Chapter 151. Engagement – Antaroph Canyon
“So… the chieftain has passed away. I expected it, but for the greatest warrior of the north to be gone so suddenly…”
The tavern owner sighed deeply as he muttered.
The warriors gathered around flinched at the arrogant title of ‘the greatest warrior of the north,’ but did not protest.
They did not doubt the deceased’s skills, and moreover, it was because of the symbolic importance of the Ice Island.
A warrior who had undergone a trial no longer went out to hunt the spirit beast. It was to yield for the next great warrior, but not all of them made that choice.
Occasionally, there were warriors who sought to take on more trials, and these naturally headed north.
Their final destination was Ice Island, located at the northernmost end of the north. It was said that on nights when the moon shone blue, a giant beast would break the ice sea and land, where endless trials and glory awaited.
The tribe established on that island was the Avviker tribe. Among the gathered great warriors, the strongest was appointed as the chieftain, so the title of ‘the greatest warrior of the north’ wasn’t entirely unfounded.
But about twenty years ago, they were annihilated by an attack from the Crusaders…
“And the priestess is gone too… Lan and Ann must have had a hard time. It’s a relief to know they’re living well with their child.”
The innkeeper stood up. After asking Lena where the two were, he said, “I’ll be off now,” and left the drinking party.
With the innkeeper gone, the five warriors, whose spirits had dampened, also left one by one. Only Leo, Lena, and an elderly woman cleaning up in the kitchen remained in the empty dining hall.
“…Let’s go to sleep, too.”
It was something he couldn’t say out of embarrassment just a while ago, but the excitement had long vanished by now.
Without a word, the two returned to their room and lay on the bed. Remembering the stories about the barbarians from Ice Island, MalHas, and the tales of his mother Lena had told, Leo soon fell asleep under the influence of alcohol.
Lena watched Leo sleep with a look of pity.
* * *
The next day, Leo and Lena, having overslept, left the inn.
The innkeeper had disappeared somewhere, but it wasn’t hard to guess his whereabouts. He had probably gone to find Lan and Ann.
Leo hurried their journey.
But not far from the inn, upon discovering another shrine of MalHas in a clearing, he let out a heavy sigh.
What on earth was going on… This made it precarious to consider making Lena a princess in the kingdom of Astin – he couldn’t help but worry.
Their journey continued towards the eastern kingdom of Aster.
They were on their way to ‘Manubil,’ the capital of the Aster Kingdom, where the Retii festival was to be held. Along the way, they stopped in various villages to try unique foods. They had plenty of money, so they didn’t miss any interesting sights or beautiful landscapes.
“This feels just like a honeymoon.”
Lena enjoyed herself, always linking arms with Leo, who also regained his composure the further they got from Bernoulli.
They had left behind all the {events} and crises. Walking through the vast plains on an unplanned journey was strangely reassuring.
A few days ago, his heart had skipped a beat seeing a group of priests swarming towards them, fearing another trouble was upon them.
But the priests had merely passed them by in haste, and nothing happened. Leo soon realized where they were headed.
Early summer.
It was around this time that Lev had caused an incident in the childhood friend scenario. By now, the capital of the Right Kingdom, Nevis, would have turned red, becoming Barbatos’ hunting ground.
“I’m so glad we left Bernoulli early…”
Lev’s incident was a major one that would affect the entire continent. It was clear it would’ve had a negative impact on Bernoulli as well.
Reflecting on this after they had left, Leo sighed in relief at the thought of the near disaster.
‘What will happen to Leah?’
Leo Dexter recalled the last scene he remembered from the previous round. Through a hole flooded with light, Leah, who had become Barbatos, reached out and clawed at him (from Lev’s perspective).
From there, his memory cut off. Minseo had become so absent-minded that he hadn’t read any of the ‘ending credits.’
The Saintess and Barbatos… who could have won? It was a serious concern for Leo.
If the Saintess had won, it would be fine, but if Barbatos had won, it would be a big problem.
No one would be able to stop her. Like Lev, it was possible that Leah had been granted extreme efficiency too.
– “I knew you were a dirty gods’s toy. Although I couldn’t read everything as it was complicated… Anyway, isn’t it enough if you don’t die? Just like this woman. So, apostle who doesn’t listen, remain as wood. I will make good use of this body.”
Just like this woman…
This was a hint. It was clear that Barbatos regarded Leah as nearly identical to Lev.
‘Wait a minute… then what about us? Why did Barbatos kill us?’
I don’t know. At that time, the only emotion I felt as Lev was that these guys (me and Lena) had to be killed quickly.
Leo Dexter looked down at Lena Einar, who was walking beside him. She was lifting her head to enjoy the refreshing breeze.
The country breeze refers to the wind that blows in the summer, with its direction differing based on the continent’s location.
In summer, the wind blows from the ocean to the center of the continent.
Thus, the country breeze was generally a west wind in the Holy Kingdom to the west of the continent, an east wind in the Aisle Kingdom to the east, a southwest wind in the Orun Kingdom to the southwest, and a southeast wind in the Conrad Kingdom to the southeast.
Therefore, the country breeze in the Astin Kingdom was a cold northwesterly wind coming from the northern sea.
“Hey? Leo. Look over there. Those guys are here again.”
At that moment, Lena raised her hand to point at the people walking ahead. When Leo raised his head, he could see five warriors leisurely walking far ahead.
It was the same warriors they had met at the Ice Island Inn before, and they often came across them during their journey as if they were on the same path.
“Those guys really walk slowly. How are they keeping pace with us? Haha.”
Lena’s bright laughter pulled Leo out of his thoughts.
He couldn’t tell if Leah would be victorious or not. Considering her condition when he saw her at the end, the Saintess might have won, so Leo Dexter decided to put off his concerns.
For now, the time spent with Lena was far more precious.
* * *
“Wow, that’s quite a sight. Those are all sword marks? Hahaha. Amazing.”
The middle-aged warrior who introduced himself as “Bahaathar” exclaimed in admiration.
They had climbed a low ridge, and below them, vast and white canyons stretched out. Curiously, these canyons were not connected as one but split into dozens, as if someone had slashed the wide land with a blade.
“Wow… It’s magnificent. Did Toddler Akiunen really do this? I’ve never heard of it…”
“That’s right. Your Einarr tribe is close to the Holy Kingdom, so you must have had wrong information. Toddler Akiunen is a demigod. A great warrior born in the north. Now, since we are here, why don’t we camp here to absorb some of the energy?”
Bahaathar, who had started traveling with them not long ago, corrected Lena’s misinformation.
Toddler Akiunen.
As they neared the ‘Antaroph Canyon,’ the subject naturally came up, and there were slight differences in opinions.
Lena knew him as the first sword master and the hero who founded the first human kingdom, the Kingdom of Archean. Leo thought the same, but the five warriors had a slightly different view.
They finished setting up tents and lighting a bonfire, preparing for their camp. As the sun hadn’t set yet, the seven of them bustled about to prepare for dinner.
At that moment,
– Plop. Sizzle-.
“Whoa?! What are you doing?”
Lena shouted as she saw one of the warriors putting thick stones into the pot instead of placing it on the fire.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“How can you put stones in the pot? How are we supposed to eat them?”
“What? Hahaha! This young lady, you look so sharp, but you have a funny side. These stones are for boiling water, not eating. Come and see.”
He pointed at the pot. When hot stones were placed in the pot, bubbles started forming in the still-thin soup.
In the northern lands where fierce snowstorms raged, boiling water was not an easy task. Fires were easily extinguished by the snowstorm, so the people in the north often used hot stones to boil water.
Lena, who lived in the relatively warm Avril Castle, did not know this.
“So, you boil the soup like this? Then what about the stones?”
“You remove them after it’s done boiling. Here, the weather is warm enough that you can just boil it the usual way, but it tastes different to me if I don’t do this. Anyway, I’m the one cooking, so don’t worry and wait.”
He drew a line, treating her like a clueless puppy, and focused on his cooking.
“Ugh…”
Lena’s cheeks puffed up. Feeling treated like a child, she grumbled and diverted her attention elsewhere.
Coincidentally, something caught her eye. Only the stones scattered in the direction of the canyon were uniquely gleaming white.
They were different from the surrounding earth or rock, as if a white liquid had been poured and dried on them.
“What is this? Why are these stones so white?”
Lena approached and picked up one of the stones. Her first impression was right. The back of the stone was an ordinary gray, not white at all.
Seeing this, Bahaathar burst out laughing.
“You know nothing about the legend of Toddler Akiunen, do you? How can you call yourself a warrior with that? Come here. The future chieftain of the ‘Albafete’ tribe will personally educate you.”
The future chieftain?
Lena saw Bahaathar, who had seemed all talk, in a somewhat different light. She approached and sat down, waiting for his words, but her expression soon turned sour again.
“What are you talking about? You’re not the future chieftain. Your brother is supposed to inherit the chieftain position…”
“Oh! Hey! How could you say that?! These kids seem to believe everything the Church of the Cross says, but don’t I need some credibility to speak convincingly?”
“Oh, that’s true. Right. This guy here is the next chief. I forgot.”
“…I already heard everything, you know?”
“Hahaha. Sorry about that. But listen with an open mind. It’s all valuable information. Here, eat up.”
Soup was poured generously into Lena’s wooden bowl. This dish, called ‘Ochaz,’ was made by boiling broth and meat with plenty of milk, and it smelled rich and looked visibly greasy.
Lena, Leo, and the five warriors sat around the campfire.
When Leo heard the name of the tribe, ‘Albacete,’ he wanted to immediately ask if they had any relation to ‘Baron Arpen Albacete,’ the sword master of the Kingdom of Astin, but he decided to hold back for now.
A legend passed down by word of mouth in the North. Bahaathar seemed to have told this kind of story many times, as he spread his arms wide and began narrating convincingly.
“Long, long ago, when the tears of the Ice Fairy turned into dew, and the Gnomes lived in this frozen North, there was a powerless human tribe.”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk as if you’re speaking to a child.”
“Just listen. I’ve never done it any other way. Ahem. In a small human village, there were siblings called ‘Leonel’ and ‘Leicia’…”
As the canyon bathed in sunset light turned golden, Bahaatar began to recite the legend of Akiunen the Toddler.
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