NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37
In the snow-covered forest, four legs were moving busily. Iris was gritting her teeth, while Camellia seemed relatively relaxed. Camellia even scolded Iris for being too hasty in the snow, which would only cause more trouble later.
Iris turned around and replied nervously, “Is this the time to be calm? That damn girl kidnapped my master! Aren’t you worried about him?”
Iris was agitated. Her master, who had died because of her, was taken away right before her eyes. And it was that brutal girl, who killed people without changing her expression, who had taken him. Iris had always disliked Glacies. She hated her status as Werner’s fiancée, the fact that she did nothing but stand there blankly at Werner’s funeral, and that she didn’t get angry or say anything to Iris even after joining them as a comrade.
The term ‘opposites attract’ seemed to exist specifically for Iris and Glacies. To be precise, Glacies was forced to lend her power to Iris, but privately, she completely ignored her. Especially when Iris, who wanted to be friends, touched Glacies’ familiar, asking for its name, Glacies reacted with anger and punched Iris in the face.
The users who witnessed this scene through the ‘game’ left comments like these:
Title: Wasn’t Glacies’ Falcon Punch hilarious?
Content: She suddenly accelerated, threw a Falcon Punch, and then tried to stab with her sword.
Comment: Honestly, I didn’t like her, but she just exploded at that moment.
Comment: Falcon Punch, you crazy bastard!
Comment: But didn’t Iris also get angry and shoot magic everywhere?
Comment: But before that, Glacies called her a murderer, right?
Comment: Honestly, their conflict just exploded there…
Comment: The North’s finishing move, Falcon Punch.
Title: When girls fight, I usually think they’ll pull each other’s hair.
Content: But Glacies and Iris seemed like they were really trying to kill each other.
Comment: In essence, it’s not that different. Pulling hair and trying to pull hair out, or pulling hair and trying to break the neck.
Comment: That’s completely different…
Comment: Am I the only one who saw yuri potential there?
Comment: Isn’t that the white chrysanthemum used at funerals?
Title: But if Glacies and Iris fought, who would win?
Content: Aren’t their bloodlines similar?
Comment: Actually, the one in better condition wins.
Comment: That’s because their breasts are big…
Comment: Iris is better in normal circumstances, but if conditions are met, Glacies dominates.
Comment: Thanks for the info.
Camellia, watching Iris’s agitation, chuckled and urged her to hurry. She seemed to find Iris’s reaction cute.
“Werner really raised his disciple poorly.”
“What did you say?”
“He always taught us to stay calm and maintain our composure, no matter what happens. He said that if we get excited, we’ll fail even when we should succeed. At least Werner always stayed calm and composed, no matter what.”
“That’s true, but…”
Iris felt wronged. It was impossible to stay calm when her master was taken right in front of her eyes. She didn’t know what that brutal girl would do to Werner. That monster, who always deceived people with her false expressions. Iris wanted to go north as soon as possible and cast a fire spell on Glacies’ face.
Camellia wasn’t worried about Werner. She knew the relationship between Glacies and Werner well, and even if it was another force, the current North wasn’t strong enough to defeat Werner. Even if Glacies’ parents had intervened, it wouldn’t matter. They would only prevent Glacies from going too far.
“Glacies… That kid has grown enough to kidnap Werner…”
Camellia burst out laughing.
“Haha… That kid has grown so much. I remember her crying and saying that Werner had escaped. I’m surprised that she came up with such a bold plan.”
“How can you be so calm, Camellia? Werner is captured, and he’s your precious little brother. Don’t you hate that girl?”
Camellia chuckled again and raised her sword, hitting Iris’s forehead with the hilt, making a ‘ding’ sound. It was a strike meant to discipline rather than express hatred or anger, but it still hurt. Camellia began to lecture Iris, who was holding her reddened forehead.
“You’re saying something funny. Werner is indeed my precious little brother and comrade, and that hasn’t changed.”
Camellia placed her finger on Iris’s forehead and said, “But to me, both you and Glacies are like nieces.”
“Nieces?”
“Yes, your father said that we were all like brothers and sisters, and so we were all family.”
However, as she said this, Camellia’s voice trembled slightly, perhaps remembering the child who had believed her words and was hurt.
“My little brother believed those words and… later became twisted.”
One of the people responsible for this was standing right in front of her, but Camellia didn’t want to bring it up. She was considering Iris’s feelings for Werner and the fact that Iris wasn’t entirely at fault. It was the fault of the other comrades who were too busy to pay attention when the child was going through the most difficult time. And Camellia herself, who was searching for her parents and little brother, didn’t have time to check on the child’s condition.
“Camellia, you’ve been saying strange things since earlier.”
“It might sound strange, but these are more like my complaints.”
“But I still don’t like that girl, Glacies.”
“There’s no need to be so guarded against such a cute child.”
Iris tilted her head at Camellia’s incomprehensible response. When she saw Camellia’s ears twitch, she used the technique Werner had taught her to spread her mana like a radar to detect enemies. As expected, a group of about ten people were approaching them. Their skill in concealing their presence was almost professional.
“She’s trying to show off her status as a duchess by sending her subordinates. She’s like a child who wants to show off her new clothes.”
“It’s a bit too brutal to call it cute, isn’t it?”
“You managed to detect them. I was a bit worried that you might not notice since they’re so good at hiding their presence… It seems Werner’s teaching skills are quite good.”
Despite the approaching enemies, Camellia remained calm. Iris was puzzled. She had only detected the enemies after hearing Camellia’s hint and spreading her mana like a circle. As far as she knew, Camellia didn’t have the ability to detect enemies by spreading her mana like a circle.
Camellia seemed to notice Iris’s question and answered before she could ask.
“I have excellent hearing, just like my father. Especially in the snow, there’s always a faint sound of stepping on the snow, no matter how much you try to hide your presence.”
Camellia drew her sword, but she had no intention of killing them. They were the subordinates of her cute niece and the soldiers of the land ruled by her precious comrade.
“Iris… I recommend you duck.”
Before she finished speaking, Iris sensed a strange energy and immediately crouched down. A bright flash of light appeared, and Camellia sheathed her sword. Her sword, which had been drawn at some unknown time, returned to its sheath with a clear sound. As the sword clicked into place, the trees around Iris and Camellia began to shatter. Like vegetables before being pickled, the trees were broken into pieces, and next to them were the soldiers who had been slashed and were now in a pitiful state. They were all elite soldiers under Glacies, but they were no match for Camellia.
Camellia smiled and said to them, “I avoided vital points, so you won’t die. I don’t want to kill you.”
Iris naturally had a question.
“But even if you avoided vital points… won’t they die if left here in the snow where magical beasts appear?”
Camellia answered Iris’s question.
“Oh… that’s right…”
Camellia had a clumsy side, despite her excellent sword skills.
So, Camellia whistled helplessly, and a black dot appeared in the blue sky. As the dot grew larger, it transformed into the shape of a wyvern and landed in the snow.
Camellia patted the wyvern’s head and ordered, “Take these fallen soldiers to the castle in the northern territory.”
Iris, who hadn’t seen this wyvern before her regression, spoke to Camellia with a slightly annoyed tone.
“Can’t we just ride it too?”
“Unfortunately, it seems it can only carry the fallen soldiers.”
“And if we had ridden this wyvern from the beginning, none of this would have happened!”
“Oh…”
Camellia scratched her cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed. She decided not to say what she was really thinking, which was that she didn’t like Iris’s attitude and wanted to make her suffer a bit by walking in the snow.