Eugene had felt the need to find a guide.

Most of the Ruhr Kingdom’s territory was snowfields covered in blizzards, but if one considered it simply in terms of land mass, it was large enough to be comparable to the Kiehl Empire.

But since most of the kingdom’s population lived in the cities, the vast snowfields were the home of the natives who refused to mix into the cities. They weren’t as savage as the natives of the Samar Rainforest, but Eugene had heard that they were eccentric enough to reject civilization and insist on surviving out in the harsh snowfields.

The snowfields were an even harsher locale than the Rainforest. In the first place, it wasn’t easy to forage for food, and if you were to fall into a crevasse while walking carelessly, a pointless death was a real possibility. There were also the blizzards that swirled up from time to time, and one needed to be careful of avalanches in the mountainous areas. In the Rainforest, all one needed to worry about were things like attacks from the savage natives or monsters, but in the snowfields, one needed to be more cautious of the immensity of nature.

There were fields of white snow everywhere you looked, so losing your sense of direction was easy. Even if you used a map, a compass, or an enchanted guidebook, it was still easy to lose your way in the snowfields. That was why people who wanted to cross the snowfields often hired the natives living in those lands as guides.

But thanks to the King of Ruhr’s consideration, there was no longer any need for them to hire a guide.

“Woof-woof.”

Having emerged from the cloak, Mer approached Abel with her eyes shining brightly.

“Woof-woof.”

Mer tried to imitate a dog’s bark once more, but Abel just stared at Mer, lazily blinking his golden eyes. Unable to get him to show the reaction she had hoped for, Mer pouted her lips and crept closer to Abel.

“Hand,” Mer instructed when she finally stood in front of the large wolf and stretched out her own hand.

And as expected, Abel proved to be just as smart as Aman had said. Mer smiled broadly as she looked down to see Abel’s large front paw draped lightly over her tiny hand.

“It’s okay if I ride on his back, right?” Mer pleaded.

Eugene pointed out, “Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to travel inside my cloak than on the back of a wolf—”

“Either way, it’s more comfortable than walking on my own. Also, it’s no fun to be stuck inside your cloak, Sir Eugene, and I’ve gotten sick of it after standing inside there for so long,” Mer complained as she quickly climbed onto Abel’s back.

Mer might have been a young girl, but she was also a familiar, so she didn’t actually weigh much. On top of...