Chapter 4
Clemen quietly watched what was happening.
Ice that didn’t easily melt even when it came close to her.
It was fascinating.
But—
“Enough.”
As if she were swatting a bug, Clemen struck the ice with her palm.
The ice instantly melted and flowed away as water.
“It does feel refreshing… but did you make this on purpose, Lord? I mean… intentionally?”
“Who would freeze things on purpose?”
“That’s true…”
Clemen nodded.
She looked like she understood his feelings.
Strangely enough, that small nod stirred an indescribable emotion in Zephyrus.
Zephyrus tilted his head and stared at her.
Her vermilion hair—rare in the North unless it was a bonfire—swayed as she moved her head.
It looks soft to the touch.
The thought slipped into Zephyrus’s mind unconsciously.
Bang!
He slammed the desk.
Cracking ice shot upward and immediately melted away.
“Stop wasting time and answer. Why were you climbing the mountain?”
“Ah! You startled me. Is this the interrogation?”
Clemen giggled.
Then she cleared her throat and folded her hands neatly on the desk.
“Well… what happened was…”
It was the day after Clemen arrived at the village.
Originally, she had planned to visit the village chief.
“Apparently the chief already had an appointment today. So I thought I’d show you the village first…”
Ruby trailed off mid-sentence.
“You two…”
Laura and Lu were stuck to Clemen’s sides, looking relaxed and sleepy.
“Laura’s going too!”
“I was planning to take you along, but… Lu, are you okay?”
“Mmm…”
Lu looked like he was about to melt like a rice cake on a hot griddle.
He was clearly sleepy.
If he were this tired, there was no way he could go outside.
Ruby picked him up.
“Laura, come here. We’re not going out today.”
“Why! I need to show everyone the stove!”
“Hey!”
“Hmph…”
Ruby silenced Laura’s whining with a glare, then looked embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I can’t leave the kids behind.”
“I understand.”
It was natural for a parent.
Ruby worked at the lord’s castle, so her days off were important.
They were the only time she had to spend with her children.
Seeing Laura waving sadly from Ruby’s arms, Clemen smiled softly and decided to walk around the village alone.
Perhaps feeling guilty, Ruby had drawn a map filled with useful information.
“Here is the leather shop… though I probably don’t need to know that.”
Even when the severe cold arrived, Clemen would never wear thick clothes.
Even now, everyone else was bundled up in heavy layers while she walked around in light indoor clothing.
“Ah?”
Suddenly something hit her face.
A rough, worn leather jacket.
The culprit was the owner of the leather shop.
“You there! Who are you trying to make clean up a corpse? Get out of here!”
The shopkeeper pointed a broom used for clearing snow at Clemen.
His glare was sharp.
It was a familiar look.
Annoyance.
Avoidance.
Most people she had met in life looked at her that way.
“Oh, I’ll return this.”
“Hey! This is the first time someone’s brought back trash I threw away! Just take it and leave!”
Clemen looked down at the jacket curiously.
It was old, but still usable.
“Ah.”
She stared again at the shopkeeper’s eyes.
There was suspicion and caution—but also a trace of sympathy.
They’re kind people.
Even though he could see the snow melting around her, he still gave her clothes in case she might feel cold.
That kindness made Clemen smile.
“Thank you!”
She took a big step forward as she bowed.
Warm air spread outward.
“Wh-what are you doing?! Are you trying to ruin my business?”
“Ruin… eat?”
Clemen mimed eating and almost got hit by the broom.
“Hahaha! See you next time!”
“Don’t come back!”
Clemen cheerfully waved goodbye and continued walking.
Her destination was the mountain.
It looked similar to the mountains she had wandered through just a few days ago.
When she first entered the mountain, she thought it would be easy.
Unlike the desert, there were clear landmarks.
But it was harder than she expected.
The many obstacles made it impossible to travel straight.
She wandered for days.
Her food ran out.
Her sense of direction became more confusing.
After starving for three days, she finally found the path.
She ran toward it happily—
And collapsed.
That was when Ruby found her.
Even after all that hardship, Clemen returned to the mountain for one reason.
The northern mountains were dense conifer forests where sunlight barely reached.
And wandering there felt far cooler than staying in the village.
“Of course, there are fewer people, so there’s less to worry about.”
Clemen laughed and wandered through the forest.
Because she felt relaxed, snow melted everywhere she stepped.
“This is a bit annoying.”
Mud stuck to her bare feet.
Hidden beneath the snow, fallen leaves pricked her soles.
“Hey!”
She shook one foot.
Water instantly turned into white steam.
The leaves, dried and crumbled, were under her steps.
“That’s better.”
Her walk lasted quite a while.
Had she ever walked so freely before?
She turned around, smiling widely.
It was actually fun.
The snow-covered forest floor had melted into a long trail behind her.
It looked like a road made just for her.
ROAR!
Suddenly, a violent roar pierced the quiet forest.
In the distance, trees were being knocked down.
The ground trembled slightly.
“Hmm. Maybe I should go back.”
Clemen tried to move aside.
But the sounds of a rampaging monster were rapidly approaching.
If she chose the wrong direction, she might be crushed by falling trees.
Then she heard human voices.
And the clinking of light armor.
Then…
Her decision was quick.
Instead of running away, she moved forward and blocked the monster’s path.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The monster appeared.
At that moment—
Clemen leaned forward and twisted her body.
Her hand brushed against the monster’s side.
“Graaak?!”
That was enough.
The monster, whose body temperature had suddenly risen, collapsed immediately.
Thud…
“Huh?”
That was unexpected.
Desert monsters wouldn’t fall from something like that.
Heat like this would only make them hesitate briefly.
She had assumed the knights chasing it would finish it off.
“Life rarely goes according to plan.”
A knight cut the monster’s throat with his sword.
Green blood splattered.
Clemen stepped aside naturally and waved awkwardly.
“Hello?”
One knight behind her stared in shock.
Behind Clemen stretched a long dry path where the snow had melted.
It looked completely unnatural among the snow-covered conifer trees.
Only something from the North’s legends could create such a sight.
Thinking that, the knight carefully asked.
“Are you perhaps the Fire Spirit?”
When Clemen thought about it, the knights seemed to want to believe she was the Fire Spirit.
After all, the snow had melted along her path.
Even the snow falling from trees when the monster collapsed had disappeared instantly.
It was understandable that they thought she wasn’t human.
But she still wasn’t a Fire Spirit.
The books described Fire Spirits as beings born from fire itself.
She was simply human.
“I told them several times that I wasn’t.”
Whether she was truly a Fire Spirit didn’t seem to matter to them.
Zephyrus silently considered her explanation.
Her vocabulary was limited, so the story wasn’t perfectly detailed, but she understood the general idea.
In any case, the knights’ reports would confirm the truth.
“Wait. I just realized something. This feels strange.”
Clemen’s expression became serious.
“You knew that you froze everything around you… yet you still let me enter.”
That meant—
If things hadn’t gone the way they hoped, she might have frozen earlier.
“So if I’d been unlucky… I might have frozen to death?”
That was true.
Zephyrus fidgeted with his fingers.
“I apologize. My knights’ loyalty placed you in danger.”
His voice dropped lower, sounding gloomy.
If she had frozen, he probably wouldn’t have been able to endure it anymore.
He understood the knights’ loyalty, but something like that must never happen again.
“Then grant me a request.”
“If it’s something I can do.”
“Let me work here.”
