Dungeon of Niflheim

With their choices decided it was time for him to choose. ‘I’ve already tried the artic boar burger and the house curry, let’s try something different.’ Frost had a look over the fish section eager to give it a try.

The waitress returned with their juices a few minutes later, the kids drinks came with goofy shaped straws, a nice touch.

“Have you decided on what to order?” She brought out a notepad to take down their orders.

“Yes, we have, I’ll have the grilled trout please. Maya?” Frost hadn’t heard what Maya had decided but the most expensive dish wasn’t even 5 silvers, so he wasn’t worried.

“I’ll have the frost wolf ribs, barbeque style please.” Maya responded with a smile.

“And for the little cuties?” The waitress smiled while looking at Nanna and Loki.

“Haaaaaa they’ll have a roast pig....each.” Frost sighed before answering.

“Roast pigs good ch....wait what?” The waitress started to write down the request before stuttering mid-sentence. She looked towards Frost with confusion as if she heard wrong. That was the largest dish they served, even grizzled adventurers would struggle to finish such a meal yet they these two children wanted one and not to share but each.

.....

“Haaaaaa yes they’ll have a roast pig each.” Frost sighed again before repeating the order, fully expecting such a reaction. Some of the nearby patrons that overheard couldn’t help but glance over towards their table.

The waitress stood stunned, flipping between looking at Frost and the kids but eventually she nodded her head and left towards the kitchen. Whatever the customers ordered wasn’t her concern, she just needed to relay their orders to the kitchen and bring them to the tables. Kathy already arranged for any leftovers from the restaurant to be supplied to the needy, so nothing would technically go to waste.

Frost looked toward the kids who started to feel a little guilty about their orders thanks to the strange looks they were receiving from the nearby patrons.

“Just ignore them, you ordered what you wanted, nothing wrong with that. Just try to eat as much as you can and enjoy it.” Frost rubbed their heads to alleviate their worries.

Thankfully their concerns were unfounded. When the two roast pigs came out and were placed before Nanna and Loki, they dug in with relish, devouring the pig at an incredible rate. The show was so inspiring that everyone in the restaurant watched them from start to finish with their mouths agape. By the end there was nothing, but bones left on the plates and two young kids with severely bloated bellies.

“Burrrrpppp” Nanna and Loki instinctively released a large burp as they rubbed their full stomachs with massive smiles plastered on their faces.

“Hahahahhahahaha”

“Well done little ones!”

“Good show!”

In response the crowd roared in excitement, dishing out compliments to Nanna and Loki, bringing a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere to the restaurant.

Frost’s fish and Maya’s ribs were both very enjoyable but were overshadowed by the acts of Nanna and Loki.

“Hoh, I hope you two aren’t too full to eat dessert?” Once Frost and Maya finished their meals and Nanna and Loki were becoming a little embarrassed from all the praises from the nearby strangers. Kathy came out of the kitchen carrying covered plates. This was her special treat that she only made for children.

Hearing Kathy’s voice Nanna and Loki perked up and remembered the promise of a special treat, there was always room for sweets. They looked over at the hidden dishes with desire, completely forgetting their swollen bellies.

Kathy moved with mystery, using sleight of hand to move the dishes in and out of Nanna’s and Loki’s sight as she moved closer, increasing the allure. By the time Kathy actually arrived at the table Nanna and Loki’s eyes were sparkling and they were on the edges of their seats.

“Baboom two super special kid’s treats, Kathy’s special sundaes!” Kathy plopped down the two dishes and revealed the prize underneath. Two highly decorated sundaes, covered in sprinkles and colourful sauces. The kids swooned and their eyes became saucers. Getting her desired reactions Kathy withdrew two large spoons and armed the kids.

“Now don’t eat to fast otherwise you’ll get...brain freeze.” Kathy didn’t warn them in time. The moment she armed them with spoons, Nanna and Loki dived right in, scooping up large chunks. The brain freeze hit them like a freight train causing them to hold their heads in pain. This elicited a friendly chuckle from Maya, Frost, and the nearby patrons, so cute.

After making sure to listen to Kathy’s instructions Nanna and Loki ate the rest of their desert slowly, savouring every last bite.

“Can I get you two anything? Coffee? Dessert?” Kathy asked Frost and Maya if they wanted anything.

“I’ll take a hot chocolate please.” Frost replied, it was supposedly a mixture of a desert and drink costing 30 coppers.

“Coffee for me please, straight.” Coffee was a cheap hot drink commonly drunk whenever alcohol wasn’t available. Strong and bitter, perfect for the cold weather, with the added benefit of caffeine. A single cup cost 10 coppers, 15 if wanting sugar.

“Perfect, I’ll be back shortly.” Kathy smiled before heading back into the kitchen, it’d take a while for Nanna and Loki to make their way through the sundaes.

After 15 minutes Nanna and Loki finished their sundaes leaving not a single bit of ice cream or sprinkle, even going to the extent of licking their plates clean. Frost and Maya enjoyed their hot drinks as well as the adorable scene before them. Nanna and Loki started to become very drowsy after their meal, struggling to keep their eyes open.

“Maya why don’t you take Nanna and Loki upstairs to bed, I’ll take care of the bill.” Seeing Nanna and Loki starting to drift and yawn he spoke up.

“Sure, thing young master.” Maya replied gently before standing up and helping Nanna and Loki out of the restaurant and upstairs. They’d let them nap for a few hours before meeting back up with Leo and the rest.

Frost promptly requested the bill and paid for their meals, it didn’t even cost ten silvers, much cheaper than phoenix fledgling. He then made his way up to room 14 finding that Nanna and Loki were already tucked away in bed. This brought a smile to his face.

“They’re all tuckered out young master. The whole events of today were quite taxing on their young bodies.” Maya was sitting on one of the chairs provided in the room. Frost joined her in the other, making sure to keep his voice to a whisper. The two of them had a few things to talk about.

“How are they?” Frost asked with a serious expression. Maya frowned a little before responding.

“The damage is quite extensive, if they were just regular beastmen or human, their bodies would likely have been permanently crippled by their treatment. Thanks to their inherent strong phoenix bloodline their regenerative powers saved them from that disastrous fate. Ironically however it was also likely the reason for them being abused so harshly, low risk of permanent damage.” Maya explained with a painful tone, throughout their time together Maya had been inspecting Nanna’s and Loki’s bodies with her powerful and dexterous mana. With it she was able to discover remnants of their past injuries and the findings greatly disturbed her. Nanna especially had much more injuries hidden throughout her body than her younger brother, likely due to her personality refusing to submit.

Frost frowned, his fists clenching before he nodded, having Maya continue.

“As long as they’re fed well and get plenty of rest, they’ll be able to recover fully in a less than two weeks. After which they’ll likely be stronger than average for kids their age, they’re full of potential young master. With training they’ll become a powerful force even before maturity.” Maya praised the two’s abilities. Normally those with powerful bloodlines like Nanna and Loki would naturally become powerful once they mature, usually 16 years old or so but Nanna and Loki’s body’s were so chock full of potential that they’d be able to reach even B-rank or so without relying on their phoenix beastification. An incredible find.

Frost’s brow raised in surprise not expecting them to be so talented, of course they’d still need sufficient training but at least this way Frost wouldn’t need to wait several years before they could be of sufficient use.

“By the way how old are they exactly?” Frost hadn’t the chance to ask yet.

“Nanna is 11 while Loki is 9 and they’ve been enslaved for the past 6 years, being transferred from captor to captor. They were held by Adam for the past 6 months and were due to be sent off to someone important once the slave collars took full effect.” Maya replied with a frown, if Frost didn’t come across them, they would have been doomed.

“Younger than I thought....did they perhaps know anything about their next destination?” Frost asked with serious expression. He fought Adam and viewed his entire vault and knew of his background. No matter how well known or rich he was, Adam was still a measly non-landed Baron from the countryside how could he have access to such prized possessions or be entangled with something involving the Church of Light. Frost felt that the person receiving Nanna and Loki was of far more danger. He frowned as he tried to think but came up short, he lacked information.

“No, they didn’t, just that Adam was forcing them to undertake the slave tattoo ritual before they were to be sent off.” Maya frowned; she was intrigued. Anything related to the Church of Light she wished to be apprised of, even for her the Church of Light was a dangerous opponent. She couldn’t have her young master engage such threats, not yet anyway.

“We’ll deal with it when it becomes an issue, for now however we’ll take Nanna and Loki back home, get them situated before starting their training. Can they also enter the training room or is it just me?” Frost put the notion about Nanna and Loki’s previous future owner to the back of his mind, it wasn’t important for now. Leo and likely the royal family would be scouring the scene for any traces of the Church of Light making them too preoccupied to worry about Frost and recovering their stolen merchandise.

“There shouldn’t be any issue with them using it. The room only restricts using its features, simply training in the space should be fine.” Maya shrugged while she spoke, the training room was just another space without any restrictions. As long as either Frost or Maya brought them in, they could access it without issue, well at least for the time he had access to the room. Maya would still be required to summon targets and other training materials.

“Good, out of the mountains of clothes you bought them, are any suitable for training?” Frost asked fully expecting the answer to be a no.

“Hahaha I’m not that much of a money wastrel, I got them each a couple sets of training clothes, hard wearing and durable plus they looked quite nice.” Maya spoke with a little sarcasm knowing that her young master fully expected her to not buy anything practical for them.

“......” Frost was silent before eventually breaking into a wide smile.

“....Do you think I made the correct decision?” Frost asked with a pained look in his eyes while gazing at the two sleeping children.

“You mean whether or not you should have A. ignored the kids suffering and walked away, B. did as they asked and ended their pain then and there or C. left them in the hands of the Northrend empire to be studied before being eliminated.”

“....Yes, you and father both stressed that my identity as a dungeon core should be kept hidden, yet here I am willingly bringing two children that I know nothing about in on my most guarded secret. It’s exactly the opposite of being safe.” Frost was feeling torn between logic and what his instincts were telling him. Logically he had no need to help out Nanna and Loki nor did he need to even assist Leo in anyway, but he did. He was a dungeon core and not a member of their family or even a citizen of the Northrend empire yet why did he feel the need to intervene.