The Town's Current Situation

"Did Lord Aurelian tell you that too?" Old Rune asked suspiciously.

"Yes. Lord Aurelian told me to report to Master tomorrow morning."

Charles stood his ground, staring into his father's bewildered eyes.

Old Rune fell silent, his brows drawing tighter and tighter.

Lord Aurelian had actually said this kid had talent. That was unprecedented. As a member of the Star Royal Family, he must have seen every kind of genius imaginable. His standards had to be terrifyingly high!

"Could it be that Charles really does have talent?" Old Rune wasn't so sure anymore.

But he'd watched Charles grow up. Wouldn't he know exactly what the boy was capable of?

"Maybe I should let him give it a try?"

As the thought crossed his mind, Old Rune's gaze shifted. Suspicion remained, but deep within it lay a hint of expectation.

After turning it over in his mind, Old Rune finally spoke.

"You can go report to the knights tomorrow, but I have one condition."

Good heavens, he'd agreed so quickly! Was I dreaming?

Charles slapped himself hard across the face. His cheek swelled, and it hurt! This wasn't a dream, so what his father had said must be true.

He could no longer hold back his delight. Charles trembled with excitement.

"Don't celebrate too soon. If you fail the knight's examination, you'll come back and work at the forge like a good boy. And you'll never dream of becoming a knight again."

Old Rune's words poured cold water over Charles, dousing his excitement.

"Right. You have to pass the examination before you can become a squire."

After such a roller coaster of emotions, clouds gathered over Charles's head. He'd heard the odds.

Only one person in a thousand passed the knight's examination and became a squire. Could he do it?

"If you think you can't pass, you can give up now."

Old Rune said it as if he didn't care. He glanced at the pile of longswords and knight's armor in the corner, then went back to hammering. He still had work to finish.

That fatso Hume had demanded that he repair all the equipment within a month.

Looking at that infuriating, fat face, he wished he could smash it with a hammer!

"I'll pass. I'll prove to you all that I, Charles, have what it takes!"

Fourteen-year-old Charles raised his resolute face and swore.

"Hmph."

Old Rune paid him no mind. He snorted and continued hammering the glowing red iron.

In the study of Winter City's main keep, several candles cast a dim yellow light.

Aurelian stood in the study, a detailed map spread across the enormous desk.

The Frozen Land lay to the north, beyond the Wall of Despair.

He held a pen and marked the map, then connected all the black dots he'd added, tracing a route to Winter City.

"If we follow this route, we can avoid the most dangerous areas where monsters appear. But what should we do if a fierce tribe of barbarians shows up?"

Aurelian muttered to himself, racking his brain as he pondered the problem.

The barbarians worried him most. They were elusive, and their movements were difficult to predict. What if they appeared on the trade route?

If he couldn't find a way to deal with barbarian attacks, the trade route he'd planned would never be put into operation.

That was right: Aurelian wanted to establish a trade route between Winter City and the human settlements in the south, opening a long-distance road that would make those settlements Winter City's gateway to the outside world.

Of course, this would take a long time and require a great deal of manpower.

In the dim candlelight, he rubbed his temples and looked out the study window.

The sky outside was already slowly turning pale.

"Sigh. I used to stay up late working overtime in my old world. I never thought I'd still be doing it after transmigrating. I really am destined to work myself to the bone. Heavens, all I wanted at first was to be a carefree slacker."

He sighed, feeling that being the Duke of Winter really wasn't easy.

Shaking his head, he blew out the candles and headed for his bedroom.

Early in the morning, the fat Hume arrived at the entrance to Winter City's main keep.

He seemed a little ill at ease. First, he took out a round mirror to straighten himself up, then put on a suitable smile.

He knocked nervously a few times, wondering whether Lord Aurelian would see him today.

He couldn't help it. He'd been turned away every time he came, and Hume no longer expected much.

With a creak, the door opened a crack. A servant dressed in black and white asked, "Who do you wish to see?"

"Heh heh, I'd like to see Lord Aurelian. If he's busy, I'll head back right away."

Having said that, Hume turned to leave, but then he heard:

"Come with me."

He froze.

"Hume, you're just in time."

Aurelian slumped in a chair, bleary-eyed, and let out a long yawn.

"My lord, I'm here to report on the situation in Frost Town."

Hume smiled ingratiatingly, looking every bit the sycophant.

After hearing his steward's report, Aurelian suddenly perked up. He opened his sleepy eyes and studied the fat man before him.

"Go on."

Seeing Aurelian suddenly change, Hume was taken aback. Then he quickly came to his senses.

He hurriedly pulled out a notebook. It contained all the records of Frost Town's population.

"There were four hundred and thirty people who followed you to Winter City, my lord. But because of the famine, two hundred starved to death. Most of them have already been buried."

"And how many are there now?" Aurelian asked at once. He was eager to know exactly how many people remained.

"Uh, according to my count yesterday, there are now one hundred and twenty adult men, fifty adult women, and sixty children. The people I sent to investigate also found that most of them don't have much food left. Those with the least can last two weeks; those with the most can hold out for another month."

Worry filled Hume's face. He seemed to see the grim future awaiting Frost Town, though he had no idea what the lord would do.

As far as he was concerned, the best solution was to abandon the territory and slink back to the Grand Capital.

"Can they really hold out for only that long? Damn it. The Magic Seed Wheat won't mature for at least another three months—not until winter arrives. And that's already the fastest it can grow."

"Perhaps, Lord Aurelian, we should return to the Grand Capital now. I'm sure your father won't abandon you."

Hume ventured cautiously, studying Aurelian's expression.