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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Exactly one week after receiving the explanation from the Crown Princess in her office…
“Haa…”
Rudrick exhaled what could have been either a sigh or simply a breath.
With each inhalation and exhalation, the cold air that seemed to pierce his lungs dispersed as visible breath.
Unlike before the regression, this was Rudrick’s first time in the North, and the air felt unfamiliar against his skin.
While the weather in the capital had surely been quite mild, the North was already in the grip of winter’s fury, making even breathing difficult for those unaccustomed to it.
Though he wore warm winter clothing under a deeply pulled hood to cover his face, the weather still felt unlike anything he had experienced before.
“…Oh right, I’m a mage,” Rudrick belatedly realized.
He cast a heating spell around himself, which made things somewhat better.
Warm air circulated around him, but only briefly.
As another icy wind blew, Rudrick furrowed his brow and gazed into the distance at the endless snow-covered field.
Majestic mountain ranges stood towering through gaps in the clouds.
The sight of entire mountains covered in eternal snow, not just from the middle but entirely, was truly awe-inspiring.
It was a magnificent natural spectacle, but unfortunately, Rudrick had not come all this way to the far North for sightseeing and had no leisure to appreciate the scenery.
Moreover, those sharply rising mountain ranges were Rudrick’s ultimate destination for today.
“…That’s the Nord Mountain Range. The name of the duchy was taken from—”
“From those mountains, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Eileen, who was walking beside him, spoke while also gazing at the mountain range.
She glanced sideways, trying to gauge Rudrick’s expression.
It was difficult to see clearly due to the deeply pulled hood of his robe, but his expression had been consistently gloomy.
Even counting the time before the regression, it was an expression Eileen had rarely seen in nearly eight years.
‘…It’s not an expression that can be simply explained as anger.’
According to her memory, Rudrick rarely showed such an expression.
Even when angered, Rudrick’s personality was surprisingly simple; he would grumble to himself for a while but soon get over it.
It was often to the point where those watching couldn’t help but chuckle.
This meant there must be another reason.
‘I don’t understand why,’ Eileen thought with a puzzled expression.
Of course, she too had heard the urgent news from the capital about Lorenzo’s death.
Even thinking about it simply, it was an incident where a high-ranking noble of the marquis level had met an untimely end.
Moreover, for someone holding the important position of Court Mage to die in a magical experiment accident was such an absurd event that other nobles might have found it as unbelievable as hearing a monkey had fallen from a tree.
It was an incident significant enough that carrier pigeons took flight and messengers mounted magical arrays, spreading the news throughout the empire within a day.
Furthermore, Eileen had already experienced this once in the past before the regression.
Although she didn’t know the exact details, she roughly knew how things had unfolded, so she had simply thought, “So it happened this time too,” and left it at that.
But had this incident been such a big shock to Rudrick?
Rudrick’s consistently gloomy expression troubled her deeply.
However, she couldn’t make the mistake of being overzealous.
Realizing from Rudrick’s expression that this was no ordinary matter, Eileen chose to remain silent rather than offer clumsy words of comfort.
In fact, that was probably the wiser choice.
“Rudrick.”
“Yes.”
As she had read from his expression, Eileen inwardly thought that this was indeed no ordinary matter.
Normally, his response would have been an upbeat “Yes?” but now his voice was heavy and subdued.
“…If any problems arise for you, tell me immediately. Venturing this far into the Nord Mountains for monster subjugation… is something that hasn’t happened in my generation, at least.”
“I understand.”
“The cold beyond the barrier is fierce. Keep in mind that a moment of carelessness could lead to frostbite… And remember, safety is the top priority.”
To Eileen, who spoke in a tone of repeated caution out of worry, Rudrick nodded perfunctorily and fixed his gaze on the mountain range.
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“We’ve encountered monsters. We retreated as soon as we confirmed them.”
“How many?”
“Four ogres, Your Grace.”
“They usually act alone… This is rare.”
Eileen’s eyebrow twitched in surprise as she received the report from the knight who had gone out on reconnaissance.
She had visited the Nord Mountains a few times before becoming Grand Duchess, for warrior training.
She had experience sharpening her sword through real combat, breaking through hostile barbarians and fierce monsters.
But the air now felt different on her skin compared to then.
From a human perspective, they were all lumped together under the term “monsters,” but in reality, there were various classifications within that category.
Moreover, ogres were top predators among monsters in their natural state.
While not entirely unheard of, it was extremely rare for ogres to move in groups of four, let alone two or three.
Something was definitely off.
‘And Rudrick too…’
Eileen glanced again at Rudrick, who continued to walk silently without saying a word.
According to her memory, by now Rudrick should have been complaining about how cold the weather was.
Of course, to Eileen it would have seemed like adorable whining, but this was very different from usual.
Both this mountain range and Rudrick.
For someone of her skill level, the ominous air of the mountains that she could feel on her skin and through her instincts posed no threat, but Rudrick changing into a different person in just a few days was definitely a problem.
Even if a whole company of ogres came charging, she was confident she could take care of herself, but for Eileen, who had lived her entire life distancing herself from men, understanding Rudrick’s feelings was a problem without a known solution from the start.
“That’s what the report says. Rudrick, what do you want to do?”
“We should go and kill them.”
“…I see. If it seems dangerous, I’ll intervene. For now, since this is still a verification process, I can’t openly help you.”
Eileen hesitated for a moment at the curt replies she kept receiving, then stepped back as if in understanding.
She too, now that things had come to this, desperately wanted Rudrick to become the Court Mage, but she was capable of minimal discernment.
Even if she had blinders on, she wasn’t going to openly help Rudrick or submit a false report stating his abilities were at that level if they actually weren’t.
However, Eileen’s restlessness was a separate issue.
It was an absurd situation where even though Rudrick, the person directly involved, hadn’t shown any particular gestures or acted sulky saying he was in a bad mood, Eileen was worrying and fretting based on her own assumptions.
Whether aware of Eileen’s inner turmoil or not, Rudrick muttered softly.
“Fly.”
After muttering the activation word for the flight spell, Rudrick took off through the fierce blizzard and frowned for a moment.
As he rose high into the air, the wind felt even colder.
He didn’t want to imagine what it would be like flying at full speed to where the ogres had been spotted, when just flying normally felt this cold.
Witnessing this scene, Eileen on the ground flinched.
‘He definitely frowned again just now.’
At this point, Eileen had no choice but to slowly reflect on what had happened over the past few days or if she had done something wrong to Rudrick without realizing it.
And while Eileen began to ponder, Rudrick started to move with the mindset that if he was going to face trouble anyway, it was better to face it sooner rather than later.
The direction the reconnaissance knight had pointed out was northwest.
Even though the people of the North were accustomed to this natural environment and bitter cold, the distance couldn’t have been too far if a knight, not even a professionally trained ranger, could discover it.
Sure enough, after flying northwest for about five minutes, four large bodies began to come into view in the distance.
“Ugh.”
Rudrick frowned.
Four ogres with blood-stained mouths and protruding fangs, as if they had just eaten something, were huddled together around a fire, their club-like weapons carelessly tossed aside.
“So they’re smart enough to make a fire. You’d think they’d at least cook their food then.”
Grumbling, Rudrick stopped his flight and began gathering magical energy in both hands while floating in mid-air.
Rudrick had already awakened his talent.
Even if that talent was of the kind exchanged for his lifespan.
This was only his second time in actual combat, but even without a catalyst, he had been steadily progressing, albeit slowly.
With consistent improvement and appropriate stimulation, his growth rate had skyrocketed.
The result was evident when Lorenzo opened the door to the origin, and Rudrick repelled the otherworldly beings that had taken Lorenzo’s life from beyond that door.
The power, or rather the destructive force, of his magic was enough to slightly surprise even Sylphia, who was actually a dragon.
Naturally, if he unleashed magic with full intent, even if ogres were the kings of the mountains and top predators in the food chain, their relegation to prey was a foregone conclusion.
Kuwooo! Kuwaaak!
One of the ogres, having filled its belly and leisurely warming itself by the fire, spotted Rudrick in the distance and let out an angered roar, but Rudrick’s magic was already on the verge of manifestation.
For Rudrick, who was still struggling to get his bearings and feeling stressed from recent events, this was also an opportunity to relieve some of that stress.
“It’s too late to run away now.”
Rudrick calmly pronounced his verdict and quietly extended his hand.
And immediately after that.
Kwaaaang──!!
With a massive tremor that shook the mountain range, a pillar of fire shot high into the sky as if a volcano had erupted.
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[Well ig he cooked ngl]
