Ch.3333. The Stroph Family (1)

I brought the rope from the corner of the storage room and tied myself up. My hands were clumsy with the rope so it wasn’t tied very tightly, but I managed to secure myself enough not to collapse on the floor. I twisted my body around to test if the rope would come loose. After I finished this strange behavior, the Holy Sword spoke to me with a hesitant voice.

“[You look really…]”

“Yeah, it’s a bit funny, isn’t it? I know.”

I said this while tightening the knot further. Good. This way, even if I suddenly collapsed, I wouldn’t hit my head on the floor. If I lost consciousness again during the crown’s test, there was no guarantee it would slip off my head like last time. If I were to fall while wearing the thorn crown, my scalp would be torn to shreds.

“[No, that’s not what I meant… Never mind. Do as you please.]”

“What? If you’re going to say something, say it properly.”

“[It’s nothing! Just hurry up and put the crown on your head.]”

The Holy Sword hesitated again before speaking, then sighed in my mind as if giving up. What was it trying to say? I shook my head and pulled the wooden box closer. The thorn crown lurking quietly inside had a terrifying appearance no matter how many times I looked at it.

“I understand it’s powerful, but still.”

It’s a holy relic powerful enough to knock me out instantly. I don’t think there are many artifacts in this world with such powerful mana. The problem was that there was no information about what this crown was for or what power I could gain by passing its trial.

“[That depends on your heart, Ilroy. But I cannot tell you what this crown does.]”

Well, I didn’t expect it to be that easy to find out. The only information I had was from the few lines I’d read before falling into this world.

I picked up the crown from the box, holding it by the parts without thorns. A subtle magical power from the crown crept into my body through my fingertips.

“If I look like I’m about to lose consciousness, call out to me. I’ll try to endure somehow.”

“[Understood. Good luck.]”

Without hesitating any further, I brought the crown to my head. The thorn crown rested on my hair. I wondered what kind of trial it would give me this time. I took a deep breath, feeling tense.

“So far…”

My mouth is always my downfall. The moment I spoke, the crown’s magic power invaded my mind again. Alright, what kind of trial are you going to give me this time? At least my body doesn’t hurt, so it doesn’t seem like it’s trying to cause physical pain…

Suddenly, my vision turned pitch black. My eyes were definitely open, though. I turned my head left and right in confusion, but couldn’t see anything. Perhaps my eyes had become accustomed to the constant sunlight, making the darkness unfamiliar.

“[Ilroy? At least you haven’t lost consciousness.]”

I could still hear the Holy Sword’s voice. I wanted to open my mouth and respond, but no voice came out. And then, suddenly, a wind began to blow from far away.

“[Are you still okay…]”

The Holy Sword’s voice grew fainter. I shook my head vigorously, wondering if my consciousness was fading. It wasn’t. I could still feel my spatial awareness. As the wind blew stronger, I suddenly found myself standing alone in a field.

“…what is this?”

The sensation of my ankles being submerged in something cold and damp. The field was covered in snow. I blinked and looked up. The world in my senses seemed divided into two, dyed black and white between sky and earth. Is the crown showing me this scenery? I frowned and searched for the Holy Sword in my mind, habitually reaching for my waist. But the usual response didn’t come.

“So I have to overcome this alone. Something like that, right?”

Naturally, the Holy Sword wasn’t hanging there. I smiled bitterly and looked around the snow-covered field again. Completely covered in white, I hadn’t noticed at first, but this place had a familiar terrain.

“Wait, this is.”

I frowned. Yes, hadn’t I passed through here just a few days ago? The vast field that stretched out on the way to Evernode. The land that had been covered in short green grass was now completely white, making it unrecognizable.

“…But nothing’s happening.”

I narrowed my eyes and clenched and unclenched my fists. My body was still the same, able to move according to my will. Of course, the pulsation of mana that should have been throbbing with my heart wasn’t felt at all. I clicked my tongue in disappointment and tried to move my legs.

“Good.”

The sensation of my feet digging into the accumulated snow was annoyingly vivid, but when I looked back, there was a pitch-black fir forest covered in snow. The stream seemed to have completely frozen over. I had a feeling I needed to go to Evernode. I slowly began walking, tracing the path to Evernode in my mind. Only my footprints remained on the snowy path.

…Was the way there always this far?

Without a horse to carry me or mana to lighten my body, each step through the snow was cumbersome. Snow began to fall slowly from the sky. Even when I looked up, there was nothing that could be called a sky, only pitch-black darkness.

I walked.

I walked and walked, and Evernode still didn’t appear. Just when I thought the trial might be to walk until it appeared, the pale fortress of Evernode revealed itself on the hill.

“…”

But I couldn’t immediately head toward the fortress with joyful steps. An ominous feeling, like some kind of certainty, was pricking at my nerves. Something is there. Turn around and ignore it. My instinct whispered. Beyond Evernode’s gate, something prepared by the crown must be waiting.

“…Fuck it.”

If you only act on instinct, you’re just an animal, not a human.

I began climbing the uphill path. The cold intensified as I approached the fortress. As I got closer, I saw that the fortress gate was open. There was no sign of anyone. I looked around Evernode for anything unusual, but there were only empty buildings and snow-covered streets, nothing that could be called a trial.

Then, where is this disturbing sensation coming from?

I turned my eyes toward the northern outer wall of Evernode, toward the forest where the patrol would go. I had a feeling I needed to go there to end the trial, but at the same time, I felt I shouldn’t go there.

“I wonder what amazing thing you’ve prepared…”

I exhaled a tense breath as I looked at the wide-open entrance of the outer wall. My breath came out as vapor. The falling snow began to pour down with a violence too intense to be called snowflakes. Snowflakes accumulated on the bridge of my nose. I left the snow piling on my body and walked toward the entrance of the outer wall as if entranced.

“…”

It was quiet. I couldn’t even hear the sound of the wind blowing in my ears. The falling snow turned into a blizzard sweeping the ground, and the trees shook, dropping their small branches, but all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. I raised my head, along with my increasingly rough breathing that was independent of my will.

Something is coming.

My vision trembled. Beyond the forest, something was approaching very slowly. I habitually reached for my waist and tried to draw up mana, but now I was just a powerless human. My legs stopped moving forward. I felt the ground begin to rumble like a giant drum.

Thud. Thud.

At its movement, giant trees snapped like matchsticks, and mountains were crushed like sand dunes.

Thud. Thud.

Its foot? What did I see? What is moving?

The world is collapsing. But I could only stare blankly at the scene. The pure white curtain of annihilation devoured even the horizon and was quietly but quickly approaching Evernode. I stood between the fortress and it, waiting. The overwhelming terror had paralyzed me.

Thud.

The drumbeat stopped. The forest before my eyes crumbled. I realized that what had crushed the entire forest was someone’s foot. The wind that could uproot trees cut into my flesh. In the midst of the pain of my body being torn apart by the wind, I looked up, and “it” looked down at me too, slowly raising its foot.

Thud.

.

.

.

“[…Ilroy.]”

My body trembled violently. My head was bent down, swinging like a pendulum. I blinked and raised my head.

“What happened?”

“[The crown’s magic showed you something like a dream. That must have been the trial the crown gave you this time. I could have intervened, but if I had, that holy relic would have shattered under my power.]”

The thorn crown I had been wearing seemed to have fallen to the floor while my head was bent. I carefully picked it up and placed it back in the wooden box.

“[I’m sorry I couldn’t help.]”

“No, I had to overcome it with my own strength anyway.”

I shook my head and closed the lid of the box.

“Did you see what the crown showed me?”

“[No. Even my watching you could have nullified the meaning of the trial, so I deliberately didn’t. What did you see this time?]”

I rubbed the wooden box as I heard the Holy Sword’s question.

“A giant.”

“[…I see.]”

“Without magic power or the Holy Sword, I really couldn’t do anything. I just waited for it to crush me.”

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. I frowned and cut the rope binding my torso.

“[How was it?]”

“…I thought, this must be how those who face The Seven Calamity without anything feel.”

I got up with a bitter smile. I don’t know how long I had been tied to the pillar kneeling, but my legs were tingling madly.

“Is the crown testing my will?”

“[All holy relics do. They never choose their master based on someone’s physical strength.]”

“…You,”

No. I was about to ask the Holy Sword something but closed my mouth. The Holy Sword also didn’t ask about what I had left unsaid. I staggered to the curtain and looked outside the window. Between the bright sunlight streaming in, no snow was falling.

==

The patrol duty that came every other day was becoming familiar. Despite Grand Duke Quenore’s assurances, the knights and soldiers of the north had been suspicious of me until they went on patrol with me. Well, that also meant they all changed their attitude after patrolling with me.

“I didn’t know during the last patrol, but Miss Daphne is an amazing magician.”

Daphne’s performance was effective in this patrol. Befitting the world’s only future 8th circle magician, her magic changed and improved with each patrol. This time, she cast the same protective magic on all patrol members that she had cast on me. Thanks to this, the patrol members didn’t suffer even minor injuries in battles with magical beasts.

“She’s a 5th circle magician. Plenty amazing.”

George said proudly, and I smiled at him. Daphne’s protective magic was naturally a great help to George, who was a heavy warrior on the front lines. Well, Daphne, unaccustomed to praise, shyly approached me out of habit amid the patrol members’ shower of compliments. The patrol members smiled warmly at her behavior.

After storing my horse in the stable, I noticed that the atmosphere in the fortress was subtly bustling. It was curious that this bustle seemed more like the busy preparation before welcoming guests rather than a negative commotion. Looking back at the patrol members, they wore expressions as if remembering, ‘Ah, today was that day.’

“Is something happening today?”

At my words, one soldier grinned and nodded.

“Yes. Today is the day the ‘Iron Blood Princess’ returns to Evernode.”

‘Iron Blood Princess’? I tilted my head at the unfamiliar nickname. This character had never appeared in the novel, so was she someone related to the north? Seeing my puzzled expression, a knight showed a smile similar to the soldier’s and shrugged.

“You’ll find out soon.”

Iron Blood Princess. Just hearing the nickname, it sounded like it belonged to a powerful female knight, but if such a distinctive character had been in Evernode, she would have appeared in the original work.

“Ah, there’s the Grand Duke. Let’s go quickly.”

The tone was somewhat urging. I narrowed my eyes and looked at George, who knew the north well, but George just shook his head as if he didn’t know either.

“What? You haven’t heard of her either?”

“I don’t know. At least I hadn’t heard of her 10 years ago.”

Well, we’ll see soon enough.

A carriage stopped in front of Grand Duke Quenore. The Grand Duke pulled us, who had just returned from patrol, and lined us up in front of the carriage. We stood in a row, led by Grand Duke Quenore’s hand, not knowing what was happening. Before we could ask the Grand Duke what was going on, the carriage door opened, and a beautiful middle-aged woman stepped out.

“Darling.”

Grand Duke Quenore embraced his wife with honey dripping from his eyes. Following the Grand Duchess, two more people got out of the carriage.

“Father.”

A tall young man who looked exactly like Grand Duke Quenore. He’s the Grand Duke’s eldest son I’d heard about in the original work.

“Look, the Iron Blood Princess is getting out.”

A knight tapped my shoulder from behind and whispered. And following the young man, a solemn-faced girl who looked about nine years old stepped out.

“…Iron Blood Princess?”

And when I turned my head with a puzzled expression, the knights and soldiers nodded in unison, smiling as if in chorus.