Chapter 227: Northern Walls (3)
ADSIt had been 4 days since our arrival at the border city of Bifrost, and the maintenance was well under way.KA8
4nq8AgThanks to the Sun hovering in the sky, some of the people were even working without a shirt on, which created an interesting sight of people wearing and taking off their jackets on repeat depending on their location.lmCWXUm
bCGYeMh“A bit small.”lpcH07
hAyn“A, apologies, but this is the biggest building we have in this city.”7LVynjf
mHxeKWe were inside the training hall used by the Bifrost guards for a conference. Everyone was so close that we could all feel each other’s warmth.Sax2jz
J4yd“I’m sure it’s uncomfortable for everyone, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”Ewk6FOU
iMKtIt was unavoidable, because there were hundreds of us inside this small building.j9i3BA
avJHe“We are going to start investigating what’s beyond the walls. Any volunteers?”rM8pYs
BpiAwEveryone looked away slightly in response. It was just as I had expected. Even I would have preferred to stay over in the city instead of spending the night in the snowy mountains.9rn
X4UD“Daesik.”sM5p
ZoM0iT3“Ah, yes! Master…!”x9l
MbC0a8r“Create a group of around 100 battle mages. The weather’s like this so make sure to include the Red Cult folks. They have to make the fire for us.”AYWfg
IWY“Y, yes sir!”XFoecxv
bWFU5Despite being former elites of the Tower of Mages, none of them voiced a complaint even after hearing me treat them like lighters. It seemed Marie was a great teacher.8m0a4h
vP1“Master. How are the runes coming along?”mXj4hhP
bOxFR“I am still in the process of engraving them on all the major parts of the wall.”Ocr
lV7i0Qg“Master and Professor Josephine, please continue with the runes and… Kranel and Yuel? Make sure the Wicker Warrior Upgrade version is ready to depart at any moment.”GY251X
eCBniAYuel the Druid grumbled in response.9OL2c
rIgY“Is it collaboration work with this person again?”Fpii
Btu96“…Why?”fOUyHj
VhYwR“Like. You’re… always so oddly enthusiastic whenever it’s about creating golems.”sP6
ziSbKIgnoring the two’s banter, I continued on with forming the investigation team.Lchqja
uF2gv7J“Marie-sunbae and Alicia will come with me; Hua Ran will stay behind in the city just in case. As for Dorron and Germain… Germain. Are you there?”p9Qi6
BerS3Yb“Sorry? Yes! I am here, sunbae!”9m6VT
HIKaHM0A hand shot up from the room of 200 people.g8PU1
xf5“You group up with Ren and Ron, and you will just be in charge of stand-by.”z9AFGTn
95PE“U, understood.”i08K1N
xwyqb0gI chose roughly 500 that would be going with me on the investigation, with all of them being top-tier knights and mages.5OQehY
TQCEq“Uhh… Sir Korin?”3UM6
2r8IcjThat was when Sir Beyon Solberg raised his hand. He was technically a normal soldier now, but that was just an official punishment, and he was still here in the conference for reference.h0zQ
rtEI7Yf“What is it, Sir Beyon?”ERWdim
FBfL“To my knowledge… I heard the objective was to investigate the change in climate. But this…”w8Jd55T
Xo1m6RJ“It’s like we’re going for a war, right?”Gido
sWspv“No no no. What I mean is…”ZvwZDC
ZYyCloz800 might not be a lot, but what if all 800 were knights and mages.xv7iMf
bAd88Even a conservative estimate of a guardian’s combat prowess was equal to 100 normal soldiers. They were superhumans that normal civilians could never hope to defeat alone.sgKt
ksoTBImmobilizing 800 of such superhumans for a ‘climate investigation’ was a joke that no-one would believe.8NLKYF
FOjsaG3“My guild members are aware of it already, but let me explain it so that the guards of the city can brace themselves as well.”23Ll
Cn0VF6ZI declared while looking at the small group of officers and Sir Beyon.5pEo5t
Vl8CXu“The climate investigation is just a pretext. Our objective is to protect the northern wall and clean up the surroundings, holding on until the arrival of our allied forces under the lead of Her Holiness the Saintess.”ebxk
EShad, the first battle of the last episode.mk0uy
MrR[Frost Giant – NASTROND Field War]3uk9t
UbTwEqThe reasons behind that devastating war were the fall of the northern walls, as well as the chaos within the kingdom due to the invading Valkyries and barbarians.AC3
hpVMIf the winter were to continue like this and the northern walls were to be breached, we would have to see the reincarnation of the Frost Giant.4HNow
Adnzq‘But there is a very big difference in this iteration.’6LO9i3
2yOJMCpThe prophecy about the ‘era of the wolf’ and ‘beasts of darkness’, which the prophets of the Old Faith had been rambling about, referred to none other than the Ren and Ron siblings… and Miruam’s Snake of Infinity.AlXN
8vEeThe three key characters of the prophecy were all on my side and the titan resurrection plan had also failed with the fall of the Tower of Mages.9kAPToK
mZnu3XNow, the Frost Giant was the only hand that Valtazar had remaining. If we could stop the reincarnation of that mythological demon king before the fact, then…ljNHkYF
1hz‘We will be able to go all out without reserve in the battle against Tates Valtazar.’z9lwnPe
3xtPo1“There will be a huge monster wave coming. It will be much bigger than what any of you can imagine.”dSdg
TMr46OE“A monster wave?”jf8
Yx7OHn“Where’s the proof…?”BKJ
0cqNaturally, everyone apart from those that belonged in our guild, found it difficult to believe such a bold claim.Nnrq
zZ3DKThere was a great excuse I could rely on in times like thisZdY9lBM
OT79“This is a prophecy from Her Holiness Saintess Estelle. I am sure you’ve all heard the recent prophecies.”ALMWu
NTagTu“Ah…”1gCff
7mAV98f“A p, prophecy from the Saintess…”bG13
Ii0“Wait, then the Savior of the Sun is…!”ox0k88
eExsPoThe name value of the Saintess worked wonders as expected. In any case, I was done convincing them so now it was my time to give out some orders to my group.TT3
RAVxJ3“From now on, the Investigation Team’s job is to get rid of all the demonic beasts and spirits in our vicinity. You’ve been leaving them alone just because they were quiet, right? They will all ride along in the monster wave, so we have to deal with the strong ones ahead of time.”dhTuvO
Yau“Understood.”4tAmF
wEAg“After that…”nW6Yw5
8jneThe key to fending off the monster wave would be the Valkyries and the Northern Kingdom tribes that were forced to come down after refusing to follow Tates Valtazar.JxMsGM
HX77mdWe had to stop them, who broke down the walls even before the arrival of Valtazar’s hordes of monsters.krKlKdd
kdrHXn‘Well… I guess that’s for me to worry about.’8ofd
L5j7It’s not like I failed in the last iteration either. Those ladies can be persuaded after all.wrE
wqaAt****kIsZrH
iSxE8XAfter finishing her work, Hua quickly looked for one of the admin officials.W93g
W4kZ“Are there storks here, you ask?”mGVu
7XizO83“Yes.”f17gtI
ihqZGjtThe old official had been living here all his life, and was able to return the response that Hua had been wanting to hear.8IQ
7x0I“Yes. There is a habitat of storks nearby. They always come over during Spring, and it’s a fabulous sight.”VcTO
SFForpP“…”X95nhkW
GxnpwG“But may I ask why you are asking such a question?”aWe4
tTQC61“It’s nothing.”LGVd
uzvShe left the office and turned towards the Sun shining down on the city.01dl
dy0N3u[Hua. This is our chance.]ybkCz
ERCt“…Un. I know.”c6U1
d424WqZHowever, right now wasn’t the time. Both Hua and Ran were adults – they had been in the social setting for a long time and knew how much it meant to have a baby. In a place as cold as this, they knew they needed to be even more prepared.7ho
hnM2fg0Therefore…crvCZ
7GLVMT– Clank!7XWJ2
oDAFsR“W, w, www what did you… say?”3JzMP
1RyTIn the middle of a meal, Josephine dropped her cutleries in doubt, refusing to believe what her ears had just picked up. However, Hua asked the same question with a clear voice.tWh9
H70Gy“How do you prepare for raising babies?”SXZ
SBJ“W, w, why do you want to know that?”i2ACbCB
96YrZ“Because I need to.”6QIH
TlVNl“Huup!”XdBq9
zHZ6OJosephine thought her breath was about to come to a stop.QpZwd
JKaAwiz“Y, you mean…”KbWM4
IvchJosephine clenched on the fork again and rolled her eyes to glance around. Fortunately, everyone was busy with their city maintenance work and were having different lunch breaks and it was just the two of them.g3HEXJS
5lsUG“S, Student Hua Ran… Did you… spend the night, with Student Korin?”vRVrK
eBuQQQnHua Ran took that question literally.W6s
EuT“Yeah. Lots.”e9P4gJZ
vFIDIt wasn’t just once or twice that she had slept on the same bed as Korin, so she replied like it wasn’t a big deal.4S2U
smO“Holy…”qJRTJ
Jh2cJosephine saw the sky falling in her eyes.ZfgiKt
OmVShe did hear how kids these days had such experiences at an earlier age, but was it really true? What has the world come to?!tnatx
5r84WdAnd Student Korin of all people! Korin Lork! The trust Josephine had for him in spite of all the negative rumors had been betrayed!wpInMgV
tBr“Ahh. What of Erin then…”pOQg
tmQfZMy poor mother… Josephine found it hard to contain her sorrow, but there was nothing that could be done.0Arua
8dA69“Hua Ran… Is Ran there as well?”xWAVh0
cr5X“…Yeah.”cwF
q6Z“Are you two… ready to raise a baby?”HNBXazx
VrljCCThey were both young girls in the prime of their youth. There was no way that they could be ready to have kids already…wcUd
jHKdTyf“Yes.”DA7
04vHowever, Hua returned a resolute response, which conveyed that Ran must have the same resolve as well.UocF4Xd
KGEoQJ“Fuu…” Josephine sighed. “It feels like just yesterday that you were just a young baby who didn’t know anything about the world…”FAvY0Qs
oEPj5VThe girl they had brought over from the east had grown up so much in such a short period of time… Josephine lifted her glasses up and gave Hua Ran a tight hug.3iUzAsB
B03E5d0“It will be hard. Having a baby is nothing easy.”rgssx
tGW“I know.”OSY
R34zBm“But… there is still plenty of time, so you can take it slow.”IyUrMf
YzuJosephine said after glancing at her belly which was still just as flat, thinking that it was probably only 2~3 weeks in. However, Hua tilted her head and remarked.Pcsoe
ZCri9D“I need to know now.”rRv9
F5pI“…”o2dN
zfWtkBaWas she anxious now that she was pregnant? Josephine realized how much of a change bearing a child brings to a person, because it certainly wasn’t usual for this nonchalant girl to be in this much of a hurry.LkBm
aHH“Alright. Then let us practice for it ahead of time…”iC7oO
PaKmpuJosephine took her out to the city.ph3
zSMeu****XzR
mevEYMages were fundamentally a very high-class laborer.98S2
97HoActually, the expression, ‘laborer’ wasn’t commonly used to refer to these ‘classy’ people who would feel offended to be called one.jzCh
MWIyDexThe path of magic was an academic study seeking truth and looking to revolutionize the world. As such, the only path for them was forward, as they sought to reach the stars in the sky.MRb
GH6YLR7At least that was the misconception many mages had, but as someone praised as an upcoming great mage of the future, Marie Dunareff knew how convenient of a tool magic was.ikNZ5T
4f3GyXDThey could start a fire at a place devoid of embers and combine the molecules in the air to pour out water when the farmlands needed a refresher.sAcBn
6kcEven black magic, which people often thought of as evil, could be a great device when used properly, by for example making chimeras that could serve as domestic animals in the farmland.lkEvQYF
rpJzBut it was rare to see development in the so-called ‘life-magic’ area, because mages were way too expensive for their services.sdH8Ie
mFH7“Chunsik. Go light that on fire and Daesik; come here and grow these plants.”mz02W4a
96dI3However, now that the mages of the Tower of Mages had fallen from grace into slaves and their lofty mindsets reduced to a joke…UKqU
Th5“This water stinks. Is this too hard for you guys?”6E9UnEA
jcnYalMages were nothing but useful tools.qLst3
zWDRUKN“A, apologies, Master!”Ox2
mtmrIpN“Daesik! Put some herbs in the water!”ikHYvvc
qvRvmTF“I’m doing it already, Chunsik!”G57D
1VqThe mages that used to each represent a cult in the once-sublime Tower of Mages, had fallen so much from grace that they had even lost their names.2x3T
OEdwKzn“Looks good. Well done making the hot spring. Go to the city and help the people out now.”rRjgB8
RclN2“U, understood!”84OJ
KUvFJTt“Oh right. Chunsik, go bake some potatoes.”rEj
Y3JBSrj“On it…!”ajmEd
D95VFAfter ordering around the super-high-class elite mages with just words, Marie looked at the completed hot spring with a smile.4QZXTfX
808MQ“Fuu~. There are some medical herbs good for relaxation as well so~ it should be helpful for Korin, right?”ytjLBQR
9vAcncConsidering how his routine was having a good bath after sweating buckets at the training room, he was bound to love it.cvNC6B
4KVN“Hehe… Should I ask if he wants to go in together? Auh…! T, that’s a bit too much, right! Ahaha… How embarrassing…”WTYtsWd
NoKsMarie shook those happy but delusional thoughts away, because she knew Korin would refuse doing things that were too immoral.YqsJ
MO9IrHowever, she still felt the need to advance their relationship a little bit more. She still couldn’t forget the sense of urgency and fear she felt a few months ago during the war to take Korin as the son-in-law.8G6
chIyBiting into the potatoes that were baked by Chunsik, Marie tried to think of what the bottom line would be that Korin wouldn’t be repulsed by.aa5YR4n
TIMcBfC“Hmm…! Right! This is it!”fYcqu
Bsu5M4First off would be the hot spring. He would of course turn down the mixed bath, so she didn’t even plan to ask about it.nJoElW
6sc6NjBut what about straight after the bath?0AkbadL
uKpyBThe skin would be warm and moist, serving as a great blanket and a pillow.YwsSs
QiFCc‘I’ll ask if I can drink some blood… cuddle close and when it’s over, I will suggest we ‘rest’ together.’zpzg
GbFIt was a method suggested by Isabelle, proven to work on several occasions.1U1TX7i
yPuMShe could let him rest on her body. Korin had the tendency to fall asleep straight away when resting on her soft chest so…D3xz
CA72– Gulp!eR6gH
Vlmb“Hehehe…”XrGY
WDDQHNlUnable to contain the corners of her lips, Marie giggled to herself.oXh
ukRvAll she had to do now was invite Korin. In order to make the first move before others were even aware of the hot spring, Marie headed to the city to find him.ua1
fae9tEShe knew where Korin was – he was always at the same place keeping the Sun up in the sky, and must be quite tired by now.CV7vK
OM3Pa“Un un! He must be! He must be super tired!”DnuXt0F
IWc6BOaAll she was doing was try alleviating some of his stress. It was for his benefit. Telling herself that, she was walking to where Korin was, and came across some unexpected people.Wk3yA
WIuM2“This?”PkJw
6qgDT“Yes. The carpenters here are more skilled than I was expecting.”aFHK
7wDOblivious to her presence, the two of them were talking to themselves.a46
miw0C“Hua Ran and… Professor Josephine?”0Xsgota
y5J6yIt was rare to see the two of them strolling around the city together. Were they here to buy something?f5BhKxT
b2HgLolMarie was about to call their names when she heard a completely unexpected set of words.dfPbw
mQAtre“I heard babies are fond of toys like this.”ZWD0g
jmKwt“Really?”pojNl
1ou‘Babies?’rXBZ
Vlvu0Why were they talking about babies? Were they trying to give that wooden toy as a gift to some of the babies in the city?nuvItC
otglV“Well. You can buy this ahead of time. Student Hua Ran… Or perhaps I shouldn’t refer to you like that anymore. Because you are a proud mother of a child already…”Veru
p1hdU‘Ehk? Ehk?’Xq7Ri
NyhjWait. Wait.tdgUuN
XDzs4“By the way, does Korin know already? That he will have a baby soon?”9ePt
xTyoP“He doesn’t know yet.”ijN2q
HJBgNHs“Fuu… You should quickly tell him. He lost his self-control and laid his hands on you… so you never know who else he is going to target with his demonic hands…”GFRCyp
GqYxJOy“He will find out soon.”3ze
76n1CpMarie dropped the potato she was eating.IFr
D6a3j– Crush!y4OO7
S3V1The potato crumbled the moment it fell on the ground and so did her heart.IfA4J5
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