Chapter 134: Snow Globe (3) (2/2)

The two men in question had tattoos and scars covering every inch of their exposed skin.

“Yes. Okay. But old man. Why did you bring me here…?”

“Hmm. Can’t you feel the immense power in this Inn? Doesn’t the aura that each of them emits make your skin crawl?”

“…Yes? Oh, yes. That’s right. It’s a little hard to breathe.”

Epherene nodded. That must be the reason that her chest felt tight. Gindalf continued.

“To fight against that man, Decalane, you will need the training to strengthen your mental power. To do that, you have to face the strong-“

Ding—

The bell rang. The unwritten rule of the guests was that they wouldn’t look at the other guests, but Epherene, unaware of this fact, glanced toward the newcomer involuntarily.

“Huh!”

And then she stood up without realizing it. All eyes in the Inn were focused on her once more, but Epherene paid them no mind as she smiled brightly at the girl who had just entered.

“Sylvia!”

Sylvia. She wore a robe with pure gold embroidery on a black background, indicating the Monarch rank.

“…”

She was going to have dinner with Idnik, but Sylvia, suddenly noticing Epherene, glared at her.

“…Stupid Epherene. You can’t show you know-“

“Here. Sit here!”

Epherene smiled brightly and pointed to her table. Of course, Sylvia tried to ignore the invitation.

“Hmph.”

“Oh, nice!”

Idnik grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to them.

“What is?”

“Let’s go. Introduce me to your friend.”

“We’re not friends.”

Sylvia was more or less forced to sit down at Epherene’s table. Epherene smiled and pointed to the wad of paper she had clasped in her hand.

“Is that also Professor Deculein’s thesis?”

Sylvia clenched her jaw and shook her head.

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s none of your business.”

Idnik answered instead.

“It’s a novel.”

“Oh.”

Idnik, lightly ignoring Sylvia’s resentful gaze, added.

“This is a novel written by this girl herself.”

“…Why did you tell her?”

“If you publish it, they will see everything anyway.”

“No. Why are you this kind of person?”

Idnik let Sylvia’s annoyance pass in one ear and out the other, but Epherene wasn’t one to let this amazing news pass.

“You, a novel?! I want to read it too! Give it to me!”

She reached out with both hands and a grin reaching from ear to ear.

* * *

…A week went by, and Sophien concluded that there was no point in waiting any longer.

“This is unacceptable.”

But it wasn’t over for Keiron. He couldn’t accept Sophien’s decision.

“Hmph. How dare you, a knight, say such things to the Emperor?”

Sophien’s lips twisted as she stared at him. Still, Keiron did not waver.

“I am sorry, but this is my mission. To protect Your Majesty no matter what-“

Sophien chanted a spell. In an instant, Keiron slipped, but he stood and grabbed his sword. At least this sword he wouldn’t let be taken away.

“Keiron. If you think I can’t do it with you around me, you are mistaken. I even hit my head on rock and died once.”

“…”

“You don’t have to be so worked up. We will meet again anyway.”

Keiron disobeyed his master’s orders and became still like a statue. No, he changed into a statue. It was a statue made to be almost impossible to break.

“…Boring guy. Even if I don’t commit suicide, there’s no way out of this place. Starving to death or suicide is one thing….”

Keiron didn’t respond. Sophien, letting out an exhausted sigh, suddenly had an ingenious idea. Even though it was a spell, would this work?

“תעשה חרב”

A phenomenon caused by only a single syllable. Mana swelled from her voice and permeated the snow, pulling it together into a sharp blade.

“No!”

Surprised, Keiron woke up quickly and rushed to take Sophien’s sword, but she pushed him away with another spell.

“Stop being stubborn. It’s all over, and I’ll see you again, Keiron.”

Yet the moment she was about to cut her wrist with that blade-

“…You have learned very well.”

A different voice arrived. Surprised, Sophien and Keiron glanced around. No one was there.

“As expected from Your Majesty.”

They looked up into the sky at the compliments that followed. Nothing. It was just a clear and dazzling sky.

“…”

Then… neither left nor right, nor up, there was only one other way. Sophien looked down into the crevasse.

“Huh.”

A smile from the bottom of her heart found its way to her lips. It was Deculein. He had risen from the endless pit of the crevasse, crawling up the wall using his wood steel as support.

“…”

Keiron let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“…You made me wait. Even so, there is still no choice but to commit suicide if there isn’t another way out. What did you find down there?”

Deculein first dusted off his clothes, melting away the frost clinging to him. No, it melted thanks to Iron Man naturally.

“I found a way out of this Snow Globe. But…”

Deculein looked at Sophien’s physical condition with Vision. The key was how much cold Sophien could withstand.

“It will be very cold.”

“Will it be worse than death? If it’s too cold, I’ll just die.”

“No. I will not let Your Majesty die.”

Deculein took the Snowflake Obsidian out. It was a very small corner, but after giving it the authority of Iron Man, it was thinly spread around Sophien. This gave Deculein some peace of mind. But…

“Keiron.”

Deculein looked back at her faithful guard. Could he withstand it? A severe and biting chill lurked right underground. Even if he was one of the top knights on the continent, without the help of a trait—

“I have no fear.”

Keiron responded sternly.

“…Yes.”

Deculein nodded. Sophien looked at the two men facing each other with an expression of ridicule and disbelief.

“…Let’s go right away.”

“Don’t you need to take a little rest?”

“Even if I rest, there is no food, so it’s all the same.”

The moment Sophien agreed, her body moved freely thanks to the Snowflake Obsidian attached to her.

“…Explain this.”

A truly bizarre and unexpected situation. Sophien, clinging to Deculein’s back, asked the question. She simply wanted an explanation; she wasn’t even disconcerted.

“You need to be as close to my body as possible so you won’t be cold.”

“It’s already cold enough. That is no reason.”

“…When we reach there, you will understand.”

“What-“

“Trust Professor Deculein, please.”

Keiron helped. But, strangely, he had a face that suggested he was holding back laughter.

“It’s the words of the professor who came up from below.”

“…All right.”

Sophien frowned to make her dissatisfaction known but soon accepted reality.

“Yes. I’m going.”

So, Deculein carried the Emperor down.