The Ice's Yearning Volume 1 Chapter 2

Alfra, who was dozing off while hugging a blanket woke up at the signs of someone entering the room. Seemingly, she had fallen asleep while absentmindedly thinking about something after the meal.
Besides the bed, a female in her 40s, who looked like a maid was soaking a thick cloth in a tub with hot water.

“Oh my, good morning.”

“Ah, good morning.”

Alfra sat up and lowered her head.

“I will wipe down your body so take off your clothes.”

“Eh?……..I…can do it myself.”

However, her hand that stretched in order to receive the wrung cloth was gently obstructed.

“No no, I get that you can at least wipe your own body, but I've been instructed by madam to wipe you down.”

“I see….”

“I'll be the one getting scolded if I don't do the work how madam instructed.”

The maid who lifted her thick eyebrows, swung her index finger left and right with a tut. At first, she gave the impression of being gloomy and high-strung but the maid turned out to be a person with a charming smile.
Alfra, who was sitting on the bed, was made to take off her one-piece dress. She wasn't wearing underwear so the moment the one layer was taken off, she ended up buck naked.

Making Alfra face away, the maid started rubbing her back with a wet cloth.

“Alright, wipe the front yourself. I wiped down your back so I properly followed madam's orders.”

Winking with one eye, she handed the cloth to Alfra.

“Ah, yes. Thank you very much.”

“Haha, you're still small but you're such a polite child.”

From the maid who was nodding while grinning, she got the impression that she was a person who talked much―― that remark was probably due to the contrast with Byakuren, a person of few words who only talked bare minimum and Takas.h.i.+ro, who as expected, talked only when necessary and never wasted his breath ―― Alfra tried asking about what interested her since the last night.

“Umm…is Byakuren-san an eastern person?”

As far as Alfra knew, the names with a unique sound like Byakuren and Takas.h.i.+ro belonged to the ones living in the area that was called the territory of demons, the eastern part of the continent. And in the east, there were only the retainers of demons and the races that were under their control.  She had also heard that there were extremely few humans living on the territory of demons.

The still young Alfra hadn't seen them herself, but she had also heard that within the few humans living in the east, many of them had olive-colored skin.

However, the complexion of the maid who was smiling while watching Alfra wipe her own body changed in an instant and with a furious tone she pressed her for an answer.

“Wait a minute, you! Just a mere human, what do you think you are doing!? How dare you call madam by her name!”

The unexpected threatening att.i.tude of the maid made Alfra's body unknowingly stiffen up. Hanging her head down, she kept apologizing in a low voice without knowing the reason.

“To start with, why does somebody like you know madam's name? What, are you gonna tell me that madam told you to call her by name? eh?”

Alfra nodded desperately, despite being afraid of the maid who kept rattling on while glaring angrily.

“Y-yes. Erm..she said to call her as I wanted.”

“Huh…?”

“I called her Byakuren-sama first but I got scolded…she told me not to add -sama”

The maid was in a state of shock, looking blankly.

“When I called her Byakuren-san, she said that it was okay.”

“Huh…Huuuuuuuuuhー？”

Alfra, who thought that she had committed an outrageous crime and was about to be severely reprimanded, felt relieved after looking at the maid's surprised face. Apparently, there seemed to be some misunderstanding.

“Madam did….? I see, so madam said…”

Alfra nodded.

“I don't know about you humans, but for us, the demons, a name is a pretty important thing. It's extremely rude for commoners to refer to those of n.o.ble status by their names.”

The maid took a peek Alfra's face as if to make sure that she understood her properly,

“Sorry that I shouted at you. It's not really because you're a human or anything. Even if demon children call n.o.bles by their names, they can get beaten up.”

“I see…”

“But still, who in the world are you?”

Having her ident.i.ty questioned, Alfra was troubled at how to reply.

“Um…I'm Alfra.”

The answer to her question seemed to be somewhat different in nuance, so the maid pondered with “hau～n”

“Oh well, it's fine. You must've been pretty liked by Madam.”

The maid smiled to make Alfra feel relieved.

“Liked…?”

Remembering Byakuren's beautiful face, Alfra's mouth loosened.

“Alfrchan, right? I'm Fermar, nice to meet you.”

“Eh? Fermar…san, you are also a demon, right?

“Oh, I'm from the west, eastern demons have distinctive names.

“I see…”

“Though in difference from eastern demons we are fewer in numbers so we are rarer.”

To be more exact, seeing demons in the human realm was a rare thing itself. Fermar, who was keen on Alfra's surprised expression, continued talking.

“You know, long ago, some ancient race folks invaded in great numbers from the western continent.”

Alfra nodded and started attentively listening to the story.

“And, you see, They were way way strong, their numbers were huge, and they loved to fight just as much as we demons do; they were just that ridiculous. ”

Alfra, whose astonishment showed up on her face right away, was quite a good listener. Amused by her reactions, Fermar was in a great mood. Using a lot of exaggerated hand gestures, she continued.

“And that battle is the reason why the number of demons decreased in the west. Did you know?”

Alfra too had roughly heard about the invasion of the ancient race, but it was her first time hearing that the western demons were reduced in numbers because of the battle with them.
In the first place, it was something that had happened several thousand years ago and she had considered it to be in the same league with myths or legends. Apparently, there was a subtle difference in the stories and knowledge pa.s.sed down through the humans and the demons.

“By the way, how old are you, Alfrchan?”

“I'm 11.”

“Oh~ you've got a hold of yourself despite your young age. I'm 360 years old this year.

Alfra looked at the mischievously smiling Fermar with even more astonishment.

“Whatー!? But…you only look about 40 ――？”

“Well, we have a long lifespan. Powerful demons live even longer. Apparently, at Demon King's side, there is somebody who has lived for a millennium.”

Looking at the speechless Alfra, Fermar laughed with satisfaction.

Actually, the longevity of the demons was a famous fact. However, there was a difference between hearing the rumors and actually seeing it with own eyes. For Alfra, who grew up in a poor village of a remote region, it was honestly very shocking.

“Even so, you're a bit too thin, Alfrchan. Should I bring a slightly bigger breakfast?”

“Ah….”

Alfra's noticed that Fermar's gaze made her stop wiping her body. The thick cloth had already turned cold.

“You have such a cute face so you have to eat well”

“Eh…..cute? me…?”

“Oh my, you don't even know how you look? Ah, don't tell me you've never seen a mirror?”

“Ah….yes.”

The mirrors weren't something that had spread within the common people, but rather valuable items that only the wealthy could possess. Moreover, most of them were made by polis.h.i.+ng the copper and didn't reflect clearly.

Alfra had only seen herself occasionally from the reflection in the river while bathing. It was a reflection distorted by the stream with blurry and unclear details.

“I see, I see. Come here for a little bit.”

Fermar stood up while pulling Alfra's hand and brought her to the dressing table set up at the pillow side of the giant bed.

“You'll definitely be surprised.”

Fermar smiled happily. She took off the satin cloth from something standing on the dressing table with one swoop.

――Ah……

Alfra herself was reflected there more clearly than she had ever seen in her entire life.
She had shoulder-length flaxen hair, thin silhouette, and a delicate jaw. Her nose was shapely, but her mahogany colored eyes that were dancing around seemed to be a bit too big, in her opinion.
Alfra suddenly noticed her gaping mouth and hastily closed it. She unconsciously checked if she was drooling too.
Her line of sight descended further and stopped at the chest that was flat just like a boy's. Alfra's thin shoulders suddenly dropped.
Fermar, who noticed Alfra's sad gaze, laughed while stroking her soft hair.

“You're still a kid so you don't have to worry about it too much. If you eat well they'll swell up in no time.”

“She's certainly a bit too thin.”

Without them realizing, Byakuren was reflected at the corner of the mirror since G.o.d knows when.
Alfra hastily hid her chest that didn't look like it needed any hiding and turned back with a red face.
It seems that she forgot she was buck naked and wasn't wearing anything at the bottom.

“There is nothing to worry about, b.r.e.a.s.t.s are just a decoration. Even if they become big, they won't be useful in anything.”

Wearing a thin dress that clearly accentuated all of her body, Byakuren stuck out her chest and haughtily looked down on Alfra.

Alfra's eyes were unintentionally drawn towards Byakuren's chest. ――However,  her chest wasn't a size that could be called big even as a flattery,
Byakuren boasted of a perfect beauty from top to the bottom, but looking at her from the viewpoint of femininity, this thinness could perhaps be called her only flaw.

Byakuren called out to Fermar who had taken a step back and had lightly lowered her head.

“Bring Breakfast. And make it a big portion.”

Starting to cla.s.sify women into 2 types, Alfra had unconsciously categorized Byakuren to be by her side.

Next Chapter

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Notes:
G.o.d, I hate this “character, who was doing X while they heard Y, did Z” bulls.h.i.+t

demons are mazoku (魔族)

so the t.i.tle of this chapter is “Alfra and chippai”
I'm sure you can figure out what chippai stands for

Please notify me of inevitable mistranslations, typos, lost nuance and awkward or incorrect grammar so I could fix it