Chapter 49
Whether Fedor ultimately adopted Yeikh's advice is another matter, but he did stay in Norway longer than expected.
This city, which Yeikh considers to be similar to a small town, is actually Oslo, the capital of Norway.
According to Fedor, they first took a train to Frederiksborg, Denmark, and then a ferry to get here—although, in Yeikh's view, the scenery was basically the same.
During the long, sunless Nordic winters, even on daytime streets, the sky is always dimly lit, as if the dawn that dispels the darkness will never rise in the next moment.
Only the falling snowflakes, illuminated by the string lights, sparkled and fell on every passerby.
The buildings here are generally not tall, and many of the distinctive wooden houses are long isosceles triangles with steeply sloping roofs on both sides, the ends of which are almost close to the ground. Even the windows are small, squeezed into the small gaps in the exposed walls.
Ye Yihe guessed that the reason for this design was probably to prevent the heavy snow from collapsing the roof tiles, and the small windows were also better for keeping the house warm.
Because Christmas had just passed, many shops still had their Christmas trees up, with rows of dwarf elves wearing red hats standing there, looking especially adorable.
Although Norway now caters to tourists from all over the world by adding reindeer and white-bearded Santa Clauses to squares, it is said that in their culture, the one who actually delivers Christmas gifts door-to-door is a Nissen elf wearing a knitted red-topped pointed hat.
While buying groceries at the mall, Ye Yihe also bought two little elves to take back with him and hung them under the hotel window.
Fyodor did not object.
He was now walking along the street toward Aker Wharf, where the North Atlantic Current ensured that the seawater would not freeze even in the dead of winter; and they would be traveling along the fjord in a traditional Viking wooden sailing ship, exploring the entire ancient town full of Nordic charm.
Ye Yihe, who overheard tourists chatting while shopping, wanted to take a ride, while Fyodor was responsible for finding the way and booking tickets.
Looking at the street crowds, mostly couples or even families, through Fyodor's perspective, Ye Yihe, within his consciousness palace, considerately spoke to him, "[I can sing you a Christmas carol so you won't seem so alone.]"
During the Christmas season, you can always hear a Christmas carol everywhere—although it's different from the one he's heard before, "Jingle Bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way," the melody is still simple and easy to remember, and it would be a piece of cake for him to copy it.
With the New Year, which he planned to spend with Fyodor, approaching, Ye Yihe clearly felt his emotions rising, perhaps even more so than Fyodor himself.
"……Um?"
Fyodor, who didn't think he felt any loneliness at the moment, seemed to want to chuckle at Ye Yihe's enthusiasm, but still nodded and agreed to let Ye Yihe sing in his mind, "Please."
[cough. ]
Ye Yihe cleared his throat and began to demonstrate his extraordinary musical talent to Fyodor.
In this respect, 80 percent of musicians would have to admit defeat to Fyodor's ability to control his facial expressions.
He was able to listen to the entire Christmas carol, which was basically off-key, without showing any of the pitiful expression one would expect from a musical idiot trying to sing. He even managed to offer a few words of praise with ease.
"Is it 'O jul med din glede'? The Norwegian pronunciation is quite accurate."
[...You'll sing then.]
Fyodor was able to praise him without batting an eye, but Yeikh still had some self-awareness.
At this time of day, most of the passengers at Aker Pier are tourists on vacation, and as Yeikh headed to his seat on the deck, he could still hear a few familiar words of his mother tongue.
I don’t know if Fedor understands Chinese… It’s hard to say he doesn’t, after all, this guy can even speak Danish and Norwegian, which have less than six million users, so how could he not understand Chinese, which has more than a billion users?
After successfully boarding the ship and finding a seat, Fyodor gave his body to Ye Yihe. Within the Palace of Consciousness, one could only share sight and hearing. To experience the moistness of the sea breeze, the coolness of tiny water droplets dancing on the skin, and the liveliness of being among a crowd, one still had to use their own body.
To outsiders, the raven-haired boy, who had just been aloof and extremely polite, suddenly became much more lively, and his gaze as he looked into the distance was filled with a curious scrutiny.
When the waiter brought him the berry-flavored soda, he kindly said thank you in English.
This is a popular tourist attraction for international visitors. Whether it's the tour guide or the staff accompanying the sailboat, there's absolutely no problem communicating in English.
The pretty waitress with light blonde hair even smiled at Ye Yihe, who was sitting obediently in his seat, and placed a plate of cute gingerbread men and ring-shaped meringue cookies in front of him.
"Although the food here isn't great, the desserts are quite delicious."
After thanking him, Yeikh happily picked up a biscuit and whispered to Fyodor in Russian, "I'll have a couple of bites and then you can have some."
The familiar soft laughter echoed in my mind again.
Ye Yihe sensed that Fyodor had been laughing a lot lately, even though most of his laughter was fleeting and always carried an indescribable meaning. [No, you have the full right to savor it.]
His voice sounded genuinely cheerful, and even though he was using honorifics, it only added to the sense of intimacy.
Ye Yihe: "…………"
I knew this guy wouldn't be able to shake his habit of suddenly using honorifics when speaking to him.
Ye Yihe looked down at the thumbnail that was holding the biscuit; the edges, which had been chewed into tiny pits, were not properly healed.
Just like his inability to break his bad habit of biting his nails... even repeated reminders only reduced the frequency, and he would still do it if you weren't careful.
Since Fyodor said it was alright, Yeikh ate his biscuits while waiting for the ship to depart.
This sightseeing boat, converted from a former pirate ship, takes a total of two hours to travel almost from one side of the fjord to the other.
During this time, the tour guide will also diligently explain the scenery and culture along the way, as well as the brilliant footprints left by historical figures here.
Beyond the sailboat with its canopy billowing, snow fell damply in the sea breeze, its reflection casting shimmering lights that flickered faintly on the shore and further afield. Wooden houses, resembling pointed hats, lined the coastline, passing slowly by.
This was a landscape he had never seen in his previous world.
Ye Yihe was lost in thought until another part of the tour guide's introduction brought him back to reality, "...Everyone, please look to the north. That piece of land that extends outward along the coastline is Tromsø, known as the 'Gateway to the Arctic.' It is the largest port city in northern Norway and one of the northernmost cities in the world."
“There, temperatures are below 0°C for five months of the year, and it snows for almost half the year. But in return, we are able to glimpse the goddess Aurora dancing her skirts amidst magnificent artificial lights and snow-capped mountains.”
"Goddess Aurora?" Ye Yihe muttered to himself in confusion.
[A goddess in ancient Greek and Roman mythology who governs the dawn; some say her tears are dewdrops shimmering in the morning light.]
Upon hearing this muttering, Fyodor explained to Ye Yihe. His knowledge was far broader than imagined; he could talk about anything with ease, and there was no question that could stump him.
[More than three hundred years ago, Galileo named the aurora phenomenon, which occurs in higher dimensions, after it, and the name has remained ever since.]
"Oh, I see." Ye Yihe suddenly realized.
The phrase "Goddess Aurora" doesn't make sense, but the phenomenon of Aurora (the aurora borealis) alone is clear.
[If you're curious about the aurora, you'll soon be able to witness it rise and fall in the night sky, like the planet breathing quietly.] Fyodor said.
Our destination is Tromsø.
As he said this, the commentator on the sightseeing ferry added, "However, we do not recommend that you travel to Tromsø in the near future."
A chorus of regretful questions, wondering "why," suddenly arose from the small wooden sailboat.
"Recently, Tromsø County issued a warning about a strange virus spreading in the area, which causes those infected to lose consciousness and become like zombies," the narrator emphasized the next few words, "and it can attack humans."
A quiet murmur suddenly broke out on the ship.
"But don't worry," the narrator added with a smile, "the infection situation is still under control, and Tromsø has closed its ports and train routes, so the situation should calm down soon. If you're planning to travel to Tromsø anytime soon, you might want to reschedule."
Ye Yihe was stunned, “…………”
He held up the half-eaten gingerbread man to cover his mouth and whispered to Fyodor inside the consciousness palace, "Did you hear that? There's a zombie virus where we're going. Your trip has to be canceled...!"
As for the government's claim that the situation is "still under control," he doesn't believe it at all. That's right, not even a tiny bit.
No, that's exactly why I came.
Fyodor sat on a high chair in the Palace of Consciousness. He rested his bent elbows on the armrests, causing his entire upper body to lean slightly to the right, resting against the base of his palms against his face; the ends of his slightly long, dark hair also swayed slightly due to the change in posture, softly falling between his loosely clenched fingers.
[That wasn't a zombie virus, but rather supernatural forces at work.]
Ye Yihe: "Superpowers?"
[In the history of Northern Europe, there was once a Count of Stoke who possessed vast territories and was deeply loved by his people.]
Fyodor began telling him a story again, his pace unhurried: "[However, his child was cursed. His child possessed supernatural powers, but those powers corrupted his cells, causing them to mutate and become…a vampire.]"
[He can transform others into his familiars by drinking their blood, and humans bitten by his familiars will also be transformed into his familiars. This vampire ability will continue to spread until no one can be transformed into one.]
Ye Yihe fell silent, “………………”
Isn't the setting of superpowers in this world a bit too arbitrary?
He thought superpowers were just an innate, supernatural ability, never imagining they could be a virus that could spread from person to person!
“Wait a minute,” he suddenly remembered the Holy Cross sword that was still in the hotel, “Could it be that you want to find that sword because…”
[You're right, the Holy Cross Sword will counter his powers.]
Fyodor said softly, "[However, this sword does not belong to you or me, but to a 'hero of the Far East.']"
Ye Yihe knew, of course, that it was impossible for them to do such a heroic thing as taking up a sword to slay a dragon... not to mention that this body's physical strength was not enough to fight a vampire with an unknown number of followers.
Those are vampires, after all. In movies and TV shows, having extraordinary regenerative abilities and speed is just the basics. Enhanced senses and immortality are also standard features. The more powerful ones can even transform into bats and manipulate minds. As for vampires that can shoot out two laser cannons from their eyes, he had seen one in the works.
What's the difference between sending him to the front and delivering a small snack to the enemy?
What Ye Yihe never expected was that Fyodor's painstaking efforts to obtain the Holy Cross Sword were merely to deliver a weapon to that "hero of the Far East".
"Is that person confident they can defeat the vampire?"
The narrator continued describing the scenery along the way, but Ye Yihe had completely lost interest in her, only lowering her voice to ask Fyodor, "What if something happens to him?"
"No, that won't happen," Fyodor smiled slightly. "He's also a superhuman, and he possesses the strongest weapon, 'Divine Sword: Rain Goddess.' It's a divine sword capable of traversing time and sending warnings from the future to the past, enough to make him invincible."
[He has likely already accepted the Norwegian government's invitation and is on his way to quell the vampire power outbreak.]
All we need to do is entrust this holy sword to him.
This was the unspoken implication of Fyodor, but Ye Yihe felt something was off. "I haven't seen you contact that hero along the way?"
[The vampire powers appeared even before the government's crackdown. I had already contacted him before I came to Denmark.]
Fyodor's voice remained calm and composed throughout, [Fortunately, that hero from Japan was just an approachable samurai.]
Ye Yihe nodded with some skepticism, "If he can resolve this matter."
That being said, if that hero really did resolve the vampire power outbreak with the help of this holy sword, wouldn't that also count as a good deed he did?
Thinking about the resurrection points that were about to arrive, Ye Yihe felt much better.
It's true that waking up at the right time is worse than waking up early; he just happened to have the opportunity to do a good deed.
After a two-hour sightseeing tour around the fjord, Ye Yihe, who was freezing cold, returned the small blanket he had taken from the cabin door and finally returned to solid land.
Instead of returning to the hotel, he took a detour to a nearby supermarket and bought a large quantity of eggs, beef, mushrooms, and flour, as well as some potatoes, carrots, and fish.
He even specifically instructed Fedor to buy a bottle of champagne from a liquor store later—because Norwegian regulations stipulate that supermarkets are only allowed to sell pale beer, and other alcoholic beverages can only be selected from specialty stores.
These are the foods he found that need to be prepared for the Russian New Year, especially champagne, which is an essential drink for Russians to raise a glass at midnight.
Although this body is still some time away from adulthood... well, what can you do when Fyodor's fake identity document shows him as an adult?
After confirming that he had bought everything, Ye Yihe, carrying the shopping basket, immediately returned his body to Fyodor, allowing him to carry out a series of highly interactive actions such as checking out, paying, and returning to the hotel—while he himself was going to warm up in the bed in the Palace of Consciousness for a while!
Fyodor, whose hands suddenly felt heavy, did not object as usual.
Although it's a bit strange to celebrate the Russian New Year in Norway, Norway itself also celebrates New Year's Day, so Yeikh's suggestion doesn't seem too out of place.
Starting from the last day of the year, Ye Yihe began to busy himself with making Russian-style dumplings, as well as two Russian-style potato salads and a mixed vegetable salad with fish, which were among the must-eat foods for the New Year.
Fyodor, on the other hand, remained obediently inside the Palace of Consciousness.
Even if he wanted to help, he couldn't really do much. After witnessing his disastrous cooking methods—basically just mixing everything with yogurt—Ye Yihe resolutely forbade him from touching his pot.
Besides, it's inconvenient to keep going back and forth to work, and in the end, it's still just one body that gets exhausted.
However, Fyodor did not seem to be passing the time by reading. Instead, he was tuning his cello, which was placed in a corner of the palace, because short, melodious tunes would suddenly appear in Ye Yihe's mind. They were unfamiliar, but very beautiful.
As time passed, the television in the hotel was turned on, and Ye Yihe listened to the news while cooking.
Aside from some trivial local matters, the host also mentioned the lockdown situation in Tromsø, claiming that things were progressing well and that traffic was expected to resume soon.
The heating and air conditioning inside were on full blast. The earmuffs and cape that this body usually wore were placed on the coat rack by the door. Ye Yihe was only wearing a thin cardigan.
He served the prepared salad and dumplings, and opened the champagne, filling the goblets.
The snow outside the window was still falling heavily. In this brightly lit hotel room, the sight of Ye Yihe sitting alone at the dining table did indeed feel somewhat lonely.
However, he kept chatting with Fyodor, who was very good-natured and always responsive, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious and lively—at least in Ye Yihe's opinion.
Although from a third-party perspective, the scene of someone cooking, eating, and talking to themselves is indeed too eerie, easily giving others a sense of fear like, "Is he crazy?"
Ye Yihe ate a little to taste it, and then it was Fyodor's turn to eat, while Ye Yihe became the one who always responded to what was said in his mind.
As midnight approached, Ye Yihe watched as Fyodor got up and took paper and pen from his desk.
"May I ask you to close your eyes now?"
Fyodor smiled slightly. "This is my New Year's wish, which I will write down on paper, then light and put into a champagne glass. If I drink it before the New Year, the wish will come true."
This is one of the Russian New Year customs, and naturally it was also within Yeikh's scope of intensive study.
What surprised him was that Fyodor, with his high intelligence, also believed in this, which gave rise to a rather unexpected sense of contrast.
It's strangely cute.
"[You can write it,]" Ye Yihe said solemnly, closing his eyes and focusing his consciousness on himself. "[I promise I won't peek.]"
A long silence followed until Fyodor's voice rang out again, "That's enough."
Ye Yihe opened his eyes and was surprised to find that he was standing right in front of him.
“Happy New Year.” – Fyodor said, a slight smile curving his lips. “If one person is always on the outside and the other on the inside, I don’t think it can be considered celebrating the New Year together. Don’t you think so?”
"Happy New Year!" Ye Yihe laughed along. "Where's that glass of champagne that carries our wishes?"
“It’s all gone,” Fyodor said. “When the last drop was gone, the three hands of the clock were exactly overlapping.”
In other words, Fyodor spent the last few seconds drinking champagne and making a wish, finishing his drink at the exact moment the new year turned into the new... This man's sense of ritual was sometimes more solemn than he imagined.
Ye Yihe couldn't help but marvel as he watched him pick up the cello leaning against the wall, sit down in the chair, and adjust his posture.
"Um?"
"Let me play you a Christmas carol."
Fyodor rested the violin against his chest, with the neck resting naturally on his left shoulder.
When he raised his hand to press the strings, his handsome face, which was tilted in the opposite direction, was partially obscured by his bangs; but even if only the remaining part was visible, one could clearly sense his exceptionally happy mood.
—Just as he said with a smile, “Unfortunately, I’m not good at singing either, so I have to ask the cello for help.”
"…………"
This time, the kitten's scratching sensation was even more pronounced, and the other party had no intention of changing their habit of constantly switching to honorifics.
Ye Yihe wanted to sigh and cover his face, but he held back. However, he couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it a bit of a waste for you to play such a simple Christmas song on the cello?"
This guy is at the level of being a teaching assistant at a top music academy at such a young age—he even suspects that if he wanted to, he could just become a teacher directly, it's just that there's no need for him to.
"What matters is what the audience wants to hear, not the performer showing off his skills."
Fyodor placed the bow on the cello, smiled, closed his eyes, and said it again.
"Happy New Year!"
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