Flandre properly and thoroughly answered each of Patchouli's questions without a single complaint. Her rare appearance as a perfectly well-behaved, diligent student brought warm smiles to the faces of everyone else resting inside the carriage cabin.
Later that afternoon, after the vehicle successfully navigated past a rushing mountain stream, Hong Meiling suddenly let out a loud shout from the driver's bench outside:
"Wow! Is that Kjerag over there?!"
Hearing Hong Meiling's excited call, Flandre immediately popped her head out from the carriage window. She looked up toward the far horizon where Hong Meiling was pointing. In the distance, massive, snow-capped mountains stood abruptly and majestically above the flat expanse of the plains. The breathtaking sight of that continuous, endless range of towering peaks was truly refreshing to the spirit.
At this exact moment, Flandre understood a little better why the Duke of Caster in her memories had always coveted these snow mountains so intensely. After all, from a military standpoint, as long as one controlled that mountain range, it was completely equivalent to controlling the absolute high ground of this entire geographic region.
The carriage came to a gentle stop by the grassy roadside, and everyone stepped out onto the ground to admire the distant snow mountains together.
"It's so incredibly beautiful!" Letty's tone was filled with pure joy.
She had originally imagined that Kjerag was a tiny nation consisting of a single, isolated snow mountain—much like Mount Fuji—surrounded by ordinary low ridges. She truly hadn't expected it to be a vast, grand kingdom formed by an immense, unbroken chain of glittering, snow-capped peaks.
After admiring the magnificent scenery from afar for a short while, everyone climbed back into the carriage, and the vehicle began heading straight toward the mountains.
As the old saying goes, looking at a mountain can run a horse to death. Although those snow mountains looked as though they were resting just at the edge of the sky, they truly were immensely far away. The carriage traveled at a steady clip for an entire day, yet it felt as if they had only gotten a tiny bit closer to the foothills. Fortunately, the members of the group were all long-lived species, so they weren't particularly sensitive to the passage of days, nor did they grow impatient with the slow progress.
Over the following days, everyone traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping and starting as they pleased, thoroughly experiencing the quiet, rural charms of the Victorian frontier. Step by step, they drew closer and closer to those towering snow mountains.
"Do you feel it? The closer we get to the foot of these snow mountains, the more there seems to be a faint, ambient sense of heavy pressure hanging in the air?"
Standing at the absolute base of the grand mountains, Remilia finally spoke up, voicing her thoughts.
"Indeed," Hong Meiling chimed in. As a martial artist and an expert master of 'Qi,' her instinctual perception was naturally very keen. "When we were far away, I simply thought it was the natural awe caused by seeing such immense peaks. But standing right here at the foot of the mountain, this feeling has increased rather than decreased. Could there be hidden, powerful entities dwelling in this world too?"
She had felt this distinct pressure for quite a while, but since no one else had actively mentioned it, she hadn't felt it was her place as a gatekeeper to bring it up out of nowhere. Now that the Eldest Miss had explicitly highlighted the strangeness of the mountain air, she confidently shared her agreement.
"I know, I know!" Flandre raised both of her hands high into the air.
Hearing Flandre's lively exclamation, several pairs of eyes instantly turned to look at her.
"Let me think... it's called Kek..." Flandre tapped her chin, racking her brain.
"That's not right either," Flandre mumbled, before clapping her hands together happily as the correct memory surfaced. "I remember now! Kjeragandr! It's called Kjeragandr!"
"Kjeragandr? What exactly is that?" Remilia asked, tilting her head.
"I believe I have run across that name in a geographical text," Patchouli immediately recalled the information, explaining it to the group. "Kjeragandr is the ancient deity worshipped by the native people of Kjerag. Could it be that this local god is actually real?"
Flandre nodded her head with absolute certainty. "Kjeragandr is completely real! But she's a very good person. Letty will be very safe here, I promise."
The others turned their eyes back to Patchouli, waiting for her scholarly assessment. Patchouli recalled the specific lore related to the region and nodded in agreement. "Flandre is probably right. Based on the cultural records of Kjerag, this Kjeragandr belongs to the category of benevolent, protective deities. Furthermore, her legends and influence are strictly spread within these specific snow mountains. I believe she is likely the Earth Deity or a Feranmut of this region."
Hearing Patchouli's analysis, everyone, including Letty, let out a collective breath of relief. If that was the true nature of the entity, then the situation was perfect.
It was a well-known fact across worlds that mountain gods and earth deities were fundamentally neutral or kind spirits. As a Yuki-onna, Letty didn't need to harm or consume humans anyway; she only required her legend to circulate naturally in this cold area so that a steady supply of awe could be provided to sustain her existence. She wouldn't negatively affect the daily lives of the ordinary people living here in the slightest. Therefore, she wouldn't be targeted or rejected by the local mountain god at all.
However, they still intended to go meet this Kjeragandr face-to-face to see if she was personally willing to have another supernatural spirit living in her domain.
After arriving at this isolated mountain pass, they didn't plan to follow the standard, guarded roads to enter Kjerag. Of course, Kjerag didn't possess any well-maintained roads for entering or leaving Victoria anyway.
The group worked together, casting a series of protective spells to firmly secure the carriage and the Camel-beast before preparing to set off into the peaks. After all, there were dangerous wild beasts roaming everywhere in these foothills. If they didn't create a hidden, magically safe environment for their transport, it was highly unlikely that even a single scrap of the carriage would remain by the time they returned from the summit.
Having completed all their magical precautions, the group unfolded their wings and flew directly toward the highest mountain peaks.
"Where exactly can we find that Kjeragandr?"
Standing upon the frozen summit of a snow mountain and feeling the biting, cold wind howling past them, everyone turned their eyes toward Flandre.
"Why don't we go to the highest mountain in Kjerag first, which is also their official holy mountain, and then just call out to her directly?" Flandre suggested.
"That works perfectly fine!"
Following the practical principle of 'since we're already here,' the group soared through the freezing air toward the interior heart of Kjerag.
A few hours later, they caught sight of the majestic, towering peak known locally as Mount Karlan. Since there were numerous religious and historical buildings nestled around the slopes of this mountain, the group planned to make their final ascent under the complete cover of night. Otherwise, if a group of people were spotted casually flying to the holy summit during the broad daylight, it would easily cause a massive panic and political trouble among the locals. After all, they had come here purely to see if the environment was suitable for Letty to settle down, so it was naturally best to avoid any unnecessary conflicts with the residents.
The six of them landed softly on a deserted, snow-covered peak not far from Mount Karlan. Letty walked around the snowy ledge, taking a deep breath of the freezing air; she was immensely satisfied with the crisp environment. She felt that as long as the local mountain god's personal requirements weren't too excessive, she could happily accept staying here permanently.
Just then, every single member of the group felt a distinct, undeniable sensation of being watched from all sides.
"Is it that Kjeragandr?" Remilia scanned the empty surroundings, her eyes narrowing. She found that the mysterious presence was seemingly everywhere at once, infusing the very snow and rock, making it entirely impossible to lock onto a single physical coordinate.
Of course, if she asked Flandre, Flandre would tell her that the explanation for this strange feeling was incredibly simple: they were currently stepping directly on Kjeragandr's physical body.
Hearing Remilia's question, Flandre nodded her head to confirm it.
"Is it Lord Kjeragandr?" Remilia asked loudly, her expression polite and formal as she addressed the open air. "We mean absolutely no harm to your lands; we just have a small matter we would love to discuss with you. I wonder if we might be permitted to meet?"
There was no immediate response from the peaks, other than the continuous whistling of the freezing wind across the ice.
"What should we do now?" Seeing that Kjeragandr seemingly had no immediate intention of manifesting to meet them, Patchouli asked.
"I would like to try communicating myself, if I may?" Just then, Letty stepped out from the group, walking to the front of the ledge.
Seeing this, Remilia gracefully stepped back into the crowd, allowing her room. "Of course. We came all this way specifically to accompany you and see if this place is suitable for your future. Naturally, your personal will comes first."
Letty thanked her friends with a warm smile, walked forward to the very edge of the snowcliff, opened her arms wide, and gently closed her eyes.
The freezing mountain wind suddenly began to swirl and coil around her form in a harmonious, rhythmic dance. Flandre watched with great curiosity, observing the subtle shifts in the ambient snow.
After about several quiet minutes, the wind calmed, and Letty turned around to face her companions with a look of pure joy written across her face.
"I have successfully reached an agreement with that ancient being," Letty announced happily. "As long as I do not bring harm to the residents living within these mountains, I am entirely welcome to stay. She has even promised to kindly help me spread the legend of the Yuki-onna among the local villages."