A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 131

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 131
“Rest for now! Come on, rest! You must be exhausted from the journey here!”
Julius chuckled heartily and pushed at our backs. Only after entering the castle did I finally manage to remove my rabbit-fur earmuffs and state our purpose.
“No, Julius. The reason we’ve come is to rescue my father.”
“Huh? Now?”
Julius’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Of all times, you choose now?”
Of course, Julius had every reason to react that way.
Heavy snow had fallen throughout the Northern Region, piling so deep that one’s feet would sink with each step. And since the path to the Arun Region lay even further north, conditions were far worse. Snow had already accumulated higher than my own height.
“I understand we truly must rescue him this time… But at this rate, even Hyde won’t survive this winter.”
Julius narrowed his eyes and sighed deeply. His words were true. Before my regression, Father never made it through this winter.
And the squirrel divine beast perched atop Julius’s head asked solemnly.
【But how do you intend to rescue him when you couldn’t even manage it under normal circumstances? No one can travel there now.】
“Exactly.”
I smiled wryly and clapped once.
“That’s precisely why we can rescue him—because ‘no one’ can travel there.”
Joshua and Grandfather both wore expressions of bewilderment at my words.
“The reason we couldn’t rescue Father before was because there were too many magical beasts along the path to Arun.”
I explained clearly.
“But now, with so much snow accumulated, even the magical beasts cannot traverse the roads.”
“Ah… well, that’s true.”
“So we simply need to clear a path quickly while the magical beasts cannot roam.”
And I tapped the shoulder of the large black hawk that Grandfather had brought—Hou.
“Let’s depart immediately. By fortunate chance….”
I rose onto my tiptoes and gazed toward the distant place where light was shining.
“Today is the day my father’s summoned beast sends out a distress signal.”
* * *
Hyde Prelai had been Scari Prelai’s pride from birth. The reason Scari held little hope in his other grandchildren might have stemmed from the vast gap between them and Hyde. He was a man whose every aspect was exemplary.
“Every single word he used was noble.”
Scari murmured in a voice tinged with regret.
“He was as pure as snow and as clear as the sky. Honestly… none of you resemble that child.”
No matter how much he favored Kiana recently, he could not in good conscience say she resembled Hyde. Scari sighed heavily, his expression growing somber.
Meanwhile, Joshua made a filial remark with a cheerful face.
“So I don’t resemble anyone? That’s a relief.”
“Hyde never dressed ostentatiously either. He always dressed with simple dignity and nobility, yet with restraint….”
In any case, while they reminisced about Hyde that way, Kiana rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.
“Well then….”
Kiana pointed to the carriage she had filled to capacity at Riloni Academy.
“I’ll create a path.”
“…A path?”
“Yes. That’s the path Father can take to reach the castle.”
The Arun Region where Hyde was located had accumulated quite a bit of snow. And in the carriage Kiana pointed to, bags were piled high with white powder.
“What on earth is this?”
“This powder lowers the freezing point of water significantly when dissolved in it.”
Kiana spoke with confidence.
“If you process it appropriately with magical power according to Estrone’s classification….”
“No.”
Joshua quickly cut off Kiana’s explanation.
“You don’t need to explain the principle. Nobody understands it anyway, so you’re just wasting your breath. Just tell me the result.”
Kiana nodded in reluctant agreement with Joshua’s words. Then she summarized with a disappointed expression.
“…Anyway, it’s powder with an exceptional snow-melting effect. I developed it two years ago at the request of the Trulli Duchy, but they canceled their purchase at the last moment because it was too expensive. So the Academy had a massive stockpile.”
And she had instructed Alex to store the powder in the warehouse under her name.
“The Academy couldn’t even name it… so they just called it Trulli Powder.”
Kiana tapped the bag of Trulli Powder as she spoke.
“When snow falls, monsters’ activities become restricted anyway. Especially the monsters of the Northern Region—I heard they hide in caves when it snows heavily. If I scatter this Trulli Powder, we should be able to clear a path wide enough for one carriage to travel.”
“Ah… but how do you scatter it? And how do you properly clear a path all the way to where Father is?”
Joshua asked, furrowing his brow.
“The snow is piled up to our shoulders right now.”
At those words, Kiana immediately pointed to Hou and answered.
“Hou can do it.”
【…What?】
“He’s large, strong, and can fly while surveying the path.”
【…Huh?】
“Since he understands speech, he’ll know it’s safe to fly because the monsters are in their caves. Our Hou is simply on a different level from the messenger birds of the north, right?”
【So that’s why she brought me along….】
“You were practicing flapping your wings diligently, weren’t you?”
Kiana smiled wickedly, a rare expression. Seeing that malicious grin, Piyak quickly hid his small wings behind his back.
Before the regression, I had briefly considered whether I could save Hyde with Trulli Powder. However, as Joshua pointed out, scattering the powder appropriately to clear a path all that distance wasn’t simple. Moreover, the Trulli Powder didn’t maintain its snow-melting effect indefinitely. So we couldn’t afford to take much time.
With neither people nor beasts available, Hou was the alternative I managed to devise. At that time, Kiana had even sent a letter to Scari.
And while Kiana waited for a response, Hyde died. More precisely, the distress signal from the dog familiar cut off. We didn’t know when he died or find his body, so Hyde never received a funeral. Everyone simply didn’t speak of it and assumed he was dead.
In any case, no response to Kiana’s letter ever came, so she buried everything. She didn’t even remember Father’s face clearly. But now it turned out the Academy Dean had intercepted it!
Of course, even if that note had been delivered, nothing would have changed. Hou would have remained collapsed in the Greenhouse anyway.
‘But circumstances are different now!’
Now Hou was in excellent health. Intelligent, able to communicate, large, and strong.
“Come on, let’s go! Quickly, equip the carriage with maximum acceleration magical stones!”
Kiana grinned and patted Hou’s back.
“Time to work, right? Since I saved you. If I hadn’t healed you with osmotic pressure back then, you wouldn’t even be here.”
【Wow, she really loves reminding me of favors, never gets tired of it….】
Hou shook his head as if fed up.
【How can I avoid hearing this… Well, she’s my benefactor, so I can’t tell her to stop….】
Watching Hou mutter to himself, Kiana realized he apparently disliked hearing her boast more than she’d expected. So she kindly offered him a solution.
“Remove the air.”
【What?】
“Sound travels through air, so if you eliminate the air, you won’t be able to hear me bragging.”
【…I wish magical engineering would just collapse.】
* * *
For the rescue mission to save Hyde, we decided to dispatch only minimal personnel from the Northern Castle.
“You don’t need to go, do you? Even though the method we came up with was thanks to you….”
At Julius’s words, Kiana answered that she was fine staying behind.
“Why would I subject myself to that grueling ordeal?”
Regarding her own situation—unable to serve as combat personnel in an emergency—she also voiced the opinion that she’d only be a burden anyway.
“People who think with their heads should always stay in the safest corner. Goodness, what if she caught frostbite in that freezing cold?”
In any case, by similar logic, Scari and Joshua were also excluded. They weren’t accustomed to the Northern Region’s cold yet, and they’d only just arrived. Though their desire to rescue Hyde directly burned fiercely, the more critical the mission, the more cautious we needed to be. So they decided to remain at Prelai Castle, resting and waiting.
The rescue team that was assembled included Julius, and naturally, Hou would accompany them as well.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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