EP.112 32-2. The Unmelting Heart of the North.
A huge snow mountain filled the view as if drawn with a brush, and snowflakes scattered in the sky.
White breath began to come out of my mouth every time I exhaled.
When we arrived in the north and got off the ship, people with bear ears and wearing thick fur appeared around us.
“Welcome to the Land of Iron Blood! Everyone!”
A disciplined movement as if several people were moving as one.
Unlike the Imperial Guard, they were muscular combat races with spears instead of swords.
‘Is this the escort that protects the princess in the north? I’ve heard of them.’
There’s also the Imperial Guard, so it would be strange if there were no troops guarding Sophitia.
The bear pattern was etched in my eyes on all the black uniforms that seemed to be matched.
“Euhahahat!! It’s really cold here!!”
“Licht…. Watch your step..”
Phine, who interlocked her fingers and held my hand tightly. It’s a warm hand, unlike me who has cold hands and feet. If your heart is kind, your hands are cold? That’s all bullshit.
“It’s okay now. Phine.”
I felt a sense of wonder as I watched the people of the north, who seemed strong from living in the harsh terrain.
‘..This is the Land of Iron Blood, Carfrostia.’
The gigolo was trying to live similarly to the people of the north, so he said he was eating chicken breasts and going to the gym in reality. That was really crazy.
I shouldn’t live like that. I’m normal enough.
It’s common in the game subculture to be a beta tester to save a favorite character.
“Loyalty to Carfrostia!”
“Her Highness Coldheart is coming!”
It was then. They lined up and left the center empty, and a woman walked out proudly in the middle.
“Hello. My name is Sophitia Coldheart, and I am currently leading the North.”
She was also wearing a black uniform and cape, and was black from head to toe. It’s almost a carbon copy of the illustration that the husband of the Northern Grand Duchess showed me.
“I am very grateful that you came all the way from the Gransia Empire to reinforce us─.”
Sophitia Coldheart.
The daughter of the person called the Iron-Blooded Northern Grand Duke among the Ten Greats, and had animal ears like Phine.
A black-haired ponytail woman with bear ears and a tail.
The owner of the north, more famous among players as ‘Northern Big Bear Woman,’ looked at us and had a surprised expression.
“Phine..? I didn’t hear that you were coming here?”
“..Hello, Sophie.”
Because of that, she, who was approaching while clicking her high-heeled shoes, almost tripped over a rock,
“Your Highness Coldheart!! Are you okay!!”
She barely supported herself with the spear she was holding and took a deep breath while clutching her surprised heart. Well, from her point of view, the number one person in power suddenly appeared.
“I, I’m…. okay.”
“…”
The atmosphere that had been released in an instant. When Sophitia looked at Phine with strange eyes, the northerners, who seemed to be escorts, began to waver.
“I told you not to call me by that nickname.. Phine.”
“But you’re Sophie.”
To summarize the Grand Duchess, it’s like a perpetual second place student. The gigolo told me that she always fails to beat the Imperial Family.
But I knew that the Empire and the North were in a relationship like vassals and kings who helped each other, so it made sense that Phine and Sophitia knew each other.
‘Then this must have been forgotten by Ignorance too.’
As I guessed the atrocities that the Demon Lords had committed, anger surged up from within. She should have just left this friend alone.
“How on earth did you come to the North? Phine Gransia.”
“..Following a stupid puppy.”
Phine, with her hands connected, lifted her arm slightly to appeal that I was that puppy. It’s cooler and better to be a wolf than a dog.
“You’re really consistent.”
The Northern Grand Duchess was rubbing her forehead and complaining of a headache.
Our Phine is a bit eccentric. A girl with bear ears who had come up to me before I knew it.
“So.. is this person Licht.”
Eyes like blue ice were looking at me. This is the first time I’m actually seeing her.
Even in the game, I had planned to run away later when Lupus inherited the emperor’s seat in the north.
“You defeated the Demon Lord of Omniscience, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness Coldheart.”
A woman who was looking up at me and looking at me here and there. If the gigolo knew, he would try to kill me, so I fixed my gaze on the sky.
“Do you always wear a helmet for battle, Licht?”
“..Something similar.”
Even if I tell her that I can’t take it off, she might lift my visor like Phine. I have to avoid anything that could be a flag as much as possible.
A hidden master who hides his face? Anyone could easily get involved with the heroines. And it was also a cliché that the person who saw his face would fall in love.
Well, even if I say this and that, I think she’ll hate me because of my burn marks, but at least there shouldn’t be any harem or NTR.
“Okay. You pass.”
Besides, I don’t even know if this person is pretty. Our Phine has to be beautiful. So does Ariel, Sophitia is just like a rolling potato.
“You, you look quite useful. Do you want to fight with the Northerners once?”
Perhaps my eyes are so devoted that I can’t tell the difference well. I couldn’t understand when I saw the heroine world cup that often appeared in the game community.
“Depending on the result, enter our guard….”
The Northern Grand Duchess couldn’t finish her words. It was because someone was wearing a Masterpiece and blocking the Grand Duchess’s path. Height and size that increased in an instant.
“Don’t touch mine. Sophitia.”
The glass knight glared at the Grand Duchess with golden eyes in her helmet and warned her. Drake Master made a sound of “Oh my..” while watching the scene.
“Phine? I didn’t expect you to protect a man.”
Sophitia was twisting her eyes as if something was interesting while watching the scene. Ah, damn it. I’m afraid a flag will be planted.
“Princess, this is a public place, no matter what.”
“But.. but.. that bear was trying to take Licht first….”
Phine was looking back and forth between me and the Grand Duchess with an uneasy look. Calm down, Phine. I’m not going anywhere leaving you behind.
“Gransia Princess. I have dedicated my body and soul to the Empire.”
“Oh, really..”
“I will never leave your side.”
“I understand.. Licht. I’ll believe you.”
Only after hearing my confirmation did the princess release her glass armor. And the shocking statement that followed.
“..Licht will enter my guard. Don’t even think about coveting him, Sophitia.”
Phine, can you actually speak properly? You did that last time too, so you must be the princess of a country. She has a clear opinion and does what she has to do.
It was decided that I would enter the guard without my consent. When did she start thinking like this?
Of course, it’s a story that I would welcome with open arms if she wanted it. I have to do what our platinum wolf tells me to do.
“But His Majesty is the one who chooses the guard, right? Phine.”
Sophitia was looking at the princess and asking a question, resting her chin slightly on her hand. Like the gigolo, this person must have a strategic personality.
“It doesn’t matter. I can arbitrarily name him Black Wolf.”
“Princess, no matter what, this is not it.”
Phine, who doesn’t bend her own beliefs no matter what. She was back by my side, linking her arm and wrapping her tail around my leg.
“No, Licht and I are connected. There’s no one as talented as him as a guard.”
Don’t say things that people will misunderstand if they hear it. It’s because our magic circuits are connected, so we know where each other is,
[Phine, why are you doing this? Lady Sophitia is misunderstanding.]
It’s a simple relationship where we secretly use telepathic magic, but I don’t know why she’s so obsessed with me. Favorability will hit rock bottom, and romance level is 2 percent.
[Licht, if you take someone else’s side other than me, when we go back to the Empire, you’re dead.]
Quack. The pressure of the tail wrapped around my leg became stronger. Even if I’m a Demon Lord-specialized force, this is a bit too much.
[If you keep doing that, I won’t stroke your head.]
[...]
No matter how I think about it, I can’t see the pink atmosphere of Phine liking me. Should I have read more romance novels?
Phine Gransia is also a possessor of beauty that doesn’t match me, and it would be a different story if it was a virtual game, but this is now no different from reality.
No matter how much you like someone without permission, it won’t lead to good results.
“Anyway.. Licht belongs to our Empire. Sophitia.”
She was only lowering the level of her remarks after I said I wouldn’t stroke her head.
“Phine, people’s hearts move with money.”
The Northern Grand Duchess sighed as if she was dumbfounded while watching that scene. White breath was emitted out, and something sparkling flew towards me.
‘..Imperial gold coins?’
There were too many people around to draw the iron sword from my waist like when I practiced Shadow Slash, so I caught all the flying gold coins with my hands.
“That’s more than I imagined. To think you could catch this too. I threw it with all my heart.”
The Northern Grand Duchess threw several coins to test me. It’s been 5 years since I’ve been rolling under Drake Master. This much is a piece of cake.
“You, you’re definitely a talented person. Won’t you really work for our Carfrostia?”
The Grand Duchess smiled like a fox, saying that the gold coins I caught were an advance payment.
Absolutely not. Will that gigolo tear down our house door and break in?
“I refuse….”
And you almost made our Phine get hit because of you. A bitter taste rose from within at the sight of her trying to seduce someone by force, and just as I was about to spit out my refusal,
“Licht.. doesn’t like a barren land with no nutrients like you.”
Phine Gransia linked her arm strongly, pressing my arm with a huge mass.
It’s so soft. It feels like all the blood in my body is boiling. Reason is screaming. Save me.
“You’re a wolf, but you’re unnecessarily fat.”
“It’s better than no blades of grass like in the North.”
In fact, compared to the princess of the Empire, the Northern Grand Duchess is flat. A barren chest with nothing, like in her current remarks.
“Is that really so? Phine, everyone is the same when it comes to money, right?”
“Hmph, Sophitia. Licht is different.”
Why does that gigolo like this? No matter how much I have to understand his taste, I’d believe it even if he crossdressed.
“..The perverted puppy likes this more.”
That’s right, but. No, it’s because it’s you that I like. Phine. It’s because it’s the person I like, even if it’s big.
‘In the first place, I don’t feel anything even when I see Ariel or the Heavenly Demon.’
This is why the gigolo always teases me that I’m not a boob fetish, but a Saintess fetish. If you’re upset, go collect more first wife power.
“If that’s what you mean, I’ll give up cleanly. Sorry for testing you.”
The Grand Duchess, who was looking at Phine’s firm determination, slightly loosened her expression as if it had turned out as she had expected.
“Let’s go in for now. Asha Aureus is waiting inside.”
She nodded slightly as if she had noticed the relationship between me and Phine, and moved her steps inside, fluttering her black hair.