Chapter 1000 - Sisters (1/2)

Chapter 1000: Sisters

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

A fire was blazing merrily in a stove, casting a ruddy glow over the floor of the room.

Azima felt warm in her house. She watched snowflakes drifting in the north wind outside the window while listening to the crackling of the flames in the fireplace. In the past, when winter had come, she would have suffered severe frostbite on her hands and her hand skin would have chapped very easily. It was a memory from her childhood. Back then, she had had to rummage through rubbish in search of food every winter. After moving to the Sleeping Island, her hands got even worse because of the long-term exposure to salty seawater.

After all these years, she was already accustomed to the pain of frostbite. For her, it was nothing compared to the misery of being a tramp on the streets. However, right now, there were only a few shallow cracks on her fingers. She did not feel any pain or see any blood in them. She enjoyed this pain-free winter. She had not had such a comfortable experience for years.

She came to understand that the living environment of Neverwinter was exceptionally good and even ordinary houses were much better here than their counterparts in other towns.

For example, a thick mortar was applied to both sides of the walls of this brick house and each corner of the window was closely connected to the bricks. No matter how strong the snowstorm was outside, the people inside the house would never be affected. Without such a sturdy house, the fire could hardly warm up the whole room. If Azima was now in an ordinary residence of Valencia, she would hear a whistle of a wind blowing through cracks of the door and the window and many other clefts in the house.

In addition, there was a tunnel inside the fireplace, which was connected to the bedroom adjoining this living room. With such a heat supply pipeline, the bed would be warm when she and her sisters put out the fire and went to bed at night.

And those designs were only a small part of the new things she discovered in Neverwinter. Similar details were everywhere in this city. The longer she lived here, the more she wondered. “Maybe they didn’t build this city to survive at this place.”

“They built it this way in order to enjoy their lives.”

“As for why they built it in the Western Region, the highest-hit area during the Months of Demons, it must be because of the strong contrast. In a place where all year is springtime, one would not feel anything special in a warm room. By contrast, in a place of ice and snow, one would be deeply impressed and satisfied by the warmth. The must think that only a seemingly impossible thing is worth doing and take pride in such an achievement.”

For a moment, she really believed this speculation.

“The soup is ready. Let’s have dinner.” Doris walked out of the kitchen while holding a pot of soup and then she placed it on the low table in the living room.

“Thank you.” Azima handed a cushion to Doris and then sat down at the table.

There were two dishes and one soup. All of them used bird beak mushrooms as the main ingredient. These fleshy and juicy mushrooms were a specialty of the Western Region. They were tasty and easy to cook. They only needed a little salt instead of lots of seasonings and they did not require a special cooking method. More importantly, they were the least expensive ingredient in Neverwinter and were as cheap as wheat.

“I bought a lot of mushrooms at a clearance sale and stored them in our room,” said Doris, happily. “Even if we can’t find enough food in the winter, these mushrooms will be enough for us to fill our stomachs until the spring, though they may become less tasty after a long time.”

Azima scooped up some soup with her spoon. Under the reflection of the fire, the oil floating on the soup’s surface shone with a golden color and looked quite alluring. When she put a spoon into her mouth, she felt its aroma fill her mouth instantly. After that, the warm soup flowed down all the way into her stomach and warmed her entire abdomen.

The soup was as delicious as before, but now she had no appetite.

After taking two spoonfuls of the soup, Azima put down her small bowl.

“Is there anything wrong?” Doris quickly noticed that Azima seemed to be a little different today.