Lucy asked around using the exact words Vera told them earlier while Ezra stood quietly in the middle of the falling snow.

Cold wind brushed past the people moving through the village roads, carrying loose snow across the ground in soft waves.

Several villagers glanced briefly toward Ezra and Lucy before continuing with their own business again.

With the rough clothing the two wore, it was difficult to tell they originally came from a noble background or a large city.

And because Lucy already had experience living in the rural sides of Britannia before becoming a servant...

She could communicate naturally with the locals without sounding awkward or arrogant.

"Thank you for the information."

Lucy bowed slightly toward the old woman standing before her.

The woman looked like she had already entered the final years of her life, but despite that, she still carried enough strength to walk steadily through the snow while holding the hands of two small children beside her.

"You’re welcome."

The old woman smiled warmly, then her eyes shifted toward Ezra standing a short distance away.

The worried look on her face became clearer afterward.

"Your brother over there..."

She pointed carefully toward Ezra.

"You need to be careful with him."

Her voice lowered slightly.

"That area isn’t only filled with rushing snowstorms, but also dangerous monsters roam there, and people can easily disappear beneath the snow forever."

The old woman slowly held Lucy’s hand afterward.

"Many children around this place die early because of the cold or lack of food."

Her aged eyes softened slightly.

"So please be careful. Looking at him..."

She glanced toward Ezra again.

"...he honestly doesn’t look fit enough to survive in a place like that. I don’t know what you children plan doing there..."

She sighed.

"But be careful."

"Thank you for the warning."

Ezra’s calm voice suddenly sounded beside them.

The old woman flinched heavily.

Her eyes widened in shock, because just a moment ago...

Ezra had still been standing several steps away inside the snow.

Yet now...

He was already standing directly beside Lucy without any of them noticing when he moved.

Even the two children stared blankly at him.

Ezra calmly handed a small pouch toward the woman afterward before glancing toward Lucy.

"Let’s go."

A blanket was now wrapped tightly around his body as he turned away.

The old woman and the children quietly watched the two leave through the snowy path.

"Grandma..."

The little boy holding onto her clothes tugged lightly at the fabric.

"Who are they?"

His curious eyes remained fixed on Ezra’s back disappearing deeper into the snow.

"I don’t know..."

The old woman slowly opened the pouch afterward.

The moment she saw what was inside...

Her aged eyes widened while her old-heart immediately started beating faster, but she forcefully restrained her reaction and quickly closed the pouch again.

"Let’s go."

She slipped the pouch deep into her sleeve before grabbing both children carefully by the hand.

"You gave her silver coins?"

Lucy asked while leading the way through the increasingly heavy snowfall.

"No." Ezra replied flatly. "It was bronze."

Lucy blinked.

"No wonder the pouch looked heavy."

A small smile appeared on her face afterward.

She honestly expected Ezra to simply leave without bothering.

"I thought you would just walk away like nothing happened."

Lucy placed both hands behind her back while speaking.

Ezra didn’t answer, because right now...

Most of his focus remained on surviving the cold.

The freezing wind pierced through his body constantly like tiny needles stabbing into his skin, even with Cognis flowing throughout his muscles, bones, and bloodstream...

He could still feel the cold clearly, unless he releases his Cognis to the max, could he at least calm his body but that would be risky since it could attract strong monsters who feel their territory has been invaded.

"Damn this..."

Ezra wore his coat properly before wrapping another blanket tighter around himself.

Then...

The two continued their journey toward the Silver Beard’s house.

Snow crunched beneath their boots while freezing wind howled around the forest path.

Time slowly lost meaning there.

The thick snowfall made it difficult to even tell whether hours had passed or not.

As they moved deeper into the area...

They began spotting frozen corpses buried halfway beneath the snow.

Some only had parts of their faces exposed.

Others looked like frozen statues trapped forever beneath ice.

Lucy unconsciously slowed her footsteps slightly.

"Why would people even come to a place like this if they already know it’s dangerous?"

Sadness appeared in her eyes while staring at one of the frozen bodies.

"You should already understand the struggles of the human heart."

Ezra calmly replied.

"From what I observed earlier..."

His eyes scanned the blurry path ahead carefully.

"...most of the edible animals seem to come from this particular area."

Lucy immediately understood what he meant.

"That means there probably isn’t enough game left for the villagers nearby."

She looked toward the frozen forest.

"So they’re forced to hunt deeper inside dangerous areas where stronger beasts roam."

"Yes."

Ezra calmly nodded.

Then...

"Lucy."

His voice suddenly became slightly more serious.

"We’re surrounded."

Lucy’s eyes immediately sharpened.

"Silverback Dire Wolves?"

Her fingers shifted lightly.

Three daggers quietly slid out from hidden spaces inside her sleeves and positioned themselves between her fingers.

"No."

Ezra stared calmly at the snow-covered ground.

"They’re smaller, but they have tusks."

"Blizzard Warthogs?"

Lucy immediately turned toward several hidden locations she sensed.

"Yes."

Ezra replied.

The moment his answer ended...

Boom!

Several Blizzard Warthogs suddenly burst out through the snow at the same time.

Their beastly cries echoed loudly through the frozen forest.

Snow exploded upward as the creatures charged violently toward them.

Cognis instantly surged through Lucy’s entire body as her figure instantly vanished forward.

The daggers between her fingers flew out at terrifying speed.

Pshhh!

The blades pierced directly through the skull of the first warthog before Lucy twisted her body fluidly in mid-motion.

Without stopping...

She immediately threw another set of daggers while pulling out two steel bars from her space bag simultaneously.

The second set of daggers pierced another Blizzard Warthog that had attempted charging toward Ezra from behind.

Throughout the entire fight...

Ezra never moved.

He simply stood there quietly while observing Lucy’s movements calmly.

His eyes carefully followed every shift in her posture, every dagger throw, every use of Cognis, every steel alchemy performed and every transition between offense and movement.

Lucy meanwhile continued moving through the battlefield fluidly.

Clap!

An Alchemy circle briefly formed across her palm as she slammed it on the steel bars again and more daggers were created instantly.

She threw them with far more precision than before.

The remaining warthogs screamed violently while crashing through the snow toward her.

After several more seconds...

Boom!

Lucy kicked the final Blizzard Warthog hard enough to send it crashing against a nearby tree.

The impact shook snow loose from the branches above.

Before the beast could recover...

Several daggers pierced through its skull and throat simultaneously.

The Blizzard Warthog screamed painfully before collapsing lifelessly into the snow.

Silence returned afterward.

Only the sound of the cold wind remained.

Lucy slowly exhaled while cleaning the small amount of blood that splashed onto her cheek using a white handkerchief.

"How was I?"

She quickly moved beside Ezra afterward.

"You’re a bit better compared to when we fought."

Ezra replied plainly.

Lucy pouted.

"How do you even know that?"

She moved ahead of him slightly while asking.

"Because I just know."

Ezra answered again with the same flat tone.

The two resumed their journey afterward without wasting time resting.

At this point...

The heavy snowstorm still continued to cover most of the sunlight above them, making it difficult to tell whether it was still daytime or not, which made the two too continue their journey without rest.

And as they traveled deeper...

The monsters they encountered only became more dangerous, although, this time however...

Instead of fighting, Ezra and Lucy simply hid quietly whenever powerful creatures passed nearby.

Several of the monsters they sensed possessed strength comparable to Meister-ranked Alchemists.

And Ezra absolutely had no interest in fighting monsters repeatedly in his current condition.

Finally...

The two eventually arrived at a strange area where the violent snowstorm suddenly disappeared completely.

Ezra stopped walking, then he slowly turned back.

Behind him were the massive wall of snow still raged violently through the forest.

But ahead of them only soft snowfall remained while sunlight peacefully illuminated the land.

"Ahhh..." Ezra sighed in relief. "This is better."

He immediately swallowed another heat-stimulating pill to suppress the cold slowly affecting his body.

"Master Ezra..." Lucy pointed forward, feeling relieved. "I see the house."

The building itself wasn’t impressive.

A small stone house stood quietly ahead of them.

Nothing luxurious, nothing grand.

But the structure still looked carefully built, and smoke continuously rose from two chimneys above the roof.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering echoed from nearby.

"He’s a blacksmith?"

Ezra’s eyes widened slightly.

Wait...Doesn’t that mean I can solve two problems at once?

A faint smile appeared on his face afterward.

The two soon walked toward the house.

When they reached the front...Nobody appeared there.

So, they followed the hammering sounds toward the back area instead.

There...

They finally saw them.

An elderly man stood beside a young boy inside an open workshop.

The boy continuously hammered a sword glowing red from the furnace heat while the old man loudly scolded him beside the anvil.

"Greetings."

Ezra politely bowed.

"Huh?"

The elderly man sharply turned toward them immediately.

His sharp eyes scanned Ezra and Lucy from top to bottom with a stiff expression.

"Who the hell are you two?"

He pointed the hammer in his hand toward them.

"And how exactly did you even reach this place?"

Ezra quietly observed both the workshop and the elderly man carefully.

"Vera sent a message to you about someone coming to meet you."

He replied calmly without nervousness despite the intimidating glare directed at him.

"Oh..." The old man barked loudly. "You’re from that little brat?"

Then he suddenly walked closer toward Ezra while staring harder at his face.

Lucy immediately stepped slightly in front of Ezra instinctively.

"Seriously..."

The old man rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That girl already moved on, huh?"

Ezra looked confused.

"Moved on?"

"Don’t you know?"

The old man laughed loudly.

"Her fiancé died during the Trial of Steel. If you’re part of the Mainline, you should already know that."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait..."

He stared harder at Ezra’s face.

"You look around her age too. That means you also participated in that evil trial."

The old man continued speaking loudly without caring much about his tone.

"Well..."

He suddenly laughed again.

"You did well surviving with a body and face like that."

"I’ll have you know my Master ranked sixth and is extremely strong."

Lucy glared sharply at the old man.

"Huh?" He pointed toward Ezra in disbelief. "Him?"

"Ranked sixth? How is that even possible?"

He scratched his head while looking genuinely unconvinced.

"You..."

Lucy became visibly annoyed.

"Master."

The young boy suddenly called toward the old man while holding up the sword he finished forging.

"Is this good?"

"YOU FOOL!"

The elderly man immediately exploded again.

"That’s not how you make it! How many times do I need to teach you something this basic?!"

The boy immediately shrank slightly like a scolded puppy before a large dog.

"Go throw that trash away and bring the boxes we’re supposed to give these people."

The old man sighed heavily, then he turned back toward Ezra and Lucy again.

"What are your names?"

"Ezra Ashenlocke."

Ezra replied calmly.

"Lucy."

She answered while still glaring at him slightly.

"Hahaha..."

The old man suddenly laughed brightly.

"Ezra Ashenlocke...It’s honestly nice meeting someone connected to that Vera."

He stretched his hand outward proudly.

"I’m Rogers Bremer. A retired blacksmith of the family."

Ezra calmly shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir."