A blizzard raged in the snow mountains.
Even though it was spring, the snowstorm intensified.
Fierce snow, rarely seen even in winter, lashed at the mountain. The snow from the previous winter hadn't even melted, so the snow falling today piled up on top of it, layer upon layer.
Amidst all this, there were eight visitors.
They walked along the mountain's cliffside path. The path was only slightly wider than an adult, and the snow piled up on it was higher than their chests. Even with tools like shovels, it was a path they wouldn't dare to attempt.
Moreover, the wind blowing from the cliff seemed intent on pushing the guests over the edge, and the snow, carried by the wind, threatened to obscure their vision and bury their bodies.
Yet, they walked on.
A man at the front made the path.
He was the youngest-looking man in the group.
Without any tools, he pushed through the snow with his bare hands. The wall made of snow became a path as he pushed it away, and the fierce wind and snow couldn't slow his pace or throw him off course.
The seven people behind him only looked down at the heels of the person in front, following closely. Even though they wore layers of winter clothes, they trembled as the cold penetrated their skin.
"······."
After making the path for a while, he suddenly turned his head.
He looked at the woman following right behind him. She couldn't dare to lift her head because of the wind, and she was only looking at his back as she followed.
Even as he moved forward, he looked back at her several times. Her gait was awkward. He couldn't see her expression because she was looking down, but there was clearly something wrong.
There was no response even when he called her name.
He stopped walking and narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. She didn't notice that the person in front of her had stopped and took a step forward, then bumped into him and tilted to the side with a gasp.
And the moment she fell to the side, he quickly reached out his right hand, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and calling her name once more.
"Roberta."
Only then did she, Roberta, awaken from her reverie.
At the same time, she realized that her body was tilting sharply to the left.
It wasn't because she had lost her footing. It was because someone had pulled her sharply from the side. She couldn't even react and was dragged straight in, slamming her nose into his chest.
"Ugh!"
She groaned and lifted her face.
"That was dangerous."
The man who had grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, Ulrich, said.
Roberta looked at the right side where she had been standing, and where she had stretched out her foot to take a step. It was a cliff. Below was empty space where a fierce wind carried snow.
A chill ran down her spine. She was walking on a cliffside path. She belatedly remembered that fact. Why? Because her mind had suddenly become hazy, and reverie had overwhelmed her, driving her to the brink of danger.
If he hadn't caught her, she would be down there.
"T, thank you... Lord Ulrich."
Lord Ulrich released her neck and shook her head hard. Her body lost its balance and swayed, but after that, her mind began to clear.
The reason was immediately revealed. When he held out the hand that had shaken her head, a monster was fluttering on his palm. It was thin, like a translucent dough spread out in a circle, with dozens of apricot-colored, thread-like tentacles in the middle of its body.
"It was clinging to your head."
"Pardon?"
"Weren't you feeling faint just now? This guy caused it. It's a creature that secretes a substance that causes hallucinations. It travels on the wind and targets the heads of animals."
Surprised, she covered her head with both hands.
She was wearing a winter hat. It was a fur hat with ear flaps, so it was quite thick, and that small, light monster couldn't directly touch her head.
"It was fortunate you were wearing a hat. If it had directly touched your head, it wouldn't have ended with just feeling dazed. Hallucinations are just a means to prevent you from realizing its touch."
Ulrich clenched his fist and crushed the monster.
She vaguely remembered. She had seen a similar picture in the magic grimoire that the lord had personally written. And next to the picture was a short explanation.
'Even if the success rate is low, if it luckily or unluckily lands on the head, it melts the skull and wraps the brain with its tentacles, sucking it little by little.'
She made a sound, 으으음, and bit her lip.
"······."
Snap, a sound of a hard slap echoed.
When she turned around, Duke Bailen was grabbing one of his retainers by the collar. Judging by the retainer's red cheek, he had been slapped, but he was so dazed that he couldn't even feel the pain.
Then Bailen slapped him once more and brushed the snow off the retainer's hat.
There was the same monster on it.
"Always be vigilant. In this place, carelessness is synonymous with death."
#
Roberta clicked her tongue behind Ulrich.
He was striding forward, pushing through the snow on the cliffside path.
Even though the snow was piled up so high and the cold wind was so strong, he pushed forward without any signs of difficulty, clearing the path. The remaining seven people simply followed the path he made.
His appearance was also formidable. Roberta and the other seven were shivering from the cold even after wearing several layers of winter clothes, but Ulrich was only wearing a light set of clothes. Enough to make the person watching feel cold.
Nevertheless, he didn't feel the cold at all, and his stamina didn't falter either. Even after leading the way through the snow mountains for days, his pace didn't slow down at all.
"There's a place to rest nearby. Endure just a little longer."
Not only that, but he also had a good sense of direction. In Roberta's eyes, she could only see the thickly piled snow, but Ulrich never missed where anything was and where they had to go.
Even if they started to think that there was no way to avoid the snowstorm, a cave would appear when he lifted the snow.
Of course, there was nothing inside except for the cold air. But if you could avoid the wind in a snow-covered mountain and spend the night by lighting a bonfire, wouldn't that be a blessing?
"We'll be going down the mountain tomorrow, so at least it'll be easier to walk."
Because he knew the location of these caves, the group never had to sleep in the snowstorm. Roberta asked how he knew these places, even though she knew the answer.
"I found them myself."
Ulrich answered while unpacking his backpack.
"While I was the Lord Ulrich of Ditmarsken, many people came to the Ice Peninsula. Camping every time was too dangerous. I'm fine, but other people are likely to freeze to death. So, whenever I climbed the Kaldorekai Mountains, I found these places and memorized them."
"You have a very good memory."
"If I didn't, the guests would die, so what choice do I have?"
He gathered firewood and lit a bonfire. He had been collecting it little by little during the hike. It seemed that what they said was true, that sometimes, very rarely, the snow melts and plants grow.
Also, originally, they grew when the snow melted, and then they died when the snow fell, so they were buried in the snow and couldn't be used because they were waterlogged.
But when he held it in his hand, it became dry firewood.
Roberta's eyes lit up at the sight.
"I've been thinking about it since before, but have you also learned magic, Lord Ulrich?"
It was the first time since the Infant Sacrament that she had seen the lord wielding mana.
"I know how to do it moderately. It was a basic requirement when I was born."
"'Moderately,' you say, but the flow is quite delicate."
"You can do this much too."
She smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
"I'm not good at delicate work."
The memory of causing frequent incidents and accidents because she was unskilled at handling mana, even though she was loved by mana to the point that the Inquisitorial Office reached out to her, came to mind.
"Didn't Alonso teach you?"
"I learned, but... I'm not good at it."
"Come to think of it, that child didn't have the knack for teaching others."
Ulrich thought for a moment, then placed his hand on the back of Roberta's hand and handed her the firewood. She flinched at the sudden contact and tried to pull her hand away.
"Lord Ulrich?"
"I'll adjust it for you, so try it once."
"No... It's okay—"
"Trust me. I taught Alonso too."
Roberta hesitated, but when he spoke with a serious expression, she nodded and gathered mana at her fingertips. Then, she let the mana gathered at her fingertips flow into the firewood, guiding the moisture contained inside to be discharged to the outside.
Normally, she would have failed immediately after that. Because the mana contained in her body was too much. Even the mana that she poured out, saying it was only a little, was too much for the firewood to contain. Like rainwater overflowing the dam's highest water level, the firewood would have broken.
But it was different now. The amount of mana flowing into the firewood was very small. He was making it that way. He was controlling the mana she was pouring out, as if controlling the floodgates of a dam, between his fingertips and the firewood.
She looked at him with wide eyes.
"Did you feel it? You can control the flow like this."
"I think I know a little."
"Be a little more calm, control the flow to the point of being timid."
She adjusted the flow according to his advice. The dampness of the firewood in her hand changed to dryness. Only then did Ulrich release his hand and smile.
"Remember the feeling. Mana is in the realm of sensation. If you forget it, it'll be hard to do it again. So, you must always repeat, remember, and engrave it in your subconscious."
Roberta nodded.
"You said you taught Alonso a little while ago too."
"Yes, that child was also terribly unskilled compared to what he had. The more I think about it, the more it seems that the Public Church isn't what it used to be. It seems that good teachers are gradually decreasing."
"······."
"If you want, I'll often give you help. How about it?"
She hesitated to answer.
A Priest of the Public Church asking a secular lord for teachings?
Considering her position, it was a difficult question to answer directly.
"There's no need to decide right away. It's not urgent either."
"...It seems that the Duke of Ditmarsken is generous with his teachings."
Bailen, who had been watching quietly, interjected.
"It's a pastime. There are few things as fun as raising a talented child."
Ulrich paused for a moment to recall and continued.
"Although the direction is different, Barenares was also full of talent. That's why he was able to rise to that position."
"He said it was thanks to you, Lord Ulrich."
Ulrich shook his head with a smile and stood up.
He looked at the group sitting around the bonfire. They were warming their snow-soaked bodies, and each of them was rummaging through their backpacks for food. It was just jerky, dried fish, and biscuits, but still.
Roberta glanced up at the lord. He hardly ate. It wasn't that he didn't eat at all. But compared to her or the others, it was close to pretending to eat, with almost nothing passing his throat.
At best, he would boil snowballs and drink Songhwa tea? When she found this strange and asked him, he said this.
"This is enough for me."
If she ate like that, her cheeks would have become hollow within a few days, but he didn't change at all. She wondered if he would only drink Songhwa tea again today, so she watched him.
"Rest."
"Are you going out?"
Bailen asked.
"I'm eating poorly, so I need to catch something. There's edible stuff around here, so I'll look for it."
When Bailen stood up, saying he would accompany him, Roberta also stood up. However, Ulrich raised his hand to stop Roberta. If she followed too, who would be left to take care of the group?
"Roberta, you stay and take care of them."
Everyone's faces were full of fatigue. They had been walking in the snowstorm for days, so their stamina must have been severely depleted. Some showed signs of frostbite, so immediate action was needed.
She knew basic healing magic, so frostbite or minor injuries were no problem for her.
After the two left, she took care of the group and suddenly asked Count Belledo.
"Count. Do you remember the story we had the other day?"
The count tilted his head, saying, "The other day?" then exclaimed, "Ah." Just like today, the two had left their seats two days ago, and Roberta had had various conversations with the count.
At that time, she learned that the count and the other retainers had each received their own favors from the duke and had joined the journey to repay them.
However, what she was asking now was not that story. After their story ended, Roberta had asked.
- What kind of person is Barenares?
King Barenares of the Carbonihar Kingdom.
He was a human with the title of Great King, but she was hearing that name for the first time. It couldn't be helped. It hadn't been many generations since the Carbonihar Kingdom had begun to spread that name widely across the continent.
The count said that King Barenares was the person who had virtually founded the Carbonihar Kingdom. Before that, Carbonihar was just a small country and had virtually collapsed.
"What the Priest is curious about is, what is the relationship between King Barenares and the Duke of Ditmarsken. Is that correct?"
Roberta answered yes.
Duke Bailen wasn't the only one whose attitude had changed after Ulrich revealed his name. The count and all the retainers treated Ulrich politely.
In her opinion, their change in attitude wasn't because of their lord, Duke Bailen. It seemed like an attitude that came from themselves, regardless of the duke. Why? What meaning did Ulrich, no, Laurent, and the various names he listed have?
"Before King Barenares ascended to the throne, he faced four crises. And each time he had to flee by moving to another country, there was always a guest who helped him."
Count Belledo continued, saying that the story was known to everyone in Carbonihar and was often adapted into plays and passed down as history.
"Four crises, four guests, benefactors whom the Great King wanted to meet again while he was alive. To us, those names are only passed down as pseudonyms for plays, and we have always believed that those guests were all different people."