"Zuwaro! You came from the west. That sea, that sea route... was it truly so very difficult?..."
"Indeed! Main God be my witness, Shell, you simply cannot imagine the danger and hardship of that voyage!"
The sea was sealed in ice, the sky a clear mirror. The Sun gave no warmth, yet it lit the white snow until it shone crystal-bright. Exploration Captain Zuwaro gently reached out and stroked the long hair of the Ezo girl, Chishima Shell. Her hair was slightly curled and yellowish, and when his hand sank into it, it felt just like a short-tailed cat.
"Zuwaro... I want to hear you tell it... Please tell me!..."
The girl, Chishima Shell, leaned against Zuwaro's chest and quietly listened to him speak. Even if she could not understand much of the Mexica Language, she still nestled there as obediently as a cat. She knew that whether a man was sad or happy, he needed a patient listener. Just as the tribal legends said, a woman was the ear that listened for a man, the nimble hand, while a man was the eye that hunted for a woman, the leg that ran...
"Main God bless us! Our westward sea route was as terrifying as an abyss of ice... Hoo! Along the island chain of the Divine Revelation, the frozen season lasted from November to April. Frightful blizzards often swept across one lonely sea island after another, snapping tall trees and freezing small ones into ice sculptures. And even now, in early spring, heavy snow still came with the Cold Wave, the flakes huge and urgent, like stars falling from the sky!... Then, although summer was mild, there was a spreading fog so thick the Sun could not be seen, and one had to guard at every moment against crashing