The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 6

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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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Chapter 6
“Then a monkey slapped your cheek, and you grabbed its tail. It was the fiercest fight I’d ever seen.”
I think I lost.
“I thought you were interesting. I figured watching you wouldn’t be boring.”
“But why did you pretend not to know me all this time? At the academy, you acted like you’d never heard my name before.”
“That was…….”
Logan trailed off for a moment.
“……I figured you’d bite my head off if I started a conversation.”
“You thought I was some kind of beast?”
Logan burst into loud laughter. It seemed to be a joke.
I remembered those childhood years as clearly as if they’d been yesterday, even though I had no memory of them myself.
There seemed to be some secret he hadn’t quite voiced yet, but I didn’t press him further.
Talking and laughing like that, I lost track of time entirely. Our conversation proved far more enjoyable than I’d expected.
I was beginning to regret we hadn’t grown close like this sooner.
“The sun’s already up. We’ll need to wait another hour or so for the geothermal temperature to rise.”
Logan pulled out a pocket watch to check the time, then spoke. It was already past noon.
I rose from where I sat, feeling an inward pang of reluctance, and began pulling on my clothes.
Fortunately, the winter clothing had dried thoroughly by the fire overnight.
Throughout the night when he’d stayed close beside me, Logan hadn’t once let his gaze wander below my neck, and now as I rustled into my garments, he had the courtesy to turn away.
Soon Logan dressed as well, organizing his equipment and pack.
“The tunnel doesn’t get sunlight, so it’s colder inside. Once we head out, it’ll probably warm up to around minus thirty degrees.”
Logan retrieved a thermometer to check the current temperature, then stowed it back in his pack.
‘He carries useful tools.’
If I’d thought of novels before the Collapse, I would have prepared as thoroughly as Logan. What a shame!
And finally, when afternoon arrived, Logan and I left the tunnel in earnest and made our way toward Rosebrook.
[Welcome to Rosebrook, the harbor city.]
As we walked, I spotted a signpost marking the entrance to the city district.
Entering the city gates, the empty streets were blanketed with snow as far as the eye could see.
There were traces of footprints, but snow continued to accumulate even over them.
Rosebrook was a sizable city.
I’d always passed nearby by carriage or automobile, but this was my first time actually visiting Rosebrook.
Just then, Logan withdrew a map from his pocket. It was a map of Rosebrook.
I sidled up next to him to examine it.
Rosebrook was divided into seven administrative districts.
The Upper District, the Residential District, the Commercial District, the Central Market District, the Central Plaza, the Harbor District, and the Naval Military Facility.
And there was one more area not included among the administrative districts.
It was the Forest Zone.
Though it bordered the sea, it lay some distance from the harbor of the city proper—a region thick with dense woodland.
I’d heard there was a village abandoned there due to frequent attacks by fierce beasts…….
“Eve, have you heard of Demon Village?”
I nodded at Logan’s question.
“You mean the urban legend of Rosebrook? I’ve heard of it. The small village in the southwest, down in the lowlands, right?”
Logan, who’d been keeping watch of his surroundings as we walked, slowly nodded at my question and spoke.
“There’s a legend that flowers surrounding that village emit a cold aura even in early spring, freezing everything that comes near it.”
Ah. Hearing that triggered my memory.
It was such a famous urban legend that quite a few novels had taken it as their subject.
Demon Village was a tiny settlement with only about eight houses. Of course, no one lived there now, so they’d all be ruins.
I added what I remembered.
“I heard the village headman and all the villagers suddenly vanished one day. The doors to every house were locked, but there were no signs of forced entry inside, nor any evidence that the owners had left through the door. That’s what I’d heard, anyway.”
Logan nodded at my words.
“Right. There’s also a story that even if someone managed to get into one of those locked houses by luck, no one ever came back out. Especially since no one could find it if they tried to search for it, there’s a rumor that the village chooses who it lets in.”
“But bringing this up suddenly—does that mean the shelter you’ve prepared is in Demon Village?”
At my question, Logan glanced over at me.
“Did you see it in a hallucination?”
“……I guess so. The scene just came to me out of nowhere.”
“That’s right. The legend about the cold aura freezing everything in early spring applies only to the outer boundary of the village. The interior is completely different. Actually, the inside of the village maintains a constant temperature year-round.”
I nodded.
Through repeated Regression, Logan had explored various survival methods. Demon Village was a shelter he’d discovered and used starting from his ninth Regression.
I examined Logan’s map again. To figure out our route.
“Logan, this is it, right? The Forest Zone. So if we’re in the Upper District now, we just need to pass through the Residential District.”
“It’ll take a bit longer, but before we go, I think we should check out the Central Market District and the Harbor District too.”
“To secure survival supplies?”
Logan nodded, studying me as if surprised I’d guessed right.
“I guess the future version of me was more passive.”
“……It varied each time, actually.”
Then again, it would be stranger if my personality remained identical across all ten iterations.
If I’d known my feelings toward Logan beforehand, perhaps our fate would have diverged far earlier.
There had been a time, after all, when I cared for him.
‘What’s the point dwelling on the past?’
I shrugged and spoke.
“Come on, then. Let’s go secure those supplies.”
* * *
The underground wartime council chamber of the Granden Kingdom.
The air inside hung thick and suffocating.
Tremors had been felt through the stone walls for some time now.
Rumble—
Another sound of collapse echoed from somewhere in the distance.
A map of the capital city, Abrivden, lay unfolded across the long oval conference table.
Missing zones.
Collapsed zones.
Uninhabitable zones.
Someone’s trembling hand drew another black line across the Southeast District.
“The Southeast District has been confirmed as completely collapsed.”
Whispers and sighs rippled through the room, their source unclear.
An officer in military dress continued, his face drawn.
“The scale of the avalanche and landslide is far too extensive. The defensive walls surrounding the city have been buried entirely.”
“Survivors?”
King Aldric asked quietly. The officer fell silent for a moment.
Tension settled over the chamber.
The officer swallowed hard before speaking again, his voice measured.
“No survivors have been confirmed at this time.”
The candle flame wavered.
Despite several coal stoves burning in the underground chamber, the cold lingered. White breath curled from every mouth in the room.
Even so, conditions here below ground were better than outside.
The Minister of Finance spoke up, his voice shaking.
“We’ve just received a report from the Meteorological Observatory……The temperature outside the capital has moderated to negative thirty degrees, apparently because the sun has risen.”
Intakes of breath sounded from all directions.
Last night it had been negative sixty. There was no cause for relief.
“But it’s early spring, isn’t it?”
“This is no mere natural disaster. It’s a calamity. A calamity.”
Murmurs spread through the room.
King Aldric stared down at the map, his face drained of color and rigid with shock.
The underground chamber had no windows, only a ventilation shaft.
And yet it was freezing.
The cold seemed to be seeping in even beneath the Royal Palace now.
“What are our coal reserves?”
“Ten days at most.”
“Food supplies?”
“Even with rationing, we cannot last beyond a month.”
“The military?”
“Frostbite damage among the soldiers is severe. Outdoor patrols are impossible.”
Silence fell, broken only by the flickering of candles.
King Aldric swept his gaze across the assembly, his face heavy with care, and made his decision.
“Humanity is finished. The Granden Kingdom is abandoned.”
With Aldric’s declaration, the air in the chamber froze.
These were words no king should speak.
“Everyone present will move immediately to the Southern Underground Shelter.”
The Southern Underground Shelter was a state secret known only to the king and a few select officers. Not even the crown prince knew of it.
“Your Majesty! There may still be citizens alive out there……!”
“We are now in a wartime situation.”
Aldric cut the conversation short, his voice sharp and final.
“The number of people who can survive is limited.”
The whereabouts of Prince Aiden remained unknown, but Aldric chose to assess the situation with cold clarity.
Special Contribution∥ The Harbor City of Rosebrook
It is said that the Harbor City of Rosebrook contains an ‘Ice Age Research Institute.’ Yet no one has ever actually laid eyes on this facility.
Some have argued that the institute has been designated a military classified zone, with access and records strictly controlled against outside interference.
Of course, the truth remains unverified.
Setting aside the question of whether the ‘Ice Age Research Institute’ truly exists, the academic community largely agrees that the Harbor City of Rosebrook ranks among the cities with the highest survival potential in the face of catastrophe.

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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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