Volume 7, Chapter 2 – The Angel in the Ice Coffin

A carriage sped across a desolate wasteland that seemed to have no borders.

It’s worth noting that this “desolate wasteland” was slightly different from a true desert. Although barren, the ground was not composed entirely of soft, fine sand that would swallow one’s feet, but rather of hard, cracked yellow earth. A few low shrubs occasionally appeared by the roadside. Besides the absence of any large creatures, the most defining feature was the boundless blue sky and air so dry it felt like a knife to the throat.

This was the northern part of the continent, the Marquisate of Taris in the central Hels Kingdom. Despite the barren land and the arid environment being unsuitable for human habitation, its location in the heart of the kingdom, combined with rare ores found only in the desert and abundant monster materials from the world below, had given rise to a rather prosperous mining city. The people here generally had dark skin and a rugged, unceremonious personality.

Of course, the dark skin was not determined by genetics, but was the result of long-term sun exposure. A past investigation had shown that those who left the Marquisate of Taris at a young age and went elsewhere would grow up to have skin tones indistinguishable from the locals. Therefore, the people of the Marquisate of Taris were not a different race, but even so, they were not well-received in other places.

If one were to find a reason, aside from skin color, it would be the chaotic, dirty, and laborious impression the mining city gave off. Coupled with the rugged nature of its inhabitants, people from the Marquisate of Taris were often treated as unsophisticated, low-status country folk by the residents of the kingdom’s other territories.

In such an environment, those born in the Marquisate of Taris naturally banded together. While it might not be the most lawful of all the territories, the common residents would spontaneously help one another. In comparison, aside from the poor living conditions, the Marquisate of Taris was a relatively livable place within the Hels Kingdom.

When the carriage reached a massive city standing tall in the desert, it gradually slowed down.

“Miss Refina, let me take over.”

Mary, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, pulled open the carriage curtain. Although the Hels Kingdom did not completely forbid the Blood Clan from entering its borders like the Ymir Church did, the Blood Clan was considered third-class citizens of extremely low status. As such, Refina was often harassed by city guards under the pretext of checking for weapons. Therefore, whenever they needed to enter a city, Mary, who also knew how to drive, would switch places with Refina.

“Okay.”

Refina, her face covered by a purple veil, nodded. Bothered by the wind and sand after entering the Marquisate of Taris, Yisi had purchased several pieces of protective gear for the entire group. Although she was swindled by a local due to her unfamiliarity with the prices, the equipment was indeed high-quality, just sold at twice its usual cost.

Stepping into the carriage, Refina first poured herself a glass of water, then removed her veil and set it aside.

As usual, Yisi and Camilla sat together, Tiffany was positioned where she could be seen as soon as one entered the carriage, and Edith and Refina sat opposite Yisi.

“Master, Lady Yisi, the mining city of Gota is just ahead. It’s still morning. Should we split up after entering the city?”

Splitting up meant one group would find lodging while the other gathered intelligence. As Edith’s pet, Refina had this routine ingrained in her very bones.

Yisi shifted slightly, lifting the back of the long skirt she was sitting on before settling down again. Bored, she rested her head on her hand.

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“If it’s still morning, there’s no hurry to find a place to stay. Let’s just look around the city first. Of course, the main goal is to gather information on something called the ‘Source of Mana’.”

The Source of Mana was something Tartaros had mentioned, possibly a magic tool or a magic material.

According to the letter Tartaros had delivered via the Fallen Angel Sandra, if Yisi wanted to know where the Tower of Alexia came from and what the Demon Lords were truly up to, she had to complete the challenge issued by Tartaros. If Yisi completed it, in addition to answering all of her questions, the Demon Lord Tartaros would also create a new body for Evelyn, freeing her from the restriction that caused her to lose her magic power upon leaving the Tower of Ymir.

Of course, it would be more direct to just drag Tartaros out and interrogate him rather than completing this so-called challenge. The problem was, even when Yisi had tried to hold Sandra hostage, threatening Tartaros that if he didn’t show himself, she would take Sandra as a slave or kill her on the spot (as a bluff), Tartaros had remained indifferent. It was as if he was afraid Yisi would follow him through the black hole, and he quickly slipped away. Moreover, Yisi had no idea where Tartaros lived, and Sandra couldn’t say due to a contract. So after Tartaros left, Yisi could only send Sandra away—which took considerable effort, as Sandra kept trying to stick around and freeload.

It had to be said, Yisi was extremely displeased with this feeling of being watched. She decided to first complete the challenge as a way to lure Tartaros out, and then use physical means to reason with him properly. She had to make the Demon Lord understand that perverted acts like peeping must be punished.

Besides her own reasons, giving Evelyn her freedom was another one of Yisi’s motives for coming to the Hels Kingdom. Although Evelyn had insisted that Yisi shouldn’t worry about her and should just proceed to the southern part of the continent as originally planned, Yisi could see that Evelyn deeply desired to be free. Furthermore, Yisi herself was curious about the continent’s past—whether the Goddess existed, and if so, where she was now, as well as the legend of the Child of Fortune. For all these reasons, Yisi had temporarily changed her itinerary to come to the mining city of Gota, the place designated by the Demon Lord, in search of the Source of Mana.

“Gather information on the Source of Mana? In that case, let’s split into two groups. I’ll go to the taverns and the adventurer’s guild to ask around, while you and Master can explore Gota, Miss Yisi. There are no cities like this in the Blood Clan’s territory, so it should be a fresh experience.”

Refina said with a smile, her purple side-ponytail bobbing up and down with the carriage’s movements.

If Refina were just an ordinary follower, I wouldn’t feel any particular way. But she isn’t a servant. It would be too unfair to leave her behind while the rest of us go sightseeing in a foreign land.

Yisi pondered for a moment.

“How could we let Refina go off on her own? Hmm… How about this: Refina and I will gather intelligence, while Camilla, Mary, Tiffany, and Pepe go find interesting places.”

“It would be meaningless if you and Master were to be separated…”

What is Refina’s reasoning? She clearly likes Pepe so much, yet she’s giving up the chance to be with her.

“Hmph,” Edith snorted, as if amused. She crossed her arms, her white hair fanning out as she leaned against the carriage wall. “Do I look like the kind of person who gets hung up on such trivial matters? Refina, you underestimate me. I’ll go with you to gather intelligence. Yisi and Camilla can find us a place to stay.”

“Hmm… If Pepe says so, then let’s do as she says. But are you sure, Pepe? Gathering intelligence doesn’t really seem like your kind of thing.”

An image of Pepe stepping on someone’s head and threatening them with Gungnir already floated in her mind.

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As if annoyed by Yisi’s slight, Edith raised an eyebrow.

“I may not have done it before, but Refina is an expert at it. I just need to follow her and keep quiet, right?”

The question is, can Pepe stay quiet…

No, Yisi shook her head. Pepe could be stubborn, but that stubbornness was only directed at her noble status and honor. In other matters, Pepe was quite adaptable and had a flexible mind.

Just as the plan was being finalized, Camilla, who had been wanting to interject, finally found an opportunity. As if embarrassed, she held her hand out, hesitating in mid-air, unsure where to put it.

“Um… Onee-sama, there is something more important we must do before we gather intelligence.”

“Something more important?”

“Yes. As a bearer of the Crest of Saint Mistilteinn, you have been branded as belonging to the Church. If you plan to stay in the mining city for a while without paying a visit to the local lord, it will be seen as a great discourtesy.”

In other words, if I don’t visit, the lord will think I’m looking down on him and might cause trouble for me in secret. I’m not afraid of what he might do, but it would be rude in itself. A visit wouldn’t hurt, and I might even get some help.

Speaking of which, Camilla knew this, but Pepe, who had been a noble for so long, didn’t?

Yisi blinked.

Then she quickly understood why.

Pepe must have rarely left the Pescia Territory, and given her esteemed status among the Blood Clan, only others ever paid her visits. It was natural that she wouldn’t be aware of this piece of social etiquette.

It was only at times like this that Yisi felt Camilla was truly a person raised by Count Pescia to perfect Pepe.

Well, I did end up snatching her away midway.

Camilla took a letter from her black-hole-like storage space.

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“This is a letter of introduction Evelyn gave me before we left. She asked me to pass it on to the church in the mining city on your behalf. The church in Gota will do everything in its power to assist you. We can stay directly at the church.”

“Stay at the church…”

This might be a good experience.

Refina picked up the conversation.

“I did some research before we came. The lord of Gota is the favored second son of Marquis Talia. If you can get on his good side, Miss Yisi, your shops in Celtic City could expand into a new market. The mining city should have a great need for the long boots you invented.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Finally, the carriage arrived before the city of Gota.

Perhaps due to erosion from the desert winds, the twenty five meter high city walls showed clear signs of repair—constantly being weathered down, then constantly being fixed. Because the quality of repairs varied over different periods, the walls looked ugly, as if covered in patches. The only certain thing was that the walls were extremely sturdy. There were more than five magic barriers used for reinforcement alone. Combined with a height equivalent to an eight-story building and a thickness of ten meters, it wouldn’t necessarily collapse even if hit head-on by Tier 5 magic. Yisi had a feeling that a fortress of this scale on Earth during the same era would be considered absolutely impregnable.

“Outsiders? Where are you from? Here for the Mine Labyrinth?”

The soldier’s questioning of Mary came from outside the carriage.

“The Mine Labyrinth…? Master didn’t tell me what that is. We’re from the Ymir territory.”

“Is that so? It’s been a while since we’ve had outsiders who didn’t come for the Mine Labyrinth. From the sound of it, you’re a slave? Strange that someone would buy a slave with such unhealthy-looking skin. Your master is an odd one.”

“Ahaha… Master has always been very kind.”

It seems we’ve reached a consensus on a strange point.

According to the soldier, dark skin was likely considered beautiful in the mining city, so Mary’s fair skin was seen as unattractive. Mary, however, had interpreted it as Yisi kindly taking her in even though she didn’t look like a healthy slave.

“Alright, go on in. And you’d better remind your master not to go looking for treasure in the Mine Labyrinth to the north with all those crazy adventurers just for fun. There’s nothing there but slag, poisonous insects, and monsters.”

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Mine Labyrinth?

Hearing something of interest, Yisi poked her head out of the carriage.

“Could you tell me more about what the Mine Labyrinth is?”

“Huh?”

The soldier’s mouth fell open in an exaggerated fashion, his expression like he was looking at an idiot.

“You don’t even know that? I really don’t get why you people come to a mining city. The Mine Labyrinth appeared ten years ago. There was an earthquake, and a large part of the northern mining district collapsed. Not long after, monsters started appearing in the district. There were monsters before the collapse, but not many, and we could handle them easily. But since then, monsters have been swarming to the surface like ants. Even the most elite units of the garrison have a hard time dealing with them. Luckily, the city lord was quick to spread the word about the labyrinth’s appearance and spent years recruiting a large number of adventurers to finally stabilize the situation. Nowadays, when people talk about the mining city, they’re talking about the Mine Labyrinth.”

“But there are monsters everywhere. Why would adventurers specifically come here?”

“Because of the word ‘labyrinth’,” the soldier’s tone grew a bit more impatient. “The quality of monsters from the labyrinth is much higher than in normal places. Plus, after you defeat the guardian of each floor, you can take the treasure it was guarding. Any one of those magic weapons would be something an ordinary person could never afford in their lifetime. Who wouldn’t go where there’s money to be made?”

Guardians? Are they monsters? Or statues? Why would they have magic weapons?

It sounded just like an RPG game. Although she wanted to ask more, the people queuing behind them were already showing signs of displeasure, so Yisi could only keep her questions to herself.

“I see, thank you.”

“Get a move on. And stay away from the mines if you don’t want to die.”

After bidding farewell to the soldier, Yisi’s group finally entered the city. Just inside the gate, a large crowd was gathered around a notice board. Unlike the usual curious onlookers, the faces of these people were filled with desire. Almost all of them were adventurers, and even the lowest level among them was level 7.

“Did you hear? Behind the guardian of the twelfth floor, there’s an ice coffin with a woman who looks like an angel inside.”

Translator Note

rudeusss’s mom!, oh wrong novel…