Chapter 12
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Visitors from the Kingdom of Carbonihar
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A few days later, Roberta was at the lord's manor.
She had returned to the city of Freiche with Ulrich and headed straight for the manor's reception room. A large, rectangular table sat in the center, and she took a seat to Ulrich's left.
A servant entered and placed a cup of pine pollen tea before Ulrich. When asked, "For the Priestess as well?" she vehemently waved her hands. "Ah, no. I'm fine."
It was a scent she could never get used to. The lord was drinking it beside her, and the smell alone was enough to make her face scrunch up. She stole a glance at him.
He sipped the pine pollen tea calmly. She shuddered, astounded by his lack of reaction, so much so that she wondered if his nose was blocked and his tongue numb.
"You seem to be enjoying that."
"Do I?"
*Wasn't he?*
Wondering if he was actually forcing it down despite the taste, she studied his expression again, but there was no change. He drank it as calmly and peacefully as if it were plain water.
*What an incomprehensible man.*
As she quietly observed him, the guests soon arrived.
There were six of them. Five men and one woman. All six had light brown skin, and either their eyes or hair were red.
Their attire was nearly the same as when they had first arrived in the city. They had only removed their breastplates. The thickly quilted clothes and the swords at their waists remained.
It was customary for guests to disarm when meeting a host, but Ulrich didn't mind. He had anyone who sought him come as they were.
"Hm?"
One of the guests made a sound.
He was a middle-aged man named Belido, the Count of Motrilda. With plenty of white mixed into his crimson hair, he looked to be over fifty.
Roberta whispered the count's name to Ulrich. For a moment, his gaze paused on them, glinting, before dimming.
The count looked back and forth between Ulrich and Roberta, tilting his head. The rest of his party did the same. They must have heard that the lord was waiting in the reception room, only to find two young people.
*Did I have that same expression?*
Roberta suppressed a bitter smile.
She could clearly read the bewilderment on the count's face. They must have been told that the Lord of Dithmarschen was a man of great age. They had probably assumed he was a half-blood who had lived for at least three hundred years.
But look at Ulrich's appearance.
Did he seem to carry the weight of years in the slightest?
The six of them had briefly seen Roberta on the day they arrived in Freiche, so they knew she wasn't the lord. Besides, she was wearing a priestess's robes.
If the lord was in the room, by all accounts, it had to be him.
"You are?"
The count asked.
"The Duke of Dithmarschen, is that right?"
"That's right. You've come to the right place."
"You're very different from what I've heard."
He looked at Ulrich with a sour expression.
"I heard the Duke of Dithmarschen was an old man who has lived for over 300 years."
"The time I've spent as lord is about that long. But I'm no old man."
"And that you have pointed ears from your elven blood."
"A baseless rumor."
Ulrich dismissed it, sipping his tea.
"...Are you really the Duke of Dithmarschen?"
The suspicious gaze remained.
"Have a seat."
Ulrich ignored him and gestured to a chair, but the count just stared in silence. The deep furrows in his brow suggested his suspicion was strong.
Watching this, Roberta stood up.
"Count, I will vouch that this is Lord Ulrich, the master of Dithmarschen. I am a servant of Lady Ganymea, and that should add truth to my words."
She held out her right hand and gathered mana in its center. A blue sigil soon materialized above her palm. It was the mark certifying her as an official priestess of the Pantheon. Seeing this, the count grunted and took a step forward.
"I am Count Belido of Motrilda."
Then, placing his right hand over his chest, he hesitated for a moment before giving Ulrich a nod so slight it barely registered as a bow.
He couldn't openly doubt him with a priestess's guarantee, but he was likely still uncomfortable accepting that this youthful man was a centuries-old being.
And that feeling was evident in his tone.
"I am a noble of the Kingdom of Carbonihar, and those behind me are my retainers and escorts for this journey. I apologize for my suspicion. As you might understand, your appearance makes it quite impossible... to guess your age."
It was a tone that neither belittled nor particularly elevated the other person. Considering Ulrich's age and title, and the count's position as a guest, it was an ambiguous attitude.
Roberta noticed and glanced at Ulrich.
"This happens often."
The corners of his lips turned up slightly. He rested his right elbow on the armrest of his chair and propped his chin on his fist, gesturing for them to sit with his other hand.
The count sat directly opposite the lord, with his retainers flanking him.
"So, what is the reason you've sought me out? I heard a little on your way here, but I'd like to hear it directly from you. As I understand it, Carbonihar is a distant southern kingdom. Was it worth coming all the way to this polar region?"
"Would we have endured such hardship if it weren't?"
The count gave a bitter smile.
"I am searching for a dragon. A dragon by the name of Narvakayani."
"Narvakayani, you say."
"Have you heard anything about it?"
Instead of answering, Ulrich tilted his chin, silently prompting him to continue. The count raised an eyebrow and spoke.
"It is a dragon with snow-white, translucent scales. It is larger than the inner castle here, has six wings, and the tip of its tail is sharp like a bundle of thorns. I received information that it has made its nest on the Ice Peninsula. That is why I have come. To enter the Ice Peninsula."
"I see."
"As the Duke... of Dithmarschen might know."
He cleared his throat and continued.
"That place is a demon's realm, is it not? A land filled with monsters created by an evil god. A no-man's-land that even Emperor Taiwin could not conquer. I am not so reckless as to venture into such a place with just six people."
"And would a guide make a difference?"
"We wouldn't get lost."
Ulrich chuckled and took his chin off his fist.
"You've come to the right place. You're correct. Narvakayani is on the peninsula. I don't know who told you, but they have sharp ears."
"He has very sharp ears indeed," the count echoed. It was the reaction of someone who had already been certain and was now receiving confirmation.
Roberta, on the other hand, had been listening quietly and narrowed her eyes. Someone told him?
A question arose, but she wasn't the one in conversation, and Ulrich didn't ask. He simply nodded once and continued speaking.
"However, that is a place where guides do not go."
"They don't go? Why?"
"Because it's dangerous."
The count frowned as he asked.
"I am fully aware of the danger! And I intend to offer a handsome reward commensurate with that danger. If possible, I'm even thinking of hiring more men in addition to a guide."
"No, my words were a bit unclear."
Ulrich shook his head and said.
"It would be more accurate to say it's a place one cannot go, even if they wanted to. No matter how large a party you lead, the place where Narvakayani resides is unreachable. Just like it was for Taiwin."
The count opened his mouth to retort but then closed it. With a grimace, he scratched the back of his neck and looked at his retainers. After exchanging a silent glance, he looked back at Ulrich.
"Why? Is it that dangerous?"
Ulrich tilted his teacup and took a sip.
Just then, a servant entered and placed pine pollen tea before the guests. They lifted their cups, only to put them back down with a gasp at the overpowering aroma.
"You know why it's called the Ice Peninsula, I presume."
"It's because the Dwarves and Elves had a massive battle there, isn't it?"
A weary gaze pierced Ulrich.
"Because they recklessly wielded their mana, the battlefield, a place like the Ice Peninsula, has a tangled flow of mana, right? It's written plainly in the scriptures. I've heard it ad nauseam, so there's no need to repeat it."
"Then have you considered the results of that entanglement?"
"Well, that—"
Ulrich cut the count off and answered himself.
"Mana is one of the elements that constitutes the world. An irregular flow of mana brings about changes beyond imagination. The constant blizzards in Dithmarschen would be an example."
"......"
"But life is wondrous. In environments we humans can't even fathom, sometimes, there are species that adapt and survive."
Ulrich called a servant and had a tome placed on the table. It was a book so large the servant had to struggle to carry it in both arms; its width was the length from fingertip to elbow, and its height was slightly less than that.
When the tome was opened like a map, it landed on the table with a thud, sending dust scattering in all directions. The servant vigorously wiped the dust away before handing his master a pair of glasses.
*Glasses?* Roberta tilted her head.
She hadn't heard that his eyesight was poor.
Ulrich took the glasses and paused for a moment. He looked like someone lost in a sudden thought. The simple-looking glasses had stirred something within him.
But it was only for a fleeting moment. A faint flicker of emotion that only Roberta, who had been observing him, could notice. To the guests seeing him for the first time, it would just seem like he was slow to act.
He perched the glasses on the tip of his nose and opened the book.
A grotesque illustration was revealed on the very first page.
"This is...?"
The count asked, looking at the picture.
"A monster."
"No, that's not what I'm asking. Where did you get something like this?"
"I didn't get it. I made it myself."
He wrote it himself?
Roberta looked back and forth between the massive book and Ulrich. The book was old and faded, but the illustrations were drawn with such detail that it was obvious an immense amount of effort had gone into it.
"As you can see, I've outlined the monsters here."
He pushed the glasses up with his index finger and slowly turned the pages one by one.
"The ones I point to as I go are the ones that inhabit the peninsula."
He then added.
"The descriptions are written at the bottom of the illustrations, so read them for reference. It won't feel real until you experience it anyway."
After a few pages, Ulrich's hand stopped.
There was a drawing of a flower.
Its head was round like an iron ball, resembling a poppy. At a glance, one might laugh it off, thinking, *This is a monster?* But in the bottom right corner, a person was drawn.
An average-sized person was placed next to it to give a sense of the monster's scale; the person was less than a tenth the size of the flower.
That wasn't all. In small print at the bottom of the illustration, it read, "...emits hallucinogenic pollen. If a target approaches, it binds it with its stem and puts it into its fruit-like mouth. The mouth is filled with acidic fluid, so when prey enters, it is melted and absorbed."
"......"
No one spoke.
Ulrich then turned two more pages.
A picture of a spider, smaller than a human palm, appeared.
The spider's form was like that of a common house spider, just larger. But after reading the text below, Roberta's brow furrowed.
"...stabs the target's skin with the reproductive organ on its rear to inject eggs. If not removed immediately, it releases hundreds of eggs into the body, which hatch within a few hours and kill the target by eating it from the inside out."
The following pages were filled with similarly monstrous creatures.
Roberta wondered. No, everyone in the room must have been wondering. How did he know about these monsters they had never even heard of?
"You should have some understanding now."
Ulrich closed the book and took off his glasses.
"This is what the Ice Peninsula is like. The flow of mana has become bizarre due to the events of the past, and the flora and fauna influenced by it live there. It's not called a demon's realm for nothing."
"......"
"The only places guides can go are those where such dangers are relatively, very, very low. And Count, the Narvakayani you seek lies beyond that."
Ulrich looked at the count and asked.
"Do you still intend to go?"
The count couldn't answer. At a glance, he seemed to be deep in thought, grunting and furrowing his brow. But Roberta saw it. He was furtively looking at someone.
His gaze was directed at one of his retainers.
"Stop borrowing another's mouth."
If she had realized it, there was no way he hadn't.
Ulrich looked at the man sitting next to the count and spoke.
"Descendant of Banares."
The man didn't immediately understand the meaning behind the words. He sat still, pretending not to have heard, until his eyes suddenly widened, and he shot up from his chair.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"