Ice Queen in Another World V1 [Completed]

[47] Leaving Behind

Before the sandy beach of the iron tower, Claire widened her eyes at the image of the sulking Via. For a moment, she took her in and realized, as if for the first time, that this girl had emotions.

"You knew him," She said, not as a question, crimson eyes stuck on the bunny.

"Knew him?" Via laughed and turned back to the tower. "I adventured with him for a bit! Damned strongest person I ever saw. It was him deciding to leave for wider prospects that caused our spar when I asked to follow him."

She shrugged, "Well, you see how that turned out. And you can see why I'm just a bit jealous of you two. Isn't it nice to be so powerful?"

Claire didn't sit well with that statement. She shook her head. "It is definitely nice, I won't deny that, but are you not pretty strong on your own?"

"Now, I am," Via nodded. "Do you know why they call me the 'Killer Bunny'? Or why I smelled of human blood? It's because I worked hard for this strength. I threw myself into both dungeoning and sparring. I fought the strongest people I knew and managed to crush them. In the end, my skill awakened to a higher rank and I developed my fighting style. The 'killer' part is a bit exaggerated as all nicknames are, but with how bloody my spars usually turned, I could see why they would go with that—plus, I did wipe out some bandits that tried a hand at kidnapping me."

"That last part should have came first," Claire replied.

Via chuckled and turned around, facing the town of Mosted, with its sandy ground, and its squat, rectangular buildings. She watched momentarily as adventurers weaved through the place, shook her head, then took a step with a grin upon her lips.

"I'll meet you two back at the center. I've got business to get to."

"You're strong on your own, Via."

"I know. . .thank you," She waved a hand back, boots sinking into sand.

The two girls watched her depart. To Claire, it seemed to her that the person named Via Goodwill had once developed feelings for the Sword Saint, feelings that had been shattered, and emotions that she struggled with to this day. To her, it must have looked as if she were rejected due to her strength.

'Honestly, the Sword Saint just seems anti-social. Strength shouldn't matter if he really wanted her to come along with him. . .unless it was to protect her.' Claire thought. 'I suppose it takes one to know one.'

She felt Alicia's hand wrap around her own, the soft warmth of the girl radiating through her cold skin. A jolt ran through her in momentary surprise as the two temperatures mixed.

"Hmm?" The ice queen raised a brow, stared puzzled at her partner, and shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you."

Alicia smiled innocently, her grip tightening. "I just wanted to hold your hand. Can I not?"

"You can."

It wasn't the first time they had held hands, nor would it be the last, but the prior day's memory mixed with the public setting was another matter. Still, Claire merely produced a faint smile as she watched a few adventures disappear in a flash of white and the odd stares thrown their way.

'She's just so cute sometimes.' Claire thought, moving closer. She lifted the mask of the girl for a moment and, their hand in each other's grasps, kissed her. Even with their sparsely crowded surroundings, the two ignored the world and shared their temperatures to a deeper degree.

"Let's do some sightseeing, shall we?" She asked once they separated.

"Mhmm," Alicia nodded.

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