The white-haired elf that the hero party welcomed as a companion in the northern part of the continent hardly spoke.
'Rain'.
The first word she said after meeting us.
That was her name.
It's a different story that the other three, except me, put their heads together wondering, 'Little Rain? Adult Rain? Should we call her like this?' 'Since her hair color is white too, it's similar.' 'Doesn't little Rain have a silver tinge in her hair?'
Perhaps because of that, I don't have many memories of talking with her.
Instead, when I would look at the stars alone at night, she would quietly sit next to me and watch the sky together for hours.
After spending time together silently like that for months, one day she told me her real name.
Smiling slightly.
-Elaine, I'm a priestess of the World Tree.
After that, we gradually started talking just the two of us at night, even if only a little.
* * *
Crack, rumble.
"Whew."
I took care of two 'Ice Golems' and looked down the hill while catching my breath.
Whoosh!
A strong blade wind rages.
The white of the snow field and a vast sea of trees unfolds before my eyes.
This is the second area of the expansion pack, 'Extreme Cold Land'. The 'Salva Snow Field' following the 'Par Snow Field'.
Large-scale forests started appearing gradually in this area. As for tree types, many cold-resistant trees like conifers and birches were visible.
In terms of Earth's latitude, would it be close to Russia?
I have memories of wandering around this nearby area when I first came to this world in the past. Of course, the appearance has changed somewhat, probably because a thousand years have passed in the setting.
And, I met her here.
The fifth and last companion of the hero party.
"Elf Elaine."
In the past, whenever I recalled them, I would become short of breath and dizzy, unable to continue thinking at all.
I tilted my head.
"It's a bit less these days."
Was there some change in my mindset that happened without me knowing?
The pain in my chest that I felt whenever I recalled them had become much fainter.
I saw the crest of the Melissa family in a grave in the desert area.
I visited the main shrine of the Holy Church where Saint Elena was, on a rocky mountain in the plains.
I encountered the rock carvings of Dwarf Ain in a dwarf village.
And, the last companion whose traces I haven't found yet, 'Elf Elaine'.
Except for wandering elves or small elf villages, most elves form a kingdom centered around the World Tree, they say.
However, the location of that World Tree was unknown even in the era when I was active. We can guess that spirits or some magical hindrance is hiding that giant tree.
Is the elven kingdom still intact even in this era a thousand years later?
Elaine unnie said she was a priestess of the World Tree.
But the place where I met her was some snow field in the north where cold energy raged.
That means.
Is the World Tree in this cold northern vast forest?
I should have asked Elaine unnie about the location of the World Tree.
An endless snow field, and a large-scale sea of trees.
In the end, I had no choice but to helplessly search for traces of elves in this snow field.
The exploration of the 'Salva Snow Field' proceeded miserably.
First of all, the area itself was much larger than the first area, 'Par Snow Field', and the scale of the forests was enormous too.
The 'Map', an interface that exists in the game system, served as a guide of sorts.
But places not visited are not revealed. I had no choice but to slowly complete the map over several days.
When guild members were around, I ran buses together. I did daily quests consistently too.
In the meantime, I explored this snow field area while leveling up in my spare time.
The size of the world is truly enormous from the start. It really felt like they copied and pasted the 'Astria continent' itself.
I heard the dot construction game that was popular on Earth in the past had a huge map too. With future technology, they can implement such a world in detail.
And today, there are two sets of footsteps.
Crunch crunch.
Crunch crunch.
While exploring the vast forest of the snow field area, I glanced sideways at Chris walking next to me.
"Unnie, aren't you running buses?"
"Rain is exploring."
"Have you cleared the Ice Spire Tower?"
"Hmm...? When I reach the highest level in this area, I should be able to clear it easily."
She smiled at me while saying that.
I nodded.
"That's true."
Since the entry level for the Ice Spire Tower is 45, and the Named boss level is 50, there will be almost no penalty due to level difference when reaching the current area's highest level.
But most advance party users were earning gold by running 'Ice Palace of the Frozen Land' bus businesses. The Red-White guild members were doing that too.
Even advance party users who weren't running buses were mostly leveling up in monster-dense areas of this region or challenging the Ice Spire Tower.
Of course, at this point when we've just entered the second area, it still seemed impossible due to the absolute time issue.
In the end, it means I'm the only one currently exploring this huge forest area, having finished Ice Palace farming and cleared the Ice Spire Tower.
I grumbled for no reason.
"It's inefficient. Unnie should level up when you have time."
"There's no such thing as inefficiency in traveling together with Rain."
"R-really? If unnie likes it."
I fidgeted with my fingers for no reason.
Chris gently held my fidgeting hand.
I held Chris's hand and continued walking between the snow-covered trees.
Crunch crunch.
Crunch crunch.
It gradually filled our surroundings.
I noticed the anomaly when I could no longer feel warmth in my hand.
"!?"
I hurriedly looked around.
It's hard to distinguish even an inch ahead.
"Fog? In a northern forest?"
Something's strange.
This fog isn't natural.
The chat window won't open.
The messenger window won't open.
All interfaces won't open.
Of course, logging out would be possible but.
Soon, anxiety swept over me.
Is Chris unnie okay?
"Unnie? Unnie? Where are you?"
I desperately searched for her with a voice full of anxiety.
Should I log out first and check unnie's situation?
No. I've finally found a clue.
I can't back down here.
I took a deep breath.
And slowly started pushing through the fog.
There's definitely something in here.
Crunch crunch.
After about ten minutes of this.
"...in! Rain!"
Hug!
"Ah!?"
I was startled by the warmth that embraced my body.
My guard radar didn't react.
This feeling, this touch.
It's definitely Chris unnie.
I raised my head to check her face.
Chris's face, which had become very tearful, came into view.
"U-unnie was so surprised, I was about to go straight to your room! But I thought our Rain would definitely continue exploring!"
I scratched my face for no reason.
Chris knows me too well.
By the way, how did she find me in this magical fog?
Chris, who read the question in my eyes, made a confident expression.
"No matter where Rain is, unnie's Rain detection radar activates, you know?"
"Wow."
Chris unnie is amazing.
She can neutralize my guard radar and detect me herself.
Chris grabbed my hands tightly with both of her hands as if she would never let me go again.
I pondered for a moment.
"Hmm."
Magical fog.
You can't distinguish what's ahead and lose track of your surroundings.
As a gimmick, it's quite nasty.
But this must be a gimmick that can be broken through too.
This time, not as a system, but with the experience of having adventured in this world.
We just need to find direction according to the common sense of this world.
I gently stroked a nearby giant conifer with my palm.
"You know that story about tree rings?"
"Yeah. They say you can tell direction by looking at the tree rings on a tree stump?"
"That's incorrect information. It's said that the spacing of tree rings differs between the side that receives a lot of sunlight and grows actively and the side that doesn't, but actually it's not certain because there are many variables like slope, wind, tree species, etc."
"Ohhh...! Rain is so knowledgeable?"
Chris clapped her hands in admiration.
I blushed in embarrassment.
"U-um. It's not really like that."
And, I looked at the snow-covered conifer branches. The direction they were slightly tilted towards.
It's a small difference, but there are many branches growing towards that side.
If the World Tree really is nearby, the surrounding plants would definitely be influenced by it too.
"This way."
I started pulling Chris's hand and moving forward in that direction.
Carefully advancing while thoroughly checking the trees visible ahead for about an hour.
The fog around us started thinning.
This confirms it.
If we move in this direction, we'll definitely reach the place I'm looking for.
As we advanced a bit more like that, the snow white covering the trees disappeared, and a wave of green came into view.
I confirmed what I saw to Chris.
"...? Unnie. There's no snow from here on?"
"Oh! You're right!"
At the same time, I felt the surrounding temperature rise noticeably.
It's still lower than the continent's average temperature, but it's an environment where plants can grow properly.
Shiver.
At that moment, a premonition was caught by my senses.
Clang!
I instantly drew Astaroth, deflected the projectile flying at us, and blocked in front of Chris.
Chris had also taken out talismans and her eyes were shining sharply.
"What?!"
What's rolling on the ground is an arrow.
And, in the leaves of a tall tree ahead, 'he' revealed himself.
Snow-white long hair, long ears, beautiful appearance.
But his angular facial features and sturdy body clearly showed that he was male.
The elf appearance I had only occasionally seen in user forms.
This time it's not a user.
The first elf NPC I've encountered in the Astria continent.
He looked down at us with cold eyes.