5 – Warmth Blossoms 2

In the North, when blizzards rage so intensely that finding food becomes extremely difficult, one is forced to make difficult choices.

In other words, those who cannot immediately find food must be classified as worthless.

Conversely, adults who can venture out and find food must be valued highly.

Therefore, in such situations, the elderly and children were the first to be sacrificed in the North.

The elderly and children, unable to find food, were assets for the future, not the present, and thus became worthless for the time being.

If one was led by pity to invest in worthlessness, the whole family could starve to death.

So, secretly slipping a frozen scrap of food into one’s own mouth, hiding from the crying child, and going out hunting was paradoxically the only way to save the children.

The North was a harsh, desolate place where everything was directly tied to survival, and the realm of emotions was forced to freeze.

In that sense, the North seen in the heart of the city was an excessively empty place.

Everything was covered in snow due to the blizzard, and the only people wandering around were hunters or a few adult men.

They passed by me, glaring with wary eyes.

To them, a foreigner was simply a competitor who had come to take their share.

Furthermore, a powerful foreigner could be someone who could destroy what they had barely built up.

Therefore, they shunned and guarded against me.

Feeling like I was alone in a one-eyed village, I summoned the spirit, placed it on my palm, and opened my mouth.

“Will you help me?”

The spirit nodded its head quickly, as if anything I said was fine.

I synchronized with the spirit’s power, coaxing forth a warmth.

Drawing upon the spirit’s power wasn’t so difficult.

Simply commune with the spirit, and envision the work you wished to accomplish.

Though, perhaps due to my inexperience, a heavy burden pressed upon my mind, bringing with it a throbbing headache.

But it was bearable enough that I could grit through it, scattering the solar spirit’s power widely.

“…Huh?”

Starting with someone’s voice laced with bewilderment, the snow that had fallen endlessly from the sky began to subside.

Of course, it couldn’t shield the entire city, only managing to do so within a radius the size of a sports field, centered around me.

But it was enough to draw out the northerners who had been hiding from the cold in their homes.

“It’s not snowing here.”

“It’s warm here…?”

As the falling snow vanished and was replaced by rain, melting everything around them, the northerners emerged one by one with bewildered expressions.

I wasn’t able to generate perfect warmth, so the temperature wasn’t terribly high.

But even that was a miracle to them, and they all began to stand in the rain centered around me.

“Everyone seems happy.”

Lorraine smiled softly as she looked at the people gazing up at the sky around us.

I nodded towards Lorraine, suppressing the oncoming headache as I slowly surveyed the surroundings.

The snow continued to melt.

People, likely never expecting to witness such a sight in the north, stood on the muddy ground and began to offer prayers.

Some, weeping, collapsed onto the slushy earth, calling out someone’s name.

“Oh, Goddess…”

“If only… if only it had warmed up faster. Elena could have lived.”

“Ha… haha, it’s warm.”

It seemed the solar spirit possessed the power of life as well, not just warmth, quickly sprouting flowers and plants, erasing the desolation.

This meant the surroundings were gradually being dyed a vibrant green.

And it had the effect of drawing even more attention, summoning more people.

Everyone was so preoccupied with the change in temperature that they didn’t seem to realize I was responsible, which stung slightly.

But if Elysia knew, I thought it didn’t matter much, and I tried to shake it off when suddenly.

“This is for you, mister!”

A small child held out a freshly bloomed flower.

I watched the blue flower in my hand, about to offer a word of thanks, when the child’s mother, or so I assumed, swiftly pulled the child back, disappearing into their home.

To them, I was still just an outsider, someone to be wary of, it seemed.

Still, I was thinking it was fortunate that even one person acknowledged me.

“But… Lord, what in the world have you been doing?”

Lorraine, beside me, stared with a face full of astonishment and suspicion.

“It’s… a thing.”

At my vague reply, Lorraine’s eyes narrowed with suspicion before she mumbled a quiet, “Ah, so it *is* that,” nodding to herself.

I sensed she was harboring some bizarre misunderstanding, but I didn’t have the energy to care, so I ignored it and looked around.

The city was no longer being dusted with snow.

Instead of the silence of despair, I heard laughter.

Seeing this place where hope was beginning to bloom, I smiled, wishing Elysia could see it.

* * *

After my grueling six months of effort, the northern city was no longer shivering in the cold.

The icy grip that had held the city was now gone.

And upon the frozen earth where proper life couldn’t take root, countless living things were now sprouting.

The words “barren” and “desolate” no longer fit; the north now flourished with a multitude of crops.

Trade, which had previously been severely limited, had also increased dramatically, with all kinds of goods circulating through the streets.

It was still hard to call it a wealthy city, but it was no longer to the point where people were starving to death every time a blizzard hit, so laughter filled the city.

‘More than anything, hope had been born.’

Those who had feared losing the little warmth they had, huddling and wary of strangers.

Now, they were standing taller and starting to approach new things.

Acting with the belief that things would get better and starting to breathe life into each other…

‘The problem is, they’re starting to take this warmth for granted, aren’t they?’

Not to flatter myself, but the north’s warmth was entirely my doing.

To be more precise, I was ‘temporarily’ maintaining the warmth of the northern city by borrowing the power of spirits.

Which meant that if I didn’t pour my energy into keeping the north warm, it would quickly revert to how it was before.

‘It takes so much energy, I was hoping they’d develop on their own, if possible.’

It seemed they wouldn’t be pursuing any research on their own given that they are taking it for granted, and this worried me.

But for Elysia’s sake, I didn’t mind suffering, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.

‘Well, anyway, the important thing is the story of Elysia.’

It’s possible that diligently offering Elysia greetings for six months, giving her rides, and constantly trying to warm the North had something to do with it, but she no longer told me to vanish the instant she saw me.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ve become friends…’

The relationship wasn’t dramatically different compared to six months ago.

If pressed, you could say it evolved from a thoroughly repulsive feud to something resembling a neighborly acquaintance.

Naturally, I was more than satisfied with even that much, so as I was pouring Elysia some tea, about to bring it to her, I happened to spot something rather wonderful.

“Elysia!”

Having found this treasure, I rushed to her office, wanting to show Elysia, and called out to her.

Elysia, expressionless, looked at me, her gaze steady.

I, in turn, looked at her, gesturing towards the corridor, and said,

“Come with me for a moment!”

“… Damian. I apologize, but I’m afraid I can’t, as I have a great deal of work piling up.”

“Just come!”

Perhaps it was because I never behaved this way before.

Unexpectedly, Elysia followed me quite obediently… well, not followed exactly. She was practically dragged out into the corridor, protesting as she went.

“I sincerely hope this is of some consequence.”

The implication that she’d make me pay if it wasn’t made me a little apprehensive, but I desperately wanted to show her this, so I endured it and quickened my pace.

“……”

Shaking Elysia, who was scrutinizing a document with a fierce look, I pointed to a window at the corner of the corridor and said,

“Would you look over here?”

“… Haa.”

It was probably pointless, but having been dragged all the way here, she figured she might as well take a look.

Elysia, like an emotionless puppet, stared out the window with a blank face.

At that moment, for the first time, Elysia’s expression changed from one of utter impassivity to one of widened eyes, like someone discovering hope at the end of despair.

‘She must have known from the documents that the North had changed significantly.’

But constantly cooped up in her office, buried in paperwork, it seemed she hadn’t actually seen how much it had changed.

I playfully spoke, watching Elysia beside me, wearing an expression as if she was looking at something incredibly precious.

“Do you like it?”

Asking this would probably elicit one of two responses, with a high probability of:

‘I have no interest.’

‘It is not unpleasant.’

“Yes.”

I wasn’t expecting much, knowing her response would likely be devoid of any genuine emotion.

“…Yes. I like it very much… I like it very much.”

The unexpected answer burst forth, surprising me.

I stared at the smile blooming across Alicia’s face, and in reverse, found myself caught off guard, blinking rapidly.

Alicia turned to me, offering her thanks.

“I am truly grateful for you showing me this spectacle.”

The wind howled, scattering Alicia’s snow-white hair in every direction.

Bathed in the light, it seemed to shine brighter than anything else, and I simply gaped at it, mesmerized.

She smiled brightly once more, her gaze returning to the vibrant cityscape, and continued speaking.

“What I’ve been doing wasn’t meaningless, then.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, yes.”

“I’m truly… relieved.”

I hadn’t imagined hearing those words in my wildest dreams, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.

I could only blink and nod in response.

She continued to gaze out the window, before turning her attention back to me.

“Then I suppose I must work even harder.”

And with that, unlike before, she began walking down the hallway, her expression brimming with vitality.

Watching her go, I smiled, once again reminded of the reason I had fallen for her.

Or rather, had smiled.

Until the monstrous horde, of unbelievable size, erupted from the rift.

And that was.

“We’ve received reports that Lord Damian has been entering the deep forest every night. And this sudden warmth… It seems undoubtedly connected to the rift.”

Also connected to the engagement annulment that would soon be declared.