The dining hall of the White Castle was lined with fur-covered wooden chairs and solid timber construction.
Animal pelts and horns from the snowy mountains decorated the walls, and a large brazier in the center crackled with warm flames that bathed the room in a soft glow.
Thick iron bars reinforced the windows, which were glazed with frost.
Beyond them, the snow-covered mountains and frozen plains stretched wide in a stark, breathtaking view.
This striking contrast only emphasized the cozy warmth of the dining hall amidst the frigid scenery.
“Did you say… poop—I mean, intestines?”
The chef’s face was frozen in shock, his expression growing increasingly bewildered.
It was only natural—intestines were digestive organs.
In other words, not something meant to be eaten.
Sure, they could be made edible with enough preparation, but…
“The remaining innards aren’t suitable for consumption.”
The parts mixed with waste were in no way fit to be eaten.
Even in the harsh North, where food was scarce, those parts were discarded—completely inedible.
“We were going to use them to repel wild beasts…”
In simpler terms, even animals wouldn’t touch them.
But that didn’t bother me.
I’d eaten the hearts of monsters—what couldn’t I eat?
Besides, purely in terms of nutrition, few things provided protein as efficiently as innards did.
“Just bring them out.”
“…Excuse me?”
“What are you doing just standing there? Go get them.”
“Are you seriously going to eat them?”
“Why else would I ask for them?”
“…”
“Don’t cook them. Heat ruins the nutrients.”
I waved my hand dismissively.
After a long moment of hesitation, the chef quietly disappeared into the kitchen.
And just a few minutes later, he returned.
As instructed, the innards were raw.
“…Here they are.”
They were neatly arranged on a plate.
Blood still dripped from them.
As I stabbed one with a fork, a pungent smell began to rise—it was oddly delightful.
Clearly, the parts were full of waste matter.
Still, I didn’t hesitate. I popped the innards into my mouth and chewed.
And, just as I expected:
‘It tastes like utter filth.’
It wasn’t just bad—it tasted dirty.
No exaggeration: it was like chewing a sewer.
There was a reason the chef said they weren’t edible.
Still, I picked up another piece and shoved it into my mouth.
“What in the world—! You’re eating that?!”
The chef recoiled in horror, jumping back.
Even the maids watching nearby stared in shock.
Their horror made sense.
After all, the notorious, picky, noble-born troublemaker of the count’s house was eating raw, shit-smelling innards.
A few maids even gagged, covering their mouths.
“Ugh…”
“I-I can’t take it anymore—uwgh!”
One of them bolted out of the dining hall.
Several others followed her out, leaving chaos in their wake.
But I didn’t care.
I kept shoving waste-filled innards into my mouth.
‘Compared to my Special Forces days, this is nothing.’
Back then, this would’ve been a gourmet dish.
During the war with the Empire, the continent had become a hellscape.
The Emperor’s mass slaughter spared no one—not just the Allied forces or even just humans.
He seemed to hate life itself.
He annihilated everything that breathed—animals, plants, insects, all of it.
If he needed something, he bred it.
If not, he slaughtered it.
The continent was more lifeless than even these northern mountains.
Going days without food became normal.
No food. No water.
We drank our own urine. Then, when there was none left, we resorted to… worse.
Eventually, even that ran dry.
Starvation and dehydration became constant.
If someone found a bug during a mission, it was like a festival.
Bugs were excellent sources of protein.
Food scarcity was a severe issue, not just for Special Forces but for the entire Allied army.
They say a steadfast heart is born from a full belly, and even the noblest will turn thief after three days without food.
The Allies were starving, and slowly crumbling.
Even Ian couldn’t solve this one.
He could split mountains and reverse oceans, but not conjure an ecosystem out of thin air.
The one who solved it… was the Spirit Sorcerer, the hero of the Allied Army.
They used the power of nature to breathe life back into the broken continent.
They restored the ecosystem and revived the barren land.
Afterward, the Spirit Sorcerer became the commander of the Supply Corps and freed the Allied army from all logistical issues.
We called them the Force that Sustains the Beginning and End of the Battlefield.
Without the Spirit Sorcerer—without the Supply Corps—the Allied army would’ve starved to death before ever facing the Emperor.
Though we lost the final battle…
‘This time is different.’
I’ve been given a second chance.
I’ve returned to the past—and so has Ian.
We can form the Allied army earlier. Unite them better. Grow stronger.
There’s time—ten whole years.
More than enough for a winnable war.
And at the center of it all is the Hero—Ian.
Everything begins once I meet up with him.
Until then, I have to prepare.
I don’t have time to waste boosting Kai’s affection or anything like that.
“Do we have any more of these innards?”
“Y-Yes?! Uh, we do, but…”
“You were going to throw them away anyway, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Then pack them all into lunchboxes for me.”
“L-Lunchboxes…?”
“Yeah.”
Chomp. Chomp.
“What are you waiting for? Go to the kitchen.”
“R-Right! Right away!”
The chef bolted, the maids scattering behind him—some clutching their mouths, rushing off somewhere.
Watching their retreating figures, I shoved more of the innards into my mouth.
Their mushy texture and foul flavor spread across my tongue.
‘Not bad.’
…Honestly, it was starting to grow on me.
* * *
A day had passed since Adrian returned to the Count’s estate.
And in that time, he hadn’t left the Trial Grounds of Frost.
He even took his meals there.
Aside from sleeping, he spent every waking hour training.
Today, too, Adrian was gasping for breath in the Trial Grounds.
He lifted massive barbells and dumbbells—basic physical training.
But the weights were anything but basic.
So many plates were stacked onto the barbell that it bent into a C-shape.
“W-What am I even looking at?”
“Is that even humanly possible…?”
“Is Adrian using aura or something—”
“—Are you serious?”
“R-Right, of course not. Adrian can’t use aura.”
“Then what the hell are we seeing?”
Adrian’s shirtless body looked even more defined than yesterday.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
With each breath and lift, his tightly packed muscles flexed and rippled violently.
“Is he really human?”
“I swear he looks more like an ogre…”
The soldiers of White Castle couldn’t stop talking about Adrian.
And it wasn’t just them.
The maids of the Count’s castle were just as captivated.
“Hey, don’t you think Adrian has changed?”
“Totally! I was cleaning his room yesterday—”
“Yeah?”
“And I left the hangers facing the wrong way. You know how he is about that!”
“No way! He never lets that slide!”
“Exactly!”
She shuddered at the memory.
“So I was freaking out. I confessed right away. And you won’t believe it—he said it was fine!”
“Whaaat?!”
“And he even thanked me for always cleaning his room!”
“NO WAY! He didn’t slap you?!”
“Nope! I was seriously touched!”
And the chatter only grew from there.
“Then that rumor must be true too!”
“What rumor?”
“About his meals! They say he’s only eating innards these days. The gross kind.”
“What? But he’s a neat freak! Why would he—?”
“Chef says he’s doing it to save food for the townspeople.”
“No way…”
“I didn’t believe it either.”
“No, it’s true.”
A new voice suddenly chimed in.
“Rena?!”
“When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“And you’re saying it’s true? You saw it?”
“Yup. I was with him in the dining hall. He really said there wasn’t enough food, so he’d eat the innards.”
“For real?”
“Yeah. And he just… ate them. Like it was nothing…”
“Oh my God!”
“Okay, that’s enough. Just thinking about it makes me want to barf again…”
And so—
From the soldiers of White Castle to the maids of the castle, all anyone could talk about was Adrian.
But it didn’t last.
“When do you think he’ll go back to normal?”
“I say tomorrow. He’ll quit.”
“Bet he stops today.”
“I’ll bet a gold he lasts three more days.”
No one believed Adrian had really changed.
They thought it was just an act—something spurred by the late Count’s will.
A brief facade.
People don’t change.
Especially not Adrian, who had never once put in real effort.
A decade of being a delinquent noble can’t be undone in a single night.
To them, Adrian would always be the disgrace of the Count’s family.
That was the shared conclusion among the soldiers and the maids.
“He’ll quit eventually.”
But regardless of their doubts—
Adrian silently continued lifting weights in the Trial Grounds of Frost.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
His labored breaths, his body radiating heat—
In this space, the frost no longer fell.
And just like that—
Time passed quickly.
* * *
Before dawn, in the early hours of morning.
The sky still cloaked in darkness, the snowy landscape of the count’s territory glistened under the pale moonlight.
Ice crystals shimmered like stardust, reflecting the silver light.
The snowy ridges of the mountains in the distance stood tall.
Silence reigned as though the world itself had frozen.
Kai trudged through the cold, mentally reviewing his training schedule.
Swordsmanship, live sparring, drilling the soldiers, tactics training, archery, formation breaking and defense, night ambush drills, tracking, survival, endurance…
From dawn to late night, his days were grueling.
But this was Kai’s usual routine.
With each step, the frigid air slapped his cheeks.
Every breath stabbed his lungs with ice.
Smoke rose from chimneys across the estate, as if calling him to warm himself.
But Kai quickened his pace.
There was no time to dawdle if he wanted to complete today’s training.
And as he reached the Trial Grounds of Frost—
Huff! Huff! Huff!
Someone was already there.
Beating him to the punch—training before even he had arrived.
