I opened the report I had seen yesterday and thought about it.
'Northern New Mine Exploration… That's where a magical addiction called 'frost poisoning' took place.'
I didn't know it yesterday, but I saw that Kyle had inserted a blue clip into the report. It was a sign that he would personally move to check the situation.
'Then, he will go to the new mine, right? Exactly where was it?'
I walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a thin, untitled book from among the familiar volumes. Then, I pulled out a flat key from between the bookshelves. This was the key to open Kyle's desk drawer. Kyle had a habit of locking drawers containing important items after a burglar incident in the castle, and of course, I was one of the few in his entourage who knew where the keys were.
'You told me sooner than I thought.'
It wasn't just because we were lovers or because I was his favorite companion. During my time in the North, I refused to be someone who lived merely under Kyle's care. Although I didn't spend much time as a human, I did my best to help Kyle, offered my opinions, and dealt with various concerns. As a result, Kyle trusted me to be quick to calculate and make rational decisions. I was much faster than everyone else. It was a victory for public education in Korea.
I pulled out the top drawer and retrieved a map. It was painted by Kyle himself, and it was arguably the most detailed description of the North.
Boom. When I opened the map on my desk, I could see the desolate geography of the North. A wide plain stretched north from Blake Castle. Passing through the frozen land for about half of the year, you would come to a woodland filled with jagged fir trees that stood up like thorns. Deep beneath the rugged mountains, there was a cave where quite useful minerals were found. This was one of the reasons why the people of this barren land had survived starvation.
However, since people had already mined all the minerals in the shallows, it became necessary to go deeper after officially trading with the Castanets' leadership. So, a new place to explore...
'This way, and this way. There were two.'
In terms of geography, it was the northernmost part of the woodlands. Because the terrain was uneven, it was safe to say that the exploration area on the left was a snowy mountainous region. Of course, even so, it wasn't an easy place for mages to get into. No, it shouldn't have been. Breaking through this place meant that they had conquered the snowy mountains.
"In the long run, it is a matter of who gets the snowy mountains first..."
This would have been the North's eternal challenge. To keep the mages from moving south, Blake's knights had to defend the North and keep the land under their control. This was something that wouldn't change even if Kyle died or not.
"Then, if there is a problem, it must be here..."
If so, it was likely that something that didn't happen would not happen, but that the object of what would happen would change to Kyle. When I thought about it, I felt a chill inside.
'What has to happen happens somehow.'
It was a law that I had learned after staying in this world for quite a long time. No matter how hard you tried to avoid it, the big events of the original work would always happen. For example, someone's death or a political fight. The best I could do in this situation was to change the object of my fate or to reduce the impact of the event on the subject. No matter how much I knew the original story and how much I was helped by the system, I couldn't change everything in this world on my own.
If so.
'System. Are you there?'
Then, as if it had been waiting, a blue window appeared in the air.
[I'm always here! (≧∇≦)ﾉ]
'Yes...' I pointed my fingertips to the area marked with an 'X' and said to myself: 'There must have been an incident related to this in '
After a moment of silence, the system replied.
[This is not described in detail.]
However, I did not back down. As long as Kyle's safety was at stake, there was no option to do it in moderation.
'But it's 'set,' right?'
Novels are usually like that. This means that there is a set value even if it is not described in detail in the text. Since the story revolves around the main character, it just doesn't describe it in detail.
'Let's dig into that gap. Even if it's a simple value, it's fine.'
However, the answer that came back was not very positive.
[You will intervene in this world more than necessary.] [It may cause a backlash.] [Do you still want to read it?]
It was a difficult question to answer. What was called a "backlash" meant that I needed to pay for violating the order and providence of this world. Perhaps something like the last swamp goat crisis would happen, or in the worst case, it would give the mages more power.
However, even so, we couldn't waste time without knowing exactly what was happening. You needed to know the cause of death so that you could think of ways to deal with it. Vaguely saying that the North was dangerous, so let's not go, wasn't a matter to be thought about so easily.
"Talk to me without causing too much confusion." I begged the system.
'Or you can pass it on indirectly, like the magic math encyclopedia. Huh?'
Apparently in trouble, the system was silent for a long time.
Unable to overcome my nervousness and frustration, I jumped up from my seat and left the study. After all, since it's related to the exploration of new mines, it's only right to discuss it with Kyle. Kyle would probably look around the theater for the last time and come to the study. If I went to the west corridor and went down the stairs, I wouldn't have to cross paths.
At that moment, I thought of the system window in front of me as I was walking diligently.
[After the death of Kyle Jane Meinhardt, the northern territory of Blake was in great turmoil, but the people of the territory felt that it should not be destroyed like this, and they rallied around James Russell, the leader of the Blake Knights, to rebuild.]
James Russell.
I knew him too. Even now, as the leader of the Blake Knights, he was willing to spare his life for the safety of the North. He was not as skilled as Kyle, but he was also a person with a sincere and upright personality. Although there was a minor disadvantage that he didn't like me very much... It seemed like a little jealousy that he had been robbed of his position as an aide.
'In public, he's kind and kind, so what?' I mused.
[James thought he had to sell the minerals of the North somehow so that no one would go hungry; luckily, the Russell and Castanets families were married, and James tried to use this to solve his financial problems.] [But even at that moment, the mages were heading south to take over Blake's estate, which had lost its center.] [Together with the monsters.]
There was such a story in the original work. After the loss of Kyle, the monsters descended in the process of Blake's territory declining, and people fled the territory in fear. I didn't know that such a story could be hidden in those few short lines. Even the attack of the demons was a ruse by the mages.
'Horses,' I gritted my teeth and went down the stairs. 'Abandoned castle with frost ghosts? Absolutely not. I'll change that fate.'
I blinked. The system window popped up again.
[In the end, James was mortally wounded by the mutant goblin.]
'Goblin? Is it also a variant?'
This was important information. I nodded with a serious expression. After all, one of the things that threatened Kyle's life was that he's a goblin. However, this was only a fatal wound.
'So, what killed the injured James? Is it a demonic beast?'
The answer to my question came back a little late.
[□□]
The name was hidden and could not be seen. Apparently, it was hidden to reduce interference, as I had asked earlier. The system tried to get the name to me somehow.
[□□] [╯︿╰;;;;] [□□] [□□]
Soon, words that could indirectly describe him began to fill my vision.
[Master of the Lawless Zone] [White Wraith] [Conquered the Tower of Frost] [Born at the End of the World] [Those who break the rules]
'I mean, the Northwest Mages. They are members of the Tower of Frost. Among those who colluded with Lorenz... Maybe he's the strongest. Is it the owner of the Demon Tower?'
At that moment, a rather shocking story came to my mind as if it were overlaid on top of it.
[You've already met □□.]
The moment I read the system window, an indescribable unpleasant sensation ran down my spine.
'…What? Have I ever met you? Does that make sense? When? As I predicted earlier, if the target is Matapju, I have never met him.'
I came here and spent most of my time on the Blake estate. That meant the wizard could have been in the territory. The fact that they might have entered the courtyard with their eyes on the land was a bit eerie.
'When the hell? You should know that. So, just a little more...'
[Any further reading is dangerous.]
Was it because the system forcibly read the information it warned about? I had a slight headache and my stomach was rumbling, and my legs felt weak.
Fortunately, however, a firm forearm supported me before I collapsed forward.
"Shu!"
Perhaps he was rushing to see me, and Kyle's breathing was a little disturbed. He asked worriedly, hugging me by the waist.
"What's going on? Where does it hurt?"
"…Your Highness."
"Yes."
"Northern… Are you going to go to the new mine yourself?"
"Yes. I finished talking to the drivers earlier."
"When are you going?"
"About ten days later."
"...."
"Shu, your complexion is pale. Don't do this here, go to your bedroom first..."
"Your Highness."
I cut him off with a firm voice.
"In ten days, please take me to explore the mines."