1 – Used to be My Favorite

It’s a rather cruel tale, but in order to help others, one needs a certain level of ability.

Trying to help someone without ability inevitably becomes a nuisance.

Moreover, it often led to causing problems; even help filled with good intentions was better left unoffered if one lacked the ability.

‘Besides, Elysia never asked me for help.’

Me sneaking around trying to help Elysia now,

It’s no different than holding a knife and threatening, ‘Accept my help.’ It was better not to do anything unnecessary.

‘So, first, after building up my abilities to the point where I can be of substantial help to Elysia,’

It would be ideal to continuously showcase my abilities and wait until Elysia asks me for help.

… That was my rational judgment.

But only a few steps away, I could see Elysia, whom I longed to meet even just once; there was no way I could endure not going.

So, I found a suitable compromise somewhere between reason and emotion and got up.

If you lack ability in one area, you can find another capable field and use that to help.

For example, in Damian’s case, it was ‘money.’

Of course, even in the barren North, a Grand Duchess wouldn’t lack money, so giving her money would be meaningless.

But with goods, even if you have money, there are many cases where you can’t get them.

Giving gifts is quite a meaningful action for gaining favor, even if the other person has a lot of money.

‘She definitely looked incredibly tired.’

Dark circles deeply set beneath her eyes, and pale skin.

Knowing that it was the result of excessive fatigue caused by too much work, I decided to brew her some tea that’s good for relieving fatigue.

‘Knowing Alicia’s personality, she might refuse jewels, but she wouldn’t be able to turn down drinks or food so easily.’

Besides, if it was said to be good for fatigue recovery, she’d likely drink it while still showing a displeased expression. Thus, I resolved to make it.

‘…If I recall correctly, you burn petals of the Sun-Swallowing Flower and the Glass Flower in equal parts until they turn to ash.’

In terms of the novel’s timeline, it’s still the early stages, so it’s not yet revealed information.

Mixing and boiling those two together results in an almost omnipotent fatigue-recovery potion, as depicted later in the story.

‘Thinking from the author’s perspective, it seems they’ve employed this device to quickly advance the protagonist’s growth.’

Regardless of the truth, it’s incredibly effective for fatigue recovery, so I thought it best to brew and drink it. Rummaging through my luggage, I luckily managed to find both ingredients.

The moment I found them, I couldn’t hide my smile, and taking them with me, I immediately headed outside.

*

After thoroughly burning the two flower petals, I used them to make tea.

To verify its effectiveness, I drank a cup, and it felt as though the fatigue throughout my body was quickly dissipating.

‘Not bad.’

Well, even the protagonist, who has absolutely no skill, easily succeeds in making this drink, so it probably wasn’t that difficult.

With that thought, I offered a cup of the drink to the knight escorting me and said,

“You’re tired, aren’t you? Drink this.”

“Pardon?”

The flustered knight looked at me, bewildered. It must be that my actions were so different from my usual demeanor that he didn’t know how to react.

‘Normally, one would maintain the character’s established personality…’

But this isn’t Damian’s main family estate, but the northern castle.

In other words, the only people who truly know Damian are the knight escort and his personal maid.

Even if my personality suddenly changed, there wouldn’t be any problems.

‘No, it’s better if it changes, rather.’

The reason why Damian in the early parts of the story was able to act so cocky, despite lacking ability, was one thing: that escort knight was a monster in his own right.

Remembering how the protagonist couldn’t kill Damian until the later parts of the story because of that guy, I turned my head away.

‘So, rather than bother with pointless acting…’

I decided it was more beneficial to act according to my original personality and treat him moderately well.

Anyway, after giving him a cup of the drink as a token of my appreciation for his hard work, I took the remaining drink and went straight to Alicia.

“…”

Upon entering her room, I was met with a blatant act of ignoring me, as she focused intently on her work.

It must be that she didn’t even want to acknowledge me after what happened this morning.

I approached her then, carefully pouring tea into her cup as I spoke.

“Drink while you talk.”

“I don’t know what your intentions are, but to pass away…”

“It’s a tea good for recovering from exhaustion.”

At the words ‘recovering from exhaustion’, Elysia stared blankly at the tea.

If it was visible enough to others, the person in question was likely already completely steeped in that exhaustion. It seemed the phrase had piqued her interest.

‘If only…’

The fact that I was the one offering the tea seemed to be the source of her inner conflict.

Elysia gazed at it, then resolutely turned her head, making it clear she wouldn’t drink it.

‘A shame, but perhaps I should stop here.’

There’s plenty of time, after all. I can offer it again later.

Realizing that forcing the issue would only increase her resistance, I turned away.

*

Regardless, I felt pleased to have spoken with Elysia.

I struggled to suppress the slow-blooming smile as I organized my tasks.

‘First and foremost, I need to request assistance from the family.’

The ‘assistance’ I was referring to was a request for elixirs to be sent.

To accelerate my power growth as quickly as possible, I needed the elixirs provided by the family, so I penned a letter to them.

‘Next, two major tasks remain.’

The first was improving my close combat skills, vital in battle.

The second was forming a contract with the ‘Spirit of the Sun’ sleeping in the northern lands.

Both were time-consuming endeavors, so it was best to work on them simultaneously. For a while, I would focus on these.

‘However, the first task will likely leave me unable to move after training, so it’s better to start with the second.’

Seducing the Spirit of the Sun, that was the first goal.

Having decided to tackle this first, I summoned the guard who was still sipping at the tea.

He seemed utterly captivated by the tea I’d poured. He lapped at it like an alcoholic trapped in the apocalypse savoring their last drink. I was dumbfounded.

“Go to the kitchen and bring back any bread they aren’t using. As much as possible, if you can.”

“Hwa?”

The guard made a strange noise, staring at me, then finally nodded.

Despite his confusion, he couldn’t disobey my orders, it seemed. He walked into the kitchen.

“If that one’s drinking his tea with such gusto, the effect must be considerable indeed.”

Thinking it would be nice if Elysia would drink some too, I pondered whether to bring sweets next time.

Just then, the guard knight strode into view, effortlessly carrying a rather large bundle in my direction.

“Little Master, I’ve brought every sort of bread imaginable. What exactly are you planning to do with all this?”

Explaining would be possible, but it was far too bothersome.

Ignoring him, I merely told him to follow, adding a single phrase.

“If you do a good job, I’ll brew you another cup of tea.”

“Yes, sir!”

I didn’t really need to brew him another; according to the novel, he’d obey my orders unconditionally…

But since he seemed so pleased, I decided to brew him one more cup and continued on my way.

*

A deep forest where everything was frozen, untouched by even a single ray of sunlight.

Normally, entering this place would mean meeting a gruesome end, but fortunately, I had my guard knight.

Trusting in this, I walked onward, endlessly following the rising moon.

‘The novel definitely said that following the moon would lead me to the Spirit of the Sun.’

The only way to revive the North, the Spirit of the Sun who rivaled even the most powerful ancient dragons.

To meet such a being, the novel described leaving through the back gate of the manor and following the moon.

‘Normally, this would require solving a problem from an ancient text left behind by a grand mage…’

Since I already know the answer, all those steps can be skipped and only the solution needs to be applied.

Following the moon led to a large pond, and in the center of the pond, the Spirit of the Sun was trapped in ice.

[There is only one way to free the Spirit of the Sun from the ice…

Show kindness to the animals that wander nearby.

That is the only way to make the Spirit of the Sun your ally.]

I recalled a portion of the original novel and asked the guard knight for the bundle.

The guard knight, still unable to understand my actions, wore an expression of bewilderment.

Ignoring his gaze, I opened the bundle, pulled out a bread, and tossed it into the undergrowth.

‘After all, coaxing animals with food is the easiest way.’

If I throw some out like this every day, they’ll grow fond of me, even if they don’t want to, allowing me to easily obtain the Spirit of the Sun.

I smiled, imagining how much more glorious I could make the North by making a pact with the Spirit of the Sun.

‘If crops grow in the North, I’ll be able to see Elysia smile with my own eyes.’

Imagining just how delighted Elysia would be, I scattered the rock-hard bread to all manner of beasts, or perhaps, strange creatures.

Mixing the hope that they’d appreciate my efforts with the desire for their happiness, I smiled with a swell of pride.