Ch.416Chapter 416 – Toward the Snowy Field (3)

Several hours after Jusha’s visit.

Noah spoke before us as we finished our travel preparations.

“First, I should mention that it takes about two days to reach the snow fields from the Bear Tribe’s territory.”

“To reach the snow fields,” Noah added with a smile.

Then, holding a map prepared by the Bear Tribe—I’m not sure when he got it—Noah continued.

“You might think two days isn’t much, but the snow fields are an extremely vast area that borders many different regions. It’s not strange that reaching just the edge of the snow fields doesn’t take long.”

“The problem will be our destination.”

I said quietly while looking at the map of the snow fields.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, or perhaps completely unnecessary—I wasn’t sure.

One of our destinations was marked on the map.

“The Warrior’s Sanctuary, was it?”

The reason Noah came to us was to guide me to this sanctuary.

He had told us that monsters don’t invade this place.

Noah nodded with a smile.

“The distance to the center of the snow fields where you want to go is quite substantial. We’ll need a temporary place to stay along the way.”

“And the sanctuary is perfect for that, is that it?”

Noah nodded at my words.

In fact, the route we had temporarily marked on the map also headed first to the sanctuary before continuing to Evgenia’s seal.

It was just a simple marking without considering the exact geography, so in reality we might take detours along easier paths, but the main route was the same.

“Actually, beastkin who reach the sanctuary usually rest there briefly before returning. It’s optimal as a waypoint.”

“There seem to be other campsites too. Are they not trustworthy?”

At Eve’s question, Sonya gave a small nod.

“They’re relatively safe zones that beastkin discovered while hunting monsters and sometimes being eaten by them, but they’re not completely safe… You might get unlucky there.”

“Thanks to its mysterious energy, the sanctuary is virtually the only safe zone in the snow fields where monsters absolutely never approach.”

Noah said quietly.

“Fortunately, the weather in the snow fields has been good lately, and observations suggest there won’t be fog or blizzards for a while. If we’re lucky, we’ll just need to be careful of monsters.”

“If we’re lucky?”

“If we’re really unlucky, we might get caught in a blizzard along the way. But the possibility is low. You can trust me.”

“Can we trust you?”

I quietly asked Noah.

After saying that, Noah grinned.

“Please do. Because I confidently judged that we only need to watch out for monsters, I determined that we can take your carriage to the sanctuary.”

“Originally we were planning to leave it behind.”

I said this while watching Beatrice soothing Muu, who was preparing to pull the carriage.

Naturally, at first we had planned to leave Muu and the carriage behind.

But after Noah heard information from the Bear Tribe about the weather and recent monster distribution, he suggested taking the carriage after some consideration.

“Your carriage contains a lot of your luggage and tools, right? It’s also convenient for storing the tools prepared by the Bear Tribe. And Muu is an animal that’s strong in cold weather. I thought it would be good to bring him if possible.”

“Honestly, I think the same—having the carriage means we can manage even if we have supply problems.”

Eve looked at Muu with slightly worried eyes.

“Will it be okay?”

“I’ve instructed Sonya to prioritize protecting the carriage just in case, so it should be fine.”

Noah said this, but currently Sonya was among the weakest in our group.

To be honest, I was a bit anxious.

“Well, this time the carriage will mainly serve to transport luggage, so for safety, it would be better to keep watch from outside rather than staying inside. We’ll pull the carriage from outside.”

“That’s what we were planning anyway.”

Usually, only the driver sits on the coachman’s seat while everyone else stays inside, but in the snow fields, we planned to proceed with everyone outside the carriage, escorting it until we reached the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

Once we arrive at the sanctuary where monsters don’t come, we’ll hide Muu and the carriage there and then travel lightly to the seal.

Of course, it was natural for each person to carry their share of food and survival tools just in case.

“I don’t think anything will change no matter how much more we think about it. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes. I’m suggesting the best method after considering everything. If we try to be even safer, we’ll run out of time.”

Noah said with slightly narrowed eyes.

I nodded to him, and Noah smiled and said.

“Well then, all that’s left is for someone to shout ‘Departure!’ loudly. Who wants to do it?”

“Any volunteers?”

At my question, I saw Eve, Sera, and Beatrice immediately turn their heads away.

Sia had hidden herself behind the carriage as soon as she heard us talking, disappearing from sight, so the only one left was Chris, who apparently hadn’t heard what we were saying.

“Huh?”

“Chris will do it.”

“Wait, what?”

Soon after hearing what we were trying to make her do, Chris’s face turned red.

She tried to escape, saying that wasn’t her intention, but everyone encouraged her with smiles.

Finally, the goddess bowed her head to the alliance of humans, then with a reddened face, she shouted.

“D-Departure!!”

-“Muuu~.”

Muu made a sound as if responding to Chris’s command.

Like the intelligent beast he was, he seemed to understand what people were saying.

Soon Muu started pulling the carriage on his own, and Chris, unable to overcome her embarrassment, clung to me, so I patted her back to calm her down.

“I hope there won’t be any accidents on the way to the sanctuary.”

Although monster attacks were expected, I hoped we could go and return safely without incident.

I quietly thought to myself that it was about time we had an easy journey.

Then Beatrice glanced at me and said.

“Now that Helmet said that, we’re definitely going to have an accident.”

“Hey.”

I glared slightly at Beatrice.

She approached me with a bright smile.

“Don’t take it seriously. It’s just a joke, Helmet.”

She grabbed one of my arms as if coaxing me, with a smile that was both slightly ridiculous and cute, so I just laughed and quietly turned my head.

Then I saw Sera and Eve looking at each other with serious expressions.

“…Don’t tell me.”

“I think so?”

“Let’s interrogate Miss Beatrice later.”

I had a feeling Beatrice’s future might be a bit rough.

Just then, I heard heavy footsteps from behind.

When I turned around, I saw Baren with Jusha sitting on his shoulder.

“Fortunately, we’re not late.”

Baren stopped with a smile.

Then, as he gently lowered Jusha from his shoulder, he continued.

“I tried to come earlier, but Jusha suddenly came running in a hurry this morning.”

Jusha turned her head slightly as if embarrassed.

Perhaps because she had just had her final consultation with Beatrice, Beatrice smiled and said.

“…So you’ve made up your mind?”

“Yes.”

A somewhat resolute answer came.

Beatrice grinned.

“What are you going to do?”

“…I still haven’t found a complete answer yet.”

Jusha answered honestly.

“But,” she continued.

“Learning magic has been a long-held dream of mine… And I thought there would surely be ways to use it for the benefit of my tribe. I realized I didn’t want to give up so easily—my desire to learn is still quite strong.”

“What about your parents?”

At Beatrice’s words, Jusha looked at Baren.

Baren nodded slightly, then looked at me and said.

“I intend to support whatever this child decides.”

“Then, shall we start with preparations?”

Beatrice closed her eyes and snapped her fingers once.

With a cute popping sound, several books and a green letter suddenly appeared in mid-air.

When Beatrice snapped her fingers again, the books slowly floated toward Jusha and neatly stacked in her arms.

As the green letter finally fell on top of the books, Jusha tilted her head slightly.

“Um, what’s this?”

“Notes I compiled when I was learning magic. Ah, not the originals but copies. I happened to have spare copies that I made in case the ones I gave to the person I teach magic to got lost.”

“…So that’s why there were identical books in Miss Beatrice’s room…”

I saw Sera nodding slightly behind Beatrice.

Since the black dragon subjugation, Sera had been learning magic from Beatrice to apply to alchemy, and these seemed to be the spare copies prepared for that.

“Whether you decide to pursue it or not, it’s good to study before you go. There are limits to self-study, but there’s no harm in gaining knowledge. And don’t ever lose the green envelope.”

“W-what is this one?”

“A letter of recommendation.”

Beatrice smiled.

“As you can see, I have someone to look after, so that’s all I can do for you. Work hard, bear girl.”

“Yes!”

Jusha smiled, hugging the books to her chest, and spoke.

“When you finish your business in the snow fields, please come back to our tribe once more. I’ll personally welcome you so you can rest before continuing your journey!”

“Won’t you be busy studying?”

“You’re not leaving right away, so I’ll definitely have time to welcome you all.”

After saying that, Jusha bowed her head.

“…Thank you! Everyone!”

Jusha bowed first to me, then to Beatrice, and then to everyone else.

I felt a bit awkward but accepted her greeting with a smile.

Beatrice smiled and raised her hand once, and soon Jusha climbed back onto Baren’s shoulder.

“It’s about time, everyone.”

“Then we’ll be on our way now.”

When I spoke to Baren, he nodded.

“May the warrior’s blessing be with you.”

“Take care!”

“We will.”

We slowly moved the carriage, responding to Baren and Jusha’s farewell.

Perhaps because the girl’s face had brightened since we first met her.

Our steps felt a little lighter.

+

At the moment when Kay’s group moved their carriage toward the snow fields and Baren and Jusha were seeing them off.

Something moved slightly in a building a little distance away from them.

“So the White Dragon is finally leaving this place.”

A lizardman clinging to the wall muttered quietly.

With a magical tool for visual aid pressed to his eye, he flicked his tongue slightly while keeping his gaze fixed on Kay’s group.

‘Finally my mission might get a bit easier.’

It had been days since he had used the ability that some lizardmen were said to be specially born with—the ability to make their skin color similar to their surroundings—to match the color of the building almost exactly, while suppressing his presence as much as possible to ensure perfect concealment.

This was clearly Bear Tribe territory.

There were many watching eyes, and none who would protect him if he were discovered.

In other words, if he were caught, he would simply die—the lizardman had been under this pressure continuously.

He seriously thought that if they left, he might be freed from that pressure somewhat.

‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’

Watching the direction in which the group was moving with their carriage, the lizardman muttered quietly.

“That direction is the snow fields…”

No beastkin of Bestia was unfamiliar with the notoriety of the snow fields.

Even if the current Great Warriors didn’t, some of the previous Great Warriors had been extremely afraid of the place, saying they never wanted to go there again.

He too would not want to go there if it weren’t for his espionage mission.

‘But looking at it differently, this is finally our opportunity.’

Until yesterday, they had been under the protection of the Bear Tribe, specifically Baren.

Of course, it wasn’t that they lacked the ability to protect themselves, but Baren protecting them meant that no one with mediocre skills could even approach them.

Sadly for the lizardmen, it seemed they had ended on good terms with the Bear Tribe, but fortunately, the bears wouldn’t be coming to the snow fields.

Considering that other beastkin wouldn’t interfere in the snow fields either.

Now was the perfect time to make contact with them.

“We must serve the White Dragon, at least…”

The lizardman said this while taking something out from inside his clothes.

A magical communication device that some among the Bear Tribe also possessed.

It was an item he had brought for this mission.

“I must report to Lady Lizanis…!”

The lizardman activated the magical device, never taking his eyes off the White Dragon.