Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Person I Miss
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Bianca and Bergmann had plummeted off the cliff, but this time, the goddess of fortune had extended her hand to Bianca.
The spot where she fell was a mound of snow that had piled up after sliding down the cliffside.
In contrast, the place where Bergmann crashed was a frozen downslope.
“Uwaaaah!”
Already struggling to control his body after tumbling from the cliff, Bergmann slid straight down the incline.
In the meantime, Bianca poked her head up out of the snow with a puff.
“Ugh.”
At the same time, a throbbing pain shot through her ankle, making her wince.
It was fortunate that falling from such a height had only resulted in this much injury.
But it still hurt.
Bianca looked up at the cliff.
It loomed dizzyingly far away—far too high to climb.
Jenica was nowhere in sight, which said it all.
What do I do?
Bianca wasn’t well-versed in mountain trekking.
The sun was already setting.
With a leg like this, blindly wandering would only increase the chances of getting lost.
But she couldn’t just sit still, either.
Bergmann would be grinding his teeth at the fact that a mere young girl had gotten the better of him. He’d be desperately hunting for her.
I need to hide first.
Bianca dragged her swelling leg and began moving deeper into the mountains.
White breath started escaping her lips.
A sign that her body temperature was dropping.
She’d dressed warmly, but rolling through the snow had soaked her clothes.
The wet fabric was heavy and sapping her warmth.
If this kept up, hypothermia would set in first.
She needed to warm her clothes and body somehow.
That’s when the Snowblaze Mushroom crossed her mind.
The mushroom that maintained body heat just by holding it.
Her eyes began frantically scanning the forest.
She knew the habitat and conditions for Snowblaze Mushrooms well.
First, it had to be on sunlit snow.
Second, there needed to be a massive tree over a century old nearby for nutrients.
The age of such trees was easy to gauge from their size.
She searched for both a hiding spot and a Snowblaze Mushroom.
And soon enough, luck favored her—she spotted a colossal ancient tree.
Bianca’s breathing grew ragged.
Pain and hypothermia were making her eyelids heavy.
She’d reached her limit.
I have to find it.
Biting her lip hard, she finally reached the tree and let out a sigh of relief.
A Snowblaze Mushroom grew there.
A pure white mushroom brimming with sunlight.
Just being near it brought warmth—truly befitting of a Snowblaze Mushroom.
It was pure luck.
Bianca drew a small knife from her waist and cut it at the base.
Clutching it to her chest, a cozy warmth spread through her body, like basking in sunlight.
Warm.
With hypothermia averted, Bianca headed to the cave she’d spotted earlier.
No signs of wild animals—it would do for shelter.
On the way, she quickly gathered some red mountain berries and arrived safely at the cave.
“Haa, ha.”
She collapsed onto the ground.
Panting heavily, Bianca checked inside her shoe.
Her injured leg was swollen bright red.
She removed the shoe, stripped off her outer clothes, and draped them over herself like a blanket.
With the Snowblaze Mushroom, the warmth would dry them quickly.
She then used the snow she’d brought in to make a compress on the wound and splinted it with a thick branch.
Thank goodness she’d packed emergency bandages.
After swiftly finishing first aid, Bianca propped her foot higher than her heart using her shoe and lay down.
It was first aid straight out of a book.
But this was only temporary—proper treatment was essential.
I don’t know beyond this.
Her knowledge ended here.
She noticed her eyelids growing heavy.
She’d stabilized.
She’d even swept away her footprints at the cave entrance with snow, just in case.
Now, she just needed time to recover her strength.
Lord Krash.
For some reason, she missed Krash.
Thinking of him gently stroking her hair, Bianca drifted off to sleep.
Quite some time had passed since she’d been stranded.
To make matters worse, a massive avalanche had struck below Mount Hardenharts, hindering the search teams and delaying the hunt for Bianca even further.
At that moment, the isolated Bianca survived on mountain berries and winter greens she’d read about in books.
Luckily, she’d found some herbs good for sprains midway, crushed them with a stone, and tucked them into her bandages as a poultice—but that was it.
The pain had lessened a bit, but her ankle showed no signs of healing.
It’s cracked, or maybe broken.
Either way, it wasn’t good.
The real problem was spotting what looked like Bergmann’s footprints while picking berries.
He’s close.
He was chasing her.
From the moment she realized it, Bianca shrank her range of movement even more.
Being spotted by him would spell the end.
The best outcome would be the search team finding her first.
But Bianca was skeptical about that, too.
She was hiding because of Bergmann, which made it hard for rescuers to find her.
On top of that, she felt her body weakening with each passing day.
Even with the Snowblaze Mushroom, she was just a 13-year-old child.
Surviving outdoors in the harsh winter with scant nutrition wasn’t easy.
“……I dozed off again.”
Bianca rubbed her eyes; sleep had been coming much more frequently.
No matter how much she slept on the cold stone floor, her fatigue wouldn’t lift.
This is bad.
Next time she fell asleep, she might not wake up at all.
As she thought that and tried to force herself to move—
Rustle—
Footsteps echoed from the bushes outside the cave.
Bianca’s face hardened.
The heavy tread of an adult man.
And of course, it was far from the search teams.
“Found you.”
The moment a short whisper reached her, Bianca bolted with all her strength.
Footsteps immediately pursued from behind.
Bianca took the route she’d scouted beforehand, sprinting the shortest path.
She deliberately headed into dense thickets where a large man couldn’t easily pass.
But her injured leg kept holding her back.
The pain slowed her steps.
Thwack!
In that instant, the sound of a tree splintering and crashing came from behind.
“Ugh!”
Hearing it, Bianca veered sharply, but the ankle pain gripped her.
Rumble!
The felled tree rolled into her fragile body.
Bianca tumbled across the snow for a long stretch.
“Hic, ugh.”
A frail groan escaped her lips.
Pain wracked her entire body; she couldn’t even twitch her fingertips.
Blood trickled from her forehead, staining her eyes.
It was as if Bianca—who’d never shed tears in her life—was weeping her final bloody tears.
“You’re annoyingly persistent, missy.”
Bergmann’s low growl echoed as he lightly stepped on a tree and leaped down right in front of her.
He grabbed her snow-white hair and yanked her up.
“Kuh……”
“Heh, not a flicker on your face. You’re one tough little brat, huh?”
Pulled up by Bergmann, Bianca couldn’t even resist.
Accumulated fatigue and the fresh agony had drained all her strength.
“Making a guy suffer like this—what good are you? Time for a beating before I use you as a hostage!”
Bergmann stood up in that position.
Bianca felt her scalp tearing from the pain.
At the same time, he ripped out her hairpin and pocketed it.
It looked valuable—good for selling.
Staring dimly at the hairpin, Bianca’s eyes slowly closed.
This was enough. She’d tried her best.
She had no confidence left to endure more.
In her fading vision, Krash appeared.
The man who’d completely changed one day.
At first, she’d followed him, fearing he might attempt suicide due to depression.
But that had become routine.
He never minded her cursed self.
He’d sometimes look apologetic, but fundamentally, his gaze toward her differed from others’.
Maybe that’s why.
Over the past year, being by Krash’s side had felt more comfortable than even Hardenharts.
Him training, her reading nearby.
It was a simple daily life, but undoubtedly joyful days.
Joyful.
Who would’ve thought she’d ever feel joy?
Joy was surely an emotion.
For the first time, Bianca wondered if she truly had emotions—or not.
One thing was certain: she regretted not having them.
If she could feel, she’d have savored that comfort and joy more vividly.
And shared more moments with Krash.
She realized he’d grown immensely important within her.
So, for the last time, Bianca opened her mouth.
“Kra…sh… Lord…”
Her voice, too faint to reach.
It was then.
The sound of someone charging through the snow rang out.
“Hm?”
As Bergmann belatedly reacted—
Thud!
A boy’s fist slammed full-force into his side.
“Guh?!”
The ambushed Bergmann stifled a pained grunt.
He belatedly sensed the secondary shockwave ripping through his internals, but it was too late.
Crack!
The successive impacts bent his body sharply; he released Bianca and tumbled to the ground.
As Bianca rolled limply, she felt a warm embrace.
Opening her blurry eyes, she saw the face she longed for most.
Meeting his gaze filled her with profound relief.
“Bianca.”
His lips parted carefully, calling her name.
Pity, anger, a mix of emotions—his voice was heartbreakingly tender.
Hearing it, Bianca slowly raised her hand to cup his cheek.
“Lord Krash… I’m okay……”
She caressed it once more before her eyes gently closed.
A soft snore came from her nose.
The moment relief hit, her exhausted mind shut down.
Witnessing it, Krash scooped her up and carried her to a tree, leaning her against it comfortably. A crow flew down and perched before her.
“Can you win?”
The crow spoke.
His opponent was the Slaughter Hound.
A renowned powerhouse even before.
Though a fugitive from the empire, encountering a World Erosion Being had made him stronger than ever.
Frankly, he was clearly stronger than Krash.
“Evelask and I can’t help.”
Crimson Garden’s familiars weren’t at Hardenharts.
The only one here was this single crow.
It could cast minor magic, but that was no match for an enemy.
Even for Crimson Garden, it wouldn’t suffice.
Meanwhile, Evelask was bound by an unwritten rule among World Erosion Beings.
That rule: Don’t touch each other’s familiars unless you want war.
Messing with one could break the truce, forcing war with the Slaughter Hound’s master—a World Erosion Being.
Evelask wouldn’t recklessly risk that.
They had a transactional relationship with Krash, but no reason for her to take such dangers for him.
Thus, Krash had to face Bergmann alone.
Aware of this, he drew his sword from his waist.
His blue eyes gleamed sharply.
“I’ll win.”
There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his conviction.