Chapter 71

Wendigo kept trying to recreate the cold thread by plucking his own fur.

However, it wasn’t an easy task.

Originally, cold was a power with the concept of freezing something.

But to turn fur into a cold thread, he had to imbue power in a state where the cold didn’t affect the fur…

‘Delicate work is still difficult.’

Such delicate work didn’t suit Wendigo’s aptitude.

After the fur failed to withstand the power and turned into ice fragments more than 10 times, Wendigo sighed and gave up.

At this rate, he’d go bald before achieving his goal.

‘I’d better call Skadi. And… I should call Sira too.’

While it’s good to try and figure things out on your own, there was no need when expert advice was available.

Moreover, constantly plucking fur wasn’t very pleasant either.

… No matter how much of a monster he had become, baldness was absolutely unwelcome.

---

Skadi and Sira, summoned by Wendigo, came running and faced him.

While Skadi would always come running joyfully at Wendigo’s call, Sira’s case was a bit different.

She was curious about Wendigo’s question itself.

“So, drawing out cold into a thread was an ability you didn’t know you had, spirit-nim?”

“Yes. Thread isn’t something that goes well with cold in the first place, is it?”

When Sira asked with shining eyes, Wendigo answered calmly.

He compared Sira’s eyes with Skadi’s and thought to himself that they were similar.

Are all outstanding shamans basically obsessed with shamanism?

Sira tapped her lips interestedly and asked Wendigo:

“Usually, spirits use their abilities instinctively… When you awakened this new ability, didn’t anything come to mind?”

“I’ve never had such a case. I’ve never been certain I could do something before trying it.”

It was a story that defied common sense, but Sira wasn’t greatly surprised.

Having a rational conversation with a spirit itself was a rare occurrence.

Even the spirit coexisting with her would irritate her when bored.

Sira, who had noticed from the beginning that Wendigo was an extraordinary spirit, carefully began to point out strange things.

“Freya called you a mutant. It means you have an origin that goes beyond symbolically associable meanings.”

“Indeed, Wendigo-nim is far from the common sense known about spirits so far.”

Not obsessed with mystery, not enjoying deceiving people arrogantly…

Above all, his appearance was unlike anything ever heard of.

A giant, but a giant with a deer skull for a head.

[ Certainly, I’ve never seen such a fellow in my life. Even mutants usually have similar appearances. ]

“It seems even Freya-nim is seeing this for the first time.”

[ Oh my. No need for honorifics~ I’m generous to pretty ones. You can call me Freya comfortably! Or you can even call me darling! ]

Crack.

When Freya habitually acted up, Sira frowned and slapped Freya’s back with her palm.

The fairy body made with minimal mystery was weak to pain. Freya squealed and whined to Sira.

[ Kyaa! Darling, jealousy is bad! I’m just acting in a way that suits my existence! ]

“Try to learn from this person! He speaks politely and treats people kindly, isn’t that nice!”

“Um.. Sira? Even if it’s Freya-nim, going that far to a spirit is…”

When Sira growled and scolded Freya, Skadi tried to stop her with a worried expression.

Although every word of Freya’s shook one’s composure, she was still a spirit after all.

Moreover, being connected by blood, it would be better to get along if possible…

[ Skadi darling. You’re worried about me now! Oh my, can’t be helped. Since it’s come to this, why don’t you make a contract with me too… ]

“Sira. On second thought, I think you can hit her a bit harder. We don’t always need to bow our heads to spirits.”

When the target of nonsense shifted from Sira to herself, Skadi spoke seriously, defending Sira.

To make advances on her in front of Wendigo-nim!

When even Skadi glared at Freya, Wendigo sighed and stopped them both.

“Everyone, calm down. It’s not like spirits acting this way is anything new.”

Sira took a deep breath and let go of Freya. As Wendigo said, Freya’s words and actions never changed.

Wendigo approached Freya, who was grumbling while gently rubbing her back, and asked:

“Freya. Don’t you know anything? From what I hear, you seem to have lived for an immeasurable time.”

[ Of course! I’ve seen kingdoms established by gods and watched the rise and fall of empires and kingdoms. At least in terms of experience, no spirit can match me! ]

‘Hmm, someone praising their own experience is worse than I thought.’

Wendigo looked at Freya with a coldly disappointed gaze.

Her words and actions were far from trustworthy, and when the word ‘experience’ popped out, it felt even less believable.

Freya noticed Wendigo’s gaze and looked at him with sharp eyes.

[ Hey, don’t tell me you don’t believe me? ]

“Spirit-nim. Although Freya acts like this, she’s not lying. She’s a spirit that has existed since before the word ‘North’ came to be on the continent.”

Freya, born from beauty, had a history that didn’t start with the legend of the Freyr tribe.

Even before the Freyr tribe existed, there were legends about fairies bestowing beauty.

Moreover, the protagonist of the legend was always a beautiful woman… and always met a miserable end, intoxicated by her own beauty.

[ Hmph, be grateful. Since you took my side for once in a long time, I’ll share some wisdom. ]

“Thank you for persuading Freya, Sira.”

[ Thank me too! ]

When Freya shouted and glared fiercely, Wendigo waved his hand and expressed sincere gratitude.

“Ah, thank you.”

[ Eek! You’re annoying! ]

As Freya got irritated, Sira looked at Wendigo with admiring eyes.

For the sly Freya to get angry so sincerely. It was an ability she wanted to learn if possible.

After fuming for a while, Freya was about to sit on Skadi’s leg…

Slap!

“No matter if you’re a spirit, I have no intention of offering my body carelessly.”

[ Hng. ]

Freya, who was trying to covet(?) Skadi even in this situation, sat on Sira’s shoulder regretfully and opened her mouth.

[ First, let me ask one thing. You, how long has it been since you were born? ]

“Hmm… It seems about 1-2 years.”

“You’re joking, right?”

Sira was dumbfounded at Wendigo’s answer. Considering Wendigo’s spending alone, he should have been a spirit that lived at least a thousand years.

No, even a spirit that lived a thousand years wouldn’t do such inefficient things.

Why pour out hard-earned mystery from the ground? Just going south, there would be an overflow of people begging to serve him.

Wendigo nodded when Skadi looked at him.

Skadi carefully opened her mouth.

“Well, it’s been about 1 year, 7 months, and 4 days since Wendigo-nim revealed himself.”

“… Let’s skip that terrifyingly accurate date. More importantly, what are you dreaming of in the forest to endure such losses, spirit-nim?”

“Wendigo-nim cannot leave the forest. Recently, we confirmed that his avatar body can go out, but… before that, it was impossible.”

[ Hmm… I think I roughly know? ]

“Is that true?”

Wendigo looked at Freya with surprised eyes. He hadn’t expected Freya to actually accomplish something.

Noticing this, Freya pouted and grumbled.

[ Hmph. How do you think I’ve endured for such a long time? I’m a more amazing spirit than you think. ]

“If I ask why such an amazing spirit acts like a horny old man, you’d get angry, right?”

[ Hey!!! ]

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was just so dumbfounded that I meant to think it to myself…”

When Freya seemed genuinely upset and fumed, Wendigo sincerely apologized and manipulated mystery.

The mystery condensed in Wendigo’s hand created a beautiful pure white ice rose.

Wendigo held out the magnificent but terribly cold rose to Freya as an apology gift.

However, Freya was a spirit that had lived for a long time.

Naturally, her pride was incomparably stubborn…

[ … Oh my. ]

‘This works.’

… But sometimes, being able to set aside pride is what experience is about.

Freya fell in love with the beautiful pure white rose once, and fell in love again with the mystery contained within it.

Freya flew up like a butterfly and snatched the rose like a bee. She even kissed the snatched rose with joy.

[ You, you’re more reasonable than I thought! ]

“……”

Sira looked at Freya as if dumbfounded.

Who would have known she’d forgive so easily?

And that’s a spirit wrapped up in pride!

Sira shook her head and looked at Skadi. Skadi, equally bewildered, looked at Freya with fierce eyes…

“A rose I’ve never received…”

“???”

---

After a small commotion passed.

Freya brought a switch from somewhere and shrugged, warning:

[ Now then, I’ll explain what kind of being you are! I’ll only say it once, so you need to focus, okay? ]

“I’m ready, please speak.”

Skadi took out the notebook she always carried and looked at Freya intently.

Wendigo slightly moved his head to check the notebook. It contained various concerns and research results on shamanism…

‘What’s written there? About Wendigo-nim…’

[ Wendigo! Focus! ]

“Sorry.”

At Freya’s scolding, Wendigo shook off his distracting thoughts and focused on Freya.

Freya began drawing in the air with a satisfied expression.

A statue-like beautiful woman and man, a nine-headed dragon, a living rock…

[ Long ago, gods walked the earth, and beasts comparable to spirits overflowed. In those days, mystery surged like waves everywhere ]

The beings living in the present always think that now is the most painful and difficult time, but Freya thought that at least humans shouldn’t say that.

In the past, humans were truly the weakest and most suffering race among mortals.

Gods liked to be worshipped by humans and bestowed blessings, but they enjoyed inflicting divine punishment and torment even more.

Spirits and beasts caused havoc based on mystery incomparable to now.

Even superhumans born with mystery among humans imitated what they saw and learned, inflicting it on their own kind…

“Freya. Skip such boring old stories. I want to hear the main point.”

[ Tch, this is why young ones… You should learn to respect history! Especially living history like me! ]

Freya cut down the nine-headed dragon she had drawn in the air with her switch, and its heads fell into a river.

The dragon’s heads flowed and flowed along the river and…

“A snake?”

[ Yes. In a way, it’s a degraded form, but it can be called the king of snakes. I think its name was… the snake that swallows rivers? ]

The dragon’s head created a body made of river water and committed evil deeds.

It caused floods, polluted wells with poison, raised large crocodiles in swamps and jungles…

[ How about it? Isn’t there someone similar? Someone with seemingly unrelated powers in one body, with a beast’s head… no, a skull? ]