Chapter 172
Early in the morning, I entered a small restaurant located south of Kirchen together with Raffin.
“Here, kid.”
We turned our gaze toward the direction the voice came from.
A black-haired woman was sitting alone at a table, smiling.
……With a large mug of beer in one hand.
“Drinking alcohol this early in the morning?”
When I sat down and reproached her, Polia let out a laugh.
“Ah, kid. You really don’t know, do you? For adventurers, beer isn’t alcohol. It’s a beverage. A drink.”
“That’s information I don’t particularly want to know.”
Raffin and I ordered some bread—just enough to settle our empty stomachs—and ate.
Polia took a big gulp of beer, then shrugged her shoulders.
“By the way, do you think I can enter the restricted area?”
“……Why are you asking me that? You can’t enter?”
Since she was supposed to be a legendary adventurer, I had naturally assumed she could.
According to the game’s settings, high-ranking adventurers could receive a platinum necklace and, by submitting it, gain entry into restricted zones.
……But looking at Polia now, there was no such necklace around her neck.
“You said you were a famous adventurer. Don’t you have any proof that lets you enter restricted areas?”
“Ah. I kind of retired without officially retiring, so my entry permit never got renewed.”
“So you don’t have anything at all that proves your qualification? Not even one thing?”
“Yeah, none. Not a single one.”
Hearing Polia’s answer, I nodded and put on a refreshed smile.
“Then, well. There’s nothing we can do. Let’s part ways here.”
“Hey, kid! How can you be that heartless!”
“……Heartless or not.”
I replied one after another, giving her an annoyed look.
“If you trespass illegally and get unlucky, the knight commander might come after you.”
“Kid, that’s an extremely unlucky case. Even if that happened, there’s nothing to worry about. I can beat every single imperial knight commander.”
“Either way, my goal is to climb the mountain, so I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.”
“An adventure can afford to be a little noisy, kid.”
“I prefer things quiet. ……Let’s just go for now.”
Our meal had ended before I knew it, and I stood up from the table.
And so, we moved our steps toward the entrance of the mountain.
It wasn’t very far from the restaurant.
Just like the southern mountain entrance, two imperial sentries were standing guard in front of the gate.
However…… there was a slight difference. The sentries on the southern mountain side had looked lax, even sloppy in their duties, but the ones guarding this mountain were not asleep at all. Both stood silently, carrying out their watch with strict vigilance.
‘They look pretty strict. Hopefully nothing happens.’
As we approached the entrance, a sentry blocked our path.
“Access prohibited. We will verify your identities.”
Raffin and I presented the golden compass to the sentries. The two seemed to recognize it at a glance and saluted me.
“Thank you. Your identities have been confirmed.”
“Alright, good work.”
“Good work.”
When I responded, Raffin echoed me, and we entered through the gate.
Polia, who had been sticking close behind my back, quietly followed as well, but…….
“Wait. You there, stop.”
“……Oops, I got caught.”
Polia stuck out her tongue and laughed awkwardly.
I turned my gaze to the soldier.
“She’s with me. We’re in quite a hurry—do you really need to verify her identity separately?”
“…….”
The soldier stared into my eyes for a while, then averted his gaze and nodded.
“……Ah, confirmed. We’ll process her as a companion. All three of you may pass.”
“Must be cold and tiring. Thanks for your hard work, sentry.”
Polia smiled leisurely and joined me inside.
“Phew, we barely got in. You guys are impressive. You’re students, yet you can legally enter a restricted area.”
I let out a sigh and spoke.
“Polia, you said you used to climb the snowy mountain like it was nothing. Were you lying to us?”
“I didn’t lie. Back then, I could climb it like it was my home, but now it’s designated as a restricted area, so it’s become hard to enter legally.”
“I can trust you on that, right?”
When I replied, Polia straightened her shoulders and tapped her chest.
“Yeah. Just trust me, kid.”
“Honestly, you don’t really seem like a very reliable adult.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to show you how reliable I can be.”
Polia took a step closer to me.
Her relaxed yet confident eyes came nearer.
“Kid, I promise you this. Until you reach the summit of every mountain you wish to climb, I won’t let a single thing that tries to hurt you get even a little close. I won’t allow even one scratch on you. Protecting people is my specialty.”
Polia stuck out her tongue as she took the lead.
“Of course, if you trip and get hurt while climbing, that can’t be helped!”
“……Understood.”
“Alright, kid. Follow me closely.”
Together with Polia, I stepped forward toward the summit of the Spitz Snowy Mountains.
It didn’t seem like a lie that she had climbed snowy mountains often. Her footsteps were familiar, as if she had already walked this path dozens of times.
“This way’s the shortcut, kid.”
Even before dangerous terrain, she didn’t hesitate, and the way she chose her path was steeped in experience.
We climbed the snowy mountain far faster and more safely than expected.
Just as I was beginning, for the first time, to think that traveling with her had been the right choice—
“Wait.”
Polia, who had been leading the way, raised a finger to her lips and signaled us to stop.
When I looked ahead, monsters came into view.
On terrain where soil and snow were mixed together, Yeti with white fur were scattered about.
They were monsters several tiers above the Ice Slimes we had seen on the southern mountain.
There seemed to be quite a lot of them—roughly around thirty.
There was even an individual presumed to be a mid-boss, several times larger than the surrounding Yeti.
‘Yeah… this does look pretty dangerous.’
It was exactly the same as in the game.
While climbing the snowy mountain, one could discover a shortcut route that allowed for a very rapid ascent.
However, only users with an overwhelmingly high level were allowed to take that path.
There was only one reason that shortcut existed.
It was consideration prepared by the developer, to spare high-level users—those who had already cleared this snowy mountain countless times—the inconvenience of repeating it again.
It was a shortcut-like route that the developers had left open, close to an exploit, so that users who had already cleared this area wouldn’t have to repeat the same process.
If your level was low, you had to take the proper route intended by the game developers.
No matter if it was me and Rapin, dealing with this many would still be troublesome.
“Should we take another path?”
“No. If we detour another way, it’ll take too long. This is the shortcut. So…….”
Polia unpacked her luggage and took out something made of iron from her bag.
“Boy, stay here for a moment.”
It was a helmet shaped like a wolf, covering the head completely.
“I’ll finish this quickly and come back.”
Wearing it, Polia drew the sword at her waist and walked toward them.
When dozens of monsters spotted Polia, they revealed their killing intent.
And then, shortly after…….
Kyaaaak-!
They began charging at her in a swarm.
At the same time, Polia swung her sword.
I opened my eyes wide.
Her sword wasn’t fast.
At least, it wasn’t so fast that it couldn’t be seen.
And yet, the monsters fell in an instant.
There was only a single trajectory drawn by the blade.
There were no unnecessary movements; she cut only where it was necessary.
With a single swing, several collapsed at once.
It was a movement as if she already knew the outcome—like someone who had calculated every following action before the monsters even charged.
‘……So it really wasn’t bragging.’
She was like a lofty wolf.
She didn’t chase her prey. She blocked off their escape routes, made them rush in on their own, then quietly bit their throats.
There were no flashy techniques.
Sword energy didn’t scatter, nor did magical power overflow.
And yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
The point where the sword stopped. The position where her foot landed. Even the direction of her gaze.
Everything was so precise that it was awe-inspiring.
For the first time, while watching swordsmanship, I even had this thought.
……That it was more beautiful than any art.
As if pursuing the beauty of empty space, she stripped everything away except what was necessary—minimal movement.
A completed form with not a single wasted inch.
It was clear she was a highly skilled expert standing in a realm far beyond reach.
The words that she could defeat all the Imperial Knight Commanders, that she was stronger than the Empire’s greatest sword, Bedervel—those might not have been exaggerations after all.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of yetis turned into black ash and vanished. Polia sheathed her sword back at her waist, walked over to me, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Phew, that’s the last of them.”
“……Ms. Polia, this is the first time you’ve looked truly reliable.”
“So you’re saying I wasn’t reliable before?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“Eeh, how cold!”
……Anyway, since we were able to take the shortcut, the clear time was greatly reduced.
The closer we got to the summit, the stronger the wind became, and the falling snow started to increase.
“A blizzard’s blowing.”
“It’s not enough to stop us yet. Not now.”
And so, thanks to Polia’s help, we reached the summit faster than expected.
Ice Rishi Eight Leg
That giant octopus was the king living at the summit of the hill. I heard its form was based on the legend of the giant octopus ‘Kraken’.
True to the setting that it lived on thin ice, its massive body was submerged in an icy lake, with only the top of its head visible, like the tip of an iceberg.
“That thing looks much stronger than the others.”
When I took out the titanium sword from subspace, Polia extended her arm.
“Put it away. When I’m here, the boy doesn’t need to hold a sword.”
“……Well then, I’ll leave it to you.”
I put the sword back into subspace.
With Polia’s level of combat power, she would surely be able to defeat the Ice Rishi Eight Leg with ease.
I decided to leave the boss fight entirely to Polia.
I did want to admire Polia’s swordsmanship, but…… there was something I had to do.
I looked around the ground nearby. There was something I needed to find.
“Rapin. If you see something like a blue flower, let me know. ……Though it’s probably brown and almost dead by now.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Kwaang-!
Paang-!
There were tremendous sounds of destruction, but Rapin and I didn’t even spare them a glance, calmly scanning the surrounding grass.
“Billed. I found it.”
Before I knew it, Rapin was calling me over, waving her hand. When I looked down at her feet, I saw something familiar.
“……Yeah. Good job finding it, Rapin.”
At last, I found it. A withered, brown-colored ‘Moonlight Herb’.
I approached and knelt on one knee.
When I grabbed at the air, Pau’s card appeared in my hand.
‘Pau. Revive it.’
Paaat-!
As I placed my hand on the dying flower, it began to glow.
All the leaves regained their vitality, making it clear that it truly was ‘Moonlight Herb’.
I quickly put it into subspace.
……And then, I heard footsteps.
When I turned my gaze, I saw Polia with her sword back at her waist.
Behind her, a giant octopus split cleanly in half lay with its massive legs sprawled along the lakeshore, only its body submerged.
“Looks like you’re done.”
“It was big, but nothing special.”
“Then, since the job’s done, shall we head down?”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Polia shook her head.
“Wouldn’t descending in this weather be a bit dangerous?”
“……That’s true.”
Before I realized it, the wind was blowing fiercely.
I turned my head toward a nearby cave.
“Then shall we rest over there until the blizzard dies down?”
“Good idea, boy.”
She walked toward the cave. Rapin and I followed her in silence.
The sound of the snowy mountain wind behind us grew steadily stronger.