As July approached, summer was also rapidly approaching Belloi Castle.

In Belloi, summer didn’t mean a world of piercingly bright sunlight and blindingly vivid greenery, but the only two-month period of the year when it didn’t snow.

Summer, greeted amid still-thick fur coats and fur gloves, with half-melted hard snow and low temperatures ranging from above to below freezing, felt wondrous and special.

I would gradually get used to summers where I no longer needed air conditioning or ice cream. Eventually, a white and cool summer would become ‘ordinary’ within me.

Thinking like that somehow made me feel strange. Should I say it hit me that I was no longer ‘Jin Noran, an ordinary citizen of the Republic of Korea’?

In any case, the somewhat milder cold made my outdoor activities even more vigorous.

Whenever I had a chance, I would roam around the castle, observing how the people of Belloi welcomed summer.

The gardeners carefully brushing off the snow piled on the trees and wrapping them with colorful bead decorations, the maids replacing the tapestries and curtains with bright colors, the palace staff going about their duties in lighter attire.

And even the dogs running around outside and the cats leaving the warm fireplaces to find sunny spots.

The whole castle was buzzing with liveliness. My heart fluttered and twitched at the excited atmosphere that permeated everywhere.

Thanks to that, my life had undergone a slight change recently. My wake-up time had become about 30 minutes earlier than usual.

“Hiyah!”

Starting the day by inhaling the blue morning air and doing a round of stretching made me feel refreshed and invigorated all day long. It was truly a special event that only occurred in summer.

After finishing that lively morning exercise, it was already time to prepare for work. I left my room and headed to the dressing room right next door.

Yes, a ‘dressing room’. I had finally gotten my own dressing room!

This was all because of Aspeiran’s crazy gift bombs. No matter how hard I tried, there was no way I could organize all those gifts in my room.

I couldn’t just scatter them on the floor either. They were gifts, after all. I also couldn’t remove the bed or desk to bring in more closets.

So I had no choice but to go to Aspeiran and beg him to please take some of them back. Aspeiran replied nonchalantly,

– If there’s no room, expand the room.

It was like saying if there’s no bread, eat cake.

But our great lord never spoke nonsense, nor did he ever retreat.

Aspeiran immediately sent someone to the laboratory. The researchers, who were rarely gathered in the reception room nibbling on the snacks I had bought them, screamed “Aaahh, an outsider!” and fled underground.

Through this tumultuous and arduous process, I thus acquired my own dressing room.

Fortunately, thanks to the many empty rooms in the lab, I didn’t have to take anyone’s room.

Anyway, whether I wanted it or not, Aspeiran had gone to such lengths for me, so I had to show proper sincerity in return.

For that reason, I had recently been showcasing new fashion every day utilizing Aspeiran’s gifts.

While others enjoyed the cool summer in light clothing, I alone wore earmuffs and was bundled up in mufflers.

“But it suits you really well.”

Lieutenant Tillis Garta, who had stopped by as usual, said.

“I can see why Lady Crista is drooling so much. Let’s go out together sometime. I’ll pick out pretty clothes that suit you, Miss Shuria, and treat you to delicious things.”

She leaned her arm leisurely against the breeding ground fence and winked with one eye. It was like a Casanova tempting an innocent lady.

I laughed along to her tune and slapped Lieutenant Tillis’s arm.

“Oh, you’re so naughty!”

“I’m not joking, pretty lady. Make some time.”

“That sounds fun! But I can’t buy clothes for a while. Lady Crista brought me another bundle of clothes yesterday after finding out I got a dressing room.”

“Ah, she beat me to it.”

“But I’d still like it if you treated me to something delicious. Let me see if I can take some time off.”

“Great! I’ll let you know when my day off is.”

Lieutenant Tillis grinned with a lively smile and rummaged through her pocket. Naturally following her actions with my gaze, I suddenly noticed her attire.

Surprisingly, Lieutenant Tillis was wearing only a thin, skin-tight top and a pair of pants. No matter how much the weather had eased up, it was still below freezing. Wasn’t she cold?

I asked frankly.

“By the way, Lieutenant Tillis. Aren’t you cold?”

“Hm? Not really. Why?”

“You seem to be dressed too lightly. I’m worried you might catch a cold.”

“Oh, this is nothing. I’m fine! Our Royal Guard, you know, trains in endurance by going topless in this kind of weather.”

“T-topless? Really?”

“Really, of course!”

Lieutenant Tillis confidently showed off her arm muscles. Her bulging biceps were certainly impressive, but… Usually people get terribly sick with colds like this…

When I couldn’t shake off my concern, Lieutenant Tillis patted my shoulder and said,

“I’ll have to show you something so our Miss Shuria doesn’t worry. I’ll come with the other guys tomorrow.”

“What are you going to show me?”

“That’s a secret. Look forward to it! It’ll be fun.”

Patting my shoulder in a friendly manner, Lieutenant Tillis left.

And the next day, the Royal Guards, armed with sweat and muscles, appeared in front of the breeding ground.

…With their upper bodies boldly stripped.

“Aaaahh!”

How unsightly! Unsightly beyond compare!

“W-w-what are you doing?!”

“We’re in the middle of special training, Miss Shuria!”

The knights answered in a booming voice, striking poses that showed off their muscles.

Sammeomeo bared his teeth and growled at the knights. I hurriedly covered Sammeomeo’s eyes.

“Why are you training like that? Oh my, knights! You’ll catch a cold!”

“Don’t worry! We are sturdy!”

“It’s colder than usual today! The wind is biting!”

“This much is nothing!”

Leaving behind the sound of Sammeomeo barking hostilely, the topless knights continued their training.

Watching those bare-muscled humans running off in the distance, somehow… I had a feeling bad news would arrive soon.

And that premonition became reality.

“They got sick with colds en masse.”

Two days later, during dog sledding practice. Aspeiran, who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the training ground watching me ride the dog sled as usual, said with a terrifying expression.

There was a crunching sound of something breaking from his mouth.

I listened intently to Aspeiran’s voice flowing from the round communication device. Aspeiran had cast it next to me before practice started so we could converse comfortably while I was sledding.

“To think those guys are Roakin’s top force. Rather than giving them cold medicine, we need to prescribe medicine to cure their stupidity first.”

“There’s medicine to cure stupidity too?”

“Rumel said Lumell’s stupidity is an incurable disease that can only be cured by death. I concur.”

What, Rumel said that!

To think such intense words came out of the mouth of that kind and gentle person. Rumel must have been very angry.

Well, from a doctor’s perspective, it was an even more absurd situation.

On top of that, I heard that starting with the knights, there were signs of a summer cold spreading through the castle. Thanks to that, the palace staff, including Rumel, had become incredibly busy.

Fatigue was thick in Aspeiran’s voice. I sneaked a glance and saw him firmly rubbing his brow.

“You look very tired.”

“I’m fine. You take care of yourself. Dress well. Stay warm.”

His tone was curt, but I could feel that he was worried about me. I answered with gusto.

“I’m dressing well! See, I’m wearing the muffler and earmuffs you gave me, Lord.”

“Yes, good job. …Wait, Shuria! Slow down! You need to slow down to turn!”

“Aaahhhh!”

Aspeiran gave urgent advice, but it was too late. Cutie, who was running excitedly, turned right without reducing speed, and the sled flipped over with a crash.

“Kyaah!”

Cutie ran to me, startled. Tiny and Awesome, who were waiting tied to a tree, also whined.

Aspeiran strode over, pushed aside Cutie who was licking my face in a frenzy, and helped me up.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh, I think so.”

My heart was pounding, but thanks to the protective magic Aspeiran had cast on me, I wasn’t hurt.

Aspeiran brushed the snow off my body and scolded me.

“Why do you keep speeding up like that?”

“Well, it feels good to go fast.”

“It’ll feel so good when you get flung off and end up stuck in the ground.”

“Ugh…”

I had nothing to say.

I glumly watched Aspeiran use magic to right the sled. Was driving a vehicle beyond me after all?

It was the same in my previous life. After the college entrance exam, I had enthusiastically enrolled in a driving school, but while I passed the written test with a perfect score on the first try, I failed the skills test and road test several times.

I remembered the instructor sitting next to me during my rough handling, crying, “Oh my, my grandchild can finally call me grandpa now!”

I barely managed to get my driver’s license, but for the stability and peace of the world, I sealed that license deep in my closet.

It was a wise decision that my whole family lit candles on a cake in unison for.

“Hmph.”

Oh no, I recalled a depressing memory. I consoled Cutie, who was rubbing his whole body against me with his tail between his legs, and timidly asked.

“Um, Lord. Do you think I can properly ride a dog sled?”

“Yes.”

“Really?!”

“If we keep teaching, the moonlight wolves will pull the sled on their own. They’re smart.”

“…..”

In the end, it meant it was forever impossible for me to directly control and ride the sled well. I dejectedly hugged Cutie.

Aspeiran patted my shoulder and gave brief consolation.

“Well, just keep practicing for now. You might gradually improve.”

“Lord…!”

“Although there has been no progress at all so far.”

“Yes…”

“Let’s stop here for today. Go eat something warm and rest.”

After parting with Aspeiran and releasing Sammeomeo into the breeding ground, I trudged toward Cronen Palace.

Since I had rolled around in the snow with gusto, I was going to eat something piping hot as Aspeiran said. I couldn’t afford to catch a cold.

‘I want tomato beef stew. A bit spicy. Or a warm cup of milk tea would be nice too.’

Actually, what I really wanted was kimchi stew and ssanghwa tea, but unfortunately, getting the ingredients for both was impossible.

No, I didn’t even know exactly what ingredients went into them in the first place.

I should have studied cooking in advance after all. In this other world, those who were good at cooking usually had the highest survival rate…

Thinking of stories like ‘Conquering the Other World with Korean Food’, I entered the kitchen of Cronen Palace, but the place that was always bustling was unusually quiet today. Was something going on?