Chapter 13: Snowrunt In The Snow
“Anna—!”
The mountain path at night was already difficult to traverse. It took Ryan and the others a great deal of effort before they finally arrived below the cliff.
Below the cliff was a flat and open snowfield, with a few hardy trees growing sparsely not far away.
Several figures were sitting around the base of a large tree, leaning against it as if sleeping.
However, Ryan’s shout woke them up, and the light from the torches was extremely conspicuous in the snowy night.
Those Pokémon immediately looked over in their direction.
“It’s a monster! Prince Lei Wen, please be careful!”
Ryan placed his right hand on his sword hilt, shielding Lei Wen behind him as he warily watched the several 【monsters】.
They were small creatures, resembling short palm trees wearing white snow-white hats, an unknown species.
Their bodies were mainly white and brown, with white hats on their heads. At first glance, they looked like short, plump fir trees.
Those are… Snowrunt?!
Lei Wen recognized the names of those Pokémon at a glance.
The three Snowrunt sat on the snow, blinking their eyes. They looked at Lei Wen and the others, and the burning torches, with eyes full of deep curiosity.
Lei Wen was certain that they were not curious about the torches they held, but rather about these strangers who had suddenly appeared there!
“Nguu?”
Under the wary gazes of Ryan and the others, the three Snowrunt moved.
They stood up from the snow and slowly ambled over.
“Watch out!”
Seeing the monsters approaching, Ryan tensed, instinctively reaching for his sword.
However, the next second, a pair of hands stopped him.
“Don’t attack!” Lei Wen said.
“Prince Lei Wen!” Ryan was a bit confused. Monsters were very dangerous!
Lei Wen, however, stared directly at the actions of the Snowrunt and shook his head, “They mean no harm.”
Snowrunt are Pokémon that are very friendly to humans.
They live in deep mountains with thick snow. The Pokédex clearly records that because they rarely see humans, Snowrunt are very interested in them.
As soon as they discover footprints in the snow mountains, they will gather around them. If they see humans, they will curiously approach them.
Just like now.
The three Snowrunt stopped about three meters away from them. They stayed put, opening their eyes and curiously observing Lei Wen and the others.
The expected attack did not come. Instead, these monsters looked rather foolishly… Ryan couldn’t help but be a little surprised.
Wh-what is going on?
“They are curious,” Lei Wen’s voice suddenly sounded.
Ryan and the others looked over blankly.
Lei Wen continued, “Because they have never seen creatures like us before.”
So when they appeared, these Snowrunt would curiously gather around.
Just like how humans can’t help but glance at things they’ve never seen before.
Hearing this, Ryan’s face showed a surprised expression.
T-there are actually such monsters!
“So, they won’t attack us anymore?” Ryan asked hesitantly.
“Provided we don’t attack them,” Lei Wen took out three dried almonds from his pocket.
—These were originally prepared for his Dratini. Now, seeing these relatively friendly Snowrunt, he found them very cute and handed the almonds to the three Snowrunt separately.
After doing this, Lei Wen turned around and said to everyone, “Let’s go!”
“Yes! Prince Lei Wen!” Ryan and the others withdrew their gazes from the Snowrunt, turned, and followed.
The group continued to move forward, while the Snowrunt stood there blankly, watching their retreating figures.
Only after they could no longer be seen did they look down at the fruit in their hands.
One of the Snowrunt took a taste.
“Nguu~!”
The other two Snowrunt followed suit and ate the dried almonds.
In the snowy night, the three Snowrunt looked at the strange footprints left by the creatures in the snow, then turned their gaze towards the direction they had left, their curiosity even more intense.
*
“Anna!”
The cry carried far and wide in the snowy night.
Behind a windbreak on the hillside, Anna, hugging Zorua, shivered from the cold.
“It’s so cold… Little monster, are we going to die here tonight?” Anna murmured.
After all, she was just a little girl who had just turned ten. Thinking that she would never see her mother again, tears welled up in Anna’s eyes.
If she wasn’t here, her mother would worry, right?
“Wuwu…”
Zorua in her arms looked at the girl in front of it with some bewilderment.
Just then, its ears suddenly caught a sound from the distant snowfield.
Zorua immediately pricked up its ears and looked in that direction.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Zorua’s movement, Anna panicked instantly.
Could it be that the terrifying monster had caught up?
She followed Zorua’s gaze and saw several faint lights in the distant snowfield.
The lights approached from afar. Although she couldn’t clearly see who those people were, Anna was immensely relieved at this moment.
She quickly stood up and shouted:
“Hey! I’m here!”
As if hearing her voice, those people indeed walked towards her.
In the hazy moonlight, Anna finally saw the appearance of those people.
It was Prince Lei Wen!
Prince Lei Wen had personally come to find her!
Anna’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.
“We found her, Prince Lei Wen!” Ryan shouted loudly, his voice full of excitement.
Lei Wen also couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to say something, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a Pokémon hiding behind the girl, only showing half its face, nervously observing everyone.
That is…
Zorua?!
Lei Wen’s pupils contracted.
“It’s a monster!” Ryan and the others also noticed the Pokémon at this moment, and they immediately became nervous.
Seeing this, Anna quickly intervened, “It’s not a bad monster, it saved me!”
Ryan and the others exchanged glances.
Lei Wen was a bit surprised. He looked at Zorua, then asked, “What happened?”
Anna recounted her entire journey, from start to finish.
From searching for herbs, to encountering this monster, then being chased by another monster and accidentally falling off the cliff, and how this little monster found the Vitality Root to heal her.
“Wh-what’s going on?!”
“Is it true?”
“Monsters actually helping humans?”
The surrounding knights exclaimed in surprise.
Anna quickly explained, “What I said is true!”
She hugged Zorua tightly, then looked at Lei Wen and pleaded,
“Prince Lei Wen, this monster is not a bad monster. Like me, it has lost its family. Can I take it back to the camp? I’m worried it will be in danger if it stays here alone…”
Bringing an uncontrollable, unknown monster back to the camp?
For Ryan and the others, who had always feared monsters and had even witnessed friends die at the hands of monsters, such an act was no different from inviting a wolf into the house!
“Please, Your Highness!” Anna pleaded.
“Ryan, do you remember what I told you before?” Lei Wen suddenly asked.
He was slightly taken aback.
The words Prince Lei Wen had said that night immediately came to mind.
【Monsters are not uncontrollable beings. They are intelligent, possess wisdom, and can even understand human language.】
If this girl named Anna was not lying, then this monster’s behavior completely confirmed Prince Lei Wen’s words.
“No matter what, let’s go back first!” Lei Wen said, “Anna, take good care of it.”
Anna’s eyes instantly filled with light. She quickly responded, “Yes! Prince Lei Wen!”
Since Anna had been found, it was time to head back.
As Anna’s leg was injured, a knight had to carry her.
After confirming the direction, the group left.
Not long after they left.
Three round figures suddenly appeared on the desolate snowfield.
They stood in the snow, looking at the footprints that extended into the distance, and then slowly followed.
