I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

"There's hardly any change in the town, yet there's so much snow here… This must be the work of snow spirits," Nero remarked, lifting one hand.

A fluffy, snow-white wisp floated gently into her palm.

This was a snow spirit, an entity without a physical form, born from fantasy and elemental forces.

Harmless in nature, it posed even less of a threat than a mosquito.

Mosquitoes could at least spread diseases through their bloodsucking, but snow spirits? They didn't have an ounce of aggression.

Moreover, snow spirits had minimal intelligence; even if attacked, they wouldn't bother dodging.

Despite their frailty, the guild's commissions stated that eliminating a single snow spirit earned a hefty 100,000 Eris.

"For such a tiny thing to be worth 100,000 Eris…" Nero murmured, inspecting the little spirit in her hand.

"Umu… I can't bring myself to do it."

Though harmless, some claimed that defeating a snow spirit could bring spring half a day earlier.

So perhaps, snow spirits were essentially winter's embodiment… or something like that?

"White snow stretching from the plains here to the mountains over there… Ah, it reminds me of Christmas."

"And speaking of Christmas… it's all about snowflakes filling the sky, jingling bells, Christmas trees decked with lights, and Santa Claus in a bright red suit."

"Umu, umu… Chaldea has so many Santas—even that kid with the same face as mine was Santa once! But I never got to be Santa. Outrageous!"

Clearing her throat, Nero was suddenly overcome with the urge to sing.

She twirled around as she began to sing in an enchantingly magnetic voice.

"Hashire sori yo~~ Kaze no you ni~~ Tsukimihara wo~~ Padoru~ Padoru~~"

After a while…

"Eh? Where's my snow spirit? My big snow spirit? And why aren't there any left around me?"

Nero was shocked to realize that in her singing reverie, the dozen or so snow spirits surrounding her had all vanished. Not a trace of them remained.

"Umu? Could it be they were called home for dinner by their parents? Umu, good children should eat on time and not make their parents worry," Nero concluded, her mood unaffected by their disappearance.

"Music! More music!"

"Hashire sori yo~~ Kaze no you ni…"

Boom!

"What now?! Can't you see I, the Emperor, whose musical prowess rivals Apollo, am performing?"

Angrily, Nero turned toward the commotion, only to see a white avalanche surging down the mountainside like a tidal wave.

"Umu?"

It was the most common and dangerous natural disaster of snowy mountains: an avalanche.

For an ordinary person, an avalanche spelled despair. The overwhelming power of nature dwarfed any individual's strength.

But Nero was a Servant. She was the Emperor of Rome. Would she fear an avalanche?

…Apologies, she did.

"Waaah!"

Without hesitation, she turned and bolted.

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My name is Kazuma Satou.

If you're interested in my glorious exploits, please refer to Chapter 270, The One Guy with Decent Luck, Kazuma Satou. We'll skip that for now.

Oh, and one more thing: if any girls out there like me, please let me know ASAP. All my teammates are beautiful girls from certain angles, and I strongly suspect one or two might secretly have feelings for me but are too shy to admit it. If you don't want me to be snatched away, confess right now, thanks.

Today, I encountered a really messed-up situation.

Winter's approaching, right? If I don't save enough money to buy a house and continue sleeping in that raggedy stable, I'll definitely freeze to death when winter truly arrives!

But here's the problem: during winter, weaker monsters hibernate, making commissions scarce. I painstakingly picked what seemed like the easiest one off the wall—hunting snow spirits.

I'm an idiot. The moment I saw the expectant look on our masochistic Crusader's face, I should've realized… This quest was absolutely not as simple as I thought.

Now, standing before me was something dressed in full white armor, draped in a white cloak, holding a frosty white katana exuding an aura of overwhelming presence and killing intent.

The Winter Shogun.

My throat clogged with unsaid complaints, my face twisting as if suffering from constipation.

"What the hell is this?!"

"What are you saying, Kazuma? That's the Winter Shogun! A yokai often mentioned in Japanese folklore. Don't tell me you didn't know?"

"I know what the Winter Shogun is, no thanks to you! What I'm asking is… why does this world have the Winter Shogun?! And why is it a real monster, not just a figment of imagination?"

Kazuma couldn't hold back and roared at Aqua's smug taunts.

"The Winter Shogun is a special-designation monster with a high bounty. Like snow spirits, it's a winter spirit. Spirits gain form from human imagination."

"For instance, fire spirits manifest as ferocious salamanders because people associate fire with devouring, destruction, and greed. Meanwhile, water evokes freshness, beauty, and intelligence, so water spirits appear as graceful maidens… Hey! What's with that look?"

Fresh? Beautiful? Intelligent?

Water goddess?

Think about it. Let it sink in.

Kazuma simply couldn't reconcile those three descriptors with the last one.

Impossible things remain impossible.

"But winter spirits are more unique. With monsters running rampant in winter, even adventurers rarely venture out, making encounters with winter spirits a rare event… Unless they meet isekai adventurers from Japan, of course."

Spirits took physical form based on people's perceptions.

And winter spirits often encountered isekai adventurers from Japan, who inevitably thought of the Winter Shogun when they imagined winter, thus bringing it to life in this world.

"Those guys are a damn nuisance!"

"Yelling at me won't help! The Winter Shogun is charging!"

The Winter Shogun raised its gleaming katana, its blade flashing coldly under the sunlight.

No wonder Darkness had been so excited on the way here. She must've been dying to face this guy.

Sure enough, the masochist had already dashed toward the Winter Shogun while Aqua had been explaining.

And then…

With a crisp clang, a broken blade spun through the air before landing on the ground, its edge sheared cleanly.

"Ahhh! My sword!"

What kind of fight was this supposed to be?!

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T/N: PADORU PADORU!!!