What Goes Best With a Blizzard?

Year 28 of the Shinshi Era

Tic Region, Northern Lands.

Before entering Mount Schvia, Rienta and his companions ran into a blizzard and got lost.

Rienta stared in bewilderment at Stark, who had been so badly chilled that he was delirious.

He had not expected Stark, a warrior, to be less resistant to the cold than a mage.

As he thought about it, Stark staggered toward Fern and collapsed into her arms, mumbling something:

"Is a jumbo berry sundae this small...?"

Several enormous question marks appeared over Rienta's head. Stark had clearly been closer to him...

"?" Fern fought back the urge to punch him and shouted, "How should I know?!"

Seeing this, Frieren stopped walking and said:

"I remember there's a shelter at the foot of the mountain. Hang on a little longer."

Fern raised a very serious question. "You're not talking about a shelter from eighty years ago, are you?"

Frieren: "..."

In the end, they decided to look for the shelter.

The blizzard was too strong. If they used Flight Magic to carry Tark, there was a very good chance the wind would blow him away, so Rienta had to carry him on his back.

On the way to the shelter, Stark would occasionally mutter things like "What a hard bed" from Rienta's back.

Fortunately, after half an hour, they reached the shelter.

"Great, it looks like someone maintains it regularly."

Frieren breathed a sigh of relief, hurried over to the door, and reached to open it.

Muffled sounds came from inside, making Fern hesitate.

"It sounds like someone's already in there."

"In any case, let's go inside first."

With that, Frieren opened the door. The sight inside made him pause for a moment.

The sounds from the room reached their ears clearly.

Carrying Stark on his back, Rienta came forward and peered inside. A shirtless man was doing squats, muttering strange things to himself.

"Huff! Huff!"

"Good, good, my body really is warming up!"

"Excuse us." Frieren hesitated for a moment but prepared to enter anyway.

Fern saw what was inside too. She immediately grabbed Frieren by the collar, pulled her back as if she were a cat, and shut the door.

"Lady Frieren, we can't go in there. Let's find another shelter."

"Why? We'll all freeze solid if this goes on, won't we?" Frieren looked at Fern in confusion.

"Because there's a pervert inside." Fern looked very serious.

Rienta had just been about to say something when the door opened.

The shirtless man appeared in the doorway and said somewhat ruefully, "I never thought I'd be taken for a pervert."

"Let's go, Lady Frieren." Fern took Frieren's hand and made to leave.

The person inside froze when he saw Frieren's distinctive features, then called out, "Wait, are you an elf too?"

Too? Only then did Rienta realize that the person Fern had called a pervert was also an elf.

After a brief exchange of greetings, they entered the shelter.

After talking for a while, Rienta and the others learned that the elf was named Kraft. He was a Monk and could not use magic.

Although the shelter had plenty of supplies to keep warm, his fire starter had gone out while he was crossing Mount Schvia, leaving him unable to start a fire. So he had been warming himself by exercising.

After the candles in the room were lit, Kraft looked at Frieren with some surprise.

"I haven't met another of my kind in three hundred years. I thought elves had gone extinct."

"Me too." Frieren was warming herself contentedly by the fireplace.

After settling Stark in, Rienta began taking supplies out of his Personal Space, one thing after another.

Seeing this, Fern came over to help.

As a foodie with a Personal Space, he had a very large stock of ingredients.

Mainly because all of them could eat a great deal.

And Stark, despite being a warrior, was not the biggest eater among them.

As for cookware, that was where the all-purpose Projection Magic came in.

He could project almost anything he had analyzed.

The large cookware had been custom-made after he acquired the Red Mirror Dragon's fortune.

If Rienta had to pick the best food to eat in winter, he would choose hot pot without hesitation.

Considering their different tastes, Rienta had prepared a divided pot with two kinds of broth this time.

Rienta had prepared the soup bases a long time ago.

Both Rienta and Fern were skilled in the kitchen, and they prepared the ingredients quickly.

They sliced the vegetables and placed them on a tiered cart to one side, while sliced meat covered the entire wooden table.

Rienta called Frieren and Kraft over to eat.

In front of the custom-made sauce station, Rienta drew the somewhat bewildered Kraft over and explained the condiments.

"This is chili powder, this is sesame paste, these are chopped scallions..."

Frieren had eaten hot pot many times before. She deftly prepared a dish of dry seasoning and another of dipping oil, then sat at the table and quietly waited for the pot to boil.

Fern preferred dipping oil above all else with her hot pot.

Rienta prepared one dish of sesame paste and another of dipping oil for himself. He only prepared a dry dip when there were sliced kidneys or something similar.

Kraft planned to try a bit of everything.

With their dipping sauces ready, they gathered around the table.

Soon, the pot came to a boil.

Rienta first put the sliced Otherworldly Radish into the clear broth to simmer, then added the various sliced meats to the red broth.

A minute later, most of the meat in the pot had reached the perfect point to eat.

"It's ready."

The moment Rienta finished speaking, Frieren's chopsticks darted out, firing the first shot in the hot pot battle.

Not to be outdone, Fern followed close behind.

After showing Kraft how to eat it, Rienta joined the battle as well.

The blizzard continued outside, but the four inside were already sweating profusely as they ate.

It was Kraft's first time trying hot pot, but he ate with relish, offering praise from time to time.

The unconscious Stark joined in the hot pot meal in his dreams.

After the meal.

Frieren sipped her tea in satisfaction.

Rienta and Fern were cleaning up, occasionally discussing the feasibility of developing Meat-Slicing Magic.

They had prepared enough ingredients for two of their usual meals.

But the two elves' fighting power had simply been a little too high.

Especially Frieren's after the blizzard.

Once they had cleaned up, Rienta took out several enormous curtains and used them to roughly divide the room.

To thank them for dinner, Kraft offered to look after the unconscious Stark, and the two slept in each other's arms.

Rienta silently put away the bedding he had prepared for Stark.

That brat actually dared to say my back was hard. Serves him right to experience an elf's embrace!

After giving the spare bedding to Frieren and Fern, Rienta returned to his partitioned space, looking forward to seeing how Stark would react when he woke up.

As the wind howled outside, they gradually drifted off to sleep.