Chapter 43 : I have some errands to run for a while

When I opened my eyes after a brief moment, my body had already been swallowed by the avalanche.

Buried in the snow, I couldn’t move properly, and I also couldn’t distinguish which way was which.

Is this what claustrophobia feels like?

The tightness, as though my body was being squeezed, made my breathing shallow and rapid.

“Focus. I shouldn’t be this scared.”

Even so, the situation wasn’t the worst.

At least I wasn’t injured.

And this situation was something I could escape from with magic.

I took a deep breath to calm my anxious mind, then, with a clear head, I briefly fell into thought.

“…Maybe this is an opportunity. Others must be in the same state as me, right?”

There’s no one who wouldn’t have been swallowed by that huge avalanche.

That means there are no eyes watching, so I should go straight to Endrago now.

In this situation, it would be right to focus on rescuing others, but my original goal comes first.

“Ugh!”

With that resolve in mind, I twisted my body and reached up with my hand.

I might be heading downward instead.

Since I couldn’t adjust my direction, I had no choice but to check.

Luckily, I was heading the right way, and I felt a faint flow of air with my fingertips.

Once I found the direction, I gathered my mana and released it, breaking free from the snow and seeing the outside world once again.

“Ugh! I thought I was going to suffocate to death.”

I crawled toward the hole, gasping for air.

Though it was brief, the feeling of being buried alive was something I never wanted to experience again.

By the way, what happened to the others?

“It looks like they’re still trapped in the snow.”

Because of the blizzard, no silhouettes of people could be seen.

It seemed I was the first to get out.

In that case, should I quickly go and get it?

I feel bad for those who are probably asking for help, but I have something to take care of.

I’ll hurry back as quickly as I can, so they can wait for me.

“…I wonder if Mrs. Linz is okay?”

Just as I was about to move, I suddenly remembered her, someone I had forgotten for a moment.

She’s a competent magician, so she should be able to easily get out of this kind of crisis. 

So I shouldn’t worry.

“Ugh…”

Even though I tried to convince myself with that thought, my face was already pale, and I couldn’t help but worry.

Moreover, she had seemed quite exhausted on the way here, so what if she lost consciousness in the avalanche?

‘What would happen? She’d freeze to death buried in the snow, right?’

But if I rescue her, I won’t be able to go after Endrago.

Between my conscience and my goal, I had to make a difficult choice, and I clutched my head.

The worry I was having might turn out to be needless, but the possibility of “what if” made me feel uneasy.

“Ah, really…”

After a short but painful period of anguish, I eventually made a decision.

If I go like this, even if I achieve my goal, it would be dirty work.

I can’t justify taking someone’s life for Serena.

I’ll find Mrs. Linz first.

To do that, I used my skill to locate her and the others.

*

“Ha!”

“We… we’re alive…!”

It took some time to find those who had been buried in the snow.

The fierce avalanche had scattered everyone, after all.

But thankfully, I found them quickly, and no one had died.

If I had delayed my decision, some of them… let’s not think about that. 

It’s not something that’s happened yet.

“Mrs. Linz, you’re okay, right? Your body is shaking.”

“To be honest, it’s a bit cold…”

Even so, any further search became impossible due to their condition.

No one was injured, but because they had been swallowed by the snow, their body temperatures had dropped.

Mrs. Linz was the same, and even her soft lips had a slight bluish tint.

“Hey, let’s head back now. Going any further is out of the question.”

I went over to the leader-like man and told him we should go back. 

If he insisted on pushing forward, I was ready to beat him up.

“…Alright. I’ll prepare to head back right away.”

His response seemed too obedient, which struck me as odd. 

Judging by how drained he looked, maybe he had lost all willpower.

Anyway, once he gave the order, the others, who had been sitting down, slowly got up and started moving.

Hmm. 

Wait.

If I play this right, I might be able to send these people back and go alone to find Endrago.

As the thought suddenly crossed my mind, I grabbed his shoulder.

“Can I ask for one thing?”

“What is it? We’re heading back as you suggested, so you don’t have to worry about—”

“Can you all go ahead first? I’ll just check if there’s anyone left behind and then catch up.”

“Wha—what did you say?”

He seemed so surprised that I could tell he didn’t expect such a request.

“What do you mean? Didn’t we rescue everyone?”

“You never know. Maybe there’s someone we missed who got swept away.”

“But it’s still too dangerous. You look exhausted too, Count. Why push yourself further?”

“I’m still fine, so don’t worry. It’ll only take a moment to check, and I know the way back, so you can go ahead and warm up. I’ll be back soon.”

I tried to persuade him stubbornly, but he still looked uneasy, his face full of thought. 

He probably worried about me getting hurt while trying to take care of everyone, which made sense from a responsibility standpoint.

“…Alright. You’re not someone I should be worried about, so I’m sure nothing will happen.”

In the end, it seemed he prioritized the others and nodded heavily.

But then.

“Wait a minute. What’s this about?”

Lady Linz, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, interrupted.

Her expression, full of disbelief, made it clear how ridiculous she thought my decision was.

Oh no, if she tries to interfere, this could be a problem.

“You can’t go alone. I should come with you—”

“No, you should rest too. You’re still shivering.”

I cut her off before she could say anything else. 

Her skin was pale, and her condition seemed to be serious.

“You don’t need to worry about me. Have you forgotten who saved you? I’ll find the others and be back soon. Please, go ahead and rest.”

“But—”

“Alright, everyone! What are you doing? Hurry up and head down! If you stay any longer, you might freeze to death!”

I was getting tired of convincing her, so I shoved her toward the others. 

She hesitated but eventually gave in and began heading down with her group.

Phew, now I can finally relax.

Now that there’s no one watching, I can quickly head out to find Endrago.

“Before that, though, I should refill my mana. Ugh, I’m almost out of mana from searching for people.”

If I didn’t have mana in this environment, I’d likely die before even reaching the bottom of the mountain.

So, I reached into my clothes to grab the mana potion I had prepared for emergencies, but it felt unusually cold.

“…Seriously, this is ridiculous.”

It turned out the potion had frozen solid. 

I even tried opening the cap and pouring it into my mouth, but not a single drop came out.

In the end, I had no choice but to break the bottle and chew on the frozen liquid.

This is the first time in my entire past life that ice tasted this bad.

**

“You’re back already? What happened?”

When they returned to the base, Princess Rosiria didn’t even bother to thank them for their efforts. 

Instead, she frowned and showed her displeasure, causing Ottwin to clench his fists instinctively. 

They had just been in a life-threatening situation, and now she was scolding them?

“…We were caught in an avalanche, so everyone’s body temperature dropped. We couldn’t continue the exploration, so we had to come back—”

“Even so, you returned too quickly. Don’t tell me you used the avalanche as an excuse to come back early?”

“Calm down, Ottwin.”

His anger was rising, but he knew he had to stay calm. 

This wasn’t just some reckless woman; she was the princess of the nation he served. 

Even if his fists and words were screaming, he had to suppress them.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to continue.

“That couldn’t be the case. Please understand that it was an unavoidable situation.”

“Hmm. Fine. Whatever…”

Princess Rosiria muttered to herself while speaking, but Ottwin didn’t care about her words. 

He just hoped she would acknowledge it and move on.

“So, was there any loss of life because of the avalanche?”

“Not that I know of. Count Christian went to search for those who were left behind…”

“…Did she go alone?”

At Ottwin’s words, a faint smile tugged at her lips. 

It was a smile filled with a sticky, perverse joy, so blatantly unpleasant that even seeing it made Ottwin uncomfortable.

“So, she’s wandering around alone now, is that it?”

“Yes. Is that a problem…?”

“No, no problem. In fact, it’s better that way.”

Her eerie, hideous smile sent chills down Ottwin’s spine, though it wasn’t the cold that made him shiver. 

It was the visceral disgust that stirred within him.

“Even if she’s dead, you could disguise it as an accident, right?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Heh. Just talking to myself. You don’t need to worry about it.”

It wasn’t a joke. 

Despite feeling like he wanted to grab her by the collar and demand to know what she was planning to do to the woman who had saved their lives, he couldn’t act. 

Behind Princess Rosiria stood a figure in a black robe, watching him closely.

If he made a wrong move, he would die. 

The murderous aura from the figure kept Ottwin silent.

“Is there anything else to report?”

“No, nothing.”

“Good. Then you may leave. And just a word of caution… if you tell anyone else about what you’ve heard here, you know the consequences, right?”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Despite the anger rising in him from being mocked, Ottwin was powerless to do anything. 

He left the tent, his fists still clenched.

Once he was out, Princess Rosiria, who had been smiling moments ago, stiffened her expression and turned to the figure in the black robe standing behind her.

“You heard that, right? There won’t be any witnesses. Go and take care of that disgusting woman.”

With her command, the figure vanished into the wind, moving silently out of the tent.