Chapter 300: Arrival in the Land of Snow.

The hunting party had suffered devastating losses in the previous night's battle. Even their leader and the necromancer had been killed in an instant by a terrifying, enormous magical beast. The remaining small fry were trembling with fear, holed up in their mountain stronghold and too frightened to make another move.

Over the next three days, the adventuring parties traveled without incident, reaching the Land of Snow a day earlier than expected.

After spending five or six days trudging through an endless expanse of white, everyone had grown thoroughly tired of the scenery. So when they finally reached level ground and saw a magnificent city gate built of ice and snow, the adventurers couldn't help cheering.

Shu Li breathed in the frigid air and looked up at the gate ahead.

Compared with the ice-and-snow gate at the foot of the mountains, this one was far grander and sturdier. Its classical architecture bore the unmistakable marks of a long history.

He couldn't yet imagine what lay beyond the gate, but high on the mountain behind it stood an enormous white castle. Its silhouette looked even more majestic beneath the midday sun, the entire structure radiating a sacred solemnity born of countless passing years.

"That's the royal palace of the Land of Snow," Moresy said, pointing toward the castle on the mountaintop.

"It's beautiful!" Siti exclaimed.

It glittered like a Crystal Castle, and it was far more magnificent than the royal palace back home.

Nasha unconsciously clasped her hands together.

Brother... could he be inside that castle?

After all, half the blood flowing through his veins came from the royal family of the Land of Snow. As long as he had successfully reached this country, he could use the Sword of Itno to prove his identity and obtain the royal family's protection.

Noticing Nasha's anxiety, Shu Li reassured her. "Let's find somewhere to stay first, then start asking around."

Nasha knew there was no point in rushing. Biting her lip, she nodded.

She had already waited two years. Another day or two wouldn't make much difference.

"What are you planning to investigate?" Seidler asked curiously.

Shu Li answered without attempting to conceal anything. "Besides exploring the Snow Mountain Labyrinth, we've also come to the Land of Snow to look for someone."

"Look for someone?" Moresy raised an eyebrow.

Why hadn't they mentioned that before?

"That's right," Shu Li said. "I have an older brother who disappeared twenty years ago, and Nasha has one who disappeared ten years ago. According to an investigation by the Entrin Association, they're both in the Land of Snow."

Since they had decided to continue adventuring together, Shu Li wanted to be as honest with them as possible.

Apart from their identities as Fairies, which they couldn't reveal just yet, there was no reason to conceal anything else.

Moresy and Seidler exchanged a glance.

Then Moresy's lips curved into a smile. "Let's find an inn and get settled first. Afterward, I'll take you somewhere you can buy information."

Shu Li's eyes lit up.

"Great!"

Having experienced adventurers to guide them really did make everything easier!

Their group had been walking at a leisurely pace, so the hundred-member adventuring party and the mercenary company had already entered the city.

There were few restrictions at the gates of the Land of Snow. After all, the gates opened once every three years specifically to welcome outsiders.

To the city's residents, however, the arriving adventurers were nothing more than fat sheep waiting to be fleeced.

As the saying went, why worry about doing business for three years when one season's profits could last you all three?

Every adventurer entering the Land of Snow had better be prepared to pay through the nose.

"Ten gold coins per room, per day. No credit."

The innkeeper delivered the price without a trace of expression.

"That's so expensive!"

The Little Fairies gasped and instinctively clutched the storage pouches hanging from their waists.

Ten gold coins a day meant three hundred gold coins a month.

Each room accommodated only two people. With fourteen people requiring seven rooms, a month's stay would cost them a staggering 2,100 gold coins.

They hadn't even entered the Snow Mountain Labyrinth yet, and they were already being fleeced!

"Are you staying or not? If not, get out. You're holding up my business," the innkeeper snapped.

Shu Li sighed inwardly.

Had the people of the Land of Snow spent so long living in this frozen wasteland that they'd forgotten how to be friendly?

They had already visited four other inns. Although the prices there had been somewhat lower, none had enough vacant rooms.

This was the fifth inn they had tried. It had plenty of rooms, complete facilities, and even private bathrooms.

The only problem was that its prices were twice as high.

No wonder it still had vacancies. The outrageous prices had scared away the customers.

"What do you all think?" Shu Li asked his companions.

"We're fine with it," Moresy said, reaching out to wrap an arm around Seidler.

Seidler promptly smacked his hand away.

Moresy withdrew it with an awkward grin.

"Then we'll stay here," Shu Li decided.

Whenever the Light Squad traveled, they paid for food, lodging, and transportation from their shared funds. This trip was no exception.

Since they weren't sure when they would enter the Snow Mountain Labyrinth, Shu Li decided to book three nights for now.

When the innkeeper saw them take out the gold coins to pay, the corners of his mouth twitched into a stiff approximation of a smile.

When it came time to assign rooms, everyone tacitly followed their usual arrangements.

Seriu shared with Halis, Moresy with Seidler, Siti with Nasha, Kumandi with Angel, Budno with Amanda, Dixio with Hector, and Shu Li with Ace.

In truth, Shu Li had wanted to share a room with Dixio.

Unfortunately, Hector had claimed Dixio before he could say anything.

Shu Li opened his mouth, then closed it again and sighed helplessly.

Ever since he began suspecting that Ace might actually be the Elven King, being alone with him had become rather uncomfortable.

Part of him wanted to expose Ace's disguise on the spot, but another part dreaded how awkward things would become afterward.

After all, Shu Li had once mistakenly believed Ace was in love with him and had actually gone to the Elven King for romantic advice!

He was starting to regret not simply burying his head in the sand and pretending he knew nothing.

If his suspicions were ever confirmed and he exposed the truth face-to-face, how was he supposed to look the Elven King in the eye?

Even curling his toes hard enough to dig an entire castle out of the floor wouldn't begin to describe the embarrassment.

And now they were going to share a room again!

Shu Li's emotions were on a wild roller coaster.

Fortunately, they still had information to gather, leaving him little time to agonize over the situation.

Once they had collected their room keys, the group followed Moresy to find a place that sold information.

Although the entire snowy mountain region belonged to the Land of Snow, its harsh natural conditions made survival difficult. Over tens of thousands of years, the country had built only one grand royal capital, situated on a mountain some four to five thousand meters above sea level.

The capital was built along a mountainside.

With the summit at its center, the city descended in terraces, one tier after another, for a total of ten levels. The higher the level, the more magnificent the buildings became.

At the very top stood the royal palace, glittering like a castle of crystal.

After walking through the snow for half an hour, Shu Li and his companions reached the second level.

There, they spotted a building bearing the emblem of the Mages' Guild.

"Wow! They have a Mages' Guild here too?" Dixio exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course," Seidler replied. "Every country on the continent has a Mages' Guild."

"Do they sell information here?" Shu Li asked.

He knew the Mages' Guild issued all sorts of assignments suitable for mages, but he had never heard of it selling information.

"Mages' Guilds in other countries might not offer that service," Moresy said, "but this one definitely does."

Living conditions in the Land of Snow were extremely harsh. Combined with the fact that the country opened its gates only once every three years, transportation was inconvenient, information traveled slowly, and operating expenses often exceeded revenue.

Most guilds and organizations considered establishing a presence here a waste of money and resources.

So why was the Mages' Guild willing to do it?

Because magic could be used for almost anything.

Mages could accomplish things ordinary people couldn't, such as transmitting information through magic, creating all manner of convenient magical artifacts, and erecting high-ranking magical formations to protect against the cold.

As long as someone could afford the price, a mage could solve practically any problem.

With great ability came a great deal of work, and selling information was simply one of the services offered by the Land of Snow's Mages' Guild.

After listening to Moresy's explanation, Shu Li was filled with admiration.

Mage Sovereign Danlov Girard truly was an extraordinary human being.

Ever since leaving the Elven Kingdom, he had devoted himself to advancing the study and practice of magic, wholeheartedly nurturing generations of mages to provide more talented fighters for the eventual war against the Dark God.

Shu Li couldn't help turning his head to glance at Ace.

Unsurprisingly, Ace noticed him looking yet again.

Meeting those emerald-green eyes, Shu Li held his gaze without flinching and calmly offered an adorable smile.

Apparently, anything became easier with enough practice.

Even his skin was growing thicker!

The group entered the Mages' Guild.

The building was heated, making their fur coats uncomfortably warm. Everyone removed their outerwear and stored it in their storage pouches, revealing their high-grade mage's robes and the magical badges pinned to their chests.

The receptionist in the main hall was momentarily taken aback when he saw that the group was being led by a hooded Dark Elf.

Then he noticed the ten low-ranking mages among them, and his surprise deepened.

What sort of place was the Land of Snow?

It lay in the bitterly cold northernmost reaches of the continent, and nearly every adventurer who came here was headed for the Snow Mountain Labyrinth.

Yet the minimum requirement for entering the labyrinth was Senior Mage rank.

The receptionist had worked here for twenty years, and this was the first time he had seen so many low-ranking mages arrive together.

"Hello. How may I help you?"

Professional instinct took over, and he approached them with a welcoming smile.

Moresy stepped aside, leaving Shu Li to speak with the receptionist himself.

"Hello," Shu Li said politely. "We're looking for two people, and we'd like to purchase information about them."

The receptionist raised his eyebrows.

"Certainly."

Just as I thought.

There was no way a group of low-ranking mages had come here to explore the Snow Mountain Labyrinth.

"Please follow me."

He gestured invitingly and led them toward the department responsible for selling information.

After explaining their purpose to a colleague, the woman behind the counter asked enthusiastically, "So you'd like to post missing-person assignments?"

The Mages' Guild was thoroughly familiar with this service.

Adventurers who entered the Snow Mountain Labyrinth faced overwhelming odds of survival, and large numbers went missing every three years.

Consequently, during the years when the country opened its gates, relatives and friends of the missing would accompany adventuring parties or mercenary companies to the Mages' Guild and post missing-person assignments.

Unfortunately, the success rate was extremely low.

"We'd like to post assignments, but we also want to buy information," Shu Li explained.

Posting a missing-person assignment would probably mean waiting quite some time for results.

Buying information directly, on the other hand, might help them uncover clues much sooner.

"Of course."

The female mage smiled sweetly and took out a form.

"Please fill in the details of the person you're looking for. The more information you can provide, the better."

Shu Li accepted the form.

"Could I have another one?"

"No problem."

The female mage handed him a second form, which he passed to Nasha.

"There are tables and chairs over there. Feel free to sit down and take your time filling them out," she added kindly.

"Thank you."

Shu Li carried the forms over to a table and sat down with his companions.

Nasha scanned the form, picked up her pen, and immediately began writing.

Name, age, gender, distinguishing features, occupation, nationality...

Drawing on her memories, she filled in every field one by one.

She even included details about the swordsman who had protected her brother.

While she was writing furiously, Shu Li and the other Little Fairies stared blankly at their form.

Name?

If Chris was using an alias, his real name wouldn't be much help.

Age...

Should they put down 120 or twenty?

Gender was easy enough, but distinguishing features?

Who knew what Chris had disguised himself as when he entered the Human World?!

As for his occupation, he was probably a mage.

But what rank?

They had absolutely no idea.

Nationality...

Should they claim he was a mountain villager like them?

The five Little Fairies looked at one another, seeing the same helplessness reflected on every face.

Two years earlier, when they had purchased information from the Entrin Association, they had managed to obtain a few useful clues by giving a rough description of Chris's pranks.

But this form demanded so many specific details that they were completely stumped.

Seeing them sitting there in a daze, Moresy asked curiously, "What's wrong? Didn't you say you were looking for your older brother? Why aren't you filling out the form?"

Seidler also looked at Shu Li with concern.

"Well..."

Sweat beaded on Shu Li's forehead.

"My brother left home such a long time ago that I... I've sort of forgotten what he looks like."

Moresy raised an eyebrow and turned to Dixio.

"What about you?"

Dixio shook his head.

"I've forgotten too."

Moresy looked toward the other four "mountain villagers."

Before he could even open his mouth, all four boys shook their heads vigorously.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Hector covered his mouth and broke into a violent coughing fit.

Siti turned away, struggling to suppress her laughter.

Seriu and Halis remained silent.

Shu Li scratched his head in frustration.

His fingers brushed against the little flower crown, now transformed into a hair clip, and he suddenly stopped.

Instinctively, he looked up at the "Elven King" for help.

Ace didn't disappoint him.

"Since he's your older brother," Ace said gently, "he must bear some resemblance to you."

That was all the encouragement Shu Li needed.

He immediately picked up his pen and began writing.

When Fairies ventured out into the world for training, most disguised themselves as mages. Because of the restrictions imposed by their spells, they generally used their real names except under special circumstances.

For Chris's age, Shu Li wrote forty.

A Fairy's appearance stopped aging at twenty once they reached a hundred years old. Add the twenty years Chris had been missing, and forty seemed the obvious answer.

As for distinguishing features...

If Chris resembled him, then he must have black hair and gray-green eyes.

Shu Li generously assigned him a height of 180 centimeters.

When it came to personality, he made a special point of writing:

Loves playing pranks.

Even a passing dog's tail wouldn't escape being braided into a plait!

Shu Li went on at considerable length, listing all the glorious "achievements" Chris might have accomplished.

With the other Little Fairies chiming in to add their own suggestions, he finally managed to complete the form.

By the time Shu Li put down his pen, Nasha had already checked her form twice to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

She handed it to Shu Li, and they returned both forms to the female mage.

The woman accepted them and examined Nasha's first.

"Leon Kellan... Hm?"

She looked up in surprise at the black-haired, violet-eyed girl.

"Are you certain the person you're looking for is Leon Kellan?"

Nasha's heart tightened.

She nodded emphatically.

"Yes! He's my older brother. He was once a prince of the Pedam Kingdom."

"Oh!"

The female mage let out a startled exclamation and quickly scanned the rest of the form.

After a moment, she looked at Nasha with a warm smile.

"You're a very lucky young lady. There's no need to post this missing-person assignment! Leon Kellan is now a prince of the Land of Snow. You can go directly to the royal palace to find him."

"R-really?"

Nasha covered her mouth in disbelief.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she began to cry with joy.

Her brother, who had been missing for ten years, was not only alive—he had become a prince of the Land of Snow!

How wonderful!

It was truly wonderful!

Siti wrapped her arms around Nasha and gently stroked her back.

Leaning against Siti's shoulder, Nasha struggled to calm her overwhelming emotions.

She wiped away her tears and declared with determination,

"I want to go to the royal palace!"