Chapter 145: Land of the Yeti 21
Meanwhile, Moira Lynch, who had just managed to escape, let out a sigh of relief.
Good thing she was a fast runner.
’Seriously, when did Kai York learn that trick?’
After that little interlude, Moira Lynch finally arrived at Snowbird Village.
The Snowbird Beastkin living here were all tall and slender, with a pair of lilac wings on their backs and a magnificent feathered crest on their heads, making them very easy to recognize.
"Excuse me, where is The Snowbird Song and Dance Troupe?"
Moira Lynch promptly found a passerby to ask for directions.
The Snowbird Beastkin she stopped blinked a pair of large, beautiful eyes and pointed. "It’s just over there. Are you a fan of the troupe? They haven’t performed in a long time, though. I hear they’re having some internal trouble."
The Snowbird Beastkin shook their head regretfully. "Without The Snowbird Song and Dance Troupe, life is a lot less fun. The whole village has gotten so quiet. We’re still not used to it."
"I’m not a fan. I’m here to deliver something to them. Thanks for the directions."
Following the direction the Snowbird Beastkin had pointed, Moira Lynch quickly found The Snowbird Song and Dance Troupe.
Just as the Snowbird Beastkin had said, the main gates were tightly shut, looking like the place hadn’t been open for business in a long time.
Moira Lynch went up and knocked on the door. After a long moment, a set of footsteps approached from inside, and the door opened.
A tall, slender young woman with a feathered crest on her head peeked out. Seeing Moira Lynch, she said apologetically, "There’s no song and dance performance today. Please come back another day."
Seeing the door was about to be closed again, Moira Lynch quickly said, "I’m not here for a show. I’m here to deliver something—Ice Mist Fruits."
Hearing the words "Ice Mist Fruit," the young woman’s previously listless expression froze. Her large, pretty eyes fixed on Moira Lynch. "Are you serious?"
Moira Lynch didn’t speak, simply taking out a pre-selected Ice Mist Fruit from her Space Button.
Seeing the large, plump Ice Mist Fruit, the young woman’s eyes lit up. "This is great!" she said excitedly. "Follow me."
As soon as Moira Lynch stepped inside, she heard the young woman running and shouting impatiently, "Troupe Leader, Troupe Leader! The Ice Mist Fruits are here!"
The young woman’s voice drew out more members of the song and dance troupe.
A moment later, an intelligent and elegant woman appeared before Moira Lynch.
Looking at the pale blue feathered crest on the woman’s head, Moira confirmed that she was also a Snowbird Beastkin.
"Do you really have Ice Mist Fruits?"
Moira Lynch nodded, then once again took out an Ice Mist Fruit and presented it to the woman.
The woman took the Ice Mist Fruit and examined it meticulously from every angle. It was flawless—a top-grade Ice Mist Fruit.
"How many of these Ice Mist Fruits do you have? I’ll take them all!"
Moira Lynch was about to say she had one hundred, since the quest required one hundred. But thinking back to her experience in Snow Rabbit Village, she held back the words on the tip of her tongue and asked instead, "How many do you want?"
Hearing this, the woman gritted her teeth. "Do you have two hundred?"
’Just two hundred? I was expecting her to ask for more.’
Seeing Moira Lynch remain silent, the woman thought she didn’t have that many. "If two hundred is too many, then one hundred and fifty is fine too. But I can’t go any lower than one hundred."
"Two hundred is no problem," Moira Lynch said, looking at the woman with a smile. "But as for the price..."
"The price is not an issue."
’Hearing that Moira Lynch could actually produce two hundred Ice Mist Fruits, she couldn’t worry about anything else. A higher price was fine. These two hundred fruits should be enough to get them through this rough patch.’
"It’s a deal. Also, could I have some of your shed feathers?"
After some simple processing, the feathers of a Snowbird Beastman could be turned into a weapon, hailed as the most beautiful of weapons.
"Of course. They’re just feathers. You can have as many as you want."
They, the Snowbird Beastkin, shed and regrew all the feathers on their bodies every day.
Having gotten what she wanted, Moira Lynch readily took out two hundred Ice Mist Fruits.
After checking the quality of the Ice Mist Fruits, the woman had someone bring over many boxes of Snow Mist Ointment.
Each box contained about five hundred grams.
"This Snow Mist Ointment is made from Ice Mist Fruits and freshly fallen snow. It clears heat, soothes the lungs, stops coughs, and protects the throat. Normally, one Ice Mist Fruit trades for three boxes of Snow Mist Ointment. But because your fruits are high quality and you have a large quantity, I’ll double it for you: six boxes of ointment for one fruit."
Moira Lynch looked at the crystalline Snow Mist Ointment and asked in confusion, "If you already have so much Snow Mist Ointment, why do you still need Ice Mist Fruits?"
’It must take so many Ice Mist Fruits just to brew a single box of this ointment.’
"We need top-quality Ice Mist Fruits. Only by eating those can we make our voices clear and beautiful. This ointment is brewed from second-rate fruits, so the effect isn’t the same."
"Fair enough."
’One Ice Mist Fruit for six boxes of Snow Mist Ointment. Two hundred fruits would get me twelve hundred boxes.’
After stowing the one thousand two hundred boxes of Snow Mist Ointment, Moira Lynch followed the first Snowbird Beastkin she had met toward their backstage warehouse.
As soon as she walked in, Moira Lynch saw a warehouse filled to the brim with pale blue feathers.
Because the members of The Snowbird Song and Dance Troupe paid more attention to their appearance than other Snowbirds, their feathers were also glossier and more beautiful.
Each feather seemed to shimmer with starlight, looking like a perfect work of art at a glance.
Moira Lynch first thanked the Snowbird Beastkin who had led her there, then promptly stored the entire warehouse full of Snowbird feathers in her space.
Just as she was about to leave, that same Snowbird Beastkin appeared again, seemingly holding something in her hand.
"Wait a second." The Snowbird Beastkin caught up to Moira Lynch and held out the item in her hand. "This is for you."
Moira Lynch reached out and took it. It was a ticket with a silver and blue background, printed with the image of a dancing white bird.
"Thanks to the Ice Mist Fruits you provided, our troupe has decided to launch the interstellar tour we’ve put off for years. This is a ticket. The Troupe Leader asked me to give it to you. It will get you one free admission to a performance by our troupe."
Moira Lynch stored the ticket in her space and said, "Thank you for the ticket. I’ll definitely go."
Before leaving Snowbird Village, Moira Lynch suddenly thought of something and asked, "Do you know how to get to the Glacial Directorate?"
Hearing this, the Snowbird Beastkin was taken aback. "You’re going to the Glacial Directorate?"
Moira Lynch nodded. "Do you know the way?"
"I do know the way, yes." The Snowbird Beastkin nodded, a troubled look on her face.
"If you head east from here for about half a day, you’ll see a castle made of ice. That’s the Glacial Directorate. But before you get there, you have to cross a territory of stray Yetis. It’s very dangerous."