Inn Rosée du Matin
Ophelia was silent for a long time after Naeva left. Although she had started to calm down, her body was still trembling.
"What the hell... was that...?" she muttered.
The girl remembered very well the sensation she had felt earlier. When Naeva's anger suddenly came out, the cold air that blew strongly from her felt so tense. When that happened, Ophelia was unable to react to anything. Her head was filled with sirens signaling danger, but her body was too weak to answer it.
Even now, the weakness did not go away.
Still with an expression of shock, Ophelia hugged herself.
"Cold..."
"It was... It was so cold..."
"I know she's from a cold world and her race is probably related to ice because whenever I'm with her, the air feels cool."
"But only to that extent. Not until... Piercing... That cold air earlier... It was piercing and suffocating... It wasn't... Something normal..."
"Naeva Winter... Who are you really...?"
"Is... Inviting you to join me was the right choice...?"
"Am I... being too hasty...?" thought Ophelia somewhat fearfully.
The girl buried her head in her arms. She began to think of many things. After a few minutes, her head lifted up. The doubts that were previously embedded in her eyes were now gone.
"You idiot, what was I thinking?" she annoyed herself.
"I had prepared myself from the start that she was a dangerous wild horse. It's good that I found out sooner. Instead of restraining or forcing her, riding her and letting her run free was the best choice."
"To that end, isn't the stronger she is the more advantageous it is for me?"
TOK TOK TOK
"?"
The sound of the window being knocked on snapped Ophelia back to reality. The girl's eyes narrowed in focus. There was a pigeon tapping its beak against the window glass. This pigeon was not the pigeon Naeva was used to seeing on Earth. Its color was night black and its tail was striped blue and black. Its beak was red and its eyes were like those of a cat. Seeing the pigeon's arrival, Ophelia let out a small sigh and got up from the bed to open the window.
As soon as the window was open, the pigeon landed on Ophelia's hand. As Ophelia had expected, there was a piece of paper tied to the pigeon's leg.
"They still use this old-fashioned method," she said as she let the pigeon out. Interestingly, as soon as the pigeon came out, its body broke apart, turning into black flower petals that flew with the wind.
Before reading the letter, Ophelia submerged the paper in black ink and waited for it to dry first, then she lit a candle and began to read it in the candle flame.
"......"
".... So that's it. At this rate I'll have to start preparing myself too," she said to herself.
"I was a little worried about dragging Naeva into danger. But... What a waste of worry. With what happened earlier, I can say that Naeva Winter is stronger than me."
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Naeva's messy thoughts were now organized. For the time being, Naeva chose to stay on top of the tower to get some fresh air before returning to the inn.
The light night breeze that blew her hair slowly made the girl feel calm. Naeva honestly still couldn't believe that her existence inside the Tower was a reality. She, who had been confined for millennia on Earth, could now see a landscape other than the white snow that filled her world.
Naeva looked at her pale white, cold hands. If she lost control of it, it would freeze like it were made of ice. Not just her hands, her entire body would also freeze if Naeva lost control. When that happens, the surrounding environment will experience a drastic drop in temperature.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
And the emotion that is most likely to make her explode is... Anger. The incident earlier could be said to be still cool. Because Naeva was only angry because she was insulted.
She remembered very well, the anger explosion she should avoid the most was the anger that came from sadness. When it happened before, Naeva froze ⅓ of the Earth. Before that region was just an ordinary snowy region, but after the freeze occurred. Everything really became completely icy.
That was how great Naeva Winter's power was. Great power comes with great price. In Naeva's case, it might be an immortality she did not ask for and the wildness of her power that was difficult to control.
"Remember Naeva, you're in the Tower. This is not Earth... You can't... Lose control here..." she thought seriously.
"......"
"......"
"......"
".... Looks like it's time to go back."
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****OOO****
Character Information
[https://img.wattpad.com/5cb25713ec6e45933c55ddd932f6827724ef3465/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f44554330544d426d386e51654d513d3d2d313332353035373036382e313739303435633736393665393865663731373636363033353037362e6a7067]
Name: Naeva Winter
Nova: X Platinum
Race: Ice Princess
Age: 30.000+
Status: Irregular
Affiliation: None
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[https://img.wattpad.com/842289a22888d86220ab99a740ff7c16659eb7b2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6a33617963584345484f6b7346673d3d2d313332353035373036382e313739303435633630326535336631313634353633383335383832392e6a7067]
Name: Ophelia Calliope
Nova: II Orange
Race: Unknown
Age: 17
Status: Lady of the Calliope Family
Affiliation: Calliope Family
****OOO****
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TOK TOK TOK
As soon as the door was knocked, the girl in the room opened it.
"Naeva! Are you okay? Did something happen earlier?" asked Ophelia Calliope worriedly.
Naeva was silent as she looked at the girl in front of the door.
"That pen..."
"?"
"Not a useless weapon."
"!?"
"Naeva, you know something about this pen!?" startled Ophelia.
Naeva nodded, "Let's just say I know its creator. I was angry that the Calliope Family called the weapon that person created useless."
"U-Uhh... I'm sorry..." regretted Ophelia inexplicably.
"Uh, wait... You said this wasn't a useless weapon... You also know its creator... Don't tell me you know its original use?"
"I know."
"!"
"Please teach me how to use it!!!"
".... And why should I do it?"
"That..."
Ophelia thought hard. But the girl did not find anything that could be used as an offer for Naeva. Naeva Winter who didn't seem to want anything, what kind of exchange did she want?
Seeing Ophelia like that, Naeva just let out a small sigh. She walked towards the bed and seated herself there.
"Information."
"Give me any information I need about the Grand Families. Can you?" offered Naeva first.
The girl from the Calliope Family looked doubtful. The information Naeva requested was likely to be confidential information that only the Grand Families knew. Was it really okay to tell that to Naeva?
But... The information Naeva gave in exchange was information that was very important to Ophelia Calliope. How to use a weapon that even the Calliope Family did not know.
"..... Okay. We have a deal."
"Good," Naeva said.
"First of all, do you know what the 'Weapon of the Goddess of Music' is?" she asked.
"Of course. It's not a secret. Almost every Conqueror in the Tower knows it. The Weapon of the Goddess of Music is a weapon that the Goddess passed down to each of the founders of the Grand Families. The form is different for each family and each family guards the weapons with the highest security before they find their new master. But because the match rate with the weapons is low, very few people have ever seen the weapons. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"
Naeva pointed at the pen still lying on Ophelia's bed.
"That."
"?"
Ophelia was loading for a while before finally being shocked violently and staring at Naeva in disbelief.
"Don't tell me you mean this pen is one of the Weapons of the Goddess of Music!!???"
Naeva nodded.
"How did you know!!? No one even in the Calliope Family knows that this pen is our family's Goddess of Music Weapon!"
"I told you, I know the creator."
"Bu-But that's not it!!! Erghh... Umm... N-Naeva you... Don't tell me you're from the same world as the Goddess who gave this weapon to our ancestors? That's why you said you knew its creator and knew how to use it."
Naeva nodded. Again.
Ophelia's legs felt weak, the girl slumped to the floor. Her right hand began to hold her head which was suddenly crammed with important information.
"Okay, I see... I won't pry any further. It would be dangerous if I did."
"It's enough that you agreed to teach me and I gave you the information you needed. I'll ask more questions if necessary later."
"Is there something?" asked Naeva realizing something.
Ophelia's eyes became intense again. The girl looked at Naeva rather sharply.
"As expected. That's right. I just got some good information."
"?"
"Naeva, this is information about the 2nd floor ascension exam."
"....."
< Ascension Exam >
Is a test that every Conqueror who wants to climb the next floor must take. The exams are different and the difficulty increases as the floor increases. Those who fail the exam can experience various things. Of course, the worst is death. Conquerors who have passed the floor test can go freely to the floor they have conquered.