210 – Journey to the North -3-

A desolate mountaintop in the north.

“Oh…”

Today marked the fifth day of our stay in the north. The lady and I had come to the snowy fields of the north to do some exploring.

-Growl…

We had dug a hole, cut some branches, and covered the hole with them as camouflage. Now, we were observing a pack of wolves on the move.

Judging from the way the wolves were sniffing the ground with their noses to the ground, they seemed to be looking for prey.

The lady who was observing the wolves with binoculars called out to me in a husky voice.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“When are they going to mate?”

“I don’t know.”

The lady who was exclaiming in admiration at the mystery of nature with a “whoa…” not long ago, now had a sullen expression.

“No fun.”

The lady and I had come up to the snowy mountain to explore the mysteries of nature.

It was a journey that started from the lady’s desire to have a unique experience that could be done in the north, but her expression was stiffening at the inappropriate sight of the creatures not mating and only looking for food.

“Didn’t you say that that’s their mating season?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you say that they’re dirtier in personality and bite when they meet?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why aren’t they doing it?”

“…”

I kept my mouth shut at the lady’s words. How would I know when I can’t do it either? I hated the lady for the first time for only asking questions that I couldn’t answer.

“I don’t know.”

The lady and I sat there like cameramen producing a documentary and quietly observed the wolves’ movements.

We would sometimes pass the time by making bets on how long those creatures would stay like that, chatting, or taking naps when we got sleepy.

Still, it was a fun time in its own way.

While we were sleeping, a bear searching for food passed by the pit where we were hiding and sniffed.

-Sniff sniff.

-Hoo…! Bear soup, Mama!

-Be quiet. We’ll get eaten.

-Gulp… But it would taste good if we cooked it, right?

-You’ll get punished, Miss.

A huge troll chased the wolf away and released it on the street.

-Ugly.

-Yes, it is.

-Looks like Ricardo. Ewww…and

-…Miss, are you good at fighting?

-…Sorry.

Watching the various monsters living their lives kept us busy and entertained, without a moment to feel bored. Though, we didn’t see what we really wanted to see.

Time continued to pass.

The effects of the potion developed using the privileges of the Ice Throne were gradually coming to an end.

A potion that erases smells and traces.

No matter how much I hate to be bothered, I wasn’t crazy enough to come to a monster’s habitat unprepared. And since the Miss was with me, I prepared even more thoroughly.

“Haaam.”

Yawning, the Miss looked at the sunset sky and began to show signs of wanting to return to the inn.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“What are we having for dinner?”

Tossing the binoculars onto the floor and asking about dinner, I lowered the binoculars in my hand and spat out an answer to the lady’s tired face.

“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

The lady replied with a serious expression.

“As long as it’s not rice porridge.”

The lady, who had only eaten rice porridge recently thanks to the innkeeper, stuck out her tongue and showed her aversion.

“A pig appeared in my dream. It kept pestering me, telling me to stop eating it.”

“Then you could just tell it that you don’t want to eat it.”

“How can I say that…”

The lady looked sullen and lowered her head.

– How is it! Isn’t the rice porridge I made tastier? I put in expensive ingredients to treat you.

– Hmm…

– Is it not good…? Then let me make it again.

– Hmm…

Unable to trample on the middle-aged man’s passion, the lady had a warm heart that respected her elders.

At first, she said it was tasteless, but the more she ate the rice porridge, the more she couldn’t say anything.

The lady spoke to me with a depressed heart. She said she didn’t want to eat rice porridge.

“Anyway, I don’t want to eat rice porridge.”

“I’m fine with it….”

“I’m not okay.”

I looked at the young lady with a smirk.

“If you eat this today, then eat something different tomorrow….”

“Eeeek…”

“Why?”

“Riccardo. You look handsome today, Riccardo.”

“Oh my… Are you flattering me now?”

“No. It’s just… that… I want to see Riccardo cook.”

The young lady smiled awkwardly and made a ‘meow’ sound while striking a cat pose. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the young lady, who was not normally affectionate, throwing away her pride and acting cute.

“Hahaha… What is that pitiful pose?”

“…Eek.”

I nodded at the young lady’s sincere request and began to think about dinner menus one by one.

First, I slowly mentioned the foods that the young lady likes.

“Pizza.”

“No, it’s heavy.”

“Soybean paste stew.”

“I don’t feel like having that today.”

“Steak.”

“I feel sorry for the cow, so no.”

“Beef jerky.”

“…”

“Plain rice.”

“Eeek…”

The lady, upset at the unappetizing sight, began making a snowball with eyes full of annoyance.

“Something else.”

As the lady threatened me with a snowball loaded in her hand as if she was about to throw it, I let out a small laugh and carefully mentioned the dish I had thought of in the morning. In fact, I too was tired of eating only rice soup, so I wanted to eat something different.

A dish that goes well with the cold north.

Something warm but different from rice soup.

And a dish that could be filled with meat that the lady likes.

I said it, confident that the lady would not give me a negative answer.

“How about stew? I have spices in my backpack, so it would be delicious if we made it spicy.”

Satisfied with the menu, the lady nodded and began to bring the loaded snowball to her mouth.

-Crunch…!

“Why are you eating that!”

“…I thought it would be delicious.”

As I watched the lady eating the crunchy snowball deliciously, I put a question mark on my head and began to clench my eyes in the same way.

I thought it would be delicious because it looked delicious.

If the lady had been in the place where I lived, she would have definitely become a mukbang YouTuber because she ate so deliciously. I also ate the snow I had clenched and nodded.

“It’s not tasty.”

“Hmm…”

“Why are you eating that?”

“I don’t want to eat alone.”

A villainous answer, as expected.

While I continued my meaningless chatter, an odd sound came from nearby. It was a sharp rustling noise.

“Lyca…”

“Shhh. Just a moment.”

The sound of footsteps was too heavy to be an animal’s, yet too cold to be a monster’s. I quickly covered the lady’s mouth and held my breath.

Startled by my sudden gesture, the lady spoke with saliva on her palm.

“Uuum…?”

“Shh.”

“Are you… mating?”

“No, it’s more like…”

-Thud… thud…

The footsteps were getting closer.

The steady rhythm of human footsteps echoed on the floor. It was a sound that shouldn’t be heard here, or rather, a sound that shouldn’t be heard in a place where ordinary humans shouldn’t be. I started to feel my courage waver.

‘Thirty of them…?’

‘Who are they…’

‘There shouldn’t be any humans in a place inhabited by high-ranking monsters…’

As the approaching footsteps increased in number, the growls of the monsters became more intense. One of the wolves in front of me bristled its fur and glared straight at the source of the sound.

-Grrr…

The moment the growl of the wolf changed into a cry to gather its packmates. A small axe was embedded in the wolf’s head with a ‘thud’.

It was fast.

A speed that not even an experienced adventurer could follow with their eyes. I placed my hand on Tirving and slowly began to inhale.

‘Something’s wrong.’

I could hear the screams of the monsters.

A warning bark.

A cry to gather its packmates.

The sound of footsteps began to echo without cease towards the place where the sound came from.

The thicker the screams, the stronger the scent of blood became, and their footsteps were getting closer.

I focused all my senses and began to stare straight at their approaching figures.

To kill.

Or to spare.

I hid the words telling the young lady to close her eyes in my mouth and slowly observed them.

-Thud…

-Thud…

“My Lord Saint, excessive slaughter should be avoided. We are all men of the cloth, so why should we get our hands dirty with too much blood?”

“…”

“Even if they are lowly creatures, we must cherish each and every one of those lives to have a beautiful faith.”

Along with the benevolent voice of an old man, many figures began to appear.

A procession-like spectacle.

-Thud… thud…

I smiled bitterly.

‘Oh, this is bad.’

The old man at the forefront was staring down at the wolf’s carcass, blood dripping from its body, with a bizarre expression.

An expression void of emotion. At the same time, it was a chilling expression that made it seem as though there were shadows cast over his eyes as he looked down at the wolf.

I shook my head as I looked at the old man dressed in pure white priestly robes.

‘Damn it.’

The apostle had come to the north.

The apostle who would kill Yuria’s father.

The apostle who would create the opportunity for Yuria to awaken as a saint.

He had come to the north a little early.

[Olaf. Lv. 95]

Occupation: Apostle of Mercy

*

Olivia just stared blankly at them.

Once at the weapons in their hands.

Twice at the old man standing with a cold expression.

She blinked three times as she looked at Ricardo, who was wearing a bewildered expression.

Olivia stared blankly at them.

Evil intent.

With dull eyes devoid of any murderous intent.

He was looking at them.

-Gulp…