Chapter 19: The Royal Capital of the Ice and Snow World
“Silver-haired fluffball, time to get up.”
“Waaah!”
Lonis, who was sound asleep, was woken up by a voice.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Lonis in her loli form sitting on a rock, looking at herself with a smile.
“It’s 10 o’clock, you lazy pig, and you’re still sleeping.”
“Wuu… wuu?”
Rubbing her slightly drowsy head, Lonis stood up.
It was still a simple mountain cave, and the howling cold wind blew against the mountain walls, making a sound like the roar of an evil dragon.
Lonis stood up, but found that she was still a bit unsteady—girls’ bodies were like this, always feeling top-heavy, making it very difficult to maintain balance.
And it was even more so after wearing high heels on the boat…
“Hmm… my stockings feel a bit slippery, can I not wear them?”
“If you want to freeze to death and be roasted by me, you don’t have to wear them.”
“Wuu?”
“The clothes you’re wearing now are all woven from ancient super fabric. Although they are not resistant to impact, they have good immunity to pierce damage.”
“Ehh?!”
“Many microcomputers have been installed inside, so connecting to the Sanctuary Warm Jade will ensure the heat.”
Elusia pointed to the Sanctuary Warm Jade and then stood up:
“Are you ready? If there’s nothing else, hurry up and let’s go.”
“Mm, I’m ready…”
As soon as Lonis tidied up her clothes, Elusia picked up the collar and put it around her neck.
Lonis’s body trembled from the humiliating feeling of being restrained, while Elusia looked at herself as if admiring a work of art:
“Hmph, I have to say… you guy are a masochist, but your taste in aesthetics is very good? Your facial features are delicate, and you always have a pitiful expression, making you suitable for training.”
“I-I didn’t choose this because I wanted to be trained.”
“So, I have to train you often, and make you like this feeling, okay?”
“Ehh?”
“Silver-haired fluffball, let’s go.”
“Wuwuwu!”
Although Elusia was triumphantly pulling Lonis, the silver-haired girl could feel that Elusia seemed very happy today.
Those villagers didn’t find them either, and the two of them walked all the way along the snow mountain: they would rest a little when they were tired, melt snow water with their “mobile phone” when they were thirsty, and eat roast beef when they were hungry.
And Lonis’s stamina was much better than yesterday.
Therefore, the two of them made rapid progress that day, and no accidents occurred. They traveled several tens of miles along the mountain road before dark.
…
At dusk, Lonis saw something being processed on a distant mountaintop.
(Is that… a city?)
Under the wind and snow, everything was not very clear.
But upon closer inspection, Lonis could still discern that the object was very similar to a city.
A giant silver castle stood at the highest point. Below it was a urban area spanning thousands of meters, with outer city walls that seemed to be covered by glaciers, exuding a chilling aura. Besides that, there seemed to be many buildings also covered by white snow.
Lonis couldn’t see any more details from this distance.
…
“Elusia, what is that?”
“That’s our destination, the Snow Realm Royal Capital.”
“Snow Realm Royal Capital…?”
“Yes, that’s the manufacturer of the Magic Drive Furnace, a civilization that once resided in the snow mountains.”
Elusia was in a good mood and spoke a lot more: “But this civilization has been extinct for a hundred years, so this royal capital has been abandoned for a long time.”
“…”
“However, at the main entrance, there should still be ancient magic weapons left behind, so we’ll enter from below later. The lower city was for ordinary citizens, so there are many underground waterways left.”
Elusia gazed at the ruins of the royal capital, as if confirming the route ahead.
As she gazed at the layout of the city, Lonis realized that she had a sense of déjà vu… but she couldn’t quite explain where it felt familiar.
…
…
And as they got closer and closer, this sense of familiarity grew stronger.
Lonis felt like she might have been here before, but after searching her memory carefully, she couldn’t find any fragments related to the snow mountains.
(What’s wrong with me, this feeling…)
The more she couldn’t figure it out, the more anxious Lonis became.
But at this moment, Elusia’s words interrupted her thoughts.
“Lonis, hurry up.”
“Oh…?”
“We’re going in.”
Led by Elusia, Lonis entered a passage that looked like a drainage pipe.
It was very spacious, and the rusted metal iron door was cut in half by Elusia.
The footsteps of the two echoed silently in the empty, deserted passage.
…
Perhaps the original sewer would have been filled with stench?
But it had been abandoned for too long, and the ground was covered with patches of ice. Much of the garbage had decomposed and disappeared over time.
So the two of them walked slowly and encountered no obstacles.
…
However, when passing a small circular hall, Lonis was startled:
“Wh-what is that…”
“Weapons left behind from ancient wars, don’t touch anything.”
Lonis discovered with horror that in the center of the round hall, a metal combat puppet had collapsed.
It was like a giant praying mantis, with two huge forelimbs about a meter long, resembling two giant sickles that could easily cut a human in half.
And opposite the metal praying mantis, there were two corpses clad in armor.
Their muscles had long since weathered, and only their bones retained their posture in life… They were huddled together, as if enjoying the last moment of their lives.
“Was there… a war here…”
“It wasn’t a war, just a group of stupid guys who were bewitched by evil demons.”
“Ehh?”
“They activated weapons that were meant to resist external enemies and attacked their own citizens… Hmph, truly insane, they would do anything for victory.”
Gazing at the two corpses, there seemed to be emotions flickering in Elusia’s eyes.
However, she didn’t make any move to bury the two corpses…
Perhaps this embrace was eternity for them?
“Alright, let’s continue.”
“Elusia…”
“Lonis, I know you have many questions… but I want to tell you that for many questions, you will know the answer without me saying anything.”
“Ehh…?”
“This is an order from the Master, no questioning!”
As Lonis continued to follow Elusia, the sense of familiarity intensified.
Now, she could be sure that she had definitely been here before!
For example, some deserted passages, or a symbol carved on a stone wall as decoration… Lonis could understand at a glance that she had definitely seen these things before.
However, she couldn’t remember where she had seen them.
It was like you had watched a very impressive adventure anime when you were a child, and you could recall some of the characters’ features, but you couldn’t remember the specific story or the name of the anime.
…
“Lonis, what’s wrong? You’ve had a headache since we entered?”
“Ah, no… I, that?”
“Hmph, it’s not that I care about you, but I’m telling you: we’re about to exit the passage. If you don’t want to be scared, then cheer up.”
In front of a dusty ice gate, Elusia stopped.
…
…
