Chapter 20

The captain was leading the team on a snowy mountain, pulling a rope. He turned back to check if those tied to the rope were walking properly, his expression stern. It was as if he were a bandit.

The people tied to the rope walked reluctantly on the snow-covered path, which was difficult to navigate.

The captain, seemingly at his wit's end with those dragging their feet, pulled the rope hard.

"Hey, move it!"

"Ugh, ugh~"

"Whoa! Terrible..."

The people who followed, with tears in their eyes and voices, were me and Urgas.

Why were we tied up like criminals? Because we were reluctant to climb the snowy mountain again.

The delicate me and Urgas had not yet recovered from the shock of the snow bear. However, the captain showed no mercy. He tied us up in a line with a rope and forcibly led us like criminals.

That's why we entered the snowy mountain, half-crying.

Deputy Captain Berry said it was pitiful, but the captain dismissed it, saying not to be lenient.

Zara offered to carry us, but we politely declined.

Urgas, who had been listening to this exchange, said in an exasperated tone,

"I want to be carried."

"Oh, sure."

Urgas was taken aback by the unexpected agreement, probably thinking he would be refused.

"Actually, I don't want to," he gently declined.

The group moved forward with rather dead eyes.

Only Zara, who lived in the snow country, had a nonchalant expression.

It was the day after the search for the young noble. The weather had changed from the stormy conditions of the previous day to clear skies.

The surroundings were a silver world. The snow sparkled in the sunlight, but it was a cruel beauty that could take human lives.

"Captain, let's leave the snow bear alone. What will we do if it's still alive?"

Urgas's desperate plea was ignored by the captain.

Apparently, if you defeat mid to high-level monsters, you can receive a medal. However, proof of the kill is also required.

The captain was enthusiastic about bringing back the snow bear's head from early morning.

"We went through a storm and dangerous conditions to defeat it. I'll write in the report that it was killed by Urgas's one hit."

"No, please don't. I don't want to be expected too much by others."

"The pay will increase, so just let it be written."

"No way~"

Urgas, the delicate young man.

I wanted a raise, so I asked the captain to write about my achievement in distinguishing the sound of the snow bear's footsteps.

After walking for about two hours, we found the bags we had abandoned yesterday, thanks to Gar.

Since it had been snowing, we had to dig them out of the snow.

After successfully recovering our belongings, we immediately moved on to search for the snow bear.

The area where the bags were found was the site of the battle, but the snow bear's bloodstains had been washed away by the heavy snow. The search began relying on Gar's nose.

It seemed the snow bear had moved around quite a bit after being injured.

"Are all of Urgas's arrows poisoned?"

"No, they're not. Poisoned arrows are expensive, so we don't use them often."

"I see."

Poisoned arrows are apparently issued to the archers of the knight squad.

"The arrowheads are made of magic stones and react to the blood of monsters to release poison."

"Wow, such amazing arrows exist."

These weapons are apparently made by the Monster Research Institute, a government agency.

If used, a report must be submitted, which is a bit of a hassle.

"Monster Research Institute, huh."

Zara muttered meaningfully.

"By the way, what kind of facility is the Monster Research Institute?"

"Exactly as it sounds, it's a den of people obsessed with researching monsters."

It operates with the support of a major noble.

"They keep insisting on bringing back the bodies of monsters."

"That's... impressive."

Zara apparently has an acquaintance who, upon being assigned to an expeditionary force, was immediately asked to bring back monster bodies. It's a pitiful story.

As we were talking, Gar stopped moving. There was a spot ahead where the snow was piled up.

"Could the snow bear be under here?"

"Looks like it."

The captain threw the rope he was holding and started digging with his sword.

Now free, I and Urgas slowly backed away.

The captain, Deputy Captain Berry, Gar, and Zara were digging out the snow bear from the snow.

Gradually, its entire form became visible.

In a few minutes, they had dug out the huge snow bear from the snow.

"Alright, I'll cut off the head. Zara, lend me your axe."

"No way. The blade might be damaged."

"Swords aren't suitable for cutting hard objects."

"Then, I'll lend it to you if your sword doesn't work."

The captain, after this exchange, tried to cut off the bear's head with his sword.

His back, which didn't look like that of a regular knight, was quite bandit-like.

"Wow, really like a bandit."

My rather impolite comment was met with a deep nod from Urgas, who said, "I agree."

In the end, the captain's sword didn't work, and Zara's axe was used to cut off the head.

The snow bear's body, which had stiffened and frozen, was difficult to cut. After much effort, the head was finally severed.

With the head recovered, the captain looked satisfied.

The rest of the snow bear's body was buried back in the snow. A final sprinkle of holy water would prevent other monsters from approaching. The same was done to the head.

The head was wrapped in a cloth and carried by the captain and Gar. The nose was sticking out, which looked cute in a way. Not really.

No, not cute.

Thus, today's mission was successfully completed. All that was left was to descend the mountain, but the captain suggested having a meal there.

"Surrounding the snow bear's head for a meal..."

"Doesn't matter if we don't surround it. Just put it over there. It's not good to descend the mountain on an empty stomach."

"Ugh..."

Indeed, we were hungry. However, the sight of the snow bear reduced our appetite.

To avoid collapsing on the way down, we reluctantly took bread from our bags. We planned to eat bread and dried meat alternately while descending, but—

"A!"

"What's wrong?"

"The bread is rock hard."

Surprisingly, the bread had frozen and become hard. Perhaps it was because we had put the food in a thin leather shoulder bag, unlike yesterday.

I understood that such things can happen on a snowy mountain expedition.

The captain looked at the frozen bread and frowned deeply.

"I don't want to eat soggy bread in soup again."

"You're picky."

The moment I saw the frozen bread, I thought of putting it in soup, but the captain rejected the idea.

With no other choice, we decided to do some more complicated cooking.

Cooking in the snowfield was difficult, so we moved to the cave we had discovered earlier.

There, I asked Gar and Urgas to make a fire.

First, I took out a pot of butter from the kitchen knight.

"What's that?"

"Butter."

It was given to me with enthusiasm, with the instruction to lick it if I felt unwell in the snow.

I thought, "You're the one who put a lot of butter in the soup," but I didn't say it out loud. I didn't expect there to be a butter enthusiast in the kitchen.

"Why did you get butter?"

"To quickly absorb nutrients."

Butter contains various nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, and salt. However, eating it directly is quite difficult.

Back to cooking.

I sandwiched thinly sliced cheese and smoked meat, sprinkled with black pepper, between the frozen bread.

Then, I heated the pan and added butter, more butter...

"Ugh..."

The butter was also frozen, and the metal spoon wouldn't go in.

"Mel, lend me this."

"Ah, thank you."

Zara pushed the spoon into the pot and dropped the butter into the pan.

The butter sizzled in the heated pan.

I spread the butter and placed the sandwich of frozen bread, cheese, and smoked meat in the pan.

I then pressed it down with a spatula while heating it.

When it had a nice golden color, it was done.

"Crunchy sandwich with cheese and smoked meat!"

The captain took it, saying, "I see."

Since only two could be cooked at once, I gave the other one to Gar, today's hero.

The captain, who seemed to have a sensitive palate, blew on it carefully before taking a bite.

"Hot...!"

It seemed the cooling time was insufficient. His face was red.

Zara offered a hot cup of tea.

"You, you know I don't like hot things!"

"Oh, do I?"

I hadn't realized the captain had a sensitive palate while focusing on eating. This was a good discovery.

Meanwhile, a new batch of bread was ready.

I thought I would give it to Deputy Captain Berry and Zara, but—

"Urgas, you go first."

"Is that okay?"

"Yes."

What a kind person. Urgas, who had been whining and doing nothing with me, was offered the bread.

Moreover, he showed kindness to me as well.

"I'll make the next one. It must be difficult to handle the heat, right?"

"Ah, thank you."

It turned out Zara had been watching and remembered how to make it. She skillfully made the bread.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

I took a bite of Zara's homemade bread.

"Wow, amazing!"

The way she applied pressure was different from mine, making the surface crispy.

The hot, gooey cheese came out from the inside. The combination with the salty smoked meat was perfect.

The cheese that had spilled out of the bread was also crispy and delicious.

I see. The texture can change so much depending on the pressure applied.

After that, Zara and I took turns making grilled sandwiches.

The crispy sandwiches I made were well-received by Urgas and Deputy Captain Berry, while the crispy sandwiches Zara made were favored by the captain and Gar.

It's more troublesome than regular sandwiches, but I thought it might be nice to make them occasionally.