Chapter 20.1

Crack! Crack! Crackle!

The last surviving mages and knights of Sigma bit down on the lethal poison hidden in their molars.

“Damn it! Damn iiiiiit!!”

The traitor, Doyle, screamed in disbelief at the sight.

“You traitor! You’ll never have a painless death!”

Balzac, who was in tatters, glared at Doyle with bloodshot eyes and growled.

“No, no… If they die like this… then I… I too—!”

Balzac’s will didn’t reach the traitor, Doyle.

“Gaaah…”

As the mage leading Sigma bit down on the poison and died instantly, Doyle’s face also began to turn a pale, purplish hue in an instant.

It seemed there was some kind of magical linkage involved.

“That bastard! He shouldn’t have been allowed to die so easily!”

Knights Carrot and Sir Rosie ground their teeth as they watched Doyle’s pitiful end.

But their regret was fleeting.

Despite being on the brink of collapse from blood loss and exhaustion, Balzac hadn’t forgotten their top priority.

“Quickly, search their bodies! We must deliver it to Sir Arad! Ugh…”

Thud.

“Hah… haah…”

Having overexerted himself, Balzac collapsed where he stood after shouting.

“Sir Balzac!”

The two knights, who were rummaging through the fallen Sigma knights and mages, were startled and rushed toward Balzac.

“I’m fine… Just… deliver the message… Take the Empire’s potion to Sir Arad…”

Balzac, gasping for breath, shook his head firmly.

I approached Balzac at a brisk pace.

Officially, he was the only Sword Master in the North, but he seemed so drained that he didn’t even notice me approaching.

Standing behind the old knight, I kept a cautious distance in case of any unexpected developments.

“There’s no need to worry about the message. I’ve completed all the treatment I could.”

Then, I stepped closer to the old knight, offering him the words he wanted to hear the most.

“How is Her Highness…? Even if he cannot wield his sword, that doesn’t matter. As long as you save him, I’ll grant whatever you desire!”

Balzac, startled by my voice from behind, turned around in surprise.

“The treatment is complete. Now it’s Her Highness’s turn to recover.”

“Ah… is that so? Then that’s fine. Her Highness will definitely overcome this. I just need to… need to rest my eyes for a moment… I feel so dizzy…”

With those words, Balzac finally lost consciousness.

Judging by his breathing, he had fainted from sheer exhaustion.

“Haah…”

“Is it really over now?”

Knights Carrot and Sir Rosie, finally letting their guard down, trembled as their legs gave out, and they collapsed into sitting positions.

“Everyone, let’s get inside the carriage.”

Seeing that no one was in good shape, I decided to bring Arina and the knights into the carriage.

***

“Is this for real…?”

“Even more surprises, huh…”

“It looked so small from the outside?!”

The knights stepped into the carriage.

Eote, Carrot, and Rosie widened their eyes as they looked around the interior.

Then, they carried the unconscious old knight inside, struggling with the effort.

“Lay Sir Balzac down over there.”

After placing the sleeping Arina on my bed, I directed the three of them.

Thus, my carriage, designed with subspace mana circuits, now housed six people, including me.

Arina lay on the bed, Balzac lay on the floor, and Eote, Rosie, and Carrot awkwardly sat inside the carriage.

‘But the smell is awful…’

While we were outside, it wasn’t as noticeable, but now that we were all in this enclosed space, the stench from their bodies was overwhelming.

“I think it’s best to focus on escaping this abyss first, so I’ll go drive the carriage.”

Feeling like I might throw up if I stayed any longer, I decided to step outside.

“What about us…?”

“Rest for now. You can take turns driving the carriage later.”

“Understood.”

“There’s bread and beer here, so help yourselves if you’re hungry.”

“F-food!”

Barely had I finished speaking before the three of them devoured the bread and beer like starved animals.

“…”

Watching them in disbelief, I let out a sigh and added, “Rest, but make sure not to touch anything.”

“Of course!”

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Gulp, gulp, ahhh!

Leaving behind the sound of their ravenous eating, I exited the carriage.

Huuuup! Haaaaah!

Breathing in the fresh air outside, my head cleared from the dizziness caused by the stench.

I then walked to the front of the carriage.

“They’ve calmed down quite a bit.”

Two horses, miraculously still alive, were harnessed to the carriage.

Though they’d collapsed and foamed at the mouth several times during the battle, they had settled down now that the situation was over.

“Let’s go! You don’t want to stay here any longer either, do you?”

Sitting in the driver’s seat, I tugged on the reins and spoke.

Neigh!

Even before I finished speaking, the golden carriage began moving, leaving the ashen labyrinth behind.

Inside the moving golden carriage, I switched shifts with Sir Rosie and checked on Arina.

To shield myself from the stench inside, I wore a mask sprayed with perfume.

‘It’s amazing how they’re all so indifferent to the smell.’

I couldn’t tell if it was because they were medieval people or because they were superhumans with extraordinary endurance. Either way, it was impressive, in its own way.

“Why are you wearing a mask?”

A voice came from behind.

Balzac, who had woken up in the meantime, stood there, drinking beer and eating bread.

“Just feeling a bit under the weather…”

I couldn’t exactly say, because you all smell like hobos. So, I opted for a harmless lie.

“Aaaah… a cold?”

The knights reacted as though they’d just heard something unimaginable.

Seeing their reactions, I suddenly remembered something.

‘Oh, right. Northerners don’t get colds, do they?’

To be precise, adult Northerners didn’t.

Living in such a freezing environment meant that anyone susceptible to frequent colds rarely survived to adulthood.

‘Not to mention, their ancestors had a hand in it.’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Their distant ancestors being druids also played a role in this. Thanks to that, Northerners naturally possessed passive resilience and exceptional physical endurance.

“Hahaha! Now you finally seem human. Yes, for someone who’s not a native of the North, the cold here can be tough to handle.”

“Take a proper rest. We’ll take over driving the carriage from here.”