Ep 133. I Did? (1)

A lone warrior climbed the wooden stairs, carrying a plate of cold, dried meat. As soon as he opened the door to the tower's top, a breeze of freezing winds greeted his arrival. A curt glance soon followed from a hulking figure, adorned with a bear hide over their head.

"Chief. I've brought you some food."

"I told you, just call me Urgus...oh? Is that bear meat?"

"I've heard they're quite to your liking."

"Ahahaha! Whoever told you, they told you right."

"...Everyone knows. You have a hide over your head, it's not hard to guess."

Urgus' expression instantly brightened as he approached his guest, chuckling at their last remark. He casually tossed a piece into his mouth, crunching down on the cold, tough meat.

"Mm. It's a shame we can't drink."

"We don't have much, but I could spare you a bottle?"

"Haha. No, it's best I hold myself. If Brother Orkaan found out, I'd be dead before the war even begins. Being able to eat is good enough for me."

"...Good enough, you say."

Chewing on his unsavory meal, Urgus returned his gaze to the eastern mountains. Although the sight of stretching snow-tipped mountains had been mesmerizing at first, Urgus felt nothing but unease now.

He'd watched the same spectacle for nearly a month. And still, nothing had changed - for good or worse.

"...Peska. How long do you suppose we'll be here?"

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that."

"I've been wondering if this is truly for the best. At this rate, we'll be starved to death - Chell was never meant to hold so many warriors. We'll be fine a while longer, but the children won't last very long."

"But we cannot leave. You know this, chief."

Urgus grimaced at the adamant reply. Even though he was well aware of how pointless their discussion was, he seemingly couldn't help himself from speajing.

"...Sure I do. I know we must remain for Asarda's sake. But..."

Sighing in frustration, Urgus brought another piece of meat to his mouth, ripping off the top half with his teeth.

"I suppose I'm growing impatient. That all we do is wait...for a battle that we cannot win."

"If we had no chance of winning, the empire would already have marched into our lands. I'm sure they're wary of Asarda's might."

"...No, that's not it. What they fear is not us."

Both warriors soon turned their eyes towards the northern plains. A frozen landscape endlessly stretched into the horizon - towards where their guardian was said to remain.

"What they fear is the Star. The guardian that may not even come to our aid."

"...You worry needlessly. Her presence alone is deterring the empire's march. She protects us regardless."

"Haha. Yeah...must be, right? I'm simply being a dumbass..."

"Of course. The Star is always watching over us."

"Ahaha! That's right. That's right..."

An awkward silence ensued between the two warriors.

It was an age-old belief they'd held onto all life: a belief that the Star would protect and oversee Asarda's well-being for eons to come. The people's belief in their guardian deity was engraved so deeply into their culture that it had cultivated what an outsider would call blind faith.

But standing before the reality of war, that age-old belief was slowly beginning to crumble within Urgus.

'...It's never been like this.'

Fathered by a man who'd united their frozen lands, Urgus had enjoyed a life free of worries or conflict. He'd been strong from birth, and had used that strength to cultivate himself even further; alongside his two elder brothers, Urgus could now confidently claim himself as one of Asarda's strongest warriors.

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No beast nor monster could threaten the chief warrior. Asarda's harsh climates had long become insignificant. If he was fated to die in battle for the land that had raised him, then he would gladly accept his end.

But before the looming threat of war - a battle that could rob his entire people of their lives - even Urgus was driven to his wit's end. If there really was a guardian deity, then he wanted to depend on her.

Even though one of the watchers had reported a strange, orange-haired girl that abandoned Asarda to head eastward...

"...Well, worrying won't do us any good!"

After the overly enthusiastic shout, Urgus swallowed the last bits of the meat strip. He once again turned towards Peska to grab another - until he noticed his friend's narrowed eyes.

"? Peska?"

"...Chief, do you see that?"

"Hm?"

When Urgus followed Peska's gaze, he could see another warrior to the east, seemingly returning from his hunting venture. But there wasn't so much as a single leaf in their hands; instead, the warrior was walking back in the company of a number of outsiders.

Urgus frowned as he studied the party. They were far too few to be the imperial army, and they the returning warrior didn't seem particularly threatened by their presence.

But what caught the chief warrior's attention most was the peculiar girl in their midst, dragging her long, orange hair along the frozen ground.

✧ ✧ ✧

30 minutes ago...

"Brr...it's sooo cold here..."

Light rubbed her hands against each other, breathing upon her palms in an attempt to keep herself warm. The crimson tail around her waist tightened a little more to lessen her shivering.

"Yeah...the wind really isn't helping. Even I'm getting a little cold. Stay close, okay? Oh, and make sure you don't touch Raizel."

"Huh...? Why?"

"Well...if you touch her when it's this cold, your hand might get stuck on her skin."

"...”

Ignoring the red dragon’s remarks, Raizel casually strolled through the snowy fields. The youngling’s eyes were fixed on the tiny wooden frames in the distance, standing beyond what seemed like a low, wooden barricade.

“Hey, birdhead. Is that Chell?”

“It is. It shouldn’t be long now.”

Truth be told, they had the option of flying there – and in fact, the party had already flown over the snowy mountains. But after they’d made it through the mountain range, Karas had insisted that they walk the rest of the way, lest they scare any Asardan that would happen to see giant lizards flying towards their settlement.

Not that Raizel was convinced. She was merely following after Serenis; the steel dragon was still very much displeased with having to walk.

“…Can’t we just fly? We can tell them we’re not attacking when we get there.”

“Asarda should be on high alert due to the empire’s influence. If we were to fly, we’d be seen as enemies and attacked midair before even reaching Chell.”

“Tch. Guess these folks aren’t weaklings either, huh?”

Although she was unaware of it herself, Raizel’s attitude towards humans had noticeably changed since her battle against Lavnore.

Before, humans had been no different from harmless insects to the steel dragon. She could kill tens and hundreds with one swing of her tail, and the few named hunters that had challenged her before were nothing to write home about, either. Only after suffering from Lavnore’s magic had the youngling developed some vigilance towards humans.

Unfortunately, Karas destroyed what little vigilance she’d gained with his next sentence.

“Actually, they’re beyond weak in your standards. Asarda is known for not even having proper military. Due to their harsh climate, survival alone was a daunting task for its people; I doubt they could even reach you in the air.”

“…The hell? Then why’re we walking? Isn’t flying safer?”

“Because our goal is to restore Aymeia’s memories, and no good will come out of losing the people’s trust.”

“…”

“Which is why you, along with others, must remain outside when we arrive at Chell. A whole group of outsiders is bound to draw unnecessary attention, especially if said outsiders are dragons. The lesser the headcount, the easier it will be for Aymeia to gain the people’s trust.”

Due to the punishing environment that had persisted for centuries throughout Asarda, its inhabitants were already extremely wary of outsiders; they couldn’t help but fear those who could rob them of what precious little they had.

Of course, that same punishing environment had also deterred outside aggression throughout history. An invasion into these frozen lands required far too much risk and resources, neither of which could be compensated even through a successful campaign.

Hence, when Akeia teetered on the verge of invasion, it wasn’t hard to assume how helplessly unprepared Asarda would’ve been.

‘But this is also an opportunity.’

After centuries of bare survival, the threat of a looming empire had suddenly fallen over them. Even considering the remoteness of Asarda’s location, the news of the empire’s advances should’ve reached them by now – as well as the fact that they were the last on the chopping block.

But what if their guardian deity were to suddenly appear during this crisis, announcing that the empire’s threat was no more?

Aymeia’s centuries of absence would instantly be forgotten, replaced with the people’s fervent trust of their land’s guardian – and, with any luck, lead to an instant reawakening of the deity’s lost memories. She was, after all, once a loved and cherished deity.

Karas wore a proud grin as he once again examined his plan in his head. While others remain hidden outside, the professor could expertly introduce Aymeia to Chell’s inhabitants. Once the former deity gained her people’s trust, the people were wont to accept the presence of their guardian’s company.

His plan had no faults whatsoever…at least in his own head.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always proceed as planned.

Rustle. Rustle.

“…Hm?”

The professor came to a stop as he noticed a nearby bush, shaking off the snow that covered it. A half-naked warrior soon emerged from within, holding a dead rabbit in one hand, stone dagger in the other.

“Whew. At least that’s something for…huh?”

“…”

“…?”

The warrior’s eyes soon locked with the professor’s midair. His eyes then darted across those people standing behind Karas, his eyes shaking in a mix of surprise and fear.

Every single one of them were an outsider, and not a single one was human. Their clothes were already radically different from the leather-based attires Asardans wore.

To make matters worse, the strange party was headed west – meaning, they’d come from the east. Their size was quite perfect for a scouting party as well.

‘There’s nothing but mountains to the east…and beyond the mountains, there’s…’

In the end, there was only one sensible conclusion the warrior could draw.

“E…e…e…”

“E?”

“ENEMIES!!!!!”