Snow started falling harder. The ground was quickly covered in a thick blanket of white. The netizen of the Winter Village watched from the warmth of their home.

"...There is a lot of work to do tomorrow to shovel all this snow away!"

"...I hope the snow doesn’t do any damage to the infrastucture..."

The locals talked to themselves in their homes, and since going outside was a big no-no, they drew the curtains and lit their fireplaces.

Meanwhile.

The old man jogged through the heavy snow with the fur hat pulled tightly over his ears. He wasn’t alone.

With uncomfortable gazes, Raon and Anna followed closely behind him, trembling in cold as they were only wearing some casual attire.

It was too late, so there weren’t any stores open where they could buy warmer clothes.

"We’ve arrived!"

At that moment, the old man stumbled through the heavy snowstorm and arrived at the doorsteps of his house.

The house was over at the end of the street. It lined a row of identical houses, all covered in a thin layer of snow.

It wasn’t that big of a house. Probably only had two bedrooms, at most. A kitchen, maybe. A living room. It definitely wasn’t tall enough to have a second floor.

A humble abode, for sure.

The old man opened the door and kicked his boots against the welcome mat to shake off the snow. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"I am home!"

While suffering from a cold, Raon and Anna followed him into the house and closed the door right behind them.

It was immediately warm in the house. A fireplace was definitely roaring currently, with logs crackling and popping.

"Father, the food is already rea—"

In that moment, his daughter popped her head from the living room, but she paused after noticing that her father wasn’t alone.

He was with two people that she had never seen before.

And after a quick look, she could also tell that they weren’t locals. They were players, which made her immediately nervous.

"Father...?"

She said, as if she were asking, "Who are they and why are they here?"

"We got some guests, if you don’t mind, daughter."

The old man said with a laugh and then patted Raon on the shoulder and said, "Come in, let’s go eat!"

They walked into the living room and saw that the table was already set with food, and it wasn’t just the daughter that had been waiting for them.

There was a baby sitting in a high chair, smiling and clapping his hands. He probably hadn’t reached one year of age yet.

"How’s Hero?"

The old man excitedly walked to the baby and started playing around with him, and he kept calling the baby "Hero," as if it was the baby’s actual name.

Which was the case.

"...My name is Opal."

The daughter of the old man talked to Anna, who looked back at her and looked at the hand that Opal was offering for a handshake.

"...Anna."

She replied casually and shook the hand and noticed that Opal’s hand was rough from years of hard work.

Opal looked like a normal housewife, but that clearly wasn’t the case, as Anna could see from the callouses on her fingers.

The second floor, while beautiful, was also a harsh place to live at because of the constant cold and storms.

Everyone had to work hard to keep the house warm and safe.

"Let’s start eating before the food gets cold."

The old man said, and he sat down at the head of the table, and Raon sat on his left side and Anna on his right.

Opal got seated next to her baby, but there was one more seat empty, with a plate and everything, but nobody to sit on it.

"...Where is the father of the baby?"

Anna asked curiously.

"My husband’s name is Fischer. He is part of the Village Guard Order. He is out on patrol right now."

Opal said.

She had been wishing that her husband would’ve already come back home, as there was a dangerous snowstorm going on right about now.

However.

Those patrols were unpredictable as to when they would return home.

"There have been reports of Ice Goblins migrating closer to the Winter Village. They used to stay over at the mountains, but it looks like the conditions over there have become even too crazy for them.

"So there have been reports of them in the nearby woods. Ice Goblins are a dangerous threat, so the Village Chief decided to send some patrols to find their whereabouts.

"If they show signs that they are coming closer to the village, we will have to prepare for battle."

The old man said.

"Why not just send some players?"

Anna asked, and she took a taste of the food on her plate, and she didn’t change her expression at all.

She actually didn’t like the food and actually found it quite disgusting, as this food was made of whatever was cheapest on the market.

While this family was the furthest thing from a wealthy one, they still seemed happy, which Anna was confused about.

’I’d rather die than live in these kinds of conditions. I don’t understand how they can keep smiling.’

She thought to herself.

"Father, how do you know these people?"

Opal then decided to ask, as this was the first time that her father brought some guests over to their home.

It was especially strange for him to bring home player guests.

"This young man here is that person I talked to you about a while ago. The one that entered the tower alone and Solo Cleared it!"

The old man said excitedly.

"H-He is?"

Opal said in surprise and took a good look at Raon.

When she was a child, her father used to read her the Heroes of the Tower book basically every day.

Before the Age of Players, the Heroes of the Tower book was all about the legends of the towers and about their legendary deeds.

And when the players arrived, the Heroes of the Tower book also started mentioning their epic achievements.

She remembered not that long ago when her father came back home with a new updated version of the Heroes of the Tower book.

He told her about this one young man—Fang Raon—whose name was added several times to the list of heroes in the book.

"If you don’t mind me asking, why’ve you come back to these lower fools? I thought a man of your status would be eager to climb higher and higher."

Opal asked curiously.

"I am just helping my sister."

Fang Raon said.

They looked at Anna, who was casually eating the food away, while disguising the disgust in her face.

Raon, on the other hand, thought that the food was absolutely delicious. He didn’t mind the cheap ingredients used.

"It is getting late, though..."

The old man thought out loud and checked the time on his timepiece, and his brows furrowed with concern.

He didn’t want to make his daughter any more worried, so he stayed quiet, but it was never a good sign that one of the guards was late to come back.

’It should be alright. Fischer is not alone, after all. He is with many strong guards, including the Chief Guard, who is as strong as players.’

The old man thought.

They kept eating and talking while enjoying the quiet mood. The snow trickled down the window panes. The fireplace crackled.

"Boo... boo!"

The baby stuffed his tiny mouth with food, and since he was making such a big mess, Opal had to stop him with a wry smile.

Knock~! Knock~!

At that moment, a firm knock sounded on the door. It was a proper knock.

"Could it be Fischer?"

Opal said excitedly and smiled at her baby, saying, "Looks like your father has returned."

"Ooooh!"

The baby cooed back with an excited response.

However.

The old man looked serious, and he stood up from the chair and approached the door with a reserved pace.

He thought that knocking didn’t sound like Fischer’s knocking. His knocking usually was more quiet and timid.

He opened the door.

The snow was still falling hard. There was a person standing outside, his shoulder-length brown hair covered in snow.

He wasn’t wearing the fur hat but was instead holding it in his hand, a serious look on his face.

"Donald."

The old man said with a frown.

It wasn’t Fischer. It was Donald, a member of the Village Guard Order and a good friend of Fischer.

"Donald? What are you doing here?"

Opal walked over with the baby Hero in her arms.

"Mister Onion and Lady Opal."

Donald greeted them with a bow, and he looked like he was carrying some heavy burden on his shoulders.

When he saw Opal and the baby Hero, his eyes softened, and his lips trembled, as if he were holding back tears.

"What’s going on, Donald?"

The old man, Onion, asked with a frown.

"...It’s about Fischer. The patrol squad came back, but they were all bloodied and battered with injuries.

"However.

"Fischer was not with them. We asked where he was. The Chief Guard told us he didn’t make it. He said that the Ice Goblins got him."

Donald said with a pained gaze.

In that moment, Onion’s and Opal’s faces fell, and as if he were able to sense their emotions, the baby Hero started crying.