Colin walked into the bailey of Horn Castle and stopped in front of an office.

After carefully thinking over what he had seen and heard on his recent adventure, he knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

Hearing Edwin’s voice, Colin pushed the door open and entered.

"It seems my judgment was spot on, eh? Your performance was truly..." Edwin, sitting behind his desk, gave a wink. But seeing the look on Colin’s face, he dropped the expression.

He looked toward the door and asked, "And Mr. Kase?"

"He’s planning to head back home," Colin said as he walked up to the desk. "Mr. Helder, I have an idea."

Edwin let out a breath. "Go on."

"What if it’s just him, plus me? Could we reach that place called the World’s Roof? Or rather, could we possibly make it back alive?"

Edwin’s gentle tone vanished. He said with great seriousness, "Pardon my bluntness, but absolutely not."

Colin took a deep breath.

The answer was just as he’d expected.

He continued, "While working with the members of the Gray Squad, I realized they don’t actually know much about the monsters of the Northern Lands, and they know even less about the Frostland Druids."

"That is true." Edwin nodded. "This winter disaster is the worst in centuries. In the past, most arctic monsters couldn’t adapt to the southern climate, so most Gray Squads—even High Tier ones—have very little experience dealing with monsters from the Northern Lands."

"So, I have a proposal."

Colin swallowed hard.

"Kase said his people don’t consider the Northern Lands a suitable place to live anymore. They’re planning to migrate south, and he was the traveler sent to scout the situation."

"You’re asking if we can send people to make contact with the Orcs and gain their support, correct?" Edwin said. "If we could convince a group of Northern Orcs to side with us, all our problems with the northern monsters would be easily solved."

Colin nodded.

It was the only solution he could come up with.

He and Kase certainly couldn’t cross the disaster-stricken lands to get to Kase’s home. So, they should send someone more capable and better prepared to go instead. It would prevent Kase from throwing his life away, and the chances of successfully finding and saving the Orc Tribe would be much higher.

"In fact, I’ve had this idea ever since the first time I asked Mr. Kase about his home."

Edwin took out a sheet of paper, dipped a quill in ink, and began writing quickly.

He continued, "However, so far, not a single noble house has shown any interest. Although I’ve proposed this idea, most people find the thought of cooperating with Orcs to be preposterous.

"Even though Thousand Masts City is the most prosperous and tolerant city in the entire Northern Lands, allowing Half-Orcs to live and work here with a human sponsor is already the absolute limit of our policy. The city would never allocate funds for something like this. Unless... you do it in a personal capacity..."

Colin looked down, thinking.

Then, they both said in unison, "Post a quest."

"Kase has about sixty Gold Coins in savings right now. How strong of an Adventurer could that much money hire?" Colin asked quickly.

"Not enough for a squad to make a trip to the Northern Lands, that’s for sure. It would likely take several hundred Gold Coins... Can he afford that price?"

Even Colin felt a chill at that price.

"What if we include the Weston Clan?" he immediately asked back.

At a life-or-death moment like this, Colin felt it would be more than worth it, even if Albert decided to use up the promise he owed him.

Edwin took out another sheet of paper. "I’ll contact them and let you know what they think. So please, ask Kase for his thoughts. After all, the opinion of the person involved is what matters most."

Colin agreed and hurried back, feeling a great sense of urgency.

"Wait. You’ve been dealing with a group of Dwarves in the sewers recently, haven’t you?"

Colin asked, "Yes. Is there a problem with them?"

"No, on the contrary, they’re quite reliable. Those Dwarves have a strong sense of pride and won’t do anything to tarnish their reputation. I’m just warning you: do not, under any circumstances, let too many people know you can get information from them. Absolutely do not."

Edwin placed two stacks of Gold Coins on the desk. "Also, here are the twenty Gold Coins for the last mission."

Colin turned back, collected the coins, gave a solemn nod, and then turned and left.

---

Carrying his pack, Kase arrived at the entrance of the Black Heart Tavern. He pushed the door open just as he always did, as if he were just here to drink the afternoon away with nothing better to do.

Compared to the quiet of a few days ago, the tavern was once again packed with people.

Most of them were new faces, likely refugees who had fled here or Adventurers who had come from other places.

Kase scanned the tavern and found Bob sitting in a corner.

As he walked over, people dodged him as if he were the plague itself. By the time he reached the table, the few people next to Bob had already left.

"Yo, where’s Colin? I can’t wait to see his dumb, drunken face again." Bob waved his hand.

"A beer."

After shouting to the owner, Kase unslung the Ice Short Spear from his back. He placed the spear and a coin pouch in front of Bob. "When Colin gets here, help me give these to him. You’re the only one here I can trust."

Bob reached out and nudged the coin pouch, then glanced at Kase.

He sniffed and said, "You... something happen?"

A serving girl slapped a mug onto the table. Kase took a sip and said, "I’m goin’ home."

"Not to be that guy, but going to the Northern Lands now..." Bob trailed off. "Listen, don’t push yourself to death’s door, brother."

"Born of frost, die in the blizzard," Kase said. "It’s a saying my tribe is fond of."

Bob took one look at the expression in Kase’s eyes and paused. He knew instantly that he couldn’t convince him. You couldn’t convince a man who just wanted to go home.

He sighed. "Alright. Safe travels."

"I know it’s just words, but I’d still like to ask you to look after Colin for me. Thanks." Kase’s voice was a low rumble. "He should be here soon. Help me apologize to him. Tell him I couldn’t stay for that last drink..."

"That won’t be necessary."

A familiar, breathless voice came from behind him.

Colin pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. He immediately asked, "Kase, your purpose in coming south was to see if you could bring your tribe here to migrate, right?"

"That’s right."

"Well, I’ve found a way," Colin said. "We’ll go talk to Albert. You can put down a few dozen Gold Coins as a deposit to hire people to find your tribe. That way, you won’t have to go back yourself."

Kase scratched his head. "A few dozen Gold Coins is only enough to send one person."

"So you’ll have to owe some money for now. On credit, you get it?"

"Will that really work?"

"We’ve saved two villages and a fortress. You think we don’t have enough clout for something like this?"

After thinking about it, an expression of sudden realization dawned on Kase’s face.

"Don’t tell me you didn’t think of that at all." Colin’s head started to ache.

"How was I supposed to know how things work with you humans? I thought there was no way," Kase said, his face a little awkward as he stammered out an excuse.

He glanced at Bob, who was snickering to himself, and snatched the Short Spear and coin pouch back from the table.

"At least give me a handling fee," Bob said, tapping the table.

"This isn’t set in stone yet," Colin added. "It all depends on what Albert says. If it really comes down to it, we’ll have to borrow some money first. The whole process will probably cost several hundred Gold Coins!"

Hearing this, Kase’s face immediately fell.