I Became the Snow Woman I Made

70 – Peace and Turbulence

Even though it wasn’t very well put together, since it’s my character, I was able to listen to what I said.

But you came to see me.

“·······.”

To be honest, it was exactly what I had guessed.

From the perspective of the black knight, there would be no other reason to come to the snowy field.

However, if the purpose is not combat, the intention cannot be determined.

“You came to see me?”

“Yes.”

His cool answer.

There was no hint of malice.

I nodded and continued.

“It’s nice not to talk about monsters, but you really don’t want to make a fuss.

“Yes. I had a small realization recently. I came here for a different purpose.”

“Other purposes…”

Correct your posture and ask.

I thought that something quite important would come out, but his words came back soon.

“For what purpose?”

“I don’t know that.”

I couldn’t understand it at all.

“…?”

My eyes blinked involuntarily, and questions welled up.

Do you think you might know why you came?

“What do you mean?”

“I told you my life.”

“By the way.”

“Like that birth, I judged you a monster. So I wanted a duel, and I lost.”

Chandra Pale’s tone is low but not dark.

I listened intently to listen.

“It was truly a disastrous defeat. The fierce battle against disaster was not that overwhelming.”

“······Um.”

As if in remorse, his vague voice is a bit unfamiliar. What happened then was probably a miraculous coincidence.

It’s highly likely that it’s because of this guy’s condition problem, not my strength.

“This is the first time I’ve experienced this… After that, I realized that something had cleared up.”

It seems to be a story about growing up after going through a real defeat. Whatever the process, I liked the result.

His growth is desirable.

I said.

“So you’re here to say that. You’ve changed?”

“That’s not it.”

“Sure.”

The black knight chose his words for a moment, then opened his mouth to see if he had come to a conclusion.

“I still don’t know.”

“No-“

“I need to find out. Will you allow me to stay here for a while?”

“… Huh?”

I was startled for a moment, but I soon understood.

Apparently, because of the disastrous defeat, he had all his thoughts.

To the extent that even one’s own characteristics, which have been eroded by the thrill, are shaken… This is a good thing.

He didn’t have to throw it out, as long as he didn’t mess around.

“I’ll let you.”

He even helped me this time.

Chandrapail’s answer was concise.

“Thank you.”

“Yes. Then go.”

The black knight turns around immediately after.

While I was seeing him off with a wink, a sudden thought stopped him.

“Wait.”

“······What is it?”

“Take off your helmet.”

It was simple curiosity.

Come to think of it, I had never seen his bare face.

According to the setting, he would hate to show his face, but he wanted to see it once because he put a lot of effort into modeling it.

“·······.”

I just threw it out once, whether it was or not.

The black knight was silent for a while, but took off his helmet surprisingly easily.

A careless and tall appearance that follows.

His jet-black hair accentuated his features, and his stubbornness was felt from his tightly closed mouth.

Overall, it looked the same as what I had made.

“Seeing it in person is new.”

“New?”

“It’s nothing. More than that, you’re hurt.”

Except for the small scratch on his face.

A very weak mark, as if cut by the wind. It feels like digging through the gap in the helmet.

It must have been injured while fighting the dead.

I could have left it alone, but the ring of instant origin came to mind. Along with halo and memorize, another ability ‘healing.’

“Come over here for a minute.”

“Hmm?”

There was no place to use it, but it was an opportunity to experiment.

He tilted his head and placed his hand on the cheek of the approaching Chandra Pale.

“!”

He twitched his cheeks, but there was no need to make contact. Hwaaak- The rising white light permeated the wound.

“Oh.”

The glowing halo is beautiful in itself, but the effect is certain.

The shallow scratches quickly disappeared.

I removed my hand and looked at the black knight.

“······!”

There was a definite surprise in his eyes.

I didn’t know you had this ability.

I saw him off with a smile.

“Okay. Let’s go now.”

***

Daytime at the Duke of Griffeon’s residence.

Bullyzee was listening to Harold at an important time when state affairs and situations were changing rapidly.

“Quillier…? What is the name of the woman Artan is in love with?”

“Yes. Do you know who she is?”

“No. That’s a name I’ve never heard of before.”

“That’s right…”

Return of the sword master who visited the kingdom to identify the person the prince has a crush on.

As his sighed words continued, the princess’s pupils were filled with astonishment.

“Huh? The rumored saintess? Of course, I expected that possibility, but… I’m a little surprised.”

“······Yes? The rumor that the disaster was repelled is true? Alone?”

“Furthermore, defeat the Lord of the Dark Saints?… Yes? Not a saint, but a goddess…?”

Everyone had no choice but to do that.

There is only one person who is the owner of all the wonderful achievements.

Harold recalled what Quilière had said on the terrace.

“She is… Of a different class. She is not something that humans can judge.

“······That’s it.”

A serious voice tinged with fear.

The sword master’s remarks were truly surprising, and Bullyze’s eyelids trembled.

“But fortunately, she is not the enemy of mankind. And she helped Artan’s decision.”

“Artan’s decision… Is it related to his recent actions?”

“Yes. The ultimate goal set before he became emperor, resisting the enemies of the world that threaten the continent.”

Harold let out a shallow breath, and after Bullize swallowed dryly.

Again, that formidable declaration is manifested.

“It’s for landfill conquest.”

“······!”

In an instant, the princess stopped breathing.

It was such a fearful and bizarre goal.

After thinking for a while, she calmed down and understood the situation.

“…That’s how it happened.”

She sighs and understands.

The target of admiration is God······ It’s absurd, but that’s why it’s understandable.

Regardless of whether it could be done or not, I did it for now.

Just conquering landfills?

It’s not an incomprehensible decision considering the harm that the disaster has caused for a long time, but isn’t it very bold?

“Certainly this is not the time to discuss arranged marriages.”

“That’s right. We’ll have to put it off until later.”

“Yes, what…”

As Harold thought, Bullyze made a wise value judgment.

Since Artan was already determined, it was a mistake to block him.

Also, if only disasters could be eliminated, the position of the empire would have reached an unapproachable level.

“We also need to prepare our Griffeon.”

The Grypheon family is a royal family that follows the crown prince more than anyone else.

If it was unavoidable, you had to act first.

***

······Snow castle again.

Chandrafale was looking around the castle like Nell once did.

He had a rare little admiration for the extremely spacious and high interior.

“It’s a very unique style. I’ve never seen a structure like this.”

A very surprising mystery created by the monotonous colors.

Whoever made it was extremely good, so even the Black Knight, who was indifferent to buildings and art, could be quite interested.

“Hmm?”

Where is this place? I met Duwade at a place decorated like a restaurant.

The Crusader was sitting in front of the table with his helmet off.

“I said Chandra Pale…”

“Yes, diners.”

Unlike the black knight, it was the result of actively accepting Qulière’s opinion that ‘if the face is covered up, it looks stuffy’. The two, who were temporary colleagues, had already finished talking.

Chandra Fail, who was reluctant to reveal her real name, didn’t care much because Quilière already knew him.

“Is this a restaurant?”

“They said so. Sword Demon, you lift it lightly too.”

On the table were a teacup and some soft-looking food.

That caught the black knight’s attention.

“What is that?”

“A dish called ‘slime jelly’… No, it’s dessert.”

“Slime?”

For reference, there was no slime in this world view, and this was an event item.

Chandrapale couldn’t help but ask again.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. I can only guess the name of the artisan who created this dessert. Maybe Qulière-sama made it.”

“Whoa.”

When he showed a little interest, Duwade offered to cook again.

“Quillier said you can eat freely.”

“No. I don’t like to eat.”

I thought that being able to live only by eating something was a huge waste.

The black knight stopped paying attention and moved on.

After wandering around for a while, I found a place that looked like an art gallery.

“Hmm?”

An antique space with many paintings.

Indifferent to art in general, including fine art, he tried to pass by, but decided to stop by.

It was because of the expectation that this castle would be different, but that belief was correct.

“Ohhh… I see.”

There is still no artistic spirit of inquiry.

However, all the paintings in this painting have different painting styles and different subjects, so they have a strong attraction.

It is as vast as if the works of numerous artists were carefully selected. He murmured, a little engrossed before he knew it.

“Surprising. At least a painter of spirit must have been honed—”

“That’s not it, stupid.”

Then a harsh voice broke in.

Turning around, it was the red-haired Nel Sartilla.

In the past, when it was called the Red Disaster, the person Chandra Pale pursued.

“No?”

Since he already knew that he was in the castle, the black knight remained calm without any agitation.

Nell’s eyebrows narrowed even more as if she didn’t like that.

“Yeah. What kind of painter is he? What kind of person is Quilière, did you collect them and have him paint?”

“Are there other numbers?”

“It’s simple. It’s all drawn by myself.”

“······Did you draw alone?”

The black knight looked around.

“A lot of this.”

It didn’t make sense at all.

Both are sheep, but the quality and style were hardly one person’s.

At least that was the case with humans.

But Nell was really sincere.

“That’s right. Isn’t that obvious?”

“·······.”

As if he didn’t know that, his arms were intertwined.

Even the black knight was slightly shaken by this.

“…There is a possibility.”

He knows enough about Quilière’s potential.

Of course, it didn’t matter anyway, and the black knight took a glance at Nell and walked away.

Nel immediately followed him.

She changed her subject.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“What to say?”

“Uh. Think about what you’ve done to me. Aren’t you sorry?”

Stabbing and slashing, not even listening to words.

All I wanted was an apology, but honestly I didn’t expect it. The black knight she knows is an infinitely selfish and self-righteous man.

She was surprised by the reply that came back.

“I’m sorry. I apologize.”

“… Huh?!”

“I guess I was a bit overdone at the time.”

Words that would never come out of the mouth of the black knight.

The tone remained silent, but it was shocking.

“Uh… Uh uh…?”

Nell gasped in shock.

Chandrapail looked puzzled.

“You didn’t want an apology.”

“······Uh, that’s right.”

She was confused.

I came to point out what happened in the past, but I don’t know what to do since I received the apology I really wanted.

The black knight looked at her dumbfounded and then turned his back on her.

“Then I’ll go.”

“Ahhhhh.

Leaving Nell’s awkward reply, Chandrapail walked aimlessly. This pure white paradise was so vast that there was no time to get bored.

Next was a room on the upper floor.

The first thing that caught my eye was the bookshelf, which I suspected was a study. He noticed something and stopped.

“·······.”

There was Quilière.

Sitting alone in a rocking chair in the corner, he is absorbed in reading. Faced with the rare sunlight streaming in through the window, I removed the cumbersome sides of my hair.

Sararak─

The bookshelf was overturned.

The black knight watched the scene like a picture in silence.

I was able to observe the world from a new perspective, perhaps thanks to the lack of fighting spirit.

“… Huh?”

Not long after that.

Quilière raised his head, perhaps feeling the presence.

·······.

I was in the middle of enjoying reading ‘The Night Fox and the Bitter Birdberry’.

For some reason, I felt the gaze, and the moment I raised my head, the black knight was captured.

“·······?”

When did you come?

He must have been looking around the castle with my permission.

The face that was revealed earlier was covered with a stuffy helmet.

He didn’t say anything, so I asked first.

“I just looked around.”

“Yes.”

“How did you feel?”

Talking to him, he returned to his former vivacity. As always, the answer is concise.

“It was great.”

“Awesome?”

“They overwhelm the facilities of the Church. No one would have expected that there would be a place like this in the Devil’s Realm.”

That was it.

Because the castle that didn’t exist originally was created by my settings.

Suddenly, the black knight swung inside and turned to my hand.

“What books do you read?”

“Ah… This?”

I didn’t expect to ask such a trivial question, but it wasn’t something to hide.

“It’s an ordinary story. The story of the fox spirit and the budberry. It’s quite interesting because it’s intertwined with the secret story of the birth of Chelmbard.”

“I see.”

“If you’re interested, why don’t you read it too.”

I glanced at the rows of bookshelves.

“As you can see, there are a lot of books.”

Of course, he just said it because he couldn’t read books or anything like that.

It implies the meaning of ‘if you don’t want to read it, get out’.

But he nodded.

“Yes.”

“… Huh?”

Then, why don’t you pick one and sit down?

Coincidentally, it was near me.

It’s even weirder when it’s only the two of us and it’s far away, but it’s a very awkward distance.

It was all the more so because the peaceful space and the black knight didn’t go well together.

My gaze slanted.

“Do you read books too?”

“Is there any reason not to read it?”

“Not really.”

How to say, it was amazing.

After all, just because you set it up in detail doesn’t mean you know everything. Chandrafale opened the book, and I looked away.

“·······.”

Silence fell for a while.

He doesn’t budge, but I didn’t notice the story that I was quite immersed in.

It’s entirely because of this guy’s existence.

Since there is a history of the past, I wonder if he will suddenly change and cause a riot…

“Where is Paley?”

The girl who had been with him all along was nowhere to be seen.

It felt like something was missing.

The black knight replied bluntly without sociability.

“Before coming here, I left it in a small town nearby.”

“Small town… Glenver? Why?”

“The Ice Mountains are famous for their extreme climate. An ordinary child has no way to survive.”

“Ah.”

I’m fine thanks to the snow woman trait, so I sometimes forgot about that fact.

Anyway, did you know that the black knight would be considerate like this?

“I left it in Glenver. Is there anyone else with you?”

“No. I don’t know many people. He’s the only one.”

“… I guess so.”

So Paley has landed alone in an unknown place?

An ominous feeling rose.

“I bet you didn’t leave it on the sidewalk.”

“Is there a problem? I’ve got the funds, so I’ll find an inn on my own.”

“·······.”

Wrong.

I thought I was being considerate unlike this guy, but I was wrong.

“If I had lived in Kyoguk all the time, I would have had no relationship with Glenver. Leave me there alone?”

Even in modern times, I sat down to do dangerous things in this terrifying world.

Since this guy’s temper is so strong, he probably wouldn’t have considered that.

I clicked my tongue in my heart.

“How long has it been since I left it?”

“It must have been about three days since I came right away on Urbos.”

“······Three days.”

It was a short but long time.

I shook my head and closed the book.