Floor 2: "Azure Mist Lakeside (Azura Misty)"——Three days had passed since arriving at Calmvassa, the lakeside town shrouded in the mist of Silent Lake. Unlike Fangworks, the weapon shop in this town was wooden, its shelves lined with lightweight swords designed for underwater combat. From the window of the inn "Mist Lantern (Nebellicht)," the stilt-village settlements floating on the lake were barely visible through the white haze. It was completely different from the grasslands of Floor 1. The air, the sounds, everything was different. "Let's confirm today's plan." After finishing breakfast, 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) spread a small map across the table. It was a map auto-generated by 凱 悠真 using the Chronicler——Record Keeper class——trait, with gathering points marked in meticulous handwriting. "[serious]Me and Hayase are heading to share information with another party from the alliance. The location is the Frozen Fortress to the north——the relay point on this floor where other player groups have set up base. We'll gather intel on Floor 2 strategy." "What about Rion and me?" "[serious]Southeast gathering point. It's a place where you can collect a type of medicinal herb——Monriki, a material that aids in recovering magical power. The path is straightforward. Nothing difficult." 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) began explaining the route carefully to 璃音. Exit through Calmvassa's east gate, walk south along the river. When the path splits, take the right. A large rock is the landmark, and the gathering point is a bit further down from there. "[serious]You understand? Don't take any detours. If a blizzard comes, head back immediately." "Got it!" Her amber eyes sparkled. Impossible to tell if she actually understood or not. 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) started to say something for a moment——but figured it'd be fine, and swallowed his words. The path is straightforward, after all. "[excited]Leave it to me! My map recording function is running at full capacity. GPS accuracy is perfect!" "I'm counting on you." 早瀬 真一 folded the map and gave 璃音 a glance. "[cold]Don't go running off in weird directions." "I won't run~" The four left the inn. The sound of their footsteps on the stone pavement dissolved into the mist. They parted ways at the east and north gates——蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) and 早瀬 真一 heading north, 璃音 and 凱 悠真 heading east. So far, everything was going according to plan. Right after exiting the east gate, 璃音 said "Oh!" "[surprised]Kai-san, Kai-san! Look at that!!" On a rock along the river, thin ice flowers were blooming with a faint glow. Winter crystals spread out like real flower petals. "[excited]Wow, so pretty!!" "Ah, wait——" 璃音 was already running. Toward the rocky area slightly off from the river, she went trotting along. 凱 悠真 sighed "Haa" and followed after her. (Well, it's a straightforward path anyway. We can just head back quickly.) "[excited]Look at this! When I touched it, it went crack!!" "Yeah, it's beautiful. Come on, let's go——" "Oh, oh, there's more over there!" She ran again. It was five minutes later when faint noise began running across 凱 悠真's map recording function screen. [[Chronicler Auxiliary Function: Map Accuracy Declining——Visibility Poor, Position Error Occurring]] "……What?" By the time he realized it, everything around them was white. A blizzard. Where had it come from? The sky that had been misty just moments ago had somehow turned into a violent windstorm. Visibility didn't even reach five meters. The sound of the river was swallowed by the wind. "Rion! Which way did we come from?" "[scared]Um……this way……maybe?" "This way——which way is that?" "[scared]Everything's white……" Yeah, 凱 悠真 thought. Everything's white. Completely white. [[Chronicler Auxiliary Function: Whiteout——GPS Signal Lost. Map Recording Temporarily Suspended]] "No way……" His murmur was swallowed by the blizzard. 璃音 said "It's getting c-cold." Her pale purple curly hair was tousled by the wind. The faint light pattern on her forehead——the preparation for activating a Monriki spell——was beginning to form. "[scared]It's okay! If I use a heat Monriki spell——" "Wait, using Monriki spells in a blizzard is risky——" He didn't make it in time. 璃音's fingertips traced through the air. But the blizzard's strong winds severely distorted the pattern. Combined with her panic, the half-drawn heat Monriki completely collapsed. BOOOOOOOM!!!! The ice on the ground explosively melted, then instantly refroze. Around the two of them, ice pillars about three meters tall sprouted in a perfect circle and solidified in place. Silence returned. The sound of wind could be heard distantly from outside. The two were completely surrounded by walls of ice. "……It's warm." True enough, the makeshift ice cave was blocking out the blizzard. The temperature had risen slightly. "[laughing]This might work!" "[angry]It absolutely doesn't!!" 凱 悠真's shout echoed off the ice walls. He checked the Origin Mark——a wristband-type item used for calling up the menu screen and communications. He tried the communication function. Zazz, static. No connection. The blizzard was making the signal unstable. "[sad]I want to stream this……but I can't……" 凱 悠真 dropped to one knee. The scene looked tragic. "Kai-san, hang in there." "Hang in there? What did I do? I didn't do anything, did I?" "[sad]Sorry, I misfired again……" 璃音 shrank down. Seeing her like that, 凱 悠真 stood up from his knee. "……Well, it's warm anyway. Let's think about how to escape for now." He tried hitting the ice wall with his bare hands. It was hard. All it did was hurt 凱 悠真's fist. When 璃音 suggested "Should I use the Monriki spell again?", 凱 悠真 stopped her with all his might. "Absolutely not. There's a law that whenever you use a Monriki spell, the situation gets worse." "Is there really such a law?" "There is. I proved it today alone." The escape attempts continued, but they were futile. The ice was thick, and Chronicler had no combat-oriented skills. Communications wouldn't connect. Eventually, the two sat down on the ice floor. The sound of the blizzard continued. Night came. Meanwhile, 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) and 早瀬 真一, having finished sharing information at the Frozen Fortress to the north, returned to the inn near evening. When they opened the door to "Mist Lantern," no one was at the front desk. The innkeeper came out from the back saying "Welcome back." "[serious]Where are Rion and the others?" "……Um, those two haven't returned yet." 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ)'s expression froze. (With Rion being Rion……) He pressed his head. 早瀬 真一 crossed his arms beside him. "[serious]Analyzing. The gathering point is southeast. Standard round-trip time is about an hour. Currently, over four hours have passed since departure. A blizzard came through——given Rion's personality, she likely got drawn to something along the way. Considering wind direction and terrain, there's a high probability she was swept toward the southwest valley." "[sarcastic]……That's basically a behavior analysis exclusive to Rion at this point." "[cold]Shut up. It's accurate, so it can't be helped. Let's go." The two confirmed their equipment and left the town. The blizzard was settling down, but the snow on the ground was deep. 早瀬 真一 read the terrain as they advanced. 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) followed behind. About fifteen minutes of walking——早瀬 真一 stopped. "There." At the edge of the valley stood an unnatural ice structure. Nearly circular in shape, ice pillars lined up at equal intervals. Not a natural formation. "Rion's doing." "Confirmed." The two approached. Voices came from inside——凱 悠真 grumbling about something, and 璃音's "But!" voice. "They're alive." 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) placed his hand on an ice pillar. 早瀬 真一 stood beside him and began examining the section that might serve as an entrance. From inside, 璃音's voice was heard. "[scared]……Someone's there!! Help!!" And at the same time—— BOOOOOOOM!!!! 璃音's second misfire. This time, it was directed outward. The heat shockwave blew the ice pillars apart, hitting 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) and 早瀬 真一 directly and sending them flying. The two landed spread-eagle in the snow. For a while, no one said anything. In the distance, 凱 悠真's laughter echoed. "[laughing]This is amazing——————!! Divine development!! I want to record this!!" 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) lay in the snow, looking up at the sky. Stars were out. "……I came to help, though." Beside him, 早瀬 真一 slowly got up. Brushing off the snow, he said quietly. "[cold]I'll refrain from standing in front next time." 璃音 came running from beyond the blown-apart ice pillars. She grabbed 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ)'s arm and pulled him up, tugged 早瀬 真一's sleeve, and repeated sorry-sorry-sorry over and over. All continuously, without punctuation. "[angry]Why can't you control it!! Your training is insufficient——" "I know." 早瀬 真一's words stopped. 璃音's voice was small, but clear. With a face like she might cry, but looking straight ahead. "I'm the most frustrated about it." 早瀬 真一 closed his mouth. He started to say something, then swallowed it. His gray eyes wavered slightly. 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) stepped between the two. "[serious]Everyone reflects on what happened today. But——we're all safe. That's what matters." The remains of the ice pillars conveniently served as a windbreak. The four decided to spend the night there. 凱 悠真 used an emergency flint he had to make a small campfire. It wasn't enough for Floor 2's cold, but it was better than nothing. The four huddled in a circle. The sound of the flames flickering, and the sound of wind outside. That was all that could be heard that night. "[gentle]Kai-san." 凱 悠真, who had been staring blankly at the fire, looked up. "Thank you. If I'd been alone, I definitely would've panicked. I'm glad you were there." 凱 悠真 opened his mouth. A light quip was about to come out as usual. Something like "Hang in there" or "With me around, you've got a hundred allies"——but the words stopped. 璃音 wasn't saying anything exaggerated. She was just being honest. That was all. In a space where no viewers existed. On an ice plain at night with no streaming, no recording. Just someone saying to him, who was simply there, "I'm glad you were here." "……I was scared too. Honestly." His voice was lower than usual. "Even if I couldn't record——if Rion says something like that, then……maybe it was okay." 璃音 was silent for a moment, then—— "[laughing]Right! We worked together!" She smiled brightly. Not reading anything deep into it. A face completely unaware of the weight in 凱 悠真's words. 凱 悠真 let out a small laugh. "……You're really naturally dense, huh." "Huh, are you complimenting me?" "I am." 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) watched 凱 悠真's profile quietly from beside him. (I see. So that's it.) A man who said he couldn't settle down unless someone was watching him as a streamer——on a night with zero recordings, he had the face of someone who was needed. Maybe that was enough, 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) thought. 早瀬 真一, adding a small branch to the campfire, turned to the side. "[sarcastic]……You two were getting along." "It was a complete mess." "I can tell." Laughter from all four spread through the small space surrounded by ice remains. The next morning, back in Calmvassa, 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) gathered everyone at the inn's table. "[serious]I'm making Rion's misfire control an official strategy objective." 璃音 murmured quietly "It's because of me……" 蒼井 紘(あおい ひろ) shook his head. "[serious]No. Rion's magic is this party's greatest trump card. That's why we need to refine it. If something like yesterday happens during Floor 2's underwater combat——it becomes a direct-hit risk to allies. If she can control it, everything changes." 早瀬 真一 crossed his arms. "[serious]We should consult with Lizette at the Jade Light Institute——the Monriki spell research facility in Rendvaal. There's a theoretical cause to Monriki spell misfires. We should investigate if there's a similar facility in this town." 璃音 stared at the table for a moment. Then she looked up.