NOVEL NEXT Chapter 210:
At the quiet summit of the Northern mountains.
“Oh…”
Today was our fifth day in the North. The lady and I had climbed the snow-covered mountains to engage in what she called “exploration.”
-Grrr…
We had dug a pit and covered it with branches for camouflage, lying in wait as we observed the movements of a pack of wolves.
They were sniffing the ground, likely in search of prey.
As she watched the wolves through her binoculars, the lady spoke to me in a flat voice.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“When are they going to mate?”“I don’t know.”
Just moments ago, the lady had been marveling at the wonders of nature with “hooo…” noises of amazement, but now her expression had soured.
“This is boring.”
Despite our trek up the snowy mountain to study the wonders of nature, as the lady had so wanted, the wolves weren’t mating as expected. Instead, they were just looking for food, which made her visibly annoyed.
“The innkeeper said it was mating season.”
“Yes.”
“He also said they were aggressive and would bite if we ran into them.”
“That’s right.”
“Then why aren’t they doing it?”
“…”
I pressed my lips together and kept silent. How would I know why they weren’t mating? For the first time, I found myself annoyed at the lady’s barrage of impossible questions.
“I don’t know.”
We continued our observation like wildlife documentary filmmakers, watching the wolves from our hiding spot. We placed small bets, wondering when they’d find food, and even dozed off from time to time.
Despite the lack of action, it wasn’t a bad way to pass the time.
At one point, during our nap, a bear sniffed its way past our pit, barely paying us any mind.
-Sniff, sniff…
“Oh! Gomtangi’s mom!”
“Be quiet or we’ll be eaten.”
“But wouldn’t it taste good if we roasted it?”
“You’re tempting fate, my lady.”
A massive troll wandered by and shooed away the wolves before relieving itself right in front of us.
“It’s ugly.”
“Indeed.”
“It looks like you, Ricardo. Gross.”
“…Do you know how to fight, my lady?”
“…Sorry.”
Various other animals and monsters wandered by in a constant stream, making our day anything but boring. Though we didn’t manage to see what we had come for, it was still entertaining.
Time kept moving forward.
The effects of the potion I had developed, one that erased both scent and presence, were starting to wear off.
It wasn’t like I was crazy enough to venture into a monster’s territory without some form of preparation. Especially not with the lady in tow. So, I had come well-prepared.
“Haaaamm…”
Yawning, the lady gazed sleepily at the setting sun. She looked ready to return to the inn.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“What’s for dinner tonight?”
She tossed her binoculars aside and asked about dinner with a tired expression. I set down my own binoculars and replied to her question.
“Is there anything in particular you’d like?”
The lady answered earnestly.
“Anything but pork bone soup.”
Thanks to the innkeeper’s enthusiasm, the lady had eaten nothing but pork bone soup for days, and she had grown utterly sick of it.
“I keep dreaming about pigs now. They torment me, telling me to stop eating them.”
“You could just tell him you don’t want to eat it anymore.”
“How can I say that…”
The lady’s face drooped into a pitiful frown.
-So, how was it? Did you enjoy the pork bone soup I made? I used the finest ingredients for such noble guests!
-Ugh…
-You didn’t like it…? Let me try making it again!
-Uuuugh…
The lady wasn’t heartless enough to trample on the passionate efforts of a middle-aged man. Despite having initially voiced her dislike, she couldn’t refuse once the number of pork bone soup meals started piling up.
Confessing her dislike to me, she made it clear that she wanted no part in another bowl of that soup.
“Anyway, I don’t want pork bone soup.”
“I’m okay with it, though.”
“But I’m not.”
Suppressing a chuckle, I glanced over at her.
“How about just one more time tonight, and we’ll have something else tomorrow…”
“Ugh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Ricardo, for some reason, you look really handsome today.”
“Oh, are you flattering me right now?”
“No, really. I just… it’s that… I want to see you cook.”
The lady awkwardly smiled and struck an embarrassed ‘nyan-nyan!’ cat pose. It was so out of character for the usually stoic lady to act cute that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Pffft… What was that ridiculous pose?”
“…Ugh.”
At her sincere request, I nodded, starting to mentally plan the dinner menu. I went over potential dishes, keeping in mind her preferences.
“Pizza, maybe?”
“Too greasy.”
“Miso soup?”
“Not feeling it today.”
“Steak?”
“I don’t want to eat a poor cow.”
“Jerky?”
“…”
“Plain rice?”
“Ugh…”
Frustrated by the terrible options, the lady glared at me while forming a snowball in her hands.
“Something else.”
She looked like she was ready to hurl the snowball at me any second. Smiling at her threat, I carefully suggested something I had been considering since this morning. I, too, had grown tired of the endless pork bone soup and wanted a change.
Something warm, fitting for the North.
Something different from soup but still hearty.
And something with plenty of meat, since the lady loved her meat dishes.
Confident that she wouldn’t turn this down, I proposed my idea.
“How about a hot pot? I’ve got some spices in my backpack; we can make it nice and spicy.”
Satisfied with the suggestion, the lady nodded, popping the snowball she had threatened to throw straight into her mouth.
-Crunch…!
“Why are you eating that?!”
“…It looked tasty.”
Watching her chomp down on the snowball, I couldn’t help but feel confused. Inspired by her example, I started forming a snowball of my own.
She made it look delicious…
If the lady had been in my world, she could have made a living as a mukbang YouTuber—the way she enjoyed her food was just that captivating. Following her lead, I bit into the snowball and immediately realized how wrong I had been.
“It’s not good at all.”
“Mhm…”
“So why are you eating it?”
“Because I don’t want to suffer alone.”
Classic villainess response.
As we continued our meaningless banter, a strange sound reached my ears. There was a soft but sharp noise, like something cutting through the snow.
“Ricardo…”
“Shh. Wait a second.”
The sound was too heavy to be made by an animal, but too cold for it to belong to a monster. Alarmed, I quickly covered the lady’s mouth and held my breath.
In response to my sudden movement, the lady licked the palm of my hand and mumbled something.
“Mmm…? Mating?”
“No, it’s something a little…”
-Thud… Thud…
The footsteps were getting closer.
The steady rhythm of human steps echoed through the snow. Something that shouldn’t have been here—especially not on this mountain. I expanded my magical senses, trying to get a feel for what was coming.
‘Thirty people…?’
‘Who are they…?’
‘This is a place inhabited by high-level monsters—there shouldn’t be any humans around.’
The wolf we had been observing earlier suddenly bristled, its fur standing on end as it glared in the direction of the approaching sound.
-Grrr…
The wolf growled, a warning to its pack. Just as one of the wolves began howling to summon its companions, a small hand axe embedded itself in its skull with a hard thud.
It was fast.
So fast that even veteran adventurers wouldn’t be able to track its movements. I placed my hand on the hilt of *Tirbing*, breathing in deeply.
‘Something’s definitely wrong here.’
A chorus of howling echoed across the mountains as monsters roared and wolves tried desperately to call for reinforcements.
With each anguished cry, the scent of blood grew stronger, and the approaching footsteps became clearer.
I focused all my senses on the growing presences in the distance, intent on getting a closer look.
Whether I would let them live or die would be decided soon enough.
I kept my words to the lady behind my lips, instructing her silently to close her eyes. All I could do now was wait for them to come closer.
-Thud… Thud…
“Apostle, we should avoid unnecessary slaughter. We’re all servants of the divine. If we stain our hands with too much blood, would that not sully our faith?”
“…”
“Even if they are crude beings, each life is precious. By cherishing them, we uphold the beauty of our beliefs.”
At those words, numerous figures began to come into view, led by an elderly man whose gentle voice oozed with kindness.
It was like watching a solemn procession.
-Thud… Thud…
I smirked bitterly.
‘Trouble’s here.’
At the front of the group, the elderly man stood over the corpse of the wolf, blood dripping from its lifeless body, his expression disturbingly neutral.
His face was devoid of emotion, casting an eerie shadow across his countenance as he stared down at the wolf’s corpse with a chilling gaze.
I lowered my head slightly as I took in his appearance—dressed in pristine white robes, as pure as the snow itself.
‘Damn it.’
An Apostle had arrived in the North.
The very Apostle responsible for killing Yuria’s father.
The Apostle who would eventually cause Yuria’s awakening as a Saintess.
It seemed they had come to the North a bit earlier than anticipated.
[Olaf. Lv. 95]
Occupation: Apostle of Mercy
*
Olivia just stared blankly at them.
Once at their weapons.
Twice at the cold-eyed elderly figure standing at their head.
And three times at the bewildered expression on Ricardo’s face.
Olivia continued gazing at them in a daze.
No malice.
No intent to kill.
Just an empty stare.
She blinked slowly, her vacant eyes fixed on the group before her.
-Blink…
End of Chapter.