"Whoosh—"
When the first flake of Ash Snow fell, it signaled that Blue Star had fully entered Harsh Winter.
Fine serrations edged the snowflake, and a thread of dark red ran through its core. It circled again and again in the gray sky before settling on the ground, becoming one insignificant flake among billions.
The temperature plunged. The cold seemed capable of freezing blood itself as it poured from the heavens into the earth. Pale mist swept along by wind and frost became the only thing clearly visible in the world.
"So cold!"
In Longwind Territory, the subjects did not abandon their work just because Harsh Winter had arrived.
In fact, they found they could bear the temperature.
They complained of the cold, but compared with last year's Harsh Winter, this year was better by far.
Then someone took out a thermometer and checked.
Minus 24.5 degrees.
That was merely a fairly low winter temperature in the north during the Old Era.
"No wonder!"
Staring at the number on the thermometer, people felt their understanding of the world since the Dark Age had been shaken.
They soon worked out the reason.
"It has to be because of the Lord. I can't think of any other reason it's so warm around Longwind City."
"I've heard people arriving from Lin Province say these past couple of days that it gets much warmer once you enter Longwind Territory. I thought they were imagining it, but it turns out they were right."
"The snowstorms of the Old Era can no longer hold back the warm spring of the New Era. From now on, Longwind City will be the best home for humanity on this land."
The difference was startling once they made the comparison.
People in Longwind Territory had grown used to its temperature