The Northern Great Bear 1
The Northern Grand Duke.
A character archetype that appears often enough in fantasy novels, meaning exactly what it says: the grand duke of the north. Since the northern reaches tend to be described as cold and barren, the Northern Grand Duke can be cast as the ruler of that harsh land and given a suitably ruthless, imposing image.
The north of Heroes Chronicle was roughly what you got if you took Russia, ran it through a fantasy blender, and poured it out again. Snow-capped mountain ranges, endless tundra—barren country through and through. So a Northern Grand Duke who felt more like a polar bear than an ordinary bear seemed perfectly on-brand.
Our kingdom had a Northern Grand Duke… did it?
The problem was the existence of the Northern Grand Duke himself.
Even when I'd gone north not long ago at Kayden's request, and even after soaking up all kinds of gossip from the noble ladies, I'd never once heard a word about a Northern Grand Duke. Sure, this was a kingdom, so of course some noble or other governed the place—but I'd never heard that noble called the Northern Grand Duke.
A two-meter-tall, scar-riddled, silver-haired, blue-eyed mountain of muscle? That was the kind of face the loose-lipped young ladies of high society would whisper about for weeks.
"I came into the forest for a bit of rest and recovery, only to lose my way for a moment… Might I trouble you for directions? I left my bothersome servants behind for a short walk. If you find me suspicious, you're free to call the knights the moment we leave the forest."
"Ah—I'm sorry, but we're currently exploring the interior. We won't be heading out until around sunset."
While I was lost in thought, Kayden quietly stepped forward and delivered the refusal. Her expression was stiff, her eyes trembling, her jaw clenched so hard I could see it from the side. Anyone looking would have sworn her whole body was shouting, I have a complicated backstory.
"Exploring the forest is fine by me. I'm a rather serious case of directionally challenged, you see. I won't get in the way—just let me quietly tag along."
"The forest isn't that deep. Shall we call the knights for you?"
"Haha, I couldn't possibly impose like that on adventurers already carrying out a knight order commission."
And then came the subtle sparring that followed. The Northern Grand Duke clung on with stubborn persistence; Kayden tried every angle to peel him off the party. The rest of us watched with widening eyes. The same Kayden who was usually so businesslike and cold was pushing away a first-meeting noble with a bluntness that bordered on outright rudeness.
"Um, Kayden? I think it would be better if he stayed with us, at least for identity verification. If he's truly lost, we should help him—and if he isn't, then we've just found an intruder."
It was Irene who stepped in to mediate the not-quite-argument. The moment she carefully opened her mouth, both the Northern Grand Duke and Kayden fell silent of their own accord.
At Irene's suggestion that they travel together, the Northern Grand Duke broke into a broad, delighted grin—while Kayden's face twisted as if she'd bitten into something bitter. The sheer intensity of their reactions left Irene, the one who'd proposed the compromise, more startled than anyone.
"Hahaha! As expected of a priestess. I gratefully accept your kindness."
"Ah, yes. That would be… right."
And so the Northern Grand Duke, who had come bursting out of the forest like a bear, joined our party.
Han Se-ah took the lead with her staff, Grace scanning for orcs at her side, and me escorting the two of them. A little farther back, Irene walked while surveying the surroundings, Kayden guarding her—and the Northern Grand Duke stuck to Kayden like glue.
Given how narrow the forest path was, it made sense for the man to walk at the rear. But his approach was so blatant that anyone could tell where his interest lay. A two-meter giant deliberately shortening his stride to match someone else's pace was not subtle.
"…Is there something you wished to say?"
"That sword hanging at your hip has a rather unique shape. Long for a one-handed blade—do you practice some unusual swordsmanship?"
"Yes."
Grace was diligently searching for orcs, but Han Se-ah, sensing something off, had even swung her camera around to the rear and was watching Kayden and the Northern Grand Duke with full attention. Thanks to that, I could follow the whole exchange through her stream.
The Northern Grand Duke kept trying to keep the conversation going with every trivial topic he could find—the sword at her hip, the armor she wore, anything. And Kayden, no matter what question came her way, cut it short with one-word answers, a wall of pure iron.
Caught between that bizarre atmosphere, Irene alone fretted and fidgeted.
"If that guy is the Northern Grand Duke and Kayden is the Sword Princess, then they're father and son… wait, no—she's crossdressing. Father and daughter? This is definitely a side quest, so why does it feel like a character quest? And if the dad is five-star and the daughter is four-star, do we call that a star-spoon?"
Information you couldn't know without a system window—the titles "Northern Grand Duke" and "Sword Princess"—sent Han Se-ah and the viewers off into full speculation mode.
A high-ranking figure who ought to be managing the north popping up in the Blessed Forest at the center of the kingdom already carried a fair amount of credibility. And Han Se-ah and the viewers had also heard James's story—the one I'd caught while they were off in the kitchen.
Did you seduce some duke's daughter? A high-ranking figure in the knight order gave the order, but their identity is being kept hidden—
Put all of that together, and there was really only one conclusion. Kayden was the Northern Grand Duke's daughter, and the Grand Duke himself had come all this way to see his runaway child, approaching under the pretense of chance.
"I heard you're an adventurer. Could you tell me what kinds of commissions you normally take?"
"We hunt monsters in the Tower."
Kayden was being downright rude to a high noble who could freely enter the Blessed Forest—despite being, at best, a mid-tier adventurer who'd only recently graduated from mercenary grunt work. That curt, one-word style of answering only made sense if the other party was her father.
…Wait. So she's not the heir of a fallen noble house—just a runaway girl?
I'd thought she was a cold, sharp Sword Princess clawing her way up from the bottom to restore a ruined house. Turns out she was a painfully shy runaway princess. The image I'd carefully assembled in my head flipped so hard it left me dizzy.
"So she crossdressed to keep her dad from finding her? But he found her right away and approached our party just to see his daughter? Our princess is a lot more scatterbrained than I thought. I figured she was the cool, sharp, put-together type."
The grand duke–and–princess relationship gave the runaway-girl theory real weight among the viewers. She carried the title of Sword Princess, and she'd brought along a broken set of magic armor—there had to be some kind of backstory.
But the combination of "crossdressing girl" and "runaway young lady" was more than enough to make people laugh. In the viewers' minds, the image had already solidified: a doting, hopelessly daughter-obsessed Northern Grand Duke and a reckless runaway Kayden. And honestly, looking at them myself, that take was uncomfortably close to the truth.
If she were some other duke's daughter, there would be no reason for him to come looking in person. And the fact that every repair material for her magic armor came from northern fields pretty much confirmed it was northern house armor.
Oblivious to the gazes of me, Han Se-ah, and tens of thousands of viewers, the father and daughter continued their bickering, almost affectionate exchange.
"As an adventurer, do you have a dream you're chasing?"
"I will climb the Tower."
"Hmm, climb the Tower… You wish to leave your name in history as an adventurer? A truly grand ambition."
The Northern Grand Duke kept talking to his daughter with unbreakable determination. Kayden never strung more than three words together. And Irene, stuck between them, fretted without end. Even Grace, curious about whatever was happening behind her, kept sneaking glances over her shoulder.
To Grace and Irene, who didn't know the situation, it must have looked like Kayden was openly giving attitude to a noble she'd just met.
"I think we should wrap up the search for today and head out of the forest soon. We need to escort that gentleman out anyway."
"Yes. It's not the kind of thing that gets done by rushing."
Apparently feeling sorry for Irene, Han Se-ah suggested cutting the exploration short. At her words, Irene—wedged between the father and daughter—brightened and nodded with vigorous enthusiasm.
Even as the party angled off, with no intention of cutting straight through the forest, and headed roughly back the way we'd come, the father-daughter conversation showed no sign of ending. Swords, armor, our party, Adventurer's City and the Tower, the guild and commissions, even lodging—he covered it all.
Man, this guy can talk.
It was the unmistakable picture of a hopeless daughter-dad.
We walked through the peaceful forest for a long while. Then, once again, rustling began to rise from the underbrush. From the footsteps alone—at least three people, heavy ones with real weight behind them.
Grace noticed first, and I caught on right after. One by one, the party came to a halt. Everyone tensed, wondering if this time it would finally be orcs. And among them, the Northern Grand Duke offered an awkward little smile.
As the presence drew closer, a metallic clank-clank of armor became audible. The others didn't seem to pick up on it and stayed on edge, but I let the tension drain out and lowered my shield.
"What is it, Roland?"
"Those aren't orc footsteps. That's the sound of knights—boots and greaves properly equipped."
As if to prove my words, three heavily armed knights came crashing out of the underbrush in a hurry, their faces hidden behind full helms.
"Honestly—you said you were stepping out for a moment! Why are you all the way out here?!"
"Ahahaha! Sorry about that, my daughter."
"This is not something you can laugh off!"
More precisely: two heavily armed knights, and one beautiful silver-haired female knight.