Chapter 4: The Frozen Girl
“Captain, you just came back. It’s better for you to rest. How can you go to the front line alone? If something goes wrong, my superiors will twist my head off and treat it like a ball.”
A team member in armor walked up, holding a glowing detector just like hers.
At this moment, the girl named Elise turned her head. Her long golden hair shone softly in the dim light, and her green eyes showed a bit of tiredness, yet they were still clear and bright. She spoke calmly.
“It’s fine. How is the situation ahead?”
“Not very good. The nearby residents have been evacuated. There are still a few houses we didn’t get to in time, but they looked empty, so we didn’t check them.”
“I see. You’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me.”
“Captain…”
The team member still wanted to stop her, but they all knew that this young lady from the Anthony family would not give up easily.
At first, everyone thought she had retired after that great battle. After all, she had disappeared for three whole years.
Her sudden return this time really surprised people.
But in truth, not many people even knew about it.
Elise was known as the “Ice Fairy.” Unlike her older sister Anna, this girl truly had an extraordinary presence.
There were rumors that some noble young men wanted to take advantage of her weakened state and marry her.
But she ignored them completely and even disappeared for three years.
Even her sister Anna didn’t know where she had gone.
The others could only let the matter rest. After all, Elise had always been a loner,
In the end, everyone could only give up. After all, Elise had always been a lone wolf, to the point where the Adventurers' Guild had even established a special "One-Person Team" regulation just for her.
Normally, several people were needed to register a team, but Elise was cold by nature, and no one dared to team up with her.
In the end, she had no choice but to register a team by herself. The other members were basically just doing small tasks in the guild.
Because before they even had a chance to act, Elise would already finish killing all the monsters alone.
Some people envied their job, saying that going to work was like taking a vacation. But only they knew how stressful it was to worry every day about being suddenly dismissed.
Walking into the slum, Elise stepped on the muddy streets. Her shoes were stained with dirt, but she didn’t care.
Unlike her sister, she had always been alone since she was born. People her age were afraid of her.
Every time she tried to get close to others, she would be called things like “ice beauty.”
She received endless praise, but she felt like water sealed inside a bag, separated from the world by a layer she couldn’t break through.
Luckily, during the three years she was gone, she met a knowledgeable scholar who helped her make medicine to treat her injuries.
This time, she came back because the place mentioned in the scholar’s letter looked very similar to where she used to live. Maybe this time, she could finally make her first friend.
While thinking, she arrived at the door where the magic signal had disappeared. The detector showed that the last trace of the monster was here.
She knocked on the door, a bit awkwardly.
After a moment, the door opened slightly. It looked like a girl inside, but she was very cautious. A voice asked quietly.
“Who are you?”
“Patrol team. We detected a monster running in this direction. We want to ask you about it.”
“Do you have ID?” Peiya asked carefully, not daring to trust a stranger easily.
“Yes.”
Elise handed over her identification. After a moment, the door opened.
Peiya brought out the two packed monsters.
“Just now, those two monsters were arguing in my room about who would eat me, and then they fought and killed each other.”
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
Elise asked with concern. Her voice was gentle, like a quiet stream.
Peiya glanced at the beautiful girl with golden hair and green eyes, then said calmly,
“No. If I hand over the monsters, is there a reward?”
Peiya remembered that if residents handed over monsters that were still useful for research, there would be a bounty.
Before, she might not have cared about it. But now she was starving, so she needed to save more money to buy food.
“Yes,” Elise said, taking out some gold coins from her bag.
Peiya shook her head. “That’s too much. Do you have any food in your bag? Just give me something to eat.”
Elise was a little surprised and explained, “You can use the money to buy food.”
“But that’s too much. These monsters aren’t worth that much money.”
Elise paused for a moment. The girl in front of her was much calmer than she expected.
She guessed it might be because of her life in the slums. Even though Elise herself looked cold to others, it was exactly because of that that she was good at observing people.
Elise looked at the girl’s face. She was very pretty, far too delicate for someone who grew up in this environment.
An illegitimate child of a noble?
It might sound rude, but it was true that some nobles had children and then abandoned them in nearby slums to survive on their own.
“So, miss… do you have food? I’m really hungry,” Peiya said, trying hard to endure the strong hunger. This time, she was truly hungry, it had nothing to do with being a witch.
“Come with me.”
Elise led Peiya back to the base and spoke to the staff.
“Do we still have food?”
“We have some sandwiches left,” a soldier replied.
“Give them all to her.”
The soldier understood and quickly went to get the food.
As soon as Peiya got it, she started eating quickly. Her mouth was stuffed with cream puffs, and the cream sandwiches tasted amazing.
She hadn’t eaten such a complete meal in a long time.
Before, she mostly ate other people’s leftovers, and the money she earned had to be saved to buy magic potions.
Thinking about it now, being able to happily eat a proper meal was also a kind of relief.
“Little sister, slow down. These are all yours.” A maid in a black-and-white uniform walked over and handed Peiya a napkin.
Peiya understood and, without thinking, skillfully folded it.
This action immediately stunned everyone present.
Elise’s expression changed slightly. This way of folding a napkin, wasn’t it something only their Anthony family used?
The maid was also surprised. When they gave food to refugees before, they often ate just as quickly as this girl, but this sudden, elegant way of folding a napkin like a noble lady, where did she learn it?
Seeing their confusion, Peiya quickly said, “I… I learned it from books. How is it? The napkin looks nice, right?”
“I see,” the maid said with a smile. “Little sister, you don’t need to do that next time. If you’re hungry, why not come with us? There’s still a lot of food at the shelter.”
“No need. Um… I’m full. Goodbye!”
Peiya returned the napkin and ran off quickly. The witch power inside her body had started acting up again, she needed to find a place to hide.
Watching her leave so quickly, Elise took the napkin from the maid’s hand.
“Miss, could she be from our family…?”
“Be quiet.”
“…Yes.”
Elise couldn’t imagine her parents having a child and then throwing her into the slums. Their family wasn’t so poor that they couldn’t raise another child.
Besides, the girl didn’t look like her at all. Could she be a servant’s child?
After thinking for a while and finding no answer, Elise could only silently wish the girl good luck in the future that she would meet someone who treated her kindly.
After that, she quickly cleared her thoughts. She still had more important things to do.
She must not forget why she came back.
She took a birdcage from the carriage and tied a small rolled letter to the bird’s leg.
“Go. Take this letter to her. Tell her I’m back, and ask if we can meet.”