[No Title]
Princess Helena was every bit the Ice Princess the rumors made her out to be. Michael felt his spirit crushed just from the way she stared at him silently. For some reason, he felt like a criminal. Like he'd committed some enormous wrongdoing. He felt like he needed to make some excuse.
"I-I don't have much mana, so..."
"That feather should be enough to keep you from freezing to death."
"Ah... r-right. Sorry."
Michael shivered violently, using the burning feather like a hand warmer. It was bad enough being dragged to a place like this, but the snow piled up everywhere was unbearably cold.
'Even with this I'm cold... ah, wait...!'
A good idea struck him.
"Um, Princess Helena...?"
"..."
No answer. Her expressionless stare made his balls shrivel up.
'D-did I do something wrong...?'
Honestly, if all three of them huddled together around the feather, it would be warmer. But he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Ah, never mind."
Princess Helena let out a heavy sigh as she looked at him. He felt like he was about to get hit. Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck. Even though the feather was blazing, the warmth he felt was weak.
'Should I just use mana...'
It would be like drinking seawater when thirsty, but he was so cold. He endured it, trembling. As he tried to warm his ice-cold hands, a gruff voice spoke up.
"Hey. You're Michael, right?"
It was the man who'd been standing next to Princess Helena. He clearly looked like a martial artist. Even to Michael, who knew nothing about martial arts, the man's balanced physique looked agile. He'd noticed earlier that even Helena spoke to this man with respect. He had some social awareness. He immediately straightened his posture.
"Y-yes...? Please, speak."
"This teleportation. Was it your doing?"
Michael was horrified. Getting the princess caught up in a teleportation accident — if he was framed as the culprit, his life would plummet into the abyss. Not just his life, but his entire family would be finished.
"No?! I-I absolutely did not!"
"You don't know anything?"
"I-I don't know anything! I swear!"
The man looked at him intently, then clicked his tongue softly. He didn't ask any more questions.
'W-what...'
He believed his words so easily. Michael didn't know if the man was naive or careless, but he was grateful. Actually, Princess Helena was scarier than this man. The way she'd been glaring at him since earlier felt like she was angry about something. It reminded him of when he'd broken his mother's favorite vase as a child.
"Uh...?"
A faint vibration was felt. The two who'd been glaring at him looked at each other simultaneously and spoke.
"...Let's go outside. Something's coming."
"Yes."
He felt like he was going to throw up from the two of them staring at him silently. But finally, a chance to prove himself had come. Michael hurried outside and stared intently at one spot with tense eyes.
'A-a Frost Wolf! This is my chance!'
Frost Wolves were monsters with enormous individual strength differences. Generally, the stronger they were, the bigger their bodies. The smallest wolf charged at him. About a meter tall. At this level, even he could handle it.
Michael was the eldest son born into a merchant family. His father had regrets from his youth about not becoming an Awakened. Naturally, he put his son through all kinds of education. Of course, Michael also wanted to become a superhuman who could handle mana, so it worked out for both of them. After consuming expensive elixirs like water, he finally Awakened.
But awakening and talent were separate matters. He'd already been proven to be physically inept since childhood. Becoming a knight was out of the question. Did he have talent for handling mana? No, he didn't. At this rate, becoming strong was impossible.
There were three main paths to becoming a superhuman: martial arts, magic, and spirits. The only one left was spirits. He used money to hire an elf.
"I'm sorry, but your son has almost no affinity with spirits."
"...Almost. That means he has some, right?"
"I misspoke. It's at a meaningless level..."
"Ahem! I'll give you as much money as you want, so please, I'm begging you."
"...Don't tell anyone I did this for you."
The elf, succumbing to capitalism, arranged a spirit contract. They summoned a spirit as if the elf themselves would contract with it, then switched the target to Michael. Of course, it wasn't possible just like that. All sorts of makeshift methods using magic circles and spirit stones were employed. It was possible because he had at least a faint spirit affinity. But from the spirit's perspective, it was practically fraud. Perhaps that's why his spirit never listened to a word he said.
"Saller! Please!!"
Grk!
A single lizard with fire on its tail firmly shook its head. Damn it. A spirit that doesn't obey commands! The Frost Wolf was almost right in front of him.
"Agh! Saller! Q-quick, help me!!"
Pfft...
The lizard spat out a flame like a sigh and furrowed its brow. For a lizard, its expressions were remarkably clear. The spirit did nothing while greedily consuming his mana.
'My master's in danger, you damn thing.'
But today, he had a secret weapon. The Fire Bird's feather he'd been using as a hand warmer. It felt suspicious, like it might be the cause of the teleportation accident, but he had no choice. It was the only warmth he could feel in this damnably cold place. He held out the feather he'd been using as a hand warmer.
"Saller! If you listen well, I'll give you this later. So hurry up and..."
Pfft?
The lizard's eyes widened as it observed the feather. Then it puffed up its cheeks and started spewing fire. Toward the Frost Wolf that had come right up to his nose.
'Kuh... yes!'
This was why he'd bought the Fire Bird's feather. Fire spirits love materials like this. They play with them like toys or eat them as snacks.
Whoosh!
"Kyaaah!!"
Half his mana evaporated in an instant, but the price was sweet. The massive wolf didn't even get to swing a paw before it collapsed, turned to charcoal.
"Kuh...! This is it!"
He let out a cheer of triumph and tried to calm his shoulders, which were puffing up on their own. If he showed off such a cool move, Princess Helena might become a little friendlier. He reflexively checked on her.
'What...!'
The princess wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on only one place. A sight of someone brutally taking down wolves with bare fists.
'W-why is she looking at something like that with those eyes!'
That cold stare from before was gone without a trace. Her eyes sparkled as she watched those simple, brutish punches. Like a fangirl watching an idol.
'Ugh...'
He was pissed, but he couldn't show it. If he had any sense, he couldn't look down on someone the princess kept speaking to with respect.
'Who is he? I've never seen him before.'
The two looked at each other and opened their mouths. No sound was heard. They were talking through sound transmission, excluding him.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, it felt damnably cold. It didn't seem to be because of the blowing snowstorm.
Si-woo came out of the shelter at the faint vibration he felt.
Whoosh!!
The snowstorm felt even stronger than before.
Grrr...
The faint sound of beasts in the distance.
Pad, pad!
Something white was running quickly. Only when it approached within 10 meters could he make out its form. Three massive wolves in total.
Thud!
"Kwoah!!"
A Frost Wolf with pure white fur pounced on him. It was quite large, probably the leader. It was nearly 3 meters tall just at the shoulder. The beast swung its claws down like a hammer.
Whoosh!
The sound of wind being torn was followed by a piercing air split. The blow carried enough force to turn rock to powder. The snow piled up to his waist was annoying, but he was a peak-level master. He used only the minimum amount of mana. A single thread of internal energy ran through his body, strengthening his physique. He stepped forward and extended his fist. A simple motion that combined offense and defense.
Thump.
"Kwoo..."
The massive wolf staggered from just a light touch of his fist. A single thread of internal energy seeped into the wolf's heart. Penetrating technique. The Frost Wolf's eyes went dark as its heart shattered.
Thud...!
The wolf, which had been flailing in the air, collapsed on the spot. Since that Michael guy had burned one to death, only one wolf remained.
"Grrr...!"
He charged at the wolf, which was tucking its tail and hesitating, and extended his fist. In less than a minute, the Frost Wolves that had gathered were annihilated.
Helena, who had been watching, sent him a sound transmission. With the wind howling, simply speaking was almost inaudible.
- This is perfect timing. We needed this.
He spoke to Helena, who was examining the fallen wolves.
- Needed it?
- Ah...! Look at this.
She dragged over one massive wolf and held it out to him. The arm of a giant wolf with pure white fur. He took it, a bit taken aback, and felt it.
'Hmm...?'
The fluffy fur was quite something.
After finishing with the caught wolves, they came back into the shelter. Helena was incredibly handy. He didn't know if it was a matter of experience or talent, but the result was excellent either way.
"Here you go!"
"...Thanks."
A luxurious wolf fur coat, completed in less than 10 minutes. Si-woo received it. It was made from the fluffy white fur. He didn't know how she'd done it, but even the finishing was perfect. She didn't have any tools either. An incredible result for something done with just mana.
'Too bad.'
With this, he could no longer use maintaining body temperature as an excuse.
"Hmm hmm..."
Humming, Helena made another coat. The design was similar to the one she'd given Si-woo. A clean design good enough to sell at a high-end boutique. It was a shame her fair skin was hidden inside the coat, but Helena in a thick fur coat also looked good.
'She looks like a penguin.'
Her white face peeking out from between the fluffy fur was cute. Wearing the same clothes and looking at each other gave him a strange sense of pride. It felt like they'd matched couple outfits.
That oblivious bastard Michael interrupted with a trembling voice.
"Um... P-Princess Helena...?"
"...What is it?"
Helena's attitude did a complete 180. It felt like a refreshing spring breeze had turned into a frosty wind. Michael forced a smile and barely managed to speak. Trusting in the saying that you can't spit on a smiling face.
"C-could you maybe make me one too...? It's so cold..."
"Haah..."
Helena waved her hand, and one wolf hide was cut into strips.
"Uh...?"
The wolf hide that Michael himself had burned. The charred black thing began to transform into the shape of clothing. It was finished in less than a minute.
"It's done."
Michael picked it up with trembling hands. There was no coat that looked like it could be sold at a high-end boutique. Only after staring at it intently did he think, 'Is this... clothing?' It was a rag that even a caveman would hesitate to wear.
"Th-this is..."
"What's wrong? Do you have a complaint?"
"A-no, ma'am. Th-thank you."
Michael couldn't say anything under Helena's cold gaze.