"I've already completed the mission, and I completed it a month earlier than estimated!" After greeting his mother, Arex announced his success as if he was anticipating some praise.
"Hoho, it's good. You are my good boy." The old mother stroked her son's head. She then glanced at the young lady in the doorway. "Then, who is the young lady that came with you? She is a snow fox, but this is my first time seeing her."
"Ah, let me introduce her. She is Miss Cold Beauty. I met her by accident while on my way here. Since our destination is the same, so we're back together." Arex gave the introduction, but he then brought his face to her mother's ear and whispered. "Psst, mother, please be polite to her, she is rank seven, which is stronger than you."
The old mother frowned for two reasons. The young lady's identity before her remained unknown because her son did not explain anything, and this young lady's purpose was still a mystery.
She became worried about it. And yet, this young lady really has seven tails!
"Miss Cold Beauty? What do you know about her?" The old mother replied in a whisper.
"She was so cold and didn't even introduce herself to me even though my charm knew no bounds. She came here after traveling the world. Erm, I think she was a hidden ace, an ultra expert and once a village protector who finally returned." Arex briefly explained a bit about the cold beauty.
He then cleared his throat and looked at the cold beauty with a hospitable smile. "Ahem! Miss Cold Beauty, let me introduce you to my mother. She is the current village chief."
"Pleased to meet you, village chief." Yuuki gave a small nod.
"Hmm, please have a seat." The village chief went to sit on the main seat and pointed her palm to the long sofa.
Yuuki didn't answer and just went to sit down as she was invited. She had a brief discussion in mind, but Elysia suggested that she dig information from this village chief with the third party method for maximum results.
Arex sat on the other couch. He was excited to listen to the conversation between her mother and this Miss Cold Beauty.
"Well then, may I know what brought you back after traveling the world? Allow me to remind you before everything else, are you going to bring disaster to our village?" The village chief didn't mince words and went straight to the main topic.
"You are the current village chief... What happened to the previous village chief, Kyoden?" Yuuki replied with what she wanted to know, without attaching any importance to politeness.
The village chief widened her eyes slightly. The suspicion in her heart decreased slightly because this young lady seemed to be a resident of the previous village chief's era. "You know about him? If he is the one you're looking for, then please forgive me. He's gone."
"Gone? He's dead? So, you got the authority because you were appointed by him before his death. Or, you were chosen by your people?" Yuuki tried to dig up some preliminary information.
"No, he is my husband. I became village chief because he died while hunting out there. If you want to make a pilgrimage, his grave is in the cemetery. But before all, may I know who you are and what is your relationship with my late husband?" The village chief emphasized the last sentence because it was so important.
"I see... In the past, I was just one of the residents in this village when he was still the village chief. At that time, this village was still under the sky and the sun. But, it seems something happened to you after I left." Yuuki heaved a subtle sigh. She then suddenly switched the topic to a sensitive one. "In that case, is a snow fox named Yin still around?"
"That's me. Back to my previous question, what made you come to this village?" The village chief confessed without hesitation. She then brought back the previous matter.
"..." Yuuki didn't answer immediately, but her face turned expressionless.
Her soul trembled slightly, and she felt cold from within. Her mother was now present in front of her. There were a thousand words that wanted to escape from her mouth, but all of them strangely remained shackled in her heart.
Her mother, the one who had dumped her alone in the remote snowy mountain in the far north, was now an old woman. Not to mention, this old woman married the previous village chief and has a son?
As far as she could remember the eleven years with her mother, she could not see a father figure or other family member. There were only her and her mother. Regardless of everything else, why was she thrown out?
'Yuuki.'
A tender yet caring voice resounded in Yuuki's mind as her extreme ice was about to take effect unconsciously.
'Allow me to ask all about my heart to this old woman, o Goddess Elysia. If anything happens after that, please help me with everything that follows.' Yuuki made an earnest request.
'All right. Auntie Luna is ready to assist you in the final stage. And we will intervene if the situation gets out of control. Do what you want to do. I trust you.' Elysia agreed with conviction.
'Thank you.' Yuuki expressed her gratitude and returned to focus on the current situation. She took a deep breath to calm the emotional turmoil within her before opening her mouth. "Hm? I remember you also have a daughter? Where is she now?"
Yin frowned as her expression darkened slightly. "I don't have a daughter. Arex is my only son. Allow me to say this one last time, young lady. You have been so disrespectful to me for ignoring my questions. What brought you here."
"Ho~" Yuuki looked up slightly. Her cold expression grew colder.
"So you don't have a daughter? I presume you don't have amnesia or a brain disorder. What a really poor innocent little girl." Yuuki shook her head.
*Bam!*
Yin hit the table with a mixed expression but leaning toward wrath. "What are you trying to achieve by saying that!? What do you know about me!?"
"!?" Arex gasped because of her his mother's sudden outburst.
"What do I know? You may not know who I am, but I know about you. So where did your daughter go? What did you do to her? Answer my questions here and now!" Yuuki put mental pressure on the old woman.
"!!!" Yin was nailed to her seat. She felt short of breath, and she felt her body being squeezed by gravity from within.
The difference in strength between Saint and Spirit-level was significant enough to render her helpless.
"W-wait, please beg for mercy, Miss Cold Beauty. Please don't be angry. This may all be just a misunderstanding. You may have mistaken someone? Maybe the Yin you knew was a different person, not my mother. Please appease your anger." Arex tried his best to reconcile the situation frantically.
"..." Yuuki then released the pressure from the old woman.
"Phew..." Arex wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
He then looked at his mother. "Mother, is there someone named Yin besides you?"
Yin panted for breath as she clutched her chest. She gritted her teeth and replied in annoyance. "Ugh, how can I remember everyone's names from Kyoden's era until now?"
"You don't remember anything? Then, let me help you refresh your memory. In the past, there was a little girl--" Yuuki started to tell about her past self without naming the subject, only mother and daughter.
"Stop, stop, no one wants to hear you!" Yin covered his ears and screamed hysterically.
Unfortunately, Yuuki continued on without caring about anything. Nothing could stop her from revealing the facts now.
Seeing from this old woman's hysterical response, she became absolutely sure that this old woman was indeed her mother.
"--Under cloudy skies and snowfall, the mother left her little daughter in the remote snowy mountains far in the north. That mother completely ignored the screams and cries of that little daughter and kept walking away. The little daughter then fell and could only cry for seeing her mother has disappeared from his sight. Only nature knows the fate of that little daughter. Is it true until here? Why did you do that to your own daughter?" Yuuki managed to end her story without freezing everything, but her seat became like a block of ice.
"Shut up, I said shut up! I already told you that I don't have a daughter. I never gave birth to that damned child! Only misfortune came to me and no one dared to approach me either. I can't stand the ostracism!" Yin covered her head and screamed hysterically.
Arex became extremely panicked and confused. He didn't know why his mother acted like that.
"I see... So, you threw her away because she didn't bring you anything other than misfortune? Because of that, your daughter deserves to die for your happiness?" Yuuki closed her eyes. She tried her best not to cry and get emotional right now.
"What do you know about me!? That damned child could easily freeze everything, including living things! Every time she cried, my life and everyone else's was always in danger of being frozen alive! I never gave birth to that child. That child is an unwanted wretch born without a father!" Yin shouted like he had gone mad all of a sudden. She then muttered to reassure herself. "The damned child never existed, yes, there never was..."
*Swoosh*
Cold air suddenly blew like a super cold blizzard. Yuuki opened her eyes with a sad expression as she could no longer contain the turmoil in her heart.. The truth was unbelievably bitter even though she had expected it.