Conquering His Cold Heart

"What's left is just the gold coins, far less exciting but certainly unforgettable." The same servant who retrieved the items from the vault returned with another storage ring, one with far lower quality, it too would be a gift for Frost, an extra if you will.

"First off is the gold allocated by the adventurer's guild which amounts to 30 coins, divided into the standard pay for a B-rank adventurer during the late stages of the monster stampede, the hazard pay from combatting superior enemies, a bonus for changing the tide of battle at dangerous moments, Kiba's fast and reliable saving of numerous wounded and finally the excess from the mountains of monster materials recovered due to the war." Leo explained how the total of 30 gold coins was calculated but even, so Frost was pretty blown away.

30 gold coins was no small amount, adding on the three special items he just received his total income was likely nearing 100 gold coins. Not bad for a few days work. Being a high-level adventurer was certainly a very high-income job.

"Next, we have the additional gold reward from our household which is split between you personally answering our call for aid as a friend, saving my father from certain death, killing the dreaded rindar commander in a duel and finally payment for the supplies you brought in our time of need.

All of which amounts to another 20 gold coins." Leo pulled out the entire 50 gold coins and piled them before Frost in sets of ten. The bright gold shimmered in the light, giving off a gold sheen that sparkled in people's eyes.

That was a lot of gold, far more than Frost had even seen however he had gotten a little more used to money since his first encounter thus he managed to slightly restrain his expression, displaying only a wide smile even though internally his heart was performing backflips and singing "Money! Money! Money! Money! Money!"

Even Leo who was the heir to the Viscounty and who'd been involved in more than a few high-level transactions couldn't help but have his lips twitch and his hands tremble as he put the money back in the storage ring. Those 50 gold coins completely eclipsed the savings he had in the bank.

'Haaaaa maybe I should keep at the adventuring gig for a bit longer.' Leo was already in training to become the next head of the house, once completed he'd have far less opportunity to go on adventures and rake in the dough. Being the head of a territory certainly entailed a large amount of income but the vast majority of it would be used to cover the territories' many expenses i.e.

maintaining the manor, the towns and villages, paying wages etc… only a small sum would actually end up in his pocket a personal spending money. Plus, money earned as an adventurer or through personal hard work felt more empowering.

He looked at his father and wanted to lay some blame on the old man considering he got to keep adventuring until he was in his mid-twenties but erased that line of thought a moment later. His father had endured enough it was time he did his share.

"This is yours now, spend it wisely." Leo said as gently as possible, masking his jealously the best he could.

"Hehehehe I will, don't worry." Frost giggled seeing right through his young friend but chose not to rub it in too much.

'If I simply turned the 50 gold coins into DP that'd be 50,000 right off the bat but unfortunately there's another need for it.' 50,000 DP was certainly tempting but the camp he was in the middle of establishing needed startup capital, 50 gold coins would go a long way in ensuring a smooth workflow.

'I should visit the bank again tomorrow to get at least half of the gold coins changed into coppers and silvers.' Though there was a small charge for such a service Frost was in need of a variety of coins not just gold.

With the rewards handed over as well as the lavish amount of gold it was finally time for everyone to hit the hay. Cassandra and a servant helped Douglas to the bedroom while Luna and Leo helped Ryuu and Jaina and Frost helped Bastion who really wasn't used to using his crutches. Medical staff were on standby outside their rooms to be ready at a moment's notice.

Frost returned his room where he recently slept like a log for 16 hours. He didn't feel all that tired thanks to that but after a quick dip in the bath he quickly entered a deep sleep.

He had a few more places to visit tomorrow while he was still in Furano. The bank, a couple workshops as well as laying the last breadcrumbs for Borris. Having such an experienced smith in his new budding territory, someone who could teach his ronsos as well exchange ideas with Daki was a highly desired asset, plus he was quite fond of the old man.

Time passed and Frost woke up from his sleep at roughly 8 in the morning, the sun already rising in the sky and many people were already on their way or at work. He stretched his arms up high above his head causing his back to crack.

He then looked at the clock, saw the time and nodded before casting clean up magic and donning his robes, the brand-new starlight mithril tunic hidden underneath the armour forged by Daki thus greatly improving his defence. He hardly even felt the new addition to his line-up, bringing a smile to his face.

After calling for a servant he was guided to the dining room for breakfast. Leo, Luna and Jaina weren't present as they had mountains of work to do. They left before the crack of dawn, picking up the slack of their elders who were currently injured. Douglas was still in bed resting as was Ryuu, but Cassandra and Bastion were there. They smiled and greeted Frost as he entered.

Bastion sounded a lot more chipper after their hurrah last night, no longer feeling as pessimistic about his situation.

"So, what are your plans today? And remember we've got the celebration tonight so be back by 5." Cassandra asked and reminded him about the grand celebration, a clear twinkle in her eyes as she did. She absolutely loved the grand celebration that happened every few years, never did she feel as close to the populace as she did during those events.

"5, alright. I plan on visiting a few more stores and workshops in regards to working with my territory. Hardly any showed any interest yesterday, but a few stated what they needed for such a venture to be viable thus giving me clear goals for the future.

It'll be difficult in the beginning with few people taking the risk but after we've been established for a few months or even years I'm sure we'll be far more appealing." Cassandra and Bastion both nodded agreeing with him.

Hardly anyone would be willing to dive into a such a new venture, it entailed a lot of risk after all however once that risk was lessened or even eliminated Frost would likely be the one doing the rejecting.

"And after?"

"Well, I need to visit the bank again, I'll likely open an account and change some of my gold into lesser coins so as to support the early stages of the territory. After that I plan to visit Borris, the one who forged my glaive then I'm free."

"Borris, the old dwarven smith in the money pit sector?" Cassandra questioned noting that Frost's intentions were to possibly poach him. She wouldn't have minded that much when he was till a 3-star smith given his advanced age, but he was now a 4-star smith, the best Furano had access to.

Frost's lips twitched at her tone and weirdly intimidating gaze, realising that his plot had been seen through.

"Haaaaaaa yes that's the one and yes, your assumption is correct I do intend to bring up him moving to my territory. We've already had a few discussions about it since he'd been feeling rather uninspired lately and wished to reignite his passion through travelling." Frost let out a sigh and displayed his intentions openly, lying would get him nowhere and would only insult their friendship.

Cassandra continued to eye him with her intimidating gaze as she ran numbers in her head and thought of the benefits and cons before going over Frost's words clearly. Eventually however she also sighed and gave a reply.

"Although I would obviously prefer such a skilled smith staying in Furano, if he's willing to leave due to lack of inspiration and truly wishes to join you there's nothing, I can say about it however you must be above board in your offers and not mislead him in any way.

Plus, his store in Furano must remain open and we can use his new status to promote the smithing industry in our territory." She spoke firmly, allowing for no negotiation. Borris's advanced age and her friendship with Frost played a big part in her compromising this much as when you get down to it Frost was literally stealing their talent to benefit his own territory.

"Certainly, it's only Borris who's showed interest in a change and as far as I know he's already in the process of handing over the store to his children effectively semi-retiring. But I'll relay your words to him when I meet him later." Frost had no issues with Cassandra's demands as they didn't disadvantage him in any way.

"Alright then you can do as you see fit." She nodded her head in acceptance before digging into a fruit salad that was to be her breakfast. Bastion however glanced at Frost warily before speaking.

"You better not plan on poaching any of my guild staff." He said in a slightly serious and slightly joking manner.

"No, not yet anyway."

"You!"

"I'm kidding, relax I know better than to lay my hands on the adventurers guild especially during such hectic times." Frost laughed at seeing Bastion suddenly flare up. Of course, he'd be delighted to have the guild staff under his wing as they'd be great for handling the influx of adventurers visiting his dungeon but doing so would make him a clear enemy of the guild.

If or rather when the guild decides to build a branch in his camp, he'd be able to broach the transfer of staff in an official manner but until then he'd have to do most of the work himself.

"Hmph!" Bastion hmphed before digging into his meal which was something tailored to his recovery i.e. focused more on benefits than taste, a good reason why he was so grouchy.

After breakfast Frost visited Kiba in the monster stables and informed him that he'd be wandering around town again and that he should stay and play with some of the other battle mounts in the meantime. This got him an annoyed growl but eventually he turned away to interact with a couple ice wolves he'd gotten close with, forgetting all about Frost.

'Guess I'll start with the shops and workshops then.'