ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (1)

What Awaits at the Bottom of the Snowfield?

"Let's stay here for the night. We'd better set up our tent as soon as possible before we can't get out."

Lieutenant Leontchev, who was moving from the BTR-D to the SM100S, advised to halt the journey.

"...Indeed."

Wajima nodded at his suggestion. The other surveyors, including Murata, did not seem to object.

"Then, Wajima-san, please prepare the cold weather tent. Let's camp here tonight."

In response to Murata's decision, Wajima instructed the personnel waiting outside the SM100S to set up a tent for cold weather. Leontchev also flew similar instructions to nine Russian soldiers under his command. The members of the unit, who are used to working and training in cold and snow-covered areas, quickly set up the tents under the cold weather.

The temperature was -17 degrees Celcius at the time. At night, it was expected to get even colder. The survey team from the three Rotom governments, who were not equipped with adequate cold-weather gear, would have risked their lives even to make it through the night. After dinner, the 28-member expedition team wrapped themselves in warm clothes and went to sleep in the SM100S and in the cold weather tent.

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Next day

11:00 Local Time

The next day, as dawn broke and the snow stopped falling, the survey team was once again moving forward over the seemingly endless white land.

"...It should be visible above the horizon by now," Ryoei Yatsuki, one of the surveyors, mumbled as he looked through his binoculars.

He is referring to the Lime settlement, which has been confirmed by satellite photos.

"...! Murata-san, look!" he exclaimed.

What he spotted through his binoculars, the others could see in the distance. An unusual amount of haze was rising from the horizon over a small hill in the direction of 12 o'clock.

Murata and Leontchev got off the vehicle to take a look at the haze. They proceeded for about 400 meters over the snowfield and went over one small hill to see what the haze was.

""...!""

What appeared before the two of them was something that should not have appeared before them.

"That's... a volcano!"

Murata looked through the binoculars and exclaimed in astonishment. About 30 km from their location, he could see an exposed rock surface and a large amount of steam rising from it. The steam was generated by the evaporation of the snowfield due to the heat rising up from the bottom of the earth, and by the eruption of geysers. The large amount of rising steam could be seen over the hill.

"How funny... the Grassall volcanic area is directly in front of us!"

The survey team is currently heading for Lime settlement, which is supposed to be located in a straight north-northeast direction from the village of Papanikolau in the Cattleya Branch. In contrast, the Grassall volcanic area is located approximately 310 km north of Papanikolau Village. Therefore, if they could see the volcanic area from their eyes, which had already traveled nearly 280 km in the north-northeast direction, they would have to travel 90 km in the north-northwest direction to see the volcanic area.

"Our course is a little off..."

Murata then used his walkie-talkie to contact the SM100S driver.

"...heading north?"