"Hmm. Looks like there's going to be a blizzard. ”

Walking on the trail in the mountains, Dimiteo muttered to himself. As the Crown Prince of the Empire, Dimiteo Greccia is not afraid of the Empire's winter weather. In fact, as the darling of ice and snow, he is better than anyone else at maneuvering in cold winds and snowy environments. However, Dimitea still decided to find a warm place to rest. No matter how good he is at manipulating the secrets of ice and snow, Dimiteo is a human after all. Rather than a long walk through the snow without shelter, he prefers to sit by the stove and drink a glass of cider in comfort.

Compared with the boring court life, Dimiteo misses the days of roaming the continent with his biological father even more. After his biological father's death, he was adopted by Dimitea's uncle, Emperor Dietford III. As the heir, Dimitea's status is no different from that of a true prince. After becoming the owner of the legendary secret weapon "Heavenly Dome", Dimiteo's fame grew, and from the bustling imperial capital to the distant frontiers, people praised the illustrious crown prince from the bottom of their hearts and expected him to become a great emperor in the future.

However, in the bottom of his heart, Di Miteao still hopes that everyone will call him the emperor's nephew instead of the prince. He has been close to his adoptive father for many years, and people have long forgotten that he also has a biological father who has long since passed away. It is true that compared to His Majesty the Emperor, Dimiteo was not a secret warrior and did not hold any important public office, and his biological father Dietmar was an insignificant figure. But Dimiteo still has the same respect for his adoptive father as his biological father - His Majesty the Emperor created the "Heavenly Vault", but the teachings of his biological father taught the young Dimiteo how to behave. Esoteric weapons always find a new owner, but Dimitio Greccia has only one.

The sky was overcast. Putting the sword-shaped "Sky Dome" into the dimensional bag, Dimiteo walked along the mountain road to a small mine nearby. Outside the mine, several dilapidated wooden houses crumbled in the wind. Maybe it's not as good as a real hotel, but what more could you ask for at this time?

It's not that Dimiteo didn't have the idea of "flying straight in". However, thinking of the commotion caused by the sudden fall of a man with frost wings from the sky, Dimitea discarded the idea. In the official proclamation, Prince Dimiteo was "on" with the Imperial envoy to Elrios, returning to the imperial capital along the main road, rather than sneaking away alone. If he could, Dimiteo wanted people to see themselves as ordinary travelers, not as crown princes, and as secret warriors "Heavenly Dome".

"Wait a minute. Here, there are some ...... Wrong. ”

Dimiteo had already walked less than 100 meters away from the wooden houses, but suddenly stopped. He leaned down and took a closer look at the ground beneath his feet.

"It's footprints," he said softly, "more than a dozen people...... It's a few hours now...... Wearing boots, carrying weapons or other heavy objects......"

Dimiteo smiled wryly. It seems that today is also an unlucky day, he thought. Pulling a long sword from the dimensional pouch—not his "Heavenly Dome", but a plain and sharp ordinary steel sword, Dimiteo walked towards the wooden houses.

And in the sky, the first snowflakes have already fallen.

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In one of the wood-paneled houses. There was already a man here - a girl with blond hair and dressed in black.

Unlike the experienced Dimitea, the girl insisted on flying in bad weather, but crashed into the dark clouds and managed to escape, and quickly found a wooden house next to the mine on the ground to rest.

[You shouldn't have rushed in directly from the sky,] Xiaowei pointed out unceremoniously, [If this place is not empty......]

[But there's really no one here,] the girl retorted, and the long flight made her dizzy, [I didn't cause any trouble, did I. 】

As soon as the girl landed in the camp, she immediately discovered from various clues that this was not a working mine. Weapons placed haphazardly, ropes with bloody gas, small "trophies" scattered in a mess......

Apparently, the mine has been overrun by a gang of outlaws. Judging from the footprints on the ground, their large army had left the camp now, perhaps doing some kind of robbery.

In the plank room, the robbers in charge of watching the wind let out thunderous snoring. It wasn't until the girl came up to him that he woke up suddenly, and while making a threat that didn't match his words, he panicked to find his weapon. The girl gently waved the light world and hit him on the back of the neck, and he fainted.

[Can't you just start tapping! Vicky complained. Under the blow of the "Bright World", the poor robber was already angry and inexpensive, and could not say a word. The girl used the tip of the umbrella of the "Bright World" to pick his throat and put an end to his pain.

The girl tried to change the subject, and in the corner of the other end of the room was the body of a captive who had apparently been tortured to death not long ago, and the girl used the pile of debris on the side to cover the two corpses, [The robbers who occupied this place never dreamed that we would be in the center of their camp.] We can serve them beautifully. 】

[At least they are outnumbered......]

The girl was taken aback, "Someone is coming!" 】

Grabbing a short hammer spear that the robbers had left in the corner, the girl walked towards the plank room. In her opinion, once she uses the "Bright World", she can easily kill the enemy in an instant. She wanted to see what she could do without using the Secret Weapon.

"Hey. Only one ......? ”

The girl stared at the person in front of her in astonishment. The man was dressed in pale yellow, draped in a linen cloak, and held a long, glittering sword. He is not tall, handsome, and about the same age as Xiaowei, but there is a kind of fortitude in his eyes that does not match his age. The cold wind messed up his short dark brown hair.

And the expression of the other party, Dimitea, also looked surprised.

"Huh. Girl......? He said suspiciously. In front of her was a petite girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, with short dark blonde hair, a beautiful face, wearing a pure black blouse, trousers and long boots, and holding a worn-out short-handled hammer spear.

[He doesn't seem to be a robber,] Xiaowei said, "Probably a passing traveler, right?] 】

[It seems to be ...... Yes. The girl replied.

But the girl's heart was lamenting...... She didn't want to expose the "Bright World" to unrelated travelers. Not to mention, if the robbers come back, she has one more drag bottle to take care of.

But the "traveler's" next words made the girl wonder if there was something wrong with her hearing—

"I see," said Dimitea, as if in his own words, "did the robbers stay to watch the house?" Even such girls have joined the ...... I can't imagine that the security of the empire has degenerated to such a point......"

Dimiteo wished that the girl would be a traveler like him. However, the one-way footprints outside the camp tell Dimitea a "fact": this young girl is probably also a member of the robbers, or at least their collaborator......

Silent. Only the wind was howling.

“……”

[Cold, calm ......! Xiaowei felt the anger rise in the girl's heart.

[Where the hell am I like a robber!] The girl tried her best to resist the urge to scold the street.

[uh...... Explain, right? He seemed to be a reasonable man. Xiaowei persuaded. But she muttered secretly in her heart: dressed in pitch black, coupled with the worn-out hammer spear in her hand, it is not uncommon for people to mistake her for a robber. Xiaowei couldn't see the girl's expression, but she guessed that it must be fierce.

"Uh......" said the girl, resisting the urge to pierce the other man's head with a hammer spear, "wait." You are mistaken. I mean, I'm not a robber. ”

"And who are you?" Dimitea's tone did not soften.

"I am a traveler like you," said the maiden, "and I am also passing through here." If you're going to deal with those robbers, so am I. We can lay an ambush together—"

But the other party shook his head.

"You're lying." He said.

"Why do you think I'm lying?" The girl felt that her patience had reached the limit.

"I looked carefully at the footprints outside," Dimitea whispered, "only outward, not inward." All the footprints were left a few hours ago, if you were a traveler who arrived after the robbers left...... Your footprints should be left on the outside. ”

“……”

[I'll just say it!] Xiaowei exclaimed, "You're going to be in trouble like this! 】

[Don't say it......] The girl felt that her head was too big.

"So, you don't seem to believe me, do you?" Her tone also became cold. The robbers of the lookout have been killed by themselves, and there is only ...... left to explain the problem.

"Listen to me—I don't want to hurt you," Dimiteau was still trying his futile persuasion, "can you tell me how many of you are and why you are here?" As long as you cooperate, I will ......"

"Good. Then my answer is - I don't know. The girl replied angrily.

"I see," Dimitea nodded, his tone a little sad, "since you're so stubborn, then I don't have a choice." He secretly felt sorry for what kind of experience had led the girl in front of him to embark on the path of an outlaw.

Let's hope her resistance isn't too fierce. At least give me a chance to capture her alive...... Dimiteo thought silently. However, he didn't know that the girl's thoughts were exactly the same as his.

[This battle is meaningless......] Xiaowei secretly said to herself.

[As long as he doesn't resist too outrageously, I have time to catch him and then explain it to him.] The girl replied "optimistically".

The girl's choice of the hammer spear as a weapon was not entirely on a whim. The handle made of hardwood was covered with a thin layer of metal, and the iron-cast hammer was fitted with a sharp spear: in terms of length, the short hammer in the girl's hand was not much different from that of the "Bright World", and the girl could also use this hammer to perform her skillful piercing and blunt strikes. The only fly in the ointment is that the hammer spear cannot open its umbrella for defense like the "bright world".

The girl's instructor, Old Man Burns is proficient in a variety of weapons, but this does not include the hammer spear. In Burns's view, the long-handled hammer spear was more suitable for horse combat, while the short-handled hammer was only a spare weapon for crossbowmen. He advised the maiden to practice epee. The epee can not only exert the girl's excellent arm strength among the secret warriors, but also exercise the girl's combat skills. However, due to lack of time, the girl did not have time to complete her swordsmanship training. On the premise of not using secret ritual weapons, the girl can only choose weapons that are similar to the use of the "Bright World" as much as possible.

Just fly his sword and it's all over...... The girl thought.