Editing Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter 9 (section)

===Part 2===

The outer walls of the Snow White slides open, resembling a massive, blooming flower, pretty and regal.

Cradles are being escorted out like newly hatched eggs inside the white storage units of the flower. The eggs are being transported out for about ten meters, and arrive at the other end—Götz’s back. There is a latch installed on his back to move the Cradles that synchronizes perfectly with the magnets of the Cradle. The cables extending from the Cradle are attached to Götz’s chest. Thus, the preparation work is complete.

“First array, launching!”

Götz carries the Cradle easily as he climbs up the ladder of the wall. Looking down from the top, it appears that long and narrow eggs are climbing up the wall.

With Götz leading, the second villager follows suit. Thus, the villagers carrying the Cradles climb up one after another. About two hundred meters or so up the ‘path canal’, the ladder is directed sideways towards the ‘work tunnel’.

—No problems.

I watch the villagers advance as I gently put my hand before my chest.

—It’ll succeed.

There’s another twenty hours. Anything beyond that, and both us and the Cradles will die.

The thing most worrying here will be an earthquake. Of course, once a tremor is detected, everyone will receive an emergency notification. Each team has a spare battery, but even so, due to the uncertainty of the earthquake scale, nobody knows what will happen. We’re completely lost if there are massive earthquakes that cause the work tunnels to collapse completely.

—Oh Earth, please. Just remain peaceful for now.

I pray to the earth god as I wait for time to subside. There’s nothing we can do, and I can’t help but feel uneasy.

<strong>“This is Götz. Arrived at the first checkpoint have I!” </strong>

The first checkpoint is the entrance into the work tunnel.

“Right, going well! Listen, there’s still lots of time, so please be careful!”

<strong>“Understood!” </strong>

It has been fifteen minutes since the operation started, and more than thirty villagers have departed. Götz will take the lead, and Eisbahn follows at the end. Viscaria and I will not be participating, and will be giving instructions in the Snow White until the operation is over.

“How’s it going?”

I watch the screen next to Viscaria. There’s the underground world map with numerous lights moving up in a single line.

“Energy reactions are all normal. Going very well.”

“I see…thank goodness.”

The red lights continue to move forward in the underground well. The planned path has been imprinted into the Mind Circuits of the villagers, but there may be changes in cases of obstacles.

“Cradle A block, transport complete! Opening B block!”

“Understood! Keep going like this!”

I give the instruction, and with a rumbling sound, the second petal of the Snow White—the B block is exposed. The Cradles leaving the units are transported out, carried on the back of the villagers.

—Right, things are going well.

The Cradles are moved out in an orderly manner, and once we reach the surface, it will be a succeed—I can’t help but make an optimistic guess.

But,

Right when the seventy-third Cradle is being carried.





A siren rings.