Chapter 19 : The Royal Capital of the Ice and Snow World
"Silver-haired stuffed toy, wake up."
"Wah!"
Lonis was sleeping soundly when a voice woke her up.
Opening her eyes, she saw the loli-form Lonis sitting on a rock, looking at her with a smile.
"It's already 10 o'clock, you lazy pig is still sleeping."
"Ugh... ugh?"
Rubbing her somewhat drowsy head, Lonis stood up.
It was still the crude cave, with howling cold winds blowing against the mountain walls, making sounds like a dragon's roar.
Lonis stood up but found herself still a bit unsteady—this was the bad thing about a girl's body, always feeling top-heavy and very difficult to maintain balance.
And after putting on high heels, it was even more so...
"Mm... the stockings feel a bit slippery. Can I not wear them?"
"If you want to freeze to death and then be roasted over a fire by me, you can go without them."
"Ugh?"
"The clothes you're wearing now are all woven from ancient super-fabric. Although not resistant to impact, they have good immunity to piercing damage."
"Huh?!"
"The interior is also equipped with many micro-computers, so when connected to the Protection Warm Jade, it can guarantee heat."
Elucia pointed to the Protection Warm Jade, then stood up:
"Are you ready? If there's nothing wrong, hurry up and get moving."
"Mm, ready..."
Just as Lonis finished tidying her clothes, Elucia picked up the collar and put it around her neck.
That sense of humiliation from being restrained made Lonis's body tremble, while Elucia looked her over as if admiring a work of art:
"Hmph, I have to say... although you're a masochist, you have very good aesthetic taste. Your facial features are delicate, you always have a pitiful expression—perfect for being trained."
"I-I didn't choose this because I wanted to be trained!"
"So you see, I must train you regularly to make you like this feeling, right?"
"Huh?"
"Silver-haired stuffed toy, let's get going."
"Ugh ugh!"
Although Elucia was leading Lonis around triumphantly, the silver-haired girl could feel that Elucia seemed very happy today.
Those villagers hadn't found their way here either, so the two continued along the snowy mountains: resting when tired, using the "phone" to melt snow for water when thirsty, and eating grilled steak when hungry.
And Lonis's stamina was much better than yesterday.
Therefore, the two made rapid progress that day without any incidents, covering dozens of miles of mountain roads before dark.
......
And at dusk, Lonis saw something on a distant mountaintop.
(It looks like... a city?)
Everything was unclear under the swirling snow and wind.
But upon careful observation, Lonis could still see that the thing looked very much like a city.
A huge silver castle stood at the highest point. Below was an urban area stretching for thousands of meters, with outer walls that seemed covered by glaciers, full of cold air. Besides that, there seemed to be many other buildings also covered by white snow.
From this distance, Lonis couldn't make out more details.
......
"Elucia, what is that?"
"That's our destination for this trip, the Snow Kingdom's royal capital."
"Snow Kingdom's royal capital...?"
"Mm, the manufacturer of that magic furnace, a civilization that once stood in the snowy mountains."
Elucia was in a good mood and spoke much more: "But this civilization has been extinct for a hundred years, so this royal capital has also 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 district was for ordinary citizens to live in, so there are many underground waterways remaining."
Elucia gazed at this royal capital ruins, seemingly confirming the route forward.
And looking at the city's layout, Lonis felt a sense of déjà vu... but she couldn't say exactly where it was familiar.
......
......
Moreover, as they walked closer, this familiar feeling became even stronger.
Lonis felt like she might have been here before, but carefully searching her memory, she found no fragments related to snowy 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, Elucia's words interrupted her thoughts.
"Lonis, hurry up."
"Oh...?"
"We're going in."
Under Elucia's guidance, Lonis entered a passage that looked like a drainage pipe.
It was very spacious here, with rusted metal gates that Elucia cut through with one sword stroke.
The sound of their footsteps echoed quietly in the empty, deserted passage.
......
Perhaps the original sewers would have been filled with stench?
But this place had been abandoned for too long. The ground was covered with patches of ice, and much of the garbage had decomposed over time.
So the two walked slowly forward without encountering any obstacles.
......
However, when passing through a circular small hall, Lonis was startled:
"Wh-what is this thing..."
"Weapons left over from ancient wars. Don't touch them randomly."
Lonis was horrified to discover that in the center of the circular hall, a metal battle puppet had collapsed.
It looked like a giant mantis, with two huge front claws about a meter long, looking like two giant scythes that could easily cut a person in half.
And opposite the metal mantis were two corpses wearing armor.
Their flesh had long since weathered away, leaving only skeletons maintaining their final poses... They were nestled together, as if enjoying their last moment of life.
"Did a war happen here..."
"Not really a war, just a group of stupid fools who were bewitched by evil demons."
"Huh?"
"They activated weapons that should have resisted foreign enemies and turned them against their own people... Hmph, truly insane, stopping at nothing for victory."
Looking at those two corpses, emotions seemed to flicker in Elucia's eyes.
However, she didn't move to bury those two bodies...
Perhaps this nestling pose was already eternity for them?
"Alright, let's continue forward."
"Elucia..."
"Lonis, I know you have many questions... but I want to tell you, there are many questions where you'll know the answers without me having to say anything."
"Huh...?"
"This is an order from your master. Don't question it!"
Continuing to follow Elucia, Lonis felt that familiar feeling growing even stronger.
Now she could be certain she had definitely been here before!
Like certain deserted passages, like certain symbols carved on stone walls as decorations... Lonis could almost recognize these things she had absolutely seen before at a glance.
But she couldn't remember where she had seen them.
It was like a very impressive adventure anime you watched as a child—you could recall some characteristics of the characters inside, but you couldn't clearly remember the specific story or the anime's name.
......
"Lonis, what's wrong? You've looked like you have a headache ever since we came in."
"Ah, no... I, that?"
"Hmph, I'm not concerned about you, but telling you: we're about to exit the passage. If you don't want to be scared, pull yourself together."
Elucia stopped in front of a dust-sealed ice door.
......
......