Published: August 15, 2025
“Phew… It’s cold again today.”
It was a day near the end of the year, with less than a week until the New Year.
A severe cold wave had descended over Gimul Town—no, the entire region of the duchy of Jamil.
Thanks to that, heavy snow had been falling continuously lately, forcing me to head into town even before dawn.
I was glad that long-distance teleportation magic using stone slime as a marker had become available.
As I trudged through snow piled up to a child’s waist, pressing down with homemade snowshoes, I truly appreciated that convenience.
Ah, there it was—the familiar gate of Gimul Town. On either side stood two guards on duty. They seemed to notice me and waved without hesitation.
“Good morning!”
“Morning!”
“Cold again today, huh!”
My pace was slow because of the snow, but I greeted them loudly as I finally reached the gate.
“Thanks for your hard work today.”
“It’s tough every day.”
“This snow and cold really take a toll.”
We exchanged small talk as I showed and had my ID checked.
“All right, you’re good to enter. By the way, you’re doing that thing again today, right? We’ll help you prepare.”
“Thank you. That helps a lot.”
“Haha, it’s us who are grateful.”
“Helping out warms us up a bit too.”
They joked, but it was clear they genuinely wanted to warm their bodies.
I was grateful to have their help.
I immediately took out the necessary tools from the dimension home.
“It’s cold every day, huh? Some of our aqua slime evolved into ice slime because of this cold.”
“Aqua slime is that water-type slime, right? I’m not an expert, but isn’t it just frozen?”
“Many people say that, but it seems to be different.”
From prior experiments, aqua slimes are resistant to temperature changes, but they had mixed reactions to severe cold that could freeze their bodies. Those that liked the cold consistently showed an affinity for ice-type mana. Furthermore, only those that favored ice mana transformed into ice slimes even when in the same environment. This suggested it wasn’t just freezing from the cold.
“Oh, by the way, do you think we could get more of those rubber anti-slip attachments for shoes you donated the other day?”
“Huh? They’re commissioned by Morgan Trading Company, though.”
“Well, word got around among the security guards that these rubber – or whatever you call this material – anti-slip devices are great. They sell out as soon as they arrive.”
“Most accidents lately are caused by snow, or ice and mud created because of it. Some adventurers seem to have the gear for snowy mountains, but regular folks don’t have that kind of equipment.”
“Ah…”
It was what you’d call a “special demand.”
Until now, this region had a more temperate climate in winter. This cold wave was abnormal weather for the townsfolk, who hadn’t prepared for snow like this. Shops wouldn’t stock many items that usually don’t sell well. Even if they had some, it was a minority.
On the other hand, I had learned by chance about the cold wave’s arrival through conversations with the gods. So I sent information to relevant organizations and made preparations. Among them, Morgan Trading Company was the quickest to act. Whether they learned it from somewhere or not, Mr. Serge, the head of the association, started moving right after I informed him about the possibility of the cold wave.
Thanks to that, the development and mass production of winter gear like the rubber anti-slip shoe attachments accelerated with new factories and personnel. Sales at stores also picked up rapidly.
The small boat being assembled right before me was one such project.
It was inspired by a boat I rode in the Fatma Territory. The rear of the boat had a barbecue or camping stove, and atop it, a stockpot with metal tubes coiled around it was installed. This kind of boat was simply called a “pop-pop boat.”
Not the old steam-engine kind, but like those used in science experiments or old toy boats.
Further, filter slimes were put inside two metal tubes extending from the rear of the boat. Ash slime was laid inside the stove with charcoal placed on top and lit. Finally, by magically creating enough water to fill the stockpot with aqua slime and the tubes, preparations were complete.