#1318 Junior’s Adventure – Detour in the Sky 

I’m Junior, and right now, I’m flying through the sky. 

…Flying is way more exhausting than I expected. 
It’s freezing up here, and the faster I go, the more the wind whips me in the face. 

Did Dad always put up with this whenever he traveled on Sakamoto? 
He never looked like he was suffering… maybe he has some trick for it? 
I’ll ask him when I get back. 

Anyway… the scenery below looks like pepper grains. 

More importantly, where should I go from here? 

I could head back to the Human Kingdom and the Adventurer’s Guild, but since I’m already out here, I’m kind of in the mood to wander. 
I mean, I finally learned how to fly. I want to enjoy the freedom. Literally floating on air… and emotionally too. 

Wandering is fine and all, but where exactly am I wandering to? 
Don’t worry. 
I have an idea. 

—“Traveling the world will nourish your poetic spirit.” 

When I left, the Sage recommended a few famous spots. 
Apparently, Mt. Eternity isn’t the only mountain worth visiting. 

And since I can fly now, hopping from mountain to mountain is easy. 
So why not check out one of the Sage's recommended places? 

…And so, I flew for several more hours. 
It should be around here. 

Ugh. Cold. 
It’s noticeably colder than around Mt. Eternity. 

The altitude should be lower than Mt. Eternity’s peak, but the temperature is on a different level. 

There’s snow caked thick on the surrounding mountainsides. 
Powder snow that looks amazing for skiing… wait, is this just the kind of region this is?! 
A subarctic climate?! 

Ugh… this is bad. 
I didn’t bring any cold-weather gear. 

Even the Hand of Ultimacy can’t solve everything. 
If I keep getting blasted by this freezing wind without doing anything… worst case… I die. 

“Gwoooooooooh! Noooooooo!” 

That Sage dumped me into a death trap without telling me a thing! Being a Lifeless King, maybe he doesn’t feel temperature changes?! So he forgot to warn me?! 

Anyway, I need to do something! 
Make a snow shelter! …Crap, I accidentally made a cabaret club instead?! 

…No good. While I wasted time on nonsense, the subzero cold drained my body heat… 
My vision’s blurring, I can’t move. 
A wave of sleepiness hits me… 

Ah… Pochi the Hypercaon must be waiting for me back at the farm… 
Hey, Pochi, I’m tired. I’m really sleepy… 

And Yoschamo the chicken… and the earth spirits… and the Professor in cat form… 
And the bear monster, the horned Square Boars, and Desmas the giant crab from Manigol Cave…! 
And the deer. 
Wow, the farm really had a lot of animals…! 

…Okay, that’s too many! 
I know these are hallucinations at death’s door, but why are all the animals swarming me?! 

Gwooooh! I jolt upright, and around me is a snowy mountain. 
All those animals are gone. 

“…A hallucination, huh.” 

Hallucinations are terrifying. 
Nothing screams “imminent death” like the illusions you see on a snowy mountain. 

Forget it. Whatever the Sage wanted me to see here, it isn’t worth dying for. 
I’ll just fly again and bolt toward someplace warm. 

Here we go, Juwatch! 
Gheeeeeh?! 

What was that?! 
I was about to take flight, but then something yanked me back?! 
My momentum died instantly, and I dove head-first into the snow! 
Peh-peh-peh-peh-peh?! Cold! 

What grabbed me? 
I look around and spot… a deer? 

A deer? 
Why a deer? 

Now that I think of it, wasn’t there a deer mixed in with the farm animals in my hallucination earlier? 

But we don’t raise deer on the farm. 
They’re crop-eating pests. Even Dad gets mad when he finds one and yells, “Don’t screw with meeeeee! I didn’t grow those veggies to feed youuuu!” while chasing them out of the fields. 

So a deer wouldn’t show up in my hallucinations…  
Which means this one was actually real. 
Did it bite my pants right when I tried to take off? 

Why am I being stopped by a deer? 
I didn’t sign up to be a deer idol! 

“…What do you want?” 

The deer stares at me. 
Not with fear or curiosity, but something more complicated. 

While I’m frozen by its gaze, it suddenly turns and runs. 
Ran away? No, it stops a short distance ahead and looks back at me. 
 

Almost like it wants me to follow. 

“You want me to follow you?” 

I say it out loud. 
The deer faces forward again and runs farther away from me. 

So it really is trying to lead me somewhere. 
But I want to get out of this freezing place ASAP, so I ignore it and try taking off again. 

Juwatch! Bffh?! 

Back into the snow?! 
The deer that should’ve been far away is suddenly right behind me again, biting my pants. Fast! When did it get here?! 

Now it looks angry. 
It can’t talk, but the vibe is totally: “If you understood me, then follow! Don’t ignore me!” 

“Okay, okay! I’ll go! Stop biting me! And stop poking me with your antlers!” 

Why do I have to obey a deer out here in the mountains?! 

Fine, I’ll follow. 
Just don’t drag me around too long; I’ll literally freeze to death! 

Ignoring my worries, the deer keeps going. 
All I can do is chase after it… or well, more like chase its butt, given my angle of view. 

“Gfheh?!” 

Why did it headbutt me again?! 
What is your problem?! 

After being led around for nearly an hour, I notice something strange: ever since I met this deer, I haven’t felt cold at all. 

Did my sense of temperature die? Full-body frostbite? 
Or maybe I’m already dead and dreaming while my real body freezes on the mountain? 

Terrible thoughts pop up, but they all dissolve soon enough. 

It looks like we’ve arrived. 

“What is this…?!” 

Another place that doesn’t feel real. 

Everything around me is white, pure white. Not snow. A blinding white, like light filling my entire vision. 
Is this heaven? 

Then the ones who greet me are— 

“Happy welcome!” 
“Welcome to the Overground!” 

What the?! 
A crowd suddenly erupts in celebration?! 

Why a crowd?! 
This is a snowy mountain! 
People don’t just gather here in huge groups— 

Wait, no. Not people. 
I grew up on the farm; I can sense it. 

These are gods! 

An aura fundamentally different from humans. 
Air so pure it hurts. Nothing human could radiate this. 

And I even recognize a few faces among them. 

Someone who seems like their representative steps forward from the group. 

“Well met, son of the Saint! We gods joyously greet thy visit to Mt. Olinpus!!” 

…Huh? 
Mt. Olinpus?