Chapter 128: Their Respective Winters

“Got it! It’s our win!”

“Damn it! They got us!”

Bianca raised the flag, rejoicing in her victory, while Jean frustratingly hurled a snowball at the ground.

The snowball fight between the boys’ team and the girls’ team ended with a victory for us, the girls. Well, their side only had three—Elliott, Jean, and Leon—while our side had four—me, Bianca, Ritsu, and Estelle—so we had a numerical advantage right from the start.

“Leon! You gotta hold out longer!”

“Don’t ask for the impossible! There’s no way I can take on three people by myself!”

Jean blamed Leon, who had dropped out early on, but that’s a bit too harsh.

After all, right after the match started, we targeted Leon, who lacks athletic reflexes, and relentlessly attacked him as a group. Attacking the enemy’s weak point is standard military tactics!

Jean tried to go help him, but Bianca blocked his path, and Leon was easily taken out.

Once that happened, it became two against four. They had to face double their numbers. The boys’ team was gradually pushed back, and seeing an opening, Bianca snatched the opposing team’s flag.

“You were going on about giving us a handicap because we’re girls, but you lost, huh? What’s the matter, Jean?”

“Grrr…! One more time! I’ll win next time!”

Bianca was provoking Jean. Well, it couldn’t be helped. It was Jean who suggested playing three against four in the first place, saying it was better for us to have an extra person since they were up against girls.

That completely ticked off Bianca and me. We drafted a merciless strategy and put it into action.

True, Jean has great accuracy and a strong throwing arm. However, Bianca is no slouch either. So we decided to have Bianca hold Jean back, and while she did that, the other three of us would focus our attacks on one person.

“This game called a ‘snowball fight’ is quite interesting. It has proper rules, and you need to formulate a strategy.”

After playing a few more matches, we took a break, and Elliott, who was resting, muttered that.

Apparently, people do play by throwing snowballs in this world too, but there were no clear rules for it.

Well, even calling them “rules,” it just means if you get hit by a snowball, you’re out and have to step outside the area. You win if you capture the flag or wipe out the enemy team within the time limit. If time runs out, the winner is decided by the number of remaining players. That’s about it.

“It’s even more fun if you play with more people and freely construct bases beforehand, though.”

“That sounds interesting!”

“Nice! Let’s try it with the Knight Order’s squires next time!”

Bianca and Jean were totally on board with what I said. Indeed, it might even serve as good training for the Knight Order.

“Exercising made me hot. This ‘down jacket’ thing is really warm.”

Saying “Hot~”, Jean took off the red down jacket he was wearing. Heat was literally radiating from his body. You’ll catch a cold if your sweat cools down, you know?

That down jacket is a product released by my Philharmonie Ducal House. It’s already become a hot topic among the nobles and is selling like hotcakes.

Everyone here is also wearing a down jacket to their liking. They seem to love how light and easy to move in they are.

Estelle’s Euphonium Baron House is also selling down jackets aimed at commoners. Those seem to be selling fairly well too. Their brand recognition is still low, so the main buyers seem to be merchants and a portion of the wealthy, but it should eventually spread to the general public.

We might only be able to sell them in the Royal Capital this winter, but I want to aim for a nationwide rollout next winter. Well, knockoffs are likely to hit the market next year, though…

“But with this much snow piling up, the citizens must be having a hard time…”

“Districts 1 and 2 are fine, but apparently snow clearing isn’t finished in Districts 3 and 4 yet.”

Listening to Leon and Elliott’s conversation, I thought that this snow must indeed be tough.

The Royal Capital is divided into Districts 1 through 4, and the roads in Districts 1 and 2 are already being cleared of snow by mages.

Fire magic users melt the snow, and water magic users wash it into the waterways. Districts 1 and 2, where the nobles live, are cleared of snow by magic like this, but in Districts 3 and 4, it requires manual labor by the people living there. It takes a lot of time and effort.

“If only we had a snow-melting agent…”

“Lady Sakuraile, what is a snow-melting agent?”

“Eh?”

Leon bit onto my muttered words. His eyes behind his glasses were glinting. Oops, my mouth slipped.

“Judging by the word, it sounds like a medicine that melts snow, but it’s not just hot water, right? Does it have some special effect?”

“E-Erm, if I recall, it’s something based on salt mixed with various chemicals. It melts ice into water, but that water becomes hard to freeze… I think?”

“Hard to freeze…? Meaning the freezing point drops? It’s true that saltwater is harder to freeze… I see, utilizing that…”

Leon started muttering things I didn’t quite understand. Hmm, is this okay? This is Leon, who has the [Medicine Generation] skill. He looks like he could easily create a snow-melting agent… Well, it’s not a bad thing, right?

Fortunately, unlike sugar, salt isn’t that expensive in this world.

Mmm, but if the Traumerei Viscount House develops a snow-melting agent and makes a massive profit, that would be a little frustrating in its own way. Can’t I at least get an idea fee?

“Apparently, it piles up even more over in the Empire. This year’s winter seems to be harsh…”

“What? Did you get a letter from your fiancée, Risha?”

“Um… yes, well.”

Elliott answered bashfully to my words, which I said with a smirking smile. Well, I already knew! Because I got one too.

It seems the Empire is inhabited by more ice spirits than the Imperial Kingdom, so the winters are harsher there than here.

With the Empire located to the east across the Kalimba Mountain Range, distribution completely stops due to snow during the winter. Well, it’s only the route through the mountain range that stops; there is another marine route that loops around the sea from the north, which stays open even in winter.

However, the marine route covers a long distance and costs a lot, so it’s not very appealing from a merchant’s perspective.

Originally, there wasn’t much trade with the Empire, but with Elliott and Risha’s engagement, trade might flourish from now on.

Thinking about trade, we’d want to expand the mountain route further, but that could easily facilitate an invasion from the Empire…

According to Risha’s letter, her older brother, the First Imperial Prince—that is, the Crown Prince of the Empire—has completely recovered thanks to the [Holy Miracle] imbued potion I gave them. His physical strength has returned to the point where it’s hard to believe he just recovered from an illness, and he’s apparently become so healthy it makes his past condition seem like a lie.

Once again, I am amazed by the sheer power of Estelle’s ‘Gift’. As long as they aren’t dead, it restores them to their best condition as if turning back time.

She hasn’t tried it, but it could probably even heal missing body parts… Well, I think it would place a considerable burden on Estelle, so I can’t just ask her to do it casually.

Thanks to that, the Crown Prince, his mother the Empress, and her family’s Ducal House are apparently incredibly grateful. Actually, it’s not thanks to me, but thanks to Estelle, so I feel super guilty about it…

With the Crown Prince’s faction leaning towards the pro-Imperial Kingdom side, the power balance within the Empire shifted all at once.

I hear the previously advantageous Second Imperial Prince and Emperor’s faction have been pushed aside and are rapidly losing power.

In that state, they absolutely don’t have the free time to meddle with the Imperial Kingdom. I think we can enjoy a peaceful time for a while.

Of course, even with the tag team of the Crown Prince and Imperial Princess Leticia, seizing actual power in the Empire won’t be that easy. The Emperor is still alive and well, and there are many nobles who view the Imperial Kingdom with traditional hostility.

Risha’s environment seems to have changed quite a bit too. She moved from that bleak tower to Imperial Princess Leticia’s palace, and apparently, she talks with the Crown Prince often. I’m glad she got a kind older brother and sister. Well, they were her older siblings to begin with, though.

The only thing I’m slightly worried about is that arrogant “Ore-sama” Prince.

Sharing the same mother, he seems to be sticking close to the Second Imperial Prince’s side after all, so it seems Imperial Princess Leticia’s personality-correction education isn’t going well.

Fortunately, he rarely crosses paths with Risha anymore, and even if they do meet, Imperial Princess Leticia is always by her side, so it seems there’s no more verbal abuse or violence like before.

But if things continue like this, the “Ore-sama” Prince from the game might end up being completed… No, he might become even worse.

If he pins Estelle against a wall (kabedon) and spits a cheesy line like “Interesting woman,” I would definitely punch him.

Or rather, I don’t think Estelle would stay quiet either. Estelle is learning swordplay and self-defense from her mother, Yulia-san.

Even if an idiot prince like that approaches her, she would likely just lightly twist his arm. That prince didn’t have much actual strength in the game, anyway.

I guess not absolutely everything will result in a perfectly convenient future…

I don’t think something like the “corrective force of history” exists. The future shouldn’t be decided yet. Linzeveil-sama also said that fate is something you carve out with your own power.

Pamela-sensei’s incident has absolutely nothing to do with my fate of ruin. But I’m not the kind of emotionally detached person who can just leave it alone after knowing about it.

No matter what, I must quickly detect the crisis approaching Pamela-sensei and ensure that Jeremy-sensei “makes it in time.”

If I have that teleportation sealing stamp, I should be able to immediately inform Jeremy-sensei of Pamela-sensei’s crisis.

So far, no unusual changes have been reported from Kohaku-san’s subordinates (?) tailing Pamela-sensei. But I can’t let my guard down.

This winter looks like it’s going to be a very nerve-wracking one…