A few days later, Roberta was in the lord's residence.
She had returned to the city of Freieiche with Ulrich and went straight to the reception room of the lord's residence. A large rectangular table was placed in the center, and she sat to Ulrich's left.
A servant came in and placed a teacup filled with Songhwa tea in front of Ulrich. She was asked, 'For the Priest as well?' but she waved her hands violently, saying, 'Ah, no. I'm fine.'
It was a scent she couldn't get used to at all. The lord was drinking it next to her, and the smell alone made her frown involuntarily. She glanced at him.
He sipped the Songhwa tea calmly. She shuddered at his unresponsive appearance, wondering if his nose was blocked or his tongue was paralyzed.
"You seem to be enjoying it."
"Does it look that way?"
Wasn't he?
She examined his expression again, wondering if he actually didn't like it but was enduring it, but there was no change. He drank it calmly and peacefully, as if he were drinking plain water.
'He's such an incomprehensible person.'
As she quietly observed him, a guest soon entered.
There were six guests. Five men and one woman. All six had light brown skin, and one of their eyes and hair were red.
Their attire was almost the same as when they had just arrived in the city. Only the breastplate was removed. The thickly padded clothes and the sword at their waist remained.
It was customary to disarm when meeting the host, but Ulrich didn't care. He had anyone who sought him come as they were at the time of their visit.
"Hmm?"
One of the guests made a sound.
He was a middle-aged man named Count Bellido of Motrilda. With a lot of white hair between his crimson hair, he looked to be over fifty.
Roberta whispered the count's name to Ulrich. For a moment, his gaze stopped among them, flickered, and then disappeared.
The count looked back and forth between Ulrich and Roberta and tilted his head. The others in the group did the same. They must have come after hearing that the lord was waiting in the reception room, but the only people they saw were two young people.
'Was I making that expression too?'
Roberta suppressed a bitter smile.
She clearly read the bewilderment on the count's face. They must have heard that the lord of Ditmarsken was an old, decrepit person. They probably assumed he was a hybrid who had lived for at least 300 years.
But look at Ulrich's appearance.
Does he look even a little bit old?
The six people had briefly seen Roberta on the day they arrived in Freieiche, so they knew she wasn't the lord. Also, she was wearing Priest robes.
If there was a lord in the room, it could only be him given the circumstances.
"Are you...?"
the count asked.
"The Duke of Ditmarsken, is that right?"
"That's right, you've come to the right place."
"You're very different from what I heard."
He looked at Ulrich with a sullen expression.
"I heard that the Duke of Ditmarsken was an old man who had lived for over 300 years."
"The period I've been lord is around that long. I'm not an old man, though."
"I also heard that he had pointy ears because he had elven blood."
"That's just a rumor."
Ulrich dismissed it while drinking his tea.
"...Are you really the Duke of Ditmarsken?"
The suspicious gaze remained.
"Please, sit down."
Ulrich gestured to the chairs, ignoring him, but the count simply stared with his mouth shut. The deep wrinkles between his eyebrows showed that he was strongly suspicious.
Watching this, Roberta stood up.
"Count, I guarantee that this person is Ulrich, the master of Ditmarsken. I am a servant of Ganymea, and this will add truth to my words."
When she spread out her right hand and gathered mana in the center, a blue pattern soon appeared on the palm of her bare hand. It was a seal proving that she was a formal Priest of the Pantheon, and upon seeing this, the count groaned and took a step forward.
"Count Bellido of Motrilda... I am."
After that, he placed his right hand on his chest and hesitated for a moment before lowering his head very lightly, just enough to be considered a bow, to Ulrich.
Since the Priest had vouched for him, he couldn't openly doubt him, but he must have been reluctant to admit that the young man in front of him was an old man who had lived for hundreds of years.
And that feeling was revealed in his tone.
"I am a nobleman of the Carbonihar Kingdom, and those behind me are my vassals and escorts for the journey. I apologize for doubting you. As you may know, it's impossible to guess your age just by looking at your appearance..."
It was a tone that didn't lower the other person, but it didn't exactly elevate them either. Considering Ulrich's age, title, and the fact that the count was a guest, it was an ambiguous attitude.
Roberta noticed this and looked at Ulrich.
"It happens often."
He slightly raised the corners of his lips. Then, he rested his right elbow on the armrest of the chair, propped his chin on his fist, and gestured for them to sit down with his other hand.
The count sat in front of the lord, and his vassals sat on either side.
"So, what's the reason you came all the way to find me? I heard it on the way, but I want to hear it directly from you. As far as I know, Carbonihar is a country far to the south, so why would you come all the way to this extreme region?"
"Would I have come through all this hardship if it wasn't important?"
The count gave a bitter smile.
"I am looking for a dragon. A dragon named Narvakayani."
"Narvakayani, is it."
"Have you heard of it?"
Instead of answering, Ulrich nodded his chin, subtly asking him to continue the story. In response, the count raised one eyebrow and said.
"It's a dragon with pure white, translucent scales. Its height is greater than the inner castle here, it has six wings, and the end of its tail is pointed like a bundle of thorns. I obtained information that it nested on the Ice Peninsula. That's why I came. To enter the Ice Peninsula."
"Indeed."
"Ditmarsken... I'm sure you know as well."
He cleared his throat and continued.
"That place is the Demon Realm. A land full of demonic creatures created by evil gods. An uninhabited zone that even Emperor Taiwyn couldn't conquer. I'm not reckless enough to enter such a place with only six people."
"Would it be different if you had a guide?"
"I wouldn't get lost."
Ulrich chuckled and took his chin off his fist.
"You've come to the right place. As you said, Narvakayani is on the peninsula. Whoever you heard it from has very good ears."
The count agreed, saying, 'Indeed, a person with very good ears.' It was the reaction of someone who had already been convinced and was being reconfirmed.
On the other hand, Roberta quietly listened to the conversation and narrowed her eyes. Someone told him? An unknown question arose, but she wasn't the one having the conversation, and Ulrich didn't ask. He simply nodded once and continued.
"However, that place is not a place where guides go."
"They don't go? Why not?"
"Because it's dangerous."
The count frowned and asked.
"I'm well aware of the danger! I'm willing to give generous compensation commensurate with the danger. If possible, I'm even thinking of attaching several people in addition to the guide."
"No, I wasn't clear enough."
Ulrich shook his head and said.
"It would be more accurate to say that it's a place you can't go even if you want to. No matter how many people you bring, you can't reach the place where Narvakayani is. Like Taiwyn."
The count became agitated and was about to say something, but he closed his mouth. He frowned and scratched the back of his neck, looking at his vassals. After exchanging glances silently, he looked at Ulrich again.
"Why? Is it that dangerous?"
Ulrich tilted the teacup and took a sip.
Just then, a servant came in and placed Songhwa tea in front of the guests. They picked up the teacups, but let out a groan at the strong scent and put them down.
"You know why it's called the Ice Peninsula, right?"
"Because dwarves and elves fought very fiercely there, right?"
A listless gaze pierced Ulrich.
"Because they recklessly wielded mana, the area became a battlefield. Places like the Ice Peninsula have tangled mana flows, right? It's written right there in the scriptures. I've heard it so many times, there's no need to say it."
"Then, have you thought about the consequences of the entanglement?"
"Well—"
Ulrich interrupted the count and answered himself.
"Mana is one of the elements that make up the world. Irregular mana flows mean that unimaginable changes can occur. The fact that Ditmarsken has blizzards all year round is an example."
"······."
"But life is amazing. Even in environments that our humans can't even imagine, there are sometimes creatures that survive through adaptation."
Ulrich called a servant and placed a book on the table. It was such a large book that the servant had to carry it with both arms, groaning. The horizontal length was from fingertip to elbow, and the vertical length was slightly shorter than that.
When the book was opened like a map, it made a thud on the table, and dust scattered everywhere. The servant wiped the dust away and handed glasses to his master.
'Glasses?' Roberta tilted her head.
I haven't heard that he has bad eyesight?
Ulrich picked up the glasses and paused for a moment. He looked like someone who was lost in thought by a sudden idea. The simple-looking glasses were stimulating something in him.
However, it was fleeting. It was a faint emotional surge that only Roberta, who had been observing him, could recognize. To the guests who were seeing him for the first time, they would just think that he was slow.
He put the glasses on the tip of his nose and opened the book.
From the first page, a bizarre picture was revealed.
"What is this...?"
the count asked, looking at the picture.
"A monster."
"No, that's not what I'm asking. Where did you get this?"
"I didn't get it. I made it myself."
Did he write it himself?
Roberta looked back and forth between the huge book and Ulrich. The book was old and faded, but the pictures were drawn in great detail, showing that a lot of effort had been put into it.
"As you can see, I've introduced the outlines of the monsters here."
He pushed up the glasses on the tip of his nose with his index finger and slowly turned the pages of the book one by one.
"I'll let you know that the ones I point to from time to time live on the peninsula."
And he added.
"I've written the explanations at the bottom of the pictures, so read them appropriately and refer to them. You won't really understand it unless you experience it anyway."
After turning a few pages, Ulrich's hand stopped.
A flower was drawn.
The head was round like an iron ball, resembling a poppy. At first glance, it looked like you could laugh it off, saying, 'This is a monster?' But there was a person drawn on the lower right.
By placing a person of average height next to it, it was possible to guess the size of the monster. The person was smaller than one-tenth of the flower.
Not only that, but in small letters at the bottom of the picture, it was written, '...Releases pollen that causes hallucinations. When the target approaches, it binds them with its stem and puts them into its mouth, which looks like a fruit. The inside of the mouth is filled with acidic solution, so it melts and absorbs the prey when it enters.'
"······."
No one opened their mouth.
Then, Ulrich turned two more pages.
A picture of a spider smaller than a human palm appeared.
The spider's shape was just that of a common house spider that had grown larger. However, Roberta frowned after reading the contents below.
'...It injects eggs into the target's skin by stabbing its genitals in the rear. If not removed immediately, it releases hundreds of eggs into the body, and the eggs hatch within a few hours and eat the target from the inside out, killing them.'
The subsequent content was also full of similar monsters.
Roberta thought. No, everyone in this place must have been thinking. How do they know about these monsters that they are encountering for the first time?
"I think you understand to some extent."
Ulrich closed the book and took off his glasses.
"The Ice Peninsula is like this. The mana flow has become strange due to the influence of the old incident, and plants and animals affected by this live here. The Demon Realm isn't called the Demon Realm for nothing."
"······."
"The only places that guides can go are places where this danger is relatively very, very low. And Count, the Narvakayani you are looking for is beyond that."
Ulrich looked at the count and asked.
"Are you still going to go in a place like this?"
The count couldn't answer. At first glance, he looked like he was groaning and frowning as he pondered. But Roberta saw it. He was subtly looking at someone.
His gaze was directed at one of his vassals.
"Stop borrowing someone else's mouth."
There's no way he wouldn't know what she realized.
Ulrich looked at the man sitting next to the count and said.
"Descendant of Banares."
He didn't immediately understand the meaning of the words. So he sat still, pretending not to hear, but suddenly his eyes widened and he jumped up from his chair.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"