220 Beyond the Snowy Mountains

To travel from the Human Kingdom to the Demon Kingdom, one must cross the mountains.

The border between the Human and Demon Kingdoms is a standoff, with fortresses facing each other. To approach such a place would likely result in immediate enemy designation from both sides.

It would not matter to me or the Demon King, but in that case, the Vampire Child would be caught in the crossfire.

Even after three years of rigorous training, I do not believe I could prevail against elite frontline forces.

Therefore, a peaceful method of passage from the Human Kingdom to the Demon Kingdom was chosen.

That method is mountain crossing.

Specifically, the snowy mountains.

A mountain looms ahead.

Not a mountain, but a mountain range.

Its elevation is unknown, but it is undoubtedly at the level professional mountaineers risk their lives to scale.

The plan is to ascend the mountain range by circling around it.

Hey, this is different from entering the fortress zone—definitely higher risk, isn’t it?

No, I’ll probably be fine.

Vampire Child won’t die, will they?

Is this really safe?

“Safe. No issue.”

That’s the kind of answer that implies there *is* an issue, isn’t it?

Well, regardless, the Demon King does seem to have thought things through. I’ll trust it’s safe.

Then, departure.

Cold.

Come to think of it, this is my first time experiencing cold.

I’ve felt heat before—intensely so—in the middle layer of the Elrow Great Labyrinth.

That wasn’t heat. It was extreme warmth.

How do spiders handle cold?

Don’t have a strong impression of them being resilient to it.

More like tropical jungle creatures. Don’t really picture them in cold regions.

Ah, but the Demon King looks unfazed.

Then it’s probably fine?

And yet, apparently not as safe as it seemed.

Just maintaining a poker face, appearing perfectly fine.

Then again, the Demon King’s skill set—so heavily fortified with resistance—had no ice resistance at all.

That’s problematic.

But me? My preparations are flawless.

This ultra-warm, super-cozy coat, completed in a single night for cold-weather defense.

Wear this, and—miracle.

Comfortable warmth, anytime, anywhere.

Even on snow-capped mountains.

Hmph. While others shiver in the cold, I alone quietly radiate warmth.

Bliss.

The Demon King’s strained expression, the Vampire Child’s deathly pale face, Mel’s half-soulless gaze—each one pulls at my lips in satisfaction.

Suffer more. Suffer even more.

My meals taste better when others suffer!

"Shiro-chan, you seem awfully relaxed?"

Gulp!

N-No, not at all like that!

"That coat—weren't you wearing something else yesterday?"

Well, it's cold. I got a new one.

"Hand it over! Give it now!"

Nwah!

What are you doing?!

Defending the coat from the Demon King, advancing through the mountain range.

Arrived at a ruined village along the way.

A village here, in this extreme cold?

Who even lived here? Some masochist?

Or rather—how did they even survive?

Ah. That's why it was abandoned.

"So that's how it is. Even here."

The Demon King muttered something, but did not clarify the meaning.

We spent the night in the abandoned village.

The next day, upon waking, we wandered through the village at random.

From the atmosphere of the houses, it had been abandoned for several years.

What stood out was the size—smaller than average. Too cramped for adults.

Perfect for children.

Was this a village for children?

We began searching through the scattered tools and belongings.

Nothing of note.

Only extremely primitive items.

Was this a village for children? A primitive village?

Reached the outskirts.

Thick vegetation.

Seemed like plant-based monsters.

Bones of other monsters entangled in vines.

Appears to be the village’s field, but was this actually cultivated?

Are they serious?

Eliminated and consumed.

Hmm.

Healthy vegetables.

Would prefer dressing.

Not opposed to mayonnaise, but I prefer dressing.

To all mayonnaise lovers nationwide, sorry.

Basil dressing is my favorite.

Never actually eaten it.

Energy consumed is redirected to the fragment.

Fragment count has not increased recently.

Energy expenditure for maintenance has risen. No surplus energy available for new creation.

Could keep eating more, but since the Demon King’s been groaning about “expenses, expenses” lately, maybe I’ll cut back a bit.

She consumes roughly enough for twenty people per meal.

In addition, after drinking alcohol and waking the next day, energy tends to recover somewhat.

Alcohol truly is magnificent.

As expected of the head of the hundred herbs.

To recover energy just by drinking it.

The demons had awakened. The mountain conquest resumed.

And so, they continued walking through a world where only snow, ice, stone, and a few monsters remained.

At that moment, a shadow descended from the sky.

The dragon descended to the ground, maintaining a slight distance.

A beautiful dragon, its entire body covered in scales like ice.

A being distinct from the earth dragon—perhaps a frost dragon, one might say.

Strong.

Observing the ice dragon through the analytical gaze, developed as a substitute for鉴定.

The analytical gaze was developed not to match the precision of鉴定, but to assess an opponent's strength.

A crude tool, it measures only the general quantity of a target's soul energy—limited in its ability to gauge strength accurately.

Even with abundant soul energy, one may still be weak. The inverse is also true.

Thus, it serves only as a rough estimate.

Yet in this world, the system correlates soul energy and strength with relatively high precision, elevating the relative value of this analytical gaze.

The gaze measured the ice dragon's strength as approximately double that of Alba.

A formidable dragon.

Weaker than the earth dragon, the leader of the underground labyrinth of Elro, but still among the upper tier of creatures inhabiting this world.

The ice dragon transmits a mental message to the Demon King.

Eavesdropping briefly.

[What is it, ancestor of Taratect?]

[Nothing in particular. Just passing through. Haven't heard anything from Gurye?]

[Hmm. Nothing from him.]

[Ah, right. I'm not doing anything, so I'd appreciate a smooth passage.]

[If you're doing nothing, that suits us perfectly. We have no desire to confront the progenitor of Taratect.]

Negotiation concluded with surprising ease.

Seems he'll allow passage.

But why is this one here?

Placed by the Black?

For what purpose?

While the ice dragon distracts the Demon King, it summons several fragments.

Dispatches them to explore the mountain range.

The reason the Black stationed such a strong gatekeeper here.

If the goal was merely to force conflict between humans and demons, the snowy mountains alone would suffice as a natural hazard.

Something lies here.

Something the Black wishes to conceal.

Find it. Seize the weakness.

Hmph. I never trust anyone stronger than myself, and I never open my heart to them anyway.

Never considered black as an ally.

Seize the weakness you can grasp.

Now then, what are you hiding?

A bit late, as expected!

Due to real-life circumstances, updates this month may be delayed until later at night.