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This autumn marks Karem’s second autumn in Iceland.

And it has been far more brutal than what I experienced last year.

Isn’t it still early autumn?

However, as the caravan moved north and the path became interrupted, revealing the dirt road,

once we entered the Highland region where Lord Hadrian resided, the temperature plummeted. I could feel it in my bones, and soon snow began to fall from the sky.

Karem took out his autumn clothes that he had packed away.

It was sufficient for Coldon.

But despite that, an icy chill crept in.

“If it’s cold, why don’t you wear more layers?”

“Ha, shoot. My winter clothes are in the luggage. Surely, it’s not winter already, right?”

“Still autumn. They say it gets colder the further north you go in Iceland. Here, it’s so cold that even in summer there are days when the water freezes. By the way, shouldn’t there be some warmth?”

Catherine looked around inside the wagon, searching here and there.

Soon she reached up towards the ceiling as if she had found something.

Whooooosh—

“Here it is.”

For a brief moment, a resonating sound echoed, and instantly, the inside of the wagon grew warm, flipping like a card.

“…Huh? No, whew.”

I finally had the breathing room to think of something else.

By the way, does that mean it’ll be even colder as we go up from here?

“Then does it snow here from autumn?”

“What do you mean by autumn? The closer you get to Lord Hadrian, the more often it snows, even in summer.”

Catherine, looking somewhat horrified, flung the wagon window wide open.

The biting cold wind accompanied a flurry of snow into the wagon.

“I heard that, but I never expected it to snow this much.”

“Huieeeek! Cold air is coming in! Close the window! Close the window!”

“Oh dear. I seem to have gotten used to the cold.”

“Please think of your delicate personal chef!”

Honestly, Karem was quite confident in handling both cold and heat.

He had lived in a climate that was wrecked in his previous life, with temperature differences exceeding 50 degrees and extreme shifts.

But the autumn here was more intense than winter in Coldon, to the point where even the memories of his past life felt trivial.

And yet, winter hadn’t even arrived yet!

“Contractor, the inside is getting cold.”

Sniff. Mary, whose attire seemed strangely identical to that in Winterhome, sniffled.

“There are some people getting cold, so please close the window quickly.”

“It’s not the window; you need to wear more clothes.”

“Don’t worry; it’s just dry.”

“Really? Aren’t you cold?”

“A house fairy must serve the contractor faithfully in any environment and has a variety of means prepared for them.”

“What? Magic tools?”

Clack—

Catherine closed the window and shook her head as though saying that wasn’t it.

“It’s magic. Magic.”

“It’s not just ordinary magic. It’s the fairy magic that maintains the best condition for the contractor to perform even in torrential rains, storms, heavy snowfall, and cold waves.”

“I don’t understand how one fairy magic can cover all those effects.”

“Fairy magic is not something to be understood.”

Mary seemed to take some pride in this, puffing her nose up. Catherine pursed her lips at that sight.

“You feel it with your heart.”

“Even the sages of the myth age gave up trying to understand fairy magic.”

“Uh, I don’t know how great that time was, but is it really that much?”

“Let’s see.”

Nodding while stroking her chin in thought, Catherine snapped her fingers.

“Let me give you an example. There are countless known and unknown magic, magic tools, and ingredients that can not only nullify magic but also block the very mana itself depending on their use.”

“Oh, I’ve never heard of that.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t, since you’re an ordinary person.”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway.”

Clearing her throat, Catherine continued her explanation.

“With barriers, potions, curses, surgical procedures, or simply using a magic tool, a Swordmaster can halt an army at a snap of a finger, and a sage-level Grand Wizard can intercept and counter a powerful monster’s breath as long as they’re well-prepared.”

“What? Is that really possible?”

“Of course, it requires immense preparation and entails tremendous risks.”

A Swordmaster is a strategic weapon that can stop an army single-handedly, and a Grand Wizard is a presence that can counter strong monsters if sufficiently prepared.

Naturally, it would be expected for there to be some damage when binding such beings.

“And indeed, there are very few who can use magic in such environments without difficulty.”

Catherine pointed to Mary sitting next to her with a flick of her finger.

“This house fairy is a perfect example of that.”

“Oh, Mary?”

“Yeah.”

Karem looked at Mary with surprise.

Now that he thought about it, Mary was handling all the incredible tasks at the Wizard’s Tower all by herself.

Not to mention her teleportation magic, which appeared out of nowhere.

“Hehehe. Karem, my junior. I am indeed that remarkable.”

“Well, I mean, it’s easy to tell just by watching you pop in and out all the time.”

“Yeah, eh? Pop out?”

“You know, the teleportation.”

“Teleportation that even ordinary mages can’t even attempt is just ‘pop’?”

“Well, it’s just that it pops in front of me all the time, disappearing and appearing, what else could I call it? Plus, you can’t even do it outside the Wizard’s Tower, right?”

“Ha! That’s a hasty generalization. I can use it!”

“Really?”

Completely unexpected rebuttal. Karem’s eyes widened in shock.

Catherine nodded lightly at those words.

“Yeah. I can use it.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Only to serve and protect the contractor, though. And I believe there are some restrictions on it.”

“Just being able to use it is already unfair.”

“Anyway, the popping and that outfit are also part of fairy magic.”

In that moment, Karem trembled at the unfairness of species and talent.

Catherine chuckled, tilting her head.

“So, are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah. Whew. I think I can breathe a little now. Honestly, I prefer the cold over the heat, but this is a bit much.”

“By the way, it’s odd.”

Catherine frowned slightly.

“Now that I think about it, it’s even weirder.”

“If you keep saying how strange it is, it makes me feel strange.”

“No, what’s strange is that it’s cold even with that holy relic. Didn’t you use it to block the cold last time?”

“Ah.”

At those words, Karem inadvertently looked down at his chest.

All he could see was a bulky fur coat sticking out, but inside, he could definitely feel the round texture of the holy relic.

“Right. Back when Lord Robin’s cold froze everyone, I was fine. Why is it different now? Can’t it prevent natural phenomena?”

“Hm, I should probably test that later.”

“Umm, I think I’ll just stay ignorant about it.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’ll just stay!”

Catherine was puzzled, but Karem was firm.

Even though he mentioned testing it, he already knew how it would turn out.

He’d probably end up standing like a scarecrow or staring blankly like last time.

No, more likely, since this was a holy relic, it wasn’t just simple mana that would shoot out, it might really unleash magic. It would unleash magic for sure.

Karem was certain that Catherine would do just that.

Then she would gradually increase the intensity to see just how far it could defend.

“Well, if it gets too hot, just let me know. There’s also a Cold Resistance Potion instead of warmth magic.”

“Oh, speaking of which, what does that taste like?”

“The basic flavor is pretty much like that hot sauce you presented.”

Clunk! Heeheehee! Whoooosh!!!

Suddenly, the wagon came to a halt.

“What!”

“Whoa, be careful.”

“I almost fell over.”

Thud! Mary thrust out her hand and caught Karem, who was about to top over from the sudden stop.

While Karem exchanged glances with Mary, Catherine, who was holding onto the side wall, nervously tapped against the wagon wall.

“Mercenary! Are you driving properly?”

“Sir/Madam Mage! I think you should come out!”

“What?”

“No, really.”

A voice filled with laughter came from Gordon, who was sitting next to the carriage board.

Feeling puzzled, Karem opened the wagon door and was met with a searing chill.

Under the dim sky, snow was slowly piling up between two slopes.

Karem frowned as the fierce wind blew suddenly, then turned his gaze.

The party had been surrounded.

To fend off the cold, they were bundled up in fur, armed with spears, rusty swords, clubs, and a variety of weapons, all aiming bows at the wagon.

“Wow, it’s a thief!”

“Iceland is a place where people live, so of course there would be thieves.”

“I’m seeing a thief for the first time.”

“What? You’ve never seen a thief? Where on earth are you from? Ah.”

Catherine nodded knowingly.

She had said she was from a remote village where even monsters were hard to spot. Though she did end up getting attacked in the end.

Meanwhile, more thieves were appearing from the gaps in the rocks and crevices of the snowfield, joining the encirclement.

And at the front of the caravan,

clap clap clap clap!

A shabby-looking bandit, wearing a pointed wolf’s head helmet, stepped forward, clapping his hands lightly, and spread his arms wide with a sneer.

“Esteemed nobles of Iceland, traveling through the Highland! You have my deepest admiration for braving the cold weather. I am Lambert, the leader of these beggars.”

With that, he gracefully bowed like a clown, then straightened up.

“In that sense, would you kindly pay a toll to these poor souls? Then we shall pass you through without a fuss.”

Of course, this was a lie.

The bandit leader, Lambert, wasn’t expressing anything sincerely.

The target seemed to be the heavily armed guards and the mage, along with the girl holding a staff and a knight.

With a wagon drawn by Snowrunners and horses,

the rest were merely servants and maids.

All of them appeared to be dressed in luxurious attire and riding in a fancy wagon.

It was clear they were esteemed individuals.

And esteemed individuals always meant money.

Of course, not long ago, there was no way they would dare harm nobles under any circumstances.

Speaking in a low voice, one of Lambert’s subordinates whispered to him.

“Boss, is this really okay?”

“Shut up. I’m trying to mislead them.”

“But, still, you seem too relaxed.”

“They’re probably ignorant nobles and their lowly attendants. Plus, think of our numbers.”

Recently, the number of the bandit group surpassed a hundred.

‘Every man must harbor ambitions!’

If a brawny man capable of wielding weapons is over a hundred, then that’s enough force to sweep through a knight’s domain or a small territory.

Besides, given that they had deserters, former adventurers, and mercenaries among them, there was nothing to fear unless a subjugation force specifically came for them.

But for now, having gathered this many troops, a variety of practice was needed.

And coincidentally, there was an excellent target right in front of them.

Time had been dragged out sufficiently.

Lambert raised his head, confirming that the wagon caravan had been completely surrounded.

“Chirp. C’mon now…”

“Kid. You can laugh if you want.”

“Gah, cough! Hahahahaha!”

Huh? Lambert was taken aback.

Suddenly laughing? Did they lose their minds out of fear?

Pfft, pfft!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

No. They weren’t losing their minds.

Starting with Karem, followed by Gordon and Catherine, every mage, servant, maid, and guard were trying to hold back laughter or bursting into laughter, clutching their stomachs as if they could tear.

They were breathing heavily against the wagon wall, gasping for air.

Not as much as them, but Catherine also smirked, shaking her head.

“Enough laughing, focus!”

“Ha ha! Please! Sir/Madam Mage, this is just too funny! Wait, I can’t breathe, breathe, whew.”

“How much time do you need?”

“What about time?”

Gordon, finally catching his breath, tenderly rubbed his aching belly and placed his other hand on the pommel briefly before stuttering.

“Well, it shouldn’t take too long.”

“But Gordon, what about the arrows?”

“What arrows?”

Gordon let out a gentle puff of air.

“Hey, who’s your employer that you’re worrying about arrows?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Just go inside and take a nap or something.”

Gordon casually waved his hand behind him and turned away.

And then the Swordmaster drew his sword.

 

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