Krrrrrr!

A monstrous roar echoed through the earth. Unlike the soldiers, who cowered in fear, the woman standing at the front wore an expression of calm confidence and elegance.

She was draped in a shining white tiger pelt over her shoulders.

Beneath it, a pristine white uniform, crafted by the hands of a master, clung tightly to her slender frame, fitting perfectly.

The spotless uniform seemed out of place in this harsh land, and at the same time, it proved that no one dared to approach her.

The title “Queen of the Frozen Moon” existed solely for her.

A massive soldier dressed in a black uniform ran to her and knelt before her, his face filled with reverence, as if he had been chosen by a god.

The woman, with a familiar motion, rested a long rifle on the soldier’s sturdy shoulder. Her gaze locked onto the scope as she stared straight ahead.

A moment of silence lingered. Her long blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight, gently swaying in the wind.

*Click.* There was no hesitation in her fingers as she pulled the pin.

She held her breath for a moment before lightly squeezing the trigger.

*Bang!*

The tremendous magic-infused bullet pierced the forehead of Talos, the giant 300 yards ahead.

The northern ruler, who had been targeting her from behind, fell helplessly to the ground.

Soldiers quickly rushed to subdue the fallen Talos.

The woman, who had been watching with indifferent eyes, turned her attention back to the cliff below.

The mighty Frate River flowed with incredible speed, immune to freezing even in the fierce winds.

In her blue eyes, as she gazed at the river, a firm resolve took shape.

It shone more brightly than the cold winter sky.

“Now it’s my turn to save you.”

Lavirus.

Her whispered words floated gently down to the Frate River, carried by the cold wind.

At the edge of the Black Forest, her story, one that would be remembered by future generations, had begun.

***

On a night when not even the moon rose.

The pitch-black winter night was a space filled with icy winds, bristling like thorns.

*Rustle, rustle.*

A traveler trudged through the snow toward the village blacksmith.

The traveler, unwashed blonde hair, wore a grotesque mask. The rags draped over her were worse than mere scraps, and her emaciated body made it impossible to discern her gender.

The light from the still-lit forge illuminated the traveler’s dark path.

As they reached the entrance, the traveler brushed the dirt from her filthy rags and opened the wooden door of the forge.

No matter how much she dusted herselves off, the tattered rags didn’t transform into clean clothes.

But if they didn’t at least try, the blacksmith’s harsh hand would soon fly their way.

The traveler feared the sudden violence.

Thus, with both hands, she straightened her rags as much as possible. It was an almost obsessive gesture.

“You’re late, Sel.”

The blacksmith was wiping down a long sword with a cloth.

Although Sel had arrived earlier than the agreed time, the blacksmith pointed out her tardiness, clearly intending to lower the price.

Sel, the traveler, licked her dry lips and placed the sack she had been carrying onto the counter.

The sack was filled with high-grade pistols, swords, and traps powered by magic.

“Did you fix the magic formulas and the broken parts? Are you sure?”

Sel nodded silently.

The blacksmith stared at Sel’s face before pulling out one of the pistols from the sack.

He aimed the barrel at the target behind Sel.

*Bang!* A hole appeared in the center of the target with a dull thud.

“You’ve revived a dead thing. Heh, you’ve got some skill.”

The blacksmith smirked, running his rough hand, like a pot lid, over the body of the pistol.

He took 10 rubles from his coin purse and tossed them onto the counter.

The crumpled bills fluttered in all directions.

Sel, watching quietly, opened her mouth hesitantly.

“It should be 15 rubles….”

Despite her filthy appearance, her voice was clear and bright.

The blacksmith placed his hands on his hips and shouted angrily.

“You should be grateful I even give someone like you work!”

“…”

“And next time, take off that filthy goblin mask. You nearly give me a heart attack every time I see it at night!”

“…I’m sorry.”

Sel hunched her shoulders.

Before the blacksmith could change his mind, Sel hurriedly stuffed the ten 1-ruble bills into her pocket.

The amount was far too little to survive a month, but there was no other choice.

If this work dried up, there would be nowhere left to go.

Sel stopped by the bakery, which was preparing to close for the day.

She bought the cheapest bread and a small bottle of milk before heading home.

Each time they glanced at the heavy paper bag filled with groceries, saliva filled her dry mouth, and the desolation in her heart was replaced with a small sense of contentment.

Sel’s house was far from the village.

Since it was adjacent to the ‘Black Forest,’ where monsters lived, few people ventured there.

The shabby cabin located there was the perfect hiding spot.

It was the new moon. The path, devoid of moonlight, was pitch black.

While most would be scared of the thought of robbers or monsters appearing, Sel didn’t care. Wearing a terrifying goblin mask, she herself would be the robber or monster to someone else.

Even in the utter darkness, Sel didn’t lose her way.

The scents of grass, trees, and well-trodden soil served as a compass, illuminating the dark path without the need for moonlight.

The North Star, which her mother used to gaze upon every night, twinkled in the same place today.

How long had she walked? In the distance, she saw the faint light from the cabin.

Sel quickened her pace.

She wanted to get inside as soon as possible to ward off the cold.

The cabin, made of stacked logs, looked like it could collapse at any moment, but to Sel, it was a precious refuge.

The scent of the old logs mixed into the air, welcoming her from afar.

With a light step, Sel glided forward, his feet sliding across the snow.

That’s when it happened. A foul smell suddenly passed through the familiar scents.

Sel stopped walking. She sniffed the air like a dog, glancing around cautiously.

‘Blood.’

Sel’s body tensed.

Carefully, she placed the paper bag she was holding on the ground and drew the manual pistol from her waistband.

Though it was a simple gun with no magic and lacked power, it was enough to get at least one shot in on an opponent.

Following the scent of blood, Sel walked, her nose leading the way.

She tried to muffle her footsteps, but the crunching of snow underfoot clung to her like a shadow.

The source of the smell crouched near an oak tree, about 20 feet from the cabin.

A large figure was slumped against the tree trunk.

“Mom?”

Sel’s heart pounded.

Could it be that the person she both loved and hated had returned from the forest alive? Was the one she had waited for endlessly finally back? Her chest fluttered with emotion.

But Sel’s hope shattered like thin ice.

With each step forward, the shadow grew impossibly large.

The figure was far too big to be her mother.

‘Right. It’s been eight years. There’s no way she could have survived in that forest. How foolish of me.’

‘Click’

Without hesitation, Sel disengaged the safety pin.

Her ability to let go of regret, and her stance as she held the gun in both hands, were both practiced and skilled.

Judging by the lack of movement, it seemed like a discarded corpse, just as she had expected.

Corpses of those who were meant to die in secret were always abandoned in this black forest where monsters roamed.

Sel nudged the figure’s head with the muzzle of her gun.

The large body collapsed into the snow with a thud.

The white snow, which had softly reflected the starlight, turned dark red, losing its color as blood soaked into it.

‘I don’t have time to worry about others when my own situation is this precarious.’

Sel coldly assessed her own circumstances.

The capacity to care for an unknown human had long since vanished from her heart.

Just as she was about to turn and walk away, a faint scent of wisteria mixed with the stench of blood caught her attention, stopping her in her tracks.

‘No way’

Frowning, Sel turned back to look.

The glimpse of the face peeking through the shadows held her wavering gaze.

Damn it.

Cursing under her breath, Sel quickly checked the man’s pulse. He wasn’t dead yet.

Sel wrapped the man’s large arm around her own neck.

Even lifting just one arm made her back buckle under the weight.

She could barely take a single step forward.

If she strained herself too much and injured her back, it would be to her own detriment.

But Sel didn’t give up.

She dragged a sack from outside and hoisted the man’s body onto it, using it like a sled to pull her along.

It was fortunate that the ground was frozen solid.

***

Phew.

It was almost noon when the man finally exhaled a long breath and opened his eyes.

Next to the bed where the man lay, Sel was sitting at a small wooden table, repairing her guns. she was still wearing her goblin mask.

“Oh, sh*t, you scared me.”

The man leapt up defensively, only to relax once he confirmed that Sel was human. He clutched his chest in relief.

A bandage was wrapped around his chest—or rather, a piece of dirty cloth was tied around him.

The man glanced back and forth between Sel’s clothes and the bandage on his chest.

It wasn’t hard to figure out that the person in the goblin mask had torn their own clothes to stop the man’s bleeding. It was also clear that they was dirt poor, without even a proper bandage.

Sel’s blond hair, just barely covering her ears, was filthy, as if it hadn’t been washed in ages.

Beneath that, the green goblin mask, made from the actual skin of a goblin’s face, was visible.

And beneath that, small red lips peeked out.

“You’re awake,” Sel said.

Despite Sel’s appearance, her voice was refreshingly clear.

Her build, facial features, and voice resembled that of a boy who hadn’t yet hit puberty.

“I must have collapsed somewhere nearby yesterday. That doesn’t usually happen. Thanks for treating me.”

The man clumsily fumbled with the makeshift bandage wrapped around as he expressed his gratitude.

His eyes, while examining the wound, were cold and detached.

Though the wound had already begun to heal while he slept, it wasn’t as deep as it had been initially.

The man’s body, having reached the level of a sword master, had remarkable regenerative abilities.

Even though he would have gotten up on his own by morning if left there, his rescuer likely couldn’t bear to see him bleeding in the cold winter.

The fact that this person had brought his presumably heavy body all the way here, torn their shabby clothes to treat him, and even given up their own bed showed they were kind-hearted.

What might have seemed like a small favor to some was, to that boy, probably an act of giving everything he had. The man, watching the boy, who was deeply engrossed in their work, continued speaking.

“I’m Lavi. I’ll repay this kindness many times over.”

The man who introduced himself as Lavi placed his left hand on his chest and gave a nod of greeting.

“…There’s no need for that.”

It seemed the man didn’t remember her.

A long time ago, Lavi had once helped Sel, but it didn’t matter. Sel had repaid the favor this time, and that was enough.

Sel lowered her head again, focusing on repairing the gun.

While carrying Lavi yesterday, she had dropped her gun on the ice, and now the cylinder of the old gun wasn’t turning properly.

Lavi, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, slowly approached Sel.

What would someone look like if they hadn’t washed for three months? He himself led a mercenary group filled with grimy men, but he had never seen someone this filthy.

As the foul odor wafted closer, Lavi pinched his nose and looked at the scattered, missing tools on the floor before shifting his gaze back to Sel, who was busy repairing the gun.

His deep green eyes were quite serious.

“You’ve got a knack for this. You disassemble and reassemble it really quickly. Have you handled a lot of weapons?”

“Yes. I could aim this at your head right now, so stop staring.”

“Just kidding.”

“I’m not.”

‘Click’

In no time, Sel had finished assembling the pistol and aimed it directly at Lavi.

But Lavi wasn’t scared. In fact, he seemed relaxed.

“Can you repair things, too?” Lavi asked.

“More or less,” Sel replied.

“Even magic machines?”

Sel just gave a silent nod.

Grinning mischievously, Lavi pulled out a longsword from his waist, adorned with mechanical embellishments. The blade was encrusted with dried, blackened blood.

“Then try fixing this.”

Thud. The heavy sword was placed on the table with a loud clunk.TL Note: If the pronouns used for Sel are for a male, note that they are from the POV of Lavirus or other characters who don’t know her true gender.