episode_0059

Fortunately, we were able to safely arrive at the cave where the Ice Flower Tribe was.

While everyone was admiring the beautiful scenery, I approached Helen and asked her.

“What is the ‘tiger swallowing the sky’ I mentioned earlier?”

“Before answering, may I ask you about your origins?”

“Where am I from?”

“Yes, it’s a part that I can’t answer because I’m making a hasty judgment.”

“Hmm… Well? My father picked me up in the dark forest, so I don’t know.”

“The dark forest?”

“Oh, and there’s this weird patterned outfit I had as a baby.”

“Really? Can you show me that?”

“Okay? Got it.”

“Then, let’s wrap up the story by looking at that.”

“Okay.”

We’ll talk about the Black Tiger later, but for now, we went deep into the animal kingdom to find the Ice Flower Tribe.

“That’s strange. It’s not that cold.”

“Is it similar to the igloo principle?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t very cold inside the cave.

However, perhaps because of the wind blowing into the cave, it sounded like a woman’s scream was coming into my ears.

“Ugh… I don’t like this.”

“Sylvia, are you okay?”

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“No.”

As we were slowly exploring the cave, a woman wearing a helmet made of animal skulls and covered in leather that smelled like blood appeared before us.

“Go back, stranger.”

“Imperial language?”

Curiously, the woman was speaking a continental language, not a northern language.

“First, we have to subdue them, right?”

“Unfortunately, this time I agree with you, warrior.”

“Okay, wait a minute!”

She looked suspicious at first glance, so Camilla and I rushed toward her without hesitation.

“Guardian of the North! It’s Wendy!”

The woman summoned two massive ice giants as a means of self-protection.

“Gooo!!”

The ice giant Wendigo appears with a lively atmosphere.

Exactly, I held out for 3 seconds.

“It’s weaker than I thought.”

“Just an ordinary ice doll.”

When the ice giant, which was surprisingly strong despite its appearance, collapsed, the woman was startled and ran away. Since her physical abilities were ordinary, she was quickly captured by the knights.

“If you don’t go back right now, the curse of Oronak, the god of cold, will fall upon you!”

But the woman shouted with pride. Of course, no one was afraid when she heard her words. In the first place, most of the people gathered here were knights who had come from the Holy Kingdom on an expedition, and Clara and I were not so naive as to be fooled by lies.

However, only Sylvia, who was very interested in theology, trembled in fear at the woman’s words.

“Curse?!”

“Don’t worry. Even if you’re cursed, the knights over there will take care of it..”

“That’s right?”

I said something to ease Sylvia’s fears, but the woman didn’t just watch.

“Haha, the pagan gods can’t overcome Oronak’s curse.”

bang!

“If you say one more word, I’ll really hit you. By the way, I won’t give you any leniency because you’re a woman.”

“Eek?!”

As I lightly smashed the cave wall with my fist, the woman quickly shut her mouth. I took off the animal bone helmet she was wearing to confirm her identity.

Then…

“Mom?”

“Eek?”

Silky silver hair, blue-tinged eyes, and a beautiful appearance.

She looks so much like Sylvia. Almost like twins.

“You’re a doppelganger.”

“Really?”

“Just kidding. If it was a doppelganger, the apostle would have reacted. Since he didn’t, I think they might be related.”

I somewhat agreed with Camilla’s words. In fact, according to Vivian, blue eyes were a physical characteristic of the Ice Flower tribe.

Perhaps the woman in front of me is Sylvia’s distant relative…

“You… Are you Sylvia?”

“Do you know me?”

“That’s right, Sylvia! Of course I know you! I raised you when you were a child.”

“Yes?”

“Can’t you recognize me? It’s your aunt Irina.”

???

Everyone was dumbfounded by the sudden reunion of separated families.

“Is the Ice Flower Tribe an anti-aging tribe?”

. . .

Sylvia’s aunt, or Sylvia’s mother’s younger sister, Irina. So she must be at least 50 years old, but how can she maintain that appearance?

At first, I thought Irina was lying, but I couldn’t help but believe her because she recognized Sylvia right away even though she hadn’t mentioned her name, and because of the characteristics of the Ice Flower Tribe that Vivian had told me.

“Are you surprised? The Binghwa tribe’s mana is born with a strong yin energy and has a beautiful appearance all their lives”

Clearly, Irina spoke in a strange way, contrary to her age and atmosphere of being 50.

“Excuse me, Auntie? Your speech is strange.”

“Isn’t this how the Imperial language is done?”

Oh, it was a translation issue.

“I feel strange.”

“Clara, what’s wrong?”

“That’s not it, but I think it would be scary to live with the same appearance for the rest of my life.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

The ice cream accessory is almost a descendant of the anti-aging family. It will be especially advantageous for women who care about their appearance.

“That’s not necessarily true.”

Irina answered the question with a reality that contradicted my opinion.

“Not growing old means not being able to feel the passage of time that other people are changing.”

If I said it like that, it definitely didn’t sound good.

Chloe doesn’t age, but I do because we don’t spend equal time together as a couple.

“And the Ice Flower Tribe cannot have male children.”

“Yes?”

Silvina started to get startled by Irina’s words.

“Sylvia also couldn’t give birth to a son, right? That’s because of her innate yin energy. The child in her womb is unable to produce yang energy due to the yin energy, so she only gives birth to a girl.”

“Is that possible?”

I asked Helen again to confirm Irina’s explanation, which sounded like a pseudo-science. Despite her young appearance, she was one of the most intellectuals among the people here.

“Yes, there is a possibility that the gender of the child will change due to the innate mana. Of course, it is not as extreme as the Ice Flower Tribe. Perhaps, as a clan that serves the god of cold, Oronak, her divinity created this characteristic. ”

Helen’s explanation made me think about many things.

The power of divinity has proven to be more dangerous than I expected. Furthermore, there is a strong possibility that my soon-to-be-born child and Chloe’s future children will be girls.

And it was the same with Sylvia.

No, maybe Sylvia was taking it more seriously than I was.

“Cyan… ”

She turned pale and looked at me, trying to speak in a tearful voice.

“Because of me, because of me… ”

“It’s okay. Don’t blame yourself.”

I covered her mouth because it was not something she should feel guilty about. While supporting the distressed Sylvia, I asked her aunt, Irina.

“Irina, can you guide us to where you are staying?”

“Hmm… Good. You are Sylvia’s family and colleagues, so I will trust you and guide you.”

It was a strange way of speaking, but anyway, following Irina’s guidance, we arrived at the hidden village of the Ice Flower tribe.

. . .

The village of the Ice Flower Tribe had a mysterious atmosphere, unlike other northern tribe villages. Not only did they live in a large cave, but the way they spent their daily lives in the mysterious ice made them feel like they were in a fairy tale. However, unlike that atmosphere, the village was quiet. This was because the Ice Flower Tribe only had about ten people, including adults and children.

“There aren’t many people in the village.”

“Did the Frostclaw Tribe raid this place?”

“This was the original number. This place was originally a sacred place, so they wouldn’t dare look down on it.”

“Is this a sacred place?”

“This is Oronak’s tomb.”

“Grave?”

“This entire cave is Oronak’s body.”

“So there is a lot of divinity in the air.”

In other words, the village of the Ice Flower Tribe was a village built within the tomb of a god.

For the first time in a long time, my heart started pounding in a fantasy setting.

“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t use Hestia’s miracles here so rashly.”

“Why?”

“Basically, the divine has a tendency to reject other divine beings. Since this is a place like the palace of the divine, you may have incurred the wrath of Oronak.”

“I see.”

“Don’t worry too much though. Hestia’s divinity and Oronak’s divinity are in conflict, so the miracle itself won’t work.”

Helen explained, touching the antenna above her head.

“Really? But it works fine.”

I asked Helen as I created the Flame of Hestia at my fingertips.

But she was startled, as if she had seen something she should not have seen.

“Mr. Xian?! Stop it!”

“Oh, I got it.”

Helen’s urgent attitude quickly put out the fire.

But Helen seemed worried, so she pulled me to her eye level and began to touch my forehead with her small hand.

“Do you feel uncomfortable or hear strange hallucinations?”

“I don’t know if it’s because of my mood, but I started to feel full of energy the moment I entered the cave.”

“Wasn’t the warrior already full of strength?”

“That’s true.”

I was convinced by Camilla’s words.

Contrary to Helen’s worries, I was in very good health, and Helen looked at me with a slightly complicated expression.

Just as I was about to ask her why.

“Okay, stop playing around and come in here. This is where the ‘burning ice’ you’re talking about is.”

The reason we came north was beginning to come into focus.