Operation “Icebreak.”
Named by Orietta Shidenzach.
It could be said that the matter was resolved only because Orietta, the King’s granddaughter, was present. Of course, Lady Annelyse must have negotiated directly, but the influence of the King’s family cannot be underestimated.
Leaving me and Orietta behind, Sophia and Lady Annelyse exited the cave and went to summon the White Lily Corps.
Lady Annelyse went through a lot this time. She infiltrated enemy territory to propose an alliance and then had King Harm of Harmonia approve it retroactively.
The strategy I devised is simple. The Dwarves abandoning Shidenzach without a fight with Harmonia is because the Fire God’s activities were hampered by an ice monster.
There are two conditions for the Dwarves to remain. First, the resurrection of the Fire God, and second, the restoration of Shidenzach’s autonomy.
Regarding the Fire God, we will have the ice monster defeated and a generational change. For the restoration of Shidenzach’s autonomy, it’s simply a matter of the Harmonia army leaving. They can move to another city with a reason, or retake the Royal Capital Klinshberbach. I’ll leave this to Lady Annelyse.
“So… where is this ice monster?”
We, the White Lily Corps, are as usual. Annihilate anyone who gets in the way. We just need to defeat the ice monster—a simple and easy task.
“The ice monster is said to be in the Fire God’s temple. Let’s hurry up and kill it and go home. It’s cold in here, probably because it’s a cave.”
I absolutely hate it! It’s cold inside the cave, and my stomach gets cold. Of course, this cold is abnormal. Is the ice monster freezing the Fire God?
And what I hate even more is that everyone is wearing thick clothes. The robe wearers are fine; we can’t see them. But Priscilla, Christine, Alana, and even Orietta are all bundled up, not showing an inch of skin.
How can a man get motivated like this?! Not even one percent. They weren’t showing much skin to begin with, but with armor like a bench coat, where am I supposed to put my hands?
Let’s quickly kill the ice monster, have the Fire God resurrected, and warm up the cave. I don’t care about the accord with the Dwarves. I’m fighting for myself. And to stop my stomach from getting cold.
As we headed towards the Fire God’s temple, I asked Orietta about the ice monster. Orietta, the most diligent worker of the White Lily Corps, had already collected the information beforehand, unlike me.
“About the ice monster, its real name is ‘Snow Lady.’ It’s from the northern mountain range.”
Is this also the Demon Lord’s doing? Abandoning its territory and heading south to challenge the Dwarf’s Fire God—it ruins the season.
This is the southern country, Harmonia. There are many girls wearing light clothing, and when it comes to Shidenzach, the Fire God is so diligent that it flows magma from the volcano, but for now, even the magma has stopped.
I want to finish this quickly and go home. I’m not good with the cold. I’ve never even snowboarded or skied, and I respect people who climb snowy mountains.
“Hm!? Orietta! Try wearing that mask you used earlier.”
“Now? I don’t think there’s any gas.”
Gas isn’t the problem. It reminded me of snowboarding, and I wanted to confirm the rule that women look 30% cuter on the slopes. I know there are exceptions, but with this cold…
“I put it on. *Pusshuu*”
It’s an urban legend… If she had a chainsaw, she’d be a perfect horror game character. If she were on the slopes, I could have the gondola lift all to myself.
“Thank you. You can take it off now. Also, Alana, did you change your weapon? That’s quite a large sword.”
Alana is about the same height as Rufina and Orietta, but her sword is equally long and imposing. A nodachi? A zantou? Won’t it hinder Alana’s speed?
“It’s finally finished, this super-vibrating sword. It’s still a little big. But it’s perfect since Alana lost her weapon.”
Super-vibration is also evolving. It used to require the size and weight of a halberd, but will Priscilla also switch from a halberd to a super-vibrating zantou from now on?
If it’s Priscilla, she could even wield two. I used to fight with a cross-sword, but without a shield, I felt a bit uneasy…
We have new weapons; there’s no problem with our combat power. We’ll defeat the Snow Lady for the sake of the accord with the Dwarves. The Snow Lady… Snow Lady!?
In Japanese, it’s a Yuki-onna, isn’t it? Yuki-onna don’t have a ferocious image. Rather, I recall them being the subject of tragic love stories. They have a child with a human man they fall in love with, and they separate for some reason.
…Could she be cute?! No, perhaps she’s a monster that can be reasoned with. Considering Alma Rosenberg, the demon, it’s not impossible for there to be monsters we can talk to.
If we can talk, we should have her return to the northern mountain range. It would be a shame for her to get sunburned here in such a hot place with magma.
“Orietta, did you talk to the Yuki-onna? Or did you just start fighting immediately?”
“Yuki-onna, do you mean the Snow Lady? I don’t think we talked. Dwarves aren’t strong in the cold. I don’t think there would be any discussion, as they need to warm their bodies.”
It’s not too late to talk first. It’s unnatural for ice to approach magma, so there’s no reason for there not to be some sort of cause.
Besides, a Yuki-onna is typically a beautiful person with fair skin who looks good in a kimono. To just end it with a fight would be a waste. If we become friends, we could have a double date.
“Um, everyone in the White Lily Corps, please listen. Regarding the Snow Lady, we will change its designation to Yuki-onna from now on. Also, if we encounter a Yuki-onna, we will try to talk with them instead of attacking. It would be peaceful if we could avoid unnecessary combat and have them return to the northern mountain range.”
“We just kill them. I’m not good with the cold. It’s tougher than I thought. Mikael, warm me up.”
As Priscilla tried to wrap me in her bench coat, she clutched her chest and winced in pain, just as I expected. Christine must have leveled up, too.
“For now, let’s try to talk. We don’t know what’s happening with the Fire God, and if they’re being held hostage, we want to buy time. If they’re aggressive, we’ll defeat them quickly. However, if they can talk, Priscilla, Rufina, and I will go ahead, and the rest of the members will keep an eye on the Fire God. We must rescue them if they are hostages.”
If the magma has stopped, it’s natural to assume the Fire God’s power has weakened. It could be that their power weakened because it’s time for a generational change, but I’d think magma would beat ice. However, it’s different when magic is involved.
“C-Christine, you’re ruthless. Mikael~, help me stand up~, carry me~.”
It’s because you do foolish things that you incur Christine’s wrath, you idiot. I’ll help you stand, but I don’t want to carry you. You’re heavy, the space is cramped, and how do you plan to swing your halberd if a fight breaks out?
It might get a little wider once we get to the Fire God’s temple, but I don’t want to meet a Yuki-onna in this narrow, dark cave corridor right now. I want to hurry, so I helped Priscilla and hurried on. It was dark, and my hand brushed against hers, but that’s our secret.
It seems true that they’re weak to the cold. Since then, she hasn’t opened her front, and Alana looks quite cold too. Lycanthropes and cat demi-humans probably have fur, so they’d be warmer.
The further we advanced, the brighter the light became. Not only did the bioluminescent moss growing in the cave shine, but the walls were frozen, scattering the light and forming art.
Further in, we emerged into a large, open space. The walls were all frozen, making it feel like a freezer. In front of us stood a figure over ten meters tall, embedded in the wall and looking like it was severely overcharged for its design fee—the Fire God?
“Formation! Christine, go to the rear!”
I deployed facing forward, Priscilla to my right, and Rufina to my left, holding back Christine who couldn’t react immediately. It was there, at the Fire God’s feet. The ice there was thick, covering the ground.
“Let’s talk first. Don’t get ready to attack; we’re not hostile yet.”
With Priscilla’s and my physical attacks, plus Rufina’s magic, there’s no enemy that can withstand us. It brings back memories of the Nebel Bridge battle. If we deem them an enemy, we’ll annihilate them instantly.
We slowly approached. The Yuki-onna must have noticed us by now, but without turning around, she sat facing the Fire God.
Are you ignoring me? Even though you’re within earshot? Are you perhaps listening to music? With earphones in? It’s dangerous to ride a bicycle with earphones in. You’ll get hit by a car, and now you might get cut down by me. I spoke after catching her within the range of Mode Three. At this distance, I can’t miss.
“Yuki-onna! I am Mikael Sin, the commander of the 1st Brigade under the Lugen army. I have come to talk!”
“You’ve finally come… the Dwarves…”
A chilling voice echoed in the cave. Black hair, slightly sloped shoulders—her back suggested a good figure, but she was wearing an Aloha shirt. A kimono is customary here, isn’t it?
Breaking the ice with a crackle, she stood up and turned around. Her large, dark eyes were mesmerizing. Her tanned skin was to my liking, but a Yuki-onna shouldn’t be tanned. It ruins the image.
“What business do you humans have with me…”
Conversely, I want to ask what *she* is doing. She doesn’t look like a Yuki-onna at all. She looks more suited to tanning on a summer beach or dancing tango than being associated with snow.
“What? Why are you staring with your jaw hanging?”
What’s wrong with a man looking at a beautiful girl and letting his jaw drop? It’s like asking a mountaineer why they climb mountains. …Though, perhaps the latter has some masochistic tendencies.
“Yuki-onna, please melt this ice and release the Fire God.”
Answering Priscilla’s question might dig my own grave, so I’ll ignore it. I might fall into a leading question and say something boastful like, “I want to put my arm around your waist and dance the tango.”
Her answer will determine whether to draw Mode Three. I must answer carefully, or your head will be flying off before you know it. My right hand is relaxed, ready to draw the sword at my waist at any moment.
“The Yuki-onna, is that me!? That’s interesting.”
She can’t hide her Latin flair. I want to finish this quickly because my stomach is getting cold.
