“Frosted Demon Sword”—this was the name of the sword Vera wielded in the great war, and it was an artifact imbued with supernatural power, a “relic” that modern forging and craftsmanship could not hope to recreate.
When Vera obtained the sword, Sephy had studied it up close.
It was forged from a certain metal that exuded an extremely low temperature—so cold that even she, a sage versed in nearly all magic in the world, could not reproduce it.
Because of this, it could nearly freeze anything; even intangible magic could not avoid its chill, let alone the mere mortal flesh that wielded it.
Sephy had sternly warned Vera not to overuse the sword, but naturally, Vera did not heed her.
After all, on that journey that decided the fate of humanity, there were simply too many foes that human strength alone could never defeat.
“Sephy, please tell me what exactly is happening now. I know the ‘Frosted Demon Sword’ is the sword Vera once used, but I never heard of any side effects.”
Meliya asked calmly. Seeing that she was no longer trying to rush over, Sephy waved her hand to lift the barrier in the air.
“…So she never told you. That thing is a ‘relic’ bearing the name of Demon Sword, and forcing a human to wield it comes at a great price.”
“What kind of price?”
“The flow of magic within the body becomes slower and slower. If I had to put it in terms you’d understand… her blood grows colder and colder, until it finally turns to ice. By the end of our journey, she had nearly reached that state.”
Sephy’s words made Meliya suck in a sharp breath. When she had touched Vera’s body just now, it really had felt like there was solid ice beneath her clothes, not flesh and blood.
“But all these years, I’ve never seen her suffer an attack… You just said she was cured—”
“I don’t know, either.” Sephy continued to pour her own magic into Vera’s body, trying to raise her temperature. “Clearly, she should have been cured… Why is this happening again now…”
Because if she hadn’t been cured, she would have died long ago. So what was the reason for this relapse?
Had she used that sword again? But it should be sealed in the Treasure Vault of the Imperial Capital…
“Sephy…”
Vera’s voice was barely above a whisper. She forced her eyes open and shook her head at Sephy.
“You little brat… Are you looking down on me? Meliya, cover your ears.”
Sephy let out an exasperated chuckle. The patterns in her pupils began spinning rapidly, the urgent hum of high-speed chanting filling the air—so much so that even with her ears covered as instructed, Meliya could not block it out completely.
“Is this… a magic circle?”
Meliya murmured, watching as a complex, multicolored pattern gradually unfolded around her, with herself at its center.
She could barely sense magic, so she had never seen the magic circles that signified spell construction. But now she could suddenly see one, which could only mean—
The magic Sephy was pouring into this spell was so powerful that even someone unaffiliated with magic could feel it.
“If you want to die, find a place where nobody can see you… Just not in front of me. As long as you’re here, I won’t let you die. Absolutely not.”
Under the spell’s effects, Vera’s body temperature began to slowly rise.
…
……
…………
“Young Miss, are you really sure you’re okay?”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
On a street on the other side of the city, a young mistress and her maid were making their way through the crowd, trying not to draw attention—the two were none other than Milin and Feiyin.
Now and then, someone passing by would notice the fiery red hair Milin had hidden under a wide-brimmed straw hat, but so far no one had stopped or become suspicious of their identities.
After all, this street was the busiest commercial street in the northern district of Seles City—Lian’en Street.
Named directly after the Hero himself, this street was lined with luxury hotels and cheap inns catering to travelers, making it one of the most trafficked areas in the entire city.
In this surging crowd, teeming with visitors and travelers from every nation—even every race—her hair color, though rare in the Northern Provinces, hardly stood out at all.
Most importantly, no one would imagine that the princess of the Northern Provinces and main character of the Crown Festival would be out on the city streets on the festival’s very first morning, with only her maid as company.
“Wow, there are so many people… You have to stick close to me, Feiyin.”
“It’s you who needs to stay close to me. Have you forgotten the chaos last year when you got lost during the festival? People were so desperate for a glimpse of you that it nearly turned into a stampede.”
“R-really? I don’t remember that at all… Eh heh heh.”
“…Please hold my hand and don’t let go.”
Once again, the two nearly got separated by the crowd. Feiyin, her own silver hair and stunning beauty hidden beneath her straw hat, reached out to Milin, who gripped her hand tightly.
“Shall we keep going?”
And so the two continued on toward their destination along the street.
The buildings on either side were festooned for the festival: brightly colored banners—golden yellow symbolizing harvest and wheat, deep black representing the black earth of the north.
The banners draped from the rooftops, swaying like waves in the breeze.
“I think I’ve seen that thing before! Last year, Teacher Sephy brought a prototype to the palace… What was it called again?”
Suddenly excited, Milin’s gaze locked onto a booth swarmed with people.
In fact, it was more like an exhibition stand. In the center of the display stood three dark-brown “wooden horses.”
But unlike real horses, where their legs would be, there were two solid wooden wheels, front and back.
At the head, a pair of slightly upturned handles made them look more like oxen than horses.
“I remember now… ‘Long-wheeled ox-horse!'”
“It’s ‘Self-moving Cart.’ You haven’t remembered it at all.”
Feiyin calmly corrected her mistress, who was now bouncing on her toes and shouting excitedly.
“Oh, right… Look, Teacher Sephy’s emblem is on it!”
Following Milin’s words, Feiyin glanced at the emblem on the Self-moving Cart, then looked up at the banner above the stand—”Invention Expo Sub-Exhibition: Klaudias Manufacturing Company.”
“It’s Lord Sephy and her lady’s company.”
“Isn’t that my family’s business? Last time Teacher wouldn’t let me touch it, but this time, I’m definitely going to try—”
“Young Miss.” Feiyin quickly grabbed Milin, who was about to plunge into the crowd and run onto the stand. “Do you want to cause a stampede? Don’t forget what we’re here for.”
“Ah… you’re right, I got so excited I nearly forgot. Sorry.” Remembering their purpose at last, Milin apologized earnestly.
“We’re here to take part in the Preliminary Competition for the Martial Tournament on the first day.”
“Not ‘we.’ Only you are taking part in the Preliminary Competition. In fact, you could have gone straight to the Final Day with your status.”
“I don’t want to use special privileges. Besides, the more matches you fight, the more fun it is, right? And that person… Lian-nii is also entering the Preliminary Competition.”
The thought of finally being able to compete with Lian made Milin almost unable to contain her excitement and anticipation.