Chapter 55 is out!
Anyway, here"s the chapter, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 56
【"Please be safe, and know that every moment waiting for your return will be like an eternity, my lord."】
【"O-oh, yeah, sure. I"m happy you feel that way, but you keep calling me "my lord" and I"m not sure that"s okay…"】
【"My lord, please feel free to speak to me as harshly as you did last night."】
(BERNST, WHAT THE h.e.l.l IS GOING ON?!)
Kurats did not remember what happened the night before.
But he did not think the one at fault could be anyone other than his troublesome pal.
『What? Everything seems fine to me.』
(Nothing is fine! This is a literal princess, she can"t act like this towards me! What am I supposed to do now?!)
『If she does anything troublesome in front of other people, she"ll just have to be disciplined again. So, like I said, everything"s fine.』
(You said disciplined!?)
【"―― My lord?"】
Frigga was looking at Kurats with pure eyes and a lovely smile.
Seeing her like this was enough to get Kurats to start thinking that maybe this situation was alright for now.
Perhaps this was because of the workings of the mind of a young man coming of age.
The rest of the day, Frigga behaved like a perfect member of the royal family, right until Kurats" departure. This gave Siegfried great relief.
【"Like I thought, you were just momentarily confused last time. You"ve been doing great today."】
【"I am the princess of a country, brother. I have to stay aware of my position."】
Meanwhile, Kurats" thoughts were not quite the same.
(―― This is weird, when the h.e.l.l did she become so docile? …Still, that fawning smile from when we were alone earlier was super cute.)
【"Your highness! I will definitely return to you bearing good news!"】
At the time of departure, Hans waved his hand from afar in a desperate attempt to get Frigga"s attention, but her response was very cold.
【"…If he does anything to get in my lord"s way, I"ll end him."】
【"Please leave everything to me, your highness! You can count on me!"】
Kurats sighed to himself.
『This guy"s a clown.』
(Indeed, he is such a joke that it feels refreshing.)
Once Kurats and Hans became small dots in the horizon, Siegfried asked Frigga.
【"Frigga, what were you mumbling to yourself just now?"】
But Frigga disregarded him and only gave a smile in response.
While such an ominous atmosphere was rising behind them, Kurats and Hans set off towards the Macbarn kingdom.
…
The Macbarn kingdom was faced by the Lapland kingdom from the south and by the Ganbia sea from the north.
Due to the country"s harsh natural environment, they did not thrive on their agricultural productivity but on whaling and fishing. They also possessed a powerful navy despite being a small country.
Because they had to work on training their fire mages in order to face the cold winters, they were known for having powerful mages.
But as a small country, they could not even hope to catch up to Asgard"s level when it came to that.
The season of winter was still far away, yet the cold wind coming down from the surrounding mountains felt like it could freeze a body to its core.
【"Our country is cold too, but Macbarn is something else."】
【"Must be hard to live here…"】
Hans was wearing a fur overcoat, but his teeth were chattering from the cold.
While Kurats did not feel any of this since he was using a cold-interception barrier, he could still tell how cold it was from the world he was seeing around him.
The surrounding animals were covered in fluffy winter fur, the ground beneath his feet was frozen, and he could see his own breath.
This was a spectacle he had never witnessed back in Jormungand.
【"…It"s finally in sight."】
Hans gazed upon the stone spire in the distance with a sigh of relief.
They were about to reach the entrance of the Macbarn kingdom"s capital, Va.s.sa.
…
【"Welcome to our kingdom. I"m sincerely glad you could make it."】
This was the king of Macbarn, Nikolai the fourth.
At first sight, he looked like a simple, kind old man. The many wrinkles that came with his old age were crumpled by the smile he presented to the two visitors.
But his many years of reign as king were not for show.
Nikolai was carefully observing Kurats and Hans, wondering whether Lapland was really worth saving.
【"Pleased to meet you. I am Hans, count of Bartels, and a subject of Lapland. I am honored and humbled to receive an audience with you in these times of crisis."】
【"The name is Mathers McGregor. I was granted a t.i.tle of honorary count from his majesty Siegfried earlier, but I"m basically just a helper who came to Lapland uninvited."】
【"Hahahahahaha! If that"s true, then you"re one h.e.l.l of a helper!"】
Nikolai laughed with great delight. He was thrilled.
This man had come by himself to aid Lapland in facing a major power like Asgard.
Even if he did it under someone else"s instructions, it was still thrilling all the same.
【"Hey! Sir Mathers, are you unaware of your position? Be more careful with your words!"】
【"It fine, it"s fine, sir Mathers is not exactly a formal subject of Lapland. It"s useless to dwell on these small matters."】
【"Ah, yes…"】
Although he was not satisfied, Hans still abided by Nikolai"s words.
As a diplomatic messenger, it wouldn"t be a great idea for him to carelessly oppose Nikolai"s words and take the risk of offending him.
【"So you"re the hero of Crowdagen I heard so much about. I see, you really do have an incredible body."】
Nikolai was gazing up and down at Kurats" splendid body.
His big arms were the size of a woman"s waist, yet his flexible limbs did not seem to be lacking in agility at all.
Even so, was it really possible to change the course of a war against an army of tens of thousands with the power of one man alone?
Nikolai"s spies had once informed him that even the Snow White Valkyrie would not be able to save Lapland from the hole it had put itself into.
And yet, since then, the Asgard empire"s army had actually retreated and had even called the White Vampire to its aid.
Unaware that Nikolai was thinking about such things, Hans decisively stepped forward towards him.
【"Your majesty, please heed my request! Our country and Macbarn are allies who have shared friendly ties for many years now. In the name of that friendship, I humbly ask you to please send us reinforcements."】
『Does this fool really think he"ll get reinforcements by just asking for them?』
Bernst snorted in derision.
(So why did we even bother coming all the way here?)
『Do me a favor and shut up for a minute, meathead! You"ll understand soon enough!』
After hearing Hans out, Nikolai stroked his beard like he was troubled by something.
【"I see your point, but in my position, I must think of Macbarn"s survival first and foremost. Seeing as your army acted recklessly at the start of the war and suffered a crushing defeat, I can"t help but be apprehensive about sending your reinforcements."】
【"B-but our nation has come out victorious against Asgard twice in a row now! Your kingdom will definitely not be in any trouble so…"】
【"Mhm, about that."】
【"Yes?"】
Hans spoke with a goofy voice and inclined his head to the side in confusion.
It looked like this man was fundamentally a meathead, just like a certain someone. Knowing that Siegfried had picked this man as his messenger, Bernst felt a little concerned about the quality of his judgement.
【"Be it in Crowdagen or Berglund, I heard that sir Mathers over here played a key role in both battles. I want proof."】
Nikolai was still wondering, did Kurats truly have the power to match the Asgard army"s elite troops by himself?
【"I see, so that"s where this is going."】
【"You"re quick on the uptake, that saves me the trouble of explaining. Would you be willing to display your power right here? Your answer will determine whether my country will send reinforcements or not."】
【"B-but…! Please reconsider, your majesty!"】
Hans clung to Nikolai in a panic.
(If I don"t do anything, not only will I not be bringing back any achievements, but on the contrary, the talks for reinforcements will be off for good!)
Having never seen Kurats fight with his own eyes, Hans did not believe half the rumors about him.
Be it in Crowdagen or Berglund, he thought that those victories were naturally all due to Frigga"s achievements.
【"Why are you panicking? Were you expecting me to believe that Lapland can win based on your words only? You are too naive."】
There was no longer any trace of the kind old man from earlier on Nikolai"s face.
There was only the face of a veteran who had gone through multiple political conflicts for the survival of his small kingdom.
(I have to say something.)
Hans" back was drenched in cold sweat as he looked for the right words to say.
But all he did was make himself realize that his mind could never think up something good enough to persuade Nikolai.
【"I just have to show you my power, right? That"s no problem."】
Kurats threw out his chest arrogantly, not showing a glimpse of a hint of nervousness.
There was no way he could have faced the Asgard empire if a trial made by the small Macbarn kingdom was enough to make him afraid. But that did not seem to be the case.
Nikolai happily narrowed his eyes and then clapped his hands together.
Taking the sound of the clap as a signal, a giant knight appeared. His body frame was in no way inferior to Kurats".
【"This is the best knight of the country, the matchless knight, Rodrigo. He"s around the same level as the Valkyrie of Lapland. You can fight him without holding back."】
【"―― Come at me."】
With a quiet sense of self-confidence, Rodrigo readied his sword and pointed it towards Kurats.
Despite Nikolai"s words, Rodrigo personally believed there was no way he"d ever lose against the snow white Valkyrie.
However…
【"This guy is supposed to be as strong as Frigga? You"re joking, right? Come on, Frigga is way stronger than that."】
Far from being frightened, Kurats was actually sneering and holding him in derision.
Rodrigo"s face was red from anger.
【"You"ll regret your impudence!"】
Rodrigo stomped his feet forward and swung his sword down at Kurats in one swift motion.
This move left Hans with his eyes wide open from surprise.
It seemed like Rodrigo was indeed the best knight of the Macbarn kingdom.
However, Kurats" strength was in a whole other dimension, so there was no comparison to be made between them in the first place.
Kurats caught Rodrigo"s large sword with his bare hand, and then s.n.a.t.c.hed it away just by the strength of his grip.
【"What?"】
Nikolai leaned forward from his throne in shock. The fact that Kurats was able to catch a blade with his bare hands was already insane, but what was even more shocking was that, despite his immense strength, Rodrigo was completely unable to put up any resistance as his sword was taken away under his nose.
【"Y-you!"】
Humiliated, Rodrigo furiously tried to grab Kurats, but Kurats easily lifted him up and threw him away.
Compared to Brigitte or even Frigga, Rodrigo was far too slow.
He was very mistaken if he thought that a knight who did not even know how to use artifacts could face the likes of Frigga using only physical strength.
(He"s not his opponent at all.)
Even a novice fighter like Nikolai could easily tell that Kurats was only toying with Rodrigo, whose body had just hit the ground.
【"T-to think that even Rodrigo can"t face him…"】
【"Well then, what I"ll show you next will be a little freebie on the house."】
【"W-what are you doing?!"】
Kurats walked towards Rodrigo, who was lying in pain on the ground from the shock of the landing, and stripped off his armor. He then molded it like clay, using the abnormal strength of his grip, to compress it into a 4 inch (10 cm) ball.
【"HUUUUH?!"】
Without paying attention to Nikolai"s and Rodrigo"s dumbounfded reactions, Kurats wound up and threw the metal ball away, like a pitcher.
【"Oh, this is bad."】
However, Kurats did not control the trajectory of the throw properly, and it ended up dropping a little closer than expected, on a thick granite rampart.
Boom!
The moment it was. .h.i.t by the metallic ball, the 20 feet (7 meters) high rampart was crushed as if a 30 feet (10 meters) tall giant had stepped over it with both feet.
【"S-so, was this proof enough?"】
Kurats tried to pretend everything was fine, but his cramped smile and the sweat on his forehead were enough to tell he knew he had messed up.
『This foolish meathead…』
While Bernst was clicking his tongue in disappointment, everyone in Macbarn, from masters to servants, was standing stock still in blank amazement with their mouths wide open.