"Welcome~~ Is it the milk cream puffs again today, Ms. Yukino?"
"..."
Liliana seemed very familiar with the beautiful guest. Was she a regular?
Alistair only heard Liliana's loud greeting; the beautiful woman's voice wasn't loud, and Alistair couldn't quite hear it. Originally, his enhanced physical senses would have been much sharper than an average person's, but the 'distortion' had reduced them to being merely 'excellent' among ordinary people. This realization frustrated him.
The weakening of his five senses meant a decline in his ability to gather information. Fortunately, his Sixth Sense—his spiritual intuition—hadn't weakened. If danger approached, he could still sense it. If someone capable of threatening his life were nearby, his intuition would warn him. Unsurprisingly, as that beautiful woman approached, his intuition began to trigger.
Holy crap, this girl has the power to take me out?
Alistair used his peripheral vision to size up the woman sitting not far from him, waiting.
Most of her long hair was tied back, with a few strands falling on either side of her face and a small tuft of bangs on her forehead. Her skin was very white, but not sickly pale. He couldn't see the rest clearly since he was only using his peripheral vision, but she looked exceptionally beautiful, with a very well-developed figure.
Alistair didn't dare stare directly at her. That woman exuded a sharp, icy chill and was definitely not ordinary. Combining that cold aura with Liliana's mention of a Yuki-onna buying pastries, Alistair was 100% certain this woman was the 'Yuki-onna' Liliana spoke of.
What Alistair didn't expect was that her behavior was practically undisguised. Anyone with even a passing interest in Demi-Human information would know this woman was undoubtedly a member of the Yuki-onna clan.
He hadn't realized this Snow Woman's love for sweets was so intense that she'd come here frequently just for milk cream puffs.
Alistair took a sip of clear tea to wash away the sweetness in his mouth.
He didn't particularly love very sweet things—he just didn't hate them and could tolerate a bit. He preferred mild sweetness or the natural sweetness of fruit. He'd tried those milk cream puffs before; to him, they were a bit too sweet. One or two tasted good, but if he didn't follow up with tea to cleanse his palate, he'd feel sick from the richness.
Yet in this shop, people often ate three or four in a row without getting tired of them, which Alistair couldn't fathom. Different strokes for different folks.
Speaking of which, how did a Yuki-onna know about the exclusive specialty pastries here? This was the Human District.
Alistair had researched this before. Perhaps due to Japan's unique customs, shops in different locations have their own specialties, which rarely become chains. Usually, only one specific shop has a certain item.
For instance, these milk cream puffs were the owner's secret recipe. While other shops could make them, this shop's were the most silky and aromatic. Even Alistair found the sweetness acceptable—he only got tired of it after eating more than two. Many other sweets were hard for Alistair to finish after the first bite, especially those with heavy cream.
Beyond that, just getting those milk cream puffs to the Yuki-onna was an issue. There were basically no Demi-Humans in the Human District, so she must be a resident of the Demi-Human District. How did a resident from there learn about a specific shop's exclusive cream puffs?
Huh? It's for takeout? So she doesn't eat here.
Alistair saw Liliana bring out a large packaging box from the back. A box that size could hold about six cream puffs—not a lot, considering they weren't huge, just a bit larger than an egg tart or about the size of a bun.
"Alistair-kun! Come here for a second!"
After bringing out the box, Liliana waved, calling Alistair over.
Though Alistair didn't know what Liliana was up to, he knew she wouldn't harm him. So, suppressing the warning from his intuition, he stood up and walked toward Liliana.
"Alistair-kun, this is the Yuki-onna I told you about. You can just call her Ms. Yukino. Ms. Yukino, this is my boyfriend, Naoto Alistair. We were discussing Demi-Humans earlier, so I wanted to introduce him to you."
Perhaps because she was an ordinary human, Liliana only felt a bit of a sharp chill around the Yuki-onna, but the feeling wasn't deep. Unlike Alistair—just standing next to her, he felt a biting cold trying to seep into his body and freeze him solid.
Wait, just dragging me over to meet her like this... won't she get angry?
Alistair reflexively grabbed Liliana's hand and pulled her back, making her fall half a step behind him, which confused her.
"Hello. My name is Mifuyu Yukino, a Yuki-onna of the Demi-Humans."
Contrary to Alistair's expectations, this beautiful Yuki-onna was extremely gentle. The contrast between her and the sharp, icy aura he felt was massive, leaving Alistair very surprised.
"Hello, I'm Naoto Alistair. Just an ordinary human."
Alistair reached out his left hand and briefly shook the Yuki-onna's left hand before letting go. Holding a woman's hand for too long could be seen as harassment.
However, despite the brief handshake, Alistair noticed a silver ring on her left ring finger.
Is she married?
Alistair thought. Demi-Humans generally have longer lifespans; compared to humans, even animal-types live at least ten years longer. For mythical or legendary Demi-Humans, their lifespans are multiples higher. It's perfectly normal for a legendary Demi-Human to outlive four or five generations of humans—even eighteen generations of ancestors.
Yuki-onnas belong to the legendary category. For these Demi-Humans, it's hard to judge age by appearance. There was no telling if the woman before him was an 'eternally eighteen-year-old' sage whose actual age was a mystery. But Alistair figured an ancient being wouldn't act like this, so this Snow Woman was likely under forty; otherwise, she wouldn't do something so seemingly impulsive.
Meanwhile, Mifuyu wasn't at peace either. The ring on Alistair's left middle finger gave her an uncomfortable feeling. While it wasn't a sense of mortal danger, it stirred an ominous feeling in her heart.
Was it an illusion?
Mifuyu Yukino's hand couldn't help but tighten slightly.