Unlike the temperate central region of the Akasha Continent, the northern part of the continent experienced long winters throughout all four seasons, resulting in a day-night cycle that was vastly different from that of the central region.
Days were short, while nights were long. Even during summer, nighttime lasted longer than daytime, exceeding twelve hours, while daylight lasted at most ten hours, making the days rather brief.
On the other hand, the temperature difference between day and night was relatively small. Even during the day, the sun was rarely seen in the north throughout the entire year. As a result, unless a blizzard rolled in, the temperature difference between day and night generally never exceeded two degrees.
Even so, people rarely went outside after nightfall.
It was simply too cold outside.
Other than sturdy swordsmen, ordinary people wished they could stay home by the fireplace twenty-four hours a day.
If the clothing materials used in Theresis had not differed from those of other countries—being woven from an inexpensive type of magic silk with excellent resistance to extreme cold—then ordinary people would hardly have dared step outside on the northern continent, where the average temperature reached minus fifty degrees.
Except for Ivy, Riezel's group, thanks to their exceptional physical abilities, had no fear of the bitter northern cold, but regardless, they still had no desire to wander outside on a dark, snowy night.
More importantly, once night fell, most shops and businesses closed for the day. Very few remained open after dark, so the nightlife in the north was nowhere near as lively as it was on the central continent.
After purchasing several local specialties and daily necessities unique to the north, Riezel's group chose a fairly high-end inn and checked in, deciding not to go out again.
In the end, after a thoroughly 'reasonable' and 'well-supported' debate, Riezel successfully secured the privilege of sharing a room with Lizbeth. Euryale ended up joining them as well, leaving Ivy and Leo, who had fought desperately against the arrangement, utterly powerless.
Watching Riezel pull the blushing Lizbeth into the room, with Euryale casually tagging along beside them, the two could only grit their teeth in resentment.
Leo, in particular, was so irritated that the muscle-headed man actually felt as though he had regained his confidence and even considered challenging Riezel to another duel.
Unfortunately, a certain fiercely loyal female demon had been staring at him the whole time, seemingly ready to chop him to pieces the moment he issued the challenge.
Naturally, that wasn't without precedent.
During the half-month they had stayed with the Frenzel family, Leo had once pushed things too far by provoking Riezel over Lizbeth, ultimately angering Lilith, who dragged him outside and gave him a thorough beating.
Naturally, Leo wasn't afraid of Lilith. Even after losing the powerful mystical artifact Cursekiller, he remained one of the strongest Sword Saints. Even veteran Sword Saints might not have been able to defeat him.
In his eyes, if he couldn't beat Riezel, then surely he could handle one of Riezel's subordinates.
However, reality proved otherwise, as his confidence was shattered when Lilith thoroughly humbled him.
As a high-tier demon in YGGDRASIL, Lilith was a special summon equivalent to Level 7, so her strength was in no way inferior to that of a veteran Sword Saint.
As for why, it was because, besides possessing physical abilities comparable to those of a Level 7 Sword Saint, she could also cast a wide variety of magic, making her the only person besides Riezel who excelled in both physical combat and magic.
On the Akasha Continent, Lilith was not only a close-combat expert but also an outstanding magician.
Even though demons in YGGDRASIL were not a race particularly suited to becoming dedicated magic casters, and their specialization in magic lagged behind that of other races, high-tier demons were born with numerous special abilities and innate magic. Once they cast spells, they were still magic professionals far beyond the reach of ordinary magic casters.
By the Akasha Continent's standards, Lilith was both a Sword Saint and a Tactical-Class Magician who was also exceptionally proficient in Combat-Class Magic, to the point where she was hardly inferior to Nibald.
As a result, Leo received a harsh lesson.
Whenever he charged into melee range, Lilith immediately escaped with Greater Teleportation, never giving him a chance to get close. Right afterward, she bombarded him from afar with spells such as Hell Flame and Hellfire Wall, gradually exhausting his stamina through relentless hit-and-run tactics.
Whenever he tried to widen the distance, Lilith boldly used teleportation magic to close in instead, then layered herself with various buffs to enhance her abilities before catching Leo completely off guard.
Of course, that wasn't even the most frustrating part.
As a demon, Lilith wasn't particularly skilled at buff magic and couldn't stack dozens of buffs on herself or others like Riezel could. Compared to buff magic, she excelled at debuff magic, inflicting abnormal status effects on enemies, lowering their abilities, or burdening them with various negative conditions.
Combined with the various hell-series spells that specifically damaged life force and even the soul rather than the physical body, it could only be said that Leo had lost miserably—and without a shred of dignity.
After enduring enough of those beatings, Leo had become genuinely afraid of Lilith and no longer dared fight her.
"When we get back to the Hidden Land, I'm definitely asking the priests for a mystical artifact that can make me immune to Interference Magic!"
Leo secretly made up his mind.
Whether it had been losing to Riezel's time magic or being crippled by Lilith's debuff magic, both defeats had been unbearably frustrating.
Because of that, Leo no longer dared challenge either Riezel or Lilith until he acquired a mystical artifact specifically designed to counter them.
If Leo didn't dare, then Ivy certainly didn't either.
It couldn't be helped.
She was a pure magician, and she had also lost the powerful mystical artifact Divine Arcana, which was still in Riezel's hands.
To put it bluntly, the moment Riezel brought out that mystical artifact, she was practically rendered useless.
After all, Divine Arcana could counter every type of magic. It could prevent any spell from being cast, and even if one was successfully cast, it would immediately be nullified.
It was truly a magician's nemesis.
With it, Riezel no longer had any reason to fear enemy magic. Against someone like Ivy, who specialized purely in magic, he was practically holding a harmless little white rabbit in the palm of his hand, leaving her able to do nothing but tremble before him.
If Riezel hadn't been a man with at least some sense of decency, there was no telling what he could have gotten away with during this time.
"How are we supposed to fight back?"
Leo and Ivy could only secretly look up at the sky and let out long sighs.
They felt they had failed the Sanctuary, as well as the high priest who had placed such great hopes in them.
All they could do was watch helplessly as their most treasured princess was dragged into a room by Riezel to do whatever he pleased.
For them, the feeling was simply too depressing.
However, perhaps even the heavens couldn't bear to watch any longer, because just as Riezel led Lizbeth and Euryale back to their room, preparing to get up to no good, Lilith suddenly contacted him through Message.
"Master, Leffy Beryl has come to visit."
Her words left Riezel, who had already taken off his clothes, thoroughly puzzled.
"Visiting at this hour?"
Glancing at the moonlit night outside, where the cold winds howled endlessly, Riezel realized that the other party probably had something important to discuss.
"...Bring her in."
Left with little choice, Riezel put his clothes back on, prompting the shy Lizbeth, who had already buried herself beneath the blankets, to cautiously peek her head out.
"Master?"
Only her eyes were visible, while everything below them remained hidden beneath the blanket, with both of her hands tightly clutching it.
"?"
Euryale also poked her head out curiously while hugging Lizbeth, creating quite an evocative scene.
"It's nothing. I just need to discuss something with the mayor." Riezel smiled at Lizbeth and Euryale. "Wait here for me. I'll be back soon. Don't fall asleep before I get back, okay?"
His meaningful remark left Lizbeth far too embarrassed to respond, so she hurriedly pulled the blanket over her head.
Seeing that, Euryale unexpectedly copied her and burrowed beneath the blanket as well, immediately drawing a startled yelp from Lizbeth.
A few moments later, several pieces of clothing suddenly flew out from under the blanket, accompanied by Lizbeth's flustered cries for Euryale to stop and Euryale's curious-sounding voice.
Clearly, the vampire girl's old habit had resurfaced.
They hadn't even gone to sleep yet, and she had already started stripping someone.
Riezel looked rather enviously at the constantly squirming blanket. In the end, however, he forcibly suppressed the temptation and walked out of the bedroom.
Outside the bedroom was a spacious living room furnished with luxurious tables and chairs, an expensive carpet covering the floor, exquisitely crafted furniture, valuable paintings and swords hanging on the walls, a fireplace blazing warmly in one corner, and a magic crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling that illuminated the entire room.
Anyone who didn't know where they were would have thought they were standing in the reception hall of a great noble family's manor. It was enough to show just how luxurious the inn Riezel's group had found truly was, and it was undoubtedly among the finest in the border city of Mitte.
They had directly booked the two most luxurious suites available.
One was for Riezel, Lizbeth, and Euryale, while the other was for Ivy and Leo. As for Lilith, she firmly insisted that she didn't need sleep and could stand guard outside.
Naturally, every corner of the place reflected its exorbitant price.
In any case, Riezel no longer lacked money.
Setting aside the collection of mystical artifacts and burial treasures he possessed, the valuable materials he had obtained while subjugating monsters such as the humanoid treants in Reinnail's ancient ruins—things like tree cores—could each be sold for astronomical sums.
Furthermore, as the holder of the Crimson Dragon Medal, he enjoyed treatment equal to that of a duke. Every year, Jinas granted him a substantial allowance, and he had already received this year's payment.
Because of that, there was no longer any need to spend Yuri's money, as Riezel could more than afford to indulge himself. Since that was the case, he naturally chose the finest room available, ensuring that poor soundproofing wouldn't allow anyone to eavesdrop in the middle of the night.
Lizbeth wasn't much of a concern since she was naturally shy and always tried to suppress her voice.
However, Riezel was far from a gentleman.
Every time he saw Lizbeth struggling so hard to keep quiet, he couldn't help wanting to make her lose control.
As for Euryale, she had absolutely no idea how to restrain herself—or rather, she simply couldn't understand why she should.
It was in this luxurious living room that Lilith brought Leffy inside.
To Riezel's surprise, the mayor had not only brought Hugh, the strongest knight in Mitte, but also another person.
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[A bonus chapter for reaching 300 Power Stones]
[Support and get early access to upcoming chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]