Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

Woosh

"...."

"...."

Swoosh

"...."

The cold winds continuously blew, lifting the snow to the air. The snowflakes whirled in the air and slowly settled down on the clothes of the people standing in the midst of the mountain, but no one cared about them. Instead, the whole group was staring at an empty, snowy area.

"Is it...here?"

Finally, the awkward silence was broken by the hesitant voice of Elsie. She quietly whispered those words.

"Yeah."

Team leader Dains answered confidently in a low voice. He pointed at the empty space with his hand and said once again.

"That is the ruin."

Of course, the place where he was pointing was just an empty, snowy field. There was nothing in there. The snow in that area was a little bit elevated as if the ground under it was higher than the other areas, but that was it. 

"...."

"Seriously, what the hell? Where exactly is the ruin?"

"Probably under the snow."

Team leader Dains walked a little bit closer to the massive pile of snow and poked it with his feet. 

"There were a lot of snowy days recently as well as a few avalanches, so the place got buried under the snow. Well, this place is buried under snow most of the time so there is nothing to be surprised about."

Kairen was looking at the snowy field as well while standing in the back of the group. There was not even a single brick of the ruin visible. 

'How in the world could SMF's intelligence branch or whatever else they were called think that this place resembles the ruin in the painting?'

Kaien couldn't understand them. This place was buried under the stone most of the time. It was now summer but the place was still cold and snowy. If it is like this now, it must have been even worse in the far past. So there was no way someone could sit here and spend days painting this place. It was especially impossible for the people of the past when equipment used for heating and mountain climbing weren't as developed as they are now. There was no way that the painting was about this place.

The others must have thought the same as they were all staring at the team leader's back with suspicious eyes, demanding an explanation. 

Elsie cast another spell at that moment.

"I don't have that much mana left. I don't think I can keep doing it for long."

"What? No!"

"Sorry, Asa."

"AAARGH!"

Unable to stand their gazes and dramatic show any longer, team leader Dains sighed and explained.

"I told you that there are three places that match the place shown in the painting before starting the mission. This place was included on that list, not because of its pure appearance, but because other details about it matched the painting. For example, the possible time when this place and the one in the painting were said to be built."

When he finished his words, deputy team leader Bray started to further explain the situation.

"The place where we visited yesterday also wasn't that similar to the painting. You all saw that the pillars of the ruin in the painting seemed to be in a little bit of distance from the walls, while in yesterday's ruin, they were attached to each other. The thing that was similar between them was the time where they were built and their structure. There was also the pattern and the material used in both. Anyway, this place is not where we are looking for, but it might be essential in our investigation."

Unit members nodded their heads after hearing the explanation. Their reasoning was understandable to some extend. If you can't find the exact location, search the places that match it in some ways. 

"I get what you mean. But... really, how are we going to search a place buried under snow?"

"I can move a part of them with my wind."

Rai volunteered to remove the snow. His ability was much more useful than Kairen had imagined at first. 

"Yeah, you can. But be careful not to cause any problems."

"Right. Be careful."

"Okay."

Rai raised his arms and closed his eyes. 

"I'll clear the area around it first."

He mumbled that before creating a small breeze. The breeze became stronger till a strong gust of wind brushed past the snow. The gust of wind swept the snow off of a small area.

Rai took a deep breath before moving the air once more. Kairen could sense a breeze first before it turned to a strong gust of wind again and blew up about one-third of the snow of the area. 

The air wrapped around the snow and carried it far away. 

"Hmm? What is that?"

Once the snow was removed, they could see a strange structure. The first thing that came into view was the damaged and old-looking walls resembling the ones that they had seen the day before. 

But no one paid much attention to the walls. Everyone was staring at the iron door placed on the gap of walls and the white ceiling on top. 

The white ceiling was covering the top of the building. It wasn't a part of the building but seemed to have been attacked to it later on. Actually, it looked quite sturdy and new. It wasn't as high as the walls but attached to them midway. 

"...."

CLACK CLACK

When they were silently staring at the door and the ceiling, a voice came from inside.

'Is someone in there?'

The unit members exchanged a brief look before quickly stepping back and taking out their weapons. 

Kairen, Elsie, and Asa moved to the back while the swordsmen stepped forward.

BAM

"Ack! What the fuck! Is it another avalanche? For god's sake just let me sleep-"

Click

A man's voice was heard from inside before the small window on the iron door opened. They could see a pair of sleepy eyes looking out of the window.

"...."

"...."

The man's eyes widened as soon as he saw some people standing outside the door. He probably couldn't see them all, only their faces and shoulders must be visible from that small window. Well, actually their faces were also covered with scarves, hats, and any other kind of clothes to keep them warm so what the man was seeing was a few pairs of eyes.

The man looked at their faces, blinked a few times, moved back, and closed the window.

"Huh? What the fuck?"

They could hear his voice again. 

"Hmm? Were they travelers? Mountaineers?"

Click

Another sound came from inside again before the iron door opened slightly. They could now see someone from the slight gap on the door. 

The man, wearing comfortable-looking pajamas, peeked through the gap in the door.

"If you are lost in the snow- Holy shit!"

He was casually talking to them before seeing the swords and guns in the people's hands. He flinched and stepped back.

"What the hell! What the- Who?"

He cursed, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it to close the door.

BANG

But he couldn't close the door because a muscular man was blocking it with his body. Darren who had jumped forward just in time pushed the man inside and opened the door completely. 

"What are you doing pushing an old man like that! Oh my god! These thieves are so rude!"

He stood up from the ground and glared at the unit members. He just called himself an old man, but he didn't seem like one even the slightest. He was a good-looking man, around his late twenties or early thirties. 

'What the hell man, you are wearing pajamas in this weather?'

Kairen was so surprised after seeing the man's chicken-patterned pajamas that he forgot to look around the place now that the door was open.

"Why is this place like this..."

Kairen only turned to look at the ruin/ building after hearing Elsie's mumbling. 

Unlike his expectation, what he saw on the other side of the door was a modern-looking building. It almost looked like one of those emergency containers that were used on Earth when earthquakes or such things happened, but much bigger and better. 

The building was on the far end of the ruin and there was some empty space between the door and the building. The ground of that empty area was also even and smooth. There were no broken tiles or destroyed pillars, instead, it looked neat and clean. There was not a single snowflake on the ground because there was a layer covering the ceiling. 

Everyone's gaze turned to the man. His comfortable pajamas had become dirty and he was glaring at them furiously as if they had just forcefully entered his house. 

'No wait, he just called us thieves?'

Kairen looked at the house, the man, and then remembered his words just now.

-For god's sake just let me sleep-

'He was sleeping... here?'

It seemed like they had truly forced their ways into someone's house.

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