[V6C13] A Gift of Unmelting Ice

It started so long ago. One century? Two? Maybe even longer.

A newly-born ice spirit was all alone in the mountains. There were many weak lesser spirits, but only this one possessed the consciousness of a greater spirit.

Thus, the ice spirit made many friends for herself in the lonely snowfields. Foxes, weasels, bears, deer, rabbits, squirrels, birds——all sculptures made of ice.

The ice sculptures were so intricate and life-like that they might move at any moment, but they never did. None could respond if spoken to.

After all, they were just ice sculptures. Come spring, they would melt away, and her friends would vanish.

——”I want friends who won’t melt away.”

The ice spirit continued with this wish in her heart, until one day, she encountered a beautiful dragon in the mountains.

The dragon gazed over the ice sculptures made by the spirit with sparkling eyes.

“Beautiful, so very beautiful.”

Overjoyed by these praises, the ice spirit created her most spectacular ice sculpture to date.

It was a sculpture of the dragon. Replicating his elegant body and graceful wings, the spirit had created a masterpiece that seemed ready to take flight.

The dragon offered his praises to the wonderful replica of himself. However, this too would also melt and disappear once spring came.

The ice spirit considered what happened next. If her sculptures were to melt and disappear, wouldn’t the dragon get bored of her, then fly off somewhere?

After all, the ice spirit boasted no other talents. All she had were the beautiful ice sculptures.

Once spring arrived and the ice sculptures melted, the spirit was no longer needed. The dragon would leave.

And so, the ice spirit made another wish: “If only spring never came…”


The ice spirit’s wish turned into a blizzard, covering the mountains and villages with snow.

——”This is fine. I don’t want spring.”

However, from that day on, the dragon had vanished from the mountains.

There was no sight of him by his favorite large tree, the icicles of the valley, or the rivers with sparkling clear water.

“Thule! Where are you, Thule!! No, no, don’t leave me. Thule, Thule!”

The ice spirit wandered the mountain for three days and three nights. Only then did the dragon reappear.

Now in the form of a young man with silver hair and golden eyes, the dragon explained that he had gone to the snow-covered human settlement.

Then, the dragon presented a beautifully crafted candy to the ice spirit.

“Pikeh, Pikeh, don’t cry. I’ll give you ice that won’t melt.”

Apparently, the dragon had thought the ice spirit was saddened by the melting of the ice sculptures. He had descended to the human settlement to find ice that wouldn’t melt.

What the spirit was truly saddened by wasn’t the melting of the ice sculptures.

She was afraid that once her ice sculptures melted, the dragon would leave… And that frightened her beyond measure.

After the spirit revealed her honest feelings, the dragon returned a gentle smile.

“Pikeh, when the blizzard stops and spring arrives, let’s see the flowers blooming in the melting snowfield together. Let’s listen to the song of the birds heralding spring together.”

The avatar of the beautiful dragon began singing about the stunning mountain scenery of the coming spring. About the future of the spirit and dragon strolling through the spring mountains.

“I want to be with you for the budding flowers of spring, the sparkling river in the summer, the ripe fruits of autumn… and the long, long, silvery winter. Everything, I want it all with you, Pikeh.”

The blizzard covering the mountain was the waterless tears of the ice spirit. And now, those tears had finally stopped.

From then on, the two spent many seasons together.

In spring, they counted the number of budding new shoots.

In summer, they played in the river glittering in the sunlight.

In autumn, they picked glossy acorns and made necklaces by stringing them together.

And when the long winter came, Pikeh showcased her ice sculptures again.

Spring, summer, autumn, and the long, long silvery winter——the dragon and the ice spirit spent all their days together.

＊　＊　＊

“I found it, there’s the white dragon!”

“With white dragon scales, we won’t have to worry about firewood anymore!”

“We can eat our fill of bread!”

After sensing the commotion of the lesser spirits, the ice spirit rushed through the mountains. She witnessed the scene of the white dragon surrounded by humans, and ran through with spears.

The humans at the foot of this mountain——the Hyla Tribe——worshiped the white dragon as a god and generally kept their distance. They only visited once a year to present offerings at the temple.

However, these intruders had nothing to do with the Hyla Tribe. To them, the white dragon was nothing more than prey.

All of the humans looked poorly dressed.

The happiness they desired was living in a house with enough firewood, not freezing, and stuffing themselves with bread until their emaciated bodies were full——which many might consider a modest happiness.

But what did that matter?

The ice spirit froze all the humans and threw them off a cliff, without a shred of pity in her heart. She had no interest in human convenience or circumstances.

“Thule, Thule, don’t die…”

The white dragon was a fragile creature, one that could be inflicted with fatal wounds even aside from the forehead.

The ice spirit desperately infused her mana into the white dragon, attempting to nurse him back to health.

Only after ten nights did the white dragon wake. But all he could say was…

“Who are you?”

The injuries the white dragon had sustained were all but fatal.

He had lost the ability to absorb mana on his own. As a result, his body grew weaker day by day, and his mind was on the verge of falling apart.

This could be temporarily healed with an infusion of the ice spirit’s mana, but it was just that, temporary. The mana of a spirit and the mana of a dragon were too different; a spirit’s high purity mana was a poor match for the dragon’s body.

It was impossible to save the dragon by her power alone. Thus, the ice spirit searched desperately for a solution. For this, she had to descend to the human settlements.

“Thule, I’m visiting the humans. While I’m gone, disguise yourself as a human and hide in this temple,” said the ice spirit.

However, the dragon in human form tilted his head and replied…

“Hello. Who are you?”

The weakened dragon could no longer remember the ice spirit, let alone himself. He harbored a heavy wound deep within his being, which was eating away at both body and mind.

The ice spirit embraced the dragon. His fragile, slender body emanated the scent of blood and snow.

“Thule, Thule. I’ll save you, I promise…”

Once he got well, and remembered everything, she wanted to hear his gentle voice.

(Say my name again…)

＊　＊　＊

“Obey me, Ice Spirit Ashelpikeh!”

The human claiming to be a descendant of the Lineage of Knowledge spoke her name. Immediately, Ashelpikeh grew furious.

Why? Why was this mere human, nothing more than a sacrificial offering, calling out her name?

(That is the name that Thule has forgotten!)

In a fit of anger, Ashelpikeh sent an ice blade to impale the human, but the mana at her disposal scattered. She had lost control over her own mana.

The true name engraved on the spirit stone was restricting her actions.

Why could the human decipher the spirit language!

Ashelpikeh was a spirit that had lived for ages. Even compared to other greater spirits, she possessed an exceptional amount of power.

And yet, she had been rendered powerless, bound by a contract of her own creation. Such humiliation!

To annul the contract, she must first touch the spirit stone on the bracelet.

Her only chance was now, so Ashelpikeh took a forward-leaning posture. However, that was when she noticed the roars of the white dragon behind her had subsided.

“…Thule?”

Turning around, she saw the massive body of the dragon, still entwined in rose vines, shrinking as it scattered particles of white light.

Emerging from beneath the green vines was a slender silver-haired young man.

The dragon in human form wore a faint smile on his somewhat blank face.

“I remember now. Pikeh, Pikeh… Welcome back, Pikeh.”

Particles of white light silently dripped from the young man’s entire body. His mana was leaking out. Thule had lost even the ability to retain mana.

Despite that, the gentle dragon faced the spirit with concern.

“Pikeh, Pikeh, don’t cry. I’ll give you ice that won’t melt.”

The young man held out something with his blood-soaked fingers. A small object glittering like a crystal in the snowlights… his scale.

As an ice spirit, Ashelpikeh didn’t know how to cry. She had never shed tears from her eyes as the humans do.

Even so, the kind white dragon always noticed the sorrow of the spirit and said, “don’t cry,” while offering items to please her.

“…Pikeh?”

As Ashelpikeh stood completely motionless, Thule tilted his head.

His fingertips were already gone, and white particles were flowing out of the gaping holes. The disintegration of his body had begun.

“No, no… Thule…!”

Ashelpikeh grabbed Thule’s collapsing fingertips and infused him with her mana.

And yet, Thule’s fingers did not heal. The purity of the spirit’s mana was too high, so it failed to integrate with the dragon’s body. While this mana could serve as a temporary power source, it wasn’t enough to regenerate his flesh.

“No… nooo…!”

All she could do was scream in powerlessness, until suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed Thule’s hand.

Infusing mana into the broken fingers was the young man with whom Ashelpikeh had contracted——Cyril Ashley.

Cyril glared at Ashelpikeh and shouted, “First, explain the situation and circumstances!”

“T-There’s nothing a human can——”

“Whether I can or can’t, I will be the judge! Now hurry up and explain!”

As Ashelpikeh fell silent under the pressure, the red-haired man who controlled the roses asked, “Are you really going to help her?” with wide green eyes.

Cyril scoffed arrogantly.

“As the heir to House Highown, I have a duty to always do my best! In other words, this is not for the sake of this spirit. This is for myself!”

The red-haired man gave a hearty laugh, completely unfitting for the situation.

“Cyril, I love that annoying side of yours!”

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