Dungeon of Niflheim

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Father, daughter banter

Before Bastion could even process what was going on Ryuu bolted up to the third floor in a panic. He forced his way through the office door and looked at Bastion as if he was his guardian angel.

“Bastion my Luna, My Luna, she’s, she’s in danger, I need your help!” Ryuu started balling in tears as he grabbed onto Bastion’s shoulders completely ignoring the [Glacial scions] who stood in shock.

Back to the present.

“The guild master had heard from the [Artic Warband] that young master Leo and miss Luna had entered the Northrend forest with a single knight. Once this information was relayed sir Ryuu became furious and demanded aid. Not wanting to spread panic about the young master and his fiancé disappearing. The guild master requested that sir Ryuu join us since we were heading into the forest anyway.” Chase and the [Glacial scions] were more than happy to accept Ryuu into their group temporarily given his strength. Ryuu, Bastion, and the current Viscount were each B-rank adventurers before retiring.

Frost and Leo looked towards the slightly embarrassed Ryuu now understanding how he came to be with the [Glacial scions].

“Uncle Ryuu weren’t you summoned to the capital; how did you end up back in Furano?” Leo asked after letting out a sigh of relief.

‘With uncle Ryuu here, no matter what uncle Adam tries he’ll fail.’

.....

Ryuu spat out in disgust as he remembered.

“That was a trick done by that disgusting weasel Adam.” Ryuu gnashed his teeth together as his eyes filled with fury.

“He had one of his allies fake a summons to get me away from Furano. The moment I found out I hired a griffin carriage to return as quickly as possible.” Ryuu suddenly started releasing a strong pressure again, stifling everyone present.

“To think that little bastard dared to hurt my precious Luna, he’s a dead man!” Everyone present nodded along even though they knew that Ryuu was announcing his intentions to kill a noble.

Leo tightened his fists in anger, he could have accepted it being just him that was targeted but Adam dared to involve the love of his life. Ryuu was right, he was a dead man, he just didn’t know it yet.

Luna however felt puzzled.

‘Wait how did he know I was in danger?’ That crucial piece of information was left out. Ryuu ran in panic towards Bastion his old party member but how did he know that his daughter was in danger?

Her confusion and suspicion grew.

“Dad?” She asked coldly without the slightest hint of emotion.

“Yes honey.” Ryuu answered the complete opposite, his tone filled with love and affection.

“How did you know I was in danger?” Luna examined her father’s face like he was a criminal.

“Eh!” Ryuu was surprised at her question; he grew nervous under her inquisitive glare. He turned his head unable to look her in the eyes as beads of sweat started to drip down his brow and neck.

“F...father’s intuition... yeah that’s it father’s intuition.” He turned back with confidence, 100% sure that that answer was satisfactory.

But it wasn’t.

Luna’s glare become colder and colder causing him to shudder in fear. His gaze subconsciously drifted towards Luna’s staff, the look was instant, but it didn’t evade Luna’s watchful eyes.

She looked over the staff in her hand.

‘Something to do with my staff.’ The magic staff she wielded was gifted to her by Ryuu the moment she became an adventurer. She remembered the day she got it and how happy it made her. Her father had always been against her becoming an adventurer so the act of gifting her a magic staff was very moving however now that she thought back, it was kind of suspicious.

The more she thought about it the more sure she became, suddenly she raised her staff up into the air before violently slamming against her knee, snapping it in two. A rose-coloured spark of mana burst out from the broken staff. The spark split in two, turning into two orbs. One drifted towards Luna and entered her heart whereas the second floated into Ryuu’s left arm. Ryuu’s eyes shook, and a cold sweat poured down his back.

‘Shit!’

Fury filled Luna’s eyes, she rushed straight towards Ryuu and grabbed his left arm, forcing his sleeve upwards to reveal a rose-coloured bangle. She snatched hold of it and used her mana to investigate the item.

“A distress magic item, you!” She then proceeded to beat her father for the third time. She hated being babied and spied on by her father more than anything and was adamant that her father not interfere with her life as an adventurer.

Distress magic items were not that uncommon and could even be created by regular artificers, the issue was them being discreet, which this one was. Luna had used this staff for close to a year, yet she didn’t feel a single trace of foreign mana the entire time.

Distress magic items came in pairs, one piece would need to be in close contact with the intended target (Luna’s staff) whereas the other would be with the user (Ryuu’s bangle). The item would monitor the life signs of the target (Luna) and when said target was severely injured it would alert the user (Ryuu). These items were commonly used by nobles in order to protect their children.

As Luna continued to beat her father black and blue Leo let out a deep sigh and moved to calm her down however, he was beaten to the punch. Maya had given Frost the knowhow of how distress magic items worked telepathically, and he agreed with Ryuu’s actions. Frost moved first, placing his hands on Luna’s shoulders.

“You should stop now Luna; I think he’s had enough.” Luna turned around quickly ready to snap at the person interfering but froze when her gaze aligned with Frost.

“Frost senpai?” She expected Leo to be the one interfering and she was more than prepared to argue with him, but Frost was a different story. She meekly let go of her father and lowered her head as though she was being scolded.

“Your father obviously cares a lot about you, did you really expect him to not pull anything when his daughter wished to become an adventurer, the most perilous occupation available?” Frost began to speak on behalf of the still crouching Ryuu.

All he could see was the strong love of a father towards his daughter. He didn’t find him shameful, embarrassing, or pathetic in any way, in fact he felt respect. Ryuu somehow reminded him of his own father, although he and his siblings were living independent of him they each had strong guardians assigned to protect them on top of being granted many facilities to increase their own strength. So, although his father wasn’t with him, he could feel his care and protection. Thus, he felt obligated to resolve this grudge that Luna had.

“And from what I know distress magic items only alert the user when the victim is in dire straits. It doesn’t tell them of your location or provide any emergency assistance other than letting the user know that you’re in danger. Your father obviously respected your decision to do this alone, but he is still your father, he’ll always worry about your safety. Is that really such a bad thing?” Ryuu turned to look at Frost who was scolding his daughter and felt warm in his heart.

‘Finally, someone gets me.’

Luna felt filled with guilt, everything Frost said struck her deep. She couldn’t argue, nothing he said was wrong.

‘Was I the one in the wrong?’

“And most importantly consider the situation that you just escaped from. If I wasn’t there to lend you aid then you would have had to survive alone, waiting for the investigation team to arrive. Do you believe that if your father didn’t know of the danger you were in; they would have arrived so quickly and even if they did if your father wasn’t present would they be able to rescue you?” Frost’s tone became more and more stern as he spoke, subconsciously letting out some personal anger.

Luna stood there silently like a mouse, trying to look as small as possible. No one had ever scolded her so harshly before since her mother passed and every word made her feel shame. She couldn’t help but tear up and sniffle.

‘I was wrong.’ These three words resounded in her mind as she started to cry. Ryuu seeing his daughter crying stood up and hugged her tightly. His shirt quickly became wet due to her tears.

“Sob sob I’m sorry dad, I’m sorry.” She apologised into her father’s chest, she felt so guilty towards her father, seeing some of the scuff marks on his clothes and the bruises on his face she wailed out loud. Ryuu wasn’t sure what he should do, he looked towards Frost with a grateful yet awkward look. Frost had gone to bat for him and gave his daughter a reality check which she sorely needed but yet he was also the one who made her cry. Frost replied with a gaze that both said you’re welcome and sorry.

‘Did I perhaps go too far?’ Luna was only 15 years old, still a child.

‘No, you said just the right amount.’ Maya comforted him telepathically.

Leo had a joyful smile on his face as he gazed at the father, daughter pair holding onto one another. He looked towards Frost and silently mouthed ‘thank you’ before walking towards Chase.

“I hope that you’ll keep the events of today secret Mr Chase.” Leo presented a look and aura that refused to accept anything than acceptance.

“Of course, young master.” Chase wasn’t new to dealing with nobles, he knew what things should be reported and what shouldn’t.

“Mr Chase I would like to hire you and the rest of the [Glacial scions] to escort myself and Luna back to Furano safely, do you accept?” He had to return to Furano as quickly as possible before his uncle noticed the fact that he was still alive. Once in Furano his actions would be limited, and Leo could go on the offensive.

Chase looked rather awkward, he wanted to agree immediately because such a job would help him develop a bond with the Furano household, it’d also pay handsomely. However, they had already accepted the request to investigate the monster lair and he couldn’t ask Leo to wait. Chase frowned unable to speak. Investigation of monster lairs were very serious requests, abandoning one could have major ramifications on his future adventuring career.

Seeing as though Chase wasn’t immediately responding, Leo smiled.

‘Good a man with integrity.’ If Chase immediately accepted, he would have questioned his honour and commitment.

“Mr Chase if you are worried about your monster investigation request you don’t have to worry it’s already been completed.” Leo silently looked over towards Frost and received a nod in return. Earlier when they were walking through the dungeon, this situation came up.

“Frost senpai are you sure? Information about monster lairs not only grant good rewards you also gain achievements.” Leo and Luna needed to head to Furano as quickly as possible, hiring the investigative team would be the most effective solution however, they would need to complete their original mission to avoid penalties.

Leo and Luna however needed to move quickly, and since Frost had already explored most of the dungeon, the quest had already been completed. The issue was the claiming of credit. Frost wasn’t an adventurer or even a resident of the Viscounty, being rewarded would be difficult and Frost didn’t really care for all that drama.

“I’m sure.” He didn’t really care about recognition anyway, best to lay low to start with. Besides, he believed that Leo and Luna wouldn’t let him suffer, without giving him some benefits.

“You,” Leo however interpreted it a different way.

‘Frost senpai is such a good person, even willing to give up rewards and achievements to ensure our safe return.’ He felt that Frost’s actions were purely for his and Luna’s benefit. He nodded and looked at Frost with conviction.

Frost felt a little weird being looked at like that.

“I’ll make sure to compensate you well Frost senpai.”

“Uh...sure.” Frost replied with confusion but accepted none the less.

‘Well, if he’s offering compensation who am I to deny it.’