Chapter 24 "Frozen"

I thought it was just a wall, but I didn't realize it also had a magnificent gate...

　I look up at the gate in front of me.

　It's pure white and even looks a little clean.

　"It's not a good idea to go in through the front gate. At least we should make some kind of plan..."

"Heidi, you go around the back. I'm going to go in through this gate."

　I ignored Heidi's words and gave her instructions.

I'm not going to be able to do it with you around.

　I've already told you, you're in my way, so I'm going to ask you to hide around there.

　"But Zubel might be setting some kind of trap, right?"

Hmm, she's not biting.

I don't know how to move her....

　Let's go with this.

　"I was thinking on the way here that maybe Fatima is being threatened by Zubel."

　"What!?"

　"Think about it. Would Fatima, that reserved woman, do such a daring thing?　No, she wouldn't."

Reserved?　I almost snicker after saying it myself.

　Heidi looks down thoughtfully.

　One more push.

　"Surely the gentle Fatima must have disagreed with Zubel. Maybe that's why she's trapped here. ...That's where you come in, Heidi!　You're going to save her. And then we all hunt Zubel down and make him pay for his crimes!"

　...Totally. I don't know how anyone can really say such a line.

Well, I hope Zubel pays for his crimes with death.

　"Well... that's a possibility..."

　No way.

　"Okay!　I'll go around the back and try to find Fatima."

　"You're on it.　I'm counting on you."

　"I'll take care of it!　You take it easy, too!"

Heidi said goodbye and ran.

... It's too easy it makes me sad.

　You know, that's why guys like me took your body....

When all this is over, it might be a good idea to say something that will raise her guard.

Well, from the looks of it, she's going to go from the best place to the worst place for confinement.

That should buy me some time.

But still, I wonder what's going on... that there's no reaction even after all this fuss right under their noses.

　I lightly touch the gate.

　I feel a cold sensation on my hand...but it's not iron.

　It is ice.

　...Could it be that all of this is ice?

Everything from the fence to the gate seems to be made of ice.

Then, I should just blow it up with a flame system.

　I tried to let go of the gate, but...oh, it won't let go.

　The part I touched stuck to the gate and wouldn't let go.

　"Hmph."

　I peeled the whole skin off.

　Thank God Heidi wasn't there.

　After repairing the wound, I regained my composure and blew up the gate with Explosion II.

　...This magic is useful.

It can kill or disable most things with a single blow.

If I can adjust the power and directionality, I can adjust it to burn someone alive.

　I walked through where the gate used to be and entered the compound.

　I wonder what I'll find.

　Enter the grounds through the gate.

Inside is just as I remember it from what I saw.

　The gardens, the mansion...nothing much has changed.

　So.... This guy in front of me is just as I remember.

He made a noise right under his nose, of course he'll come out.

　"It's been a long time, Mr. Rothfeldt."

　The woman in front of me, Fatima, is just as I remember her, with cold eyes and a beauty that could be described as sharp.

In my previous life, I would have been so nervous that I would have said something stupid, but now she looks like an insect to me.

I have no idea what she is thinking.

　"Hello, Fatima. I'm glad to see you too, right?"

　At first, I respond in a Rothfeld-like tone.

　I'm not sure what to say...I mean, is there anything you can say to me now?　I've changed a lot...

　Well, okay.

　"By the way, is Zubel here?　I need to talk to him."

Either way, this one is for later.

　Let's kill Zubel first.

　"What do you care about that?　I know you have been through a lot. But from now on, I will be here, and we will rebuild the Oratorium family together."

　Fatima's cheeks are tinted and she smiles.

　A smile!?　Her expression has changed... she doesn't seem to be the type to show emotion...

　...No, it doesn't matter, what is this woman saying all of a sudden?

　At first I thought she was going to make excuses or something, but rebuilding the house?

　There's no upset in her expression at all. She just smiles.

　She was never very changeable to begin with, but this can only mean that she is serious....

　"I think you and I need to get married first. Let's have a big ceremony. After that...yes. Let's make an heir. I will give birth to as many as you wish, Mr. Rothfeldt?"

　..........

　I don't know what to do. I don't know what the hell she's talking about for a minute.

　It's kind of giving me the chills.

I could take care of this one first, but then there's the whole Heidi thing.

I'd like to put it off until she's convicted, but...

I'll ask her. And just to intimidate her, I'm going to change my tone.

　"Don't be silly, okay?　I know you tried to kill me in league with Zubel. Marrying someone like that?　Are you kidding me?"

　"Oh, you mean that? We did cooperate on this. However, I cooperated on the condition that I would not harm Mr. Rothfeldt, you know? .........I am sorry it turned out this way. I'm not sure what to expect from him. It seems he didn't understand a word people said."

　...This woman readily admits it.

　But what is her purpose?

　Zubel's goal is to get rid of me.

　If she's taking advantage of that, does that mean her goal is to get rid of me, too?

　If so, what's the benefit of keeping me alive?

She even went to the trouble of trying to keep me alive on her own terms.

　There must be something....

　I shake my head inwardly.

　I don't know what this woman is thinking, but she's got Zubel on her side.

　That's all I need to know. Guilty.

　"I see. I'm sorry, Fatima. You betrayed me. You'll pay for it."

　I can't be bothered with this conversation. And this woman...to be frank, she's disgusting and I want to kill her.

　Let's kill her before Heidi comes back.

　I pull out the makana from my waist and swing it down on Fatima's brain.

"Oh dear, that's scary."

　The makana didn't hit the spot I was aiming for, but instead gouged out the ground a little bit in front of me.

I didn't misjudge my aim, but....

　I look at my right leg.

　It was frozen and pinned to the ground.

　When did this happen...

　"I understand your anger, but let's talk..."

I ignored her and forcefully removed the restraints from my feet.

　The soles of my shoes and the skin of my feet are peeled off, bleeding, but it's nothing to worry about.

　I close the gap between us, which is not enough.

I guess she didn't expect to have the restraints removed, but her eyebrows move a little.

　Fatima's hand moves out faster than I can get into the motion for another swing.

　Magic?　It's too late now.

　It wasn't too late.

　The next moment, I was blown away.

　I rolled on the ground with a flourish and stopped.

What did she do to me?

　The feeling of being hit, a shockwave or something?

　Come to think of it, it was in the wind system. The kind that blows you away by hitting you with a block of wind.

　I didn't use it because it wasn't powerful enough.

　"You are being very reckless, aren't you? I have no intention of hurting Mr. Rothfeldt...oh?"

　Fatima looks at me curiously.

　Is she surprised that I got up without any problems?

　Is she surprised that my leg is healed?

　I'm sorry, I accidentally fixed it.

　Oh well.

I'm going to kill her anyway, so it doesn't matter if she sees me.

　I hold up the makana.

　Fatima sees this and lets out a small sigh.

　"Will you not listen to me no matter what?"

　"Speak in your sleep."

　I don't want to hear your story. I'll ask your brain what's going on.

　I shove it again.

　Fatima holds out her hand.

　Another shockwave.

　I've already seen it.

　I activate Explosion III, which I had finished chanting beforehand.

　The explosion engulfs Fatima.

At least some damage had been done, but I remained on my guard and closed the gap between us to give chase.

Even if I prevented it somehow, she would not be able to do anything if I closed the gap.

　The weak point of magic is the chanting time.

　If you come without a vanguard, your.......

　"Bloop!"

A strange voice came out as I hit something that looked like a wall.

　A wall!?　A barrier?

I recover my collapsed position.

　"What the...what the hell is that?"

　I muttered to myself.

　The flames had cleared, and where Fatima had been... there was a strange man.

　In a word, it was an ice knight.

　A mass of ice, 5 to 6 meters long and designed like an armor, equipped with a long spear and a circular shield.

　The shield was melted with the arm it was equipped with, so the magic must have been prevented by that.

　No, really, what is this guy?

　A demon...no. The design is too inorganic. It's a man-made thing, no matter how you look at it.

　Is it a golem? But I heard that's a pretty hard thing to use...

　Golem, a magical puppet.

　It's a puppet that works by magic.

　It is not so difficult to make.

　You make the shape, joints, and other moving parts out of appropriate materials.

　Put in a magic stone to receive commands.

　That's all.

　The rest is done by sending magic power, and the magic stone will automatically send magic power to the whole body and move it.

　If you just want to move it, there is no problem.

　So, what is the problem?

　The answer is fuel consumption and control.

　First, fuel consumption.

　Golem consumes magic power as long as it is moving.

　In other words, as long as it is in use, it is constantly taking magic power.

It is said that a mage with an average amount of magic power can't keep it up for 10 minutes if it is used normally.

　Unfortunately, no one in my memory has ever used it, so I can't believe 100% of what I've heard, but I think it's generally true.

　By the way.

A simple puppet is made with magic and immediately put into battle.

　Keep the size down and reduce the consumption of magic power.

　Put a magic stone in place of a battery to run it.

　I heard that there were some ideas, but all of them were rejected.

　The reasons are...

Instant dolls...It consumes magic power to maintain the shape, so it is better to modify the doll after all.

　Reducing the size...Generally successful, but the fundamental fuel consumption could not be solved, so it was "better than bigger" level.

　Battery...Built-in battery can solve this problem, but it is costly because magic stones that can contain high-density magic power are precious.

　And the other problem is....

"Well done, sir. That was quite chilling, wasn't it?　But when did you learn magic?"

　Fatima's voice brought me back to my thoughts.

　"I was surprised too. What is it?　It looks like a golem or something."

　"What?　Oh, you know what a golem is, Mr. Rothfeldt, you are so knowledgeable."

　Hey, Heidi. Your fiancé thinks you don't know anything.

　"As you can see. They are golems that I created. Well... let's call them ice puppets."

　Oh...so they are golems after all....

　...by the way, there was a disturbing word mixed in with Fatima's words....

　"They?"

　Fatima smiles.

Wow, she smiled again. I don't remember seeing her like that.

　"Yes, it's them."

A sight that would have made my blood run cold if I had been sane was right in front of me.

　The same golem as the one in front of me suddenly appeared from the space behind Fatima.

　There were at least ten of them.

　From the way they appeared, I guessed that they were magically concealed.

　I had no idea.

　I knew that concealment magic is difficult to detect, but I didn't expect it to go this far.

　Hmmm. I should join Heidi and run away from this....

　I glance at the gate I came in through.

"Please don't do such a boring thing."

　Several large dog-shaped ice golems had appeared around the gate.

　This is what happens, isn't it?

It was supposed to be a surprise attack, but when the lid was opened, it turned out to be an ambush....

　How many times has this happened?

　I let out a sigh inwardly.