The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 16
“No, it’s that temperamental squirrel too. You seem to have a knack for handling animals.”
Now that he mentioned it, I had to admit it was a bit strange.
That temperamental squirrel acted like a sociopath, yet it followed my orders well and even hunted down Goldstone for me.
“That is odd, now that you say it.”
Both men turned to look at me at the same time. It was a gaze I couldn’t quite read.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You and Peepee just go well together.”
At Marcus’s words, Logan—who’d been watching me silently with his arms crossed—nodded in agreement.
“You’re both like snowflakes. Identical.”
Peepee was perched on my head, and this little creature had such impressive balance that it wouldn’t budge no matter what.
After giving up on shaking my head, I glanced sideways at Marcus.
Marcus pulled his gaze away from me and turned his head toward Harry.
He stared at Harry for a long while.
“Does that satisfy you?” I asked.
At my question, Marcus let out a soft laugh.
“No. Still unsatisfied.”
That made sense—in Marcus’s case, there wasn’t really any revenge to speak of.
It had been nothing but one-sided hatred from the other side.
“I’ll feel satisfied once I see Charles get his comeuppance too.”
……?
“Why?” I asked.
At Marcus’s question, I burst out laughing.
“No. That’s just more like you, Rutherland.”
At my words, Marcus laughed along and tapped the top of my head.
Meanwhile, I cast my gaze toward Logan, who was disposing of Harry’s body and gathering the unconscious members of the Ruffian Gang in one place.
Hmm.
“We got what we wanted, but we didn’t find the Key, did we?”
“That thing probably has it.”
At Marcus’s words, I asked with a more serious expression.
“Are we really going to end up seizing the Ruffian Gang’s headquarters?”
“I think it’s doable. I’ve got infinite confidence in this guy now.”
Marcus placed his hand on Logan’s shoulder as he spoke.
“And he has Healing, so what’s there to worry about?”
Logan shrugged off his shoulder, and Marcus’s hand, which had lost its perch, now pointed to Peepee on my head and me.
“And there’s fire too.”
He was referring to the power of the Redstone I’d absorbed.
Of course, I had not just the Redstone’s power, but the Goldstone’s as well.
“What do you have, senior?”
“I’m just a bonus that needs to be there.”
“Great. An unnecessary bonus is hard to get rid of. Your service is terrible.”
“Wow. The junior’s way of speaking is starting to sound like this guy.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Making idle chatter like that, we tidied up the store.
More accurately, we stuffed weapons into our possession.
“Ow! Hey, Chatwind. Stop stepping on my feet, would you?”
“Work on your agility. You served in the military—how are you moving so slowly?”
I heard Marcus and Logan bickering off and on, but I was too busy gathering weapons to pay close attention.
Chirp!
Just then, Peepee spotted something and flew off somewhere.
Peepee was fluttering about in front of the counter.
“What’s over here?”
I looked around the counter area, but I couldn’t see anything.
Frustrated, it seemed, Peepee pecked at my head once with its beak, then landed on the floor and tapped the counter’s bottom repeatedly.
When I pressed that spot with my hand, it rattled.
“Eve, be careful,” Logan said.
Logan and Marcus had come to my side without my noticing and were watching the scene unfold.
I gave a quiet nod and lifted the floor up.
There, beneath it, lay another Winterstone.
A pink Mana Stone—a Pinkstone.
Was it because I’d never seen this type before? It didn’t stand out to my Detection Power, so I had no idea it would appear suddenly here.
“The Weapon Shop owner hid something like this in the floor? What on earth is it?”
At Marcus’s muttering, I shrugged and pointed beneath the floorboards.
“Look carefully. Doesn’t it look like a naturally occurring mineral?”
That’s right.
Winterstone was a mineral that formed naturally in various places around the world. It usually appeared underground or in damp locations.
The mineral clung so firmly to the floor that it seemed like we’d need a pickaxe or something similar to mine it.
The moment I grasped the Pinkstone in my hand, Logan stopped me.
“Eve, let me do it….”
Of course, before he could even finish speaking, I simply yanked the Pinkstone free and tore it out. Or rather, I should say I shattered its base.
The Pinkstone’s base broke off very easily. And cleanly at that.
“How did you do that?”
At Logan’s question, I shrugged.
“I think it’s because I absorbed an additional Goldstone. I can feel it. I’ve gained strength.”
“What kind of special property does this have?”
Marcus asked, pointing at the Pinkstone. I recalled what I knew about the Pinkstone’s properties.
“It seemed to have a health recovery function. It probably also has an immunity enhancement function. And I think it had a property that temporarily eliminated hunger….”
“How do you know so much, junior?”
“Ah, well. I have Foresight.”
“I thought as much…. Wait, what?!”
Logan always made a troubled expression when I spoke of foreseeing the future like this, or when I acted like I knew a lot of information.
He had been continuously trying to keep me from getting entangled in any danger, but I would feel conflicted too if I were in his position.
But my reason for doing this was ultimately the same purpose as his. It was to ensure that I didn’t die and that Logan wouldn’t fall to darkness.
Logan protected me for my sake, and I moved forward for Logan’s sake.
We were a funny couple.
In any case, I left the Pinkstone with Logan, and we left the Weapon Shop.
Unlike Harry, the people we’d merely knocked unconscious were quietly laid out in the attic. So they wouldn’t die.
“Will their sense of loyalty be strong enough for them to grow angry at Harry’s death and harbor a desire for revenge against us?”
At my question, Marcus tilted his head in confusion.
“These are men without loyalty. But when it comes to revenge, they’re more tenacious than anyone else. So they might come.”
We decided to lure the remaining Ruffian Gang to Acorn Village.
It would be more advantageous for us to deal with them within our Home Ground, after all.
Honestly, now that I’d obtained all the Goldstones they possessed, I had no further business with the Ruffian Gang, but it seemed better not to leave loose ends.
“Once Charles is dealt with, the people who’ve been held captive by the Ruffian Gang will be freed safely, right, Marcus?”
At my question, Marcus nodded.
“Once Charles dies and the leadership collapses, the people there will be released. There’s a leader capable of guiding the captives out.”
Good. So really, we just need to deal with Charles.
If Logan and I are going to continue living here, it would be best to deal with these gangs that threaten public order.
‘I value peace, after all!’
Just a few months after the Freeze Event hits, Rosebrook becomes a slum under the grip of these gangs.
It turns into an incredibly dangerous crime zone.
We couldn’t leave it like that.
If we’re going to keep surviving here, it seems we need to clean up the city.
In any case, we postponed “Key” to another time and returned to Acorn Town.
The moment we arrived at the village, the sun had completely set. It had been an exhausting day.
“That Chippy is so ill-tempered!”
Jack Harper, who greeted us with his hair practically torn out, began complaining about how brutally Chippy had worked him in the Greenhouse.
While we were away, it seemed the squirrel had put him through quite the ordeal. A squirrel the size of a pea bean certainly knew how to work efficiently.
After giving Jack a thorough scolding, I found the vegetable garden in the Greenhouse had become immaculately tidy.
However, there was one unexpected problem: Chippy was wary of Peepee.
Squeak! Squeak!
Cheep-!
The cranky squirrel bounced around on the ground throwing a fit, while the plump chick flapped its wings, egging the squirrel on.
I sat at a table in the Greenhouse and quietly watched the two of them bicker while sipping tea with the others.
Peepee competed with Chippy, Logan competed with Marcus, and when Logan’s aide arrives, will he end up competing with Jack?
Hoo—
I laughed as I leisurely drank my tea.
Peaceful.
“So, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now.”
Just then, Marcus broke the silence.
Marcus swept back his blond hair with a neat hand and sipped his tea with such elegance that he seemed to defy his own class anxiety—he carried more refinement than I did.
Of course, his next question was entirely lacking in that same grace.
“How did you two end up getting married?”
“Sir, what are you saying? ‘End up’? That’s not how people talk about marriage.”
Truth was, Logan and I did have our reasons. They were simply different from those of ordinary couples.
Caught off guard, I glanced sideways at Logan.
He showed no sign of disturbance whatsoever—as though a topic beneath discussion had been raised.
Then again, for him, our marriage probably wasn’t even a topic worth debating.
It had been too obvious a choice.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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