"Let me formally introduce myself. I am Ian, holy knight commander of the North."
The five of them took their seats around a neatly cleared table.
They'd gathered for what Mathias had intended as a relaxed chat over tea, but they still split naturally into two sides: North and Center.
"I will get straight to the point."
Sitting perfectly straight, Ian looked back and forth between Ariel and Gion, his gaze resolute.
I think I know what he's going to say.
"Turn back now."
Just as I thought.
An awkward silence fell over the room.
Gion, who by now would normally be throwing a tantrum, kept rolling his eyes and studying Mathias's reaction instead.
A quiet, docile Gion.
It felt wrong, somehow. But honestly, a hundred times better than a loud one.
Ian spoke again.
"You may stay at the temple today. I'll have a carriage ready the moment the sun rises tomorrow."
Telling us to leave the day after we arrive. Might as well slam the door in our faces.
However she looked at it, treating official envoys of the central temple like unwanted guests was absurd.
Ariel took a slow sip of tea, set the cup down, and spoke.
"What is the reason?"
"I hold nothing against you personally. But—"
Ian's voice dropped low.
"If you stay here, you will die."
Mathias and Hilda didn't deny it. Their faces stayed equally grim.
"Over the past year or two, the central temple has sent people here several times. Holy knights, saintesses, delegations. The pretexts varied."
Ian paused, and looked at Ariel.
"But in reality, they were spies or assassins. All went mad from the grand duke's mana, or were killed by monsters. Even the lucky ones who survived spent the rest of their lives as empty husks."
His eyes went cold.
"Forget whatever mission the temple gave you. You will never get the chance to carry it out. We don't want more casualties. So please, turn back now."
It was a chilling warning. But there was sympathy folded into it, too.
This place really was dangerous, and Ian meant every word.
Despite the dangers…
"I won't leave."
Ariel said it calmly.
"I was framed and sent here. If I go back, the only thing waiting for me is a prison cell."
"Framed, my foot…"
Ian looked at Ariel in silence for a moment, then carefully spoke.
"I understand your circumstances."
"Then I can—"
"However."
He firmly cut off Ariel, who had brightened at his words.
"At least you'd be alive in a prison cell. Here, I can't even promise you that much."
His brown eyes darkened.
"Do you still wish to stay?"
Ariel couldn't answer right away.
She sank into thought.
Honestly? I'm terrified. Can a D-rank saintess even survive a place where no one else has stayed sane?
But she had no other choice.
Going back wouldn't clear her name.
It wouldn't earn her a welcome, either.
Better to find a way to survive here than walk straight into a cell. Besides—
Ariel's eyes flicked to the status window hovering at the edge of her vision.
[Goal: Collect 1,000G.]
[Progress: 199G/1,000G]
[Mission Reward: C-rank promotion, special skill unlock, special item reward.]
One thousand gold.
About a hundred thousand dollars.
But it was the reward line beneath it she couldn't look away from.
C-rank promotion.
She'd been framed and shipped north because she was weak. But a higher rank would change that.
Once stronger, her words would carry weight.
Right now, Ariel had 199 gold. Money clawed together by skipping snacks, doing other people's laundry, covering shifts.
It sounded like nothing, but it wasn't an amount a normal low-rank saintess should ever have been able to save.
That's probably what they looked at right before pinning the fraudulent holy water charge on me.
And since this posting was a punishment, her pay would be cut too.
Under normal circumstances, 1,000 gold wasn't something she could have saved in a lifetime. But—
If it's the North. If it's here…
The vibrant city inside the walls came to mind: the bustling streets spreading beyond the barrier, the surprisingly well-stocked shops.
Contrary to the rumors, the North was pulsing with life. And where there was life, there was coin to be made.
Mana stone mines. Bounties on monsters. A grand duke's private capital.
I'd be a fool to pass up a chance like this to grow stronger.
But first, she needed to meet the man who actually ran the place.
Ariel looked straight at Ian.
"Yes. I'll stay."
"Saintess A—"
"Commander."
She cut him off and slowly rose from her seat.
"Take us to the grand duke's castle."
Ariel's golden eyes gleamed with determination.
* * *
Early the next morning, the carriage carrying the four of them—Ariel, Gion, Ian, and Hilda—rolled past the northern temple and into the central square of Oslberg.
It was a marvel, no matter how many times she looked.
Unlike the elegant and refined capital of Aurelion, the city was rough around the edges. Yet, from the high-grade mana stones powering the streetlights to the gold and rare ores plastered everywhere, it certainly wasn't hiding its wealth.
They're definitely loaded.
Ariel was looking out the window when something caught her attention.
Her eyes went wide.
N-no way.
She quickly pulled up the status window.
[Aetherium Alloy (A-rank)]
"Holy—!"
She nearly screamed.
Aetherium.
The legendary mineral said to be capable of forging a weapon out of myth from just a few grams.
They're using this for a wheel?
Ariel turned to Ian in absolute disbelief.
"T-that... that wheel. Is that Aetherium?"
"Yes. Ordinary iron wouldn't last on this terrain. Aetherium was simply the most practical choice."
The most practical choice?
"How does that make any sense?! Do you have any idea how rare it is?!"
"The mines past the fortress wall are practically overflowing with Aetherium and iron."
Ariel couldn't believe her ears. A resource so scarce elsewhere that it was practically priceless—yet here, they had raw, unrefined chunks hammered straight into their carriage wheels as if it were common scrap.
If the nobles back in the capital saw this, they would start a bidding war over it.
She fought the sudden, overwhelming urge to pry the wheel off right then and there and haul it to an auction herself.
"But everyone in the capital thinks the North shut its borders and collapsed. So how did the North develop like this without trade?"
"Hmph. Probably just looks impressive from the outside."
Gion cut in with a snort.
Ian ignored the jab and calmly kept explaining to Ariel.
"When the Monster War started thirteen years ago, we thought we were done for. Fighting monsters, exposure to demonic energy, bitter cold, starvation. But it was the monsters that saved us."
"…I'm sorry?"
"The North was practically abandoned. Which meant nobody was hauling off the byproducts. Mana stones, pelts, just piled up like mountains."
He gave a thin, bitter smile.
"And we're not the ones who cut off the trade routes. The imperial family and the central temple pulled out the second the war started. They blocked the roads as well. Then let the rumor spread that we'd closed our own borders."
His eyes flicked to Gion.
The priest suddenly found the window very interesting.
"Once the trade routes had been blocked for years, we naturally started turning our eyes inward. If we couldn't leave anyway, we figured we might as well make the most of what we had—the wheels are part of that."
Hilda spoke up.
"That solved our food problem too. The demonic energy in the air mutated the local wildlife into demonic beasts."
"Demonic beasts?"
"Yes. They are much more vicious, but if you kill one and let it hang for five days, the demonic energy dissipates and the meat becomes safe to eat. They are also incredibly resilient, so they endure the northern cold better than regular stock."
Hilda dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a strip of dried meat.
"This is demon sheep jerky. It's chewy and tasty. Would you like some?"
"Ugh! Meat from a demonic beast? As expected from savages."
Gion recoiled, but Ariel had already taken a piece and was chewing. It was just as Hilda had said: salty, chewy, and delicious.
"This is great!"
"Right?"
Hilda smiled brightly and tossed a piece into her own mouth.
Gion watched the two of them munching away on the monster jerky side by side with a look of pure horror.
"Development? Hardly. This is just a backwater."
Gion grumbled, his face twisted in annoyance.
"Are all the women up here this… brutish? They don't even know their own strength, and the amount they eat is just—"
He cast a sideways glance at Hilda, who stood at least a head and a half taller than him.
Why does he always insist on saying things that will get him punched?
Ariel sighed.
"Watch your words, Priest Gion."
Ian's voice was polite, yet cold.
"Am I wrong? She out-ate you yesterday, commander, packed away breakfast this morning, and now she's eating again."
"Hilda is still growing."
"…Growing?"
Gion's expression soured with disbelief.
That hulking frame is still in a growth spurt?
"Hilda just turned fifteen."
"Excuse me?"
His eyes went wide—Ariel, too.
As everyone's gaze converged on her, Hilda's face flushed beet red.
At that moment, she looked exactly like a typical teenage girl.
"Northerners mature differently in order to survive our harsh climate. Even among our own, Hilda stands out—she's an ability user with an exceptionally powerful build."
Ian spoke with a hint of pride, prompting Hilda to puff out her chest and flash a wide grin.
"An ability user?!"
Gion stood frozen, utterly stunned.
Ariel simply shook her head in exasperation.
"Priest Gion, it's a miracle you didn't die yesterday."
Hilda wore an innocent smile as she spoke.
"I only shoved you a little, hehe. You were being way too rude to the archbishop."
Gion pressed himself flatter against the carriage wall, looking even more afraid.
Ariel looked at him with pure disdain.
The bustling noise of the central square gradually faded into the distance, and the dense cluster of buildings began to thin out until, before long, a vast, empty expanse of land stretched out on either side of the road.
At the far end of it, a wall of black stone rose up and blocked out the sky.
"…Is that the grand duke's castle?"
It was a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere of the square. Surrounded by rugged stone walls, the castle looked just like a massive fortress.
As the carriage drew closer, the scars on the walls came into focus. Deep gouges and long claw-marks were etched everywhere. In some sections, the traces of hasty repairs with different-colored stones were clearly visible.
Each and every one of them was a testament to battles fought against monsters.
"We've arrived."
Ian's voice resonated low within the quiet carriage.
Get the latest chapter and best reading experience at www.novatls.com
Comments