chapter 142

“Hmm…”

Snow didn’t agree immediately after hearing Frey’s request.

Her normally mischievous expression had become serious. This expression reminded Frey of his first meeting with this queen.

“I don’t intend to force you.”

At Frey’s words, Snow shook her head.

“…no. This isn’t something I should avoid. I have to get over it someday.”

Did she have trauma?

It was natural since this was the place where her entire tribe was annihilated.

Snow then turned her gaze to Diablo.

“But who is this?”

Frey couldn’t think of a proper way to introduce him, so he just explained it roughly.

“He’s a member of Paragon.”

Snow knew about the existence of Paragon because Frey had already given her a simple explanation before. Of course, all she knew was the organisation’s name, and a little about their goal.

However, Snow kept looking at Diablo with a strange look in her eyes.

“…is he the Archlich from the Frozen Lands?”

“Hmm? You know about him?”

“Huh…”

Snow’s expression changed to one of amazement.

“…it is said that he appears like a haze in the coldest parts of the Frozen Lands. When I was a child, my mother would tell me that if I got lost while wandering in the snowstorm, I would get kidnapped by the vicious and cruel Lich, and used as a material for his experiments.”

That sounded more like a ghost story just used to scare children.

Besides, kidnapping?

When Frey shot Diablo a curious glance, even Diablo seemed to find it absurd.

[I would never bother to do something so troublesome. I’m also not interested in such experiments.]

Snow continued speaking with a complicated tone.

“…It’s a legend that was passed down through the tribes living in the Frozen Lands. I thought it was just a story that was made to scare us, I never would have expected it to actually be true.”

Only then did Diablo finally turn to look at Snow.

He inspected her for a moment before saying.

[An Ice Elf? I thought those were wiped out by the Demigods.]

“She is the sole survivor.”

[I see.]

Diablo didn’t seem particularly interested.

Basically, he had little to no interest in anything other than the Magical Science and the Demigods.

‘…anyway.’

It hadn’t been too hard for them to obtain Snow’s help.

Since there was no time to waste, Frey intended to leave right away, but Nora walked over at that moment.

She looked back and forth between Diablo and Snow a few times before finally speaking in a curious tone.

“Well, this is a rare combination. Where are you headed?”

“The Frozen Lands. We intend to find a Demigod there.”

Realising that it wasn’t a simple trip, Nora’s expression changed slightly.

“Hmm… what do you plan to do after you find them?”

Now that he thought about it, Frey didn’t actually know what would happen after.

Frey turned to look at Diablo, who said.

[There has never been a precedent for the Demigods to act in such an impulsive and open way. There must be a reason why they did something like this.]

“Isn’t it because they want to buy time for the Apocalypses’ treatment?”

When Frey said his conjecture, Diablo paused for a moment before saying.

[It would be common to think in such a way. But our opponents have a completely different set of values and different ways of thinking.]

“…”

Frey nodded.

Although values and beliefs differed between species, the differences between mortals and Demigods was particularly large.

Therefore, it was difficult for them to guess the moves and motives of the Demigods since they couldn’t understand their perspectives.

“That’s why you’d like to talk to Elliah.”

[That’s right.]

It was a decision that had been made after more careful deliberation than Frey had initially thought.

Frey looked at Diablo in a new light.

It wasn’t just that they were in a rush to get Elliah’s help.

Even if they didn’t get her help, it would be good if they could at least gain an understanding of the Demigods’ current situation so they would know how to proceed.

Of course, that didn’t reduce the risk.

“Then I’d like to join you.”

Frey nodded simply at Nora’s words.

“You’re welcome to.”

Nora’s presence would reduce the risk by a few times as well as increase the teams’ stability.

Nora and Snow would stand at the front while Frey and Diablo would support from the rear.

With this amount of power, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to defeat a Demigod with a team this powerful.

Diablo then spoke in a slightly interested tone.

[I’m surprised. You, the most reclusive member of Paragon, is willing to go somewhere.]

“I’m not a member of Paragon.”

[Hmph…]

Nora snorted.

“And I’m interested.”

[In Elliah?]

“No.”

Nora turned to look at Frey before letting a chuckle.

* * *

The Frozen Lands was a place where winter was never ending.

Frey couldn’t help but miss the Salamander Robe that had been corroded in the last fight.

The Salamander Robe was an excellent piece of magical equipment with exceptional defense and magic resistance while also being lightweight.

The robe itself also gave off warmth, making it excellent for preserving the wearer’s body temperature.

Now, all he could do was wear the thickest clothes he had while covering his body with fire mana.

Although it was not the most effective, he didn’t have any other choice.

Snow and Nora seemed to have a bit of a resistance to the cold, maybe due to the fact that they were powerful martial artists.

Not to mention the undead, Diablo.

Hoooooo-

“This is definitely not a place where people could live.”

Snow chuckled at Frey’s murmur.

“That’s because this is one of the coldest areas, even for the Frozen Lands. It’s not this cold in the southern regions.”

As she said that, Snow’s eyes dimmed a little.

Just as she was about to say something else, Diablo spoke up.

[We have to hurry, we don’t have time to chat.]

Frey nodded before turning to Snow.

“Snow?”

“…right. Follow me.”

With every step they took, their calves would sink into the snow. Just this repeated action quickly drained their stamina.

The raging blizzard was enough to paralyze anyone’s sense of direction, and the loud noises made it impossible for them to hear each other even if they shouted.

At first glance, it would seem like Snow was moving slowly, but Frey didn’t express any dissatisfaction. However, after a few hours passed, he couldn’t help but become a bit impatient.

“You have some idea where you’re going, don’t you?”

“Are you looking down on This Queen?” (TL: quite a few people have said they like unedited Snow, so I’ll leave her dialogue as is)

Snow glared at Frey before sighing.

“This is an extremely cold place that even Ice Trolls with the thickest fur would be reluctant to traverse. It’s not a polar region, yet it is a place that has a never ending blizzard. I never really thought deeply about the reason, but if there really is a Demigod named Elliah here…”

“Then she might be the one influencing the blizzard?”

Snow nodded.

“And we’re currently on our way to the place where the blizzard is the coldest and the fiercest.”

[That’s right. There is a very high chance that Elliah would be at the center of the blizzard.]

Diablo also agreed with that.

On the other hand, Frey was still a bit skeptical. Would she really be that easy to find?

They could only continue forward step by step. With such a heavy blizzard it would incredibly hard for them to use the Flight spell to search faster.

It wasn’t impossible, but the amount of mana that it would take to maintain their body temperature and their ability to see clearly while in flight could not be ignored.

And they wanted to maintain their peak condition as best as they could until they met Elliah. After all, they weren’t sure how she would react.

‘Even so, the physical fatigue is considerable.’

If Frey hadn’t trained in the Warrior King’s Fist in his spare time, he was almost certain that his body would be frozen stiff or exhausted.

They walked for a few more hours without bothering to waste energy communicating with each other.

Then Diablo suddenly stopped.

[Found her.]

Frey’s eyes flickered, but he still couldn’t see anything. Looking at Snow and Nora, it was clear that they also didn’t see anything.

But all of them could feel the overwhelming divine power that filled the area.

[Don’t lower your guards.]

Everyone nodded at Diablo’s words as they began walking once again.

About five minutes after, they finally managed to catch sight of Elliah. She looked like a young girl with white hair who was staring up at the sky.

They couldn’t see her expression as her back was to them, but it was still difficult for them to just start talking to her.

Elliah didn’t budge as Frey’s party approached, but it was obviously not because she didn’t sense them.

Just as they were prepared to say something, Elliah turned to look at them. Her expression was so cold that it completely overshadowed the blizzard blowing around them.

“What do you guys want?”

[Demigod Elliah, we came here to ask for your help.]

“Go away.”

The moment she said those words, the blizzard around them intensified by several times.

Jiiing.

Frey cast a barrier, and the white snow hit against the barrier like hail.

‘This isn’t good.’

They couldn’t even feel a strand of goodwill. They couldn’t be sure why, but it was clear that she was angry.

Elliah’s sharp eyes turned to Diablo.

“Now I remember, you’re that Lich I met before. Right. Did you think I didn’t kill you that day because I was weak?”

The anger in Elliah’s voice was clear. They had picked a bad time. She didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk.

‘But.’

They didn’t have time.

Frey grit his teeth.

“Demigod Elliah! I came to you because of Riki’s will.”

“…”

The blizzard stopped at that.

No, to be precise, it was as if a membrane had formed that isolated Elliah and Frey’s group from the outside world.

Frey quickly continued.

“Before he died, Riki said that the if there was any Demigod in this world who would help me it would be y-”

“Shut up.”

These words were harsh and cold, like chewing a piece of ice.

At Elliah’s words, Snow, Nora and Diablo began preparing for battle, their aura’s building up explosively.

“Me, help you? That guy still did whatever he wanted even when he was on the verge of dying. Haha. Ahaha.”

“In the first place, I never had any interest in the Demigods or the Circle. The survival of the Demigods? Lord’s orders? Ha. Fuck that.”

The blatant disregard for Lord already showed that Elliah was very different from the other Demigods.

Nevertheless, Frey’s wary expression didn’t relax in the slightest. Elliah might not care much about the Demigods, but it was the same for them.

Crunch.

Cold air swirled around her hands.

“And you want my help? Sure. I’ll help you. But first, you have to prove that you’re worth my help.”

Elliah’s freezing eyes turned to Frey.

“Especially you, human Wizard. I heard that you had a part to play in Riki’s betrayal. So I want you to show me just how exactly did you influence Riki too.”