Chapter 170
Snow
“Whoa! The entire area here is covered in snow . ”
“Fluffy~”
“What is this~?”
“This is snow . Snow . ”
“”Snow~?””
I heard that it doesn’t snow much in Guardia Country even in winter, but because we were at a mountain, there was at least thirty centimeters of snow piled up on the ground .
“”So cold~””
This was the first time seeing snow for Allen and Elena, so they squatted down while touching the snow in wonder .
“It’s cold, right? Here, put on the mufflers and wear the gloves . ”
Panicking because the hands of Allen and Elena turned red from touching the snow barehanded, I made them wear the heavy winter clothing .
I am really thankful to Rebecca-san . The various things she ordered while having the costumes made came of use .
“”Unya!””
Then, all of sudden, snow came flying into Allen and Elena’s faces .
(Bullseye~)
(Garu~n♪)
Joule and Vector were flinging snow with their forepaws .
“”Horya~””
Allen and Elena scooped the snow with both of their hands and aimed at Joule and Vector in retaliation .
(It won’t hit~)
(Tough luck~♪)
However, Joule and Vector read the children’s actions and easily avoided the snow .
“”Au~””
“Allen, Elena, the snow hardens when you squeeze circularly it in this way . ”
“”Ohh~””
I showed the frustrated Allen and Elena how to make snowballs .
“”Sorya~””
Understanding what to do with that snowball, Allen and Elena quickly formed theirs and threw them at Joule and Vector .
(Whoa! That’s not fair!)
(Close one!)
Joule and Vector barely dodged the high-speed snowballs that were thrown at them .
“”Muu~””
“Allen, Elena, don’t be throwing the snowballs seriously . If you two throw with all of your might, even Joule and Vector might end up getting injured . ”
“”Yess~””
When I cautioned Allen and Elena who were getting more and more fired up from having their snowballs avoided as well, they returned cheerfull replies .
(Wha, Oniichan! You are not stoping them!?)
“I mean, it’s Joule and Vector who threw the snow first . ”
((Ehh~))
Seeing Allen and Elena’s state, Joule and Vector began panicking .
(That’s what you get for being mischevious, Joule, Vector . )
(They are like kids nano!)
(Indeed . )
Feat, Mile, and Bolt shook their heads in disapprovement .
(Still, Allen and Elena seem to be having fun, don’t they?)
(Yes, they are chasing after them cheerfully . )
(But but, Joule and Vector are running away with a great vigor no~)
They heartwarmingly watched Allen and Elena making snowballs and chasing after the escaping Joule and Vector .
“Yaa~”
(Hold up, Allen!? That’s way too fast!?)
“Hoi!”
(Wah~ Elena~ go a bit easier on me~)
Happy that Joule and Vector weren’t able to make snowballs and were forced on the defense, Allen and Elena were really enjoying themselves .
(They don’t hold back, do they~)
(They got them~)
Joule and Vector were running away with all of their might, but they soon gave in and got hit by the snowballs .
“”We won~!””
Seeing the two animals in defeat, Allen and Elena showed triumphant expressions .
They even proudly declared their victory .
(Hey~ Niichan, Niichan . )
The nose of Vector who was lying feebly on the ground suddenly started twitching .
“N? What’s the matter, Vector?”
(Somehow, I smell a nice scent from below here~)
“Smell? Is perhaps something buried under the snow?”
(Seems like it! I will dig it up!)
Vector vigorously stood up and begun digging on the spot .
“”What’s going on~?””
“He apparently smelled something . ”
All the children gathered upon seeing Vector’s actions .
(He’s right . What a nice smell~)
(Truly~)
Joule and Feat also sniffed the scent and agreed .
(This is it!)
After watching Vector dig for a while, he came out with about ten centimeters large bluish mushroom .
“That’s Snowbelow Mushroom . That’s quite a rare mushroom you have found again~”
As its name suggests, Snowbelow Mushrooms grow under the snow .
It has a unique ecology of not growing without enough snow piled up on top of it, and because it’s difficult to excavate it with all the snow on top of it, it doesn’t appear on the market that much .
Of course, because of its good taste and charming texture, it’s considered a high-class item .
There should have been a request for Snowbelow Mushrooms at the Adventurer’s Guild too, but if I remember correctly… it should be a B-rank request with a considerably high degree of difficulty .
(He splendidly split it in two halves though~)
(Vector was digging too vigorously, wasn’t he~)
(It’s value has been cut in half . )
(How unfortunate no~)
(… Garu~n . )
These guys have no mercy~
Vector was obviously feeling down from Joule, Feat, Bolt, and Mile’s words .
“Now, now, don’t tease him like that, everyone . Vector, it would get cut while cooking anyway, so it doesn’t matter that it’s split in half . Thank you for finding it . ”
(Garun!)
When I lightly tapped Vector’s head, he rubbed his head against my belly .
Allen and Elena also came over and patted him .
(It certainly gets cut while cooking, doesn’t it~)
(Indeed . The shape is irrelevant, isn’t it?)
(Yes . There’s no problem if we are not selling it . )
(Besides, besides, there still might be more Snowbelows around here nano!)
Seeing me, Allen, and Elena comforting Vector, everyone started panicking .
The reason they were taking glances at me while speaking, were they worried that I was angry?
“… I am not angry, you know?”
When I tried whispering such, everyone showed relief .
As I thought, they were worried about it .
And then after that, the children looked for more Snowbelows on good terms .
Because this place’s conditions were perfect for the growth of Snowbelow Mushrooms, and the snow was easy to dig in, the children found one Snowbelow after another . We successfully picked a large number of mushrooms .
… We forgot about the Pastel Rabbits because of the snow and mushrooms though~