"Wh-what's this…? Why is it so cold all of a sudden…?"
"That guy! I think that guy is the cause…!"
One of them pointed at me with the tip of his sword.
Sun Grass, a dangerous drug that endlessly heats up people.
The herb, used solely for pleasure and excitement, was merely a stabilizer
for me to reduce the output of cold. I just spat it out.
One of the guys grinned in the meantime.
"You're bluffing. Is it because of the woman you were with?"
"You're mistaken. That woman is not my type."
I still had my feet on the table.
Thinking that the food here was truly tasteless, that it made me feel quite
bad, and that I was still hungry… I flicked the spoon I held between my
fingers, sorting through my mixed feelings.
"Who among you should die first? Decide your order."
At this, they all flinched violently, as if enraged.
"…!"
Their wide eyes quickly turned to their ankles. They looked flustered as
they tried to kick off the ground but couldn't.
Naturally, I had frozen their feet to the ground.
"Don't come closer. Decide from where you are."
"…You know how to do tricks. What are you?"
"I guess I'm the Emperor's prospective son-in-law."
"You're insane."
"I've never been in my right mind."
Always, even now. It was always like that.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
That's when one of them struck the ice on his ankle with a club. Regaining
his freedom of movement, he kicked off the ground with all his might.
"Stop trying to create an atmosphere and die gracefully, you bastard!"
I silently watched the guy who jumped up with his club raised high.
In my mind, I painted mana like colors on a white canvas. Several spells
and the image of him frozen were drawn like a picture.
The picture in my mind slowly overlapped with reality.
When they intersected precisely, I just snapped my fingers.
Slash!
His body, split precisely in half, fell past me on both sides. The cut surface
froze immediately, so there was no dramatic spray of blood.
His face didn't even register his own death. His corpse was frozen with the
same expression of yelling valiantly. It was trivial.
"I told you not to come closer."
Muttering that, I looked around and saw their spirits had diminished
considerably. When had they been so eager to devour the entire restaurant?
Their feet were still frozen to the ground. I pointed the spoon at each of
their heads in turn.
"So, who should die next?"
They exchanged glances. One of them asked.
"…Can't you just let us go? We'll keep quiet."
"Aha, now you want me to let you go?"
As I pretended to ponder, tension filled the air.
"Alright. Let's do that."
"Ah…!"
At that, they immediately brightened.
When I jerked my chin towards the back, they all turned their heads. At the
same time, their brightened faces froze in an instant.
What awaited them at the end of their sight was a door frozen solid,
reminiscent of the entrance to a snow cave in the northern region. It was not
just blue but also covered in icicles.
"How about it? Can you open it and get out?"
"…"
When they turned back to me, their faces were full of malice.
It was natural. When facing an opponent who doesn't accept surrender, the
best choice would be to resist until the last breath.
"Have you ever thought about this?"
I crunched on a small ice shard instead of Sun Grass.
"That if you were to freeze in one moment for eternity, what moment
should that be…? Have you ever thought about that?"
"Hiyaaah!"
Instead of answering, they screamed and kicked off the ground at once.
But their screams were merely an attempt to overcome their fear, and the
cold remained as it always did—chilling. Ice had an inherent lack of mercy.
I closed my eyes and slowly extended one hand.
The target was the unmoving blue shapes. Though my eyes were closed, my
vision became clearer, and specific spells emerged in my mind. The cold,
which had spread abstractly in a gaseous form, was clearer to me than
anything else.
Thus, I recited a light incantation.
"Freeze."
Then, silence.
Everything I sensed through my perception ceased.
The approaching presence, the menacing intent, the desperation to survive
—all of it, without exception.
Whirr.
A cold breeze brushed the tip of my nose, and I finally opened my eyes.
"Hmmm."
They were all frozen in the act of charging at me. Like exhibits.
I stared at them for a while.
"There could have been a better pose. Right?"
Of course, there was no answer.
At that moment, when I took out another Sun Grass from my pocket…
Bang! Bang!
A small object burst through the frozen door and shattered the frozen bodies
in an instant. It was like watching statues crumble.
The trained reflexes of a skilled magician were not to be underestimated. I
examined the flying object and felt a strange familiarity.
"…Cube fragments?"
The cube that Anes had been turning and solving with one hand. It was
those pieces.
The cube fragments, which had been rampaging through the air as if they
had a will of their own, gathered towards the restaurant entrance and
formed a solid mass. They ended up in the palm of Anes, who appeared as
composed as ever with her neatly trimmed bob.
I spoke to her, who had boldly broken through the door and appeared.
"You're a telekinetic? Surprising."
"You're lacking in preliminary research. Lazy."
Anes replied as if she had been waiting for this moment.
Moreover, it seemed she had been holding onto the words I had said.
"Being vindictive won't make you popular with men."
"I consider it fortunate. I wouldn't attract men like you."
I leisurely chewed on the Sun Grass. If I bit down hard, it would pop lightly
in my mouth, and the burnt taste was quite pleasing.
"So, why did you intervene so late?"
"I just finished assessing your level."
"That's not it; why did you destroy something I put so much effort into?"
"…I'll ignore that. The imperial order is to transport you without delay."
I chuckled and nodded.
"We must obey the Emperor."
After that, the carriage traveled nonstop for several days.
After freezing Anes's cube, Jaekiel slept endlessly, and as a result, her mind
was filled with thoughts of Jaekiel, whether she liked it or not.
She stared blankly at the notebook in her hand.
[ Strong. Deep expertise in ice magic. ]
At the time, Anes had left a cube piece in the restaurant to observe the
situation, allowing her to see and hear everything.
The conclusion of her observation was exactly four characters long.
Unbelievable.
Anes asked the soldier beside her.
"…Why has such a powerful magician not even been rumored about?"
"That's what I wanted to ask."
The soldier replied immediately, as if he had been holding onto the question
for a while.
"Apprentice magicians are prey themselves, but their peak is much higher
than scroll users, right? The stronger they become, the more immense their
fame should be."
"Right. But the villagers didn't seem to know at all."
Anes remembered the subtle attitude the villagers had towards Jaekiel. They
treated him like an ordinary loafer. Exactly like that.
"It's strange. Unless the information was deliberately erased, it doesn't
make sense. There are too many parts that don't add up."
"…But is it to that extent? Would the royal family go that far?"
"It's just a figure of speech. High-ranking magicians are that valuable."
The biggest difference between scroll users and magicians becomes most
apparent when comparing the state known as 'transcendence.'
Scroll users could use various types of magic from the start, giving them a
very high base level, but only a true magician could reach the state of
transcendence.
The soldier clicked his tongue.
"A high-ranking magician… It doesn't suit him. His personality is
ridiculously strange. He actually fits better in Fatal."
"Yeah. He's not in his right mind."
She should note that too. Anes quietly wrote in her notebook.
[ Believed to be mentally unstable. ]
It was then that a majestic scene unfolded before Anes and the soldier.
"Ah, we've finally arrived. It's always a grand sight."
"…The imperial capital. Artiel."
The view of the sophisticated and tall buildings was art itself. This was
Artiel, the imperial capital, where the royal family resided at its heart.
Who was the enigmatic man being transported in the carriage?
─I guess I'm the Emperor's prospective son-in-law.
"…That's absolutely not true."
It was ridiculous. Not just improbable, but it must never happen. A man like
him marrying a princess as beautiful as a celestial maiden? That must not
happen. If it did, the world would be doomed.
Well, I'll find out how things are going later.
Yes, I'll find out later…
A phrase that kept oddly coming back to mind as she watched the situation.
─That woman is not my type.
"…"
─That woman is not my type.
─That woman is not my type.
─That woman is not my type.
That phrase kept bothering her. It came to mind even when she tried to
forget. Why does this man keep saying unnecessary things while she quietly
does her work? And to utter such rude remarks so freely.
Frowning, Anes wrote another line in her notebook.
[ You're not my type either. ]
…It made her feel much better.