The protagonist, Luke, was brimming with power, so the next step was clear.
Finally, Luke would head to the northern monster suppression squad, where he was originally meant to go.
Herace reached out his hand to teleport them together.
“What’s this?”
“What do you mean, ‘What’s this?’ It’s my hand.”
“No, seriously, what’s your deal?”
But instead of taking it, Luke was steeped in suspicion.
He had no idea that everything Herace was doing was to hand him an incredible opportunity.
“Can’t you tell? Take my hand.”
“Why should I?”
“Do you want me to knock you out and drag you there, or will you just take it?”
“You bastard…”
If Luke had resisted further, Herace had been prepared to grab him by the collar and teleport anyway.
But in the end, the weaker Luke reluctantly gave in.
Satisfied with his petty villainy, Herace teleported them to the north.
As soon as their bodies, disassembled into particles, returned to their original state, the northern wind assaulted them.
Unlike Herace, who was unaffected by any weather, Luke hugged his arms and shivered uncontrollably.
“Y-you crazy bastard!”
He was shivering so hard that even his voice vibrated.
The blizzard was so fierce it obscured their vision.
The entire landscape was covered in snow, and the wind howled relentlessly.
“See? See? This is why I don’t trust you!”
“Can’t you endure this with sheer willpower?”
“Do I look like I can?”
Luke’s voice, thick with frustration, echoed far into the wind.
His usually healthy skin had turned pale, and he trembled violently, his lips turning the same shade of blue as Herace’s eyes.
Herace felt a twinge of guilt.
But what kind of villain wraps the protagonist in a cozy fur coat and then takes them to a freezing wasteland?
‘Honestly, healing his burns was already way too nice of me.’
Herace worried that readers outside the book might start doubting if he was truly a villain after seeing how diligently he patched Luke up.
He did have an excuse, though.
If Luke, in his weakened state, died fighting the first enemy, it would be an even bigger disaster.
To maintain the image of a cold-hearted villain, Herace let Luke suffer in the cold as he strode forward.
“I-I-I know you bought me as a slave, but this—this is abuse!”
Luke’s loud complaints suggested he was faring better than expected, though he was still irritatingly noisy.
“Ahh…so cold. S-so freaking cold. I’m going to freeze to death!”
The image of a villain doing villainous things felt satisfying.
Herace figured that with each step, Luke’s resentment toward him was steadily building.
“If I die, you’ll lose too, you idiot…! Why are you tormenting me in so many creative ways when I haven’t even wronged you?!”
A bit noisy, perhaps…
“Argh! It feels like my skin is peeling off! It actually freaking hurts!”
“Honestly, you’re louder than the wind.”
A bit noisy wasn’t quite right—Luke was extremely loud.
For an introvert like Herace, who preferred being holed up in a quiet room, the noise was unbearable.
How could someone who claimed to be freezing out-shout a blizzard?
“What do you want me to do about it? It’s cold!”
Herace, thoroughly annoyed, retorted, while Luke, clad in spring clothes, protested furiously against the snowstorm.
His bare hands were red and swollen from the cold.
Was this level of cold too much for an ordinary human?
‘Oh.’
It dawned on Herace.
In the original story, he had similarly dragged Luke to the north without proper clothing, but at least they’d had a shabby carriage to block the wind.
Huddling together in the cramped space would have helped retain body heat.
This method might actually be dangerous.
Judging it unsafe, Herace pulled a blanket out of his dimensional pocket and wrapped Luke up.
“Mmph!”
Of course, he didn’t give it kindly.
He wrapped it so tightly, even Luke’s face was covered, cutting off his air.
Luke flailed, trying to free himself from the blanket cocoon.
“Finally, some peace and quiet.”
“Mmmph!”
Luke seemed to be shouting something, but Herace didn’t bother to interpret his muffled protests.
“Ahhh!”
With Luke’s strength, unwrapping the blanket wasn’t impossible.
Herace saw it as a minor act of spite toward the bothersome protagonist.
“You jerk! Are you trying to kill me for real?”
“My ears are ringing. I gave you the blanket, didn’t I?”
“My skin hurt, damn it! I seriously thought I was freezing to death!”
Despite his lengthy complaints, Luke’s shivering had lessened considerably.
He seemed much better than before.
“If you were going to give it to me, you should’ve done it earlier…stingy bastard…”
“If you keep talking, I’ll take it back.”
Luke clamped his mouth shut.
Finally, it was quiet.
Herace felt much better.
He’d deliberately teleported to a spot far from the monster suppression squad’s base to avoid attracting attention.
They were getting close now—just a bit farther to go.
‘Should I tell the commander I’m selling him as a slave?’
Selling a slave he’d bought for a hundred million gold to the monster suppression squad was absurd, but news of minor noble scandals wouldn’t reach a place like this.
Survival was the only thing that mattered here.
Even if they found it odd, it wouldn’t matter.
A bit of magic would silence anyone.
And most wouldn’t live long enough to gossip.
‘They’re all doomed anyway.’
If the story followed its original course.
A monster’s roar echoed, shaking the snowy plains.
Luke, trailing behind, tensed visibly.
He peeked out from his blanket cocoon, scanning his surroundings warily.
“Scared?”
“Who’s scared?!”
“You’re on edge like a rabbit cornered by a predator.”
“A rabbit? Don’t mess with me! The north is crawling with monsters, and I don’t know if you’ll throw me to them as bait. How could I not be on edge?!”
‘Seeing him on edge like this, I realized that stripping him down and dragging him to the North had done wonders for solidifying my “villain” image.’
Instead of putting on airs, he was straightforwardly wary.
“Not the kind of thing you’d expect from someone who said they’d take on anything that moves.”
“Ugh… If you’re going to feed me to something, just do it already.”
‘As if.’
The protagonist isn’t prey.
If anything, it’s the monsters of this world that exist to feed Luke, helping him grow stronger along the way.
“Shall we test that theory?” I teased.
“What?”
Of course, Luke had no idea what I was implying.
“Hey! You can’t just—one comment and you’re ready to throw someone to the wolves!”
Sensing he’d said too much, Luke scrambled to explain himself.
By then, Herace had already shifted his gaze to a figure looming through the hazy blizzard.
Something massive was heading their way.
“Damn it, why did I have to come all the way to the North?”
“You were sold into slavery.”
“Shut up.”
“No thanks.”
“You’re such an ass.”
Even as he complained, Luke didn’t seem all that scared.
He wasn’t lowering his voice while bantering with me, after all.
Having his hands freed and holding a decent weapon for a change had probably boosted his confidence.
But their chatter didn’t go unnoticed.
The giant snowstorm bear—easily three times Luke’s size—locked its sights on us.
To the starving beast of these snowy mountains, humans were warm, delicious prey.
And with neither of us appearing heavily armed, we must have looked like easy pickings.
The bear charged.
“Holy crap, that thing’s huge,” Luke muttered, voice tinged with irritation.
Yet his body instinctively shifted into a battle stance, his bright blue eyes gleaming with resolve.
And then—
“Nobles! Here?”
“Who’d come all the way out here?”
“Attack! Quickly!”
“Spirits of ice, lend us your strength…!”
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