The spring breeze of February swept across the land.
On February 10th, the Beastfolk army under the Beastfolk Royal Court officially retreated, returning to the far northern tundra.
This marked the end of the winter war that had lasted for over three months.
But for the soldiers stationed at the three great passes, the cleanup work afterward was just as important.
Outside the passes, the snow had long been churned into dark red sludge by blood and shattered bones.
If not handled properly, it could easily lead to outbreaks of disease as the weather warmed.
If left undetected, it might even spread to the northern regions of the Northern Territory.
Following orders, the soldiers marched out of the passes and searched for suitable burial sites along the border with the tundra.
Digging pits, shoveling snow, transporting remains, burying them.
In addition to the soldiers, cadets from the Royal Capital First Military Academy—who had come to observe—were also assigned tasks, experiencing the battlefield firsthand while helping transport the remains.
In truth, the bodies were no longer recognizable.
They were nothing more than masses of blood-soaked sludge.
Mixed with melted snow, they emitted a nauseating stench.
Many cadets, visiting a battlefield for the first time, turned pale, their stomachs churning, on the verge of vomiting.
In the massive pits along the border, once a thin layer of remains was spread, soldiers would pour burning agents over them and ignite the corpses.
Flames roared upward from the pits, creating patches of snowless ground in the frozen north.
No one is born loving war.
If not for the country and people behind them, they would never stand here.
Seeing the distant flames, soldiers on the battlefield paused in unison, removed their helmets, held them to their chests, and lowered their gazes.
The biting wind carved their faces—beneath their disheveled hair were sharp, resolute features.
This year's war had ended.
But as long as the threat of the beastfolk remained, they could not let their guard down.
Everyone had to be ready at all times.
…
Unlike the snow-covered northern passes, the Royal Capital had long since shed its winter coat.
As the weather warmed, some image-conscious individuals had already taken off their heavy clothing, walking through the still-chilly spring breeze.
Business at the Magic Battle Arena gradually picked up.
After the initial surge on opening day, customer numbers dipped slightly, but for most of the time, occupancy remained at around one-third.
In the evenings and on holiday afternoons, it even exceeded two-thirds.
Magic Duels also began spreading from noble circles into the common population.
After the second floor opened, the booth area on the first floor was dismantled and converted into standard dual tables.
From then on, nobles would head directly to the booth area on the second floor.
Although the Magic Battle Arena had no explicit rules, no commoner would bother going upstairs, and no noble would choose to stay downstairs.
In name, they were just different zones—but in reality, they were simply the commoner area and the noble area.
With this arrangement, both sides stayed out of each other's way.
And since this was Prince Ron's territory, no one had dared to cause trouble so far.
Aside from occasional inspections and planning future expansions and events as instructed by Ron, Nora began focusing most of her energy on the tournament venue at Moonview Street.
At the same time, construction of the private experimental zone outside the City of Chaos was progressing rapidly.
During the early stages, the construction team prioritized the Experimental Research Zone, aiming to complete and put it into use first.
As for the Mana–Element Reaction Zone, for safety reasons, they needed to first lay a solid foundation and build rainproof and dustproof structures before beginning full construction.
If everything went smoothly, the Experimental Research Zone could be operational by the end of February.
The Mana–Element Reaction Zone was expected to be completed in early March.
However, after construction, it would still require a series of safety tests.
So it would likely only be fully operational by mid-March.
Of course, if Illya and the others used magic to assist, the timeline could be shortened.
Meanwhile, as both the Magic Battle Arena and the experimental zone got on track, Mia's hotpot restaurant officially entered a full-scale "burn money" competition.
And it was already showing results.
Coupons, promotional set meals, opening events…
Various marketing strategies—still uncommon in this world—made their debut and demonstrated tremendous effectiveness.
Many customers were drawn in by Mia's new hotpot restaurant, only to be completely won over by the service and sauces.
Those who had previously visited imitation hotpot restaurants all said the same thing—
They could never go back.
…
Royal Capital Flower Shop, second-floor café.
More than a dozen noble ladies greeted Ron before heading upstairs to the third floor.
Sylvie stood beside Ron, her expression tense and serious. She took a deep breath, pretending to be calm as she said:
"Your Highness Ron, I should go up now."
Ron sat at the counter, trying not to laugh, and simply said, "Good luck."
With a stiff face, Sylvie left him with a somewhat lonely silhouette as she walked up the stairs.
Once all 16 participants had arrived on time, the staff began explaining the rules of the "War of the Gods."
"This tournament will use a points system and last for half a month, divided into two phases—each lasting seven days."
"Today is the first day of the first phase. Participants will be randomly divided into four groups, each playing three rounds of War of the Gods"
"Scores will be accumulated based on wins and losses. The next day, groups will be reassigned according to the previous day's scores, and three rounds will be played again. This continues in the same pattern."
"After seven days, total points will be calculated, rankings determined, and rewards distributed."
"In the second phase, points will reset, and the rules remain the same."
"Any questions?"
The noble ladies and Sylvie all shook their heads—after all, they had discussed and finalized these rules together over the past few days.
The staff smiled and brought out a box. "Please draw a number and proceed to your assigned room accordingly."
The noble ladies stepped forward one by one. Sylvie went last.
Her number was "13," placing her in Arena Four.
When she saw her three "opponents," her gaze sharpened instantly.
Based on her experience over the past few days, none of them was easy to deal with.
She would need to be extra cautious.
"Sylvie really joined the 'War of the Gods' Cup?" Nora, who had just returned from Moonview Street, sat beside Ron and covered her mouth as she laughed.
Ron shrugged with a smile and pulled her into his arms. "You know Sylvie—she says no, but her actions say otherwise."
Leaning into him, Nora rested her head on his shoulder, looking quite content.
"I just asked casually back then—I was even planning to pull Yuna in to make up the numbers. But Sylvie agreed immediately."
Ron chuckled, burying his face briefly in her purple hair as he gently rubbed her head.
This tournament had nothing to do with him—it was entirely organized by Nora.
Some time ago, many noble ladies had asked whether the "War of the Gods" cards could be sold to them.
After Nora asked Ron, he casually agreed.
But later, after learning about Ron's broader plans for Magic Duels, Nora abandoned the idea of selling the cards directly.
Since there would eventually be a Magic Duel tournament, why not first host a smaller event to gain experience?
That was her thinking—and she acted on it.
After a few days of promotion in the third-floor mahjong room, she managed to gather 15 noble ladies who had plenty of free time.
Adding Sylvie—who would show up instantly whenever the "War of the Gods" was mentioned—finally made 16 participants.
And even then, they could only run a points-based format.
An elimination format wouldn't even last a few rounds.
Considering they were all noble ladies, and to maintain enthusiasm, rewards were prepared for everyone.
Both first-place winners (from each phase) would receive a full set of "War of the Gods" cards, while the remaining 15 participants would also receive corresponding prizes.
Strictly speaking, there were no losers in this tournament.
And since it was split into two phases, no one would be unlucky enough to rank last both times—assuming similar skill levels.
This minimized the embarrassment of finishing last.
After all, appearances mattered to noble ladies.
With Sylvie participating, however, Ron wasn't too worried about that.
"Good thing you arranged rewards for every rank," Ron said, holding Nora's hands with a smile. "Otherwise, I'd be worried whether Sylvie could handle the blow."
"…Really?" Nora blinked in surprise. "But hasn't Sylvie been playing "War of the Gods" for a long time?"
"Yeah," Ron laughed. "But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can only reach someone else's baseline."
"And the saddest part is when the thing you love most… is also the thing you can never improve at."
"Kind of pitiful, isn't it…"
Nora didn't play "War of the Gods" often—only occasionally with Ron, Sylvie, and Yuna.
Thinking back, Sylvie did seem to lose far more than she won…
Wait.
Nora suddenly realized something.
In her memory, Sylvie might have never won at all—she was always losing money.
"Boss… was it wrong for me to invite Sylvie…? It feels a bit cruel…" Nora asked softly.
"How is that cruel?" Ron reassured her. "Think about it—when Sylvie usually plays here, she loses dozens of silver coins each time."
"But now, with the points-based system, she doesn't spend a single coin."
"That's saving her money."
"In half a month, she'll save at least several gold coins."
"She should be thanking you."
Nora blinked, feeling like something was off, but unable to argue.
"Oh… I see…"
Ron gently tapped her nose, then couldn't resist planting a quick kiss on her soft cheek.
"Ah!" Nora lowered her head shyly, leaning into him. "Boss… There are people here…"
"It's fine. They'll get used to it."
Yuna, wiping glasses behind the counter, rolled her eyes dramatically.
At that moment, a staff member came up from downstairs, followed by a palace guard.
The guard approached Ron and bowed respectfully.
"Your Highness Ron."
Ron looked puzzled. "Is there something from the palace?"