Jin saw Citran in the kitchen of Martha's house and remembered last year.
It was early summer, when it was getting hot. Jin was going to build a refrigerator to store food, but he gave up the idea because he had no way to go back to Horai Island yet and he did not have enough materials.
But now.
"Well, it's not enough to make everything convenient, is it?
Although no longer a wanted man, Kaina Village may not be too conspicuous.
"What should we do ......?"
Jin went outside and looked at the spring-colored mountains.
The snow had already disappeared from the lower mountains, but the higher mountains in the distance were covered with a perpetual blanket of snow.
"Snow, or ......, yes!"
Jin asked Hannah, who was eating a bowl of citran and returning it to the diner.
"Hannah, does it snow in this village?
"What?"
Hannah, who had just put a bowl of citran in her mouth, looked puzzled, not understanding the meaning of Jin's question.
"Brother Jin, you have to listen to me more carefully.
Erza chided her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Hannah, I wasn't here in the middle of winter, so I don't know how much snow falls in this village in winter..."
This time Hannah seemed to understand.
"Well, it doesn't snow until the first of the year. But it snows in February and March. The snow in March melts quickly, but the snow in February doesn't, so it's a big problem.
The March snow melts away quickly, but the February snow doesn't, so it's a big problem.
Jin was there until the end of the year. He did not see any snow on the ground, but it seemed to fall in a certain amount at the beginning of the year.
"But this year," he said, "everyone said that the snow was easy to come by because of the bear that Onii-chan made for us.
Jin's idea was solidified when he heard that it was going to snow enough to require shoveling.
"Okay. <
"Yukimuro?"
Erza, who was standing beside him, asked back.
"Yes, a snow chamber is a hole dug in the ground and filled with snow to store food. Snow is stored in winter and used in the hot summer. It's just a lot of work, and you don't need any money.
Elsa is impressed by the idea.
"What a great idea. Is that from my brother Jin's world too?"
"Yes. We'll have to get permission first. Hannah, I'm going to the village headman's office.
Jin said to Hannah. Hannah nodded. Erza sat down next to her.
"Okay, have a good trip.
Erza and Hanna saw him off, and Jin headed for the village chief's house. Reiko followed him silently, but her face broke into a smile when she saw him looking so happy.
At the village headman's house, the ladies of the village had gathered.
"Jin! A souvenir? Thank you!
"They look delicious! I'm going to eat it with my kids right away!
Don't leave some for your husband, okay?
"I know!"
They were all in a lively mood. Then Giebeck, the mayor of the village, said,
"What do you want, Jin?
What can I do for you? Jin told him that he wanted to build a snow room.
"Hmm, a snow room. We have been burying vegetables and other things in the snow to preserve them while there is snow, but you say we should make active use of it. Certainly, it would be helpful to be able to preserve them during the hot summer months.
"Jin, you should definitely make some! Meat doesn't keep well in summer!
"Of course, gin! I can count on you.
Not only the village head, but also the ladies there agreed with me, so the only thing left was to choose a place.
The snow would melt and turn to water little by little, so a well-drained place or a low place in the village would be preferable.
After some discussion, we finally decided to build it in the open space where the wheat silo is located. This is because it is convenient in terms of food management. Also, the drainage would be good.
"Okay, Gon, Gen, Reiko, help me."
"Yes, Father."
So Hitoshi went to the square where the pantry was located. It was on the east side of the village, on a very gentle downhill slope toward the forest.
Jin decided to use the southernmost empty space as a snow shelter.
"Dig a hole like a shelter here" he instructed Gon and Gen.
Gon and Gen have already done this work once before, so they can handle the job quite well without having to give detailed instructions.
Since this is not a rocky area, they can work quickly.
Reiko assisted me with digging magic to widen the hole.
Jin strengthened the walls of the hole by hardening.
With these coordinated efforts, the snow chamber was completed in less than two hours.
The passageway runs diagonally toward the basement, and the snow chamber itself is about the size of two elementary school classrooms.
The floor is made of masonry to improve drainage. Water seeped into the ground through the gaps between the stones.
The floor is about 3 meters below the ground level and has a good insulation effect. In addition, the soil that was dug out of the ground was piled up on top, which will also increase the thermal insulation effect. It would be even better if grass grows in the future.
"That's good. We will install the magic lamps later, but the most important thing is the snow.
The snow that fell in the village of Kaina this year has already melted.
"We'll have to bring it from the mountains. ...... No."
No. Why don't we just magically produce snow?
Then Elsa and Hannah came along.
"Hey, honey, what did you make for breakfast......?"
"Hi Hannah. It's that time already. Let's go home. I'll explain on the way.
So Jin left the Yukimuro and headed for Martha's house. On the way, he explained the situation to Hannah in a way that was easy to understand.
"Well, we have to store the snow. It must be nice and cool! We'll save some food there!"
"Yes, that's right. "Yes, we will. Next year we'll fill the village with snow. But it's too late this year. ......"
Jin glanced at Elsa.
"?"
At first Erza did not understand what he meant, but then she realized that he was trying to get her to think, and she twisted her head to think.
Then, when Martha's house came into view.
"Okay. I can make snow magically appear.
He said the correct answer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After lunch, Jin asked Martha and Hannah to gather the villagers in the cellar square.
The villagers, who had not heard Jin's words earlier, were tilting their heads.
"Hey, hey, hey, Jin, what's this?
It was lunchtime, and the villagers who had returned to their houses gathered around to hear that Jin was up to no good again. After confirming that most of the villagers had gathered, Jin began to explain.
"This is called a snow chamber," he said, "and we fill it with snow. This is called a snow chamber, and the snow remains even in summer. That's where we store food that is easily damaged.
Even with such a simple explanation, the usefulness of this method seemed to have been conveyed.
"Wow! That's great! Meat spoils easily in the summer, that's why we have to dry or salt it.
"But you know, there's no snow this year. You're not going to tell me you're bringing it from the mountains, are you?
Hitoshi laughs and replies.
"No, I won't. Next year, I'll ask you to gather the snow that falls in the village and pack it up for me. ......
Jin then looks at Elsa.
"Elsa?"
"Yes."
Elsa extends her right hand toward the snow chamber,
"<>"
She casts a spell. It is an intermediate level water magic. It is also an elementary ice magic (derived from water).
With the chant, snowballs fly toward the snow chamber. The source of the water is a nearby stream, so there is plenty of it.
"Oh!
"Wow!
I've never seen that before!
That's Jin's sister! And she's pretty too!
"What does beauty have to do with it?"
The villagers, seeing her, were all in awe of her. Not a single one of them was averse or in awe. This is also because they are accustomed to Jin's out-of-standardness.
Incidentally, Jin cannot use this kind of offensive magic (except with bracelets). He can only use < to cool down an overheated object, or to produce ice.
The ice is not suitable for digging a hole and pushing food into it, since ice can only produce ice, and to impress the villagers, Erza was made to do it.
Thanks to the extra magic stored in the bracelet, the snow chamber was full in about five minutes.
"Okay, that's good. Erza, thank you.
Jin thanked Erza as he had Gon and Gen shovel the snow.
Then he told the villagers,
"Now the snow room can be used anytime. You may put in what you want to cool. But be sure to close the door.
"Oh, all right! Is there anything else I should be aware of?
"Yes. Well, since you are in a hole, the air quality may be poor, so be careful. If you feel like you are suffocating, get out of the hole immediately.
Jin was thinking of placing an auxiliary golem for the time being as a countermeasure against the lack of oxygen. He would make sure that the health of the people who entered was taken care of, and he would also help them with the loading and unloading of food.
"Okay. I can use it now, right?"
"Yes."
"All right! Let's get all the free men together and go hunting for mountain lions!
said Rock, the older brother of the men.
"Let's keep the booze cold so we can have a drink when we get back!