The North was a barren land wherever you went.
At best, wheat could only be grown in the southern parts of Yurdina City. In most other places, they could barely manage to harvest famine relief crops.
For soone like , born and raised in abundance, it was a life hard to imagine.
My hotown was located in the eastern part of the continent. With its warm climate and abundant rainfall, the East had long been famous as the continent’s granary.
Unless they t a harsh lord, not even commoners went hungry. The only concern was that, with such a large population, there were also many orphans.
Of course I, as an eastern noble, held a sense of sympathy for them.
Although the food situation was stable, there wasn’t enough to feed all the abandoned children. It simply ant we had no choice but to watch as countless children suffered.
It was sothing we ought to be ashad of as nobles.
However, after facing the coniferous forests of the North, my narrow worldview had to undergo a significant revision. In the North, my long held concerns didn’t even register as issues.
Simply put, there were hardly any orphans there.
The reason was clear.
“They all die.”
It was a remark thrown casually by the soldier guiding to the military camp, as if it were a joke.
At those words, and my companions fell silent. We couldn’t gauge how to react.
Whether to express sympathy and compassion or to laugh it off.
The correct response was neither.
Children who lost their parents simply died.
This was a self-evident truth in the North, not sothing said with any particular intention behind. In the first place, it wasn’t even considered unusual.
The soldier was rely speaking plainly about life in the North.
“The population here isn’t large. In other words, there’s plenty of unclaid lands. No one manages those places, so they’re inevitably filled with all sorts of dangers.”
Only then did I grasp what he was implying.
I could even guess what he was about to say next. So, as if to confirm, I cautiously followed up with a question.
“Demonic beasts or bandits, for example?”
“Yes, and even Elves.”
The soldier nodded with a bitter smile.
It ant my guess was largely correct.
Including the enemy specifically ntioned by the soldier —the ‘Elves’—there were too many dangers in the North. It was not a place where a child who lost their guardian could survive alone. ŖÅꞐổᛒÊᶊ
Moreover, it was lacking even in food.
So, orphans were simply not an issue here.
They would either starve to death, freeze to death, or be killed to death.
It was a land where even children with parents often ended up dying. Thus, except for a few exceedingly lucky ones, most orphans couldn’t help but lose their lives.
The soldier ntioned that, on the front lines especially, they often ca across the bodies of children.
It was then that a faint murderous intent began to cloud his eyes.
“It’s usually the work of the Elves. Those monsters don’t discriminate between adults and children… Living in the North, you often learn to hate the Elves before you even learn to read.”
“Is it the sa even outside the front lines?”
“As I said, there are many unclaid lands in the North.”
With that, the soldier suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Beyond the military camp lay the road leading to the North’s northernmost reaches.
There stretched a vast land of trees—tens of thousands of them standing tall in places where even moss hesitated to take root.
Throughout the continent, there were only two places with such abundant forests.
The Great Southern Forest and the Northern Coniferous Forest.
And since this was the North, the identity of this overwhelming forest before my eyes could only be one.
The Coniferous Forest—the last obstacle standing in the way of the eternal permafrost.
Even these trees filling my vision were but a tiny fraction of it.
“The Northern forest conceals many things. We cannot peer into it; we can only witness what erges from it.”
And the Coniferous Forest was too vast to guard all its borders.
Even if they mobilised tens of thousands of elite soldiers, could they truly secure this place without any gaps?
It was impossible.
Realising this, a sigh escaped my lips.
“So it’s a place that’s impossible to be sealed off from the start.”
“We can’t just burn down the entire forest yet. The monsters lurking there would co pouring out all at once.”
Listening to the soldier’s explanation, I silently gazed at the Coniferous Forest.
Aviang probably escaped by hiding within the shadows of these trees.
She likely didn’t even dare let her breath falter; otherwise, she’d risk being caught by the demonic beasts and eting an swift, untily death.
How strangely contradictory it all was.
The soldier collectively referred to Elves and demonic beasts as ‘monsters,’ yet one of those monsters feared another monster.
In truth, it wasn’t incorrect. Not from the soldier’s perspective, at least.
Since both demonic beasts and Elves equally threatened their lives.
But having conversed with Aviang, my own impression was quite different.
Demonic beasts and Elves were different.
Demonic beasts couldn’t communicate, but Elves could. And unlike demonic beasts, Elves didn’t unconditionally display hostility towards life.
That’s why I felt even more regretful.
The Elves of the coniferous forest were likely engaged in fierce battles for survival against the demonic beasts, many of them most likely dying in the process..
Of course, it was nothing more than cheap sympathy.
Elves were enemies of the Empire and coexistence between humans and Elves was no longer possible.
The aftermath of a war that had lasted for centuries was too great.
By now, the animosity and bloodshed between them couldn’t be stopped.
Therefore, I was careful not to reveal even the slightest goodwill toward the Elves. After all, I was in front of those who had already lost family or comrades to them.
There was no reason to unnecessarily provoke their scorn.
So, I simply offered him a handshake filled with gratitude.
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll find my own way to the tent, so you may leave now. I look forward to seeing you again.”
“It was an honour to et Sir Ian, who is renowned across the continent. I hope you’ll show those devilish Elves the true extent of your skills…”
With that earnest request, the soldier departed.
He was rely soone assigned to temporarily escort . According to him, a vassal officially dispatched by the Yurdina family would arrive before long.
There were more than just a few military camps surrounding the Coniferous Forest.
Each of the dozens of camps housed hundreds of soldiers. This was done to efficiently control the forest, but the locations of these camps were kept secret.
Their exact locations were known only to the most loyal vassals of the Yurdina Family.
However, I was an exception—I needed to know the location of every camp.
Because not only was it unclear where information might be leaking from, I might also need to move between camps during the operation to infiltrate the Coniferous Forest.
That’s why Senior Delphine decided to dispatch a special vassal to assist —soone who had long been loyal to the Yurdina family and knew the locations of all the camps.
Though it was regretful that, as part of my mission, even such a person had to be monitored and suspected.
After greeting the key figures of the camp, I headed to the tent assigned to .
Perhaps thanks to Senior Delphine giving prior notice, the inside of the tent was cozy and warm.
At a glance, everything was of the highest quality.
Well, Senior Delphine and I had shared a passionate night together, after all.
Looking back on my first encounter with her, it was truly a ridiculous twist of fate.
Back then, Senior Elsie treated as if I were her ‘lover.’
She did it to provoke Senior Delphine.
And I used that as an opportunity to catch Senior Elsie off guard, which marked the beginning of our bond. From then on, the three of us beca comrades who always had each other’s backs.
That connection continued to evolve until, eventually, Senior Delphine and I ended up sharing a bed.
In a way, it was as if Senior Elsie’s prediction had co true.
Though of course, her current self wouldn’t want that at all.
Suddenly, a question I had buried deep in my mind resurfaced.
Soone witnessed the coupling between and Senior Delphine.
But who on earth was it?
Before heading to the front lines, I carefully observed my companions’ expressions. Even so, I gained almost nothing.
There was only one thing I realised.
For reasons unknown, every single one of my companions, with the exception of Yuren, seed to have had a sleepless night.
The Saintess, Senior Elsie, even the Princess and Emma were all like that.
When I probed for the reason, I didn’t get any satisfying answers.
They mostly just said they had nightmares.
Emma at least offered a sowhat plausible reason.
“W-Well, it’s just… actually, it was my first ti sleeping in such a luxurious bed. Ahaha…”
She confessed this while her cheeks flushed a bright red.
Seeing that, I resolved once again to place my unconditional trust in Emma, repeatedly vowing not to disturb her delicate heart any further.
So with Emma ruled out, that left three won.
The Saintess, Senior Elsie and the Princess.
It wasn’t a good lineup, considering that two of them already heavily weighed on my mind. I’d shared so flirtatious monts with the Saintess and Senior Elsie even confessed her feelings to .
If either of them found out about my relationship with Senior Delphine, I’d have to be prepared to sever ties.
At least, it was fortunate that Seria hadn’t co to the North. Had she discovered my affair with Senior Delphine, I might have seriously considered killing myself.
At the very least, I’d want my corpse to remain intact.
Just as I was groaning and agonising over this—
“……Master?”
The fabric covering the tent’s entrance was suddenly pulled back, and a girl peeked her head inside.
In fact, calling her a ‘girl’ wasn’t quite accurate. She was, after all, older than .
But with her petite figure and lovely features, no one would hesitate to call her a ‘girl.’
It was Senior Elsie.
As one of the very people I had been agonising over showed up, I sprang up in surprise.
Up until that mont, I had been leaning back in my chair, trying to rest. That brief respite ca to an end upon her arrival.
I forced a smile, trying to mask my nervousness.
“Senior Elsie, what’s the matter?”
But despite my question, no answer ca from her.
She hesitated for a mont, and then stepped into the tent after so reluctance.
I looked at Senior Elsie with a puzzled gaze.
Regardless, she began to make excuses in an awkward voice.
“I-It’s just that… oh, right! The bedding in my tent is uncomfortable. That Delphine bitch must have ssed with my tent, don’t you think?”
“…?”
Senior Elsie traveled all the way here from a distant land to assist Senior Delphine.
That seed unlikely, no matter how strained their relationship might be.
Though I tilted my head in confusion, I decided to take Senior Elsie’s side for now.
“Is that so? Then I’ll talk to the camp staff…”
“A-AAH! T-There’s no need for that!”
It was Senior Elsie’s voice, frantically trying to stop .
I had no choice but to drop the idea and look blankly at her again, unable to guess why she ca to see .
Her strange behavior continued.
Blushing, she gently sat down on the bed prepared for . Watching my reaction, she said,
“M-Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep well? I’m so tired, I thought I might borrow your bed for a while…”
Letting out a hmm, I scratched my cheek and swallowed back a sigh.
It wasn’t an implausible excuse.
Senior Elsie and the Saintess were on anything but friendly terms. The Princess would likely feel too intimidating and Senior Elsie would probably object to staying with Emma since she’s a commoner.
I’d rather decline even if Senior Elsie was okay with it. I could already picture the kind Emma fidgeting all day in front of her.
It might actually be better if she took a nap here in my room.
Having co to an understanding, I nodded readily.
“Alright then, I’ll go out for a bit, maybe do so scouting…”
“T-There’s no need for that!”
Senior Elsie quickly stopped again, her face turning beet red as she fanned herself with her hand.
She even subtly began to try to take off her outer garnt in the anwhile.
“Phew, it’s so, so hot in here… Is the heating turned up too high?”
“But we’re in the North. There’s no way it would get too hot from just using the heater in a tent…”
“N-Now that you ntion it, that’s true! It’s actually too cold, so could you maybe warm the spot next to for a bit, Master?”
Even when she was flustered like that, she was still unbuttoning her coat, one button at a ti.
I could only stare at her in disbelief.
“Wait, you just said it was cold…”
“Sleeping all bundled up like this… i-it’s just too uncomfortable, you know!”
Even soone as dense as couldn’t help but realize at this point.
Right now, Senior Elsie was trying to seduce .
I ran my hands down my face, unable to shake off the sudden suspicion that flashed through my mind.
Could it be that Senior Elsie was the one who witnessed it?
It looked like I’d have to handle the won before I could even deal with the Elves.
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