It became hotter and hotter each day. Exposed under the blazing sun, the City of Beastmen was as hot as a city of fire—even the air was dry from the heat. In some spots where it was really hot, one could indistinctly see the air moving.

Irina even managed to use a black rock that had turned scalding hot under the sun to fry a bird’s egg; it turned out to have a distinctive flavor.

However, it was still rather cooling inside the house. The thick-walled stone house was very effective at keeping the heat out. Especially within this towering castle, it was cool as autumn. Irina had been staying...