## Chapter 294 – A Chill
The snow had stopped, but the accumulated snow still painted the world white. It was a relentless winter. The pure white snow seemed almost like bone dust from hell.
It was early morning.
After buying cold-weather gear for Cloudie and Winia, I headed outside the city gates.
“Hoo, refreshing. A bit chilly, though.”
My white breath scattered into the sky.
Cloudie, who had been complaining about the cold, seemed much better equipped. She moved around in the snow, checking her condition, and nodded.
…She looked so cute in that Russian fur hat.
“Well, I can handle it. Except the clothes are a bit tight.”
Winia seemed alright too. I was a little worried, but if she said she was fine, she must be. Winia adjusted her clothes and took the lead.
We were going hunting for owl bears.
Apparently, merchants were still buying the hides for a high price. There wasn’t as much supply as expected. I was hoping to make around 20 silver just by catching one.
—Squeak.
The snow still crunched underfoot, but these weren’t ordinary women. They stepped powerfully through the deep snow as if they were walking on flat ground.
“There’s so much snow…”
“Are you that amazed?”
“Yeah. It’s so different from the desert. The snow is piled up like sand.”
—Thump.
“And my feet are cold.”
Her long legs sank into the snow. She was wearing gaiters, but that wouldn’t completely block the cold. Damn it…! I wanted to carry her right away.
“Want me to carry you?”
“Hehe, I’m okay.”
Cloudie smiled, her eyes crinkling, and leaned against me. I couldn’t feel her body heat because of our gear, but my heart warmed up, and I started to feel warmer.
“Darkie. If you’re gonna carry someone, carry me.”
“Come here.”
“Darkie, come here.”
I walked over and immediately picked up Winia, following her lead. I’d carry her until we reached an uphill.
“Winia, do you even know where the owl bears live?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Where?”
“Just be quiet and do as I say.”
We walked along the snow-covered road. She wasn’t taking any of the side paths into the mountains, so it seemed like she was planning to go quite far.
If we walked like this for five days, we’d reach Krasheim.
Winia had probably worked around here for a long time, so she’d be more familiar with the local geography than I was.
“Okay, get down now.”
“No.”
“I think I’m gonna die.”
“You’re so weak.”
“No, I’ve been carrying you for ages!”
I was getting tired, so I put Winia down.
“You shouldn’t tease Katt too much. He’s getting tired.”
“You gotta treat Darkie like this, sis. I think you’re being too soft. What Darkie needs is a good whipping.”
“Oh? Is that how it is?”
“Ah. Don’t come any closer.”
Cloudie was the best, as always.
After walking for a while, we found a decent spot and decided to take a break. We hadn’t gotten as far as I thought, probably because of the snow. I quickly cleared the snow and laid out a cloak to make a place to sit.
Since we had Winia, a mage, starting a fire was easy. She started the fire, and I gathered some rocks to make a simple stand.
Then I took a small pot out of my backpack.
“Darkie, you brought something like that?”
“Surprised?”
“No.”
“Then why the hell did you ask?”
“Just because.”
I set up the pot, opened my canteen, and poured in water.
It would have been perfect to have a packet of instant coffee, but sadly, I didn’t. We could just grill some jerky, warm up with hot water, and then get going.
“Katt.”
“Yeah? What?”
I took out a heated stone to warm my hands and sat on a flat rock. Cloudie came over and tried to sit on my lap.
“My ears are so cold.”
“Hehehe, then I’ll warm them up for you.”
Cloudie took off her fur hat and leaned her head against me.
The tips of her long ears were red from the cold. Maybe the earrings were making them colder?
Anyway, I focused the warmth from the heated stone into my hands and held her ears.
“Hnn…”
A moan escaped her lips immediately.
“Is it warm?”
“Yeah… it feels good.”
I carefully massaged her ears as if I were warming the frozen hands of a lover. Her ears were definitely cold. Being long, they were vulnerable to the cold. As I kept touching them, Cloudie’s moans gradually turned into more excited gasps.
“Hnn…! Haa…”
She was even wriggling and twisting her hips.
Elves’ ears were definitely a weak point.
“How is it?”
“Yeah… it feels more stimulating because you’re touching them in a cold place…”
“Are your ears warmed up yet?”
“Not yet. Do it more.”
“I’ll do it as much as you want.”
The water was starting to boil.
Winia, who had come to sit next to me, said,
“Darkie, the water’s boiling.”
“Cloudie, get down now. The water’s boiling.”
I put the fur hat back on Cloudie and placed the pot on the snow. We could let it cool for a bit before drinking it. I took out some jerky, warmed it over the still-burning fire, and warmed my hands.
There were a lot of annoying things about winter.
I hoped spring would come soon… well, it probably would soon.
After a simple meal, we moved again. It was much easier to move with something warm in my stomach. We followed Winia into the mountains.
Winia said that if we searched around the middle of the mountain, we should be able to find an owl bear’s den.
“Darkie. This is all experience, experience.”
She said she had caught them a few times before. And with her superior memory, she had even memorized their habits, so she really was a mage.
“There’s a fundamental difference in experience between me and Darkie.”
“I can’t keep up with that with my brain.”
Winia, leading the way, trudged through the snow. She had better observational skills and spatial awareness than I did. She scanned the surroundings, and when she started walking again, we followed behind.
“Hmm, so they’re in a place like this?”
Cloudie also looked around.
I was on guard, wondering if there were any other adventurer groups or bandits around.
“Yeah, sis. You should learn things like this too. It’s an opportunity to broaden your horizons.”
“Hehe, thank you. So, where’s the owl bear?”
“Just wait a bit. They tend to be in places like this. Well, it can’t be helped if there isn’t one.”
After that, the three of us wandered around for about an hour, when Winia suddenly stopped and signaled us to be quiet.
“…There, look.”
She pointed with her staff to what looked like a den of a decent size. The inside of the snow-covered den was made of dirt, and at the bottom, there was a pile of withered bushes.
And long icicles blocked the entrance of the den like a prison.
“Judging by the shape and size, that’s definitely it.”
We had finally found the den.
For some reason, Copson’s face flashed in my mind.
“Is it a big one?”
“No, judging by the size, it’s about the same size as Darkie or a little bigger. It must be a young one. Owl bears get bigger as they get older.”
—Shwing.
Cloudie, who had drawn her two curved swords, narrowed her eyes and slowly approached the den. Winia stopped her.
“Wait a minute, sis. And Darkie, see those icicles? That probably means it’s in there.”
Oh, shit?
When I thought about it, it made sense. It hadn’t moved much since going in to hibernate, so the icicles had probably grown long.
Winia was amazing.
I hadn’t even thought of that.
“Oh. Shit, you’re right.”
“Darkie. Don’t just take things for granted; you need to pay attention to what you see. How can you be amazed by this?”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I learned something good.”
My experience as an adventurer had increased. I felt the urge to brag about it to Copson next time I saw him.
“Anyway… how are we going to deal with it? If we want to get a good price for the hide, we need to handle it cleanly. Sis. Can you finish it in one shot?”
“I don’t know since I’ve never seen one before. And I don’t want to finish it in one shot.”
“Hmm, then.”
Winia briefly explained the plan.
When it came out, she would paralyze it with lightning magic, and we would kill it with as little damage as possible. Having a mage made everything easier.
There was nothing easier than catching a paralyzed monster.
“Then, Darkie. Go wake it up. But don’t go inside.”
“Why the hell would I go in there?”
If I crawled into a den like that and got attacked from the inside, I’d be on my way to the afterlife. I picked up a stone and slowly approached the den with Cloudie.
Winia raised her staff and began chanting.
“Then I’ll throw it.”
“Yeah. I’m excited.”
I took aim and threw the stone into the owl bear’s den as if skipping a stone. —Thwack. I heard a sound, and I immediately put my mouth to the entrance of the den and screamed.
“KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKㅡ!!!!!!!!!!!!”
—Whoosh!
After screaming for a moment, I nimbly jumped away from the den. If it had woken up, it would be coming out soon.
“…Katt.”
“Yeah!”
Cloudie took a stance.
And—
—HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!
The owl bear, letting out a terrifying roar, crawled out of the den with tremendous force on all fours. It was a brutally grotesque monster that looked extremely inhuman.
Its head, like that of a bird, had a long, hard beak, and its entire body was covered in something that was a mixture of brown feathers and animal fur.
Its strong, long arms also had large feathers, giving it an overall bird-like appearance.
—Ook!!! Orololololok!!!!
The claws on its hands were those of a complete killing machine.
The owl bear, which had come out on all fours, stood up, rotating its head 180 degrees. It literally looked like a combination of a bird and a bear.
It was as tall as me… and its body seemed to be filled with solid muscle. It probably couldn’t fly, so its bones must be strong to support its weight.
It was definitely a monster I couldn’t guarantee victory against in a one-on-one fight.
“Winia!”
But right now, we were three against one.
“Chain Lightning!”
—Pachichijik!!!
As soon as the chant ended, a stream of blue lightning exploded out. A brief flash. The Chain Lightning struck the owl bear.
—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!!!
The monster, screaming spasmodically, fell over, probably paralyzed by the electricity. Only its twitching shoulders indicated that it was still alive.
“Wait a minute.”
To avoid any residual electricity, we paused and observed the owl bear.
—Oooooook…!
“Hmm, it looks strangely interesting. Can its neck really turn that far?”
Cloudie, who was poised to strike, said that. It was definitely interesting. Since its head could turn so freely, it had no blind spots.
I analyzed it as I took a step forward.
Where should I stab it? Should I just cut its neck? After getting Winia’s permission, Cloudie and I approached the owl bear.
“Katt. Let’s stab its neck first.”
“We should.”
We had to work quickly before the monster got up. I immediately concentrated mana and power throughout my body and plunged a slash into the back of the neck of the fallen monster.
—Thwack!!
“Tch.”
I couldn’t cut it in one go.
This was the limit of a slash that didn’t use Skill Enhancement, but simply relied on strength and swordsmanship with minimal mana consumption.
I felt the need to infuse more mana between the muscles and tried to finish it off.
“Katt. I’ll do it this time.”
“Okay.”
—Swoosh!
The curved sword fell lightly and cleanly severed the owl bear’s head. With that, the monster met its death.
The powerful monster of nature couldn’t withstand the magic of a skilled mage. The gushing blood stained the pure white snow red.
