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151. Engagement – Antalof Gorge

“Well… it seems the chief has passed away. I expected it, but the greatest warrior of the North fell so easily…”

The innkeeper sighed heavily and muttered.

The warriors gathered around flinched at the arrogant title of ‘the greatest warrior of the North,’ but they didn’t voice any objections.

They didn’t want to doubt the skills of the deceased, especially because of the symbolism of Ice Island.

Once a warrior had undergone trials, they no longer hunted monsters. They were making way for the next Great Warrior, but not all Great Warriors made that choice.

Occasionally, there were warriors who wanted to face more trials, and those naturally headed north.

Their destination was Ice Island, the furthest north in the North. It was said that under the blue moonlight, a giant monster would crash ashore, and there one could find endless trials and glory.

The tribe established on that island was the Avviker Tribe. Among the many warriors who gathered, the strongest was elected as chief, so the title of ‘the greatest warrior of the North’ was not entirely baseless.

That said, they had been wiped out almost twenty years ago by an attack from the Cross Church…

“With the priest gone… Ran and Anne must have gone through a lot. But I’m glad to hear they’re doing well and have children.”

The innkeeper got up from his seat. After asking Lena where the two were, he said, “I’ll be heading back now.” and left the drinking party.

Once the innkeeper left, the five warriors’ excitement was dampened, and they too finished their drinks and departed. The only ones left in the empty tavern were Leo, Lena, and the innkeeper’s lady cleaning up in the kitchen.

“…Let’s go to bed too.”

It was a sentence that had been hard to say just moments ago due to embarrassment, but the excitement had long since faded.

The two returned to their room in silence and lay down on the bed. Leo, who was reminded of the story from his mother about the Ice Island barbarians, drifted into sleep before he knew it, intoxicated.

Lena looked at the sleeping Leo with pity.

*

The next day, Lena and Leo, who had overslept, left the inn.

The innkeeper was nowhere to be found, but it was not hard to guess his whereabouts. He probably went to find Ran and Anne.

Leo hurried their journey.

However, not far from the inn, he discovered another shrine of Malhas! He let out a heavy sigh.

What on earth is going on…? At this rate, making Lena a princess in the Austin Kingdom seems like a perilous task. ─ He couldn’t help but worry.

The journey toward the Aster Kingdom continued east.

They were headed to the capital ‘Manubiul’, where the Letii Tournament was to be held, and along the way, they stopped at villages and made sure to buy any unique food they came across. They had plenty of money, so they didn’t miss any fascinating sights or splendid landscapes.

“It really feels like we’re on a honeymoon trip.”

Lena was delighted. She always held Leo’s arm, and the further they moved away from Barnau, the more relaxed Leo became.

They had left behind all the {events} and crises. Walking down the vast plains without a care oddly brought a sense of reassurance.

When they saw a group of priests swarm a few days ago, Leo’s heart had dropped. He was worried that something was going to happen to them.

But the priests merely brushed by them in a hurry, and nothing happened. Soon, Leo realized where they were headed.

Early summer.

It was around this time that childhood friend Reb caused a ruckus. By now, the capital of the Orun Kingdom, Nevis, was likely painted red with Barbatos’s hunting grounds.

“Thank goodness we left Barnau early…”

Reb’s incident was a major one that could affect the entire continent. It was bound to have negative repercussions on Barnau as well.

Now that he had left, it struck him that they had narrowly avoided disaster, and Leo let out a sigh of relief.

“What will happen to Leah?”

Leo Dexter recalled the last scene he remembered from the previous chapter. Leah, transformed into Barbatos, reached out to him (from Reb’s perspective) through a hole where light poured in.

After that, his memories went blank. He had no idea how it ended as Minseo was spaced out and couldn’t read the ‘ending credits’ at all.

The Holy Woman and Barbatos. Who had truly won? This was a serious matter weighing on Leo’s mind.

If the Holy Woman had won, that would be fine, but if Barbatos had triumphed, it was a serious problem.

No one would be able to stop her. While it was possible that Leah also received extreme efficiency like Reb, the likelihood was high.

– “I knew you were a filthy god’s plaything. I didn’t read entirely since things were so tangled… but as long as I survive, that’s all that matters. Just like that girl. So, any Apostle who doesn’t listen, turn into wood. I’ll make good use of you.”

Just like that girl…

That was a clue. Barbatos must have judged Leah to be almost similar to Reb.

“Wait a minute… then what about us? Why did Barbatos try to kill us?”

I don’t know. At that moment, the only feeling I had as Reb was that these guys (me and Lena) needed to be killed quickly.

Leo Dexter looked down at Lena Ainar walking beside him. She raised her head and was refreshing herself with the ‘summer breeze.’

The summer breeze refers to the wind that blows in summer, with its direction depending on where you are on the continent.

In summer, the wind blows from the sea into the central continent.

Thus, the summer breeze for the Holy Kingdom in the west mostly came from the west, from the Aisel Kingdom in the east it was the east wind, the southwesterly Orun Kingdom was a southwesterly wind, and the southeast Conrad Kingdom had a southeast wind.

So here, in the Austin Kingdom, the summer breeze was the cold northwesterly wind blowing from the northern sea.

“Oh? Leo. Look over there. Those guys are here again.”

At that moment, Lena raised her hand and pointed to people walking ahead. Looking up, he saw five warriors strolling leisurely in the distance.

They were the same warriors he had met at the inn on Ice Island, and they had occasionally crossed paths during their travels.

“Those guys really walk slowly. How are they moving at a pace similar to ours? Haha.”

Lena’s bright laughter pulled Leo out of his thoughts.

He still didn’t know whether Leah would win or not. The sight he saw at the end was absurd, so the Holy Woman might have won, and Leo Dexter decided to put off his worries for now.

Right now, the time spent with Lena was far more precious.

*

“Wow—what a spectacle. Those are all sword marks, right? Hahaha. Truly impressive.”

The middle-aged warrior who introduced himself as Bahatar exclaimed.

They had climbed a low ridge, and below them lay gigantic white gorges. Strangely, the gorges were not connected but seemed to be hacked into dozens of strands, like a vast land had been carved up.

“Wow… that’s amazing. Is it true that Todler Akiunen did this? It’s my first time hearing about it…”

“Yes, indeed. Your Ainar Tribe is close to the Holy Kingdom, so it seems there’s some misinformation. Todler Akiunen was a demigod. A great warrior born from the North. Since we’re here, how about we camp out tonight to get some energy?”

Bahatar, who had started to travel with them not long ago, corrected Lena’s misconceptions.

Todler Akiunen.

As they grew closer to the Antalof Gorge, natural discussions about him arose, revealing slight differences in opinions.

Lena knew him as the first Swordmaster and the hero who established the first human kingdom, Akaiya Kingdom. Leo thought the same, but the opinions of these five warriors differed slightly.

With camp set up and a campfire lit, the preparations for the campsite were completed. Since the sun hadn’t set yet, the seven began busily preparing dinner.

At that moment,

– Plop. Sizzle-.

“What are you doing?!”

Lena shouted when she saw one warrior throwing a thick stone into the pot instead of putting it over the fire.

“What? What do you mean?”

“How can you put that rock in the pot? How am I supposed to eat a stone?”

“What? Hahahahahaha! This girl, while looking so composed, actually has a funny side. I’m not putting that in to eat; I’m using it to boil water. Come see.”

He pointed at the pot. As a hot stone entered the pot over the campfire, bubbles rose from the still thin broth.

Boiling water in the relentlessly snowy North was no easy task. The fire easily went out in the snowy winds, so those living up north primarily used heated stones to boil water.

Lena, who had lived in the relatively warm Abrival Castle, had no idea about this.

“Wow… so this is how you make soup? Then what about the stone?”

“You take it out when it boils. The weather here is warm enough to boil it directly, but… to me, it feels like the flavor turns out differently if I don’t do it this way. Anyway, I’m the one cooking here, so just wait without worrying.”

He began to focus on cooking, waiting as if training a simple puppy.

“Ugh…”

Lena’s cheeks puffed up. Perhaps feeling like she was being treated like a child, she huffed and turned her attention elsewhere.

At that moment, something caught her eye. The stones leading down into the gorge were shining unusually white.

Their color was completely different from the surrounding ground and rocks. It looked almost as if a white liquid had been sprinkled on them and dried.

“What is this? Why are these stones so white?”

Lena approached and picked one up. Her first impression turned out to be right. The back of the stone was an ordinary gray, not white.

Bahatar, watching her, burst into laughter.

“You don’t know any of the legends of Todler Akiunen! How would you call yourself a warrior? Come here. I, the future chief of this ‘Albasete’ tribe, will teach you personally.”

Future chief?

Lena viewed Bahatar, who seemed to be all talk, a little differently. She approached and sat down, waiting for his words, but soon her eyes would roll.

“What are you talking about? You’re not the future chief. The chief position is going to be inherited by your brother…”

“Hey! How can you say that?! They seem to be taking the words from the Cross Church at face value. Isn’t there some authority in what I say to be convincing?”

“Oh, that’s true. Right. This friend here is definitely the future chief. I spaced out for a moment.”

“…I already heard everything?”

“Hahaha. I’m sorry. But don’t take it too seriously; just listen with an open mind. It’s all good food for thought. Now, eat up.”

A ladleful of soup was poured into Lena’s wooden bowl. It was a dish called ‘Ochazu’ made from meat broth with a generous amount of milk added, and it smelled savory and looked greasy.

Lena, Leo, and the five warriors gathered around the campfire.

Hearing the name ‘Albasete,’ Leo immediately wanted to ask how they were related to the Swordmaster, ‘Baron Arpen Albasete’ of the Austin Kingdom, but decided to hold on for now.

The legends passed down orally in the North. Bahatar seemed to have told such stories often, as he spread his arms and began his tale dramatically.

“Long, long ago, when the tears of the ice fairy turned to dew, and there lived gnomes in this cold North, there was a human race living weakly.”

“Please don’t speak like that to a child.”

“Just listen. This is all I’ve got. Ahem. And in a small human village, there were siblings named ‘Leonel’ and ‘Leisia’…”

As the gorge lit up with the glow of sunset, Bahatar began to recite the legend of Todler Akiunen.