Chapter 151

One Who Burns Eternity (1)

“Well, here’s the entrance to Skadi.”

The place we arrived at using Ilina Crowley’s teleportation magic was merely the entrance to Skadi. Even from here, everything was stained white, giving the place an almost dreamlike appearance.

And the bone-penetrating chill that made you hunch your shoulders was just a bonus.

The weather was good, with no blizzards and even some sunshine.

“Urgh?!”

Yet just having snowflakes stick to my cheek gave me the sensation of freezing solid.

“And this is just the entrance, you say?”

To think we had to worry about each and every falling snowflake.

The interior would be even worse, making it impossible to predict what might be happening at the center.

“Now you understand how careless you’ve been? Well, I can handle it fine, so just rely on me.”

While Ilina Crowley was busy singing her own praises, my companions and I calmly began wrapping ourselves in the cold-weather gear we’d prepared.

Since even mana freezes here, we’d have to use primitive methods.

We sorted through and put on clothes that provided good insulation.

Of course, the best warming tool was the bracelet Ilina Crowley had woven from her own cut hair.

“Ah, Lost, don’t you think this will keep us warm?”

And then a human heater clings to me. Certainly, hugging each other would keep us warm.

Moreover, Línea’s tail is fluffy and warm, so even if it’s uncomfortable, moving forward like this wouldn’t be so bad.

“Princess Ilina must be feeling good. We have to do this just to barely withstand the cold, but you’re not cold at all as you are.”

“……”

Línea checking Ilina Crowley’s self-praise.

Not wanting to waste energy here, I clearly warned Línea this time.

“Stop it.”

I flicked Línea’s forehead as she was snickering, making her squeeze her eyes shut, then look up at me with a pouty expression moments later.

That look won’t work. I’m not asking them to be friends, but there’s no need to make the relationship unnecessarily hostile.

“……”

But words once spoken cannot be taken back.

Ilina Crowley’s gaze remains fixed on me and the Línea attached to me.

“Tsk……”

And after comparing a certain part of Línea to a certain part of herself and realizing she had no chance of winning, Ilina Crowley hung her head with a miserable expression.

What if they were similar? Would Ilina Crowley have tried to cling to me too? I’m not sure.

If both my hands were occupied, it could cause problems in an emergency, so I’d have to shake one of them off. That could have caused a bloodbath.

“Wooooaaaaaahhhh!”

Fortunately, someone was here to brighten this dismal atmosphere.

Our crazy girl, Lilia.

As usual, she runs around in the snow, screaming as if she doesn’t care about her surroundings.

She plays energetically as if unbothered by the snowflakes sticking to her body and freezing her.

If she were an ordinary child, she would have already frozen to death, but being a trial, she seems fine even in this weather.

Well, of course—she may have been corrupted, but she’s not someone who would easily fall victim.

“Dad! Look at this! It’s white! Just like Lost-oppa and Claire-unnie!”

A child’s terrible comparison, finding similarities based solely on hair color.

Was this her first time seeing snow?

Come to think of it, that’s not an impossible story. The forest where she originally lived would have been impervious even to snowflakes, and Rubia was a city where only rain poured down, not snow.

Timing-wise, it would have been difficult for her to see snow too.

“Haha, what a sight.”

Lilia jumps into the snow with her arms wide open. White snow clings to her head and the black coat she’s wearing. But the fact that she doesn’t care about such things is childlike indeed.

At that sight, both Ilina Crowley with her blank expression and Línea with her cold expression break into smiles.

“But why can’t you act like that? You useless brat.”

“Life is too harsh for me to behave like that.”

“I’ll give you that.”

Unlike Lilia, who was running around everywhere, Claire was hunched up, wearing thick fur clothes.

Talk about polar opposites.

How did this kid end up seeming more like an old soul than me?

“Well, it’s awkward just standing around here, so let’s head inside.”

First of all.

There was something I needed to confirm.

Ilina Crowley’s accompaniment. It doesn’t feel entirely coincidental.

Because she likes me? Because she doesn’t want to see us die?

For such reasons, she stepped foot in a place that took her parents away?

Well, I wonder.

Thinking about what Castian Crowley told me……

“First, it would be best to find a place to stay. Princess Ilina, may I ask for your help?”

“…Fine, follow me closely.”

Ilina Crowley doesn’t seem to be a fool who’s completely swept away by emotions.

*     *     *

Even though Skadi is uninhabitable, that doesn’t mean there are no places to stay. There were temporary huts built by exploration teams that once tried to survey this place.

Following that route, we at least wouldn’t freeze to death on the roadside.

Of course, if we get isolated in a blizzard while moving and lose our sense of direction, that alone would be the end, they say.

Even something as common as a compass freezes solid here, making it unusable.

So our approach for this journey is to advance to the next hut when the weather is relatively clear.

“So far, there’s been no problem.”

Already at the third hut.

The air inside Skadi got colder with each step we took, but it was still bearable.

That’s because Ilina Crowley and I were taking turns adjusting the temperature with barriers and magic.

In truth, if we set up a warming barrier, we could endure all day.

And the same applies to Ilina Crowley. If we wanted to, we could make even this frigid space warm.

“Achoo!”

“I told you not to run around too much, Lilia.”

“Heeheeheehee. Claire-unnie, the world is spinning.”

“Sigh….. Instead of running around like that, come over here and lie down.”

But we didn’t do that.

We needed to conserve our energy.

Well, as a result, Lilia, who had been running around outside excitedly, seems to have caught a cold, but it shouldn’t be a major issue.

More surprising is the fact that she can even catch a cold? She, of all people.

Anyway, since Claire is taking care of Lilia like a younger sister, there shouldn’t be any big problems.

And above all, the fact that Eremus isn’t moving is proof.

If it were truly a dangerous situation, he would have stepped in for Lilia’s sake.

It’s more surprising that a being of trial rank can catch a cold. So far, things have been relatively smooth.

“However, soon we’ll need to increase the output a level, or next time, it won’t end with just chilly air.”

“What would you have done without me?”

“We would have consumed our supplies more intensely than now. Of course, we would have advanced faster as well.”

I never intended to take Skadi lightly. If possible, I wanted to check the location marked on the map with a short, decisive battle.

We would have used our warm clothes, high-calorie food, and magical tools like water to advance quickly for a short-term operation.

But with Ilina Crowley’s confirmed accompaniment, there was no longer a reason for such adventurous approaches.

“By the way, Princess Ilina is truly remarkable. I can’t block the chill without special measures, but the princess is still fine with just a mana barrier.”

“W-well… I am amazing. Hmm, hmm.”

Ilina Crowley blushed at my compliment and turned her eyes away.

I intended to test her, but it seems she doesn’t realize it herself.

No matter how specialized her mana is in fire attributes, it can’t surpass the uniqueness of an apostle.

Even when my divine magic can no longer fully block the cold, Ilina Crowley is still fine with just a barrier?

This is impossible to explain as merely being born with it.

“By the way, will you be alright?”

“Huh?”

Since Ilina Crowley herself doesn’t seem to know about herself, there’s no need to mention this topic further, so I decided to change the subject immediately.

This topic is also honestly uncomfortable to bring up, but it’s necessary.

It’s something I must confirm.

“According to the map, the next place we’ll arrive at isn’t just a simple hut, right? You’re aware of this, aren’t you?”

“……”

So far, we’ve been using huts built by pioneers to spend the night. But these are no different from forward bases made just to forge a path.

They only maintain the minimal form of a house.

But the next place we’ll arrive at is not just a simple hut.

It’s clearly a house built for living. Or maybe just the site of a house now.

“Facing the past can be more painful than you might think.”

It’s the place where Ilina Crowley lost her parents when she was young.

“I can’t say I’ll be fine… This is my first time returning here since that day.”

“Good that you’re honest. It would have been troublesome if you’d put on a false front.”

“Oh? What would you have done if I had put on a false front?”

“I would have stayed close and helped make that false front into reality.”

“…See, it’s that kind of thing that makes me clingy. You know that?”

“Just because someone is suffering, I can’t leave them alone. I’m still a priest, after all.”

Whether she has feelings for me or not, I can’t just stand by and watch someone in pain.

Of course, Línea getting upset is unavoidable.

She seems uncomfortable with just me talking to Ilina Crowley.

But that’s the extent of it.

She no longer checks aggressively like before.

I believe it’s because she’s never seen a ‘rival in love’ before.

If I think of it as the burden of a popular man, it’s not entirely uncomfortable.

Actually, it’s a bit enjoyable.

I’ve never been popular before.

“Well, let’s head to bed soon. If we want to move early tomorrow morning, it’s best to sleep right now.”

“Heeheeheehee! Lost-oppa, I want to play a bit more!”

“Go to sleep, kiddo.”

I gently pushed Lilia, who was wobbling but still insisting on playing, toward Claire, then took out blankets and sleeping bags to prepare a bed.

I placed a warming magical tool in the center, maintained my barrier, and immediately laid down.

“Yeah, I should get some sleep too.”

Ilina Crowley, who had suddenly started preparing her bedding near me, said.

It’s uncomfortable that she’s so blatantly trying to secure a spot next to me.

Línea seems to have accepted it as it is, but being sandwiched between them makes me feel awkward.

“…About the question I asked earlier.”

It was then, as I was squeezing my eyes shut in discomfort, that Ilina Crowley asked in a trembling voice.

“What would you have done if I had declared I wouldn’t be fine?”

“Well, at this point, we can’t turn back because of your circumstances… I’d have to make it fine for you.”

“Haha! See, that’s exactly what makes me clingy!”

“I don’t understand what aspect you’re referring to. Honestly, you were responding half-heartedly just now.”

“The fact that even when you speak half-heartedly, I can trust you.”

When I glanced over, I saw Ilina Crowley had turned her body toward me and was smiling.

“That’s what makes me like this.”

“I’m not so sure.”

Thanks to that, I’m having a hellish time.

I closed my eyes, deliberately ignoring Línea’s gaze from the opposite side, staring intently at me.

*     *     *

Was it because of the conversation I had with Ilina Crowley before going to sleep?

I was dreaming about when I met Castian Crowley.

When Ilina Crowley decided to join our journey.

Castian Crowley, who had deliberately come to find me to inform me of this fact first, said with a bitter face.

-What I want to say is…..

The matter he had to warn me about separately.

The real reason Ilina Crowley wanted to join this journey.

Castian Crowley briefly defined the inside story that even she herself didn’t know.

-My daughter-in-law’s surname was Phoenicia. You probably understand what this means, don’t you?

Listein Crowley. Mystic King Castian Crowley’s son.

I don’t know much about him. I only know bits and pieces of information circulating publicly.

On the other hand, I knew nothing about his wife, Riphreim.

I was even hearing her surname for the first time from the Mystic King.

However, I could realize that there was a problem with the surname itself.

‘Phoenicia’

That wasn’t originally a person’s surname, but…

-The being there must surely be related to my granddaughter.

<One Who Burns Eternity>, Phoenix.

It was a term used to refer to the clan that worshipped that trial.