Vivienne’s narrative continued.
＊ ＊ ＊
Trying to clear a vast expanse of snow... in a situation like that, the utter lack of workspace makes the task incredibly difficult.
First, they needed to clear away enough snow for just one golem to stand.
Fritz pondered the problem, and then he realized something.
To the west of the town of Rockgo flowed the Great Divide River. Even in the depths of winter, its waters did not freeze.
Fritz had a flash of inspiration: they could simply dump the snow into that river.
"Alright, let's deal with the snow on that riverbank first."
If it was only an area of about two meters square, he could manage it himself.
The method Fritz chose was fire-attribute magic.
"Fireball!"
Fritz was also a magi, and he was capable of using fire-attribute magic. Under the heat of his Fireball, the snow melted away in an instant.
However, Fritz continued to unleash his Fireballs in rapid succession.
In conditions like these, simply melting the snow wasn't enough.
Melted snow turns into water, which then refreezes into ice. Sometimes, ice can be even more of a nuisance to deal with than snow.
So, Fritz kept firing until the water had completely evaporated.
His efforts bore fruit. A patch of riverbank with a radius of about two meters was cleared of snow, revealing the soil beneath.
"Alright, one golem, descend!"
He deployed the first of the golems he had brought along.
The golem began shoveling the snow from the riverbank into the Great Divide River at a staggering pace. Within minutes, a ten-meter square area had been cleared.
"Good. All golems, descend!"
Watching from above, Maquina decided that Fritz could handle things here and flew off toward another region.
"Hmm, as expected of Fritz-dono. We shall deploy our golems as well!"
Having seen Fritz’s actions, Gloria was impressed by his logical approach and decided to lend her assistance.
The ten golems quickly cleared a space on the riverbank measuring roughly one hundred by two hundred meters. Finally, the two airships were able to touch down.
If the airships couldn't land, then not only Fritz and his team, but all the subsequent units would be unable to unload their relief supplies. Securing an airfield was a critical objective.
"Fritz-dono, that was a magnificent plan."
The captain, Fritz, and the vice-captain, Gloria, were finally able to meet face-to-face on the ground.
With that accomplished, they moved to the next phase.
First, they had to carve a path from the riverbank of the Great Divide River to the town of Rockgo. They needed the most efficient way to do it.
Once again, Fritz came up with a brilliant idea.
He would have the golems create giant snowballs.
The current snowfall was wet and heavy, making it perfect for packing. Fritz ordered the golems to pack the snow into balls and roll them into the river.
"Oh, I see! Fritz-dono, you are quite clever."
Gloria expressed her admiration.
The golems formed massive snowballs, some as large as three meters across, and rolled them until they could be dumped into the river.
By rolling the snowballs, the snow was naturally compressed. Since compressed snow takes up significantly less volume, the amount they could move in a single trip was vastly superior to hauling loose powder.
Thanks to the labor of the ten golems, a path to the town of Rockgo was completed in just two hours.
The town itself was buried in the white abyss, with not a soul in sight. Or rather, no one could get out.
If the snow had fallen during the day, it might have been different, but because it had come down in a sudden deluge in the middle of the night, the residents had woken up to find themselves trapped in their own homes.
From that point on, things grew even more frantic.
Equipped with the snow shovels they had brought, the golems began clearing the roads and the roofs of the houses simultaneously.
It was only then that the residents realized help had arrived.
"Oh, we're saved!"
"Now the house won't collapse!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The townspeople shouted their gratitude one after another. They had truly been on the brink of disaster.
Some houses had partially collapsed, but because the residents had moved to other floors or rooms beforehand, there were no casualties.
Fritz called out to the survivors.
"If any of you have the strength to spare, please help us shovel!"
In response to his call, the young and fit among the townspeople stepped forward in droves.
With their help, the snow-clearing work progressed at a blistering pace.
Through their collective effort, by the time the sun began to set, they had cleared the roofs of every house and half the roads in town.
Even though it was only half the roads, it was enough for people to move freely in and out of their homes.
"After this, we have food aid scheduled to arrive."
Fritz’s words put the residents' minds at ease.
Even if the town itself was cleared, no food could be transported as long as the main highways remained blocked.
However, having a means of transport like an airship changed everything.
True to his word, a special detachment from Avalon arrived the following morning to deliver food.
Eventually, the snow stopped, and patches of blue sky began to peek through the breaking clouds.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...And so, like that, Fritz-san saved not only Rockgo, but other towns like Denzana and Tox as well," Vivienne concluded her tale.
"I see. That makes perfect sense. Thank you, Vee," Stearena said, nodding in satisfaction.
"Mm. Ani-sama did his best."
Elsa was also pleased to hear of her brother’s heroism recounted as a story.
"Snow is a terrifying thing. If you live in a land where it doesn't normally fall, you tend to get careless," Sion remarked.
"I'm planning to develop a snow-clearing magi-device," Marikka added.
"That sounds wonderful. I'd love for you to let my husband help you with that," Elsa said.
Marikka waved her hands frantically in a display of extreme humility.
"N-N-No! Having Jin-shama help me with something like that would be far too much of an honor-mashu!"
She had stumbled over her words spectacularly.
"Oh, were you talking about Fritz-san and Gloria-san?" Lishia Fahlheit asked, joining the group. "It sounds like Gloria-san is finally getting married."
Hailing from the same Klein Kingdom, it seemed she had caught wind of Gloria Allstatt’s recent news.
"Oh? Is her partner Elsa-san's brother after all?"
Lishia nodded at Vivienne’s question. "Yes, of course."
Elsa confirmed it as well. "...I heard that Ani-sama will be marrying into her family."
"Ah, that makes sense. Gloria-san is an only daughter," Lishia noted. Having been taught by Gloria during her time as an apprentice ritter, she was somewhat familiar with the instructor's family situation.
"I believe they both received permission from their home countries last year."
"I see... and where will they live?"
"Since their station is at Avalon, I heard they'll be given their own building there."
"I see. That's a good arrangement."
The two had been drawn to each other for a long time, and it seemed they had finally reached their happy ending.