The aroma of roast meat filled the air, rich with the distinctive fatty fragrance of magical beasts, making their mouths water.
"Mmm, this is so good..."
Joern tore into the roast meat, grumbling through a mouthful, "It's been ages since I had fresh magical beast meat!"
He took another bite, his face full of contentment, only to remember his troubles and immediately sink back into dejection.
Louis ate his meat while studying Joern's current appearance.
Indeed, unlike the high-spirited young man who had first arrived in the Northern Frontier, Joern now actually looked a little weathered, and he had lost considerable weight.
"The Northern Frontier is no place for anyone to live!" Joern complained to Louis as he ate. "That frozen soil on my land won't grow any grain at all!
"And my subjects are lazy and afraid of hardship. Give them fields, and they don't know how to farm. Give them hunting bows, and they don't know how to use them. They just wait around all day for me to hand out relief grain! They all treat me like the Northern Frontier's greatest philanthropist!"
Louis comforted him. "Just get through the initial stretch and plan things out little by little. It'll get better eventually."
"If my old man weren't still sending me money every month and shipping grain up from the south, I'd have starved to death already!" Joern grabbed at his hair, his face filled with grief and indignation.
Supporting an entire fief with shipments of grain and money?
Louis fell silent for a moment, gaining a new appreciation for the Harvey Family's wealth.
Joern heaved a long sigh and tilted his head back to look at the sky. "If I'd known, I never would've come. Do you think my dad could plead with the emperor to let