Even though these Great Titans were staggeringly tall, reaching heights of a hundred and fifty or sixty meters, their movements were agile and light, without a hint of the sluggishness or bulkiness one would expect from such giants.
Even their largest gestures stirred only a faint breeze, causing almost no disturbance to the air.
It was hard to tell what high technology powered them; in this world, the older, the stronger.
Selena looked up, her beautiful face tilted toward the magnificent Great Titans, and spoke directly to the point:
"Frost-walkers, I have come to seek your fealty."
A vertical fluorescent line on the Titan's faceplate flickered for a moment before it replied:
"We do not participate in the internal struggles of the kingdom. That is a matter between humans. We, the frost-walkers, have only the mission of defending the land and constructing the towers."
Selena's delicate brows knitted slightly as she said:
"You once served the former Princess of Midwinter; naturally, you can serve the royal family again."
"It is not that we once served..."
The Great Titan's steady tone suddenly paused, and a thunderous voice emanated from it:
"But rather, we have always been loyal to our master, without change."
"We are loyal to the Princess of Midwinter, loyal to her bloodline. This contract has never changed."
Snow White let out an unexpected "Hmph," then crossed her arms.
"If that is the case, then shouldn't you be even more inclined to serve me? Am I not the bloodline of that original Princess of Midwinter?"
After those words, the seven frost-walker Titans fell silent for a time.
"You are not the master's descendant... absolutely not. Yet, you are also not entirely the master."
"When the master led us to face the dragon, the other fifty-three 【tower-builders】 were permanently destroyed. Only we survived, but our cognitive modules suffered irreversible damage. The dragon's curse has left us unable to truly identify who the real master is."
"Although you possess a bloodline nearly identical to the master's and a face almost the same, the one sitting upon the throne is exactly like that as well. For all these years, you have been killing and devouring each other. Such a twisted and pathological form of life makes it even more impossible for us to identify your status."
The frost-walker's frank words made Selena's expression turn quite sour. These alchemical creations were not polite at all, directly exposing the most shameful aspect of the curse.
The black-haired girl's lovely face became expressionless, a lingering gloom casting shadows over her eyes.
"It is for this reason... that we have retreated to this place. Until the true master is confirmed, we remain reserved in our attitude toward you humans."
"But if you, Princess, and your retinue wish to stay... you are welcome to rest at our home at any time."
Having finished speaking, the frost-walker Titan stood up, appearing as though it intended to turn and leave.
Seeing that Selena made no move, Faust stepped forward and said:
"Even so, you cannot be certain that Selena is not your master. How exactly do you judge? Do not tell me you have forgotten your own standards."
"...It is a feeling."
The frost-walker Titans stopped in their tracks.
"Our memory of the master remains clear. If the master appeared before us, we would surely recognize her."
Wait, even autonomous constructs rely on feelings now?!
Faust wanted to complain, but then he remembered that in this fairy tale world, how could he dare assume metal shells didn't have hearts?!
Even alchemical creations were beyond definition.
After answering the Qingxi prince's question, the frost-walker Titans walked toward the open bronze gates. With every step they took, flowing light began to rise, branching and extending upward continuously.
Creeeeak, creak, creak—
The light expanded until it reached the highest point before solidifying. Those frost-walker Titans, who were over a hundred meters tall, shrunk down to twenty or thirty meters in size within a few breaths, enough to pass through the gates smoothly.
"...It seems winning over the frost-walkers will not be an easy task."
Only after the backs of all the frost-walker Titans had vanished from sight did Snow White speak slowly, waving her hand.
"Forget it. I never expected to win them over with charisma at our first meeting. If it were that easy, the frost-walkers would have been brought fully back into the fold hundreds of years ago."
Faust nodded thoughtfully. "I might have a way... though I don't know if it's right."
"Oh?"
Selena's brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Faust with curiosity.
Logically, it was clearly the first time the Qingxi prince had met the leaders of the frost-walkers, so there was no way he could know the internal details. The method he spoke of was likely nonsense.
Yet the black-haired girl was quite interested, her silver eyes scanning Faust.
"My knight, what thoughts do you have?"
"Let's go inside first."
Faust shook his head, not revealing his idea on the spot. Instead, he signaled Selena to enter the interior of the Mountain Father first.
His guesses from observing outside were confirmed upon entering; the interior of the mountain was almost entirely hollowed out, filled with various mining machines, metallurgical plants, and high furnaces densely covered with faint blue pipes.
Frost-walkers were busy within this magnificent megastructure, working solely to process and smelt raw materials before sending them to the warehouses for storage.
"Though I have read about it in books, witnessing it with my own eyes is still somewhat incredible. They are actually still accumulating materials for building the tower," Selena murmured, her clear silver eyes reflecting the blazing firelight.
As a princess of the Midwinter royal family, the black-haired girl naturally knew where her kingdom and its ancient legacies came from. The frost-walkers were autonomous constructs once used to build the ancient Tower of Heaven, but that history was long past. Even within the Midwinter Kingdom, no one truly wanted to complete the ancestors' legacy.
The production lines that built the frost-walkers were destroyed during the dragon's attack, with no possibility of reconstruction. The number of frost-walkers only decreased as they broke down. Yet even so, the remaining alchemical creations carried out their mission, accumulating resources day after day.
Faust commented, "The base code must be written that way. Their loyalty is beyond words."
Led by a frost-walker, the two passed through the smelting area and arrived at a villa.
That was right. Although these alchemical creations did not need rest themselves, they had not forgotten to build a suitable residence for human visitors, carving out an area in the base with moderate temperatures and good lighting.
All kinds of furniture and living supplies were provided. Additionally, there was a well-stocked great library, which appeared to have been converted from an archives room.
"Alright, Faust. What method did you think of? Why not share it with me?"
As soon as they entered, Selena sat lazily on the sofa, pulling up her legs and resting her cheek against her knee as she asked her guardian knight.
Faust leaned against the wall and said:
"To get those seven high-level frost-walkers to recognize a master, you need to prove to them that you are the original Princess of Midwinter. In that case, performing actions consistent with the first princess might allow the Titans to confirm your identity."
"Not bad. You and I are thinking along the same lines."
Selena swung her shapely legs and tilted her head.
"But the problem is, how do I know what the first princess would do? If that's all you've thought of, then it's quite useless."
Faust looked deeply at Snow White and suddenly said:
"Do you want to try being the Titans' nanny?"
Rate on N.U.
