The Ice Guard Largorin Appears

“No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, wait!”

The one who said that was Daryl, Twilight Lightblade’s scout.

“Hey, kid! How are you going to defeat Largorin all by yourself!?”

“I can defeat it because I’m by myself.”

After grinning, I continued.

“If I sneak up with Stealthy Steps, use the flame dagger, and land a backstab, I win, right?”

“As a scout, let me teach you this, warrior! You can’t use Stealthy Steps while wearing metal armor, can you!?”

“It’s surprisingly not like that.”

I activated “Stealthy Steps” and walked. Not only my footsteps, but even the sound of my metal armor did not ring out.

The instant the three members of Twilight Lightblade saw me—

“““Creepy!?”””

Huh!?

“Nishishi! Creepy!”

Misha, you again!?

“Meow!”

I feel like she probably called me creepy too!?

Then Daryl suddenly shouted.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!? Wait, wait, wait, wait!? Your metal armor isn’t making noise, does that mean you have Stealthy Steps Lv5!?”

“Yes.”

“And on top of that, you even learned Backstab!?”

“Yes.”

“…If you’re equipped with metal armor, that means you’re not a scout, but a warrior—and yet you have high-level Stealthy Steps? Huh? Actually, what level are you?”

“Ah.”

…Crap… I carelessly showed them… It felt like this was probably not a normal combination…

Filardo tapped Daryl on the shoulder as he pressed closer.

“Daryl, it’s not good to pry into another adventurer’s abilities.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

Looking awkward, Daryl lowered his spear.

Filardo looked at me and continued like this.

“…Well, it’s certainly true that you’re a mysterious boy, and I’m very interested too.”

“Hahahahaha…”

It was an honor to have Twilight Lightblade say that much about me.

I returned to the topic.

“If Largorin appears, I’ll defeat it.”

“…Understood. But don’t let your guard down. Stealthy Steps and Backstab aren’t things that can win on their own.”

I nodded at Filardo’s words.

Yes, it would be easy if those alone could win. In the end, skills were the same as weapons. How to use them depended on the user.

If I let my guard down, I would die.

“Knowledge of ore magic, and our backup, huh—”

After murmuring that, Filardo looked at Iris.

“See, bringing them along was the right call, wasn’t it?”

“I’ll admit that, but don’t brag about your specialty of making things up as you go…”

Iris put a hand to her forehead and sighed.

I ran alone through the snowy night.

Because I had to use Stealthy Steps, I had no choice but to act alone. I left Misha and Nyankoromochi with Filardo and the others.

The glow stick shining at my waist dimly illuminated the world of black and white.

The same sort of scenery continued on and on—

Then it suddenly changed.

!?

Something strange had emerged underfoot. It was a bright red arc. A gentle curve ran across the white snowfield.

The other side of it was surreal.

Complicated patterns had emerged.

It was just like a magic circle.

No, it probably was a magic circle. Misha had said it, hadn’t she?

—A large magic circle appears in the targeted area too.

At the very least, Misha’s prediction that they were targeting the stone monument had been correct.

In other words, from here onward was the effective range of ore magic.

If it activated, someone like me would probably be blown away in a single hit.

…But I couldn’t retreat.

Because I had promised Filardo.

Someone like me was going to stand shoulder to shoulder with a hero. What would I do if I didn’t even risk one life!

I just had to believe in Filardo and the others.

They should be able to stop the Company’s scheme!

“Here I go!”

I muttered as if scolding myself, then stepped forward.

Then I began running again.

After I continued for a while, the scenery began changing again.

The number of obstacles like stone walls had increased.

In addition, so had the magical lights burning here and there.

…Hm? I think I was already very close to the stone monument, but I don’t think there was anything like this before, just a grassy field…

I was pretty sure Filardo had said, “The stone monument appears at the same time Largorin appears.”

Most likely, the obstacles around here had also appeared in the same way.

I was grateful for the lights. If I carried a light on a dark night like this, I would stand out.

I went even farther in, heading toward the place Filardo had told me “the stone monument appears around here.”

…I think it’s probably around here…

Just as I expected, I found the stone monument.

To be precise, it was the remains of a shattered stone monument.

And near the stone monument, I found someone lying collapsed. It was a man wearing magician-like clothes.

It seemed Misha’s reading had been right—

“Hey, are you all right?”

I shook the magician’s back. The magician let out a groan and trembled, but that was all.

…He isn’t dead, but he can’t move, huh…

Misha had said he might have been deprived of his freedom in order to lure out Largorin.

When I looked around, I saw adventurers lying collapsed here and there.

…Should I call out to them one by one? At least one of them might have recovered enough to talk.

I approached a brown-haired man lying face down.

Was he a warrior? He held a broadsword in his right hand and a large shield in his left.

…Hm?

On the surface of the shield, reflecting the dim light—

Huh, that’s…!?

A bad drawing of a cat, and a speech bubble saying, Meow!

Wasn’t that the doodle drunk Misha had drawn on her own shield?

That shield should have been given to Oson, an acquaintance. Oson had said he would give it to the “sane person with the Swordsmanship skill” who had joined his party.

That meant the party that had been dragged into this was Oson’s party—

Was the person lying over there the rumored sane person with the Swordsmanship skill?

…I wondered what kind of guy he was.

I took a step forward with a little interest.

That was when it happened.

—!?

A presence so overwhelming that it felt as if it were pressing down on my entire body became vividly clear. It was an absolute chill reminiscent of permafrost, one that made even the powerful cold air enveloping the mountain feel lukewarm.

I immediately hid behind a nearby stone wall.

I peeked out from the wall.

Something was there a short distance away. Its abnormal form emerged under the magical light.

It was a heavily armored knight clad in full plate. In its left hand, it held a massive shield that seemed to cover half its body, and in its right hand, it held a large war hammer.

A knight made of deep blue ice.

But surely, the hardness of that ice far surpassed steel.

At last, it had shown itself.

The Ice Guard Largorin had—