Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 69

Chapter 69.

Worrying about Clare and Leon would have to wait—the immediate task was restoring Acorn Village.

The blizzard had passed, but its marks remained everywhere.

Some fences had collapsed under the strong wind, and several roofs had lost their planks. Broken branches and snowdrifts blocked the paths, and the weight of the snow had left the storage shed's eaves dangerously tilted.

Fortunately, the village's terrain had helped deflect the storm, and our preparations had minimized the damage.

Only Eve House and the greenhouse were completely unscathed.

We all took shovels and cleared the paths, while Marcus and Nathan began repairing the broken fences and roofs with hammers and saws.

And so, we returned to daily life.

The restoration took longer than expected, but luckily everyone was quick.

Nathan and Jack grumbled as they repaired the damaged houses, while Charlotte climbed up and down ladders to fix the roofs.

Marcus worked on the fence repairs.

As time passed after the blizzard, the outside temperature had risen a little—though it was still minus thirty degrees during the day.

Logan and I went out for fishing and hunting.

Easier said than done—venturing outside in minus-thirty-degree weather was no small feat.

We first gathered winter gear from the storage shed next to the greenhouse.

Thick fur clothing, windproof coats, inner gloves and leather gloves layered over each other, scarves wrapped around our faces, and fur hats pulled down over our ears.

Logan looked me up and down, then silently tightened my scarf once more.

"Don't loosen it if you get short of breath."

"Okay."

"Tell me right away if your fingertips go numb."

"Mm."

As he watched me, the corners of his eyes softened.

Huh?

Then, as if it had never happened, his face returned to its usual blankness. I'd never seen that expression before.

Did he just smile with his eyes?

What was that mischievous eye-smile?

I wanted to linger on it, but Charlotte approached.

"You two are leaving now?"

Reluctantly pulling away from Logan, I nodded at Charlotte.

"Take care of the village—and Chippy too."

Charlotte nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry about us—worry about yourself. Be careful if you have to spend the night in the forest."

To make our hunting and fishing trip worthwhile, it was better to spend a night or two outside.

"Don't worry—I've brought plenty of Winterstones."

Marcus, Jack, and Nathan all came out to see us off.

I packed my ski gear, while Logan loaded the sled with hunting bows, traps, fishing lines, an ice axe, a thermos, dried meat, and spare gloves.

Just in case, we also brought a small portable stove and oiled cloth.

After saying goodbye to the villagers, Logan and I left the village together.

We moved along the forest path, combining hunting with travel. Both of us wore skis.

Logan wore a harness, with a long pole connecting it to the cargo sled behind him. The pole—not a rope—was to prevent the sled from crashing into him on downhill slopes.

The skis glided over the deep snow, and the cargo sled followed behind with a soft shush.

The forest was eerily quiet.

Only the sound of wind through branches could be heard—no snow hares, no bears, not even a single bird.

The blizzard had been a disaster not just for humans, but for all life in the forest.

I looked around and muttered,

"It's too quiet."

Logan, thinking the same, scanned the snowfield in silence.

"But there must be some hiding somewhere—like the humans in the city."

We wandered through the forest for a while longer, but found little.

In the end, we gave up hunting and headed for the sea.

From the forest to the coast was still a long way on skis.

After pushing through tall fir trees for some time, we finally reached the sea.

Fortunately, the sea was different from the forest.

Life still moved beneath the ice.

"Since we know we can fish here, let's find shelter for the night first."

I nodded at Logan's words.

We needed to find a place to spend the night before sunset.

We traveled along the coastline for a while longer.

Logan checked the wind direction, alternating his gaze between the snow-covered cliffs and the forest.

"Let's go into the forest."

"Because caves are too risky?"

"If they're damp, they'd actually lower your body temperature more than the forest."

"The sea?"

"The sea wind is too strong."

"As expected—you catch on fast. The coniferous forest is much better."

Logan smirked and nodded.

I enjoyed how easily we communicated. I had my academic knowledge, but Logan had practical experience born from countless past lives.

"Yeah—let's head to the forest."

"...Follow me. I know a good spot."

Logan turned without hesitation, and I followed.

After a while, he stopped at a spot where three massive fir trees stood in a triangle, almost completely blocking the wind.

He pointed and said,

"This should be a good spot to spend the night."

His tone was odd.

"You've been here before, haven't you?"

"Somewhere around the eighth life, I think."

He meant before his regression.

We first checked the area for monsters or wild animals—though there was naturally none.

Then Logan set down the cargo sled and picked up a shovel without hesitation.

He cleared the snow within the chosen campsite, revealing solidly frozen ground.

"We start from the bottom."

He didn't explain further, but I understood.

"We're laying down branches, right?"

"Right—thickly."

Logan looked up at me—as if seeing something surprising.

"Before, you never had this kind of awareness... you really have changed a lot."

"Maybe it's because the Winterstones gave me confidence? My knowledge was always there."

"...Maybe."

I glossed over it and spread the gathered branches tightly across the ground.

Logan pulled a thick waterproof tarp from the sled—actually a cut piece of old sailcloth. It had withstood decades of sea wind and wouldn't budge even in strong gusts.

Thankfully, Brian had donated it to Acorn Village.

Logan spread the tarp on the ground and secured the corners with wooden stakes and rope.

Finally, it looked like a livable space.

It wasn't a perfect shelter, but with Redstones, it was enough to survive a night that could drop to minus sixty degrees.

If we had just one more thing—

I gathered dry pine twigs, and Logan pulled out a flint from his belt.

After a few strikes, a small spark grew into a red flame spreading through the firewood.

Thanks to the fir trees blocking the wind, the flame didn't flicker much.

We also placed Redstones around the tent.

On top of the branches, we laid thick wool, then blankets.

Only after all that could we finally lie down and rest.

It was incomparable to the night we'd spent in the tunnel when the ice age first struck.

Whoosh—

The wind howled outside the tent.

"Eve."

Logan called me and pointed at Pipi, who was dozing by the fire.

Crackle— crackle—

The baby bird was nodding off in front of the burning fire.

So cute.

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