Dungeon of Niflheim

"I\'m back."

"Oh great did you remember the booze?" Borris asked the moment Frost walked in the door, his back leaning against a soft chair while his feet rested next to the magic furnace, all he need now was a hard spirit and a cigar and he\'d be golden.

"Welcome back, did you trade in the iceborne huntsman\'s fang?" Following Borris\' voice was one belonging to a young woman.

"You woke up." Frost smiled upon hearing Avira\' voice causing the woman to slightly blush from his devasting attack.

"Hahaha of course she woke up, the moment she could no longer feel your presence she got up with a start hahahaha…ow!" Borris\' laughter was quickly silenced by a large cushion hitting his head.

"Sh…Shut up you stupid dwarf!" Avira was like a cat that had her tail stepped on. She viciously glared at Borris, treating him like an enemy. Her face redder than a tomato as her embarrassment reached the heavens.

How could he phrase it that way, what would Frost think of her upon hearing that. She sounded like some kind of lovelorn little girl who could only feel safe by his side.

She nervously glanced at Frost, gauging his reaction but all she got in return was a gentle smile which acted like an arrow through her heart.

\'Why is he so damn charming?\' She internally complained wanting to hide beneath the covers.

Frost actually found her reaction to be rather logical as well as endearing. He was the one protecting her, the one who rushed to her side when she was deprived of energy and the one who held her close as they returned to the Lambda camp. It was quite natural for her to find comfort in his presence after all that.

However while Avira was acting like a lovesick fool, looking at Frost as man, he was unfortunately looking at her in the same way as he did Luna. She was nothing but a girl in his eyes, cute and sometimes adorable but not a woman. He admired her potential as a warrior but there was no lust in his gaze, she failed to meet his high standards, falling short of both Daki and Maya.

"Did you drink the health potion?" He asked with concern, in a tone similar to that of a caring elder brother.

"Un…thank you." Avira withdrew her hands from her face and bravely thanked him with a curt nod.

"No thanks necessary, as long as you\'re well."

"Umu" She mumbled, moved by his concern which forced Borris to stifle his laughter, finding their exchanges to be romantic comedy gold. In his view Avira was a complete lost cause, a fly caught in Frost natural web of charisma and attraction. She probably never had the chance to come in contact with any males other than those pompous noble heirs with their heads up their asses.

Frost was probably akin to a breath of fresh air, a feeling so real and intense that she never wanted to give it up.

"The iceborne huntsman netted us 34 gold coins, I used 4 to purchase supplies for a celebratory feast while the remainder will be split evenly between the three of us. Is that acceptable to the two of you?"

"Oi why do I get a share, all I did was crush a few low ranking spiders, it was a miracle I wasn\'t dead weight like that frost wolf of yours." Borris immediately argued, not happy with the split in the slightest. He was a proud man; he didn\'t like receiving payment for work he didn\'t do.

"Woof?" The frost wolf barked in response, having been brought up in conversation.

The old dwarf glanced at the frost wolf who raised its head and added "No offence intended." To his earlier comment causing the monster to lean back down as though satisfied.

"I have to agree with Borris, though I took part in the battle against the iceborne huntsman and wounded it the real damage was done by Kiba, I merely assisted." Though Avira felt that she probably deserved some payment it certainly wouldn\'t be a third of the total, at most maybe a sixth or perhaps a tenth, Frost did have to save her life a few times after all.

Frost blinked his eyes not expecting either of them to argue about the split especially not in the way they did.

"Haaaaa Borris you were dragged into a situation where you generally had no business being, thus your life was in constant danger, a risk worthy of payment." Though he didn\'t really contribute much he still took to the field and slaughtered as much spiders as he could.

"While V you were in even more danger and though Kiba did deal the final blow you shouldn\'t demean your efforts therefore don\'t worry about it we\'ll keep the split even."

""But"" Avira and Borris wanted to argue further but Frost wasn\'t willing to listen.

"The hunt was for the two of you not myself, if I wanted to train my skills or hunt for profit then I would have chosen a monster at the peak of C-rank at the very least not some spider piddling at the entry C-rank level…..do you think I really care about 10 gold coins or even 30 given how prosperous my territory is, such amounts are but a drop in the ocean for me." This was actually true; Frost was immensely rich even after pumping a large chunk of his coins back into his territory.

Certainly he wouldn\'t reject more money, but he wouldn\'t steal it from his friends out of greed.

In his mind both Borris and Avira more than earned their 10 gold coins.

Seeing his stubborn attitude and a refusal to budge that would make even the oldest of dwarves sing his praises both Avira and Borris backed down and accepted their third share with gratitude in their hearts.

"Borris how\'s your cooking?" With the splitting of the reward agreed upon Frost moved onto their celebrations.

"Abysmal if I\'m completely honest, my wife was the cook in the family and when she passed my daughter took over. I can make a simple stew but that\'s about it. It\'d just butcher whatever you bought." The old dwarf raised his hands up and boldly admitted to his shortcomings.

"Damn I\'m not much better, I only recently started learning some basics, Nanna\'s leagues ahead of me." Though Frost had learned a few recipes and skills from Sam he lacked experience.

"I think the camp offers a cooking service; we can hire one of the chefs for the night."

"How much would that cost?"

"I don\'t think it\'d be too pricey, but to prepare such choice ingredients with our meagre skills would be outright heresy." Frost purchased meat procured from D and C-rank monsters, far beyond what their basic abilities could handle.

"….I can cook." Just when the two men were about to look for a chef in the camp they heard a feminine whisper and turned their heads.

"Did you say something V?" Frost asked thinking he heard wrong.

"I said I can cook."

"...."

"...."

Frost and Borris were speechless, they frowned, looked at one another then back at Avira. The sheltered Princess of Northrend could cook? Fighting skills they could understand given that even the children of barons and viscounts received combat training but cooking?

"What don\'t believe me?" Avira felt an anger festering in her heart upon seeing the disbelief on their faces.

Frost and Borris looked at one another again before Frost said. "Well yeah."

Crack!

Avira clenched her left fist so tightly that her knuckles cracked. Her upper lip started twitching and a vein throbbed above her eyes.

"The polite thing to do in this situation is lie or feign ignorance!"

\'Why was he so direct, does have no decorum, this hateful man.\'

"What\'s the point in doing that?" Frost tilted his head to the side, failing to understand Avira\'s reasoning.

"It\'s a weird noble thing don\'t worry about it." Borris who was in agreement with Frost but understood the situation whispered into his ear.

"Oh, I see. How good are you then?" Frost\'s sudden acceptance and then questioning of her abilities deflated all the anger in Avira\'s chest, how could she stay mad at him for being honest.

"3 star spirit chef, I can easily prepare and handle ingredients of C-rank monsters without too much mana wastage." Avira revealed her status with pride, arching her chest forward as she leaned back to welcome the awes and praise from the two men.

"Hoh that\'s very impressive V, to already be a spirit chef at your age. Seems you\'re a girl of many talents." Borris clapped his hands and nodded his head, truly impressed by her status which of course inflated the young woman\'s ego.

"Incredible I\'ve only met two people who can be considered spirit chefs, and both are far older than you V. Borris is right you are a woman of many talents." Frost was equally impressed wholeheartedly agreeing with Borris\' judgment.

"Hehehe." Avira playfully giggled, very much enjoying being looked at with such respect.

"Who taught you how to cook?" Frost asked.

"My mother, she learned when she was younger so as to win my father\'s heart through his stomach. She thus started teaching me in the hope that\'d I\'d be able to do the same…."She started off with a confident tone but as she spoke of her mother\'s reasoning she couldn\'t help but go a bit red in the cheeks, her gaze intermittently flashing over Frost.

\'Maybe I can impress him with food instead.\' She\'d already written off affecting him with her beauty and figure, Maya and Daki won hands down in that department.