Chapter 20 : The Past Sealed in Ice and Snow
The moment she pushed open the door, Lonis froze.
Not only because the entire street was covered with ice and snow—but because she finally remembered where she had seen this world.
In her dreams, when she became a hero!
When turning in quests at the guild, when being revered by thousands of citizens, when staying at inns—she had lived in places like this.
Although the street layouts weren't exactly the same, the appearance of every building was identical to her memories.
It was just that everything was now covered in ice and snow, so Lonis hadn't immediately recalled it.
And moreover...
Even that hall where she had received honors still existed.
It stood majestically at the very top of the entire city. Lonis still remembered how it had been bustling with traffic then—not only common people, but noble ladies, even the archbishop and king had come.
Everyone was cheering her name in unison. White lilies stretched from the city gates to the palace, spanning hundreds of meters in a magnificent display.
But now... what was all this about?
What was all of this...
Lonis was stunned, while black smoke began rising from Elucia's feet again.
By the time the silver-haired girl came to her senses, the girl-form Elucia was already standing with arms crossed, seemingly smiling as she looked at Lonis:
"Hmph, finally noticed, did you? You don't seem to be such an idiot after all..."
"Elucia?"
"Let's go. Don't you want to confirm it?"
"I..."
"If you want to stand here and become an ice sculpture, that's fine with me, but I'm going ahead first."
"W-wait!"
The familiar yet strange environment instilled a primal fear in Lonis's heart. She didn't dare stay alone in such an open place, so she quickly chased after her.
......
Elucia's target was very clear—that hall located on high ground.
The magnificent entrance was over ten meters tall. When you got close, you had to look up to see its luxuriant eaves.
But perhaps because it had been abandoned too long?
The huge doors were already frozen shut by ice blocks and couldn't be opened at all. Even Elucia could only sigh deeply, a trace of helplessness flickering in her eyes:
"Miss Hero, although I'd love to take you on a nostalgic tour and help you complete that unfinished knighting ceremony, unfortunately, it seems there's no way."
"Ugh..."
"What a pity. Tormenting you in a place like this would definitely make you submit more thoroughly... Falling from the glory of your homeland into becoming a girl, you'd probably really enjoy that shameful feeling, right?"
"Who would enjoy that, you... sa-sadist!"
Lonis had wanted to say something even worse, but Elucia's oppressive presence was really too strong... Wearing a cute little dress, Lonis could only tremble slightly and turn her head away in feigned anger.
"Oh... don't you like it?"
"Wh-what..."
"Just imagine, if those nobles from back then saw how you look now, what would they think? Would they continue to worship you, admire you? Revere you as an invincible hero?"
"Huh?"
"No, they'd only think about how to push you down, how to use up your last bit of value... The former hero actually became such an adorable girl—who knows how many people would want to lock you up in a little dark room and imprison you?"
"N-no, that's not right. I did many things, so..."
"So certain people would be even more jealous? Like those nobles who originally wanted to marry the princess, like those gloomy old men. They would mercilessly torment you, making you completely become a public stuffed toy."
"!!!"
Being told this by Elucia, Lonis's back was already completely cold.
Come to think of it, the reason she was revered was because she had incomparable power.
But once that power disappeared?
Like now, having become a girl with no strength to tie a chicken, probably many people would want to do excessive things to her, right?
"Ugh..."
Thinking of this, Lonis suddenly felt somewhat dejected, and crystalline tears seemed to appear in her eyes.
And Elucia?
Seeing that she had bullied Lonis enough, she changed her approach:
"Alright, you're not completely useless. At least, if your power hadn't disappeared, you'd still be a qualified hero."
"Wasn't all that stuff from the virtual world?"
"So you don't need to worry about virtual things. Now, you just need to obediently be my slave maid."
While saying this, Elucia tugged at the collar around Lonis's neck.
"Ugh..."
"I've said what I needed to say. Now you follow behind me and don't ask anything more."
Following Elucia's footsteps, Lonis's originally melancholy mood also eased somewhat.
At least...
She was still alive, wasn't she?
Although becoming a girl was shameful, although being treated as a slave had no dignity,
compared to those already dead in coffins, compared to those corpses already sealed under the earth, she was already much luckier, wasn't she?
Lonis wasn't naturally a sad person. After a moment of self-encouragement using the "spiritual victory method," she regained her composure and discovered a problem she hadn't noticed before:
Since she had come to this city when she was a hero,
it meant the world in the virtual world was closely related to this current Snow Kingdom royal capital.
Perhaps those nobles, citizens, and kings she had once seen were all people who had actually lived!
And Elucia, understanding both this city and her previous life's experiences, might also have countless connections to both places.
Plus...
......
Just as Lonis was thinking, a voice came from ahead:
"Lonis, if you're going to walk this slowly on two legs, you can crawl."
"Huh?!"
"Or are you deliberately walking this slowly because you want me to punish you?"
Only then did Lonis realize that because of her distraction, she was already some distance from Elucia.
She quickly ran up and apologized: "Ah ah, sorry!"
"If saying sorry worked, what would we need prisons for?"
"Huh?"
"Hmph, I'll consider your behavior as being absent-minded from revisiting old places. Later, I might have to deal with some annoying little troubles, so don't try any clever tricks while I'm at it."
"Oh... oh?"
"From now on, you hold your own collar. Hmph, even leading a dog would walk faster than you."
Elucia waved her hand, throwing the other end of the collar chain into Lonis's hands.
She herself took out that pitch-black long sword from her waist, then took out a belt and tied her long hair back into a ponytail.
It had to be said that Elucia already looked extremely handsome in girl form, with quite a boyish decisiveness.
And now with her hair in a ponytail, Elucia had the bearing of a female general, as if even thousands of troops appearing before her wouldn't disturb her in the slightest.
(So cool!)
(No wait, I'm a hero who likes soft girls. Loli Elucia is barely acceptable (though her chest is too small). Like this now, she's totally not my type, right?)
Lonis shook her head, quickly suppressing the urge to kneel down.
And Elucia walked solemnly to a pitch-black stone house, frowning:
"As expected, still here. That guy actually dares to come back?"
"Dares to come back..."
"Stay behind me, keep a 5-meter distance."
Elucia pushed open the stone house door and what came into view was a downward staircase.
......
......