Chapter 244 – Strange Bird in the Ice

“It’s good that we found him, but… I didn’t think it would be Antarctica of all places.” (Bouchi)
I let out a big sigh as I looked at the [Search Paper] that I’d received.

The information about Oremia’s whereabouts was written on it. I could tell that it was definitely the avatar that Belzedor was looking for.

But according to this information, Oremia was stuck inside of an iceberg. Apparently, he was trapped inside ice, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive. The fact that Belzedor could sense his presence suggested that Oremia was alive, but it wasn’t clear how he had ended up in that situation.

“Anyway, I guess we’ll have to go there and find out. Sorry Izu, I’ll be leaving the island to you again.” (Bouchi)
“Understood, Master. Please go carefully.” (Izu)
I was currently on Joysprout Island. Of course, I had left a [Copy Doll] with the religious order.

I decided to leave Yofel and Ior behind to protect the island and headed for Antarctica with Sol, Shiki, and Kaza.

I had never been to Antarctica, so we would have to fly there on the [Jet Book]. Since it was so far south, it would take a long time even if we were traveling at 900 km/h.

The distance from Japan to Antarctica was about 14,000 kilometers. Through a simple calculation, it would take more than 15 hours.

But fortunately, I had been to Australia before. The distance from Australia to Japan was about 7,000 kilometers, so I was able to shorten the distance we would have to travel by about half in one go.

Thus, we would be traveling from Australia to Antarctica on the [Jet Book]. If we didn’t run into any problems, we should be able to reach our destination in about 8 hours.

—

“It’s starting to get a bit chilly.” (Bouchi)
With that, I pulled something out of my pocket. It was [Pokapoka Curry]. Based on appearance, it looked like a regular curry, but once eaten, your body temperature would stay stable, allowing you to stay warm for 24 hours.

“It’s about time for a meal anyway. Eat up, you guys.” (Bouchi)
I gave Sol and the others each a portion as well. With this, they wouldn’t be bothered by the cold.
In the meantime, we had started to see ice floes drifting about here and there in the ocean. And off on the horizon, it wasn’t an empty sky but a wide expanse of ice.

“What a view…!”
I let out a sigh of admiration at the beauty of Antarctica. The sky was clear and devoid of clouds, and beneath it was a large stretch of blue and silver.

My father had taken me to many amazing places in the past, but this place was extraordinary in a completely different way.

It was a silent world, where everything was frozen. This frozen world, which was unforgiving to all life, gave off an overwhelming air to anyone who beheld it.

Thanks to the [Pokapoka Curry], I didn’t feel the cold, but there was no doubt that this was the coldest region on Earth. Historically, the temperatures here had dropped to a low point of -90 degrees Celsius. It was truly a dead world, where humans couldn’t live normally.

But because of that, it gave off a sense of cold beauty that was extremely captivating.

“I think there were around four Japanese research stations in Antarctica. I only know of Showa Station though.”
Apparently, these research stations were for examining the Earth’s status and climate. Incidentally, Showa Station was one of the first of such research stations.

I would have liked to explore some of the research stations, but now was not the time.

I hurried towards the location indicated by the [Search Paper], fascinated by the scenery as we passed by.

Eventually, a massive iceberg shaped like Mt. Fuji came into view. It jutted out of the frigid ocean waters, towering over the surroundings.

At the base of the iceberg, there was a crack running vertically up the iceberg, allowing us to directly enter into its depths.

Upon entering, I found that there was a fairly vast cave-like space inside.

But there, I found a shocking sight.

“W-What are all of these creatures…?!”
There were countless animals and monster-like creatures frozen in the ice like specimens.

According to Shiki, there were many A-Rank and B-Rank creatures among them, and they all seemed to have signs of life force within them.

So they’re still alive in this state…?

What in the world is this iceberg? Could it be…? No, it’s definitely related to the other world. There would be no explanation otherwise.

Then Oremia would be somewhere among here…

After proceeding forward a bit more, I saw the [Search Paper] that was transmitting the location floating in the air. It seemed that we had finally arrived at our destination.

From there, we got off the [Jet Book] and began to move in the direction of that [Search Paper], being careful not to slip on the ice.

—That was where we finally found what we were looking for.

There was a strange bird, trapped in a huge boulder… no, a huge wall made of ice.

“This is… Oremia?”
The bird was trapped during a moment when it had been flapping its wings, which were covered in a jade-green plumage.

His golden eyes gave off a sharp and incisive gaze that carried a powerful life force even though he wasn’t moving.