Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Rug's Tomb
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* * *
[I remember now.]
Mitra said lowly and quietly. Why had it only come to mind now? Why hadn't she realized it right away?
It was only natural. This was inside the Great Labyrinth.
It wasn't a place like the capital of the Floren Kingdom where the location was clearly marked.
Realizing it immediately would have been the strange thing.
But even so, Mitra felt a sense of guilt.
She felt a tightening pain in her chest.
“Mitra?”
Cheon-ho instinctively sensed that something was wrong with Mitra. Just as the holy sword Mitra could read the hero Cheon-ho's mind to some extent, Cheon-ho could also sense Mitra's feelings.
Cheon-ho stopped the hand that had been drawing the map and lifted Mitra up.
“Mitra, what's wrong? Is something the matter?”
At the worried question, Mitra let out a long sigh and replied in a subdued voice.
[I remember. I passed through this area once before.]
[Before the world was incorporated into the Great Labyrinth... back in the days when I fought the Demon King alongside Leon.]
It was possible.
The Floren Kingdom on the 4th floor had been a similar case.
“Was it... something bad?”
Mitra didn't answer Cheon-ho's question right away. In Cheon-ho's mind floated the image of Mitra giving an awkward smile, unsure of what to do.
[Come to think of it, I haven't really told you about the days I fought alongside Leon.]
“If you're okay with it, I'm always ready to listen.”
Cheon-ho spoke brightly on purpose, and Mitra let out a small laugh. She took another long breath before beginning her story.
[To put it simply... Leon's battles were a bit different from yours. The world was already half-conquered by the Demon King.]
[Leon's fight was closer to war than adventure.]
The hero and his companions storm the Demon King's castle and defeat him? That was realistically impossible.
It was like saying a small band of commandos infiltrates the heart of an enemy nation during wartime to kill the king.
Leonhardt waged war.
He became king, led an army, and crushed the Demon King's forces and occupied territories one by one.
[The Demon King had five legions. The five legion commanders leading each one were our immediate enemies.]
“Ah.”
[Hm? What's that?]
“No, nothing... I just thought it sounded similar for a moment.”
[Similar how?]
“My father's story. The Demon King who invaded Phaien also had five legions under his command. Naturally, there were five legion commanders.”
[That's quite a coincidence.]
“Yeah.”
But in the end, it was probably just chance.
The Phaien his father had gone to was a completely different world from the Labyrinth World.
Moreover, the timelines didn't match.
His father had gone to Phaien at most twenty years ago, but Leonhardt the hero fighting the Demon King alongside Mitra was already a tale from hundreds of years past.
But why? It nagged at him strangely.
And Mitra felt the same, speaking in a low voice.
[Cheon-ho, could you tell me your father's story someday?]
“Sure. But first, let's hear yours today.”
[Alright.]
The paused story resumed.
[Before Leon properly waged war against the Demon King's army, he first gathered companions. When I met Leon, he was already with several comrades.]
There were humans and beastkin. Even fairies like elves.
[Leon became king. He led an army... and as it was war, casualties were inevitable. But Leon's companions... the founding generals of the Aiter Empire didn't lose their lives easily. They were among the strongest in the mortal realm.]
But there was no such thing as absolute.
Even among Leon's companions, some lost their lives.
[It was a battle in the snowfields. The place where we first clashed directly with the legion commanders under the Demon King...]
Holy Knight Rug.
He was the shield of Leon—no, of everyone—as the holy knight of Evnail, one of the five goddesses.
[We lost our first battle against the legion commander. All we could do was barely escape with our lives.]
Rug lost his life during the retreat. It was the result of blocking almost all of the legion commander's attacks by himself.
[We didn't even have the luxury to recover his body properly back then. We had to bury him in a noticeable spot in the snowfields and leave.]
Moisture gathered in Mitra's voice. It was because the feelings from that day resurfaced.
Instead of clumsy words of comfort, Cheon-ho gently stroked the golden gem. Feeling the touch, Mitra gave a small laugh and continued.
[After defeating the Demon King... when the war was finally over, the surviving companions and I returned here. Artisans from the Aiter Empire built a proper tomb for Rug.]
Back then, it was a snowfield, but not as harsh with blizzards as this.
Winter was a bit tough, but in spring or summer, it was a place you could visit with a fairly light heart.
[Seeing the map you're drawing brought it to mind. The octagonal rock hill to the west on the map... that's where Rug's tomb is.]
It was a distinctive terrain that wasn't easy to miss.
The grave of an old comrade.
Before saying anything, Cheon-ho pondered for a moment. Just then, Lucille stepped out from the bathhouse, right on cue.
“Hero?”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, she asked cautiously.
Cheon-ho stroked Mitra's gem and replied.
“I was talking with Mitra. Mitra, is it okay to tell Lucille?”
[It's fine.]
At Mitra's small response, Cheon-ho turned to Lucille, who dried her wet hair and sat beside him.
After hearing the gist of the story, Lucille nodded.
“That makes sense. Maybe we came here because of you, Mitra.”
“Because of Mitra?”
“Yes, this place connecting the lower and middle layers is a bit special, like Senior Raguel said. Coming to the snowfields themselves might be pure coincidence... but ending up near Rug's tomb could be due to Mitra's influence.”
With that, Lucille looked at Mitra in Cheon-ho's hand.
“Mitra, don't you want to go pay respects to Rug?”
[To Rug?]
Mitra's voice didn't reach Lucille. But as if she'd heard the reply, Lucille smiled brightly and continued.
“If our coming here isn't complete coincidence... I think that would be nice.”
In truth, she wanted to emphasize Mitra's feelings more, but held back to avoid meddling.
Mitra didn't answer easily, and Cheon-ho lightly tapped her gem.
“You want to go, right?”
[...I do. But won't it delay our journey?]
“At most, it'll take a day.”
Cheon-ho wouldn't delay without reason, but this was for Mitra.
“Let's stop by. Lucille, Mitra says she wants to.”
“Yes, Hero. Then tomorrow, we'll go pay respects to Rug.”
[Um......]
Mitra groaned a bit before finally letting out a long sigh mixed with laughter.
[Very well. I gratefully accept your kindness. Tell Lucille thanks too.]
“No problem. Lucille, Mitra's really grateful.”
“I'm always the one who's grateful, Mitra.”
Lucille smiled brightly and gently stroked the golden gem. After a brief silence, Mitra spoke in a very small voice.
[Cheon-ho, Lucille really is a true angel.]
“Isn't she?”
Cheon-ho laughed, and Lucille, who didn't know what was said, tilted her head.
* * *
The moon set and the sun rose.
The snowfield's morning was still cold and harsh, but far better than the night.
Cheon-ho, wearing snowshoes made of branches, strode ahead confidently, and Lucille followed exactly in his footsteps.
With thick clothes layered under the leather cloaks Cheon-ho had made, the cold wasn't so bad.
As they pressed on, a monster resembling a massive white bear blocked Cheon-ho and Lucille's path.
It was a White Bearbug, found only in snowfields.
Mitra explained, and Lucille relayed from behind. Cheon-ho effortlessly sliced through the beast as it charged with a mighty roar.
Its hide was thick, but with Sharpness Sword and Cheon-ho's swordsmanship added, it stood no chance.
Lucille thought to herself as she opened her inventory.
'What would it taste like? Rat Chimera meat was really delicious.'
As if reading her thoughts, Cheon-ho shoved the Bearbug into the inventory and said.
“I'll make hot pot for you today. Bear hot pot.”
It wasn't a real bear, but it looked close enough.
With hot broth, chopped vegetables and mushrooms.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. It'll be tasty, right?”
“Yes♥”
“And I'll prepare a bath too. Filled with hot holy water.”
“Hero, you're the best!”
“I like you too, Lucille.”
“Oh, Hero.”
“Hahaha.”
“Hohoho.”
“Hahahaha.”
“Hohohoho.”
“?Aren't they doing that?”
Eizel said in a voice that sounded half-dead.
In a crevice between rocks.
It wasn't the spot from yesterday. They'd trudged along, feet sinking deep into the snow, but made decent progress.
Stopping to rest, Eizel spun her imaginings, and Raguel nodded with an equally dying face. Only Aurael, who still had some energy, spoke differently.
“They wouldn't laugh... like that.”
Unfortunately, she couldn't deny the content.
“Sniff sniff, Hero... I miss you... I want to cling to you......”
As Eizel sobbed, Sara, who had been staring blankly, suddenly widened her eyes and slapped Dudi's cheek repeatedly.
“Dudi! Hey! Dudi! Snap out of it!”
Dudi's condition was dire. Startled, Eizel quickly hugged Dudi, and Raguel did the same. It was to warm Dudi's frozen body with their own body heat.
“Senior!”
At Eizel's urging, Aurael also tightly embraced Dudi, and Dudi, held in the arms of the three angels, murmured blankly.
“No regrets... even if I die now......”
“Don't die!”
Eizel cried out desperately and hurriedly cast a recovery spell. Aurael anxiously peered out from the rock crevice. The space was too cramped to even light a proper fire.
Was there somewhere to rest?
Somewhere to light a fire and warm up?
“That way! There's a cave over there!”
In the direction Sara pointed, there was indeed something cave-like. The entrance was half-blocked by snow, but that was welcome. Once inside, the snow would act as a wall.
“Just a bit more!”
Aurael spread her wings and took flight, gripping Dudi with both hands. Blizzards made proper flight impossible, but she pushed full force in a low skim toward the cave. Eizel, Raguel, and Sara followed, floundering through the deep snow but making speed nonetheless.
Aurael rushed into the cave and dispelled the darkness with a lighting spell. Then, she blinked involuntarily.
“Huh?”
Now she saw it wasn't a proper cave. It was a cave, but the passage between the two sides was less than ten meters long.
Yet no wind came through. Snow walls blocked both entrances.
Snow walls.
They weren't natural. Clearly cut into squares and stacked.
The floor bore clear traces of a fire.
The ceiling had moisture, as if steam had risen plentifully.
“Huff, huff.”
Eizel, arriving late, collapsed on the floor panting, and Raguel, spotting the artificial traces like Aurael, widened her eyes.
“Why is everyone... huff?!”
Eizel finally noticed too. The three angels shared the same thought.
“Hero!”
It had to be Cheon-ho and Lucille. The neatly squared snow walls left no other conclusion.
“Th-they're ahead of us.”
Their starting points differed, but heading the same direction made overlapping paths entirely possible.
Eizel hurriedly looked around. Unfortunately, no half-eaten food was in sight.
“Sniff sniff.”
Guessing why Eizel cried, Raguel stayed silent for her honor, while Aurael lit a fire and blocked the cave entrance almost completely with a blanket. With a fire going, some ventilation holes were needed.
“Either way, our paths have overlapped with the Hero now.”
Raguel said, and Aurael nodded. Eizel perked up again.
“Then we might catch up?”
If they hurried desperately.
But considering mobility, it was impossible. She didn't know their method, but Cheon-ho seemed capable of moving quickly even in these snowfields.
Her hopes dashed as expected, Eizel's body slumped.
But Raguel was different. The intellectual one scanned the cave anew, eyes gleaming as she spoke.
“Instead, if we follow this path, we'll keep finding the Hero's rest spots like this.”
Caves with snow walls, igloos, proper places to rest anyway.
“Ahh, ahhhh!”
Eizel's eyes blazed with hope again.
With proper rest spots, they could build big fires, sprawl on the floor!
The three angels turned to the same direction almost simultaneously.
North.
The direction of the transfer circle in the connecting passage.