Chapter 223: Ruhr (3)

Chapter 223: Ruhr (3)

Eugene had felt the need to find a guide.

Most of the Ruhr Kingdom’s territory was snowfields covered in blizzards, but if one considered it simply in terms of land mass, it was large enough to be comparable to the Kiehl Empire.

But since most of the kingdom’s population lived in the cities, the vast snowfields were the home of the natives who refused to mix into the cities. They weren’t as savage as the natives of the Samar Rainforest, but Eugene had heard that they were eccentric enough to reject civilization and insist on surviving out in the harsh snowfields.

The snowfields were an even harsher locale than the Rainforest. In the first place, it wasn’t easy to forage for food, and if you were to fall into a crevasse while walking carelessly, a pointless death was a real possibility. There were also the blizzards that swirled up from time to time, and one needed to be careful of avalanches in the mountainous areas. In the Rainforest, all one needed to worry about were things like attacks from the savage natives or monsters, but in the snowfields, one needed to be more cautious of the immensity of nature.

There were fields of white snow everywhere you looked, so losing your sense of direction was easy. Even if you used a map, a compass, or an enchanted guidebook, it was still easy to lose your way in the snowfields. That was why people who wanted to cross the snowfields often hired the natives living in those lands as guides.

But thanks to the King of Ruhr’s consideration, there was no longer any need for them to hire a guide.

“Woof-woof.”

Having emerged from the cloak, Mer approached Abel with her eyes shining brightly.

“Woof-woof.”

Mer tried to imitate a dog’s bark once more, but Abel just stared at Mer, lazily blinking his golden eyes. Unable to get him to show the reaction she had hoped for, Mer pouted her lips and crept closer to Abel.

“Hand,” Mer instructed when she finally stood in front of the large wolf and stretched out her own hand.

And as expected, Abel proved to be just as smart as Aman had said. Mer smiled broadly as she looked down to see Abel’s large front paw draped lightly over her tiny hand.

“It’s okay if I ride on his back, right?” Mer pleaded.

Eugene pointed out, “Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to travel inside my cloak than on the back of a wolf—”

“Either way, it’s more comfortable than walking on my own. Also, it’s no fun to be stuck inside your cloak, Sir Eugene, and I’ve gotten sick of it after standing inside there for so long,” Mer complained as she quickly climbed onto Abel’s back.

Mer might have been a young girl, but she was also a familiar, so she didn’t actually weigh much. On top of that, perhaps because of Abel’s huge size and excellent strength, he showed no signs of difficulty at having Mer ride on his back as he looked to Eugene for instruction.

Eugene considered Mer silently.

It’s no fun, and she was bored of it — Mer may have said those words without giving them much thought, but Eugene felt a little sullen because of it. However, if he acknowledged and expressed this feeling, he felt like he would be admitting that he had lost to this mutt, so Eugene kept his mouth shut.

Anise suddenly remarked, “As Molon’s descendant, he really does resemble Molon.”

“But he doesn’t look like the same sort of fool that Molon was. Though it makes sense, there’s no way that a fool would become a king,” Eugene responded.

“Molon was also a fool, but he was actually pretty good at handling state affairs,” Anise revealed.

Eugene scoffed, “That’s just because Molon was strong. Three hundred years ago, during all that mess, didn’t he manage to build a kingdom through strength alone? When a strong man like him said he would be king of this polar region where it’s always snowing heavily, who would dare to say anything against that?”

Anise argued, “Although it’s true that Molon’s strength was helpful in the founding of the Ruhr Kingdom, the kingdom wasn’t established and governed solely by force. Hamel, you should know this as well, right? Molon may have been a fool, but he was also kind, and despite being a fool, he did have a wise side to him. Now that three hundred years have passed, he is still called by and praised with the prestigious title of the Bold King because Molon was more of a proper king than the one who ruled your hometown.”

“Fine, I admit it. Molon is great. And I’m worthless. I fucking died first for no reason, and because of that, I keep getting called weaker than Molon….”

As Eugene trailed off into grumbles and repeatedly sighed, Anise, who was still borrowing Kristina’s body, laughed mockingly.

“Isn’t it just a fact that you were weaker than Molon? You also had a weaker body than he did. Hamel, no one else might be able to tell, but boasting like you were stronger and tougher than Molon in front of me is…. Hehe. It feels a little cute of you,” Anise said with a smirk.

“What did you just say?” Eugene growled.

“Wasn’t it just like I said it was? Whenever a battle was over, you always had more injuries than Molon. And who was the one who had to heal those wounds?” Anise asked rhetorically.

“Sienna,” Eugene answered sarcastically.

“Nope, it was me,” Anise insisted. “Please don’t try to act cute with that useless pride of yours. Without me, Hamel, all your limbs would have been cut off at the roots, and you would have been left with only your torso, forced to roll around like a ball.”

Eugene coughed guiltily, “Ahem…. But it’s not like I was the only one whose limbs were cut off. Molon also lost his legs….”

“That’s because Molon always stupidly ran off like a colt with its tail on fire.” Anise snorted, then continued, “Though indeed, you were the same in that regard.”

Eugene couldn’t bear to refute Anise’s ridicule. If it hadn’t been for Anise’s miracles, even if all his limbs hadn’t been amputated, he felt like he would have at least lost an arm or a leg.

A voice suddenly intruded, “Just what are you two talking about so secretly?”

The ongoing conversation between Eugene and Anise couldn’t be heard by anyone else. This was because Eugene had concealed each of their voices using magic in order to talk about Molon.

The sight of this was very, very, very annoying to Ciel.

As Ciel approached them with her eyes staring piercingly, Eugene replied with a calm expression, “We’re talking about the Signature that I came up with in Aroth.”

“Why talk about that in secret?” Ciel argued. “I’m also curious about your Signature.”

“Um… something like this needs to be seen as a surprise to look cooler and more shocking,” Eugene said as an excuse.

“So you’re keeping it a secret because you want to show it off to me?” Ciel asked happily.

“Well, something like that,” Eugene agreed vaguely.

Although Ciel didn’t like this situation, Eugene’s response made her very happy. She withdrew once more with a look that said it couldn’t be helped.

Eugene turned to Anise, “So, Lehainjar, what do you think about it?”

“Molon’s descendant didn’t explain anything properly, but wasn’t he quite explicit in suggesting you go there? No way, Hamel. Do you actually think he might have set a trap for you?” Anise asked in disbelief.

“Isn’t that still a possibility?”

“How could a descendant of Molon use such petty tricks as laying a trap—”

“Even among Vermouth’s descendants, there are idiots,” Eugene pointed out.

Anise conceded the point, “That might be the case, but if we really fall into a trap set by a descendant of Molon… I’d be so ashamed that I would never be able to ascend to the heavens and instead become an evil spirit.”

Eugene also readily agreed, “I’d also be just as ashamed, enough to kill myself by burying my nose in a saucer of water.”

For now, they would just keep their guard up, but what reason would the Beast King have for laying such a trap? As far as Eugene was aware, the Lionhearts and the Royal Family of Ruhr had quite an amicable relationship.

Since the war ended three hundred years ago, Vermouth had strangely distanced himself from his former comrades. Molon was no exception to this. But after Molon had abdicated the throne and a funeral had officially been held for Vermouth, the kings who succeeded the throne of Ruhr sought to establish a good relationship with the Lionheart clan, even if they still weren’t that close.

Every year, on the Patriarch’s birthday, letters and gifts would be sent from Ruhr, and currently, there were even talks about marrying the next Patriarch, Cyan, to the Princess of Ruhr.

“Perhaps Molon might have gone into seclusion in that place called the Great Hammer Canyon?” Anise proposed.

Anise was also well aware of why it had been decided that the Knight March would be held in the Kingdom of Ruhr. It was all because of the Brave Molon, who had gone into seclusion one hundred years ago. By holding it here, they hoped to rouse him from his solitude.

“Hamel, you… hehe. Though it seems that you don’t really like to be called as such, at least for now, aren’t you called the Second Coming of Vermouth? Also, Kristina happens to look exactly like I did,” Anise pointed out with a giggle.

Eugene couldn’t respond to this.

“It’s unknown whether Molon is still secretly in contact with the Royal Family of Ruhr even after going into seclusion. And if he really did go to the Great Hammer Canyon for his seclusion… he should be able to notice us once we arrive there, even if he’s far away,” Anise speculated.

Eugene snorted, “That fool will probably be surprised and come over running like crazy.”

If it was Molon, that definitely felt like what he would do; as Eugene grinned while imagining such a sight, Anise also nodded slightly on the side.

However, her smile wasn’t as cheerful as Eugene’s.

“That’s if Molon hasn’t changed from how we remember him to be,” Anise brought up cautiously.

Eugene didn’t respond to those words right away. Instead, he stared at Anise with a calm, assessing gaze. That face might still be Kristina’s, but even so, Eugene could sense Anise’s sorrowful melancholy.

There was a slight pause before Eugene responded.

He couldn’t be entirely sure of what he was saying, but Eugene still tried to project confidence when he assured her, “That fool won’t have changed even a tiny bit.”

They once again made use of the warp-gate in Hamelon, the Capital of Ruhr, and arrived at the city of Rosrok, which was in the north of Ruhr. Unfortunately, from this point on, they wouldn’t be able to use a warp-gate to travel any further and would instead have to traverse the endlessly sprawling snowfields all by themselves.

“You’re going all the way to Lehainjar by foot? You’re crazy.”

Every merchant they met while purchasing supplies for the journey had said the same thing while shaking their heads and clicking their tongues in sympathy. However, even though they called it reckless and foolish, they didn’t try to stop Eugene and the others.

This was because of the Lionheart sigil embroidered on the chests of the Lionheart trio — Eugene, Ciel, and Cyan.

“I’ve heard something about that. Apparently, a festival called the Knight March is being held at the distant Lehain’s training grounds, right?” a merchant inquired.

“I don’t know if it can really be called a festival, but yes,” Eugene confirmed.

“A bunch of people from all over the world are gathering to enjoy some loud and boisterous fun, so what else can it be called other than a festival?” the merchant pointed out. “In any case, thanks to you lot, we merchants are also enjoying ourselves due to this event.”

Eugene pricked his ears, “It seems quite a few people have passed through here already?”

“Isn’t it obvious[1]? Three knightly orders and four mercenary companies have already passed through here, and that’s just Rosrok alone.”

The path through Rosrok wasn’t the only way to reach Lehain. If you included the troops departing from other cities, the number of troops that would soon be arriving in Lehain would be staggering.

The merchant generously offered, “Since you’ve bought a lot of goods, I’ll tell you this for free. Two of the knightly orders were just from small countries belonging to the Anti-Demon Alliance, but the last one was a very famous knightly order, Shimuin’s Knights of the Violent Tide. As the young master of the Lionheart clan, you should naturally know of them, right?”

Of course, Eugene knew. Theirs was a name that was always brought up whenever the topic of the best knightly orders on the continent was discussed. As Shimuin was a country that claimed to be a Land of Knights, there were several knightly orders that were sworn to the royal family.

Among these knightly orders, the Violent Tide Knights were made up of the elites who were carefully selected from only the most exceptional knights. The Commander of their knightly order was the First Knight of Shimuin’s Twelve Finest[2]. Just like the Knights of the Violent Tide, his name was always brought up whenever someone discussed picking the best knights of the entire continent.

“How should I describe the First Knight…? He’s a man so sharp that you can almost feel a ghostly aura coming from him. As such, he looked like even more of a contrast when standing next to the Princess Knight. As for her, she looked as clean and pure as a solitary flower…,” the merchant trailed off in reminiscence.

Cyan gave a low cough as the merchant continued muttering.

His attention had been drawn to the mention of Shimuin’s Princess Knight. Among all of the children of the King of Shimuin, Princess Scalia was said to be uniquely gifted with the sword.

“Sneaky bastard,” Eugene scoffed at Cyan’s obvious interest in her gossip.

Cyan stammered in protest, “Wh-what?!”

Along with Princess Ayla of Ruhr, Princess Scalia had also been brought up as one of Cyan’s potential fiancees.

The merchant continued, “As for the mercenary companies, well… they were all fairly large companies, but…. Hah. Although I hope nothing dangerous happens, you never know what people might get up to, so allow me to give you a warning.”

“A warning?” Eugene repeated.

“Among the mercenary companies that passed through Rosrok a few days ago, there was one group called the Black Dog Mercenaries. Though they call themselves a mercenary company, they’re dragging around merchant caravans from other snowfields and extorting them under the pretext of escorting them. They’re just robbers wearing the mask of a mercenary company,” the merchant sniffed.

This news didn’t come as a surprise to Eugene, who used to work as a mercenary three hundred years ago. Merchant caravans were a common customer of mercenaries. As long as a mercenary company had both a lack of conscience and enough ability, after killing or crippling the original escort warriors hired by the merchant caravans, they could force the merchants to sign an unfair contract while claiming to be the ones who would escort them from now on. Naturally, the contracts that were signed like this weren’t anything like proper contracts, and most of them made the merchant caravans pay an additional fee for the amount of time they were dragged around by the mercenary company.

“Those Black Dogs probably won’t dare to play tricks on the young masters from the Lionheart clan, but… the snowfields are wide, and you never know what might happen,” the merchant earnestly cautioned them. “The best solution would be to avoid getting entangled with them in the first place. If you see the flag of the Black Dogs from a distance, don’t needlessly try to confront them and just go your own way.”

Eugene accepted the warning, “Thank you for your advice.”

“By the way, have you considered borrowing a few more wolves?” the merchant recommended. “It seems that there aren’t too many of you, and if it’s a group of about five people, it would be better to use a wolf sled….”

“It’s fine,” Eugene assured him.

He actually had thought about hiring a sleigh to ride, but after considering it several times, he realized that they didn’t really have a need for it.

“After all, wouldn’t it be more convenient just to use magic?” Eugene said mostly to himself.

“Well, it should be easier for you,” the merchant agreed.

The spell that was used to keep one’s feet from sliding in the snow wasn’t a very advanced spell, and while lasting for a long time, it didn’t even consume much mana. However, Eugene had no intention of allowing the use of such a convenient spell.

Eugene turned to Ciel and Cyan, “You two, your White Flame Formulas are still on the Fourth Star, right?”

“At our age, the Fourth Star is still very high,” Cyan insisted sulkily.

Eugene argued back, “But even though I’m the same age as you, I’m already on the Sixth Star, no?”

“That’s because you're a monster, you bastard,” Cyan growled, his brow furrowing as he tried to hold back his hurt pride.

Eugene got to the point, “You weren’t waiting for me to go with you just because you thought that would make the trip easier and pain-free, right?”

Cyan knew that he wasn’t as talented as Eugene. As a result, he probably wouldn’t be able to surpass Eugene for the rest of his life. Cyan had become painfully aware of this fact early on, and he was well aware that no matter how jealous he became, it wouldn’t be able to change the reality of this situation.

Ancilla was the one who taught Cyan how to use his brother, Eugene, from an early age.

Cyan could be jealous, but he shouldn’t be envious. Even though Cyan knew that he wouldn’t be able to surpass Eugene, he should still strive to do so. Even if they weren’t real brothers, Cyan should treat him like a real brother and learn to depend on each other. He needed to build up such a friendship between them so that Cyan would never need to betray him or be betrayed.

“Will this really help?” Cyan reluctantly asked.

“Have I ever made you do anything that wouldn’t be helpful to you?” Eugene said with a grin as he patted Cyan on the shoulder.

This was the truth. Cyan’s White Flame Formula had been able to rise up to the Fourth Star in the first place because he had received various bits of advice from Eugene about how to train in the White Flame Formula. That advice had also been applied equally to Ciel.

“Fine,” Cyan huffed as he made up his mind and immediately took off his shoes.

As this left him standing barefoot in the snow, the icy chill sent shocks up and down his spine. While precisely operating the White Flame Formula, Cyan warmed himself up with a minimal amount of mana. With that, he slowly began to walk, taking careful steps forwards.

For the purpose of this training, Cyan wasn’t allowed to sink into the snow. There shouldn’t even be any footprints left. It seemed simple at first glance, but this actually required meticulous and continuous manipulation of his mana.

Excessively outputting their mana would be meaningless. So what Eugene had asked Ciel and Cyan to do was to walk on the snow while using the minimal amount of mana so that their White Flame Formula wouldn’t release any sparks.

“Ugh…,” Ciel was disgusted by the need to be barefoot, but she still listened to Eugene’s instructions.

Carefully cradling her boots, she walked over the snow cautiously. When Eugene casually approached her to try and hold on to her boots, Ciel leaped back away from Eugene in fright.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Ciel yelped.

“No… it seemed that it would be inconvenient for you to carry your shoes with you… so I was just going to put them in my cloak,” Eugene said hesitantly.

Ciel firmly rejected this offer, “No way, there’s no way that I’m letting you do that. I’ll take care of my boots on my own, so don’t even think about it.”

Eugene cocked an eyebrow, “Are you worried they’ll smell?”

Ciel's face turned pale at Eugene’s question.

Eugene sighed, “You’ve been like that since you were young. I’ve never once thought there was a weird smell coming from your body, but a few years ago, you refused to even do any training outside because you didn’t want to give off the smell of sweat.”

“Why are you bringing up something from the distant past?!” Ciel shrieked.

Eugene just grumbled, “It wasn’t even that long ago… maybe four years or so…? In any case, you won’t give off any strange odors, so don’t pointlessly hold on to those shoes and give them to me.”

“...You… you son of a bitch. I knew you were lacking in consideration, but this is going too far. Do you really think I truly believed that some kind of strange smell was coming from my body? It’s just that I was too shy and embarrassed! Get lost!” Ciel screeched like a banshee as she swung her boots threateningly.

Due to her strong resistance, Eugene couldn’t keep persuading her and had to back off.

“Sir Eugene, you are the one in the wrong,” Kristina muttered from deep within the thick fur coat that she was wearing.

At these words, Eugene turned his gaze towards her with a look that spoke of his feelings of unjust, “Just what did I do wrong?”

“You’re lacking in consideration for a girl’s heart,” Kristina said as she clicked her tongue and shook her head.

Mer also stared at Eugene with narrowed eyes as she accompanied Kristina in clicking her tongue. Mer seemed to be quite happy sitting on Abel’s back, so they had even bought a saddle she could sit on while riding him.

A young girl wearing a fluffy-looking hat was sitting on the back of a wolf as big as an ox. That wolf was also responsible for determining their party’s direction and leading them. The twin siblings were following behind the wolf on bare feet, and a man wearing an oversized cloak was watching over the siblings with a stern look in his eye. A woman wearing a coat was also sticking to that man’s side.

Several parties were leaving the gates of Rosrok at the same time, but none were as unique as Eugene’s. Ciel’s face flushed red as she felt the gazes staring at her as if enjoying the show.

“If you keep mincing along like that, just when do you think we’ll get there? Run!” Eugene roared.

“Haoyay!” Mer also shouted as she patted Abel’s nape.

Abel started running across the snowfield. As a result, Cyan and Ciel had no choice but to begin running diligently while barefoot.

“There’s… there’s no need for us to run like this!” Ciel gasped.

“You need to run if we plan on arriving quickly,” Eugene argued.

“But I bet you didn’t run like this in Samar!” Ciel cried out in a sorrowful voice.

Just why had Ciel decided to split off from the Lionheart clan’s main force to wait for Eugene? It was because she didn’t want Kristina and Eugene to travel alone together, all buddy-buddy like they had in Samar! It was all because Ciel couldn’t bear the thought of allowing them to just leisurely make their way to Lehain on their own. Because there had been an increase in their training ahead of the Knight March, Ciel hadn’t been able to follow Eugene to Aroth, but this time, she would finally be able to travel together with him.

But just what was going on now? They should be riding around in a large, rented sleigh while using magic to circulate warm air around them…. Ciel had been hoping for a chance to chat with each other while they built a bonfire at night and made memories while looking at the stars! So why was she currently barefoot, chasing that huge wolf’s ass?

“Didn’t I run around a lot in Samar?” Eugene asked as he tilted his head, unable to understand what Ciel meant by her miserable cry.

“Sir Eugene did run while I flew behind him,” Kristina affirmed before spreading her own wings in a demonstration.

Of course, she hadn’t unfurled all eight of her wings. It was the divine spell that she had used while they were traveling through Samar, the Wings of Light. But with Kristina’s current strength, even if she flew for several days while using the Wings of Light, she wouldn’t run out of divine power.

“Lady Ciel, it seems that you misunderstand something. Sir Eugene and I faithfully carried out our mission while we were in Samar. Every day, we were busy traveling while also being on guard for surprise attacks. I’m actually more relaxed now than I was back then,” Kristina whispered softly as she flew over to Ciel at a low height.

However, Ciel couldn’t afford to respond to her. Although she hadn’t had any problems while walking slowly, she was currently limiting the output of the White Flame Formula, protecting her feet from getting frostbite, and manipulating her mana so that she didn’t sink into the snow, all while running. So while Ciel had to keep focused on just maintaining her breathing, all she could do was glare at Kristina.

Of course, Kristina wasn’t as burdened or as busy as Ciel. She fluttered her wings proudly as she lay down in mid-air. The wind and the flurries of snow which came flying toward her were irritating, but she could cover her eyes with a leisurely wave of her hands.

“Although, Lady Ciel, it seems that you aren’t having as easy of a time as I am,” Kristina calmly observed.

While swallowing the swear words that threatened to erupt, Ciel resumed glaring ahead of her.

The sight of Mer, who was giggling away while sitting on the wolf’s back, was the most annoying thing of all.

* * *

Above Rosrok, a man who looked so beautiful that it was hard to believe that he was a man was holding his coat closed. While staring in the direction of Eugene’s back, which had at some point receded into the distance, the man licked his lips.

“Your Majesty,” the man muttered.

This whisper wasn’t directed at anyone here but instead to the territory of his Queen far away from here.

“Eugene Lionheart has departed from here,” he reported.

In the Devildom of Helmuth, the Black Shadow Forest, which just until a year ago, had been the territory of the Rakshasa Prince and home to the dark elves who followed her. It was a gigantic forest that had retained its primordial appearance.

However, almost nothing remained of the appearance that the Black Shadow Forest had at that time. Trees had been cut down in swathes, and neat roads had been laid down on top of the soil. Buildings that might be seen in the capital city of Pandemonium were being erected in ones and twos by the undead, human, and demonfolk workers that had been hired by the Dreaming Construction Company.

In the middle of all this, a statue of Noir Giabella that reproduced her alluring figure had been completed.

“Ahahaha.”

Noir Giabella, who had been sitting on top of her own giant statue’s head, bared her teeth in laughter.