Chapter 175 : Frozen Sea (4)
Frozen Sea (4)
― Whooooo.......
The sound of a fierce snowstorm.
― Crack, tap!
The sound of firewood burning.
"Ugh......"
Veronica struggled to open her heavy eyelids.
An uneven rocky ceiling appeared above her.
'What is this.......'
She was definitely on the ship, but where was she now?
With a dazed mind, Veronica tried to recall her memories.
Albrecht's betrayal.
The red spike that pierced her solar plexus.
The kraken rampaging and smashing the ship recklessly.
And......
'That man.'
The huge man who appeared at her moment of crisis.
The massive aura that filled her vision.
How he cut down the kraken with a sword technique that defied belief.
'And after that...... Ugh......! What happened then?'
When she regained consciousness, she was in some cave.
She had no grasp of the situation or how this came to be.
'Am I even alive.......'
She had been run through a vital spot and lost consciousness on the cold deck.
Logically, it was a situation where she should have died ten times over.
So could this be the afterlife?
"L-Lady! Have you come to your senses!?"
At that moment, a familiar voice called to her from nearby.
When Veronica turned her stiff eyes, knights covered in blood were looking down at her.
Jochen and Eilie. Her guard knights.
Veronica's pupils trembled.
"Y-You two......"
Albrecht had clearly said he killed all the guards.
His staff had been dripping with ominous blood.
Yet now, they were standing right before her eyes.
Their bodies drenched in blood.
'Ah......'
So this really was the afterlife.
Had they come to resent the Veronica who sent them to their deaths?
"I'm sorry......"
Veronica spoke in an agonized murmur.
"My reckless orders led you all into that hell. You never should have died like that......"
She had no face to show her subordinates.
As she closed her eyes in grief, jochen called urgently,
"Excuse me? What are you saying! Dead? None of us died! We're all alive! Every single one of us!"
"...... What?"
Veronica's eyes went wide.
Looking again, their faces were smeared with blood, but they definitely had the hue of living people.
Even the tears gathering at the corner of Eilie's eyes looked hot and alive.
"Alive......? All of you?"
"Yes. Haha! This isn't the afterlife, lady!"
Eilie burst into laughter even as tears filled her eyes.
Next to her, there was a bowl of water and a stained towel, as if she had been wiping Veronica's body.
"To be honest, we all thought we were done for back there as well. I never would have guessed that Albrecht was a demonic human...... It's shameful."
"N-No....... That's not your fault. None of us knew either. But....... Then how did everyone survive?"
"A mercenary saved us."
"A mercenary......?"
"Yes, a big man. His name...... Ah! He said his name was Khan."
Jochen continued explaining.
At the moment when they had been bleeding out and dying, that mercenary appeared and suddenly poured something on their wounds.
"That potion. It was truly strange. As soon as it entered the body, the pain vanished, and the bleeding stopped. It seemed more effective than any potion from the imperial family."
"...... You're saying an ordinary mercenary had something like that?"
"We wondered about that too...... But he wouldn't really explain even when asked. Not that we can interrogate the one who saved our lives......"
"Hmm."
Veronica's mind turned quickly.
The man who appeared behind Albrecht just as she collapsed, subduing him in an instant.
And the one who annihilated the kraken with a single stroke—a display of absolute power.
'Is that the man?'
That overwhelming back, the big man in a mysterious hood.
Veronica tried to sit up.
"Ugh...!"
A sharp pain shot up from her solar plexus.
"Lady! Please don't move yet!"
The knights hastily supported her.
Veronica, sweating with cold sweat, checked her own body's condition.
And soon, her face turned as white as a sheet.
"My aura......"
She couldn't feel it at all.
Her dantian......
Was shattered.
The red spike Albrecht had fired had obliterated her dantian.
Her mana circuit was destroyed, the very vessel to contain her ki was broken.
"H-How could this......."
Veronica's fingertips trembled.
For a swordsman, the destruction of the dantian was a death sentence.
And in the Hisperion family, where strength equaled authority, it was obvious what fate awaited a direct heir who lost their power.
All her ambition to become the next lord, all her dignity as a noble young lady—on the verge of vanishing into thin air.
Her heart sank with a thud.
'No, no......! It's too soon to despair. This isn't the end yet.'
Veronica bit her lip until it bled, forcing herself to focus.
'I am a Hisperion. If I just have time, I can recover.'
The 'Heavenly Blood' that flowed in the veins of the direct lineage of Hisperion granted them miraculous recovery abilities.
For ordinary people it would be a lifelong disability, but with her heavenly blood, as long as she recuperated, her circuits would reconnect and her dantian would slowly heal.
'But....... It will take too long.......'
Natural recovery alone could take years.
In that time, her rivals would devour her and she would fall behind.
'I need a much faster method.'
At that moment, a face flashed through her mind.
Her youngest sister, Yuria.
If she received Yuria's brilliant aura, 'Heavenly Energy', it would drastically shorten the time needed to restore her broken circuits and dantian.
'...... I have to go find Yuria. Ugh.......'
Just having a solution brought a sense of relief, but her pride was already stung.
She would have to bow her head and beg the younger sister she had always scorned and openly kept in check.
But to survive, there was no other option.
And something more.
Veronica's eyes flashed keenly.
'That big mercenary......'
That monstrous man who felled the kraken in a single blow.
With her power lost and herself weakened, she needed someone as powerful as him more than ever.
A shield to protect her from imperial rivals, family competitors, or threats like Albrecht, the demonic human.
'I have to recruit that man onto my side.'
A swordsman of that skill would be the perfect shield until she recovered.
"Jochen...... Where is that man? The mercenary named Khan."
It was then.
― Whooooo!
The leather cover at the cave entrance swung aside, letting in the icy wind and a man.
A huge figure, hood pulled deep over his face, a massive greatsword slung over his back.
The mercenary Khan—in reality, Ian in disguise.
On his shoulder was the carcass of a freshly hunted beast.
― Thud.
Ian tossed the carcass nonchalantly near the campfire.
"You've awoken."
Veronica stared intently at him.
She tried to see his face, but it was obscured by the hood.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Veronica spoke, feigning an imposing tone.
"I heard you saved us."
Ian answered dryly, warming his hands by the fire.
"I was just lucky."
"Albrecht...... What happened to that traitor?"
"He's been dealt with."
Ian answered vaguely.
Albrecht was now locked in Ian's subspace, destined soon to be processed as an excellent magic power battery.
There was no need to go into detail.
"He'll never appear before the young lady again."
"...... I see."
Veronica breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, her interest in the man who had so reliably eliminated all future threats only grew.
She straightened and spoke.
"You saved my life, so I will reward you appropriately. I will recommend you both to the imperial court and my family so you'll receive high compensation. And if you wish, serve under me—I'll give you a very fine position. With all my names and prestige, I can continue to support you."
A bold offer from a daughter of the Heavenly Sword Lord, royal in every way.
The kind of advancement an ordinary mercenary could never dream of.
But Ian was unmoved.
"I decline."
Ian skewered the freshly butchered meat without emotion as he spoke.
"I'll stay by your side until you return to the Empire. But after that, I'll leave."
"...... What? Wait, won't you at least reconsider my offer......."
"It's fine. I'm not interested."
"Ah......"
Veronica bit her lip.
Ian's indifference couldn't have been clearer.
Normally, she would have quickly given up out of pride, even hurled insults, but right now, she needed this man desperately.
'How...... How do I persuade him......?'
― Ssszzzzt.......
Ian handed the well-roasted meat to the knights and Veronica, then pointed his chin toward outside the cave.
"And could you take a look outside for a moment."
"......?"
When Veronica followed Ian's gesture, she spotted several people huddled at the entrance's camp.
They were imperial army officers.
"T-Those men! They survived as well......! Ugh!"
"They're witnesses for your sake."
From among the officers whose heads had been bashed by Albrecht, Ian had healed only those not entangled with the Demon Cult.
These were the ones.
"...... What?"
"When you return to the Empire, they'll be the mouths to prove that Albrecht was a demonic human. If you don't want to shoulder all the blame after surviving alone, you'd better look after them well."
"...... Ah!"
Veronica gazed blankly at Ian.
This man wasn't just highly skilled with the sword.
He had carefully and meticulously arranged her political circumstances and secured her escape from blame.
'He's not just a master of swordsmanship, but also highly skilled at reading the board.'
Her interest in Ian was blazing up like fire in her chest.
She couldn't let such a capable individual slip through her fingers.
Whatever it took, she had to recruit him into her ranks.
Several days passed.
Naval engineers managed to repair the transceiver and send a rescue signal, and a passing merchant ship picked them up.
As soon as they reached the imperial harbor, Ian turned away without hesitation.
"W-Wait! Where are you going!"
Veronica called out to him desperately.
"My business is finished."
"You're just leaving like this!? What about your reward!? At least let me see your face!"
She tried to follow him, but couldn't even walk unaided.
Ian paused for a moment, turning his head halfway.
"I don't need a reward. Please focus on your recovery."
Ian melted into the crowd.
Having brought the Heavenly Sword Lord's daughter to safety, he had no more reason to stay.
"H-Hey! Khan! Khan!!"
Veronica's cries echoed across the harbor, but he had already vanished.
"Haa...... Haa......"
Veronica gazed endlessly toward the spot where he'd disappeared.
She was frustrated, and regretted it.
But at the same time, her heart strangely raced.
"...... I will definitely find you!"
Veronica clenched her fist tight.
"I'll heal my body and regain my strength...... and search every corner of the world until you become my knight......!"
Her eyes blazed as she was supported by the knights.
"Let's go. To Hisperion."
Where Yuria was.
To Goldenbrück, where Sunshine Castle was.
Veronica still did not know—
That the man she desired so much was also headed there.