0. Well if it isn't our mercenary friend. I trust you've [cdb]adjusted to life in the Kingdom by now?
1. Yeah, more or less. I've been here a few times before [cdb]on the job, so it's not too big a shock.
2. But I've never lived as far north as Fhirdiad. There's still a bunch I need to get used to.
3. Stuff like the wind blowing straight through you, [cdb]or how it's always so stupidly cold—even inside—or [cdb]how you can't go out after a blizzard.
4. It snowed so much one night that I couldn't even [cdb]open the door in the morning. Thought I was off to [cdb]meet the goddess that day.
5. An amusing enough story when you tell it like that, [cdb]but Faerghus winters are no joke. They're harsh, [cdb]unforgiving beasts.
6. Tell me, have you grown to despise the cold?
7. Say you like it.
8. Say you don't like it.
9. Nah, it's not so bad. I mean, sure, all the snow is [cdb]really annoying.
10. But it's also beautiful. You can't see lamp-lit streets [cdb]covered in the stuff anywhere but here.
11. I thought the same when I was young. Though the [cdb]more years I gain, the more frustrating it becomes.
12. Oh, it's miserable. Bet I'm not the only person who [cdb]thinks that way either, seeing how much it snows.
13. I honestly used to think it was some kinda beautiful [cdb]magic when I was a kid, but I realize now just how [cdb]rough the stuff can be.
14. To be frank, I'm not fond of the snow myself. Not to [cdb]mention the countless lives we've lost to the bitter [cdb]chill of winter.
15. Nevertheless, this brutal tundra is the only home [cdb]we have.
16. Meaning there's nothing to do but adapt, persevere, [cdb]and enjoy the lives we've built here.
17. Adapt... Like how the messengers ride pegasi instead [cdb]of horses during the winter?
18. Exactly. The sight of those majestic creatures [cdb]soaring through the frost-ridden sky is one unique to Faerghus.
19. No matter how much snow blankets the ground, [cdb]our pegasi quite literally rise to the occasion.
20. When my son and His Majesty were still just boys, [cdb]they followed one off into the frigid mountains of [cdb]all places.
21. By the time I found them, they were but two [cdb]shivering masses on the ground. For a moment I [cdb]thought my heart would never beat again.
22. So Felix has been getting into trouble ever since he [cdb]was a kid, huh?
23. His penchant for danger is unchanged, yes. Though I [cdb]fear his disposition has grown far sharper.
24. The hardships of becoming duke at his age are [cdb]undoubtedly weighing upon his mind.
25. I dunno, I don't think you need to worry about him. He can take care of himself just fine.
26. A fair point. Perhaps it's time I let him spread his [cdb]wings like the pegasus he chased all those years ago.
27. It seems the coming winter will bring more than just [cdb]cold to Faerghus. The ravages of war approach on the [cdb]same wind.
28. Training in such conditions will be a struggle indeed, [cdb]while we cannot afford to ignore the looming Sreng [cdb]threat either.
29. Managing our territories through it all will not be an [cdb]easy task, but I have faith we will adapt, persevere, [cdb]and overcome. Just as we always have.
30. Next winter, huh? We'll just have to do whatever it [cdb]takes to make sure the war's over by then.