Chapter 216 – Vulcan Mountains
I can’t believe that the 3 minutes I mentioned earlier was referring to the time for battle.
Glinda, who defeated Akkad, the leader of the Septentrion, with a tremendous magic called meteorite summoning, fell forward like a doll whose strings were cut.
In what seemed to be her typical aftereffects of depletion of her magical power, we picked her up after she was knocked out and pulled her out of her ruined fortress in the aftermath of her meteorite impact.
Of course, the surrounding area was already devastated, so there was no one to stop us from running away.
“Then can we just go into the Vulcan Mountains like this?”
“I guess that’s the way to avoid being chased by the elves.”
“Oh, give me Glinda. I’ll carry her.”
With that said, Margaret carefully placed Glinda, who I was holding in both her arms, on her back as if she were holding a shrine.
She held her mother’s hand, who was standing there with an anxious expression.
Well, it’s not that I don’t understand.
Entering the Vulcan Mountains to avoid being pursued by elves is like entering a tiger’s den to avoid a lion.
But that only applies when there are ordinary people.
The current members were confident that they would survive to the end even if they entered the Vulcan Mountains, which are covered with snow all year round, bare-handed and were shipwrecked.
Me and Master, who protect us from the harsh winds of the alpine region, Sophia, who produces infinite drinking water, and Dorothea, a walking human boiler.
It’s truly a perfect combination.
“I hope I meet a wild animal on the way.”
“I guess so.”
I completely agreed with what Master muttered while rubbing his stomach.
If I had known this would happen, I would have had a hearty breakfast.
It was always too late to regret.
***
The Vulcan Mountains are a huge mountain range that stretches from the north to the south of the continent.
The altitude varies from mountain to mountain, but the highest point can be described as almost Himalayan level.
Thanks to this, the weather is so cold that all mountain peaks are covered with permanent snow all year round.
Even in the relatively warm southern part of the Vulcan Mountains, if you go up to the northern part, everything you see is covered with white snow.
In places like that, it’s easy to get lost and keep going around the same place.
Not only does it make you lose your sense of direction because everything looks the same no matter where you look, but it is also not easy to just walk straight in a snowy field.
Because of these various difficulties, we were currently lost in the mountains.
“Let’s stop for now.”
At the instructions given by me, who was walking at the front of the group, the people following nodded in unison.
Dark night.
In the snowy mountains, where the only source of light we could rely on was moonlight, we continued our forced march without turning on the lights for fear of being chased.
But that too has reached its limit.
I felt like I wouldn’t be able to do anything because I would run out of stamina if I kept walking forward like this, so I decided to camp around here today.
“But how are you going to sleep in the snow like this without even the merest camping equipment?”
In response to Dorothea’s valid point, Hild, a former watchman, came up with an alternative.
“How about digging a tunnel first? I don’t think there are any caves nearby where you can stay overnight.”
I shook my head after hearing her words.
“In places like this, the ground is so frozen that you can’t even get a shovel stuck in it. Maybe it would be better to build an igloo.”
“Igloo? What is that?”
“Uh… You can roughly think of it as a house made of snow. If you build it and light a fire inside, it’s cozier than you think.”
“Making a house out of snow? This is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing.”
Hild tilted her head as if she couldn’t imagine, but she obediently agreed to my opinion, perhaps because she knew that she was going to lose anyway.
“Then, Sophia, please make some bricks out of snow. You don’t need to make them too elaborate, so just think of them as snowballs of a reasonable size.”
“Yes.”
Sophia follows my instructions and makes snow bricks using her specialty, water magic.
She can use amazing water magic even in places where there is no water, but she can use even more amazing water magic when there is water nearby.
“Can it be this size?”
“Just right. Thank you.”
I looked at the snow bricks that Sofia had made as a sample, gave the OK sign, and assigned roles to each of her companions.
Margaret and her mother, who were physically exhausted from carrying Glinda all the way here, decided to take on the role of caregivers, Hild and Master took the role of collecting branches for the fire, and Dorothea and Camilla helped me build the igloo.
The process of making an igloo is easier than you think.
All you have to do is stack snow bricks of a certain size in a round shape like Cheomseongdae, and then fill in all the gaps where the wind can enter with snow.
To finish, sprinkle water on the roof to freeze the walls.
We repeated this process to create a total of four igloos according to the number of people.
At least there should be space to stretch out and sleep.
“Complete!”
After building the last igloo, Dorothea wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with a proud expression.
At first, I was wondering why I had to make something like this, but it seems like it was fun to do.
Dorothea was the first to enter the igloo and was amazed at how cozy it was.
I followed her into her den, dug a hollow in the center of her igloo, put some twigs in there, and lit a fire.
Then, the inside of the igloo becomes brightly lit with the shadow of fire.
“How are you feeling? It’s pretty good, right?”
“Yes!”
Dorothea answered with an expression as excited as a child, and it seems she soon realized that she was too excited! Greatness!
She said, clearing her throat.
“Well, it’s pretty good.”
It’s already too late to correct it, but it’s cute, so I’ll take a look.
Anyway, after checking the performance of the igloo, I told Dorothea to rest and crawled out again.
However, the atmosphere is somewhat serious.
“Why is everyone’s expression like that?”
Then Margaret, who had been caring for Glinda with the utmost care, spoke to me with her stern face.
“Glynda’s not in a good mood.”
“What?”
When I heard that, I was startled and approached.
Wasn’t it just mana depletion?
The teacher must have already been examining her, and she was holding her wrist and frowning.
“What’s wrong? How is it bad?”
Then Master opened his mouth.
“To put it simply, it is the initial stage of coin-raising.”
“Yes?”
“It’s not enough that I’ve been using my body’s magic for too long. As a result of using magic that is one level higher than my current level, the mana that should be slowly recovered is draining out of my body.”
“Then what should I do? Is there any treatment?”
Master shook his head heavily.
“Usually, magical energy depletion is a phenomenon that recovers on its own over time. This is my first time seeing a case like this, so I don’t know a definite treatment method. If there is a possibility, there is only one method.”
“What on earth is that? Don’t hesitate and tell me! I’m going to die if I keep doing this!”
Margaret, who was very excited, lunged at Master as if she were going to grab him by the collar, but Master quickly suppressed her by twisting her arm and said,
“It’s a disaster.”
“… Yes?”
I momentarily wondered if I had misheard, so I asked again, and the teacher corrected me with a deep sigh.
“The word here is sex.”
***
Sex.
To put it in Eastern Continent terms, it’s cloudy.
According to the teacher’s explanation, the only way to save Glinda, who was suffering from mana depletion, was sex.
‘This isn’t some cheap rice cake scam…’
Even if it was my teacher, I couldn’t help but look at him with an expression of disbelief when he suddenly told me to go crazy.
“What is that irreverent look?”
“No, you definitely can’t be joking in this situation, right?”
“Go! What does this guy think of his teacher?”
Master, who shouted and held my head, sighed as he looked down at Glinda, who was in critical condition.
“Originally, I would have saved her somehow by washing her face with bees, but this elf is currently at a higher level than me. In other words, I don’t know what the consequences will be on her body if I touch her hastily. In this situation, I need to replenish her energy reliably. The only way is to transmit mana directly through bodily fluids.”
“No matter how emergency it is, it’s a bit awkward to touch an unconscious person’s body…”
Moreover, it is an elf.
They are a race that values chastity above all else, but if they kept it alive and committed suicide, saying that their bodies were defiled, they would be no better than a sandfish.
Even Margaret, who regarded Glinda as her benefactor, looked very hesitant after hearing her teacher’s treatment.
“So what you’re saying is that it’s a bit wrong to touch someone without their consent?”
“Yes, to sum it up roughly, that’s it.”
As a bonus, even though it was for the purpose of saving lives, the wives behind me didn’t look at me very kindly, perhaps because I was carrying a new woman.
“If that’s the problem, I’ll solve it.”
Master said so, rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, and suddenly spread out his five fingers.
Then he ran his finger down Glinda’s chest.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?!”
Margaret woke up in shock after seeing her teacher’s sudden behavior, but the very next moment-
“Cough!”
Glinda, who had been unconscious all this time, coughed dryly and opened her eyes.
The group looks at the teacher in amazement after seeing an unbelievable phenomenon even with their own eyes.
However, Master shook his hand and spoke with a natural expression as if nothing had happened.
“Now I can get permission from you, right?”
