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A thief that couldn’t possibly be alive was resurrected.

And it was slowly walking towards the caravan.

It was a scenario that could easily frighten anyone, but Karem tilted his head in confusion.

“Isn’t it said that the natural undead of Iceland are seasonal?”

“By the grace of Goddess Skadi, the natural undead of Iceland only appear in spring and summer,” he said with certainty. “Their activity decreases in autumn, and they vanish come winter.”

This was one of those common pieces of knowledge Karem had heard a few times about Iceland.

“…Natural undead feels a bit strange though.”

“Well, since they occur naturally, it’s correct to call them natural. I mean, could it actually be late summer instead of early autumn?”

“No. This is clearly an unusual situation.”

Catherine stroked her chin and narrowed her eyes.

Her gaze was fixed on the group of zombies that were sluggishly approaching the caravan.

“Well, even if they’re slow, their numbers are too many to just ignore.”

“Couldn’t we have dealt with them a bit more neatly?”

“Did you think I would expect them to stand up like that? Besides, summer’s long gone; which region of Iceland are these zombies even from?”

“Just a joke. Forget it. There’s no need for you to get involved.”

As Catherine said this, she waved her hand dismissively.

Then, she summoned the flustered servants and soldiers with a snap of her fingers to calm them down.

“Akus. You don’t have any issues dealing with them, do you?”

“Of course not, Sir Atanitas. The soldiers are somewhat uneasy about the situation, but they are more than enough to handle these limping corpses.”

“Alright. But, wait, uneasy? In that case, we might need a spell of courage. Gather the guards in one place.”

“Yes? Ah, understood.”

The commander, blinking rapidly, gathered the scattered soldiers who were safeguarding the caravan. Once Catherine confirmed they were all together, she waved her hand towards them.

The ice magic spread around, coiling and swirling according to the spell formed at her fingertips. Following her command, it gathered from all directions towards the soldiers.

Head, arms, torso, legs, feet, hands.

The defense magic began to cover the soldiers unevenly, then quickly solidified and turned translucent, becoming barely visible.

All the soldiers, regardless of their experience, marveled in awe.

Although it was invisible, they could distinctly feel the “shield” enveloping their entire bodies over their armor.

“Protection magic-armor of winter. Even though it isn’t winter yet, though.”

The slightest tinge of unease the soldiers held instantly disappeared.

After that, the soldiers thoroughly trampled the very zombies that had, quite literally, been thieves.

They were slow-moving zombies, to begin with.

And with their bodies stiffened by the bitter cold of northern Iceland, which was practically winter, the soldiers easily crushed, ground, and smashed them without needing to form any squads.

However, due to the sheer number of bandits handled by Gordon, it was inevitable that the time it took the comparatively ordinary guards to deal with them would be longer.

As Karem watched the soldiers hunting the undead, tearing apart the fallen zombies, he turned to Catherine.

“So, the spell of courage? Is that what it really is?”

“Well, it is a spell of courage.”

“But you said it was protection magic.”

“That one is protection magic that can absorb a single hit even from a bugbear head-on.”

At Catherine’s proud proclamation, Gordon stroked his beard and nodded with interest.

“Oh? So it can withstand an attack like that?”

A bugbear.

An undead monster that is even more tenacious and cunning than trolls, it is born from the corpse of a bear consumed by vengeful spirits.

Catherine’s casual finger-spun protection magic could deflect an attack capable of smashing a rock in one blow.

“Simple yet impressively effective.”

“Well, to break such a spell and cast it without chanting, one would need to be a grand wizard. Otherwise, they’d have to cling to their staff and recite a lengthy incantation.”

“I’ve only seen Sir Atanitas flick his finger! Or use his staff to do it, so I never really grasped how it works.”

While they chatted like that, Catherine suddenly fell into deep thought.

Though they had diverged from the topic during their light banter, the appearance of undead in autumn, when the northern Iceland felt almost like winter, was an ominous sign.

It was certainly not a natural occurrence.

Three possibilities immediately came to mind.

Firstly, a large-scale territorial war with a battlefield that had been neglected.

If such a war had taken place, there was no way she wouldn’t be aware being stationed in the stronghold.

Secondly, the influence of a powerful magic tool or artifact.

Yet, if something like the scales of Naglfar or a tooth of Nastrond was that common, there’s no way Iceland would still be intact.

Therefore, the most suspect was a large-scale ritual by an evil necromancer; but wasn’t that incident in Fungusbee just recently? It was too suspicious to be mere coincidence.

However…

“Personally, I hope it’s an artifact’s influence—”

“Artifact?”

“Never mind. By the way, I’m feeling peckish.”

“How about some jerky?”

“Well… ooh, this jerky is rather…?”

“I put plenty of spices in the seasoning while making it.”

Time passed slowly.

As the flustered servants and maids gradually calmed, Karem watched as the secret jerky pouch he had prepared emptied, while the last remaining zombie head got smashed by the soldiers.

But the soldiers’ work was only just getting started.

They scrambled to gather the byproducts from the fallen zombies. In particular, the commander was so enthusiastic that he was rummaging through the shattered pieces of the zombies.

Even though they had just been human moments before, there were still plenty of items to collect from what had once been a living person.

The zombies, stripped bare from head to toe except for what little clothing they wore, began to pile up like dry firewood alongside well-dried tinder on one side of the snow-covered path.

If this were a place where no humans had traveled, it might be alright.

But the hungry beasts and monsters needed to be dealt with before they swarmed.

While Karem spaced out, chatting away and soon lost for words, he noticed the commander approaching.

“Um, Sir Atanitas? The commander is coming over. Was it Akus?”

“Looks like he’s here to report on the situation and discuss loot distribution.”

“You don’t need to worry about the loot, do you?”

“Of course not. But I’m not so sure about this one. Mercenaries?”

Gordon shook his head firmly.

He wouldn’t have touched them even if his territory were gone and he was down on his luck; the former baron had no desire to rummage through anything left behind by the now low-tier undead zombies.

It wasn’t worth scavenging for flea guts.

“Sir Atanitas.”

“Yes. Even if things are gradually being resolved, it looks like it isn’t quite over yet. What’s going on? Are there issues with loot distribution?”

“It was handled according to custom without any disputes. However, there’s something to report.”

“Mm?”

The commander splayed his palm on the table.

Clatter, clink!

The consecutive sounds of clear items dropping gathered everyone’s attention.

Karem frowned.

Stone fragments, no, pieces of jewels?

Ranging from smaller than a pinky nail but larger than a speck of dust, several opaque dark blue crystal shards dropped onto the tablecloth.

“Though small in size, it seems like a gem.”

“It looks like a gem, but it’s definitely not one.”

“What do you mean?”

“If my eyes are correct, this is—”

The commander paused, seemingly uncertain. What in the world could that be? At that moment, from Karem’s periphery, one of the maids picked up a shard. Catherine’s furrowed brows examined the piece from side to side.

“It’s magic stone.”

“Is that so? Yes. Wait, what? Magic stone?”

“Yes. While it’s murky and the quality is poor due to being an undead’s, this is undeniably a magic stone.”

Karem also understood what a magic stone was.

A crystal of magical power that is formed within or possessed by powerful monsters.

Karem didn’t know much about the former.

But regarding the latter, he recognized one clear case.

The crystallized power of magic depicted in countless artworks throughout history, from both East to West.

Primarily found in byproducts from powerful monsters, but the most famous magic stone is different.

The source of power, life, and magic of dragons.

The traces of time and age found in the heart of a dragon.

A legendary product whose size and quality vary immensely depending on the strength and age of the individual: the Dragon Heart.

Karem looked again at the pile of magic stones on the tablecloth with renewed curiosity.

However, the expectancy quickly faded away.

No matter how he looked at it, this didn’t compare to the legendary Dragon Heart.

But where could these magic stone fragments have come from—

Karem already whirled his head to the heavily smoldering pile of zombies.

Gordon’s gaze also shifted there, curious about what was going on.

“Isn’t it likely that these came from over there…?”

“What? No way. From zombies that you could hunt yourself if you had gear?”

“Well, yes, but there’s nothing else different around here, right? No, before that, your statement sounds a bit unpleasant.”

“Just admit it, okay? The lowest tier undead; not much better than a corpse like those zombies. If it were ghouls, I’d understand, but…”

Catherine, tapping her finger on the small dark blue magic stone, soon dropped it onto the table.

“At least I should reward what could have been overlooked. We should report this matter to the lord when we return.”

She handed over a small pouch, waving her hand.

Heavier than one would expect, the pouch promised good prospects.

The commander bowed in thanks again and hurried to finish things off and raced toward the burning undead remains.

“Suddenly, we are in an intriguing situation, and we’ve wasted too much time. Mary.”

“I’ll prepare the luggage right away.”

“Good. Make sure to inform the dazed servants and maids. Once the soldiers return, we’ll resume our journey.”

At her command, Mary grasped the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly before leaving to carry out her duties.

As the urge to move rose, Karem instinctively began scooping the pile of magic stones the commander left behind into his empty jerky pouch.

“From the way you speak, it seems you have an inkling, don’t you?”

“I felt the magic as I touched it a moment ago.”

“Oh, so that’s what you were holding onto.”

“Yes. While they seem cheap, there’s also something strange about them.”

The quality of a magic stone was paramount.

However, the size and capacity ultimately correlated with the magic contained within.

“It’s way too big for the magic it holds. At this size, it’s peculiar for a magic stone to even form…”

It was an absurd statement, but what could it mean…

Karem blinked and then turned his head.

He caught eyes with Gordon, who had a blank look while staring at Catherine.

“So, does that mean they’re hollow?”

“Who knows. Hollow things may still have some sort of inside. Though fried things did taste good.”

“Then perhaps it’s a deceptive green apple?”

That works. Even bears wouldn’t eat such things. Reaching an agreement, Karem and Gordon nodded at each other while Catherine looked at them in disdain.

“Enough with the nonsense. In the end, this means someone, or something, that uses necromancy was behind this, just like in Fungusbee.”

“Oh, thinking back, that’s true. This might be a chance to gain more byproducts?”

“Exactly so. Wait a moment.”

“What? Is something odd—”

“No, your reaction is lukewarm.”

“…Uh, is that so?”

Karem looked at Catherine as if questioning her, before shifting his eyes to Gordon, who had moved to the side with his mouth agape, yawning casually.

Could people’s best forces be so blatant in meaning?

Catherine quickly realized the implication.

Thinking about it, the caravan was guarded by a grand wizard and a swordmaster.

Plus, elite soldiers directly under the duchy were also escorting them.

There was no way they wouldn’t be careless.

“Should we then clear the table and chairs?”

“Um, huh? Sure. Go ahead.”

It wasn’t that. Whether Catherine was deep in thought or what, Karem began folding the folding table, tablecloth, and chairs to load onto the wagon when she got up.

By the time the soldiers returned, they were organized, and the caravan began to move northward again, leaving the flames of the undead pile behind.

 

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