It has been a while since a consecutive release.
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For them, it was fortunate enough that they no longer had to fight a dragon. Duke Geliones looked at King Karsel and offered him a respectful bow.
“I have understood Your Majesty’s intentions, so we shall take our leave now. Though we were unable to form an alliance, it is not our wish to maintain an uncomfortable relationship with you. In that spirit, please accept these gifts. I ask that you understand our desire to preserve friendly relations.”
He was indeed a man worthy of serving as the prime minister of a nation. Though the situation had not unfolded in his favor, Duke Geliones spared no effort to ensure that the other party would not harbor ill feelings toward Terbia. Inwardly, of course, his rage was boiling over.
“Well, if that is the case, I shall gratefully accept the gifts.”
Since there was no reason to refuse gifts being offered for free, King Karsel readily accepted the condition.
“Then we shall be on our way……”
Having finished his business, Duke Geliones turned away without lingering. The thought of the reprimand he would receive upon his return made his vision go dark, but he could not remain there forever. For some reason, the steps of the Terbian knights following him seemed drained of strength. Cartroi was staring holes into their backs, as though determined not to miss a single movement.
Immediately after the White Dragon Cartroi installed a teleportation magic circle in the court and departed, King Karsel summoned all his retainers. Though by retainers, there were only a few, including Hales, the captain of the guard, and Dominique, the chancellor.
“Now then, let us begin our discussion. I cannot understand for what reason such things are happening to our country. Why in the world are the great powers counted among the foremost in Arcadia trying to ally themselves with us? Does anyone know the reason?”
For King Karsel, it was only natural to wonder. As the one who knew best the position Karsel held in Arcadia, everything was full of things he could not comprehend. Of course, the same was true for his retainers. Since Karsel was such a remote backwater, there was a limit to the information they could obtain.
“Could there perhaps be some secret in the Elysia Mountains? It may be that a mithril mine, or some other precious-metal mine, has been discovered, and that is why they are trying to curry favor with us……”
“I do not think that is the case. If that were so, would they not mobilize their armies and invade without mercy? There is almost no chance they would come forward seeking an alliance as they are now. There must be some other reason.”
The ministers continued to argue back and forth, but not one of them produced a satisfying answer. Only Hales, a typical man of arms, remained silently quiet.
‘Could Yuliana have become entangled in some sort of affair? Otherwise, there is no reason something like this would happen, is there?’
King Karsel was recalling the words the dragon had left behind a little earlier. The statement that he had decided to grant a wish because Yuliana had saved his life still contained unanswered questions.
‘Just how did Yuliana save a dragon’s life?’
Though he had sent his only daughter to the Crossen Empire, where the selection ceremony for the crown princess was being held, King Karsel had placed no expectations on it at all. He had merely intended to give his troublemaking daughter a chance to tour the continent. Mitchell, the finest swordsman in Karsel, was accompanying her, but he could not help worrying.
Because they had no mage, it was impossible even to hear news of her. He had been anxiously worrying that she might suffer some misfortune, and then something like this had occurred. Feeling stifled, the king looked at Hales, the captain of the guard.
“Hales. I think you must go out once and see. Find out just what is happening on the continent.”
“B-but if I do, will the court not be left empty?”
“It does not matter. We now have a scroll that can summon a dragon, so go without any worry. If possible, I would also like you to learn news of those children.”
In King Karsel’s voice, concern for his child seeped out softly. Hales was in the same position, and so he obeyed the order without another word. He could not help worrying about his only son, Mitchell.
“Understood. I shall do so.”
As he watched Hales nod, King Karsel’s face had already changed into that of a parent who cherished his daughter.
The North was a region covered in perpetual snow all year round. Snow and ice that had never once turned to water over thousands of years thickly blanketed the North. The source that maintained such a harsh environment was none other than the cold, and because of it, the North still remained a land that did not permit human rule. Only monsters strong against the cold could roam the North.
The monster that had formed the largest sphere of influence in the North was, without question, the ice troll. Possessing the troll’s unique regenerative ability intact, the ice troll was armed with thick fur and layers of fat, making it an extremely cold-resistant monster. Moreover, because they lived in groups and possessed considerable intelligence, they were beings that reigned as the rulers of the North in both name and reality.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that ice trolls had almost no rivals in the North. Though bears surpassed ice trolls in strength and power, they could not withstand ice trolls that hunted in packs. In reality, they tucked their tails and fled at the mere sight of ice trolls, and even humans, who ruled most of the Arcadian continent, were no match for ice trolls in the North alone.
Until now, countless subjugation campaigns had been waged in order to incorporate the North into the human sphere of influence. The North was a treasure trove of tremendous resources, and the punitive forces of many nations had set foot on northern soil in order to obtain ore or timber. But most of them failed to achieve their aims. The cold, which was the greatest ally of the ice trolls but the most terrifying enemy of humans, forced many punitive forces to retreat in miserable defeat. For that reason, the North still remained an impregnable fortress to humans.
Furthermore, the North did not permit the footsteps of human travelers at all. The cold was one thing, but the main reason was the ice trolls that set out to hunt in an organized fashion. Ice trolls were cunning monsters with considerable intelligence, and because they had accumulated much experience fighting humans over a long period, they knew very well how to deal with them. For that reason, to travelers, whether their numbers were few or many, traveling through the North itself was known to be an act of suicide.
Ice trolls were monsters extremely sensitive about their territory, and they had a tendency to attack any creature that invaded it without hesitation, even if the target was a powerful bear. For that reason, the North had been branded among travelers as a forbidden land that must not be entered under any circumstances. Yet here were two travelers who had completely forgotten that rule.
Crunch, crunch.
Two travelers wrapped in thick furs were trudging forward with difficulty, pushing through snow that rose to their thighs. Even in the North, which did not permit human footsteps, they were walking alone through its deepest reaches.
The one walking in front was a traveler with a rather imposing build. Though his height seemed somewhat short compared to his bulk, he possessed a dignified frame covered in furs. The traveler following behind him was comparatively small. The way he silently followed in the path his companion had cleared looked so precarious that he seemed as if he might be blown away if the wind rose.
Since they were dressed in a manner that left only their eyes exposed, it was impossible to know their age or gender at all, but judging from the fact that they were walking deep within ice troll territory, they were no ordinary travelers. Of course, their presence had long since been detected by the ice trolls’ senses.
“Grrrrrr.”
A dozen or so ice trolls were cautiously approaching the travelers while concealing their bodies in the snow. To them, the travelers looked like nothing more or less than delicacies. Two humans walking through the North meant, in a word, “Please come catch and eat us,” to the ice trolls. Human flesh was a special dish that ice trolls particularly loved, and considering that it was not something they could easily taste, it could be called a kind of fortune for them.
However, the approaching ice trolls did not readily leap at them. Seeing them merely follow at a certain distance, it seemed that something was somehow bothering them. Normally, it would have been natural for them to attack the moment they spotted humans. But the reason they could not easily do so was that an extremely unfamiliar smell was coming from the human walking at the front.
An ice troll’s sense of smell was extremely keen. To the noses of such creatures, an exceedingly foul, strange odor—one not easily encountered—was drifting over. Because of that, the ice trolls merely sniffed and could not bring themselves to attack. But everywhere, there is bound to be at least one brave fellow. One ice troll, unable to endure its appetite, let out a low roar and pounced on the human following behind.
“Kyarrrk.”
Once one of them attacked, the remaining creatures launched themselves forward all at once. In their minds, there was nothing but the thought of tearing the humans to pieces and chewing them up. However, the ice trolls’ sharp claws did not strike their target. The ice trolls, having grasped only empty air, lost their balance all at once.
“Heh heh heh. You fell for it.”
With a short sneer, the small traveler’s figure vanished as it was. It was as though he had been erased from the spot. Almost simultaneously, something flew toward the necks of the ice trolls staggering after losing their target.
“Kerrrk.”
With a death cry, hot blood sprayed across the snow. Two ice troll heads fell cleanly away, and the headless bodies staggered before collapsing heavily to the ground. It was because the traveler walking in front had drawn and swung a battle-axe as though he had been waiting for this moment.
“Kraaaaa!”
He charged in with a shout, swinging the battle-axe freely in all directions.
Thwack.
The head and torso of another ice troll were separated once more. The severed head was filled with an expression of astonishment, as though it could not believe what had happened.
In a place this cold, the movements of a human body were inevitably limited to the extreme. That was because most of the energy stored within the body had to be used to endure the cold. But the traveler was one who completely defied the laws of nature. As though he did not feel the cold at all, the traveler was displaying truly astonishing movements. Three ice trolls who failed to grasp that fact were unexpectedly forced into sudden and violent deaths.
Only then did the ice trolls grasp the situation and hurriedly try to conceal themselves beneath the snow. Unfortunately, however, one of them was unable to burrow into the snow in time. No, it did burrow in, but only its headless body did.
Roll, roll.
A single head rolled across the pure white snowfield, spilling fresh blood. But the remaining ice trolls had hidden their bodies perfectly in the snow. In that state, they deceived the traveler’s eyes and ears while waiting for the moment to launch a surprise attack. In truth, their tactic when dealing with humans was precisely ambush. Since the ice trolls’ pure white fur was almost indistinguishable from snow, it was a method that worked almost absolutely against humans. With human senses, detecting the presence of ice trolls was nearly impossible.
“Grrrrrr.”
The ice trolls let out low growls as they watched every movement of the humans. The ice trolls knew well that if things reached this point, nine times out of ten, it would end in their victory. No matter how thick the fur clothing one wore, if a human could not move, their body temperature would slowly fall.
When that happened, they would lose consciousness without even realizing it. On the other hand, ice trolls could endure easily even if they were buried in snow for days on end. Part of it was that the inside of the snow was less cold than outside, but it was also because their thick fur and layers of fat were so substantial that they could hold out for a long time. Trusting only in that fact, the creatures waited for the humans to collapse on their own. But this time, the situation was a little different.
“Krr?”
One ice troll let out a sound as though it could not understand. The reaction it had expected from the human was for him to remain tense and examine his surroundings, but this prey was behaving entirely differently. The human was leisurely walking around and beginning to skin its companions.
Slice, scrape.
The thick fur was peeled off whole, revealing crimson flesh beneath. Even an ice troll, strong against the cold, was apparently not tough all the way through, for the exposed flesh quickly began to freeze. The blood flowing out froze without even having time to give off steam. Yet the human paid no heed and devoted himself to skinning its companions. As though it were the great task of his life. Unable to endure their impatience, the ice trolls launched another attack.
Thud, thud, thud.
The ice trolls burst out, scattering powdered snow in all directions, and pounced upon the human all at once. Three attacked from the front, while the rest pounced toward the rear, and there was a definite formation in their movements.