Kanna no Kanna

Chapter 5 : Found the girl, but got myself confined

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// typos to comments please //

Chapter 5 : Found the girl, but got myself confined

The inside of the cavern was completely enveloped in darkness; Real fingertips produced an illuminating flame, for the sake of advancing.

If asked if this was cold, it was obviously cold; but in comparison to outside, it was much better due to the absence of the gale winds… That being said; without clothes specifically designed to guard off low temperatures, being here would be unacceptable.

Initially I wanted to call out for the girl to know that we are here; but Real quickly vetoed my idea– If it happens to be a demon further inside the cavern, it would surely be roused by human voices– and when that happens, there is the possibility of him finding first the young villager in this confined environment.

With a strong feeling that we shouldn’t stray from each other; we stepped into the cave…

And then…………。

「Ah」

At the inner most part that the flame illuminated; we could see her figure… Trembling on her knees, the young girl fit perfectly the description we had previously heard. I had to force myself from giving an expression of joy as I directed my steps towards her.

She slowly raised her face to the sound of my steps

「Oni-chan, who are you？」

「Don’t worry, we came to help！」

To ease her worries I touched her with my hand; I touching her was as cold grasping ice.

… This is bad; her body temperature has lowered too much already, checking her face under the dim light of Real’s fire magic is enough to see that her complexion is already quite blue– At this rate, she might even break down from the cold before we put the clothes we brought for her…

Even if I’m slightly reluctant; it’s better if I settle this in one go.

First thing is me taking off my valued clothes for the cold; so I stripped everything off from my upper body. Let me add a note that I’m extremely cold right now!

「Ka- Kanna？」

At the sight of me who had suddenly started a strip show （upper half only though）; Real’s eyes became a monocrome… She can complain later; but right now there is no time to put any explanations into words. More than anything, I feel soo cold that it’s a pain to open my mouth to talk…

「Forgive this for awhile」

Shivering with cold my voice gave an onesided notice to this girl as I proceeded to take off all of her clothes; that done I began to wear again my clothes again, but I put her inside as well this time. When I pressed the girl skin unto my chest, it felt terribly cold; for a moment I wanted to push her away, but I buried those feelings as I put my arms around her; making sure of holding her with my whole strength.

「Oi, just what is the deal!?」

「The fastest way to warm up the body is doing it from skin to skin！ More than that Real; please increase the fire！ I’m seriously freezing here, I might even end up freezing！」

After realizing my intention; Real used her two hands to make the fire bigger and the heat increased accordingly. The girl’s deprived body temperature was returning by using me as a warmer.

「Aaa, how refreshing」

Yet again the blisfull physical heat made me spill tears…

「When you suddenly stripped off, I seriously started doubting your sanity」

「Naturally, I can’t boss around a woman like you with words like 「undress quickly！」」

Between my own temperature and the fire; the young girl is radiating now heat of her own. She has also stopped trembling… I could only breath a sigh as we evaded the most dangerous situation.

Maybe because she regained a normal temperature, the senses of the girl seem to have returned, and she now gazes me from point blank distance.

「Sorry, for having stripped you so suddenly」

As I apologized I pat her head, the girl shook her head to refute me.

「When you are freezing, you should do it like this; is what my otou-san said」

Apparently, over here it’s also wide-spread knowledge that an emergency measure against cold is to increase the warm skin to skin. Since the Lolicon label won’t be added to me, once again I’m compelled to breath in relief.

「Well, why are you at this place？ Since you didn’t return by nightfall, everyone in the village was incredibly worried, you know？」

「Eto, because okaa-san caught a cold, I came to pick up medicinal herbs, but…………」

The outline was just like we had imagined it; as she was done picking up herbs for her mother, the howl of the wolves could be heard. In a fl.u.s.ter she hurried down the mountain and -just like I did- she treaded upon the slope; falling through the cliff. Even then, she could feel quite close the roar of the wolves; thus she could only think of seeking refuge in the cave that was in front of her.

「And it was then, that the weather turned into a snow storm…」

「It became impossible to leave, you got cold to the point you couldn’t to move anymore」

As Real added the last bit, the village daughter nodded quietly in a sorrowful manner.

「I- I’m very sorry」

「Don’t worry about it, as long as you are unharmed, it’s ok」

The girl narrowed her eyes confortably as I placed my hand on her head with a heartwarming face. Taken by the mood, Real also surfaced a smile… Normally she dons a very dignified look; but yet again I realize that superb beauties like her really need to smile like this.

「Very well, since the girl is safe; we have no more business in this mountain」

「That’s true…………」

From the bag I was carrying Real took the clothes we had brough for the girl and proceeded to dress her on them… As this was happening, a large DOOOOON resounded, as if it was the roar of a stomach; followed by a small incessant trembling… The feeling continued and small peebles kept falling from the ceiling.

The vibration and sound that stopped quickly enough where followed by a rather strong wind current that poured from the entrace. The gust of wind settled down in a few seconds, and as it did, large amounts of sweat poured from my back.

「………… Real-san, I somehow; have an incredibly bad premonition」

「Coincidentally, me to」

I noticed that Real’s face had gone stiff.

Once again I check that the girl and I have properly set our clothes on.
The village girl buried her face in the cotton of her garment while enjoying it’s warmth; unfortunately I can’t afford such allowance in this weather. Real is not present among us, she went to to check the condition of the entrance.

As she returned, her countenance was quite grim… It looks like that bad premonition was on the mark.

「For the looks of it…」

「Yeah; it’s completely buried」

That shaking and roaring from before are probably the work of a snow slide. And then, the reason of why the wind blew so intensily; was because the avalanche was pushing air in as it was blocking the entrance.

「Melting it with magic？」

「I gave it a try and proved impossible. With my capacity I would exhaust completely my magic without making a hole in that wall of snow」

「How about using that large sword as a shovel？」

「Just what do you think of other people’s loved sword… But, I also thought about it– however, the piled up snow is so much that it’s now compressed abd has high density, right now is similar to bedrock in firmness… Digging through there would be unreasonable」

「Does endowment magic allow self strengthening？ If that’s possible, we could—」

「Yes; as you have surmissed, increasing your own strength is possible. It’s common to use it as ace when it comes to fighting… However; unlike spells that increase tolerances, increasing the capacity of your own body has a big recoil and can’t be put into use for long… We don’t know how thick the blockade actually is, it would be better not to try it」

For defense, it’s enough with merely coating the surface of your own body with the spell; however since for strengthening you are using magic to mess around with the internal functions of your body at a muscle & bones level; the backlash has to be serious. It’s like artificially trying to increase an already huge fire scene? Maybe I should even enlarge that example many folds to get a proper description…

「Then, the conclusion？」

「We are completely trapped」

After clearing one dangerous situation; you find yourself in the next one…

「We should think positively from now on…………」

What just was pointed out by Real does have some truth. For example; if the avalanche would have occurred as we are exiting the cave, we would surely had been involved. When thinking about that, perhaps this was our fortune.

「But the fact that we encountered an avalanche makes our luck value switch to minus already」

「Don’t say it; I feel like holding my head at that」

We could only muster a sigh at the events.

「Well, what do we do Kanna？」

「Don’t ask me something I want to hear myself」

Even if I complain, I need to squeeze some ideas.

「Real, let me hear it straight… For how long would you be able to use magic？」

Activating spells obviously consume the user’s magical strength. What’s necessary to fully recover one’s own depleted magic power is to have a good night of rest; conversely, as long as one keeps casting spells; it won’t be possible for your own magic to gradually recover… In the current situation, our last ray of hope is Real’s magic.

「Since I unconscously protect my own body against the cold; there is no issues with myself. The thing is, the elemental magic I’m able to use…」

There is obviously individual differences with the amount of magic each person posses. Additionally, even if several people cast the very same magic spell, the magic consumption will be different in each case due to differences of suitability to that magic type.

The amount of magical energy that Real posses seems to be quite outstanding compared to any regular person. As her speciality lies in reinforcement type of spells; consumption for elemental magics can’t be good compared to the ones from her natural trait.

「I can’t exactly tell right now… I can’t hold this peace for too long; and lasting until morning would be out of the question」

Humans need heat to be healthy; and right now we don’t have at hand any sort of meal that would grant us that effect… The village girl and I have no means to increase our bodily heat other than rely on Real’s magic– Magic that can’t be possibly held for long.

「It’s a big pinch」

「Surely, a big punch」

「A pinch？」

This girl repeats after us.

「Yeah, an ultra absolute pinch」

The level was increased.

It might not sound like much from our talk; but this is a serious pinch.

「Help will probably come with the morning, right？」

「They will probably come, but it’s not sure if they’ll know about this cave.。 Ojou-san, are people aware of this cave in the village？」

「Maybe, I think that otou-san and the others know about; but, it’s my first time comming here…………」

「It’s not like I want unreasonable wishes granted; but at least our luck should change a little bit more for the better」

「It’s still to early to be relieved」

Reasonable enough, but; if prospects become zero then it would be hard to keep your mind together.

Well, right now there is nothing we can do about this other than leave it to heavens and eagerly await for tomorrow’s rescue.

Fyuoin—-

「「Hekkushi…………」」

The freezing wind blows, the girl and I sneezed simultaneously. Not only the village girl, as there it was no choice but for me to hog her low temperature; so my body feels quite cold now. Catching a cold would be one thing, but there the uncertainty if we’ll even make to tomorrow.

「Oi, are you ok？」

「I can’t be ok now, it’s obvious I’m super cold…………」

As a complain escaped me, I noticed the essence of the natural phenomenom that has just transpired…

The wind blew; in a cave that’s supposedly sealed shut.

To make certain of this, I turned my way towards the bottom of the cave.

「What is it, Kanna？」

「…………If there is wind blowing, that means that the air is flowing inside………… If the air is flowing inside; that means there it has to be some sort of hole or access to the outside.」

The entrance we used is already blocked by the avalanche; if despise that the wind still blows, then there it has to be another exit to this cave.

「The value of our luck seems to keep increasing」

「It might not be necessarily big enough for a person to pa.s.s, you know？」

「Even if it’s like that, we just need to have Real use brute force to enlarge the hole, right? If muscle reinforcement can’t be used for a long duration; then it won’t be a problem if it’s used for only a bit, isn’t？」

Pure muscle strength, enough to send fully armored knights flying; enough to produce huge gusts of winds like the ones from this mountain. Unless the rock around it is extremely hard, there is no mistake on placing our hopes on the rocks being blown away.

「Even if we can’t turn around our current situation, rather than just regret it later; wouldn’t it be better to try everything we can while we can still move？」

「…………True enough; I got it, I’ll go with your idea」

It’s great that she agreed with me; once that’s settled I show my back towards the young girl.

「I’m not sure how much we’ll need to walk; so hop on」

「Y- yeah」

The village girl couldn’t get our talk just now; she only seems to have understood that we need to move out and obediently climbed on me.

「Oni-chan’s back is wide」

「Being a man not just for show」

I wonder if the guys that have cute younger sisters feel like this? Just by carrying her, I somehow feel my heart fulfilled.

「Then onee-chan, let’s go ahead」

「Of course………… Erm, how did I ended up as your sister？」

「Nah, it’s that, you know? Going by the air you seem older」

「I’m only 18 years old」

「You really are older………… eh, only 18？　Even though you are from the long eared tribe？」

「Elves and half elves growth is not really that different from humans up until the 20 years old. Why were you thinking something unusual about me？」

「You are always so composed, being experienced in several areas; I thought you were from a well versed age」

「And if I heard what actual concrete age you were thinking, I’ll make mince meat out of you with this blade?」

「You are making it sound scary, so please speare me from that」

Even for half elves; it looks like women of all origins are concerned with their age………… And it seems to be something common regardless of the world.

It can be seen thanks to the illumination magic that Real is using; the scenery is completely made from rock without exceptions; the sense of time is being affected due to the lack of progress even if we haven’t walked for 5 minutes… There is not only stamina to consider, but we also shouldn’t stray too far to the point we lose our return path; while thinking that I saw a light at the bottom of the cave.

「This somehow, looks amazing」

We eventually stepped into a different area from the closed tunnel which was the cave so far; ending up in a room that had a huge open s.p.a.ce. One could see the ceiling was quite high, to the extent our voices could perfecly echo around from the back; translucent shining ice walls created a hemispherical form that was dyied with different colors; I greatly admired the magnificent view which was like nothing I had seen up to now.

「Sorry Kanna, but try to focus your eyes on the center most position of the ceiling」

Rising my eyes as I was told; indeed at the highest point on the ceiling, it immediately came to view that a gigantic hole was there. Strong winds were flowing through that place bringing the cold air.

「To think the hole would be in a high ceiling. And there is no place to climb」

「Should I summon the dragon？」

「…………No, if we go outside now we’ll only b.u.mp into the snow storm; the moment we leave, such strong strong wind is enough to smash us on the rocks 」

That reason was why we initially did not use the dragon this time around and we ended up walking. Additionally; thanks to not being familiar with the local area and since it’s dark; we could only bet on flying at blind, which would end up being dangerous.

「Rather, I’m cold. It’s this room the coldest place here？」

「Indeed; even I started feeling the cold」

「In any event we’ll have to show our guts and stand the cold until morning; by the time the snow storm stops, by summoning the dragon we’ll get out; we should focus on preserving our stamina until then and since this is the coldest part; we’ll return to near the entrance of the cave.」

「There is no other options…………。 Finding a hole that leads outside is already a great thing」

From here on, the girl and I can only face straight on this endurance race to see how weakened we are until morning; return to the part of the cave where it’s less cold and quietly resist there without moving a finger.

I glanced around on last time with the girl at my back before turning back…

… But before that, I felt as if my eyes were sucked towards the central part of this s.p.a.ce.

It is only now that I noticed this; a strange shining object is placed at the center; it’s long and narrow like a stick, that cylinder grows out from the hard rock.

「Oi Real, what do you think is that？」

「That’s………… A lance？」

Focusing where I said, Real narrowed her eyes and unveiled the ident.i.ty of the object. In all probability, the elves eyesight may be many folds stronger than that of us humans; for that reason she can’t be mistaken.

At that time a rejection………… A subtle feeling that I shouldn’t leave was born.

「………… When you find a weapon in a place like this; the normal would be for a shady story to be related to it… In the fairy tales I know at least; stuff like this is the usual pattern.」

「Normally, it shouldn’t possibly be like that; but there are such stories around as well. More than that; if there is an story that comes with this, it’s probably something about a seal. If the weapon on itself gets sealed; then it’s probably something you wouldn’t want to touch.」

「And so it isーー」

It’s not an unpleasant feeling… it is not; but I still feel like I’m going to b.u.mp into a great crisis. Ever since I ended up in this world, it’s as if my 6th sense was awakened… I’m feeling uneasy now.

「………… The best would be if we don’t even look at it」

「Agreed」

After a serious consense, without even looking we where to proceeded back…

ーーーー Moving my sight, by coincidence I saw the ceiling…

Something like a magic formation appeared in the air…

「ーーーーEh, seriously？」

The formation was completely composed by light; the image was very similar to the formation on the floor that was used to summon me to this world and was at the castle.

Real also seems to have noticed the anormality; her eyes raised to the air and glimpsed the formation.

「c.r.a.p ………… It has to be a 『guardian』」

「No need to guess, it’s here to protect that spear？」

There are plenty of those in RPGs… As the name implies, it’s the last ordeal placed to protect the treasure.

「It does look like that spear has a shady story attached… Unauthorized entry probably won’t be forgiven, thus a summoning trap was stablished to deal with those who approach. Well Kanna, what now？」

「Why is the opinion of me who is a total beginner in this world keps being asked!? My vote naturally goes to running away! The truth of the issue is that surely you believe that worrying about bothersome things is too much of a pain!」

「I’m a knight after all」

「Don’t put a satisfied face in this situation!」

I strongly played the straight man, in a fl.u.s.ter I went back to the entrance of this s.p.a.ce. Not even talking about me, I have the village girl on my back; from the start we didn’t had the aim of hunting for treasures, but just to rescue this girl.

The light from behind became way more noticeable; it has to be from the summoning formation… After a short period; a big sound and violent tremors could be felt on the floor. I exerted my guts as not to have my legs entangled; and I made a full speed dash towards the entrance.

Only a little bit more, as I almost said that; a large shadow could be seen at my feelt.

「-!? STEP ASIDE, REAL！」

Real who was running in front of me was only a couple of steps from the exit of this area; however as soon as my voice reached her, she jumped to the side. Almost at the same time, the sound of something incredibly large could be heard landing in the place where she just was.

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