Chapter 14

'Well, I guess I've been hoping for something like this all along.'

In fact, what I've gained so far is an opportunity that others wouldn't obtain in their lifetime.

Desiring more at this point would just be greed.

So Elric quickly erased all thoughts related to the King ofYetis.

Besides, there were many other things he needed to sort out.

'By the way, how do you find the whereabouts of a reclusive family?'

Elric gently stroked the Magical Amulet with his hand.

Today, the weight of his family's legacy felt particularly heavy around his neck.

In the past, whenever Elric's father, who always suffered from the aftermath of the Great Mage War, regained his senses, he would often entrust Elric with a few words of wisdom.

- Although our ancestral home may have fallen now... Rick, never forget. Our family has been a prestigious magical lineage for over a thousand years. We boast a history longer than this empire. Yet, is there not a single legacy left by our ancestors in such a venerable place?

-It is said that throughout the continent, our family has left behind sanctuaries and hidden domains. If someday you become a worthy lord, you must seek out those places one by one...

However, unlike his father's urging, Elric had almost half-forgotten about it.

All the elders who might have known the locations of these sanctuaries and domains had perished during the Great Mage War, causing the loss of information.

The scant remaining information was only about the general areas where they might be located.

The trigger that brought it back to mind was precisely because of the Magical Amulet.

'Surely, there was no mention of handling Magical Amulets among the records left by my family in my memory. There was just the fact that it was an item left by the previous lord.'

Could there really be no information about such a significant item?

Thinking about how skilled the Melvinger family's lords were in magic through generations, it seemed impossible.

'What kind of gentlemen are our family members? Did my temperament come from them for no reason?'

That's why Elric speculated that there must be some record of the Magical Amulet somewhere.

At that moment, the first place that came to mind was the safehouse rumored to exist somewhere in theYeti Highlands.

'So, that's why I came.'

In a place dominated by the snowy peaks, like this mountainous region, how would one ever find a safehouse?

It was certainly no easy task, akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

However, Elric wasn't overly concerned.

'It's a place left by the family, so there must be someone among the Yetis who has information about it.'

Since Yetis were also magical beings, there must be some connection between them and the family.

That was why Elric was intrigued when Mephistopheles mentioned the tomb.

'Oh, come to think of it, there is one more piece of information about the Magical Amulet.'

Elric's gaze intensified.

'Though I may not know the reason, my grandfather cherished it dearly…'

* * *

"According to the legend passed down through generations in our tribe, the origin of the Yetis began with a woman who was abandoned by her husband and left to die in the middle of the snowy wilderness, consumed by resentment, she died and emerged as a Snow Maiden..."

『I have one proposal for you.』

Unable to speak openly due to the presence of many people around him, Elric glanced at Mephistopheles with a questioning expression, silently asking, 'What is it?'

『Remember those cryptic prophecies I used to recite at you? Wouldn't it be a good idea to throw some at him too? Otherwise, blood might really start flowing from the king's ears!』

Mephistopheles exclaimed, gesturing towards Mingma, the guide. The contorted expression on his face suggested that if magic were possible, he would have shut his mouth right away.

Elric couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

'Well, there's certainly a lot of talk.'

The terrain was rugged, and the path was poorly maintained, making the ascent exhausting to the point of madness.

Yet Mingma effortlessly hopped from one rock to another without so much as a hitch in his breath.

Nevertheless, in his own way, he seemed to be diligently fulfilling his role as a guide, focusing mainly on information related to the 'Yeti Highlands'

As for Elric, he listened somewhat attentively, hoping to catch any information related to the safehouse.

However, it seemed that Mephistopheles and the other companions were not at all interested.

Even among the monster hunters and the occasional group clad in robes, there were those who occasionally cast suspicious glances towards Mingma.

Of course, Mingma seemed completely oblivious to such scrutiny.

『Just laughing it off won't cut it! The king is truly going mad!』

Elric casually brushed off Mephistopheles' heartfelt plea, then glanced briefly in the direction of the robed group.

'Huh, there's someone there who seems somewhat like me.'

They were the only one among them who seemed to be paying close attention to Mingma's words.

This person had a relatively petite stature compared to their other comrades.

Through the slightly parted robes, glimpses of eyes firmly fixed on Mingma and occasionally nodding in agreement, or perhaps flashing with curiosity and amusement, were visible. Yet, despite these gestures, the person didn't engage in conversation with Mingma, indicating a different status from the other robed figures nearby.

'Judging by their gait and behavior, they seem noble. As for gender... a woman? Which family could she be from?'

Elric's senses had sharpened to an extraordinary degree ever since he opened his inner eye. Naturally, even if they were focused on something else, they couldn't completely escape his attention.

The woman seemed to be of high birth, perhaps from a prestigious family. The other robed figures appeared to be knights, undoubtedly among the finest, with considerable skill. They possessed a significant amount of magic power, and at least one of them had a considerable level of Aura Chains.

They were individuals not commonly seen in such a secluded place...

'I wonder what mission they could be on.'

Elric regarded them with the same indifference as before.

Being a duke of the empire himself, he knew there was no law preventing other noble families from moving around incognito in such places.

In fact, Elric's initial interest in them was merely to test the extent of the Inner Eye's effects.

Although he felt anxious about the possibility of being caught using it, it seemed they hadn't noticed at all.

'No one else can know whether the Inner Eye has been activated... That's a considerable advantage.'

The Inner Eye excelled at piercing through the essence of others, swiftly grasping their strengths and weaknesses.

In a battlefield where a single momentary mistake could mean life or death, there was no weapon as powerful as this.

Elric took the opportunity to use the Inner Eye on not just the robed knights but also on the monster hunters and herbalists nearby.

The hunters may not have been as disciplined as the knights, but they seemed to have experienced their fair share of real combat, evident in their movements.

The herbalists also exhibited excellent cardiovascular endurance and physical stamina, perhaps due to the nature of their living environment.

However, Elric briefly hesitated when he noticed one of them carrying two Aura Chains, which was quite unusual.

'Nah, they don't seem like bounty hunters. They don't even have weapons on their person or in their belongings. Perhaps they're refugees?'

Nevertheless, just to be safe, Elric pursed his lips slightly to avoid drawing any attention to himself.

"[Follow.]"

A blue aura emanated from the tip of Elric's index finger and dropped to the ground like blood.

Just then, a mosquito passing under his hand absorbed the blue aura, then flew towards the herbalist Elric had marked. It was his familiar.

From now on, it would observe the herbalist in place of Elric's own eyes.

『So, what's the plan?』

Mephistopheles continued to complain about the guide, as usual.

Elric pretended not to hear.

* * *

"[Warm up.]"

"[Heal.]"

As they ascended, the air became increasingly thin.

Breathing became difficult, and their stamina reached its limit. Moreover, the biting cold slowed their pace even further.

'Why haven't we seen any Yetis yet?'

Although they still had a long way to go before reaching the main area of appearance, the fact that they hadn't encountered a single one so far was disappointing.

Even if they couldn't fight, Elric wanted to see what they actually looked like.

It seemed that, as expected, they wouldn't appear so easily.

'Or should we split up here?'

The journey up to this point had been complicated, but from now on, it didn't matter much, so Elric seriously considered their options.

"Since the path is going to get rough from here, let's have a meal before we continue!"

Following Mingma's words, the herbalists swiftly moved into action. They cleared a spot to sit by sweeping away the snow and gathered dry logs in the center to make a fire.

Despite the damp soil and snow around them, they showed no signs of difficulty.

"Don't worry about us, everyone. Feel free to sit comfortably. We've been traveling together for some time now, after all."

Thanks to Mingma's gentle tone, the other passengers were able to find their own spots to sit comfortably.

Although the robed group seemed reluctant to mingle, they had no choice but to join when they noticed the visibly tired woman among them.

"...May I borrow some fire?"

The individual who seemed to be the leader among the guards spoke in a commanding tone as he requested permission, then settled down on one side, leaving ample space.

As one by one they pushed back their hoods, the other passengers couldn't help but catch their breaths.

"Ah!"

"Hmm...!"

Finally, when the hooded woman removed hers, she revealed a beauty that seemed to outshine even the surrounding snow.

Her skin appeared paler than the snow around them, and her eyes were as dark as obsidian.

Even Elric, who had seen countless beauties while attending the academy, couldn't help but be struck by her beauty.

"Wow! I never expected such a stunning beauty to be traveling with us!"

"Is she perhaps from some noble family? Hehe!"

"Having such a beauty here... it's a feast for my eyes! Haha, oh!"

The monster hunters, instead of simply admiring her, resorted to whistling, and some even had to catch their breath.

Suddenly, one of the guards held a sword beneath the chin of one of the hunters.

"Do you want to die?"

His gaze and voice were stern.

The commoners who had only lived on the mountainside were filled with an aura that the hunters dared not confront.

Even the hunters looked pale, and the ground beneath them seemed to dampen.

"Chen, lower your sword."

At that moment, the woman from behind spoke in a low tone.

"But miss, these rude fellows..."

"Lower it."

"...Understood."

Reluctantly obeying the command, the guard lowered his sword, though he didn't completely quell his anger.

Crack!

"Aaargh! My eye, my eye...!"

One of the hunter's eyes burst out, who had been openly mocking the woman with the most brazen gaze.

Despite the hunter's screams as he spilled blood onto the pristine white snow, the guard only chuckled as he wiped the blood from his sword.

"Hmph! Be thankful to the lady for sparing your life with just one eye."

"Chen!"

"I apologize, miss. I will accept punishment for insubordination later."

"…Sigh."

Despite his apologies, the knight named Chen's face was filled with pride.

The other three knights remained silent, nodding as if in agreement.

"Sigh."

The woman sighed in frustration, but she didn't say anything more.

Perhaps it was because of the tense atmosphere.

A deep silence pervaded among the passengers.

The herbalists, fearing they might accidentally provoke further trouble, kept their distance from them, while the usually talkative Mingma rolled her eyes silently.

And then,

『Hm!』

Mephisto, with his arms crossed, scrutinized those knights carefully.

Elric quickly traced characters on the ground with his index finger. It wasn't something meant to be seen by others, resembling more of a coded message using runic characters rather than mere graffiti.

-What's the matter?

Fortunately, Mephisto seemed to recognize the writing.

『It's about that knight.』

-?

『How strong is she?』

Why is he suddenly asking about this?

-Well, she has an Aura Chain, so she might be at the user level?

『User?』

You know, like…

『Stop writing, speak it out, speak!』

How do I do that?

『What are you talking about? You can just send messages! If you're worried about using magic openly, you can use telepathy.』

-Telepathy?

『What? You don't know telepathy either?』

-What is that? I've never heard of it before.

『...Are you telling me that telepathy doesn't exist in this era? With such detailed systems and classifications, basic magical techniques like this don't exist anymore?』

Mephisto seemed quite surprised as he discussed various topics about the current state of magical academia with Elric. What he realized then was that over the years, magic had evolved into numerous unexpected forms and become more diverse than he had imagined.

However, for those blessed with mana, they don't know basic techniques like telepathy...?

'Come to think of it, wasn't Elric clueless about Jinyong at first as well?'

Mephisto couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

『Sound is transmitted through the medium of air. However, it only spreads out sideways like that. So, we use magic to firmly bind it and directly transmit it to the desired target.』

Mephisto explained telepathy without much thought, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Elric, following Mephisto's explanation, attempted to gather mana as instructed.

Fortunately, since the basics of telepathy involve using mana from the atmosphere, he managed to do it quite easily after a few attempts.

[Is that so?]

『Yeah. As expected, you catch on quickly.』

[Even though it has a similar effect to message magic, it's much more convenient and uses less mana. This is quite fascinating, even among the things I've learned from Mehan...!]

Elric was about to continue speaking but suddenly stopped midway.

At the same time, Mephisto's head snapped to one side.

Something had caught their senses.

『Finally, we can put an end to this tediousness and do something. We'll deal with that knight later.』

At that moment.

"The lady, step back."

Four robed knights quickly rose to their feet, guarding the woman, while the hunters were the last to straighten their waists.

Even Mingma, catching the unfamiliar scent mixed with the wind, shouted loudly.

Within that, it wasn't just the scent of the yeti.

"Everyone, press your bodies against the walls!"

A scent buried in the wind.

It was the smell of blood.

How many people had been harmed? The scent of human blood was thick in the air.

At that moment,

Whooosh!

A barrage of thin but numerous spears covered the sky, raining down towards them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Scream!"

"Cough, cough! Help... gurgle!"

Chen and the knights quickly deflected the flumes in the air, but the less skilled herbalists were pierced by several flumes and fell down instantly.

Having sensed their movements beforehand, Elric had already distanced himself from the attack range.

『Judging by their use of the throwing spears, are they from the 'Red Eye' tribe? As expected, they haven't changed a bit, just like ignorant tribespeople.』

Elric had many questions for Mephisto, but survival was the top priority for now, so he put aside all his doubts and activated his spell.

"[Return]."

Thump!

Thump, thump!

In an instant, Elric's bloodstream began to flow rapidly.