Chapter 178: Spring Comes Even to a Stolen Field
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: Spring Comes Even to a Stolen Field
“The treatment is complete. Please check if it moves well and if there's anything unusual.”
A high priest, dispatched from the Holy Kingdom at the Meister's request, had come to Thorvar's home.
With a divine blessing, he regenerated and sealed the arm that had been torn off by a shark and then frozen by Azyeth's magic.
I carefully moved the reattached arm. It felt a little strange, having something back that was once gone, but it wasn't particularly uncomfortable.
Only a faint mark remained; there wasn't even a scar from being stitched. It looked so natural that a stranger might think I'd simply missed a spot while sunbathing.
“No problems here. Thank you.”
Divine power, indeed.
In most games, including TOS, the clergy always dominate the healer role. No one could beat them when it came to their exceptional advantages in healing and buffs.
And this was a high priest, no less.
It wasn't easy to get treatment from someone of his rank, even with money. It was all thanks to a request from Meister Wolfram, who could be considered the leader of Doomheim.
‘This is why you should live a virtuous life.’
Live well, and good fortune will come knocking on your door.
As soon as the treatment was over, Azyeth approached as if she'd been waiting and took my right hand. She had been restless the entire time.
“It's not warm...”
“That's because the arm was frozen. It'll return to normal with time.”
“Okay...”
Azyeth couldn't hide her sullen expression, still thinking the loss of my arm was her fault.
Seeing her like that, a mischievous thought struck me. I came up with a way to ease her guilt.
“Maybe if you massage it, it'll get better faster?”
At that, Azyeth began to earnestly rub my hand.
“Is it... better?”
It wasn't particularly effective. The curse was gone, but Azyeth's body temperature was naturally lower than average.
“I guess that's not enough. Maybe if you blow on it, it'll heal even faster?”
This time, Azyeth cupped my hand and blew on it without a hint of suspicion. Haaah. A lukewarm breath touched my skin.
The breath of Snow White, certified by the magic mirror as the fairest of them all. It's a secret that I took a sharp breath in that moment.
“Now...?”
“Ssp. Still not enough... Maybe if you kiss my hand while chanting a magic spell to make it better?”
This was just a meaningless prank driven entirely by selfish desire. I was sure that while anyone else would refuse, Azyeth would do it without a second thought.
“A k-kiss is not okay...”
For once, Azyeth flatly refused.
“Suddenly shy?”
“A kiss is... Ugh...” A blush crept up her cheeks as she let out an unintelligible sound.
“What a load of bullshit. Enough with your damn games in my house. When are you leaving?”
“Huh? Karami, you're leaving?”
Thorvar snapped, arms crossed in displeasure, while a surprised Perka repeated the question.
This old man is quicker on the uptake than I thought. So quick, in fact, that I wanted to ask him why he was so clueless when it came to his own daughter.
“My business here is done, and my arm is reattached, so I plan to leave soon.”
“Where are you going?”
I glanced at the priest before answering.
“I'm thinking of going to Kassilon.”
“Oh, is that so?” the priest immediately responded.
Of course, the priest was from Kassilon.
The Holy Kingdom of Kassilon.
The place where the last slave is.
“What business do you have in Kassilon?”
“There's someone I must meet.”
“I see. I'm planning to return to the Holy Kingdom myself. Would you like to travel together?”
Traveling to Kassilon with a high priest. Not a bad idea.
The Holy Kingdom was a place where slave traders were viewed with particular disdain, after all.
“Excellent. I just have one last thing to take care of. Let's go together once I'm finished.”
As I said this, I looked at Azyeth.
Unable to grasp the meaning behind my gaze, she blinked as she always did.
*
We stood at the exit of Doomheim.
The dwarves we'd befriended had come to see us off.
“Leaving already? You're welcome to stay longer.”
“I'd love to, but unfortunately, I have a long road ahead of me.”
Wolfram looked genuinely disappointed.
“Can't hold up a busy man. Be sure to stop by when you have the time. We'll have a drink together.”
“Yeah, old man! I definitely won't lose next time!”
“Farewell. We were grateful for your help. Now, Halgran, you should say your goodbyes.”
“Goodbye? What damn goodbye? Just get the hell out of my sight, you damn twig. Sniffle.”
Roxar, Ulgdar, and Halgran, with whom I'd formed a bond of sorts, said their farewells one by one.
“Perka, you're not saying you want to come along. I thought you'd be throwing a fit on the floor by now.”
“I'm still tempted... but I've found something I want to do here.”
“That's a relief. I was worried you'd throw a tantrum. Not that I would have taken you, even if you begged.”
If I had fully liberated Perka, I could have completely changed that tomboyish way of speaking and her style of dress. It's a shame I couldn't.
Strangely, her goal seemed to be the same as it would have been upon full liberation, though.
“Karami, don't you do anything weird to my sister.”
“I always do my best for my slaves. All to set them free.”
“That's what I mean! That 'liberation' of yours sounds suspicious.”
“Liberation is liberation, is it not?”
Is that so hard to understand? It seems Perka needs to study her vocabulary.
I didn't say a separate goodbye to Thorvar. Azyeth waved to the dwarves. And with that, we finished our farewells and left Doomheim.
“Rami. Where... are we going? The Holy Kingdom?”
“We'll get there eventually.”
Doomheim is no place for humans to linger. The priest who healed my arm is staying in a city near Doomheim.
Once my business is done, I plan to join him and head to Kassilon.
But before that...
‘I have to escort the princess back to her castle.’
*
The two of them arrived at the Frisian Kingdom by carriage, as they usually did.
A flying creature made of Azyeth's ice would have been much faster, but Karami chose not to. After all, that was a mode of transport only available with Azyeth.
Inside the moving carriage, Azyeth lay peacefully with her head on Karami's thigh. The cushions were soft, but his lap was more comfortable.
She gazed up at Karami from below, gently poking his face with her finger.
Since Skadia's defeat, Azyeth's expressions had become much clearer. Most of the time, however, it was to act like a spoiled child around Karami.
“What is it?”
“It's fun...”
“Is my face fun?”
“Yes.”
Just looking at him made her smile inside. So, didn't that mean it was fun? That was Azyeth's way of thinking.
Before long, the carriage arrived at the kingdom.
The Frisian Kingdom they returned to was starkly different from before. With Skadia's death, the curse had been lifted. The ice that had covered the kingdom like a second skin was gone.
Houses returned to their original state, the river that cut through the kingdom flowed once more, and the trees rustled in the breeze.
Meanwhile, the blocks of ice that had dotted the kingdom had vanished. But the people whose bodies and souls had worn away over the long years could not return, even with the curse broken.
Just as winter leaves no trace when spring arrives.
We walked toward the castle along the main road, just as we had last time, taking in the transformed city.
The first thing to greet us was the garden.
Not a garden of ice, but a living, breathing one. Green grass, colorful flowers, red roses, and more.
“The flowers are beautiful.”
“Yes.”
“You're the one who brought them back, Azyeth.”
“...”
Azyeth caressed a flower.
It didn't freeze at her touch.
It didn't shatter.
It released the deep floral scent it had preserved within the melted ice.
It was the scent of spring.
The two entered the castle.
They walked on the plush red carpet, glanced at the paintings decorating the hallways, and stood side-by-side on a balcony overlooking the kingdom.
A kingdom filled not with blue and white, but with a myriad of colors. The blowing wind was more cool than chilly. It even felt warm at times.
Azyeth closed her eyes and felt the wind.
*
It was winter.
Inside the doll, it was silent and cold.
A world of ice, forever unreachable.
A castle of solitude where no one could set foot.
An echo from within the doll asked, "What is warmth?"
His answer was not in words, but in his touch.
It wasn't the melting of ice. Nor was it the spreading of sunlight.
But wherever his hand touched, there was a quiet, trembling sensation. A feeling that spread through her body and soul like a gentle ripple.
For the first time in the long days of winter, something that was not cold brushed past the inside of the doll.
The doll did not know.
That small, delicate flowers were blooming upon the ice he walked on.
That the pure white snowfield was now filled with his footprints.
That this was seeping into the doll's heart as well.
Spring had not come.
It was a flower that bloomed in the midst of winter.
But that flower told the doll:
Warmth does not negate the cold.
It simply creates new life within it.
Only then did the doll understand.
That warmth...
Was like a small flower blooming in a field of snow.
Like a small promise of spring, surviving the cold while waiting for the long winter to end.
Azyeth opened her eyes.
The magic was gone.
She was no longer an ignorant doll.
What her heart felt.
What emotions she held for him.
She knew now.
She turned her head.
Looking at him standing right beside her, Azyeth began to speak.
“Alright, shall we wrap things up here?”
But before she could get the words out, Karami spoke.