Volume 3, Chapter 31 – The Journey to the Snowy Mountain

“So this is the Hermion Mountain Range, where the Tower of Hermion is located…”

Coming here for the first time, Clementine looked up, gazing at the Tower of Hermion whose peak he couldn’t see. Normally, this place was a forbidden zone, and no one was allowed to set foot in it.

It was at this moment that Suta, the general who had been appointed as the leader of the soldiers and was walking at the front of the team, turned around and shouted at everyone.

“You have now reached the summit of the Hermion Snowy Mountains! Mr. Lia, the magic caster, and I, along with the army, will wait for your return here. The clues about the Flame Giant are now in your hands!”

After saying something befitting his serious appearance, the general named Suta placed his left hand on his chest.

“But before you depart, I must warn you: please be sure to return before the sun sets. Although the Lord has stopped the snowfall from the Tower of Hermion, the blizzards caused by the environment are still inevitable. If you do not return before sunset, even as Mithril Adventurers, your fate will be no different from that of an ordinary person—you will become nutrients for the snowy mountain, to remain here forever. May you all remember this well.”

These were precautions that had been explained before the mission. The three adventurer teams did not feel offended or surprised. Instead, they all silently raised their right arms in unison as agreed—shouting could cause an avalanche.

Seeing their response, Suta nodded in satisfaction.

“Now, depart!”

After Suta finished speaking, the Flame Conquerors, Blue Sea, and another unnamed adventurer team each headed in three different directions.

Suta, the remaining twenty soldiers, and the magic caster Lia stayed in place.

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Suta let out a long puff of white air and walked with a crunching sound of snow to the magic caster Lia.

“Mr. Lia, do you really think we can find the Slime King that summoned the Flame Giant? I don’t think that even if we find someone who can control a slime, we can stand against such a being.”

“I don’t know.”

Lia’s answer made Suta’s eyes widen. Lia would never usually speak in such a cold tone, one even laced with a hint of anger. Even if he didn’t know the answer, he would have said something comforting like, “You won’t accomplish anything if you don’t try.”

Wasn’t Lia a gentle sage?

Suta lowered his head and rubbed his chin. Lia had always presented himself as a sage, and his actions were indeed sage-like: his gentle tone and words, and his unfathomable magical abilities. Even Count Hermion trusted him greatly. The “I don’t know” just now was like a complete change of personality.

Perhaps it’s because he’s finally about to find a clue about the Flame Giant, and his heart is growing impatient.

Suta decided not to make assumptions.

He did not hear Lia’s next thought: Why haven’t the Earth Dragons and Ice Ape groups attacked yet?

◇

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Walking through the knee-deep white snow, the Flame Conquerors, dressed in thick winter clothes, moved along the side of the mountain. It had been nearly an hour since they left their starting point, and they hadn’t encountered a single monster along the way.

“It’s definitely weird.” The leader, Clementine, suddenly stopped. “Not even one Ice Slime. It’s too strange.”

“Maybe they were scared away by the Earth Dragon’s cry, Clementine. You shouldn’t worry so much.”

Yisi quickly changed the subject. She hadn’t cleared out the Ice Slimes. In fact, they were right under their feet. The reason they weren’t coming out was definitely because they were terrified by the Earth Dragon’s screams from yesterday.

“Guild Leader, I also think you’re being too paranoid. Maybe it’s just as Miss Yisi said, that they were scared and didn’t dare to come out? If we all stay this tense, we’ll lose our stamina in less than half a day.”

One of the adventurers in the team suggested.

“…You’re right. On this trip, we need to be more mindful of the Blue Sea group than of monsters. Although I don’t think the other team would be with them, we still need to be wary of a possible ambush.”

“Understood!”

While Clementine was talking to his team members, Yisi slowed her pace to walk alongside her companions who were trailing behind. Because the snow was knee-deep, every step was very difficult. Beads of sweat had already appeared on Camilla’s and Tiffany’s foreheads.

“Camilla, Tiffany, if you can’t walk, Mary and I can carry you.”

In terms of physical strength alone, Mary was actually much better than Camilla. If you thought about it, she wouldn’t be able to swing a shield that large if her stamina wasn’t good enough.

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Camilla wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“It’s alright, Onee-sama. This is a form of training.”

She’s clearly trying to be tough. I’ll just have to force her to let me carry her after she holds out a little longer.

Thinking this, Yisi looked at Tiffany, who was behind Camilla. To avoid making others suspicious of Tiffany’s identity, Yisi had prepared a set of high-collared white magic robes that even covered her neck. If you didn’t look closely, she almost seemed like a priestess.

“What about you, Tiffany?”

“Magic is plentiful.”

“Hmm… isn’t it too hot?”

“It’s fine.”

Even though Tiffany said so, Yisi reached out and tried to feel Tiffany’s forehead—it was hotter than a fever, at least fifty degrees.

As for why Tiffany was generating such high temperatures, it was a problem Yisi had thought of before they left. Even when Tiffany used her ‘Imitate’ skill, she was still a slime at her core, and her body temperature was controlled by the outside temperature. So, if Tiffany were to appear in a snowy mountain, would she freeze into a block of ice?

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Tiffany’s answer was that she didn’t know. To be safe, Yisi had run a test. As a result, Tiffany had indeed frozen solid in the extreme cold—of course, with Yisi’s presence, the test wasn’t dangerous. Yisi then concluded that Tiffany couldn’t go to the snowy mountain with her directly. To solve the problem, Camilla had proposed a solution.

They would place an [Eye of Dusk] inside Tiffany’s body.

The [Eye of Dusk], which could burn without oxygen, was a naturally excellent source of heat. After carefully considering its feasibility, Yisi started with the lowest temperature and gradually adjusted the temperature of the [Eye of Dusk]. The result was what they had now: using the [Eye of Dusk] to prevent Tiffany from freezing into a block of ice. No one knew that inside Tiffany’s body was a high-level magic material that was warmer than a heating stove.

If you were to take off Tiffany’s priestess hood, you would find a large amount of white steam rising from her head. That was a sign of her body’s water being evaporated, which was why Tiffany kept drinking water along the way.

“Well… as long as you’re okay, Tiffany, that’s what matters. Remember to hide the magic core well. If you get too close to the [Eye of Dusk], it would be bad if you suddenly turn into a puddle of water.”

“Mm, trust me.”

Keeping her face expressionless, Tiffany nodded forcefully.

“What about you, Mary? I remember you were afraid of the cold even though you were given a storage ring before we left.”

“I’m fine, Master. Just thinking about the precious gift you gave me makes me feel warm.”

As she spoke, Mary carefully reached out and held the necklace around her neck—a simple silver ring hanging on a thin chain. It was a magic item Yisi had bought from the old man in the weapon shop. By injecting magic power into the ring, she could store or retrieve items like weapons. Because its storage space was just big enough to hold a shield, Yisi had specifically bought it for Mary.