Cave King – 260

Chapter 260 – A Sled!?

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The Mappa Go arrived at the frozen surface once again.

And so we prepared to depart.

“Oh, this is warm!”

I said as I put on the orange coat that Rienna had brought.

The material was quite thick, and it was long enough to reach past your knees. However, in spite of its appearance, it was rather light.

Rienna replied as she put on a black coat.

“These coats? The cloth was made from Cave Spider thread, as well as slime fluids. As I thought that winter could come to Sheorl, it would be good to prepare some cloth in advance.”
“You were looking that far ahead.”
“Heh. Sheorl is an island where the unexpected continues to happen.”

Whether it was a leviathan or a giant bird or other monsters…
Well, she was not wrong.

“I suppose everyone has been thinking…”
“Yes, about the future.”

Rienna said with a smile. But then she shook her head as if remembering something.

“Also, there are magic stones attached to them. They have fire and wind magic recorded in, so that warm wind will heat up your face. It will keep your clothes and body dry, and also be reversed to cool you down.”
“Also, it has a shield activated, so it’s hard like armor.”

Fule put on a green coat and then handed me a pair of black boots.

“These boots are made of the same material. Wind magic comes out from the bottom, so you don’t get buried in the snow. Mappa tested them, and you can even walk on water.”
“Huh… Those are some amazing features. This will make walking a lot easier. And we have the Teleportation Stones, so we don’t need to worry about traveling.”

Rienna nodded.

“Indeed. But there is one other useful thing.”

She said as she picked up a shield that was longer than she was tall.

It was a thick mithril shield and in the shape of a teardrop. It was so big that it could probably be used as a boat.

“A mithril shield?”
“Yes. However, it can also be a sled. We can slide down mountains and through snow fields. As for the rest, Mr. Mappa said…”

Mappa then shook his head.
I suppose he wanted to keep it a secret.

“Yes, Mr. Mappa. There are other things, but Lord Heal can learn about them later. Now, Fule will carry this.”
“I see… Alright, let’s go outside then…”

I said, and then Mappa opened the door of the Mappa Go.

A chilly air blew, but it was not too cold.

And so we stepped outside.

On top of the frozen lake, there was soft snow piled up, and so we did not slip.
Furthermore, the boots were already working, so my feet did not sink.

Rienna and Fule were also testing the boots.

“I brought some snow shoes and walking sticks, just in case. But it looks like there will be no need for them.”
“Yes! I can walk normally! Though, we didn’t plan to walk much anyway…”

But Rienna interrupted Fule.

“Lord Heal. We are ready to go.”
“Alright. We have all our equipment… And just to confirm, none of us will be moving alone. If there is a snow storm, we can get lost very easily. And so we must stick together.”

Rienna replied cheerfully.

“Yes! I will stick close to you.”
“Stick close… Well, it’s not like we could separate.”

Fule said.

“What do you mean?”
“Ah, nothing. Don’t worry. That’s all.”
“I see. That’s comforting.”

I said, and then I turned to Mappa and Number 15.

They would follow us from a short distance away, while carrying the food and camping equipment.

“Sorry to make you carry the heavy stuff… But thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Please call us if you need any help. We will rush to your aid.”

Number 15 said, and the others bowed.

Mappa then returned to the Mappa Go and closed the door.
Even here, he was not wearing a shirt…

In any case, it was time to go.

“So, Lord Heal. Which way?”
“A place with no mountains… Is what I would like to say, but we are surrounded by mountains in every direction. And so I think we should head south first. If this is Barleon, then it should get warmer if we go south. And…”
“That is where Sanfaris is, right? Very well. Let’s head to the south.”

Rienna said, and then Fule took out the great shield.

“Now, let’s slide! As it has wind magic, it should push forward.”
“We’re using it already? I was going to walk… Well, this is a flat field…”
“Yes. In fact, I doubt we’ll be doing much walking at all this time.”
“Huh?”

Fule put the shield down so it was like a boat.
She then climbed in and attached a belt around her waist.
I suppose it was to prevent her from falling out.

“Now, Lord Heal! Get in behind me! When you sit in, use the seatbelt. Princess, you sit behind him.”
“Uh, alright.”

And so I sat behind Fule and wrapped the belt around my waist.

“Lord Heal. A little closer. You have to be hugging me, or the princess won’t fit in.”
“Fine…”

And so I wrapped my arms around Fule’s waist.

I felt a little bad, but Fule didn’t seem to mind.

“Ri-Rienna?”

She had suddenly hugged me tightly from behind.

“Now it is quite warm! This is the best way to deal with the cold.”
“I suppose…”

Though, the coats were more than enough already.

“I was just thinking now. We could have used the ryukin to make horse or dog-shaped golems to pull the sled…”
“Well.. Mr. Mappa and Number 15 can bring it later! Now, let’s go. We are all strapped in now!”

Rienna said, not loosening her grip around me.
Well, I was satisfied with what we had now.
It would not be good to stick out too much.

“Ye-yes…Fule. Let’s go.”
“Understood!”
“…!?”

The sled shot forward suddenly, and we rushed through the fields of snow.

“Oh! It’s so fast!”

Fule said excitedly.

“Fu-fule. It’s too fast!”
“Huh!? But we have to hurry before the sun goes down! For all we know, we might be days away from any human settlements… And we want to get this over with quickly, right?”
“Th-that is true, but…”

We were moving so fast that I had to hold Fule tightly or I might fall off.
At the same time, Rienna was hugging me tightly.

“…Wait! Fule, if you don’t slow down, we’ll crash into the forest!”

We were almost in the southern forest now.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Look.”
“Huh!? We floated?”

The shield moved away from the snow fields and continued to fly through the air.
We rose higher and higher until we were over the forest and flying above the mountain.

“It can fly…”
“Yes! It had levitation stones inside.”
“Mappa sure is amazing… But if someone were to see us…”
“Don’t worry, he said there are magic stones inside with concealment magic.”
“We might as well have just used a Mado Armor then…”
“But those take longer to make. And so… Ah, we’re almost at the top.”

Fule then made the shield land quietly on the snowy mountain peak.

“Now, the south… Woah…”

Fuel turned her head to the south and then her face went pale.

Far into the horizon, there were mountain ranges covered in snow.

Rienna looked into the distance and muttered.

“I can’t see any human settlements… It’s just mountains as far as you can see.”
“If we are on the Barleon continents, only the Heltia mountain ranges are this big.”
“Heltia… That is to the north, isn’t it? I heard that it is a place that humans and monsters avoid. Still, if we head south, we can enter Sanfaris territory.”

I nodded.

“That’s true. But no one has ever made it through these mountains before… If we walked, it might take half a month to reach Sanfaris. However…”

Fule turned to me.

“With this shield, we might reach it tomorrow! Alright, let’s continue on our way then!”
“Fine. But please go a little slower… Woah!?”

The shield rose into the air once more, and then rushed down the mountain at an incredible speed.

 

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