EP.134 The Trial You Must Endure (1)
The North is an unknown land. It has been for a long time.
Even after many years of people settling and living there… the North remained shrouded in mystery. Even those living in the North didn’t know much about their own land.
‘It can’t be helped, given the environment.’
The North is surrounded by rugged snow-capped mountains.
Snow falls year-round, and during winters, blizzards can blind you to anything a step ahead. Once a blizzard hits… the paths you painstakingly cleared often vanish without a trace.
The paths made to explore the snowy mountains.
The maps drawn to trace ancient ruins.
All of it can return to nothing with just one blizzard that comes every winter. That’s why the North remains an unknown land.
Many adventurers have challenged the snowy mountains of the North, but… that’s all part of history now.
‘A land where you can spend years without any success. To continue investigating such land… requires an extraordinary amount of patience.’
Thus, the footsteps of adventurers ceased.
As far as I can remember, there’s only one person still investigating the snowy mountains of the North…
‘The Sword Demon, Draka.’
In truth, calling him a person is a stretch; he resembled a beast more than anything. And this lost creature clinging to the North had been going on for quite some time.
‘What could be hidden there that causes such a fuss…?’
I sighed and opened my mouth.
“Anyway.”
Lac, who had been walking ahead, turned back to look at me.
He seemed to be asking what I was going to say next. I continued.
“Given that it’s such an unknown land, it’s plausible that the identity of the spring that doesn’t freeze, mentioned by your ancestors, could be hidden.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
I nodded, and Lac wore a ‘guess so’ kind of expression. Our conversations always went this way.
“Anyway.”
I smiled bitterly as I spoke.
“It’s impossible unless it’s in the North.”
“Excuse me?”
“To use a place of such value… just for your family’s coming-of-age ceremony? If the mages of the Tower found out, they’d grab their necks in shock.”
“…?”
Lac tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. I could only chuckle at him.
‘Who would use a Mana Spring like that?’
In fact, that part was a little puzzling too.
When I first heard about the spring that didn’t freeze, I thought of the ‘Mana Spring.’ However, the more I thought about it, the more something felt off.
‘It’s strange that they couldn’t figure it out.’
Looking at the Duke’s attitude, it didn’t seem like they were secretly holding the coming-of-age ceremony. Yet no one realized that the place was the Mana Spring… that was odd.
‘And there’s also the Master of the White Tower in the North.’
She may be notoriously oblivious and a bit dense… but she is a master of the tower. Her knowledge of magic cannot be taken lightly.
But she didn’t catch onto the Mana Spring?
She missed a spot where Mana was concentrated?
If that’s the case, the Master of the White Tower would have to step down from her position. She wouldn’t qualify to be called a master. And as I remember, Selly Devela wasn’t the kind of person who would be unqualified…
“…”
I fell into a brief silence. The image of the Master of the White Tower popped into my head.
‘You…! How long have I searched for you!’
The clumsy interloper.
‘This one, this one! This too! How about some climbing gear, climbing gear…?‘
More of a peddler than a mage.
“Hmm…”
I touched my lips in thought.
‘…Does she have the qualifications…?’
Thinking back to recent events, I couldn’t quite find the certainty. I had an incredibly perplexed expression.
“It’s snowing heavily.”
It was Lac who interrupted my thoughts.
I looked up at Lac. He had stopped in front of a statue.
“It seems we’re almost there. These devices are visible now.”
Lac pointed at a bear-like statue.
“When I was young, once I saw this statue and walked for about thirty minutes more, I’d arrive. Now, it should take just ten minutes, right?”
Now that I think about it, the blizzard was intensifying.
As we climbed the mountain, the blizzard grew stronger, which was not a natural occurrence.
Thud.
We climbed the mountain in silence for a while. Despite the blizzard, this was still manageable.
‘I also have the scarf that my master gave me, so I can endure.’
There was a time when my robe was torn to shreds, leaving me in underwear as I ascended the snowy mountains. Compared to that, my clothes were intact now, and I even had a scarf around my neck.
“Hah…”
I exhaled, and white breath rose up; however, I didn’t feel cold.
“Ah, we’ve arrived.”
After a while, we stopped at a place lined with statues. Each statue bore the emblem of the Grace family.
‘They look quite mystical.’
I took a step closer to the statue.
“Ah, touching the statue is dangerous…”
“Eh? What did you say?”
When Lac warned me, I had already placed my hand on the statue. I blinked, and Lac had a look of realization on his face. And at that moment…
SWOOOSH!
A sound like slicing wind came from somewhere. I instinctively reached out my hand. I caught whatever was flying toward me.
CRACK!
When I opened my hand, shards of ice fell with a thud. I brushed my hand off and turned to Lac.
“What happens if you touch the statue?”
“Um… if someone from the Grace family touches it first and doesn’t deactivate the device… a trap is activated.”
“A trap?”
I tilted my head.
Lac pointed to the ice fragments at my feet.
“…Usually, arrows fly out.”
“Oh…”
Lac made a peculiar expression and touched the statue. As he placed his hand on it, the statue clicked and spun around.
WHIRR!
With the rotating statue, the blizzard swirling around us lifted. No, to be precise, it didn’t clear…
‘It returned to where it should be.’
That was the right way to describe it. The blizzard got sucked behind the statue. The scene was hard to believe but it was real. Pointing at the place revealed after the blizzard cleared, Lac spoke.
“This is the Holy Site of the Grace family.”
What was revealed after the blizzard cleared was a massive barrier. However, it wasn’t a barrier meant to prevent intrusions.
‘It feels more like it’s trapping something inside.’
Inside the barrier was pure white. The raging blizzard hit the barrier, making a tic, tick sound.
“So we endure inside, and that’s the coming-of-age ceremony?”
“Yes, generally, if you withstand for half a day from the outskirts, you pass. Alternatively, there is a way to go through the center and come out the other side, but…”
“No one has managed that, right?”
Lac nodded his head.
“…Yes, it’s said that as you draw closer to the center, the blizzard grows fiercer, making the second method nearly impossible.”
“Hm…”
I stroked my chin while examining the barrier.
This isn’t a standardized circuit but a rough, raw circuit covering the area. Most mages wouldn’t be familiar with it, yet…
“…Aha.”
To me, it was a familiar circuit.
‘A circuit written in ancient language.’
What I had studied at the Ashen Tower.
And the ancient spell formats I had hammered into my head while facing Skebal over and over again. I ran my fingertips across the barrier and spoke.
“Interesting.”
As I said that, Lac shivered.
“Why? Are you cold?”
“Eh? No, it just feels like something…”
“What is it?”
“It feels like a big danger is about to come…”
A big danger?
I chuckled softly.
“Oh come on, there’s no way I’ll die.”
“…Yes?”
“Then shall we get started?”
I rummaged through my robe for tools. Some were purchased from the White Tower, and others were things I had originally carried.
“What’s that for…?”
“Huh? This?”
Lac pointed at the rope and stakes.
I picked up the rope and pulled it taut. It was a good rope that didn’t easily break even when under strain.
“Where would you use the rope?”
Tools should be used according to their purposes.
“I use it to tie things.”
“Tie… what exactly?”
“What else would it be for?”
I pointed at Lac.
“Is there anyone here besides you?”
Lac’s complexion turned pale.
It seemed like the weather was freezing cold.
—
2.
Having grown up frolicking in the snowy mountains, Lac didn’t shiver in the cold. He wouldn’t bat an eye at a typical blizzard. He didn’t tremble even in bitter cold.
‘Shivering because I’m tying him up?’
Lac was trembling with fear.
Hoping he had misheard, Lac looked at the professor in front of him. Rania van Trias, a nightmare wearing the guise of a human, smiled at him.
“I learned this from the warriors. If you tie the knot like this, it won’t come undone easily. See? Like this.”
A radiant smile.
A smile as warm as the spring sunshine.
“Now, let’s tie it around your arm…”
She spoke softly while binding Lac’s arm with the rope. A stake dangled at the end of the rope. Lac couldn’t fathom its purpose.
“Now, hold the stake in your hand.”
“Uh, um, okay.”
“Let’s go in.”
“…Like this?”
“Yep.”
“Shouldn’t we gather our breaths or prepare our minds or something…?”
“Eh, what’s there to worry about?”
For Lac, it was a significant matter.
But for her, it was as if she were casually going for a stroll.
“Shall we start gently on the outskirts?”
Not gentle at all.
“What are you doing? Not following?”
Is this how livestock feel when being dragged to the slaughterhouse?
Before him lay hell. The one leading him to it was a nightmare wearing a cheerful smile.
WHOOOOOSH!
Watching the blizzard raging beyond the barrier, Lac swallowed dryly. The hesitation was fleeting. In the end, Lac moved his feet with great effort. He chose to walk toward the brink of destruction.
‘If I don’t walk myself…’
He would just be dragged by Professor Rania. Lac made the choice to walk instead of being pulled along.
“…”
Lac absently looked at the stake in his hand.
The rope tied around his wrist and the stake dangling from it… felt just like shackles. He felt like a condemned prisoner being led to his execution.
‘Oh, father…’
Lac recalled his parents’ faces for the last time.
Like those who sense their doom would do.
“…Let’s go.”
Lac spoke with a determined voice.
“Are you going to die or something? Relax your shoulders, man.”
With a slap, Rania patted Lac’s shoulder. His shoulder was stung by her pretty sharp touch, and he winced, shedding a tear.
—
3.
“By the way, I heard Lac went up the snowy mountains today. It seems Rania took him with her.”
At Failia’s words, Eryhal smiled contentedly.
“A quick-moving professor, indeed.”
“Seems you like her quite a bit?”
“Though she appears delicate on the outside, inside she has the heart of a fierce beast. A person whose insides differ from appearances. In a good way, I’d say.”
Eryhal, chuckling, brought a blink from Failia. It was an incredibly rare occurrence. Her husband was this welcoming to a guest from the capital.
“Indeed, she was somewhat of a special guest.”
Failia slightly nodded.
What came to her mind was the conversation she had shared with the girl just before the banquet, as they stood before the food.
– Was the food to your taste, Lady Rania?
– Yes, it’s delicious.
– Really? Northern food has a different character from that of the capital… I thought those who came from the capital usually found it unfamiliar, but it seems Lady Rania isn’t like that?
A noble lady from a distinguished family.
No doubt she would struggle to enjoy Northern food.
‘I thought she was just pretending to be fine.’
What a considerate girl.
Failia thought it was only natural, and was ready to praise the girl’s thoughtfulness. However, the response that came back was unexpected.
– Um… if the food is warm, isn’t it okay?
– …Yes?
– If it’s warm, doesn’t smell bad, is not spoiled, and isn’t burned… is there a reason it wouldn’t be to my taste?
It was as if she had tasted those things before.
That certainly wasn’t something a girl from a renowned family would say. Absolutely not.
‘A special guest.’
That’s what made her special.
And her husband always favored the special. Failia slyly stole a glance at Eryhal, who seemed to be in a remarkably good mood.
“…Are you feeling that good?”
“Isn’t it exciting?”
Eryhal said while resting his chin on his hand.
“He didn’t give off an impression of someone putting on airs; he didn’t seem to be speaking lies either. That professor truly spoke sincerely. He said it won’t be difficult.”
It was something no one from the Grace family had ever accomplished throughout the years. This professor confidently stated that it wouldn’t be hard.
“What kind of approach will he take, I wonder?”
“Don’t you have any concerns?”
“Not at all.”
As always, Eryhal lightly shook his head in denial.
“There’s no way he would kill him.”
“…Aren’t you being a bit harsh on Lac?”
“I’m not being harsh; I trust him. This is the trust that warriors of the North share.”
Failia shook her head repeatedly.
Even after all these years since moving to the North, she still found Eryhal’s way of thinking hard to comprehend.
“Lac has it tough, huh?”
“It’s a trial that must be endured for the Grace family’s warriors.”
His tone sounded as if it was only natural.
Failia let out a deep sigh.
Author’s Note:
I’ve been reading the terms and conditions of an alcoholic addiction author for 50 days since I started getting into Genshin.
After tasting the spicy flavor of gacha and dropping it, I’ve ended up back in again for another 40 days.
I’m still savoring the spicy flavor of gacha.
Oh, but maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought…
