IRM Chapter 111

Throughout the rest of the journey, the rabbit clung to Silvia’s body, turning its head to look at Ji Chi many times.

It had never seen Ji Chi look like this before. He sat quietly in the sleigh, gazing into the distance, his deep, dark eyes churning with regret and struggle.

The rabbit squirmed restlessly twice. Although this traveling companion Ji Chi sometimes didn’t understand anything and could be quite terrible at times, but still…

Silvia felt the restless rabbit in her hands. “What’s wrong, are you hungry?”

The rabbit reluctantly nuzzled the armor on Silvia’s wrist and asked softly, “Could you put me on the sleigh?”

Silvia thought it was uncomfortable, so she leaned over and placed the snow-white bundle onto the silver-white sleigh.

The sleigh had been modified by the goat old man. The original framework made of fir wood had been covered with a thick layer of metal. This metal layer looked very cold, but when skin touched it, it wasn’t freezing at all—it even carried a hint of warmth.

The rabbit didn’t notice this change. It hopped and jumped onto Ji Chi’s knee, kicking him with its short legs. “What’s wrong with you? Hey, I’ve been with you for so many days, and I’ve only been with the General for half a day, so why are you unhappy?”

Ji Chi glanced down at it and didn’t bother with the thick-skinned rabbit, continuing to agonize over the matter of “whether or not to write Brandon’s dark history into a biography and sell it to Saintess Coralie to read.”

Seeing that Ji Chi wasn’t even mocking it anymore, the rabbit felt things were getting serious. It anxiously ran around in circles, describing the local customs and practices of the Northland in its thin, delicate voice, hoping to divert his attention.

The rabbit’s soft, gentle narration failed to turn back Ji Chi’s heart full of revenge, but instead made Silvia hungry. After learning that the Countess had returned from Saint Trilley, she said nothing but immediately gathered one hundred soldiers and rushed non-stop to the Fortress City to meet her.

The border expeditionary soldiers had all undergone high-intensity training. Continuous traveling wouldn’t harm their bodies, but hunger and fatigue were inevitable.

However, they didn’t complain at all. Instead, they firmly followed behind Silvia, advancing without regret according to orders.

Silvia saw a stretch of rugged black shadows in the distance, with wisps of cooking smoke rising toward the blue sky. That was the shadow of a village. She drew the sword at her waist, pointed toward the village in the snow, and commanded in a deep voice, “Advance toward Tal Village. We’ll camp and rest outside the village tonight.”

“Yes!” the soldiers answered in unison.

The Countess looked at Silvia with a smile. “When did you become so soft-hearted? I remember when you were training soldiers before, running continuously for ten days and ten nights was easy for them.”

“That was during normal times. Recently, more and more berserk beasts have been breaking into the area outside the fortress. They’re already very tired.” Silvia pressed her thin lips together. “If we can see traces of berserk beasts even here, there must be even more near the fortress.”

After a long while, the Countess said heavily, “Next time I’ll return to the fortress on my own. You’re a general—you can’t have just one life in your eyes.”

Silvia looked straight ahead without speaking.

The expeditionary army drew closer and closer to the village. They didn’t enter the village but instead found a sheltered flat area outside and set up white tents one after another.

The soldiers hadn’t eaten in several days. Their eyes glowed green with hunger, yet they still prepared food in an orderly and disciplined manner.

They took out piles of flammable charcoal from the packs under their armor, then added several fire magic crystals full of magical power. As sparks from the flint scattered, bright, warm bonfires rose up.

The Snow Plains Expeditionary Army was harsh in its physical training of soldiers, but in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, they used the highest quality items.

Fresh, tender meat that had been frozen in the packs was roasted over the fire, emitting waves of fatty fragrance. There were few seasonings on the snow plains, and the soldiers were used to bland flavors. They would sprinkle a pinch of snow-white rock salt on the roasted meat, then spread a layer of crystalline honey, and could pick it up with a knife tip to eat.

Sila glanced at the sizzling, oily roasted meat, then looked at the dried meat in its own paws and decisively sidled up to a bonfire, gazing at the soldier roasting meat with red rabbit eyes that were moist and affectionate.

The soldiers were amused by it. They guarded the fortress year-round and only saw brutal, fierce wild beasts. It was rare for such a delicate, soft little animal to dare approach them.

Having finally encountered one willing to let them touch its fur, the soldiers’ faces showed nothing, but their hands were very honest, passing over a piece of fragrant roasted meat while giving the rabbit’s fluffy back a good rub.

One soldier even pulled out a pot from his pack. He cut the dried meat the rabbit had brought into small pieces, threw them into clear, boiling water melted from snow blocks, slowly simmering them into a pot of fragrant meat soup, not forgetting to add several plant roots and stems dug up from beneath the snow layer.

The rabbit tasted it and sighed with satisfaction, hopping and jumping to find Ji Chi, desperately poking at his magic pouch.

While rummaging through his magic pouch, Ji Chi asked it in confusion, “Didn’t you say you wanted to vomit just looking at dried meat?”

The rabbit pulled him toward the bonfire. “You’ll know once you taste it!”

Ji Chi saw the pot of meat soup and understood. “Oh, so you really are a baby who can’t cook. It must have been hard for you gnawing on ingredients for several days.”

The rabbit rolled its eyes at him. “Oh, you—a human who eats sandwiches every day—actually have the courage to talk about me?”

Ji Chi: “That’s because I didn’t have the conditions, understand? Have you heard of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast? A full 108 dishes, and I’ve also… seen it.”

The rabbit laughed mockingly. “Come on, I’d be impressed if you could even roast meat properly.”

Ji Chi was very angry, feeling he’d been looked down upon. He rolled up his sleeves, asked the soldiers for a piece of fresh snow plains lamb, skewered it on a sharpened fir branch, and confidently placed it over the fire to roast, saying he would definitely let it experience the style of a great culinary nation.

However, having eaten bland, watery food for twenty-five years due to his illness, he himself hadn’t experienced the style of a great culinary nation, so how could he possibly let others experience it?

In the end, Ji Chi held up a skewer that was completely charred black, obviously overly salty and sweet, and silently extended it to the rabbit’s mouth, inviting it without changing expression or missing a heartbeat. “Try it, the taste is definitely good.”

The rabbit looked at him suspiciously. Under Ji Chi’s earnest gaze, the innocent baby still believed the black-hearted adult and opened its mouth to take a bite.

This one bite nearly sent the one-year-old rabbit baby away.

Seeing it bury itself in the snow and play dead immediately after eating, Ji Chi pulled at the corner of his mouth in dissatisfaction—was it really that bad?

Thinking this, he also bit off a piece… Then he chewed the food in his mouth stiffly and dully, only able to frantically console himself that having any taste at all was already pretty good, and that one really should be more content as a person…

After one meat skewer disappeared, the two little ones finally settled down, obediently crouching in place, waiting for the soldiers to feed them.

The beastmen on the snow plains were all enthusiastic and generous, unhesitatingly piling the most tender meat and the richest meat soup in front of Ji Chi. Ji Chi also reciprocated, generously taking out Magic Academy limited edition sandwiches to share with them.

The sandwiches baked by Aunt Mary were indeed food that even pampered little mages would scramble for. Even on the snow plains thousands of miles away, they won unanimous praise. However, the beastmen had enormous appetites. To them, the small sandwiches were just a delicious appetizer—the large chunks of roasted meat rich in calories were their main meal.

After eating two fist-sized pieces of roasted meat plus a large bowl of rich wild vegetable meat soup, Ji Chi was pretty much full. He picked up the rabbit that was lying on its back in the snow digesting its food, tucked it in his hands to use as a hand warmer, greeted the Countess, and walked toward the nearby village.

The villagers of Tal Village had long since noticed this army. They had a good impression of the expeditionary army. The people living here knew that it was only because of the expeditionary army’s protection that they could live happily and peacefully without fearing the beasts’ sharp claws and fangs.

However, seeing the expeditionary army at this time still made them feel somewhat guilty. When they saw someone approaching, they all showed strange expressions.

When Ji Chi entered the village, he wasn’t obstructed at all. The villagers busied themselves with their own work, pretending to look natural and normal.

However, acting and disguising was too difficult for the simple-minded beastmen. Bathed in their scattered glances and heavy breathing, Ji Chi felt very helpless, thinking that if he didn’t notice something abnormal, it would actually be disrespectful to them.

Ji Chi sighed and came before a flustered, tall young beastman, amiably starting a conversation. “Hello.”

The young beastman didn’t expect him to approach, immediately widening his eyes and frantically looking around, as if seeking help from off the field.

However, the off-field beastmen had insufficient intelligence quotas and could barely save themselves. They steeled their hearts and turned away pretending not to see, with some even running away in a flash.

The young beastman: “……” He also wanted to run away in a flash…

The young beastman grunted sullenly and asked in a rough voice, “Do you need something?”

Ji Chi smiled. “I wanted to ask, are there any shops selling food here…”

Where he was standing was on the village’s only road, which had been formed by compacting the thick snow layer. Essentially it was also a vast expanse of white. Ji Chi happened to look up and discovered a flash of a snow-white corner of clothing by a wooden house, as if someone was about to come onto the road.

The perceptive young beastman heard the movement even earlier than Ji Chi and immediately grabbed him by the collar at the back of his neck, quickly lifting him into the house!

Ji Chi: “???”

Ji Chi knew he had no malicious intent, so he didn’t resist. After being set down, he naturally found a stool in the house to sit on.

The young beastman was still panting heavily from fright. With a pop, two round brown ears sprouted from the top of his head—

Ji Chi: Oh, it’s a bear. Then that’s fine. Whatever behavior they display can be understood.

The young bear looked out the window, and hearing no other movement, his shoulders slumped as he let out a long sigh of relief. He dragged over a stool and sat beside Ji Chi.

With a bitter face, he complained, “Why did you have to come to the village at this exact time?”

Ji Chi asked him in return, “Who are you hiding from?” He knew that the Church people had suddenly appeared just now, but he wanted to hear the villagers’ views on the Church.

The simple-minded bear was indeed very cooperative. He scratched his ear, his dark brown eyebrows furrowing together. “Are they that Sun Church? Or Shiny Church? Ugh, whatever that Church is called—the monks… they’re so annoying! Every day they make us memorize so many things. If we can’t memorize them, they say we’re heretics and need to receive baptism or something…”

Ji Chi had heard about heretics from the rabbit before, but he didn’t expect to encounter it now. He also frowned and asked, “Did many people from the Church of Light come? Your entire village can’t resist them?”

The young bear showed a troubled expression. “They’re very powerful, and they’re all mages. How would we dare hurt them?”

Most of those living in the Northland were beastmen, and beastman mages were pitifully rare. As a result, anything connected to magic was extremely precious, and the beastmen treated mages as if holding them in their palms with the utmost care.

Ji Chi simply couldn’t bear to look at the bear’s expression. After being speechless for a long time, he asked, “You could ask the expeditionary army for help. The General would warn them, wouldn’t she?”

The young bear was shocked and horrified, hurriedly waving his hands. “Please, please don’t tell the General! Those people said that the expeditionary army are all heretics, and if they offend the God of Light, the god will bring down divine punishment on them!”

“Besides, they’re already working very hard fighting the berserk beasts. We can’t cause trouble for the General.” The bear shook his head, saying firmly and tragically, “Isn’t it just prayers? We’ll definitely memorize them with all our might!”

Ji Chi: “……” Stunned into speechlessness by their logic circuits.

Ji Chi thought about it and still felt the Church had no need to make themselves suffer by making the bears memorize those convoluted prayers, so he pursued the question. “Do they really just make you memorize things and nothing else?”

The young bear showed a horrified expression—what do you mean “just” memorize? Isn’t memorizing terrifying enough?

He expressed with lingering fear, “They said that once we can recite the prayers fluently, the god will hear our requests and grant us protection.”

The bear pointed at his chest. “The protected race will have a mark appear here. That’s a symbol of divine favor.”

After the bear told Ji Chi everything he knew, he led him to the small house’s back door and instructed him, “You’d better leave here quickly and don’t let them see you. Also, don’t tell the expeditionary army! Sigh, we’ll work hard to memorize them, and then maybe we can pray for the Light…Bright god to protect the expeditionary army!”

Ji Chi: “……” He had wanted to remind them that it would be best not to recite those sinister prayers, but discovering that the bear couldn’t even clearly memorize the words “God of Light,” he momentarily didn’t know whether to feel sorry for the Church or the bear…

Thinking this over, he returned to the camp and went straight to find Silvia.

Silvia was sitting in the tent, being held in place by her sister for a facial treatment—a fate worse than death.

The Countess’s brow was tightly furrowed. “How long has it been since you applied rose-orange blossom-basil cream? Oh—your skin is so rough it could be used to sharpen swords.”

Silvia slowly rolled her eyes.

Seeing Ji Chi with an expression that showed he had something to say, she looked delighted and invited him in.

Hearing his description, Silvia’s face darkened. Wolves were animals with an extremely strong sense of territory. Near the fortress, she absolutely would not allow anyone to force the people she protected.

“I understand. I’ll have someone investigate this thoroughly,” Silvia said coldly.