February.

Winter walking on the ground is nearing its end.

And this time also happened to be the time when Ronald returned to Waterfall again.

However, unlike the expedition team when they left, a new member was added to them on the return journey - Nicole.

Because he was separated from his companions early when he was operating underground.

The young investigator did not return to Brunwich with the other investigators, but stayed with Ronald to help deal with the rest of the events on the Arctic continent.

It wasn't until it was all over that the journey back to civilization began.

So in the absence of urgency.

They had gone through the final journey, and at this moment they were walking on the way back to Waterfall, and finally saw people around.

Behind the expedition.

It's the North Pole, which has long since disappeared from view.

If I had to sum it up, it would have been a success, both for the members of the expedition and for Ronald and a few of his casters.

On the expedition team's side, guarded by an artifact such as the Peerless Sea Lantern, they naturally reached the extreme of the world smoothly all the way.

And Ronald and Nicole, after disposing of the last few predators isolated by Shirakawa, also confirmed that this dust beast was really completely locked in the seal, and there was no sign of awakening.

"Kostadt, we're almost there, aren't we?"

"When I saw people before, I didn't say I could get there right away!"

As the group returns to civilization from the cold tundra of the north, Nicole hears the sound of the rivers converging in front of them as they step next to a river that is already showing signs of thawing.

Nicole, who had heard of the fame of Waterfall for a long time, came to the spirit.

But the person she was questioning at the moment was not Ronald.

Rather, it was Kostadt, who had been in the line and seemed a little taciturn.

The investigator girl seems to be very interested in Ronald's maid, and for half a month along the way, she likes to pester Kostadt when she has nothing to do and communicate with him in all aspects.

According to Nicole's own words.

She liked Kostadt's taciturn, but very responsible, personality so much that she wanted to make friends with the maid.

For this case......

Ronald was very happy to meet.

Leaving aside the improvement of Nicole and Kostadt's relationship with such an exchange, this unique social response is a complete good thing just considering that the maid is now building her personality.

It's just that it's been more than half a month.

Although Costadt became more and more proficient in the way he interacted with Nicole, Ronald always felt that his maid seemed to be a little strange, and would make some very special movements when he had nothing to do.

Like before going to bed last night.

He even saw Costadt, who had just finished chatting with Nicole, returned to the tent and did not serve him to sleep immediately, but held his chin and looked up at the starry sky, as if he was pondering something very esoteric.

"Miss Nicole, we should be an hour or so away from Waterfalls."

"According to the previous plan, the expedition will return the bighorn deer to the feedlot and settle the employment fee with Mr. Guide. On our side, we need to go to the hotel to communicate, and the local newspaper will contact us to tell the story of the successful arrival of mankind in the North Pole of the world. ”

"Is that so......" Nicole nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry, I still have to trouble you with these things." Kostadt gave Nicole a rough introduction to the next plan of the expedition, and almost at the same time as the maid's voice landed, Giovanni, who was walking in front of the team, also said, "It's just that if I say it, I have to go to the government department to report, and I really can't get out of it in a short time." ”

The information revealed in the conversation between several people was actually arranged by Giovanni, the leader of the expedition.

After a month of getting along, the explorer already had a lot of trust in Ronald.

He was even willing to leave the task of contacting the newspaper to Ronald.

……

Kostadt's judgment of the distance was very accurate.

An hour later, the government center of Entrod came into view, and at the same time, the endless waterfall line appeared in front of everyone.

"Wow——!"

"This waterfall is too big, isn't it?"

The other members of the team were all from Waterfall City, and they were naturally not touched by the sight they had seen many times.

It's just that Nicole is the only one in the team who is a little different.

This young girl, who has been practicing mystical side spells with her teacher since she was a child, has traveled to many places in the world, but when she was growing up, Entrod was still at war.

Nicole's teacher, naturally, couldn't take her to this kind of place to increase her knowledge.

So when I saw this natural wonder in front of me, I saw the waterfall.

Nicole immediately couldn't suppress her excitement, and trotted out of the line and walked forward, wanting to change her perspective and enjoy the stunning natural scenery in front of her.

Seeing Nicole's excitement, the rest of the Expedition Crew only smiled.

On the way back, everyone understood what the young girl's personality was, so they were quite tolerant of Nicole's behavior of leaving the team alone.

“……”

Another few minutes passed.

By the time the team caught up with Nicole, who was running ahead, the investigator girl had already chosen a very good position, and at the moment sat on a rock, quietly looking at the waterfall in front of her.

"You're here?"

Sensing that her companions from the expedition behind were approaching, Nicole immediately got up from the rocks and patted the dust off her clothes.

"Seriously, this place does look amazing."

"There is absolutely no second place in the world today to see such a magnificent scene!"

Ronald also nodded:

"That's right, didn't you ask me about Waterfall before?"

"As you can see now, the city was built in a very cold area, so it caused a ...... for the local population as well Alas? ”

Ronald was about to introduce Nicole to the city in a normal tone.

As a result, looking at the scene below, there was only one beginning of the story, and it was directly stuck in the throat.

Because it's only a month.

The city built around the lake beneath the waterfall was a very different appearance than when he left.

To the southeast of the city, an entire city was in ruins.

There is no sign of human activity in sight.

It's as if ...... It's like there's just been a war!

"Entrod is worthy of a regime established in the midst of war!"

While Ronald was speechless, Nicole in the group didn't understand the change.

The investigator girl stood with her head on the spot, and commented on the city below in a very approving tone:

"Living in a place like this, I have the impression that ordinary citizens can't manage it at all. The managers of Entrode, indeed, have two brushes! ”