Chapter 114

Against the dark (1)

The snow stopped that afternoon. Instead of running out, the knights had gathered in the parlor, listening to Baku as he stood by the window. The old man nodded, spit on his fingertips, stepped outside, and looked at the snowflakes piling up.

"It won't come for a week now. Clear it now."

"Thank you, sir."

"I have to find some use for this skill. Thank you, vice-captain."

Rotan glanced about as the knights and soldiers prepared to go outside. The guards on duty climbed the wall to watch their surroundings, and one knight took a seat in the watchtower to defend against flying beasts. Trude had apparently been caught on paperwork duty and couldn't go out, which explained Rotan's relaxed expression. Arthur and the children were mobilized to clear the road. Even if they wanted to go out hunting, they had to open the gates first. Without the snow cleared, everyone would be isolated inside the castle. All the available personnel went out with snow shovels in hand, pushing away the snow quickly. Kleio was rather surprised by the scene.

'In Lundane, I saw a snowplow pulled by horses, but here... yeah, how many horses would be needed to handle that mountain of snow?'

The snow melted in the waterways and began to ripple down, apparently heated by the hot spring flowing below as Kleio couldn't feel any ether. The children were ahead of everyone else, moving the most snow. Kleio, for his part, was standing beside the waterway in a warm spot, his hands in an old muff someone had lent him.

"Eh."

February was the coldest time in the north, so his breath came out frosty as he stood there.

"Lei, can't you go in? You're making me more anxious."

Arthur looked worried as he pushed his wide shovel around, as did Isiel.

"Arthur is right. What if you catch a cold standing there?"

"And, as Isiel said, do some training this year."

It was something he had heard before, so Kleio let it go in one ear and out the other. He was thinking about the ruby, but he hadn't engraved the magic formula into them yet.

"Report."

He would often work harder in his past life to warm up, but here, that might kill him. He didn't even have enough physical strength to exercise more than he was.

'Should I start something like that now? If I don't need to get up, I lay down all day.'

Even without moving, he continued to cycle his ether as he watched them clear the snow. His body wrapped in the summer garden coat was absolutely warm, but his toes and hands were a bit chilled, even wearing fur boots and gloves. Cel clicked her tongue as she approached, pushing a snow pile past.

"Look, go before you freeze and die. Tsk."

"I don't know about shoveling, but there's something else I can do."

Kleio's shaky reply wasn't very convincing as Cel displayed outright disbelief.

"Even if you use your magic, your movement is too slow. Don't sit here like a dog in the rain. At least make a fire."

"When it gets colder, I'll make a fire."

"That stubbornness. Lippi, Leticia! Let's get done quickly and go in together!"

"Okay!"

"Alright!"

Once this snow was removed, they would head out to catch wild beasts.

'The two can communicate over long distances, so they'll make a name for themselves when they go out hunting.'

The twins, unaware of Kleio's calculations, shoveled snow with their cheeks glowing pink. Leticia began to shout first.

"Lei, Lei. This time I'll catch a fox to make you a scarf. It'll be much warmer than rabbit fur!"

"Don't overdo it..."

"But Leticia, Lei looks cuter with rabbit fur."

"It's not cute."

"Ahaha."

While the twins rallied themselves, Kleio continued to cycle his ether. In fact, Kleio didn't want to be out there. But it was the yard where Pyton had been killed, so a subtle sense of anxiety had brought him there.

'There was something suspicious about that Pyton. It had that strange modifier of young. So, is it possible there's an adult Pyton somewhere?'

The Pyton in the last manuscript had been just that with no modifiers attached to it. Now Kleio knew well that the previous manuscript wasn't a perfect guide to navigating this world, however, and nor was it a prophecy. Looking at the beasts from the Queen's Garden, any crisis appeared as a step deeper than before.

'That snake was strangely small. In the last manuscript, it was a big demon that wouldn't lose altitude even if all three of them stuck to it.'

Once that occurred to him, he couldn't bear to stay in that warm room a second longer.

"Ah-chu."

Kleio's body was unable to overcome the cold, even with all types of cold protection. He sneezed loudly as the cold overwhelmed his throat and nose. The only reason he didn't use [Fever] was to conserve his ether for something that would need his all.

'If I pass out from a lack of ether because I used it to warm my body, who would I have to blame but myself?'

Knights could take turns, but wizards couldn't.

'I'm worried my eyes will freeze. If you were going to make me work, put me in a strong body like Nebo's.'

While Jungjin lamented the body he had been given, the knights wearing only thin work clothes continued to shovel the snow.

'The kids behave well, but I can't judge whether it's a good idea to tell them about it. It might just make them nervous.'

All of the snow inside the castle was cleared. After putting down the drawbridge, Kleio followed the people who were clearing the path outside the castle. It looked like a world far from civilization as the heavens and earth were covered in pure white. The fortress itself, wrapped in the deep valleys and high peaks, was lonely and isolated. Cold and heavy snow surrounded them, and he could feel the fatigue of those in the castle slowly accumulate. It was then...

From the mountain range by the castle was a being running through the snow. It was neither a mountain beast nor a demon, but a human. The children were on alert, but Arthur, with a puzzled look, removed his hand from his sword.

"...Master?"

"Is that ragged lump your teacher?"

"Yes. Perhaps... surely."

Everyone used their ether to examine the person approaching them at a terrifying pace. Leticia shook her head.

"I guess he hasn't changed his clothes since last we saw him."

"Well, that's the kind of person he is."

"Arthur, you've learned something you don't need from him."

"I wash and change these clothes well!"

"Read the room."

"Uh..."

While they quarreled, the man crossed the distance enough that his voice could be heard.

"What, you guys have a chance to chat and relax? Huh?"

"Master!"

"Yes."

Looking closer, Mietsu's form was even more bedraggled. His robes had frozen snow all over them, and his beard was thick and hard. Mietsu squeezed Arthur's neck without worrying about his own appearance. Arthur quickly escaped from his teacher and laughed like a child.

"Master, you seem to have been excited. Did you have fun? Why did you come back alone?"

"The beast subjugation is over. Now everyone's coming back. The youngest knight was bitten by a monster, so I came first to contact the castle."

The watchtower's knight motioned a hand signal saying welcome to show he recognized Mietsu. Mietsu answered the hand signal as two guards came from the castle, faces full of joy. As soon as he had arrived at the castle, Mietsu had gone straight into the demonic subjugation team. Kleio took a few steps back from Mietsu's stench and noticed the end of his robe was stained purple with the blood of a demon.

'He must've fought hard.'

Mietsu's level wasn't yet known, but since he taught Arthur and Isiel, he wouldn't be normal. Even dressed in rags, the teacher crossed the moat and met the prince with a dignified attitude. Knights began to stream toward him, patting his back. They must've been together for only five days, but their comradeship made it seem like they had been together for a lifetime. He asked them to prepare a bath and three bottles of Three Springs instead of water. The atmosphere of the castle had come to life only at his arrival.

"Master, I think the bathwater will need to be changed twice if you're bathing in it. Maybe you should tidy up with ether first and get rid of the icicles on you."

"Sheesh! This boy..."

"It's a public health problem."

Mietsu didn't even slow down as he raised his ether, turning the ice on him into steam. Strangely, the form and color of his ether weren't visible at all.

'What...?'

He rubbed Promise as a habit, and the ring conveyed its presence under the sheepskin gloves. After that, the content of the message that came slower than usual was shocking.

[8th level swordmaster

Title: Recluse of Defiance]

'Level 8?!'