Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The Holy Kingdom of Alveria is a small nation located in the far north of the eastern part of the Zergia Continent.

The first Holy King, Balthazar, forged a pact with the Divine Star Dragon Owlnova and has received immense divine protection.

The country’s name means “cradle” in the ancient language of the dragons. It is said to have been named with the hope that it would become a place of solace for the people amidst the chaos that followed the collapse of the Zergia Empire.

It boasts a favorable location, with both coastal and mountainous regions within its borders, and the majority of its territory consists of fertile plains.

Although it is a small country in terms of area, it possesses strong military power and abundant resources due to the many unexplored territories surrounding it.

Its main military forces consist of the Seven Star Knights—the seven strongest warriors in the Holy Kingdom, whose prowess is widely recognized and have been granted weapons by the Star Dragon—and the Four Dragon Knight Corps, a regiment permitted to bear the name of the dragon.

There are also the Star Templar Knights, the Star Dragon Church’s strongest combat unit, who have been entrusted with silver dragons as their familiars.

Both groups consist of warriors capable of taking on a thousand enemies single-handedly, and their combined military strength rivals—if not surpasses—that of the Germania Empire, the greatest military power in the eastern part of the continent.

While the majority of the population consists of commonfolk, many other races—including beastfolk—also live here.

This is because they took in many of the beastmen who were scattered after the Northern Beast Kingdom, with which they had an alliance, collapsed due to the war against the Fiend Lord.

Currently, diverse races are striving to live in peace while harmonizing their cultures. A nation that, despite possessing great power, spares no effort in maintaining peace. That was the assessment of Alveria by its own nobility and by neighboring nations.

Filia was born in the Viscountcy of Zainberg, a small fiefdom in the southern part of Alveria.

She was the daughter of the lord of the fief and a lepician maid who served the viscount’s main family.

■■■■■

“Good morning, Your Excellency, and good morning, Mother.”
“Good morning, Filia.”
“Filia, haven’t I told you that when no one is watching, you can just call me ‘Father’?”

It was a cold, snowy morning. In the Viscount’s family dining room, mother and daughter were enjoying a cozy moment together.

“Yes, Father.”

Under her father’s gentle gaze as he watched over his beloved daughter, Filia grasped the hem of her apron dress and performed the curtsy she had learned from her mother.

With a shy smile, the daughter took her seat, while the viscount and the maid watched over her with the expressions of a father and mother.

And so, another winter day—one that would be repeated countless times—began.

It was the kind of family togetherness that everyone in the family had longed for, yet had never quite been able to achieve.

“—And you know what? Alice was lying unconscious in the hallway! I really can’t take my eyes off her for a second.”

Filia was talking about her new friends.

Both the viscount, who had just passed his mid-thirties, and her mother, who had just turned twenty, listened with smiles on their faces.

She recounted how Alice, who helped with the cooking, had gone to the next room to look for some seasoning. Worried that she hadn’t returned, Filia went to check on her and found her collapsed in the hallway.

How everyone enjoyed the dishes Filia learned from her mother, though sometimes they’d fight over them, which caused a bit of a problem.

How, that certain destined day, Filia and her mother fled west westward across the Dragon Mountains Belt, relying on a certain contact.

And how her mother died from a wound that worsened during the grueling mountain crossing, and how truly difficult things were after that.

How she encountered a felician kid at the town she finally reached, whilst she herself was plagued with hunger and loneliness.

How they started living together, albeit awkwardly, and it was a struggle.

How a pair of wolfen twins appeared right as her relationship with Noche was starting to considerably improve.

And how that became the impetus for the life-or-death escape, and a grand adventure for the four of them.

Filia recounted the countless times she thought she would finally die, and had resigned herself to death.

And the times her friends would nevertheless step forward to protect her and the little sister, and how amazed she was with their decisiveness.

Today marked the fifth day since Filia began sharing the story of the days she had lived since parting with her parents.

Just as Filia was running out of things to say, the fierce blizzard began to settle down completely.

“And then, and then…”
“Filia.”

The gentle woman’s voice reached Filia’s ears as she continued speaking frantically.

She had been told that her name was derived from the first Silver Wolf King of the Northern Beast Kingdom and a part of his wife’s name.

Although she felt it was more than she deserved, it was Filia’s secret source of pride.

“Mother.”
“You worked really hard, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”

She handled her work competently, but on the rare occasions she bumped her limbs against furniture, she would react dramatically as if in great pain.

Her timidity and her aversion to pain were no different from those of any ordinary lepician.

Yet she was also a strong mother who, while fleeing their estate, carried her daughter across the mountains despite the agonizing pain of a worsening sword wound.

“It seems you’ve made some good friends.”
“…Yes, Father.”

Though his family often told him he was too soft as a viscount, he was a man who would till the fields alongside his subjects.

The Zainbergs were a line of knights who served as guardians of the farmland.

Although he was the third son, he was designated as the heir because the previous lord recognized his sincerity toward his people and his loyalty to the country.

He said he had made advances toward the maid who had been by his side since childhood because he never expected to inherit the title.

He seemed to feel sorry toward his wife, whom he’d married as part of a political alliance, but surprisingly, Filia’s mother and his legal wife got along quite well.

The viscount, who was supposedly unskilled with a sword, defended his people against bandits without retreating a single step.

Kind and strong—they were the parents Filia was so proud of.

“Forgive us for keeping you here. You can’t stay here forever.”
“……”

The viscount watched his daughter, who looked down wistfully and shook her head reluctantly.

Her father, who died while fighting off a band of bandits that had appeared near the estate’s border and began looting.

Her father’s lawful wife, who collapsed from poison immediately after the funeral. Her mother, who was framed for the assassination of the lord’s wife.

Had the lawful wife, who was bedridden, not ordered her chamberlains to help Filia and her mother escape the mansion just before she lost consciousness, they would certainly have been killed.

Her mother was escorted by the knights serving the lord and fled the estate.

Despite sustaining injuries from her pursuers, she managed to protect her daughter and escape.

She had no way of knowing what happened afterward. That was all Filia knew about what had befallen them.

The “lingering snow” piling up blends the remnants of the living and the dead, forming the shape of memories.

“……”

She wanted to stay immersed in this dream forever. She wanted to spend her days happily just like this.

But the illusion—a perfect recreation of the parents Filia knew—would not allow it.

They would not tolerate keeping their daughter trapped in a freezing dream any longer.

And she, too, was not weak enough to drown in the dream.

Filia shook her head as if in resistance, but eventually slumped limply, as if she had given up.

“Filia, please be happy for both of us. Get along well with your friends.”
“I’ll be watching over you from the Sea of Beginnings. I love you. …And someday, please show your brother that you’re safe and sound. Even though you have different mothers, you’re siblings—as your father, I’d be happy if you two got along.”

Filia, who had had little contact with her father’s legitimate child, pictured her half elder brother.

The image from the distant past was already vague.

“Yes…”

She was a quick-witted, gentle, and intelligent girl who took after her father. She knew—she had come to realize—that this would be their final farewell. Shedding tears she could no longer hold back, Filia raised her face.

“Father, Mother… I’ll return to Alveria someday. I’ll come back strong enough that I won’t lose next time.”

Her decision to accompany the twins on their journey stemmed from her own circumstances.

Anger and hatred toward the injustice that had taken her parents from her.

She wanted to track down and bring to justice the culprit who plotted the assassination of her other mother—and the man who had killed her father and escaped capture.

Filia was familiar with the commonfolk knights and the ordinary beastmen who were her mother’s friends.

Compared to them, her current friends possessed power so extraordinary it was almost alien.

Noche, a felician who isn’t particularly skilled in combat, yet can hold her own against Silver Wolf, a natural-born powerhouse.

Sufi, who possesses mana beyond what one would expect from a Silver Wolf—who is naturally gifted in martial arts but lacking in magic—while also demonstrating a talent for martial arts.

Alice, a genius at alchemy, despite being so frail that it’s a miracle she’s survived this long.

Filia had a feeling that, with them in tow, the day would come when she could overcome the injustice that had befallen her.

“Next time, I want to get strong enough to save those girls…!”

A strong resolve shone in the timid rabbit’s eyes.

Faced with the monster that had appeared in Forligen, Filia could do nothing but cower in fear, just as she had in the underground passage.

Facing a monster whose mere presence instilled unbearable terror, Alice stood her ground calmly, looking it straight in the eye.

Suppressing the fear that made their legs tremble, Sufi and Noche drew their swords and charged forward to protect their youngest.

The fact that Filia, the eldest, could do nothing but tremble as she watched her companions fighting for their lives wounded her fragile pride more than she had expected.

Her pride as a member of the Zainberg family, descended from the proud knights of Zainberg.

Though she felt pangs of guilt, they were companions she had set out on this journey with, fully knowing she could use them.

Though their relationship had been purely pragmatic at first, before she knew it, they had become irreplaceable friends.

A black cat who was stubborn and bossy, yet cared for her companions more than anyone else.

An older wolf sister who, though she occasionally revealed a dark side, was incredibly innocent and approachable.

A younger wolf sister who lived at her own pace with a unique sensibility—someone she just couldn’t help but look out for.

They may not be easy to deal with, but they’re friends who make being together a joy.

As she looked ahead, the illusion of the mansion was beginning to dissolve into the air and fade away.

With the chairs and tables gone, Filia and her parents stood facing each other in the middle of the snowy plain.

The blizzard had stopped.

In the sky, which had been covered by thick clouds over the endless snowfield, a patch of blue had appeared.

“Father… Mother…”
“We’ll always be watching over you. Protect your friends, help one another, and live strongly. You can do it.”
“Filia, stay well. You’ll be fine.”
“…Yes.”

With gentle smiles on their faces, her parents’ figures faded into the snow.

Filia, who had been gazing at the now-deserted snowfield, looked up at the sky as if guided by the wind pushing her from behind.

Through a crack in the gray clouds, a blue sky began to spread out.

As she watched this… she woke up.

■■■■■

Whether the lingering feelings had vanished or she had shaken off her hesitation, even Filia didn’t know. Still, spurred on by her parents, she was able to shake off the dream and start walking.

Waking up in the Japanese-style room, Filia checked on each of her friends sleeping in the room one by one to figure out what had happened.

Sufi and Noche, who had been changed into their pajamas without her noticing, were tossing and turning repeatedly in their futons.

“Sufi… Noche… Ali—AAAAAAAAH!?”

Then, in the darkness, a Beak-Masked Plague Doctor collapsed, completely limp.

It was no wonder the girl let out a scream upon seeing this mysterious, unidentified monster right after waking up.

It seemed the person in question didn’t even have the energy left to remove her equipment.