The Curse of the Ice Snow Dragon (1)
I spent the entire day wandering the streets of Shahin, but nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
Time passed, and evening arrived—the time to head back.
Following Christina’s instructions, I arrived at the gate and waited in a relatively short line while scanning my surroundings.
‘······The security is tight.’
Since these were gates that allowed one to leap across space, it was only natural, but the place was swarming with powerful individuals who appeared to be knights.
‘If this place were breached, it would be dangerous.’
A single gate could instantly bridge distances that would otherwise take days or even weeks to cross by normal means.
If enemies seized control of this location, it would be fair to say there would be no safe place left on the continent.
After all, one could never know when a terrorist attack might occur.
“Next, please~”
At the staff member’s call, I confirmed that no one was ahead of me and stepped toward the blue gate leading to Krente.
For some reason, the blue light seemed strangely dim and lifeless.
A few steps before the gate.
Swish.
The staff member stopped me.
“I’ll need to verify your identity. If you’re a hero, please show me your hero certification.”
I felt a slight sense of puzzlement at the different procedure compared to the last demonic realm training.
‘This is different?’
During the demonic realm training, we had simply walked through the gate on the way back. Now they were even checking identities.
‘This must be the standard procedure.’
I wondered if Cain’s words and influence had played a role back then.
“Here you go.”
Once my thoughts had settled, I pulled out my hero certification from my pocket and handed it to her.
“Hmm······.”
She alternated her gaze between my face and the certification before speaking to me.
“Could you please generate some mana?”
Whoosh.
Thinking it was a necessary step, I summoned a gentle warmth that wouldn’t cause any harm.
Swish.
She reached out and brought the hero certification into contact with my flames. A low hum resonated briefly.
After confirming it, she nodded and returned the certification to me.
“Verification complete.”
I took it back, feeling somewhat dazed, and asked again.
“······Is that it?”
“Yes. We only need to confirm that your face matches and that the mana is yours. Mana is unique to each individual, after all.”
She answered with a bright smile.
I nodded and asked another question.
“How much is the fee?”
“The fee is one gold.”
“······Really?”
I couldn’t help but ask again, feeling a bit shameless.
‘That’s cheaper than a carriage ride?’
The carriage I had taken to Shahin had cost two gold.
The travel time was several times longer, yet the fee was cheaper. I was genuinely shocked.
“Yes. We can’t let heroes who are heading out to protect something lack the funds, can we? The other families and kingdoms all agreed to it.”
“Thank you.”
The number of heroes was too great to be confined solely to the Helen family’s estate, but compared to the continent’s total population, they weren’t that many.
This was a kind of privilege granted to such heroes.
Satisfied with the explanation, I stepped in front of the gate.
“Just a moment.”
She put on a strange glove and pressed a blue button.
Whoooong.
A wave of mana vibrated outward.
“Coordinates have been set. You may enter now.”
Watching the blue gate regain its vitality, I thought to myself.
‘So that’s a trigger.’
A device used to activate the gate.
It seemed one had to wear that glove and press it to make it work.
I mentally filed the information away.
Step.
I took one step forward.
Whooooooong.
The moment I entered the gate, I felt as if I were being swallowed whole, and my vision went completely dark.
***
The next day.
“Hup······!”
After all my classes had ended, I was in the public training room doing weight training—or rather, physical conditioning.
‘This is brutally exhausting.’
It wasn’t that I had suddenly started physical training.
I had been doing it consistently every day.
But today, I was pushing myself a little harder than usual.
‘This should be about right, yeah?’
I kept thinking back to the framework of the martial art I planned to create.
What form would suit me best? How should I utilize flames? And how exactly should I wield a sword?
Through these thoughts, I had come to realize one fundamental truth: the absolute prerequisite was to possess the highest possible level of physical conditioning.
‘I didn’t have that.’
When I first saw my body, I had thought it was already at its peak—arrogantly, I even believed it might be the best.
‘······There are many people with bodies superior to mine.’
I had already seen at least ten such individuals.
That meant my body still had plenty of room to grow.
“Hoo······.”
I set down the equipment and caught my breath.
‘Maybe I should stop by the private training room.’
I had already been at physical conditioning for two hours.
Honestly, it was a good time to take a short break.
Step.
Wiping away my sweat, I headed toward the door of my private training room.
“Wow······.”
“He’s so handsome······.”
“······What’s so great about him? He’s just sweaty.”
“What did you say? Say that again.”
I could hear a few students whispering about me from afar, but I didn’t pay them much mind.
Creak.
“······Huh?”
The moment I opened the door to my private training room and stepped inside, I found an uninvited, snow-white guest.
Soft breathing······.
As I drew closer, I could hear her steady, rhythmic breaths.
I reached out and gently shook her.
“······Siris, wake up.”
Siris Helen.
She had been sleeping inside my private training room, where flames blazed fiercely.
‘······She’s treating it like her own house.’
Although it was called a private training room, only those who had been granted permission could use it.
The doors operated on a principle where mana was imprinted on them, and they would only open in response to the same mana signature.
It was the same system used on most doors.
I had imprinted not only my own mana but also Siris’s onto the door.
That was probably why she visited almost every day.
Whether I was there or not.
“Mmm······?”
She stirred, then slowly rubbed her eyes and sat up.
Blink. Blink.
After blinking several times, her round eyes finally focused on me.
“······Adel? Why are you here?”
It seemed Siris had thought this was her own private training room.
“······This is my private training room.”
“······Ah.”
Now fully awake, Siris let out a small sigh, yet naturally spread both her arms wide.
It was a clear request to be held.
‘······I guess I have no choice.’
Squeeze.
Recalling how frail and pained Siris usually looked, I couldn’t help but embrace her.
***
“······I miss red pandas.”
In front of the path of flames.
After spending a long time transferring warmth to her while holding Siris in my arms, that thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Her small frame and pretty yet adorable appearance.
For some strange reason, it reminded me of a red panda.
“Red panda?”
Had I muttered it out loud without realizing?
“What’s that?”
Siris asked in a tone that suggested she had no idea what I was talking about.
‘She seems fine these days.’
Perhaps because of the continuous exposure to my flames, whenever she was receiving them, her speech and behavior no longer carried that sense of pain.
I didn’t know the exact principle behind it, but it was a relief.
‘It helps me too.’
Transferring only the gentle warmth of flames to another person.
It was a technique that required far more precision than one might think.
Practicing that precision while also helping Siris.
It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
“Red panda? Um······ a cute creature?”
I didn’t really have a proper explanation.
Whenever I pictured one, all I could think of was how cute they were.
‘They look really cute even when they’re trying to threaten you.’
They spread their arms wide to look intimidating, but because they’re so small, it just ends up looking adorable.
Swish.
Siris, who had been leaning her back against my chest, turned slightly.
“Then, am I cuter, or is the red panda cuter?”
“······.”
Looking at Siris, who was wearing a playful smile, I thought to myself.
‘Why does she like teasing so much?’
Starting with Shane, then Banya, and now Siris.
Whenever I said or did anything, they would all grin and start messing with me.
‘······Tina probably isn’t like that, right?’
Because the four of them were so close, I suddenly felt an inexplicable anxiety that she might be just as mischievous.
‘······One day, I’ll have to get my revenge.’
I couldn’t keep being the only one on the receiving end forever.
“Hm? Hm?”
Siris leaned in closer, pressing me for an answer.
‘······Before that, let’s settle this first.’
To prepare for the future, I needed to handle the present.
With no other choice, I answered.
“······You’re cuter.”
“Right? I’m cuter, aren’t I? Heehee.”
Siris turned back around with a satisfied smile.
Squeeze.
She clung to me even more tightly, looking incredibly happy.
‘······That’s a relief.’
I had no intention of saying the red panda was cuter.
Honestly, who in their right mind would answer “red panda” to a question like that?
I was simply glad that Siris was happy.
‘Should I ask?’
It was a question regarding Siris’s physical condition.
I had been continuously transferring flames to her for the past several days.
Seeing how much better she looked compared to before, I figured it would be fine to ask.
“Siris.”
“Yes?”
She had been beaming with joy, expressing her happiness with her entire body, but now she turned back toward me again.
“What is it?”
“You know, about your body. Is it related to a curse?”
“······.”
At my words, Siris’s expression hardened.
She seemed to be debating whether she should answer or not.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Whatever’s comfortable for you.”
If a woman who usually smiled so prettily and adorably would freeze up like this, there was no need to force her to speak.
Besides, it might be something I couldn’t help her with anyway.
“······No. Adel. You deserve to know. Since you give me your flames every day.”
Siris let out a long breath.
Her clear, unclouded eyes stared straight at me.
“My body is afflicted with the Curse of the Ice Snow Dragon.”
“······.”
Just as I had suspected earlier, Siris’s condition was indeed related to a curse.
And it was one with a rather dangerous name.