Chapter 73: Proper Introduction

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Proper Introduction

Damon noticed the silence and smiled first.

"No need to look so serious."

He scratched the back of his head.

"I’m Damon."

He stretched out his hand.

"It’s nice to finally meet you while you’re awake."

The girl hesitated.

Just for a moment.

Then she slowly accepted the handshake.

"My..."

She cleared her throat.

"My name is Caelia."

There was another small pause.

"Caelia Winterbourne."

Her voice carried a slight stutter at first.

Understandable after everything that had happened.

But the moment their eyes met properly...

Something changed.

The hesitation disappeared.

Her grip became firmer.

She straightened her back.

The uncertainty in her expression faded, replaced by calm confidence.

Damon immediately noticed it.

Noble upbringing.

Only someone trained from childhood could recover their composure that quickly.

She neither lowered her gaze nor tried to avoid eye contact.

She met his eyes directly.

Confident.

Polite.

Composed.

It was completely different from the delicate girl lying unconscious only minutes ago.

Damon smiled inwardly.

She’s tougher than she looks.

Caelia released his hand.

"You..."

She looked at him carefully.

"How did you get here?"

"And... what happened after I lost consciousness?"

Straight to the point.

Damon liked that.

He nodded.

"I came through another passage."

"The one behind the Stormreign Wyvern."

That immediately caught her attention.

"The guardian outside?"

"You know about it?"

"I fought it."

Caelia’s eyes widened.

"You defeated that one too?"

Damon gave an awkward laugh.

"Barely."

"It wasn’t exactly easy."

He glanced at Freya and Sylphie.

"They helped a lot."

Freya proudly lifted her chin.

Sylphie chirped happily.

Damon continued.

"I actually found the passage thanks to Sylphie."

He gently patted the little Roc.

"She was scouting and stumbled across it."

"So after dealing with the guardian, we came through."

"I walked in just as you were fighting the Tyrant."

Caelia quietly listened without interrupting.

When he mentioned finding her unconscious...

Her expression became slightly awkward.

The Frost Lynx had already explained enough through their bond.

She knew.

He had saved her life.

She was grateful.

Very grateful.

But...

Remembering the state she had been in made her ears turn slightly red.

She had never imagined anyone would see her looking so helpless.

Damon noticed the subtle change and smiled to himself.

She’s easy to read.

Trying not to embarrass her further, he skipped over that part.

"The important thing is you’re alright now."

Caelia let out a quiet breath.

"...Thank you."

Her voice was softer this time.

"And..."

She looked toward the Frost Lynx.

"...Thank you for saving my partner too."

Damon waved a hand.

"It wasn’t just me."

He pointed at Freya.

"She would’ve complained if I ignored you."

Freya puffed out her chest proudly.

"And Sylphie would’ve dragged me over there anyway."

"Crii!"

Sylphie chirped happily, completely agreeing with him.

A faint smile finally appeared on Caelia’s face.

Small.

But genuine.

Damon blinked for a second.

She smiles... nicely.

He quickly cleared his throat before his thoughts wandered.

"Anyway..."

"My turn."

He folded his arms.

"I’ve answered your questions."

Caelia nodded.

"Fair enough."

Damon looked around the unfamiliar chamber before returning his gaze to her.

"So..."

"How did you end up here?"

"And..."

He looked beyond the Frostfang Tyrant’s corpse toward the depths of the cavern.

"...Where exactly are we?"

Damon noticed the change in Caelia’s expression the moment he asked.

The confidence she had shown earlier faded a little. Her shoulders relaxed, and for a brief moment she looked... tired.

She took a quiet breath before answering.

"...We’re inside another Distorted Zone."

She looked toward the frozen landscape stretching beyond the battlefield.

"My family calls it the Frostveil Expanse."

Damon followed her gaze.

The world beyond was covered in endless ice. Giant frozen cliffs stood in every direction while snow drifted through the air without ever stopping. Ancient glaciers stretched into the distance, glowing faintly beneath layers of blue crystal. It was beautiful.

And strangely quiet.

Caelia continued.

"My family has guarded this place for generations."

"It wasn’t always this dangerous."

"We slowly pushed deeper every year, clearing beasts and collecting resources."

She pointed toward several ice crystal veins embedded inside a nearby cliff.

"The Frostveil Expanse produces high grade ice elemental ores, Aether Crystals, rare herbs and many other treasures."

"For an ice family..."

She smiled bitterly.

"It’s practically our lifeline."

Damon nodded.

He understood immediately.

"But things changed."

Her voice grew quieter.

"The zone started expanding."

"More beasts appeared."

"Then stronger ones."

"The pressure kept increasing until it became difficult even for our family."

She clenched her fist.

"We’ve been holding the front line for years."

Damon stayed silent.

His mind had already connected the pieces.

"So the other families decided to wait."

Caelia looked at him.

"You figured that out already?"

"It isn’t hard."

Damon shrugged.

"If your family keeps risking everything to weaken the Distorted Zone, why would anyone help?"

"They wait."

"They let your family pay the price."

"When you’re exhausted, they step in later and enjoy the rewards."

Caelia let out a small laugh.

"...Exactly."

"There are still good people in the city."

"But the major families..."

"They’re waiting."

"They know every battle weakens us."

"They’re hoping we’ll collapse before the Distorted Zone does."

There wasn’t much anger in her voice anymore.

Just disappointment.

Damon scratched his cheek.

"Politics."

"I never liked them."

She looked at him before laughing softly.

"...Neither do I."

Now everything made sense.

Damon finally understood why she had challenged the Frostfang Tyrant alone.

"You sneaked in."

Caelia looked away.

"...Yes."

"You wanted to find whatever was causing the zone to grow stronger."

She nodded slowly.

"If I could solve it..."

"...our family wouldn’t have to keep sacrificing people."

Damon could finally see the whole picture.

She wasn’t reckless.

She simply carried too much responsibility.

Someone like her...

A genius trusted by her family...

Would naturally try to shoulder everything herself.

Unfortunately...

She had almost paid with her life.

Caelia lowered her head.

"I failed."

"If you hadn’t arrived..."

She didn’t finish the sentence.

She didn’t need to.

Damon smiled lightly.

"You’re alive."

"That’s enough."