Chapter 45: Ryuu Satoru

A few hours later the group of three reached the dungeon's exit. And at the sight of the grand stone gateway Leo, and Luna couldn't help but tear up. Frost silently watched over them as they cried with joy, he felt oddly happy seeing the smiles on their face.

'Strange… why am I happy?' Frost struggled to understand, he admitted that he was rather fond of them but in the end weren't they still simply prey for him to feast on.

He felt invested, their emotions affecting him. He looked towards the two kids in confusion, no longer seeing them the same way.

"Frost senpai?" Luna's voice broke him out of his daze.

"…Yes?" He looked gently towards Luna.

"Thank you, truly thank you." She bowed expressing her deep gratitude. She was joined by Leo a moment later.

"Ah.... you're welcome." Frost was momentarily speechless, replying instinctively he blushed out of embarrassment, turning to the side unable to look at the kid's faces. The two sniggered at this sight before pulling Frost to the exit with them.

The group had to cover their eyes as they left the confines of the dungeon, the morning sun was incredibly bright. A lot different from the evening moon that was in the sky when Luna and Leo first arrived. Two E-rank adventurers spent an entire night in a monster lair known to contain frost wolves and lived, a proud achievement.

"LUNA!!!" The moment their eyes were climatising to the harsh light they could hear a man shouting Luna's name.

"Hmmm?" The voice sounded familiar, Luna's heart started to beat rapidly.

"D…Dad?" Luna said in shock as a well-dressed middle aged man was running straight for them.

"U…Uncle Ryuu." Leo recognised the man running towards them, it was Luna's father, his father's best friend and court mage Ryuu Satoru. He looked to be in his late forties and had long black hair just like Luna. He was wearing a long azure robe and was carrying a long staff with a high quality magic stone on the end. The very definition of what a mage would look like.

Before Luna could ask what he was doing here she was swept up in her father's arms. He picked her up and hugged her tightly refusing to let go, he rubbed his unkempt beard across her cheek as he cried tears of joy. Luna was initially happy, seeing her father made her feel very safe however he was known as a doting parent. Her anger and embarrassment quickly grew as her father wasn't putting her down even though they were with company.

Boof!

She used her knee to bash Ryuu's stomach forcing him to buckle and let her down. "Stupid old man hmph!" She turned away refusing to look at her father.

"L…L…Luna." Ryuu stretched out his trembling hand towards her but only received a harsh glare in response. Leo sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry Frost senpai, their relationship is like this." Leo apologised like clockwork as though he had done it many times before.

Frost however didn't hear a single word he said, his entire body was screaming danger. His body was trembling beneath his clothes since the moment he saw Ryuu. He never felt this way when facing against Alex or Redhawk yet this weird uncle in front of him made him feel as though he wouldn't even last a second if they fought.

'What the fuck is he!?' Cold sweat started to drip down Frost's back and his mouth felt dry. Luna and Leo didn't notice but every so often Ryuu would look towards and send over a strong violent pressure his way, making him feel as though he was standing in front of a vicious predator. Luckily it seemed as though he was only sending warnings but that alone was incredibly scary.

Ryuu didn't come alone, a four person group of adventurers followed behind him. The four of them sighed at the sight of Ryuu's miserable treatment before bowing towards Leo.

"Greetings young master Leo." Their loud greeting attracted the attention of Ryuu. He turned his head towards Leo as if he just realised, he was there.

"Ah little Leo you're here too, good." He only gave a cursory glance towards Leo as if he was forced to do it, before once again gazing lovingly at his daughter. Leo sighed once again, not getting angry in the slightest, this was just how Ryuu was. He faced the four adventurers and returned their greetings before asking what was going on.

However, before he could start the atmosphere around Ryuu suddenly changed, seeing that his daughter was continuing to ignore him he turned towards Frost, no longer hiding his aggression.

"And who are you?" He unleashed a strong pressure towards Frost, not holding back in the slightest. Every single nerve in Frost's body became taught and his entire body visibly shook. He felt as though a large hand was pressing down on him, trying to force him to kneel.

'You want me to kneel…in your dreams!' Frost refused to bow his head, he fought against the pressure, clenching his jaw, and staring directly at Ryuu.

'Tsk insolent little bastard!' He could hear Maya's voice in his head, she was getting angry but unless Ryuu actually made a move she was forbidden from interfering.

Don!

The pressure being released suddenly vanished thanks to Luna violently kicking her father's shin.

"Stupid old man what are doing to the man that saved my life, you ungrateful old bastard!" She continued to kick at Ryuu in anger, thanks to this Frost could breathe smoothly.

'Hoh, I like her.' Maya spoke with admiration, as though Luna did what she wanted to do.

"Huh? Saved your life!" The way he looked at Frost rapidly changed, becoming gentle before quickly turning to heartbreak when he looked back towards his daughter.

"Ahhhh My poor Luna, Daddy promises to never leave your side ever again." Ryuu moved to hug his daughter again but was met with a full-strength punch to his face sending flying backwards.

"Creepy old man who wants to be with you!" Luna's face and neck were pure crimson, she never felt so embarrassed and angry as she did right now. She couldn't even look at Frost and Leo in the face out of shame.

'What did I do to end up with such a stupid and embarrassing father?' She proceeded to physically beat her father without mercy, punching, kicking and even clubbing him with her staff. Only when her arms grew tired and most of her anger was neutralised did she let up. Ryuu was left black and blue all over, looking like a bloated pig, his handsome face was nowhere in sight. Frost, Leo and the four adventurers just silently watched this skit without interfering.

"I'm very sorry you had to see such a sight Frost senpai, my father's an idiot and only understands once he's physically beaten." Luna bowed and apologised to Frost while grabbing her father's ear harshly. She gave her father a fierce glare telling him to apologise too.

"Swowwy and faank yuuu fforrr safing my daufter." Ryuu barely managed to speak properly due to his swollen face but listened to his daughters orders and apologised while bowing.

Frost was frozen in shock unable to link the fearful presence Ryuu gave him earlier to the now beaten pig that stood before him. To his side Leo couldn't help but hold back his laughter, he'd experienced this situation many times over the years and each time he saw it, it grew more and more hilarious. Leo placed a hand on Frost's shoulder and gave him a look.

'If you don't respond it'll only get worse.' Was what his gaze was telling him.

"…You're welcome?" Frost spoke as though he was asking a question, but it brought a smile to Luna's lips whereas Ryuu lightly hmphed in annoyance which bought him a sharp twisting of his ear causing him yell out in pain.

Leo was at his limit in holding back his laughter, so he tried to redirect the conversation. He turned towards the four adventurers awkwardly remaining silent to the side.

"If my guess is right, you four are the D-rank party [Glacial scions], correct?"

"Uh? Yes, we are the [Glacial scions] young master." The leader of the group a man named Chase responded in surprise. He didn't expect for the young master of the Furano family to know of them. The [Glacial scions] were a group of four D-rank adventurers and were one of the youngest D-rank parties in the Viscounty.

The leader Chase was a tall thirty-year-old human with short brown hair and matching eyes, his appearance was average, and he wielded a spear as his weapon and knew a few skills. The vice-leader was his wife, a human woman with bright red hair who used fire magic, she was dressed in rather thin garments given the current temperature. The other two were a pair of elven siblings, a brother and sister. The brother named Gaelin was an archer and had beautiful silver hair and a pretty boy appearance. His sister Ayla looked similar to her brother (lacking curves) and used summoning magic, a rare profession.

The group had been together for the past 5 years and were good friends and could be considered one of the up-and-coming parties, much stronger than the [Artic Warband].

"Are you the group assigned to investigate the new monster lair?" Leo had assumed an air of nobility, much different to his usual atmosphere.

'Guess he really is a noble.' Frost looked at Leo in amazement.

"Yes sir, all of the C-rank groups were unavailable, and we were the nearest upper D-rank party, so the guild master requested us." The [Glacial scions] were more than eager to take up this commission. It was guaranteed pay from the guild and had lots of bonus opportunities, such as providing maps for the monster lair rooms and detailed analysis on the monsters present.

Commissions such as these were usually given to higher ranked parties or at least an older group with a lot of experience due to the uncertain nature of the venture. Chase and his group believed that by taking this commission they'd move up in the rankings edging ever closer to C-rank. Once you reached C-rank you're considered a true professional adventurer and receive respect from even the upper class.

Leo's gaze drifted over to the now silent Ryuu.

"So how did uncle Ryuu end up joining you?" This greatly puzzled Leo, Ryuu was supposed to be in the capital after receiving a summons but here he was.

The [Glacial scions] awkwardly looked towards one another unsure on how to answer this question. Eventually Chase released a deep sigh, he sent an apologetic look towards the slightly panicking Ryuu before replying to Leo's question.

"Well…"

Yesterday a couple hours after the [Artic Warband] had left the adventurer's guild in Furano. The [Glacial scions] were sitting in the guild master's office receiving information about the quest.

"According to the [Artic Warband] there are at least two areas within this monster lair, they were forced to retreat after encountering a group of four frost wolves as well as a large group of winter boars. I need you to give a more thorough inspection and if possible, reach the last area. The more information you bring back the more pay you'll receive. Any questions?"

Chase raised his hand up before speaking.

"Did they see anything stronger than frost wolves?"

"No, however they didn't leave the first section. There's a good chance something stronger lurks deeper within." The guild master spoke with regret, normally he'd like to send a stronger and more experienced group to investigate but his hands were tied. All of the higher ranked parties were busy and the longer he put off the investigation the more money would be lost not to mention reckless fools entering regardless of the known danger. The sooner he could classify the threat level the sooner they could generate a stable flow of requests. He was also required by law to notify the ruling lord of any new monster lairs appearing in or near the territory. Anything more dangerous than a C-rank monster lair would put a strain on the Furano Viscounty.

Chase was unperturbed by the lack of information; he was well aware of the risks and knew when to retreat. He looked towards his companions and they each nodded their heads in acceptance.

"Guild master don't worry we'll accept this request; we'll move out after stocking up on supplies. We'll do the most we can however if the monster lair proves to difficult, I will order a retreat." Chase knew exactly what his team was capable of. If they ran into C-rank monsters further in, they'd retreat without hesitation.

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." The guild master walked over to Chase and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck Chase." Just when the guild master was escorting the group out of the room.

"Bastion!!!" Ryuu suddenly ran into the guild hall and screamed the guild master's name.