Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Trek into the Frostlands
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"Pardon? Leaving? You mean we're not marching back?"
Edel widened her eyes before she could even set down her helmet.
Just as Emperor Darcor had ordered, she had rushed over from beyond the border where thousands of border guards were on standby.
But what lay before her eyes was a battlefield where the situation had already come to an end.
The enemy general captured alive, vanguard utterly annihilated.
Normally, with achievements like this, they would return to the capital amid triumphant cheers and raise toasts in celebration.
But Darcor shook his head firmly.
"There's still something left uncleaned."
"Something uncleaned?"
"That bastard called it in. Said there's bigger trash buried in the snowfields."
Darcor's gaze skimmed past Varkas sprawled on the ground.
Varkas flinched, his puffy face trembling as he packed his belongings.
'An ancient being that the Tower Master is awakening. If left alone, it'll be a big problem.'
If things followed the original novel's plot,
the ancient entity awakening in the northern snowfields would be a disaster capable of swallowing the entire empire.
For the sake of his peaceful tyrant life,
he had to nip it in the bud early.
"Annoying things need to be crushed preemptively. Roots and all."
Edel shivered again at Darcor's dry voice.
'Ah... His Majesty isn't getting carried away by victory; he's looking toward the empire's future.'
The infamous frigid snowfields of the Daroa Empire.
The noble spirit of sacrifice, charging personally into that perilous death trap to eliminate the source.
Edel's chest burned so hot she could hardly bear it.
"Understood, Your Majesty. I'll prepare the entire army for advance.
I shall become Your Majesty's sword and dye the snowfields with the blood of those Daroa scum."
Edel cried out solemnly and was about to exit the tent.
"No. Leave them be."
Darcor waved his hand lazily, as if it were a hassle.
"Pardon?"
"Who'll guard the border if I drag all the dogs along?
What if more rats sneak in?"
"B-but the snowfields are the enemy's home turf."
"More people just means more baggage. We can give the family a proper education ourselves."
Darcor's crimson eyes gleamed ominously.
"And..."
Darcor looked at Edel impassively,
staring right at her.
"You're enough. Hurry up and pack."
Edel's heart pounded like it would burst.
'Me... just me is enough?'
Her cheeks flushed pink.
Her chest swelled so full she could barely breathe.
"Y-yes, as Your Majesty commands."
She clutched her bursting heart and bellowed her response.
Darcor tilted his head at her reddened face.
'What's with her. Indigestion?'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As they entered the snowfield boundary, the world turned black and white.
Whiiiiiing.
A knife-like blizzard wind tore through, as if it would flay the flesh from their bones.
A blinding wall of snow blocked their vision completely.
"Hiiing!"
The horses neighed in terror, heaving ragged breaths.
Their legs sank knee-deep into the snow, unable to move further.
"Damn it, we can't go any farther."
Darcor grumbled as he roughly released the reins.
"At this rate, we'll be late."
The empire's horses, unaccustomed to the cold, couldn't break through Daroa's harsh snowfields.
As Darcor furrowed his brow in thought,
Tower Master Veronica stepped forward with a confident grin.
"Hehe, Your Majesty, no need to worry. I came prepared for this."
She snapped her fingers lightly.
Snap.
Space rippled like a heat haze,
and a dark rift to a subspace tore open.
Thud.
A mysterious object plummeted into the snow.
"Ta-da. Magic sleigh."
"This is a sleigh?"
Darcor cocked his head.
To him, it looked less like a sleigh and more like a mobile fortress.
Sleek, curved hull finished with elegant lines.
Magic stones embedded everywhere emitted a blue glow.
"Of course. The bottom has a gravity control magic circle engraved,
designed to glide smoothly over any snowy terrain."
'Then why not take it out earlier...'
Veronica puffed up proudly, chin raised,
but Darcor just shook his head.
Whatever the case,
the interior was more luxurious than any high-end carriage.
"Whoa... Sis is the best. I've never seen anything like this!"
Eris's eyes sparkled as she bounced around the sleigh.
"Naturally. It's a masterpiece crafted by pouring the Tower's budget—and my soul—into it."
"Hmph... Not bad, I suppose. It's not entirely useless."
Chloe crossed her arms and snorted.
The group hurriedly moved their luggage inside.
Warm and cozy interior.
So comfortable, the blizzard outside felt like a lie.
Varkas approached hesitantly.
"Heh... Looks a bit cramped. Mind scooting over just a little..."
But Veronica's finger pointed not to the entrance,
but elsewhere.
The open driver's seat with no roof or windbreak.
"You're driving. The horses don't know the way."
"...Huh?"
Varkas's face froze in bewilderment.
"W-what? You want me to drive from outside? In this blizzard?"
"Were you planning to sip tea warmly inside?"
Veronica shook her head.
Varkas desperately looked to Darcor.
"Y-Your Majesty! This is absurd. How can a person endure outside in this cold?
I'll freeze to death in no time!"
He pleaded with eyes begging for mercy,
but
Darcor lounged indifferently on the plush sofa.
"You're a snake, aren't you?"
"Pardon?"
"Snakes hibernate in winter. You won't freeze, so don't worry."
"Th-that's ridiculous! Snakes die in the cold too, and I'm human anyway!"
Varkas's neck veins bulged in injustice.
"Shut up. Get going. No dinner if you're late."
Darcor slammed the door without mercy.
Bang.
"Y-you demonic bastards..."
Varkas gripped the reins with trembling, tear-streaked hands.
The empire's emperor and his crew.
These weren't humans.
The sleigh sliced through the snowfields and glided away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Inside the sleigh was truly paradise on earth.
"My, it's so warm. The Saintess's blessings only show up when money's involved, huh? Nothing money can't buy..."
Veronica sipped her black tea and smirked mockingly.
Chloe forced an awkward smile, veins popping on her forehead.
"Haha... Anyway, our church could make something like this for half the price.
The Tower really wastes money—no heating function or anything."
A steaming steak and fine wine were laid out on the central table.
"Nom nom... D-delicious. Sis, it melts in your mouth."
Eris squealed happily, meat in both hands.
She had been the hero who recently beheaded Daroa's undead legion,
but before tasty food, she was just an innocent girl.
Edel sat awkwardly at this bizarre scene, glancing out the window.
"Your Majesty, is that guy really okay out there? The cold's no joke..."
Varkas's silhouette visible through the window was quite comical.
Snow piled thick on his head and shoulders, turning him into a snowman.
Darcor chuckled as he chewed his meat.
"Don't worry. He won't die—snake, remember?"
"Even so, how can a person be a snake..."
Daroa's grand magus, the vanguard leader.
'That one's in need of treatment. His mental reprogramming isn't complete yet.'
Times like this called for thorough mental education to prevent future disloyalty.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hya, gee up! Me, a coachman... Daroa's grand magus, a coachman!"
Varkas's snot had frozen into icicles stabbing his philtrum.
His trembling voice carried amid the howling blizzard.
Creeeak.
The sleigh window cracked open just a sliver.
Eris approached with a steak in hand.
Plop.
A warm chunk of meat landed on Varkas's lap.
"Huh?"
Varkas turned his head.
Eris beamed innocently through the window gap.
"Mister, eat this and hang in there. Fighting!"
Varkas stared at the meat.
Juicy steak glistening with fat.
'H-how dare they. Treating me like a dog?'
Humiliation crashed over him like waves.
His pride as a grand magus absolutely forbade it.
'I'd rather bite my tongue and die than eat this garbage.'
Grrrowl.
But his stomach clock was always honest.
Extreme cold and hunger.
Gulp.
Varkas swallowed dryly.
He picked up the meat with shaking hands.
And shoved it into his mouth ravenously.
The moment survival instinct overpowered pride.
"Sob... D-delicious."
Hot tears streamed down his cheeks and froze.
Pride was a luxury before a single warm bite.
From inside the sleigh, watching it all,
a faint smile crept across Darcor's lips.
'Good boy. You're doing well.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Night deepened in the snowfields.
As the blizzard intensified, visibility dropping to zero, Darcor's group decided to camp.
Temperatures plummeted so sharply even breath froze.
"The firewood's all wet; it won't light."
Veronica stomped irritably, kicking the soaked logs.
Even magic flames were snuffed out instantly by the raging blizzard.
"Saintess, use some holy power."
"Sigh, I already used it all on full heal inside the carriage earlier—I'm out of mana too!"
Chloe huddled, rubbing her belly.
The tent was like a freezer.
Even Darcor had to curl up in his sleeping bag.
'This is trouble. My lips might actually chap.'
Then Veronica's eyes locked on Varkas shivering in the corner.
"Right. You, you..."
Varkas startled and looked up.
Veronica's eyes gleamed greedily.
A chill of foreboding ran down his spine.
"Wh-what? What now..."
"I just remembered. You're fire-attribute, right?"
Varkas's pupils shook briefly.
Fire attribute.
Yes, he had been called a genius of fire magic in the empire.
Before dabbling in dark magic.
Varkas's expression brightened slightly.
'Finally, they remember me?'
A chance to reclaim his pride as a grand magus.
"Y-yes. As if you'd forget me. My flames burn eternally, unquenchable..."
"Do it."
"...Pardon?"
"Heater."
"...H-huh?"
Varkas doubted his ears.
"I-I'm a grand magus. You dare make me play human heater..."
"Yeah, you were always so chatty back then."
Veronica twitched her staff.
Click.
The brand magic implanted in Varkas's body activated.
"Gaaah!"
Varkas screamed as agony wracked his body.
"I-I'll do it! I'll do it, okay?!"
Whoosh.
Varkas conjured flames desperately through tears.
His mana pierced the frigid cold.
The tent filled instantly with cozy warmth.
"Wow... Mister, you're the best."
Eris snuggled right up to him, warming her hands.
Darcor watched the scene and chuckled.
'Solid performance.'
Good call keeping him alive.