The Frost Giant's Assault and Real Combat

I sliced through the cascading waterfall. At first the water exploded in every direction. My magic power only managed to shove it aside, scattering wildly.

Colder… make it even colder…

I recalled the black magic inside me. The overwhelming darkness Lucy had shown me. The abyss the Black Flame Dragon had revealed. Those powers weren’t hot. They were a cold void that devoured everything in its path.

I imagined lowering the temperature of my mana. Sinking my excitement and bloodlust, staying ice-cold and utterly calm.

One hour. Two hours. I lost track of time completely. Lucy lounged in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, peeling tangerines and watching me like some kind of spectacle.

Deep into the night, a change finally appeared at the tip of my blade. The magic that had burned like dark-red flames gradually shifted into a deep, silent black. It seeped into the sword like ink.

I swung the blade. No sound at all. The waterfall pouring down was sliced horizontally for the briefest moment before it resumed its flow. Not a single droplet splashed. The severed water simply ceased to exist in midair.

“Did I… succeed?”

“Congratulations, Daon.”

Sera, who had approached at some point, clapped her hands. “It’s finally a sword worth using.”

I staggered out of the water. My whole body felt like a block of ice, yet my mind was crystal clear.

“Thank you, Lady Sera.”

“Here, this is your reward.”

Sera handed me a towel and lightly kissed my cheek.

“Mwah.”

“……?!”

The cold touch of her lips left me frozen like an ice statue.

Lucy, who had been peeling tangerines by the fireplace, exploded. She hurled the blanket aside and charged over.

“Oh my, Your Majesty the Demon King. I was simply giving him a ‘well done’ stamp. Why are you getting so worked up? Could it be that you lack confidence as a woman…?”

Sera smiled leisurely and provoked her. It was the relaxed composure of an experienced adult.

Red magic power flared from Lucy’s hand. Blue frost rose from Sera’s. The ice palace was on the verge of collapsing.

“Stop! Please stop!”

I jumped between the two women. That was when Marie came running.

“Boss! I did it!”

In Marie’s hands was a single transparent, beautiful ice rose. Magic had been infused into it, creating a permanent flower that would never melt.

“Whoa… it’s really pretty.”

“Hehe. This would be perfect as a cake decoration, right?”

Marie’s pure smile eased the murderous atmosphere a little. Lucy clicked her tongue with a “Hmph, I’ll let it slide this once” and turned away, while Sera simply smiled.

On the final day of training, we headed deep into the ice palace to the ‘Garden of Eternal Snow.’ We were there to gather the rare ingredients and flowers Sera had mentioned.

“The snow mountain grass here is perfect for chilled salads. And those ice berries over there are ideal for sorbet.”

Sera explained everything like a tour guide. I excitedly collected the ingredients.

Rumble—!

The ground shook violently. A massive shadow swallowed us. The guardian of the ice palace and field boss, the Frost Giant. A giant over ten meters tall. It wielded an enormous ice club.

“KROOOOOO—! (Intruders!)”

“Oh dear, why did he wake up? It’s time for his winter nap,” Sera said, looking troubled.

“Should I handle it?”

“No.”

I stepped forward. “I’ll do it. I need to test the results of my training.”

I drew Ghost Cry. In the past I would have tensed up at the sight of that massive body and its solid ice armor. But now… the creature just looked like a ‘big chunk of ice.’

“Lady Lucy, just watch. I don’t need any help this time.”

The giant brought its club ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down.

BOOM—!

I didn’t dodge. I gripped the sword in reverse and condensed my mana. Colder. Even colder.

I swung at the giant’s club. A silent slash. A black line traced through the air.

Crack—!

The massive ice club was severed as cleanly as tofu. The cut surface was perfectly smooth, and there wasn’t the slightest impact sound.

“Grur?”

The giant stared blankly at its severed weapon. I didn’t stop there. I slipped between its legs.

“Sorry, but you’re going to have to die.”

Slice.

The second slash. The tendons behind the giant’s knees were severed without a sound. THUD! The giant dropped to its knees. I aimed for the back of its neck. And delivered the final strike.

A black crescent moon passed through the giant’s neck. Not even blood sprayed. The slash was so sharp that the Frost Giant blinked, unaware it had already died… then its head slowly slid off its shoulders.

“Whew…”

I flicked the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠giant’s blood off my blade and sheathed it. In the silence, applause rang out.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Perfect, Daon. It was worth teaching you,” Sera said with a bright smile.

Lucy snorted, but the corner of her mouth was slightly raised.

Marie ran over with sparkling eyes.

“Boss! That was so cool!”

We finished our training and returned to the restaurant. In my hands were flowers from the eternal snow garden and various rare ingredients. But the biggest harvest was my swordsmanship, which had evolved to the next level.

While preparing to open the restaurant, I used my newly learned technique to slice sashimi.

Swoosh.

The fish was cut without a sound. The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror.

“This is it.”

I smiled in satisfaction. Now I could cook any monster that showed up. My Demon King’s Table was about to become even more perfect.

Ding.

A customer had arrived at the Demon King’s Table. A small girl with her hood pulled low. It was Luna, the assassin from Avalon’s Flower party. She had her usual faint presence. She hadn’t even used any stealth skills like shadow movement, yet no one noticed her until she opened the door and sat at the counter. Even Lucy, who had been sleeping, only twitched her ears slightly.

“Welcome, Lady Luna. You’re alone today?”

I greeted her while wiping the table with a dishcloth.

Luna slightly lifted her hood. Her short purple hair and indifferent eyes were revealed.

“The others went to sleep. I… have overtime.”

“Overtime? Does the hero party even have overtime?”

“It’s a personal request. I need money. Sigh…”

Luna let out a long sigh and carefully placed a crumpled piece of paper on the table.

“Boss. Have you seen this woman?”

It was a wanted poster. The sketch showed a rather cute girl with red hair in twin tails. But the bounty amount written below was anything but cute.

“Pffft!”

I nearly spat out the water I was drinking.

“What… what did you say the charge was?”

“Wig arsonist.”