Chapter 88

The first thing he did was throw a blanket over Russel's head before he could turn around.

Then he kicked out the bonfire and lay flat on the ground.

The moment they caught the giant's eye, they were all destined to either die or become madmen.

When he pressed down on Russel's head, Russel grabbed his wrist in confusion.

"Your Grace!"

"Be quiet. Until I say it's okay."

The wind grew increasingly rough, and with it, the howling sound grew louder.

His hands trembled, and cold sweat broke out.

He definitely seemed to have seen the giant up there, but now he felt as if the giant was whispering right next to his ear, telling him it was there.

At the same time, his instinct, overwhelmed by fear, was screaming in his head.

Run, run away!

Get up and run now!

Or raise your head! See what that monster really is!

Just die in peace!

The snow on the ground froze and hardened.

The bare black trees he saw from the corner of his eye were all turning completely white with frost.

Literally, a white world was coming.

The snow, wind, and ice of the north were singing a silent hymn to the god walking in the air.

Great ■■■, the great one who walks on the wind that blows between stars.

Creator of all ice and snow, wanderer who craves hot flesh and blood!

The giant, responding to lifeless followers with terrifyingly frightening howls, slowly moved away.

Had they survived?

Had it left without noticing them?

As the strength left his hands, Russel took off the blanket and looked around.

"What on earth was that sound just now... Your Grace? Your Grace, are you alright?"

"Sir Russel."

He tried to breathe, but his chest heaved.

A different kind of shock and terror from when he had faced the Winter Butterfly.

This was, probably.

"It seems we've finally entered the giant's territory."

It was time to be on high alert.

* * *

When he had seen the Winter Butterfly, perhaps because he had witnessed the entire process of metamorphosis from human, it hadn't seemed particularly more frightening.

But now, after seeing this god, he clearly understood.

There was definitely a difference in class between the divine nature that had metamorphosed from a human and a being that had been a god from the beginning.

It could be described as the difference between being able to raise one's head in the presence of the entity or not.

-And? Can you kill that entity, that 'ancient thing' that roams in the north?

Yurik had known about the existence of things that had descended upon the north.

He recalled that Yurik had referred to the northern entities as 'ancient things'.

Ancient things.

Though he became interested in the existence and origin of these ancient things, there was a different problem that needed to be solved right now.

A god created with a fairy tale as its tradition has weaknesses or habits that appear in the fairy tale.

But if the story was a fairy tale that added flesh to an ancient thing that existed originally, how much does that story reflect the ancient thing?

"Your Grace, are you listening?"

"Hm? Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't hear well."

"Then I'll explain again to confirm."

After the giant disappeared, they woke up Max and Jonas who had been sleeping.

Now that he was certain they had entered the giant's territory, it was time to track the giant and observe its habits and the area it roamed.

Russel pointed to a drawing he had made on the snow.

"As Your Grace said, we'll track the giant. From now on, we'll measure the giant's activity range along with mapping this area. Jonas, how are your hands?"

Jonas showed both his hands.

His hands, which had been wearing gloves, moved fine.

Russel nodded.

"There will be times when we have to move on foot during the investigation. At those times, Max, please keep watch next to Jonas."

"Understood."

"Once information about the activity area accumulates, we'll return to the castle immediately, assuming there are no major changes. May God's care be with everyone."

After tidying up the site, they moved again by sled, following the giant.

After moving a certain distance, Jonas indicated that they needed to start mapping from here, so everyone except Jonas got off the sled.

The surroundings were peaceful, and except for the occasional cold snowy wind, it was quiet.

Bare, dried black trees occasionally jutted out of the field.

Jonas sat on the sled, dangling his legs, observing the surroundings.

He drew the topography needed for mapmaking, and when Max placed a small flag in the ground at regular intervals, he would use it as a reference point to record the path they were taking.

Naturally, this meant that he, with his slow pace, and Max, who had to follow behind the cart on purpose, ended up walking together.

"Need help? Your back must hurt."

"Oh, no, sir. This is nothing. I just need to bend down occasionally to make a mark. By the way, Your Grace, may I ask you something, if it's not too presumptuous?"

"What are you curious about?"

"Well, since we didn't see it yesterday. What exactly does that giant look like?"

"It's better not to see it. Don't even encounter it. There's a story that you'll go mad if you see it. All I saw was a pair of gleaming eyes."

"Oh my, then how can we track the giant? Wouldn't it be a disaster if we saw it?"

"It would be if we saw it. But there's another way to follow it."

He pointed to the distant trees.

"The trees, the ones we saw earlier were black, but those appear white. It's a trace of the giant having passed by."

"You mean those? I really can't tell."

"Everything in the place where the giant has passed becomes frozen. Like those ghosts we met on the way. So it's easy to follow."

Max looked at the several half-frozen white trees with dubious eyes before making a short "hmph" sound.

"Your Grace doesn't seem afraid at all. Even though my knees are trembling."

"Is that so? But I'm not completely unafraid either. When I saw the giant, I thought I was going to die too."

"Still, you seem to know more about the giant than someone like me. Is there anything I should take to heart?"

What was there?

He didn't know much about this god either, having only seen the fairy tale.

After thinking for a moment, he answered.

"If you encounter it, first close your eyes and cover your ears?"

"That's your answer?"

"That's all there is to it. But it's a very important rule. And you also need to hide your body, and keep quiet so that they don't see you."

"It sounds similar to how to survive among animals."

"I don't think it's that different."

This world would have no emotions about humans.

Without affection, people would die just like ants being swept away by a flood.

Without hatred, people would die regardless, in their most miserable times and in their most glorious times.

So they had to recognize the world as a predator and live like clever herbivores.

To survive in a world that could crush and kill him.

Just to extend this life.

Max stuck another flag in the ground.

At that moment, Jonas, who had jumped off the sled, ran over and clung to Max.

The child conveyed something to Max using sign language.

Max picked Jonas up and responded with puzzlement.

"He says the path seems to be gradually increasing in altitude?"

"Increasing in altitude?"

That couldn't be.

If it were an uphill path, shouldn't they be out of breath or finding it hard?

To the puzzled group, Jonas pointedly indicated behind them with his hand.

When they turned around, the path they had walked so far and the red flags stuck at intervals were visible at a glance.

"Ah."

It was an angle that couldn't be seen on a flat road.

It was so gradual that they hadn't even thought it was an incline, but looking back like this, they could clearly see that they were going uphill.

Russel stopped the sled briefly and approached them.

"Russel, was there a mountain here?"

"I'm not sure. The view has never been clear due to snow fog or storms, so it might be difficult to distinguish with the naked eye."

"Be careful not to suddenly encounter a cliff. Check the ground well with your scabbard as you go."

"Yes, Your Grace."

He had thought it strange that the trees appeared sporadically.

He had wondered if the terrain had changed when trees suddenly appeared where there had been none before.

They carefully climbed the path slowly.

Occasionally looking back, they could see the flags continuously leading downward.

More trees appeared, and sometimes there were even groves.

After climbing for a while,

Max, who had placed all the flags, called out.

"I've used all the flags. We should rest to prepare for the next part of the journey."

"How many flags were there in total?"

"One for every 500 steps, I placed about 94."

"Then let's rest."

Wow, they had come really far. No wonder his legs felt like they would collapse from the pain.

They chose a spot where black trees were relatively dense and stopped the sled.

Russel lit a fire, and Jonas received another treatment for his frostbite.

After satisfying their hunger, everyone began their respective tasks.

Russel went to gather firewood, Max went on a reconnaissance nearby, and he and Jonas...

"So, that's the story about that fairy tale. The northern stories have a lot more cruel ones compared to other regions."

Jonas, who had been listening to the northern folk tale collection with interest, took his hand and wrote on his palm.

-Northern stories are interesting.

"Really? Do you like hearing these kinds of stories?"

-Dad told me many mercenary stories from when he was young. I like them because he told me every night.

"Isn't it hard traveling with your dad?"

-It's hard, but there are more fun things. Though I don't like frostbite.

Jonas was more positive than expected.

He had thought the boy might become depressed quickly since he seemed to be quite reserved, but he followed him better than expected.

"I was also really surprised by how cold it was when I first came to the north."

-Did you come with the knight, just the two of you?

"Originally there were more, but this time it's just the two of us."

-Because the knight is scary.

"How so?"

Russel was scary?

There was no one with a more flowery mind and kindness than him.

Of course, he was now excessively devoted to faith, but that was all because he had developed paranoia after being shocked by seeing the giant.

Surely it could be resolved someday.

It wasn't particularly problematic even now.

But Jonas pressed firmly as he wrote on his palm.

-After fighting, his eyes look really strange.

"His eyes? How?"

-They change scarily. His smile is scary too.

The saying that the younger one is, the more sensitively one notices the surrounding atmosphere compared to adults, seemed to be true.

Perhaps he had detected the killing intent Russel had released during combat.

He didn't say such things to Jonas, but instead reassured him.

"Still, he's a good person. Treat him kindly."

-When will Dad come?

"When the reconnaissance is over? He probably didn't go far. Though I'm worried because the fog is thick."

Jonas, being concerned, stretched his neck and looked in the direction Max had gone.

-Can I go meet him later?

"There's no reason why not, but it would be better not to since it's dangerous. If Max seems like he'll be late, Russel or I will go."

Jonas pouted, so he patted the boy's head with all his might.

While he was telling Jonas another northern story, Russel returned carrying a bunch of bare branches.

But even after he had finished telling the fairy tale, Max had not returned.

Eventually, Russel went to find Max, and he remained with Jonas on the sled.

Jonas, seemingly uncomfortable, kept looking outside the sled before standing up.

"Jonas. Sit down. Russel will soon come with Max."

But Jonas shook his head.

Seeing the boy open and close his mouth while crossing his legs, it seemed he had other business.

He took Jonas to behind a tree close to the sled and turned away, keeping a slight distance.

Well, since he was a boy, this probably wasn't necessary.

After keeping watch for a while, he asked.

"Jonas, are you done?"

There was no answer.

Ah, this child couldn't speak.

"Sorry, I forgot. If you're done, you can make a sound."

But there was no sound either.

He went to look behind the tree where Jonas had been.

But there was neither Jonas nor any trace of him having done his business.

Only footprints disappearing in the opposite direction remained.