The North, a frozen wasteland surrounded by snow-capped mountains where it snows 365 days a year.
The fortress city of Esther, located in the valley, is the only passage connecting the magical realm and the empire.
From a distant peak, smoke began to rise.

"The monsters are approaching."

At this, the man in a fur coat standing atop the castle walls squinted.
A signal.
It was a warning that monsters were closing in.

If they just passed over that peak,
it wouldn’t take them even two weeks to reach Esther.
The northern duke, stroking his bushy beard, let out a worried groan.

"Ugh... Where is Merilda right now?"
"The youngest princess is taking a nap after lunch."
"Please tell me you managed to convince her. She isn’t still insisting on staying here, is she?"
"Yes. As expected, she’s refusing to leave Esther unless a guard of her peers comes..."
"Argh!!!"

At the young butler's dejected response, the northern duke roared.
His roar was a mix of frustration and anger.
As the echo of his loud bellow reverberated through the mountain range,
the northern duke huffed out his frustration.

"I’m going to go insane. I can’t understand why she’s acting this way! Last year and the year before, when I told her it was time to evacuate, she left for the regime without a fuss! Why is she acting like this this year?!"
"Perhaps it’s the influence of the academy she started attending this year…"
"Ugh! What on earth are they teaching at that academy? We should get rid of it! Bring back the private tutor! Which idiot from the academy blew some strange ideas into our Merilda's head...!"

It was a truly frustrating situation.
Esther was the only passage connecting the empire and the monster-infested magical realm.
It was the frontline fortress to prevent the empire from being overrun by monsters.

Every year, the natural mana in the magical realm surged dramatically, causing a massive influx of monsters,
especially during the summer months, the number of monsters was truly unimaginable.
The large-scale outbreak phenomenon, known as the monster wave, occurred as monsters surged in like a tide.

Each time this happened, a life-and-death battle began in Esther.
Without regard for status, everyone armed themselves and rushed to the front lines.
They didn’t do this to protect the insignificant fortress city.
They fought for their families back on the mainland.

While Esther had endured for hundreds of years, it wasn’t without crises.
That’s why they couldn’t be completely at ease.
Every time the monster wave was imminent, it was customary for all the northern duke's heirs to evacuate to a safe place, preparing for the worst.

"Today, you must definitely persuade Merilda to evacuate! If you don’t, I’ll throw you to the monsters as their next meal!"
"Go ahead! How can I possibly break the princess's stubbornness? You know it’s impossible!"
"You little brat!"

The northern duke's youngest daughter, Merilda, was insisting that she wouldn’t leave Esther.
The reason for her stubbornness was even more absurd.
She was unhappy that there were no guards her own age among the escorts.
Her consistent stance was that if her peers did not come to escort her, she would not leave Esther.

"She’s only thirteen! Where in the world are you going to find a guard that young? Even if there is one, there’s no way that brat has the skill to guard royalty!"
"This is driving me insane..."
"How could I have a precious youngest daughter like this? If she stays in Esther, I won’t be able to focus on the fight for fear of her safety!"

The northern duke cried out almost in despair.
Having married three wives and given birth to nine children,
they were all sons, sons, and more sons.

In this desolate wasteland, only the stern son had been born, and now there were nine of them.
Was it perhaps a longing for a daughter that reached to the heavens?
The youngest, born late, was miraculously a daughter.
Growing up, Merilda received all the love from her parents and brothers, who were over twenty years older than her.

Merilda had become, in a sense, the vitality of Esther.
She brought smiles to the usually stern northern duke, who had spent his life without a reason to laugh.
She was a treasure to Esther, bringing positive energy to the entire city.

Thus, it was unthinkable for Merilda's safety to be compromised.
Currently, the top priority facing Esther was not to stop the monster wave, but to persuade Merilda to evacuate.

"Your Grace, perhaps it’s time to consider 'that method'..."
"Y-You’re not suggesting...!"

The butler looked around cautiously and whispered.
At this, the northern duke’s eyes widened in alarm.

"The princess sleeps so deeply that she wouldn’t notice if we quietly loaded her onto a carriage and sent her off to the regime while she’s asleep..."
"Absolutely not! That would lead to…!"

He swallowed hard, his eyes tightly shut.
That would lead to a disaster.
Because...

"My daughter would be upset with me...!"
"Ah."
"If she gets really mad, she won’t even talk to me for a month. How can I endure that...?"
"That would be something no one could handle..."

In an instant, the atmosphere on the castle walls became solemn.
Silence fell between the butler and the northern duke.
While he had asked his nephew in the palace to find suitable escorts,
he certainly hadn’t expected to find one.

There was no answer!
Did he have the courage to be hated and forcibly evacuate Merilda?
Tears welled up in the northern duke's eyes, frozen in despair.
Now, it was truly time to make a difficult decision.

"I will approve it in my name. My daughter... Merilda... Ugh! Forcibly use your power to evacuate her to the regime!"
"Yes. I shall do as commanded, Your Grace."

Just then, the two men exchanged determined looks, teary-eyed.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a soldier rushed in urgently.

"I bring good news, Your Grace!"
"What is it?!"
"Her Majesty has arranged for the escort of Princess Merilda! They are on their way here now!"
"Wha…?!"

The northern duke frowned deeply.
What does that even mean?
An escort for his daughter’s age? That can’t be right.
What trick did his nephew pull this time...?

"Did you hear the name of the escorting mercenary group?"
"It’s not a mercenary group; it’s a security firm established by nobility."
"A security firm?"
"Yes. Their name is Vermont Security..."

"…!"

Vermont Security.
The moment the northern duke heard that name, his eyes widened.
The sound of his teeth grinding rang clear in the blizzard.

"Vermont. My old rival is coming. Huhuhu. Vanessa, you cunning one..."

At first, he hadn’t expected much.
But now he began to look forward to the arrival of those escorts.
For several reasons.
The northern duke started to chuckle as he repeatedly chewed on the name Vermont.

"There’s an important announcement."
"An important announcement...!"

During mealtime,
Charlotte dropped her bowl in surprise and stared at me.
With trembling lips, Charlotte asked the next moment.

"So, what’s the important announcement?"
"I’m saying there’s something important to discuss, Charlotte..."
"Ah-ha!"

"Just as Yulia said. Through Her Majesty, we received a request for Vermont Security, and it would be perfect for you two."
"A request!? Does that mean we can wield the Super Awesome Sword again?"
"Does that mean we can earn money from it? Right? ...Right?"

[The evil god, 'Kali,' is restless, saying that our dark knight and necromancer don’t seem to be focused on their meal.]

Suddenly,
Charlotte and Yulia both stood up, unable to hide their excitement, having stopped eating.
Maybe it was a mistake to bring it up during mealtime.

"Yes. Each of you will receive 50 million Lark."
"Wow...!"

Charlotte and Yulia’s faces lit up with excitement.
I couldn’t help but swallow my bittersweet feelings.
Originally, I intended to send the children back as soon as they grew enough mentally and financially,
but imagining the day we would part brought back memories that made me feel a bit sad.

'I can’t protect them forever.'

Of course, I can’t keep the children under Vermont's protection forever.
With Yuri, a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode at any moment,
I must let Charlotte and Yulia go before he causes any trouble.

This mission is the first step.
If Yuri has the style of a naive protagonist, he likely has some strange misunderstandings about me.
So, this can be considered a preemptive strike to clear up those misunderstandings.

"This mission will have one of the Vermont Security staff accompanying us. By the way, he’s around your age. He’s attending the Imperial Academy of Magic."
"Wow. He’s our age, and he’s in university? ...Right?"
"That’s amazing!"

Come, Yuri.
Come and have an emotional reunion.
The stage has been set.

"This... is ridiculous."

[The evil god, 'Kali,' scolds you for being too harsh on the kids!]

What the hell.
I’m letting them meet the friends they’ve been longing for.
Isn’t this the perfect time for the orphanage family to embrace and cry together?
But why...?

"Nice to meet you. I’m Yulia."
"Something sounds weird..."
"I’m Charlotte! But what’s with that mask?"
"…Don’t touch it."

Why on earth is he wearing a mask and changing his voice?
My blood pressure skyrocketed, and I felt an overwhelming urge to rip that mask off right now.