EP.21 Winter Camp -3
EP.21 Winter Camp -3
From Suobi Village to the Northern Great Wilds border was roughly an hour's walk.
It was located surprisingly close.
Especially since the Yeti's territory was said to begin only a thirty-minute walk from the border.
I could somewhat understand how the stone that had been the Yeti's prized possession ended up in human hands.
Anyway, now that we had that precious stone, all we had to do was wait for the Yeti to appear right in front of the border, but...
"It's not appearing!"
"Yeah, it's not showing up. What happened, Yata? Is this thing maybe a fake?"
"Well, about that. It's not exactly that the stone is a fake, but there's been a problem."
"What problem?"
"When we were coming up on the lift a while ago, because we wasted so much time there, a fight broke out."
"Wait. So that means if we had just used illusions and slipped past without having to persuade the staff member, there would've been no problem?"
"Yep!"
"..."
"Ahaha! I'm sorry! But like I said before, I really wanted to see my husband trying his best to persuade them no matter what?"
"Right..."
I couldn't pin this entirely on Yata, since my own ignorance was partly to blame...
Still, like during the Motaras disturbance and this time too, I realized that even Yata made mistakes sometimes.
"Let's hurry. We're going to stop the current situation."
"Right, you said we're going to mediate the Yeti's fight."
"Yes."
"Then who's the opponent the Yeti is fighting?"
If it was someone casually fighting a Yeti, that opponent was definitely a Divine Beast as well.
Unless it was an exceptional case like me, an ordinary animal could never defeat a Yeti.
So I was curious which Divine Beast could be fighting the Yeti.
"It'd be better to see that for yourself."
"So it's a secret again this time?"
"No. That's not it..."
"Then why aren't you telling me?"
"Because the illusion would surely be shattered if I told you in advance?"
"Huh?"
I had absolutely no idea what Yata meant, but she definitely had her own reasons for saying it.
Trusting that there must be unavoidable circumstances, I simply followed the path Yata led.
Like that, ten minutes passed, and when we finally neared the peak of the snowy mountain, we could hear the low, threatening sounds of two beasts.
"Grrrrrr...!!"
"Kgrrrrr...!!"
Not only that, but I could also spot their massive forms within the raging blizzard.
One was a great ape covered in pure white fur, just as I had imagined.
The other was... emaciated yet taller than the Yeti, a monster with the skull of a wolf and the massive antlers of a reindeer.
If my memory and the contents of the Divine Beast Dictionary weren't wrong, that monster was certainly a Wendigo.
A Divine Beast that conjures blizzards wherever it goes and possesses an Ice Heart that can rapidly freeze anything.
Also known as Ithaqua, it was known to be a much more ferocious Divine Beast compared to the Yeti.
In fact, it was said that every adventurer who set out to observe a Wendigo ended up frozen solid and eaten whole.
And that terrifying Divine Beast was now fighting the Yeti...
"I'm sorry, husband. I couldn't bring myself to tell you because I wanted to show you this."
"I see... The level of the fight between the Yeti and the Wendigo is incredible. A true clash of the world's mightiest."
A Wendigo clutching the Yeti by the hair, and a Yeti pulling on the Wendigo's antlers.
Right before my eyes were two Divine Beasts who weren't brawling but just grabbing each other by the head and pulling.
"Let go of this."
"You let go of my antlers first."
"I said let go. Are you going to take responsibility if my hair gets pulled out?"
"Like I care. If you don't want to freeze to death, take your hands off my antlers without ruining them."
"Hmph...!! Fine. On the count of one, two, three, we let go at the same time?"
"Alright."
"One, two, three!!"
But even after the countdown ended, their hands remained fixed on each other's body parts.
It was a truly pathetic sight.
Were these guys really Divine Beasts?
***
The fight between the Yeti and the Wendigo was childish, but there was a reason for it.
While they could certainly go all out, their current location was a snowy mountain.
If they fought seriously, it would risk triggering an avalanche and destroying the surrounding landscape.
Knowing that well, the two of them were fighting in a way so as not to cause too big a disturbance.
"Still, watching Divine Beasts fight by grabbing each other by the hair is a bit of a complicated feeling..."
"That's why I didn't want to tell my husband about the fight between those two Divine Beasts."
"Yeah, I understand completely now."
If she had told me the Yeti was fighting a Wendigo, my imagination would have definitely painted a picture of a glorious battle.
A fight between the two iconic Divine Beasts of the snowy region was that exciting, and any human would have thought the same thing.
However, reality was completely different from imagination, and it was nothing but bitter.
"Anyway, how do we stop those two from fighting?"
"That's simple. If my husband just appears before those two right now and says he's here to return the stone, that should do it."
"Can I trust that?"
"Of course~!"
Since it was Yata's word, I shouldn't doubt it, but this time I was half in doubt.
I could understand the gentle Yeti, but the Wendigo was a notorious Divine Beast known for its ferocity and even cannibalism.
I worried that if I showed up for no good reason, it might try to harm me.
Still, there was nothing else I could do at the moment, so I decided to follow the crow's instructions.
"Hmm?"
"A human...?"
When I boldly approached the two who were fighting, they naturally noticed my presence and looked at me.
But I wished they would stop looking at me while holding each other by the hair.
Honestly, it was a bit gruesome...
"Uho?! H-How come a human is here?"
"What scheme brings you all the way here, human?!"
"I didn't come for any grand reason. I just came to deliver this stone."
"Uhot! That's my precious stone...!!"
"It's a stone you cherish dearly, right? Catch."
When I threw the stone towards the Yeti, it let go of the Wendigo with both hands and clutched the stone to its chest as if it were precious.
When I had first appeared, it wore a bewildered expression, but once its treasure returned, it began to smile brightly.
"Human. I understand now what business you came for, but don't think you can just go back smoothly."
On the other hand, unlike the Yeti, the Wendigo was extremely displeased with me.
Even though it was a skull, I could feel the rage emanating from its face.
So much so that I could feel the killing intent that wanted to pounce on me and devour me right then.
It was a scene where anyone normal would have been terrified and trembling uncontrollably, and that wouldn't have been strange.
Unfortunately, I was already too accustomed to that kind of bloodlust, having faced Divine Beasts head-on multiple times already.
I even had the experience of dying tens of thousands of times to Fenrir, who was far scarier than a Wendigo.
So this level of killing intent was nothing more than cute to me.
"Sadly, my business here isn't over yet."
"And what is this other business?"
"It's simply to mediate the fight between you two, just as you were doing a moment ago."
"A mere insignificant creature like a human dares to come and mediate our fight? How arrogant! Know your place! Human!"
I had thought the same thing.
Why did I have to mediate these two anyway...
I had many complaints, but our crow had decreed that mediating their fight and creating a debt would prevent any Divine Beasts from the north from invading for the next hundred years.
In other words, it meant fewer cases of Divine Beasts like Arachne invading the human world.
It was something I absolutely had to do, even if I didn't want to.
But this Skeletal Giant Deer was, true to its known personality, practically frantic to eat me.
"At the very least, I'll freeze you in one go and eat you so it's not too painful!"
"Wait. I came to stop a fight, not to start one."
"Ha! Still haven't come to your senses? A human like you is nothing but my meal...!"
In anticipation of what was about to happen, I quietly took about three steps back.
Mistaking my action for running away, the Wendigo stirred up a fierce blizzard to keep me from escaping.
But for me, who had Tia's power to manipulate air, the blizzard meant nothing.
And there was another reason I stepped back, and it wasn't to run away...
-Crack!!
With the sound of bone shattering, the Wendigo's body lurched forward and collapsed.
A rabbit had appeared behind the Wendigo and kicked it in the back of the head.
It was truly an instant, but my eyes had seen it clearly.
On the other hand, the Wendigo, ambushed from behind, naturally had no idea it was Alice's doing.
It seemed to think the Yeti, who had been standing behind it grinning, was the culprit.
"You filthy ape! Daring to strike me from behind?!"
"Uho? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"You shameless bastard! You even pretend you don't know!"
Thus, the quarrel between the two began once again.
Just how was I supposed to mediate these hopeless cases... I had no idea.
***
The two Divine Beasts had been arguing endlessly over who was right and who was wrong.
With the fight never reaching a conclusion, they grudgingly requested my mediation.
They wanted me to judge who was more in the right.
If even the Wendigo, who had treated me like food, was asking me, it must have been really frustrating for them.
"So, the reason you two fought was over a territory dispute?"
"That's right, human."
The story they told was this.
Originally, their designated zones had been meticulously divided long ago, and they had lived well without any disputes.
However, recently, the terrain that separated their zones collapsed, making the boundaries between their territories unclear.
Because of this, they needed to set a new boundary, but their claims differed, making it hard to split the zones.
"Can't you just use the boundary line that was set before as a starting point?"
"Exactly! That would solve it simply! But this ape is arguing that we can't do that!!"
"Uho! Human! I have something to say about that, so please listen to my story!"
"Let's hear it."
"My zone originally had a high terrain like a hill. But when the terrain collapsed this time, my hill crumbled and flowed into this bag of bones' land!"
He meant that since part of his land had slipped into the Wendigo's zone, the old boundary couldn't be used as it was.
The Yeti insisted that either his territory should be widened by the amount that flowed in, or that part of the land should be transferred back to him.
At this demand, the Wendigo flew into a rage, arguing how one could possibly know how much land had flowed in and give it back.
To which the Yeti raised his voice, saying if the land couldn't be returned, couldn't they just widen the boundary a little.
Signs that their fight was about to start again were becoming visible.
"Wait. Just what happened that the terrain collapsed and caused this whole problem?"
"That's because of an incident that happened not long ago."
"Though it was quite far from here, a meteorite fell from the sky, crashing into the ground, and the aftermath caused the ground to collapse."
"Ah...!"
So it was because of what my companion animal and I had done...
It'd be a total mess if I told them the truth straight out, wouldn't it?
I'd better keep my mouth shut.
"Yuu! Are you almost done~? I'm bored!"
"T-Tia?!"
Tia had appeared behind me before I knew it and was tugging on my sleeve.
The little dragon girl's face was full of boredom and discontent.
I could understand that feeling, but appearing right now...
"What's this? Why is there a hatchling dragon here?!"
"Why does it seem she's close to that human?"
"A human close to a hatchling dragon...? Could it be you're that human from the rumors?!"
"Uho? The human who broke the Divine Beast Rules and formed Companion Contracts with Divine Beasts?"
"Yes. That's the human I mean!"
Of course, this was how it turned out.
My identity was completely blown. What was I supposed to do now?
Since I had broken the Divine Beast Rules, it was only natural for me to become a target of Divine Beasts.
My only options were to run away or to fight head-on...
"But does it matter? Whether you're an ordinary human or one contracted to Divine Beasts, our problem is more urgent anyway."
"That's certainly true."
Fortunately, these two Divine Beasts had a surprisingly easygoing nature, so it didn't become a problem.
Not only that, but they also didn't seem to know that the meteorite summoned recently was our doing.
Relieved to have avoided a crisis, I swept a hand over my thumping chest and tried to mediate their dispute again.
However, a discontented baby dragon wouldn't allow it.
"Yuu, play with me now!!"
"Wait just a moment, Tia. I'll play with you right after this is finished."
"No! I wanna play with Yuu now!!"
"I'm really sorry."
I was so sorry it was heartbreaking not to be able to pay her attention, but I had to resolve those two's problem first.
So I consoled Tia for a moment by stroking her head, entrusted her to Yata, and returned to where the two Divine Beasts were.
"Just to ask, neither of you has any intention of backing down?"
"None."
"Absolutely none."
"Right..."
Actually, the simple solution to this problem was for one of them to back down.
But if that had been possible, they wouldn't have been fighting like this in the first place.
So the remaining methods were limited.
A method to roughly gauge how much of the Yeti's territory had flowed in and bring back that amount.
Naturally, it couldn't be perfectly brought back, but we could compromise on an amount of land both the Yeti and Wendigo could agree on and end it.
However...
"This is too little! Give me more!"
"This is already enough generosity! Accept it gratefully!!"
This method couldn't be used because both of them were acting petty.
The next method I devised was to alter the boundary line.
I changed the existing straight line into a wave-like form and made the Yeti's zone just a bit larger, but...
"Don't push it! Greedy ape! Were you born having thrown away your conscience?"
"What's wrong with this much? You miserly bag of bones!!"
Again, their opinions were too divided to be accepted.
I tried various other methods and put in effort to solve their problem.
But these two greedy Divine Beasts didn't accept any method, instead fighting over every little thing and only adding to my sighs.
"Haah...!!"
Meanwhile, there was someone besides me watching this situation with furrowed brows, and eventually, unable to hold back any longer, she came up to me with her cheeks puffed out enormously.
"Yuu! I can't take it anymore! Play with me!"
"Tia..."
"I wanna ski and play with Yuu!! But Yuu won't play with me!!"
"Ugh...! I'm really sorry, Tia."
"Does Yuu think those two people are more precious? Or am I more precious?"
"Of course, that's Tia."
"Then why won't you play with me?"
"W-Well, that is..."
As I hemmed and hawed, not knowing how to say it so Tia would understand without getting hurt, her already furrowed brow grew even fiercer.
Finally, Tia's puffed-up cheeks, which looked ready to burst, deflated, and she poured out all her discontent in a single cry.
"I've had enough!! I'm going to play with Yuu! Right now!!"
"T-Tia?!"
I could see every visible Air Thread beginning to twist and tangle, and I realized this situation was far from ordinary.
The Air Threads continued to weave together endlessly, even surpassing the limit of threads that could be handled at once.
When I wove them at my maximum, a whirlwind appeared that could blow everyone in the vicinity far away, but if a higher-level wind than that was manifesting...?
"M-My goodness...!!"
It meant that not only this whole area but everyone here was in a state of emergency.
The word "run" was about to burst from my throat.
Regrettably, as if it was already one step too late, the knotted threads began to unravel.
With the super-powerful storm that ensued, an avalanche of record-breaking proportions occurred on the snowy mountain.
***
-Ruuuumble!!
"Kyahaha!!"
A terrifying roar and the bright laughter of a young girl.
After the storm struck, I couldn't open my eyes for a while, and finally I carefully opened them.
I thought I'd been caught up in the baptism of cascading snow and buried, but contrary to my expectations, my body was atop the sweeping avalanche.
It was a miracle, but the fact that I was heading down with the avalanche hadn't changed.
"Yuu! Look at this!!"
"Tia?"
When I turned my head toward the sound of Tia's laughter that had been ringing next to me all along...
An extraordinary sight unfolded.
"W-What in the?!"
Tia was also caught in the avalanche, but she was heading down while riding on the back of a Divine Beast I'd seen somewhere before, holding onto its reindeer antlers.
"Yuu, this is skiing, right?"
"Uh, uh-huh...?"
"Is it wrong?"
"N-No. It's not wrong, but..."
Wasn't it a problem to treat a Wendigo like a pair of skis?
"And Yuu is on a snowboard! Right?"
"Huh?"
Wondering why I was suddenly snowboarding, I shifted my gaze from Tia down to what was below me.
There was the back of a Divine Beast with pure white fur...
"Holy shit...!"
I was currently riding the Yeti like a snowboard.
***
