Ch.125Chapter 125

“… you might think it’s impossible, but this isn’t a skull I’m wearing—it’s part of my head.”

“You mean that thing that looks like a deer skull?”

The Hrimtur warrior looked at the Wendigo up and down with a bewildered expression.

If it were antlers, that would be one thing, but most bones were supposed to be beneath flesh.

When the warrior took him seriously instead of dismissing his words as nonsense, the Wendigo stepped forward. The Hrimtur warrior reacted nimbly, stepping back and grabbing the handle of the sickle at his waist.

“Stop. If you come any closer, I’ll have to attack you even if you’re not a Djin.”

“I apologize. I just thought you might understand better if you touched my head.”

“That would be… somewhat impolite.”

The Hrimtur warrior scratched his head with a sour expression.

As the warrior was more concerned with etiquette than expected, Dario asked him incredulously:

“Isn’t it also rather rude to call someone a Djin?”

“I know it’s rude. The only person in the world who’d enjoy being mistaken for a Djin would be a madman who enjoys being hated by others.”

The warrior acknowledged that his remark was impolite.

Who in the world would enjoy being mistaken for a Djin?

However, the Hrimtur warrior expressed his conviction with a resolute expression.

“But a warrior must acknowledge his role even knowing he’ll be cursed for it—otherwise, he’s no warrior at all.”

“Well said.”

“Seeing that you understand, it seems you really aren’t a Djin… but I’ll check just to be sure.”

The Hrimtur warrior carefully touched the Wendigo’s head with respect.

If it were a helmet, it should naturally wobble, but the skull didn’t budge an inch, like a solid ice mountain.

The warrior was surprised twice—once at realizing it was truly a head and not a helmet, and again at the firmness of the Wendigo’s neck muscles.

The Hrimtur were a race stronger than most monsters.

Moreover, a Hrimtur who had earned the qualification to call himself a warrior was a dedicated individual who trained every day.

No matter how carefully he controlled his strength, a normal head would wobble when touched.

“This trained body cannot be created by a Djin’s tricks. I apologize. I was rude because I’ve never seen your kind before.”

“I’m not narrow-minded enough to complain about someone doing their job. I’ll be on my way now.”

“Wait. As an apology, how about sharing a drink? A meal too, if you’d like.”

“A meal…”

“?”

When the Wendigo stroked his chin contemplatively, Dario was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected that in this foreign land, the Wendigo would be tempted by the offer of food.

How good could the food possibly be in a place like this to make him hesitate!

“I’m afraid that would be difficult. Since I came to help my friend, I should meet with the chieftain.”

Though curious about what the Hrimtur ate, the Wendigo politely declined the warrior’s offer.

He didn’t want to be distracted by curiosity and end up interfering with Gulmarg’s marriage prospects.

Only then did Dario breathe a sigh of relief…

“Don’t worry. The chieftain went hunting just before Angrid returned. It will take quite some time before he comes back, so we can drink until then.”

“That sounds fine, then.”

“Your Majesty?”

Dario called out to the Wendigo in disbelief, but curiosity about new food couldn’t be stopped.

When the Wendigo cheerfully accepted the invitation, the warrior was delighted and took him away. Dario stared blankly at their retreating figures.

“Wait, where am I supposed to go now?”

Wandering around alone here would be too pathetic.

Dario briefly turned his head to look in the direction where Angrid and Gulmarg had disappeared.

Angrid was clearing a path by swinging her fists at Hrimtur women who were reaching out with vulgar gestures toward Gulmarg. Gulmarg was happily observing Angrid’s tough demeanor, and Jermy and Anna were…

‘Please save us.’

“……”

The sight of the two struggling not to fall from Angrid’s shoulders was heartbreaking.

After seeing Jermy’s lip movements pleading for help, Dario made up his mind and hurried his steps.

…Toward the Wendigo’s side, in the opposite direction.

How could a servant not follow his king?

Though he desperately wanted to help Jermy and Anna, Dario squeezed his eyes shut and walked in the direction the Wendigo had gone.

* * *

Dario regretted following the Wendigo. He had taken the mention of a meal lightly, but dining with the Hrimtur was nothing short of a battle.

Dario retched with nausea.

“Ugh! Never… I will never dine with the Hrimtur again.”

“Was it that bad? I quite enjoyed it.”

The Wendigo wondered as he sipped from a leather pouch containing fermented mammoth milk that the warrior had given him as a gift.

The Hrimtur warrior had served quite a variety of food as an apology. They were delicacies made from the meat and organs of animals not found in the south, like mammoths and walruses.

The Wendigo, who had accepted the invitation without much expectation, enjoyed the meal, delighted by the treatment that exceeded his imagination.

“The whale steak and sashimi were especially amazing. I’d almost like to request regular hunting if I could.”

Who would have ever imagined eating whale meat in their lifetime?

The Hrimtur, being resistant to cold, occasionally hunted whales by swimming in the freezing sea, and fortunately, the warrior made his living as a whale hunter.

“Yes, the food was delicious.”

Dario agreed on that point. He knew there were various beasts in the world, but he had never heard of whales and walruses before.

Naturally, he had never tasted the meat of these unfamiliar beasts, and the flavor was quite delicious, worthy of the Wendigo’s praise, but…

“But there was too much! And it was all meat, so my stomach… ugh!”

“Sometimes even generosity can be troublesome.”

The Wendigo nodded, recalling the proud face of the warrior who had provided more food than Dario could handle.

From their perspective, they had reduced the portions for Dario, who was no bigger than a dwarf to them, but the meat the size of his head was honestly too much.

Add to that the potent fermented drink they made him consume…

“Still, thanks to that, we were able to learn about the chieftain, so let’s look on the bright side.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Your Majesty, since you enjoyed the meal…”

Though he grumbled, Dario wasn’t particularly displeased. The meal certainly hadn’t been entirely unhelpful.

At first, he thought the chieftain had left to enjoy hunting, but as it turned out, there was a problem that required the chieftain’s personal attention.

Dario suggested to the Wendigo with a worried expression:

“Shouldn’t we inform Manheimr immediately? It could be disastrous if the armored spider swarms move south.”

“Indeed, if the chieftain himself had to intervene, it might be quite dangerous.”

The Wendigo nodded, as it was a plausible concern.

Armored spiders, which rarely showed themselves, were considered a delicacy among the Hrimtur and occasionally hunted.

But recently, their numbers began to increase, and the Hrimtur happily enjoyed hunting them…

When their numbers didn’t decrease despite constant hunting, the Hrimtur became alarmed. The armored spiders had begun indiscriminately hunting animals like mammoths and walruses.

With the few beasts living in this frozen land facing extinction, it wasn’t strange for the chieftain to personally lead the hunt.

“…I’ll need to speak with the chieftain before making a decision.”

“Will that be alright?”

“At least they haven’t migrated far south yet. If they had, we would have discovered traces long ago… There’s no need to cause panic in the kingdom based on speculation.”

The Kingdom of Manheimr, having been established suddenly, was busy solidifying its foundation.

In such a situation, announcing that monster swarms might be moving south would disrupt ongoing affairs.

Even Dario, who would have been grinding away like a wheel—no, rolling along—if he hadn’t been dragged here, seemed concerned about this and didn’t object to the Wendigo’s judgment.

“Wendigo! I’ve been looking for you… Have you been drinking? I smell alcohol.”

“You have a good nose. Since you abandoned us, I had a meal with some warriors.”

“Ugh!”

When the Wendigo stared at her pointedly, Angrid flinched, apparently feeling guilty.

She had been too busy dealing with the many Hrimtur reaching out to Gulmarg to pay attention to the Wendigo.

As Angrid pouted and pretended not to notice, Jermy, who had been thoroughly embarrassed on her shoulder, pointed at Dario and said:

“Dario clearly saw us…”

“Oh, isn’t that the chieftain coming this way, raising a cloud of dust?”

Dario cut off Jermy’s naive accusation and diverted attention elsewhere.

In the distance, a herd of mammoths approached, raising a cloud of snow dust.

The mammoth at the front was exceptionally large, and on top of it was a warrior wearing chain mail and a helmet adorned with beast horns.

Upon seeing the warrior, Angrid shouted with great delight:

“Father! I must tell everyone quickly!”

“Put us doooown!”

As Angrid ran off, Anna cried out with a tearful face. But Angrid, too excited to hear her, ran in all directions announcing the chieftain’s return.

The Wendigo, ignoring the departing Angrid, approached Gulmarg and patted his shoulder, asking:

“You seemed quite popular with the Hrimtur women. Did you enjoy yourself while I was away?”

“…Not interested in other women. They not strong like Angrid.”

Gulmarg firmly shook his head in response to the Wendigo’s question.

Even if other ogres might cause trouble during mating season, Gulmarg had no such intention.

In a world where it’s hard enough to think about one mate, there was no need to spread his seed to many.

The Wendigo, confirming his sincerity, was relieved.

‘At least he won’t die in a marital dispute over illegitimate children.’

He had worried that Gulmarg might be carried away by the pleasure of becoming handsome…

Fortunately, Gulmarg maintained his rock-solid conviction. The Wendigo nodded with satisfaction and said to Dario:

“You should learn from Gulmarg. If Elhemina comes to me crying about your infidelity later, I’ll personally cut off your head.”

“Why would I ever do that!? Besides, I’m not even interested in Elhemina—”

“What are you all doing here? Come quickly to greet my father!”

Dario’s excuse was drowned out by Angrid’s shout as she came running back. She picked up Dario and gestured to the Wendigo and Gulmarg.

“Let’s go!”

“Wait a moment…!?”

Angrid didn’t seem to hear him as she dashed off again, and Dario, feeling his stomach turn, turned pale and covered his mouth.

The Wendigo and Gulmarg chuckled as they followed her.

* * *

The Hrimtur warriors returned majestically with a giant armored spider loaded onto their mammoths as a trophy.

The armored spider, tied to the chieftain’s mammoth’s tusk with a rope, was particularly large, and the Wendigo was quite surprised to find it larger than the one he had hunted.

‘I never imagined that wasn’t the biggest spider.’

The armored spider was clearly not of average size, as the Hrimtur welcomed the chieftain’s return with cheers.

Hrimtur of all ages rushed forward to unload the armored spiders hunted by the warriors and greeted them warmly.

“Father!”

“Oh, my lovely youngest daughter Angrid!”

Angrid ran to her father, Voltorn, waving her hand. Voltorn, greatly delighted, removed his helmet and lifted her with one hand.

Voltorn was a Hrimtur with a fierce appearance, his cheek torn to reveal his gums, and his smile was terrifyingly fierce.

Voltorn looked curiously at the doll on her shoulder.

“Why are you suddenly carrying a doll around?”

“Ugh… We’re not dolls, we’re humaaans!?”

Voltorn was startled and grabbed Dario, the talking doll—no, human—from his saddle.

He examined Dario carefully and asked Angrid:

“Where did you find a human? These creatures prefer warmth and are hard to come by.”

“As expected, Father isn’t surprised by something like this. But you’ll be shocked when you meet the ones I brought! Wendigo! Gulmarg!”

Angrid gestured for them to come quickly. The Wendigo pushed Gulmarg’s back.

Gulmarg swallowed hard as he stepped forward. He seemed more nervous than when entering battle.

“Gulmarg greets Angrid’s father.”

“An ogre that speaks!?”

“He’s handsome…”

When Gulmarg bowed his head in greeting, the warriors were surprised and murmured among themselves. The men focused on the aura emanating from Gulmarg, while the women concentrated on his wild appearance.

Voltorn’s reaction was unusual; he stiffened his face and glared at Gulmarg.

Unaware of her father’s expression, Angrid introduced them in a bright voice:

“Gulmarg is a talking ogre, as you can see! He’s strong and good at fighting. And over there is the Wendigo—”

“Angrid. Your father doesn’t look very pleased.”

“Huh?”

At the Wendigo’s remark, Angrid looked at her father. His face was as solemn as a warrior ready for immediate battle.

Voltorn put his helmet back on and asked Gulmarg:

“Just to make sure I didn’t mishear, did you just call me Angrid’s fa.ther.in.law?”

“!”

Angrid was startled by Voltorn’s question and flustered.

She couldn’t imagine Gulmarg making such a mistake…

“I did not misspeak. I want Angrid as my mate.”

Gulmarg revealed his true feelings without the slightest hesitation in response to Voltorn’s question. Angrid, who had naturally assumed it was a mistake, didn’t understand the situation and stared blankly at Gulmarg…

‘So Hrimtur also blush when embarrassed.’

Understanding Gulmarg’s words, Angrid’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato, and her lips trembled.

It was a shy appearance quite unlike the female warrior who had literally crushed an armored spider just hours ago. But there was no sign of displeasure.

Above all, the scent emanating from her was like a fresh apple…

“Insoleeeeence!!!”

“?”

Voltorn roared in anger and drew his axe from his saddle. The massive axe, carved from an entire bone, seemed to contain the power of lightning as it caused thunder in the clear sky.

Voltorn’s mammoth stomped its feet noisily and glared at Gulmarg.

Voltorn pointed his axe at Gulmarg with a fierce glare.

“You dare spout such nonsense to my precious daughter, relying only on your handsome face! I cannot accept this!!!”

That wasn’t the end of it—several warriors among them drew their weapons and rushed forward, growling.

They were Angrid’s brothers who cherished her.

“How dare you to my sister!!!”

“No. He’s handsome and seems good at fighting… Sister isn’t even objecting, so why are her brothers and father making such a fuss?”

“Shut up! Unlike you shameless sisters, Angrid is modest!!!”

Angrid’s sisters chided them for their overprotectiveness, but would they have drawn their weapons if they were the type to listen?

The Wendigo looked at them in disbelief. Cherishing one’s daughter was certainly a good thing, but…

‘She seemed to like him.’

Angrid was glaring resentfully at her family.

Voltorn’s daughters were looking at their brothers and father with contempt.