I JUST WANT A PEACEFUL LIFE

"You…" said the other Guardian.

Before the guardian could speak further, ""H-How?!!" said one of the Respected Ones.

"T-That skill… Who are you?!!" asked the Respected Ones furiously.

"Me? I am just a poor old lumberjack." said the old man casually.

As everyone wanted to retort his answer, terrifying pressure released from the old man. *CRACK* *CRACK* The nearby snowy ground cracked from the pressure before it suddenly went without a trace.

"Huft… Forgive this poor old man. It's been a while since this old man moved his old bone. Guess you can't exactly go against your own nature." said the old man.

"*Clap* Ohh… Don't make me hold you here. I guess you have a very important matter to do." said the old man before disappearing under everyone's eyes along with the Gram Variant.

In the end, the Guardian and Respected Ones could only resume their journey toward Frostfall City. Some, especially the old Respected Ones, still deeply thought about the mysterious old man.

Unfortunately, all these interactions and events remain oblivious to the young mistress inside the protective carriage.

At the same time, the sudden pressure the old man releases is perceived by many people in the nearby area. One is Angus, who is still accompanied by his family sleeping. Another one is Nabe.

'What a terrifying pressure… It seems this land is more interesting than I thought.' thought Nabe with a smirk before going back to reading her book.

After witnessing the ritual Jayna has done before, Nabe keeps observing this magical land silently in her surroundings. Judging from Angus' short explanation and story from the two drunken female dwarves, she could understand a little bit about their situation and this area.

She could even guess that Angus never planned to abide by the rules of this land in the first place since he brought their contract and planned to summon her from the start.

Though Nabe didn't truly like being used as a shield by Angus for those Guardians, she isn't angry at him since visiting this magical land is worth more than her petty ego. Like Silvia, Nabe also recognizes this place is unique and possibly the sealed tomb of the Forgotten Ones.

Nabe never expected such a place in the Humane Region, not too far from Nirvas. It could be said that the Heart Kingdom indirectly protects this place. Otherwise, countless people would have tried to conquer it long ago.

Many couldn't ignore being transcendent and stronger than seventh grade. As for the Gram Wave that spawned, she just glances at it without overthinking about it.

Besides Gram's unique trait, Nabe doesn't care about the monster wave. The sudden appearance of monsters is normal and not truly magical, especially in places with high mana concentrations.

Otherwise, the monster will not become the majority population of the whole world. Even back at Nabe's home, there is a period where monsters are born at once and create a monster horde phenomenon like those monster habitats.

This is a regular occurrence that anyone in this world has already accepted. As long as a place has high mana density, be it elemental or non-elemental, it has a higher chance of producing many monsters at once and even becoming a natural monster habitat if left alone.

In some sense, the Guardian is already doing a great job preventing the whole place from becoming another monster habitat by culling down the Gram through generations.

Though it cost countless lives, it at least prevented this place from becoming like a monster nest and forbidden land for people.

As Nabe returns to her reading, she suddenly feels a sharp tuck from her mind.

'Fufufu… Stupid lizard, you finally woke up from your madness. Well, I am quite busy. So, take care of yourselves for now.' thought Nabe inwardly.

At the same time, far away from the Everwhite Frozen Lake, King Leon suddenly frowned and looked in the Everwhite direction.

"Is something wrong?" asked Duchess Amberblaze from the side.

"I feel that old man for a moment." said King Leon.

"Is he here to stop us?" asked Duchess Amberblaze vigilantly.

"No, he is too far from us. Though such a distance is meaningless to us. But, he immediately retracted his aura back." said King Leon.

"Should we prepare to fight?" asked Duchess Amberblaze.

"Don't worry about him, Lia. He will come out rather than hide like this if he wants to fight us. You should know better than anyone about his stubbornness regarding honorable fighting."

"*Huft* True. Then, how about the kids? Is there any more news from them?" asked Duchess Amberblaze.

"Nope. There is still no news from them since their last reply." said King Leon.

"Should I.. I mean we send a team to check on them?" asked Duchess Amberblaze.

"*Sigh* Lia, I know you still feel guilty. But you should trust them. They had already survived a more dangerous situation before this. Besides, that old man may not harm them and even protect them if he knows Jayna is my daughter." said King Leon.

"Y-You are right." said Duchess Amberblaze.

"Alright, let's rest for now. I believe I already gave enough time for them to think and decide. We will be quite busy tomorrow." said King Leon.

"Huft… Okay." said Duchess Amberblaze before joining King Leon on their bed.

King Leon and Duchess Amberblaze stay in the most luxurious rooms in the Frostfall Castle while negotiating with the Respected Ones. The whole room was already decorated and prepared for King Leon's stay.

Despite the cozy and warm atmosphere, they remain vigilant since they are technically inside enemy territory. A few mysterious hooded people also guard their room all day without eating or drinking.

Some speculated about these people's identities, but no one dared to invoke King Leon's wrath by approaching them casually. The only one who could guess these people's identities is Count Flamewaver.

Since he works in the intelligence department, he knows a few national secrets of the Heart Kingdom. Count Flamewaver is certain these people are not human but the legendary artificial intelligence, Homunculus.

Many people were unaware of the Homunculus's prowess and could only speculate about it. However, Count Flamewaver knew exactly how dangerous this artificial intelligence was. Each has the combat prowess of a full-fledged sixth grader and almost infinite mana.

Although King Leon only brings four of them, it is enough to decimate Everwhite instantly. This also shows King Leon's seriousness in his threat to go to war and raze the whole Everwhite to nothingness.

Time passed, and soon the sun rose slowly on the horizon. Unfortunately, the bright lively sunlight never reached the Everwhite Frozen Lake and its basin.

When they wake up from their rest, Angus and the others find a thick black cloud covering the whole sky, preventing any sunlight from piercing through the frozen ground. Combined with the thick mist the frozen lake naturally produces, it is hard to differentiate between night and day.

Seeing another magical phenomenon, Angus glances at the drooling Anna sleeping on the bed. Unlike the restless Jayna, who occasionally has nightmares during the night, Anna sleeps without caring for the world like usual.

After waking the sleepyhead, "Anna, did you do this?" asked Angus while pointing at the dark sky.

"*Yawn* Ermmm… Ehh… Is it still night? Daddy, Mommy, Why wake up Anna? It is still night." complained Anna while pointing her finger up.

"It's already morning. The dark cloud is preventing the sun from coming through. So, were you the one that did it?" asked Angus again.

"Ehh… No way!! Anna is sleeping the whole time. Silly Daddy. How could Anna do this while sleeping? Did Daddy poop while sleeping?" asked Anna back.

"Why does it suddenly become poop? Urgh… Forget it. So, you are not the one that is doing this?" asked Angus.

"Ermm… Anna didn't do it. But Anna v1 did it. Wait… Where is Anna v1? Did Anna v1 play without Anna?" asked Anna in a confusing way.

"Urgh… I get it. So, can you undo this whole dark weather?" asked Angus after discerning her confusing words.

"Anna could. But Anna won't do it." said Anna gloomily.

"Hmm… Did you not want to let go of those Guardians?" asked Angus.

"Mhm." nodded Anna without expression.

"*Sigh* Fine. Then, can you only let the sun go through our area?" asked Angus.

Before Anna could answer, "Angus, Anna, the breakfast is ready." called Jayna.

"Food!!" replied Anna excitedly before running towards a mountain of meat prepared by Brigida and Lilith.

Seeing this, Angus could only release a deep sigh before joining everyone.

"Don't worry about it. Anna will never harm us. She is my daughter." reassured Jayna from the side.

'And that's exactly the problem here.' thought Angus inwardly.

Unlike the restrained Jayna, Anna could become very grudgeful and will do anything she wants without caring about the consequences.

"Well, you are right. But we still need sunlight to forge your sword." said Angus.

"Talking about it. Brat, I think you should start by explaining to us what kind of sword you want to make," chimed Nabe.

*Rain Falling Down~* *Rain Falling Down~* Just before Angus could reply, everyone heard a familiar childish voice.