Going to the Northern Kingdom (1)

Northern Kingdom Eintban.

Known as the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, it was an extremely closed-off country, so hardly any information about it existed.

‘It’s cold.’

The first thing I felt when I set foot on the northern lands where Eintban was located was the tremendous cold.

The Talua Kingdom, and the Vanhart territory, were both in the south, so the temperatures there were quite high. Because of that, I was not used to the cold.

“From here onward, it’s Eintban territory.”

At Maria’s words, I quietly nodded. It was too cold to even open my mouth to reply.

“Then, Count—”

“My name.”

“Oh, sorry. Clay…”

Maria seemed a bit flustered, glancing away and mumbling. My current status was only that of a mercenary employed by the Timmons Merchant Guild.

If it got out that I was a noble from another country, things could get complicated.

[So what are you going to do now?]

‘For now, I’ll travel with Maria.’

According to what I heard while coming here, Maria was going to trace her mother’s traces from now on.

‘If I go by the synopsis, the answer is to stick with Maria.’

==

Episodes 122~127: ‘Northern Kingdom Shrouded in Nightmares’

Episodes 128~135: ‘Sword of Boundary Solaris’

Episodes 136~144: ‘The Second Calamity’

==

The moment I arrived in Eintban, three episodes updated.

These episodes weren’t set far in the future or past, but rather tied to the impending second calamity, the ‘Calamity of dreams.’

‘Do the Seven Swords Under Heaven always get involved in calamity episodes?’

The calamity of disease and demons with the Sword of Man Genova.

And the calamity of dreams with the Sword of Boundary Solaris.

These two calamities occur in order according to the original story’s timeline, and both involve the Seven Swords Under Heaven.

There wasn’t much of a connection during the calamity of the dragon, but I presumed that, in most episodes where a calamity appeared, the Seven Swords Under Heaven would also be entangled.

Probably to give the protagonist, Fabian, trials and grant him the strength to overcome them.

But I was the one to face those trials, not Fabian…

When that fact sank in, a sigh escaped me.

“Whew…”

“Why are you like that, coun— No, Clay.”

“It’s nothing. Did you find the location?”

“Yes. It’s some tavern in Nabez.”

As I listened to Maria, I recalled the content of the newly surfaced synopsis.

In these upcoming episodes, there was always mention of a certain ‘woman’.

She played a decisive role in helping Fabian defeat the calamity of dreams.

‘So that’s why Fabian helped Maria.’

At first, I thought Fabian helped Ravin and Maria out of a just personality, unable to ignore their circumstances.

But through this episode, I realized it wasn’t out of pure justice, but for other reasons as well.

‘I never imagined Fabian and Maria’s mother knew each other.’

Maria’s mother, Rutia Timmons.

Learning that she and Fabian together defeated the calamity of dreams, I realized something.

‘Calamity of dreams…’

Illusion.

Judging from the name of the calamity, it was clear that Rutia and Maria’s bloodline, the succubus, was the key to resolving this incident.

It was an important truth, but I felt far from happy. Instead, all I felt was an unpleasant, uneasy emotion.

That was because of the ending written at the end of the synopsis.

“…”

I looked at the expressionless girl standing next to me.

A beautiful girl with pink hair and eyes.

She looked perfectly suited to this land’s biting cold with her appearance… but I knew.

That she was an ordinary girl who only hid herself behind a cold mask.

‘This is so cruel.’

Yet, the fate of that frail girl was far too harsh.

Maria’s mother, Rutia Timmons, would die at the end of this episode.

* * *

“Is it really here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Damn.”

Two demonkin appeared in Nabez, the capital of the Eintban Kingdom.

They stepped on the cold snow, looking from a distance at Eintban’s royal castle.

“But… something feels off.”

“It’s definitely a little too quiet,” said the subordinate, gazing up at the falling snow.

Just as he absentmindedly reached to touch it, a thick hand gripped his wrist.

“Don’t touch it carelessly.”

“Excuse me?”

“Even though it’s still minor, there’s an ominous magic power present in the snowflakes. There’s no reason to touch it.”

The subordinate nodded. His superior seemed easy-going, but his abilities were unmistakable.

A demonkin holding one of the few noble titles.

He was among those commonly known as advanced-rank demonkin, holding the rank of Count.

“Seems like this time it’s real.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah.”

The red-haired demonkin grinned savagely, like a beast.

“I can finally save face now.”

The seven swords said to have been granted by the Genesis God.

According to the Demon King’s orders, countless demonkin had gone searching, but so far only one sword had been found.

“Andil.”

“Yes, Lord Margal.”

“Release the others.”

“… Pardon?”

Andil looked up at him in confusion, unable to guess why he should suddenly release the subordinates.

“The sword will most likely be in the ruins anyway, so is there any need to call in the others?”

“If the sword is in the ruins, that is.”

Margal slowly looked up at the sky.

Snowflakes drifted down in the cloudy sky of Eintban.

“Still, it seems the current owner of the sword is a real handful.”

A mysterious malice held within the snowflakes.

It had not yet fully awakened, but Margal could vaguely sense the power lurking inside these tiny snow crystals.

If this power were to fully blossom in time, not even he would be able to handle it.

* * *

While the Timmons Merchant Guild members who came with us to Eintban were out gathering information, Maria and I slipped away from the guild to act separately.

Naturally, our destination was the tavern where Maria’s mother, Rutia, had worked.

“Rutia?”

When we inquired about her whereabouts, the tavern keeper glanced at us with wary eyes.

“If you mean that girl, she left here a year ago.”

“Do you know where she went after that?”

“Who knows? I really couldn’t say.”

Maria managed her expression calmly as best she could, but it was obvious she was disappointed.

She’d come all the way to Eintban after hearing news of her mother, only to find she had already left a year before.

“So why are you looking for Rutia?”

The tavern keeper hesitated, then asked carefully.

His wary attitude suggested he was quite close to Rutia.

Still, he answered the question thanks to Maria.

She resembled Rutia, and, thanks to the power of ‘Inborn Charm,’ she naturally gained the tavern keeper’s favor.

His guarded manner softened over time, and his gaze toward Maria grew increasingly friendly.

“You look a lot like Rutia, miss. Are you family? Maybe a younger sister…?”

“Yes, I am Ms. Rutia’s daughter.”

Maria answered calmly.

The tavern keeper burst out laughing.

“Daughter? Hahaha! If that’s a joke, it’s a funny one. There’s no way Rutia has a daughter your age!”

“Pardon?”

Noticing how flustered Maria looked, the tavern keeper patted her shoulder and said,

“I never thought you’d joke about something like that. Still, it’s probably best to save that kind of joke for people you know well, especially since you look so much like her. You’re probably just her younger sister.”

With that, the tavern keeper seemed relieved and turned away.

“…”

Maria stared wide-eyed at the tavern keeper’s reaction.

I sidled up to her and said quietly,

“You okay?”

“Ah, yes.”

She seemed lost in thought.

I could pretty much guess what she was thinking right now.

“Looks like your mother must have looked very young.”

“… It appears so.”

If I figured it out, there was no way sharp Maria hadn’t.

The tavern keeper absolutely never considered it possible that Rutia had a daughter.

“So your mother lied about her age to the tavern keeper. And he fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.”

“Right. So your mother’s appearance would have been, generously, under twenty.”

After saying that much, we both fell silent.

After a brief pause, I broke the silence.

“Did former master Ravin ever say anything about your mother?”

“No… All I ever heard is that she was a beautiful woman, and one day she up and left my father and me, saying she had something she had to do.”

“Poor guy. I heard his first wife died of illness, and now his second wife disappeared like that as well.”

As I spoke with sympathy, Maria’s eyes turned a bit sadder.

“Clay, there’s no need to change the subject for my sake.”

“Ah, no, it’s not really that…”

“I never imagined my father might have been a pedophile.”

“… Well, being in your mid-teens is still barely safe in our culture. Barely.”

These days, the average marriage age is rising, so it’s getting razor close, though.

“Anyway, this is a mess. Finding your mother’s trail won’t be easy at this rate.”

Maria was visibly disappointed.

She’d come to Eintban just after hearing about her mother, only to find out she left an entire year earlier.

“Don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

I told Maria, as if it was nothing.

“I think I might know.”

In the synopsis, there were traces of a woman suspected to be Rutia.

If I knew when Fabian first met her, figuring out Rutia’s whereabouts would be simple.

==

〈Episodes 122~127, ‘Northern Kingdom Shrouded in Nightmares’〉

Summary: Arriving at Nabez, the capital of Eintban, Fabian is shocked at the sight of a city turned to ruins.

Having experienced the calamity of disease and demons in the Empire, Fabian realizes that the cause of Nabez’s state is a new calamity.

The calamity that has struck Eintban is the ‘Calamity of dreams’.

Humans who are touched by the snow falling from the sky fall asleep, and in that state, indiscriminately attack others around them.

The people of Nabez called it ‘the demon’s sleepwalking disease.’

As Fabian hurried around Nabez gathering clues about the calamity, he ended up saving a female mercenary in a desperate situation—

==

This was the content of the first episode.

The point to pay attention to here was the female mercenary who appeared at the end.

‘… That mercenary must be Maria’s mother.’

I was certain.

Because the last words she left before her death were the proof.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep