yeah, but that's okay. So if these kids can get through the winter safely,
Nina wasn't angry at all, even though she had taken over the secret base.
Even if it's your favorite place, it's nice to prioritize the lives of the foxes.
"Hey, Crete. Shall we name these kids?"
"Ah, my name..."
Nina told me so, and I looked at the foxes again.
The pure white, fluffy fur is like snow falling in the winter.
I wonder if a bigger one is a yuxillo and a smaller one is a yukinko?
"Yukishiro and Yukinko... that's great!" It's easy to understand and cute! I'll do it! "
Nina laughed with great satisfaction at the suggestion.
I was relieved because I wasn't confident in my sense of naming.
When Nina called out her name to each of them, Yukishiro and Yukinko raised their voices to embrace it.
We have a cute resident at our secret base.
●
After I drove Nina home and came back to my own house, I came to the Adventurer's Guild in the Royal Capital.
I came to find out what kind of creatures the foxes were living in the secret base.
There was also a way to ask Andre and Stella, but they respected Nina's secret base and her secret about Yukisilo and the others.
She has a generous personality and she misses us, but we need to find out if it's safe for Nina.
After the transition, I opened the door of the guild and entered.
Inside the guild, there was a heating magic tool. Rather than being warm, it would be more correct to say that it is hot.
I'm wearing a warm shirt, but I don't think I need a jacket.
There are many adventurers in the guild, but mostly they gather in the tavern to drink.
Few people wear armor and other gear, and it's obviously a personal outfit that can be turned off. Eating warm soups and meat dishes, they sip cold and hot wine.
There is a lot of snow in the capital, so I don't think I'm going to accept your request.
Most adventurers stop their activities in the cold winter.
It was cold and the scaffolding was bad, but it didn't suit me.
In winter, the activity of monsters and animals is dull, which is one of the main reasons why they rarely appear.
"Huh!? Are you going to do the transfer now, Crete?"
No, I just stopped by today for a little research.
Oh, is that so?
Kusha, the receptionist, had a happy face from the bottom of her heart.
"Oh! Let's go on an adventure if Crete is here!"
It doesn't matter if it's snowing, as long as it's in Crete!
"Please don't do this!" Most of my staff are on long vacation now, and I'm short-staffed! If we do that, we die! ”
As the adventurers, including Helena, raised their voices, Kusha said with a crying face.
Did you think that the number of employees was much smaller than usual, or did you have such a reason?
In winter, adventurers don't receive many requests, so I think they are taking a long vacation together at this time of year.
If an adventurer were to accept a large number of requests at such a time, the guild would definitely be flat.
"Hahaha! Are you kidding me?! My friends are sober, and I'm not going to force myself to make money this time of year!"
"Besides, I'm already boozing!"
"Oh no! Please stop joking around!"
Helena, with her blushed faces, laughed loudly.
Looks like he was making fun of Kusha.
The people gathered here had no blood ties at all, but a warm atmosphere like a family.
It's a boring season to venture out on, but I think it's because you feel comfortable in the guild's atmosphere that so many people are gathering.
"Mr. Crete, you said you had something to look into, but what do you want to look into?"
Kusha asked, looking at the busy tavern blurry.
I met him in the forest in Howlin village, and he told me about Yuki Shiro and Yukinko.
“Oh, I think that creature is probably Snowfox.”
Snowfox?
“Spring has the same brown fur as regular foxes, but in winter it turns into a beautiful pure white fur. You can find more information about the ecology in this book.”
Kusha took out a thick book from the shelf.
When I turned the page, there was an illustration of an individual who thought that it was Yukishiro and Yukinko.
As Kusha explained to me, it's definitely an animal called Snowfox.
An animal with a strong vigilance and a very cowardly personality, it seems that it rarely shows up in public.
For that reason, I immediately missed Nina and I, who gave me dried fruit, but I wonder if there are some things in Snowfox that are easy to miss and others that are not.
There is a lot of detailed information about omnivorous foods, when hairs change, habitats, etc., but it doesn't seem to be a particularly dangerous animal.
Not only Nina, but I also liked it, so I was relieved.
“Thank you very much for understanding about Snowfox.”
“I'm glad you helped. Let me know if you need anything else.”
When I'm done with my errands, Kusha drops me off and goes outside.
"...... Crete"
"Huh!? Surprised. Rodney?"
Rodney waited beside the door and was quite frightened by the screams.
Could it be that you've been waiting all this time?
Emilio and Rodney can't figure out what kind of surprises they're going to have right now.
Have you been waiting all this time for me to come to King's Landing and make contact with them?
"... not all this time, I've got information that Crete is here."
"You have any information? Maybe you're running a network to see what's going on with me?"
Asked, Rodney nodded.
I feel like somebody else is an adventurer, but I don't intend to pursue it that far.
Because I live in two bases, I understand the difficulty of calling in an urgent call.
"So what's the matter?"
"... Emilio wants to do the winter work."
“Okay, I'll show my face tomorrow morning.”
"... okay, I'll tell you."
Saying so, Rodney turned his heel and was buried in the crowd.
When I saw him off, I switched back to Howlinville.