The uproar over Neloufa's "kidnapping" yesterday died down after the Amlethians realized what had happened. Neloufa's performance as well as the Opera House's explanation about the covert operations calmed everyone down, but even though we didn't tell them who the culprit was, they somehow knew which noble house from which country was behind it, and as such... Well, I am also with the Amlethians in throwing tomatoes at them! It's not enough for their hair to burn, I have to see them humiliated! That way, they and the others won't even dare to try such a stupidity, at least that's my plan, until of course the others forbid me and dismiss the crowd.
"At least this tomato is delicious... I still wanted to throw it at them" [Diana].
"As much as I wanted to do the same, please don't, otherwise more diplomatic problems for Her Highness Queen Amleth" [Sas].
And as they said before when we sneaked in, they really say the same thing, they wanted to offer Neloufa and me for the Yuki Ona.
Apparently, the blizzard there is getting more and more restless as the day goes on, and coupled with the thunderstorms and abnormal weather, their lives are becoming even more difficult. Not only that, but the countless blizzards have also invited monsters of various kinds to attack the village and town near Butan, making things from bad to worse!
But that doesn't explain the sacrifice, what does explain the sacrifice is a tale, a tale from their fairy tales, that if a sacrifice is enough, Yuki Ona's wrath will be appeased and the storm will subside. It's just a story, but after some crazy people actually sacrificed one of their own children, a miracle actually happened. A creature they named Elder Yuki Ona, pleased with their sacrifice, stopped the blizzard before demanding more and more. Now, even a noble house will have to pay tribute to fulfill the offer, or they will all pay a heavy price.
At first, commoners who sacrifice their daughters are rewarded, and of course some families do exactly that, hoping to improve their financial, but as the demand grows and only commoners do so, sparing the nobles and royalty, they begin to get angry, which leads to an uprising. To quell the anger, now the nobles have to do the same and if they don't, they will be stripped of their title and their daughter will be sacrificed anyway. This of course causes more trouble.
The royalty can simply choose which houses they want and they have no choice but to do so. This can be used as a way to eliminate any noble houses they dislike. Even I can see how bad this whole situation is. On the good side, it's only a recent event, so the number of victims isn't high, but on the bad side, they even wanted to kidnap those outside the country, which led us to this current situation.
"Any idea what is causing this, Master Merlin?" [Amleth]
"Frankly, I don't. It's unheard of. I know the story because I've investigated it myself before, and I know it's a but a fraud fairy tale meant to scare children, so my guess is that someone is controlling the weather and disguising themselves as Elder Yuki Ona at the same time. After all, there's no old-looking Yuki Ona, or there's no Elder Yuki Ona since they're lone monsters, so that's my best guess" [Merlin].
"Controlling the weather... Is it even possible... Unless someone like me is involved?" [Ophelia]
"Maybe. Maybe not" [Merlin].
This is Master Merlin's best guess. For now, I'll take it as the official explanation. Honestly, this made me think, but as soon as I feel like going to investigate the incident, the Ice Fairy Shiva blessing, whisper something to me. It's just a whim to go, but now I feel like there's an initiative to do so.
"After we finish the project and meet with Grandmother Farhah, and this incident dies out, may I go and investigate?" [Diana]
"!?" [All]
This makes everyone look at me. I'm sure it's dangerous, but there's something I need there, something that will definitely be useful for my wand, and that is
"At the top of Mount Olympus, there is a legendary Ice Mana Core? If that's what the Blessing within you said, then maybe it's true. So you're planning to go there and investigate, and while you're at it, you want to take the Ice Mana Core for yourself... If that's the case, I'll follow you as well" [Nar].
"Me too" [Sas]
"Are you two sure?" [Dana]
"Better than her sneaking around. Besides, since there's a possibility that the Empire wanted to start a war next year, if what the Wandering Sage said is true, and to be honest, it's almost 100% at this point, it's valuable to get this. Even if it doesn't help much in the war, at least Diana will have better self-protection" [Nar].
"I see... If that's the case, Randy, Savel, since you two will also go as guards for the project to connect Amleth to the Elven Kingdom, may I make a request on behalf of the Vars family that you accompany them when the time comes" [Khamisah].
"You don't even have to ask" [Randy].
"We will gladly accept" [Savel].
"Let's just hope that Mother doesn't know about this, otherwise she will insist on going to accompany her dearest granddaughter" [Farhana].
"Diana, please keep this a secret" [Elegast]
"Understood! My mouth is sealed... Well... Unless the Goddess tells her" [Diana].
"If the Goddess tells her through the World Tree, not much can be done... Don't go around asking the Goddess to tell her!" [Farhana]
"It's not like I'm going to go to Saintess Rumia and take her hand and ask the Goddess to do that! Even I don't want to put Grandmother Farhah in danger!" [Diana]
But... It does sound fun to climb to the top of Mount Olympus with Grandma Farhah... Well, she's a grandma, so maybe she doesn't have the strength, but it's fun just to imagine it! Well, I say grandma, but she still looks young for her age.