The icy-skinned woman before us clearly had no intention of taking our lives, which was somewhat of a good thing.
But what the other person said next made me start to worry.
She walked into the room, casually pulled up a nearby chair, and sat down, crossing her fair legs, which were clad in fur-trimmed boots, with her chin slightly raised. Light blue frost patterns covered the pair of swords resting on the table beside her; though they were not drawn, there was a faint illusion that one's neck was being held by an icy blade.
This time, the woman didn't look at me, but instead fixed her gaze on Hikari, who had gotten up in a daze and hadn't noticed that her hood had fallen down: "I came here following her trail."
A murmur of noise arose all around, followed by gasps of surprise and then a murmur of barely suppressed astonishment, like the buzzing of mosquitoes. Countless eyes turned towards them from all directions, and outside the hotel windows, many people, as if sensing the commotion, gathered around, closely watching how things would unfold.
I even caught a glimpse of a few small children, no taller than the windowsill, peering inside from the bottom edge before quickly darting out of the crowd and disappearing into the alley, probably to deliver the message.
But none of that matters to me now.
Gathering my scattered magic and adopting a defensive stance that might be futile, I couldn't sense the slightest hostility from the woman before me. Her face was as calm as the flow of magic within her, as if she had just uttered an ordinary remark, rather than something that sounded too terrifying to us.
Two questions arose: how did she track me and Hikari down, and what did she want with Hikari? Hikari, who had half her body hidden behind me, had secretly told me that she didn't know this woman who had suddenly appeared, and I hadn't noticed any signs of being followed along the way.
"Who is she?" "It's [Frost Sword]." "Isn't she the ice queen who defeated most of the mercenaries in the city? What's she up to this time? That child doesn't seem like she knows how to use a sword." "She looks vaguely familiar..."
The fragmented discussions I sensed were gathered together and flowed clearly into my ears. After filtering out the useless jeers and exclamations, I easily extracted the information I wanted.
[Frost Sword]... I seem to have heard this name somewhere before. It is said that decades ago, a master swordsman emerged from the far north. Because of his unique methods of imbuing his blade with magic, he was even fortunate enough to receive guidance and instruction from the [Icebreaker], who was known as the [Northern Sword Saint].
Before I could even think it through, I saw the woman—[Frost Sword]—raise her right hand, which was folded over her arms, and bend one finger.
The sword light flashed white as it was flicked at the fingertips.
The frosty mist instantly spread to most of the room, erecting a transparent yet insurmountable ice wall between the three of us and the other onlookers, cutting off prying eyes and noisy conversations.
In an instant, the scene returned to its coldness, and even a faint, chilling coldness crept into my senses.
"No need to pay attention to those trivial gossips. I just want to confirm some things in person." Frost Sword casually withdrew her finger. "If I'm not mistaken, the one who claimed to be a member of [Dawn] at the dome earlier was you, little girl, wasn't she?"
"So what if it is?"
Hikari, perhaps having been frustrated for a long time, reacted instinctively to someone who dared to question her directly: "Do you, like everyone else, think I'm lying, and that's why you've come all this way to question me?"
"No. Since you say you are, then you are."
[Frost Sword] gazed at her silently, his gaze unwavering: "[Dawn] has no reason to impersonate others, and I doubt anyone would dare to offend their names. Besides, the person I need to find is not you, but someone else."
“The other one?” I noticed Hikari’s tone softened slightly, and she glanced at me discreetly. “Have you had any issues with any of the sisters? But they’re all busy right now. I can pass on any messages you have.”
After a moment's hesitation, [Frost Sword] nodded and bowed to express his gratitude: "In that case, I shall accept your thanks."
"As you can see, I am a swordsman from the Frozen Snow City. My only two hobbies since childhood have been good swords and fighting with others. A few years ago, because my strength was stuck at a bottleneck, I sent challenge letters to many famous swordsmen, but after a long battle, I still did not make any breakthrough. Later, I heard that Miss [Darkness] of [Dawn] also had a swordsmanship that was praised by many, so I asked someone to send a challenge application to [Dawn] to challenge her. Unfortunately, I have not received a reply for many years, and I don't know if it was successfully delivered."
“Sister An…” Hikari seemed to glance at me again, making me wonder if this idiot had suddenly developed an eye disease. “I don’t remember if Sister An received your challenge letter, since these things are usually handled by Sister Yao… Um, um, anyway, I’ll pass on your message!”
This isn't surprising, since after reluctantly agreeing to let Hikari and the other two stay in the miniature garden, Yao, the housekeeper, practically lived among books every day, and I ended up handing over my letter-writing work to her as well. As for the cost of hiring clerks, it was said that it would be deducted from their compensation and rent, which seemed like a reasonable deal.
As for [Darkness]... Although I had heard of such a person in [Dawn], those were mostly scattered rumors, and I had never seen her in person—at least I can confirm that she was not among the three who fell into the Garden of Light.
Judging from Hikari's behavior, she clearly knows where the other party is.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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