Uketsukejo ni Kokuhaku Shitakute Guild ni Kayoitsumetara Eiyu ni Natteta

Chapter 53: The Town Covered in Snow

That morning.

Garagara. Buruburu.

Garagara. Buruburu.

SFX: Trembling.

When I woke up, Dorami was clinging to me and trembling.

Even though she’s wearing warm clothes, she still feels cold.

“…You okay?” (Jade)

“I-Ish sho cold… J-Jade, do you not feel cold…?” (Dorami)

“I’m fine.” (Jade)

“Dorami also wants to be as strong as Jade…” (Dorami)

“My body’s not the reason I don’t feel the cold, it’s the power of love.” (Jade)

Thanks to Garnet-san’s hand-knitted gloves, my body and heart are warm.

That’s why I don’t feel cold even though I’m in the Ice Kingdom.

“The power of love… Dorami doesn’t really understand…” (Dorami)

“That day will come when you’ll understand it too.” (Jade)

“I-if possible, Dorami wants to understand it right away… It’s way too cold…” (Dorami)

I felt sorry for Dorami as I watched her tremble.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me.” (Jade)

“F-for the time being, Dorami wants to wear socks.” (Dorami)

“Aren’t you already wearing some?” (Jade)

“Three layers aren’t enough…” (Dorami)

“Alright, just wait for a bit.” (Jade)

I got out of bed and dug through my backpack for some socks.

Then, Dorami slowly got her feet out of bed. If I give her these fluffy socks on top of the ones she already has…her feet will be completely overtaken by the socks.

It’ll be difficult to walk like that…

“Tell me if it gets hard to walk, I’ll give you a piggyback ride.” (Jade)

“Uu… Dorami’s indebted to you…” (Dorami)

“But that’s uncool so Dorami will walk on her own feet,” she said.

That’s praiseworthy of you but don’t overdo it,” I told her as I looked out the window.

We’re in a village in the mountains.

The houses look very puffy and all have smoke coming out of their chimneys.

And, even though it’s rare in the capital, every household in this village has a hot spring.

“What do you want to do? Do you want to go to a hot spring?” (Jade)

We arrived in the village late last night. This is the first village we saw after arriving at the Ice Kingdom.

Dorami was trembling in the cold as soon as we left… She looked very cold so we hurriedly found an inn, went to bed, and have been staying there until now.

“Hot springs are absolutely impossible…!” (Dorami)

“Realy? Why?” (Jade)

“Hot springs are open-air baths…! The moment we step outside, Dorami will freeze to death!” (Dorami)

“I guess so. In that case, do you want to go eat? “If you want to have some warm stew, just let me know,” is what the owner said yesterday.” (Jade)

“Dorami wants to eat…!” (Dorami)

About five minutes had passed before she replied, but it looks like she’s finally made up her mind.

Dorami threw off her blanket and get out of bed.

“O-oh no! Dorami can’t wear shoes like this!” (Dorami)

“It’s alright, I bought some shoes a size larger because I anticipated something like this would happen.” (Jade)

“You’re so used to traveling…!” (Dorami)

Rather than being used to traveling, it’s because I’m used to taking care of you…

Dorami left the room in fluffy boots as we went to the first floor.

There was a fireplace in the cozy dining room and Dorami immediately dashed for it.

“Be careful not to get your hair burned.” (Jade)

“Dorami will be caweful~” (Dorami)

While we talked, a gentle-looking old man came out from the back door.

It was the owner of this inn.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” (Owner)

“Yes, I did.” (Jade)

“That’s good. That child over there felt pretty cold last night…” (Owner)

“That level of cold is nothing! After all, Dorami is an adventurer!”

Dorami’s cheerful voice echoed, as she was already warmed up by the fireplace.

I wonder if the old man likes children, he made a really gentle smile once he heard Dorami.

“Young lady, if you’re an adventurer, have you come to this village on a quest?” (Owner)

“We’re going to the guild right now!” (Dorami)

“Then I guess you’ll be leaving soon. There’s no guild in this village, after all.” (Owner)

“There’s no guild? …Are there no adventurers in this village? In that case, Dorami will show you!” (Dorami)

Dorami ran over to him and took off her glove.

Then, she proudly showed off her Flower Crest.

“Tadah~! Dorami has a Flower Crest with the Attack System!”

“I envy you. If only I had the choice, I would’ve also liked to have the Attack System.” (Owner)

On the back of the old man’s hand was a Flower Crest with the Reinforcement System.

With five petals, at that.

“A-amazing… Are you possibly a seasoned adventurer?” (Dorami)

“I’m just an old man. The only reason I have five petals is the result of my fighting monsters for over 50 years.” (Owner)

“More than 50 years?! How surreal…” (Dorami)

“But I still can’t beat my growing old. It’s already a lot of trouble to cut down trees, let alone fight monsters. There used to be tons of youth around here, but they all left the village around two years ago—” (Owner)

“Kushun!” (Dorami)

“Ah, sorry about that. You had to talk to this old man when it’s this cold. I’ll warm up the stew, so why don’t you warm up in the hot springs while waiting?” (Owner)

“…” (Dorami)

“Young lady, do you not like hot springs?” (Owner)

Dorami looked sad as she shook her head with all her might.

“I-it’s not like that! Dorami was just thinking about how to enter! Wow, she’s really looking forward to it~!” (Dorami)

“Nothing like an open-air bath on a cold day~,” said Dorami in a trembling voice.

The old man happily nodded along with Dorami, “That’s right, that’s right!”

“The dressing room is just down the hall then to the right.” (Owner)

The old man saw us off as we went to the dressing room.

I thought Dorami would be hesitant but once we got to the dressing room, she immediately undressed.

“You seem pretty eager.” (Jade)

“If Dorami’s going to feel cold anyway, it’s better to just be in the hot spring! Alright, she’s taken all her clothes off! She’s gonna go first!”

She dashed outside and dived into the open-air bath.

“Gyaaaa! It’s too hooooot!” (Dorami)

“You need to ease yourself into it little by little.” (Jade)

“What should Dorami doooo?!” (Dorami)

“First off, lower your body and soak yourself.” (Jade)

“Gyaaaa! Dorami’s knees are so cold! Her body also feels hot!” (Dorami)

Dorami was pretty lively. She repeatedly stood up and squatted, submerging herself up to her shoulders.

In the end, after weighing her options, rather than being cold, she chose the hotter alternative.

In the end, she bit her lips and soaked herself up to her shoulders. And, after a while, her cheeks slowly relaxed.

“Dorami’s revived… She wants to stay here forever…” (Dorami)

“That’s definitely too much… Let’s relax here for a while, eat some stew, then leave. We’ll reach the capital by tomorrow or the day after that.” (Jade)

I don’t know why Onyx-san came to the Ice Kingdom.

But, Onyx-san is an adventurer.

It’s highly likely that he’s visited the guild.

I don’t know which guild he visited, so I decided to just go for the largest guild—the one in the capital, first.

“Are we leaving already…?” (Dorami)

“That’s what I planned, but… Do you want to relax a bit more?” (Jade)

“Dorami doesn’t want to relax, she just wants to help the grandpa for a bit.” (Dorami)

“I see. Should we go and cut down some trees for him, then?” (Jade)

“That’s fine! Since it’s decided, let’s go and do it!” (Dorami)

We got out of the bath and dashed to the dressing room. Then, we hurriedly put on our clothes.

We headed to the dining room and saw the old man putting some firewood into the fireplace.

“How was the hot spring?” (Owner)

“It felt really good.” (Jade)

“Dorami thought it was really hot at first, but it turned out to be just the right temperature!” (Dorami)

“As expected of an adventurer.” (Owner)

“Yes, we are adventurers! That’s why we also decided to cut down trees and help Grandpa!” (Dorami)

“I’m happy but… There are monsters in the forest. If you don’t have at least three petals, you will be in danger…” (Owner)

“There’s no need to worry! After all, Jade is a ten-petal class!” (Dorami)

“Ten petals…?! And by Jade, could you be… That Jade? From the Sundeil Kingdom?” (Owner)

“You know about me?” (Jade)

“There were rumors with the youth. They heard that there was an adventurer who became a hero at a young age. They all admired Jade-sama and left to become adventurers.” (Owner)

So it was my fault that there aren’t any young workers here!

“Sorry, because of me…” (Jade)

“There’s no need for you to apologize. Rather, I want to thank you.” (Owner)

“Thank me…?” (Jade)

“Yes. As you can see, this village has no entertainment so all the young’uns’ lives have been monotone. However, when they heard stories about Jade-sama, they became energetic.” (Owner)

— ”Apparently, some amazing guy just became a hero and he’s just the same age as us.”

— “If we try our best, maybe we can become heroes too.”

“The youth longed to become like Jade-sama—a hero—and set off on a journey.” (Owner)

“Why didn’t you leave the village?” (Dorami)

“Because I was born and raised in this small village. I don’t have the confidence to survive in the wide world. That’s why I’m also grateful to Jade-sama for giving the youth the courage to have their own adventures.” (Owner)

“Setting that aside,” said the old man.

“Since Jade-sama is here, monsters won’t be a problem but… Why don’t you have some stew first?” (Owner)

Dorami replied first, using the growls of her stomach.