#7. Toward the North

#7. Toward the North

Outside the window, a fierce blizzard raged across the North. But the Grand Duke's bedroom was warm and cozy, like an afternoon in the South.

Kylan slowly lifted his heavy eyelids.

He felt a soft warmth in his arms.

When he cautiously lowered his gaze, he saw Princess Eleanor sleeping peacefully with her face resting against his chest.

Her platinum hair shone like the morning sun even beneath the overcast sky. Her face, usually worn out from wrestling with paperwork, looked peaceful now.

'She sleeps soundly. Well, of course. A woman this small processed that mountain of ledgers.'

A bastard ignored by the imperial family.

An outsider suddenly dropped into a strange world and forced to shoulder an entire territory alone.

The two people who had had nowhere to turn had, before they knew it, become each other's warmest refuge.

At Kylan's touch, Eleanor's tightly shut lashes trembled, revealing her blue eyes.

"Mmm…."

She lifted her head sleepily, and their eyes met. The princess's cheeks flushed.

"Ah…! Y-Your Grace. I'm sorry. Was I heavy…?"

As Eleanor hurriedly tried to pull away, Kylan gently drew her back by the waist.

"Not at all. If anything, leaning against your warmth let me sleep deeply for the first time in ages."

Kylan gently brushed the stray hair from Eleanor's forehead and met her eyes.

"Eleanor. Thanks to you, it feels as though spring has come to Winterwald—and to my life as well. Thank you, truly, for coming all the way to the distant North and becoming such a great source of strength at my side."

It was a heartfelt confession he had already made several times.

But no matter how often she heard it, Eleanor reacted as though it were the first time, moved enough for clear tears to gather at the corners of her eyes.

"Your Grace… I am the one who should be grateful—for seeing me as I am and caring for me…"

Of course, Kylan would never discriminate against her because of her sun mana or because she was a bastard.

The fact that he could even work in a warm office was thanks to the princess.

Eleanor wrapped her arms around Kylan's neck and nestled into his embrace.

As her emotions grew more intense, her sun mana also began to heat up, mirroring its wielder's feelings.

Fwoosh!

The temperature in the room shot up to midsummer levels in an instant.

"El, Eleanor?"

"Your Grace… I love you…."

"I-I love you too. I do, but the room seems a little too hot!"

A short while later, Cedric passed through the nearby corridor and saw the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess emerge from the bedroom drenched in sweat, their cheeks flushed. He cleared his throat and muttered,

"Ahem! As expected, my lord's stamina is impressive even first thing in the morning. It won't be long before we see an heir to Winterwald."

Eleanor lowered her head, while Kylan pretended not to notice and walked past.

***

The Grand Duke's castle conference room.

With the retainers seated, Walter, the inaugural guildmaster of the Winterwald Direct Guild, stood at rigid attention.

"Your Grace. And Your Highness. Now that the guild's forces have officially been deployed in monster-subjugation operations for two months, I will report on our results."

Guildmaster Walter began his report in an excited voice.

"At present, 209 adventurers are carrying out patrol and monster-subjugation missions along Winterwald's outer ramparts. As a result, the safe zones where monsters no longer appear have expanded."

"Is that true, Sir Walter?"

Cedric asked in surprise.

"To think people who used to work ordinary jobs could achieve such results…."

Walter shook his head firmly.

“They aren't merely people of the territory anymore. They're full-fledged warriors of our Winterwald!”

Walter pointed to the map and continued his explanation.

Red flags had been planted all over the map.

"These are the areas the adventurers drove the monsters out of and transformed into safe zones over the past two months."

The nobles held their breath and followed the tip of Walter's finger.

"First, the oak lumberyard to the west. Ice Goblins had made their nests there, preventing the people of the territory from even approaching, but some twenty parties joined forces and completely wiped out two goblin settlements. Thanks to that, the territory's supply of firewood and building materials is proceeding smoothly as well."

Even as Walter spoke, he excitedly pointed at the map.

"The southern trade route is the same. Starving Dire Wolves appeared there frequently, making it a stretch that merchant caravans avoided at all costs. However, an elite unit led by Hans, a former lumberjack, relentlessly tracked down the wolf packs in the area and wiped them out to the last one."

It was the very stretch where corrupt nobles had once siphoned away supplies under the pretext of monster attacks.

"Thanks to that, supply wagons and merchant caravans coming up from the South are reaching the Grand Duke's castle safely."

Cedric nodded, unable to hide his admiration.

"The forward knight order no longer needs to divert its strength to maintaining security in the rear!"

"Indeed. It seems the guild has now fully established itself as an auxiliary force for the knights."

Walter took his seat with a proud expression, and Eleanor brought out the financial statements and began to speak.

Count Lian, the trade officer in charge of the merchant caravans, widened his eyes as he received the documents.

"Good heavens…. I did sell the wolf pelts and magic stones, but… did the adventurers really gather this much?"

"Yes. The guild's net profits alone over the past two months amount to 1,000 gold."

Even after being charged for medical-fund contributions, fees, taxes, and everything else, the adventurers had probably taken home around 1,000 gold as well.

It was an unbelievable income for just over 200 residents of the territory who had only recently become adventurers.

As the nobles gaped, Eleanor added,

"It isn't only sales revenue. Because the adventurers have been defending the walls, the knights of the defense force no longer need to go on regular patrols as often."

Baron Clara, the military-supply officer, drew in a sharp breath at those words.

"Th-then…!"

"Exactly, Baron Clara. Not only have we saved the knights' winter gear and potion costs, but their overtime pay as well. When those savings are combined, the territory as a whole has achieved a financial improvement of at least 5,000 gold!"

A ripple ran through the conference room.

The profits from sales outside the territory were enormous, and they had also completely plugged the money leaking away from within.

The nobles gave a standing ovation and cried, "Long live the Imperial Princess!"

Even Kylan, who had merely suggested creating a guild, felt his pride swell.

'This is only the beginning. Once a business succeeds, you have to expand it.'

Kylan was not satisfied at all. The North's people alone could only provide so much manpower.

Once spring had passed and winter returned, the monsters would become ferocious beyond imagination. That was when even knights who had reached the Expert level would die in droves.

'Romance-fantasy settings make no sense. If it's winter, shouldn't the monsters be hibernating? Damn it.'

In any case, they needed far more people than they had now to prepare for the monster wave that would arrive at the end of the year.

"Count Lian."

"Yes, my lord!"

"How did my instructions turn out? You didn't simply go to the South, conduct your trade, and come back quietly, did you?"

At Kylan's question, Count Lian bowed with a sinister smile.

"At Your Grace's command, I distributed flyers and spread rumors at every tavern and guild where mercenaries gather."

Kylan smiled as he looked out at the northern sky, which had cleared before he knew it.

"Retainers, listen."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

"From now on, prepare to establish guild branches at every major defensive stronghold in Winterwald territory. Two would be a good start."

Kylan tapped the map as he spoke.

'The North is enormous. If there's only one guild, everyone will be exhausted by the time they reach the hunting grounds. That's inefficient.'

They could not cram all the adventurers coming from every corner of the Empire into one place, either.

"Operate every branch with exactly the same services, down to the last detail: weapon rentals, medical support, everything!"

"Yes, Your Grace!"

***

The bustling city of Roen on the southern continent.

The tavern in a back alley downtown was noisy even in the middle of the day. Reeking of sweat and cheap beer, it was a gathering place for low-ranking adventurers.

"Damn it! You thieving bastards!"

At a table in the corner, Gale, a veteran adventurer with a massive scar across his face, slammed an old leather pouch onto the table and vented his fury.

The few silver coins inside the pouch made a pitiful clinking sound.

"I risked my life guarding a carriage and even injured my right arm, and all I get is 90 silver!? I can't keep doing this with brokerage fees and taxes!"

His fellow mercenary sighed deeply and toyed with his beer mug.

"Boss, shouting won't do anything but hurt your throat. I even went into debt to pay for treating the leg I injured in the last battle. I'll have to keep working for another two months just to pay off the potion costs. I've even started thinking it might have been better to cut the leg off."

The mercenary system on the southern continent was built on thorough exploitation.

Taxes were uniformly high regardless of one's earnings, and treatment costs incurred during missions fell entirely on the individual mercenary.

Even if they risked their lives hunting monsters, all they had left was debt.

Only a tiny handful of geniuses made fortunes amid piles of corpses and emerged as winners.

As the adventurers sighed, the tavern owner, who had been quietly wiping beer mugs, held out a sheet of parchment.

"A merchant caravan from the North has been spreading an interesting rumor."

The adventurers read the parchment and snorted.

"A guild has been established in that frozen hellhole?"

"Get that out of here! They're looking for meat shields because they can't handle the monsters! Who would crawl into a place like that just to freeze to death?"

Gale bent down and picked up the parchment the mercenaries had discarded.

[Winterwald Direct Guild Seeks Great Adventurers!]

Free full rental of dwarven steel weapons and armor upon joining!

If injured during a mission, receive 80% coverage of treatment and potion costs at a medical clinic designated by the lord's castle!

Novice adventurers receive training opportunities and two meat-filled meals!

The guild will purchase magic stones and monster byproducts at the lowest commission rate in the Empire!

"……."

Gale's hand began to tremble.

The fellow mercenary beside him peeked at the flyer, then let out a hollow laugh.

"Ha! These guys are total con artists! They lend out dwarven weapons? They cover 80% of your medical costs!? Meat soup every day?! Hey, maybe the North really is doomed this year!"

The other mercenaries in the tavern nodded and laughed, convinced it was an obvious lie meant to lure in adventurers.

But Gale read the parchment over and over with a serious look in his eyes.

He looked back and forth between his old, chipped sword and his thin money pouch.

He had spent ten years scraping by on the southern continent.

His body was covered in scars now, yet he was still in a position where he had to worry about where tomorrow's single piece of bread would come from. How much lower could he possibly fall?

Thud!

Gale rose abruptly from his seat and slung his greatsword across his back.

"Boss? Where are you going?"

"I'm packing."

Gale downed the cheap ale remaining on the table and wiped his mouth.

"Either way, I'm fated to fatten the guildmaster's belly and die buried under a mountain of debt. Better to take my chances and head North."

When Gale left the tavern, his party members followed a moment later.

"I-I'll follow you, Boss! I'll be thrown out of my inn room tomorrow anyway!"

After they had left,

The adventurers of the southern continent, worn down by debt and hardship, began rising from their seats one by one.

"Give me one of those parchments too!"