"Mm, I'm neutralizing the extreme cold you keep emitting. Can you stop that? You'll be reducing the benefits of this hot springs chamber if you keep trying to freeze the environment." Elysia only allowed the snow fox girl to poked her arm a few times, though she had no idea about this girl purpose.
"I will try my best." Yuuki took a deep breath, then let it out. She did that over and over again until she felt calm enough.
The air temperature, which had been lower than forty degrees below freezing, rose to the average temperature of a warm room.
Seeing that, Elysia also deactivated her heating magic and looked around. The cold storm was over, the temperature had returned to normal, the ice had melted. Literally, everything was as if the sudden extreme storm just now had never happened before.
"Is that your innate ability or your body constitution talent? You haven't really mastered that skill of yours, have you?" Elysia looked back at the snow fox girl while guessing in mind.
"I- I don't know. Nobody told me anything. Everyone was frozen to death because of me. Everyone was also afraid of me. Sometimes I can't control it. It's a curse, terrible, right?" Yuuki shook her head and let out a sad sigh.
"Hm, so it's like that. It's a curse if you can't control it, but it's a blessing if you can fully grasp your own power." Elysia nodded in understanding. So, this snow fox girl became a reclusive fox in the far north because of that uncontrollable power.
"Blessing? If I can control my extreme ice, will I be blessed? Will everyone no longer be afraid of me? Will I no longer have to worry about freezing someone to death accidentally? If- if I could control my power from the very beginning, would my mother never throw me far away in the northern snow mountains, all alone?" Yuuki threw a flurry of questions full of confusion like a lost child.
She asked for enlightenment from a noble divine. Maybe, she would be accepted and get a favor.
"That's a certainty. The world has great respect for the strong, yes? For your mother... My apologies, I could only see a mother who was terrified and had given up on taking care of her daughter. It's a pathetic mother, I look down on a woman who threw away her child for whatever reason." Elysia decided to say what she had in mind, a cruel reality based on the description of the incident.
"My mother gave up on me? I was abandoned and left alone because she was afraid and no longer cared about me? She is my mother, right? She was the one who brought me into the world, right?" Yuuki's legs went limp instantly. She slumped down in the hot spring, only her head on the water surface.
"That's just my guess based on your description. It might be different from your mother's point of view and you need to find out the truth. If you believe me, come here and tell us about your grievances. One thing you need to know, your extreme ice cold ability won't be able to hurt us, even if you can completely control it." Elysia turned around and went to Elena's side.
"I-I..." Yuuki hesitated. She grasped her hand on her upper chest. Yet, it didn't take her more than five seconds to convince herself.
She tried to get up and approach the divine like a lost little girl. The help had arrived, and she didn't want to waste an opportunity that might not come a second time.
Arriving one meter beside the divine, Yuuki gave the golden-haired woman a sharp glare. After all, she had embarrassed herself before the Goddess because of this woman.
"No need to worry, Ane won't be talking to you like that again. She didn't know that you would be offended and cry over the topic. She was just playing with you because your unique response was quite entertaining?" Elysia became an intermediary. She stretched out her hand, and Rhea moved to sit on her lap.
"Hmm, a crybaby." Elena gave the nod.
"I'm not a crybabay! I'm a real grown girl, you know? Err, yes, I'm a mature woman!" Yuuki brushed off the taunt because she didn't like it. She even stood up just to show her well-developed body for proof.
At that moment, Elysia put her hand on Elena's arm. She asked Elena not to make fun of Yuuki about anything for the time being.
Thus, Elena just complied and kept her mouth shut because it was Elysia who requested.
"Nee, excuse me, Miss Yuuki, are you really going to live in this cave? Won't you be lonely living alone?" Rhea waved her hand high for attention.
"Ah, you really are a lovely, adorable girl. Thanks for worrying about me. I'm used to living alone with minimal company." Yuuki sat back down and smiled a little at the cute baby.
"What do you know about the Beastkin Continent? Have you ever been to a nearby town, or perhaps, a capital city?" Rhea went to the next question to confirm something.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I only know the snow mountain region in the north. I don't even remember where I used to live. It's been hundreds of years since I lived among the other beastkins..." Yuuki asked in wonder whether her mother was still alive or not.
"You are very talented Miss Yuuki. You reached Saint-level with no help and everything was done by yourself without outside knowledge. It's as if you were born to be naturally strong. If your mother is still alive, let's find out what she thinks of you." Rhea changed the topic of conversation to another subject. She felt pretty sorry for this snow fox girl.
"En, thank you, but it wasn't necessary. She didn't want me, and that was enough of an excuse. For a girl cursed by an uncontrolable extreme ice cold ability, of course, my mother would throw me out. Just like everyone else's fear. I remember that very well." Yuuki was reminded of her past that was still etched in her mind.
*Creak*
Ice ripples slowly began to appear and freeze the surroundings. Elysia immediately implemented the emergency heat to deal with the cold, then she patted Yuuki's hand to inform.
"Oh, ah! I'm sorry, I lost control of myself." Yuuki's eyes widened, and she tried to calm herself down without delay.
After everything was back to normal again, Rhea made a proposal. "Can we visit your house after this? We will appoint you as the protector of this Blessings Spot and we need to make sure you have adequate facilities."
"Oh, sure! It would be my pleasure to host you." Yuuki gave an agreement without needing to think about anything.
After long years, she finally met some exceptional individuals who weren't afraid of her and were willing to talk to her. Not beasts or inanimate objects, but the real ones!
"Ah, now that I think about it. What do you think about the racial animosities that occur in this world, do you know about it?" Nell spoke up because she thought this snow fox girl didn't seem to have the slightest bit of racism toward beasts or other races.
"Is that what happens in the world? I have absolutely no idea, but you're a fairy, right? Hmm, a divine being, a fairy, a human, an elf, and a bunch of little beasts. Didn't your pack get along and live in peace?" Yuuki tilted her head and asked with a clueless expression.
"Well, it's good to be innocent." Nell concluded and leaned back casually on her wooden box.
After that, Yuuki talked about some things to Elysia and the others. It was like a little girl who wanted to know about the outside world.
Two hours passed, and Rhea yawned from sleepiness. Because of that, Elysia decided to end the hot water bathing event.
'Ugh, my skin is wrinkled from soaking too long... I'm sure I'm as red as a freshly cooked crab now.' Elysia used her magic to repair and beautify her skin. Wrinkles and redness disappear in a matter of two seconds.
'Hehe, of course not, Ely. You just looked so delicious that I wanted to eat you whole. That's a really fun eyewash, let's do something like this regularly.' Elena came next to Elysia. She just twirled her fingers, and poof, they were both fully clothed.
'Thank you, Sister Elena. I don't mind that, but what do you mean by you want to eat me? I'm not food, mkay?' Elysia reminded. However, she only got a mysterious smile from Elena.
Thus, she just shrugged her shoulders and helped Rhea put on a warm and cozy baby dress.
"Cho, what kind of magic is that? It's just a poof and your towels have changed into dresses? You even dried yourself off with that poof skill? How do you do that?" Yuuki widened her eyes in surprise to see such an achievement.
"That is a divine secret. Quickly put on your clothes and we will go to your house." Elena gave a wink while placing her index finger on her lips.
"Hmph! It's okay if you don't want to answer. It doesn't mean I really want to know or anything." Yuuki snorted and walked away toward her Space Bag.
"It's only me who needs to answer her questions, but she doesn't want to answer my questions? Isn't this unfair? Is it me or her who is sneaky and petty? Grr..." Yuuki grumbled while wearing her simple underwear, then her white robe.
It only required a swing of the hand for a gust of wind, and her wet self was instantly dry.