Chapter 82: Winter Castle (2)

Seo Jun-ho thought that he heard wrong. “Niflheim? Is the kingdom still functioning even without its queen?”

“Impossible…”

“How do you explain the castle, then?”

She didn’t answer, looking up at the castle in disbelief.

“Can you say something instead of staring like that?”

“I don’t know either! I don’t know, so I cannot answer!” She crossed her arms, seeming like she didn’t want to talk.

“Well, fine. Say you don’t know why this is here. But you know other things, don’t you?”

“…Other things?”

“Like who the lord of the castle is, how many people there are, secrets of the castle, whatever.”

“Ha? Are you ordering me to tell you our national secrets?”

“Don’t say it like that. Our fates are tied together, aren’t they? Let’s see it through to the end.”

“D-disgusting!” The Frost Queen flew away from him, keeping herself at a distance. She didn’t come back until she made him promise not to say such cheesy things. She seemed to be considering something before she spoke again.

“…27,000.”

“What?”

“As far as I remember, the population of the Winter Castle is 27,000.”

“What?! That much?”

“Why are you so surprised? I think it’s quite obvious that a castle of that size would have that many people.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong, but…”

Seo Jun-ho’s expression changed as he looked up at the gigantic Winter Castle. He had never been to a Gate where the enemies numbered over ten thousand.

“That’s insane. How am I supposed to defeat so many enemies by myself…”

“Contractor, listen to the end. Do you remember the Gate I created?” she asked.

“The Queen’s Nest? I won’t forget it for the rest of my life.” It had been the most difficult Gate he’d ever conquered.

“I originally intended to bring all the knights under my command.” But she had failed to do so.

“…All your knights? Then, the ones we fought weren’t all of your forces?”

“They were but a small fraction. Considering what happened in the past, I wonder if this place is of a similar circumstance.”

“So, the Winter Castle might have less forces than we expect?”

“Yes. Look, the gates are already open.”

Castle gates were essential to protect the people inside. If there were supposed to be as many people as she claimed, they wouldn’t have left it open.

“…So there will only be the lord and his guards?”

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“It is impossible to tell. Lord Kis may be the only one inside.”

“Lord Kis? Who’s that?”

“Kis Bremen. A loyal knight of mine, and the lord of the Winter Castle.”

“What are his abilities?”

“Swordplay. The people called him the Sword of the Empire. He is the most outstanding knight that I have ever known.”

“Wow… He’s that strong?” Seo Jun-ho was surprised. She’d never praised anyone so highly before. “How do I compare to him?”

“Hm…” The Frost Queen looked him up and down, which made him feel uncomfortable. She then held up a finger.

“What’s with that? You’re not saying that I can only last for an hour, are you?”

She shook her head.

“…What, ten minutes, then? One minute?”

She shook her head again. “He will be able to rip you apart with a single finger. My knight is powerful.”

“…Hey, that means he’s stronger than you.”

“How many times must I tell you? I was in an extremely weakened state.”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess I don’t need to worry much, then. Kis will be weakened too, right?”

“……” The Frost Queen nodded slowly. She couldn’t deny it. “We can only hope that you are right.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Seo Jun-ho started to trudge through the knee-deep snow toward the open gates.

* * *

The first thing they saw when they entered the castle was the knights’ quarters.

“Knights tend to reside near the castle walls.”

“So that means the civilians live on the inside.”

He didn’t let his guard down, but there was no one around. As they walked for a long while, large estates and buildings filled their sight. They were reminiscent of Medieval French and English architecture.

But there was not a single person in sight. Everywhere they turned, they were only met with a cold wind.

“…It feels like a tomb,” the Frost Queen muttered. The village, no, the Winter Castle was completely desolate.

“It’s different from what you remember, right?”

“Of course. Though I’ve only come here twice…” She smiled bitterly as she looked around. “Children used to play around that frozen fountain. The wives would sit by them and watch their children with satisfaction.

“That restaurant was always filled with people, day and night. The chef was so skilled that even I have tried it. He was very talented.

“Over there! Let’s go over there. The large square was a theater. Wandering minstrels would flock here like it was the northern city and tell stories all day and night.”

Seo Jun-ho glanced down at the Frost Queen. She seemed excited as she explained each area.

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It’s my first time seeing her like this. She’s like a kid.

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Come to think of it, how old was she?

As soon as the question popped into mind, she suddenly stopped, her hand dropping to her side.

“…Well, they are all but memories now.” She seemed to be pulled back into reality as she looked around the dead city.

“Are you okay?” As soon as he expressed his concern, her voice perked up as if she’d never been sad.

“Contractor, you worry too much. I am the queen of the cold who rules over everything. Do you think I would be sullen because of a few old memories?”

“Yeah. That’s exactly how it looks.”

“It is not!” She poked at Seo Jun-ho’s cheeks.

“Should we go inside that restaurant? We might be able to find some information about the castle.”

“Oh? That’s a good proposition.”

As any good player would, Seo Jun-ho set out to gather information first. But when they entered the restaurant, their faces fell.

“…What is this?”

It was like an unfinished game; it looked like a quaint building from the outside, but there was nothing inside. When they checked the other buildings, they were all the same way.

“Geez, we couldn’t find a single thing.”

“It seems that it will be hard to find information.”

He expected her to be disappointed, but she was actually smiling when she turned to him.

“Still, thank you. After you went through all that for me, I feel a little better.”

“Well, it’s all useful for clearing the Gate. Can I ask you something in return?”

“Ask me anything you wish.”

“I’ve been wondering since before; how old are you?”

She answered with a fist to his face.

* * *

Seo Jun-ho looked around the inside of the Winter Castle. The ceilings were high, and statues of knights were lined up down the grand hall. A red carpet was rolled out from the entrance to the end.

“It looks like a throne room. Isn’t red supposed to be the color for a king?”

“It differs with each country. In our land, white is the color of a monarch.”

Seo Jun-ho stepped onto the red carpet. There was a thin layer of ice on top of it.

“This is called the Knight’s Road.”

“Knight’s Road?” He paused. “What does that mean?”

“The Winter Castle was managed by the strongest knight of the empire, Kis. It was somewhat of a shrine for the knights. Those who dreamed of becoming a knight—man or woman—would dream of coming to this place. They believed that if you walked until the end of this path, you would become a great knight.”

“That’s stupid. It’s not like anyone can walk in here anyways.”

“But it wasn’t just a simple rumor.” She looked at the door at the end as she spoke. “Those who became a knight would enter the Winter Castle for a test.”

“What kind of test?”

“They say it’s proof of knighthood. The large door at the end opens to a large tourney hall where a hundred other knights are waiting. They proved themselves by dueling all of them.”

“Why are you telling me that now?” He realized that this was how the Gate would progress.

“Don’t be mad! Is it not enough that I told you before you entered?”

“…Shut up.” Seo Jun-ho had nothing to say. He stepped up to the large door and stared at it long and hard. “A hundred knights… They should be nerfed too, right?”

“I do not know. However, the rule dictates that the duels are done one at a time. No one can disturb the holy battle.”

“One by one…”

There was no Gate that he couldn’t conquer; that had been Seo Jun-ho’s motto when he was Specter.

“There’s nothing I can do before I enter, I suppose. I just need to defeat a hundred knights, right?”

“The knights of the Winter Castle and their captain. After you defeat them all, there will be one person left.”

“Okay, so counting Sir Kissyface, that’s a hundred and one.”

It was the first time he was challenging a Gate with this kind of format, but he felt a little calmer after learning the rules. He didn’t hesitate as he opened the door.

Creak. The heavy doors opened slowly.

It’s big.

Even though the door was within the castle, it opened to the outside. The cold wind howled across the large hall, where a hundred knights stood like statues. Frozen weapons and corpses surrounded them in piles.

Seo Jun-ho noticed the ice that covered them. “Are they alive?”

“I do not know. I don’t sense any life force from them.”

At that moment, there was a loud thud as the door closed behind him. The knights started to move in a dignified fashion, dusting the ice off their shoulders. Their eyes shone blue underneath their helmets.

Shing! Clang! As they unsheathed their weapons, the sound of metal against metal filled the hall. Seo Jun-ho sensed danger from their sharp bloodlust.

“…But why aren’t they attacking?” Seo Jun-ho muttered as he looked at them. He’d unsheathed Black Dragon Fang as well. As if to answer, a fully armed knight spoke from the stage.

– “Sir Horun Simus orders you. Stranger, state your business in this place.”

“I came here to—” He was about to say he was here to kill Kis Bremen, but the Frost Queen yelped, “Contractor! Proof of knighthood! Say that you came here to prove your knighthood!”

“…What?” he asked, confused.

She tugged at his collar. “You have nothing to lose. Just do as I say.”

– “I will ask you once more. State your business. If you do not answer, I will take you for an intruder.”

Seo Jun-ho’s face was doubtful, but he answered anyway. “…I came here to prove my knighthood.”

As she’d said, he had nothing to lose.

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