February 2nd dawned. A blizzard had been howling since daybreak. The external temperature gauge on the Capricorn 1 read minus 30 degrees Celsius.
"Jin-dono, take care."
"Elsa-sama, take care."
"Saki-dono, until we meet again."
No one addressed Sion. The hierarchical gap between the clans clearly remained, even among the Gospel. Sion herself didn't say a word, seemingly accepting it as a matter of course.
The Capricorn 1 began to tread through the blizzard. However, its legs sank deep into the snow, limiting its speed to a mere 10 kilometers per hour.
(I have the force generator if things get desperate... but for now, we'll keep going like this.)
Seeing no immediate problem, Jin issued no special instructions.
Mountains loomed to the north of the Gospel clan's territory. The Capricorn 1 slowly began its ascent.
"This is incredible..."
Sion, who had finally recovered her usual spirit, spoke in admiration as she gazed out the window.
Although the blizzard shrieked outside, the occasional glimpse of frozen rock faces and trees transformed into icy monsters by the snow revealed the steepness of the terrain they were scaling.
"Snow monsters, huh..."
Jin was reminded of rime ice trees—a winter spectacle in places like Zao or the Hakkoda Mountains back on Earth. Of course, he had only ever seen them on television. These massive, frost-covered trees before him were far more imposing than anything he had seen on a screen.
"Look, Jin! They're amazing! I wonder how they end up in those shapes?" Saki asked, her face pressed against the glass.
The Capricorn 1 was currently laboring up a slope with an incline of over 30 degrees. When they had climbed toward the Land of Beginnings previously, it had been during the snowless season.
"Snow really does make things difficult... I recall hearing that mountain climbing is significantly harder in the winter," Jin mused, recalling nature documentaries he had watched long ago.
The terrain beneath the Capricorn 1's feet now reached an incline of over 45 degrees. A direct ascent was impossible, so Land 1 piloted the vehicle in a zigzag pattern to maintain progress.
"Are... are we going to be okay?" Sion asked nervously. Even with the balancers and stabilizers, the vehicle occasionally tilted sharply.
Jin knew they could simply fly over this slope using the force generator, but he wanted to find the Capricorn 1's limits. He intended to finish the climb on foot—or rather, on legs—alone.
"If we can't make it over this, we won't get very far," Jin said.
The moment the words left his mouth, one of the legs slipped.
"Eek!" Sion turned pale. Jin only felt a slight surge of adrenaline.
The Capricorn 1 swayed for a moment, but it quickly corrected its balance and resumed its climb. An hour later, they finally reached the mountain ridge.
The summit was a white vortex where visibility was virtually zero. The external temperature gauge had bottomed out around minus 40 degrees.
"Land 1, any issues?"
"None. There are no operational problems. However, the spikes on the soles are insufficient. They work well on ice, but they cannot grip fresh snow effectively."
"I see..."
In mountaineering, people used metal claws called crampons or eisen to prevent slipping. However, they were less effective in deep, fresh snow, where tools like snowshoes or traditional kanjiki were preferred.
"I should have designed the feet with adjustable surface areas or retractable claws..."
It was too late for such modifications now. Since stopping risked the vehicle freezing over, they decided to have lunch while maintaining their pace.
"I'm so glad we get to eat warm food this time," Sion remarked. She remembered being miserable on their last journey, where they had lived off nothing but portable rations and preserved goods.
The Capricorn 1 pushed on as they ate. Soon, they began the descent.
"Stay sharp. I've heard the descent is often more dangerous than the climb."
"Roger," Land 1 replied curtly, continuing his cautious piloting. He sought out the gentlest slopes possible.
In this desolate, blizzard-wracked land where directions meant nothing, they were only able to keep their bearings thanks to the support of Sky 1 and Falcon 1, who were monitoring them from high above the clouds.
"Use the force generator immediately if things get dangerous," Jin commanded.
"Yes, Master."
Thanks to careful route selection, they descended smoothly without any accidents. As the incline leveled out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"If we keep heading north, we'll hit Lake Chikaguwa, right?"
"Yeah, that's what they said," Sion replied. "But will it be safe?"
"What do you mean?"
"The lake is going to be frozen solid in this temperature. If snow piles up on top of it, won't it be impossible to tell where the ground ends and the lake begins? If we walk onto the ice, won't the weight break it and send us plunging into the water?"
"We'll be fine," Jin assured her.
"How can you be so sure?"
"The lake surface will be lower than the surrounding land and perfectly flat. It should be obvious. We'll be careful, though."
"I see..."
As he spoke with Sion, Jin noticed that Saki was unusually quiet.
"Saki, is something the matter?"
"Huh? Oh, I was just lost in thought..."
"About what?"
"Well, after talking with Alectas-san and seeing what he had to show me, a question popped into my head..." Saki began slowly. "What exactly determines the strength of a material? Let's use metal as an example. What makes one stronger than another?"
"Interesting question."
"...Is it density?" Elsa offered. Indeed, adamantite, known as the strongest metal, had a remarkably high specific gravity of 19.3.
"No, if that were the case, gold and lead should be much stronger than they are," Saki countered. Gold had a specific gravity of 19.3, while lead was 11.3. Iron was only 7.9 and copper was 8.6.
"Oh, you're right."
"Exactly. Density isn't the deciding factor..." Saki's expression grew serious again.
"Heh, you really did have a long talk with Alectas, didn't you?" Jin teased.
"Hmm? Yeah, he's incredibly knowledgeable."
"I knew it. Saki, you've got a father complex."
Alectas appeared to be in his early forties, making him roughly the same age as Saki's father, Toa, who was forty-two.
"A father complex?" Saki repeated.
"Jin-nii, what is a 'father complex'?" Elsa asked, tilting her head. Sion didn't speak, but she looked equally curious.
"A father complex... or a father-con... is when a girl likes her father so much she can't quite seem to grow independent of him."
"Wha—!" Saki's face flushed bright red.
"Mm. Saki-nee might really be a father-con," Elsa agreed.
"I-If you're going to say that, then what about you, Elsa!?"
"Elsa is probably a brother-con," Jin suggested.
"Brother-con?"
"The brother version of the same thing."
"Oh... but... that might be true," Elsa admitted. She had started to deny it but gave in almost immediately, showing her own self-awareness.
"Then what about you, Jin?" Saki shot back.
"Me? I wouldn't know."
"Oh... sorry." Realizing that Jin was an orphan with no blood relatives, Saki felt bad for the question, assuming he was immune to such familial attachments.
"No, it's fine..." Jin gave a wry smile, considering he had been the one to start the topic.
The mood turned a bit heavy for a moment, but Sion broke the silence.
"Still, Jin, you really are soft on girls," she noted bluntly.
"Mm. I agree," Elsa chimed in. "Especially little girls."
"Th-that's... well, maybe a little," Jin stammered.
"Do you just like younger girls?" Elsa pressed.
"Wh-what are you even saying?" Jin was now thoroughly flustered.
"What do you call that then? If we're abbreviating like father-con and brother-con... would it be a sister-con?" Sion asked.
"Ugh."
Thanks to Sion, the heavy atmosphere had vanished, but Jin wasn't sure if this was an improvement. He gave a strained laugh, trying to think of a way to defend himself.