Chapter 86

After dealing with the Winter Butterfly and reading the collection of folk tales, he realized that the story in the collection had implemented the Winter Butterfly quite similarly.

White cocoons with people inside.

Food for offspring laid by other Winter Butterflies.

Even the part about how those who enter never wake up again.

Thinking about it, it was obvious.

The Margrave was an artificial divine entity modeled after the metamorphosis of the Winter Butterfly.

If that was the case, wouldn't the others modeled after it be identical to this story?

Summarizing the five northern monsters appearing in the stories, they were as follows.

The Never-Extinguishing Flame, Aphoom-Zhah called 'The Lord of the Extreme Realm'.

This god was not a character from the novel but an 'original' god that his brother had inserted into this world.

The Butterfly That Weaves Winter Clothes, this was the deified Margrave as they had witnessed.

Then the remaining were three gods.

'The Giant Wandering Through Blizzards.'

'The Larva That Sprinkles Ice.'

'The Summer Old Man Who Awakens Life.'

Among these, there was no need to think about which one they had seen.

The Giant Wandering Through Blizzards.

The fable about this giant was somewhat more obscene than the other fables.

[There was a hunter.

The hunter was a brave man who shot arrows the best in the village. The hunter fell in love with a maiden, but unfortunately, the maiden's family wanted to marry her to the wealthiest young man in the village instead of the hunter.

The hunter tried to change the mind of the maiden's family.

When the maiden joined in the hunter's earnest courtship, the maiden's family asked the hunter to fulfill one request.

"There lives a fearsome deer on that mountaintop. It's a beast that can break stones with its huge antlers and leap over frozen rivers with just one stomp of its foot.

If you bring me that deer's hide, I'll give my daughter to you."

The hunter promised to do so and told the maiden.

"I will return by tonight. Even if I don't return by nightfall, please don't come looking for me. I will surely return to your side."

The hunter climbed the high mountain.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, he saw the ferocious deer, and the deer fled as soon as it saw the hunter.

The hunter chased after the deer, but the deer was so fast that he couldn't catch it even until the sun set.

Having entered the dark forest, the hunter wandered looking for the deer. Just then, he heard a rustling sound from somewhere.

The hunter, without hesitation, shot a very heavy arrow with a very large bow.

But what was there was not a deer but his beloved maiden. The maiden, not trusting the hunter's plea, had come looking for him when night fell.

Holding the dying maiden in his arms, the grief-stricken hunter took his own life with the arrow that had shot the maiden.

However, an evil spirit in the forest snatched the hunter's soul, and the hunter transformed into a terrifying and giant monster.

Unable to forget the maiden he had loved, the hunter wandered through blizzards, abducting people he came across and making them bear the monster's children.

Eventually, the villagers went into the forest to kill the monster.

But the monster, who had been a hunter, didn't die by any weapon because of the evil spirit.

But perhaps because he knew the mistake he had committed? When an arrow shot by one of the villagers pierced his heart, the monster fled.

Since then, people of marriageable age would stay indoors on snowy days to avoid the giant wandering in the wind.]

Isn't this story basically saying not to marry in the northern style?

Anyway, the important part in this folk tale was the passage where the giant was wounded.

Though it couldn't be killed by any other weapon, only bow and arrow had wounded the giant.

It was possible for an entity that followed the tradition.

But there was just one problem.

Even while lying in the bedroom of the Margrave's castle, the windows rattled, and a piercing wind whistled through.

A bow and arrow in this weather? Give it a try.

It would definitely land about 20 meters away from the intended target.

Even if Jumong himself came, this environment would make it impossible.

"Your Grace, are you asleep? The time you mentioned has passed."

"No, I'm awake. What about the people from the mercenary band?"

"They've completed their preparations. Is there anything else you need?"

"No. I'll go out now."

The north still had a sky where day and night couldn't be distinguished.

He took an hourglass and went out, where Russel was already waiting.

"There are a total of two people recruited from the mercenary band. One is somewhat older but a combat mercenary whose skills I can vouch for."

"I see. What about the other one?"

"A guide who will help with the mapmaking. But."

Russel briefly made the sign of the cross.

"I think you might be reluctant because he's quite young."

"How old?"

"Thirteen years old."

"...Why did the captain choose such a child? Isn't there anyone else?"

"The child can't speak, I heard. So if you need someone who won't scream, he says the boy is the right person."

It was a considerably cold-hearted reason for a mercenary captain.

Or it could be a silent protest directed at him.

The captain also seemed to think that sending a minor on a dangerous journey was against moral principles.

He felt the same way.

"Ask them to send another member. I'll negotiate the compensation as much as possible. If that doesn't work, using other methods... Why is your expression like that?"

"It's not that... From what I heard, the performance of these two people seems to be lagging behind other members. So they might have to leave the mercenary band of their own accord."

"So?"

"Would you consider asking for their opinion and making a decision based on that?"

What on earth was this guy saying?

He developed a headache as Russel suddenly became stubborn.

Pressing his temples firmly, he replied.

"I don't have the capacity to consider their circumstances. Do you think tracking a giant is some kind of picnic?"

"But Your Grace, aren't the skills of these two people sufficient? It doesn't seem like a problem to just dismiss them outright."

"If that little one gets in danger, will you go to save him? Leaving me? You are my escort."

"That's why we're attaching one more experienced mercenary separately."

"...I'll go and ask the two people directly. Most people would want to back out anyway."

After being lenient once, it seemed Russel had gotten a taste for it and was now confronting him with narrowed eyes.

It seemed pointless to try to persuade Russel any further here.

He would have to put pressure directly on those mercenaries.

He went down to the hall first, leaving Russel behind.

The bonfire where everyone had been grilling meat was almost dying out, and two people were sitting at its edge.

One was a small child playing with his feet.

The other was a mercenary with a bushy beard, with slight wrinkles around his eyes, wrapping a new grip on an axe.

It was obvious at a glance that they were waiting for him.

"I'm sorry for making you wait. I heard you two will follow me. But I'm sorry..."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

The bearded mercenary stood up and bowed deeply to him.

With someone old enough to be his uncle suddenly doing this, his words caught in his throat.

The mercenary continued to speak with his waist still bowed.

"As I'm quite old compared to my skill level, even though I somehow belonged to the mercenary band, I was in a position where I would soon have to leave. But as Your Grace needed people, I volunteered and was able to safely improve my individual performance."

"W-well, that's fortunate."

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I am Max. I'm a commoner, so I don't have a surname. This boy is my son, Jonas."

The mercenary who introduced himself as Max pulled on the boy's hand.

The boy slightly bowed his head at the name 'Jonas'.

Wait, these two were father and son?

Wasn't the age difference a bit extreme?

But if these two were father and son, it would be even more impossible to bring them on such a dangerous journey.

"Max and Jonas, I understand. But what I was going to say was..."

"It's really fortunate. I thought I was going to be thrown out of the mercenary band as soon as we returned to the capital. If that happened, my income would have been cut off, and it would have been really troublesome."

"R-really?"

"Yes. Now I can finally pay the back treatment fees to the physician who has been treating my son. When I get back, I can buy a new set of clothes for this kid too."

"I'm sorry, but..."

"It's really fortunate. Jonas and I were so anxious that we couldn't even sleep, worried that you might replace us with other people. Hahaha. It seems my earnest prayers to God have been rewarded. By the way, what were you going to say?"

Looking at Russel, he was already wiping away tears.

Goddamn it.

"...Check one last time to see if you've packed everything."

The mercenary's face bloomed.

He couldn't become the only human garbage here.

* * *

"When I was young, I tried to settle down after living as a mercenary. That's when I met my wife. But she passed away a few years after giving birth to my son."

Max said this was his second time living as a mercenary.

Max, who had made something of a name for himself when he was young, had entered a fairly large mercenary band, but due to numerous small restrictions, he soon left.

"I spent all the money I had saved to treat my wife, and when it was just my son and me, I didn't know what to do. I only knew how to do physical labor."

"So that's why you became a mercenary again?"

"That's right, Your Grace. I originally intended to leave my son in the village, but the boy was stubborn about following me."

One good thing about stopping at the Margrave's castle was that they could make a sled.

It was an idea proposed by Max, who said he thought of it when he saw that the cart used to transport materials was still there.

After removing the wheels and attaching sharpened wooden legs instead, an excellent sled was completed.

This way, not only he but everyone could move while sitting, which was also good for conserving energy.

Sleigh pulled the sled, and they were all huddled together on the sled, listening to Max's story.

"Jonas, was it? It must have been scary when you left your hometown."

"Though young, he's so smart. My son can read, and he can do simple calculations too. His memory is also exceptionally good."

"He can read? Was there someone who taught him?"

"The village priest taught him the basics. And then, after reading various advertisement leaflets, wanted posters, and other miscellaneous things on his own, he figured it out by himself."

That was quite impressive.

In a world where movement between classes was difficult, commoners were usually deprived of many learning opportunities.

Despite that, to learn to read and be able to make maps at such a young age.

Jonas stuck close to his father.

Even while talking, Max stroked his son's head and made sure to cover him with a blanket to ensure he wasn't cold.

Seeing this, his heart strangely stirred.

"Was Jonas unable to speak from birth...?"

"After my wife died, he had a severe fever, and since then, he hasn't been able to speak."

"Ah."

"The poor child was too heartbroken. Even I felt like my heart was splitting as I let her go, but what must have been the feelings of a son sending off his mother?"

Having lost the ability to speak, he must have heard all sorts of comments.

Yet Jonas appeared remarkably composed for someone who had gone through that.

Was his will strong enough to steel his own heart, or...

Glancing at Max, he saw him thawing his son's frozen cheeks with his own hands.

"Maybe that's why he wanted to wander more. Even so, this is pretty much the first proper commission like this."

"Is that so? Yet he doesn't seem afraid."

"With his son by his side, and his father nearby, what is there to fear?"

Seeing Max smile brightly, he became genuinely curious.

Normally, when a wife dies, doesn't one blame the child?

Thinking, "If this child hadn't been born, she might have lived a little longer," and reproaching them?

"Perhaps Jonas..."

He had just opened his mouth.

At that moment, the speed of the sled, which had been rushing through the snowy wind, slowed down.

Through the hazy atmosphere, several shadows could be vaguely seen approaching.

They all had hunched postures and made panting sounds similar to wolves.

Beings as large as humans and walking on two feet like humans, but definitely not human.

The demonic beast that had caused his third death.

The name he gave them after his fourth resurrection was,

"The Yeti are looking for food."

Wanderers of the snow plain, the Yeti, whose original form could not be guessed.

He whispered something to Russel, and Russel, after looking at him with slight surprise, nodded.

As Russel jumped off the sled, Max stood up together.

But he grabbed him and shook his head.

"My knight is enough for these fellows. Rather, Jonas. You said this commission is your first adventure, right?"

Jonas nodded with round eyes.

When he gestured, the child awkwardly approached, and he embraced the child, nodding toward Russel, who was moving to the front of the sled.

The great sword that Russel drew out did not lose its luster even in the blizzard.

A gleaming light reflected black in the child's eyes.

"It's good to see this once. Mapmaking is good, but sometimes you should also set your sights elsewhere."