27. Evernode (1)
Five days had passed since we started moving north.
We were attacked by monsters halfway through, and sometimes we got stuck in rain and mud, and it took some time, but as of yesterday, we were finally able to enter the area called the North.
Riding was easier than I thought. Even if I didn’t pull the reins or kick the side and ask for it, the horse moved as I thought. For some reason, I feel like I can communicate better with this guy than with other people. Or, in the first place, Illroy in the original story had a good understanding of horseback riding.
“The days are getting longer with each passing day.”
said Georg. It has no choice but to be. The date is moving towards the summer solstice and moving up to high latitudes. If you arrive at Evernode, you may be able to confirm the Midnight Night phenomenon that you have only heard about.
“What time is it now?”
“It is six o’clock in the afternoon. Now that it’s time for the horses to get tired, it would be a good idea to set up a campsite nearby and rest while preparing for the next day.”
I nodded. Looking back, I saw Daphne and Marianne, as well as the knights and soldiers who were entrusted with escorting this northern trip. I heard that it is not only an escort, but also has the meaning of praising the Northern Duke for his hard work and reinforcing the insufficient troops.
“Today we will go all the way and find a place to camp.”
When I stopped my horse and said, the soldiers quickly got off their horses with bright colors on their faces. They were good soldiers who didn’t complain, but I laughed because I sympathized with them as they excitedly set up the campsite when they got off work, and slowly demolished the campsite when they went to work.
“We should install it soon.”
I got off my horse and loosened my stiff body. It is said that horses do run, but even riding a horse for several hours consumes considerable stamina. Every time I turned, I heard the crunching of my bones. I tied my horse and helped set up the barracks at the camp. At first, the knights and soldiers who had told me not to do this kind of thing now began to entrust me with the work first.
“Ah, warrior. You are doing well now.”
“right? If you get used to it, you can do anything well.”
As I spoke, slightly smug, the soldiers raised their hands on my shoulders and pointed to their tents.
“In the meantime, could you help us set up our barracks?”
“Go away, children.”
The soldiers giggled and ran away, and I collapsed in front of the completed tent in an instant. The campfire that had just been lit began to burn bright red, eating away at the twigs. early summer. The weather was not good for sitting in front of a fire, but the changed climate required the proper warmth of a bonfire.
“It’s nice that the days get cooler the further north you go.”
The closer we got to the Evernode, the cooler the wind was blowing. The wind smelled different from yesterday. The smell of moss-covered soil and stones, the smell of tree bark blown by the cold wind. The smell of clean water from the upper reaches of the river. Those things were mixed to create the complex air of the North.
“The monsters in the north are ferocious.”
Georg said, sitting next to me. I blinked and looked at Georg.
“Have you ever been to the North?”
“Yes. Like the knight with us now, I have participated in regular deployments.”
Georg stared at the pot on top of the campfire and poked it with a twig.
“When there is nothing to eat in winter, monsters become much more ferocious. It was hard work fighting monsters with snow piled up to my knees, unable to sleep properly. I am truly fortunate that this expedition was held in the summer.”
It’s a gray bear that’s more ferocious than back then. It wasn’t something I wanted to imagine very much.
“We also finished the installation.”
After setting up the camp, Daphne and Marianne came over and sat down. The two were in the middle of implementing the ‘I hope they get closer’ project. There’s no sense of forcing her to do it, but Daphne is slowly starting to get used to Marianne. Now he seemed to be in tune with Marianne’s bland appearance as well as I was.
“Is today Illroy’s cooking day?”
Daphne peeked into the canteen and said. I think the dishes that were criticized by Marianne last time are on the rise. ‘Still, it’s worth eating,’ was Georg’s evaluation last time. Well, because Marianne was a wall that couldn’t be crossed, the party would stop me whenever I cooked.
“yes. This time, though, it will be less adventurous than the last time.”
Daphne looked down at the canteen anxiously and nodded. For every adventurous attempt, there was a good reaction and a bad reaction. The computer in my head organized the big data and slowly began to derive a recipe for making the best stew.
“It looks almost finished.”
“… You didn’t put anything really weird this time, did you?”
Georg looked at the banhwan as if he was looking forward to it, as if he secretly liked my savory dish. The smell coming up from the brush is not that ominous, but is it a bit different from my taste? I tilted my head and took the three half rings out of the fire.
I scooped it up with a spoon and tasted it. Well. The best I’ve ever made.
“It’s okay.”
“… Not bad.”
It was a subtle evaluation. I think it’s fortunate that the expressions don’t harden. We ate and chatted for a while. Daphne’s development speed, which entered the 5th circle during the last bet, and Georg’s experience of telling the story of an enemy in the north, saying ‘It was my time’, were the main topics of the day.
“From now on, we are really going to fight the fourth plague.”
Daphne looked blankly at the fire and said. The empty canteens were stacked one on top of the other and placed on the fire to dry.
“Do you know what the seven plagues are?”
Georg asked, turning to Daphne and Marianne. Daphne shook her head in disbelief, and Marianne opened her mouth, which was unusual for her.
“An enemy of God, an enemy of mankind.”
“… right. Seven plagues that will destroy the world, remnants of the age of myth.”
Georg said, pointing his finger.
“’Snake’, ‘Locust’, ‘Kraken’, ‘Giant’, ‘Mist’, ‘Meteor’, and ‘Source’.”
Calamity had a bleak aura just by its name. The bonfire started shaking a little each time Georg mentioned it.
“Among these, ‘snakes’ and ‘locusts’, known as the first and second plagues, were attacked and disappeared in the generation before us. And the third plague, Kraken, as you know, was attacked in the last expedition.”
I nodded. Georg could do a better job of explaining up to the third catastrophe.
“When fighting the third plague… , I can see why they are truly catastrophes that will destroy the world.”
Georg seemed to recall the time of the Kraken raid.
“Every time he swung his foot, several ships disappeared. In the end, I couldn’t finish the battle at sea and had to fight after dragging him to the pier. The port city was almost completely destroyed, but how could I mobilize all the troops to catch it with difficulty.”
Georg said that while glancing at me.
“It was a much more disastrous victory than I thought. Wasn’t it?”
“… yes.”
I nodded, turning my head towards the campfire. It would be best to just keep my mouth shut here, but Georg seems to have taken my silence as self-blame.
“War requires sacrifice. If it is not a war between humans, but a noble fight to protect the entire human race, their deaths will not be meaningless.”
Death I don’t know. A war I don’t know about. I just nodded my head, not being able to recklessly answer Georg. I could feel Daphne lingering. I think I know what kind of expression she is making even if I don’t have to look at her.
“Well, the depressing story ends here. Ask another question.”
Georg tried his best to evoke the atmosphere with a bright voice. I quickly opened my mouth, not wanting to stay still and kill the atmosphere.
“How did you set up your campsite in the winter? It wouldn’t have been easy to do anything if it was all covered with snow.”
“I picked moss and slept on it. I had to somehow prevent the loss of body heat… .”
—
“… Illroy.”
I woke up blinking my eyes. The surroundings were completely immersed in darkness. Today I say It’s time to stand guard until the sun rises. I irritably pushed away Georg’s hand, which had tapped my shoulder, and raised my upper body. The weather was chilly, and the sleeping bag was damp.
“I’ll go. Stop hitting.”
After sending Georg out again, I put on my coat and grabbed the holy sword. After breaking through the tent, Georg was standing with a lantern in his eyes, tired.
“It’s a shift. Anything special?”
“doesn’t exist. Since it’s summer, monsters seem to be playing well in my territory. Still, do not sit down and doze off; stay awake.”
Georg passed the lantern to me with an open mouth and a yawn. In the meantime, I circulated the mana to completely drive out the sleep energy, and I took over the lantern with bright eyes and sent Georg in. In the silence of the north, only the occasional chirping of owls and crows could be heard.
I put down the lantern and sat down by the campfire. The soldiers and knights standing guard were each lost in thought. I looked at them once and pulled out the holy sword.
“[Are you ready?]”
“Sure.”
When I set off for Evernode, the holy sword gave me two tasks.
‘[I’ll give you two tasks.]’
‘It’s an assignment?’
‘[Completing both of the tasks I’m giving you from now on is the condition for opening the second stage.]’
‘Step 2… Opening.’
I drew the Holy Sword, took a deep breath, and then exhaled again. Mana flows through his body, and the time around him begins to flow slowly.
‘[You’ll remember I told you about Sim, Ki, and Che the other day.]’
‘yes. I went through a lot of hard work trying to train that ‘body’.’
‘[I think it’s still a long way off, but this time it’s not ‘Che’, it’s ‘Sim’.]’
hun.
The blade of the holy sword lightly cut through the air.
‘[As the first task, tame the crown you received from the bishop. It is the sound to pass the ordeal.]’
‘It’s terrible.’
‘[The trial of the crown will be different each time. It’s a test of your sanity itself, so try to endure it. If that’s the case, you’ll be able to withstand the aftermath when I open the second stage.]’
‘Then what about the other one?’
hun.
‘Sim’ is not just your mental strength, but often refers to what is commonly referred to as ‘mindfulness’.’
hun.
‘What I ask of you this time is that you learn the skills to handle that power. It’s not a stronger force that subdues all forces, it’s Yu (柔).’
hun.
‘Second task. Swing the sword and put the dew on the tip of my sword.’
Chew!
In the end, the branch that couldn’t stand my sword wind was cut. I looked at the holy sword dissatisfied and then lowered my arm. He practiced wielding the sword every night or whenever he had free time, but he still did not understand the words of the holy sword and the true intention of this training.
“I don’t know yet.”
“[If you realized that in five days, then you must be saying that you have talents beyond that of a grand sword master. Don’t expect too much in the first place. It took me quite a while to reach that level, even with the most intelligent person out of all the people who dealt with me.]”
Instead of forming dew, I swept the blade of the Holy Sword, which had the potential to slash. In the reflection of the bonfire, the pure white sword body was shining brightly.
“[You should be able to control even that sharpness.]”
“It’s difficult.”
I gripped my sword again and took a horse-running ceremony. The night is Guinea, so there is plenty of time left to try things out.
rustle.
It was when he was swinging his sword again. Along with the sound of stepping on the blades of grass, I could feel the eyes watching me. When I lowered my sword and turned my head, an unexpected person was staring at me from the other side of the campsite.
“Marianne.”
It was Marianne, standing leaning against the window, her eyes resembling the full moon shining.
Are they gonna practice? Hmmm