Chapter 64 – In the Snowy Mountain

Episode 64 – In the snowy mountain

We finally arrived at the Friuli estate.

I got off the carriage and faced a mansion built with a majestic mountain range in the background.

Long lines of servants and knights on the left and right were making a road, and at the end of it was Ian Friuli, the father of this body.

With a level of over 300, he exudes a force reminiscent of an iron wall that befits his nickname, Guardian.

Ian greeted us bluntly.

“You both came well. “Were there any problems on the way?”

“Yes. Father. “We were attacked by monsters a few times, but we resolved them without any major problems.”

“If that’s the case, that’s enough. Do you want to follow me? “I have prepared a meal for you.”

Ian only gave me a glance and turned his back on me. Isis notices that cold reaction for no reason. I gave a wink that I was okay and followed Ian.

After a while, we arrived at the restaurant and sat across from each other at a wide table.

The meal that had been prepared immediately was set up, and Ian was lucky when he finished half of the soup.

“How is life at the academy, both of you? Especially Isis, you said you were running for student council president, right? Are you ready?”

“… We are preparing diligently. Rather, my father. Luan got good grades on the end-of-semester evaluation this time. Do you know?”

“Good grades?”

Ian looked at me with an expression of surprise, as if Isis’ desperate appeal was of no use.

The expression on his face is that he doesn’t understand how this reckless bastard got such good grades.

I explained with a gesture that it was no big deal.

“It’s not that great. All you have to do is withstand the opponent’s attacks and achieve a draw. At best, we will finish in the middle of the rankings.”

“Mid-tier? What I felt wasn’t an illusion. Thank you for your hard work.”

A very poor compliment.

However, even that praise is quite surprising to the owner of this body, who has never heard it except when he was young.

But on the other hand, if you think about it from Ian’s perspective, it’s understandable.

The guy who was busy lying around with the maid on random days before entering school rose to the middle rank in just 4 months.

So even though he recognized my level, he must have thought he was mistaken.

When I fell silent after saying those words, Ian stared at me for a moment and then turned his gaze to Isis.

As I listened to the conversation that continued, I focused on the food.

‘As expected, I am a marquis, so the meal is good.’

The Academy’s restaurant also had considerable cooking skills, but it was not comparable to the head chef of the Margrave, who virtually ruled the North.

I was absorbed in eating for a while, and when I was finally full, I opened my mouth.

“Father. “I have something to tell you.”

“You have something to say? “Tell me.”

How will Ian react?

I confessed my business, hoping not to complicated things.

“I would like to break off my engagement with Skadia.”

“… “What?”

“Lu, Luan?”

Maryland is an old friend of the Friuli Liga.

It is a huge risk to nullify a marriage contract between such families.

I’m sure we won’t become enemies, but everything that happens as a result will ultimately be recorded as my mistake.

Humans are animals obsessed with evaluation.

Once you gain money and power, the next thing you want is a reputation that will last a lifetime.

There is nothing I want to avoid more than being recorded as a poor person in future generations.

So the two are puzzling.

It’s not that Scadia is disqualified as a fiancée, and everyone wants her, but she’s willing to risk breaking her engagement.

“… “What is the reason?”

“Do you remember the Dark Church attack not long ago?”

“Okay. But why is that?”

“At that time, while evacuating, I met a member of the Dark Church. I couldn’t see any way to win. So I abandoned Scadia and her friends and ran away alone.”

The truth without any addition or subtraction.

Ian’s face distorted mercilessly as he faced that.

“Her! Is that really why Scadia decided to break off her engagement?”

“Yes.”

“You accepted that?”

“Yes.”

“Ha… I’m going crazy.”

Ian grabs her head as if he doesn’t know how to resolve this. She closes her eyes tightly, not knowing how to look at her friend.

Silence continued for a while.

Ian, who was worried, finally sighed and accepted the situation.

“I get it. She sent a letter of engagement to the Maryland family. Are you satisfied with that?”

“Yes. I also have no regrets about Skadia anymore. “When she went to the academy, there were a lot of good girls there.”

“… Okay. Well then, just go. I have placed her maid on standby and she will guide you to her room.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I stood up.

Just in case this happens, I filled my stomach in advance, so I don’t have any regrets.

The moment when Isis stands up after me.

“Isis, you have something to talk about, so stay.”

“… Yes. “Father.”

At Ian’s command, I had no choice but to put my butt on the chair.

Yet Isis keeps glancing at me, as if she still has some regrets. I left those earnest eyes behind and left the restaurant.

Immediately a maid approaches.

“Young master. My name is Becky. “I will guide you.”

“Okay. Take the lead.”

The maid, named Becky, trembled when she saw me, probably because she was new here. Or is she just worried that they’ll hear about her and that she’ll pick on her?

Either way doesn’t really matter to me.

As I was walking down her hallway following the maid’s guidance, I suddenly looked outside the window.

Outside, a group of knights were holding bows and shooting arrows at the target.

When I stopped and observed the scene, Becky quickly explained.

“We are preparing for the hunting competition that will be held in a few days. He decided to give an elixir to the person who brought the biggest game.”

“Elixir?”

“Yes. “It’s Millennium Seolsam.”

“It’s definitely worth working hard. Let’s go now.”

“Yes.”

Millennium Seolsam cannot compare to the elixir I came to get, but it is still an item that can accumulate considerable magical power.

A person who is blocked by a wall can never give up because he can achieve enlightenment just by digesting the magic and spirituality inherent in Seolsam.

If I could, I would participate in the hunting competition and get snow ginseng.

‘Now that I think about it, I guess I have to go to the snowy mountain.’

Since my goal is in the snowy mountains anyway, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to participate in a hunting competition and figure out the terrain in advance.

I’ve memorized the path in the game to the point where I remember every blade of grass, but in reality it’s different.

As I looked down, I suddenly made eye contact with Becky.

Then, she suddenly stiffened and lowered her eyes to the floor in a movement reminiscent of a bully about to attack.

She clenches her thighs, gripping her skirt strongly.

I can roughly understand what you are thinking.

“Becky.”

“Yes, four!”

“I am not interested in you.”

“Of course! To the bedroom tonight─ eh?”

Becky, who had been answering quickly, clearly understood what I meant and let out a confused sound.

I gave her confirmed kill her.

“You are not my type. So don’t look at me like that. Do you understand?”

“Uh… Well, that is.”

“You said you’re not picking on me. Or what, do you want to have sex with me?”

“No!”

Denial at a tremendous speed, unlike before.

Becky covered her mouth with her hand, probably shocked at herself.

“The answer is very resounding. So you hate it and I hate it too? But do we really need to have sex?”

“No…”

“Okay. Doesn’t exist. So, stop watching and just guide me. “Because it’s troublesome to persuade.”

“… I understand.”

Becky’s face was confused.

Even though she’s happy that she doesn’t have to give herself to me, she gets depressed because she thinks she’s not that attractive.

Humans are really interesting creatures.

‘If I go to my room, I should practice.’

I can’t train at all while I’m staying at the mansion, so I’ll have to do some home training as soon as possible.

*

On the day of the hunting competition.

I was looking at the snowy mountain soaring into the sky with Isis.

“Are you sure you can stay with me?”

“Huh. “Are you happy to be with Luan?”

“But didn’t you hang out with the knights every year? “If you’re with me, it won’t be possible to compete, right?”

Last year, Isis visited her hometown during her vacation and participated in a hunting competition. He remembers that he caught a giant elk and won first place.

The drivers must be looking forward to it too, are you okay?

When I spoke with such determination, Isis gave me a soft smile and shook her head.

“No. They say there are no monsters where the hunting competition is held, but sometimes they come down from the hillside. “It’s dangerous if you run into someone while you’re alone.”

“I’m pretty strong now, right?”

“But that doesn’t work. Luan is the most precious thing to me? I can never hurt you.”

She found no room for compromise in her.

To me, who only had memories of Luan and did not feel any particular familial love for Isis, that appearance gave me contradictory feelings.

Her Guilt her and her and her strange sense of immorality that came from deceiving her were the main characters of her.

I ended the conversation, trying hard to push away these unknown emotions.

“Then there is nothing we can do. Instead, you can move around within the area as you wish, right?”

“Huh. It doesn’t matter as long as you don’t go halfway.”

“Great. Then we’ll leave too. I feel like I’m a lot behind.”

“Okay. Let’s hurry.”

We got on horses and entered the snowy mountain.

I wandered around looking for familiar terrain, pretending to chase my prey.

Isis didn’t intervene in my wacky tracking tactics, as if she was really only acting as a guard. I just burst out laughing occasionally.

The face of her was so pretty that climbing the snowy mountain wasn’t that boring.

It was about two hours after wandering through the snowy mountains.

“That…”

A deer-antler-shaped tree rising at an angle on a steep slope caught my eye.

It’s a form I’ve seen before.

As I was carefully examining the trees and the surrounding terrain, Isis came up next to me with a puzzled look.

“Luan, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“No. It’s just that the tree looks unique. Let’s go this way.”

As I traced my memory and went around the ramp, I was finally able to come face to face with clear evidence.

‘I found it.’

Strange red flowers bloom in a swirl-like shape. It looked so foreign that it was hard to believe it was in the middle of a snowy mountain.

If you go a little further north from here, you will finally find the red dragon rare you were looking for.

The moment you take the reins to look around a little more.

“Luan, let’s go back now.”

Isis stopped me.

When I looked back a little dissatisfied, she persuaded me with her calm face.

“From here onwards is the middle of the hill. Dangerous. “I don’t know what might happen.”

“Isn’t the monsters’ territory far away? “I’m thinking of taking a quick look around.”

“But that doesn’t work. “I can never accept it.”

A person who normally always loses becomes stubborn again at times like this.

The reason was not for anything else, but for my own safety, so I couldn’t go out of my way to act like a fool.

“Whoa… All right. Let’s go back.”

“Good idea. “It’s almost lunch time, so let’s find a place to eat.”

Isis had just finished speaking.

Kugugoogung!

A tremendous roar rang out from the snowy mountain, and the falling snow began to rapidly thicken.

Isis stared at the sky as if frightened.

“This… White break?”

“What is that?”

“It’s a strange phenomenon that happens every 10 years. “It’s not time to wake up yet, so what happened?”

She was confused as if she couldn’t understand, but she made a quick decision.

“Tsk! Let’s go first! There’s no time to explain. We need to get out of the snowy mountain quickly. Follow me!”

She, who had been so relaxed just a moment ago, seemed to be facing her trauma, and she forcibly took the reins from me and turned her horse’s head.

As she runs across the snowy mountain at full speed, she constantly looks up at the sky to check the weather.

I followed her and looked up at her sky, and although it was not sunny, I was able to see the blue sky swirling like a storm.

The snow that was falling gradually became heavier and turned into a blizzard in just 10 seconds. Now I can’t even distinguish objects 3 meters in front.

Isis, who continued to run, stopped her horses as if she thought there was no answer.

“Luan, get down! “I’m going to a nearby hideout.”

“A hiding place? Is there such a place?”

“Huh. I made it in preparation for situations like this. Hurry! “If you’re late, you’ll be in big trouble!”

Certainly, if this situation continued for a long time, it seemed that safety could not be guaranteed unless the person was a transcendental person capable of changing the terrain.

Without hesitation, I abandoned my horse and followed Isis to the hiding place.

It was that moment.

Kwaaaaang!

Another loud noise sounded from somewhere, and I felt a chill running down my spine.

When I look up, the cliff has collapsed and is flowing down.

“Isis! It’s dangerous!”

Without even having time to think, I immediately grabbed Isis’ hand and pulled her into her arms.

She is superior to me in all her stats, and it never occurred to me that there would be anything wrong with her if she was at a higher level.

Feeling the woman’s body wrapping deep in my arms, I lowered my posture and blocked the remains of the cliff.