Chapter 70.2

“Ah… I feel the same way.”

“Phew, so it wasn’t just me.”

“I’d lay down my life for the Grand Duchess.”

“Me too! If I could die fighting for someone as beautiful, compassionate, and noble as her, it’d be an honor.”

“I’ve been reading the Renslet Scriptures lately. There’s a whole section on Her Highness’s words and teachings.”

“You? You can’t even read!”

“That’s why I paid a lot of money to learn how to read. I wanted to understand her words, even if it was just a little.”

This unintended butterfly effect was something even Arad hadn’t foreseen.

Thus began the birth of a fan culture in this other world.

And the ripple effects were not limited to the High Tower alone.

***

“Never in my life did I think I’d see such wondrous works of art in the North!”

“This is a groundbreaking attempt. Such bold and striking lines! It’s hard to believe. My heart feels like it’s about to burst!”

These words came from people who had traveled north, crossing the freezing lands to visit the High Tower.

“What kind of magic is this to create such vivid colors?! And the shadows, too!”

“Beautiful… So this is the Grand Duchess of the North…”

These were nobles and merchants from the south who had come to the North to receive chimera automail treatments. The portraits captured their hearts.

“We could sell these paintings for a fortune.”

“The North is currently the most talked-about place on the continent. It’s where Arad Salt, Northern Celadon, and Mary’s Blessing are all produced.”

“True, it’s always been famous. A wild, half-civilized land of snowfields that has produced generations of Sword Masters.”

“Don’t forget the Demon Zone and the Great Northern Wall.”

“And, of course, the rumors about the Grand Duchess of the North are worth their weight in gold.”

“Now, if we were to sell that portrait?”

The merchants of Bishop Company couldn’t take their eyes off the portraits of Arina hanging around the High Tower.

“They’ve placed enchantments on them.”

“And look at those frames. They’re not ordinary frames either.”

Like parched travelers finding an oasis in the desert, the merchants gazed at Arina’s portraits with longing.

“We should ask the Grand Duchess for permission.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

Eventually, they worked up the courage to request an audience with the Grand Duchess.

“We humbly greet Her Highness, Arina Rune Renslet, Grand Duchess of the North and representative of the Renslet bloodline.”

“Renslet Rune Renslet!”

With great effort, they secured an audience with Arina.

“And what reason do you have for seeking me out?”

“Your Highness, we humbly request that you sell us the portraits displayed throughout the High Tower.”

“Denied.”

Arina refused them without a moment’s hesitation.

“Your Highness, we will pay any price!”

“Not just money, Your Highness. Consider fame and honor. Your beauty and name will be known throughout the continent!”

But the Bishop merchants didn’t give up so easily.

“Yes, Your Highness! If these portraits reach the Empire, it will shatter the prejudices that imperial nobles hold against the North.”

They even enlisted the help of the visiting imperial nobles to persuade Arina.

“That’s right. Many people in the Empire still think of Northerners as culturally ignorant. But if they see these portraits, people like me will start to revere the North and Your Highness.”

“It’s not just the Empire, Your Highness. This would also raise the North’s name and reputation across the many kingdoms of the continent. I personally promise to showcase these portraits in the capital of the Allied Kingdoms, Berdenheim.”

“……”

Their impassioned pleas left Arina deep in thought.

‘I can’t part with the paintings that Arad poured his heart and soul into. But… this could be a chance to change people’s prejudices about the North.’

Money and fame. Both were things that the North — and Arina herself — desperately needed.

But she didn’t like the idea of selling these paintings.

They were, after all, works that Arad had devoted himself to, almost as if possessed by a divine fervor.

‘Isn’t there a way to mass-produce these paintings like we do with celadon?’

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her.

They could mass-produce celadon, so why not paintings?

If it was anyone else, this might sound like nonsense.

But if it was Arad, he’d surely come up with a way.

“I’ll think about it. For now, leave.”

After dismissing the imperial nobles and the Bishop merchants, Arina transformed into Mary and immediately headed for the industrial complex.

***

The waves that started in the North met Bishop Company and grew tenfold.

The Northward Current — as it would later be called — spread beyond the Empire to the Kingdoms.

At the High Tower, factories and academies expanded at an unprecedented pace.

Thus, two and a half years passed since Arad first arrived in this world.

It was now late winter, bordering on early spring — the month of April, when the biting chill of the northern cold had begun to subside.

At one of the lecture rooms of the newly opened Renslet Academy…

“This is how you blend like this, and voilà, you’ve got a clean contrast between the light and shadows. Simple, right?”

I stood at the front, giving a lecture to 50 people known as the “up-and-coming artists” of the North.

“If you mix Arad Company’s No. 33 paint with the powder of a fire-attribute magic stone, and then add water… tada! You get this color that’s almost identical to the colors of a real sunset.”

The North had always been considered a culturally underdeveloped region.

As such, there had never been a true “artist” profession in the North.

But not anymore.

The Renslet Academy was systematically training new painters.

And these students were already part of the second generation of enrollees.

“See? Isn’t that simple?”

“……”

“……”

But for some reason, everyone in the lecture hall had blank stares on their faces.

It was as if I were a certain uncle with a big afro, and I’d just told them, “You can do it too! Just a happy little tree right here…”