"Mommy?"
The instant the snow spirit addressed him like that, Kurose Akira's expression stiffened.
Kid… that's not funny!
And calling him "Daddy" wouldn't be appropriate either. He definitely didn't have any weird fetishes like that!
"What exactly just happened?"
At the same time, Lucy and the others brushed the frost and snow off their bodies and looked toward Akira with puzzled expressions.
"It was this little one's doing."
Akira pointed at the snow spirit in his arms, making it clear that he had nothing to do with it.
However, the moment his finger touched the snow spirit, the tiny creature seemed to mistake it for food. With her soft, squishy little hands, she gently cupped Akira's finger and happily began sucking on it.
"???"
Akira's brows furrowed again.
Hey, kid—fingers aren't foo—
[Warning! You are entering a state of Mana Exhaustion!]
"?"
Akira froze when the notification popped up before his eyes.
His mana—
Had actually been completely drained by this newborn little creature?
Wait a second…
Why did all the monsters in his guild seem to love sucking mana?
Were they all learning from Ivsha or something?
"Is this the creature that hatched from that egg?"
At that moment, Lucy and the others gathered around Akira, curiously examining the snow spirit in his arms.
The snow spirit looked quite similar to an elemental spirit. Her entire body was soft and pure, like freshly fallen snow, and her petite frame was only about one-seventh the size of a human.
What made her unique, however, was the pair of crystalline snow-white wings on her back—and a distinctive dolphin-like tail.
The little tail was plump and chubby, and surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
Of course, she also had a pair of human-like legs.
"Yeah."
Akira nodded and explained, "This little one came out of the Snow Dolphin Egg. She's a bit different from a snow dolphin… but the tail is still there, so it should be right."
After saying that, Akira tried opening the snow spirit's status panel.
But it failed.
He simply couldn't access it. It was as if some mysterious force was concealing her information.
"What a cute little thing~"
The elf sisters were instantly captivated. Her adorable appearance made them like her immediately.
But the moment they touched the snow spirit, something unexpected happened.
Their mana was instantly drained, and their bodies fell straight into a state of mana exhaustion.
"My mana! Why did it suddenly disappear?"
"Ah~ how can this be…"
The elf sisters collapsed weakly onto the ground. They had never imagined that after draining Akira's mana, the snow spirit would move on to theirs as well.
Meanwhile, the snow spirit seemed perfectly satisfied after her meal. She licked her tiny tongue contentedly and even patted her chubby cheeks with her little hands, looking incredibly pleased.
One thing worth noting—
Akira noticed that the snow spirit's small tongue was actually pale pink.
So this little creature wasn't entirely composed of ice and snow elements. There were clearly other substances involved.
"This little one…"
Lucy seemed to recall something, though she couldn't quite confirm it.
"What? Have you seen a creature similar to her before?" Akira asked while looking directly at Lucy.
Although her body appeared to be entirely made of ice and snow elements—just like other elemental spirits—that alone didn't guarantee she was a snow spirit. After all, there were many lifeforms in the world that manifested in elemental forms, not just elemental spirits.
"I'm not sure," Lucy replied softly, shaking her head. "But that chilling aura… it feels familiar somehow."
"Chilling?"
Akira found her description somewhat surprising. The snow spirit's appearance and mana fluctuations felt completely different from anything one would describe as "chilling."
"Don't let her cute appearance fool you."
Lucy shot him a cold glance and said quietly,
"Her mana reserves are higher than everyone present here—including mine."
"?"
Akira's expression immediately turned serious after hearing that. He stared at the snow spirit with furrowed brows.
Her mana reserves were actually higher than Lucy's?
Didn't that mean her mana stat had already exceeded 1000?
Wasn't that initial stat a bit too outrageous?
Even the reborn Mare Rhine hadn't been that exaggerated!
Still… aside from mana, her other attributes were probably low.
With such a tiny and delicate body, her Constitution and Strength stats probably hovered close to zero.
As Akira thought this, he couldn't help but reach out and gently poke the snow spirit's cheek.
Her plump little face felt incredibly soft—so pleasant that it made him want to poke it again.
However, the snow spirit seemed slightly displeased with that action. She opened her tiny mouth and lightly bit down on his finger.
Unfortunately for her, she didn't have any teeth, so it didn't hurt at all.
In fact, it produced a strangely comfortable sensation.
Warm and moist, soft and squishy.
The only downside was that it was a little cold.
"Chirp chirp~"
The Demonflame Silver Phoenix Butterfly fluttered happily around Akira, its wings beating rapidly as if trying to communicate something.
"Guild Master, the phoenix butterfly hopes you can give this little one a name," Viola softly explained.
"A name?"
Akira lowered his head to look at the snow spirit in his arms. Her clear, snow-like eyes were staring back at him with curiosity.
After thinking for a moment, he slowly said,
"How about… Lilith?"
"O(>﹏<)O"
The snow spirit shook her head vigorously to express her refusal.
"Vi-Snow?"
"Nooo~"
"Diana?"
"No~ no~!"
"..."
Akira frowned deeply.
Were the names he came up with really that bad?
"How about calling her Xue'er?"
At that moment, Ivsha offered a suggestion.
"Xue'er?"
Akira repeated the name.
The snow spirit in his arms immediately broke into a bright, sweet smile, clearly delighted by it.
"Alright then. Xue'er it is."
Seeing her reaction, Akira officially decided on the name.
During the entire process, Lucy never took her eyes off Xue'er. The mana particles surrounding the little creature felt strangely familiar to her, as though she had encountered them somewhere before—but she couldn't quite recall where.
"Master, is little Xue'er considered a monster?" Alice asked curiously.
"She probably counts as one."
Akira wasn't entirely sure what species Xue'er belonged to. But since she had hatched from a Snow Dolphin Egg, there was a high chance she was a monster.
Although… Xue'er's appearance…
"Umi-umi~"
Xue'er let out a pleasant little sound. She gently swayed her body as if dancing in Akira's arms.
Her dolphin tail wagged lightly as well, expressing her happiness.
"Alright, you two little ones go play."
Akira gently set Xue'er down on the floor so she could play together with the Demonflame Silver Phoenix Butterfly.
After that, he began cleaning up the snow that had piled up inside the guild hall.
By the time he finished clearing everything, it was already midnight.
Lucy and the others had long since left the guild. After helping Akira finish the cleanup, Viola and the others also returned to their rooms to rest.
"Whew…"
Akira wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his gaze drifted unconsciously toward the phoenix butterfly's small nest.
Inside the nest, the phoenix butterfly lay quietly, while Xue'er slept obediently beside it. Her tiny body was curled into a little ball, looking unbelievably adorable.
One was fire, the other ice—yet somehow the two little creatures got along perfectly.
Just as Akira was carefully observing the two sleeping companions, Xue'er suddenly rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them.
Her eyes were clear and bright as they met Akira's gaze.
"?"
Akira raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
Did I wake her up?
Just then, Xue'er stretched out her tiny pink hands, gently cupped Akira's finger—and began sucking on it with full concentration.
"~"
Before Akira could even react, his mana was completely drained again.
He instantly fell back into a state of mana exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Xue'er, now fully satisfied, drifted back into peaceful sleep. Her lovely little face was filled with contentment and happiness.
"..."
Akira's legs went weak from the mana exhaustion, and he collapsed onto the floor.
It took quite a while before he finally recovered. Muttering to himself, he said,
"Why is every single one of them basically a succubus…"
Just then, a notification appeared in his vision.
[You have received a private message.]
"Hm?"
Akira opened the message and saw that it was from Xu Feiyan.
[Fei: I've got some free time recently. When should we meet?]
"I just finished my college entrance exams too. I've got a class reunion tomorrow, but after that I'm free," Akira replied quickly.
[Fei: A class reunion? Youth really is nice. Then let's meet the day after tomorrow. We'll find a suitable place.]
"Alright. Where are you? I'll buy a train ticket later."
[Fei: I'll come find you instead. It wouldn't be right to make a kid who just graduated high school run around everywhere. Besides, I've been wanting to go for a drive lately.]
"That works. I'm in Hangzhou. The address is…"
Akira immediately sent his location.
[Fei: Hangzhou? That's not far. Only two or three hundred kilometers. I can drive over.]
"?"
Akira was somewhat surprised to learn that he was only two or three hundred kilometers away from Xu Feiyan.
She was most likely in the same province—or perhaps just a neighboring one.
[Fei: We'll meet then. I'm going to sleep now.]
"Mm." Akira responded briefly.
With that, the conversation ended, and he exited the game interface.
But after leaving the game and returning to reality, Akira simply lay quietly on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
After remaining motionless for a long time, he slowly got up and went to the bathroom for a shower.
Once he finished bathing, he walked to the wardrobe and picked out some clothes. There weren't many items inside—mostly inexpensive outfits.
Akira casually selected one set to wear for tomorrow's gathering.
Even though the clothes weren't expensive, it didn't really matter. With his looks, simple and clean was enough.
After preparing everything, Akira collapsed onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.
...
Meanwhile, after returning to the Holy Church of Light, Lucy's thoughts were still circling around Xue'er's mana aura.
That chilling fluctuation of magic felt strangely familiar to her, yet she couldn't remember where she had encountered it before.
"Where exactly was it…?" Lucy murmured to herself as she paced beside the golden throne, deep in thought.
At that moment, a voice came from outside the temple.
"Your Holiness, the Saintess of Frost Spirits requests an audience," Winneshan announced.
Lucy stopped walking and gave a slight nod.
"Let her in."
"Yes~"
Winneshan withdrew. Soon after, the Frost Spirit Saintess entered the temple.
A woman walked into the hall. She wore an ice-blue dress of modest yet elegant design, and a crystal-blue mask covered her face.
She bowed respectfully to Lucy.
"Your Holiness."
Lucy sat back on the golden throne and asked calmly,
"Frost Spirit Saintess, what brings you here so late at night?"
The saintess lowered her head slightly.
"Your Holiness, regarding the Frozen Core you asked me to unlock earlier—I've made some new discoveries after further research."
"Oh?"
Lucy immediately became interested. Resting her cheek on her hand, she pressed further.
"What kind of discovery?"
The Frost Spirit Saintess slowly explained,
"Within the statue of the Snow Goddess, I detected a trace of the Frostfield Witch's aura. Though faint, it was extraordinarily pure. More importantly, it also contained a fragment of the truth of ice."
"The aura of the Frostfield Witch?"
Lucy repeated the words. Suddenly, a flash of realization crossed her mind.
"So that's it!"
She exclaimed softly and rose from the golden throne, the confusion in her heart finally clearing.
No wonder she had been pondering it for so long without finding the answer.
It was the aura of the Frostfield Witch!
And Xue'er's aura was incredibly similar to that of the Frostfield Witch—almost as if they were the same person!
But why…
At that moment, Lucy felt even more troubled.
She simply couldn't connect that adorable little creature with the infamous Frostfield Witch who had once destroyed an entire mid-sized kingdom.
No matter how she looked at it, Xue'er didn't resemble a terrifying witch capable of inspiring dread.
"The Frostfield Witch…"
Lucy's brows knit tightly together, her expression turning grave.
She had never imagined that their "Puff Fantasyland" Guild would one day have a witch among its members.
...
When Akira woke up again, it was already ten o'clock the next morning.
After a quick wash, he changed his clothes and headed toward the reunion venue.
When he arrived, he saw that many of his classmates had already gathered. Groups of three or five stood chatting and laughing together.
The hotel hall was decorated with banners celebrating the successful end of their high school years. One male student had even mustered the courage to confess his feelings to the girl he liked.
Since it wasn't time to eat yet, Akira found a relatively quiet spot and sat down.
He paid little attention to the lively atmosphere around him, simply waiting for the meal to begin.
At that moment, Liu Xue quietly sat down beside him. She took out her phone and began scrolling through it with full concentration.
Akira glanced at her.
She was wearing her usual clothes, though today she had clearly put on some makeup.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Liu Xue lowered her phone and turned toward him.
"In a couple of days, my sister and I are moving to a new place."
Akira looked slightly surprised.
"That soon?"
"The lease on this place has already expired," Liu Xue explained with a nod. "My sister hired a moving company a few days ago."
She smiled faintly.
"Next time we see each other will be at university."