SWY 49

“Is that really true? That places where magic flows are cool regardless of season?”

Sharhan asked in surprise, and Derry nodded.

“There used to be a few places where magic flowed naturally. Mages often settled around them. It made it easier to fill their cores and helped them grow faster too. But after the war with the monsters, many of those places were destroyed or lost. That’s why they’re so rare now. If you felt magic down there… maybe ancient imperial mages used to live here.”

“Then the Ice Cave must be one too.”

He had only thought it was mysterious before, but if magic flowed through it, it made sense.

“The Ice Cave?”

“There’s a cave in my homeland that stays cold even in the middle of summer. Lestel and I found it together. It’s always freezing, so we named it the Ice Cave.”

Derry’s eyes widened at the explanation.

“Then there’s a good chance that’s a ruin too! If mages lived nearby, there might even be magic tools buried there!”

“I’ve been there so many times, but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Sharhan looked at Lestel, as if to ask if he had noticed anything. But Lestel was lost in deep thought, lips pressed together. His expression was unusually serious.

“…Is that why….”

“What are you thinking? Lestel?!”

Sharhan tapped his shoulder, startled by the murmur he didn’t quite catch. Lestel blinked at him, then asked an unexpected question.

“The Ice Cave. Isn’t it located between Kaios and Ailun territory?”

The two of them had often argued over ownership of the cave, but strictly speaking, it was in the middle of their family lands. Half belonged to Kaios, half to Ailun.

“Pretty much. Why? Now that you know it might be a ruin, you want to claim it for yourself? No way. That cave is mine. You lost the bet.”

When Sharhan subtly asserted ownership, Lestel scoffed.

“Honey, you’re distorting reality again. If I recall, I was the one who won that bet. You passed out first from the fumes.”

“P-passing out doesn’t mean I lost! Technically, that’s a draw, so don’t try to take it all for yourself. Half of it’s mine.”

Lestel chuckled at Sharhan’s stubbornness.

“Fine, take the whole thing.”

“Really? No take-backs. I wonder what we’ll find in there. Hopefully something useful. Once we get to Serman and meet Iris, we’ll go straight to the cave and–”

Sharhan’s excited planning trailed off, and his expression darkened.

‘We can’t stay stuck here too long. Iris must still be in danger.’

Of course Lestel could tell what was on his mind. He reached out and gently ruffled Sharhan’s hair.

“Get well soon. Once you’re better, we’ll leave right away.”

And he didn’t forget the warning.

“But if you pretend you’re fine and rush us out before you’re actually better, I won’t let it slide. You’ve been warned.”

“If I say I’ve recovered enough to leave, then we leave. What, you think you can judge my condition? Are you a doctor?”

“I’m not a doctor, but I can see what your wound looks like. And I’ve got hands to check if you’ve got a fever. Like right now, see? Still running a bit hot. Are you a damn dog, wandering around like this?”

“What? A dog?! You lunatic, what the hell’s wrong with you?! A little fever is nothing!”

“If you really think you’re fine, then prove it.”

“Prove it? How?”

He asked without thinking, and immediately felt a bad premonition. Sure enough, Lestel leaned in to whisper in his ear, low and quiet so Derry wouldn’t hear.

“With sex.”

Sharhan’s face turned bright red.

“You’re bringing up sex again?! How long are you going to keep spouting this nonsense?”

“Until I’m in bed with you.”

Lestel bit down on his earlobe sharply, then let go, straightened up, and walked off to the hidden space to retrieve two apples, for Thunder and Lightning.

“Derry, let’s check the other cabins.”

“Yes! Let’s go! I can’t wait to see what we’ll find!”

Excited, Derry almost ran ahead but paused to cautiously open the door and peek outside.

“Looks like nothing’s out there.”

Lestel also looked out. All they could see was snow, but he remained cautious and stepped out a few paces to survey the area. Thankfully, there were no more moving corpses nearby.

He gave a low whistle, and Thunder and Lightning, who had gone out to forage on their own, came galloping over. He gave them each an apple, then headed toward another cabin with Derry. Sharhan, still struggling to cool the heat rising in his face thanks to Lestel, hurried after them.

When Lestel glanced back and saw Sharhan trailing him, he chuckled and shook his head.

“If your fever gets worse, I’ll cool you off myself. Just so you know.”

“Shut up, you lunatic!”

“Shan, honey. Do you think I’ll listen to you? You never listen to me either.”

‘Talk all you want, I’ll do as I please’ Lestel’s expression seemed to say, as he silently hooked an arm around Sharhan’s shoulder when he tried to pass. Before Sharhan could react, Lestel swiftly kissed him and pulled away.

A few steps later, he looked back. Sharhan stood frozen, dazed, then raised a fist threateningly when their eyes met.

Of course, he wasn’t scared at all.

There were five cabins built in the old site, but only two of them had hidden chambers. One was the cabin Parel had hidden in, but it was completely empty, he had taken all the mana explosives. The other was the one Sharhan had discovered. He’d been hoping to find more, so it was a little disappointing, but he quickly composed himself.

‘At least we got food. That’s more than enough.’

The village chief had hidden away enough food for the three of them to eat well for at least a month. Not that they planned to stay here for a whole month.

“Do you think the people from Gagos might come back to look for food?”

Derry asked as he munched on dried meat and raw corn, they couldn’t light a fire.

“It’s possible.”

The hunger was probably as terrifying to them as the walking corpses. Lestel recalled Gibson, who had been bitten yet ran for his life until the end. The man had a strong will to live and a selfish streak, he wouldn’t have returned to the village showing signs of being bitten.

If he’d hidden it and made it back to Gagos, the village was probably already a hellscape by now. Still, that was just speculation. He might have died before he got there.

“We should be prepared,” Derry said gloomily.

If the villagers did come, there was a high chance of conflict over the food. They’d undoubtedly claim ownership, while the three of them had no intention of handing anything over.

“There was a blizzard until recently, so they probably didn’t come out looking for food. But now the snow’s cleared… We need to prepare. Starting tonight, we should set up watch.”

Sharhan would be excluded since he was still recovering, so Lestel and Derry would take turns standing guard.

“Let’s do that. But you know, why did the village chief say it was the wall, not the door? The Gagos people all said something about the wall, didn’t they?”

Derry’s question was one Sharhan had wondered about too.

“Maybe because of Baron Olais?”

Lestel said this casually while checking Sharhan’s temperature by touching his forehead.

“What? What’s the baron got to do with it?”

“Remember what they said. It seemed like the chief wanted to sell the mana explosives to the baron.”

Sharhan quickly understood what Lestel meant.

“He didn’t want Olais’ men to get their hands on them, so he gave out false information?”

“That’s what I think. The baron’s knights were with them, weren’t they? If he had told them the exact method and they got there safely, those knights definitely would’ve taken the bullets.”

“Hah. And yet he sent people to go find food without even giving them accurate directions?”

“He probably told one person, the one he trusted the most, how to find the cabin and open the hidden space. Remember what James said? That once the chief’s trusted aide volunteered, the others followed his lead.”

“So he secretly told the real method to only that aide.”

It was a convincing theory. Sharhan, who had put the corn aside after eating enough, smirked. Even the second group of people had still been talking about the wall, which meant the chief hadn’t told them the truth either.

The world had turned into hell, and even then, the village chief couldn’t let go of his greed, trying to protect the mana explosives until the very end. In the end, Parel was the one who took them anyway.

“Let’s sleep.”

After sunset, the cabin was so dark there was nothing else to do. When Sharhan lay down, Derry said, “I’ll take the first watch,” and volunteered. Lestel thanked him and lay down beside Sharhan. Sharhan closed his eyes, feeling Lestel’s arm wrap around him.

‘This has become way too natural.’

It annoyed him how naturally they’d gotten used to sleeping wrapped around each other, but he didn’t push Lestel away.

***

“We’re finally leaving.”

Sharhan, sword at his hip and robe wrapped around him, spoke with obvious distaste. They’d been stuck in the old site for ten days. In that time, Sharhan had almost fully recovered, and the villagers from Gagos never showed up. It was fortunate there had been no conflict, but it left an uncomfortable feeling.

The fact that they hadn’t come, despite starving, likely meant they couldn’t.

Sharhan shook his head to dispel the thought and looked over at Lestel, who was also ready to go. He looked a bit scruffy and thinner, but otherwise healthy. It was thanks to the food the village chief had left behind.

Because they needed to be in good condition for the journey, the three of them had eaten their fill at every meal. They prioritized perishable food like fruit and corn. The rest, they packed up to take with them.

“We’ve packed everything. Let’s go!” Derry called, having strapped the supplies onto Thunder and Lightning’s saddles.

He had spent every spare moment in the secret chamber over the past days, and his mana core had grown. He said he was now past beginner level and had entered the lower tier of proper mages. His confidence, once fragile, had steadily grown.

Sharhan looked at Derry with a kind of proud fondness, like a teacher watching a student grow, then jumped lightly onto Lightning. Lestel and Derry climbed onto Thunder.

“It’s warmer lately, and a lot of the snow’s melted. Perfect weather to travel.”

“Yeah. Let’s go!” Lestel shouted.