Chapter 160: Sleepyhead Azyeth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: Sleepyhead Azyeth
There were many things Azyeth lacked.
Emotion.
Desire.
Will.
Some called her a pretty doll.
It was hard to deny, but it was only half-true. In certain aspects, Azyeth possessed desires just like anyone else—perhaps even stronger.
For instance, right now.
Special luminous stones covering the ceiling of the underground city of Doomheim cast a warm, sun-like glow. The light poured down on every corner of the city, heralding the morning.
The diligent dwarves, after a simple breakfast, began their day in the forges as if by prior agreement.
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
An orchestra conducted by the sound of hammering.
For the dwarves who heard it every day, it was a harmony whose absence would feel strange.
But for someone else, it was nothing more than an alarm bell forcing her awake.
Though she had no memory of it, Azyeth had loved to sleep since she was a child. Napping in a bed warmed by the gentle sun was one of the few joys in her life.
There was no better feeling than sleeping in while everyone else was up and about.
But the forging sounds of Doomheim did not permit Azyeth the luxury of sleeping in. The metallic ringing that pounded against her eardrums was impossible to appreciate.
“Mmm…”
Azyeth tossed and turned in her bed.
She furrowed her fine, willow-leaf brows.
I don’t want to get up.
I want to sleep more.
Please, stop.
“Time to get up. The sun is high in the sky.”
But Karami shattered what little hope Azyeth had left.
What’s he on about the sun for in an underground city where you can’t even see the sky?
Azyeth felt a faint sense of déjà vu from a memory that didn’t exist.
The countless maids who had swarmed her to wake her up.
Their habitual lie that it was almost lunchtime when the sun had just risen.
At least before, the cold aura had kept Karami shouting from outside her immediate vicinity. Not anymore. Now, he was yelling right next to her bed.
“Get. Up. Please.”
“Ugh…”
Azyeth turned her back, pulling the blanket over her head.
Just five minutes.
I’m not asking for much, just five more minutes…
She covered her ears, resisting with all her might, but it was no use. Karami vigorously flapped the blanket, doing everything in his power to disrupt her sleep.
“Wow. Still not getting up? How about now? And now? And now?”
“St…op…”
“Oh? ‘Stop’? How dare you say ‘stop’ when your master is giving you an order? This won’t do. Brace yourself. I’m about to wake you up for good.”
*
Breakfast at Thorvar’s was always eaten together.
Even Thorvar, busy as he was managing the forge, made it a point to have breakfast unless he was exceptionally swamped.
The atmosphere was far from pleasant.
Thorvar was naturally taciturn, and Perka was uncomfortable around him. They would just silently eat their food and leave.
It was undeniable that this stiff dining atmosphere had become more lively since Karami and Azyeth had arrived.
“What are you doing? Not eating?”
“…”
On the table, decorated with a vase of blue ice roses, Azyeth merely stared blankly at her plate, ignoring Karami’s question.
As her cold aura had subsided, she had become able to eat bread and warm soup on her own. In fact, aside from the first few days after arriving in Doomheim, she had fed herself every meal.
But now, Azyeth didn’t lift a finger. Her subtly pouting lips hinted that she was sulking.
“Seriously. Is being woken from your sleep such a big deal?”
She was still holding a grudge about Karami forcing her awake.
“If you would just wake up on your own, I wouldn’t have to wake you. Or were you planning on sleeping the whole day away?”
Azyeth had learned a few things while living with Karami. One was that arguing with him was a losing battle.
Even Azyeth, with her faint emotions, felt something bubble up inside her whenever she was on the receiving end of Karami’s taunts.
“…Haaah.”
She let out a sigh to calm herself.
It was best to just ignore him.
Seeing Azyeth give him the silent treatment, Karami had to change his approach.
‘She must be really upset.’
He hadn’t realized Azyeth’s desire for sleep was this strong.
It seemed he needed to soothe her.
“I’m sorry. I’ll give you time for a nap later, so please don’t be mad.”
“…”
“The soup won’t taste good if it gets cold. Here. Say ‘ah.’”
“…Ah…”
Karami held out a spoonful of soup. Azyeth seemed to consider refusing, but soon opened her mouth and accepted it.
She stole a glance at the gentle smile that touched Karami’s lips, then quickly looked away when their eyes met.
Thorvar, who had been watching their little lovey-dovey display, cleared his throat.
“Ahem. You two, are you planning on going out again?”
“We’ve been out a lot recently, so we’ll be staying in Doomheim to rest for a while. Why, is something wrong?”
“Lately, reports of a dragon sighting have been circulating throughout the continent.”
It had started right after Azyeth defeated the Orc King. Skadia was flying across the continent, stirring up trouble everywhere in her search for Azyeth.
Fortunately, Doomheim was an underground city and thus safer than most, but they couldn’t afford to be complacent.
“For now, there are no immediate problems, so we’ll let it be. But if Doomheim comes to any harm, we will not just stand by and watch.”
The Meisters had a rough idea of what was causing the current situation.
They knew Azyeth was like a slave to the dragon, brought from Skadia’s lair, and that the dragon was scouring the continent to find her.
Having spent time with Azyeth, they believed bringing her here was the right thing to do, but she was ultimately an outsider. If she brought harm to Doomheim and the dwarves, they would have to send her away.
“I understand.”
Karami replied nonchalantly, as he was already aware of this. But someone else was angry.
“You’re all so cruel. How can you talk about kicking her out so easily?”
Perka glared at Thorvar, her eyes filled with disappointment.
“You, of all people, Father, know what a pitiful person she is. Shouldn’t you be the one to stop them?”
“This is not your place to interfere.”
“You have no heart, Father. I guess that’s why you were just guarding the forge when Mom was dying.”
Perka shot up from her seat. After clearing her dishes haphazardly, she fled the house as if escaping. Thorvar paid her no mind, silently continuing to eat his soup.
“The mood at this table is just murderous, isn’t it?”
Karami gently wiped Azyeth’s mouth. Azyeth, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, accepted his touch without moving.
“Alright, Azyeth. Now that you’re done eating, how about you go check on Perka?”
“Why…?”
“When kids that age go astray, there’s no stopping them. It would be good for someone to keep her from going off the rails. And I think it would be better coming from you, another woman, than from me, don’t you think?”
Is that so?
Azyeth tilted her head but soon nodded.
Azyeth didn’t like seeing people sad.
Besides, she had known Perka for a while now.
She left the house and looked for Perka.
She wasn’t far. Perka was sitting hunched over, hugging her knees.
“Perka.”
“Sis? What are you doing here?”
“Rami… said to follow. That Perka would go astray. Perka… you can’t… go astray.”
At the completely unadorned, honest confession, Perka let out a dry laugh.
It would be a lie to say talking with Azyeth wasn’t frustrating at times, but as a conversation partner, there was no one better.
She conveyed her true feelings without pretense or falsehood. Thanks to that, Perka could also share her own feelings without hiding them.
“I’m not going astray. It’s just… I don’t understand. Does that man have no family affection at all? He must hate me and Mom.”
“Thorvar…? Hates… Perka?”
“There’s no other explanation. I don’t know why he even got married, or why he had me.”
Azyeth’s head tilted to the side.
She was currently in the process of learning emotions, one by one, like painting a blank canvas with various colors.
A small dot on a white background is a flaw.
No matter how small, it’s easy to see.
The same was true for emotions.
Unlike before, she could now sense the hidden feelings in a person’s gaze, tone, and intonation, no matter how subtle.
What Azyeth had sensed from the conversation between Thorvar and Perka wasn’t dislike.
Especially not from Thorvar.
It was…
It was hard to explain in detail.
Even though it was her own impression.
It was because it was an emotion Azyeth couldn’t yet define. An emotion she didn’t know.
If she had to make a comparison, it was similar to what Karami showed her. When she fully received that emotion, her chest would feel all warm and fuzzy, and her heart would be at ease.
So why did Perka think that way?
Azyeth couldn’t understand it.
But there was one thing she could say for sure. Azyeth stroked Perka’s head.
Just as Karami had once done for her.
It was her first time, so it was awkward, but her touch was gentle.
“Sis?”
“Thorvar… doesn’t hate Perka.”
“Huh?”
“Because… Thorvar is Perka’s dad…? So…”
Perka’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then, a chuckle escaped her lips.
Soon, she was laughing out loud.
“Why… are you laughing?”
“No, no. I just never dreamed the day would come when I’d be comforted by you, Sis.”
To think that Azyeth, of all people, was comforting her.
Of course, it wasn’t as if her feelings toward Thorvar would change in an instant, but her gloomy mood had lifted.
Azyeth’s expression, on the other hand, turned slightly sulky.
“…I’m not… an idiot.”
“Hey, of course not. My sis is no idiot. I know that better than anyone.”
“I don’t like you, Perka.”
Azyeth turned away, pouting.
Perka had to work hard for a while to soothe her feelings.
*
In a nearby city beyond the borders of Eisengar.
Time in the once-vibrant city had stopped.
People were frozen in the very act of fleeing from something, their horribly contorted expressions vividly conveying the terror they had faced.
The massive shadow cast over the city belonged to Skadia.
A skilled knight order had tried to fight back against Skadia’s attack, but it was meaningless. They were frozen in brave poses without ever touching a single scale. That was all.
The only person left was the city’s lord.
He was prostrated flat on the ground.
Crack!
As a giant foot covered in icy scales moved, the human-shaped ice statues shattered and scattered.
Even though people he had been laughing and talking with just moments ago were killed so meaninglessly, the lord could do nothing. He trembled, holding his breath.
“I will ask you one more time. Is the princess of Freezian not here?” Skadia, the creator of this tragedy, asked.
The lord endured the pain, as if his lungs were freezing over, and barely managed to speak.
“We-we do not know. This is the first we have ever heard of a Freezian Kingdom.”
“Is that so?”
“It is! I swear to God, I have never seen or heard of anyone called a princess!”
Silence flowed through the frozen world.
The lord couldn’t even swallow his own saliva in the dry cold.
“I see.”
“Yes!”
“Very well… Then die.”
“…Pardon?”
Crrrack.
Without a chance to even question it, the lord, in the ridiculous pose of lying prostrate with his head slightly raised, became another part of the scenery, just like the others.
Skadia ascended into the sky without a second thought.
This was the fifth city she had frozen, but she had found no trace of Azyeth in any of them.
If she searched the entire world, she would find her eventually, but by then, Azyeth’s beauty would have faded. She could already feel the curse weakening.
She could delay no longer.
She had to find Azyeth now.
To do that, she needed the help of the Mirror.
The Mirror was broken, but it could be repaired.
Skadia knew of a race that was astonishingly good at crafting and repairing things.
The dwarves, who lived hidden beneath the earth.
Skadia flew towards Doomheim.