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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Red Vision (2)
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It was a war without mercy.
We chased them to the ends of the snowfields and relentlessly cut off their last breaths.
And finally.
The name Blood Fang Tribe vanished completely from Norheim's history.
The annihilation of an entire tribe.
But during those brutal two years of war.
And even in the moment we wiped them out.
That red vision would occasionally flicker before my eyes like a mirage.
A fleeting sense of déjà vu, as if it were a warning or a reminder not to forget.
But there was one decisive difference.
In the visions of the future, I didn't exist, and Kara, left alone, always had sad eyes.
Eyes that were hollow and lifeless, as if she'd lost the entire world.
But now, things were different.
"Barg! It's over!"
On the snowfield where the war had ended.
Kara, having washed the blood from her body, waved at me with a radiant smile.
Behind her, a hale and hearty Gorgon laughed heartily, encouraging the tribesmen.
Kara ran up and threw herself into my arms.
Her sky-blue eyes, gazing up at me, sparkled with vibrant life.
Yes, this was it.
This was the future I'd changed.
There was no proof.
My instincts simply vouched for it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The war was over.
Victory was sweet, but the aftermath was bitterly harsh.
But this time was different.
Because it differed from the future the red vision had shown.
Gorgon dead, Kara forced to become the tribe's head and bow her head in "humiliating negotiations for survival" to the delegation.
The tribesmen had to abandon their homeland and migrate like fugitives.
But now.
"We have no need to rush. It's your Grand Duke who's desperate."
The surviving Gorgon looked down at the head of the delegation and laughed heartily.
The delegates' faces looked like they'd accidentally chewed and spat out a frog.
The assassination had failed, and the Blood Fang Tribe was utterly destroyed.
The Northguard Grand Duke's plans to dominate the north had been perfectly upended.
In the end, they couldn't return empty-handed.
They had to grant the Winter Claw Tribe the fortress of Wintersword, along with a humiliating treaty promising gradual migration and autonomy.
A perfect victory.
Even at that negotiation table, the red vision flashed through my mind again.
The sight of Kara bowing her head subserviently.
"With this... our tribe..."
But when I blinked, there stood Kara, chin held high with pride.
'It's changed.'
A wave of relief washed over me.
A future where my existence had been erased.
A new timeline born from my intervention.
Of course, the future hadn't changed perfectly.
'We still have to migrate in the end.'
The temperature of the snow mountains was changing, slowly but surely.
To survive the eventual schism ahead, we had to enter the fold.
Moreover, receiving the fortress of Wintersword with its ulterior motives hadn't changed either.
And though Gorgon was alive and the Grand Duke had backed down for now, our ties to that bastard weren't fully severed.
Someday, he'd bare his fangs again.
'But by then, it'll be different.'
I clenched my fist tight.
By then, I—we—would tear into his throat.
And so, untainted time flowed on for us, untouched even by prophetic red visions.
Like a dream.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
One night, a spar just between Kara and me.
Sword and axe clashed atop the snowfield.
Clang!
Kraaang!
Movements like a dance, devoid of killing intent.
In that moment when our breaths mingled and our gazes intertwined, there was no red vision.
Because it was a future that no longer existed.
"Haa... haa..."
Kara, panting roughly, lunged at my opening.
A slash that would normally aim sharply for my throat.
But.
"Huh...?"
Her foot tangled.
An clumsy, awkward mistake uncharacteristic of Kara, who roamed the snowfields like her own home.
Her body wobbled and poured into my arms.
"Kara!"
I reflexively hurled my axe aside and caught her waist.
Thud.
We tumbled across the snow, tangled together.
Instead of the cold bite of snow, each other's hot body heat enveloped us.
When I came to, I was straddling her on top.
"..."
"..."
Our noses nearly touching, so close.
Kara's sapphire eyes wavered.
"It. Was. An. Ac. Ci. Dent."
She didn't push me away.
Instead, she averted her eyes and mumbled an awkward excuse.
"....."
With no reply, Kara wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered in a trembling voice.
"...Not dodging?"
That one phrase snapped the thread of my reason.
Suddenly, Gorgon's hearty laughter echoed in my ears.
"Kara's mom couldn't hold back and pounced on me. Uhahaha!"
Ah.
So that story was true.
Blood can't lie, they say.
Instead of words, I claimed Kara's lips.
"Mmph...!"
Hot breath rose over the frigid snowfield.
We rolled in the snow, devouring each other in a passionate kiss.
That night, at the moonlit lake.
We soaked our naked bodies in the cold water, feeling each other's warmth.
"Barg, warm?"
"Yeah. Because of you."
Even sappy lines felt right in the moment.
No red vision marred this instant either.
Only my other half, smiling shyly in my arms—no sad-eyed Kara.
Another day, we climbed Sandra's Cliff together.
I'd originally planned to go alone.
Gorgon had let it slip once while drunk.
"Barg, a real man stakes his life on a proposal. Back in my day, I climbed to the top of Sandra's Cliff for that Snow Swallowflower... Ahem!"
To follow that romantic advice, I'd started scaling the cliff at dawn.
The screaming abyss.
One misstep and it was straight to the afterlife.
Halfway up, panting hard.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Beside me, clinging to the sheer cliff, was a familiar head of silver hair.
It was Kara.
She too was climbing the cliff in the exact same precarious state, relying on a single rope.
"What are you doing here...?"
"You first—what are you doing here?"
We blinked at each other.
And simultaneously, our gazes turned to the single purple flower blooming at the cliff's peak.
Snow Swallowflower.
A strange silence fell.
Gulp.
And without a word from either side.
"Mine!"
"Outta the way, you mutt!"
A romantic proposal?
No such thing.
Our competitive spirits ignited, eyes blinded, we shoved and yanked at each other, climbing the rock face like mad.
"Over there! I'll get it first!"
"In your dreams! My arms are longer!"
Grabbing ankles and collars in a life-or-death race.
Snap!
My hand snatched the flower stem by a hair's breadth first.
"Ah...!"
Kara let out a regretful sigh.
Panting, I hauled myself over the cliff's edge.
"Tch... Must be nice being tall."
I lifted the pouting Kara onto the cliff beside me.
Silver hair fluttering in the wind at the cliff's end.
And sky-blue eyes flushed red.
I grinned and handed her the flower.
"Here."
"..."
Kara took the flower with a sulky expression.
"...Tch. I was gonna grab it first and give it to you."
Her grumbling reminded me of the rest of Gorgon's tale.
"...Truth is, I didn't pick it—she beat me to the top and waited. Got proposed to while dangling off the cliff. Heh heh heh!"
Ah.
A chill ran down my spine.
I'd nearly ended up like my father-in-law.
'Dodged a bullet.'
Since I'd gotten it first.
No proposing while dangling off the cliff with "Will you marry me?"
I sighed in relief and said to Kara, perched at the cliff's edge.
"I'll make you happy forever, sis."
No grand proposal.
But her eyes widened round at those words.
"...Sis?"
She burst into disbelieving laughter.
"Ha, you finally called me sis? You wouldn't even in your sleep as a kid."
"..."
"But doesn't it hurt a man's pride to call the woman he's marrying 'sis'? Barbarian males hate that stuff."
Her question was sharp, but it didn't faze me at all.
Suddenly, a strange sensation brushed my deep subconscious.
No aversion whatsoever to calling my future wife 'sis.'
It felt perfectly natural.
Like how modern folks see nothing odd in older-woman-younger-man couples.
I grinned and grabbed Kara's waist.
"So, you hate it?"
I slyly pulled her into my arms.
"If sis bothers you, I'll just call you my woman."
"...Tch."
Kara's face flushed red as a ripe apple.
She clutched the flower and pressed her forehead to my chest.
"I love you, Barg."
Even then, no red vision appeared.
Just the sunrise filling the red void in its place.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The meeting of families was modest, but more heartfelt than ever.
We'd lived together from the start, after all.
No need for formalities.
That night, we drank potent snow ale around the campfire.
As the booze kicked in, Gorgon pulled out an old sword he'd kept aside.
It was the keepsake of his first wife—Kara's mother, Plina.
"Plina. You watching?"
Gorgon caressed the blade in a gravelly voice.
"Our girl... is getting married. To the brat I picked up, no less."
He stared at me with bloodshot eyes.
"I've watched him for twelve years. Know what kind of man he is. How ruthless he can be, and how much he cherishes our Kara."
"..."
"So rest easy. I vouch for him. Our Kara found herself a good man."
His rough sincerity tugged at my heart.
Kara clutched her mother's sword, tears welling in her eyes.
"Mom... I'll live happily. Won't worry Dad, and for your share too... truly happy."
I knelt before them and pressed my forehead to the sword.
No words needed.
'I will protect them. Even if it costs my life.'
To my father-in-law and father.
To my unknown mother-in-law.
And the heaviest vow to my bride, etched in my heart.
As the mood grew solemn, Gorgon snorted and forced a hearty laugh.
"Ahem! Enough mush! Wedding's next full moon. Tell Baba the Elder to pick an auspicious day."
And finally, the day of reckoning dawned.
No—the wedding day.
A massive bonfire roared in the tribal square, scorching the sky.
Red flames and tribesmen's cheers rippled over the pristine snow.
"Groom, enter!"
At the officiant's booming call, I stepped forward.
The tribesmen cheered at my ceremonial garb adorned with wolf fur, forsaking my usual leathers.
And opposite me.
"Bride, enter!"
The tent parted, and Kara emerged.
For a moment, the world's noise cut out.
Kara in a gown woven from pure frost fox fur.
Her unbound silver hair cascading long—not a warrior, but the goddess of the snowfields incarnate.
'Beautiful.'
We faced each other before the bonfire.
Baba the Elder, officiating, called out solemnly.
"Begin the rite! Let's get this over with quick!"
A hint of irritation there.
I drew a dagger and cut a lock of my hair.
Kara did the same, handing me her silver strands.
Black locks and silver mingled.
Thrown into the bonfire.
Whoosh!
Acrid smoke billowed skyward.
The moment our souls united and reached the ancestors.
"Now, swear your vows!"
No sooner had Baba spoken than I yanked Kara into my arms.
"Barg...!"
She looked up at me in surprise.
Vows?
Words were too light.
I bent her waist back and crushed my lips to hers.
"Mmph...!"
Gentle kisses didn't suit us.
A beastly kiss devouring breaths and souls was fitting.
"Woooaaah!"
The tribesmen's roars shook the snowfield.
We didn't part until we gasped for air, until the world spun.
In that moment of mingled saliva and unified heat.
I was certain.
This was the perfect happy ending I'd seized.
"Sniff! Our Kara...!"
Gorgon bawling in the corner, but we didn't stop.
All through the night.
Until the flames died.
We loved, and loved again.
Everything was perfect.
'No red vision in any of these moments.'
Because this was the real future we'd claimed.
A new happy ending, forged by our hands, free from the red vision.
And so our passionate newlywed life began.
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