Chapter 199 : I am the Ice God

Whisper, whisper.

A commotion spread.

People whispered and pointed at me, and the soldiers who were waiting nearby were heading this way, pushing through the people with angry eyes.

Hudmilla was frozen, staring this way with wide eyes.

Her purple eyes were clearly visible even from this far away.

A jewel is like that.

It shines even when it's buried in the mud.

I said to the amethyst buried in the mud.

"Can't you hear me? Spirit user who brings disaster, Hudmilla Everett. As the leader of Sherwood, I command you. Come here right now."

The sound of people whispering grew louder.

—Sherwood? That Sherwood Mercenary Corps?

—Wasn't it disbanded?

—A spirit user who brings disaster?

—I heard that person also has purple hair.

—N-no way!

Not only Hud, but also the man who seemed to be her father was visibly flustered.

'Well, how about that? Now you have no choice but to come back, right?'

I smiled triumphantly and received Hudmilla's glare.

If you have a complaint, let's fight.

Of course, after we go back to Milestone.

"You fool! I told you I'd come and see you later!"

Hud shouted.

"Don't you know how important this is? I have to inherit the family from my father! Otherwise, the succession will get tangled up! Do you know my situation?"

I also responded with a shout.

"Shut up! I don't know anything about that!"

"That's something to be proud of! You fool!"

This is why it's a headache when you're smart.

You can't just ignore what you see.

It gets complicated.

Maybe that's why she ran away from home.

But what of it?

Is that my business?

Smart people should also know how to live simply, foolishly at times.

Next to a smart person, there should be a foolish person like me.

You have to cut all the threads that bind you and just go straight ahead.

I'll cut the spider web for you.

Because that's what comrades are for.

For Hud, that spider web was her family.

Look at her face.

The face of the girl who was receiving that staff-like thing was not very bright.

It was gloomy, as if a dark cloud had cast a shadow.

It's a face I've never seen before.

She was a girl who would giggle and send a magical beast's head flying.

Where did her sharp tone and confident appearance go?

Hudmilla Everett was not a girl who would cower like this.

That's Hudmilla Richtiello, not Hudmilla Everett.

Hudmilla Richtiello protested to me.

"I told you I'd come and play after it was all over! Why are you doing this?!"

I shouted.

"Is Sherwood a playground? What do you mean, come and play? Is Sherwood a pushover?"

"No..."

"Shut up! I don't want Hudmilla Richtiello! I want Hudmilla Everett!"

I stretched out my hand and pointed at Hudmilla.

At Everett, who was on the verge of being irreversibly transformed into a complete Richtiello.

I shot a strong gaze into her purple eyes like a ray of light.

"You. Don't even think about straddling the fence. If you're going to come over, come over for good."

"...!"

"Sherwood wants Hudmilla Everett. What's your answer?"

Hudmilla's pupils trembled.

She opened her mouth hesitantly.

"I..."

"Shut up! I'm going to take you no matter what you say. If you want to resist, struggle as much as you want! Because I'm going to take you by force!"

Hud looked at me blankly, at a loss for words.

I received her gaze with my arms crossed... and then I grinned, baring my teeth.

This is my way, spirit user.

The Heavenly Demon is originally a terribly arrogant dictator.

[That's right.]

The Heavenly Demon, with a satisfied look, laughed slowly.

Swish!

With the sound of the wind brushing against the leaves, Shushruta landed next to me.

As if it wasn't surprising anymore, she asked in a rather nonchalant tone.

"What are you going to do?"

"What can I do? This is how the world is."

"...?"

"It's normal for unexpected things to happen when recruiting members. It's something we have to endure."

"It seemed you didn't expect it either."

"You're sharp."

It's frustrating, but I can't deny it.

Maybe because we've been together for so long.

She had somehow figured out my impulsive personality.

Shushruta sighed.

"...I think there might have been a quieter way to handle this."

"You can't always insist on the best way."

"...That's strangely true."

"I want to go up too!"

Shushruta asked, pulling up Linda, who was struggling to climb onto the carriage.

"What's the plan?"

"Do I have one?"

"As expected."

"Actually, I do. Roughly."

I explained, looking at the soldiers who were gathering and pushing through the crowd towards this place from the carriage.

"There are a lot of civilians. We can't use poison, and assassination is out of the question."

"Then?"

"It means there's nothing for you two to do. I'll just quickly snatch Hud and get out, so you guys go out of the city first. Let's meet up outside."

"Alright."

Shushruta, who had understood my plan at once, said to Linda, who had somehow managed to climb up with a tower of wreaths on her head.

"Linda, get on my back."

"Wow!"

Thwack!

Shushruta kicked off the carriage at once and shot up into the air.

"Uiiiiiiiiii!"

Linda's strange cry stretched out long.

At the same time, the wreath on her head seemed to have scattered due to the violent movement, and petals were scattered.

"Come out!"

"Arrest that person!"

The soldiers had already come close.

It means that the wall of the crowd that had been slowing their approach was now useless.

Screech—

Under the scattering petals, I drew my half-sword and pointed it at Hud.

The shimmering red petals brushed past where their gazes met.

Fwoosh—

A blue flame shot up from the half-sword.

I swung the sword in the air.

The red petals that were scattering in front of me burned blue.

Screams erupted and people backed away.

I aimed the blue-burning half-sword at the wide purple eyes.

Right now, I'm coming to get you.

***

Hudmilla stared blankly at Ashuban, who had gotten on the carriage in the distance.

"...What is that fool trying to do?"

He drew his sword.

It was a silver sword broken in half. The sparkling blade was conspicuous even from a distance.

At that moment, his gaze seemed to deepen.

A blue flame shot up from his half-sword.

It stretched out and then became a complete sword.

When he swung the sword, the scattering red petals burned blue.

"...!"

Hudmilla's eyes widened.

"...Aura?"

His words were not a lie.

The idiot who couldn't even feel a speck of mana had been able to create such a dense aura in just half a year.

If this isn't a miracle, what is?

"Ah..."

Why? Hudmilla felt like she was about to cry.

Soon, the soldiers of the Richtiello family surrounded the carriage.

The knight who seemed to be the leader pointed his sword at him.

"Get down!"

Ashuban grinned, baring his teeth.

His flashing eyes were filled with a faint madness.

"Alright."

Ashuban jumped up and over the knight who was pointing his sword at him, and landed in the middle of the soldiers.

And then, without giving them a chance to react, he swung his sword in a circle.

Kagagagagang!

In the flash of the blue flame, the swords of the surrounding soldiers were all broken at once.

The soldiers' eyes filled with horror.

Such a dense aura?

The knight at the front hurriedly created an aura on his sword and approached Ashuban, commanding.

"Those who have lost their weapons, switch with the people behind you! Don't let your guard down! The opponent is an aura user!"

Before they could even regroup, Ashuban, who had instantly neutralized the soldiers, stomped his foot, thinking of the time he had fought the Knight of Frost.

Crack—

From it, white ice spread out like an ice rink.

'Damn it.'

Ashuban clicked his tongue inwardly.

Because it was lacking in many ways compared to Frost's.

Frost had frozen the entire area in the blink of an eye, and the thickness of the ice was enough to bury one's ankles, so it was effective in blocking movement.

But his was slower and thinner in comparison.

Therefore, it couldn't tie the feet of the soldiers surrounding him, but instead, it had a different effect.

"Ugh!"

"Uh, uh!"

Thud!

The soldiers began to fall on the slippery ice rink that had been created in an instant.

"Oh?"

Although he had failed to tie their feet, Ashuban was excited by the unexpected effect.

"On the contrary, it's good."

Anyway, they were Hudmilla's soldiers.

He had no intention of hurting them.

It was enough to just neutralize them.

"Hehe!"

Ashuban slid on the ice rink.

"Stop him!"

"Aah! What is this!"

"Don't grab me!"

Thanks to that, the soldiers who were trying to stop him would often flail and fall.

From a distance, it was a spectacle in a way.

The wave of soldiers falling in succession.

The red-eyed swordsman who was sliding leisurely, leaving them behind.

It was as if he were riding a silver wave made of armored soldiers.

Ashuban spread the ice rink wider and went to Hudmilla.

"I am the Ice God!"

Hudmilla looked at Ashuban with a dumbfounded face.

"...What is that crazy guy doing?"

Ashuban was approaching at a fast speed, knocking down the charging soldiers and knights.

The opponent couldn't even cross swords with Ashuban properly because of the slippery ice rink and was falling all over the place.

Count Richtiello, Hudmilla's father, who was watching from the side, called her.

"My dear. Who is that?"

He also had a dumbfounded face, just like Hudmilla.

Hudmilla hesitated for a moment and then came up with an answer.

It felt strangely embarrassing.

"He's my comrade, Father."

"...I see."

Count Richtiello looked at him, who was bravely defeating his knights and soldiers, with deepened eyes.

Although he could have harmed his soldiers, he was only simply subduing them, such as knocking them down or breaking their swords.

He had also heard about the incident where the castle wall was destroyed.

The report was that the soldiers who were thought to have died from the poison had woken up in a few dozen minutes, perfectly fine.

"...."

Count Richtiello looked at his restless daughter.

"Hud."

"Yes?"

"What do you want to do?"

Hudmilla pursed her lips.

She looked at Count Richtiello, and then at Ashuban, who was approaching like an ice god.

"I..."

Seeing Hudmilla's face, the Count could guess her heart without hearing her answer.

He was happy just that his beloved daughter had returned.

He was grateful that she had grown up so well despite having gone through so much.

But he hadn't looked closely at what was in her heart.

He just thought that she was also feeling happy, just like him.

No, he must have wanted to believe that.

'...What a fool.'

Now that he looked, a dark shadow was cast on her face.

When she looked at that red-eyed swordsman, that shadow seemed to lift slightly.

Her worries lessened, and a smile appeared on her lips.

Suddenly, the Count realized that he had never seen her truly smile since she had come here.

What does it matter about the succession of the family, what does it matter that the eldest daughter inherits the family?

"Go."

"What?"

"Your comrade has come all this way to find you, how can you pretend not to know?"

"But Father. The family..."

The Count smiled faintly.

"That's not for you to worry about."

"What?"

"Because you are not Hudmilla Richtiello, but Hudmilla Everett."

"...!"

Hudmilla's eyes widened considerably.

The Count declared in a solemn tone.

"As of today, Hudmilla Richtiello is expelled from the family. She is no longer a Richtiello, so there is no reason to use that name."

"...!"

"The reason is... overwork. Yes, she was carrying too many burdens. Burdens that didn't fit her."

The Count smiled gently.

"Don't worry. Are you looking down on the Richtiellos? The Richtiellos will not fall just because you are gone. It was just my greed to produce a good head of the family."

"But Father."

"Go."

I will not mention what happened today.

At that moment, Ashuban had reached right in front of them.

"My lord!"

"Get back!"

The knights immediately blocked the way.

The Count said quietly.

"Get back."

"What?"

"I said get back."

At the quiet but firm tone, the knights reluctantly opened the way.

"The Ice God has arrived!"

Ashuban, who had slid right in front of them, lifted Hudmilla up and looked at the Count.

"I'm taking your daughter."

The Count smiled faintly.

"Please take care of her."

And then he slid to the other side.

The other soldiers chased after him.

"Catch him!"

"He's got the young lady!"

The Count watched them chase Ashuban without stopping them.

"Father!"

Watching her fluttering purple hair move away, the Count muttered softly.

"Fly high. My little bird."

The family was a cage for you.

I'm sorry I realized it late.

"As always."

(End of Chapter)

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