[V6C7] Snowlights

Mount Kalug in the Vilraya Autonomous District was said to be the dwelling place of the white dragon, as well as a holy ground for the Hyla Tribe.

Naturally, entering without their permission could lead to severe repercussions. At worst, one might be killed on sight.

Therefore, Monica and her companions decided to avoid the residential areas of the Vilraya Autonomous District and enter Mount Kalug from a more inconspicuous direction.

“Allow me to be blunt. Climbing a mountain at night is suicidal.”

This was what Melissa said before entering the mountain.

Melissa, Raul, and Monica had left the town of Jausuka in the afternoon. By the time they reached the foothills of Mount Kalug, it was already evening. They were about to perform a reckless act of folly.

The correct decision would be to spend the night at the town of Jausuka and challenge the mountain at dawn.

However, considering how Cyril had been abducted by an ice spirit, time was of the essence. If Veronica had entered the mountain without considering Cyril’s health, his life might already be in danger.

After a short discussion, the three decided to aim for a temple located at a relatively low altitude.

Mount Kalug had a small temple dedicated to the white dragon. It’s doubtful if Veronica actually headed to the temple, but such an important location might provide some clues.

Even if they did not find any clues, they could spend the night there.

“There’s gotta be something in that temple. That’s what my carrot says.”

Raul spoke confidently while holding up his last carrot.

The surroundings were already dark, so the lanterns were their only source of light. Fortunately, it wasn’t snowing yet, but the ground was still dim.

It was good they took a nap in the carriage. Otherwise, the physically weak Monica would have likely collapsed before making it this far.

To be honest, her legs still felt heavy, and fatigue weighed on her entire body. Still, Monica silently continued to move her feet.

(Cyril-sama, please, please be safe…)

Suddenly, a strong wind blew, sending the piled snow into the air.

Even with her head buried in her scarf, Monica noticed something, and quickly opened her eyes wide to observe it.

The snowflakes in the surrounding air were emitting a faint glow. It was a pale blueish-white light, tinged with a hint of aquamarine. The radiance of mana.

Melissa let out an intrigued gasp.

“Snowlights, huh?”

“…Snowlights?”

Monica tilted her head, and Melissa focused mana onto her fingertips, poking a nearby snow lump. The lump of snow immediately gained a bright glow.

“This happens with clusters of lesser spirits around. It glows like this when they gather around mana-imbued snow.”

Melissa touched the nearby snow with her mana-infused fingertips, and the snow began to glow faintly. Lesser spirits were gathering in response to the mana Melissa had given the snow.

Spirits were classified into greater, middle, and lesser tiers. Greater spirits took forms closer to humans or animals and possessed a clear sense of self, while lesser spirits were considered to be mana clusters with hardly any consciousness.

In other words, lesser spirits were extremely weak entities.

Like a candle flame that goes out with a single breath or snow that melts in sunlight, they might disappear with a slight fluctuation in mana.

The spirits gathering in the snow, illuminating the mana dwelling within, created a scene that was ephemeral and fantastical.

Beside Monica, who let out a soft breath and looked around, Raul clapped his hands.

“If lesser spirits are gathering, it means there’s a significant mana presence in this area! Hey, could it be that Veronica is nearby?”

“It might be that they’re just gathering around your mana. You do have an absurd amount.”

Spirits cannot live without mana. Therefore, they are naturally drawn to places with mana.

Gathered here were two of the Seven Sages, the country’s most powerful mages. Furthermore, Raul boasted the highest mana capacity in the country. It wouldn’t be strange for the spirits to gather around them.

Monica absentmindedly followed the glow of the light with her eyes. Whenever she saw a phenomenon like this, she couldn’t help but want to investigate the laws behind it.

Indeed, there were many lights gathered around mana-rich Raul. The carrot he held, which was infused with his mana, was especially noticeable. Each snowflake shone particularly bright after touching the carrot.

(…Huh? There are lights gathering over there too…?)

Lights were gathering on the ground a little distance away from the path. Monica squinted her eyes, noticing an unnaturally large pile of snow on the ground.

Then, she noticed what appeared to be a strand of silver hair sticking out of that pile, sending a chill down her spine.

“Cyril-sama!”

“Ah, wait, Little One!”

Ignoring Melissa, Monica rushed over to the gathered lights and began shoving aside the snow.

Luckily, the recently fallen snow had a fluffy texture, making it easy to move.

Long silver hair and skin devoid of color peeked out from underneath the snow.

“Did you find Cyril!?”

“Huh, really, Cyril-sama!?”

Raul and Melissa also noticed the existence of a person buried under the snow, and hurriedly rushed over to help dig through it. With the three of them clearing away the snow, the person’s figure gradually became visible.

It was a man with long silver hair and pale skin. His long, tangled hair blocked his face from view.

However, Monica quickly realized the difference. This was not Cyril… The proportions of his limbs and the shape of his ears were different.

“…Ugh.”

The silver-haired man groaned and opened his eyes. The eyes shining beneath his silver eyelashes were a honey-like, glossy golden color.

Upon closer observation, it became apparent that he was rather young.

He had delicate and finely chiseled facial features. Though well-proportioned, he bore a transient aura, as if he might melt like snow under the sunlight.

His clothes appeared to be an embroidered white garment, likely the attire of the Hyla Tribe. However, he did not wear any furs or mantles, making him much too lightly dressed for a snowy mountain.

Melissa lightly nudged Monica’s side and whispered.

“Little One, you can use detection magic, right? Check him out.”

“R-Right.”

Monica invoked detection magic without an incantation.

She found that the young man’s entire body was a mass of mana——in other words, he was a non-human taking the form of a human.

(…A greater spirit transformed into a human? But that doesn’t make sense…)

The young man simply had too little mana to be a greater spirit. Due to this, Monica couldn’t make an accurate assessment.

As Monica pondered what this meant, the young man lifted his face with a sway and looked at Raul——or more precisely, at the carrot in Raul’s hand.

Noticing the gaze, Raul offered the carrot while scratching his cheek.

“Um, wanna eat?”

In response, the young man leaned forward and began voraciously devouring the carrot.

Meanwhile, Melissa flew into a panic.

“Wait, you idiot! What about the divination?!”

“Oh, oops, my bad.”

“You’re totally thoughtless!”

By the time Melissa smacked the back of Raul’s head, the young man had already finished eating the carrot.

Mana-infused vegetables were harmful to humans with low mana. It was only thanks to Raul’s abundant mana and magical resistance that he could eat such things without worry. An ordinary person would suffer from mana poisoning from consuming too many.

However, this young man seemed unaffected after eating the mana-infused carrot. In fact, he appeared to have regained some vitality.

If ingesting the mana from the carrot restored his vigor, then he was indeed not human.

Having finished eating the carrot, the young man stared blankly in their direction.

Representing the group, Raul cheerfully spoke to the young man.

“Hey, I’m Raul! This is my sister, and this is my friend Monica. What’s your name?”

“…I don’t know.”

“What were you doing in this snowy place? Did you get lost?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Did you like the carrot?”

“…”

To the last question, the young man offered a slight nod.

Raul grinned triumphantly, like a farmer patting himself on the back for a job well done.

“Hooray!”

“No, not hooray, you dumbass. Is this really the time to be delighted about someone enjoying your carrots?”

While Melissa scolded Raul, Monica timidly approached and spoke to the young man.

“Um, are you a spirit?”

“…I don’t know.”

As expected, the young man gave no real answer.

Melissa stomped her foot and scratched her head in frustration.

“Ugh, seriously, what’s with this guy! You’re pissing me off! Hey, you. Besides liking the carrot, is there anything else you can say!? Well!?”

“…I don’t know.”

With her cheek twitching, Melissa took a piece of candy from her pocket. This was one of House Roseberg’s special rose syrup candies.

“All right, fine. I’m going to infuse this candy with all the invigorating elements it can take, and then I’ll shove it down your throat. It’s a forbidden candy that clears your head and guarantees a refreshing wake-up, perfect for consecutive all-nighters. Be prepared for three sleepless nights.”

Melissa had apparently forgotten that the young man in front of her was non-human.

Right Melissa was about to begin chanting, the young man stared at the candy behind drowsy eyelids.

Then, with the same momentum as when he bit into the carrot, he enveloped Melissa’s hand with his own.

A faint hint of joy appeared on his pale and emotionless face.

“…Candy. I know this.”

“Well, duh. Even kids know about candy.”

“…Beautiful. Beautiful, unmelting ice.”

Snatching the candy from Melissa’s hand, the young man carefully wrapped it in both hands and stood up.

“I’ll show it to her. She’ll surely be happy.”

Muttering something, the young man started walking away. Despite his unsteady and powerless footsteps, he moved surprisingly fast.

Though initially taken by surprise, Melissa quickly recovered.

“Hey, hold it right there, candy thief! Little One, Raul, we’re going after him!”

Melissa dashed forward, and Monica and Raul hurriedly followed.

The snowlights that had been illuminating the surroundings began to gather around the silver-haired man. As if illuminating the path ahead of him.

While running down the path lit by the snowlights, Monica contemplated this phenomenon.

(…Could he possibly be…?)

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io