Volume 2 Chapter 23 Celebration - Ice's Secret
"Clay-kun, that's not fair...! I want to talk to Wade-kun too...!"
"Got it, Ice-san. Talk to each other privately."
Clay raised both hands in surrender and moved to the opposite seat. He smoothly started talking to Toxy. He's quite skilled.
"Wade-kun, look over here...!"
And there was Ice, pouting slightly. When she's drunk, she can be a bit selfish, but it's hard to dislike her.
"Sorry, sorry. I wanted to talk to Ice too. Cheers!"
"Cheers...!"
We clinked our wooden tankards together. We both drank heartily. Drinking with Ice tends to be fast-paced.
"Wade-kun seemed to be having fun this time, it was nice...!"
As we engaged one-on-one, Ice quickly brightened up and smiled. She's such a cute one.
"Yeah, that was fun this time. Fighting the Silver rank was quite extraordinary. I would have lost if it weren't for my friends' help."
"But, the one who won was Wade-kun, right? And it was a complete victory...!"
"It's all thanks to everyone. Ice really saved me in the final act. Freezing the ground and Kadras's sword, too. I didn't know that iron becomes brittle when frozen."
"Hehe... I've been secretly experimenting, you know. Basically, frozen things become brittle...!"
"Yeah. Looks like I'll continue to receive your help in the future. And that snowman is strong too. It's a big deal to entrust it with freezing magic. How much can you control a snowman?"
"Huh? ...Well, depending on the distance, there are things I can't do, right?"
Ice created, and Ice created a snowman, then made it walk. As I tilted my head, she shyly smiled and said, "Ehehe..."
"That child, let's see how far I can make them walk, right. If I can't control that child anymore, that's the limit, so."
"Hahaha. That's interesting. Let me know how far you've progressed when you can't control them again, or when we're drinking."
"Yeah... But, they might end up going quite far. It's not like they're too far to control, or something like that."
"I see. ...They might even end up going to the edge of the world."
"If that happens, it would be very interesting, right?"
"Indeed."
Cheers to the new journey of the snowman, and cheers to Ice.
"Still, that was amazing...! Facing off against the Silver-ranked duo, Wade-kun, you didn't back down at all. You looked cool today too."
"Stop it, don't be embarrassed. They just underestimated me as being inferior. If they had come at me without holding back, it would have been tougher. Especially Kadras, he was fighting me as if testing me."
It was a tough opponent. We managed to win in the end, but when someone told me to face them alone next time, I wasn't sure if I could win.
They were definitely stronger. This battle felt like borrowing power. If it weren't for Toxy's poison, Ice's freezing, and Clay who commanded them, I would have lost.
And Frain, who seemed to have protected these three.
"Parties are supposed to have a maximum of six members, right?"
"Yeah... Are we going to expand it again?"
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Bringing Frain in temporarily this time was the right call. If Frain wasn't there, our regular members would have fallen somewhere. Then, maybe we wouldn't have won this time."
"..."
Ice fell silent at my words.
"I realized something in this battle. Numbers add strength. The effectiveness of strategies goes beyond just the number of people. I managed to handle the Chimera battle on the spot because there was room for me to grow. But it's not always convenient for me to keep growing rapidly every time."
"...Wade-kun, you're strange, you know?"
"Huh?"
Lost in thought, I widened my eyes at Ice's comment.
"You have both a passionate side and a calm side... Even though you seriously ponders whether you'll win the next battle even after winning the current one. Yet, you become so bold in battle scenes and it works out well."
"Oh, I see... Certainly, looking at just the results this time, that's true. I think it would have been tougher if we had stuck to the initial plan. Either Ice or Toxy might have been injured."
It was just an impulsive move, but it turned out to be for the best. And based on that, the party was reorganized. While I'm the leader, I act as the ace on the battlefield.
"You know, Wade-kun."
Ice says.
"Wade-kun, if you want to do something on your own, I think that's fine. It will surely work out, and even if it doesn't, I will do my best to help."
"Hahaha, that's reliable."
"Mmm...! Really, right?"
I playfully tapping Ice's head as if sulking, saying, "You're reliable too. So, I'm counting on you."
"I doubt it..."
"It's true. By the way, what did Ice do this time?"
"Oh, um... well..."
Ice puts a finger to her lips.
Eujary trembled in humiliation.
"Darn it... darn darn darn darn!"
In the room where everyone had collapsed, Eujary kicked away one of the fallen bodyguards.
"I can't believe I, I'm being treated like that by those brats...! And they even set up the groundwork!"
He steps on Frowdus. This fool just groaned in pain and didn't say anything back.
Taking advantage of the situation, Eujary stomped on Frowdus repeatedly and ruthlessly.
"Do you understand what those brats did, Frowdus? They just negotiated by force on your behalf! It wasn't robbery! We even signed an IOU with them! Their demands are completely legitimate!"
"Ow, ow," Frowdus curled up on the ground, his body stiff with pain. Eujary, panting heavily, sank into a still-intact sofa.
"This can't be considered an act of aggression against the Nightfather. The headquarters won't take action. ---We were outsmarted. The boss might not even send his best men!"
Even though he was exhausted, Eujary's anger didn't subside.
"Those damn brats! ...I want to revenge. Oh yes, definitely. Hahaha, revenge! Even if the boss doesn't send his men, I can use my own soldiers!"
Eujary got up in his excitement.
"Luckily, I still have some money left! If I gather about ten new silver-ranked adventurers and attack, those damn brats will be wiped out in one night! And that runaway Sandra, I'll catch her too, and throw her all into a hell where she'd wish she were dead... hehehe, hahaha!"
Suddenly, a cold sensation ran down his neck. When he touched it, he found a red crystal there.
"...What is this? Blood? Frozen Blood..."
"Kippi."
Startled, he looked around and saw a small, hand-sized snowman. "What?" Eujary muttered as the snowman melted and disappeared.
"Wh-what the hell was that...?"
At that moment, Eujary felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it had been pierced by a thorn. Then, a fierce headache hit him.
Unable to bear it, Eujary collapsed on the spot. His blood drained rapidly.
"Ugh, my body... won't..."
In the midst of excruciating pain and suffering, Eujary's body lost all strength. His consciousness faded away.
Ice put a finger to her lips and quietly said, "Shhh..."
"...Huh?"
When I tilted my head in confusion, Ice continued playfully,
"I mean, it's a secret..."
Seeing Ice's cheerful smile, I couldn't press further. I just chuckled and shrugged, "Alright, I guess I can't help it."
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