CHAPTER 14
Megumi stood still with his gaze fixed on his friend as his mind wandered. She was visibly trembling, both of her arms wrapped around each other below her chest in an attempt to keep herself warm.
Luckily, soon after Gekka had started the fire, a feeling of warmth quickly engulfed the air where they stood. Yuki was now able to free her arms, while the mild cold feeling that had gripped him earlier was chased away.
Yuki let out a gasp of relief at the warmth as they all sat around the fire. The tents were set, and all of their luggage had already been offloaded, so none of them really had anything to do at the moment.
Other than the occasional chatter between him and Yuki, there was nothing going on between their little group; just them sitting silently around the fire.
After a while of silence, Yuki decided to reach into her bag and grab a book, and then she immediately immersed herself in the notes written across every page of the book.
As Yuki was drowned in the world of the book she held, he simply stared upwards at the thick layers of snow and ice that lay above them. There was something oddly familiar yet strange about the mountain.
It did share some similarities with the Moonlight Temple back at the Fujiboma residence.
'Could it be?'
He quickly shook his head, shaking off the thought of the assumption he was just about to make. But he couldn't keep it away for long; it came crawling back into his head like it had always been there.
Could it be that the mountain had been used as a place to worship a great figure of humanity in the past, like Lady Tsukiakari? There were very likely other places just like this.
However, if there were something to discover, the sorcerers would have long had it documented. That information should have been accessed by him by now, but there was nothing of interest he was able to find about this treacherous mountain.
'Damn it, Josh, what sort of hell is this place? Man, I'm really starting to wish I had listened to you back then.'
He chuckled at the stupid thought. The thought of some ancient secret lying somewhere around this mountain of eternal snow remained in his mind.
For all he knew, this place could have a connection to Lady Tsukiakari, and he believed that by uncovering whatever secrets lay here, he would come closer to finding the answers to the questions he had about the Boma clan.
Heaving a sigh, he slowly closed his eyes and lowered his head, thinking of something to get his mind off the never-ending thoughts he had. Then, he tapped Yuki on the shoulder, drawing her attention.
"Do you… have any books I can borrow?"
Yuki stared at him for a while, and then she nodded her head. She opened her backpack once more, and after a while, brought out a book that she handed to him.
He took it with a gleaming smile on his face and then quickly began to examine the book. He gazed at the cover of the book for a while, and then he slowly opened it to the first page.
After studying the book for a few moments, he handed the book back to her and asked with a nervous chuckle,
"Do you, perhaps, have any of those love stories you told me about with you?"
Hearing his question, Yuki shifted away, fidgeting as she intently glared at him, her brows slightly furrowed. An awkward silence ensued between the two of them, and after a while, she quickly raised the book she was holding to her face.
She asked, her voice slightly flustered.
"Why are you interested in romantic stories all of a sudden?"
'Oh, I guess they're not love stories anymore.'
Megumi furrowed his brow and simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm just bored, and I forgot to bring some books with me."
Yuki turned away from his gaze, the book still covering her face, and said,
"Well, you have your phone, don't you? Play a game or something, or you can forget about getting any books because I'm not giving you any of my special books."
"Ah… Fine. I'll just read whatever you have to give me. At least it's better than sitting here and doing nothing."
Yuki finally lowered the book she had over her face, relieved by his last words. She reached into her bag once more and brought out another book.
This one wasn't a documentation of past or historical events and tales, but rather a simple book themed around the lives of sorcerers in the current world. It followed the story of a boy who grew up in a lowly family and later went on to join one of the most prestigious academies that the world still had to offer.
Of course, they would use the classic trope of an outcast main character. While certain things depicted in the story were fairly accurate, everything else was just a good mockery of what sorcerers actually had to go through.
It wasn't long before he grew tired of the book and gently placed it by the side. He then got up after that, performing a few stretches as his gaze slowly shifted toward his older sister.
Reading the book had left him feeling a bit more lively, and he was more than ready to begin what he had come here for.
As if being able to read his mind, she turned her gaze in his direction and spoke.
"Give me a moment."
Then, she quickly got up from the icy ground, instinctively dusted her clothes, and walked toward him. When she was finally close enough to him, she grabbed his hand and began heading further up the mountain.
They soon got to a point where the road twisted and became a bit too narrow. They could still traverse the slope upwards if they clung to the walls of the mountain, but that wasn't necessary since they were only searching for a good place to begin training.
At this height, they were about forty meters above the ground, and the view stretched into the distance in grandeur. The gargantuan trees they had passed to get to the mountain were still in view, their shadows silently looming in the distance.
The snow peak didn't seem to affect the existence of life around it, as many of the trees and plants in the distance were thriving, despite being close to the chilling cold of this precarious place.
Rikiyo soon called to his attention and quickly handed him an item; it was a talisman that hung around his wrist like a shadow-crafted key. It possessed obsidian facets and seemed to have pulses of night trapped within it.
He had seen objects quite similar to this one a few times before, but why exactly he would need it for learning a single move left him a bit confused.
He swung the object around a few times, holding it by its leather cord, and then he turned to his sister with a subtle gaze.
She simply shrugged her shoulders, with her gaze intently fixed on the dark talisman he was holding.
"Well then, let's begin your training."