Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Witch's Cabin (7)
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“What am I supposed to trust in you…?”
“Is there anyone else for you to trust besides me?”
“……”
“I guarantee it, Didier. You could never drive the Crows out of the Silver Mountains on your own.”
“What?!”
“If someone of your skill had been able to, you would have done it long ago.”
“Urgh…”
“You can’t do it alone. And I know I can’t do it alone either, which is why I’m asking for your help.”
“……”
“It looks like your answer is already set in stone. Well then, shall I wake my companions?”
At my words, Didier, who had been biting his lip, lightly snapped his fingers.
-Snap!
* * *
-Kyuung, ngh! Ngh!
Ayla whimpered pitifully as she burrowed into my arms. Just like a puppy waking from a nightmare. I stroked the creature, who dove in without regard for her size, and looked around at the rest of the group.
“Is everyone coming back to their senses?”
Lloyd nodded first. His face showed no emotional fluctuation, just as always. He didn’t look particularly happy, nor did he seem saddened to have woken from the dream. In contrast, El and Aquila had faces streaked with tears. El’s eyelids were especially swollen, to the point she could barely open her eyes.
“El, are you okay?”
I could easily guess what kind of dream El had. It probably wasn’t much different from mine. A happy daily life with her family. In it, El would have been an ordinary noble young lady, with a dignified father and a gentle mother by her side.
The ‘happy dream’ served in the witch’s cabin was, in a way, a brutally cruel one.
“I-I’m f-fine, sob, I’m okay, Master.”
“Good. Drink some water and wipe your face.”
Aquila was already wiping her face with her sleeve on her own. What dream had she seen? One where she met Tondra and reclaimed the Silver Mountains?
While the group gathered themselves physically and mentally, I turned to Didier.
“Didier, when was the last time you actually saw Tondra?”
“If you mean seeing him in person, it was a hundred years ago.”
In person?
Then, there were other ways to meet besides in the flesh?
“What about other encounters?”
“Ten years ago.”
Same as Khalid.
“Tondra fell asleep a hundred years ago. But a dragon’s soul is always partially awake. They’re great beings, after all.”
“Ah…”
“If I say I’m like his familiar, does that make sense?”
“Yes.”
“Tondra left periodic messages. Mostly silly jokes, easy to dismiss… but not bad. That stopped fifty years ago, though. Completely cut off thirty years ago.”
“……”
“I thought something was off. Far more time had passed than expected for his awakening, with no messages. But I figured he was just in a deep sleep.”
“I see.”
“Then, ten years ago… I got the last message.”
“What did it say?”
“Soon, he’d wake. Prepare.”
“Prepare…”
“But don’t get your hopes up too much. I got the same message fifty years ago, and Tondra didn’t show.”
“He didn’t show…?”
Prepare…
For what?
‘Come to think of it, I told Khalid I’d go find the item he entrusted.’
What did Tondra plan to do upon waking?
No, why did Tondra fall asleep in the first place?
And why had he slept far longer than planned?
‘…Is this connected to the Crows too?’
Or was there something else?
The elves stopped being born a hundred years ago too.
Were all these coincidences just coincidence?
‘Absolutely not.’
Finding Tondra and talking to him might unravel some of these stuck questions, even a little.
Even if not just for the dragon egg, this trip was worth it.
“Khalid couldn’t remember the lair’s exact location… Didier, do you remember?”
“The mountain paths shift often. I recall the general area, but not precisely.”
“That’s enough.”
I nodded to Aquila, who unrolled the map from her back onto the table.
“Hmm… probably around here.”
Didier’s finger pointed to the border between the cursed northern lands and the Silver Mountains. The terrain looked especially treacherous on the map, and Aquila’s expression turned as sour as if she’d eaten dung.
“Aquila, what do you think?”
“…It overlaps with the place Grandma mentioned. But way more dangerous.”
Sherpas probably never entered the dragon’s lair directly, so Didier’s memory seemed more reliable.
I pulled out the old book and compared its back-page map with Aquila’s. It matched the traces of EArte too. Whether that was fortunate or not…
“What’s that?”
“Wah!”
Khalid’s sudden voice from behind startled me into a yelp.
“How am I supposed to react if you sneak up without a sound? You scared me!”
“Full of unknown ciphers. Never seen anything like it.”
“When someone’s talking, at least pretend to listen… It’s the language from my homeland. Even you wouldn’t know it, Khalid.”
“Intriguing. Mind if I take a look?”
“No. It’s personal.”
Damn, of all people, this mad mage… Well, everything in this book is in Korean, so even Khalid couldn’t decipher it. Still annoying. I closed the old book and tucked it away.
“…Anyway, that means we head there. Aquila, how long will it take?”
“If we’re lucky, three days.”
“Three days…”
“If we’re lucky. We don’t know the exact entrance, so it could be over a week.”
“Then we’d better prepare thoroughly.”
I opened the door. Or tried to. Thanks to the direct avalanche hit, it wouldn’t budge. No choice. I used [Beast’s Might], and the snow finally gave way, letting the door swing open.
“Ayla!”
The door opened fine, but then came the problem. Snow piled as high as my height blocked the view. I called Ayla to dig it out. Watching her diligently scoop snow and clear a path reminded me of shoveling in the army, making my eyes mist over for a moment.
“Find the goats and mules first.”
-Woof!!!
“Yeah, thanks, Ayla.”
At my words, Ayla bounded into the snowfield. The goats and mules had surely hidden nearby to avoid the avalanche. They’d been backing away even before it hit. I thought they were just spooked by the golems fighting… Animals’ instincts really are amazing.
While Ayla fetched the goats and mules, I scattered seeds of snowflake trees and ice moss trees around the cabin, growing them with [Breath of the Forest]. To feed the returning animals.
“Need to make some water too.”
Simple enough. Light a fire, fill a pot with snow, and set it over.
“Master!”
“Hm?”
“I caught a snow pig!”
Animals were already gathering at the blooming snowflake tree. Might as well prep a meal. Three days to a week to the lair.
‘There’s the cabin here…’
We could rest overnight and eat hearty. I stood from the boiling pot and approached El. The snow pig she held was plump.
“Good job, El. Get it ready for dinner. I’ll scout nearby for alpine cabbage.”
“Yes! Be careful!”
Not far off, I spotted alpine cabbage growing between rocks. Two in a row, shaped like little snowmen.
‘Others need to eat too, so just enough.’
The polar environment is harsh. Hogging everything means that much less life survives. I harvested a few heads moderately and returned to the cabin.
First, I blanched the cabbage in boiling water. Then, El’s prepped pork—fat and lean mixed, minced, seasoned with salt and pepper. The snow pig’s fat was especially soft and melty, already promising sweet oiliness.
“El, grab the cabbage.”
I stuffed softened cabbage leaves with the pork mix, rolling them tightly. One, two, three, four—lost in the rhythm, stray thoughts faded. The joy of cooking.
Pork-stuffed cabbage rolls, greased with pig fat, went into the cast-iron pan to sear.
-Sizzle.
Cabbage rolls frying in pig fat. Shape them, roll around, and when just right, top with thick tomato sauce and black olives, then simmer~! Deeply simmer~!
Now, the waiting game.
-Grrrrumble…
A grrrumble echoed from Didier, who’d been pacing. He pretended it wasn’t his stomach, but obviously it was.
“Haven’t had a home-cooked meal in a while?”
I know how mages eat. Living in this polar wasteland, probably worse than Khalid. Tsk tsk.
“…No time to waste on such frivolities.”
“Guess: jerked meat and biscuits, right? You too.”
“……”
“Mages, honestly. Proper nutrition sharpens the mind—why don’t they get it? Bet if you ate right, your magical achievements would be double.”
Nagging away, I topped the bubbling rolls with ice moss El had gathered. It melted like cheese, releasing a nutty aroma.
Missed Mom’s table from the ‘dream’ a bit…
But my ‘real’ cooking’s the best.
“Alright, dinner’s served!”