Gerda tearfully buried the completely inedible burnt fish in the snow, then pulled a steaming bowl of beef soup from her backpack.
"Sometimes I'm really curious... do you have some... I mean, don't you like being comfortable?"
Warming himself by the crackling fire, Sterling enjoyed the steak Gerda had pulled from her magical pack.
Every Avalonian possessed "Origin Magic", regardless of whether they were wizards or had magical talent.
Though Gerda hadn't studied magic, with her Origin Magic's support, she could accomplish what most real wizards couldn't. Venturing deep into snowfields without logistics support.
Her Origin Magic, 'Explorer', created a portable space where time stood still, large enough to hold half a city.
When departing to find her sister, she'd mobilised royal finances, nearly filling the space with supplies and food... Sterling felt these provisions could sustain her in the snowfields until natural death.
Under extremely favourable living conditions, no less.
But Gerda disliked completely relying on Origin Magic. Except in absolutely necessary situations like now when she had nothing to eat, she basically kept this space sealed away.
It was only for pursuing her sister. Otherwise, storing emergency supplies would count as serious preparation for her.
"Gathering supplies yourself is an indispensable part of adventure life. If all resources were prepared, what difference would there be from tourism?"
Gerda spoke righteously... Sterling felt she had a point. Since she enjoyed it, there was nothing to be done... Though Sterling suspected this might not be the whole truth.
Because Avalonian Origin Magic inevitably corresponded to one's deepest desires. Gerda necessarily harboured wishes only realisable through this magic.
"So, have you found any trace of Queen Kai?"
"Of course!" Unexpectedly, Gerda nodded readily. "That person may be my sister. She might fool others, but definitely not me!"
"I'm currently en route to her ice castle... probably another half-month's journey? Really, I don't know how she ran so fast..."
Gerda couldn't explain what clues led her to determine Queen Kai's location, only attributing it to sisterly telepathy. Sterling found this more trustworthy.
After all, this was Avalon. One couldn't think with present-world logic. Intuitive feelings and sensing held far more power than calm analysis.
"Have you encountered Black Mirror Kingdom knights?"
Gerda's expression instantly grew grave. Of course she couldn't forget those overwhelming knights. They even reminded her of locusts she'd seen in history books.
"I avoided them. The Black Mirror Kingdom and the Snow White Kingdom never had good relations. I don't think they come with good intentions... Probably targeting sister."
"Right, supposedly the Queen wants to seal Queen Kai."
"The Queen?!" Gerda was shocked. "Did the Queen herself leave the Black Mirror Kingdom?!"
Sterling didn't understand such a strong reaction. "No, is the Queen very frightening?"
Though people mentioned Maleficent with fear, that stemmed from instinctive awe of the powerful. Only those who provoked war truly felt terror.
Gerda's eyes were filled with fear.
"That's good, that's good... Though the Queen never left the royal city after I was born, when Mom and Dad were alive, they constantly used her to frighten me and my sister..."
Gerda patted her chest and sighed in relief.
Her peripheral vision caught what seemed like a wriggling snow mass beside Sterling. Knowledge flashed through her mind like lightning. She immediately pushed out a long wooden board from her space, shoving Sterling from his position.
The next second, a lively, adorable snow fox emerged from that snow mass, wagging its tail coquettishly.
"Ah... Gerda, you overreacted..."
Sterling stood rubbing his stomach. Though the snow was soft, the board hitting his belly was quite real.
"This is that snow fox that lured you away, right? It actually came seeking warmth by itself..."
"Don't touch it!" Gerda hastily stopped Sterling's movement, pulling out a crossbow aimed steadily at the snow fox.
Sterling obediently withdrew his hand and cast Protego on himself. He knew Gerda wouldn't act without reason.
Sure enough, seeing Sterling move away, the snow fox that had been licking its fur suddenly erupted. It leaped high, bringing chaotic blizzards swirling into a vortex...
The vortex erupted, releasing a familiar snow monster with thunderous roars.
"This snow monster learnt to disguise itself?!"
Sterling transformed ground snow into a large pile of stacked shields to resist the monster's heavy punches, then rolled away from it.
Running was possible, but Sterling enjoyed rolling in snow... It was even faster than running!
"Yes, originally snow monsters spontaneously born from snowfields lack intelligence, but since Black Mirror Kingdom knights entered the plains, they seem to have become frenzied... Even developing techniques like mimicry and cloning."
Gerda hastily stuffed everything into her space, then pulled out a thick fur cloak, calling Sterling to flee together.
She was just an explorer unskilled in combat, lacking a wizard's power.
"Sterling, can't you create a sleigh? Though you can't make dogs, sliding should be faster than running, right?"
"I can make them now!"
Sterling immediately concentrated on casting. The snow monster, sensing magical flow, threw a solid snowball twice Sterling's size from afar.
But before reaching Sterling, Gerda side-kicked it to explosion.
Explorers naturally had nimble legs.
"Hurry! I think it's almost time!" Sterling felt dizzy. His present-world body was about to wake. This body projected to Avalon would soon disappear.
Gerda immediately jumped onto the sleigh. Five snow dogs howled excitedly. Accompanied by the snow monster's unwilling roars, a broad trail was left in the white snow...
"Whoo-hoo! Sterling, your magic level improves so fast! You're almost as good as Sister."
"Your sister is the youngest great wizard... She just came of age, right?"
"Still somewhat different..." Gerda lowered her eyes, recalling everything that happened at Kai's coronation.
If possible, Kai would probably rather give up this magic.
"Ha... Gerda, I can't hold on much longer..."
Sterling grew drowsy. Sleeping in Avalon meant awakening in the present world. Of course, the Avalon body would directly disappear, becoming a mass of misty light points.
"Then sleep. You'll help me, right? When do we find Kai? I'm just a powerless explorer, you know?"
"Of course... Good night, Gerda..."
"Good night, Sterling."
Gerda watched blue-pink light points slowly drift skyward, suddenly slapping her forehead.
"I forgot to give him the compass pointing to the Snow White Kingdom royal bloodline!"
This compass only pointed to the "underage" royal bloodline, so it couldn't help her find Kai. Only help Sterling locate herself, still a year from adulthood.
Gerda pulled out the compass and placed it in her cloak, ensuring she wouldn't forget when next meeting Sterling.
Sterling would have instantly recognised the engraved words on the compass: 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
The final "e" was written with a flourish, like a greedy raven.