Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 147

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

Episode 147: South Continent Expedition—Land of Delusion (2)
I have nightmares on a regular basis.
Dreams where my younger brother, dying in loneliness, looks at me with pity and resentment.
At first, they were too terrible to endure, but in time they became a way to reunite with my departed brother, however briefly.
“Rather underwhelming, really.”
I placed my hand on Merlin’s head as he looked up at me with concern.
“I had high expectations, but honestly, it’s disappointing.”
“…Is that so?”
Merlin’s tail swayed slowly.
He seemed to want to ask something but hesitated, caught between curiosity and caution.
“You’re wondering who that was, aren’t you?”
“…A little. They didn’t look anything like Kar, and their clothes were strange. What’s your relationship?”
“You can ask me, but don’t ask anyone else about it.”
I patted Merlin on the back and approached the expedition members, whose painful memories had been dragged to the surface.
Every one of them had their eyes squeezed shut or closed.
“Snowy Mountain has an uncanny ability to strike at our deepest vulnerabilities. Even asking what relationship someone bears to the Ice Manifestation that appeared before you can deepen the wounds in your heart, so be careful.”
“…I understand.”
Merlin’s ears drooped.
Seeing my ward grow despondent, I decided to give him a brief answer to his question.
“My younger brother.”
“Your…brother.”
Had curiosity only grown stronger?
Merlin’s lips fell open in astonishment.
But he refrained from pressing further, honoring the advice I’d just given him.
“Commander, are you truly all right?”
Pendrick, the only one who had escaped the psychic assault and whose complexion remained unshaken, spoke carefully.
“If Snowy Mountain targets your emotional weaknesses precisely, you must have suffered greatly as well…”
“I’m not feeling particularly well either. I can only endure it through familiarity.”
If anything, the ‘hallucination’ status ailment we’d experienced in the Nightmare World was far more lethal.
Truth be told, my mind had reeled even then.
“From now on, your role and Merlin’s are truly critical.”
Both expedition members pressed their lips firmly together at my words.
“Pendrick, you were fortunate enough to grow up comfortably and lack the psychological trauma that haunts the others, yes?”
“It’s true… I did have a peaceful upbringing.”
Pendrick has no painful past.
Under normal circumstances, he would have experienced the sorrow of losing a beloved, but I had prevented such a tragedy from occurring.
“If I must name something, perhaps the phantom of the Dungeon we encountered in the Dungeon where I met Astrímia?”
“But that encounter hasn’t left you with a terrible memory, has it?”
“No, it hasn’t.”
“Then it poses no real threat. Pendrick, you are to eliminate the Ice Manifestations as they appear, taking the lead.”
The basic strategy for navigating Snowy Mountain.
Strike down the Ice Manifestations before they speak.
“Attacking the moment they materialize is the key.”
“Understood!”
“It’s fortunate that the Ice Manifestations can only mimic people with weak combat abilities.”
“…Surely they don’t copy combat prowess as well?”
“Not entirely. They can strengthen themselves up to roughly Level 6.”
That’s why we couldn’t climb alongside the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild.
Had we all ascended Snowy Mountain together, we wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days before being wiped out.
—Kar.
“Rest assured. Snowy Mountain cannot read the memories of sentient tools like Astrímia.”
If it had been able to target Astrímia’s mind, we would never have been chosen as the Dungeon to clear the South Continent Expedition.
At our current level, we would have faced an Ice Manifestation we could never defeat.
“And Merlin, you’ll keep using Sky Ear to listen to every sound around us. Your role is truly vital.”
Merlin’s ear, protruding from under his hat, perked up once.
“As time passes, you’ll naturally come to understand what I mean.”
“…I’ll do my best.”
“Now we move forward again.”
“I’ll bolster everyone’s spirits!”
Pendrick went among the members one by one, offering encouragement to help those still frozen with despair regain their senses.
It’s a role I can’t shoulder alone.
That’s precisely why the Dungeon must be conquered alongside one’s companions.
“…This leaves a foul taste in my mouth.”
“I nearly collapsed to the ground in shock without thinking.”
Through the prodigy swordsman’s efforts, Bartimir and Luxerion barely regained their composure.
…….
Rosalia, who had been rigidly frozen, returned to her ordinary gaze and offered a light nod of gratitude to Pendrick.
“Now you all understand precisely how terrifying this Snowy Mountain truly is, yes?”
I swept my eyes across the expedition members as I continued.
“You must steel your spirits. Don’t let the snow and wind freeze your hearts.”
The practical difficulty level of the second half of the South Continent Expedition is Class B.
But.
If your will to overcome psychological trauma remains unshaken, it drops to Class C or below.
“Then, we’ll continue moving.”
***
The harsh expedition presses on.
“Experimental specimen ‘Demon-type Being 227.’ Why are you so stupid and dull…?”
— Shut up!
Slice!
Pendrick severed the waist of the muttering Ice Manifestation.
“Rosalia….”
“You’re the real problem!”
The Ice Manifestation that dredged up Rosalia’s past was dispatched with particular swiftness.
Every time it opened its mouth, our taciturn assassin visibly wavered.
“Pendrick, four o’clock!”
“Got it!”
Thanks to Merlin’s swift reports using Sky Ear, the demons now died more often without even having a chance to speak.
Still, the group’s mental fatigue accumulated steadily.
In such a brutal environment, their bodies too were pushed to the brink.
“…I’m growing weary.”
Luxerion murmured softly and left a mark in the snowfield with Protection Milestone.
“That makes the fifteenth milestone.”
“You’ve done well.”
“How far have we come now?”
“One moment.”
I gauged the location of our destination using the Sky Invader.
The one place on this pure continent that was anything but pure.
Since it wasn’t a direct detection method, it took a moment.
“We’ll need to climb for roughly another two to four days.”
“…I see.”
Luxerion rose to his feet, his knees trembling.
“Artein, we pray that you guide us safely onward.”
The brutal mountain expedition continues without pause.
Whoooosh!!
The blizzard howls, obscuring our vision.
Crunch.
Now the snow has piled nearly to our waists.
Even moving proves agonizing on this merciless ascent.
And from above, the falling snow pours down so thickly we can scarcely see ahead.
Boom!
Bartimir’s magical force struck down an Ice Manifestation that had barely finished forming its body.
“Aha! That felt wonderful!”
The good-natured Demon-type Being bounded about gleefully, scampering in every direction.
Merlin, whom he carried on his back while using Sky Ear to locate where demons spawned, had no choice but to hold on.
“Too fast! Please slow down a little…!”
“No way!”
“Ahhh, Kar!”
Only Bartimir remained vigorous and sharp.
The rest of the party was already mentally and physically exhausted by the relentless cold.
《The surrounding environment is trembling strangely!》
‘Is it getting worse?’
The Ice Manifestations appearing with increasing frequency were being dispatched quickly before they could even open their mouths, thanks to Pendrick and Bartimir’s efforts—but….
There was no way to prepare in advance for the anomalies that would arise from here on.
“…….”
The moment Rosalia took a staggering step forward.
Suddenly, the Snowy Mountain vanished and a dim space unfolded around them.
The blizzard still howled, except now only the place had changed.
“What?”
“…Huh?”
Bartimir, who had been bouncing about, landed beside me.
“Mom, what is this?”
“A psychic attack from the Snowy Mountain.”
I sent Luxerion to Rosalia’s side through a Telepathy command.
Crack!
From somewhere in the poorly visible distance ahead, the sound of breaking bone echoed out.
Screams and shrieks followed, pressing in from all sides.
Scrape.
“Ahhhhh….”
Crunch!
“Help me, please…!”
The smell of blood.
A stench far more acrid than the stink of a kraken.
“…….”
Rosalia, already the one among our members struggling the most, trembled as her hands shook violently.
Two eyes brimming with a deeply intense terror.
The reason she had mastered the Phantom Shuriken Secret Art—which dredges up horrific memories of the past—became vividly clear before my eyes.
Patter.
A spray of blood that had scattered from somewhere touched Rosalia’s face.
From just a single drop of fresh blood, the assassin’s composure, which had always appeared glacially composed, slowly crumbled away.
“Rosalia!”
Luxerion quickly supported the assassin as she began to collapse.
Merlin’s tail, descended from Bartimir’s back, drooped limply.
“…Kar, what should we do in times like this?”
“There’s no clear-cut solution. We just have to endure and push through.”
The most critical reason why the normal conditions of the South Continent Expedition were harder to fulfill than Hidden Conditions.
It was precisely because of this special mechanism that could never be overcome by raw strength alone.
“Rosalia.”
I grasped the hand of Rosalia, whose eyes were growing dim.
“This is not the Brithes Family Assassin Training Ground. This lovely Half-Elf Kar and your steadfast companions are here.”
“…….”
Rosalia, who had been unsteady, planted her feet firmly and stood.
“Can you walk?”
A nod.
The same gesture as always, though a little weaker.
“We will continue forward.”
“Please, please! I want to live….”
“Do not be deceived by the delusion.”
“Mom, Dad….”
“None of this is real.”
Ignoring the agonized groans and shrieks coming from all directions, we moved for several minutes.
The blizzard grew fiercer.
– Kehehehe!
A strange laughter echoed from somewhere.
A portion of the dim space transformed into a village.
Undead creatures barely different in appearance from humans were tearing into the bodies of the villagers while they still lived.
“…Arteyne preserve us.”
Luxerion, supporting Rosalia, clenched his lips hard.
“Come here.”
One of the undead was chewing methodically on the body of a child that resembled itself.
“…Step away from me at once!”
A young priest whose body was gradually transforming into undead was driving people to flee.
All while splitting open the skull of an innocent middle-aged man and scooping out his brain.
It was Luxerion.
“Pendrick.”
“…Yes!”
Pendrick’s face twisted in horror as he hurried to tend to the priest cradling his head.
“Quiet yourselves.”
A section of the surrounding environment transformed into a sterile laboratory.
“We shall resume the constitution-infusion experiment. Bring the test subject.”
“Mgh, mmgh—!”
“Silence!”
A burly Dark Magic practitioner’s assistant kicked a small demon-type being—gagged and being dragged forward—to the ground.
Then he forced the creature onto an experiment table and began injecting various grotesque materials and energies.
“…I steeled myself, but it’s genuinely difficult.”
“You must not waver.”
I moved closer to Bartimir and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The demon-type girl who was always so spirited was trembling violently.
“I know it’s not real. I know, and yet….”
“There’s no need to say more. Merlin, please look after Bartimir.”
“…Of course.”
Merlin wrapped both arms around the kind-hearted demon-type being’s waist.
Whoooooosh!!
The blizzard began to rage with even greater fury.
The Exploration Expedition’s forward progress slowed noticeably.
“You thief of a cat!”
To the dimly lit spaces, to the undead-infested town where creatures tore at flesh, to the Dark Magic laboratory, was now added the slums of the 6th District.
“You picked a fine day to get caught, didn’t you!”
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
A tiger-form girl, caught by the homeowner after sneaking into what she thought was an abandoned house, was being beaten with a broom.
“Merlin.”
“…I’m fine.”
Merlin shook his head firmly and opened his eyes wide.
“Compared to what others are going through, it’s nothing. It doesn’t seem I’ve lived such a difficult life as to warrant pity.”
…….
Now I finally understood why Luxerion had looked at me with such pitying eyes at the Respite Purification Chamber.
Now I truly understood.
“Everyone, please hold on just a little longer!”
– You can do it!
Bolstered by Pendrick and Astrímia’s cheerful encouragement, we pressed forward slowly but steadily—when it happened.
Suddenly.
A new landscape overlaid itself upon the world.
An ancient Monastery with broken mirrors scattered everywhere.
Thump.
Thump-thump.
Why?
Why had my heart begun to race so violently?
Shatter!
One mirror broke, and grotesque arms and legs sprouted across the body of the child standing before it, then vanished like a mirage.
A priest standing nearby stroked his chin.
“Rare, but useless. Still, we shall preserve it for now.”
“Yes.”
Those who had been bowing their heads led the child away.
And then.
The priest’s gaze turned toward me.
“Next is you.”
He was not looking at me.
…….
The boy standing behind me stepped forward to stand before a mirror of intact glass.
Golden hair and golden eyes.
A Half-Elf, striking in appearance despite his youth.
Shatter—!!
The mirror shattered, and the boy’s entire body twisted and swelled in ways beyond description, then collapsed back to its original form.
“…Extraordinary.”
The priest gazed down at the half-elf child as though entranced.
“Follow me, 3849.”
In the moment those delighted murmurs drifted in like a dream,
“You are no longer merely a reserve offering.”
His senses began to blur.
“From this day forward, you are my son.”
The priest drew his hand slowly across the boy’s hair.
Tenderly, and warmly.
Like any ordinary father who loved his child.
“Kar. Kar Orestipa. That is your name.”
Whiiiiii—!!
A blizzard swept across the landscape.
Fiercer than ever before.

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