Ch.30199. Of Course I’ll Do the Same (3)

The first to greet her was a merciless, biting wind carrying fine ice crystals like powder.

“……”

Mines came here partly out of a sense of duty? Responsibility?

It might seem strange to feel such things, but she had this peculiar sense of guilt that she simply had to come, so she deliberately made time.

When she heard her only younger brother’s life was in danger, she ultimately had to volunteer to handle the situation herself.

As a result… she ended up staying with that child for a while.

Mines herself wanted to leave his side out of shame, but…

That child adamantly opposed her departure, insisting he could easily support at least one person like her.

Even taking time off like this was only possible because she called it a vacation.

“Haah.”

Her deep blue dress covered essentially her entire body except for her neck and the edges of her collarbone.

In reality, it wasn’t a single dress but rather dark blue inner pants that extended upward to integrate with the upper body.

Enhanced with magical and alchemical theories to maximize convenience and efficiency, this composite material was difficult to tear or cut, and rarely suffered damage from fire.

Though astronomically expensive, it was an outfit her brother had put his heart and soul into making for her, so she had grown quite attached to it.

The back featured a banner that started at waist level in the middle and grew longer toward the edges, reaching almost to the back of her knees.

It was closer to an elegant winged garment than a banner or cape.

With this outer garment wrapped around her, Mines appeared to be a noblewoman or a member of some precious bloodline.

…Though she looked far too delicate to be traversing the bitter cold and blizzards in the middle of the seven mountain peaks.

“……”

This won’t be easy.

She didn’t know the exact location, only vaguely that it was somewhere around here.

Adrian, was it?

He had told her to come here if she wanted to find him later… but visibility was poor, and freedom of movement didn’t seem particularly easy or comfortable.

‘I wonder how many days I’ll wander.’

Still, she didn’t feel greatly threatened by magical beasts.

The very fact that she could roam the area unaffected by the cold would seem miraculous to others.

She had hoped this wasn’t the inner region where the monster kings were said to dwell, but after circling the outskirts, she couldn’t figure out where such a place might be.

It was only after deliberately venturing inward that she… discovered something.

“……”

What’s this?

Magical beast corpses were strewn about openly.

As if gangs had gathered for a brawl.

Approaching to examine the traces, she realized that wasn’t the case.

“……”

Did someone do this alone?

The spilled blood had already crystallized into ice, mixed with the falling snow.

The corpses were already frozen solid like stones, beyond rigor mortis.

…So this is what happens even though they haven’t been dead for long.

For Mines, cold and chill were actually far more severe from the legacy of the Great Demon King residing within her body, from the power it emanated.

Having grown accustomed to that, she wouldn’t balk at something like this.

“……”

Following the traces for a while.

From a distance, she began to sense and hear cries, roars, and busy movements.

Mines glided forward across the ground.

In her field of vision, through the swirling snowstorm, a single boy confronting countless magical beasts caught her eye.

“Aaaah!!!”

Was it an illusion?

Most of the numerous magical beasts were fleeing with their tails between their legs.

However.

Before a massive beast standing on two legs, a boy was shouting back as if he too were a predator.

His body was already stained with the blood of magical beasts, which had frozen and stuck to him, leaving him in an indescribable state…

‘He’s not… a wounded beast.’

Looking at the traces, there were corpses of magical beasts lined up all along the way.

Their frequency formed a continuous pattern.

Even at a glance, this appeared to be a forced slaughter of fleeing creatures.

And that massive beast that had been caught was merely howling loudly, eyeing the palm-sized human warily.

“Come on! Come at me! Won’t you?! Should I come to you?! Are you asking me to make the first move?! Huh?! Should I tear your skin and chew on your liver right now?!”

The boy was expressing rage that made no sense.

He seemed so excited that his upper body was heaving like a boiling pot.

And so, after holding back for so long, the boy charged first.

Boom!

It looked as if the giant hand had struck that small body.

But in the midst of his leap, his body suddenly dropped toward the ground.

Like a hawk descending on its prey.

But there was only snow and frozen earth on the ground.

There was no prey.

This was essentially a rapid maneuver to avoid the attack.

The boy, clinging close to the ground.

He slid and then launched himself, visibly attaching himself to the beast’s chest.

Kraaang!

The beast screamed.

When its palm struck its own chest, the boy clinging there seemed to be in a precarious position.

“Uaaaaargh!!”

But he was just as stubborn, enduring while persistently focusing on striking with whatever he held in his hand—a sword or an axe, it wasn’t clear.

In the process, he appeared to have been hit several times by the beast’s palms and fists.

In the end, it was the beast that collapsed first, its chest exposed.

Boom!

Fortunately it fell backward; had it fallen forward, the boy might have been crushed beneath it.

“……”

The surroundings were desolate.

The swirling blizzard and bitter cold were still fierce…

But by now, only silent death had visited this area.

====

“Have you come to see the Master?”

Mines had been watching the boy for a while.

He probably wasn’t dead, but leaving him like that could lead to trouble.

Just as she was considering whether to at least temporarily tend to him,

someone flew in.

His presence was extraordinary.

When he asked Mines that question in a composed tone, she felt slightly relieved.

Mines nimbly followed behind him as he flew away.

Carrying the boy called Beldes on his shoulder, he seemed quite amazed to see Mines following him, gliding through the air as if treading on nothing.

“You are quite extraordinary as well, young lady.”

“…?”

“Ah, forgive me. In this case… noble lady? Princess? Maiden? How should I address you? Or perhaps miss?”

“…Call me Mines.”

Given the awkward expressions that had emerged, Mines immediately revealed her name.

What might have taken days to reach by walking or running, they arrived at quickly by flying.

“……”

Though the altitude and location had changed only slightly, the climate had become so much milder.

However, this was only relatively mild; if asked whether it was actually warm or cozy, not at all.

Generally, one would need to wear several layers to function comfortably in this weather.

Snow fell occasionally, and while the mountain blocked the north, all other directions were open, allowing merciless winds to blow incessantly.

Nevertheless, the area with hints of green and the constructed houses suggested that living here wasn’t too difficult.

There was a small pond, and wooden pipes connected to it channeled water into a semicircular stone basin, apparently making it available for daily use.

But that wasn’t all.

The constantly overflowing water from there disappeared into a stone passage below… seemingly heading toward fields.

Though small in scale, everything appeared to be organized in an organic, systematic structure, Mines felt.

“This is quite elaborate.”

“Which part do you mean?”

The mysteriously handsome man with black hair and black eyes blinked calmly as he expressed his curiosity.

“Just a feeling I had.”

“Is that so?”

Suhan? Suhan?

The pronunciation was a bit unfamiliar, but it became easier after saying it a few times.

“…?”

A girl who had just straightened her back in the vegetable garden suddenly frowned when she saw her.

‘Delica?’

Short golden-brown hair.

Eyes resembling the sunset.

She wore simple white clothes, top and bottom.

With her long sleeves and pants rolled up to her elbows and knees, she approached slowly barefoot and stood before Mines.

This girl, who had grown considerably since they had parted, now had very profound eyes.

Still, anger seemed sealed within them.

“What brings you to this wretched place?”

“……”

Indeed.

“Do you know each other?”

When Suhan asked, Delica responded.

“Yes. Kariel’s… colleague? Lover? Acquaintance? Which was it again?”

“……”

Was she pretending to know or did she genuinely not know?

“Lover? Has the Master taken yet another lover while already having two, no, three wives?”

“…??”

Wives? Three of them?

“She’s different from them. Mines was… a follower, I’d say. Isn’t that right?”

“…He was my benefactor.”

Moreover, he might be one of the very few beings who could resolve and neutralize the Great Demon King’s legacy that Mines bore—Utpala, who had been constantly questioning and providing to Mines.

“A follower. Then you’re in a similar position to the Original.”

“……”

Original? What does that mean?

“This is Suhan. …For now, he’s my priest. He came from another continent… and says he’s a dragon. A dragon, you know.”

At those words, Mines finally understood why he had felt so extraordinary, resolving her questions about him.

‘Dragon….’

Thanks to her interactions with the lake dragon and the white dragon who worshipped Elhermina, the existence of dragons wasn’t particularly special to Mines.

After all, Mines herself, having inherited the Great Demon King’s legacy, would seem no less monstrous than a dragon to ordinary people.

“Kariel will be back in a few days. You came at a good time. If you’d been a little unlucky, you might have had to wait for weeks.”

“…Where did he go?”

“Lutania Island.”

Lutania Island?

“Ah.”

Having ears to hear, Mines immediately guessed the situation.

It must be because of Asess.

“Did he go to help Asess?”

“Help with what?”

“…?”

Does she not know? That can’t be.

“You think Kariel helped her take over that country? Asess herself wouldn’t have allowed that, you know? Don’t you know her personality?”

“……”

I know her better than you do, Delica.

Allow, huh.

Would someone like her, who prioritizes practical benefits to the extreme, have any reason to refuse cooperation from a superhuman like Kariel?

If anything, she might have caused a commotion demanding his help.

‘She couldn’t have changed her personality while I haven’t seen her.’

Or perhaps as a princess, unlike when she was a mercenary, she had many more complicated factors to consider?

Though Mines tried to refrain as much as possible, she wasn’t completely ignorant about politics or social conduct.

…If she were, would she have adapted so well to living quietly in a corner of a village with such absurd power?

“While I understand that excitement leads to immersion in stories unknown to the Original, standing here like this might cause discomfort to both a guest who has traveled far and ourselves.”

At that moment, Suhan stepped in to mediate.

If they were going to unpack their conversation, they should settle down somewhere rather than doing it here.

“…I still have field work to do, so Suhan, introduce her to the others or something.”

“Ho ho ho.”

He let out an old man’s laughter despite his youthful appearance.

“I certainly won’t refuse, so don’t worry at all!”

“……”

Delica made a deliberate sound of grinding her teeth before calmly returning to the field.

“Since that’s settled, please follow me, Mines.”

“……”