Ryori Chapter 5: The City inside a mountain

Read chapter 5 of Ryori by Ginra on NovelPedia.

Kedo’s consciousness slowly returned as he felt weak, his eyes narrowing in tiredness. “Where am I...” he quietly murmured, finding himself on someone's back. Even though it was quite bumpy, he still felt the warmth that was being released from the body—the complete opposite of the air that hit his skin. First, Kedo began to investigate his surroundings to gather some information, trying to understand where he was and what position he was in. He heard two people talking about something he wasn’t sure of, but he was certain he knew those voices, even if he only caught glimpses of them. Surrounding him appeared to be nothing but a snowy landscape, with his arms wrapped around the neck of the person who was carrying him. “Had a good dream, princess?” It took Kedo a brief moment to react to the question and, more importantly, to recognize the familiar voice. It was Zetako who was carrying him through the landscape of a frosty hell. “We are heading to the closest city!” he said shortly after, as Kedo gently rubbed his eyes. “I see…” “KEDO!!!” Without any prior warning, someone who had accompanied Zetako all the way leaped at Kedo sideways, pulling him off the back of Zetako, who was able to hold his balance. It was Yu, covered in dried and frozen blood, in complete excitement as he started to nuzzle his cheek against Kedo's. Even though Kedo was glad to see him and grateful that he had survived wherever he had been dragged off to, he nevertheless tried to gently push him away a bit. “Y-Yu! I’m still injure-...” His words immediately faltered as he gazed at the spots on his body where he recalled having injuries, which had practically disappeared. ‘How in the hell…’ Many questions started to develop inside his head. Was he asleep for quite some time once again? Maybe he dreamt of the injuries? Or perhaps Zetako somehow used one of his abilities to heal him? “You seem as confused as we were when we started to notice that your scratches had disappeared,” Zetako said, squatting down to Kedo’s head level with a look that mirrored his questions. “The white color inside your eyes has turned back to blue. And the same goes for the peak of your hair, which is back to its normal, boring grey.” “I’ve never had white in my hair in my life?” He unsurely laughed off Zetako’s statement, gently running his fingers through the grey part of his hair. “Neither have my eyes ever had a color other than a broad blue,” Kedo declared with certainty while standing back up on his own two feet, brushing off the snow that stuck to his half-naked body—until the realization hit him like a foot to the face, while Yu, who still sat in the snow in his ripped clothes, and Zetako just spectated calmly. ‘Why am I not shivering?!’ “Haaa… There is no turning back from telling you the possible truth. It might be the safer option.” Zetako sighed with a serious yet calm tone, letting Kedo feel a slight sense of uncertainty. “You’re probably something between a human and a Snow Ghost.” This information left a sour taste on Kedo's tongue. Part human, part Snow Ghost? Why and how? He had never shown any signs of being one. Let alone the fact that he had lived with his dad side by side every day for years. He surely would’ve told him if he had the genes of a Snow Ghost deep inside… wouldn't he..? Not sure where he should direct his gaze right now, he just stared at the palms of his hands with his eyes wide open, shivering as if the cold had finally gotten to him—though now he wished it was the freezing air instead. He shifted his view away from his hands and back to Zetako. The more he got lost in his thoughts about it, the more it started to make sense to Kedo why Zetako had treated him the way he did before. He already had a guess that something wasn unnatural about himself. And to put the cherry on top, he could barely recall how he had been injured in the first place. “Before breaking that little brain of yours, we should continue our way to the city.” He repeatedly patte