The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 72

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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 72
Chapter 11. Rowell Company Amusement Park
Still, we were fortunate to return to Dotori Village within two days.
And Marcus’s first words upon seeing Luka were,
“So you two had a hidden child all this time……?”

“Could we have?” I replied.
Marcus laughed at my answer, deadpan as always.
“Right, right. I thought maybe time just flew faster for everyone but me.”
Everyone laughed at that.
I led the nervous-looking Luka to the Greenhouse.
A gruff squirrel who’d been carefully tending the crops in the beds scrutinized the child thoroughly.
The creature even clasped its paws behind its back and circled around Luka from top to bottom, examining him with the air of some cantankerous inspector. Truly pedantic for a squirrel.
Presently, Chippy planted himself in front of the boy, tapped his shoes experimentally, and nodded.
Did that mean he was barely old enough but had at least passed muster as a worker?
In any case, once Chippy—the gruff squirrel—had given his approval, we were able to seat Luka at one of the Greenhouse tables.
“That squirrel is…….”
“Ah. He’s the guardian of this Greenhouse. His name is Chippy. He likes having his name called.”
“That’s only for our junior here, though,” Marcus grumbled from the side.

I shrugged and introduced the boy to the residents of Dotori Village in turn—Logan and myself, then Marcus and Jack, and finally Nathan and Charlotte.
“Um, what… what do I need to do?” Luka asked, his voice tight with anxiety.
A brief silence fell. Then the adults exchanged glances and laughed in unison.
Charlotte reached over and patted the boy’s shoulder.
“All a child needs to do is eat well and grow strong. That’s your job.”
Luka’s face registered surprise at Charlotte’s answer.
“Really? That’s… that’s all?”
“This won’t do. Holts, why don’t we show our friend here around the village? We can help him pick a house, too.”
Nathan nodded readily at Charlotte’s suggestion, as if relieved to have something to do.
‘Now that I think about it, once Claire and Rion arrive, every empty house will be filled.’
My joy was short-lived, however.
“Is anyone there!”
A shout rang out from beyond the village boundary.
“What? Someone’s come to the village?”
“There doesn’t seem to be anything amiss. This doesn’t look like a hostile visitor.”
I rose from my seat, listening to Jack and Nathan’s exchange.
Soon everyone followed me outside.
The massive iron gate at the entrance stood shut fast, and Logan and I opened the small window cut into it to peer out.
Beyond lay a single man in thick winter clothes, standing quietly beyond the fence.
A large pack hung from his shoulders, and his hands were clasped visibly in front of him.
He bore no weapons.
“Who are you?” I called.
The man caught sight of us and bowed respectfully.
“I’ve brought an invitation.”
An invitation?
For a moment I doubted my ears.
He spoke with the casual tone of an ordinary mailman on any given day. That made it all the more suspicious.
It was daylight now, which meant the temperature outside was surely thirty degrees below zero.
For a man to walk here alone through such weather to deliver an invitation was profoundly abnormal.
“An invitation from whom?” I asked.
At my question, the man produced a thick envelope from his pack as if he’d been expecting it.
It was sealed with deep navy sealing wax.
A golden balanced-scale emblem was stamped clearly into the seal.
Strange—I could sense the aura of Winterstone emanating from that envelope.
“The representative of Rowell Company extends a formal invitation to the village chief and his spouse of Dotori Village.”
The man offered the envelope with both hands, respectfully.
How on earth did Logan and I become the village chief and spouse of Dotori Village?
‘With “Rowell Company” attached to our titles, we really do sound like some rustic old couple from the countryside.’
The man continued then:
“He asks that you attend the evening banquet four days hence.”
.
.
.
The visitor from Rowell Company was named Felix.
We had given him one of the guest houses that had just finished renovation work, and let him rest there.
On the way, Logan had locked all the doors and windows, which startled him at first, but he graciously accepted the precaution for safety’s sake.
Fortunately, Felix had agreed without complaint to stay quietly inside the house.
Everyone except Charlotte, who had shown Luka home, gathered chairs around the greenhouse table and sat close together.
I couldn’t understand why we kept meeting in the greenhouse when there was a spacious chapel that could accommodate everyone.
If this kept up, I’d have to move a larger table here.
Chirp-chirp!
Apparently irritated by the crowd, the temperamental squirrel was in a full huff.
Squeak.
That’s when Pipi, perched on my head, suddenly took flight and pecked Chippy on the head with his beak.
It seemed Pipi was just as annoyed by the squirrel’s foul mood.
“Does anyone here know anything about Rowell Company?”
My question was really directed at one person in particular. Sure enough, Marcus—who had been resting his chin on his hand, studying the invitation thoughtfully—answered.
“Rowell Company…. It’s not just the name I know. I’ve crossed paths with the owner several times before.”
Everyone’s attention turned to Marcus.
“Before the Ice Age, it was one of the most prominent trading houses in Rosebrook. In terms of scale, it didn’t match Rutland Enterprise, but when it came to eastern logistics and warehousing, they were unrivaled.”
Marcus paused, lost in thought, then flipped over the invitation to check the address again.
“That’s strange.”
At his murmur, I tilted my head and asked.
“What is?”
“The Rowell Company representative’s mansion was in the Upper District. My townhouse is there too, which is how I know—but the entire Upper District turned into an ice forest in the early stages of the Ice Age. When I escaped, it seemed unlikely there would be anyone still alive there.”
Marcus paused, then continued.
“More than that, this address isn’t even in the Upper District.”
Marcus tapped his fingertip against the envelope once, twice, then his face brightened as if remembering something, and he pointed to the address written on it.
“Ah. I see now. It’s the amusement park.”
“The amusement park?”
“Before the Ice Age, it was the most popular destination for families on leisure trips. There were rides and a zoo.”
Logan, who had been listening quietly, asked with interest.
“Sounds like they’ve set up the amusement park as a shelter.”
Marcus nodded.
“That’s my guess as well.”
“Why not just ask him directly what his intentions are?”
Everyone agreed with my suggestion, and so we brought the postal carrier Felix with us.
Felix, who had bundled himself up meticulously with ear covers, winter clothes, scarves, boots, and gloves, stubbornly insisted on keeping his mail carrier’s hat and bag.
Now seated awkwardly at the greenhouse table, he broke into a cold sweat as our attention focused on him.
I asked him calmly.
“I hope you’ll forgive me for asking something that might seem presumptuous. However, I would like to know beforehand why your representative has invited my wife and myself.”
Felix, who had been sitting in confusion, finally calmed down a bit and nodded.
“We learned that it was Mrs. Chestwind who made the tidal wave at Rosebrook Harbor disappear. The representative wanted to meet with her.”
I wasn’t surprised, as I had already expected that someone else besides Aiden and Vincent had witnessed that scene.
“I see.”
‘This works out perfectly.’
I had been planning to go to Rosebrook Downtown anyway to search for more traces of Julian.
I wasn’t particularly concerned about the Rowell Company Amusement Park shelter.
My powers being exposed, or Dotori Village being exposed—neither seemed likely to threaten me the way Logan’s former lives had.
“The representative has proposed cooperation. At the same time, he also wishes to request assistance.”
“What kind of assistance?”
“That’s something you’ll need to see for yourselves. We have something unsightly at our shelter that we don’t know how to handle.”
Something unsightly…. That sounds ominous.
They didn’t seem to be hiding anything, and they really did appear to be asking for help.
Yet something continued to nag at me.

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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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