Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 459: Arc 6, - 75: On Thin Ice

As she turned, there she was adorned in carbon-like plates of navy blue. Her scarf flapped in the sea-breeze as her helmeted head tilted to the side, "Aww, you remember me," her monotonous voice cooed.

"You seem to remember me."

"What’re you doing here pretty Princely?" she stood across the blonde on some of the wreckage.

"Take a wild guess."

Frost glanced over to the slime-woman, "You know what that thing is?"

"It’s a wannabe god that got the powers of an old god and has been making its way across the sea since last afternoon."

"So you’ve been in Burnetrout."

"What gave that away my friendly neighbourhood stalker?" unamusedly Jotou replied.

"I think the fact that I don’t know proves that I’ve not been keeping track of you Howllett."

"Why are you here?"

"Take a wild guess."

"Go away Frost, I don’t have time for your games."

As Jotou took a step, the chunk of metal she was on broke and was about to sink into the sea.

"Slwoosh!!"

A bridge of ice was flash-frozen across both ends of the broken ship, allowing both of them to stand on the same platform. Frost flapped her hand free of the snow that clung onto her gauntlets.

"Good, cause I’m not playing any. Now, are you saying you’re aligned against that thing?"

Jotou glared over her shoulder with sparks in her eyes, "If you’re gonna suggest working together after the crap you pulled the last time, forget it."

"Don’t be petty. I’m here cause the Malecise Regime spotted that ’god’ across the sea."

"Don’t you work for the Trailon Regime?"

"Sure, I’m an elite soldier from there, but I can be passed around like a toy between any of the regimes. It’s not breaking Trailon’s sentence if that’s your concern."

"I wouldn’t put it past them."

"The sentiment’s shared, but I’m here to stop that thing and I have a much better chance at succeeding if you’re gonna be doing the same, especially if you have information that I don’t have.

So put your pride in your back pocket and think for a damn second. It’s just for today and then after that you can be a petty bitch all you want.

Besides, no damage was done after ’the crap I pulled’, right? Or do you need me to sing you a little lullaby so that your feelings get better too while I’m putting my neck on the line by giving you sensitive information?" she gestured with her arms out.

...

...

"Fine. Just don’t get in the way."

"Same to you."

Jotou continued to walk forward with Frost a few paces behind. The blonde climbed up the ship’s stern and with a huff leapt onto the other side, landing with a grunt before proceeding forward.

"Fwoosh!" Frost glanced at where the other was and blinked right next to her and strode side by side. "So what can you tell me about that?" she pointed to the massive form.

Jotou’s gaze was fixed forward as she replied, "Her name’s Beauregard; she’s one of the leaders of the Deuctus Cult who proclaim themselves to be new gods. The ones that orchestrated the Great Fire of Burnetrout."

"Those fanatics."

"You know them?"

"Historically speaking."

"Well, this one in particular has a summoning and manipulation affinity. What’s more, she was some sentient slime creature before this, that could turn back and forth from a puddle and a human-sized version of that."

"A slime...?"

Jotou let out an exasperated sigh, "I don’t know how or why; I just know she exists. She doesn’t have a typical slime core and she can regenerate any limb, probably from the smallest molecule.

After some spirit-magic ritual, she got infused with the abilities with the old God of the Oceans, Irvette."

"I’m unfamiliar."

"Good, so am I. That’s what happened last afternoon and after gaining some favour with the grand alderman, we’ve been chasing the thing with a light ship alongside a small crew from the Burntish Navy."

"How noble."

"Are you being sarcastic? It’s hard to tell with your voice."

"Who knows."

"Maybe the helmet got in the way; you should try again after taking it off."

"..."

"What’s the matter? Hiding a scar from a dagger? Oh wait."

"I’m sure I’ll get the chance to give your little detective a matching one."

"I dare you to try."

"Maybe not today."

The two got closer to Beauregard in their stride, enough to be able to make out her face from a distance as the gigantic slime-girl without even lifting a limb, parted an armada of ships to either side of her with a bright smile.

Both of them slid down a ship’s roof, one hopping onto the deck and ducking under a crate before jumping onto the next platform while the other shrouded herself in ice and snow to appear right next to the former.

The swirling streams of ocean blue circled overhead, while droplets of seawater still drizzled upwards towards them. As they passed over Frost’s form, they turned into snowflakes that would fall back down and melt.

"You haven’t exactly told me why you put your neck on the line; for me? Didn’t know you had a little crush on the enemy," Jotou mocked with a high-pitched voice.

"Now that’s a disturbing and disgusting suggestion; never say that to me again. But to answer your question—I have my reasons."

"Not really an answer."

"Except that it is."

"Fine," Jotou spun around and stood right in front of Frost, halting the shorter figure’s steps. "Then tell me this; what happens if I die?"

Frost stood for still for a moment. It was impossible to read her expression through her mask, but it was at least noticeable that her head was tilted upward to meet the blonde’s intimidation. "Something bad."

"Fwoosh." Frost blinked past Jotou, sending a freezing, almost immobilizing chill down the blonde’s body. The armoured woman kept walking, "Trust me, it’s better that you don’t know."

Jotou felt the chill disappear and her limbs felt easier to move after a second or two, "Uh huh, cause you’re so trustable." She continued to walk behind Frost.

Frost turned her head so that the corner of her visor could peer at the blonde, "I give you my word; I’m extremely motivated in keeping you alive pretty Princely."

Jotou rolled her eyes, "Sure, be more vague."

"Gladly. Anything else you want me to not be able to answer?"

"There is actually. Feather," Jotou walked ahead of Frost and jumped off of the ship’s edge.

She charged forward, landed onto a sinking mast, leapt ahead to spin with an empowered kick to land on a chunk of metal sticking out of the water and made one last jump onto an upturned ship’s bow.

Frost appeared onto the next strip of broken deck beyond that, "What about her?"

Jotou hopped off and landed on the same deck, "Why is she in Burnetrout? Last I saw her she got teleported out by you and now she’s working with the cult."

"Really? Is that what happened to your pretty dress?" Frost laid a finger on the middle of the blonde’s chest, pointing to her attire, "Is that fabric glued on?" she judged.

Jotou gripped Frost’s wrist and yanked it to one side forcefully. However, what she grabbed was armour after all and Frost barely flinched no matter how hard her hold was.

"No, she didn’t do this," she said with a strained smile. "Just answer the question," she threw Frost’s arm aside and continued walking.

Frost paid no mind; at least no expression could be read off of her. "Yes, I teleported her out of Burnetrout. She wanted out of the Trailon Regime, she blackmailed me and then we never saw each other again, end of story."

"Maybe I’ll ask her about you when I see her again then; seems like there’s some good stories to know."

Frost chuckled mockingly, "It’s funny you think she’ll give you anything. You’ll be lucky to get the time of day."

"We’ll see about that," her eyes sparked.

"Anyway, from what you’ve told me, it’s safe to say that the Burntish government had nothing to do with this attack."

"It’s just a terrorist group. So make sure to tell it to your masters."

"Maybe you should be nicer to me so that I don’t forget to make a note."

"Hmph." Jotou turned at a sudden noise across the sea’s waves. The shipwrecks were becoming fresher and as such, there were more people in danger.

Across some length of water, a ship was cracking in two as the Malcesian Navy tried to even out the both sides. Their lifeboats were nowhere in sight and both halves of the ship were about to sink.

Jotou put a foot to her left, only for an arm to block her path. "Leave them be, we have other business."

"Get the hell out of the way."

"You wanna save them, deal with that," Frost pointed to Beauregard. "Don’t be stupid."

Ignoring her words, Jotou strode past the arm blocking her and-

"Ugh." "Fwoosh!" "SLWOOSH-fwoosh-SLUSH-SHLSSHH-fwoosh-Fwoosh!"

Frost blinked across the distance, froze all the water around the ship halves and made a safe platform in the middle by blasting ice beams from up above and blinking multiple times around.

All before she blinked back to stand next to the blonde in a matter of seconds, "We don’t have time for your antics; you can’t be saving every idiot here from drowning or otherwise. They signed up to die, so let it go," she breathed out a thick cloud of ice past her mask.

Jotou took a step back and puffed a breath out her nose, "Fine. A plan then; can you freeze that slime all the way through as fast you can freeze water? We need to be sure to destroy every trace of her being or else she can come back."

Frost equipped her prongs that shot out with a—"thwang!". "She’s a bit too big for how much area I could cover at once. It’s well within my capabilities, but with that much mass?

My ice is still ice, it’ll melt with enough water. And with how strong she is, I’d give it a couple of seconds before she melts anything I could do."

"You know with you coming all the way out here, I don’t know why I thought you’d have some plan of attack."

"I can only make one if I can assess the situation," she pointed one prong at the blonde’s head, "And let me make one thing clear cause the assholes in the regime and you all seem to think I’m made for a fight.

I’m, not, meant, to be, on the frontlines, I’m a spy, not a soldier and those that are meant to be, are all dead and one’s ’missing’, so I’ve been PICKING UP THE SLACK!" her voice rose louder and louder as icy mist fogged the front of her helmet.

Jotou smirked with a spark in her eyes. Perhaps for the first time, she made Frost truly lose her cool.

Frost let out another huff of cold breath which puffed out of the ventilation of her helmet like steam.

She turned away and took a few steps, "You come with a plan; aren’t you supposed to be good at that?" with departing words, she blinked forward onto the vessels ahead—not so far that Jotou could not keep track, but certainly far enough not to be pestered.

Jotou strode ahead with a gleeful little hop and hurried up her advance towards Beauregard.