Volume 2 - CH 14.1

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Chapter 14: Let’s Incite the Coward, Part 1

「Haaa… it’s so beautiful.」

Lilu reacted in such a way after witnessing the sight before her. But her reaction was not alone. Aur, Yunis, Spina and Mari also reacted in similar way.

The pale castle looked like it was made entirely out of quartz. All the roofs were sharpened and shiny like the spearheads, making even Aur speechless. It was indeed some wonderful architecture.

「This is one of the few things that this country can genuinely be proud of.」

Only one of them, Zana, the Ice Queen said something like that as if it was not that big of a deal.

「Is it made entirely out of ice?」

「Yes, the one gathered from the lake that will never melt no matter how much heat will be applied to it.」

Zana answered the question as if it was nothing interesting.

It was hard to believe that such a massive building was made up entirely out of ice, but apparently that was the case. Even though it was the middle of the summer, the road they walked on was covered with great amounts of snow.

「It’s the first time that I see Lilu with that much clothes on her.」

「Demons are supposed to be resistant to both heat and called, so I don’t really get why you put on so much of them.」

「Shut up. I may be resistant to them, but it is still unpleasant.」

Lilu and Yunis started bickering with one another, and Spina shook her body under the fierce winds. Even though the sun was shining on a clear blue sky, the coldness still seeped right into her body’s core. And it was like that in the country who was right next to the desert nation of Sahara. That is what the land of Himuro was.

「We’ll be indoors soon, so you’ll be able to rest easy.」

Zana says that as they are approaching the castle and she holds her hand towards it. As she does so, the water from the moat surrounding the castle rises and freezes, creating a bridge for them to walk on.

「Queen!」

As they were crossing the bridge, the soldiers came to greet their queen.

「It’s good to see you back, my queen.」

「Thank you for protecting the castle during my absence.」

Zana talks to her subjects politely in a tone that was more gentle and serene than when she was talking to Aur or the others. Was this her natural disposition?

「And… it’s good to see you back and in good health, Princess Eve.」

Everyone was overjoyed to see Eldav, but she just covered in fear and hid behind Aur.

「Eve?」

「This is her real name, the one given to her by our mother.」

The one to tell them that was not eve herself, but Zana.

「My… real name?」

The girl herself acted as if she didn’t know what her sister was talking about.

「It’s no wonder that you do not remember it. After all, you’ve been in captivity for the last ten years.」

Not to mention that her free will was sealed and she was treated like nothing more but a doll. So it was no wonder that she forgot even her own name.

「I know that this is not nearly enough to thank you for rescuing my sister, but you have my eternal gratitude.」

Zana and her subordinates kneeled down and bowed to Aur and his crew. Yunis was the first one to break the awkward silence that filled the castle’s entrance.

「You know what Zana? You guys are so funny.」

Aur tried his best to hold back the laughter at the back of his throat.

「Right? I wonder if all of them are so uptight.」

「Must be the harsh environment, nothing we can do about it.」

Aur tried to tell a mocking joke, but no matter what he said, there was no killing intent coming from Zana’s men towards them. This must be because the hard living conditions steeled their bodies and souls to such a degree. No matter what happened, they have maintained their postures and formal attitude.

「Now, let us continue this discussion properly inside the castle together with a cup of delicious tea. Do you have any favorite poisons that you would like to drink together with it?」

「Don’t put any poison in. I have nothing against them, but I prefer to drink them separately not to ruin the taste.」

Aur laughed while the others gave him a doubtful expression.

「Is all of this really made out of ice? It’s so strange that it’s not cold at all.」

Lilu was admiring the icy walls as Yunis was taking her thick cloak off.

The walls were rough to the touch, but no further cold was emitted from them. The fire that was burning in the room was hot enough that there was no need for them to wear coats, but even then the ice showed no signs of melting.

If they were told that this was all made out of glass, they would have probably believed them, but if that was true then this whole place would have crumbled down under its own weight before long. So this ice surely must’ve been quite extraordinary.

「Well, good thing that beds are not made out of it, at least.」

Yunis says as she crashes on the soft bed that squeaks under her weight.

「Their quality leaves a lot to be desired, but I guess they’ll do for now.」

Spina commented, hearing the unpleasant sound.

The residents of this castle might have considered this a luxury, but the truth was that everything here was inferior to Aur’s Dungeon. So Zana’s words that this country had nothing but snow, ice and poverty were true after all.

「Are you worried about Sofia?」

Lilu asked Mari, who was sitting on the bed’s edge without a single word.

「Yeah… a little, I guess.」

「I think that as long as she is together with Master, there’s nothing for you to worry about.」

Spina shared her honest opinion with everyone.

Since the two of them were responsible for the diplomacy between Sahara and Himuro, Aur and Sofia stayed with Zana for the time being.

「To be honest, I’m also worried, but it’s not like we can do anything about it now, can we?」

「Yeah, pretty much.」

Yunis agreed with Lilu’s words, and Mari began her preparations.

「Stop dozing off in such a place.」

Stopping the pen that was moving at tremendous speed, Aur scoffed at Sofia as he put down the parchment and spun the pen around in his fingers.

At the end of the meeting they still had some arrangements they needed to take care of, and that took them roughly three hours.

「Now get up!」

「Fueh? I’m not sleeping! I’m not sleeping at all!」

Sofia jumped up from the sofa on which she was lying, completely unconscious. But Aur didn’t say anything to her, handing her a document instead.

「Here, review it and then sign it if there’s nothing wrong with it.」

He then proceeds to hand the copies of that same document to Zana, who was sitting at the other side of the desk.

「Did you managed to memorize the previous ones?」

「Of course, just who do you take me for?」

This is what they were doing for the last few hours. Aur and Sofia were signing the documents, and Zana was memorizing their contents.

「Everything’s fine with that one.」

Sofia wrote her signature on the document and handed it over to Aur.

「Well, how’s it going? Memorized that one as well?」

「I cannot do that.」

Aur’s hand which was passing documents to Zana froze in place. His arms were covered with ice all the way to his chest.

「What is the meaning of this?」

Aur used his magic to block Zana’s eyes, but the over half of his body has already been covered in ice, and it kept on spreading, slowly, but surely.

「Nothing. Nothing at all.」

Zana laughed. Not that the battle with Sahara was finished, the connection of their souls has been severed, as it was no longer needed, so he was unable to determine what she was thinking.

「It’s just like I’ve told you when we did it for the first time, remember? I will kill you for this humiliation.」

She certainly said something like that, but Aur had forgotten all about it until today.

So she wanted to do this this whole time, but couldn’t because of their connection, and just waited for a moment when it will be no more? Then she must’ve really held a grudge against him. Besides, she wouldn’t have just thrown empty threats around him since she knew what she was capable of. In other words, she must’ve had a plan for his execution all along.

He looked at his left arm, which was frozen solid and ceased to move. So she wasn’t joking after all. Sofia was safe, as she was the formal master of the Dungeon here on the continent of Yamato, and her name was already at the documents describing cooperation between Himuro and Sofia’s Dungeon. Nothing would change with them even if Aur was killed now, because it lacked his signature.

Then, there was only one option left for him to take.

「Sofia!」

He threw her the stone cube with his right hand which could still move slightly.

「GO!」