Conquering His Cold Heart-Chapter 671 Deciding with route to take
Avira took a little offence to Frost's word choice but nonetheless she answered him honestly.
"Both. I'm skilled in many forms of weapons due to my upbringing and personal talents however that is unknown to anyone bar my deceased parents and my shadow guard teachers." A flash of pain appeared in her eyes as she referred to her parents as deceased, but she quickly carried on.
"To the public I'm simply a sheltered princess who has a modicum of magical talent thus my disguise is a stark contrast to what they may expect." Her brothers and their subordinates weren't completely incompetent nor were the many powers that retained a vested interest in the Empire's political state.
Is she didn't take extreme precautions to disguise herself in public then it was all but guaranteed that a group of assassins would soon be on her trail. Spies were all around her, whether knowingly or not word would quickly spread.
"To the public eh." Frost noticed the modicum of pride in her words, this little princess was hiding a great deal.
He unconsciously smiled as ideas about their upcoming expedition formed in his mind. With that little bit of pride in her tone Avira had drawn the man's interest, he wanted to test her, to see how 'talented' she really was.
From the Dungeon he could see that her strength was equivalent to someone at the C-rank, an impressive feat considering she was only a couple years older than Leo and Luna.
Avira feeling a shiver down her back turned her head to look at Frost's face. She noticed the growing smile on his lips and couldn't help but slightly blush as her mind delved into a few private obscenities.
'God dammit why does he have to be so damn hot!?' Frost was truly a feast for the eyes even for someone like her who was used to seeing the upper echelon of what could be considered beauty, hell she herself was quite the catch.
What really drove her mind towards these thoughts however was the rejection and total indifference he showed to her when she first arrived. Frost wasn't even the slightest bit interested in her, her the princess of one of the largest empires on the continent. That never before seen rejection made his current smile all the more devasting.
"We should head off soon, have you both prepared your supplies?" Pulling away from his thoughts Frost asked.
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"I'm ready to go when you are lad, V?" Borris had already been informed of the princess' current situation and identity so as discussed he also used her 'cute' codename.
"Same but exactly how will we be travelling? You haven't told us anything about our route or transport." Avira had amply prepared -in her mind- for their journey to Icethorne but the chosen route, estimated travel time, stop points etc.. she was completely in the dark about. Everything was left to Frost.
Borris was in the same position; Frost hadn't told him a single detail about their route but unlike Avira he was more than happy to leave the details to Frost given that he'd never entered the Glacial mountains before. He trusted him completely.
"I've got several routes planned out but which one we take depends on a few things." Frost sagely said while rubbing his chin in thought.
"Such as?" Avira asked, keen to finally get some details. She wasn't too bothered about the route per say but more so the travel time and rest stops.
Since the trip would likely take at least a week she needed to know about the sleeping arrangements, were they going to solely camp outdoors, taking turns to guard against local monsters or would they rest in established towns, villages, camps and other nexus points that had been prepared for travellers.
Though the Glacial mountains was considered a high level danger zone it was quite populated and facilitated many trade routes between the kingdoms of the inner regions and the southern countries like Northrend.
To accommodate these plentiful trade caravans villages and camps were erected throughout the external regions. The Beta zone camp Frost visited before entering the monster lair [beginner's ice magic] was one of these camps. There, all manner of travellers would gather, to seek shelter from the harsh wilderness.
"Well first off I'll need to know both yours and Borris' battle capabilities as there's a few routes that are quicker but more hazardous." Frost with his B-rank strength was quite reassuring, but he was just one man, protecting two burdens against a heavy onslaught of monsters was far harder than if he was by himself.
"I see…" Avira narrowed her eyes, understanding Frost's reasoning.
"And the other things?"
"The current state of the monster habitats after the stampede, congestion of the route, possible tracking and finally comfort preference….though your current get up paints a very good picture, you are still a princess who grew up in the royal capital. Are you prepared to frequently camp in the wild or do you require more stable shelter?" Frost asked without any hints of ridicule.
It was unlikely that the beloved princess ever suffered much before the death of her parents thus he wouldn't expect from her the same values as a rugged adventurer. Plus he himself even booked one of the priciest yurts when he stayed at the Beta zone camp therefore he had no leg to stand on if it came down to a debate. He liked luxury and comfort and wasn't ashamed to admit that.
Seeing no ridicule in Frost's gaze Avira smiled slightly and replied honestly. "Personally I would like to rest in camps rather than in the wild." Though she was willing to brave through the discomfort if necessary, if there was an option she'd obviously choose the one that was more comfortable.
Frost nodded his head before looking at Borris. "And you Borris?"
"I'm fine either way to be honest. I'd like the chance to camp out in the wild like an adventurer, but I wouldn't mind sleeping in a proper bed now and then." Borris unlike the Frost from several months ago was carrying with him quite the fortune that he'd saved up over his many years of service.
He could more than afford the most luxurious accommodations available at the camps but since this was an adventure for him he wanted to go down a more rugged route.
Frost stroked his chin again as he highlighted certain routes in his mind, narrowing down their choices.
"What about transport Frost? are we walking the entire way, hiring a carriage or…" This would again determine how long the journey would take, something Avira was keen to know. The sooner she could reach Icethorne the better after all.
Once there not only would her safety be guaranteed but she'd be able to truly begin her quest to avenge her parents and claim what was rightfully hers.
"Hmm isn't that obvious." Frost replied with a bit of confusion. "Our rides are already here." He pointed behind where a rambunctious Kiba was teasing a poor frost wolf that wasn't even half his size.
"Borris will ride my frost wolf while V will ride with me on Kiba here that way we won't be restricted to travelling in slow carriages and can easily dictate our own route." This was an option full of freedom, perfect for traveling incognito and with great speed.
Borris looked behind Frost and eyed up the young wolf, he gazed at it for a few seconds before nodding his head finding it to be a fine specimen, a little weak considering its master's strength but perfect for someone like him.
Avira meanwhile blushed and felt butterflies in her stomach as she imagined being in such close proximity to Frost for their journey. To travel on the same mount as a man was rather indecent for a royal princess such as her no... She didn't voice any complaints about it, however.
"With that settled let's get moving, you can show me your strengths once we leave the city, Kiba, wolf" Frost called for Kiba and the frost wolf who immediately went to his side.
"You'll serve as his mount for the journey, take could care of him and follow Kiba's and my instructions to a tee got it." He instructed the recently contracted wolf who nodded in acknowledgement before greeting Borris with a submissive head bump.
"Wow he's very well trained." Borris had seen several monster mounts during his time, but he'd rarely seen one so docile in its actions. Even the war steeds nurtured by the Frost Wolf Battalion still showed some of the wild nature regardless of how strict their training was. He didn't know whether the wolf was special or if it was another quirk of the mysterious Frost.
"He's slower than Kiba but should be more than adequate for our current foray into the mountains, don't rely too much on his battle capabilities, however. He may be smart but he's still only an E-rank monster."
"Un" Borris grunted before skilfully ascending the wolf's back.
"Hmm it's rather comfy." He quite like his new seat, particularly the increase in height it granted him.
"V." Frost stretched out his hand to Avira so as to help her reach Kiba's back. An act that drew the young woman out of her fantasies. She blushed even more upon seeing his gentle smile and outstretched hand.
"I...I'm fine I can get on myself." With a slight stutter Avira used her hood to mask expression before elegantly leaping upwards and landing on Kiba's wide and fluffy back.
Frost's smile stretched as he witnessed her acrobatics.
'Impressive.'
