While there's a high probability that I just happened to bump into someone with the same name, it's also possible that the passage of time has eroded Miyuki's memory of that name, and of course, it's also possible that the wind was too strong and I was temporarily deaf, unable to hear what Miyuki had just said...
but!
Anyway, hearing my mother's name in this situation made me feel like I was sweating bullets!
That's terrifying.
Unfortunately, in the end we were unable to find out the name and appearance of the person Miyuki had seen, and we had to give up.
The only remaining possibility is that I'll ask my mother directly when I get home...
But how should I ask about this? How can I even bring myself to ask? If I just ask, "Mom, were you ever used as a human sacrifice and then escaped with someone?"... I feel like my parents, who have always been so good to me, would beat me up.
Moreover, there seems to be a subtle discrepancy in the timing.
It's best not to delve into it too much; no matter how you look at it, it's bad for your heart.
Time flew by and it was evening.
We were led around the city to get a basic understanding of the terrain and routes. Late at night, after having dinner and past the usual bedtime, the three of us found a moment to sneak out of our room in the St. Mary's Mansion and meet up in the nearby shadows.
It was a bit embarrassing, but to avoid being spotted by people walking around outside when we went downstairs, the three of us first gathered in a room and then climbed out through a half-open window. As it turned out, perhaps due to differences in physical abilities, Miyuki and Alice landed on the ground with exceptional lightness and quietness, while I, on the other hand, first got my clothes caught on the window while climbing out, and in my haste, I lost my balance. Then, while falling horizontally, I forgot to use the Feather Fall Technique in my haste, and almost fell flat on my face with my eyes closed.
Fortunately, Shenxue reacted quickly, using the wall to propel herself up several meters and grabbing the back of my coat, managing to stop me just before the last moment.
The price was that my knees hurt a lot.
"Wow, Master, you're so clumsy!"
Alice, who had fallen right behind me, hopped lightly over from the side, tilting her head to examine me: "Was it intentional or accidental?"
"What do you mean by intentional or accidental... Instead of mocking me, why don't you lend me a hand so we can get out of here quickly?"
"Very well~ As expected, Master still can't do without your most loyal and intelligent servant~"
This guy's gotten addicted to role-playing, huh?
Fortunately, everything went smoothly after that, and until we moved into the shadows, nothing else went wrong or attracted any special attention.
"Based on my experience and understanding of living here, the total population of the outskirts of the Frozen Snow City is about 50,000. Less than one-tenth of them are still in poverty and hunger. The rest are mostly people who have made a living through physical labor and trade. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some of them are dishonest and have formed gangs. But none of this is relevant to where we are going now."
Leading us along a less frequented alley, Miyuki cautiously observed the surroundings while quietly sharing information she hadn't heard of before: "Our target is tentatively a church building near the inner city wall. Although there are always guards around there, luckily I know a secret passage."
"A secret passage?"
Miyuki nodded slightly: "Yes, it seems to be a hidden passage left by the architect when the city was first built, but it seems to have never been used. However, that's why it has never been discovered. Thanks to this, our subsequent actions have become much more convenient."
That sounds suspicious.
"So how did you find out?"
Alice skipped and hopped behind me, her ceremonial sword with its fancy handguards slung diagonally in its scabbard at her waist, without making a sound.
Miyuki glanced back at us and said, "It's probably a series of coincidences."
She shook her head and once again turned into the main road with practiced ease. After walking for more than ten meters along the shadows of the eaves and trees, she suddenly led us into a dead end. She led us to jump over the dead end one by one, and then, following the still relatively intact pebble path through the weeds, she reached out and pushed open the rickety door of a house.
We were nearing the edge of the towering inner city wall, and almost by looking up, we could see the gaps between the stones piled up on the white wall not far away. Light gray lime filled them, and then loosened into tiny, sand-like particles that fluttered down, swept by the wind and scattered onto the nearby ground and eaves, just as a patch of snow had recently fallen on this city within the mountain's shell.
The dilapidated state of the houses before us is even worse.
The eaves, barely retaining any semblance of their former grandeur, are crooked; the doorposts are toppled; and everywhere bears the marks of vandalism. Even without the wind, the dilapidated door sways slowly back and forth, and the interior is utterly dark. The open space where mannequins and wooden stakes were placed bears deep marks of axe and knife. Delicate flowers and plants wither and turn yellow; only a few relatively hardy and drought-resistant trees remain, but even they show signs of decay.
A faint bitter smell lingered in the air.
"It's a house that's been vacant for a long time."
Alice, after a careful inspection, came to a similar conclusion to mine: "Judging from the dust and the withered state of the nearby plants, no one has lived here for at least ten years."
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