episode_0056

“Old man.”

“Why do you beckon, my lord?”

“What I’m seeing right now, it can’t be a hallucination, right? Please tell me it’s not.”

“…Judging by the chilling cold that seems to seep into my bones, it doesn’t seem like a dream for now.”

Carefully pinching his cheek in response to the butler’s words following him to the battlefield.

What he feels on his cheek is the sensation of gauntlets frozen cold by the extreme cold.

I could realize that what unfolded before my eyes was indeed reality.

However.

“Even though it’s real, why doesn’t it feel real?”

Honestly speaking.

That just looked like a fantasy no matter how you look at it.

No? Perhaps it really is a fantasy.

To see the once fierce dragon ridden by the Lord of Winter dismantled to the point of looking pitiful by a single orc.

From the Eternal Snow Mountain to below the castle walls, the endless army that stretched out heard a tremendous collapse and more than half perished in an instant.

The mysterious magic circle spread above the Grand Duke met its perfect demise under the sword strikes of the Lord of Winter.

Now all that remains are the feeble ashen skeletons weakened by the frost and a dwindling army so sparse it’s almost embarrassing to call it ‘Winter.’

Gazing at the pitiful Arch Lich venting in desperation, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Glad I made a pact with the witch.”

Despite constantly deceiving the Lord of Winter and even the lying witch hiding her own emotions.

At least for now, I felt grateful to her.

What if the witch and her party hadn’t arrived in time to face the Grand Duke?

To be frank, the Spring Fortress would have fallen before the overwhelming forces and power of the Lord of Winter, and I would never have seen spring again.

Unlike the witch’s party who displayed remarkable feats, all I did in this battle was to cut down a few wraiths flying towards the Grand Duke.

“…Do not engage in hostilities no matter what.”

Comparing our professions, I suddenly recalled one of the conditions the witch had proposed in the contract.

Initially, I wondered why she would propose such a condition, something that seemed even more inexplicable now.

“What kind of lunatics are they making enemies of?”

It wouldn’t be an ordinary organization or nation.

With beings possessing that level of power, they could make a small principality disappear from the map within a day or two.

…So, they must be antagonizing organizations or entities of at least the level of a kingdom or empire.

“Oh, maybe it’s natural for the witch to be hostile to a kingdom? Is that why she asked not to be hostile?”

I recently heard some news.

Two Saintess candidates went missing, and one of them reportedly fell into corruption as a seed of the witch.

So, if that priestess is a seed of the witch, then the kingdom must be a den of demons.

Honestly, considering the actions of the priestess who visited the Grand Duke two months ago, a den of demons seems fitting.

But since the priestess who showed such a divine appearance didn’t claim to be a seed of the witch, I shook my head.

“…There shouldn’t be a need to fight the kingdom, right?”

Suppressing the rising unease for some reason, I turned my gaze to the battlefield, where the battle was slowly reaching its climax.

[Infuriating! To return without even getting revenge…! To be humiliated by a hypocrite and do nothing! This cannot stand…!]

[Since it has come to this, I will take at least one more with me! Let’s go with Ye! I will give glory to behold Ye at the end of hell!]

Was it so infuriating that things didn’t go as planned?

Speaking with a voice that made my heart ache just by listening, the ash-gray skeleton rushed towards the witch, the culprit of all events, as the final flame burned.

However, even when cornered, the witch showed no signs of backing down and calmly ordered the prince.

“Sword? Go ask.”

“Sure thing.”

Swish!

Soon, with a single strike from the prince, the Winter Lord was split in half, meeting a pitiful end contrasting his majestic entrance.

Whoosh!

As the ruling lord disappeared, the battlefield began to witness another significant change.

The specters that covered the sky, obscuring the sun, let out dreadful screams as they melted away one by one.

Below the castle walls, the skeletons and corpses that were building a tower crumbled like puppets with their strings cut in an instant.

Finally, as if heralding the end of winter, the biting cold that had settled on the battlefield transformed into a warm heat.

Clang!

As the specters vanished from the sky, the sun shone brightly as if celebrating victory.

Filled with relief at having overcome the danger and the intense satisfaction of winning an unwinnable battle, I raised my sword high and shouted loudly.

“We have won!!!”

Hooray!

And thus, those who survived until the end conquered winter.

Upon the traces left by winter, they welcomed the true arrival of spring.

—

“Exhausting…”

As the tough battle came to an end, a fatigue that had been masked by tension started to overwhelm me.

Was it like this after finishing a march?

I wanted nothing more than to rush to an inn for rest right now, but even the strength to move a finger seemed to have deserted me as I collapsed on the spot.

Seems like my magic is drained, and my muscles are completely useless.

How long has it been since I felt this powerless?

Gazing up at the clear sky with a faint smile, the guy named Kal quietly approached and offered me his hand.

“Are you okay?”

“You look like you’re not okay.”

“Yeah. It seems like you can’t make it back to the inn alone.”

“…What’s your angle?”

Growling at him, I tried to figure out if he knew about my weakness.

Ignoring my attitude, he closed the distance, embracing me as if I were a princess in distress.

“Hmph.”

“…?”

Baffled by the sudden sense of floating, I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Wait, what just happened?

Am I… being held in a certain way?

As the confusion settled, the natural response of resistance followed.

Forced to move my unmoving arms, I started hitting his chest as hard as I could.

But…

Thud. Thud. Thud.

No matter how hard I hit, only cute sounds echoed, making me realize how ridiculous I must look to any onlookers.

Giving up on resisting, I started glaring fiercely at him.

“Aren’t you going to let go?”

“If I do, can you make it back?”

“…At least give me a piggyback ride! What’s with this princess treatment! Princess treatment!!!”

“I even kissed your cheek. What’s embarrassing about this? Just bear with it; I’ll take you back to the inn soon.”

Unable to retort against Kal’s calm voice, I clenched my teeth.

Come to think of it, I did kiss his cheek.

Right, I did kiss his cheek, so why not be carried like a princess… No, wait!

“This was due to unavoidable circumstances…!”

“Where does a woman who kisses cheeks due to unavoidable circumstances exist?”

“T-That’s…”

My words kept getting stuck.

I needed to counter his arguments quickly to prevent him from using the princess treatment and cheek kiss as excuses.

This isn’t right, is it?

I need to counter him fast to stop him from using the princess treatment and cheek kiss as excuses!

…There are still episodes left in the central part, so I really can’t say anything harsh.

What should I say to get away from this guy?

Thump, thump…

I started thinking to escape the awkward situation, but it had the opposite effect.

Because of being embraced by the princess, the pounding sound of the guy’s heart sounded too loud.

In resonance, my own heart started pounding too.

He wouldn’t hear it, would he?

I hope he doesn’t hear… I don’t want him to start having strange thoughts again.

My heart racing is definitely not because I’m excited about this situation.

My face feels hot, too embarrassed that my hands and feet might cramp up because of it.

So, it’s just the pounding, right? Seriously?

“Hoo… Hoo… Haa…”

I tried to calm my heart with deep breaths as usual, but maybe due to mental fatigue, today I couldn’t calm down at all.

Eventually, overwhelmed physically and mentally, I slumped in his arms.

Ah, I don’t know. I’ll just give up.

It’s already cold, tough, hungry, and tired, so I’ll allow it just this once.

It’s warm amidst the cold, so just hold me as much as you want.

If not now, when else will he touch my body like this?

As I let go of everything, the pounding subsided, and a sense of relief began to wash over me.

As my mind grew fuzzy, my guard against the guy gradually relaxed, and feeling my eyes closing, I drowsily asked him.

“Kal.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you prefer the Northern Duke or me?”

As I slowly closed my eyes, Kal’s absurd voice echoed in my ears.

“…Our witch seems quite tired. Asking even such things.”

“Yeah, incredibly tired… So, answer me before I fall asleep.”

I smiled slyly at him and threw another question like a dart.

“Is it me, or her?”