A small group of people trudged through the snow.
“Are you sure there’s a village way out here?”
“I dunno, but I doubt those merchants would’ve lied about it.”
“Yeah, but we could freeze to death in all this snow before we even get there.”
After hearing rumors of a settlement out in the wilderness, they’d decided to leave their old hometown behind to find it.
But this region was even farther north than the northernmost part of the March of Arvale, so it was already buried under heavy snow. Walking was an absolute struggle.
“H-Hey, look over there! Is that a road?!”
“Yeah, it is a road! And look past it!”
A path swept through the snow, leading to a massive stone wall that loomed above the white, wintry landscape.
“There it is! We found it!”
“So the rumors were true...”
The exhaustion on their faces gave way to joy as they took off running. The road beneath their feet was completely clear of snow, making them feel so free it was as if they’d been unshackled.
“Wait... Why isn’t there any snow on this road?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Winters here in the wasteland were frigid.
Since we were right up against a mountain range, it snowed so hard that it sometimes blanketed the entire region before winter even really began.
Naturally, that made travel such a nightmare that merchants and refugees wouldn’t have been able to reach the village during winter.
I decided to upgrade the roads I’d created with my Gift. I used the Facility Customization skill to enchant them with something called “Snowmelt.” It was basically a heater that melted snow and ice to keep the roads usable, allowing us to handle light snowfall with no trouble.
When I explained that to Brookley, the representative from the merchant guild, he agreed to keep coming to the village until the heavier snows set in.
“That’s going to be such a help!” I said.
“Well, this village is so comfortable I’d make the trip even if I didn’t have any business here!” he said, and the other merchants nodded in agreement.
“There’s amazing food, warm beds, and a giant bathhouse accessible 24-7! It feels more like a resort than a village! Ha ha ha!”
Come to think of it, they had been staying longer and longer lately.
“Maybe we should just move our headquarters here to this village?”
“Hey, that’s a great idea, Vice Chairman!”
“Ha ha. Well, if you’re serious,” I joked, assuming they were kidding, “I can even provide the building for it.”
“Wait, really?” Brookley exclaimed, immediately latching onto the idea.
As it turned out, he was dead serious. His merchant guild was one of the biggest in the North, and he wasn’t just about to create a new branch in town—he wanted to move the headquarters itself.
Isn’t that kind of a bold move?
“I’ll talk to the chairman when we get back!” (“And if he says no, maybe I’ll just quit... Heh heh heh...”)
More and more merchants had been visiting the village lately. Maybe he felt like he couldn’t afford to fall behind as one of the early investors. We’d also been getting more refugees joining us. In fact, we’d just welcomed a new group today. The village was getting livelier every day.
Strange... I could’ve sworn I wanted a slow, peaceful life...
A few impending goodbyes hung over our heads.
“Philia, how’s the reconstruction of your village coming along?” I asked.
“Pretty good. We’re making steady progress thanks to the underground passage you built for us. It should be finished by spring.”
“I see...”
That meant the elves would return home to their village once spring came.
“Thinking about all of you leaving makes me feel kinda lonely,” I said.
“I know, but your village and our forest are not far at all,” Philia said.
“That’s true. You are all welcome anytime.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“This place really is a paradise, just like they said.”
“Right? It’s winter, but there’s more than enough food, and we get as much hot water as we want! I mean, just look at the size of this bathhouse!”
“When we got caught in that snowstorm on the way here, I thought we were goners...”
Two men soaked in the spacious bathhouse, chatting as they let the warmth seep into their bones. They’d only just moved in, and each new discovery in the village was one delight after another.
“The apartment’s something else too. I was worried about the cold, but it’s toasty inside! Remember bundling up under all that straw back in our old shack just to get to sleep on autumn nights?”
“And everyone says the mayor made it with a snap of his fingers.”
“This place really is extraordinary, huh?” an unfamiliar voice interjected.
Both men jumped in shock. “Ack!”
The voice belonged to a stunningly beautiful elf. The men glanced down and confirmed that it was definitely a male elf. It was the men’s bath, but the elves were so androgynous it was hard to tell the difference unless you checked.
“You used to live in the forest, right?”
“That’s right,” the elf said. “But then we got attacked by a horde of orcs. We came here looking for help and survived against all odds. But don’t let the village’s cozy atmosphere fool you—its military force and security make it way safer than most cities.”
“That’s reassuring. We were a bit worried since the village is so close to the Forsaken Zones.”
The elf’s sudden appearance had unnerved the two men at first, but he was so amicable that they relaxed in no time.
“Are you all planning on returning to the forest once your village is rebuilt?” one of them asked.
“Nah, no way. Now that I’ve seen how great this town is, there’s no way I’m going back to that dump! It’s really dangerous out there, not to mention inconvenient.”
The two men exchanged uncertain glances.
The elf seemed outspoken, but they’d heard elves were a noble and proud people. Why was he talking about his hometown like that?
“Ah ha ha!” the elf cackled, as if reading their minds. “Don’t fret. The rest of the elves think the same thing, even if they won’t say it aloud. I can’t speak for them, and more power to them if they want to, but I’ll be staying put.”