Chapter 007
“The butler is truly something, not even giving us time to pack… I bet we’re the only ones who brought a single bag on the way to the North.”
Lisa grumbled under her breath.
Indeed, the path to the Eastern Temple bordered the North, making it exceptionally cold and bleak.
Thanks to that, my fragile body was currently manifesting the biting chill through a very stuffed-up nose.
“I’m okay.”
Of course, the nasal quality of my voice was something I couldn’t quite help.
“I even have the gloves you gave me, Lisa.”
Sniff. After I replied with a little snuffle, Lisa stroked my cheek. “…My brave little lady.”
An unidentifiable emotion flickered in her eyes.
I knew that look.
‘She’s thinking of her younger siblings back home.’
Whenever she looked at me like that, I envied them. I wondered what it felt like to have an older sister like her.
Since I had never had one, I couldn’t know for sure, but I imagined it would be a very happy thing.
It was then.
“Hey, who told you to keep slacking off?”
I looked up at the surly voice. It was the man in charge of our transport to the Eastern Temple. He was glaring at us with a menacing expression.
“Do you think I stopped the carriage just so you two could sit around and chat?”
“You’re the one who stopped the carriage! You told us to get out because you needed to check the interior when it was perfectly fine…!”
Lisa stood her ground without shrinking back.
“What is this woman talking about? When did I ever do that?”
The man, holding a bottle of booze, feigned ignorance with total nonchalance.
In fact, the faint smell of alcohol was already wafting from him.
I had wondered what was going on when he suddenly told us to get out; he must have hidden his stash inside the carriage.
Because of that, we had been unceremoniously kicked out into the cold.
‘Shouldn’t this guy be thrown in jail for drunk driving? A carriage still has wheels, after all!’
“It’s freezing enough as it is. Do I really have to look after a gloomy brat like this too?”
“What did you say?”
“So, are you getting back in or not?”
The man asked threateningly. The bottle in his hand wobbled precariously.
The border connecting the East and the North is infested with monsters.
If this carriage left us behind, our lives would be in grave danger.
“Lisa, let’s just get in. I’m cold.”
When I tugged on her arm, Lisa hesitated. Swallowing her anger, she replied with difficulty.
“…We’ll get in.”
“Hmph. Should’ve said so from the start.”
The man snorted and walked to the front of the carriage. As Lisa and I climbed inside, the carriage moved with a rattling thud.
“It’s okay, we’ll be there soon if we go just a bit further.”
Lisa spoke in a forced, bright voice.
But that didn’t last long.
The further the carriage progressed, the rougher the road became and the colder the weather turned.
“…Something is strange.”
Lisa, who always tried to speak cheerfully so I wouldn’t be scared, saw her expression gradually cloud over.
“I heard that although the journey is rough, the Eastern Temple is warm. But the further we go…”
It’s getting colder and colder.
Before she could even finish her sentence.
Neigh! With the sound of a horse’s cry, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.
The door swung open before we could even grasp the situation.
“Hey, get out.”
It was the man driving the carriage.
“…Where are we?”
“Where else? Your destination.”
“Did you take a wrong turn? If Duke Agnito finds out about this, you don’t know what will happen—!”
“What the hell is this woman talking about?”
The man let out a mocking sneer.
“This was your destination from the very beginning.”
“What…!”
Lisa’s eyes trembled violently.
Snow piled deep enough to bury one’s feet. Chilly air. Gloomy weather and the howling of beasts echoing from somewhere.
Giant iron bars towering far above our heads, tangled with dark green vines. And the large crest visible between them…
I knew instinctively.
‘Stykia of Winter.’
There are four Ducal houses in the current Empire.
Families that have maintained their lineage since the founding of the country, one of which was the House of Agnito, where I had been until just now.
While three of the houses remained prosperous, one was on the brink of ruin.
That was the Stykia before my eyes.
‘Commonly known as… the Trash Heap.’
After the previous Duke died of illness, his younger brother inherited the title.
Following a certain incident, the current Duke closed the gates, and since then, the Stykia territory became a land where anything could be discarded.
Objects, animals, monsters… even people.
A land of destruction where everything was permitted.
A living tomb and the underworld.
Lisa’s face turned deathly pale.
“T-That’s impossible. Duke Agnito would never have sent the Lady to a place like this…!”
“You can say that even after seeing the result before your eyes? Well, I suppose you wouldn’t want to die along with this little thing.”
The man clicked his tongue as if he understood. Then, as if a “good” idea had suddenly struck him, he spoke with a disgusting smile.
“Well, it’s not like there’s absolutely no way to live…”
The man scanned Lisa up and down with a vile gaze.
“How about abandoning that kid and coming with me? At least you’ll save your life.”
“…What?”
“Duke Agnito told me to push the accompanying woman inside with her. In other words, you’re destined to die together.”
“T-That can’t be…”
“But if you follow me, it means I’ll at least save your life. Of course, it’s not for free.”
The man began to chuckle, clearly harboring some dark thoughts.
“You—!”
It was just as Lisa was about to shout in a fit of rage.
“Mister.”
I spoke up first. The man, who had been laughing breathlessly, looked down at me as if wondering what this was now.
“Mister, can you open that door?”
“What? Which door?”
Point.
I pointed to the firmly closed gates of the Stykia castle.
“They say no one can open the gates of Stykia.”
“Ha. Who said that?”
“The children on the streets told me… that those gates can’t be opened by just anyone…”
I let my voice trail off slowly, pretending to be frightened.
“They said it’s hard unless you’re really strong…”
When I gave him a small, sidelong glance, the man’s face twisted in an instant.
“Those beggars on the street—what do they know? Weaklings always have so much to say.”
The man, clicking his tongue in disbelief, looked at the firmly shut gates.
“…A crumbling Ducal castle like this is easy enough to handle with a single finger.”
He approached the gates with a voice full of stubborn spite.
“I’ll have you know, I’m a wanted criminal who once had a bounty on my head as a serial killer.”
Spouting a boast that didn’t sound like a boast at all, he began to push the gates.
Creeeak…
The gates, which didn’t budge at first, began to move inch by inch.
Grind, creak…
They began to open ever so slightly.
Rumble…
Finally, with a slow, thundering sound, the gates opened.
“Haha, see that, brat? Huff, a gate like this is nothing, wheeze, nothing at all!”
For someone saying that, his breathing was far too ragged…
Instead of responding, I poked my head forward and stared into the opened gate.
Though it was gloomy, the sun was still up. Yet the interior looked as if it were consumed by shadows, showing nothing.
That shouldn’t be possible. I swallowed hard in anticipation.
“Brat. I have a lot to do, so I have to go now.”
It was then. The man spoke with a self-assured smile.
“I’ve opened the gates of hell for you. Now go inside quietly and die.”
But I paid him no mind and peered further into the shadows.
No. It’s definitely there. Surely…
At that moment, something caught my eye. My eyes widened involuntarily.
‘Ah.’
I knew instinctively.
‘That’s it.’
That is definitely…
When I didn’t say anything, the man grabbed my arm roughly.
‘Wait, not me!’
“When an adult is talking, you insolent— what are you looking at—.”
“T-There!”
At my shout, the man reflexively turned his head. Staring inside the gate, he froze mid-motion, just as I had.
“…Eh?”
The moment an uncharacteristically pure sound of wonder escaped him.
‘Now!’
I quickly shook off the man’s arm.
From within Lisa’s embrace, as she hugged me tight as if she had been waiting, I hurriedly turned my head away.
Inside the opened gate, something in the darkness split wide open with a rrrip…
Gulp.
It closed shut in the blink of an eye.
“—! —!”
A rather horrific sound followed after that, but it was only for a split second.
Because Lisa, who was holding me in her arms, covered my ears.
Before long, Lisa’s grip loosened. I slowly lifted my head.
Something was slowly crawling out from the darkness. My eyes went wide.
“T-That… that is…!”
