Chapter 212

Winter Has Come (4)

Winter was naturally supposed to be cold, but this winter was especially bitter.

The previous winter had been difficult because it had arrived completely out of nowhere, but this one was just as harsh despite all the thorough preparations.

The temperature itself was bad enough, but the real problem was the wind. The so-called knife winds blew frequently.

Every time the wind brushed against his cheeks, it felt as though a blade heated red-hot in a fire were slicing across them.

That was why he refrained from going outside whenever possible. Ludwig had advised him to do the same.

He said that moving around in the winter cold consumed several times more energy than usual.

The human body expended an enormous amount of energy simply to maintain a constant temperature.

"Good, isn’t it?"

"Hrnnngh. Hrnnngh."

"I’ll take that as a yes."

That was why he had roasted some sweet potatoes. He had harvested them in preparation for precisely this.

Perhaps because they had been grown in the Forest of Four Seasons, the sweet potatoes were exceptionally sweet.

With every bite into their golden flesh, a rich sweetness and fragrance spread through his mouth.

It would have been even better with some milk, but that would have been asking for too much.

"Here. You guys have some too. They’re hot, so be careful."

"Uwo!"

"Kkuong."

He had roasted plenty of sweet potatoes and shared them with the animal companions in the brick house.

They all struggled with the heat at first, but once the sweet potatoes had cooled a little, they ate them with delight.

"Good, isn’t it?"

"Muong."

The deer was no exception. It wolfed down the sweet potato, delighted by a sweetness different from that of the golden apple.

The problem, if anything, was that they liked them too much.

Once every roasted sweet potato was gone, Kkobong began inspecting the pot from every angle.

He even held the empty pot out to Grylls, his expression plainly asking whether there were any more.

"No. Control yourself."

"More! Want more!"

"Kkuong."

Kkobong wasn’t the only one demanding more. Largo joined in as well.

Even the deer, while pretending otherwise, subtly pawed at the ground with one of its forelegs.

Grylls had harvested quite a lot of sweet potatoes, but the answer was still no.

If they keep eating nothing but sweet potatoes, they’re going to get ridiculously fat.

He had heard stories about people taking their pets to the veterinarian only to be told that they had gained too much weight and should stop eating sweet potatoes.

Most animals tended to like sweet potatoes, but the Forest of Four Seasons was different.

The animals here simply loved anything sweet.

At this rate, a bear might show up and demand roasted sweet potatoes too.

"Then I’m heading out. Behave yourselves."

"Sweet potato! Sweet potato! Sweet potato!"

"Get away from me, you little rascal. Keep that up and you’ll grow a belly."

After finally prying the clingy Kkobong away, Grylls returned to the cave.

He had merely walked there and back, yet the cold was terrifying.

It wasn’t as though he had been dropped into the middle of Siberia. How could it possibly be this cold?

"Come to think of it, we didn’t get much rain either."

Last winter had arrived immediately after the rainy season, but this time was different.

Whether it could truly be called autumn or not, the weather had gradually grown colder before winter arrived.

He might go outside if the weather warmed up, but that did not seem likely.

At best, he would probably only venture out around noon.

Even preparing meals had become difficult.

"Piiiiii~"

"Tyrano, you’re going to burn yourself like that."

Fast Sloth and Tyrano had claimed the space in front of the fireplace.

Fast Sloth had always been in charge of that spot, but Tyrano had newly joined him this winter.

Come to think of it, are dragons considered reptiles too?

Most reptiles were cold-blooded animals whose body temperatures changed according to their environment.

So little was known about dragons that Grylls found himself curious.

One might ask how so little could be known when Dragon Slayers existed.

Because nobody can observe them.

Observation was impossible when trespassing into a dragon’s territory resulted in getting blasted by its breath.

Still, Grylls suspected dragons were probably more like mammals than cold-blooded reptiles.

He stroked Tyrano’s head a few times before turning away.

In the direction he turned, the statue of Cain stood as steadfastly as ever.

It looks like the protests in El Dorado are starting to wind down.

That was what people on the Gallery were saying.

The Papal Palace had gone so far as to mobilize the army while making its appeal.

Their claim was that every protester was currently afflicted by the Undying King’s curse, though they were still investigating why.

Seeing that the Papal Palace had even deployed the army, the protesters had begun wondering whether the claim might actually be true.

One person had volunteered to enter the Papal Palace and be examined personally.

The protesters had subsequently dispersed, though they intended to wait and see what happened.

When Grylls explained the entire situation to Ludwig, his response was—

Title: What Is This Guy Saying?

Wild Grylls

(Video of Ludwig saying something)

I told him what was happening in El Dorado, and he snorted before saying this. Can anyone translate?

└ Heavenly Demon: Judging by his tone alone, it appears to be an insult.

└ SwordMaster: It sounds like an insult to me too.

└ Passing Dwarf: You can tell at a glance he’s telling them to cut the bullshit, lmaooo.

└ PraiseTheSun: I don’t know the language of the Holy Nation, but I can tell he just swore.

└ DontAbandonTheHero: He said, "They can fuck right off with that bullshit!"

└ Wild Grylls: I knew it, lmao.

That was roughly what he had said.

Profanity was a universal language, after all.

Ludwig had even been purged by the Papal Palace. Naturally, he had no trust in them whatsoever.

Even so, the protesters still clung to a faint hope. The fact that the Papal Palace had mobilized the army seemed to carry considerable weight.

At least the army didn’t attack them outright.

There could have been no greater tragedy.

It would also have left a scar that lasted forever.

In any case, it seemed Grylls could put El Dorado out of his mind for the time being.

If anything else happened, he could pay attention again.

Title: What Nonsense.

NecromancyIsLove

(Photo taken from inside a refrigerator)

My curse is supposedly still in effect?

If that were true, I would have commanded you to release me from this cramped, frigid prison.

How laughable of the Papal Palace to claim that my curse lives on while I, its creator, am dead.

└ Who is this old man now?

└ This person roleplays as the Undying King. But it’s hilarious because this genuinely sounds like something the real Undying King would say, lmaooo.

└ How did he take a photo from inside the refrigerator?

└ If the real Undying King still had enough power to cast curses, he would’ve resurrected himself first, lmao.

There were posts like that as well.

Even if the curse turned out to be real, it would take the Papal Palace a long time to regain the people’s trust.

The repercussions of the Undying King incident had far exceeded anything Grylls had anticipated.

It wasn’t as though he had wanted any of this to happen in the first place.

It doesn’t really have much to do with me anyway.

For now, he merely had to spend the winter in front of the warm fireplace.

He would eat from time to time as well.

Grylls checked the time and headed outside.

It was about time to retrieve some food from the storehouse—

"Uwohk?!"

Just as he was about to step outside, he came face-to-face with a thief.

A white gorilla was tiptoeing away with his arms full of sweet potatoes.

Kkobong had not expected Grylls to emerge. His eyes widened, and he froze on the spot.

"...Good grief."

Fine.

Eat as much as you want.

Grylls waved a hand, telling him to do as he pleased.

Kkobong cautiously watched his reaction for another moment before sprinting back to the brick house.

"Uho! Uhoho!"

"Kkuong!"

Cheers erupted from inside the brick house.

Were they really that delicious?

Grylls chuckled and raised his head.

The weather looks gloomy.

"...."

It seemed as though it would begin snowing soon.

***

A day had passed since Hans entered the Papal Palace as the protesters’ representative.

Perhaps the examination was taking longer than expected, but the Papal Palace had remained silent.

Growing anxious, Hans’s family questioned the Papal Palace, only to receive the same answer.

[The examination is still underway. Please continue to wait.]

In the end, his family had no choice but to return home empty-handed.

Upon seeing this, some of El Dorado’s citizens insisted that they should resume the protest.

Others, however, argued that they should wait and see.

Even after thirty years, remnants of the Undying King could still be found everywhere.

The Kingdom of Balkan, in particular, remained infested with undead.

There were ordinary ghouls and skeletons, as well as Death Knights and liches.

The royal palace was still completely overrun with wraiths and remained impossible to capture.

"What the hell are those bastards doing? How long could it possibly take to dispel one curse?"

After an entire day passed without progress, Reina finally voiced her frustration.

Asella felt the same way and nodded in agreement.

Even the most time-consuming curse-breaking ritual should be completed within a day.

Moreover, the one performing it was the Pope.

The Pope’s divine power was reputed to rival that of the Hero herself.

Yet there had been no news whatsoever.

Something was suspicious.

People said that no news was good news, but that certainly did not apply to the present situation.

"...I have to go."

As Asella rose from her seat, Reina looked at her worriedly.

"Are you sure you’ll be all right alone?"

Reina had no confidence in her ability to infiltrate the place, so allowing Asella to go alone was the wiser decision.

But this was the Papal Palace of all places.

Security was bound to be extremely tight.

"I’ll be fine. I know the entire layout of the Papal Palace, including all its blind spots."

"Blind spots? How do you know about those?"

"I discovered them while wandering around when I was little."

Asella had been raised in the Papal Palace from childhood because she had been chosen as the Hero.

Although the prophecy had since caused her to be branded a traitor, that no longer mattered.

Reina ultimately had no choice but to let her go.

Accompanying her would only get in the way under the present circumstances.

"Still, be careful. And... no matter what happens, restrain yourself."

"...."

"Even if you get angry, you have to hold it in. If you cause an incident in there, you’ll only be helping them."

Asella gave a solemn nod at Reina’s practical advice.

She did not know what awaited her inside, but she needed to prepare herself for the worst.

"I’ll search the interrogation rooms first."

"Okay."

Asella pulled her hood low over her face.

Instead of approaching the Papal Palace’s main entrance, she headed toward a section of the outer wall where security was relatively lax.

The wall was well over five meters high, but scaling it was easy for Asella.

Tap! Tap!

As though defying gravity, Asella kicked off the wall and ran upward.

She cleared it with movements as light as a bird’s and immediately concealed herself.

It’s almost time for the guards to change shifts. That’s when I’ll move.

Thanks to her exceptional memory, she knew the Papal Palace’s guard schedule by heart.

Asella circled the building, avoiding every line of sight until she discovered an opening.

The interrogation rooms are underground. There’s only one official entrance, but...

There was another way inside.

A ventilation shaft installed to circulate air through the interrogation rooms.

After checking her surroundings, Asella tore the cover from the vent.

It would not have budged for someone with ordinary strength, but Asella was the Hero.

This much was effortless for her.

Naturally, she did not forget to put the cover back in place so no one would notice.

Creak—

After crawling through the ventilation shaft, she reached the framework supporting the underground structure.

Asella stood atop one of the beams and looked down.

Most of the interrogation area’s illumination came from torches.

The upper reaches were therefore shrouded in darkness, making it unlikely that anyone would spot her.

Just as Reina said, they won’t expect me to come here, will they?

Like the saying from the Central Plains that the darkest place was directly beneath the lamp, no one would ever imagine Asella was here.

She had entered the capital while a pursuit force was actively hunting her.

To them, such a thing should have been impossible.

Asella controlled her breathing and moved across the beams in search of Hans.

She felt like a thief.

It was also a rare moment when her natural sense of balance truly shone.

She searched through the grim interrogation area, looking into room after room for Hans.

"—$%$%#!"

The underground facility was vast.

However, one area was noticeably louder than all the others.

Asella instinctively realized that Hans was there and approached silently.

I can’t see inside from above because it’s a closed room.

In the end, she had no choice but to land quietly on top of the interrogation room’s ceiling.

She would have preferred to sneak inside, but paladins were standing guard.

Still, she was not entirely without options.

She quietly released her mana.

She spread it throughout the interrogation facility and used it to predict the movements of those inside.

It was one of the abilities Ludwig had taught her—a technique that, much like an Aura Blade, entered the realm of innate talent.

After enveloping the entire interrogation area in her mana, Asella silently pressed her ear against the ceiling.

She could predict movements through her mana, but she still had to listen with her own ears if she wanted to hear their voices.

—I-I will never say that. Why should I?

—Listen, Mr. Fruit Seller. If you simply admit it, everything will be easier for everyone. Just say that you were a minion of the Undying King and that we dealt with you.

What are they talking about?

Asella blinked, stunned by the conversation.

But it did not end there.

Hans’s furious roar followed.

—D-Do you truly believe the Goddess will forgive you for this?! You are the real Demon Kings! You were the ones who created a Demon King!!

"My, my. The Undying King certainly is persistent. To think he made such a man his minion."

The man, presumably an inquisitor, chuckled and addressed someone else.

"Hey. Start again."

"Yes, sir."

"Let go of me...! Blrgh...!"

Asella felt all the blood in her body turn to ice.

She understood what was happening inside that interrogation room.

She understood what they were doing to the kind and jovial Mr. Hans.

At that moment, she bitterly resented the talent the heavens had bestowed upon her.

"Ah..."

El Dorado—the holy land founded by the Goddess Ares herself and once considered her greatest pride.

How...? How could this...?

The Demon King had been here all along.