Novel Bin Chapter 114. Season in Snow (1)
Chapter 114. Season in Snow (1)
*Tap*
Desir woke up from the sound of something knocking on his window. He rubbed his sleepy eyes while opening the window. As it was a dorm room located on a floor above the ground level, one could take in quite a lot of the scenery around the academy.
“Hmm”
Desir admired the view briefly.
Apparently, it had been snowing all night as the academy was laced in white. The trees were frozen and white, resembling elaborate sculptures, and the snow-covered buildings shone like jewels in the morning sun.
Although he was used to the non-snowy scenery, after seeing it for so long, the appearance of the academy that can be seen at this time of the year still left him in a state of admiration. Desir felt a surge of complicated emotions swell up inside him, as at one point near the end of his previous life, he felt that he would never be able to see this sight again.
On the ground, in front of the dormitory where a large amount of snow had piled up, one person was frolicking around leaving a trail of footprints.
“It’s the first snow!”
Pram looked up at Desir with a smile of pure innocence. His cheeks were slightly flushed. “Beautiful.”
“Hehe, right? Desir, would you like to build a snowman with me?” Desir sighed in response.
“Are you serious? You aren’t a kid anymore, Pram.” “So you won’t come out?”
Pram looked a little sad but it was also a cute expression for Desir.
For a brief moment, Desir felt a tug at his heartstrings but he quickly hardened his mind. He couldn’t let today’s work be set to the side by this obvious honey trap.
“… I have a lot of work to do today. Thanks for waking me up, Pram.” He spoke coldly and started to close the window.
*Bam*
A snowball hit the window and the debris splashed Desir’s face. “Aww, that’s okay Desir. How about after this?”
He was coyly smiling as he taunted Desir. Pram had Desir right where he wanted him. Since the honey trap had failed, Pram was going with the hard-line instead.
Although Desir felt some pride in how well he had taught Pram to act in preparation for the next Shadow World, he shook his head in distress at the comical situation he had dug for himself.
“If you think I would fall for such a childish provocation, that would be a mistake, Pram. Why don’t you just give… ”
*Bam*
With such a piercing cold attack, whatever drowsiness Desir had was instantly replaced with a rude awakening.
He couldn’t respond in time, even though he didn’t take his eyes off Pram. Frighteningly, he was able to throw a snowball at a speed that exceeded the speed of ice bolt magic.
“Wow, that’s got to hurt.”
Pram’s body trembled in a combination of fear and excitement, but his mouth was curved into a childish smile. This attack was very clearly intended.
“So, how was the taste of the snowball thrown by a child?”
The snowball wasn’t tight, so the moment it hit Desir’s face, it exploded harmlessly and fell to the ground.
Desir wiped his face. As he removed the remaining snow on his face, his flushed cheeks were revealed.
“Wait there patiently.”
Desir roughly donned a coat hanging on a nearby hanger.
January 1st.
The Academy had been painted as a winter wonderland after a consistent night of snowfall.
***
As the New Year approached, the atmosphere within Hebrion Academy started to relax. The scars left over from a few months ago seemed to have started fading.
Since all the big events like the Party Competition and the final exam were over, the schedule for the remainder of the semester was actually very light.
In fact, before the vacation which was due to begin in February, students were given a large amount of free time.
However, the exception to this was Desir.
Desir touched his red cheeks which showed the telltale signs from the aftermath of an intense snowball fight and began organizing the multitude of papers laid out on the desk in front of him.
He would have chosen to do this work in his office, as usual, but he ended up bringing it to the dormitory since there was no more room for additional paper due to the substantial amount of party-related work.
Despite there being various types of documents and paper in front of him, he decided to tackle the newspapers first.
[The Western Kingdom Takes Charge!]
[The kings of the Western Kingdom union proclaimed an all-out war on the group known as the Outsiders. Lord Zod Exarion of the Magic Tower declared his support, issuing a statement saying that those who disturb the peace should be disposed of accordingly.
As a result, all branches of the Magic Tower have begun to sponsor the Western Kingdom Union through an increased supply of magical equipment… ]
It became clear to Desir that his actions were having an impact on the world. Events were beginning to differ greatly from his past.
The next piece of paper to look through was a letter.
Priscilla and Zod did their best to cooperate with Desir, but Priscilla and Zod mainly used letters due to the confidentiality of the information they exchanged with each other.
This signified how much they trusted Desir.
Desir started to calmly analyze the situation based on the information they had provided him with.
The branch of the Magic Tower that was dedicated to the study of magic stones, the Epane Branch, had been destroyed by the Outsiders. As a result, development of the Aurora system had been delayed. The Aurora system was the next-generation defensive equipment the Magic Tower had been researching as part of the flood of new ideas Desir brought with him.
The silver mine in the Prillecha Empire, which had been occupied by the Outsiders, had been recaptured.
Allied forces used tactical magic against the Outsiders who were escaping from the southern part of the Adeina Kingdom.
Desir plotted out the new information on the map in front of him. If circumstances changed, he erased the existing information and rewrote over the top of it.
Keeping track of the developing situation was exhausting, but Desir had to do it to better understand shifts in the balance of power as a result of the war between the Western Kingdom Union and the Outsiders.
He calculated the gains from repelling the Outsiders and the number of troops lost in the process.
The Prillecha Empire expected to recover the funds required to restore Deltaheim by recapturing the silver mine.
Allied forces had incurred some losses, but they were within the expected range. “Hmmm”
Desir recorded the information up until there and sighed while leaning back into the sofa.
‘I don\'t know why the Outsiders, who were quiet in the past, are making such grand moves like this now.’
Contemplating this question that could not easily be solved, Desir could only deeply sigh. He was used to this process, after doing it every week for a while now, but it was inevitable that he had become worn out.
Desir checked what had changed and revised his plans.
‘As a consequence of the recent movements, very positive changes are taking place across the continent.’
The world was now on a clearly different trajectory from his previous life.
The history Desir had experienced first-hand. In his world, The Western Kingdom Union, a binding alliance of five nations, had stopped competing with each other due to a lack of conflict.
There had been no preparation for the future due to a long period of relative peace and they only pursued their own interests while sniping at each other.
They had been woefully unprepared when they had to face the Shadow Labyrinth.
Mankind realized the crisis too late and as a result, struggled to survive. The Western Kingdom Union had reunited at the end but they could only muster trivial power due to the great losses they had sustained.
Since they only knew how to snarl and antagonize each other up until that point, how effectively could they deal with an enemy together?
Desir knew well that the result was a complete catastrophe. ‘But it’s different now.’
Desir looked at the map.
A lot of events were unfolding in many places, but the most advantageous events were occurring in the Western Kingdom Union. The allied forces of the Western Kingdom Union were achieving tangible results.
‘The common threat of the Outsiders had made the Western Kingdom Union band together.’ The Outsiders’ recent aggressive activities had made the Western Kingdom Union aware of how dangerous they were, and thus the Western Kingdom Union formed an allied force to combat them.
‘The Shadow Labyrinth is also a common threat, so this will be a good experience for them. But… ’
Desir marked the country bordering the Hebrion Empire in red.
The country boasting the largest territory and having the most military amongst the nations that made up the Western Kingdom Union.
‘The King of Divide, Clora Ars F. Baldershu, looked down on the Outsiders and ignored them. But now, Divide had just contributed the most forces in the allied force. What change have they undergone in just a few months?’
Desir quickly shook his head.
He made some hypotheses but he could only guess without supporting evidence. ‘To score it, they are 8 out of 10.’
Either way was good. Whatever the king of Divide thought, the Western Kingdom Union was unified and moving in a good direction.
Desir turned his eyes to the next problematic spot.
The Hebrion Empire which was currently the strongest empire power on the continent.
‘Now the key is the relationship between the Western Kingdom Union and the Hebrion Empire… ’
The Western Kingdom Union and the Hebrion Empire had a bad relationship. After the arrival of the Shadow Worlds, a truce was signed and there had been no great disagreement so far, but it was only a temporary truce.
Although Desir from the Hebrion Empire was hailed as a hero in the Western Kingdom Union, it was merely the fame of an individual and had not substantially changed the relationship between the two nations.
*Tap* *Tap*
Desir tapped on the center of the Hebron Empire where the emperor palace was marked. ‘After all, the emperor is the key.’
Rogpalace Family A great family who ruled the Hebrion Empire.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about the Rogpalace family.’
Up until now, he had always acted in accordance with his previous memories and experiences. This time though, he had nothing to work with on which to base any plans.
To score them, they would have to be a 2 out of 10. It was a very low score in comparison to what he had worked with thus far.