Day two.
The blizzard hit hard. Snow fell thick and fast, and the wind howled. They huddled in the cave. Brandon and Alia, providing supplies for the group to last the entire day.
Brandon had tried using his phone, but for so reason, there was no signal.
Since it couldn't be helped, Brandon swallowed his food and turned his attention to the goblins.
The goblins… of course, did not need to eat.
"You sure about this, little Kuoh and Kukoro?"
—Of course, we don't want to drain your supplies, my Lord.
"Alright, thanks for that, little Kuoh."
But it had to be noted that the goblins were shuddering in the far corner of the cave. For this reason, Brandon gave them their own fire to warm them up.
For water and other necessities, Brandon provided clean drinking water with his magic.
"I'm so glad you're here."
Alia spoke appreciatively.
"Here."
Brandon offered a cup filled with water, and Alia instantly gulped it down.
Since they were quite dirty from the Frostwolves' blood, Brandon created a washing area, utilizing his earth affinity, and replenishing the water with his water affinity.
Several magic heaters were placed inside the washroom, for the purpose of insulating it from the cold.
With a fire underneath the rock–ford a tub, the water was fairly heated.
On the usual case, taking a shower while it was snowing was a bad idea.
But by now, the room was well heated, due to the amount of magic heaters that filled the room.
To make matters better, Brandon filled the room with several torches, just to add to the heat.
But still, since he didn't actually need to, Carl didn't take a shower.
The goblins on the other hand…
…They were a curious bunch.
The next to take a shower, was of course, Brandon.
He was well used to walking around his apartnt with no shirt on. Due to this fact, he instantly took his top off with no regards to the lady in the room.
"Eh?!"
Stunned, Alia looked away.
Brandon curiously tilted his head.
"Hm?"
He leaned close and scanned her face. She was covering her face with her hands.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing…"
She stamred.
How peculiar.
And lastly, it was Alia's turn.
"...Don't peek."
Her face was red.
"I won't."
Day five.
The snow piled high, blocking the cave entrance. The wind kept howling, and the cold air slipped inside.
The world outside was buried in white.
By then, Brandon grew a bit desperate. He tried creating a skill that would sohow stop the weather.
But it was to no avail, as the system told him his level was insufficient for such a skill.
The heaters died out, but Brandon and Alia quickly replenished them with mana.
"Could you tell us more about your village, Carl?"
"...Okay."
It was then when Carl began to recount his experiences back in the village.
The village was a small and humble community. They lived by growing crops and trading them in the city.
Apparently, their crops were of fine quality, due to the soil they sprouted from.
In the morning, Carl would wake up early to help the villagers maintain their farms.
And by the afternoon, Carl and his little sister, Emi, would often run around the village, playing with the other children.
It was a peaceful and lively village.
And as Carl noticed the terrain from where they started off from, it seed like the village was still quite far.
"I see."
Day fifteen.
The storm raged on. The sky stayed dark, and the freezing air crept deeper into the cave.
Every sound was muffled by the constant snow.
By now, the group had ford so kind of bond. Especially Alia and little Kuoh.
"Hm?"
"What?"
"I can see the expressions you're making. Don't tell you're jealous?"
"I'm not."
Brandon shook his head.
"Hmm…"
Alia scanned his expression.
He was, in fact, jealous.
"Are you jealous your senior isn't giving you any attention."
"Uh… no?"
That wasn't the case at all.
He was jealous of Alia, hogging little Kuoh.
By now, Brandon had grown fond of little Kuoh.
He was a cute little goblin.
"Hehe~"
Alia chuckled and hugged little Kuoh.
Little Kuoh seed startled at first. But his expressions seed to ease as his head t Alia's chest.
"...How could you betray , little Kuoh?"
Brandon frowned in disapproval.
—Sorry… my handso Lord.
But despite being apologetic, little Kuoh shrugged.
Brandon shook his head and looked to the side. There was a new bond that ford.
Carl and Kukoro.
Brandon looked at them playing together with a smile on his face.
"Hehe~ Catch, Kukoro!"
They were playing catch with a rock. But only Carl was the one throwing the ball.
It was as if he was playing with a dog.
"It's your turn, Emi."
Hearing that, Brandon's lips curled down.
Day thirty.
The blizzard seed to be slowing down. It was still cold outside, but not to the sa degree as day five.
Brandon and Alia could now roam around outside. But it was still too risky for Carl.
With such thoughts, the group continued to seek refuge inside the cave.
By now, the cave looked like a house.
There were several pieces of furniture made out of rocks, courtesy of Brandon's [Earth] affinity.
And though they weren't up to quality, they served their purpose.
Brandon seed to have a talent for molding rock sculptures.
The group was now undoubtedly close.
Each passing day, Carl's sleeping habits dwindled. There were tis where he would smile. It was a stark contrast compared to the first day.
Brandon's lips curled up to a smile as he watched the children play around.
The goblins were included, of course.
Brandon regarded them as toddlers at this point.
It seed like Alia shared the sa thoughts as she sat next to him, smiling as her gaze lingered on the children.
"Huam…"
Alia stifled a yawn.
"I'm kind of sleepy. Let borrow your shoulders."
"Sure."
Alia rested her head on Brandon's shoulder and closed her eyes.
The two were now super close.
Much too close that Brandon could admit he was as comfortable with her as he was with Belle.
He draped a fur coat around her and Alia pulled it closer, falling asleep shortly after.
Day forty.
A month and ten days had passed.
The blizzard had cleared, and it was finally safe for the children to go outside the cave.
The group helped around, clearing the supplies, placing them in bags, as Brandon and Alia secretly stashed so of them inside their inventories.
By group, in particular, Brandon, Alia, and Carl.
The other children were useless in this aspect as they continued playing around inside the cave.
After leaving the cave, they finally returned to the forest.
But to their surprise, the fog still perated the air.
And it was even thicker than before.
"Do you sense it?"
"....Yeah."
Alia asked and Brandon nodded his head.
There was sothing ominous inside the forest.
Brandon could surmise that it was the sole reason for the fog.
After all, the fog was pure mana energy, condensed in gaseous form.
And the mana energy seed to be intense as he scanned deep into the forest.
"....!"
Brandon flinched as he felt two cold eyes stare back at him.
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