cold as ice swift as wind the whole world i'll acquire

It has been a week since Snowflake arrived Hargeon – the hometown of Blue Pegasus. So far, she had been enjoying her stay more than her previous experiences and had given the beach a visit while she was on a quest. After constantly travelling from one town to another, the girl was resolved to remain in Hargeon for a while to relax a bit and perhaps, enjoy the beautiful sightings of the city itself. Hargeon had exquisite views to behold upon, much more beautiful than Crocus; a gorgeous town adorned with carpets of wildflowers, or Magnolia, whose land is made up of westernized buildings and sophisticated architecture. Among all the towns she had discovered, Hargeon had been her favourite.

The warm wind blew across the land of Hargeon and while it wasn’t the hottest days of the season, the cold had already drifted away to make way for the next season. Excitement could be heard among the whispers of the people as they prepared themselves for the changing seasons to come. Beads of perspiration glistened on the foreheads of the citizens due to the sweltering heat, some fanning themselves to cool down while other rested underneath the shade of trees and large roofs. If Snow had been in her original body, she would most likely be extremely frustrated about the heat but now that her body has been transformed into a more durable one, she no longer have to worry about the weather.

As usual, Snow was dressed in black from head to toe while her dress hugged tightly around her slender body. The ruffles on her sleeves brought a unique design to her dress and hem of her skirt was flowy enough to billow out every now and then, even with slight movements. The area around her chest was made hollow, revealing her large breasts and immense cleavage and the sides of her skirt was cut until her waist which exposed her long, pale legs. Her appearance was mysterious, unknown to many due to the black piece of cloth that concealed her eyes. To others, she was blind. To her, the cloth was nothing but a visor that helps her define a person with statistics. The numbers that appeared in front of her eyes changed constantly, different for every citizen as she glanced around the area.

Heels clacked loudly against the cobblestones that were paved on the road. The reason she was out in the streets was to search for a café to her liking to spend her time chilling or to read books. Eating desserts and drinking coffee was her hobby, but so was reading books. Within the corner of her eyes, she spotted a bistro that suited her taste and did not hesitate to enter. The scent of coffee and sweet fragrance of desserts wafted into her nose the moment she stepped foot inside the building. Approaching the counter, she would order herself a cup of cappuccino and some croissants for her afternoon snack.

The youth scanned the room, in search for a place to sit before she noticed a familiar face. Her lips parted slightly in surprise and walked towards the table of a young girl who was seated alone. ”Alisa?” She began. It had been a long time since she had last seen her and both of them had lost contact ever since they formed a team together.

cold as ice swift as wind the whole world i'll acquire

The numbers of her fellow comrade’s statistics blinked furiously through her visor as Snow took in the appearance of her friend. The young lady did not change much apart from her bosom, which had grown much larger since she last saw her. Her eyes glided onto a little creature, a candle to be precise, who seemed to be staring up at her. Snow smoothed down her skirt and seated right across Alisa, after she gestured her sit with her. ”How did you know it was me?” She asked, curious. No one has been able to look through her identity after she had gone through countless numbers of procedures to change her appearance – not even Chelvaric.

The android clasped her hands in front of her and crossed her legs underneath the table as a waitress approached to deliver her order. Snow nodded in gratitude towards the waitress and lifted the cup from the plate before blowing away the plumes of smoke that rose from the drink. She took a sip slowly, ensuring herself to not burn her tongue and savouring the bitter yet sweet taste of cappuccino on her taste buds at the same time. Just after she did so, Alisa moved onto the topic of her new appearance and how different she looked compared to before. The young girl froze in her motions and averted her gaze to stare down at her gloved hands. It was not exactly a subject she wanted to share with others, nor talk about and she did not want to mention that she had decided to transform herself into a cyborg.

”…Yes, I went through some procedures to change my appearance.”

She continued to stare at her hands before taking another sip of the coffee, her voice bland and emotionless as she spoke. Using a fork and a knife, she cut away a piece from her croissant and placed it inside her mouth. It was surprisingly good, much better than she had expected and she enjoyed the buttery taste and the soft texture of it.

”I’ve been travelling a lot. What have you been up to lately?”

The girl finally lifted up her gaze and crossed over ruby pools, which seemed to be filled with nothing but joy and happiness. Her attention shifted over the creature once again as she drank her coffee, this time a large gulp down her throat. ”Is that your companion? He’s adorable.” A little candle as a companion was rather strange albeit, she thought it was unique and interesting. Speaking of which, Snow had left Vysella in her room since she was still asleep but if she had known Alisa had a companion, she would have woken her up and brought her as well. Vysella had acquired the splitting personality of her owner, quiet and never willing to talk which was why Snow was eager for Vysella to meet new companions. Perhaps then, Vy might be interested in making friends.

cold as ice swift as wind the whole world i'll acquire

Snow intended to not tell anyone about her change in appearance but sooner or later, it was likely that people will start to find out either way. Not even her closest friend, Chelvaric, still was not aware of the reason why she had undergone through such a drastic change. The word ’friend’ was still strange to her for she had never been used to the concept of having someone close to communicate and share with. The mage had begun to realise that the life she had started anew had been the best for her: she learnt to become stronger, decide what was for herself and most importantly, she has been making friends gradually despite how her interpersonal skills were undoubtedly, not the best.

The sudden compliment from her comrade had startled her surprisingly as she began to sip on her cappuccino to hide her embarrassment. The girl was never used to compliments, not to mention – ever getting one. Alisa moved onto explain about how she remained in Crocus for a long time, which was probably why Snow never saw her afterwards. The girl nodded while taking another bite from the croissant. Silence reigned supreme for a brief moment as they continued to consume their afternoon snacks until Alisa asked her about the gender of her companion. The youth stared at the little creature, her head tilted to the side at a slight angle whilst her finger rested upon her chin in thought.

”A male, I suppose?”

It was a surprisingly strange question as if she was being asked with some sort of meaning behind the riddle. Snow wouldn’t be able to guess the gender of the creature just by the sight of its figure. However, it wouldn’t hurt to throw in some assumptions. Her eyes were still fastened upon the little creature, their gazes locked together. She couldn’t help but think that it was really adorable, the perfect size to be held within the hands. What peaked her curiosity was the colour of the flame on top of its head. Instead of the colour orange-red, the flame was purple which made her wonder if the flame would be able to hurt others. Her attention would soon shift back towards Alisa, with a question in mind directed to the other girl.

”Now that we meet again, would you like to join our team?”  

The question was mayhap, too sudden. Albeit, by doing so, they could keep in touch and soon, even do quests together. She leaned back in her seat, placing the cup back onto the plate and uncrossed her slender legs only to cross them again on top of each other.

cold as ice swift as wind the whole world i'll acquire

A playful smile danced on her lips, almost barely noticeable upon hearing the answer to her offer. The thought of herself going on trips and doing quests together with her teammates crossed her mind and the possible adventures they could go on excited her like no other. The concept of having friends was unusual for her, not to mention – hanging out with them was almost out of her exceptations. So far, she has been able to make new acquaintances, meeting people every now and then despite how terrible her interpersonal communications are.

”Adventures…” Her words trailed off as she thought about what she had been doing the past few months. Quite a lot of pleasant things have happened to her, aside from attaining new friends and meeting people, she had explored almost half of the country which had brought her nothing but wonder and fascination. Other than that, she discovered lovely cafes, one in each town that she had been enjoying so much and would possibly return to every one of them to taste the delicious desserts they have in stock. There were some unpleasant events that occurred to her as well, such as being forced to remember the death of her parents by a strange entity that she encountered.

There were many things she would love to tell her so-called friends about her adventures but all that came out of her mouth was, nothing. The android stared down at the table, wondering how she should put her words together, but to no avail. ”My stories aren’t interesting enough to amuse you.” Her voice was flat and emotionless, although she was clearly disappointed in herself for giving an excuse to not share her adventures as much as she wanted to. Being a quiet girl with a terrible attitude, Snowflake was just not used to the thought of telling someone else her stories but rather preferred to listen to them.

Snow reached out for the coffee cup and took a sip once again only to realise that her cup was already empty. As a young waiter passed by their table, she quickly ordered another cup of coffee. Whilst she waited for her order, she took one last bite of her croissants leaving her plate with only small pieces of crust. Her attention glided over to the window as she stared out into a distance, watching the movements of the people that passed by the café. Her mind almost wandered off immediately and silence reigned supreme among the two of them for a brief moment.

”There’s two other members in our team as well. I’m sure you’d get along just well with them.”

Her voice pierced through the stillness that surrounded them while her eyes were still fastened upon the citizens of the town. She observed them carefully, like she always used to. It was a strange hobby but she found it amusing to watch people from afar, studying their actions and wondering what they would do next.

”Here, ma’am—“

The voice approached, followed by a gasp and the sound of chairs shifting on the floor. Hot liquid was poured onto her body, drenching her fine clothing with coffee yet, the girl did not move an inch. She felt a sudden rage building up inside her due to the reason of her dress being spoilt but the features of her face remained still with no glimpse of expression. The young man began to panic, searching for a cloth to wipe the coffee off her body while he continued to apologize repeatedly. All eyes inside the store were now fixated on her and she felt uncomfortable being the center of attention.

The waitress seemed to be surprise by how she was not bothered by the hot temperature of the liquid on her body. After all, she was a cyborg – this sort of heat was almost nothing to her. The man began to clean the mess on her body and when he reached her chest, she felt his hands froze and how she noticed a wave of colour flushing his cheeks and ears and how he averted his gaze away from her cleavage. Snowflake immediately pushed his hand away and her voice stern, with a hint of anger, she demanded, ”Bring me another cup.”

The young man scuttled off, leaving Snowflake to exhale a long sigh of exasperation. Despite of how irritated she was, she did not wish to make a big fuss in the store with people inside, which would even make it worse for her. The customers went back to chatting with their friends and lovers while she stared down at her beloved dress with stained spots on it.

”My dress is ruined.”

cold as ice swift as wind the whole world i'll acquire

Just as Snowflake was about to spill the beans that Alisa had actually met one of the current team members before, she pondered for a brief second and chose to remain silent. Alisa was right. It wouldn’t hurt to leave some suspense for her to wonder. The day was going perfectly fine for her since the reunion of a fellow guild mate until a waiter had to ruin the moment by spilling coffee on her favourite dress – not to mention, he even felt up her breasts, although it was probably not intended.

”I’m going to clean up myself in the washroom.”

The heels of her chair scraped against the marbled floor as Snowflake stood up. The sound pierced through the silence around her and eyes would turn towards her direction. Feeling uncomfortable from the accident that just occurred, she quickly rushed towards the bathroom. Upon entering, her own reflection almost startled her since she was still not used to such a drastic change in her appearance. Every fibre of her being is different from her original body – even the colour of her eyes. The thoughts that ran wild in her head were pushed to the back of her mind as she began cleaning up the dark spots on her dress. The stain will most likely not disappear right away but it would be prevented from leaving a permanent spot on her dress.

The youth sat back in her seat and was soon granted with a brand new cup of coffee on her table. ”I apologize for the inconvenience.” She mumbled and took a sip from her cappuccino after blowing away the heat that rose up from the liquid. The scene that just took place in front of her was probably an appalling sight for her comrade. As Alisa mentioned, the most important thing she needed right now was probably a dry cleaner and a new set of clothes to change into. It would be rather embarrassing to walk into the streets with big splotches all over her dress.

”Yes, I think I’ll need a good dry cleaner somehow.”

The subject that was brought into discussion afterwards completely thrown her off guard. She had not expected Alisa to notice just small details that occurred. The silver haired girl froze in her movements for a brief second, her mind processing to answer her question without any delay. Just then, a smirk made its way upon the pink line of her lips. ”I’m going to travel soon to another town. Perhaps, you’d like to accompany me.” The sudden change in topic would make Alisa think that she was dodging her question albeit, it was not how she originally intended. ”I’ll wait you by the gate at noon tomorrow. My answers to your questions should be ready by then.”

The young mage pushed herself off her seat once again and began walking towards the counter to pay for both of their meals. It would be her treat for this time since she had enjoyed their reunion, much more than she had expected. Heels clacking against the ground, she strode out of the café, hoping to meet her teammate again.