Chapter 40: Frozen Village

In the village of Frozen Frost, the ground was entirely covered with heavy snow. As far as our eyes could see, all we saw was a white blanket of snow. As we walked further, I could feel the staring eyes of the frozen elves. It was the same kind of feeling I had when I visited the Elven Forest.

As I was trying to ignore this unsettling feeling, I felt a tug on my sleeve. I turned to find Liriel, who seemed nervous while holding Zacklina in her hand.

“Hmm…?”

“Nothing… It’s just uncomfortable for people to stare at me like that.”

“I see…” I smiled as I lifted my hand, placed it on her head, and let her hold my sleeve as we walked further.

Even though she is chaotic and causes trouble, deep down she still has a shy side to her.

“When are we going to reach?” Alira asked Dawn.

“Just…” Dawn turned as he stopped at a house—a house mostly engraved into a tree, featuring a purple roof and thick, layered windows. “We’ve finally reached.”

He walked ahead and knocked on the door. “Mom! Mom! I came back! Can you open the door…?”

“I’m kinda nervous…” Alira said.

“Why?” Valkira asked.

“Well, Aunt Elsa… even though she is about to reach middle age, she is already the chief of the Frozen Village.”

“So…?” I asked, confused.

“Well… to become a chief of the village, you have to be in your old age, which signifies how experienced you are. But Aunt Elsa is the youngest chief we’ve ever had in the entire Elf race.”

“Huh? That means she is either really smart or a powerful being, am I right?”

“Yup! I actually learned archery from her.”

“I see… Now I also want to meet your aunt. Maybe she could teach me a few things about archery,” Valkira said.

“You should lower your expectations.” Dawn kept his eyes on the ground as the sound of the opening door clicked.

“Aunt Elsa… It’s been long—” Alira opened her mouth to greet her aunt after a long time, but a heavy smell of alcohol hit our noses.

“This smell…” Coco covered her nose.

“Déjà vu…?” The words slipped from my mouth. The smell kind of reminded me of the first time we met Chief Dave in Karven Village.

A figure appeared at the entrance: a middle-aged elf wearing a green maxi dress with narrowed crimson eyes. As she tried to focus on us with her shoulder-length, messy white hair, her expression grew annoyed. She raised her voice at Dawn.

“Dawn! How many times have I told you not to pick up beggars from the street!”

“Beggars…?” Liriel muttered.

I leaned toward Alira and whispered in her ear, “Is she…?”

“…Drunk,” Valkira finished.

“I—” Alira opened her mouth to protest, but then she sighed.

Dawn stepped forward and started introducing us. “Mom! They are not beggars! Also, this elf here said she is your niece and wanted to meet you, so I brought them here.”

“Niece?” Elsa walked closer to Alira's face, their noses almost touching, and continued, “Your face…? Kinda familiar.”

“Greetings, Aunt Elsa… It’s me, Alira. You didn’t forget me, right? Your brother's daughter.”

Elsa stared for a second before she finally remembered. “Ah!!! Now I remember! When Dawn was born, my stupid brother left his daughter behind. What name did you say…?”

“Alira…”

“Right, right. Alira… that troublesome kid who traumatized our village kids.”

“Traumatized?” Valkira muttered.

“Wh—AAAA! That was in the past!!! Please! Don’t mention that thing!! I was just a child back then!”

“Hahaha!” Elsa laughed, looking toward the rest of us. “So, who might you all be? Alira’s friends?”

Valkira stepped forward and bowed slightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet the highest authority of this village. I am Valkira, the commander of the Demons. Beside me is Liriel, an Ice Demon, and these two…”

“Earthlings…” Elsa muttered.

“You figured it out already?” Alira stood stunned, her eyes wide.

“Huh? Why wouldn’t I? I’ve seen many Earthlings. Their mana is quite different from ours. Also, this girl…” Elsa glared at Coco. “What’s your name?”

“Huh, me??? I… I am Coco.”

“Coco… You have mixed mana. It seems like you somehow received the gift of Multiversal Magic when you were summoned here.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped. We had just met her, and she had already figured out Coco’s cheat skill.

If she can tell what Coco’s cheat skill is, will she also be able to tell what my skill is? Maybe I should ask her.

“Excuse me… sorry, but do you know what my skill might be?”

“That’s kind of rude of you to ask a question so directly. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?” Elsa looked annoyed as she put her hands on her hips.

“Ah… sorry. I was just wondering if you could tell me what my skill might be.”

“Hmm… Come in and rest. You all must be tired. Dawn, show them the guest rooms. I am going to freshen up; I have a meeting with the Dwarf leader later.” She turned to glance at me. “And you…”

“Yes!”

She opened her mouth to say something to me, but then turned away. “Nothing… You all go and take some rest. We will meet later,” she said and left.

“Come on, everyone… I will show you your rooms.”

Everyone started walking inside, while I remained standing for a minute, wondering what she had wanted to say. I finally walked in when Coco called me.

Meanwhile, at the temporary camp of the Demons:

“So, that is how the prince saves the princess, and they leave afterward…” Eva projected a visual onto a wooden board.

“That was so heart-touching!” One demon wiped her eyes and muttered, “Yeah, I am happy that the prince ended up with her at last.”

“Thank you, Miss Eva, for the show! This story really touched my heart!”

“Yeah, thanks!”

People continued whispering about the story Eva had displayed, thanking her for the entertainment as they headed back to their tents.

“Huh? So you can also use a unique magic I’ve never seen,” Diana remarked, resting her hands behind her head.

“You are mistaken, Diana-sama. I am not utilizing magic. I am merely deploying holographic projections to simulate a narrative stored within my internal data memory.”

“I… don’t understand any of that, but… it seems kind of hard to follow,” Diana said.

Eva tilted her head. “Do you require me to elaborate on the technical specifications in greater detail?”

“No! That’s enough!” Diana waved her hands, turning her gaze toward Verixa, who was spacing out while looking up at the night sky.

“Yo, Queen! What are you looking for up in the sky? You know you can’t find the sun at night, right?”

“Huh? Nothing, I was just…” Verixa snapped back.

“Worried about them?” Siriel interrupted.

“Well… hmmm.” Verixa nodded.

“What are you worried about? Everyone on the expedition team is strong. Well, except for our dumb leader…” Siriel mocked.

“Siriel, do not mock Sir Zacken. He might be the weakest among them all, but he has proven time and again that real strength isn't just raw power, but the will to stand up in every situation,” Tez scolded Siriel.

“Tez…” Diana called out to him.

“Yes…?”

“You know, you act way too mature for your age,” Diana commented, teasing him.

“Huh? Really? Is that so?” Tez felt embarrassed as everyone laughed.

“Hehe…” Valkira giggled along with them, letting out a sigh. “I wonder what Zacken and the others are doing right now.”

“If you desire, I can project audio-visual surveillance of Master’s current activities,” Eva offered.

“Really?!” Verixa said.

“Wait. You can show us what Zacken is doing?” Diana’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

“Affirmative. As an automaton bound to serve my master, I maintain 24/7 tactical monitoring for his personal safety.”

“24/7…?” Siriel muttered.

“Anyway! Just show us what they are doing!! I want to know whether they reached the Frozen Forest safely or not!”

“Understood. Initializing feed.”

A light flickered in Eva’s eyes as she issued a command to activate a micro-camera concealed within Zacken’s spare clothing. Soon, a projection appeared on the wooden board, starting blurry before coming into focus.

“Stay down! Don’t move!” A voice came through the projection as the visual cleared up.

The feed showed Zacken’s perspective—he was lying on his bed, and right in front of him was Elsa, kneeling close over him on the bed. Her bare skin was partially visible right in front of the lens.

“Chief Elsa!! That is—!” Zacken panicked.

“Shh! It won't take too long…” Elsa said, placing a finger over Zacken’s lips. Soon, her hand reached toward the camera lens, and the feed cut off.

“Huh…?” Eva attempted to re-establish the connection, but a 'Signal Lost' prompt flashed across her visual display. She shut down the screen.

“It appears transmission has ceased. I apologize, Verixa-Sama. This represents the maximum extent of the visual data I can provide at this time.”

Everyone’s faces went blank. Without saying another word, they silently turned and walked back toward their tents, leaving Diana and Eva standing alone.

“I do not comprehend. Did I transmit inappropriate data?”

“No… Rather than saying it… You definitely showed us something inappropriate.” Diana placed a hand on Eva’s shoulder and walked away, leaving Eva standing there in total confusion.