Editing Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 1===

Blobs of light were being refracted, and a gust lifted the powdered snow.

--Ehh…!

I hold onto the handles, firmly tilting the Icemobile. I spin the steering wheel to the right to climb the mid-wall, and after a pause, I turn left to the curb and then turn to the right curb immediately. The tunnel of ice continued to extend, and though the scenery was simple and repetitive, I couldn't relax one bit.

It was -16º Celsius, fairly warm compared to how it usually is in this underground world, where the walls and ceiling are completely frozen, and the breath released between the lips floats back like a white comet.

"I say, it's about time to rest now, isn't it?" I hear an unenthusiastic voice behind me.

"We've been traveling for 6 hours already!"

--Really.

I ignore the voice of my colleague who wanted to slack off and strengthen my grip on the handles of the three-wheeled vehicle. Right, right, left, right, left. There's a need for continuous cornering skills in the tunnel. In such moments, I lower my waist and twist my body. I match my breathing with the bounce, absorb the impact of the shocks with my knees, and shift my weight in a rhythmic manner.

"Hey, you listening, Amaryllis? Hey, Amaryllis Alstroemeria?"

"Shut up…!" I shout out, cutting off that cheesy voice, and continue to turn. The goal is near, just another 30 seconds away... 20... 10. There's a light at the end of the narrow tunnel, a wide world out there--

--Now…!

''Bonk''! We bounce off the ice floor, going towards the very tall place that seems like a dance hall.

--Brake…!

I maintain the balance of the vehicle, and at the same time, activate the reverse jets to kill the speed as we land. ''Donk''. The skates crash onto the floor, bouncing off like rubber several times. The wheels gain balance and manage to land while killing the impact.

"Phew…"

I fasten the front wheels to steady the vehicle and finally heave a sigh of relief. I'm able to control the Icemobile and my own limbs after driving it for so long, but I still feel tense falling from such a great height.

"Hah!" With a growl, my colleague sitting beside me landed too. Seeing the skates of a massive vehicle land and smash the ice with style is always a highlight.

"Goodness, well, we made it…"

He clicks his tongue, stroking the swept-back hair that he is so proud of.

<em>Can't you just land a little quietly?</em>, he reprimands me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a tranquil voice echoes in the hall.

I turn to look and find a tall, slender woman there. She's as pretty as a goddess, her hair glittering like an emerald.

"Cattleya, it's been a while!"

"Thank you, as usual, Miss Amaryllis." Cattleya pets her pretty, silky hair as she shows a gentle smile.

If I have to choose the prettiest lady in the world, she'll be the first person I'll nominate.

"How about it, Cattleya? Are you free tonight?"

"I-I'll be troubled, Mr. Eisbahn."

--This idiot!!

"Ow, owwwwww!!" I tug the antenna at the ears hardly, pulling this beast away from the pretty woman.

"Enough already."

"What? Just a little touch?"

"How many times must you be reminded not to woo girls during your work?"

"It's a man's duty to pursue a pretty lady."

"You can do that when we're done with our work and duty here." And as usual, we continue to bicker.

"Erm...I think it's time to begin the delivery?"

I look back and find Cattleya giving us a troubled, stunned look, "Ahh, sorry, sorry. We'll do it now." I hurriedly apologize.

"Hurry!"

"Help out too!"

I chide my colleague who isn't doing anything and begin to unload the goods from the Icemobile. There are backup batteries, spare parts, charging cables-- all standard issue. Us robots are powered by electricity, so any items related to batteries are necessities.

Cattleya receives the issued items as she asks me with a soft voice, "How's the 'torso' looking now?"

"Same as usual, peace and calm. As for any drama, there's just Daisy and Gappy's arguments."

"Huh, again?"

"They're on such bad terms it's worrying."

"What's the reason this time?"

"It looked like they were fighting over Oil Candy. We already said that we'll 'half' them in this situation, but they wouldn't listen."

"Oh dear."

Cattleya beams happily, and we continue talking as I sort the items out. We only meet once a week, so there's a lot for us to discuss.

And right when we're about done unloading the goods, "Ah."

Cattleya looks up at the sky.

--Sky…

Sparkling lights begin to fall gently from the ceiling. These are speckles of ice called Ceiling Dust, and though they are called dust, they are able to give off such a beautiful light and flutter down from the skies. This is one of the rare natural phenomena that occur in this world of ice 500m underground, isolated from the world.

"So pretty…" Cattleya mutters as she looks up.

"You're prettier," Eisbahn says as he puts his arm around Cattleya's shoulder.

"Leave her already," I pull Eisbahn away.

The speckles of light continue to flutter and gather in the hall. Each of them forms complicated crystals in the shape of 'six-sided flowers in three layers', prettier as they overlap each other, coating the silver world with snow.

"Time to go."

"Ehh~ let me rest for a little while."

"No can do. We got another 30 houses to go to."

I drag my slacker of a colleague by his arm and hop on the Icemobile. 

"Tchee!"

I ignore Eisbahn while he gives a childish reaction, and start the engine. The Icemobile bellows excitedly, rumbling,

"See you, Cattleya!"

"Be safe!"

Cattleya's voice can be heard from behind as I charge into the tunnel, headed to the next point. The goods piled up at the back of the Icemobile rattle. Though Eisbahn has been grumbling, he leans his body firmly onto me.

I accelerate, and the ice crystals stuck on the Icemobile glitter as they drift to the back.