By the time Sovell and his group entered Gray River Town, it was already around three that afternoon.
Because its latitude placed it fairly close to the Arctic Circle, Gray River Town had fewer than seven hours of daylight in February, so sunset came much earlier too.
Treading over the thin layer of snow gilded by the setting sun, Sovell knocked on the door of the town's only inn and spoke in fluent Russian:
"Hello, we're state forestry inspectors from the Yatsuk Forestry District. We'll be staying with you for a few nights.
(Hello, we're state forestry inspectors under the Yatsuk Forestry District. We'll be staying here for a few nights.)"
Before they had even boarded the plane, Kiritsugu Emiya had given Sovell all the relevant information on Gray River Town.
Although the town was remote, surrounded by forests on three sides and situated along a tributary of the Lena River, its ecosystem hardly made it some worthless wasteland. Government agencies such as the environmental protection bureau, hydrological station, and forestry bureau sent people there year-round to collect monitoring data.
This little inn was essentially one of Gray River Town's public facilities. After all, its main purpose was to provide those personnel with somewhere to stay.
The environmental protection bureau and hydrological station had both sent people recently. Only the forestry bureau, with its limited need for fire prevention at this time of year, had left an opening they could exploit.
Of course, Sovell had never expected a single line like that to convince a quasi-official innkeeper that their group of "suspicious individuals," whose average age looked far too low, really worked for the forestry bureau.
All he wanted was a chance to "see" the man.
With a heavy iron door between them, Sovell pressed close to the peephole, waiting