The Endless Winter
The long voyage was finally drawing to a close. Carried on a chill wind, we arrived at the harbor of the Karuma Empire.
The harbor looked little different from when we had left. The cold that gripped this nation still held firm, and the frozen ground showed no intention of thawing.
“Disembark!”
At the captain’s command, laborers bundled in thick winter clothes began bustling about. Merchants and onlookers thronged near the pier, hungry for the special materials from Monster Island that arrived every half-year.
I led Nightmare and began descending from the ship alongside the other adventurers. After exchanging light farewells, I watched them drift away into the crowd.
On Monster Island they had been comrades who worked with me as members of the pioneering party, but the moment we set foot here they returned to being ordinary adventurers once more.
Thus the parting was light.
Pru-ruk—
“Hmm…”
I looked around. Because of Nightmare’s unusual appearance, people’s gazes were gathering—some curious, others openly greedy.
I took his reins and headed through the crowd. Clack, clack—feeling the intimidation of Nightmare’s massive body, people parted to make way, and the sound of his crystal hooves slowly scattered among them.
The streets of the capital lacked the vitality of before. The faces of those walking the roads were filled with worry and anxiety instead of smiles, and the children who usually played outside were nowhere to be seen.
The unending winter, the frozen earth, the vanished smiles of the residents, the lifeless streets unlike anything I remembered—everything told me that Kashipa’s wrath, which I had once heard about from a young sailor boy, had yet to end.
I tilted my head. The dragons I knew stood at the pinnacle of living beings, capable of toppling this castle with a mere light breath. A dragon with such power. Kashipa would be no different.
Then why had she not moved herself, merely summoning this endless winter?
A small question grew, chaining into more. I hadn’t thought deeply about it before, but now that I had a vague understanding of dragons as creatures, curiosity was inevitable.
Pru-ruk—
“Ah, I know. I’m going.”
My wandering thoughts must have gone on too long. Nightmare urged me onward. I led him and found a suitable inn, securing a room.
“G-good heavens…”
The inn employee, as expected, let out a gasp at the sight of Nightmare. From the way he didn’t easily reach out a hand, he seemed thoroughly intimidated by the horse’s bulk.
“D-do I need to remove the armor as well?”
The employee’s gaze skimmed over Nightmare’s feet and head. He seemed to have mistaken the pure white crystal stones clinging to the body for some special armor. They did look similar, though in truth they were part of him.
“No, just lay down plenty of soft bedding on the floor, and for feed, please give him fresh meat.”
“Meat?”
“He’s of Hairan bloodline.”
“Ah…!”
The employee let out a small exclamation of understanding at my explanation and nodded. It seemed the mystery of Nightmare’s large size had been resolved.
Pru-ruk—
“Go wait quietly.”
Nightmare pouted as if he didn’t want to go, but when I furrowed my brows and put on a stern expression, he hung his head and trudged after the inn employee.
There was a mountain of things to do. First, head to the Adventurers’ Guild to report the completion of the request and receive the basic reward. Next was dealing with the monster byproducts I’d brought as additional compensation.
Besides that, I felt the need to sort through the gifts the other party members had given me. I sighed and climbed up to the room with the large bag on my back.
The monster materials brought back from Monster Island fetched especially high prices. Their outstanding quality as crafting materials, combined with a rarity that made them unobtainable here, led many nobles to offer generous sums.
The bundle of blue bird feathers I had brought sold for four hundred gold. Apparently the way their color shifted depending on the viewing angle, along with the faint chill the feathers themselves held, had completely captivated one noble.
Materials sold to nobles were usually processed not into equipment but into ordinary clothing and ornaments. Using rare, expensive materials to create unique garments that set them apart from others was, I was told, simply how nobles flaunted their wealth.
I stared at my now-bulging purse with a dazed expression. After keeping only the materials I intended to use and selling the rest, I had nearly two thousand gold.
Wondering what to do with so much money, I found myself thinking of my family back home. When I left the house I had stolen Mother’s emergency funds, so it seemed the time had come to repay that debt.
I obtained a strongbox about the size of my head and stuffed roughly five hundred gold coins inside.
Arranging the delivery proceeded much the same way as when I had sent a letter before. I simply went to the Adventurers’ Guild, hired an adventurer, handed over the package along with the address I provided, and that was that.
This time, however, it was no ordinary letter. I was shipping a strongbox containing five hundred gold, so I had no choice but to be careful in selecting the adventurer.
The request I posted went up on the official adventurer board. The high reward drew plenty of applicants, but every face that showed up looked thoroughly untrustworthy.
Then a familiar figure came looking for me—a man with exotic features and dark-toned skin, still wearing a turban even outside the desert: Kashin.
“Well now…”
“We meet again?”
At this point I was starting to wonder if he was my stalker. The world was vast; how did we keep running into each other wherever I went?
I sat across from Kashin in the inn’s first-floor dining hall.
“So you’ve been working as an adventurer this time?”
When I asked with open suspicion, Kashin simply smiled lightly and brushed it off. He produced a Silver Rank plaque and continued.
“Being an adventurer is more convenient than traveling as a foreigner.”
“Hmm… You’re Silver Rank, so why take a delivery request like this?”
“You have many questions. I merely happened to glance at the board when some personal business brought me to the Aben Kingdom.”
Anyone who could obtain a Silver Rank plaque from the Swordsman Guild was certainly skilled. On top of that, as royalty he was unlikely to covet the delivery goods.
I folded my arms and studied Kashin. He still felt a little suspicious, but under the circumstances I couldn’t think of anyone more trustworthy.
“All right, Kashin. I’ll entrust the request to you.”
“Is it something important?”
“To a certain extent.”
I handed him the leather pouch containing the reward and the strongbox. He looked at the paper with the address, furrowed his brows, and muttered under his breath.
“Aben Kingdom… Village of Chief Hans? An unusual village name. And Emily’s house?”
“I’m counting on you.”
“…I’ll do my best.”
With those words Kashin left the inn.
I poked my head out the door just enough to watch him go and saw him walking with the subordinates who had accompanied him before. Apparently they had been waiting outside until he secured the request.
“Hmm…”
Whether it would actually arrive safely remained uncertain, but at least I felt as though one weight had been lifted from my mind. Offering a quiet prayer that the strongbox would reach home intact, I turned away.
The time spent on Monster Island had worn down my equipment at a frightening pace. With how often I had clashed against powerful monsters, the armor made from ogre hide could hardly have remained intact.
Torn and stitched in countless places, it had reached the point where it could honestly be called rags.
I had gotten good use out of it, so the time to replace my gear had clearly arrived. Taking the remaining money and materials, I stepped out into the street.
Winter’s cold wind had frozen this land solid, yet even on a day this frigid there was one place that still radiated fierce heat.
Clang—!
The place where the lively ring of metal echoed—the blacksmith’s forge.
Surrounded by the clang of hammers from every direction and the thick heat, I made my way forward. The shop I arrived at was the same forge I had visited before.
Stepping inside, I came face-to-face with a familiar figure. At our last meeting he had been dead drunk and barely conscious; now he surveyed the shop with clear, sharp eyes.
“Hello.”
“Hm…?”
At my greeting the blacksmith turned around, tilting his head as he looked at me—as if trying to dredge up a hazy memory.
“Ah—ahhhh!”
Belatedly recognizing me, he nodded vigorously and shouted.
I smiled lightly and nodded back.
“Have you been well?”
“Ha, it’s been a while. So, mage, did I hand over that sword?”
“Yes. You gave it to me that evening as promised.”
“Whew, that’s a relief. Drinking too much is a problem… I was worried I might have lost the thing.”
I tilted my head. It seemed this blacksmith had no memory of the promise we had made that day.
“Ah, is there something you need?”
“Yes. I’d like to buy some armor.”
“Armor, is it…”
He looked me up and down and let out a faint hum.
“Do you need it right away?”
“Is there anything I can wear immediately?”
“There is, but… everything’s far too big for you.”
“Then I’ll have to go with custom work. Could you tell me how much a full plate would cost?”
“Hmm, what metal would you use?”
“If it were all made of Crodiom.”
The blacksmith gave a short grunt at my question and looked me over from head to toe.
“Four thousand.”
“Pardon…?”
“You’re smaller than most, so the estimate came out a bit cheaper.”
I thought of the heavy weight in my purse and smiled awkwardly. I had wanted to commission a splendid set of armor like Celion’s now that I had money, but it was still beyond me.
“Then I’d like just the gauntlets and boots made separately. How much would that be?”
“Depends on the metal.”
“I’d like them in Crodiom.”
“All Crodiom, then?”
“Yes. And for the leather lining inside, please use this.”
I took out the hide of a Crystal Dragon and handed it to the blacksmith. It was one of the farewell gifts the party members had stuffed into my bag.
“Never seen this hide before… Tough, yet light…”
“So the price?”
“Eight hundred for the pair.”
After naming the price the blacksmith pulled out an order form, ready to write the moment I nodded.
“I’ll leave it in your hands again.”
When I handed over the money he brought out a measuring tape and began taking my measurements—the size of my feet, the length from ankle to knee, and the dimensions of each individual finger, carefully recording them all.
“Any particular design you want? I’ll do my best to match it.”
“Hmm, I don’t really have a preference…”
“Then I’ll just make something suitable.”
“How long will the work take?”
“Let’s see…”
At my question he pulled out a small notebook, checked its contents, then nodded.
“About ten days.”
Ten days. I could wait while taking on suitable requests from the Adventurers’ Guild.
I paid the balance and left the forge.