Chapter 12 : Orb of Water (4)

As I mentioned before, the quality of the basic supplies given to the soldiers of Winter Castle was quite good.

Winter Castle Kreutz, the northernmost point of the Empire and the border with the Demonic Realm, received an enormous budget and support from within the Empire, and above all, the amount of demonic beast byproducts supplied from Winter Castle was also immense.

However, that was only from a general perspective, and considering that this was Winter Castle, the very front line of the north, it was also true that there was plenty of equipment much better than the basic soldier supplies.

Among them, the most easily accessible were the supplies for officers, which were provided to them by default.

If you were to compare the ones for soldiers and the ones for officers, there was of course a significant difference.

Among them, the biggest difference would probably be that the officer’s cold-weather uniform, gloves, and boots included demonic beast materials.

Demonic beast materials are very good materials for clothing or armor, and depending on which part of which demonic beast is used, the purpose and level of the armor change completely.

Therefore, the officer’s cold-weather uniform or armor is fundamentally much lighter and has better cold protection performance than the soldier’s version, and even has better defensive performance.

Although the officer supplies boasted such excellent performance, unfortunately, soldiers who were usually officers preferred personally prepared armor over the supplied items.

This was because, due to the nature of Winter Castle where they always had to risk their lives on the battlefield, they wanted even slightly better equipment.

The same was true for Edric, the commander of the 4th Special Task Force and my direct superior.

Edric was one of the officers in Winter Castle who wore equipment of a considerably high level, and although it looked ordinary on the outside, I could tell at a glance what demonic beast’s byproducts those pieces of equipment were made of.

‘He has padded Bagdon’s leather with Gireu’s scales. In addition to that, he used an ogre’s sinew as a material. That would have to be considered among the top-tier equipment worn by the officers of Winter Castle.’

In other words, there was a high possibility that the officer supplies Edric received from Winter Castle were currently rotting away somewhere in Edric’s office.

This was the basis for why my request, which might have seemed unreasonable at first glance, was not.

“……Ahem, if it’s that much, I can certainly provide it under my authority. I’ll lend you my officer’s cold-weather uniform, so you can take it right now. I’ll prepare the rest right away as well.”

“Thank you.”

Perhaps because my performance during the demonic beast subjugation a little while ago had paid off, Edric readily granted my request.

Or maybe he thought that such a request was not very difficult at all.

Whichever it was, it was a good thing for me.

“Are you leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes. I think it would be better to hurry.”

“I see. Understood. I don’t know what it is, but I hope you resolve it well and come back.”

Edric not only readily approved my leave but also openly provided support.

I was probably the only soldier in the entire world to go on leave two days after enlisting.

Well… it was probably due to the special environment of Winter Castle, where desertion was impossible in the first place.

‘It probably means there’s no need to even consider desertion.’

Even if one left Winter Castle, there weren’t many places to go in this vicinity.

It was no exaggeration to say that all the places where people could live were under the influence of Winter Castle, so if one were to desert, they would have to break through the severe cold and hordes of demonic beasts to escape the northern region alone.

In effect, it was impossible.

“First, take this. I’ll give orders to have the rest of the necessary items prepared before your departure.”

The officer’s cold-weather uniform, hat, and shoes I received from Edric were practically brand new.

What they call A-grade condition.

As expected, it seemed Edric himself had barely used them.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“Isn’t it our squad member’s first leave? Of course, I should take care of this much.”

Edric laughed heartily.

“Ah, and.”

Edric’s laughter stopped.

“Powerful magic always demands a price to match. I hope that your business this time is worth paying such a price.”

Edric’s words sounded strangely peculiar.

***

When I returned to the barracks, hugging a bundle of Edric’s equipment, the atmosphere inside the barracks was somewhat strange.

No, to be precise, the atmosphere in the barracks was never that good to begin with, but now it was even stranger than usual.

“Hey.”

It was Conlan who broke that strange atmosphere.

“What?”

“Why did the commander call you?”

Ah, was it because of that?

Indeed, from their perspective, Edric calling someone separately would not be a very welcome event.

“He told me to have a good leave.”

“……Is that all?”

“Yeah.”

Conlan pointed with his chin at the bundle of luggage I was holding.

“What’s that?”

“A cold-weather uniform and some other gear. He lent them to me to wear on my leave tomorrow.”

“Hmm…… I see. That’s unexpected.”

“It’s my first leave, after all.”

Although it was a leave two days after enlistment.

“Hey.”

Just as I was about to return to my spot, Albino called out and stopped me.

“Do you need something from me?”

“……You, you were an incredible mage. I knew you possessed powerful magic, but I didn’t know it was to that extent.”

“What is it you want to say?”

“I couldn’t stand being curious all this time. Why did you obediently let yourself be dragged to Winter Castle? A mage of your caliber would have had other options besides ending up like this.”

So that’s what he meant.

For me, it was a choice made out of necessity as I had no other options, but for Albino, who knew me as an incredible mage, it was a natural question.

“I have something to do here. That’s all.”

Since telling the truth wouldn’t work anyway, I just said that much.

Surprisingly, people tended not to want to believe simple truths.

“……I see. Understood. Let’s forget the past grudges, since we’ll be living together from now on.”

Surprisingly, if it could be called that, Albino was the first to ask for a reconciliation.

I couldn’t tell if he had judged that there was nothing to be gained by being on bad terms with a dangerous mage like me, or if it was a two-faced tactic of asking for reconciliation to my face while planning to backstab me, but for now, I also nodded my head.

“Let’s do that.”

It’s not that I trusted Albino.

However, I too found it a bit tiring to continue confronting Albino, so I didn’t want to continue this pointless war of nerves at this point.

“Good. Let’s get along from now on.”

Albino offered a handshake.

I took his hand.

Without knowing what thoughts each of us was hiding.

The confrontation with Albino, which until recently had seemed like it would only end when one of us died, temporarily entered a state of ceasefire.

A ceasefire that could be broken at any moment.

***

Although it was just a one-day outing, there was quite a lot to prepare as the destination was what it was.

Starting with the cold-weather gear I received from Edric, there were dry rations, a flint, a waterskin, weapons, and other equipment to put in my military pack.

And, what could be considered the most important, I also made sure to take the leave permit with Edric’s signature.

In addition to that, just in case, I searched for Aichuwong’s nickname on the bulletin board, but as I already knew, there were no new updated posts.

Aichuwong, who had been aiming for the Orb of Water until recently, had disappeared.

I didn’t know if he was dead or alive, but if I were to list only the objective information, it would be correct to assume that he was dead.

‘In that case…….’

I had finished checking pretty much everything I needed to.

All that was left was to move.

Having finally completed all my preparations, I stood at the south gate of Winter Castle.

“Hmm?”

At the same time, the guard team leader I had seen a while ago saw me and made a strange expression.

“It’s that mage friend who came a while ago. What brings you here?”

“I’m on leave.”

When I showed the guard team leader the leave permit with Edric’s official signature, the guard team leader’s expression became strange.

“Leave……? Haven’t you been officially enlisted in Kreutz for only a short time? I remember it being less than a week?”

“I was lucky.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s under the Special Task Force Commander’s personal authority, so it’s not for me to interfere. Have a safe trip. Open the castle gate!”

The guard team leader did express his doubts about a leave just two days after enlistment, but he didn’t stop me from leaving either.

It seemed that such a thing was not entirely unheard of.

Creeak…….

With the sound of chains rising and falling, the sturdy south gate of Winter Castle finally opened.

“Hoo…….”

As soon as I left Winter Castle, the northern cold wave brushed against my skin.

It was a good thing I had thoroughly prepared for the cold; if I had come out bare-bodied, it was the perfect weather to freeze to death.

Fortunately, the date wasn’t bad, as the blizzard that had been raging every day was a little less severe today.

‘Shall we go?’

The place where the Orb of Water lay dormant was located relatively near the entrance of the Demonic Realm.

But the Demonic Realm was still the Demonic Realm.

No matter how close to the entrance it was, it was a land of death where the slightest mistake could lead directly to death.

Nevertheless, the reason I confidently left Winter Castle was simple.

‘Was it around there?’

A shortcut from Winter Castle to the Demonic Realm.

I knew about it.

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