Under the strange pressure from Han Se-ah on the left and Katie on the right, the retired adventurer trio wracked their brains until they finally dredged up old memories. Though they'd been so jovial among men, they now trembled like scared bear cubs when approached by two beauties.
Well, they were a bit large for bear cubs, but anyway.
When it was revealed that my hastily made-up story from the Kingdom was actually true, Katie's eyes began to sparkle.
"Can you tell us that story in more detail?"
"What? Oh yes, of course."
Perhaps it was finding her family crest in this distant northern Empire, or maybe it was because the rainbow story she thought was just a fairy tale had gained some reality. Once Katie's eyes started sparkling, no mere 3★ braggart could resist - even the Duke of Wesley himself couldn't stop her.
As if seized by a mission to tell the lady before him everything he knew, Tom groaned while practically pulling out his messy hair before finally recovering his memories.
Far in the Empire's north, beyond the snowfields, there was a stubborn village of settlers halfway up a snow-covered mountain. Though they persisted just below the eternal snow line in an environment so cold the very air froze, they eventually lost their homeland to monster waves.
"Eternal snow? People actually survived winters in such a cold place?"
"Yes. They called themselves descendants of knights... but seeing how all the villagers could handle ice-attribute mana, they seemed more like noble descendants than knights.""Ice-attribute mana?"
As Tom stammered through his story, Han Se-ah's gaze and camera slowly turned to Katie. After all, Katie could also handle ice-attribute mana, and her sister Ann Wesley's title was 'Ice Rose' - she must also be an ice-attribute character.
The family crest depicting a crouching wolf, and the ice-attribute mana passed down through generations of the Wesley family. At this point, that settler village must have been a branch of the Wesley family.
Though I couldn't understand why they'd cross the mountains from the Kingdom's north only to end up stuck in the Empire's snowy mountains. Maybe they were just madmen like certain mountaineers who climb any tall mountain they see.
"Wait, so a Wesley heir crossed the mountains from the Kingdom to the Empire, then went north again because the Empire also had mountains? What, did they cross the continent just because the mountains were there?"
-Could that noble's name be Edmund? Is Edmund Percival Wesley here too?
-What's an Edmund, you yankee? Stop with your inside jokes
-You know, like that guy who first climbed Everest, maybe they just really liked climbing mountains
-Is being a bit unhinged just a Wesley family trait passed down through generations?
-It's not like it's some blood curse, how can they all be like this generation after generation lololololololol
Anyway, Katie's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she cornered the retired adventurer trio, while viewers erupted in chaos. The true madness of the Wesley family, literally embodying "mountains beyond mountains," was filtering out the pretenders.
Roughly comparing it to Earth, it was like an Indian noble crossing Mount Everest barefoot to settle in the Mongolian steppes - how could people not be shocked?
Such madness and obsession that shocked everyone who merely heard about it. At this point, shouldn't we suspect there's something hidden in the Empire's snow mountains too? The viewers seemed to share my thoughts, flooding the chat with speculation about events, dungeons, and items.
"Well, it can't just be 'rainbow appears on snow mountain, find it, open box, quest complete!' right? There's probably some hidden dungeon near that village that gives Wesley family treasure when cleared."
-For real lol If not that'd just mean BB Games doesn't know gaming
-A dungeon that only opens when rainbows appear? Not clearing that wouldn't make you an RPG player
-But with eternal snow mentioned, do rainbows even appear in snow? Isn't it only during rain?
-Doubt we have rainbow experts here even if we have gaming experts lol
-Isn't a rainbow just sunlight hitting water drops? Snow mountain rainbow probably means magic rainbow
"Right? Family trials and treasure dungeons are classic tropes. Honestly, it's beyond classic - it's basic content. Like you don't criticize rice for being used to make meals, there's definitely going to be a dungeon."
For something coming from Han Se-ah's mouth, it actually made sense.
※
The hero who should've been at the mansion was gone, the Holy Sword's owner was gone, their companion the Kingdom's duke's daughter was gone, and even the young master who'd just returned today was gone.
In this ridiculous situation, only the maids who should've been attending to guests were worried sick. The others, including Olek's parents the Margrave and the Lady, seemed to just shrug it off thinking he'd gone to the tavern again.
You might expect suspicions about the heir frequenting such shabby places, wondering if he was up to no good as a man, but Alisa's presence took care of that - leaving only the image of the kind but dim young master who'd become the town's entertainment.
"Welcome back. Did you enjoy our unremarkable town?"
"Though the land is harsh, the good people here put my mind at ease."
And so a day in the distinctly characterized Sibedev domain passed without issue.
The townspeople were amazed that their gullible young master had actually gone to the Kingdom and brought back the hero party, while retired adventurers and soldiers fighting monster waves were just happy about our Wyvern story.
Even stripping away the boasts about it being the Goddess's nemesis or dragon of destruction, it was still a crafty high-rank monster combo that had been treating monster waves like lunch while terrorizing the north.
So we spent the day receiving curious looks from domain residents, respectful looks from soldiers, and grateful looks from knights while being entertained by the Margrave and the Lady. The minor border difference between Kingdom and Empire people was easily ignored through religious unity as we received lavish hospitality.
"Ahh, that feels good... I've had lots of massages in real life for posture correction, but these maids' hands are more skillful than professionals."
-Camera you bastard why are you filming Roland teacher's back view if you don't turn it right now I'll write your name in my will and die I swear please can't we see our mama just once
-Ugh that's not even thirst that's bone marrow thirst
-Wait lol Aren't maids professionals too? They've probably served nobles their whole lives, they're the real professionals
-Why can't I see noona's face making those sounds while getting massaged by maids I have perfectly good eyes why can I only hear sound mom I can't see anything
-Fuck lol If you're going to freak out this much just go watch p*rn lol
Warm bath water prepared to melt away northern fatigue, followed by thorough skincare and massage from the maids, then a strong but fragrant drink for good sleep.
Come to think of it, though our party members were called "hero" plenty, wasn't this our first time receiving such luxurious treatment? Maybe that's why Grace and Irene's voices coming through Han Se-ah's microphone... not camera... were melting away.
The camera was, as viewers angrily noted, focused on my back muscles.
While I appreciated the meal, bath, and drink, I hadn't particularly wanted a massage. No matter how skillfully the maids moved their hands, they'd need to be at least 3★ to work out Roland's muscles with grip strength alone.
So while I was casually stretching and web surfing, free from my companions' gazes, knights started gathering quietly.
"Um, Sir Roland...?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
People approached hesitantly, debating whether to call me "sir" or "lord" before settling on treating me as a knight. Though they wore knight attire, their insignia showed they weren't Ice Cross Knights. Probably domain knights or ones following the eldest son.
Dinner was already over and I'd thoroughly enjoyed the bath and massage. Clearly not training time for knights, so they must have gathered to see me. As I stood in the open space, awkwardly marked by the camera's focus, staring at the knights, their representative finally spoke up with difficulty.
"Though this may be rude to ask a guest... we'd like to see the skills of one chosen by the Holy Sword."
"Skills? How so?"
They were requesting a match even though I'd already bathed and was just doing light stretches to avoid sweating. Yet their expressions showed no rudeness or entitlement, just uncertainty about whether this was appropriate mixed with hopeful anticipation.
Seems Olek wasn't the only kind-hearted simpleton around.
Who knew the entire Margrave's knight order would be my fan club?
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