novelraw Chapter 286
Chapter 286
Chapter 286
-Your Grace, please wake up! If you just lie there like that, you might not be able to sleep tonight. Sir Leandros, come wake His Grace up!
-Didn't he sleep late last night? Let him sleep a little more.
-Even so, regular wake-up times are important.
Someone grabbed him and shook him hard. Ugh. Don't do that. Don't do that. He would get up now.
-Your Grace, what would you like for breakfast? This morning we have freshly obtained milk, bread with honey and cream, and delicious soup. We also have boiled mountain bird eggs.
His eyes wouldn't open well due to fatigue. Someone was gently combing his hair.
He sat dozing while listening to the breakfast menu. But wasn't that too much?
-You're at a growing age, so you must eat well! Next year you should surpass ■■■'s height.
-His Grace has already passed his growth period.-What are you saying, Sir Leandros? Men naturally grow until they're thirty.
-I've never heard such a thing.
-Hmph, can you guarantee it, Sir? That they don't grow after twenty? Not even this much?
-......
-People who grew up quickly like that always butt in on these matters. Your Grace, don't listen to Sir Leandros. You'll definitely grow much taller next year.
He didn't particularly want to grow any more here. He didn't consider height important either.
But since ■■■ was working so hard for him, it would be nice if he grew even a little.
What should he do after eating breakfast?
-How about taking a walk with Sir Leandros in the morning? When you return, I'll bring cold drinks to the study. Also, Lady ■■■■ says she wants to provide additional explanation about what she proposed yesterday.
Ugh. Work bomb.
Still, he shouldn't put off work. ■■■■ would be waiting too, and Leandros said he would accompany him on his walk.
He took the supporting hand and got up from bed.
When he rubbed his half-opened eyes hard, he could see someone standing by the bedroom door.
The person with platinum hair hanging down had deep, gloomy energy cast around his eyes.
Yurik asked.
-Is it fun?
What? Why was he here?
Surely Yurik had been holed up in the royal castle thinking only of killing him?
He looked at ■■■ in confusion.
But ■■■'s face was carved out in black as if someone had deliberately torn it, so he couldn't see anything.
His heart made a thudding sound as it dropped.
* * *
He opened his eyes. His whole body was soaked in cold sweat.
He had no strength in his limbs as if he had run at full speed.
Everything around was pitch black, so he couldn't tell anything. Which regression was this? Which timeline was this?
What about Aphoom-Zhah? What about Eibon? No. Not that, but completely different people were definitely somewhere here...
"It's okay."
Someone said.
A cold hand went onto his damp and sticky forehead.
"It's okay."
Hearing those words, he swallowed saliva into his parched throat.
The throat he had cut himself still stung and felt foreign.
His confused mind awakened with pain. This was Asgard, they had come targeting the capital of ancient Acheron in Asgard.
Asgard's Mage Tower, the theory of amplifying magical power by eating, and Aphoom-Zhah came to mind all jumbled together.
The owner of the hand placed on his forehead was.
"...How are you here?"
"I was with you from the beginning."
No wonder he had shown immediate response to teleportation magic sickness.
It wasn't that Yurik had earnestly asked the escort knight about his safety, but literally Yurik himself had come all the way here.
How absurd.
"Is it okay to just cross borders like that?"
"Since I wasn't caught when I came in, it's fine."
"But now you're caught?"
"A little."
"Who knows?"
"The King and his close ministers. And the royal servants and attendants I encountered coming here."
"What?"
"Still, I changed Yesung's clothes myself. I couldn't let others see you in such a state."
He was caught by quite a lot of people. At this level, wasn't it like advertising 'I'm Aquilonia's 3rd Prince' everywhere?
What kind of trouble had he bought by coming all the way here?
"Did you think I'd run away and hide again?"
"No. I was just... worried."
About what exactly? Where was there anything dangerous for someone who couldn't die even if they tried?
He was definitely betting that Yurik had come running because he was afraid he would escape.
When he sat up with his heavy body, careful hands supported his shoulders and arms.
At that moment, a subtly familiar fishy smell reached his nose.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No."
"Then why do I smell something strange? Light a fire."
Yurik didn't answer. Nor did he get up to light a fire.
It was suspicious. He shook off Yurik's hands and immediately got down from the bed.
Since he couldn't see where there might be a lamp or something to brighten the surroundings, he randomly approached the window and threw open the heavy curtains.
Through the tall window reaching the ceiling, he could see a blizzard pounding the glass and an entirely gloomy gray scene.
It was worse than the north where he couldn't gauge the passage of time.
And through the window, the room's appearance was dimly revealed.
Dark stains remained on the carpet laid on the floor. Clothes and cloaks were all carelessly thrown around.
The bed remained as he had just jumped out of it.
And Yurik, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed.
"...Why are your clothes like that?"
Half his shirt was stained with blood.
Looking at the shirt that was turning brown, he covered his mouth.
He had been fine until he woke up in the forest after eating mushrooms.
He was a little hungry, but it wasn't serious. Anyway, that's how he had entered the forest.
But what was this? Why was it like this now? What had he done? While sleeping? Or had he been awake? Since when? Had he eaten? Why? By dying like that? Because he lost a lot of blood? It could be because the wound damage was severe. But either way, it wasn't within his expected range. He had never done such a thing. He had no such memory. Wasn't it getting better gradually? Why now of all times? Why Yurik of all people? Why? Wasn't something wrong? No, even if something was wrong now, did he have the confidence to go back hundreds of millions of years and start over? Did he have the confidence to repeat the same story again? But still, if he left such variables alone, could he predict how they would return later? No, that wouldn't do. Just now was already painful enough. Let's die. Let's die now instead. Yurik was here. If he gave him a weapon and asked him to stab his heart right away, he would return to the beginning of this planet and...
"Yesung."
Yurik urgently stood up and approached in a few steps, holding his face with both hands.
Behind him, mosaic-corrupted text appeared and disappeared.
"There's nothing to worry about. No one came in here. No one saw. Except me."
"I, I. You."
"You were very surprised. It's okay. Yesung didn't try to kill me either. You just took one bite of me who was next to you."
"One bite?"
"Yes. One bite. If you had torn me apart it might have been different, but you just bit me lightly and it didn't even sting. Besides, you drank just blood and immediately fell asleep."
"Then those clothes."
"I was slow to treat it. It's stopped now. Look. There's nothing there."
The inside of the shirt collar that Yurik showed. As always, smooth and pale skin was visible.
Was it really all healed? He hadn't devoured Yurik?
Yurik arranged his clothes again and said.
"Compared to when I took 8 arrows to the back, this isn't even a wound. Don't worry."
"Are you really okay?"
"Yeah. I actually liked it."
"You weren't surprised that I suddenly bit you? Even though you didn't know I was this kind of person?"
"I said I liked it. Why do you keep asking?"
What was this crazy bastard babbling about?
While he was seriously doubting Yurik's mental state,
Yurik helped him back to bed and covered him with blankets.
Then he smiled with the benevolent expression of a father looking at an obedient child.
"But if something like this happens just one more time, then I'll personally break hyung's neck. Remember that."
"Br-break?"
"Yes."
"Re-really?"
"I'm serious. I rarely say what I mean, but what I just said about not doing that in front of me was real. Does it sound like a lie? Want to test it? I don't know about other things, but I'm an expert at killing people."
He was a little curious, but he shouldn't say he'd test it here.
When he sent a silent signal that he would keep his mouth shut and behave, Yurik brought up a different topic as if telling him to forget what he had just said.
"While Yesung was 'sleeping,' some things happened. Asgard's King seems to think this is all Yesung's fault."
"Tell him to search the Mage Tower instead of doing that."
"I would have liked to do that, but after Yesung woke what was in the coffin, a blizzard struck. And everyone who came into contact with the snow went mad..."
"Went mad?"
"At least this entire area seems like that. I don't know about other regions."
"Huh."
It was true that he had given his blood to wake Aphoom-Zhah.
But he didn't know he had been planning such revenge.
He thought it would end at most with killing the mages who had devoured Aphoom-Zhah's body.
To scatter snow everywhere and drive people to madness.
Was this reasonable behavior? His god qualifications should be revoked.
"But how did we get here?"
"Those who go crazy just from getting hit by a few snowflakes are weak. They're different species from us."
Ah, so this side also had Leandros qualities.
Thinking of their socially maladjusted Leandros who told all the weak ones to get lost, the two seemed to have slightly similar aspects.
...Only very slightly.
"So what did Asgard's King say?"
"He asked me to stop this blizzard."
"How?"
"I wouldn't know. But I think Yesung could do it sufficiently."
"Me?"
"The one buried in the snow called Yesung 'my believer.' He'd probably listen well if Yesung asked."
"Don't worry about that. Aphoom-Zhah is just the type who uses such titles."
"I see. So what exactly is the identity of this Aphoom-Zhah that Yesung speaks of? You seemed to have a very intimate relationship. Have you known each other for a long time?"
Ah. He was screwed.
His spine suddenly became cold for a different reason.
Perhaps because he had died and awakened, Yurik was very affectionate and kind,
But his eyes were threateningly glowing red.
Even when they had agreed to tell each other everything without hiding anything, he hadn't mentioned Aphoom-Zhah.
Had he been out of his mind from just waking up, or had he fallen for Yurik's natural interrogation?
"So who is it?"
"...S-sorry."
"Won't you answer who it is?"
"At that time I really couldn't remember well, so somehow...!"
"Somehow?"
"I was wrong."
"Wrong?"
He learned for the first time today that asking kindly was more effective at draining someone's blood than openly getting angry.
In the end, he confessed at least part of the story about Aphoom-Zhah that he had kept hidden,
And while Yurik wasn't greatly satisfied, he stopped being angry anyway.
Why did he feel so guilty about selling out Aphoom-Zhah?
Several hours later, having recovered their strength, they left the castle to find Aphoom-Zhah.
Outside was still terribly cold and very windy,
But at least it was fortunate that it was guaranteed they wouldn't go mad from being hit by snow.
His feet sank deep into snow that came up to his shins, making it hard to walk, and his neck still felt loose, but it was okay.
Yurik followed behind and asked.
"Did you come out knowing where he is?"
"No. But I can roughly guess."
"Where is that?"
It wasn't the birch forest. From Aphoom-Zhah's perspective, he would have wanted to escape quickly.
But he probably wasn't near the royal castle either. What attachment would he have to buildings that had appeared while he slept?
A place that Aphoom-Zhah, who had been sleeping for so long, would still know when he awakened.
A tower of those who pursued truth by receiving the teachings of a Great Mage renowned across ages.
Looking beyond the snowfield where he couldn't even run on his own feet, let alone wolf-drawn sleds,
He recalled Aphoom-Zhah lying with holes throughout his chest.
Now, he was going to meet him.