episode_0149

Episode 149: 3rd Grade Mission Activity (2)

The woman I saw as soon as I arrived in the Northern Continent was Princess Ariel.

As soon as Rana saw Ariel, she approached her.

“Hello, Princess! Did you come here for a mission too?”

“Oh, Rana. Nice to see you. That’s right. I came here because of the mission activity.”

“Wow! By any chance, is the mission content…?”

Rana asked Ariel about this and that with an excited face. After asking everything, she said to me.

“Kyle, good news! It’s the same mission as us! And she came alone!”

Rana was smiling brightly. She seemed happy to be able to accompany Ariel.

‘Well, I guess it’ll be okay.’

Actually, I didn’t expect the princess to appear here. There was no explanation about the mission in the novel. It only focused on the main character, Evan.

The reason why I didn’t hesitate in choosing the mission was also because of that. Since I didn’t know anything about the mission anyway, it was an unknown place no matter which one I chose.

That’s why I came here feeling like I was taking a break. If Ariel is there, I will be able to solve this mission faster and easier.

“Let’s move our seats first.”

“Okay!”

“I understand.”

It wasn’t good to keep standing at the warp gate entrance.

We took seats at a restaurant operating inside the building. The warp gate in the Northern Continent felt like a station and a hub, so there were various convenience facilities.

First, we ordered warm tea like coffee and started talking. Although the temperature is controlled as much as the expensive fee is charged, the cold of the Northern Continent broke through it.

After the ordered tea came out, I opened my mouth first.

“Did you really come here for a mission, Princess?”

“I’m also a student of Trianis. For graduation…”

“Alone without any guards?”

“……”

The princess was silent. She knew why I was scolding her.

“Kyle, why are you doing this. The princess came for a good reason.”

“Rana, other times, it wouldn’t matter, but this is not something to easily overlook.”

She is a member of the imperial family. The most noble lineage in the continent.

It was absurd for a person of such status to come to a faraway region alone without guards.

In the first place, the rule of Trianis that it is equal is only applicable within the empire. It’s a useless rule outside the empire.

She should know that, but coming to the Northern Continent alone was no different from a crazy act.

So, while welcoming Ariel’s appearance, I had no choice but to scold her as an aristocrat of the empire. If something went wrong and she got seriously injured, that would be a problem in itself.

“…I’m sorry. I was short-sighted.”

“Please be careful next time.”

But she had applied for the mission and was already in the Northern Continent. There was no way I could send her back like this.

“By the way, Princess. Did you prepare thoroughly?”

“Yes, Rana. I brought everything I needed.”

Rana also took my words to heart and took care of Ariel. She even looked into the subspace to see if there was anything missing.

“It seems like there’s no problem, Kyle.”

“That’s a relief.”

After finishing the conversation, we ate and filled our stomachs. To survive well in the Northern Continent, we had to fill our stomachs sufficiently.

After finishing the meal, we got up from our seats. And before leaving the building, we prepared thoroughly.

We put on Northern Continent-style cloaks, gloves, and shoes, and turned on the magic tool that generates heat. We are superhumans, but without this, it would be difficult to withstand the cold of the Northern Continent for a long time.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

“I’ve worn everything.”

After hearing their answers, I opened the door.

Whoosh-

A snow-covered white landscape greeted us.

***

The regions of the Northern Continent are divided into three in total.

One is the Thousand-Year Mountains, which continue from the empire.

The second is the snowfield covered with snow all year round in a vast field.

The third is the Eternal Canyon located next to the Thousand-Year Mountains.

And the area we are heading to was the Thousand-Year Mountains. This is because the client who requested the mission is there.

However, the road was not so easy. The snow-covered mountains and rough terrain presented great inconvenience to movement.

“Ugh, my feet are going to freeze…”

“Just bear with it. We’re almost there.”

While saying that, I cast magic on Rana. I’ve been casting magic every 10 minutes, but the magic quickly disappears due to the intense cold.

Besides, Rana is a mage, so she was more vulnerable to the cold than the knight me and Princess Ariel. Still, we would arrive at the client’s tribe soon.

And after a while. A man wearing clothes made of fur like us was approaching from afar. He was a barbarian.

“Are you students from Trianis?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Follow me.”

He used the common language quite fluently. Barbarians have their own language, but barbarians who often meet outsiders were good at using the common language like now.

We moved following him. As we moved further, a slightly well-paved road appeared. We were slowly entering the tribe’s territory.

As we moved a little further, huts gradually came into view, and people were also seen little by little.

“We have arrived. Welcome to the Red Axe Tribe.”

We stepped into the tribe’s land. However, there was not much different from the outside even though we had arrived. Snow was piled up everywhere.

Still, there were not as many barbaric aspects as I thought. Unlike the distant past, the current Northern Continent frequently exchanged with nearby countries, and it was seen actively using magic tools.

Of course, due to the nature of the Northern Continent, they lived in huts. They didn’t know when they would have to move their base due to blizzards and monster attacks. Looking at the condition, it seems like they have recently settled here.

“Wait inside for a moment.”

He pointed to the largest hut in the tribe’s land. We followed his words and moved inside.

There were people who had arrived earlier inside the hut. There were Trianis students like us, and there were also people who seemed to be adventurers or scholars. Mission activities were brought to Trianis from requests spread across the continent, so it was natural.

The atmosphere inside was quiet. Perhaps it’s because of the difference in positions and because they are unfamiliar with each other. Still, when we appeared, the heaviness was relieved a little bit.

“Hello, everyone!”

Rana smiled brightly and approached her classmates. Princess Ariel also followed Rana and greeted them. I also finished greeting them and went to the adventurer’s side.

“Nice to meet you. And I look forward to working with you.”

“We look forward to working with you too, Saint.”

Anyway, they are the ones who will be with us in this exploration. There was nothing bad about maintaining a good relationship.

Of course, I didn’t like hearing the word Saint, but it was good to change the students’ perception even like this. Even if the Trianis students’ skills are good, their experience in real battles is inferior to them.

As I was talking moderately like that, the barbarian from earlier came in. He brought the tribe’s warriors with him.

“I will explain about this exploration.”

He spread a map on the central table. It was a map of the Northern Continent.

“I will briefly explain for the Trianis students. Our exploration team will explore the Eternal Canyon next to the Thousand-Year Mountains.”

He pointed to one side of the map. The word [Eternal Canyon] that he just said was written at the end of his finger.

“You probably only know it as exploration, but the exact goal is to find traces of the ancient kingdom that once existed in the Northern Continent. Does any student know about this?”

Most of them shook their heads at the question. Rana and Princess Ariel were the same. It was natural not to know because it was something that only some of the scholars who study history knew.

“The Saint seems to know.”

“I know a little.”

I am a person who memorizes the chronology and settings of ‘Akacheonma’. It would be stranger if I didn’t know.

The ancient kingdom is a kingdom that is believed to have existed in the Northern Continent in the past. However, it is treated as a legend because the exact time and records are not left.

As far as I know from the setting, it was a country where magic was very developed. It is even more advanced than Falun, called the Magic Kingdom. But I only knew that much because there were few settings revealed.

“That’s a relief. I don’t have to explain in detail.”

Currently, only fragmentary records of the ancient kingdom remain. Knowing its existence was like knowing more than half of it.

In the first place, the people here don’t know much about the ancient kingdom either. Because there are so few records.

“We will be exploring around here.”

He pointed to one point in the Eternal Canyon. Judging from the fact that there was an X next to it, it seems like they had finished exploring that side, and this time it was this area.

“As you know, the period is 2 weeks. We explore this area during the day and spend the night at the campsite set up nearby in the evening. You must have prepared?”

He looked at our students. I don’t know about the other students except for the three of us, but judging from their expressions, they seemed to have prepared well.

I asked him a question.

“How do you distribute the personnel?”

“I’m thinking of mixing adventurers and students half and half, focusing on scholars.”

“That’s good.”

It was not a bad distribution. Students don’t necessarily have only bad points, so if the two are combined, it would be of great help to each other.

It seemed that not only me but also the adventurers who had been active in the Northern Continent had the same thought.

“That’s all. Any questions?”

The students asked him various questions. It seemed like they had a lot to ask because it was their first mission. I didn’t have anything to ask in particular.

“Okay, let’s start as soon as the maintenance is finished.”

He took the tribe’s warriors and went outside. I finished the maintenance and exchanged information with the adventurers and scholars.

There was a lot of information to be gained as they had arrived earlier. In particular, I was able to find out what the weather was like in the canyon. The Northern Continent was so cold that it maintained -10 to -20 degrees Celsius even in summer.

Immediately after, the barbarian returned. He handed us something. It was a magic tool for tracking location and checking life signs.

“Keep it with you. That way, you can be found if you go missing.”

The canyon of the Northern Continent was more than ten times more dangerous than any other dangerous area because of its weather. So this kind of preparation was absolutely necessary.

“Then let’s start when the maintenance is finished.”

Immediately after, we moved to the [Eternal Canyon]. And, of course, I was on the same team as Rana and Ariel.