Maxi felt a shiver run down his spine.
With his hands resting on the marble table, Riftan stared at the crystal model for a long time, a merciless gleam in his eyes.
His expression suggested the hundred different strategies for capturing the castle that were running through his mind.
“I suppose… that means another war,” Maxi muttered.
Riftan raised his head abruptly.
The light reflected from the crystalline surface cast a dark shadow across his chiseled face.
“Yes,” he reluctantly agreed.
Maxi took a deep breath followed by a sigh.
Although she was prepared for this possibility, the thought of the impending difficulties filled her heart with fear.
She was looking at the crystal with apprehension when she felt his hand on her shoulder.
"But we are the invaders this time.
The monsters should be shaking in fear, not us."
He looked at her calmly in silent comfort before turning back to the model.
His eyes shone coldly, and his long, thick eyelashes curled a little as if to hide them.
After maintaining silence for a while, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led them to the entrance.
"We should leave now.
We need to meet up with the rest of the group before the storm gets worse."
As if drawing strength from his solid form, Maxi leaned into him and allowed herself to be led away.
Outside, everything was bathed in bluish darkness.
The unicorns had disappeared without a trace.
When she looked around, Riftan started to pull her.
He looked up at the sky gravely.
“If you don’t want to get stuck in a damn snow prison again, we need to hurry.”
Maxi's face flushed.
Barring hunger and uncertainty, she hadn't minded the isolation inside the cave.
Meanwhile, it was clear that it had been a harrowing experience for Riftan.
She glowered at his back as he strode through the snow and followed.
Fortunately, they managed to reunite with Elliot, Ruth, and four of the Temple Knights before nightfall.
Palpable relief appeared on Elliot's face when he saw them.
"My God!
I've never been so worried in my life."
“Save your prayers,” Riftan said brusquely.
He looked around.
“We need to find shelter from the snow.”
Ruth was shaking from the cold, the tip of her nose red.
“Is that all you have to say after giving us the scare of our lives?!” he practically screamed.
Completely ignoring the sorcerer, Riftan wrapped an arm around Maxi and marched them away.
“We set up tents there,” said a Temple Knight.
Recognizing the voice, Maxi was startled and looked up.
Kuahel Leon's distinct green eyes peered out from beneath his lowered hood.
Had the commander of the Temple Knights personally come to look for them?
She was surprised.
After looking at Riftan and Maxi indifferently, the Temple Knight turned around and nodded to follow him.
“Since none of you seem to need healing, we better get going soon.”
The group hurried through the snow, following the edge of the rock wall.
Soon, two tents appeared behind a large rock.
Royald, who was nervously pacing back and forth in front of the makeshift camp, ran when he saw them.
"You're safe!
Oh, thank God!" The wizard passed his hand over his face and sat down on the floor.
“You can’t even imagine the guilt that was eating away at me.”
“Please get out of the way.”
Anette, who appeared behind Royald, pushed the man away as if he were a nuisance.
She looked Maxi up and down.
"Where the hell have you two been?
Miriam showed us your letter, but we were afraid something had happened when you didn't show up."
“W-We discovered something on the way here… we’re late because we went to investigate.”
“Investigate?” asked Anette, raising an eyebrow.
At this moment, Riftan, who had approached Maxi from behind, intervened rather coldly, "You can continue your conversation later.
We would both like to rest first."
Anette frowned, but nodded slowly.
"I'm sure you guys haven't had a proper meal in days.
Go and get something to eat.
I need to contact the rest of the search party."Readily accepting the invitation, Maxi hurriedly entered the tent.
She immediately felt exhausted as she approached the roaring brazier inside.
Taking off her cloak, she sank into the heat in exhaustion.
Riftan was close behind, and she heard his heavy sigh.
He helped her take off her wet coat before settling in next to her.
With his limbs and bulky body spread across the ground, he gave the impression of a lithe tiger.
He grabbed a folded blanket that was nearby, placed it over her relaxed form and pulled her towards him.
Intense relief seemed to roll off him in waves.
Only then did she realize that he had been tense the entire time, worried that some unfortunate fate might befall her.
She gently rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the warmth that spread through her frigid body, thawing her joints.
Hugging his arm, she slowly closed her eyes.
Sixteen people were on the search team; ten knights and six wizards“Ruth, Anette, Royald, Miriam, and the wind wizards Nevin and Geoffrey.
They went down the cliff as soon as the blizzard stopped.
Maybe it was due to all the worry, but the mages looked exhausted.
When Miriam returned to the tents covered in snow, she shot Maxi while pushing the fairies into a box.
"Look at all the confusion you caused.
As if investigating the ruins wasn't difficult enough."
Maxi had just woken up from a nap and was devouring a meal by the fire.
She glared at the mage.
“I don’t think… you’ll hold that opinion for long when you hear what I’ve discovered.”
Miriam grumbled and sat down by the fire.
She wrapped herself in a blanket and closed her eyes to show that she had nothing more to say.
Wasn't she being very insensitive to a teammate who almost died?
Seeing Maxi's hurt expression, Royald tried to discreetly comfort her.
"Don't let her get to you so much.
You wouldn't know it now, but she tried very hard to find you.
Of course, she claimed it was because she didn't want the casualties to affect morale and that it would be quite unpleasant if someone she knew died."
Frowning, Maxi glared at Miriam before changing the subject.
“W-W-Was anyone hurt?”
"The level below the secret chamber collapsed after the golems were activated, but there were no serious injuries.
We also destroyed the rest of the crazed statues."
Feeling relieved, Maxi finished eating and left the tent soon after.
Although it was still snowing, the wind had dropped significantly.
Upstairs, on a staircase, Garrow spotted her looking around for Riftan.
He had been removing snow from the tent to keep it from collapsing under the weight.
He got out and came running to her.
"My lady, you are already awake.
How are you feeling?"
"W-W-Well, thank you.
I wasn't even hurt to begin with."
Maxi bent his arm to prove his point.
Someone must have healed her while she slept, as all the bruises were gone.
“I'm perfectly fine,” she continued.
"S-Say...
do you know where Riftan is?
I haven't seen him since I woke up."
“Lord Riftan is talking to Lord Kuahel.” Shaking the snow off his gloves, Garrow suddenly became worried.
"I heard about your discovery.
Since we no longer have a reason to search the ruins, the rest of the knights will join us here as soon as the snow stops."
“A-Are we going to launch an attack on the monster city right away?”
Seeing his surprise, a small smile formed on his lips.
"Rest assured, my lady, we would never attack without a plan.
First, we need to gather enough information and gain approval from the Council of the Seven Kingdoms before we can officially prepare for war."
Mixed emotions appeared on Maxi's face.
Although she was relieved to hear that war would not break out now, Garrow's statement implied that another coalition army would be assembled.
She frowned as she remembered the previous conflict.
Most of all, memories of Balto's violent and vulgar knights made her uneasy.
She was silently questioning whether the coalition would be able to cooperate this time when Garrow's worried voice cut through her thoughts.
"You look pale, my lady.
I think you'd better rest."Amused by the young knight's brotherly care, Maxi laughed softly.
"I'm really fine.
I'm sorry for all the worry I caused...
but I was in good hands with Riftan by my side."
After carefully studying his face as if evaluating the authenticity of his words, Garrow's face lit up with a smile.
"Please tell this to Uly as well when you see him.
He became desperate when he heard you and the commander fell from the cliff.
Lord Hebaron had difficulty dissuading him from launching a search through the blizzard."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Garrow sighed.
"He wanted to join the search team, but Mister Hebaron denied his request citing lack of experience.
He's currently furious.
He can be terribly annoying when he's upset, that fellow."
Maxi blinked.
She always had the impression that Ulyseon might be more aggressive than he let on, but not to the point where Garrow portrayed him as such.
How the hell had the boy behaved?
When she gave Garrow a questioning look, the young knight smiled wryly and changed the subject.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're both unharmed.
I knew you'd be fine if the commander himself had come to rescue you...
but that didn't spare me the worry."
Maxi felt a pang in his conscience.
While everyone was worried about her well-being, she was enjoying her alone time with Riftan.
The others would no doubt be exasperated if they knew the truth.
The thought made her feel guilty.
She laughed awkwardly as she said goodbye to Garrow, then crawled back to her tent.
The snow stopped abruptly a few hours later.
Miriam promptly sent the fairies up the cliff, and they soon returned with an answer.
A portion of the remaining mages and knights would join them.
Practically speaking, it would be difficult to get almost one hundred and eighty people, two hundred horses and all their provisions and firewood down the cliff.
Furthermore, since the concentration of mana in the area was low, it would require mages to use two or three times more mana than normal.
After much deliberation, they decided that only a third of the expedition would investigate the newly discovered temple.
The rest would wait for them in the ruins.
Royald was waiting for the signal from the wizards, sitting by the fire.
His face lit up.
"We certainly won't need everyone here.
If what you discovered really is a map of the monsters' base, that means we accomplished our mission.
We're free to go home."
Miriam stared at him as if he were a pathetic insect.
"Do you honestly not understand the gravity of the situation?
We just discovered that dark wizards have built a veritable nation of monsters!
And here you are, gleefully wiping your hands clean, claiming that we accomplished our mission!"
Royald didn't seem fazed by her reprimand.
"Weren't you listening to the Temple Knights' commander?
Experienced mages will be sent once the coalition army is formed.
And besides, we were only tasked with investigating the ruins to help the Temple Knights locate the monsters' base."
When he realized that the knights were lighting a fire nearby, he flinched and lowered his voice.
"I'm not like you.
I have no desire to put myself in danger for anything.
If we get what we came for, that's the end."
“Well, not exactly.”
Returning with an arm full of firewood, Anette sat down next to them.
"Strictly speaking, we haven't found the monster base yet.
We can't be sure if the model Maxi found points to this monster city until we get there."