Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route

Chapter 283: Nunu and Lissandra’s First Meeting

Seeing the adults who had suddenly appeared around the camp, a word instinctively surfaced in Nunu’s little mind, the Frostguard.

Black armor, black helmets, sharp weapons gleaming with polish. In the Freljord, the only tribe with equipment like that was the Frostguard Citadel.

Even powerful tribes like the Avarosans and the Winter’s Claw could not possess so much elite equipment, because the Freljord was simply too poor.

In the Freljord, mining ore was far more difficult than in other places. Thick frozen snow and earth were not something ordinary tribes could dig through. Because of that, most of the weapons circulating through the Freljord were made from ordinary stone, animal fangs, and bone.

"What are you going to do?!"

Nunu watched the Frostguard approach and hugged the flute to his chest, glaring fiercely at the person in front of him, Fura Brokenmark.

"If you come any closer, I won’t go easy on you!"

As he said this, Nunu bared his teeth and brandished his claws, roaring loudly in an attempt to scare off the adults in front of him.

But the only answer he received was a strong arm.

Fura picked Nunu up and tucked him under her arm, ignoring the little fellow as he punched and kicked. She simply raised her other hand, gestured lightly, and said in a quiet voice, "Move out."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Put me down! Let go of me! I have to find Mom! I’m not going with you!"

"Let go of me, bad guys!"

Listening to the shrill child’s voice beside her ear, Fura helplessly rolled her eyes. Then she looked up at the sky.

With her magic, she naturally sensed the presences above them, and that made Fura understand even less.

The Frostguard had always had the habit of taking in orphans and sending them to the Foundling Village. Most of those foundlings had not become orphans because of the Frostguard. Most were children whose families had been taken by the cold.

But since when had she, Fura Brokenmark, become the one in charge of taking in foundlings?

It was not that she looked down on this work, but given her status, was this not using a sword to carve a toy? No matter what... she could at least be considered Lissandra’s right-hand woman, couldn’t she?

Thinking of this, and sensing the little fellow beneath her still making a fuss, Fura’s resentment grew even stronger.

In a deep valley covered by wind and snow stood a small village. At night, moonlight spilled through the cold and fell across the slanted white stone houses. Beast furs were spread over the floors. On the dry grass beds lay a group of dirty children, wearing gray clothes that gave off a sharp, unpleasant smell, curiously watching the newly arrived child.

He was around five years old, with a fair, clean little face glowing with healthy color and a pair of lively green eyes that blinked brightly. He sat in a corner, and the clean, warm clothes on his body attracted the attention of the other children. Every single one of them looked at him.

Under their gazes, Nunu shrank in on himself a little. In his hand was food the adults had handed out, a few pieces of dried meat that were even harder than stones.

Nunu did not know how much time had passed, but he really was a little hungry. So he put the dried meat in his mouth, took a small sip of hot water, and began chewing with all his might.

The dried meat was salty and fragrant. It did not taste bad.

"You..." Just after he swallowed the first piece with difficulty, Nunu noticed the girl beside him drooling. She was skin and bones, her hair stuck to her forehead like dried grass, and she wore thick, filthy clothes. She was staring blankly at the dried meat in Nunu’s hand.

After thinking for a moment, Nunu stretched out his hand, picked up a piece of dried meat, and handed it to her. "Do you... do you want to eat? I’m not that hungry. If you’re hungry, you can have mine."

Nunu asked her.

The little girl froze, then instantly reached out, snatched the dried meat from Nunu’s hand, stuffed it into her mouth, and began chewing with all her strength.

"Wait, hey, slow down! Don’t hurt your teeth!" Seeing this, Nunu said anxiously. He tried to stop her as he continued, "My mom said teeth are really important, and you have to protect them. Lots of adults don’t take care of their teeth, so when they get old, they can’t eat anything and can only drink soup. That’s why they can’t make it through winter!"

As he was speaking, a voice sounded beside his ear. "That’s adults. We don’t have to worry about that. We’re going to lose our teeth and grow new ones anyway!"

Nunu turned his head and saw a big kid with white hair. He was so much taller than Nunu!

He stood in front of Nunu like a little grown-up. He did not look thin or fat, but his complexion had an unhealthy color. On his waxy yellow face, his bright eyes were curiously watching Nunu. After sizing Nunu up, the big kid spoke loudly. "Hey, what tribe are you from? Where’s your mom? Is she dead too?"

"She is not! Mom and I only got separated!" After hearing the boy’s words, Nunu instantly stood up, clenched his fists, and said firmly.

"Heh." The boy scoffed at Nunu’s words. With a snort of laughter, he said, "Every new kid here says that. They all say they just got separated from their parents, and that their family will come pick them up later. But in reality, no one ever comes for them. No one. Not a single one."

The big kid sniffled with his red nose. A bonfire burned inside the house, crackling in the stone pit at the center of the room, bringing heat and light to the stone house. But even with that, for these children, it was still too cold. So he huddled in on himself, then said to Nunu, "You’re the same."

"I’m not!" Nunu raised his voice and shouted, "My mom will definitely come find me, and even if... even if Mom can’t find me, I’ll go find her! I’ll definitely find her!"

"What? Are you crazy? You can’t leave this place alone. That’s too dangerous." Hearing Nunu’s words, the big kid frowned and said seriously.

He lowered his voice and warned him, "Bears, wolves, lots of dangerous things specifically eat kids like us. If you run out there alone, you’ll die."

"Die? What’s die?" Nunu froze and instinctively asked.

He really did not know what the word meant. He had heard adults say it before, and he had asked his mother about it too, but his mother had smiled and shaken her head, saying that this knowledge was still too far away for Nunu, and that he would understand when he got a little older.

"Death... death is, it’s like what’s happening with your mom right now. No one can find you anymore," the big kid said after thinking about it.

"Anyway, you can’t leave by yourself. Otherwise I’ll hit you!" The big kid raised his fist and threatened Nunu.

Nunu ducked his head a little and returned to the corner to sit down.

But he muttered under his breath, "I have a weapon. I’m not scared of you..."

At the same time, in another house in the Foundling Village, a forbidden place in the children’s eyes, a group of people sat on the ground beneath dim firelight.

"What are you going to do next?" Layka asked after removing her hood and revealing her black hair.

"First let Nunu adapt to life here. Then let him learn about the yeti. Mm, that part will require you to step in when the time comes." Logan looked at Lissandra as he spoke.

As he said this, he stirred the meat soup in the pot with a spoon. The black hanging pot gave off the scent of meat. After thinking for a moment, Logan said, "Have you always only fed these children this kind of food?"

Fura, who was drinking meat soup from a bowl, heard this, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. She quickly raised her head to glance at her master, then lowered it again.

Because Fura saw that the expression on Lissandra’s face had not changed.

Then Fura heard Lissandra’s voice.

"What else?" Lissandra’s voice was calm and cold. She continued, "The Avarosans and the Winter’s Claw received your help, but the Frostguard Citadel has never received aid from the Twin Cities."

"It hasn’t?" Logan blinked.

"Has it?" Lissandra asked Logan in return.

"You should’ve said something. If you didn’t say it, how was I supposed to know you wanted it?" Logan thought for a moment and realized that he really had never had the Twin Cities send supplies to the Frostguard Citadel.

Dried meat and fish soup could not provide proper nutrition. If not for Freljordians having strong bodies and large frames by nature, the children in the Foundling Village would generally all be little runts.

But even so, in this place, there were many children several years older than Nunu who were the same height as him.

Thinking of this, Logan helplessly put down the spoon, spread his hands, and said, "If you don’t speak up, how am I supposed to know you need these things?"

"Now you know," Lissandra said.

She really did need a great deal of food. Although she did not need to eat, her subordinates did, and so did the children she had taken in. As for asking Logan for things, Lissandra would not be polite.

Leaving aside the fact that she had helped Logan so much that it was only right for him to pay some of it back, just look at Logan’s Twin Cities. They were filthy rich, all right?

Those resources were something any Piltover noble could easily provide, and to them, it would not even be a problem.

Thinking of this, Lissandra sighed inwardly.

The Freljord truly was too barren. She, who possessed godhood, did not need to care about such things, but the people of the Freljord did.

Even with powerful combat strength and resilient hearts, they still could not truly become wealthy. That was the Freljord, the cruel frozen land of northern Runeterra.

"Mm. I’ll tell Janna later and have her pass it on to Mel. In a couple of days, when Nunu leaves this place, I’ll have Mel send people over with supplies." Logan nodded.

To be honest, this thing Lissandra had been doing in private was truly unfamiliar to Logan.

Even though his relationship with Lissandra was very good, Logan still had to admit that Lissandra really was a giant block of ice. But this same Lissandra had secretly been taking in large numbers of foundlings and raising them as they grew up.

You could say this was Lissandra atoning for her past self, but no matter how you put it, she was still doing a good thing, wasn’t she?

"In a few days, meet Nunu. Say some things about Layka, then talk about the yeti. Let Nunu know the yeti exists, and reveal to him that you are troubled by the yeti hurting people."

"Will that really work?" Nilah had not spoken earlier because she had been drinking meat soup. It was her first time drinking meat soup this delicious, so she had naturally eaten it with great enthusiasm. Now that she had finished, her chatterbox personality naturally emerged.

"Of course, it still needs a little bait. Nunu is a clever child. Because he wants to find his mother, he’ll try to draw Lissandra’s attention. For that, he’ll think of every possible way to prove himself."

Layka listened from the side, feeling somewhat pained.

Although, looking at it now, these things truly would not put Nunu in danger.

But as his mother, how could she not feel heartbroken watching her young child suffer?

That night, the stars lit up the Freljord. In the stone house where the children of the Foundling Village slept, the flames of the once-burning bonfire had weakened, leaving only dark red coals still glowing.

Sleeping on the scratchy fur bed, Nunu curled his little body into a ball, tightly hugging his mother’s flute in his arms.

He was very sad, and he could not sleep, because this was the first time he had gone to sleep at night without his mother. In the past, his mother’s beautiful voice would sing lullabies and tell stories for Nunu. But now, he could only listen to the coughing of the other children around him, as well as their crying.

But no matter how sad he was, Nunu held it in. He did not cry.

Because Mom had said crying was useless.

He was his mom’s little snufflenose monster. He... was very strong.

Today was Nunu’s third day living in the Foundling Village. During these three days, Nunu discovered that several more children had arrived in the village one after another. They were around the same age as Nunu, some boys and some girls.

What they had in common was that they kept crying. The unfamiliar environment and the panic of leaving their families made them afraid.

But Nunu was different. He did not cry!

Nunu also began to become dirty like the other children. Although the children in the Foundling Village did not need to work, they still had to do daily cleaning, so dust had stained Nunu’s clothes as well.

That made him feel a little uncomfortable. After all... the clothes he was wearing had been made by his mother. He loved them so much, and he cherished these clothes with the animal-eared hat more than anything.

Holding a broom and clearing the snow outside the door, Nunu was thinking about how to run out and leave this place to find his mother when he suddenly heard a commotion.

"Lady Lissandra."

"Lady Lissandra, the new children have all been settled."

"Lady Lissandra..."

Nunu heard the adults’ voices. Curious, he walked over with the broom in his hands, and then he heard a name, Lissandra.

Such a familiar name...

Nunu thought instinctively, his mouth opening.

Then he saw a tall person. It was a woman. He could not see her face clearly, because a strange dark blue helmet blocked it. He could not see her legs either, because her legs were wrapped in dark ice!

Those ice blocks flowed like water, writhing and shifting, and in the next moment, the woman had already appeared in front of Nunu.

"Oh my gosh!"

Nunu’s big eyes widened.

He recognized her!

Some things could be recognized even without a name. In fact, some things should not need a name.

That was the Frostguard Citadel!

And the Howling Abyss hidden beneath it!

This woman named Lissandra was someone who had appeared in the stories his mother had told him.

She was the youngest sister among the great hero Three Sisters!

Thinking this, Nunu also understood where he was now.

He was at the Frostguard Citadel! That Frostguard Citadel everyone feared!

His little heart thumped and thumped as Nunu raised his head and looked at the tall woman from the legends in front of him.

Then Nunu noticed that she had also turned her face toward him, as if... she was looking at him?

No, that was not right. Lissandra did not have eyes!

The mighty Volibear had clawed out Lissandra’s eyes. She was blind. Nunu knew that story!

But the strange thing was, Nunu felt that Lissandra was looking at him.

Surrounded by the Frostguard, Lissandra calmly turned her head while looking at Nunu, who had been staring at her face the entire time.

"The same as always."

Nunu heard Lissandra’s voice.

A figure from legend appearing in front of him sparked his curiosity. He carried his broom and pretended to sweep the ground, inching closer bit by bit as he prepared to listen to what the adults were discussing.

"Have the tribespeople leave that place. The yeti is dangerous. If we cannot drive it away, then we will flee from it."

"Also, tell everyone that if anyone can solve the yeti problem, I will grant them one wish."

Nunu heard Lissandra say this.

Looking at the group of adults and hearing about the yeti...

He knew about yetis. His mother had told him yeti stories!

Because of that, Nunu lowered his head and looked at the broom in his hands. Then his gaze moved past the broom and landed on the flute tied at his waist.

A bold idea was born in his mind.

Nunu made a decision, a decision that would let him become a great hero and find his mother!

"This is definitely going to be a good idea!"

The little fellow shouted loudly in his heart.

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