Chapter 46
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 46. Ultimatum
Eris was lying on the bed burying her face in the pillow.
The problem with Frostgard is that there are no problems.
Public order is good, people are loyal, monsters are endangered, and if you try alienation, a fan club general meeting starts.
"Ughhhhh─!"
Squeak squeak?
Rustling sound from the corner of the room.
It’s squirrels.
Forest friends Eris ambitiously summoned.
A group of squirrels were building a nest in a corner of Eris's room.
Tried to chase them out, but these guys were strangely shameless.
Attitude as if saying 'You called us so take responsibility'.
"Get out! Disappear from Eris-nim's room!"
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The guys glanced around, confirmed nothing happened, and nonchalantly stole Eris's cookies.
Those rodents are looking down on Eris-nim.
"……."
No dignity even to small animals.
"Fine. Admit it."
Squeak?
Eris lifted her face from the pillow.
Eyes became sharp.
Small-scale operation won't work. Environment doesn't support.
Infrastructure of evil does not exist.
Alienation, monsters, poison, nothing works.
That is not Eris's fault.
Assertively not Eris's fault.
It is the environment's fault.
It is because Frostgard is too wholesome. It is because Black Knight dried up monster seeds. It is thanks to Sister Lucia doing administration too well.
Eris-nim was perfect.
Strategy was perfect, execution was perfect, acting was perfect.
Just the world didn't cooperate.
So this is the world's fault.
Blaming others complete.
Reflection unnecessary.
Immediately to next step.
"……Can't be helped."
If 'It' wakes up, Frostgard becomes dust.
Card didn't want to use.
Was saving it. Because last resort. Because wanted to rule the city intact.
"Good."
Finding the Black Knight was not difficult.
Central Square.
Massive figure in black armor was maintaining the dog sled.
Eight huskies wagged tails circling around the Black Knight.
Head-on confrontation is impossible.
That is an unchanging fact before losing memory, after losing, and now recovered.
But no need for head-on confrontation.
Eris's weapon is not strength.
It is cuteness.
Eris set her expression. Scared girl mode.
But adding feeling of approaching with courage. Holding sleeves tightly with both hands.
One step, two steps. Carefully. Sound of stepping on snow crunched.
Black Knight looked back.
Red glint inside black helmet illuminated Eris.
Heart beat once.
Ignore. Mission in progress now.
Eris grabbed the tip of Black Knight's cloak slightly.
"Excuse me… Black Knight… While Eri was walking… far away in outskirts… heard strange sound…"
Shrink shoulders. Make body small. Originally small but smaller.
"Sound like ground rumbling… Rumble… too scary so…"
And look up.
From below to above.
"Scared… can't go with me?"
Black Knight's red glint blinked.
"Vibration in outskirts?"
Reaction exists.
Eris cheered inwardly.
"Might be aftershock of wave."
'Caught, you idiot.'
"Will check. Guide."
"Yeah! Will take you to where Eri heard…!"
Eris walked following Black Knight.
Head bowed so expression not visible.
Would have been troublesome if visible.
Because mouth corners were raised.
Frostgard Outskirts.
Beginning of glacier zone.
Everywhere was smashed.
Trees uprooted and fallen, rocks shattered to pieces, giant depression marks dug into ground. Radius hundreds of meters scorched earth. Covered with snow, but traces of destruction below cannot be hidden.
Eris's eyes sparkled.
'As expected… legend was real!'
Heart pounded.
This time not because of ideal type checklist.
This scale of destruction. This level of terrain modification.
Definitely traces of primordial power engraved on earth.
Eris looked back at Black Knight slowly.
"Hehe… Hehehe…"
Mouth corners went up.
Acting ends now.
Time to throw off mask of modest lady.
Eris's shoulders shook. Laughter flowing out with head bowed grew louder gradually.
"Ahahahahaha!"
Lifted head abruptly.
Innocent eyes tore sharply, mouth corners went up meanly as if hanging on ears.
Pink magic power rose from her body.
Rumble rumble!
Dozens of thorn vines surrounded Black Knight forming circular formation centering Eris.
Eris stood in the center and spread arms wide.
"Surprised? Bad Black Knight bastard!"
Grin.
Little devil's smile bloomed on angel-like face.
Pink twintails fluttered in wind of magic power. Ribbon fluttered.
"It’s me, me! Eris-nim! Thorn Society 'Seven Fingers' Rank 6! Thorn Witch! Pink Calamity!"
Spread arms wide. Even posed like an idol.
Left foot slightly forward, right index finger pointing at sky, wink.
Eris-nim's entrance direction must always be perfect.
Self-introduction has formality befitting self-introduction.
Waited for Black Knight's reaction for a moment.
"……."
No reaction.
Red glint was looking down at Eris. That was all.
Not surprised, not flustered, not angry.
'What. Be surprised a bit. How much effort Eris-nim put into preparing entrance direction.'
Slightly dampened, but Eris didn't break spirit.
"Know where here is?"
Thorn vines tapped the ground.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Knock waking up sleep.
"Place where ancient demonic beast sleeps!"
Eris's voice echoed in snowfield.
"What happens if Eris-nim wakes this guy up? Huh? This Frostgard will become a handful of dust and disappear!"
Eris made a merciful smile.
"But… if lick Eris-nim's feet even now, will accept as slave! Because Eris-nim is merciful! Of course there is etiquette when licking feet! Starting from left foot carefully between toes──"
"……."
Black Knight still said nothing.
"…Dare ignore Eris-nim?"
Eris closed eyes and concentrated magic power.
Deep underground, felt wave of giant existence sleeping.
Right, exists.
Under this snowfield. Existence bearing primordial grudge!
"If words don't work, no choice but to make feel with body directly! Black Knight, you brought this all on yourself!"
Eris concentrated magic power.
Thorn vines dug into snowfield.
Deep, deeper. Penetrating surface, piercing permafrost, passing frozen underground water vein.
Down. Down. Down.
"Rise! Primordial Rage! Master of Frozen Earth! Answer Eris-nim's call!"
Eris's magic power flowed riding vines, stimulating sleeping monster's body, injecting magic power, pulling up forcibly.
Woooooooong!!
Ground shook. Foundation twisted.
Tremendous vibration transmitted from under feet.
"Come out──! Black Mammoth!!"
Rumble-!!
Earth split.
Thorn vines pulled taut. Tearing earth apart, pulled underground existence to ground.
Kwaaang!
Blizzard and dust exploded.
And inside that, giant shadow revealed itself.
Size of a house.
Majesty piercing sky.
Eris opened eyes with expression full of joy.
Behold, that overwhelming──
"…Huh?"
Stupid sound leaked from Eris's mouth.
Excavated thing was bone.
Just bone. Leftover dregs at that.
Ribs half missing, skull half caved in, tusks cut off from root.
No part useful for equipment or tool remained. After stripping all useful parts, remaining debris was stuck back into soil.
Naturally doesn't move.
No reaction even injecting magic power. Since attained nirvana long ago.
Now this is not terrifying primordial monster, but fossil belonging in museum.
Wind blew.
Whoosh-
Wind passing through hollow bones made flat sound.
"Uh?"
Eris's arms came down slowly.
Thorn vines lost strength limply. Dozens of vines drooped like withered flowers.
"Uh… Huh? Black Mammoth? Primordial monster shaking earth? What Eris-nim ordered was not bone but living ancient monster? Who made Eris-nim's final weapon into bone!!"
"Caught that."
"……Yes?"
"Black Mammoth. With Hero."
"……."
Caught?
Ancient monster?
With Hero?
"Used bones as armor reinforcement, ground tusks into weapons, using leather as cold weather gear lining."
Eris looked down at lining of cold weather cloak she was wearing.
Thought touch was good.
Don't tell me this?
"Utilized without waste. Since waste is sin in North."
So the scorched terrain Eris admired saying 'As expected place where ancient monster sleeps!' was… hunting ground catching Black Mammoth?
"So."
Black Knight spoke.
"You are Thorn Society's Eris?"
At that moment.
Clatter-
Black Mammoth bones floating in air collapsed rattle.
Eris's confident posture collapsed together.
"N, No! Th, Not that…"
Bluff evaporated.
Immediately Eris's shoulders shrank, gaze fell to floor.
Time taken for Thorn Witch to transform into servile cat was 0.3 seconds.
All-time shortest record. Though not something to celebrate.
"E, Eris is… so… that…"
Twisting twintails with fingers.
"So… came because wanted to see Black Knight? Huh? Really!"
Eris's eyes welled up.
Real tears. Tears coming out of fear.
Pink Calamity shouting 'Lick feet!' until just now is nowhere to be found.
"How long waited in Thorn Society? No contact! No letter…! How much Eris worried? Eating well, sleeping well, maybe hurt somewhere…"
Tilt head slightly.
Flattery Mode full operation.
Made face as pitiful as possible.
"So, so… Eris-nim… no, Eri coming here is… purely personal feeling… Comradeship? Friendship? Love? Something like that? Ehehe…"
Servile.
Must be no moment as servile as this in Eris history.
Tilting head 45 degrees, pouting lips, looking up making eyes shine as sparkly as possible.
Black Knight's red glint scanned Eris from top to bottom.
Expression hidden by helmet not visible.
That is scarier.
Whether angry, disappointed, or no emotion.
Cannot read.
'Why say nothing!?'
Scream rang in Eris's inner self.
'Rather say something! Call traitor okay, say 'Kill you' okay! This silence is scariest!'
Thump.
Black Knight took a step closer.
"Hiek!"
Eris retreated a step reflexively.
Thump.
Another step.
Eris another step back.
Thump.
Something touched back.
No more place to retreat.
Black Knight's shadow covered Eris completely.
2-meter giant body cast over small girl.
Tremble tremble-
Eris's legs shook.
Aura of Abyss felt.
Feeling close darker. Deeper. Scarier.
"H, Hit me…?"
Covered face with both hands.
But peeked one eye through fingers. Must check opponent's reaction.
"Hit such small and weak and pretty Eris-nim??"
Voice trembled.
"Eris-nim is cutest and most precious witch in the world so shouldn't hurt???"
Even in crisis self-PR cannot be neglected.
Black Knight's hand moved.
Middle finger caught on thumb.
Creak-
Slowly like pulling bowstring.
Eris's eyes tracked that finger tip.
Tautly pulled middle finger was aiming at Eris's forehead.
Slow motion.
Towards Eris's forehead.
"N, No! S, Save──"
Snap!
Cheerful bursting sound.
"Kehek."
Eyes spun round and round.
Sky spinning. Clouds spinning.
Black Knight's eye lights seen as two then four.
Thud.
Eris sprawled on snowfield spread-eagle.
Pink twintails spread prettily in fan shape on snow.
Pupils were spinning round and round.
Sky is… very blue… Stars visible… broad daylight… Squirrel… squirrel laughing at me…
Thorn Witch Eris. Seven Fingers Rank 6. Pink Calamity.
Retired again by one finger flick.