Chapter 172

"I'm not cold." Ashe looked at her thin, sleeveless white dress. "Ever since I mastered the power of the Frost Crystal Longbow, I've been basically immune to the cold."

"That sounds pretty impressive."

Yes, yes.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and Chen Ce was even unsure whether he should take a shower.

Fortunately, Ashe a moment, Aisha broke the awkward silence. "By the way, Mr. Chen Ce, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Okay, go ahead and ask." If it was something important, Chen Ce actually breathed a sigh of relief.

"Things in Freljord are mostly resolved, right? I mean... the 'things' that are relevant to you."

"Almost."

"Hmm... You helped Sejuani, you dealt with the Icefield Demon, and you even took care of Lissandra's troubles..."

"The truth is far more complicated than it sounds."

"But you still resolved everything." Ashe sat down as well, her slightly delicate body exuding a faint fragrance. "So...aren't you about to leave? I mean...leave...um... Freljord?"

The girl lowered her eyes, looking somewhat heavy-hearted.

Faced with this question, Chen Ce wanted to find some excuse to decline, but... the truth was just as the other party had said.

"Yes," he admitted, "I probably won't be staying in Freljord for much longer."

"Are you going back to Ionia?" Ashe asked again.

"No, I'll go to Noxus first."

"That barbaric empire in the south... well... when do you plan to set off?"

"Maybe... a few days later?"

"Oh..." This answer was somewhat expected by Ashe, but hearing it with her own ears still made it hard for her to suppress the reluctance that welled up in her heart.

It was too fast... everything happened too fast... so fast that she didn't even have a chance to fully grasp the opportunity...

After another moment of silence, she mustered her courage and asked in a hesitant tone, "Then... before you leave, could you do me one more favor...?"

"If it's within my power," Chen Ce naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Thank you... It's about the Freljord Alliance." Ashe brushed a strand of silver hair that had fallen beside her ear. "The establishment of the Freljord Alliance wouldn't have been possible without you, and I won't let your efforts be in vain."

"That's a bit too formal... but what does that have to do with me helping you?"

"Some..."

"Um?"

"I hope you will become one of the true leaders of Freljord —and that's everyone's wish as well. Your contributions to the League are undeniable, and everyone wants you to have an official title."

"I still don't quite understand..." Chen Ce was even more confused.

Until he noticed the girl beside him suddenly lower her head.

Ashe's cheeks flushed an unnatural red as she continued, "Another problem with the Alliance is... many tribes are constantly offering me marriage proposals, hoping I'll form a blood pact with someone from their tribe, and whichever I choose, I'll offend even more tribes..."

Hearing this, Chen Ce understood a little.

Ashe continued, "And now I have a good way to solve both problems at the same time... it's... it's... um... I think you can guess..."

"You want me to become your blood sworn brother?" Chen Ce, being somewhat of a straight man, directly uttered this blunt answer.

"..." Ashe's face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears.

Chen Ce, on the other hand, seemed quite composed.

This problem... well, actually he had a bit of a premonition beforehand—just like how things developed in the original timeline.

In the original timeline, although Ashe did not ally with Sejuani, she also formed a large alliance in the south—just not called the Freljord Alliance. Then she faced this "problem of the century".

Many tribes wanted their people to form a blood alliance with Ashe in order to improve their tribe's status in the Alliance, and in the process, the friction between tribes intensified.

From a power perspective, Ashe could certainly, like some Warmother —or even like her mother—form a blood pact directly with a large group of men, thus avoiding many conflicts.

But from a personal perspective, she didn't want to.

On the one hand, she didn't want to bring the conflicts between tribes into her camp; on the other hand—and more importantly—she absolutely didn't want to form a blood pact with someone she didn't like.

She had never even seen those men before.

Needless to say, feelings of affection are also a given.

They can be clansmen, but blood oaths are out of the question.

But... of course, she's not "afraid of marriage," she's just "afraid of people she doesn't like."

"Then... can you accept that...?" Ashe asked cautiously, afraid that her abruptness would frighten the handsome young man. "If not... then... actually... I can find someone else... it's just that it might be more difficult... because my conditions are quite demanding..."

"What are the conditions?" Chen Ce asked.

"It's just..." Ashe pursed her lips, then rattled off all her conditions in one breath:

"First of all, I will never form a blood pact with someone I've barely met. I need to find someone I have feelings for..."

"And the prerequisite for 'having a crush'... is that the guy is young, good-looking, and very capable..."

"Secondly, he must be proficient in using a sickle and a sword..."

"And then he had to come from outside Freljord..."

"Hmm... it would be best if it were from Ionia..."

"If I may make one last impolite request... it would be even better if his name contained the character 'Chen' or 'Ce'..."

After hearing this, Chen Ce was taken aback.

Then he scratched his head again, "Except for the last one, the other conditions don't seem to be a big problem."

"It's not big, but..." Ashe pursed her red lips and lowered her head again.

"But the conditions I mentioned were parallel conditions, not independent conditions..."

"..." Now it was Chen Ce's turn to fall silent.

Ashe put it tactfully, but it was also very direct.

The room was so large you could hear a pin drop.

Chen Ce was at a loss for what to do.

Until... he accidentally discovered a key point--

[Hero [Ashe, the Frost Archer], current interaction level 46]

Just four points of interaction away... one last push...

"I..." Chen Ce already had a plan in mind.

"You..." Ashe's heart was in her throat.

Fortunately, the other party's answer did not disappoint her.

Chen Ce uttered those three words that would normally be spoken by the woman elsewhere:

"I do."

"...!" Ashe's silver ahoge stood up.

Her fair face flushed crimson, and her rapid breathing prevented her from uttering a single word. She could only stammer incoherently, uttering things no one could understand. "You... I... really... blood oath... bed... on..."

[Hero [Ashe, the Frost Archer] Affinity +20!]

[Hero [Ashe the Frost Archer] Gratitude +10!]

[Hero [Ashe, the Frost Archer] Responsibility Value +20!]

[Current interaction level: 83!]

[Reward received: [Blue Chest] *1]

Ashe was so excited about her successful "proposal" that she lay down on the bed—she even seemed about to roll around on it, her pretty face flushed red as she buried it in the pillow, too ashamed to show herself.

Chen Ce was also very excited.

[Treasure chest successfully opened, reward received...]

Come on, let's go!

[Item [Control Ward] *3!]

Wow, the golden legend--

Etc...?

Control Ward... Control Ward...

Control... guard...?

Real... eye?

A Control Ward item worth only 75 gold?!

Chapter Forty-Seven: Little Genius Master Ai!

Chen Ce was extremely sad.

For so long, every time I opened the interaction chest, I got good stuff—skills, equipment, passive skills, you name it. Even the worst item was at least a level 2 piece of equipment.

But this time, it's different... Control Ward, three Control Ward...

The price is 75 gold per piece, and even selling three sets together wouldn't be worth as much as a single longsword...

But...

In the Rift, Master Ai's E skill is for scouting vision, and the purpose of Control Ward is also for scouting vision, so this could be considered a perfect match...

Difficult to find a clam...

"What's wrong? You look unhappy..."

A girl's gentle and concerned voice came from behind him, and Chen Ce forced a smile and turned his head away.

Ashe was looking at her with a worried expression.

"N-nothing... it's nothing..."

"Really?"

"Real..."

"Oh..."

Ashe adjusted her sleeping position with some skepticism.

Yes, they were lying on the same bed right now—well, the ice bed that Lissandra had prepared.

It could also be a "wedding bed".

Since we've agreed to form a blood pact, it's only natural that we'd sleep together at night.

Anyway... it's not like they haven't slept together before.

They were sleeping more intimately than usual—they were pressed closer together.

Ashe gradually got used to this intimate physical contact, but she was still a little shy.

Sleeping in the same bed with a handsome young man... no matter how many times you do it, you can't help but feel shy, right?

The girl was lost in thought.

Chen Ce was still thinking about his interaction reward chest—why, why did it have to be three broken Control Ward?

As he pondered this, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Unfortunately, Ashe is currently particularly sensitive.

"Mr. Chen Ce?" After hesitating for a moment, the girl couldn't help but call out to the young man beside her.

And a name suffix was carefully added.