Ch.434Chapter 434 – Towards the Seal of the Snow Field (1)

Thanks to the sudden intrusion of a Lizardman, the series of disturbances came to a halt.

The Lizardmen who had incited the riot now looked deflated, as if they’d been struck from behind, and soon they were sitting with Lizanis a short distance away from our enclosure, their weapons set down.

And the new Lizardman who had come to find us immediately prostrated herself before us on the snow.

“I sincerely apologize for this incident.”

We were slightly taken aback by the sight of the Lizardman completely prostrating herself on the snow.

Looking at her, Eve, who still seemed somewhat angry, asked coldly.

“For something supposedly sincere, it seems rather inadequate. Do you expect us to overlook the rudeness we’ve endured just because you’re prostrating yourself on the snow?”

“No, not at all.”

The Lizardman replied while still prostrated.

“We have already committed a grave discourtesy. And now we’ve committed another offense on top of that. It would be insufficient to merely bow our heads—even if the person responsible offered their life, there would be nothing to say in our defense.”

“…Are you saying you would offer your own life?”

Judging by how she had silenced all the Lizardmen at once, it was clear that this prostrating Lizardman before us was indeed the one in charge.

Then the Lizardman slightly raised her head.

She had a face very similar to Lizanis, though somewhat younger and more feminine.

“If that is what you wish, I would gladly offer it. However…”

The female Lizardman continued.

“I would prefer if you took my life after Kay has completed all his business in this snowy wilderness.”

“Why is that?”

As I gently stood beside Eve and gestured for her to rise, the female Lizardman nodded and stood up.

Then she bowed her head and continued.

“Because a new revelation has come down to us. I came in person to deliver this message, and to fulfill it, I brought as many of the remaining warriors as I could.”

“So Lizanis didn’t bring all of them.”

While Noah muttered quietly, the female Lizardman smiled and said.

“Lizanis doesn’t have complete military authority. However, her popularity among the tribal warriors is considerable. Those warriors came because they couldn’t restrain their youthful vigor after being hastily incited by our Great Warrior. …I won’t go into unnecessary details about our tribe’s situation. Just understand that I’ve brought all the warriors except the bare minimum needed to stay behind.”

“What kind of revelation would make you do something like that?”

When Chris carefully asked, the female Lizardman bowed deeply and continued.

“Protect the White Dragon from the demons.”

For a moment, silence fell among our group.

The female Lizardman continued with her head still bowed.

“We don’t know what the revelation refers to as ‘demons.’ However, it’s clear that danger is approaching Kay. So we hurriedly tracked Kay to escort and protect him.”

She explained that just before that, Lizanis had incited the warriors and taken them away, so this Lizardman had quickly gathered the remaining warriors and followed.

If she had met up with Lizanis before contacting us, such a rude reunion wouldn’t have happened.

Looking at the slightly fatigued eyes of the woman, I felt a bit of sympathy rising.

And at the same time, I didn’t think she was lying.

The first thing she did upon arrival was to stop the Lizardmen, and after that, she approached us with humility, so it was hard to believe she was trying to deceive us.

It was more of a gut feeling, but her claim about coming because of a revelation seemed genuine.

‘Besides, I have some idea what this might be about.’

It was because of the expression “demons.”

If demons referred to our enemies…

Naturally, it would mean Emiris and Idea.

Emiris, who possessed near-omnipotent power and committed all sorts of atrocities against us, and Idea who cooperated with him.

The expression “demons” wasn’t exactly wrong.

Since their original goal was the Philosopher’s Stone, there was a high probability they would follow us and appear here.

‘…I’m not sure how much help these Lizardmen will be against those guys.’

But I suppose they came to protect us according to the revelation.

Deciding to trust her, I was about to nod when I realized I hadn’t asked for her name yet.

“And your name is?”

“I am Lizinis. I serve as the shaman of the Lizardmen.”

Lizinis spoke with her head still bowed.

“I am the younger sister of Great Warrior Lizanis, and I hold a leadership position in the Lizardman tribe.”

Her respectful voice reached my ears.

And I started to worry about something slightly different.

‘…I’m concerned I might call her by the wrong name.’

Her name was too similar to Lizanis, so I might make a mistake.

It wasn’t impossible to tell them apart—Lizinis looked younger and dressed differently—but I still felt I might slip up.

‘Come to think of it, I think Lizanis called her Lizi earlier.’

That must be her nickname.

Though we’re not particularly close, I should call her something different to distinguish between them.

“…Would it be alright if I called you Lizi?”

“My family distinguishes between my sister and me with nicknames, so that’s fine.”

Lizi nodded.

Then she bowed her head again and continued.

“I have said all I needed to say. I leave it entirely up to Kay to decide what punishment to impose on us.”

“Punishment, you say.”

“You shouldn’t think of letting this pass lightly. My own flesh and blood has already committed discourtesy twice.”

Isn’t she being too cold toward her family?

Just as I was about to complain, Lizi continued.

“This means that I bear responsibility twice over, for recognizing my sister’s hastiness and lack of consideration but failing to rein her in properly. Please punish us. However, in this cold wilderness, even standing still to converse is quite painful, so I recommend setting up tents to warm ourselves.”

“Sorry, but we have a long way to go. I don’t think we have the luxury to rest.”

Beatrice complained.

In response, Lizi continued with her head still bowed.

“We will make up for your lost time using the wyverns we brought. Since they are native to this snowy region, they can fly around easily. We can certainly make up for any time lost while you rest.”

“…But.”

“Also, your companion has exerted herself considerably in dueling with my foolish sister. If you don’t cool down slowly, it won’t be good for your body.”

At Lizi’s words, I carefully looked at Eve.

Indeed, while the duel had been a one-sided victory for Eve, given her opponent, Eve had moved around a lot and there were traces of sweat.

It would be best if she could wipe off the sweat and change into dry clothes.

For that, we needed a warm place sheltered from the cold.

“Would you allow us to prepare a place for you to rest?”

“Please do.”

As soon as I gave my permission, Lizi bowed deeply and stepped back slightly.

Soon she was barking orders to set up tents.

+

A little while later.

Eve entered the tent again after changing her clothes.

She had wiped off her sweat and changed clothes in a separate tent set up by the Lizardmen, along with the other women, just to be safe.

“It was fortunate that I brought a change of clothes for emergencies.”

“Indeed.”

While we had taken a carriage to the Warrior’s Sanctuary, we couldn’t bring it to Evgenia’s seal, so it was the right decision to bring spare clothes just in case.

I had thought the cold would make it unnecessary, but Noah had warned that snow could seep through clothes or sweat could dampen them, causing physical problems, so we had brought several changes of clothes.

And looking closely, Eve wasn’t the only one who had changed.

‘They must have been concerned about it.’

In such a harsh environment, it was difficult to pay attention to one’s appearance, which must have been hard for the women.

Of course, they would have endured until we reached a safe place, but they took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.

As I was thinking about using the opportunity myself later, Eve gently approached my side.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kay.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

I knew Lizanis hadn’t landed a single effective hit on Eve, but one could never be too careful.

Understanding my concern, Eve smiled and said.

“Not at all. I wouldn’t get hit by attacks of that level.”

“Honestly, I was surprised. It’s one thing for you or Sia, but many of those attacks would have been difficult for even a merchant guild leader to dodge.”

Beatrice expressed her honest feelings to Eve.

Indeed, a one-on-one fight with Lizanis would not have been feasible for anyone in our group who wasn’t exceptionally strong.

It might have seemed too easy, but Lizanis was among the strongest of the beastkin, who already had superior physical abilities compared to humans.

Anyone who couldn’t match that would have found her a formidable opponent indeed.

However, Eve seemed to see it differently.

“Certainly, in a straightforward fight, I would have lost. I’m neither as fast nor as strong as she is.”

Eve said this while leaning slightly against me.

“But it doesn’t matter if I don’t get hit. Besides, from my perspective, Lizanis’s attacks were somewhat slow.”

“They were slow?”

Chris asked with wide eyes.

Eve nodded calmly and said.

“Yes, they were slow.”

Then, looking at me, she quietly added.

“The sword of that shadow priestess was much faster and stronger.”

I saw Sera nodding in agreement.

During that time, while the shadow warrior and I fought each other, it was Eve and Sera who had held off the priestess.

Having survived such a formidable opponent must have played a significant role in this duel.

It was because they had overcome that fight that Eve was able to win.

“Still, it was dangerous. I had a feeling you would win, but the longer the fight dragged on, the more likely you would have lost.”

“Yes. Without tools, this is my limit right now.”

Eve nodded in agreement with Sia’s words.

“…I wanted to become stronger, but I’m still far from adequate.”

Eve muttered with a hint of regret.

Sia seemed about to say something but stepped back with a slightly bitter smile.

Seeing the two of them, I carefully asked.

“Why did you step forward, Eve?”

“You mean the duel?”

Eve looked at me with surprise.

Then she quietly asked.

“Why are you asking, Kay?”

“You said it was because you were angry, but I thought there might be another reason.”

Eve had said she challenged Lizanis because she knew she could win, but no matter what, the fact remained that it was dangerous.

So I wondered if there was another reason why she risked a one-on-one duel.

My question seemed to hit the mark, as Eve gave a small smile.

“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“Will you explain?”

I quietly asked Eve.

“It’s not really a grand reason.”

Eve bowed her head, seemingly embarrassed.

“Just as you protect us, I didn’t want to step back when I said we would protect you.”

Burying her face deeper against my chest, Eve continued.

“…So, um, I wanted to assert myself a little. That’s all.”

Though she put it indirectly, it seemed she wanted to protect me just as I protected them.

I wanted to ask if this wasn’t too dangerous, but I decided to let it go.

I had already made a difficult request, after all.

“Thank you for protecting me, Eve.”

I said, gently patting her back.

Pleased, Eve seemed to nestle deeper into my arms.

After a few seconds like that, Noah grinned and said.

“How lovely. Should I paint a portrait of this?”

“Hmm.”

Eve immediately pulled away.

She cleared her throat and turned her head, while Sia and Noah laughed at her reaction.

Meanwhile, Sera gently rested her head on my shoulder and said.

“More importantly, what are you going to do with the Lizardmen, Kay?”

“She asked for punishment, didn’t she?”

As Lizi had said, we needed to punish Lizanis.

After all, we won the duel, and from what we heard, Lizanis had acted on her own and disrespected us twice.

It would be difficult for both sides to save face if we just said “nothing happened” and moved on.

That’s probably why Lizi said punishment was necessary, but…

‘But in the current situation, whatever I say will implicate Lizi too.’

Given that she was Lizanis’s family, and she had clearly stated her own responsibility.

Whatever punishment I decided on would likely implicate Lizi as well.

While she probably said it out of courtesy, this was something to consider.

After all, Lizi herself hadn’t done anything wrong to us.

‘If I specify too harsh a punishment, she’ll definitely be implicated too.’

I was a bit troubled about how to resolve this.

“I wonder what would be a good punishment.”

I muttered quietly.

Sia responded to me.

“Kay. First, you need to be clear about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Whether you want to show mercy or deliver a clear punishment.”

Sia said quietly.

“I won’t comment on this either way. Just consider the situation. Since the other party unilaterally disrespected us, no one would blame you if you chose to punish them. Even though someone who didn’t commit a major wrong might be implicated, ultimately it’s the wrongdoer’s problem.”

Sia coldly stated that even if Lizi got caught up in Lizanis’s wrongdoing, it was their fault for being involved.

Was she telling me not to unnecessarily separate the two?

“But that woman Lizinis left you with a warning.”

“That demons are targeting me.”

Of course, we had our suspicions about the identity of these demons.

If the Philosopher’s Stone was here as we expected, they would surely come after it desperately.

There was a high probability of a fierce battle.

“If you show mercy, the fighting force of Lizanis will come under our command. And given her guilt, she’ll fight with her life on the line. Even if not, Lizinis will surely keep her in line.”

The implication was that Lizanis would fight with all her might to make amends for her wrongdoing.

“Whatever choice you make, someone like you won’t make the wrong decision.”

Sia said with a gentle smile.

“What will you do?”

At Sia’s words, I looked around.

Starting with Beatrice, I looked at Sera and Chris in turn.

Though our eyes merely met, they seemed to understand my intention and nodded one after another.

‘…Thank you for trusting me.’

This was enough for me to proceed with my decision.

But I still needed to ask one more person’s opinion.

I looked at Eve.

Eve was also nodding as she looked at me.

“Kay.”

I looked into Eve’s eyes.

“Whatever you want.”

At Eve’s words, I nodded.

Then I looked at Chris.

“Chris, how much further to the seal?”

“About two days, I think?”

“Noah, the path there is surely treacherous?”

“Paths in the snow are treacherous everywhere.”

After saying that, Noah grinned and added.

“If we fly, we can ignore most obstacles, but we still need to do some reconnaissance, right?”

“That’s right.”

Since Chris would need to see the exact location of Evgenia’s seal.

Moreover, like the previous seal, the journey wouldn’t be smooth.

The path would certainly be difficult.

“Have you decided?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Chris’s question.