“Go back. I’ll release your feet.”
Arisa stretched out her hand.
There was no need to wait for her to release me. Using Cold Resistance, I easily shattered the ice and continued walking forward.
“I’d like to talk.”
“I told you not to come any closer……!”
As I approached, an even fiercer cold erupted from Arisa’s body.
The snow-covered cabin froze solid in an instant.
‘……As expected, she still can’t control the cold.’
In my previous life, I first met Arisa after the territory had fallen, when I was staying with the Loa Merchant Company and taking commissions.
By then, Kardum had already been destroyed.
Arisa had been there alone.
I remembered her being so thin that her bones showed, simply waiting to die.
Unable to leave her like that, I brought her back to the merchant company and recruited her as a companion.
Back then, Arisa never spoke a single word, her eyes completely devoid of life.
For roughly a year, all she did was fight when told, eat, and sleep.
There had been a point when Arisa suddenly started speaking…… but it had happened so long ago that I couldn’t remember exactly when.
‘Still, at least she gets annoyed now. Should I consider that a good thing……?’
I stared at Arisa’s face.
In my previous life, she had a scar on her forehead, but it wasn’t there now.
Even after she began speaking, she never talked about her past, so all I knew was that she had stayed here and that her name was Arisa.
“I’m trying to help you, Arisa.”
I deliberately called her by name.
I remembered that before dying in my previous life, Arisa had said she wanted me to call her name.
‘……I still don’t know why she said that as her last wish on a battlefield engulfed in flames.’
If calling her name could soften her heart even a little, I would say it a hundred times.
“How do you know that name?”
“……Huh?”
A massive icicle formed above Arisa’s head and slammed into the ground in front of me.
CRASH!
“Did that old man tell you……?”
Her gaze shifted toward Aleph behind me.
Aleph went pale and frantically shook his head.
‘Wait, she doesn’t like being called by her name?’
I had jumped to conclusions.
My previous life and the present were clearly different.
It drove home the fact that memories of the past wouldn’t always give me the right answer.
“It doesn’t matter how you know. But if you say my name one more time, I won’t stop at a warning.”
She looked thoroughly furious.
Maybe I should stop here for today.
“I’ll be careful.”
Without answering, she slammed the door shut and went back into the cabin.
Aleph tilted his head as he watched me return after spectacularly ruining everything.
“How are you walking around in that cold like it’s nothing?”
“I cast warming magic on myself. I’m a mage.”
“So you really might be able to treat her. By the way, did I ever tell you that girl’s name?”
“Well, you might have let it slip at some point…….”
“My apologies. That girl absolutely hates having her name spoken. That could’ve ended badly.”
“Why does she hate it?”
Aleph stroked his beard and thought for a moment before slowly speaking.
“Because Arisa is the name her real parents gave her.”
“Come to think of it, you said you brought her here when she was young.”
“If you’re going to treat her, you should know exactly what condition she’s in…… You haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you? Follow me. I’ll explain everything while we eat.”
***
I spooned warm soup made with well-cooked venison and bear meat into my mouth.
I had assumed they would be poorer than our territory, but no one here seemed to be going hungry.
Dwarves were famous for their smithing, and apparently people from various nations came here to buy their wares.
On top of that, with bodies packed with muscle from mining and hammering, the Dwarves were excellent hunters as well.
“This is good. Thank you for the meal.”
“It’s a specialty of our village. We burn wood from around here to give it the aroma.”
After boasting about the food, Aleph began speaking about Arisa in a serious tone.
“Long ago, I once traveled rather far to hunt. Strangely enough, there wasn’t a single animal anywhere near our village. It was as though they’d all fled. So we eventually decided to ask another nearby village for help. As you know, there are quite a few minority peoples in the North who belong to no kingdom.”
He gulped down strong liquor and continued.
“But there were far too many monsters around that place. It looked like they were preparing to attack. Thinking we had to help, our group took up our weapons and headed over. That village traded with us often, so there was a narrow path that short Dwarves could use.”
“That sounds a lot like the current situation.”
Aleph didn’t deny it.
“Anyway, after entering the village through that path, we were shocked. The ground, the buildings, even the people…… everything was frozen solid. The monsters didn’t even need to attack. Everyone already seemed dead. Except for one person.”
That person had been Arisa.
“I was the village chief, and I couldn’t leave a child there alone, so I decided to take her with me. At the time, I had no idea that child was the one who had frozen the entire village. As I raised her, I discovered Arisa possessed a special power.”
“You saw what happened to that village yourself, yet you still kept Arisa here.”
“It isn’t as though we’ve never had problems. There was one rather serious incident, and some people even suggested exiling her. But how could I send a child I’d raised like my own daughter outside when I knew she’d die?”
Aleph muttered softly,“If they’re afraid of Arisa, those monsters should run far away. I don’t understand why they’re gathering instead. At this rate, our village won’t last much longer either.”
“Monsters covet magical power while fearing it at the same time. They’re waiting for Arisa to weaken, constantly looking for an opening.”
“When I heard you were a lord’s son, I expected some sheltered young noble. But you can use magic, and you’re knowledgeable too. So how do you plan to treat her?”
“I’ll take her to my territory.”
“What will change if she goes there? From what I’ve heard, your territory isn’t doing very well either.”
“There’s a place there that can treat her.”
Aleph looked at me suspiciously.
Yulian answered that look instead.
“It’s true. Lord Lumio also suffered from a serious illness, but he was completely cured there.”
“……Come to think of it, I thought something was strange. I heard the northern lord’s son had an incurable disease.”
“I never thought my own body would serve as proof.”
Perhaps because of the alcohol, Aleph’s slightly flushed expression softened.
“Take good care of her. It’ll probably be difficult to convince her to go all the way to the North. I think she still remembers freezing that entire village in the past…… Poor child.”
“Don’t worry. I know that girl better than you might think.”
I knew what she liked and disliked, even her hobbies.
‘With this much information, winning her over should be guaranteed.’
I had exactly zero romantic experience, yet for some reason, strange confidence surged within me.
***
The next morning, Yulian and I cast Blur and made a trip back to the northern territory.
Even though I had supposedly been cured, I would definitely be severely scolded if my parents discovered I had spent the night outside the territory, so I greeted them before heading out again.
I also didn’t forget to shop at one of the merchant companies in the territory.
“Why did you buy all of that?”
I was carrying a pendant, a music box, raspberries, and even a dragon fruit.
“Haha. They’re gifts for Arisa.”
“Will she like those things?”
I clicked my tongue and wagged my index finger from side to side.
“You really don’t understand women. There isn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t like receiving gifts like these. Then again, you’d have to have dated someone to know that.”
“You’re speaking as though you have. If someone I didn’t know suddenly gave me gifts, I’d feel uncomfortable.”
“These days, a handsome face alone won’t get you everything.”
I spoke confidently.
I might never have dated anyone, but I had given relationship advice to enough people to fill an entire wagon.
I had even emptied my allowance and spent a small fortune on these.
‘This should at least get her to hear me out.’
CRASH―!
At least, that was what I thought…….
Another enormous icicle stabbed into the ground right in front of my feet.
“I warned you yesterday, didn’t I?”
“Just look at this once. Have you ever seen a toy that makes music?”
I hurriedly wound the music box.
A sound like falling droplets of water trickled out.
But the music was quickly drowned beneath the howling wind surrounding Arisa.
“Then how about this…… Girls around your age use things like this to dress up.”
The glass jewel embedded in the pendant froze solid in an instant.
“……Well, you’ve probably eaten plenty of raspberries, so those wouldn’t be very interesting.”
Given the frigid atmosphere, I didn’t even bother taking out the raspberries.
But it was fine.
I still had my secret weapon.
The dragon fruit.
It was a fruit grown in the warm southern regions, something people living in the North would rarely even get to see.
The Arisa I knew had once said she wanted to try dragon fruit.
“What is that weird-looking thing? Are you trying to poison me?”
My fingers went limp, and I nearly dropped it.
“Pfft.”
Behind me, Yulian’s cheeks puffed up as he struggled desperately not to laugh.
‘This bastard…….’
“You’d better get lost quickly. From now on, I don’t care whether you freeze or not.”
She’s changed.
‘She used to be quiet and cold, but she never made it this obvious that she hated me!’
……No.
Considering the timeline, this was probably her true personality.
‘I also worked like a dead man after my territory fell.’
Right.
At least she was willing to talk now.
That was better than back then.
I let out a faint sigh and placed the things I had brought on the ground.
“I’ll leave them here. If you’re curious, try the fruit. It’s sweet and good.”
Yulian excitedly waved his hand, telling me to hurry back.
I felt a vein on my forehead throb.
Still, I couldn’t act like a child just because he was.
I approached him with a mature, gentle smile.
Apparently, that wasn’t the reaction he wanted, because Yulian’s expression turned sulky.
“What a shame. I suppose even you fall out of a tree sometimes, Lord Lumio?”
“You look happier about this than when I was cured.”
“……That is slander.”
“Lower the corners of your mouth before saying that.”
Yulian rubbed his cheeks with both hands to loosen the muscles.
Just how hard had he been smiling for his cheeks to hurt?
“So what now? Even the plan of Lord Lumio, who understands ‘romance’ so well, has failed.”
“If gifts don’t work, we’ll have to return to something more primitive.”
“What do you mean?”
The moment Yulian asked in confusion, I shamelessly pointed at his face.
“If I don’t work, we’ll have to try seducing her with you.”
“You seem to have forgotten. It’s too cold over there for me to approach.”
“Don’t worry about that. I know countless spells that can raise your body temperature.”
I lightly snapped my fingers and cast warming magic over Yulian.
“Go. That’s an order.”
I answered with the dignity of an adult.
“Just watch. I’ll succeed in one try. I’ve been confessed to several times, you know.”
Yulian confidently walked toward Arisa’s cabin.
Strangely enough, Arisa didn’t stop him this time.
The farther he walked, the more triumphant his expression became.
‘So the answer really was his face?’
Eventually, Yulian entered the cabin.
Less than five seconds later, he came back out.
‘What? Why is he coming back?’
Yulian picked up the things I had left on the ground and went back inside.
Then he immediately came back out again.
‘……An errand boy?’
The confident expression from before was nowhere to be seen.
The moment I saw his brow furrowed deeply, I nearly spat from trying not to laugh.
“Pfft.”
Seeing me cover my mouth with my hand, Yulian lowered his head.