"A… Artemis?"
"Eep!"
A high-pitched yelp resounded through the air as Van suddenly appeared in front of the Frost Giant that was seemingly similar to Artemis. Of course, the giant's skin was still that of a blue hue, making it evident that she truly was not Artemis.
[Objective: Meet with the Frost Giant Princess -- Completed!]
There was also the window that suddenly popped out in front of him, rewarding him for completing the random objective. And since the female frost giant was the only one in the vicinity, she could be none other than the Princess, as the System dictates it so.
Van was going to approach her, but before he could do so, multiple soldiers surrounded him, quickly covering and guarding the princess.
"Halt! Do not take even a single step forward!"
Van could not help but furrow his eyebrows as a trail of lightning emerged from his eyes. What he needed right now were answers, and if he had to shed blood in order to get them, then he would not hesitate to do so.
"Artemis…" Van muttered as he took a step forward, "Do you know anyone named Artemis?"
"Do not move!"
One of the soldiers swung her weapon towards Van as he took a step forward, but the only thing its sharp blade cut was the air and the ground where it sat upon.
"Do you know Artemis?"
"!!!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Those who were surrounding the princess all scrambled to protect her in a tight perimeter; all of them pointing their weapons towards the small entity that suddenly appeared in front of them even with all of the other soldiers blocking the path.
"Please, just answer my question," Van's voice slowly became sedated. One of the soldiers once again swung an axe towards him, but this time, he did not dodge. Instead, he just caught the blade of the axe by its heel in between his fingers, causing a small crater to ripple beneath his feet.
The soldiers who saw this could not help but widen their eyes in disbelief. But even though there was a growing fear inside of them, none of them backed away. Even swinging their weapons at the same time towards Van.
"Withdraw your weapons!"
But before their blades could reach Van, a roar echoed through the air. And as if by instinct, all of the female soldiers leaped back, with most of them standing beside their princess.
Lorei's father, Grunt, then slowly made his way towards the commotion as he continued to tell the female soldiers to sheathe their weapons.
"High Human Van is an esteemed guest of the King," Grunt hollered, "Please do be mindful from pointing your weapons at him. High Human Van, if you may, please follow me to meet the King-- he is already expecting you."
Seeing Grunt gesturing to him to follow, Van slightly hesitated. He continued to look at the princess, who was also looking at him with curiosity. But after a few more moments, the only thing he could do was sigh as he followed Grunt to the throne hall.
Van had already been feeling extremely small the past few hours, but now that he was inside the throne hall, which had pillars as tall as the Wall back in America's Pit, he could not help but feel like an insect.
"Greetings, High Human Van."
A deep and breathy voice then echoed throughout the throne hall, quickly garnering Van's attention.
"My name is King Raufey, we are honored to have one of your kind in our humble kingdom."
The King looked as what Van imagined him to be. He was tall, probably the biggest giant that he had seen since arriving in this unknown world; his hair was that of pure silver, partnered with eyes that were as red as the resting sun, which was a sharp contrast with his blue ice-like skin.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Van's eyes, however, only momentarily rested towards him before looking at the female giant beside him-- the Queen.
Like the princess, her face also held a certain similarity towards Artemis, albeit not that strong compared to her daughter. But still, with her also sharing a likeness towards Artemis, Van finally knew why the System wanted him to meet with the Royal family.
Van then bowed his head slightly as he returned his attention towards the King, who was clearly examining him from head to toe.
"The leader of my Kingsguard told me that you wished to meet with me," said the King as he slightly glanced to the side, where Lorei and his father were silently standing.
But as soon as Lorei saw Van looking towards their direction, she quickly waved his hand; which earned a light slap from her father.
"Please, tell us what we can do for our High Human friend?" The King added.
"Do you know of anyone named Artemis?" Van then quickly said.
"Artemis?" The King let out a long and deep breath as he rested his chin on his knuckle. His gaze turned downwards for a slight duration before he shook his head, "I am afraid not, High Human Van."
The disappointment in Van's sigh was clear for everyone to hear. He then once again looked towards the queen; with her similarity with Artemis, Van was sure they would have answers for them. Is it possible the King was lying?
"I have also heard that you called my daughter by that name," King Raufey then followed his words.
"That… I apologize for scaring her, King Raufey," Van slightly bowed his head.
"It is fine, High Human Van," King Raufey let out a small chuckle as he waved his hand, "But if it is not too much, may I ask why you are looking for this… Artemis?"
"She is my other half."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Seeing Van not even hesitating for even a small second, King Raufey and the rest of the giants in the room could not help but release a light gasp.
"I see," King Raufey smiled as he nodded his head, "It would seem that even High Humans are cursed with the blessing of love."
The King then held his queen's hand as he looked at her endearingly; In which the queen responded with furrowed eyebrows, scolding him with her eyes.
"Is that the only reason why you visited us, High Human Van?"
"Yes… Well, no." Van nodded before turning his head towards Lorei, "One of your people has been very helpful to me ever since I arrived in this world, her name is Lorei."
"...Lorei? Isn't that your daughter, Grunt?" King Raufey muttered as he looked towards Grunt, who could only nod his head awkwardly from the sudden recognition.
"Then we will make sure not to forget to reward her, High Human Van," King Raufey then stood up from his throne, and as he did so, all of the people inside the throne room straightened their body, "Please, I offer you sanctuary in the castle. I have already prepared a room for you to stay in."
"I--"
"If you are worried about the Branch, it will not move anytime soon."
"...How do you know?"
"It did not stay long in Svartalfheim. Most probable than not, it would remain here in Jotunheim for an extended duration. Please, I insist you rest and allow us to prepare a feast for you on the morrow."
"..." Van thought about it for a while, but as his gaze once again returned to the queen, he quickly agreed.
"Thank you, King Raufey."
***
"Thank you very much, High Human Van!"
Not even a minute after Van entered the room that was prepared for him, Lorei suddenly barged in the room and kneeled in front of him.
"My father also expresses his thanks for the commendation! Truly, thank you for everything!" Lorei once again started to tear up, "I really will miss you after we separate, High Human Van!"
Van only looked up and nodded, slightly taking a step back so as to prevent Lorei from lifting him in the air once again.
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'll join the preparation for the feast tomorrow so I can cook your favorite!"
And without even allowing Van to say anything, Lorei excitedly left the room.
Van could only sigh as he closed the door, but as he was about to turn around, a letter suddenly slid inside from the bottom of the door.
"..." Van quickly opened the door to see who left it, but besides Lorei who was still happily trotting on the colossal hallway, there was no one else.
'Go to the East Garden at the darkest hour."-- was what the letter said. Van once again checked outside, but there truly was no sign of anyone else. Was the letter perhaps already on the door before he entered?
But no matter, Van had already decided to go. There was a chance that this might be a trap, so Van had decided to already go there ahead of time to wait for the one who sent the letter.
The East Garden was filled with gigantic plants and trees, which made it easy for Van to find a hiding spot. He hid in one of the trees, where he had a clear view of the entirety of the garden.
His eyes did not even rest for a second. And finally, after hours and hours of waiting, the garden became dark enough that one would find it difficult to navigate around it. And not even a few minutes after, Van could hear a series of footsteps, belonging to a giant covered in dark robes.
He was about to step out, but before he could do so, the giant unveiled herself and looked in his direction.
"I know you are already here, High Human Van," the female giant said,
"I… wish to talk to you."
It was none other than the woman sitting beside the King-- The Queen of the Frost Giants.
