Chapter 45: The Long Road
Surrounded by mountains, the lake at the foot of Nissier Snow Mountain was sheltered from any wind. It lay like a mirror, and even as the clouds above raced swiftly with the northern wind, not a single ripple stirred upon its surface.
The distance from the academy on the mountainside to the snow-covered lake at the base was a sloping woodland, scattered with patches of steel-core trees and snow pines. It was now October, late autumn turning to early winter. The once-lush underbrush had all withered, leaving only large patches of brown debris and a few pinecones on the ground.
Such woodlands were the favorite habitat of snow pine rabbits. Their nests were generally beneath the snow pines, hidden by loose wood shavings. These creatures with snow-white fur survived the winter by hoarding pinecones. Since they could cast the most basic Frost Touch spell, they barely qualified as magical beasts, and their magic-attuned fur had some commercial value.
Beside a snow pine by the lake, Ying sat on a gray-white stone. Her originally full head of silver-white hair was tied into a neat ponytail. Dressed in a lady's riding outfit, the girl squinted her green eyes as she idly poked at the campfire before her with a branch in her hand.
The flames in the fire changed shape with her prodding. Sparks flew out along with black smoke, some even landing on the girl's pale wrist.
But Ying didn't mind the heat. Feeling a bit bored, she lazily raised her hands, let out an "Mm," drawing out the final note, and stretched. Her ponytail swayed, the ends brushing against her slender waist.
"Sister, being so lazy isn't good."
Just as Ying was stretching, a clear young boy's voice sounded from behind her left. Hearing this voice, Ying immediately turned around, and the figure of a black-haired boy carrying two snow pine rabbits came into view.
"It's only been a few minutes, and you've already caught two rabbits, Lin..."
Standing up, she said in surprise, "Are they for Master?"
"Yes."
Smiling, the black-haired boy skillfully pulled out a full set of cooking utensils and tableware from a storage pouch at his waist. As he set them up, he said, "Master will definitely be tired after exploring the lake bottom this time. Besides, eating the food from the academy construction site all the time will get boring. Even if Master can handle it, we should prepare a surprise for him—a delicious game dish would definitely be a good choice."
"How wonderful... You think much more clearly than I do."
Hearing her brother's explanation, Ying instead looked dejected. She looked up at the sun obscured by the fast-moving clouds and muttered to herself, "Other than fighting alongside Master, I can't do anything at all."
Before her momentarily stunned brother could answer, the girl sighed, her gaze dimming. "I can't handle administrative affairs, I don't know how to allocate supplies. Even though I can cook a little, it's nowhere near your level. Even taking care of horses or doing housework, I'm no different from an ordinary maid or groom. I always feel like I can't help Master with anything..."
She slowly sat back down on the stone, hugging her knees with both hands, curling up into a ball. She looked as listless as an abandoned kitten. "Does Master really need me... He's already strong even without using weapons..."
"Sister, why are you thinking so much?"
But no one cared about the Divine Mechanism girl's occasional delicate maidenly thoughts. Whether it was because he was gradually being assimilated by his master, or if this was his original personality, Lin flashed a bright smile. After a loud shout, he tossed one rabbit into his sister's arms. "Hey! Catch!"
"Whaaa!!"
Flustered, Ying caught the unconscious snow pine rabbit. After exclaiming, she couldn't help but frown. She said angrily to Lin, "What are you doing, suddenly throwing this thing over!"
But Lin didn't answer the question. Instead, he said casually, "Let's prepare it together."
"...What?"
"I said, let's prepare Master's lunch together."
Lin nodded and explained in detail, "Weren't you complaining that you're useless? That kind of nonsense is only said by people who are too idle. Help me prepare food for Master, and then you'll be useful."
"..."
Her mouth slightly open, Ying tried several times to speak but didn't know what to say. She shook her head, and just as she was about to sigh, she suddenly laughed. "That's true."
I really was too idle to suddenly have such thoughts.
The silver-haired girl began to feel ashamed of her earlier dejection. She immediately stood up, her ponytail draped over her shoulder, to hide her neck, which was starting to flush from embarrassment. "Alright, what do you need me to do?"
"First, take..."
By the time Joshua stood on Hei's head, breaking through the calm lake surface to reach the temporary camp by the shore, a hearty rabbit meat barbecue was waiting for him.
"Good work, you two little ones."
The warrior, who had been burdened with thoughts about the ancient battlefield ruins at the lake bottom, temporarily set aside those unanswerable questions. He laughed heartily and embraced his two weapons—though given Joshua's height, both Ying and Lin had their feet off the ground the moment he straightened up.
But who cared about that?
While the master and his two servants enjoyed their outdoor barbecue by the lake, a knight in white armor was walking on foot through the wilderness on the northern outskirts of the Empire.
Due to the existence of the Black Forest, border surveillance between nations wasn't very strict. As long as one had a proper document, anyone could freely migrate and travel between countries. So the knight had journeyed all the way from the Far South, through the Western Mountains, and finally to the Northern Empire, encountering few obstacles along the way.
Of course, getting lost counted as one, and helping civilians harassed by magical beasts, bandits, and ruffians probably counted as another.
Loranda Glamorgan—that was his former name, as a noble from a kingdom in the Eastern Plains. Now, he preferred to be called Knight Loranda, and he was proud of that title.
As the most powerful paladin of the younger generation in the Church of the Seven Gods, Loranda, with his Gold Peak strength, naturally had the ability to fly or summon a celestial warhorse for rapid travel. But since this entire journey was originally intended as training, he wouldn't deliberately do things that would make it easier.
He wanted to know the answers—or rather, the truth—about those sealed lands closely related to Chaos. This was the driving force behind the young paladin's training. Loranda clearly understood the character of his adoptive father, the current Pope. Since the old man said he wouldn't reveal the truth, not even death could make him speak.
But after all, he was his adoptive father. The Pope didn't remain silent as usual. Under Loranda's repeated pleas, he finally gave him an important clue.
—The northern sealed land, like the western plague land, was one of the regions eroded by Chaos. There existed Chaos monsters similar to, yet different from, those in the plague land.
And the lord of that land, the Radcliffe Family of Moldavia, naturally knew some information about Chaos.
"Just as I cannot tell you, all the guardian families will not easily reveal the secrets of Chaos. That is knowledge that should be hidden deep within the heart, even completely forgotten."
On a white crystal seat, the old Pope gently spoke to his adopted son about secrets ordinary people had never heard. "This is the oath of Order, and also the method to protect the world. As long as the knowledge of Chaos is not widely spread, the power of the gods can shield the most evil gazes from the Void. I shouldn't have told you this originally, but since you will one day inherit this scepter from my hands, I'll make an exception this once."
The paladin actually couldn't understand these words at all, but he still firmly etched these secrets into his mind.
And the Pope's explanation hadn't stopped. "The regions eroded by Chaos are numerous in this world, but the northern sealed land is different from the others. The guardian family there is also vastly different from other ordinary guardians. If other regional guardians, even if willing to tell you this information, could only say a few fragmented words, then 'they,' who possess the heritage, will surely be able to completely answer your doubts."
"What is heritage?"
Frowning, the paladin asked in confusion at the time.
"You will know when you see it."
And the old man at that time answered calmly.
Suppressing the doubts surging in his heart, Loranda, who was walking on the main road leading to Moldavia, shook his head. He continued wearing his heavy armor, carrying a heavy hammer that ordinary people couldn't even lift, walking on the increasingly cold northern land.
The once-spirited paladin, who had been somewhat proud of his achievements, had become much more composed after several months of travel. This solitary training had truly benefited him greatly, both in terms of character and strength. He had gained a deeper understanding of the hardships of life.
To protect innocent civilians without power, he wielded his weapon, repelling countless magical beasts, dragon species, bandits, and ruffians. In continuous battles, the paladin had gained a deeper understanding of protection and Order.
He believed that once he reached Moldavia and met the guardian family his adoptive father spoke of, whether or not he obtained the truth, he, having already found peace, would achieve his final breakthrough.
"I hope the end of this journey won't disappoint me."
Under his helmet, a somewhat muffled voice sounded. In his azure-blue eyes, a tenacious light flickered. (To be continued.)