Chapter 85: Interlude – Bingsu Story (6)

“…..!!!!”

An electrifying sensation pierced through her body from head to toe.

It was a taste she’d never experienced before.

While her tongue felt cold and numb as usual, there was also a sweet, fruity flavor that enveloped her taste buds and seeped in. 

It was like tasting ice cream, yet with a crisp, crunchy texture entirely different from it.

A perfect harmony of snowflakes, strawberries, honey, and condensed milk played a rich four-part harmony. 

Among all the foods she had ever eaten, this was undoubtedly one of the top three, a taste of the heavens. 

“This, this is…!” 

“Delicious, right?” 

Sien grinned as he asked. 

“…….”

Another momentary stun. 

However, moments later, Exia responded not with words but by burying her face in the bowl like a puppy and inhaling the ice. 

“Slurp, nom nom, mmm…” 

“Hey, take it slow. You’ll choke like that,” 

Sien said in a leisurely tone, watching Exia devour the dessert with hurried spoonfuls. 

He had expected this reaction.

Exia had a childish palate, going crazy for anything sweet.

There was no way she’d reject this fresh and fantastic delicacy. 

‘Originally, this was a local dish only found in Cocytus of the Demon Realm. But somehow, I ended up improvising with street snow here.’ 

‘Well, the air here seems clean enough, and she probably won’t get sick, so it should be fine.’ 

The truth was, the Demon Realm’s shaved ice was made not from snow or ice but from the extracted spine of an Ice Demon.

However, there was no need to mention that detail here. 

Just because the original was a brutal dish didn’t mean its derivative had to follow the same category.

Besides, the ingredients weren’t even available. 

‘Weird. Thinking about it makes me want to eat some too.’ 

For a moment, he considered creating another spoon to sneak a bite but quickly shook his head.

Stealing from a kid’s meal wasn’t exactly dignified.

The portion wasn’t large either, so he decided to let Exia finish it on her own. 

More importantly, the dish’s true enjoyment lay not only in its taste but in savoring it while listening to the pitiful moans of its ingredients. 

“Sniff….Hic…”

“…?” 

However, at that very moment, Sien heard something that sounded like genuine moaning, leaving him startled. 

Could it be? Had an Ice Demon been summoned nearby? Out of nowhere? 

Thankfully, it wasn’t for such an anticlimactic reason. The source of the sound lay elsewhere. 

“Sniff, sob, hic…!” 

“…Huh?” 

To his surprise, the one crying was none other than Exia, who was eating the shaved ice. 

For reasons unknown, Exia was hiccuping and shedding large, chicken-egg-sized tears while shoving spoonfuls of dessert into her mouth, trembling as she held the bowl. 

‘Did she bite into a rock or something?’ 

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Did I accidentally put some gravel in while scooping the snow?” 

“N-No… hic, it’s not that… sniff…!” 

Exia wiped her tears with her sleeve and answered, looking down at her bowl with reddened eyes. 

“It’s just… it’s… sniff, so delicious…!” 

“…Huh?” 

She was crying because it was too delicious?

Really? 

Sien looked at Exia with an incredulous expression. 

Sure, the shaved ice was good, but was it really something to be moved to tears over?

Was it that suited to her tastes? 

Or perhaps Sien had unknowingly awakened some kind of cooking talent? 

“Is it that good? Then let me have a bite—” 

“No way!!!” 

Exia shouted, quickly spinning around to face away from Sien. 

“This is mine! I’m eating it all! Don’t interfere!!” 

“…I made it, you know?” 

“Even so!” 

“……..”

Unbelievable. 

Sien’s face twisted in exasperation at Exia’s blatantly selfish attitude. 

He didn’t particularly want to take any of it, but being treated this way after a kind gesture was a bit infuriating.

It was clear—showing kindness to Exia often felt unrewarding. 

“Fine. Eat all you want. I’ll just sit here and watch the snow outside,”  

Sien said, turning away from Exia. He carried out his words, calmly observing the swirling snowstorm outside the cave. 

“………”

“……….”

3 a.m.

The time when everything held its breath, waiting for the dawn to break. 

Inside the deep, dark blue cave, the two sat with their backs to each other, each preoccupied with their own tasks in silence. 

Exia kept her head down, diligently eating, while Sien, arms crossed, gazed at the flurries of snow outside. 

Not a single word was exchanged.

The only sounds were the occasional clink of metal and the faint howl of the wind. 

In this monotonous, soundscape of just two ambient noises… 

“……Hic, sniff…” 

The sound of soft sobbing began to weave into the stillness. 

Exia had little life experience.

She had descended in the form of a sword only a year ago, and it had been less than three months since she’d been able to walk around in human form. 

She is, in some ways, more of a child than she appears to be.

A pure-hearted girl who knows nothing beyond the minimum knowledge granted to her by the goddess.

For this reason, Exia couldn’t explain the emotions she was feeling at that moment.

Why were tears falling despite the situation not being sad?

Why did her heart ache faintly for no apparent reason?

And why did this ordinary food taste so incredibly delicious?

She didn’t know the answers.

She was still too young to understand.

So many emotions were welling up inside her, yet she couldn’t express a single one of them in words—a contradiction that left her helpless.

In the end, all she could do was quietly swallow her tears and continue eating with trembling hands.

“Sniff… sob… hic… Ahhhhhh!”

“………”

Meanwhile, Sien found himself equally baffled by the situation.

It wasn’t that he lacked life experience, but rather that he had lived for so long as a demon—a being devoid of the concept of affection.

His years as a human might even be shorter than Exia’s.

Thus, he had no understanding of what caused humans to feel emotional, what made them cry, or what moved them to tears.

He couldn’t grasp that even the smallest, seemingly insignificant act of kindness could sometimes ripple out and resonate deeply within a human’s heart.

At this early stage of his journey, there was no way for Sien to comprehend such things.

“Sniff… hic… It’s so good… so delicious, Sien… thank you… thank you so much… wahhhh…”

“There, there.”

As the sobs echoed behind him, Sien leaned his head against the wall.

There was so much he didn’t know yet.

He couldn’t even understand why she was crying.

But maybe, one day, he would come to understand her as well.

Maybe one day, he would grasp the answers to these small mysteries, not with his mind, but with his heart.

Someday.

…What am I even thinking?

In the end, they’re just people I’ll have to strike down with my own hands.

Sien smirked and unfolded his crossed arms.

At some point, the snowfall had slowed, transforming into gentle, soft flakes drifting from the sky.

Five hundred years later.

“Shaved ice… buy me shaved ice… shaved iceeee…”

“Can you stop already?!”

Exia’s endless whining finally made Sion snap.

“Shaved ice, shaved ice, shaved ice! How long are you going to keep going on about shaved ice?

I’ve told you before—shaved ice shops are only in the city, and we can only go to the city on weekends! Stop whining about something you can’t have!”

“Ugh…”

Exia pouted, visibly dissatisfied with her response.

“Teleport us there, then! Someone like you could sneak out easily!”

“And if someone catches us, what should I tell them? How should I explain?”

“Well, um… Oh, I know! We can use disguise magic! You’re good at that, aren’t you? We can disguise ourselves and go out together!”

“And what if I say no?”

“You liar! Don’t even try!”

Exia stomped her feet in frustration.

Of course, she was lying.

Sion was perfectly capable of transformation magic, as evidenced by how she once disguised herself as a palace official and successfully infiltrated a royal gathering.

She simply didn’t see any reason to indulge her this time.

Why should I? What a hassle.

“Then at least make some for me! You’re good at making shaved ice!”

“No. If you want it so badly, make it yourself.”

“I don’t have the ingredients!”

“Neither do I.”

“Arghhhh!”

Exia let out a frustrated scream, clutching her head as if about to tear her hair out.

Watching her tantrum with narrowed eyes, Sien finally voiced the question that had been on her mind for some time.

“Why are you so obsessed with shaved ice, anyway? Is the cafeteria food here not good enough for you? Is it not to your taste?”

“Not at all. Actually, this cafeteria’s food is the best I’ve ever had.”

After all, this was a place where royals and nobles from all over the world gathered to enroll.

If the food here were bad, that would be far more surprising.

This wasn’t your average school cafeteria—the meals served here were on par with the banquet dishes of a baron’s estate.

“Then why? Why are you so fixated on shaved ice? Why?”

At Sion’s probing, Exia hesitated, her gaze dropping to the floor as if she was at a loss for an answer.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, as if embarrassed.

After a few moments of fidgeting with her fingers, she finally mumbled in a small voice, as if sharing a secret.

“…..I can’t help it”

She muttered, sticking out her lips with a sullen expression.

In a small voice, as if telling a secret.

“Because it’s my favorite thing in the whole world.”