My Illusion Is Survival - Chapter 41
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 41
“Why is that Young Master wearing a mask?”
On the path up the snowy mountain.
I whispered to Azel while looking at the Young Master walking ahead of us.
Azel, who had been unusually quiet since our earlier conversation, finally spoke his first words.
“Who knows. But it’s dangerous, so don’t get too close.”
“Dangerous?”
Azel closed his mouth as if he had no intention of saying more.
At that moment, Linoa Marigold quietly approached from the side and continued the conversation.
“I share the same thought. Seeing that he’s wearing a mask imbued with a priest’s blessing, it would be best not to get close.”
“A mask imbued with a priest’s blessing?”
“Don’t do anything unnecessary.”
Though Linoa Marigold immediately closed her mouth at Azel’s sharp rebuke, that hint was enough.
‘So he wasn’t simply wearing a mask to hide scars or something like that.’
I was carefully watching the Young Master’s back when suddenly, his small body collapsed forward.
“Chase!”
The girl called Camela ran to the Young Master’s side.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine! Do you even know how much you’re trembling right now? What exactly is fine about this!”
“…I’m really fine.”
Camela looked tearful but couldn’t support the Young Master.
She even fidgeted restlessly, stomping her feet as if she shouldn’t touch him.
-Squeeeeek!
The boar Meteo was also holding onto Camela’s collar to prevent the girl from making any mistakes.
Then Dekan asked me.
“Should I carry that Young Master too?”
Unlike the other two, Dekan seemed unaware of the Young Master’s danger and tried to show kindness.
Though I wasn’t sure why he was specifically asking for my permission.
“Do you need it?”
“No need. I can walk on my own.”
“He says no.”
“Chase!”
Only poor Camela looked tearful.
It would have been nice if there was a carriage here, but since we had to climb the mountain, we had no choice but to walk.
“Let’s just go back!”
“I have to go.”
“I’ll go alone instead! I know what it looks like, so I can find it well!”
“Don’t say such ridiculous things!”
At this point, I was curious about what kind of relationship those two had.
‘But if I ask carelessly, I’ll only make the Young Master more wary of me, right?’
He was already glaring at me, so I didn’t want any more attention than this.
“You don’t seem to be in good health either, so do you really need to climb a snowy mountain just to find a single flower?”
“It’s not just any ordinary flower.”
“Then what? What kind of flower is it that makes you go this far?”
The Young Master didn’t answer anymore.
“Is the mage who created a ‘path’ on the cliff over there?”
He even asked Azel, as if trying to change the subject entirely.
“What’s the matter?”
“Can’t you find the flower with magic?”
“Tracking magic requires clues related to the target. I can’t use it just by hearing the type.”
“…I see.”
Azel answered surprisingly calmly.
I looked at him wondering what was going on, when suddenly Azel’s hand pulled my waist.
“…?!?!”
“More importantly, now doesn’t seem like the time to be looking for flowers.”
As he said this,
Kwaaaaang!
The ground nearby exploded.
More precisely, the snow covering the entire ground.
“Camela!”
“I, I’m fine!”
-Kweeeek!
Fortunately, there was no major damage.
“Are you alright, Miss?”
Since the ground exploded instead of people, we were fine for now.
Linoa Marigold had slashed the attack aimed at us with her sword, deflecting its path.
I got up from Azel’s embrace, trying to act nonchalant.
Of course, it wasn’t because of the explosion.
“Thank you, Linoa Marigold.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Meanwhile, someone shouted toward us.
“It’s Chase Eggmund! The criminal is right there!”
Before we knew it, new pursuers were chasing us.
“Criminal?”
However, the word “criminal” struck my ears more loudly.
At that moment, Camela shouted.
“No! Chase isn’t a criminal or anything like that!”
Though it was useless.
“Catch the criminal!”
“Chase isn’t a criminal!”
“Run! We can’t let that bastard escape from here!”
With so many people making noise, Camela’s small cry was quickly drowned out.
However,
Swish- Bang!
“Guk!”
It wasn’t just pursuers who appeared.
Swoosh- Thud.
Immediately, an arrow flew over and pierced through the head of the pursuer who dared call the Young Master a criminal.
“That’s!”
“Duke! The Duke has come!”
The ruler of the North, Crexio Egmunde.
True to her reputation as the ruler of the snowy plains, she was glaring this way with fierce intensity.
*
“What are you all doing! Catch them!”
“Yes!”
The Duke was naturally not alone.
As the knights of Eggmund came pouring out, we quietly exchanged glances.
Because the Young Master’s frozen expression looked quite ominous.
“You ignorant-!”
“How dare you!”
Meanwhile, the fight before our eyes showed a clear victor.
The knights of Eggmund, who boasted brute strength befitting their massive builds, easily neutralized the pursuit party.
Especially among them, the Duke’s prowess was the most astonishing,
Whoosh-!
Thud! Crack!
“Guhk…!”
The force with which she wielded her massive great bow like a spear was truly tremendous.
‘She’s like a human weapon…’
After a short while,
The situation came to an end before long.
With all the pursuers fallen in the snow and dark red puddles forming around them, the Duke approached us without even a breath out of place.
“Who are you people? You don’t seem to be the Crown Prince’s dogs, so what business do you have with my son?”
“Your Grace!”
“Enough. I am currently having a conversation. Do not interrupt.”
It was provocative language that conveyed the Duke’s hostility toward the Crown Prince.
Someone who appeared to be a retainer tried to stop the Duke in panic, but it was useless.
In the end, I stepped forward in place of Azel, who still showed no intention of speaking up.
“We were just passing by when you happened to ask for help, so we stayed briefly.”
“…It was coincidence?”
“Yes, clearly.”
Hard to believe, but it’s true.
When I answered composedly, the Duke’s eyes now turned toward the Young Master.
“You worthless fool! You just had to cause trouble!”
An angry roar immediately erupted.
“I told you to stay quiet for a while, but you had to be stubborn to the end and cause this mess!”
“I wasn’t trying to be stubborn! I just!”
“The knights of Eggmund ran all over the snowfield looking for you alone! Do you still have something to say!”
“Th-that’s…”
Now I could see that the Duke was indeed just a mother with a foolish child.
Though she was furious with veins bulging in her neck, I could sense a parent’s love in the faint relief visible in her eyes.
Of course, the Young Master seemed oblivious to it.
“How about continuing the rest of the conversation after returning, Your Grace? The Young Master must be quite exhausted.”
At another knight’s intervention, the Duke finally let out a long sigh.
“Fine. But before that, there’s something I need to confirm first.”
At this point, the target shifted back to us.
“On the way here, I saw some scoundrels rolling around on the ground. Was that your doing?”
The Duke seemed to have discovered the fallen knights before coming here.
Glancing at the bundle of luggage Dekan was carrying, the Duke was already convinced we were the culprits.
“However, there was something strange.”
But here’s where a problem arose.
“The Crown Prince’s dogs I saw today had snuck into this land beforehand, before I blocked the Northern Entrance. But how exactly did you people get here?”
“Ah.”
“Moreover, while there was a carriage, there were no wheel tracks leading to that spot. The only tracks led from the cliff.”
The Duke was sharper than I thought.
“How exactly were you people in that place?”
“…”
I immediately turned my head toward Azel.
Then, as if performing a comedy routine, Azel turned his head in the same direction as me.
“…Ahem.”
He was avoiding my gaze.
Meanwhile, the Duke was staring at us without blinking once.
…It seemed we would have to explain starting from here.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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