Alone in the Frozen North
"..."
I woke up in the morning.
I had a bit of a hangover from the alcohol, so I greeted Kyle roughly and went back to sleep, but then I woke up.
Fortunately, I remembered talking to Kyle.
I even hugged him before saying goodbye last time.
"Hard..."
It was the first time I hugged Kyle.
That's why I still feel the sensation from that moment.
His arms and chest were firm, hugging me with the muscles of a man.
Unlike a woman's body, it was a body that couldn't help but be described as hard.
My body is now really soft.
I can't easily say it's hard when I touch my chest, belly, thighs, or anywhere.
It was reason enough to start exercising.
"Haa..."
Speaking of Kyle, I don't know what to do while he's away.
Since I'm his tutor and servant, I don't do anything unrelated to Kyle.
All the things I've done for the past few years have been related to Kyle.
I wake him up in the morning, change his clothes, do some cleaning, guide his schedule, basically all things that require Kyle.
It's been 8 years now.
That's why I can't decide what to do.
"Sigh..."
First, I got out of bed.
It would be better to get up and do something rather than lying in bed.
Since it's cold outside, let's stay inside the castle.
I didn't wear the suit.
It was the clothes I wore when working as Kyle's servant.
Essentially, I'm like a guest from outside in the castle without Kyle.
A tutor is naturally in that position.
"Haa..."
Still, wandering around the castle but there's really nothing to do.
I don't clean like the other maids, I really followed Kyle.
I took a coat from the room and went outside the castle.
Wandering around inside the castle is really boring.
I've worked in the castle for 8 years.
I've already seen enough of the inside of the castle.
I could probably walk around the castle with my eyes closed.
"Sigh..."
So, I went outside.
Although the weather is harsh, it would be better than being inside the castle.
I came down to the territory below the castle.
I've been down here with Kyle several times already.
If it was a few years ago, I wouldn't be familiar, but since I've been down with Kyle a lot, now I'm familiar.
"Master, here's a meat stew."
"Ye~"
I entered the restaurant every time Kyle and I came down.
There were better restaurants, but Kyle liked this one more than expected because of the quiet atmosphere and appropriate taste.
And it was the first place I recommended, so I was happy too.
But even in such a restaurant, there was a feeling of emptiness.
It was because every time I came to this restaurant, Kyle was always on the opposite side from me.
"..."
I don't know.
This was the first time I came here without Kyle.
I had never come to the territory alone to begin with.
I put that thought aside and ate the food.
It was definitely delicious food, but it wasn't particularly delicious today.
- Crack... crack...
It was a day with a lot of snow.
From Kyle's coming-of-age ceremony until now, it hasn't stopped snowing.
Because of such weather, snow was piled up on the streets.
Of course, people shoveled to not interfere with passage, but because snow kept piling up, there was a crunching sound with every step.
As I walked, I found myself walking on the path I usually walked with Kyle.
"...."
Walking alone like this, I wondered what Kyle was doing now.
Was he doing well?
Was he okay in this cold weather?
I told him not to worry several times, but worrying was unavoidable.
I wandered around the village until sunset.
It felt empty, but it felt less empty than being in the castle.
"Louise, do you have a moment?"
"Why?"
I went straight to Louise's room after returning to the castle.
"I have something to ask."
Louise, who has more experience in this area than me.
I hadn't had proper conversations.
I didn't use my vacation and kept helping Kyle in the castle, so I didn't have much experience in relaxing.
"Yeah? Come in first."
Following Louise's guidance, I entered Louise's room.
It was fortunate that it wasn't as dirty as before.
If it had been, I would have had to clean as soon as I entered.
"So? What did you come looking for?"
"Um... Kyle has been away from the castle for a while, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, recommend what to do for a while. I don't know what to do."
I walked around all day but it was too boring.
Maybe because I only walked around places I've been to several times.
Everywhere I went was only places I've been with Kyle.
"Um... what to do... gambling?"
"That's a bit..."
No matter how bored I am, gambling is out.
If I was going to do that, I wouldn't have stopped Louise from gambling.
Rather, I would have tempted her to do it together.
"Um... there's not really anything to do in Eristirol anyway..."
"Yeah?"
Then, without choice, the only things to do are wandering around the castle or sleeping all day.
"Ah, how about reading a book. There are many books in the library, read something fun from them. There's still a lot of time left, so read slowly.
"Would that be bad?"
It didn't seem bad.
Compared to walking around all day and sleeping, it seemed much more beneficial and fun.
At least I felt like I was doing something.
It would be better to do something rather than nothing.
"Thanks. I was too bored walking around all day."
"Sigh... Let's go eat dinner. You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you?"
"Yeah, okay."
"Um. This is enough, not bad."
I entered a small tent that could last two weeks.
I didn't make it as big as before.
I wasn't going to live here for months, just endure for two weeks.
With a fire lit in the center, sleeping around it would be enough.
No matter how strong in cold, sleeping might be dangerous, so I needed to create a warm environment during sleep.
On top of that, I had to roast the hunted game.
"Tasteless."
After gutting the rabbit, I roasted it.
I didn't expect it to taste good.
And as I thought, it didn't taste good.
It wasn't just because I usually ate high-class food; it had no aroma at all.
It was so tasteless that I thought eating berries would be better.
In fact, a few wild strawberries picked from the mountain would taste better.
"Tomorrow... maybe go to the river."
Even if frozen, I can make an ice fishing hole with a knife.
It might be better to eat fish instead of this tasteless meat.
After arriving at the snowy plain yesterday, the tent I made was complete, and basically, I just needed to stay here for two weeks.
It doesn't seem difficult.
Even if a beast or monster appears, I've caught them several times in lessons with my father.
So, there won't be any problems.
To prepare for blizzards, I set up the spot a little away from the mountain.
Thanks to that, to hunt or gather, I had to walk towards the mountain, but it wasn't far.
It would be better to be a bit bothersome than to have dangerous places.
"Haa."
Survival was the biggest goal.
But for me, survival wasn't a problem.
The hardest thing was boredom.
Yesterday and today, I spent a lot of time building the tent and exploring the surroundings.
But from tomorrow?
Basically, now there's nothing to do except hunting and getting water.
"Wouldn't it be better if Sophia was next to me..."
At least there would be someone to talk to.
It was a place where there was no one to talk to.
Originally, it was too harsh for people to live.
No matter how northern residents, they wouldn't live in such places.
"Ah, I miss Sophia."
It had only been two days, but I missed Sophia so much.
I wonder if Sophia misses me too.
I missed her.
Now, it's about 7 o'clock.
At this time, Sophia would be guiding me to the restaurant.
I knew it well because I've repeated it for years.
I remembered everything about the daily life with Sophia.
From the time she comes to wake me up in the morning, Sophia's bright smile as she wakes me from the bright morning, her face looking up at me to meet my eyes even though her throat might hurt, Sophia looking even brighter in the morning sunlight when she opens the curtains.
Sophia I met from the morning.
But I won't be able to see such mornings for about two weeks.
When I wake up in the morning, I'll only face cold wind and snow.
"Haa..."
Maybe because my body is sore.
I feel like I miss Sophia more.
I lay down with a makeshift bed on the floor.
It was a very uncomfortable sleeping place compared to the bed I used to use.
There was a time I thought it would be nice to camp with Sophia.
But I think it would be better not to.
With this temporary tent, Sophia would definitely catch a cold.
"Haa..."
I wanted to finish quickly and meet Sophia.
There are still 13 days left.