Chapter 99. The End of the Long Winter (3)
Every day, she had endured pain that made her entire body feel frozen.
Now, that pain was completely gone.
She could no longer hear the auditory hallucinations that had always gnawed at the corners of her mind.
She felt incredibly refreshed, almost as though the illness tormenting her had been cured.
‘I died.’
Seraphia realized that she must have died.
However—
She had not wanted to die.
Who would want to die?
No one in the world truly wanted to die.
There were merely people who did not want to continue living as they currently were.
More importantly, she had only just begun growing closer to Adrian. She had been filled with dreams of living together with Adrian like a family.
Apparently, that had been....too greedy of her.
Even so—
Although she had earned his hatred, had she not gone camping with Adrian?
Although she had merely been bait, had she not fought alongside Adrian?
She undeniably possessed memories of the time she had spent with him. Those memories had given Seraphia a small measure of happiness.
....Yes, that was enough.
Although the joy and happiness had been terribly brief, they were more precious to Seraphia than anything else.
“Have you regained consciousness....?!”
A voice suddenly reached her.
Seraphia instinctively tilted her head and looked toward its source.
“Sir Kai....?”
Kai was here?
Her head, which had tilted to the left, now tilted to the right.
Why was Kai here?
Could Kai have died as well?
Had the Lycanthrope killed him?
Or could he possibly have been affected by Seraphia’s ability....?
“Thank goodness.... Truly, thank goodness.”
Kai slowly exhaled.
That breath carried all the pressure and concern that had weighed upon him.
Kai slowly approached Seraphia and knelt.
Seen up close, his eyes clearly showed signs of exhaustion.
“Truly.... Truly....”
However, his voice contained hope.
Kai quietly closed his eyes. Transparent droplets began gathering around them.
“Huh....?”
Seraphia blinked her red eyes. Still bewildered, she looked around the room.
“I am grateful that I can see you again....and that you returned to us safely.”
There was Bernard, the Head Butler.
“You really woke up!”
“How....?! I can’t believe it!!”
“Thank goodness.... Truly, truly, thank goodness!”
The maids of the lord’s castle—
All of them were looking at Seraphia with joy. There was no possibility that this many people had died.
“Am I alive?”
“That is correct.”
When their eyes met, Bernard nodded in response.
It was impossible to believe. However, as her senses gradually returned—
“H-Huh....?”
Seraphia’s eyes widened. She calmly looked inward and examined her body. She could still sense the cold flowing inside her.
In other words, the cold had not disappeared.
However, a warm heat was rising from somewhere. It enveloped the cold flowing throughout her entire body, thawing Seraphia’s frozen body and mind.
Because of that—
She was not in pain at all.
“H-How is this possible....?”
“Lord Adrian treated you, Lady Seraphia.”
The answer came from Kai. Tears still filled his blue eyes.
“My brother....did?”
Kai nodded once before explaining everything that had happened.
It was a fairly long story.
Seraphia did not miss a single moment of it. As the story continued, her eyes grew wider and wider.
By the time Kai finally reached the present—
“Ah.... Ahhh....”
Tears had gathered in Seraphia’s widened eyes. They soon transformed into the joy of being alive.
The maids in the room were so deeply moved that they hardly dared to breathe loudly.
Several of them also shed tears of joy.
Seraphia’s lips, which had once lost all their vitality now brimmed with life.
Her small shoulders trembled.
Quietly, as though something terrible might happen if she cried too loudly, Seraphia began to sob.
Kai turned his gaze toward the window. The County visible beyond the glass was frozen.
It was the season of bitter cold. Everything in the County was covered in frigid air. And yet, the County itself was not cold.
—Waaaaaaaaah!!
As news of Seraphia’s recovery spread throughout the County, the people raised their hands and erupted in cheers.
The territory residents embraced one another and shed tears of joy.
The children had grown pleasantly plump.
Although they did not fully understand what had happened, they ran around and cheered along with the adults because everyone was celebrating.
All of this was Adrian’s doing. It was a miracle accomplished by one person alone.
Because of Adrian alone, new hope was blossoming among the territory residents.
Thanks to Adrian alone, an unwavering belief in the County’s bright future had taken root.
And because Adrian was there—
Upon Seraphia’s tearful face, visible through the window—
The long and bitter winter finally passed.
“S-Sob....!”
The first flower of a warm spring day was beginning to bloom.
* * *
◆Seraphia’s Affinity toward you has reached its limit?!!
As expected, Affinity reaching its “limit” appeared to possess a different meaning.
Messages suddenly sprang up before my eyes like mushrooms.
For a moment, I could not even begin to guess what they were doing in the County this time.
◆The maximum Affinity and the Affinity limit are strictly different!!
◆It means that her positive emotions toward you have gone beyond being extremely powerful and entered an “excessive state”!
◆As a result, the possibility of further developing your relationship with Seraphia has opened, allowing an even deeper “bond” to be formed!!
◆Kkyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
It did not appear significant enough to have any immediate effect. As always, the messages from Berserk Overreaction [?] obstructed my vision.
◆What kind of magic did you cast?!!?
◆And that is not all!
◆If you bind and imprison me~ I’d love it!
◆Every territory resident in the County has now become your captive!
◆They have been captivated by you, who possesses the finest virtue a lord can have!
◆Are you asking what that virtue is?
◆It is the virtue of feeding them three filling meals every day!
◆Pardon....?
◆Who the hell is this “Three Meals a Day” bastard?
◆Why, that bastard is you!!
I had gained three levels, and 「Management Mode」 had not been revoked.
‘Management Mode....’
According to what I had heard previously, 「Management Mode」 served as a guide that allowed me to manage and examine information about the Territory I owned.
I had been preparing to establish the foundations of the Coalition Forces at the perfect time.
....It was definitely not sane.
The overreaction continued to evolve and develop every time.
It did not appear remotely sane.
Regardless, although I did not know what had happened in the County—
‘I suppose it worked out well.’
Setting Seraphia’s Affinity aside, the fact that the territory residents’ Affinity had reached [Trust] was extremely encouraging.
◆A Territory owned by the Player exists.
◆Would you like to register the Player-owned Territory in 「Management Mode」?
Fortunately, no error message appeared this time.
◆Registering the Player-owned Territory in 「Management Mode」.
+Loading....
So—
After some time had passed—
====
◆Registration complete.
Along with the completion message, the functions provided by 「Management Mode」 appeared before my eyes.
==< White Wolf County >==
[Area]—2,234 km²
[Population]—1,871
[Prosperity]—Township
1. The [Player] can acquire “Territory Experience” to increase the “Territory Level”.
As the Territory Level increases, the Player can acquire and apply various Territory Activity Research options and beneficial effects throughout the entire Territory.
2. The [Player] can examine the Territory’s financial condition and the current state of its material and human resources.
3. The [Player] can determine whether hidden resources exist within the Territory.
===
The information concerning the County was brief and straightforward.
Moreover, it contained only the most basic information. It did not provide as much varied information as I had expected.
There were no other features.
However, although the messages tended to overreact, they never lied.
‘Do I need to complete more quests to unlock additional features?’
That appeared to be the case.
It was disappointing, but the existing functions were still sufficiently useful.
I examined the information about the County displayed before me. According to the standards for Counties within the Kingdom of Vatenberg—
A small or medium-sized County generally covered approximately 500 km².
A large County could sometimes exceed 2,000 km².
Therefore, an area of 2,234 km²—
It was a substantial area that exceeded even that of a large County.
However—
‘Almost all of it is unusable land.’
The environment remained bitterly cold throughout the entire year. Only approximately five percent of the total area was habitable.
Even then, “habitable” did not mean that the land was useful.
There was a reason it was called a “Survival Limit Region”, where people could barely remain alive.
In other words, when only its practically usable area was considered, it did not even qualify as a small County.
Naturally, there was even less to say about its population. Its population was approximately equivalent to that of a Barony.
Perhaps because of that, its Prosperity Rank was merely Township.
It could be considered a Territory that had only barely advanced beyond the level of a hamlet.
‘Can I view detailed information for each category?’
Upon checking, I discovered that I could. I could examine the detailed information for each category if I wished.
I opened the details of the [Population] category.
◆Sex Ratio
[Male]—955 people (51%)
[Female]—916 people (49%)
It allowed me to determine the population’s sex ratio.
[Craftsmen]—77 people
[Employees]—48 people
◆Age Distribution
[14 and under]—531 people
[15–39]—857 people
[40–59]—306 people
[60 and over]—177 people
Along with the age distribution—
◆Occupational Distribution
[Villagers]—1,148 people
[Soldiers]—598 people
I could also understand the occupational distribution at a glance.
‘....How is a feature like this possible?’
The phenomenon was visible before my eyes, yet I could not believe it.
Could it be magic?
It included far too many things that magic could not reproduce.
Of course, I did not possess a detailed understanding of magic. However, I had the knowledge Iliana had taught me.
This was definitely not magic.
A function like this should have existed only within the imagination. Therefore, I should have considered it a form of Aura, but—
‘I can’t manipulate Aura.’
It went beyond being unable to manipulate it.
Aura could not even be “applied” to me.
Isolde’s Divine healing had been unable to affect me, which proved that fact.
That meant this was not Aura either.
It was Ian’s ability, which was neither magic nor Aura.
‘Could Ian have discovered another usable form of Mana energy?’
Mana, the Primal Energy.
The usable forms of Mana—
Mana Force.
Aura.
They were both forms of energy created by converting Mana into something “usable”, and both had been “discovered” by humanity.
In other words, there was a possibility that usable energies other than Mana Force and Aura existed.
It was possible that Ian had discovered one of them.
However—
‘I can’t manipulate Mana.’
It was not merely that I could not manipulate it. I could not even accept Mana into my body.
Therefore, even if Ian had discovered another usable form of energy, I would be unable to use it as long as it was based upon Mana.
That meant—
‘Could it be a power unrelated to Mana?’
That was the only conclusion I could reach.
In other words, there might be another Primal Energy besides Mana.
‘Hmm.’
When I thought about it, Ian’s ability, Solo Level Up [EX]—
It was a mysterious power that enhanced my physical abilities by raising something called a level.
It could not be explained through the power of Mana.
If it had been based upon Mana, it could not have affected me.
The same applied to Player’s Will [EX], which had now become Successor’s Will [EX].
Come to think of it—
‘All of Ian’s abilities have the Extra Rank [EX].’
Could another Primal Energy besides Mana truly exist?
Had Ian been capable of manipulating such a Primal Energy?
‘....Ian, you bastard. You should have just given me a proper explanation.’
Just wait until I meet him.
I would give him a serious piece of my mind.
Then again, Ian probably had not said anything because he did not know the details either.
However, Ian was ultimately the only person who might know the answers. These were questions that could only be resolved by asking Ian directly.
Yet Ian’s whereabouts remained unknown.
Was he drawing the Emperor’s attention?
Or was he traveling across the continent searching for me?
Nothing was certain.
In that sense—
‘I need to observe the Empire’s movements and gather information.’
If Ian was drawing the Emperor’s attention, he would have left traces within the Empire.
‘But contacting the Empire would be extremely dangerous.’
There was a risk that information about me might flow into the Empire.
Conversely, I might be exposed to the Emperor’s surveillance network, restricting my movements.
Since Seraphia, the Monarch of Frost, was currently with me, I needed to approach the Empire with extraordinary caution.
That was why I had avoided all information related to the Empire until now.
Information about the Empire was beyond the capabilities of Edlen and the Merchants’ Guild.
In any case—
No matter how I considered it—
‘I have far more than one or two questions for Ian.’
It was not something I could determine by thinking about it right now.
I shook my head and cast aside those thoughts. Then I carefully examined the population information before me.
In particular, I focused upon the occupational distribution.
‘It’s only natural that there are so many villagers.’
Villagers referred to territory residents who did not perform any specific work.
Since the category included both children and elderly people, it naturally accounted for the largest proportion.
Even after considering that—
‘There are far too many soldiers.’
The proportion of soldiers was overwhelmingly high.
Ordinarily, soldiers should constitute approximately one to five percent of the total population.
That was because they required enormous maintenance expenses.
The annual cost of maintaining a single soldier was three to five times greater than that of an ordinary territory resident.
What happened if soldiers constituted more than five percent of the population?
Their maintenance costs became impossible to bear.
Therefore, even when calculated at the maximum proportion of five percent, ninety-three soldiers would have been appropriate for the White Wolf County.
A force of 598 soldiers was undeniably abnormal.
‘It’s because no other productive activity is possible.’
The White Wolf County endured continuous bitter cold.
Farming was impossible, as were gathering, hunting, and every other kind of productive activity.
There was only one exception.
Selling monster by-products was the territory’s sole productive activity.
Soldiers were essential for hunting monsters.
Therefore, it was inevitable that they would account for an overwhelming proportion of the population.
When all those facts were considered—
‘This is disastrous.’
The situation was disastrously severe.
Of course, I had expected it to be bad.
However, seeing the actual figures revealed that it was far worse than I had imagined.
‘I can’t leave the County now....’
More importantly—
‘The matter of what to do with Seraphia remains ambiguous.’
My plan to use the White Wolf County as my base remained unchanged. In that case, it was time for me to take action in earnest.
‘The money remaining in my Inventory is....’
I had approximately seventy-five million gold remaining. It was an incredibly reassuring amount of capital.
Nevertheless, I could not simply relax.
‘It will disappear quickly once I begin using it as operating capital.’
Only my Inventory was Infinite.
My money was not.
‘I need to establish a self-sufficient economic system through Territory taxes.’
To accomplish that, I needed to create jobs so the territory residents could work and earn money.
That would require job creation.
In other words, I needed to devise various territory projects.
‘I have a long road ahead of me.’
However, even a massive wall began with a single brick.
I possessed more than enough capital.
More importantly, the operating system of the Coalition Forces, which had gathered all the continent’s power, remained perfectly preserved within my mind.
◆The Territory Quest [Unemployment, Argh! Damn It! Normalize the County Immediately!] has arrived.
Rebuilding the County would be child’s play.
**
Darkness settled over the White Wolf County.
Thud!
A heavy impact disturbed the County’s silence.
Rustle.
Bernard, the Head Butler, slowly opened his eyes.
It was the dark hour before dawn. Bernard looked through the window.
Beneath the faint moonlight—
Enormous crates had been neatly stacked atop one another.
Sacks of grain were piled as high as mountains.
Large quantities of high-quality cloth and silk had been heaped together.
“Wh-What in the world is that....?”
Bernard could not distinguish whether he was dreaming or awake.
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