“By the way, it’s seriously cold.”
“It’s always cold around here.”
After joining the extermination force, Camilla was able to arrive quickly in a region where the Scholtz Mountains were visible, through a transport magic circle.
But the problem was, the weather was far colder than she’d expected. Spring had come to the capital, yet over here it was still winter.
It wasn’t the kind of brutal winter where blizzards raged, but you could scrub your eyes raw and still not find any warmth.
“Compared to back then, this is mild.”
A place that was already cold, combined with a Spirit King’s fury, had quite literally turned into an ice kingdom—so much so that an ice wall had even formed around the mountain range.
“You’ve arrived.”
As they entered the territory closest to the Scholtz Mountains, someone approached quickly, as if he’d been waiting.
A man who looked to be in his mid-twenties bowed politely to Jainer.
He was a knight of House Escra—one of the people who had set up camp here ahead of them.
After seeing the change in weather, Duke Kais Escra had predicted the ice wall would melt and had gathered and sent part of his forces here in advance.
They needed to be prepared for the worst.
“What’s the situation?”
“We formed a reconnaissance unit and sent them twice, but there’s still no word.”
They’d sent scouts into the Scholtz Mountains—only the most skilled, the fastest—but no one had returned.
“No monsters have come down the mountain yet, but the sounds aren’t normal. The monsters’ cries are getting closer and closer to the foothills.”
“They’re probably starting to realize the ice wall is disappearing.”
If anything, it was strange that it had stayed quiet until now.
“They said the Imperial Family will be sending troops soon as well, but...”
“It doesn’t look like we can afford to wait.”
“Seems so.”
After a brief exchange with the knight, Jainer came over to Camilla.
“I don’t think we’ll have time to rest. We’ll have to depart for the mountain tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Camilla nodded, gripping her bag of transport Mana Stones tighter.
With the Scholtz Mountains spread out right in front of her, it was honestly nerve-wracking.
She’d watched this world for a long time, but she’d never seen a monster before.
The tremor she felt wasn’t even comparable to standing on a live broadcast stage.
I’ve seen drawings in books.
But books and reality had to be wildly different. Even though she’d steeled herself, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was hanging by her ears.
[Gyuu!]
As if he’d read her mind, King poked his head out from inside the bag and barked energetically.
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
[Gyuu-gyuu!]
Only then did a faint smile form at the edge of Camilla’s mouth.
*****
The next morning, Camilla entered the foothills of the Scholtz Mountains quickly, together with the soldiers led by Jainer.
“It’s quiet.”
“Yeah.”
A forest with not even the sound of insects carried a bizarre atmosphere.
The report had said monster cries could be heard even near the foothills. But it was silent—like a predator holding its breath with prey right in front of it.
For some reason, goosebumps rose on her skin. There were dozens of soldiers and knights with them, but strangely, she didn’t feel reassured at all.
She could feel it herself—she was being overwhelmed by the mood of the forest.
[Don’t worry.]
Zeno stepped a little closer to her side, as if to reassure her.
Only then did she calm down a bit, at the simple fact that he was near.
Her gaze moved forward. Unlike the others who were tense, Jainer was calmly surveying their surroundings.
She kept watching him, like she’d come here to do—yet she couldn’t find anything particularly strange.
He was always kind to people, and the knights’ trust in him was deep.
When she casually asked others about him, every single answer was glowing praise.
“He saved my life twice.”
“He’s the only person I can entrust my back to.”
“With him, I can go anywhere!”
...It felt like talking to cult believers. Their eyes held not even a trace of doubt, and it made her feel awkward to ask anything more.
“I think we need to go deeper.”
The moment his eyes met hers, he approached.
“Don’t worry too much. Nothing will happen.”
“Don’t worry about me. If it gets dangerous, I’m really going to run without looking back.”
Camilla shook the bag holding the transport Mana Stones. He laughed lightly, patted her shoulder, then returned to his place.
Was it really just a joke?
Camilla couldn’t easily tear her eyes away from him. Were the words he’d said back then truly meaningless?
“So annoying.”
Should I just ask him straight out? What does he know, exactly?
Having to read someone’s face and stew like this... it really wasn’t her temperament.
“Miss, we’re moving again.”
“...Okay.”
As the group started moving, Camilla stopped thinking and followed behind them.
Kueeek!
Kooong! Thud!
“......!”
But not long after, everyone «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» had to halt again. A huge roar and vibration hit at the same time.
Kooong!
The ground trembled faintly like an earthquake. The sound was getting closer to where they were.
“Everyone to your positions.”
Jainer’s voice spread through the startled crowd, and people drew their swords and guarded their surroundings.
Thud! Kuuung!
A moment later, they understood what those heavy footsteps belonged to. Camilla’s mouth fell open without her realizing.
Why is it that big?!
“It’s an Ice Bear.”
It looked like a white bear. But its size was absurd. Even if you stacked three normal bears together, it felt like it would still dwarf them.
I have absolutely no urge to hand it a soda bottle.
“It must’ve just grown its body inside the ice wall.”
Had something happened to the monsters trapped behind the ice wall for so long? This wasn’t a normal monster’s size.
“Is it a mutant?”
“At this point, it’s hard to confirm.”
Meaning... it might not be. If all the monsters throughout the Scholtz Mountains were like that—
“That would be a problem.”
Even in this situation, Jainer kept laughing, as if it was somehow amusing.
Hey, you lunatic! Is this really the time to laugh?!
Kooong! Thud! Thud!
“Sir Jainer!”
That wasn’t the only one.
Soon, Ice Bears of similar size began appearing from other directions. At least ten.
Confusion spread across the faces of everyone holding swords. They’d only just passed the edge of the foothills, and already an opponent like this had shown up...
Everyone felt dizzy.
“Zeno, can you do it?”
Camilla snapped out of it and asked Zeno urgently.
[Up to three at once.]
...Should I run?
What was I thinking.
Why did I even follow them here. A conscience doesn’t put food on the table!
She desperately wanted to pull out a Mana Stone right now. But... could she really run alone?
He said he could handle up to three. So could she really just pretend she didn’t see anything and flee?
“Haa.”
Letting out a short breath, Camilla decided to take Zeno’s help after all. Instead of hesitating, surviving meant taking down even one more.
But if it looked truly hopeless mid-fight, she really would run—alone—seriously. Seriously!
TAP.
Something dropped to the ground. What sprang out of her bag was King.
“King!”
[Gyuu?]
King looked back at her like, What? Camilla shook her head hard.
No matter how she looked at it, that wasn’t it. How was that tiny thing supposed to deal with monsters that huge?!
If King—who wasn’t even fully grown—charged in, he’d obviously be crushed under that massive paw.
“No! King!”
But King ignored her and sprinted forward.
As Camilla instinctively moved to grab him, someone seized her quickly.
“Going farther is dangerous.”
It was Jainer.
“King is—!”
When Camilla whipped her gaze back to where King had run—
ROAR!
A tremendous sound tore through her ears.
“Ugh!”
“Hngh...”
Everyone nearby staggered. Some even dropped to their knees. Even Jainer, who was holding her, had his hand trembling slightly.
The only one still standing fine was Camilla. Aside from her ears ringing, she didn’t feel anything else.
No—her heart was pounding.
Because the source of that sound...
...was King.
At the White Tiger’s cry, the enemy’s ears go deaf...
Only now did she understand the line she’d read in the records.
Camilla stared at the Ice Bears that had been charging toward them.
Those massive creatures were all lowering their bodies toward King—bowing their heads.
“...What.”
Seeing those mountain-sized things bowing to palm-sized King was hard to believe even with her own eyes.
ROAR!
When King roared again, the Ice Bears turned around and fled quickly, vanishing.
But it wasn’t over.
ROAR—ROAR!
King let out several more earth-shaking roars, as if warning every monster inside the mountain.
“Wow...”
King—why do you look so huge today?
The Duke of Sorpel had said last time that King seemed to have grown a bit... and it really seemed like he was right.
Facing a side of King she’d never seen before, Camilla kept letting out stunned exclamations.
“Sir Jainer, the monsters are running—should we chase them?”
A knight who regained his senses first asked urgently as he watched the Ice Bears disappear. Their purpose here was, after all, to deal with the monsters.
Grrrr—
“Hngh!”
But at that moment, King’s savage growl—aimed at the monsters—turned toward the knight.
Everyone there understood immediately: the violent head shake meant don’t chase them.
Grrrrr—
Only after everyone lowered their swords and backed off did King quiet down, drawing in the cold aura he’d been pouring out.
[Gyuu-gyuu!]
A moment later, King trotted back to Camilla’s feet like always, lifting his head and bouncing his cute front paws—begging to be picked up.
Pfft. Laughing, Camilla scooped King up quickly.
“Good job.”
[Gyuu!]
King purred, clearly pleased by the praise.
“Ha.”
A small laugh reached her ears.
“Ha, hahahaha! This is insane.”
It was Jainer. Only after a long while did he stop laughing.
“What do we do?”
He stepped closer to Camilla, chuckling again. Camilla looked at him like he was completely out of his mind.
What’s so funny about this? Is it funny that you almost died?
“This life...”
Jainer’s smile curled.
“...doesn’t feel like it’s going to be boring.”
