Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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Having roamed the frozen sea with the sailors, I found that not all the seas were frozen.

There was an end to the frozen path, and beyond it flowed the still blue seawater.

As I gazed at the frozen sea, I recalled a story told by a boy.

It was the tale of the dragon Kashpa, who slumbered in the snowy mountains.

The boy had said that because of Kashpa’s wrath, this winter would be prolonged, bringing unbearable cold.

Could it be that this frozen sea was also under the influence of the dragon Kashpa?

The sailors seemed to reminisce about Kashpa as they began to murmur among themselves.

Amidst their voices, the name Kashpa emerged.

Then the captain raised his voice, scolding the sailors.

“Everyone, quiet down! Do you think that distant Kashpa would come here? Get back to breaking ice!”

Following the captain’s orders, the sailors moved swiftly.

They pulled out massive hammers or sharp awls to start creating a path.

The ice, made from special mana, had not melted over the many years, and fortunately, its hardness wasn’t much different from regular ice.

I too began to help the sailors carve a path.

Wrapping mana around my sword to form a thin blade, I easily pierced through the ice.

“Indeed, bringing you along was a wise decision.”

The captain expressed great satisfaction as he watched my efforts.

The path-making task continued for quite a while.

With the sun rising and setting, we pushed the broken ice and cut pieces out to the sides.

One day, while carving the path, one of the sailors posed a question to me.

“Hey, wizard, can you create a huge fireball?”

“How huge?”

“For example… as big as our ship?”

“If I have enough mana, it would be possible.”

“Does that mean we’re low on mana?”

“That’s right.”

“Magic sure is a complicated technique.”

What the sailor wished for was for me to create a giant flame to melt all this massive ice away.

Sadly, that wasn’t feasible at the moment.

That evening, just as I was about to settle down for the night after dinner, I felt the three mana circles formed around my heart spinning rapidly, and one of the innermost circles vanished.

“Ah…”

I gaped in confusion.

The mana circle hadn’t completely vanished; it had simply merged fully with the mana I possessed.

I realized I could draw upon the chilly mana from the Karum Mountain Range at any time.

The inner world I had created grew deeper, and my total available mana increased slightly.

What a pleasant sensation.

I placed a cold star atop the endlessly spread little world.

*

The end of the work spanning about ten days was approaching.

Seawater began to fill the long-open ice path, and the ship started to move.

If we rowed forward just like this, we could completely escape the frozen sea path.

Our voyage was finally on course.

“Set sail!”

The captain shouted energetically. As his voice rang out, the sailors began to row and soon burst into a merry song.

The sailors’ singing served as a magic that helped temporarily forget their hard labor.

As the ship emerged from the frozen sea path into the blue waters, the sailors sang even louder.

After that, the voyage faced no significant problems.

Aside from the fact that we had to ration our food due to the prolonged journey beyond what we expected.

The ship sped along. Sometimes we faced fierce winds and even caught glimpses of massive monsters swimming in the sea from afar.

On the 34th day since the voyage began, we finally arrived at the Karma Empire’s Port.

*

After arriving at the Karma Empire’s Port, a guest came aboard the ship.

He claimed to be a public official from the Karma Empire, and the captain seemed familiar with him, shaking hands and discreetly slipping him a pouch of coins.

When I asked what he had done, the captain replied.

“Bribe, you see. The entry procedures are quite annoying and lengthy, so we settle it this way.”

“Oh…”

“If you get tangled up in any annoying matters in the Karma Empire, just slip some money to the guards in charge, and most of your issues should be resolved quickly.”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“Illegal? Ha! It’s only illegal if you get caught!”

I took the captain’s words to heart.

With such refreshing laughter, the captain spoke to me.

“Well then, wizard. It has been a pleasure traveling with you.”

“Oh, likewise.”

“We’re planning to return to Lupen in about a month, so come find us if you need anything. I’ll make sure to take you for free again.”

After saying goodbye, the captain had a couple of sailors help me carry my luggage to the inn.

The sailors seemed to regret parting ways with me, mentioning something about missing their daughter back home.

The Karma Empire’s port was unimaginably larger than Lupen.

Tall buildings and clean roads, the state of security seemed good too, with no drunken louts sprawling on the streets.

Of course, they would freeze to death if they were sprawled outside in this weather.

The sailor who helped me with my luggage recommended a decent inn.

He praised the cooking there, and it seemed to be true, as the place was packed with patrons even though it wasn’t lunch hour.

I paid for a week’s stay and received a room key.

Now it was time to part ways with the sailors.

They carried my luggage to my room before leaving cheerfully.

After unpacking, I changed into comfortable clothes and headed downstairs, ordering meat, drinks, and hot water to wash up.

With my pockets feeling sufficiently full, it was only natural to indulge a little.

I washed my body with the water the inn staff brought and gulped down some alcohol.

My thirteen-year-old girl’s body, tender to the effects of alcohol, was completely drunk before I even finished one bottle.

“Ah…”

The warmth from the bath and the hazy state induced by the alcohol made it hard to think straight.

Before I could cause any trouble, I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over myself.

The steady bed on solid ground soothed my mind quickly and comfortably.

*

“Ugh…”

I crawled out of bed feeling a hangover.

Judging by the nausea, it seemed the food I ate yesterday hadn’t digested well.

I opened the window to greet the cold air.

The fierce morning sea breeze blew in like ice, fully waking me up.

I looked at my belongings huddled in the corner of the room.

I had come here to process ogre leather to make equipment.

There was no need to rush, but with nothing else to do, I quickly got dressed to head out.

To avoid the cold, I layered on two pairs of cotton pants, socks, and deer leather boots.

For my top, I wore a thin cotton tee and a heavily padded gambeson, topped off with a wolf fur hood and Ice Horn’s cloak, securing my sword at my side to finish.

I threw the rolled-up ogre leather over my back and stepped out of the inn.

In a foreign land, I couldn’t afford to get lost on these unfamiliar streets.

I stopped by a general store near the inn to buy a map of the city.

“Let’s see…”

I quickly unfolded the map to check my location. Although it wasn’t a well-detailed map with all facilities marked, I identified my position through the iconic structures shown.

According to the map, the leather workshop I sought was up through the center of the city.

I hurriedly moved along.

As I walked along the street, I arrived at the central plaza of the city.

There were plenty of sights, with minstrel musicians handling instruments and puppet masters putting on short plays with puppets.

The children were mainly the ones enjoying the puppet shows.

I paused for a moment to watch the kids.

The children, holding their parents’ hands tightly, smiled brightly, and their joyous faces tugged at my heartstrings a little.

“Hmm…”

After hesitating briefly, I approached a guard standing on the street.

“Excuse me.”

The guard slightly tilted his head at my question.

Though he didn’t respond, his expression didn’t seem unfriendly, so he would likely assist me.

“Where should I go to send a letter?”

“A letter? Planning to write home?”

“Umm, something like that. Can I send it to a foreign country?”

“It’s best to head to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Thank you.”

As I nodded my head in thanks, a faint smile appeared on the guard’s face.

I unfurled the map and headed straight towards the Adventurer’s Guild.

I discovered later that even letter delivery was a job for adventurers.

The receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild lent me an elegant-looking envelope, stationery, and a fountain pen.

I immediately began to write my letter.

It’s Emily.

I’m doing well. I won’t be coming back.

It was short but impactful.

I nodded as I read what I had written.

After waiting for the ink to dry, I folded the letter, placed it inside the envelope, and sealed it with wax.

I immediately handed the letter to the receptionist.

“I’m sending this.”

“Sure, what’s the address?”

“Address… Aben Kingdom…”

I paused in the middle of stating the address.

I knew the kingdom’s name but didn’t recall the name of the village I lived in.

The receptionist blinked at me, as if asking what the problem was.

“Hans Village Chief’s Place…”

“Hans Village Chief’s Place…? Are you sure that’s how you want it written?”

“Oh, yes. Emily’s home… please add that too.”

“Hmm… Aben Kingdom, Hans Village Chief’s Place, Emily’s home.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“The cost is 2 gold.”

I pulled out the money and handed it to the receptionist.

He informed me that it would take over a month for the letter to arrive.

The simple fact of sending the letter left me feeling at ease.

With lighter steps than before, I exited the Adventurer’s Guild and headed to the leather workshop.

The street where the workshops were was filled with a dreadful stench of chemicals, making my head hurt as I entered the largest workshop.

Once again, due to the smell, I nearly got a headache.

“Welcome!”

Perhaps it was because it was the Empire; the leather workshop employed separate staff for sales and service.

I spoke to the approaching young male employee.

“I’d like to place a crafting order.”

“Oh, a crafting order? Could you please wait a moment?”

The employee kindly responded to my request as he went to the back of the shop to get some paper and a pen.

It seemed he was going to write down an order form.

“Do you have the leather prepared?”

“Yes.”

“I see… You have the leather ready. What kind of leather is it?”

“Ogre.”

“Ogre… Ogre…?”

The employee tilted his head at my response.

He looked at me as if to confirm that it was really ogre leather.

I nodded my head.

“Could you please wait a moment?”

The employee left those words behind and disappeared into the back of the store.

After a brief absence, he returned with a man, and seeing how the other employees greeted him, it appeared he was the owner of this workshop.

He immediately began questioning me when he met me.

“So, you’re the one with the ogre leather?”

“Yes.”

“Let me take a look.”

I nodded and unveiled the ogre leather that I had been carrying on my back.