As the saying goes, "You can see the mountain, but it'll still run a horse to death."
Although the summit of the snow mountain didn't look all that far away, even Duanmu Huai, without things like a jetpack to support him, couldn't possibly climb to the top of Mount Everest in a single day. Soon, another day passed. After night fell, Duanmu Huai found another cave and settled in.
Hmm? You're asking why there always happened to be a cave at just the right time?
That was simple—if there wasn't a cave, he'd just make one.
For Duanmu Huai, it was nothing more than clenching his fist and punching forward once… That even counts as a problem?
If he planned on staying here long-term, he could've directly blasted out a three-bedroom, two-living-room layout.
Still, climbing the mountain day after day was indeed monotonous and dull.
For example, Bunny-Bunny couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Master———!"
While Duanmu Huai was resting after dinner, Bunny-Bunny came over with a bright smile and snuggled up beside him. Honestly speaking, this bunny girl really did resemble a rabbit—prone to loneliness,主动地撒娇… hmm… are real rabbits like this too?
Duanmu Huai didn't know about that.
But spicy rabbit heads were indeed quite delicious.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Hehehe, I want to play a game!"
"A game? What game?"
Duanmu Huai spread his hands. He hadn't brought any handheld consoles or phones, and in this icy wasteland—surely she wasn't suggesting a snowball fight right now.
"Let's play a riding game!"
Looking at Bunny-Bunny's beaming smile, Duanmu Huai was momentarily speechless. To be honest, after spending these past few days together, he'd realized that although Bunny-Bunny looked like a fairly mature girl, her mental age was… well…
About the level of a five- or six-year-old child.
Otherwise, what normal grown person still played riding games?
"Alright then. Come on, just sit on my shoulders."
Duanmu Huai didn't really mind. After all, he often carried Olgis and Bambi—two humanoid accessories—on his shoulders anyway. However, after hearing his words, Bunny-Bunny shook her head.
"Nope, that's not it. Bunny-Bunny will be the horse."
"...…What?"
Duanmu Huai froze at her answer. At that moment, Bunny-Bunny dropped to all fours on the ground and turned her head back to look at him.
"Come on, Master, ride Bunny-Bunny. Bunny-Bunny is a monster, and also Master's familiar, so it's totally fine!"
"...…Are you sure?"
Looking at Bunny-Bunny wiggling her hips, clearly trying to get him to mount her, Duanmu Huai was utterly speechless. Setting aside the fact that he was a man—there was no way he could bring himself to sit on a girl like that. And even if he could, given his size, wouldn't sitting on her just flatten Bunny-Bunny straight into two-dimensional art?
At that moment, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but recall the Starscourge General Radahn from the Lands Between, and the tiny horse beneath him…
No, absolutely not.
He wasn't like Radahn, who'd had his brain fried by a Valkyrie. If he did this, his lifelong reputation would be completely ruined, alright?
"Forget it. Let's play something else."
Duanmu Huai decisively rejected Bunny-Bunny's request. Bunny-Bunny didn't mind at all, and quickly spoke again with a grin.
"Then let's play a bunny game!"
"And what kind of game is that?"
"Hehehe, it's a game where Bunny-Bunny rides on Master!"
"...…"
What was the difference from before?
"Alright, alright…"
Duanmu Huai decided not to argue with what was basically a preschooler over something so pointless. He nodded, and the next thing he knew, Bunny-Bunny giggled and pounced toward him.
In the next instant, Bunny-Bunny plopped herself directly onto him!
"Hehehe, so warm…"
Sitting on Duanmu Huai, Bunny-Bunny smiled happily, twisting her waist restlessly and rubbing herself against him. Duanmu Huai didn't really mind. He had to admit, Bunny-Bunny rubbing against him felt quite comfortable—like a massage. Soft, springy, and warm. Scenes like this were something he'd previously only seen in .MP4 short videos downloaded off the internet. Now, he was finally experiencing it firsthand.
Before he knew it, Duanmu Huai closed his eyes and began to enjoy it.
Not long after, he felt someone else press in close beside him.
It felt… a bit hard.
Yeah, I don't even need to open my eyes to know who that is.
Just then, Bunny-Bunny seemed to notice something and let out a cheerful laugh.
"Master, she's so skinny!"
"...…"
Duanmu Huai felt his arm being clamped down as if by iron tongs. At that moment, he made a decision.
Go to sleep. I know nothing. Close my eyes and it's already dark.
Thankfully, Olgis was still a doll with limited emotional fluctuation. Otherwise, Bunny-Bunny might not have survived the night—she might've turned into roasted rabbit meat by morning.
Of course, Duanmu Huai didn't foolishly try to comfort anyone either. After all, he'd already been asleep at that time, so logically speaking, he hadn't heard anything at all…
Sigh. Women… even dolls are women. Better not bring trouble upon myself.
The next day, it was still the same endlessly monotonous mountain climb. Bunny-Bunny was already complaining nonstop. The maid and Olgis didn't complain, but their spirits weren't very high either. In fact, even Duanmu Huai felt a bit bored. Still, thinking about the rare rewards waiting at the summit, he gritted his teeth and kept climbing.
And then—
"See? I told you this trip wouldn't be wasted."
Standing on the slope and looking ahead, Duanmu Huai clenched his fist in excitement. Before him stood a gigantic castle formed entirely of ice and snow, looking exactly like the kind of place that spawned rare encounters. It reminded him of a certain animated heroine who built an ice castle in a frozen wasteland…
Yeah. That exact vibe.
If there were a girl walking around up there singing while she walked, it'd be even closer.
The only difference was that the animated castle was Western fairy-tale style, while this one looked more square and orderly—closer to a Japanese aesthetic. Considering that Yuki-onna were yokai from Japanese folklore, Duanmu Huai felt confident he'd found her lair.
Now it was just a matter of how to draw her out…
Just as Duanmu Huai was thinking this, the castle gates slowly opened. At the same time, several snowmen wielding bows suddenly appeared atop the walls.
"Intruders! Intruders! Eliminate the intruders!!"
The snowmen shouted as they raised their weapons and launched an attack. Bunny-Bunny screamed and immediately hid behind Duanmu Huai. The maid silently stepped back as well. Only Duanmu Huai remained standing, unmoving—
In fact, he didn't need to move at all.
At that moment, Olgis raised her right hand. Countless thin puppet strings shot out from her fingertips, forming a barrier that blocked the snowmen's attacks. Meanwhile, more snowmen wielding swords rushed out from the gate and charged toward them.
To be fair, just looking at them, the snowmen were quite cute. They looked no different from ordinary snowmen built on snowy days—round heads, round bodies, carrot noses, black eyes, bouncing as they moved.
Children and girls would definitely squeal at how adorable they were.
But Duanmu Huai didn't care in the slightest. He fixed his gaze on them, clenched his right fist, took a deep breath, and stepped forward!
"ORA… ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
Accompanied by Duanmu Huai's roar, iron fists lashed out like a raging storm, smashing the charging snowmen apart. The blows even struck the castle walls made of ice and snow, causing the entire structure to tremble as if struck by an earthquake!
"...…ORA!!"
With Duanmu Huai's final roar, his fist swung forward. The shockwave blasted outward, instantly breaking down the snow soldiers attacking from both sides into scattered snowflakes, then slammed viciously into the icy castle wall!
"BOOM!!!"
This time, the battered ice castle could finally endure no more. It collapsed instantly into countless shards of ice!
"YAA———!!!"
At the same time, a sharp scream rang out. Duanmu Huai raised his head and looked ahead, only to see a black-haired girl in a kimono sitting on the ground. Her face was pale as she trembled, staring around in fear, an ice wall surrounding her.
What… what just happened?
The Yuki-onna herself was utterly terrified and confused. She had suddenly sensed her castle being attacked and rushed out to see what was going on. But before she even reached the hall, violent tremors struck—and the entire ice castle collapsed. If she hadn't reacted fast enough, she would've been buried under the rubble.
Who… was this?
"Thud… thud…"
As the Yuki-onna trembled in fear, she suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching. She turned her head, trembling, following the sound—
And then she saw a massive man with a terrifying face filled with killing intent walk up to her, glaring at her viciously.
"You're the Yuki-onna?"
As he spoke, the man suddenly swung his right hand. A gust of cold wind brushed past her ear, and in the next instant—
Crack!
The ground beside her split open violently.
"I'm a Monster Tamer. I want to take you as my familiar. Come—let's fight!"
Fight? With this terrifying man?
Hearing that, the Yuki-onna completely lost her composure. In the next instant, she made her decision.
She leapt forward and threw herself to the ground like a tiger descending the mountain, then pressed her forehead firmly against the ground before the man.
"I'll do anything! Please don't kill me!!"
(End of Chapter)