CHAPTER 86……………………….
I thought about it all day, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t come up with any reason other than that.
“Could he really be a pervert?”
“…Me?”
Loren looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then pointed to herself.
“No, not you, senior. There’s this guy.”
“First a mad dog, and now a pervert? Linnegrim, your luck’s really gone sour lately.”
“Tell me about it….”
It was a problem I couldn’t solve on my own, so I decided to get Loren’s opinion.
“Senior, it’s about my friend. One day, she suddenly made a new close friend.”
“Huh? Suddenly? Is that even possible?”
“To be exact, she got a friend she had to get close with. But that friend keeps, uh… doing troubling things.”
“Like what?”
“Hmm, saying things like he wants to be family instead of just friends, or making embarrassing, flirty comments, or teasing her… Anyway, it feels like he enjoys seeing her flustered.”
“What’s that supposed to be? Sounds like some immature crush.”
“A crush?”
“Yeah. Like when little boys tease the girl they like. He probably likes her but doesn’t know what to do, so he tries to get her attention. I had someone like that in elementary school—he’d tease me relentlessly, but the moment I cried, he was the one panicking.”
“He likes her…?”
That word didn’t fit Luce at all. Luce… likes me?
Sure, he could be curious about me—but that’s different. Not as a person of the opposite sex, but more like curiosity about a strange new creature.
After all, I have knowledge from another world. I’m competent, sharp, and perceptive.
Yes, the more I thought about it, the more “curious” felt right—not “likes.”
“So what does your friend think of that guy?”
“Uh? My friend?”
“Yeah. What does she think of him?”
“What does she think…? Well…”
Arrogant, capable, utterly insane, and annoyingly good-looking. Completely unpredictable, with not a shred of manners or humility to be found…
“…She says she doesn’t hate him.”
“Really? That’s good. At least it’s not one-sided.”
“Huh? But she said she doesn’t hate him, not that she likes him.”
“That’s how it all starts, you know~”
“Starts? Starts what?”
Loren just grinned mischievously at my question.
“Linnegrim, you’re so innocent when it comes to this kind of thing, huh?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Oh—Lord Croyt is here!”
Loren waved enthusiastically at Ethan, who gave us a polite bow.
“Good morning, Lady Linnegrim. Lady Loren.”
“Yes! Good morning, Lord Croyt!”
“Your clothes seem thin. Will you be all right?”
Ethan wore only his knight uniform and a robe. In the mountain wind, it looked like it could be torn away any moment.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not sensitive to cold.”
So Swordmasters don’t even feel the cold, huh? Ethan’s body really is useful in a lot of ways.
As I was thinking that, the doors of the Divine Beast Palace burst open.
“Linneee!”
A loud, energetic voice echoed as a group of kids came stomping toward us, tiny fists trembling with frustration. Behind them stood Eve, pressing his fingers to his temple with a helpless sigh.
“Hey, you guys. Why are you up already?”
“Are Linne and Brother Eve going to play without us?”
“So unfair! Take Hina too!”
“Kinya too! Kinya too!”
Damn it. I left early specifically to avoid being caught by them, and now all that effort was for nothing.
“Eve…”
“Sorry, Linne. They camped out in front of my room all night….”
Eve scratched his cheek awkwardly. Hina, clinging to his leg, shouted at the top of her lungs,
“Take Hina too! I wanna go too! That’s not fair!”
“Hina, we’re not going to play. We’re going to work.”
“Liar! Where are you working?”
“Somewhere really cold! If Hina comes, you’ll catch a cold! Then you’ll get the sniffles and have to take the gross medicine I make, remember?”
“Really, really cold?”
Hina’s eyes sparkled—she’d only heard the part she wanted to.
“Then you have to* take Hina! I’ll keep everyone warm!”
Was she planning to set herself on fire for that?
No matter how much we coaxed, Hina refused to give in. Luka and Kinya also clung stubbornly to Eve’s legs.
“Kids, I’ll play with you when we get back, okay?”
“Yeah, you guys. Brother Eve and Linne are busy. We’re on a mission directly ordered by Lord Lunaris. You shouldn’t be throwing tantrums, right?”
Eve put on a stern face, biting his lip dramatically.
“Lord Luna…?”
“Brother Luna?”
“…Hina, Kinya. Let go of him.”
Luka, ever the responsible one, pulled his siblings away. The leader’s word was absolute—even the youngest knew that.
“Then how many nights till you come back?”
“Hmm, about ten nights.”
Ten days should be enough, right? I comforted the pouting kids and handed them over to Leti.
“Lord Eve, Lady Linnegrim, please take care on your journey.”
“Bye-bye, Linne…”
“Come back safe, Linne!”
“We’ll miss you, Linne.”
Each of the kids waved as they followed Leti back into the palace.
“They didn’t even say goodbye to me…” Eve grumbled.
“Why is Luce taking so long?”
“Taking your frustration out on someone else because your siblings ignored you? That’s a bad look.”
“What’d you just say, you little—”
Ignoring the fuming Eve, Luce strode up to me. As he did, Loren started smacking my back in excitement.
“Oh my god, oh my god… he’s so gorgeous…!”
“Senior, that hurts….”
“I’m so glad I came with you, Linnegrim…!”
Loren stared at Luce with dazed admiration.
Used to that kind of attention, Luce spoke casually.
“You want to hug, or just hold hands?”
Loren audibly gasped.
“Let me hold his hand, please…!”
“Hey! Don’t you dare! Linne! Come here!”
“Should we just leave them behind?”
The journey was already off to a chaotic start… I wasn’t sure we’d survive the trip.
Luce’s magic wrapped around us, lifting our bodies into the air. A biting cold wind slashed against our skin.
The sudden drop in temperature shocked everyone.
“C-c-cold! It’s freezing!”
Beside me, Loren trembled so hard I thought her teeth might shatter.
“Loren! Hold this! It’s a divine power stone from Lady Raykis!”
Loren gratefully clutched the warm stone.
The blizzard was so thick we could barely see ahead. Except for Loren right next to me, I couldn’t even tell where the others were.
I squinted through the ice forming on my lashes. A vast, white expanse stretched endlessly before us.
This land allowed no shadows.
Each step we took vanished instantly under fresh snow.
We couldn’t even tell which way the mountain lay.
Even pulling my robe tightly around me, the cold bit deep into my bones.
I could feel the tip of my nose going numb.
“Lady Linnegrim, are you all right?”
“L-Lord Ethan?”
Ethan appeared suddenly and wrapped his robe securely around me.
“Are you all right, Lord Ethan?”
“I’m fine. But Lord Eve and Luce—”
Thud. Blue hair scattered across the snow. Eve was shivering like a snowman.
“S-so cold…”
“Should’ve left him behind.”
Luce dropped Eve unceremoniously, clearly irritated.
“Linne, hug me… I’m freezing…”
He reached out pitifully, but before I could take his hand, a large one scooped him up.
“I’ll hold you, Lord Eve.”
“W-what? Let go! Ethan!”
“My body is warmer than Lady Linnegrim’s. Please rest comfortably.”
“Ugh! I’d rather freeze to death!”
Despite his protests, Eve soon stopped struggling and rested his head on Ethan’s shoulder.
“But which way is the mountain? I can’t see anything!”
Even Loren’s eyelashes were crusted with frost.
“Since Luce’s teleportation stopped, we must be close….”
“It’s right behind us.”
At Ethan’s words, Loren and I turned around simultaneously—but saw only the white expanse.
“Look closely at the far end,” Ethan said, pointing.
I followed his gaze and spotted a faint black blur moving through the snow.
“What’s that…?”
It drew closer—until we could make out the spotted pattern. Snow leopards.
“Snow leopards… Aren’t they the spirit beasts that serve the Axsion clan?”
“Yeah.”
Three massive snow leopards padded up to Eve, nuzzling against his legs like oversized cats.
—Grrr… purr…
“They say they were waiting for us. They’ll take us to the Axsion chief.”
At Eve’s translation, Loren visibly relaxed. So did I. I’d been worried about how we’d even climb this mountain, but it seemed help had come at just the right time.
And so, we followed the snow leopards up the blinding white slopes.
The problem was… we were nowhere near as adept at moving through the snow as they were.
“Wahh!”
“Loren! Are you okay?”
“I almost fell off….”
Loren was on the verge of tears after yet another close call. The slopes were steep and treacherous—one wrong step could be fatal.
She was practically crawling on all fours just to stay upright.
Meanwhile, Ethan and Luce trudged steadily onward, Ethan still carrying Eve as if he weighed nothing. It was hard to believe they were even human.
Just as I was struggling to keep up, Eve tapped Ethan’s shoulder.
“Ethan, I’m good now. Go carry Loren instead.”
“Are you sure?”
“If anything happens, I’ll just fly. Go on.”
“Then, Lady Loren, forgive my impertinence.”
“Oh my… you’re not being impertinent at all….”
Ethan gently lifted Loren into his arms. The red on her cheeks wasn’t just from the cold.
“Linne, you okay?”
“Of course! Totally fine!”
In truth, my toes were so numb they barely moved inside my boots, but I forced a smile anyway.
