Chapter 113:
Ajillo
REGARDLESS OF THE SEASON, snow and ice always covered the white lands on the Western Continent’s northern edge. It was said that the climate had developed long ago, when significant magic had run amok.
Beings called snow women now inhabited this land where no other creatures or plants could live. Snow women were magical life-forms; the elves that once governed the land had left them behind. As such, the snow women were the area’s new rulers.
The snow women could survive in the freezing land, however cold it became. They lived off the magic in the snow and ice and didn’t require food. They could freeze whatever they wanted by concentrating their magic and touching it. Sometimes, they rode blasts of cold wind through the air. Even if they were attacked, their wounds simply froze over; their whole bodies were that way.
On the outside, the snow women looked like unintimidating women and girls, but if they became hostile to humans, they posed as big a threat as ogres.
Some snow women pretended to be human, visiting other lands during cold winters. There were all sorts of reasons for that—to obtain something unavailable in the north, to have fun, to fall in love with a human and have children.
As long as there were snow and ice nearby, snow women lived as long as half-elves. Without either, however, they couldn’t survive longer than a year. So, the snow women looked forward to the season when snow covered the southern nation. They moved south with the snow and returned north before it melted, where they spent the months till winter returned once more.
✦ ✦ ✦
Returning to the whitelands for the first time in months, Sayuki said farewell to her friend. “I’ll see you later, then.”
“Yes. All right.”
During winter, they’d lived together as close friends in the human nation. That wasn’t necessary in the whitelands, however. The snow women’s energy sources—snow and ice—covered the region year-round, so the women were at their most powerful here, although the climate made it impossible for most living things to thrive.
Snow women in the whitelands didn’t need to form groups to survive, so they lived however they wished. Some hated isolation and created communities, but some preferred solitude.
Sayuki enjoyed time to herself. After saying goodbye to her friend, she looked out at the familiar world of white. “Now, how long should I wait again?”
The black door with the cat was supposed to appear every seven days. Sayuki hadn’t been to the whitelands in months, however, so she hadn’t figured out what day it was.
“Well, whatever,” she murmured. “I can just wait till it shows up.”
She’d enjoyed humans’ company throughout the winter, but that season was ending. She’d have to bide her time at home, bored, for the next three seasons. Compared to that, what was a few days?
She waited patiently for the door.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ah! There it is!”
It ended up taking the door two days to appear in its usual spot—right on the white mountain, unbothered by the wind. Sayuki had once seen an avalanche bury the door; it had been entirely undamaged, remaining connected to the other world.
“Time to get ready,” she murmured.
To ensure no cold escaped her body, she pulled a heavy coat on, closing it tightly with a belt. This way, she could handle eating at the Restaurant to Another World.
Other snow women hated places that were too hot, and even Sayuki needed to muster some courage every time she entered Nekoya. She waited until the sun was directly above her, then opened the door.
“Here we go!”
Warm air—far out of place in the whitelands—gusted through the door along with the musical sound of a ringing bell.
✦ ✦ ✦
Cold air blasted into Nekoya like a freezing cry: “Hey! Winter’s not over!”
Several customers, as well as a girl who looked like a waitress, glanced toward Sayuki in surprise. The snow woman felt a bit embarrassed. She generally only dealt with the southern humans a little bit during the winter, so she still wasn’t used to being looked at. Fleeing the stares, she took a seat in the corner of the restaurant, where the temperature was slightly cooler.
Shortly after Sayuki sat down, the blonde waitress came over. “Um, welcome,” she said. “It’s been a while.”
This girl had started working at the restaurant a few years ago. Sayuki only dropped into Nekoya about once a year, but since she always came in with a winter wind, the waitress likely remembered her.
Sayuki was genuinely pleased to interact with someone other than another snow woman. “Indeed. Long time no see. Um…I’d like to order now, if that’s all right,” she got straight to the point. She’d known what she’d eat before she arrived.
“Of course! Please go right ahead!” The waitress smiled brightly.
Sayuki responded with a single sentence. “Ajillo, with bread.” That was the “hottest” dish available at the restaurant.