The Ice Human
"So you're saying the guild neglected Winter...?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"What the..."
Kwon Arin couldn't believe it. How could the Yeomyeong Guild, respected by everyone, have left a child to fend for herself? She had no idea what reaction to show or what expression to make.
"If I had to make some excuse, I thought Winter was an adult."
"Winter was...?"
No, that couldn't be right. Winter was a tiny child who barely reached Han Yeoreum's chest. There was nothing about her that could be mistaken for an adult. In the end, Kwon Arin simply furrowed her brow.
"Winter was born without any mana. Because of that, she had something like a growth disorder."
"A growth disorder?"
"Yeah. She was only a little taller than me."
Han Yeoreum was already several centimeters taller than the average woman. If Winter had been even slightly taller than that, mistaking her for an adult wouldn't have been strange.
"Even after teaching her for over a year, she couldn't catch a single horned rabbit properly, so I just gave up thinking she was a pathetic adult."
"......"
Kwon Arin couldn't say a word. Even she, who had been scraping the bottom, had caught a horned rabbit in less than a week. That was how weak a monster the horned rabbit was—barely worthy of being called one.
"People without mana have to risk their lives just to catch a horned rabbit. I didn't know that back then..."
Han Yeoreum let out a long sigh. Instead of the criticism she had braced for, a simple question came her way.
"Did you apologize to Winter? Did she forgive you?"
"Yeah. I did."
"And the guild fixed her body too?"
"Yeah. That was just good luck."
"Ah..."
She had wondered if they had tormented the child for no reason, but it turned out to be nothing more than layers of misunderstandings. In that case, there was no reason to be disappointed in the guild. She would have done the same. In fact, she might have been even worse...
'I really did live a foolish life.'
If Winter hadn't been there, she would probably still be living that way—finding comfort in the fact that someone was even more pathetic than herself. Kwon Arin couldn't believe that a small child had changed her life. She decided to live more diligently to repay Winter's kindness.
"If Winter has already forgiven you, then I have no right to say anything about it."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
"Ahem."
The atmosphere was still awkward. Kwon Arin scratched her cheek.
'The fact that Unnie told me the truth...'
It was probably her way of trying to become a better person by not hiding her mistakes. Even after living such a foolish life, the people around her were all good. Kwon Arin decided to live harder to repay them. It was the moment she cast off her foolish past.
**
The next morning, I set the harvested vegetables down in the tent and stepped out into the park. While wondering what to do, I decided to take a walk through the park.
"That's..."
Levinas was sitting on the grass near the pond with her legs stretched out. She was swinging her outstretched legs side to side while looking up at the sky. She looked just like someone waiting for something.
It was still early morning—time when she should have been asleep—yet she was awake. I carefully approached and sat down beside her.
"Levinas, what are you doing here?"
"Waiting for snow!"
"Snow? The kind that falls from the sky?"
"Yeah! When is snow coming, King?!"
It would be another half year before snow fell. The weather was warm, right before summer arrived. I felt sorry having to tell her the truth, but I decided to let her know so she wouldn't waste her time.
"It'll be a long time before it snows."
"R-really? Even if I wait like this, it won't come?"
"Yeah."
"Aww... Levinas wanted to make an ice human..."
An ice human. Did she mean a snowman? Just as I was wondering, Levinas flopped down onto the grass. Since I had nothing better to do, I lay down beside her.
"You want to make a snowman?"
I turned my head while lying down and met Levinas's eyes as I asked.
"What's a snowman?"
"A person made by packing snow together."
"Yeah! That! Levinas wants to make a human out of cold ice!"
Ice human. Was that what this world called snowmen? I didn't know, so I kept my mouth shut.
'She wants to make one...'
It sounded like she had never tried before. Knowing her past, I could only feel sorry for her.
"You've never made an ice human before?"
"Yeah! Has King ever made one?!"
"No, I haven't either. I never had the time."
In my past life, playing was a luxury. Being able to lie here and talk with Levinas like this felt like a miracle.
"Levinas is exactly the same! Levinas wasn't allowed to make one because of the adults!"
"What mean adults."
"That's why Levinas switched sides!"
Levinas pulled out my arm and used it as a pillow. Her tail, which had slipped between her legs while lying down, swayed side to side and tickled both of my thighs.
"I'm glad you're on Levinas's side."
"Levinas too!"
It was such a happy moment. If every day could be like this, I would have no regrets. As I gazed up at the clear, cloudless sky, Jeong Yuna approached us.
"What are you little ones doing?"
"It's the mage!"
Jeong Yuna stood at our feet. My tail wrapped itself around her ankle on its own.
"Are you playing?"
"No! We were going to play, but there was no ice so we couldn't!"
"Ice? What were you going to do with ice?"
Jeong Yuna conjured ice with magic. A fist-sized chunk of ice appeared in her hand, but Levinas didn't show much interest.
"Levinas wanted to make an ice human, but there was no ice so we couldn't!"
"Oh dear, you couldn't play?"
"Correct!"
Levinas raised her hands above her head and made a big circle with them—the kind of gesture often seen in the Animal King card animation.
"Hmm... Then wait here for a moment, will you? I'll make you an ice human."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. I'm a mage, after all."
She spoke as if it were only natural. Jeong Yuna was an exceptionally skilled mage, even among mages. If anyone could make it snow with magic, it would be her.
"Hup! Then Levinas will wait quietly with King!"
"Hehe, I'll be right back."
Jeong Yuna walked away. I felt a little disappointed when my tail unwrapped from her ankle. We stared endlessly at the sky. It was so peaceful that drowsiness crept in. Levinas seemed to feel the same, her eyes fluttering. Should we take a nap until Jeong Yuna returned? I watched Levinas as she fell asleep, then slowly closed my eyes.
**
Thud—!
The ground trembled. I opened my eyes at the loud noise and looked around.
Thud—!
Something enormous was approaching, trying its best to be careful. When I looked toward the source of the sound, I was shocked.
"......!"
Something cold and massive was heading straight for us. I quickly scooped Levinas up.
"What is that...?"
Levinas, cradled in my arms, rubbed her eyes and woke up. At the next thud, she shuddered.
"Eek!"
Something enormous was coming toward us. It was a monster covered entirely in ice. I needed to get Levinas to safety first. Just as I turned to run, Jeong Yuna appeared from behind the ice monster.
"Did you wait?"
"M-Mage!"
Levinas called out to Jeong Yuna with a frightened face. But Jeong Yuna only watched us with a bewildered expression.
"D-did I scare you?"
Jeong Yuna placed her hand on the monster's body. The ice monster lowered its head and stopped moving. It looked like a machine that had been unplugged.
"D-did you make this?"
"Yeah. You said you wanted to make an ice human, so I brought a golem frame."
She had mistaken an ice human for an ice golem? I muttered while backing away from the golem's overwhelming presence.
"I-it's not a golem, it's a snowman..."
"A snowman...?"
"Y-yes... You pack snow together and roll it..."
"Ah."
Jeong Yuna froze like the golem whose power she had just cut off. She stood still, breathing, then finally spoke again after a while.
"So an ice human was a snowman?"
"Y-yes..."
"...Sorry. When you said ice human, I misunderstood."
As expected, even in this world, snowmen were called snowmen. "Ice human" seemed to be Levinas's own word. This wasn't Jeong Yuna's fault at all. Children's language systems could be incomprehensible at times. There was no reason for her to apologize to us.
"You don't have to apologize. The golem is cool."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Jeong Yuna smiled with her eyes and moved the golem back. She was being considerate of us, who were still startled.
"Mage! Is that a human made of ice?!"
"Yeah. I didn't know it was a snowman, so I just made it out of solid ice."
"Hup!"
Levinas, still in my arms, reached out toward the golem. Sensing that she wanted to get closer, I carried her over to it. When Levinas placed her hand on the golem's surface, she flinched.
"It's cold!"
"Yeah. Because it's ice."
Levinas stuck out her tongue and licked the golem's body. It didn't look particularly dirty, so I let her continue.
Lick, lick—
From bottom to top. After licking the golem several times, Levinas suddenly stopped with her tongue still pressed against it. Was something wrong? I looked at her profile.
"I-it's s-stuck..."
Levinas's tongue had frozen to the golem's ice. She tried to pull her head back, but only her pink tongue stretched out, still attached.