A few days had passed since Yuna-san and Kagari-chan returned home.
Time passed as if nothing happened in the city, but some people started to think that something was wrong.
First of all, the people who thought so were those who had interactions with other cities.
Incoming supplies were not arriving. We couldn't buy or sell anything because merchants from other cities wouldn't come.
It seemed that the Commercial Guild gave an explanation, but they were skeptical.
However, the fact that there were no ships coming from other cities for several days, and people who went to other cities, seemed to convince the Commercial Guild officials.
It was gradually spreading to the city.
Even if someone suddenly told you that it had been frozen for three years, it seemed hard to believe.
Regarding exchanges with other cities, it seemed that it would be difficult to trade supplies and other items in the same way as it was three years ago, but after learning about the situation in our city, it seemed that they had agreed to be accommodating to some extent.
There would be fewer transactions for a while, but they would gradually discuss things and decide on the future.
It looked like the Commercial Guild and my father would be busy.
Next, regarding the mines, I heard that people who went to the mines without knowing anything were surprised by the footprints of ice dragons.
The warehouse had also been destroyed, so they rebuilt it first.
Also, the bear bath that Yuna-san made for us was decided to be used by the people working in the mines, as we had talked about.
At first, they were surprised by the bear on the exterior, but I heard that they were pleased when they saw the interior bath.
However, since cute bears were embarrassing, there was an opinion that something should be done about it, but father and Bende-ojii-chan rejected the idea.
It was made by Yuna-san.
It seemed that it would be left with a great care.
Speaking of bears, there was a big bear outside of town.
It seemed that Yuna-san made it to protect us from the ice dragon's attacks when she fought against.
Yuna-san said something about cleaning things up, but it seemed like she forgot and went home.
Now it had become a mysterious structure.
I also went up to see it, and there were a lot of people there.
Father said that this bear statue would not be removed but would remain as it was.
Is it okay to just decide on our own?
I hope Yuna-san won't be angry when he comes next time.
But that bear statue protected the city from the ice dragon.
Even if the people of the town didn't know, we knew that the two girls helped the town.
Maybe it's a good thing to leave it so that we didn't forget that they saved the city.
If I got married and have children, I would like to tell them about those days.
Father said that he would negotiate with Yuna-san later when she came to clean up.
I was busy helping my father.
No, I pretended to be busy and put off important things.
It's about meeting two of my dearest friends.
I had two dear friends.
Fran (フラン) and Ina (イーナ).
We used to play and run around together since we were little.
I didn't have the courage to meet those two people.
I didn't know what kind of face I should make when I meet them.
I was scared of what they would look like when they saw me grow up.
I was scared that I might not be able to be with them as friends anymore, so I couldn't meet them.
But if we didn't meet again, the same thing would happen.
Kagari-chan's words remained in my head.
I'd never forget when my mother and sister saw me.
Why am I the only one who has grown?
If I had been frozen in ice with everyone else, I wouldn't have felt this way.
For father, Bende-ojii-chan, and other adults, three years didn't make much of a difference.
But I'd changed.
My height has grown, and my 12-year-old face had disappeared, making me look more mature than my older sister.
I couldn't keep running away forever, and I couldn't run away.
That day had arrived.
"My lady, I see Fran-sama and Ina-sama." (Nia)
Nia, who was taking care of me, asked me, "What should I do?"
Because I knew that I always looked anxious about meeting my friends.
"What should we do? Would you like them to go home?" (Nia)
"……" (Lise)
...I'm scared to meet them.
I was not ready yet.
But I knew that I couldn't stop seeing them forever.
I took a deep breath.
I decided not to run away anymore.
"……please let them in" (Lise)
"Understood" (Nia)
The door opened and two people came in.
Three years had passed and they were still the same 12-year-olds they were three years ago.
Only I had grown.
I recognized them again.
But when I looked at both of them, a different feeling arose.
Nostalgic.
Friends I thought had been dead were alive.
When the ice dragon froze the city, I cried because I lost my family and friends.
But...they're both alive.
They were the same two people I knew three years ago.
"Lise-chan!?"
"What's wrong with you suddenly crying?"
I was crying without even realizing it.
"No, it’s nothing." (Lise)
I wiped my tears with a handkerchief.
"There's nothing wrong with crying when you see us."
They both come closer, looking worried.
And they sat next to me.
"So why did you cry?" (Fran)
"Were you scared of Fran’s face?" (Ina)
"Ina!" (Fran)
Fran looked angry.
I couldn't help but smile when I saw that exchange.
Nostalgic. This was an old exchange.
"I was scared to meet them. But even more than that, I was happy that they were alive. I thought I would never see them again." (Lise)
Even if they looked at me strangely, I was glad that they both were still alive. I was happy to meet them.
"That's right. We were frozen in ice for three years."
"Lise thought we were dead."
I thought that not only my mother and sister were dead, but also Fran and Ina.
"But when I look at Lise, it's really been three years."
"You're big"
I also looked at them and recognized them again.
Both remained in my memory.
"Something seems strange."
"Really, we've been frozen for three years."
"Do you believe it?" (Lise)
"Our family is merchant. Dad heard about it from the Commercial Guild."
The two families were quite large merchant houses.
We met when we were young because of my father's work, and we became friends because we were the same age.
"At first, my father said he couldn't believe it. Of course, neither did I."
"But not a single ship from another city came."
"I started to feel that something was wrong."
"So we got on the ship and Ina's father and my father went to the trading town. Dad said it was just as the guild master said. That's a big problem, but my dad was upset that all the deals were gone."
"It's the same thing at our house. The products we were trading with aren't coming in."
"They were aware of our situation, so they said that although things weren't as they were three years ago, we were able to reopen."
"But my dad said it was less than half of what it used to be."
Father also said something similar.
"So, I heard about Lise too."
"Lise has been watching over the frozen city for three years."
It's not like I'd been watching over you.
I just couldn't do anything for three years.
"When I heard that story, I felt my heart tighten." (Fran)
"It was painful just thinking about it." (Ina)
"That's why I consulted with Ina and came to see you." (Fran)
They both held my hand.
"Actually, I was thinking about whether or not to meet you two. No, no. I was scared." (Lise)
"As I said earlier, why are you scared?"
"I wonder how people will look at me when I grow up." (Lise)
"That's right. Lise, you've become beautiful."
"Yeah, beautiful."
"That's not true. I haven't taken care of my hair properly for three years, so my hair is a mess, and look, my hands are also rough." (Lise)
My mother had prepared various treatments for my hair, and it had become beautiful, but my hands didn't heal as easily.
I laughed and showed my hand.
Both of them grabbed my hand.
"I know. These are the hands that worked hard."
"If you look at these hands, you can see how difficult it was. Well, I think it was probably more difficult and painful than I thought."
"If anyone makes fun of you, I'll get mad at them."
My mother and sister said the same thing.
I was very happy about that
Tears came out again.
Both of them hadn't changed. They're my kind friend.
"But I've only grown up. I wanted to grow up with you two. I wanted to become adult with you two." (Lise)
I couldn't stop my emotions.
I didn't mean to say that.
I said it because I knew it would cause trouble for both of them.
"Even though your body is big, your insides haven't changed."
"I felt relieved."
"That's not true. I'm growing properly on the inside." (Lise)
I could now handle fish, start a fire with wood, and help others.
"I’m already a big sister." (Lise)
"Hehe" (Fran)
"Ahaha" (Ina)
They both started laughing.
"Fran? Ina?"
"It's only been three years. We'll catch up soon." (Fran)
"I'll grow up quickly and be on par with Lise." (Ina)
"Lise won't grow up anymore, but we will grow up."
"I-I'm going to grow even bigger." (Lise)
I was only 15 years old, so I should still grow.
However, when I went to see a doctor, I was told that my nutrition was unbalanced and that I might not be able to grow.
I was bigger than both of them, but a little small for a 15-year-old.
In three years, they might have surpassed my height.
But if I ate, I would definitely grow bigger.
"And once we get older, it’s like there’s no difference in age by three years."
"That's right. There's no difference between a 30-year-old and a 33-year-old."
"60 and 63 are probably the same age."
When you said that, I felt like nothing would change.
"So, wait for me."
"I'll catch up with you soon."
"Yeah. I'll be waiting. Catch up soon." (Lise)
"Let's become grandmothers together."
"Yeah, I guess so."
My dear friend.
We will continue to be together.
Author's Note
Sorry I'm late.
This time, Lise-san's story was half-finished, so I decided to write about it.
This concludes the story of the ice city.
...
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Please note that some kanji have been revised to match the book, so some may not have been revised.