episode_0120
by fnovelpiaAfter the meeting, only a few people remained in the conference room.
Urgdar.
Thorbar.
Ulbram.
And me too.
I must have made a good impression at the meeting because Ulbram extended his hand for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you. It’s Ulbram Khan.”
“Let me introduce myself again. This is Karami.”
I took his hand.
This old man, his hands are no joke.
He was also a blacksmith, so his hands were very rough and sturdy, but more than anything, they were thick. They seemed to be at least twice as thick as mine.
“I was quite surprised just now. It’s not easy to make a point among dwarves. I almost blinked when I saw the smoke from the drinking.”
“Next time, I will try my best so that even Ulbram can pass.”
“Heh heh heh! What a charming young man. Torbran has brought a very interesting young man.”
Ulbram laughed heartily.
“Yeah, you brought back Torvar’s missing daughter, right? Bringing back that brat. It must have been a tough job.”
“It just so happened.”
“Don’t rush things now. I’ve confirmed that I’m not a man so foolish as to leave things to chance.”
Kwaaak.
In an instant, strength enters Ulbram’s grasp.
My clumsy hands are trembling limply.
And the air current sent by the sinking Ulbram.
“Slave trader, what have you come to Doomheim for?”
The atmosphere is one where the three elements of strictness, dignity, and seriousness fit together very well. Although he is short and the picture of him looking up at me is not all that good, his pupils, clear and bright with the sunlight, contain the strength of a young person.
As if beating around the bush would never work.
This time, if I tried to just pass over it, my hand would definitely get crushed as if it were a hydraulic press. I had to protect my right hand, my best friend.
“I want to borrow a flame from the heart of Magmar.”
“What are you going to use it for?”
“There is a slave I really want to meet. I will write for her.”
“… … .”
There’s nothing wrong with saving a poor child, right? Rather, I looked Ulbram straight in the eye because I had pride in doing the right thing.
“Should I call this romantic or madness… .”
“Please call me Sun-ae.”
“You really are good at talking.”
Reluctantly, Ulbram released his hand. I rubbed the freed hand. He had held it so tightly that a red handprint was clearly visible.
“If you want to be sure to get the spark, you should definitely approach Torvar. He is the one in charge of Magmar.”
I know.
Torvar Drak, the Arbiter of Flames.
You can receive the spark by going to Torvar by solving the worries of other masters, but Torbak can be considered a direct route.
“Torvar, how about giving me a spark?”
“You know that, Ulbram. In all of history, we have never once passed the spark to an outsider.”
“As times change, so do things like this. Like you trying to build a railroad for the dwarves.”
“… … .”
Torvar lowered his gaze and looked down at the floor. After thinking for a while, he looked at me as if his thoughts had been sorted out.
“… Okay. I’ll lend you a spark.”
“Wow.”
“But there is a condition. I don’t trust you yet, so bring a companion.”
A companion? That’s better.
The destination was already a very rugged place, so escort was necessary, but if it was someone chosen by the Meister, there was no need to worry about force.
I will gladly accept it.
“You have to accept that much. If things go well, I will release Miss Perka as I promised before.”
“Tsk.”
A few days later, I was fully prepared and headed to Isenghar with the detachment.
It’s time to flirt with the fourth main slave.
***
“Puechew!”
What the hell is that?
I was about to freeze to death before that.
Isenggar, the permafrost zone.
As you ascend above ground in Doomheim and head north, its majesty is quickly revealed.
The sky was covered with gray clouds, and even the sunlight had lost its warmth and shone faintly. The snowfields that froze even hope covered the horizon.
The blizzard was so intense that it felt like sharp shards of ice were being pushed into my lungs with every breath.
When I step on the ground, my feet sink in up to my knees, so it’s not fun to walk. And above all… .
“Echwi! Oh my, it’s so cold… .”
It’s so fucking cold.
In the unnatural cold, my body trembles like an aspen tree, unable to stay still for even a moment, beyond my will.
I was fully prepared, but the cold was much colder than I expected. If it weren’t for the dwarven craftsman’s cold storage, I might have turned into an ice cream cone long ago.
The dwarf, carrying a huge hammer on his shoulder, turned around and shouted.
“You rotten little bastard! Are you shaking with fear over something like this?”
The dwarf watcher and guard that Thorvar had previously mentioned was none other than Hargran. It is not known whether he came willingly or was chosen by Thorvar.
He didn’t like me from the beginning and would peck me whenever he got the chance.
“This is what it is. I’m going to freeze to death.”
“That’s because you’re skinny and weak!”
“You and I are different in constitution, aren’t we?”
Dwarves have high body temperatures, small bodies that do not easily lose heat, and thick subcutaneous fat like pig skin. They are optimized to withstand the cold.
What I’m saying is that our basic physical structures are on a completely different level. I may be weak, but this is absurd.
“The son of a bitch has such a long tongue! That’s why he’s so shameless and acts like a merchant. Cut him off right now!”
Why are you telling me to take it off when I haven’t even used it yet?
If I talk, I’ll only be at a loss.
I decided to avoid mixing words as much as possible.
Wedge!
A fiercely swirling snowstorm.
I ducked my upper body as low as I could and hid behind the dwarves. I followed the path they were pioneering.
“You little brat!”
From the front, Hargran’s thick, low-mid tones could be heard piercing through the blizzard’s opacity.
“What should I look for?”
“You have to find the cave!”
“There are more than one or two caves, so how do you know where to find them in this vast place?”
“There will be caves where snow doesn’t accumulate!”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Where in this blizzard is there a cave where snow doesn’t accumulate? Was your father a nonsense?”
“No parents!”
“I knew it, you little shit.”
This little dwarf kid is suddenly making a fuss?
Yeah. Let’s give it a try. It’s time to fully demonstrate my keyboard warrior skills honed through years of gaming…
“Captain! Over there!”
A shout that took away my timing to open my frozen mouth. The dwarf pointed with his finger to one side of the snowfield. A huge hill was dimly visible through the heavy snowfall.
In that place where a blizzard sweeps over and everything is covered in white, only the hills are left with a deep blue color. Even when the snow falls, it disappears without leaving a trace.
There was a dark hole visible at the bottom of the hill. It was like a cave.
“What the hell is that over there?”
“What is it? It’s a cave that doesn’t have snow. Are you too short to see it? Should I help you with the fishing rod?”
“You skinny kid! You didn’t have parents, so you never learned how to respect your elders!”
“I don’t listen to anyone younger than me. Let’s stop talking nonsense and go.”
It seems like Hargran is shouting something, but I can’t hear him because he’s so short.
We entered a cave at the bottom of the hill, braving the blizzard. There was no snow inside the cave, but the bone-chilling cold penetrated our skin.
A sharp pain, as if pricked by an awl, came rushing in. It was a feeling far beyond the level of cold that can be described in human words.
When I exhaled, the white breath instantly turned into ice crystals and fell to the floor.
“Okay, wait a minute. Th, this is too cold for you?”
“This isn’t ordinary cold. Magic? No, closer to a curse. What is this place?”
Hargran nods to his dwarf subordinate. I stopped the dwarf from casting his spell.
“No magic. It will leave a mark.”
“Trace? Who came here?”
“There is something like that. If we’re not careful, everything could be in danger, so let’s hurry up and finish our work and go back.”
“Huh! How arrogant of a guy who looks like he’s about to freeze. Surround him with this!”
Hargran threw the coat he had draped over his shoulders at me. I didn’t refuse. I wrapped the coat around my body like a blanket.
“Oh.”
This is really warm.
Even at first glance, it was clear that it wasn’t an ordinary fur coat, but that it was made of special materials. And since it was made by a master blacksmith himself, the effect was truly extraordinary.
‘I feel less cold when I wear something like this.’
The chill that had been stirring my organs had subsided. It was so cold that it was only mild, but to me now, even that was a blessing.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, you son of a bitch. If you lose, you’ll cause trouble for Torvar, that bastard’s daughter, so I have no choice but to do it. If you can live, walk.”
“Tsundere dwarf… . Maybe he’s more charming than I thought?”
“Have you ever seen such a crazy guy? Have you ever seen a guy worse than a punk in your life?”
We started to enter the cave, lighting torches.
“There are slaves in a place like this? Are they frozen or something?”
“You know it when you see it.”
I didn’t explain it at length.
Because we’re going to meet soon.
As we went a little deeper, the appearance of the cave changed. It was a place where the rough cave was covered in blue ice like jewels. It was strangely beautiful.
And among the small ice crystals, a huge crystal sits against one side of the wall. A girl is curled up and asleep inside it.
“Wow… .”
Suddenly, the idea of exploration came to mind.
Exclamations poured out here and there without anyone needing to be called out. Only stupid exclamations continued to pour out as if they were fools.
It wasn’t their fault. Well, she was beautiful enough to blow everything out of my mind.
beauty.
No other modifiers are needed.
It seems like a word defined just for her.
An ice princess as white as snow and blue as winter.
[Princess Assis Priana Who Doesn’t Know Spring]
He was the fourth main slave.
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