Soul of Searing Steel
chapter-36

Unfortunately, even when the banquet was about to end, a few of those girls could not even utter a complete sentence when Joshua was looking at them. While trying to get in a word with Joshua, most of them would even stutter when they were saying their own names. After a hasty salute, the girls would run aside quickly. They would only stop shaking after their girlfriends calmed them down a little bit.

There was one who finally managed to introduce herself using complete sentences. The warrior nodded to express his admiration. Right when he was getting ready to respond to the girl, Joshua witnessed the girl take three steps back and she almost fell…

Seriously? Was that necessary?!

To be frank, these girls did not look fragile or weak from their appearances. They even looked sort of heroic. After all, they were people of the north. The environment of the land was not as tame as the land in the south. So there was no way that any of them would be raised to be ladylike.

However, Joshua's aura was really something not to be reckoned with. He did not have to say a word. With just a regular grunt, he could have scared all wolf packs away. He could also unconsciously scare away all beasts with his presence. With a little more effort in it, he could become as intimidating as the demons from the abyss. As if his mini intimidation aura had just been upgraded tremendously.

Even though Joshua had tried his best to keep his intimidating side to himself, it was still a bit too much for the girls who had not seen bloodshed before.

Overall, despite some hiccups that happened during the event, the banquet was still considered a success. Joshua and the fellow merchant leaders across Moldavia got to know each other well enough to even set an appointment to their next meeting.; unlike the girl in his care. These leaders were much more knowledgeable after all. They had traveled across many places. Some of them even traded with the White Dragons and other famous groups. Even though the warrior was intimidating, he was not as intimidating as a dragon.

Although these businessmen were not of noble status, they were actually far more important than some of those lesser noblemen across the land. They were the sort of existence not to be ignored in a territory. Just as Chris who ran all the way back to the south of the Empire's mentioned, the land in the north was now freezing cold. Meanwhile, the daemons were beginning to gather around. The region was basically very isolated in the first place. While the wizards of the Empire were reducing the running cost of the elemental engine called [Vortex] before making the airships available in a more advanced form, these merchants played a vital role in the communication between the territories and the outside world.

Time passed as they were exchanging toasts. When almost all guests had left the hall, Joshua put down the glass in his hand and smiled at Alphonso who seemed to be a little drunk.

"What, are you drunk already?"

The wine was much stronger in colder places. Moldavia was not an exception as well. The wine that was produced by the local winery and the dwarves could be used as additives for combustion after adding several other ingredients to it. Even though Alphonso was a Steel-tier merchant from the north, he could only remain sober with a few cups wine before becoming drunk.

"I'm just a little bit drunk, but that won't matter."

Although his face was a little red at the moment, the middle-aged merchant's eyes seemed clear and sober. Joshua did not even have to ask as the merchant knew Joshua's exact intention.

"My liege, do you need something done then? Please bear with me for the moment, I'll look for a quiet spot first."

"Yes. Thank you."

Upon seeing the merchant replying him immediately without the need to ask, Joshua nodded with satisfaction and said, "Then lead the way."

The moment when Joshua and Alphonso were walking towards a study room, Ying was standing on a tall chair right at the porch of the house by the west side of the city. She was staring at the frozen pond as she let her mind wander.

The sky was turning dark, it was almost dusk. The golden sunset shone on the city covered in snow with a cold breeze blowing through. There were no signs of any leaves on the dried branches. As the branches shook a little, the snow on the branches fell to the ground.

Ying was not bothered by the cold weather at all. After she stared for a brief moment without any thought in her mind, she squatted and reached out her fair hand. She touched the frozen pond with her finger and sighed.

"So hard, so cold… Is this ice? It feels like glass."

Although she was forged in the north, she had been sealed away beneath the church all this while. She only came out of the sealed room recently. So it was certain that the silver-haired Divine Armament never had the chance to touch ice. She immediately stood up on her feet and walked to the side of the tree, stretching her hands out in an attempt to break off one of the icicles hanging by the branches. However, she was not tall enough, so she failed to even touch it. Because of that, she felt extremely embarrassed.

Even though Ying seemed tiny in her human form, her basic power level was still Silver. With a light leap, the angered and embarrassed little girl managed to pull off the entire branch of the tree.

Putting the icicle on her palm, the silver-haired Divine Armament looked at the transparent ice piece patiently, feeling the coldness that was spreading across her palm. After that, the warmth of her body slowly melted the ice and turned the icicle into a puddle of water.

"It's just like the record in the memory core. Water can really solidify due to the lower temperature."

Ying seemed very excited after she confirmed that another data in her consciousness was correct. After that, she took out a small notebook and a pen out of nowhere and started writing things down. "This world is full of wonders."

Joshua left during the afternoon to attend the banquet. Meanwhile, the young Divine Armament began to roam around the house to on her small adventure. Starting from the warrior's study room where he always hung around, Ying went through the entire house. While her curiosity blazed on, she examined everything that was in sight. Ying even asked for help from the other female servants around the place to make a dish based on the memory implanted in her consciousness.

According to these maids who have been recruited for cleaning and cooking in recent days, Ying's cooking was not bad. The dish she made tasted good. However, her skills were a little off as she was not familiar with cooking just yet. So all she needed to do was to keep practicing.

The sun was gradually setting, the surroundings turning dark.

Suddenly, Ying who was smiling and playing with the snow suddenly stood up. The smile that showed that she was naïve had vanished from her face. Her face looked vigilant and serious all of a sudden. She narrowed her gaze and looked at the corner right on the porch. Under the dim light of the surroundings, two greenish eyes that looked like two fireflies appeared from the shadows.

"This is the house of the Radcliffes. Whoever you are, please reveal yourself."

The clear and pure voice of the little girl echoed through the air. The silver-haired Divine Armament frowned and stared at one corner of the street.

"Stop hiding, I can see you."

After she spoke, a man appeared. He was wearing a black coat with red corners that was slightly larger than his own physique.

"Don't be nervous, young lady. I do not intend to stay here actually."

The man before her was middle-aged; his calm expression spoke of experience, as if he was not shocked at all at being discovered. He shrugged and said, "I'm just waiting for your master to return. Do you know when that would be?"

"Who are you?"

The silver-haired Divine Armament did not care to listen to his explanation or answer his question. She only frowned and asked with a serious face, "If it's you're not hostile, just tell me your name and where you come from. That's the basis of courtesy."

"… You're so young and yet you're already at Silver. Not bad indeed… Joshua has a really good follower." The middle-aged man said in a low voice. He shook his head and smiled.

"Alright, I'm Mengsk Wolf. I am an acquaintance of Joshua's, back when he was still in the Black Raven Army."

"…"

Without replying at all, Ying was looking at the middle-aged man right in front of her warily. She was attempting to differentiate whether the man was telling the truth or not by looking closely at the man's facial expression. However, she was not as experienced as Joshua after all. So the best she could do was to determine that the man was a powerful Silver. The man appeared as straight as an arrow.

"My master will be back very soon," said Ying coldly.

She continued remaining cautious. "Since you've waited for such a long time, you definitely won't mind waiting for a while more, right?"

"Of course, my adorable lady."

Facing a girl that looked like she was only fourteen or fifteen years old, the man could not help to feel that she was like his own daughter. Even though she had a cool attitude all the time, a middle-aged man with quite a bad temper would find it hard to get angry at the girl. So he shrugged and said, "I've been expecting to do so from the beginning."

Upon finishing his sentence, he turned around and went over to the corner of the street where he initially stood.

Meanwhile, right on his chest, there was a golden badge of a balancing scale shining brightly under the residual sunlight.