The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 61

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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 61
I turned to look at Nathan. But he was already being supported by Marcus as he descended the brick wall ladder.
“Let’s hurry.”
I urged Logan forward and followed them down the ladder.
Of course, we still faced one more obstacle.
We managed to descend from the wall safely, but by then the town had already entered the path of the storm.
We had no choice but to slip into a nearby house. It was currently abandoned.
The moment we shut the door, the shrieking wind outside was somewhat muffled, but what filled the interior was a suffocating silence and a biting cold.
Marcus glanced around and spoke.
“Damn it. There’s barely enough firewood here to last even a day, let alone four. And no food either.”
That made sense—we’d planned to gather at Eve House together and survive the four days there, so all our supplies were concentrated in that location.
The other houses had been reinforced against the storm, then maintained with only minimal provisions using Goldstone and Redstone.
That was when a solid, warm presence enveloped me from behind. Logan draped his coat over my shoulders and pulled me into his arms.
“We should gather everyone in that room over there.”
Logan pointed to one of the chambers.
Having weathered countless disasters before, Logan was naturally adept at responding swiftly.
The problem was that he seemed reluctant to deploy that skill for others.
I thought quickly.
Unfortunately, we’d concentrated the Redstone in Eve House and the Greenhouse, so we had only a few pieces.
There was a way to use the Redstone within my own body, but simply radiating heat to warm the entire house would be inefficient.
Besides, I hadn’t yet tested whether I could sustain that power for four days, so I wasn’t confident.
It seemed better to first find ways to manage without the Winterstone, and use it as a last resort.
“That’s a good idea, Logan. It’s harder to maintain warmth in a large space.”
At my answer, Logan opened his mouth as if he’d been waiting for it.
“Right. Pooling the body heat of five people in one place increases our odds of survival.”
“Next, we should insulate the space. Don’t you think, Logan?”
“Mm. There are quite a few gaps that need sealing. We’ll need cloth or wool.”
“Ah, then what about using curtains or carpets? We might need to strip off the wallpaper too.”
As Logan and I continued discussing the room’s layout, I felt eyes on me. When I turned, I saw three people staring at us with bewildered expressions.
“You two handle this quite skillfully.”
“You could say it’s like an occupational habit.”
I answered briefly, then realized my explanation was insufficient and added more.
“Isn’t this precisely when we put what we learned at the Royal Academy to use? Logan and I were the top two graduates.”
“I was also the second-ranked graduate of the sixteenth class.”
“Senior, my specialization is focused on this field.”
“Ah. Winter ice research, was it?”
“Northern Glacial Environmental Change Studies.”
“……What?”
Just as I expected—no one gets it right the first time. It was Logan who was the strange one for getting it on the spot.
I shrugged and clapped my hands lightly.
“We can explain the rest after the storm passes.”
I smiled and spoke.
“So for now, action takes priority over questions. Everyone, please move quickly. First, collect everything that can block the wind—carpets, curtains, blankets, anything like that.”
Fortunately, the house we’d taken shelter in was a single-story manor. So there weren’t many gaps to seal.
We sealed all the gaps on the first floor and then blocked every crack in the small room where we’d be sheltering.
As I stared quietly at the room’s ceiling, Logan asked.
“You’re worried that warm air will rise to the ceiling?”
“How did you know?”
I asked, then recalled something.
“Ah. Have you dealt with something like this in another life?”
“Not here. There was a similar situation in Rosebrook.”
So that was it.
“What are you two talking about? I have no idea.”
Marcus interjected then, so I smiled wryly and changed the subject.
“Senior, you know warm air rises, right?”
Marcus raised his eyebrows with interest. I continued explaining.
“Most of the heat we generate in this room will gather up there. And it’ll escape through the ceiling gaps.”
“So you’re saying we should reinforce the roof first? Junior, we don’t have time for that.”
“We simply don’t use that space.”
That was when Logan stepped in.
“A room within a room, then.”
I clapped my hands together.
“Exactly right. Curtains, carpets, bedsheets, tablecloths—whatever you have will do. Block up the gaps and gather the leftover fabric to build a low tent in one corner of the room.”
Nathan interjected this time.
“Ma’am, I’m not entirely following. You’re constructing something like a temporary ceiling? Gathering all those fabrics?”
“That’s right.”
Nathan stroked his chin, turning my words over in his mind, then spoke.
“Rather than heating this entire room, you’ve judged that having five people huddled together under the tent will preserve far more warmth.”
“Logan’s aide shows his mettle.”
At my words, Nathan’s face brightened with evident satisfaction.
Was he truly that pleased? I couldn’t fathom it, but his expression was so overflowing with joy that I hadn’t the heart to tease him.
So I made one more request of him.
“Ah, and if you can find a shovel or an axe, that would be wonderful. Would you look for one?”
“Yes! Of course!”
While Nathan spun around and began rummaging through the house, Marcus approached and asked me.
“Younger sister, the shovel and axe—what for?”
“I mentioned that warm air rises, didn’t I? So where do you think the cold air goes?”
“Downward?”
“Precisely. That’s why I want to create an even lower space. We’ll dig out the center of the floor with the axe and shovel.”
Nathan, catching wind of our exchange, glanced over with an expression of admiration.
He looked almost proud of me. Then his eyes shifted toward Vincent.
‘What’s that about? Did Vincent slight me somehow?’
But even if he had, I wasn’t one to lose sleep over Vincent’s disdain.
That was when Logan spoke.
“You’re building a Cold Storage Chamber.”
“Exactly. If we excavate lower ground beneath where we’ll be staying, the cold air collects there. Then even in the same room, the felt temperature will be dramatically different.”
“You’re not driving the cold away—you’re trapping it.”
“Right. More precisely, we’re sinking it down.”
I turned my gaze back toward the window. Outside, the snowstorm battered the walls with relentless fury.
“Younger sister, I’m genuinely curious about something.”
Marcus spoke up then.
“What is it?”
“What on earth do you two talk about normally?”
I felt a little embarrassed and scratched my cheek, glancing sideways at Logan.
Come to think of it, ever since the collapse, we’d mostly discussed the future or how we might survive.
“Not much, really.”
“No, I already knew you were clever… but does everyone who majors in Northern Glacial research become an Ice Age specialist like that?”
“Northern Glacial Environmental Change Studies.”
“Northern Glacial Environmental whatever studies. Right, anyway.”
“Well, since my older brother was also a teaching assistant, family influence didn’t play no role. But time is pressing now. We should move.”
Right then, Logan returned with the axe and shovel.
I clapped my hands and shifted the mood.
“Our guard captain should focus on recovering. But I’m afraid we’ll need you to keep helping, Nathan. We’ll try to treat Vincent’s wounds ourselves.”
Nathan’s injuries weren’t severe—most had already healed thanks to Pipi.
But Vincent’s wounds were significant enough that we’d need to use a Pinkstone.
“Ah, yes. I’m fine now, so I’ll help. What should we start with?”
Nathan rose from his seat with a bewildered expression.
From that moment, we moved with perfect coordination.
Special Report: Snowstorm Case Study
In a snowstorm, people instinctively seek fire, but what truly determines survival is the management of air.
Warm air rises; cold air sinks.
Snow Caves and Igloos evolved by utilizing this principle to separate living spaces from cold layers.
In extreme cold, designing a space where heat can linger is far more efficient than generating greater heat.
<Copyright asserted under the Granden Kingdom Newspaper Association Terms of Use. Copyrighted© Eve Lania Everhardt>

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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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