NOVEL WEB Chapter 194
Chapter: 194
“Hoo hoo….”
It was chaotic outside in every possible way.
The castle was noisy, but the racket outside was so much louder that it was hard to ignore it.
Now that I had climbed to the highest floor of Castle Nordal and opened the window, I could hear the sounds of battle from afar, clearly coming from somewhere distant.
It was definitely a fight happening at a location far removed from me.
Nevertheless, the volume and variety of the sounds caught my attention, drawing me in.
“I told Rosalyn not to go, but she nagged me so much….”
Opportunities like this were rare.
And besides, I had no intention of joining the battle anyway.
I slowly began to climb over the window.
– Swooshhh….
“Huh.”
Since I was at the top of the castle, the wind was much stronger, and it felt cooler.
That might be true, but it wasn’t a big deal.
[Advanced Magic: Invisibility]
As soon as I cast the spell, my body and clothes became transparent.
Confirming that the magic was working properly, I began to descend slowly from the castle’s highest point.
Of course, I was using various spells during the descent.
Although the surroundings of the castle were bustling, my goal was to check the monster wave.
I started moving quickly.
“Kraaaaack!!!!!”
“A large entity is appearing ahead! Wizards!!!!”
“30 seconds to prepare!”
“Everyone, stop them from getting close for 30 seconds!!”
“Ooh.”
When I arrived, I found that a fierce battle was already ongoing.
I had sensed from afar that the fighting would be incredibly intense against the waves, but I hadn’t expected it to be this fierce.
“Hmm….”
I had already confirmed that there were many knights, but the number of monsters was no small matter either.
It was literally a wave of thousands of monsters.
Given that this level of monster hunting provided profit every winter, it made sense.
I wondered if I was being too businesslike about it, but I couldn’t help it.
After all, I had grown up thinking about things like this from a young age.
“Hmm….”
Of course, despite the fierceness of the battle, there were not many casualties among the knights.
That was likely thanks to the well-organized system in place.
“Should I look for Ivana?”
Since I was on the castle walls, I had no problems being there.
It wasn’t just me up on the walls; there were plenty of wizards and archers as well, but as long as I stayed clear, that would be enough.
“Hmph…”
I walked slowly along the castle walls, checking to see if Ivana was among the knights fighting below.
But Ivana was hard to spot.
Was she fighting a bit further in?
Since I had seen Ivana’s skills during our academy classes, I could acknowledge her ability.
Of course, she still had many areas to improve, but she was doing well.
“Ugh… I can’t see her.”
I wanted to see how she wielded that huge sword she often showed off in real combat.
It was a bit disappointing.
“Just going down there… seems like it might be problematic.”
It would be prudent to retreat a bit here.
I figured that Rosalyn, who was safely in the castle, would also start looking for me soon….
“…No.”
There was a way.
I might not be able to find Ivana fighting against the monsters right now, but it wouldn’t be too hard to meet her.
“Phew….”
Well, I thought it would be better to think up strategies rather than sneak up and disturb Ivana while she was fighting.
I felt like my approach actually made sense.
*
After briefly returning to Castle Nordal, I arrived at the castle walls where I was facing the monster wave again.
I had intentionally gone back due to Rosalyn’s worries, but also because I wouldn’t have been able to meet Ivana if she was alone.
Despite my casual demeanor, I was still a guest.
A guest from the north, specifically a guest of Lady Nordal.
“Ivan’s tent is far better than I imagined.”
I had found one of the tents inside the castle walls.
Among them was Ivana’s tent.
It was large enough that anyone could see it was not the sort typically used by ordinary knights.
Moreover, there were some feminine supplies inside the tent.
Of course, there was no guarantee that they belonged to Ivana.
“Phew… this is comfy.”
I laid down on the soft mattress inside the tent.
Since I had already cast magic on myself, I didn’t worry too much.
If Ivana came in later, I could just lift the spell when she did.
“I wonder when she’ll come.”
Knowing Ivana, she likely wouldn’t lead anyone else into her personal tent.
After all, she usually spent her time alone at the academy.
If I had to categorize it, it was more like she was a voluntary introvert compared to Karen.
“Karen is just an introvert.”
Yeah, definitely, Karen was just an introvert.
To be fair, Karen also had her own parts where she could build better relationships with others, but…
It seemed like her personality was just… like that.
On the other hand, Ivana felt no need to build relationships and had plenty of other things on her plate, so she intentionally stayed alone.
There was clearly a difference in nuance here.
Of course, both of them were on good terms with me, so it didn’t matter much.
– Clop, clop….
“Ah.”
After waiting comfortably for about 20 minutes, I started to hear footsteps from outside.
It wasn’t the usual sound of military boots but rather a more dignified sound, closer to dress shoes.
As soon as I heard that, I knew it was Ivana.
“….”
Ivana stepped into the tent.
There was a look of confusion on her face.
Her expression after entering made me wonder if something was wrong.
What could be causing that look?
“Sigh….”
“…?”
After letting out a sigh, Ivana suddenly reached for the massive sword she had on her back.
Huh.
What’s this…?
I was momentarily confused about why Ivana acted that way.
But I quickly realized.
“Get out now.”
…She was mistaking me for some assassin who had sneakily entered her tent.
She must have discovered some trace left when I entered.
Since I was hidden under the invisibility spell, it made sense that she would assume such a thing.
At this rate, it felt like Ivana was about to throw her massive sword at me on the mattress, so I quickly lifted the spell.
“Hello?”
“…?”
“Uh…. Surprise~?”
“…?”
“Ivana?”
“……?”
“Hello?”
…?
As I lifted the spell, revealing myself, Ivana didn’t respond but stood still.
What’s going on?
Can she not hear me?
Ivana was so unresponsive that I was starting to feel even more flustered.
“Are you okay? Why aren’t you answering?”
“…What was that just now?”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean? You suddenly appeared out of nowhere! What was that about?”
“Oh… it was magic, right?”
It seemed Ivana hadn’t reacted at all because she was shocked.
Since she had been completely still with a blank expression, I hadn’t realized she was surprised.
It made sense that she would be taken aback since I suddenly appeared after using the invisibility spell.
“I just came to check on you because I was bored.”
“I don’t think I heard anything about you going outside. When did you leave?”
“I snuck out.”
“…….”
Given Rosalyn’s tendency to nag, if I had gone out openly, she would have complained a lot.
I had sneakily slipped out.
It wasn’t too difficult, and it was rather easy, actually.
After hearing that, Ivana continued to look at me with a similar expression.
“Sigh….”
“Huh.”
Then suddenly, she let out a deep sigh.
What’s wrong?
“What’s wrong? Was it tough fighting the monsters?”
“…No. Just wait for a moment.”
“Sure.”
Anyway, I remained comfortably on the mattress, waiting as Ivana requested.
Ivana left me there, slowly taking off her great sword and armor.
Since armor tends to be heavy and uncomfortable, she probably asked me to wait for that reason.
There was a good amount of snow or ice piled up on top of the armor she was wearing.
She must have been fighting continuously since the morning.
That’s likely why she hadn’t managed to clean it off.
“Hmm…. I originally came to see Ivana fight, but it seems she wasn’t around the castle walls?”
“I fought in the forest away from the walls.”
“Ah, I see.”
That made sense.
There was a clear reason she hadn’t been visible.
“Besides, I also came to check exactly how intense the monster wave is. Since I’m doing business in the north. There are monster waves every winter like this, right?”
I chattered away as Ivana slowly changed out of her armor.
It felt like if I just said I had come by for no reason, she would throw multiple questions my way.
But it was also true that was a reason for coming.
“Since it’s related to business, I thought it would be better to confirm it myself.”
“…I see.”
“Yeah. By the way, Ivana, do you wear tights under that armor? I never knew.”
“……..”
I hadn’t noticed while she was still in armor, but once she took it off, I saw the tights she had been wearing underneath.
She was not only wearing tights on her lower body but upper body too.
“Given that it’s such a cold place, it must be essential to maintain body heat.”
That certainly seemed like a good decision.
Wearing metal armor in such cold weather would make it even colder, with the armor getting chilly too.
“Even if you wear other clothes underneath, it must be quite cold. Aren’t you feeling chilly, Ivana?”
“…Northern people tend to have warmer bodies, so it’s not that cold for me.”
“Ah, really….”
Hmm….
I see….
“Hmm….”
“Why do you ask that?”
“When I hugged you before, I definitely felt that your body was warmer than I expected. I just thought about that for a moment.”
“…….”
Unlike her cool exterior, Ivana had a body that was surprisingly warm.
It felt different from the soft and cozy feeling of Rosalyn.
However, thinking about the differences in women’s bodies in this way made me feel a bit like a pervert.
But I couldn’t deny it?