"I'll introduce him simply. His name is Aphoom-Zhah."
"Aphoom, Aphoom-Zhah?"
"He's like an ice fairy I met when I went to Asgard."
"Fairy?"
Eva's expression became increasingly strange.
It seemed she thought he was spouting nonsense too.
She looked at the snowman sticking out its round body with all its might, then spat out coldly.
"What kind of joke is this? A fairy? Even children wouldn't believe that."
"Fine, let's say that's true. Whether it's a fairy or magic doesn't matter, but how can this snowman help us?"
At Eva's words, Aphoom-Zhah jumped down from the desk.
Toddling over, Aphoom-Zhah climbed onto Eva's foot and plopped down.
[This body, great Lord of the Extreme Realm. What human woman wants, grant? This body, completely omnipotent.]
"Omnipotent?"
[Snow falls. Also make icicles. This body's ability, depends on use. Have magical power? This body helps. Help earnestly. This body, defeated monsters too.]
"You defeated monsters?"
"Eva, listen. I didn't handle that matter alone. It was possible because I met Aphoom-Zhah in Asgard."
"What can this thing do?"
"Anything, as far as human imagination can allow. Actually, there are ways to draw out more potential, but..."
He trailed off and glanced at Yurik, whose face was already completely crumpled.
"...Well, even without that, I think it'll be fine enough."
"This thing defeated those monsters?"
Her doubtful gaze didn't easily disappear.
Hmm. Then the only remaining method was to show her directly.
Early the next morning.
The 3rd Prince's palace backyard, Yurik's exclusive training ground.
Everyone except Valter had gathered.
He gave a brief explanation to Cellinne, the only combat personnel among the current members,
And explained to her the system of receiving Aphoom-Zhah's blessing and borrowing power.
But Cellinne seemed unable to understand how that was possible in the first place.
"So you're saying this tiny snowman is incredibly strong? And I'm borrowing that? How? Is it magic?"
"It's similar."
Of course, it wasn't just Cellinne, but Eva and Dardin as well.
From their perspective, they must have wondered what this being called 'Aphoom-Zhah' was to make such a fuss about.
Aphoom-Zhah, sitting on his right shoulder, spoke arrogantly.
[Great mystery, experience directly. Human, understand blessing? Experience directly. Believer, raise humans' faith. Believe? Accomplished.]
"Cellinne, this is a kind of power that comes from faith. No matter how much we want to lend you strength, if you don't believe, it won't work."
"Even if you say that, it's difficult. Suddenly telling me to believe in a snowman I've never seen before. Plus, I don't even know exactly what this is."
"Like I said earlier, this is."
"No, I know the name. Aphoom-Zhah, and he's a magical mass or fairy that can handle snow and ice? Anyway, something like that. But I'm seeing this snowman for the first time today, and if you suddenly tell me to believe in it."
Ugh. Cellinne's point made sense.
In the previous cycle, the reason Leandros could become Aphoom-Zhah's apostle was because he had fully cooperated with him.
He had paid the price of the contract so that Aphoom-Zhah's power could be displayed, but the benefits went to Leandros,
And he had given him blood for magical power supply.
Of course, that wasn't why Leandros came to believe in Aphoom-Zhah. Because he trusted him, he trusted Aphoom-Zhah whom he believed in.
Between them existed a strong bond of faith.
Based on the camaraderie of making that trash Yurik their common enemy and seeking to destroy him,
That kind of solidarity and hatred shared only by those who had spent life's worst period together- Wait.
"Cellinne. You really can't believe in Aphoom-Zhah?"
"I don't think I can even if I try."
"Then what about me?"
"Huh? Adonis?"
"Yes. Even if you can't believe in this snowman, can you believe in me who saved you all?"
Cellinne tilted her head and then nodded.
"That might be okay. Yesung is much more trustworthy than the snowman."
"Then believe in me, Cellinne. Believe in the power and mystery I've prepared for you."
He took Cellinne's hands. Warmth transmitted from her warm hands. Just as he believed in Aphoom-Zhah, she too had to believe in him.
"I am the medium connecting you with the Lord of the Extreme Realm. At the same time, one who cares for you all. I will bear the price of the promise, so may only pure blessings remain for you."
Cellinne knelt on one knee before him. Her hands slipped smoothly from between his hands.
Before her green gaze looking up at him, the silver dagger Yurik had given him before coming out gleamed.
When he pressed his thumb firmly against the blade, small drops of blood beaded up with a stinging sensation.
He bent down and brought the wound to her lips.
Holding her chin slightly and lightly touching his thumb to her plump lips, she drank his blood as if she had been waiting.
With her eyes slightly lowered, twitching at the unavoidable metallic smell that rose, she slowly stood up.
"How is it?"
"Hmm. I'm not sure. But... my stomach feels cold."
"Your stomach?"
"Inside my belly. It feels like I swallowed a chunk of ice whole. Ugh!"
She shuddered. Meanwhile, Eva approached and stopped the bleeding on his thumb wound, spitting out.
"Does it really have to go through such an unhygienic process? It'll be terrible if you get infected."
"I've only ever fed it this way, so that's why!"
Damn. He would have to think about ways to feed it differently from now on.
After wrapping his thumb with a clean cloth and looking at Cellinne,
She was still bouncing in place with a nauseous expression, warming up her body.
"So what now? Besides my stomach feeling cold, there doesn't seem to be any particular change."
"How about trying some kind of attack? Or do you have any weapons you use?"
"I've learned martial arts and combat techniques. I don't particularly use anything besides that."
"Really?"
"Hmph. Our delicate Adonis doesn't know how many muscles dancers have."
Should he find a practice partner separately? He wasn't sure without Valter, but with the current personnel, it was a bit difficult.
He pointed to one of the practice dummies set up in the corner of the training ground.
"How about that? Think of it as someone you dislike and try breaking it."
"Mm-hm."
She stood in front of the dummy while rubbing her stomach.
The dummy made of solid wood had its torso and head connected as one piece,
And though it had many scratches here and there, it looked difficult to break with just a few kicks or punches without proper weapons.
Cellinne seemed to think the same, approaching it with an expression lacking tension.
-Whish!
Her body moved nimbly with a light sound.
Unlike her movements as light as flower petals blown by the wind, her spinning kick accurately aimed at the target.
Threatening, but since she was also injured, the power was definitely less. Just when he thought the dummy would naturally just shake a little.
-Thwack!
"Huh. Huh?"
The dummy's head was gone.
Where had it flown? In the moment of confusion, he saw the dummy's head rolling on the training ground floor several meters away.
The round wood was half-burst. Not from the impact of hitting the floor,
But irregular sea urchin-shaped ice protruded from the center inside the head.
As if by agreement, everyone turned their gaze back to the dummy.
The dummy with its head blown off was hazily covered with white frost from the severed part.
Cellinne examined her foot on the spot, but her foot was naturally fine.
She awkwardly turned to look at them with creaking movements.
"D-did I do... this?"
That seemed to be the case. The only one who kicked it was her.
They were silent for a while.
The first person to break the silence in the training ground was Eva.
She turned to Yurik and spoke firmly.
"Your Highness, didn't you just see? We must leave immediately once Valter's condition stabilizes. If Yesung helps, achieving that 'prophecy' won't be difficult."
Yurik expressionlessly took in the headless training ground dummy for a while.
After a moment, he reluctantly answered.
"Dardin, prepare to expose the location of the Leng Plateau. After that, make sure you can report on the royal castle's force redeployment and movement routes."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"And Yesung."
"Me?"
Just as he was pondering how to distribute blood through hygienic channels, Yurik called him.
He nodded.
"Have a meeting with Dardin for a bit. Make some time."
* * *
The place where he and Dardin were dragged to was, as always, Yurik's bedroom in the 3rd Prince's palace.
Though called a bedroom, it didn't just have a bed. It included a bathroom and space for simple work,
So most important conversations took place in Yurik's room.
As soon as the door closed, Yurik brought a map and spread it out on the long table.
It was similar in size to the map of the western Thurian continent he had shown him before,
But this one differed in that only the Kingdom of Aquilonia was drawn.
"Valter's recovery?"
"It's going smoothly. Let's plan assuming seven days."
"Good. First, the passage leading to the Leng Plateau will be installed where the meteor fell."
"That's all well and good... but why there of all places? Does it have meaning?"
"First, to minimize damage to the surroundings in case something goes wrong. Second, symbolic meaning."
"Symbolic?"
"The door where the founding Emperor imprisoned demons opens at the place everyone knows the ominous star fell, and the 'chosen ones' who survived the ominous star's damage defeat the demons - it's a storyline people would find interesting."
Aha. It seemed Yurik also wanted to show maximum performance this opportunity to elevate the honor of those who had just been called mercenaries.
Dardin pointed to a place marked with black ink on the map.
"Yesung, I want to neutralize the army if the Queen moves it. That's why I wanted to intentionally release the demons of the Leng Plateau. What opinion do you have?"
"How many troops do you think will move?"
"It won't be few. It will vary depending on the organization method, but I think from as few as 5 banners to as many as 10 banners would be possible. Since we still don't know specifically what demons will come out."
When he looked at Yurik at those words, he briefly explained.
"At the very least a hundred, at most six hundred."
"Isn't that too extreme?"
"Didn't I say it depends on the organization method?"
"Yeah, anyway, you're saying they'll send more if dangerous ones come out?"
"Why do you speak so crudely? Though it's similar."
Let's organize the sequence once.
Dardin would spread word about the location of the Leng Plateau, the 'place where the ominous star fell' that Yurik designated.
Then the Queen would organize an army and send it there, where the kingdom's army and magical beasts would fight first.
After that, the party including Yurik would go out and subjugate the magical beasts.
However, the conditions attached to this were quite difficult.
First, he, known as the 'mage,' couldn't go to where the ominous star fell with the party.
If the mage who made the prophecy went to the scene and helped them, the impact of Yurik and the party's achievements would disappear.
Second, by the time Yurik and the party arrived, the kingdom's army had to be in a state unable to fight. Only then would Yurik and the party not be interfered with.
But there should be no casualties in the kingdom's army if possible. It would be good if they could just lose their will to fight.
Will to fight. Will to fight. Helplessness. Sense of defeat. Depression. Emptiness.
Oh, come to think of it, something seemed to come to mind. Wasn't it surely one of the incidents he had experienced?
"-I can do it."
"Would it be possible?"
"Yes. But preparatory work is needed before that."
"How long will the preparatory work take?"
"If lucky, a few hours. But if unlucky, I don't know how long it will take. You said you expect a week until the army moves and Valter recovers."
"That's right. It might be reduced further from here. It depends on how quickly the Queen's side moves."
Time was too tight. What if the Queen sent the army tomorrow?
He pondered various things, but the conclusion was one. They had to move as quickly as possible with what they could do now.
It seemed like they were rushing too much, but whether it worked or not, they had to try.
Yurik asked.
"What do you mean by preparatory work?"
"Since it seems you need to come along too, I'll explain on the way."
"To where the Leng Plateau opens? What are you planning to do there?"
He looked down at the map.
The place far east from Aquilonia's capital.
That place Dardin had marked.
The star Aphoom-Zhah had dropped, the wasteland where nothing remained because the surroundings had been devastated by it.
"Of course, we need to select the demons."
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