Chapter 225 – #224 Changes That Came in Three Days

“What on earth are we talking about… Freyr? I will ask.”

“No. Just stay still, Riel.”

“Still!”

I raise my head and look out of the castle.

A wide river flows beyond the castle walls, and beyond that are frozen lands and huge mountains.

A rough terrain where ordinary humans can never survive. Icecrown was a northern conqueror who settled there.

So it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand the current situation.

“You’re leaving us here for three days! We weren’t held here as prisoners. This is wrong treatment!”

I agree with that too. However, it is the only bridge connected to the north. The thick tension sent by the imperial soldiers there made this a natural occurrence.

They were afraid that Icecrown would lead a large army and move south.

“It’s okay, Riel. It feels good to feel the wind from home for the first time in a while. Also, it may be cold for others, but for us, it’s a warm wind, right?”

“Lord Freyr…”

“More than anything, it is important now to prevent war. We and they… Must at least avoid war. War takes a lot from us.”

“…”

To overcome this situation, I also met with the commander-in-chief. However, in front of numerous nobles, he flatly rejected my offer.

-Casualties on both sides approached 1,000. Even now, there are more than 100 people lying in hospital beds who cannot get up. If you treat Prince Icecrown in a situation like this, you will get angry from the soldiers. Therefore, I reject the Count’s offer. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It’s uncomfortable for both of us.

This certainly wasn’t the picture the emperor wanted.

However, Felhound, who would be eaten by a horse, was currently away, and since most of the nobles and the commander-in-chief who were distant from desire had the same opinion, I had no choice right now.

Phew. Her long sigh flowed from the mouth of her maid Friel. However, contrary to that reaction, her eyes were filled with respect for her master.

“Now you have grown up enough to rule a country.”

Riel stood up from her seat with a happy face.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to run some errands.”

“Yes. Come back.”

As Rielle walked to one side, the knights on guard duty made room next to her and briefly exchanged greetings.
However, on the contrary, her soldiers here showed her ferocious life even while staying at a distance from her.

“Monsters.”

“Because of these guys, Oscar and Malton…”

It was a reaction that clearly showed the current feelings toward the Ice Crown here in Halstenberg.

The two knights and Riel disappeared under the castle wall. Freyr saw that and tapped his thigh.

“Aslan. What should I do?”

“Huh?”

“I want to do this so much that it’s hard to hold back… Ugh.”

“… I see.”

Just a little while ago, he was talking like an adult. Freyr was in tears, saying it was really hard.

But there was nothing to do in this place with wide open spaces.

“I was connected to Aslan at best, but I live a celibate life. Ugh…”

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Uh. People’s desires are all connected in one way or another, so if there’s something you want to eat, let me know. I’ll take a look at the atmosphere in the village for a while and bring it back.”

“Oh, then there is something I really want to eat. Traditional Korean snacks…”

I received a brief request from Freyr and headed to the city.

War clouds were still hanging over the city, but it was not as unstable as before. Well, now that a bargaining chip called the prince of an enemy country has appeared, I guess I can feel at ease for now.

– Ice crown, a traditional snack. Are there any stores left here that sell something like that?

‘There will be. Because we did trade not long ago.’

Trade is not simply an act of exchanging goods. It also meant that their cultures and lifestyles would naturally be exchanged with each other.

And when it comes to culture, the first thing that comes to mind is food.

I stopped and asked people passing by one.

“Do you know a place that sells traditional ice cream snacks?”

People looked me up and down as if I was crazy.

‘What is this bastard doing? ‘Am I crazy?’ That kind of gaze stayed with me for a while and then disappeared.

Those who left without saying a word were the ones with good character, and most of them grabbed me by the collar. Okay. Like this.

“You fucking bastard. Hey, what are you? Do you want to get kicked?”

Most of the soldiers guarding this place are from here.

It was reported that the damage on both sides was in the thousands, so this reaction from the residents I knew here was only natural.

“Hey. There! Calm down.”

“Let go. Let go!”

“Sleep. I don’t know what you’re angry about, but please look at me and calm down today.”

The person who grabbed my collar and acted as if he was going to hit me spat on the floor when a man broke in and retreated.

The residents who had gathered to wonder what was going on dispersed again, and the man who had mediated the fight approached me and bowed his head.

“Greetings, I’m Baryon.”

“This is Kale. Thank you for your help.”

“No. It was something I had to do because of the grace I received.”

When I talked to him, he was one of the soldiers who had benefited from my temperature control magic by shaking my hand under the walls of the castle.

Since then, I have continued to do such good deeds whenever I pass by soldiers, and perhaps that is why there was no one among the soldiers stationed on the castle walls who did not know my face.

“But something happened, so that friend… Is not someone who gets angry easily.”

“Haha. It was my mistake. I was stopping people passing by and asking them where to buy traditional ice cream snacks.”

“Ah…”

Barion nodded his head as if he understood. He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment and then raised his index finger.

“Then would you like me to guide you?”

“I would really appreciate it if you could do that.”

“Follow me. This way.”

He moves his feet following Baryon, who is ahead, and listens quietly to people’s conversations. Unlike three days ago, the topics people were talking about had changed significantly.

“Did you hear? I heard that Florian’s hero also came here this time.”

“I heard it right away. That bastard just sticks next to Prince Icecrown and does nothing?”

– Oh, oh. I’m nitpicking at your backside.

It was like that. Before, I was worried that a war would break out, but now about 40% of people’s conversations were about swearing at me.

Since I have been through this type of work before, it was easy to come up with an estimate.

‘The nobles are using dirty tricks.’

– Nobility?

‘Uh. Since I seem to be getting along better with Freyr than I thought, I am creating a rumor to shake my position.’

Normally, I would never dream of doing something like this, but Freyr’s value has now been reduced to a tool of intimidation rather than a party to negotiations.

The nobles, who were confident that Freyr’s influence would decrease when he stood before the emperor and discussed his merits and deeds, used a shallow tactic to kill the racehorse called me in advance.

And even if it’s not necessarily true, it’s even more so because it looks like Freyr will push me at a glance.

“What’s the point of being a hero when you don’t care about your own people? Tsk.”

Barion paused for a moment, perhaps because he had heard the story as well. He looked around him, then entered an alley and spoke to me following him.

“Don’t worry too much. Not everyone thinks that way. It’s just that the residents are very sharp due to the battle that took place not long ago.”

“It’s okay. What they said is not wrong.”

“…”

The alley was like a winding maze. So much so that if you’re not from here, you’ll never be able to get around.

The reason I took this path was probably out of consideration for myself. People were still whispering along the main street.

“But, Count. Actually, I also have a question.”

“I’m listening.”

“Why do you want to buy the traditional ice cream snack?”

Baryon, who had been walking, stopped. Outside the alley, some robbers were gathered in front of a store, messing with the goods.

Even at a glance, I could see that that was where the item I wanted was located.

“It’s because the Ice Crown Prince wants to eat it.”

“… May I ask why you care for him so much?”

I could see his hand clenched into a fist. Since he had seen my good deeds all this time, he didn’t judge the rumors like the villagers, but his stern face meant that he also didn’t understand my current actions.

I calmly returned the answer.

“Because that is the way to prevent war.”

“Yes?”

“Prince Icecrown wants to prevent this war. So do I. But the nobles who are here now are only acting with their eyes on the horizon. They just want to stop the war now and get the title of marquess, and they are not thinking at all about the future. .”

It is a very hasty judgment to treat the person who will rule Ice Crown in the future so recklessly.

Even if we somehow manage to prevent war this time, this problem will come up again every winter, and the prince who returns to Ice Crown will be reminded of it every time.

The humiliation I received here.

“That’s why.”

“… I see. After hearing, it clearly, I realized that even though they are royal in name and appearance, they are treating them too thoughtlessly.”

Baryon’s expression relaxed. We looked out of the alley again. Before we knew it, all the people who had been misbehaving had disappeared.

An old woman and her young granddaughter began to clean up the messy store. We also walked there and helped.

“Huh? Brother Barion?!”

“How are you?”

“What are you doing at this hour? Aren’t you working?”

“I came out for a moment. This person said he actually had something.”

“In our store?”

As I approached, Barion introduced me to the old woman and the girl.

“This is my little sister, Betty, and this is my mother.”

It turned out that they were family.

I thought the reason I clenched my fist in the alley was because I was welcoming Freyr, but it seemed like it was because of something that happened to my family.

Betty spread her arms wide and focused on me.

“So what do you want to buy? Just tell us! We sell all kinds of ice cream related items!”

“Interesting. It must not be easy to find the goods now that trade has stopped, but there are so many different types.”

“I only import some ingredients, but I don’t do much. Most of them are made by myself.”

“Huh?”

“My late father was from Ice Crown!”

Oh my. Was that why?

A girl who looks about 15 years old takes out items one by one and arranges them in front of me.

Blue-colored fruit. Fluorescent snacks. Frosty beef jerky, etc.

To me, who rarely came to the north during Aslan’s time, each one of them was fascinating. I briefly tasted them and asked the girl.

“But neither you nor you, Betty, do you see any characteristics of the Icecrown bloodline?”

“Yep. They say that the probability of showing the characteristics of those people, such as pure white hair or pure white skin, is very low. So, it’s a shame, but it’s also a relief.”

“Why?”

“All Ice Crown women are beautiful. Even those born with a Half Crown are no joke, they are beautiful. However, because they stand out that much, they are discriminated against a lot.”

So it’s a shame, but it’s also a blessing.

I chatted with Betty and bought a lot of the Icecrown people’s favorite foods. The girl said she was happy and said that thanks to me, she was able to make up for all the damage she saw earlier.

He was a truly honest child.

“Count. Did you buy everything you wanted?”

“Huh? Count? Was this a nobleman, brother?”

“Okay.”

“So you have a lot of money… What is your last name?”

“Count. I heard you have urgent business. Please leave now.”

Baryon led the way, carrying the items I had purchased. I guess I was afraid that if it became known that I was Florian’s hero, things might escalate.

“I’ll tell you the next time I see you on the street, little girl.”

“Yes.”

“See you next time then.”

Freyr and Riel happily ate the food I bought, as if the fact that their father was from Icecrown was an empty statement.

When I finished eating and was full, Freyre looked back at me with a worried face, as if something suddenly occurred to me.

“But Aslan, can you do this with me?”

“Hmm?”

“The knights guarding us told us that they were having a meeting, and Aslan was the only one left out… They said that because you were so attached to me, you were hated by the Commander-in-Chief and the nobles.”

I constantly cast temperature control magic on the knights who came and went and escorted Freyr.

The goodwill they had built up was now so close that they joked and even exchanged snacks.

Is that why?

Even though they couldn’t tell me directly because they were worried about the nobles, the knights would provide me with important information through Freyr or Riel.

The nobles were openly ostracizing me.

– So are the rumors… Aslan, are you really going to just suffer like this?

People who hold meetings without me.

If you do not participate there, it is virtually impossible to achieve any achievements here.

Since the position of the Marquis, the administrator of this place, is vacant, the current highest authority is Belius, the commander and commander-in-chief of the imperial army.

But I wasn’t impatient.

“That can’t be possible.”

I was waiting now. I was waiting for those who would come to relieve me of this tight situation.

And soon the news reached me.

“Oh, Count Cranberry! The Commander-in-Chief is requesting to see you urgently!”

… It’s finally here.

“Freyr. I’ll be back for a bit.”

“Rice, it’s not a big deal, right?”

“Uh, no big deal, I’ll make sure you get down from here and make yourself comfortable. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Really?”

A child with a happy face.

But then he lowers his head.

“Hey… Don’t overdo it though. I don’t want Aslan to suffer damage because of me.”

Really, you’re so nice…

There were so many eyes watching that he couldn’t put his hand on his head, so I patted the back of his hand.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like that.”

I followed the soldier who brought me with a smile on my face.

After resting well for three days, it was time to start making achievements in earnest.

‘Then, shall we just relax for a bit?’