“Wake up. How long are you going to lie around?”
It was Asies’ first morning in Doomheim. The dimly glowing blue stone emitted a gentle light like warm sunlight.
The boisterous cheer and clanging of hammers from the spirited dwarves made the city noisy from the start of the day.
“Ugh…”
Asies, still drowsy and turning over, slowly lifted her upper body. Her half-closed eyelids were still swimming in dreamland.
Asies nodded off, her head bobbing up and down. Then, she stretched widely with a big yawn.
“Haah…”
A chill brushed against her cheek.
Her breath rose in a white plume.
It seemed absurd that there would be a chill in the warm Doomheim, warmed by the heart of geothermal heat and Magmar, but winter had arrived in the room where Asies stayed.
The soft bed had turned freezing, hard as ice.
The ceiling was covered in a hazy layer of ice crystals, and countless frost patterns bloomed like flowers on the walls. Snow falling from the ceiling blanketed the floor white.
The glass of water on the table had turned into a block of ice. The view outside was concealed by thick frost.
And it was only the first night.
Asies had created a winter kingdom.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful!”
Perka, who had followed, exclaimed as she looked around the room, while Thorvar covered his forehead with his palm.
“…?”
The person involved had no realization that she had done all of this.
“It won’t help at this point. If you kick her out, everyone will spread the news. The Meister kicked the princess out mercilessly.”
Before Thorvar could say anything, the quick-witted Carami jumped in. Having become the princess of the dwarves in just one day, Asies had even formed a fan club somewhere.
If the rumor spread that she had been thrown out, it would be obvious that Meister Thorvar would face a dishonorable resignation.
“…Let’s find a way.”
What he could do was only to create a response to the chill Asies was exuding.
Carami, crunching the frost-covered floor, sat next to Asies. Asies’ lovely hair had turned into a bird’s nest overnight.
“Now, turn your body to the side.”
Carami took a comb from her arms and began to tidy Asies’ hair.
“A man carrying a comb…”
“The slaves I raised wouldn’t organize their hair unless I did it myself. So it became a habit to carry it around.”
“But the master combing the slave’s hair… That’s unheard of.”
“It’s basic matter to maintain the quality of the slave as a slave trader. I guess you’ve only met strange masters.”
…Is that so?
It was indeed a reasonable argument.
In reality, Carami treated Perka similarly, like a noble maiden. She displayed a complete contrast to those who abused slaves for entertainment.
It was entirely different from the image one would hear. Of course, she had also used Perka as a threat, so she couldn’t be viewed as just a good person.
Nonetheless, she was a strange individual.
“That should be enough.”
Soon, Asies’ hair was tidied up. The group went downstairs to prepare breakfast.
Freed from slavery, Perka sat in her original special chair. As a result, they needed two more chairs for the humans.
A flurry of ice solidified and created a resplendent throne. Asies nonchalantly sat on the ice chair.
“What about mine?”
“…?”
“Please make one for me too.”
Another ice chair was made for Asies. Carami excitedly sat down on her chair. The sensation of sitting on an ice chair for the first time was…
“…It’s cold.”
It was incredibly cold.
“Of course, I made it from ice. Did you think it would be warm?”
“No, that’s true, but…”
She thought it would at least feel refreshingly cool but realized she was completely mistaken. Sitting longer would risk frostbite enough to require cutting off her bottom.
Reluctantly, Carami got up. Frost stuck to her pants.
“Elder, please make me one.”
“Hmph.”
Thorvar, snorting dismissively yet taking an ambiguous stance, started tearing into some bread. Asies, watching him blankly, grabbed a piece of bread from the basket.
What is this?
She inspected the bread as if it were some strange creature. Over time, frost clung to it, turning it into frozen bread. It was no longer edible.
Because there was no chair, Carami stood and ate. She placed her down what Asies had been holding.
“You’ve lived in a castle, so surely you’ve eaten bread before. Do you not remember?”
“Bang…?”
“Yes, it’s called bread. It’s also the opposite of farming.”
“Noww…?”
“What are you trying to teach…?”
Perka looked at her with cold eyes.
Unfazed, Carami picked up a new piece of bread and tore it into small bits. With Asies’ breath capable of freezing everything she touched, she planned to feed it to her.
“Ah, do it.”
“Ah…”
Asies opened her mouth slightly. Most of her body was white, and Asies was blue, but the only part of her bright red was her oral mucosa, which was oddly alluring.
Carami averted her gaze and placed a piece of bread into Asies’ mouth.
“You know how to chew, right?”
Fortunately, she was not that foolish. She understood basic biological activities that any creature must perform. She moved her cheeks in a munching motion before swallowing the bread.
“How is it?”
Asies did not answer. The taste was something familiar to her, so she tilted her head from side to side.
“How is it? Is it worthwhile to eat?”
Asies nodded.
Carami smiled with satisfaction.
“Then I’m glad. Keep opening your mouth. I’ll feed you for a while.”
Perka and Thorvar were shocked.
Is that really a master-slave relationship?
No way.
Those two must be special.
Any ordinary master would surely abuse such a pretty slave. Asies’ behavior seemed childlike, so it would certainly be possible to train her as one pleased.
Even Perka, being a woman herself, felt a surge of dark desire to torment Asies.
Just like one wants to tease a cute little animal. Just like one would want to dirty a pure white snowfield by stepping on it.
The brain triggers a self-regulation response upon seeing something excessively beautiful.
And Carami’s demeanor was exactly.
“She’s just the perfect mother.”
Just a mom.
A clumsy mother taking care of her daughter.
No better expression could exist in this world.
“I think she’s taking better care of me than my own father does.”
“If I had a daughter like that, I would have taken care of her just like that.”
“I’m the high point among the daughters my father could have had.”
“What nonsense are you talking? You’re the spitting image of your mother. My responsibility is less than 1%.”
A relentless one-two punch of a father and daughter ensued. By the time the meal ended, only two defeated individuals filled with bruises were left.
Carami looked at them with disdain, wiping Asies’ mouth.
“Tsk, tsk, I wonder why they are like that. Truly, nothing compares to the master-slave relationship, right?”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“That’s just how it is.”
Then that must be how it is.
Asies didn’t think about it deeply.
Carami and Asies went out for a walk after lunch to help with digestion.
They walked about an arm’s length apart.
After wandering the city and returning home yesterday, Carami noticed the ice grains stuck to her clothes, which had been near Asies.
Even now, there was a trail of ice left where Asies had walked. Wherever she went, winter followed.
Asies, while enjoying the sights of the city, occasionally stopped. Once, it was in front of a passerby walking a cloud dog.
The soft, fluffy appearance resembling a cloud inspired the name.
Asies showed interest in the puppy, prompting the passerby to eagerly show it. In the first place, the purpose of walking the cloud dog was to attract the attention of women.
“Isn’t it incredibly cute? Its pure white fur resembles you, Princess. It’s so fluffy! Its name is Fluffy. You should pet it.”
Asies reached out.
The cloud dog panted, waiting. Asies’ beauty even won the affection of the animals.
And when Asies’ hand touched the puppy’s fur.
Crack.
“Ugh…!”
Asies flinched and quickly pulled her hand away.
The dog’s cloud-like fur froze all at once. What had been red changed to blue.
“Oh no, our Fluffy!!!”
The man rushed off, panicking, with the frozen Fluffy in his arms. Asies looked at his back with regretful eyes.
“Hardy…”
Fluffy had become Hardy.
The next place Asies stopped was a flower shop.
In an underground city, flowers were a rare decorative sight.
“Oh my, Princess, you shouldn’t come into our shop. With you here, all the flowers lose their charm~”
The flower shop owner displayed a skilled marketing tactic. Asies, still struggling to understand metaphorical expressions, just tilted her head in confusion.
Asies squatted in front of a pot.
It contained vibrant green roses.
“Oh my, Princess. Are you interested in the roses?”
Asies gazed absentmindedly at the roses.
In her frozen memories, the image of roses vaguely emerged.
The castle.
And the garden.
Not just roses, but a garden decoratively adorned with flowers of various colors surfaced in her mind. The most vivid memory was the bright red rose.
“The language of roses is love, passion, and beauty.”
Carami explained.
The passionate dwarves are also fervent in love. The red roses were flowers adored by dwarves.
Even when hidden under beauty, their thorns are disregarded as they seize love. That is the way of the dwarves.
As Asies, who was staring at the roses, instinctively reached out. For a moment, the petals trembled at her fingertips.
Crack.
“Ugh…!”
Asies flinched and withdrew her hand.
The rose froze from its petals to its roots in an instant. What had been red morphed into blue.
“Oh my, the flower…!”
Asies’ pupils danced in confusion. She glanced nervously at the shopkeeper watching over her and then looked up at Carami.
The response was instinctive.
She didn’t know Carami well and had never pondered her intentions, but they were always attached to each other.
Carami smiled wryly. She stepped up, tapping Asies on the head.
“Ah…”
A sensation reminiscent of yesterday.
Asies brought her hand to her head.
“How much is this? I’d like to buy it.”
“Fifty dinars. Flowers are rare in Doomheim…”
Carami took gold coins from her pocket.
“I’m rich, so I don’t carry dinars. I’ll settle with this.”
“E-eh?! But that’s too…”
“It’s compensation for the mental anguish caused by our slave’s scare.”
Carami forcibly handed gold coins to the flower shop owner and lifted the pot.
“Shall we head back?”
Asies slowly nodded.
The steps returning home felt heavier than usual.
“Have you arrived? You came earlier than expected.”
Perka, who had been hammering away at the forge, came out, wiping her face with a towel. Freed from slavery, Perka was now wearing work overalls.
Wearing work clothes gave her a strong dwarf vibe. Of course, due to her chest being the size of a watermelon, all attention was drawn in that direction.
“By the way, why does your face look like that?”
What Perka noticed was the downcast Asies. With an expression that seemed ready to fall asleep at any moment, Asies’ eyes were more droopy than usual, lacking any change in expression.
“It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Is that so? But what’s that?”
“As you can see, it’s a pot. It has an ice rose planted.”
Carami handed the pot to Perka.
“Perka, what do you think when you see this pot?”
“Hmm…”
Perka alternated her glance between the ice rose and the anxious Asies, who was a step behind.
Though she had only recently become acquainted with Asies, Perka could sense that something was off about her.
She looked like a child who had committed a sin.
‘You froze the flower.’
It looked too vivid by the standard of an ice sculpture. Unless it had been alive when frozen, such detail could not have emerged.
It was the keen avoidance of a seasoned dwarf.
Then, one thing had to be said here.
“It’s incredibly beautiful.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. For us dwarves who handle fire, we could never create such a stunning ice sculpture. I’m curious what kind of artisan made this.”
“Don’t be shocked. It was made by Asies.”
“Really?! Is that true?”
Perka had remarkably good social skills. Carami let out a satisfied chuckle.
“Of course it’s real. It’s a one-of-a-kind ice rose. Truly a treasure.”
“To think such a treasure would come to our home. We must display it in the most visible place.”
Carami and Perka found a rhythm and turned to Asies.
“Did you hear? If it’s going to be in a prominent spot…”
Searching around the house for an appropriate place, Carami placed the pot in the center of the dining table.
“Of course, it’s here. The gloomy atmosphere of this house will be lifted. We’ll get to view it happily every meal.”
Carami smiled, meeting Asies’ shifting gaze.
“What do you think, Asies? Don’t you think this is the best spot to place it?”
Asies hesitated.
The trembling of her pupils slowly came to a stop.
She clasped her hands tightly together.
Nodding.
She gradually began to move her head up and down.
