Chapter 168: An Offering for a New Era
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 168: An Offering for a New Era
Karami survived his encounter with Zakaril for one simple reason: he got lucky.
With Azyeth far away and no one to protect him, Karami’s only option had been a gamble.
The moment his attempt at persuasion failed, Karami had unhesitatingly rolled the Dice that Twists Fate.
The die landed on 15.
Considering the maximum was 20, it was a fairly high number—more than enough to bring about a stroke of good fortune.
The die rolled across the floor and, as luck would have it, struck and activated a magic tool buried in a pile of treasure. As luck would have it, it was a kaleidoscope that protected its user from external attacks.
The kaleidoscope activated and absorbed Karami, but in the process, he lost his right arm.
Even for an item of the gumiho, a die containing a mere fragment of its power couldn't completely negate a life-threatening danger.
It was a gamble that left everything to chance.
If the die had rolled just a little lower, Azyeth might have been greeted not by a one-armed Karami, but by his upper torso.
“Rami…!”
But even the loss of a single arm was a tremendous shock to Azyeth. She glided over to him and checked his condition.
Azyeth gasped.
Karami’s right arm.
Below the elbow, there was nothing.
Blood poured out, soaking the floor.
“Rami?”
He didn’t answer her call, his face just contorting in pain. He had lost consciousness, unable to bear the agony of the amputation.
Azyeth’s fair skin turned deathly pale.
At this rate, he would bleed to death.
In a desperate move, Azyeth froze the wound with ice to stop the bleeding. She also froze the severed arm to prevent it from decaying, thinking they might be able to reattach it if they could just get back to a city.
Azyeth carried Karami in her arms as she ascended to the surface.
The princess’s room.
She laid Karami on the bed.
She had stopped the bleeding for now, but the situation was dire. Because she had used ice, Karami's body was now losing heat even faster.
The problem was that there was nowhere in the entire kingdom to warm him.
The bed, the bedding—everything was frozen.
The delicately raised princess didn't know how to start a fire.
The only magic she could use was ice.
Even sharing body heat, the most primitive method of staying warm, was impossible. The Lazurite only suppressed her cold; it hadn't removed the curse.
Azyeth's body was still as cold as ice. If she tried to share her body heat, she would only steal what little warmth he had left.
Azyeth lamented her own circumstances.
It was the first time she had ever resented her icy constitution so much.
Unable to stand still for even a moment, Azyeth paced around the room.
She had to find a way.
She began to search her memories.
A faint memory surfaced.
-Princess. Won't you try this on?
-?
-It's a warming cloak. It'll make you feel very cozy~
The memory Azyeth recalled was of the king draping a reddish-brown cloak over her—a specially commissioned cloak, made out of concern for Azyeth, who lived with her freezing magic.
But she had only worn it once. It had been too hot, much like how one kicks off the blankets while sleeping.
The king had been sullen when Azyeth wouldn't wear it, but that was of no importance to her now.
What was important was her vague memory of a maid putting it away in the wardrobe.
Azyeth flung open the wardrobe and began rummaging through the clothes. Countless dresses only got in the way, so she tossed them carelessly behind her.
After throwing out clothes, underwear, everything she could find, and rummaging for a long time, Azyeth finally found the cloak.
The cloak was frozen like everything else, but thankfully, its effect hadn't disappeared. She hurried back and draped it over Karami like a blanket.
First, she would maintain Karami's body temperature like this, and then they would return to Doomheim. She didn't know the way, but… she'd figure something out.
Azyeth pulled a chair over and sat hunched by the bed. She had been sitting like this a lot lately. It was one confusing moment after another.
If only she hadn't been sulking and had just quietly followed Karami. Then he wouldn't have gotten hurt.
If only she couldn't feel emotions, like before….
“Cough, cough.”
Karami's dry cough snapped Azyeth out of her thoughts.
“Rami. What's wrong…? Are you thirsty?”
Karami answered with another cough.
Each time his body convulsed, his face winced in pain.
“Water….”
The waterskin was in the carriage.
But she couldn't leave Karami alone. The whole reason this had happened was that she had left his side.
Zakaril was nowhere to be seen for now, but he might come back. She had to solve this here.
Azyeth looked around, searching for water.
Of course, there was none.
In a place where people froze, why wouldn't water?
The silver lining was that there was clean snow and ice everywhere. The dark cloud was that the cold-bodied Azyeth had no way to melt it.
No, there was one way.
She scooped up a handful of clean snow and held it in her mouth.
No matter how cold Azyeth's body was, she was ultimately a person, not a doll. To maintain vital functions, including blood circulation, her body had to contain some heat.
The same went for her mucous membranes.
By using her mouth, Azyeth could melt the snow.
Of course, it was an embarrassing act, but Azyeth was more worried about Karami's safety than her own shame, so she didn't hesitate for a second.
Once all the snow had melted, Azyeth lowered her head. She pressed her lips to Karami's and slowly let the water trickle into his mouth.
*
After a difficult journey, the two returned to Doomheim.
Azyeth, who always fell asleep in the carriage, had no idea of the way, but thankfully, the frost wolves they had been traveling with had memorized the route.
As if understanding her intentions from just her pitiful gaze and gentle strokes, they returned to Doomheim on their own, like unicorns following a maiden.
Karami regained consciousness a day after they arrived in Doomheim. His elbow was wrapped in bandages. When he tried to move his right arm, only the empty sleeve flapped uselessly.
“Look at you now, after acting so high and mighty.”
“Father! How can you say that when the man just lost his arm? Won't my sister get mad?”
Perka shot back at Thorvar's sarcastic remark. Thorvar would normally brush it off, but Azyeth's gaze was so chilling it seemed to freeze him to the bone.
He had no choice but to get the hint.
“How is it?” Karami asked, stroking his arm.
“The first aid was good. Since it was frozen with magic, there were no major issues, and we've finished the treatment here.”
“Can't the arm be reattached?”
“Well. The arm was also frozen, so it didn't rot. But we can't reattach it here.”
It wasn't a clean cut, like from a knife; it had been torn off as if by a shark. The irregular shape of the stump made suturing difficult.
Forcing it would result in a deformed shape or permanent disability. It would be worse than not doing it at all.
“To reattach it, you'll need a priest. They'll have to regenerate the arm while performing the surgery.”
“Hmm…”
“I can give you a prosthetic if you want. I'll attach a cool one. It'll be dozens of times more badass than that scrawny arm of yours.”
“Does it shoot lasers? Or can it lift boulders?”
“Your scrawny body can't handle that. You might be able to win an arm-wrestling match against a neighborhood kid. Maybe.”
“Oh.”
After a moment of thought, Karami made his decision.
“I'll go with reattaching the arm.”
“You have no sense of romance. Just know that it'll take time.”
Karami sighed.
He never thought he'd become Kars after being the King of Abandonment.
The pain of having his arm torn off had been excruciating, and the fact that he was now one-armed was shocking, but for someone who had lost an arm, Karami was remarkably calm.
It wasn't that the soul of Teacher Go had possessed him or anything.
It's not my body anyway.
Whether his arm was cut off, he contracted an incurable disease, or was given a terminal diagnosis, what did it matter? Once he liberated all the slaves, he would return to his own perfectly healthy body.
It wasn't like Karami used weapons. As long as it didn't hinder the story's progression, it wasn't much of a loss.
Besides, if the die roll had been lower, he wouldn't even be able to have these thoughts. Karami was a man who knew how to be grateful.
That was why Karami was so unfazed.
The one who was actually on the verge of tears, however, was someone else.
“Rami… I'm… sorry. B-Because… I wasn't… there…”
Azyeth apologized in a voice so small you could barely hear it without straining. She kept her gaze lowered like a sinner, her eyes welling up as if she would burst into tears at any moment.
This is bad.
The Freezian Kingdom was supposed to be an important event to ignite Azyeth's will to fight, but he'd blown it spectacularly. Far from a brave hero, she was on the verge of becoming a crybaby.
This wouldn't do.
He had to comfort her somehow.
“You did nothing wrong, Azyeth. It was my own complacent judgment that led me to search the castle recklessly. Above all, it's that demonic beast kid's fault.”
“But…”
Karami took Azyeth's hand with his remaining one.
He weaved his fingers between hers and clasped them tightly.
“I may have lost my right arm, but thanks to that, I've become a leftie, just like you, Azyeth. I feel like this has brought us closer.”
“Is… that so?”
“It is. Or was I the only one who thought so?”
Azyeth sniffled, then forced out her voice with difficulty.
“……Me too. I… I think so too, Rami…”
Azyeth squeezed his hand.
As always, his hand was warm, and holding it put her at ease.
So much so that she wanted to hold it forever.
Seeing Azyeth's improved state, Karami smiled gently.
“That's a relief.”
Meanwhile.
That man… he’s a menace!
Perka was utterly astonished by Karami's silver tongue. Goosebumps broke out all over her skin. She barely managed to stop herself from screaming.
Every single line was a real gem.
So much of a gem that even Perka, a third party, felt her heart skip a beat for a moment.
If that man gets stabbed by a woman one day, he'll have brought it on himself.
So Perka thought.