Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 418: A Slightly Strange Honeymoon (2)

We knew that the northern cities were cold and brisk.

But it was only mid-October. I hadn’t expected snow to already be falling.

The world we saw after crossing the barrier was blanketed in pure white. The snow had already piled up to our ankles, crunching underfoot, and our white breaths rose into the air like chimney smoke.

“Unnie, look at this. A snowman. Tada. Pretty good, right?”

Among us, the most childlike and bright-spirited Narmee had already balled up snow with her gloves and crafted a proper snowman. Her skills were surprisingly good.

Of course, Mirna scolded her, saying, “Narmee, we’re past the barrier now. This isn’t the time to play.”

Narmee only puffed out her cheeks and muttered, “They say no people or monsters really come near this squirrel-hole area, though.”

Shk.

Stella scanned the area.

“Indeed, I don’t feel any particular presences nearby. Who would’ve thought such a quiet place could exist beyond the barrier?”

It’s said that all manner of monsters and traps lie in wait beyond the Clarice Grand Barrier.

Even the most skilled individuals can be gravely injured—or never return—if they let their guard down.

Of course, with our party’s strength, a surprise attack wouldn’t be fatal. Everyone here was highly capable, and more than anything, Ayra seemed to be in excellent condition.

Shk shk.

Narmee continued rolling up snow and crafting more snowmen. Mirna once again warned her, “Narmee, I told you—this is no time to be playing around,” her tone like a referee giving a second yellow card.

But this time, Narmee clearly had something in mind.

“I’m not playing. Just watch. Hokus, Pokus—!”

A curious incantation. Then, the knee-high snowmen began to stir one by one, rustling and squirming as they stood upright. They moved, as if alive.

“Cool, right? I shared a bit of my energy with them. They're my little Narmees. You could call them my twin siblings—though they don’t really look like me.”

Seeing that, Mirna looked a bit horrified.

“Narmee, that’s necromantic magic. If you mess around with that carelessly, you could seriously hurt yourself!”

“It’s fine. I’ve practiced a lot. Hehe, watch this—everyone, spread out and keep watch. Report back if anything happens!”

Shhhk.

At her command, the snowmen moved with strange, jerky motions and dispersed into the surroundings. Using reanimated snowmen as sentries? That was a pretty clever idea.

Still—breathing life into the inanimate?

That was a level above simply reviving skeletons or corpses. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a full level—or even a level and a half—beyond ordinary necromancy.

When did Narmee improve her skills this much?

Narmee explained,

“When I controlled that dragon at the Draco Cathedral, something really clicked. I even revived ancient dragon bones—snowmen are nothing in comparison.”

So that’s what happened.

It seemed she had crossed some kind of ‘wall’ back when she raised that enormous dragon skeleton. Whatever the case, thanks to the snowman sentries Narmee had created, we felt significantly more at ease.

If something happened, the snowmen would alert us.

With a relaxed # Nоvеlight # pace, Elga said,

“I used to think necromancy was cowardly. But to be honest, it has plenty of practical uses. On that note—Mirna, don’t you have any tricks of your own?”

“......”

Mirna kept her lips tightly shut, clearly refusing to take the bait.

To begin with, Narmee and Mirna specialized in different areas.

Narmee was a necromancer. Mirna was an exorcist. They had trained to complement each other. So it wasn’t shameful that Mirna couldn’t do the same things Narmee could.

Everyone just had to play to their strengths.

And then a thought struck me.

“Before we head out, maybe we should designate roles.”

In RPGs, every party has defined roles.

Warrior, mage, archer, priest, and so on. Each person uses their occupational strengths to support the group.

And not just in games—people in real life also liked to divide up tasks. Dividing labor and focusing on what you’re good at drastically improves efficiency and productivity.

Among us, the ones with the most real-world experience were Elga, who had commanded soldiers in wartime, and Stella, who had thrived in adventurer parties.

Stella spoke.

“I figured this would be the most efficient setup: I’ll act as the scout, and Mirna and Narmee will handle any enemies that approach directly.”

Elga added,

“Then Teo, you’ll focus on barrier spells, and Ayra can blast things with magic. I can’t move as quickly, so I’ll give commands from the center.”

It was a solid formation.

A lineup structured around protecting Elga, who might be the most physically vulnerable among us, gave a good sense of stability. Everyone seemed to agree without complaint.

With roles well distributed, we moved forward without hesitation. But one thing continued to bug me...

“It’s weird. It’s way too quiet.”

Just like Stella said—the snow-covered forest beyond the barrier was eerily silent. We’d been walking this forest trail for about an hour.

By now, you’d expect to run into at least a small monster or two. But all we’d seen were small birds and rabbit-like creatures.

Shk.

Lifting a four-eared rabbit off the ground, Stella said,

“There’s wildlife here. These guys usually don’t live where monsters roam. That’s how people judge whether an area is dangerous. So if this guy’s here...”

Ayra spoke.

“It means monsters haven’t been seen in this forest for quite some time.”

Narmee asked,

“Back near Gargarta Fortress, there were monsters everywhere, right? Where’d they all go? Did they get burned up when Teo started that fire?”

Sniff sniff.

Even now, if I sniffed the air, I could still catch a hint of burning. That fire we started at Gargarta Fortress must’ve scorched a huge portion of the northern forest.

But Ayra shook her head.

“The monsters left. Maybe they did flee from the fire, just like you said, Narmee.”

“Left?”

“Probably toward the same place we’re headed. There have been reports for a while now that monsters are gathering at the ruins beneath that broken sky.”

Shk.

We all lifted our heads, gazing northward toward the shattered sky. Like a windowpane cracked and split. That was where we were headed. If Ayra was right, and all the monsters were converging there—

This journey might be harder than we thought.

Clap!

At that moment, Elga clapped her hands.

“Okay, we get the picture. Let’s keep moving—standing still is freezing! If I’d known it’d be this cold, I’d have brought extra layers!”

“Hehe, Erganes, don’t be such a baby,” Ayra teased.

She brushed it off as whining, but it was true—temperatures were dropping the farther we went. The gear we were wearing was designed for autumn.

To keep walking in this region, we’d need winter-grade fur or thick coats.

But none of us had expected snow, so we hadn’t packed accordingly. At this rate, we might all catch colds.

Then something came fluttering down from above.

As I caught it, Stella leapt down from a tree and said,

“Solar Peppers. Eat them—they’ll keep your body warm for a few hours. I brought them just in case something like this happened.”

They were literally red peppers. When I bit into one with a crisp crunch, the spice hit me hard—I almost teared up. A taste truly hostile to nymphs.

But my body warmed up instantly.

Stella said,

“Still, we can’t just keep walking without a plan. It’s daytime now, so it’s fine—but when night comes, it’ll be a whole different story.”

Mirna asked,

“How long will it take us to reach that broken sky area?”

“At this pace, maybe a week? Maybe longer. It’s hard to tell distance because that fracture is just so massive.”

A week of walking in this cold. No wonder everyone looked exhausted, even though we’d started the journey so full of energy.

***

“Teo, why are you already awake? Isn’t your shift still an hour away?”

Stella, who was tending the campfire inside a lucky-to-find cave, looked at me and clicked her tongue softly. I sat beside her and answered lightly.

“I’m the one who suggested this trip. It felt right that I should put in a bit more effort than the others and take the tougher shifts.”

“Hmm, admirable of you.”

Pang!

Stella slapped my butt with her palm.

It felt like a kindergarten teacher praising a child—kind of embarrassing. Well, Stella and I are probably more than a few grades apart...

Shk.

As I sat next to her, she draped a fur-covered blanket over my back. Then, teasingly, she said, “First time we’ve shared a blanket since getting married.”

We hadn’t done anything suggestive, of course, but feeling her warmth was nice. It had been four days now since we crossed the barrier.

Everyone was so tired that once they fell asleep, they slept like the dead.

This morning, we’d contacted Marmar in the royal capital and had her send over fur clothing and supplies through the dimensional carpet in my office. Thanks to that, we were well-stocked.

Still, camping in a remote land was exhausting.

Stella asked,

“So, did you ask Marmar how things are in Angmar?”

“Well, Duke Reinhardt seems to have cleaned things up for now. But the Church is furious. They’re preparing to send a pursuit squad.”

“A pursuit squad?”

“They figured out we crossed the barrier. They’re mobilizing soldiers under the pretext of bringing us back.”

Just as I explained, on the fourth day since our escape, I heard that a large group of troops had assembled in Monarch City and begun marching north.

If we didn’t hurry, we’d be caught by the soldiers. And then, the journey to my homeland would be pushed back—or maybe disappear entirely.

Stella said,

“The Church might’ve sent trackers too. Was it today? I felt strange presences in the woods.”

“Monsters?”

We hadn’t seen even a shadow of a monster in days. That had made our northward journey much easier. But Stella shook her head.

“Not monsters—human presences. I even saw quite a few footprints.”

“We’ve come pretty far past the barrier, haven’t we?”

Over the past four days, we’d walked at least 60 kilometers. The once-massive wall now looked small in the distance. For there to be human footprints nearby...

That’s when it happened.

Shk.

Narmee, who had been sound asleep, suddenly sat up.

“Something knocked out one of my Snow Narmees.”

One of her snowman sentries? That snapped both Stella and me to attention. We woke the other women immediately.

Were we finally about to face our first real threat beyond the barrier? Monsters? Or the Church’s inquisitors sent by Saint Priga?

Or maybe—

BANG━━─!!!

It happened then.

A thunderous sound shook my eardrums, jolting me wide awake. Elga asked in alarm,

“What was that? What was that noise just now?”

Mirna, Narmee—even Ayra looked visibly shaken, though they said nothing. It couldn’t be helped. That thunderclap of a gunshot—it's the kind of sound that rattles your heart as well as your ears.

Yes.

A gunshot.

I can’t even remember the last time I heard one—but that sound was unmistakably a firearm being discharged.

As if to confirm it, the sharp scent of gunpowder pricked at the sensitive nose of my half-fairy self.

“Everyone, get behind me.”

I moved the wives behind me and deployed a mana shield.

Whatever it was—something strange was happening in this forest beyond the barrier.