Chapter 79: The Chill
Silas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, completely disregarding the stares they were still getting from everyone around.
"Anna... this is Gromda," He pointed toward the towering orc woman.
"Gromda... this is Anna." Gromda blinked. Silas switched languages almost instantly.
"Gromda," He spoke in the orc tongue. "Anna is my first mate."
Gromda looked at Anna and grinned brightly.
"Friend!" She spread her arms as if she wanted to hug her. Anna instinctively hid behind Silas.
"She’s huge."
"She’s actually pretty gentle," Silas laughed. ’Well, not during sex...’
Anna peeked from behind Silas before smiling nervously.
"I-It’s okay..." She hesitated before bowing slightly. "Nice to meet you."
Gromda didn’t understand a single word, but she understood the gesture, and happily bowed back.
Anna couldn’t help smiling. "She’s adorable."
"Don’t let her size fool you," Silas chuckled. "She punched an Orc King hard enough to shake a mountain."
Anna’s smile froze.
"Just kidding."
Before they could continue...
"Mr. Silas Ashard!"
A well-dressed man hurried over with a microphone in one hand and a cameraman behind him. He wore an expensive suit and carried himself with practiced confidence.
"Congratulations on your successful return. I’m Michael Reeves from Horizon News Network. We’d like to conduct an exclusive interview."
"I’m sorry," He gestured toward his battered body. "I’m exhausted. I haven’t even received proper medical treatment yet. Could we do this another day?"
Michael’s smile stiffened.
"It’ll only take a few minutes."
"I’m afraid not," Silas shook his head again. "I just want to rest."
Before Michael could respond, another person joined.
"Silas Ashard!"
A woman in a navy business suit approached with an entire camera crew.
"Rachel Morgan, Pinnacle Broadcasting," She smiled professionally. "Our station would love to feature your incredible story."
"This interview was ours first," Michael frowned.
Rachel laughed. "Nothing has been agreed upon."
Another voice joined.
"Neither of you is getting exclusivity."
A third group marched over. They were Silver Crest Media, one of the nation’s three largest media corporations, just like the first three. Within seconds, three camera crews surrounded Silas, with microphones practically touching his face, while questions flew nonstop.
"What was it like fighting inside the Rift?"
"Is it true you defeated the boss?"
"Is that really a monster beside you?"
"Miss Chloe, are you truly an S-Rank?"
"Did Valecrest lie about the rift?"
"What happened inside?"
"How many monsters did you kill?"
The soldiers nearby exchanged helpless glances. Even they couldn’t stop the reporters. Silas raised one hand, trying to diffuse the situation. He was too exhausted mentally to do anything... bad, though he was thinking of it.
"Everyone," His voice remained calm. "I appreciate the interest, but I already said I’m tired. I’ll answer questions another time."
The reporters hesitated. Most seemed willing to back off, but Michael didn’t. Instead, he stepped closer, his smile disappearing.
"Young man," His tone carried unmistakable arrogance. "You should understand something."
Silas looked at him quietly with a hint of amusement and something cold underneath. He had experienced this more than enough to know how it would end, and he was right.
"Horizon News doesn’t interview just anyone. It is an honor, and you should be grateful." He adjusted his tie. "Without us, you wouldn’t have received an opportunity like this."
Silas’s smile slowly disappeared. Opportunity. The word echoed as his mind showed him scenes of a familiar classroom, mocking voices, teachers looking down on him, and students laughing.
You should be grateful.
Know your place.
You’re just an unawakened nobody.
His pink eyes slowly began glowing dangerously, and the air around him trembled. Anna immediately noticed.
"Silas?" His fingers tightened unconsciously. The world froze literally. An indescribable cold descended upon the rescue site, making everyone instinctively stop moving. Their bodies moved before their minds did, almost as if commanded. They slowly turned toward the same direction and saw her, Chloe.
She stood several meters away, her white hair fluttering despite the absence of wind. Her blue eyes had become glaciers. The ground under her feet silently froze, ice spreading outward in delicate patterns. The temperature plummeted, causing people’s breaths to become white mist.
As for the reporter, his legs shook violently. He couldn’t speak, as his throat refused to obey him. Sweat rolled down his forehead despite the freezing temperature. His vision remained locked onto Chloe, but he was seeing something else. A terrifying illusion.
A throne of endless ice, an endless kingdom buried beneath snowstorms. Upon that throne sat an Ice Empress, looking down upon him with absolute indifference, the gaze of a ruler looking upon something too insignificant to acknowledge. His instincts screamed.
Kneel!
Chloe finally spoke, her voice calm and soft, but every syllable seemed capable of freezing souls.
"If your media house is truly as great as you claim..." She tilted her head ever so slightly. "...then why stoop so low to force an interview from my boyfriend?"
Silence engulfed the place. Not a single person dared breathe, while the reporter’s lips trembled.
"I..."
Nothing came out. His microphone slipped from his numb fingers, the metallic sound echoing across the entrance plaza. Around him, the other reporters had gone deathly pale. Even veteran Hunters had instinctively stepped backward. Mr. Fatars slowly let out a long breath, struggling to stand.
"That pressure..." Mrs. Loraine stared at Chloe with widened eyes. "I couldn’t even circulate my mana..."
Miss Gertrude’s face had turned completely white.
"My telekinesis stopped."
It simply... refused to answer. The pressure this young woman emitted wasn’t merely powerful: It was regal, as though the cold itself acknowledged her as its sovereign.
Anna blinked once before sighing.
"She’s gotten scarier."
She wasn’t surprised by Chloe calling Silas her boyfriend. She’d already known that, after all, they had some good time together. What surprised her was how Chloe had spoken. The shy girl was no more. This was a queen speaking. Anna could feel it.
"Good. She’s finally being honest."
Beside Silas, Gromda looked at everyone in confusion. She didn’t understand a word. She just pointed proudly at Silas.
"My mate." Then she pointed at Chloe.
"Mate."
She then patted her own chest with an even bigger grin.
"Me too."
Anna looked at the enormous orc woman in disbelief, while the rest were still under the effects of Chloe’s icy gaze.
"Okay... This part is definitely new."
"I was... getting to that," Silas coughed awkwardly.
Anna folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Were you?"
"Eventually," Silas smiled innocently.
Gromda, sensing no hostility, happily wrapped one thick arm around Silas’s shoulders. Anna looked at the arm and commented with a blank expression.
"She’s strong enough to snap you in half."
"She could, but she won’t."
Gromda nodded enthusiastically, somehow understanding what Anna meant. Anna sighed before rubbing her temples.
"I leave you alone for barely three weeks, and you come back with an orc girlfriend, whom everyone thinks is your tamed monster."
Silas scratched his cheek.
"When you put it like that, it does sound a little weird."
"A little?" Anna deadpanned. "A little?"
