[V6C5] Gloomy

The rattling carriage clattered as it sped along the road. A mountain of wooden crates consumed over half of the cargo compartment.

Leaning against one of those crates and shivering from the cold, Melissa Roseberg muttered a series of complaints.

“Stupid brother. Why on earth did you choose a carriage without doors!?”

“Eh~? Aren’t we lucky to find one in the first place?”

They were currently in pursuit of Veronica, the ice spirit who had kidnapped Cyril. Raul had found a carriage originally bound for the Vilraya Autonomous District, belonging to a merchant. After some negotiation, the merchant agreed to transport them along with the cargo.

The contents of the cargo seemed to be dried fish. Grimacing at the fishy smell emanating from the crates, Melissa pulled a makeshift cushion closer to her.

Since her dress had a plunging neckline, Melissa’s neck area felt unbearably cold.

“Ugh, it’s so cold. I’ll freeze to death at this rate.”

“What an exaggeration.”

“Don’t compare a delicate maiden like me to a musclehead like you.”

“I read in a book once that having more fat makes you more resistant to the cold.”

A vein throbbed on Melissa’s temples, and she cracked her knuckles.

“Are you asking to be kicked off the carriage, dumbass brother?”

“Anyway, the one feeling the coldest is probably Monica, right?”

Raul glanced at Monica while munching on a carrot. In response, Melissa also turned her gaze toward Monica.

Since boarding the carriage, Monica had remained huddled in a corner, holding her knees. Her face was pale, and her lips had turned purple, devoid of any blood.

“Little One.”

“…”

Even when Melissa called out to her, Monica didn’t so much as flinch. She simply maintained a blank stare at the floor.

Melissa grabbed Monica by the collar and pulled her into the cushions she had gathered around herself.

The frozen and expressionless Monica widened her eyes and made a strange “mgyuu” grunt.

Melissa embraced Monica with one arm and turned to Raul.

“Stupid brother, you can be a windbreaker with that unnecessarily muscular body of yours. Moni-Moni is too small to block the wind, so she can be my pocket warmer.”

“Uh, um… Onee-san…”

Monica’s cheeks were mercilessly kneaded by Melissa, silencing her groaning.

Her pale cheeks, as cold as ice, regained a hint of redness. Still, the small body held in Melissa’s arms remained cold.

“Oh, come on! I expected a child’s body temperature, but you’re not warm at all!”

“Uh, I’m… I’m 19 years old…”

“Are you not getting enough nutrition or something!?”

“S-Sorry… um, should I set up a wind-blocking barrier?”

Melissa pondered Monica’s suggestion for a while before shaking her head.

While a wind-blocking barrier was an appealing idea, the use of barrier magic consumed more mana the longer it was maintained.

“Let’s conserve mana for now. You probably haven’t recovered the mana you squandered at Throth’s store, and sooner or later, we’ll have to fight that spirit Veronica.”

If they were to engage in combat with Veronica again, Monica would undoubtedly be their main force.

Melissa was much better at making potions than plant manipulation. However, paralyzing and tranquilizing potions would be ineffective against a spirit.

Raul’s vines were definitely powerful, but they had a weakness——vulnerability to the cold. His effectiveness diminished considerably in frigid climates.

On the other hand, ice spirits like Veronica could unleash their full power in cold environments. If they were to engage in a direct confrontation, Veronica would likely overwhelm them.

(Confronting the spirit head-on is a bad plan. We need to exploit her weaknesses, beat her up, and use the opening to reclaim Cyril-sama.)

Coincidentally, the option of “avoiding combat” never crossed Melissa’s mind.

This was the malicious spirit who had abducted (the one planned to be) her future husband. Such a spirit needed a good punch to the face.

The problem was how to find and exploit the spirit’s weaknesses.

Melissa considered setting up an ambush, but she was unfamiliar with the Vilraya Autonomous District.

If it were any other place, they could simply flaunt the title of the Seven Sages and the prestige of House Roseberg. However, it wouldn’t be that straightforward in the Vilraya Autonomous District.

“You guys, I hope you understand that in the Vilraya Autonomous District, you must absolutely keep the fact that you’re one of the Seven Sages a secret. Especially you, Moni-Moni.”

“Why Monica though?”

Raul tilted his head while munching on a carrot.

While suppressing her migraine from thinking about how this guy ever joined the Seven Sages, Melissa glared at her carefree brother.

“Stupid brother, tell me how the Vilraya Autonomous District was established.”

“Umm, the Hyla Tribe was persecuted by the church for worshiping a white dragon, and faced various difficulties. A lot happened and they gained autonomy in the end, right?”

It was a rough summary, but it wasn’t entirely incorrect.

Long ago, there were dragon-worshiping tribes in the Kingdom of Ridill. The Kujura Tribe worshiped a black dragon, and the Hyla Tribe worshiped a white dragon.

However, the Grand Church, which followed the Spirit God faith, refused to tolerate the two tribes, and began oppressing them.

As a result, the black dragon worshiping Kujura Tribe was annihilated by the magicians of the church’s subordinate sect, the Lethe Faction.

On the other hand, the land of the white dragon worshiping Hyla Tribe was a frigid area covered in snow and ice. Since it was too difficult for the church to invade, the tribe was allowed to survive in small numbers.

However, many of the nations adjacent to Ridill had strong bases of dragon worshipers.

To avoid international criticism for oppressing dragon-worshipping ethnic groups, Ridill designated the area where the Hyla Tribe lived as the Vilraya Autonomous District, granting them autonomy.

“The Hyla Tribe worships dragons. And Little One, you are the hero who slew two great dragons.”

Monica hadn’t fought a white dragon, but it was true that many dragons fell at her hands.

From the perspective of the dragon-worshiping Hyla Tribe, they would likely be suspicious about her trying to slay their dragon as well.

“That’s why your identity as a Sage must be kept a secret. Understand? …Moni-Moni, are you listening?”

There was no response.

Though still held within Melissa’s arm, Monica was simply staring into space with a vacant expression.

Melissa smiled slyly and pinched Monica’s cheek.

“Monica-chan? Answer me.”

“I-I’m… s-s-sorry… Ugh…”

With her cheek pinched, Monica finally started sobbing, so Melissa released her.

It wasn’t out of pity for Monica; she just didn’t want tears and snot on her clothes.

“Hey, what’s with all the gloominess since earlier? Stop it; the humidity is making my hair frizzy. Ray is gloomy enough for the entire Seven Sages.”

“Sis, you and Ray really don’t get along, huh?”

At Raul’s words, Melissa snorted.

Six years ago, Abyss Shaman Ray Albright had joined the Seven Sages almost simultaneously with Melissa. However, he was an exceedingly gloomy man, and Melissa didn’t get along with him.

“If we rate his gloominess as a 100, Moni-Moni’s current state is about an 80. If she ever gets to a 100, I’ll declare her a slug and sprinkle salt on her.”

This statement only boosted Monica’s gloominess level.

She had reached 85——just one step away from being declared a slug.

Melissa began tapping Monica’s cheek as a distraction, until Monica, fidgeting with her fingers, finally spoke up.

“T-That… I… um…”

Monica’s feeble voice was barely audible, drowned out by the rattling of the carriage wheels. Irritated, Melissa shouted, “I can’t hear you!” which prompted Monica to tightly close her eyes and raise her voice.

“If Cyril-sama is being treated badly… if he’s injured, what should I do… the clothes he had weren’t winter clothes, so he’s, um, probably feeling cold…”

Monica went on and on, but her words stopped forming coherent sentences. She was merely whimpering with meaningless grunts and awkward sobs.

Melissa disliked how Monica cried all the time, but it was quite admirable for her to be so concerned about Melissa’s (planned) future husband.

Once she stopped crying, Melissa tossed a piece of candy into Monica’s mouth.

“Suck on that and sleep. We’ll arrive in the early afternoon.”

“But…”

“More than any magic potion, the most effective way to recover from fatigue is a combination of good food and sleep. Rest up a little. I’ll make sure to work you hard when you wake up.”

“…Okay.”

As the light sleeping effect imbued in the candy began to take effect, Monica started to breathe lightly while still leaning on Melissa.

Come to think of it, neither of them had gotten much sleep the previous night. It was only natural for them to be exhausted.

“I’ll sleep too. Raul, wake me up when we arrive.”

There was no response.

Because Raul was peacefully sleeping with a firm grip on his half-eaten carrot.

“…To sleep before your older sister; how dare you, dumbass brother.”

Melissa pulled the cushion from under Raul and placed it on top of Monica. She then sat beside them and closed her eyes.

The young girl leaning against her was a bit too lukewarm to be a heat source. Nevertheless, if she snuggled up nicely, it made for a reasonably comfortable makeshift pillow with the warmth of human skin.

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