Iris Ducal Family.
Once, it had been the most influential family in the empire, but it had perished after being swallowed by a Gate.
However, whether it had been completely wiped out was a bit ambiguous.
The Iris Ducal Family had an ancient magic that protected its territory.
The family had been destroyed, leaving only a single survivor, but the land itself had been preserved—at least for the time being—by this ancient magic.
The spell, known as "Permafrost," quite literally froze everything.
It froze the air, froze the ground—
Even life and time itself were frozen still.
While the mansion, affected by the Gate, remained untouched by Permafrost, the rest of the ducal territory was completely encased in ice.
Even the time of its people had come to a halt. It would be easier to understand if one thought of it as the entire domain having entered a state of cold sleep.
Thus, an eternal winter descended upon the Iris Ducal Family’s land.
Permafrost was not only a spell meant to protect the people—it was also a means of sealing away the mansion, which had turned into a dungeon.
Until the dungeon within the mansion was resolved, the people’s time would remain frozen, and the winter covering the territory would not come to an end.
At any rate, the explanation had dragged on long enough.
"This means there are essentially two routes to reach the mansion."
That was what Laura said.
The first route was a direct path.
One would have to enter the ducal territory and endure the relentless blizzards while advancing. Along the way, there was a high chance of encountering wandering monsters, and naturally, the journey itself was incredibly long.
Still, walking there was possible. Ordinary carriages would struggle, but a magically enchanted one could make the journey.
The second route was a detour.
It minimized exposure to the blizzard and reduced the likelihood of running into monsters.
But it had one critical downside—the terrain was extremely rugged.
"And we will be taking the second route."
"I see! But where exactly is the path?"
Narin asked.
No matter how she looked, all she could see ahead was a snow-covered mountain.
The fierce blizzard howled around them, and sheer cliffs loomed before them.
"Isn't rock climbing a basic skill for a ducal lady?"
"Laura, just because you add 'ducal lady’s skill' to something doesn’t mean it automatically makes sense!"
…Had she been caught?
Most noble ladies wouldn't be able to do something like this. But wasn't a ducal lady the pinnacle among noble ladies?
A super king elite noble lady should be able to do what other noble ladies couldn't.
That was how Laura justified it to herself.
By now, it should be obvious—Laura was simply well-versed in survival.
"Just watch me do it first."
With that, Laura began climbing the cliff.
She hammered bolts into the wall as she ascended.
A rope was attached to Laura’s body, and by securing it to these bolts, she ensured that even if she lost her footing and fell, the rope would prevent her from plummeting. Even if the bolts were to come loose, the rope would still help reduce the impact of a fall.
It was a crucial safety measure, but, of course, there would be no need to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Neither Laura nor Narin was going to fall.
"This is how you do it."
"…I never once thought I’d go rock climbing in my life."
"You never know where life will take you."
As ridiculous as it sounded, Son Narin started climbing as well.
They had used up a good amount of their earnings to purchase climbing gear.
It had been expensive, but if it allowed them to reach the Iris Ducal Mansion quickly, it was worth the investment.
Rock climbing was incredibly difficult, but with Laura leading the way and Narin following behind, they managed to progress.
It might have seemed like Laura could just climb all the way up and pull Narin up afterward, but Narin still needed to secure her own position. If Laura ever lost her footing, Narin had to hold onto the rope to prevent Laura from plummeting to the ground.
The same applied in reverse.
If Narin slipped, Laura would have to brace from above to ensure Narin’s survival.
In other words, they were each holding the other’s lifeline.
‘…Now that I put it that way, it almost sounds kind of romantic.’
She found herself thinking unnecessary thoughts.
Regardless, though clumsy at first, Narin managed to reach the top.
She made a few mistakes here and there like any beginner, but her natural focus helped her adapt quickly.
Climbing the mountain, they realized the ducal mansion was closer than expected.
And as for the mansion itself—Laura simply scaled its outer wall.
"…You climbed the wall?"
"That's right."
"But it took us four hours to get here?"
"Maybe you were just doing it inefficiently?"
And then, they ran into Shina’s party.
Hearing what had happened, Shina was at a loss for words.
Reaching the mansion dungeon had been a brutal struggle.
Their vision had been constantly obscured by the blizzard, monsters that had escaped from the mansion dungeon roamed about, and a new "Cold Gauge" had appeared, steadily draining their health.
After enduring all that, they had barely managed to reach the mansion dungeon.
Even after arriving, the problems didn’t end. The mansion’s layout was a maze, and they had gotten lost repeatedly.
On top of that, they had encountered monsters in the corridors, losing comrades one after another until only four remained.
And yet, these two had just skipped all of that—by climbing the wall?
"…Hoo. I see. I get it now."
Shina nodded.
This feeling rising from deep within her chest—what was it?
What else could it be?
It was Sage’s Time.
Shina felt the crushing weight of reality sinking in.
***
Arriving at the checkpoint, they ran into familiar faces, but there were tasks to handle first.
I planted the flag I had brought with me.
It bore the symbol of the Holy Church—a cross.
Likewise, Son Narin also planted the flag representing the Academy.
【System: Checkpoint has been updated.】
A system message appeared.
This flag functioned as a type of warp portal.
The flag I brought was linked to the Holy Church’s headquarters, while the one Son Narin carried was likely connected to the Occult Research Club’s room at the Academy.
From now on, we could use these flags to return to town, and conversely, we could travel straight from town to the ducal mansion.
"Look! That person is climbing the wall with their bare hands!"
As Narin and I were updating the checkpoint, Anna was throwing a fit.
"I'm telling you, that's not an opponent we can beat!"
"Quiet down, Anna."
"Ugh?!?"
I grabbed Anna by the head and pressed down firmly.
"If you keep saying things that drain your allies' morale, no one’s going to think well of you. Try to be more mindful of your surroundings."
I told her.
Surprisingly, it seemed like Anna had gotten close to her Team Cerberus teammates. The fact that she was whining like this was proof.
Vincent simply looked at Anna with an expression of mild annoyance but didn’t seem particularly irritated.
I had no idea what exactly she had been doing in Cerberus to warrant this kind of treatment.
Even if Vincent and the others didn’t mind, there was still the chance that the viewers might start disliking Anna.
"Do you understand, Anna?"
"Y-yes…."
"Good. Now apologize to everyone."
"I-I'm sorry…."
"What is this… Are you her mother?"
Watching Anna apologize, Vincent looked exasperated.
Ainatsu already called me "Mom," and now Anna was being treated the same way?
Even having one unofficial "daughter" felt like too much, especially since we weren’t even that far apart in age.
But I supposed it was inevitable.
After all, Anna was practically at the same level as a cat.
Mero was already acknowledged as my personal toy, and Anna didn’t seem much different.
If anything, she was becoming even more of a lost cause compared to when I first met her.
What was she going to turn into at this rate?
"This is our first time having a conversation, isn’t it, Sir Vincent Edward?"
"…Sir?"
"Oh my, pardon me. That just slipped out."
I covered my mouth as I spoke.
Vincent seemed to be the team leader of Cerberus.
And with a Western-sounding name, it somehow felt fitting to address him as "Sir" without thinking.
"Ah, right. You were the Villainous Noblewoman."
Vincent accepted it without much concern, as if he understood it as part of an RP.
"Anna was being rude just now. Is she getting along well in Cerberus?"
"She’s a bit childish, but she’s managing. …That aside, weren’t you supposed to be her junior?"
"Seniority doesn’t really matter, does it?"
I said, looking around.
Vincent and Anna.
Mashina and Elenoa.
Members from different teams had gathered.
"Everyone looks exhausted. Were you planning to end the stream soon?"
"…We were thinking of retrieving our fallen teammates' corpses and then wrapping things up."
"I see. We only recently started our stream, so we were just about to begin our dungeon exploration."
"…Is that so."
"If we happen to find your teammates’ bodies, we’ll let you know. Narin, let’s go."
I signaled to Narin with my eyes.
She quickly followed behind me.
"Do you think this will be okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"It looks like those teams have formed an alliance."
Narin must have picked up on it as well, because she brought it up the moment we entered the dungeon.
"They’re probably trying to catch up to Leviathan."
"That would make sense."
I nodded.
Anna’s earlier remarks and the way they had grouped together made it obvious they had formed a temporary alliance.
"But it’s not a particularly effective strategy."
"Is that so?"
"Think about it."
Three from Behemoth and four from Cerberus—a total of seven people.
If they managed to earn 1,000 gold, how would they split it?
Unless they pooled the money into a single team, only one team would get to feast on high-quality steak. In the end, they’d probably have to split the gold in a 3:4 ratio.
"That means they won’t be able to close the gap in a dramatic way."
Of course, that didn’t mean the alliance was entirely without merit.
Originally, Behemoth would have had to explore with just three members, but by teaming up with Cerberus, they now had a seven-person group.
That meant they could explore deeper areas than before and potentially bring back more valuable loot.
And with more people, they’d be able to handle a wider variety of monsters and unexpected situations.
In reality, it was less of a strategy for maximizing profit and more of a strategy for increasing stability.
That alone might make the alliance seem worthwhile.
But there was one critical weakness.
"I see… I get it now."
It seemed like Narin had figured out what I was getting at.
I nodded.
"If we find their teammates’ bodies first, we can demand gold in exchange for reviving them and deal a serious blow to their plans."
"And since they’re all grouped together, if we deliberately lure monsters to wipe them out, they’ll take even heavier losses, right?"
"…Hmm."
I hadn’t actually said that last part.
【Brand has donated 1,000 won.】
【This guywwww has no fear of flame warswwwwww】
【Hain has donated 1,000 won.】
【Excuse me, but you’re going to get burned doing that.】
【Katarina has donated 1,000 won.】
【Even the Villainous Noblewoman is at a loss for words at this god-tier abuse strategy lololol】