I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character

94. Verification (3)

1.

Exactly one week after hearing the explanation from the Crown Princess in the office.

“ha…….”

Ludrick let out a breath that was either a sigh or a simple exhalation. With each breath he inhaled and exhaled, the cold air that seemed to sting his lungs dissipated into vapor.

If it was before the return, it might have been different, but this time, the air felt unfamiliar to my skin in the north for the first time. The weather in the capital must have been quite mild, but in the north, the winter general was already on the rise, so it was difficult for those who were not used to it to even breathe.

I was wearing a warm winter coat under a hood pulled down low to hide my face, but the feeling of the weather on my skin was something I had never experienced before.

“……I was a wizard.”

Ludrick, who realized the fact belatedly, wrapped his surroundings in a fever magic and things got a little better. A warm wind swept around, but that was only for a moment. Ludrick narrowed his eyes at the cold wind blowing in again and stared into the distance at the endless snowfield.

A towering mountain range standing majestically through the clouds.

The sight of the entire mountain covered with perennial snow that never melted, not even from the middle of the mountain, was magnificent at first glance. It was truly a beautiful and magnificent sight created by nature, but unfortunately, Ludrick, who had not come this far north for tourism, had no time to leisurely enjoy the scenery.

Besides, that steep mountain range standing tall over there was Ludrick’s final destination today.

“……The Nord Mountains. Named after that mountain range───”

“You named the duchy.”

“yes.”

Eileen, who was walking beside me, also looked at the mountain range and said.

Eileen glanced at Ludrick’s expression. It was difficult to examine him properly because the hood attached to his robe was pulled down so low that his face was not visible, but his expression was extremely dark.

It was an expression Eileen had hardly seen in nearly eight years before her return.

‘… … It’s not an expression that can be simply explained as anger.’

According to my memory, it was extremely rare for Ludrick to show such an expression. No matter how angry he was, Ludrick’s personality was surprisingly simple, so I remember him quickly calming down even after grumbling to himself. In fact, the people watching from the side couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

If so, that means there is another reason.

‘I don’t know why.’

Eileen made a puzzled expression.

Of course, she had also heard the news of Lorenzo’s death that had arrived from the capital. Simply put, it was an incident where a high-ranking nobleman of the rank of Marquis had become a guest who would not return home. And since he was carrying out the important task of being a court magician, he had died in an accident during a magic experiment, so to the other nobles, it was an absurd incident that seemed like a monkey falling from a tree.

It was an event with such a great impact that the news was heard throughout the empire within a day, with messengers flying in a hurry and the heralds ascending the magic circle.

Besides, this is something that Eileen had already experienced once in her past before her regression. Even though I don’t know the details, I know the general story of how it unfolded, so I just thought, “It happened again this time.”

Was this incident that much of a shock to Ludrick?

The dark expression on Ludrick’s face the whole time was bothering me.

But she couldn’t make the mistake of being too ambitious. Eileen realized from Ludrick’s expression that this was no ordinary matter, so instead of comforting him, she chose to remain silent.

In fact, that was actually a wiser choice.

“Ludrick.”

“yes.”

Eileen thought to herself that this was indeed an unusual situation, even though she could read it from his expression.

If it were normal, he would have replied with a “yes?” with his voice rising, but now his voice was heavy and composed.

“…If anything goes wrong with you, tell me right away. Going all the way to the Nord Mountains to subdue monsters… is something that has never happened in my generation.”

“all right.”

“The cold beyond the wall is bitter. Remember that you could get frostbite in an instant… and safety first.”

As Eileen repeatedly told him to be careful, as if she was worried, Ludrick nodded dryly and fixed his gaze on the mountain range.

2.

“I encountered a monster. I avoided it as soon as I saw it.”

“What’s the number?”

“There are four ogres.”

“They are usually the type that act alone… but that’s a rare case.”

Eileen wiggled her eyebrows in surprise after receiving a report from the knight who had gone out on a reconnaissance mission.

Before ascending to the throne, he had visited the Nord Mountains several times to train as a warrior. He had the experience of sharpening his sword while fighting against warlike barbarians and ferocious monsters.

But then and now, the air that touched my skin was different.

From a human perspective, they are simply lumped together as monsters and called as such, but in reality, there are various classifications within them. Furthermore, in nature, ogres are the top predators among monsters.

It’s not that there aren’t any such cases, but it was extremely rare for ogres to act in groups of four, let alone two or three.

Certainly something was off now.

‘And Ludrick too… … .’

Eileen glanced at Ludrick again, who was still walking silently without saying a word.

According to her memory, Ludrick should have been grumbling about how cold it was by now, but he should have been grumbling a long time ago. Of course, Eileen would have thought it was just cute grumbling, but it was so different from usual.

This mountain range, and Ludrick too.

For someone with her level of skill, the unsettling air of the mountain range that she could feel with her skin and senses would not be a threat at all, but it was definitely a problem that Ludrick had changed into a different person in just a few days.

Even if a company of ogres had swarmed her, she was confident that she could defend herself, but for her, who had lived her entire life building walls around her to avoid men, understanding Ludrick’s feelings was a problem she had no answer for from the start.

“That’s what the report says. Ludrick, what are you going to do?”

“We have to go and catch it.”

“……I see. If it seems dangerous, I will intervene. For now, it is a verification process, so I cannot openly help you.”

Eileen paused for a moment at the short answer she got no matter how many times she asked, then took a step back as if she understood.

She also had a strong desire for Ludrick to become a court magician, but she was able to discern the minimum. Even if she had been blinded by the bean-covered bean, she would not have openly helped Ludrick, or even submitted a false report, even though Ludrick’s abilities were not yet at that level.

However, the fact that Eileen was fidgeting after stepping aside was a different matter.

Rather, it was a shocking situation where Ludrick, the person involved, didn’t show any particular behavior or gestures in a bad mood, but Eileen guessed something and was worried.

Ludrick muttered softly, not knowing whether he knew Eileen’s feelings or not.

“Fly.”

Ludrick muttered the words to start his flight magic and flew through the heavy snowstorm, then frowned for a moment.

As I rose higher into the air, the wind felt colder. If simply flying was this bad, I didn’t want to imagine what it would be like to fly at full speed to where the ogre was found.

And Eileen on the ground flinched at the sight.

‘You clearly frowned again just now.’

At this point, Eileen couldn’t help but slowly reflect on what had happened over the past few days. Or perhaps, what she had done wrong to Ludrick without realizing it.

And while Eileen began to worry, Ludrick began to move, thinking that if he was going to get hit anyway, he might as well get hit first.

The direction given by the knight who went out on reconnaissance was northwest.

Even though the people of the North were accustomed to such natural environments and extreme cold, it was not a very far distance to begin with for a knight, let alone a professionally trained ranger, to discover.

As expected, after flying northwest for about five minutes, four huge bodies began to appear in the distance.

“Ugh.”

Ludrick frowned.

Four ogres, their mouths protruding with fangs, as if they had just eaten something, were huddled together, warming themselves by the fire, their clubs thrown aside carelessly.

“It looks like you have the intelligence to start a fire. Then let’s roast some and eat it.”

Ludrick, who was grumbling, stopped flying and began to gather magical power in both hands while floating in the air.

Ludrick had already developed that talent, even if it was the kind of talent that was traded for longevity.

This was the second time I had been in the field, but even without a trigger, my progress was slow. When I was making steady progress and received an appropriate stimulus, my growth skyrocketed to a steep level.

The result was when Lorenzo opened the door to the source, repelling the otherworldly beings that had taken Lorenzo’s life from beyond the door.

The power of magic, or in other words, the destructive power, was so great that even Sylphia, who was a dragon, was slightly surprised. Of course, if you use magic with determination, even if the ogre is the king of the mountains and a predator at the top of the food chain, it was a foregone conclusion that it would be reduced to prey.

Kuwaaah! Kuwaaak!

The ogre, who had been leisurely warming himself by the fire, suddenly discovered Ludrick, who was far away, and let out a scream of excitement, but the magic Ludrick had been casting had already left only to manifest.

For Ludrick, who was already stressed and unable to come to terms with recent events, this was also a chance to relieve some of that stress.

“It’s too late to run away.”

Ludrick, who had passed sentence calmly, quietly extended his hand.

And right after that.

Kwaaang──!!

A huge quake shook the mountain range, and a pillar of fire rose high into the sky as if a volcano had erupted.