Frosty Ambush and the Lone Hunter
A little while earlier, back to the Monday dawn before they set off from the academy.
“Everyone’s here, I see.”
The group heading to the Levatein Duchy with Clarice Levatein had gathered. There was Seong Hyunjin, along with Serena Eldark, Ciela Teraport, and even Yeonhui.
Seong Hyunjin had been surprised that Yeonhui hadn’t backed out, and he’d felt a twinge of anxiety wondering if something like last time might happen again. But as if to dispel those needless worries, Yeonhui took the initiative.
She pulled Seong Hyunjin aside briefly for a quiet word.
“Sorry for the trouble last time, junior. I won’t cause a scene like that again.”
“Ah…”
Seong Hyunjin had no intention of holding a grudge or picking a fight over her apology.
“Apology accepted.”
Serena looked a bit uncomfortable, but Ciela probably felt the same. With that in mind, Seong Hyunjin saw no reason to refuse her company. He offered a light handshake.
“Take care of me on this field trip too, senior.”
“Thank you for having me, junior.”
“You were planning to come anyway.”
Just like that, Yeonhui—who he’d thought might bail—joined without issue, and Seong Hyunjin waited with the others for Clarice, who hadn’t arrived yet.
Serena sat close beside him, asking if he’d packed properly.
“They say the duchy gets cold. Did you bring enough clothes?”
“Enough to survive the Arctic. My master warned me the north is brutal.”
“Good, then.”
Ciela eyed Serena, who was practically glued to Seong Hyunjin, with clear dissatisfaction.
“Hey, Serena junior, why’ve you been clinging to Hyunjin junior like that?”
“Oh, this? You didn’t know?”
Serena leaned in even closer, wrapping her arms around his and declaring it boldly.
“I’m dating Seong Hyunjin.”
“……What!?”
Ciela stared in shock, glancing between Serena and Seong Hyunjin. Unable to believe it, she assumed it was a prank and got a little angry.
“D-don’t lie! Junior, even as a joke, I can’t forgive that kind of—”
“Does it look like a joke?”
Serena turned to Seong Hyunjin.
“She thinks it’s a prank—what should we do, honey?”
“H-honey…!?”
Ciela jumped at the pet name, whipping her gaze to Seong Hyunjin. He explained with an awkward smile.
“That’s how it happened.”
“…J-junior, how…”
Ciela stared blankly at the two, then snuck a glance at Yeonhui. She knew Yeonhui harbored feelings for Seong Hyunjin just as strong as Serena’s. But oddly, Yeonhui’s reaction was calm—as if she’d known all along.
“……”
Ciela swallowed a bitter chuckle inwardly. Those weren’t the eyes of someone giving up. Her silence meant she had other plans.
She’s hiding her claws…
Even Ciela, who’d wanted to protest Serena dating Seong Hyunjin, reconsidered. There had to be a reason that creepy senior was playing it cool. Probably because order didn’t matter.
As long as she could win his heart, what did the sequence matter? Besides, dating Serena now didn’t guarantee they’d last forever. They were just lovers for the moment—nothing more advanced.
…Point to you, Serena Eldark junior.
She had to concede the first move. Concede that she’d toppled the master-worshipper—that alone proved her appeal. But…
“……I see, junior.”
She wasn’t about to let her take everything. Ciela clapped lightly, congratulating the new couple.
“Congrats—you’ve got a pretty girlfriend now?”
“…Uh, thanks.”
Seong Hyunjin looked puzzled by her reaction, and Serena did too. They hadn’t expected such easy acceptance. The two exchanged ambiguous glances, though for different reasons: Seong Hyunjin purely curious why she’d react this way, Serena suspicious.
…What’s her angle?
Bang.
Then the lobby door of the Terra Dorm swung open, and a student entered. Fiery red hair like flames and striking purple eyes evoking violets—Clarice Levatein, the one who’d invited them all.
“Sorry I’m late. I was talking with my family.”
“We haven’t been waiting long.”
Seong Hyunjin replied casually, buzzing with excitement at the thought of facing the duchy’s beasts.
“Finally heading to your territory. Can’t wait.”
“That’s actually what I needed to talk about.”
“Yeah?”
Clarice explained.
“The beast population in the duchy has exploded this year. The family knights were supposed to escort us, but they’re all tied up with subjugations. Looks like we’ll have to go on our own.”
“Got it. No helping that.”
Seong Hyunjin shrugged it off, but Ciela and Serena seemed less sanguine.
“It’s gotten that bad?”
“Isn’t that too dangerous…?”
“We’re going to fight them—more’s better, right?”
Serena let out a dry chuckle and poked his cheek playfully.
“You’re more excited to fight beasts than worried, aren’t you?”
“Pretty much.”
Clarice watched him accept the casual touch naturally and asked,
“So you two are officially dating now?”
“Yep.”
“Congratulations.”
Her well-wishes felt genuine. Serena relaxed, sensing no need to guard against Clarice. Unlike her rivals Ciela and Yeonhui, she felt a budding friendliness toward her. In a softer tone, she asked,
“So no family escort—do we need to arrange our own transport?”
“No, they’re sending a carriage.”
“A carriage?”
Seong Hyunjin tilted his head. One carriage to the north, where beasts might attack? Even if the passengers survived, the carriage itself would shatter.
But he was missing something. Carriages in this world weren’t ordinary.
Civilization here had advanced remarkably through spirit power—sometimes matching or surpassing the worlds of transmigrators and reincarnators, in unique ways.
“……This is the carriage?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously, this is a carriage?”
“What else would it be?”
Seong Hyunjin’s double-take was warranted. It looked like a carriage, but there were no horses. More precisely, nothing living pulled the cart.
Advances in spirit engineering had mechanized most horses into automaton constructs shaped like steeds—essentially automated drivers. This was just an automated vehicle.
The body was made of special alloy, impervious to beast attacks, just like the horse-shapes. Even the wheels were tires, not wood. It was basically a car with mechanical horses instead of an engine.
But the others didn’t seem to share his shock.
“It’s a normal carriage—you’re overreacting, junior.”
“Pfft, Seong Hyunjin’s got some gaps in common sense.”
Serena and Ciela just laughed lightly, amused by his reaction. Seong Hyunjin muttered in defeat.
“Feels like my sense of normal just shattered…”
“I was amazed the first time too.”
Only Yeonhui empathized. In their old worlds, carriages meant living horses pulling carts.
“It’s a carriage in name only—not a real one. Like the Ship of Theseus. No live horses, cart’s basically a car. Not a carriage.”
“True.”
“No idea what you mean, Seong Hyunjin.”
Seong Hyunjin nodded to Yeonhui, the only one getting it. Shared memories from their worlds made her easy to relate to.
…I get why she likes me now.
People clicked with those they could talk to. Understanding her feelings a bit better, he asked Clarice,
“What if beasts block the road? It stops, right?”
“We’d clear them. The route to the castle isn’t that dangerous—treat it as part of the field trip.”
“Ah…”
Seong Hyunjin nodded in understanding, then noticed the lack of reins on the mechanical horses.
“No coachman needed?”
“Why would we? It’s preset for the destination.”
“……”
“You’re asking odd questions today. Hop on already.”
An autonomous carriage. Not a real carriage, he thought as he boarded.
#
And so the carriage departed, eventually reaching the current situation after entering the duchy.
Shortly after crossing into Levatein Territory, a herd of frost oxen blocked the road. Their crude horns couldn’t scratch the spirit-engineered carriage, but they clogged the path, forcing Seong Hyunjin and the others to clear them.
Seong Hyunjin, Serena, Ciela, and Clarice stepped out to handle it, leaving Yeonhui inside as the sole healer. She could manage frost oxen, but a healer’s absence could be fatal in any mishap. And these pests didn’t warrant her involvement.
“Not really dangerous, though…”
Stab!
Seong Hyunjin skewered a frost ox sneaking up behind him, grumbling unhappily.
“Too harmless—more annoying than fun…”
Clarice overheard.
“When we arrive, I’ll ask Father to let you join the subjugation parties. Avoid the forbidden zones, tell him about our skills, and you can tag along.”
“Now that sounds promising.”
If the duke led subjugations, they’d target real threats— not these frost oxen calves even kids could kill with sticks, but monsters like frost wolves, each a genuine menace.
That’s why he’d chosen the Levatein trip—he itched to join a real hunt.
Clarice spoke up.
“Something’s off, though.”
“What?”
“Look—calves mixed in with the adults.”
She rummaged through the corpses she’d felled, pointing to smaller ones.
“These aren’t full-grown.”
“Huh? Thought they were just runts.”
“Smaller, yes, but check the fangs. Adults have sharp, triangular ones. Juveniles or younger have long but blunt ones.”
“They don’t usually bring calves out… Weird.”
“Maybe migrating? Herds move bases sometimes.”
“Possible.”
Clarice nodded, accepting his theory for now.
“Looks cleared. Shall we go?”
Serena asked after incinerating the oxen to ash with flames. Clarice scanned the area and nodded.
“Yes.”
She sheathed her greatsword; Serena and Ciela disposed of nearby corpses and returned. Yeonhui greeted them as the door opened.
“Everyone okay? More than expected?”
“Tons. The rumors about beasts swarming the duchy are spot on.”
“But not dangerous.”
As Clarice boarded and Seong Hyunjin moved to follow—
Thud—.
“……?”
A faint, distant rumble echoed. So subtle that no one else noticed—except Seong Hyunjin.
“Hey, Clarice.”
“Yes?”
“You said frost oxen don’t herd like this normally, right?”
“Yes. Hunting groups do, but…”
Clarice trailed off, catching his intent. If the whole herd fled with calves, something had threatened their base?
“……Something outside?”
“Huh?”
“What is it?”
As Serena and Ciela asked, Seong Hyunjin grinned.
He slammed the door shut.
“!”
“Seong Hyunjin!?”
“Hyunjin, what—”
Clarice shoved the door, but it rattled without opening. He’d locked it from outside.
The carriage had external locks for infiltrator scenarios—now trapping the four inside.
They all knew why. Protecting the girls? No—with him doing it, it meant…
“……Hah.”
“He just wants to fight solo, doesn’t he, junior?”
He craved a one-on-one with whatever approached.
“You idiot battle maniac!! Open the door!”
Serena yelled in disbelief, but Seong Hyunjin ignored her, listening to the growing rumble. He replied simply.
“No.”
“No what!?”
“That’s my prey.”
With that, he bolted toward the sound.
“Then we won’t interfere! Why lock us in!?”
Serena’s desperate shout fell on empty air.