[324] The Second Outing (2)
Shirone stopped at Amy's door and took a breath.
He listened for sounds from inside, but heard nothing out of the ordinary.
When he knocked with his knuckles, he finally heard the rustle of a blanket.
Clearing his throat, Shirone called out, "It's me, Shirone. I'm coming in."
The rustling died away as if it had never happened.
When there was no answer after a long moment, Shirone spoke again. "If you don't open it, I'll open it myself."
There was a clatter as something fell from the bed, then heavy footsteps thudded toward the door.
The door swung open and Amy poked her flushed face out. "W-what, what is it?! Why are you barging in all of a sudden?!"
"You said you were sick, so I was worried. Are you not sick?"
Amy sighed.
She'd long ago learned that Shirone wouldn't be fooled by a half-hearted lie.
She stepped back as if to invite him in and turned toward the bed. "I think there's a misunderstanding. I'm not avoiding anyone—I just want to rest. I need to sort my thoughts out."
"I know."
Shirone gave a small laugh and closed the door.
When Amy's door clicked shut, Shakora—who had been reading the paper—couldn't help the smile at the corner of his mouth. "First gate cleared," he murmured.
Isis shrugged in mild surprise, lifted her teacup, and headed upstairs. Normally she'd stay in Amy's room to chat with Shirone, but this time she only set out refreshments and left. She intended to give Shirone full authority for the outing.
Seated opposite Amy with a teacup between them, Shirone laughed as soon as he saw it—he'd been reminded of the time, half a year ago, when Amy had spat tea into his face.
Amy remembered it too, but it was an embarrassing memory she preferred to erase; she picked up her cup.
"So what's today's plan? Don't tell me you're going to drag me off somewhere weird again like last time. I want to rest this break."
"Yeah, that's why I came. I want you to rest."
Amy tilted her head in confusion. "Rest? How?"
"Go on a date with me."
"Pfuooooo!"
Tea exploded from Amy's mouth like a fountain, soaking Shirone's face.
It might have stopped sooner, but the spray didn't end until everything in her mouth was gone.
Shirone opened his eyes slowly and said in a low voice, "This... seems like the second time."
Amy, cheeks burning, wiped her lips and stood up. "W-what are you saying, you idiot!"
She grabbed a handkerchief from the cupboard, wiped her mouth, then pulled out a few more and tossed them at Shirone.
He rubbed his face with the tissues and said, "Every winter there's a festival in the Res Mountains. I've wanted to go for a while, so if you're interested, I thought we could go together."
It was an unexpected suggestion. Everyone knew Shirone as a model student—he wasn't the sort to suggest a trip for fun.
"You mean that old castle ruins? The Ice Queen's ruins. I know of it. I've never been because I was busy, though."
"Yeah. Let's go for a change of pace—two nights, three days. I've been feeling unmotivated lately and could use a recharge. It won't be dangerous this time, so let's just go have fun."
Amy propped her chin on her hand and considered it. The main problem was that it was a two-night, three-day trip. "Just you and me, without friends? Where would we sleep?"
"We'll book lodgings. At night we can talk."
"Ahh..."
Amy was at a loss for words. In short he was suggesting they share a room, and he said it so matter-of-factly there was almost no room left for suspicion.
"You're not—"
She started to say something, then shook her head. There was no point stirring up weird hypotheticals that would only make things awkward.
"Why? Is something bothering you? I think—"
"No, it's fine. Wait outside. I'll get ready. Tell my father we're going and he'll have a carriage ready."
"All right, I'll wait downstairs."
Shirone came out sooner than expected, and Shakora and Isis looked at him with raised brows. After hearing his plan, however, they nodded.
"Oho, the Ice Queen's ruins..." Shakora said, remembering his younger days. When he'd courted Isis, he'd once chosen the Ice Queen's ruins as a date spot and taken her there.
"It's a beautiful place. Romantic."
"Yes, I've heard that. But they say it takes a while to see everything."
Shakora chuckled. "That's part of its charm. You can't see it all in a day. Fine, go. I'll have a carriage ready. If you leave now you can arrive by tomorrow morning."
Shirone breathed a quiet sigh of relief. From a parent's point of view, it was natural to worry about their daughter going off with a boy, but Shakora went one step further and offered advice.
"When you get to the old ruins, look for lodging called Snow Crystal. My wife and I stayed there. You'll make good memories."
Isis looked at her husband in disbelief. She mouthed something, as if to say more, but Amy appeared at that moment and she lost the chance.
"Shirone, let's go. Father, I'm going to the winter festival."
Amy, wearing a red winter coat trimmed with rabbit fur, came down the stairs. Her hair was still steaming slightly from how quickly she'd dried it.
Isis, who knew Amy wasn't one to fuss over her appearance, was genuinely surprised by her daughter's transformation.
Shirone too was briefly stunned—Amy looked far more mature than she did at school. He quickly composed himself and bowed to the parents. "We'll be off, then."
"All right, be careful."
It was over ten hours to the Res Mountains, so if they wanted to arrive by morning they'd have to hurry.
As Shirone and Amy left the estate, Isis narrowed her eyes at her husband. "Snow Crystal?"
"What? What's wrong with that place?"
"Are you serious? Have you forgotten how we ended up married? It was because I was tempted there...!"
"Ha ha! Did that happen? Whatever, you enjoyed it too."
Isis put her hands on her hips and huffed. Shakora seemed blissfully unaware of the situation's gravity.
"What are you thinking?"
"If you're going to use shock therapy, do it properly. When blood rushes to your head and then comes down, it wakes you right up."
"And if it doesn't come down?"
"That's Amy's decision anyway. She's eighteen—an adult. It's her body; she can decide."
Isis shook her head.
The Karmis family trait of red eyes meant that whatever field someone chose, their talent manifested at a top level. The family had long avoided constraints and strict rules, valuing free will instead.
They believed that if talent was allowed to flow freely, whatever the choice it would yield greatness.
That wide spectrum—family members in nearly every profession—was the Karmis family's greatest strength.
Where discipline and repression intrude, talent becomes blocked.
Shakora, who knew this better than anyone, had raised Amy with a light rein, and once she'd gone astray. But if that was the history of the red eyes, Isis had no choice but to accept it.
"You're prepared to deal with the aftermath, right? If you backtrack later or say anything to Amy, I'll be seriously angry."
"The aftermath? Why would I do that?"
Shakora snapped his newspaper open and assumed a reading posture. He had long ago ceased worrying over his daughter's thoughts. "Shirone will handle it."
* * *
Heaven's northern hemisphere: the permafrost tundra.
In Heaven they called it Optros.
For eons it had been an electromagnetic network pattern drifting on the cold northern winds.
A pattern of information exchange that approached infinity implied, in a sense, a godlike existence.
But Optros could not become a god.
Born in the tundra, Heaven's environment was dull and unstimulating to it.
Without stimuli there is no learning.
Like a baby left on a mountain—if it never leaves the mountain, it becomes a beast—Optros, left to its own devices, had spent countless ages repeating trivial, simple exchanges of information.
Then one day a rift opened in Miro's space-time.
A change too small for any creature to perceive.
But to Optros it was as thrilling and enormous as birth or death.
Optros emitted a massive magnetic field and painted the sky above the tundra with aurora.
A three-second rift in Miro's space-time.
Optros pushed through that gap and escaped into a new world.
Its electromagnetic web began to absorb this strange environment like a newborn's brain taking in new sensations, and it learned rapidly.
The place Optros could gather the most information was the ruins halfway up the Res Mountains.
Countless humans wandered there, each spreading information like a burst.
On a level even they didn't perceive, Optros fed on everything by instinct.
Its electromagnetic network flashed in patterns approaching infinity and began to pioneer a new domain.
* * *
Shirone and Amy arrived at the Res Mountains at dawn, ate from a food stall, then waded through the crowd to the ticket booths for the old ruins.
The entrance was jammed with tourists.
They queued, bought tickets, and stepped inside. Shirone's eyes widened at the sight before him.
"Wow..."
The ruined castle had been perfectly refurbished—not with stone or earth but with ice.
Sunlight scattered off it, and every view glittered like diamonds.
Even bold Amy's cheeks flushed at the spectacle.
Shirone felt satisfied.
When he'd taken her to the Galliant Ruins before, things had gone wrong from the start; he'd been ashamed. They'd fought the Parrot mercenaries and even chased down to Heaven, barely escaping death.
To make up for that, he vowed this trip would be a pleasant one.
"Let's go. This should be fun."
They walked across the snow.
Rainbow bridges connecting towers, railings along battered walls, the stairs inside the keep—all of it was ice.
Now he saw why they called it the winter festival.
If temperatures rose the structures would collapse, so the ruins had to be closed in early spring. By summer the ice melted away, leaving only the bleak remains of the castle—like winter memories that had been a midsummer night's dream.
"Shirone, let's try that," Amy said, pointing to a stall selling the festival's famous frozen treats.
Shirone took a bite. It was snow mixed with strawberry syrup and frozen—crunchy, fragrant, and sweet.
"All right, we've got snacks. Where do we start?"
"We absolutely have to see the Ice Queen first."
Amy led Shirone toward the main keep.
The main keep was among the least ruined parts of the site. The hall spanned about 120 pyeong with paired staircases; the left staircase had long ago collapsed and been repaired with carved ice.
It felt strange that the interior didn't melt—there were enough people gathered that it was certainly warmer than outside.
Shirone and Amy stepped onto the corridor at the one-and-a-half level connecting the staircases. Where the central balustrade jutted out toward the hall, the Ice Queen held her place.
Shirone approached the Ice Queen. Inside a massive block of ice stood a beautiful woman with her eyes closed.