Return of the Frozen Player

Mio walked quietly. The Tenmei Main House had lost its warmth in just a week.

"Haaa." She sighed as she looked around the lonely corridors and rooms.

‘Even though everyone seemed like they would be well off for thousands of years.’

Some died on the 5th Floor, and some were found dead at their homes. Her father killed himself while in Rengoku Prison. Perhaps that was why a bit of guilt made the corners of her eyes droop.

‘Was I too harsh?’

Perhaps her father made the decision to kill himself because she had spoken so coldly to him and left without hearing him out. Feeling uncomfortable, she soon arrived at the family head’s room.

‘….’

The empty space was dark, and no candles were lit, unlike usual. When she stepped into the darkness, she suddenly felt scared. Many people were saying that they were horrible, but they were still her family.

'Now…'

She was truly alone. Mio started shivering amidst the sense of loneliness and loss.

'Can I do it?’

Mio sat in a cold chair with doubts. She had no idea if she could do it. She wondered if she could lead the historic and huge Tenmei family by herself.

‘Fighting monsters would be easier.’

After all, she was good at it, so she felt confident about it. However, it wasn't the case for this. Even she had acknowledged that she wasn’t good at talking and wasn’t very good at socializing.

Thump, thump, thump!

All of a sudden, she heard dozens of people running from across the hall. Soon, the doors of the family head’s room were flung open.

"Miss Mio!"

"So you were here!"

"This isn’t the time to be standing around like this!"

They were the director of the Sky Soul Guild and the elders of the Tenmei family. With a look of urgency, they raised a clamor and spoke to Mio.

"At this rate, the Sky Soul Guild will disappear without a trace!"

"I don't know which crazy punk did it, but someone submitted an application to the World Player Association for the dissolution of the guild.”

"I looked into it, and Miss should be able to prevent the guild’s dissolution.”

"First of all, we decided to make Miss the Vice Guild Master of the Sky Soul Guild..."

Tenmei Mio's eyes turned cold. She looked at the noisy old men and spoke, "Have you lot forgotten where you are?”

"H-huh?"

"This is..."

There was no way they wouldn’t know where they were. After all, they always talked about guild-related matters here.

“Have you lot always been like this? You open these doors as you please, scream, and barge in with your feet covered in dirt?”

"That's not true, but…”

"Hey, Mio, we’re in an urgent situation."

"Don't drop the honorifics." Tenmei Mio stood up and stared at them. Despite the saying that pride would eventually lead to one’s downfall, it had only been two days since her father died.

"Standing in front of you is the head of the Tenmei family…"

“…”

The director of the Sky Soul Guild and the elders of the Tenmei family looked at each other's faces. Then, they smiled like sly foxes and spoke, "We know, we know. It was just a slip of the tongue. Who will lead the Tenmei family if it’s not Mio-nim?"

"We are all saddened by the tragedy. But now, we have to be practical and deal with the urgent issues."

"The Big 6. Big 6. Mio-nim knows how much effort your father—I mean the previous family head spent to place the Sky Soul Guild in that position.”

"The guild is about to be torn into pieces, but are you okay with that?"

They spoke in soft voices as if they were coaxing a child. Unfortunately for them, Mio wasn’t a fool, so there was no way she wouldn’t know their intentions.

‘They want to stop the dissolution of the Sky Soul Guild no matter what.’

What would happen afterward was clear. If things went well, she would become a puppet, a nominal guild master. If things went south, they would fight over the ownership of the guild.

"…I understand everyone’s intention, but I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

"As the head of the Tenmei family, Mio-nim should set aside her emotions and prioritize the family!"

"We are busy with many things, and who knows when we will get the opportunity to talk again?"

The old men stared at Mio with ragged breaths and distorted faces.

‘As expected… Perhaps I’m really not suitable for this.’

She tried to act tough, unlike herself, and take the initiative. However, she felt like a child in front of old, seasoned snakes. When she realized her limits, she felt nauseous and weak all over.

'… I'm tired. I feel like throwing up.’

Mio closed her eyes tightly in exhaustion.

"Huh, huuuh?!"

"This… What is this!"

"Hiiiiik!"

All of a sudden, the old foxes started convulsing at once. Mio’s eyes widened when she heard the fear in their voice, and she was surprised to see something else.

'That's...'

It was a wolf—a wolf made of darkness. It was a pitch-black, familiar wolf. The beast was drooling from its mouth, and it threatened the old foxes in the room.

"T-this… isn't that Watchguard of Darkness?!"

"That's right! Specter—he must be around here!"

They started shouting, and the door opened silently in response.

A man then walked into the room.

“…”

It was Seo Jun-Ho with a long face. After confirming that it was truly him, the old men started pointing their fingers with red faces.

"You punk! Where do you think this is? How dare you come here!"

"You’re Young Master Oga’s killer, you’re our enemy!"

"Security! What the hell is the security doing?"

"They’re probably sleeping.”

He put some people to sleep on the way here, and he wasn't actually alone.

"And what did you just say?" Seo Jun-Ho nodded. "You said I’m your enemy?"

He then pulled out a sword from his Inventory.

"I always kill my enemies whenever we meet, so you all will have to die now.”

“…!”

At that, the old men of the Tenmei family and the Sky Soul Guild kept their mouths shut. They were afraid of being beaten up if they were to open their mouths hastily. However, the director of the Sky Soul Guild courageously gave it a shot.

"You punk! Do you really think that you can do anything just because people call you a Hero? Do you really think it’s fine for you to persecute us? We’re just ordinary citizens!”

"You’re correct.” Seo Jun-Ho narrowed his eyes and said, "It won’t be fine even if you say that she’s a Hero."

"W-what are you…."

"Look." Seo Jun-Ho did not say much. He simply pointed with the tip of his sword. He was pointing at a trembling girl who had lost all her family and was now alone. "Right now, she needs to be comforted more than anyone else, yet you grown adults are rushing to make her do back-breaking work?

"That's right. How dare these people make our youngest cry?”

"It seems that I will have to hit you all a few times."

"And a bullet from me as well."

When Mio saw them, she lowered her head and shed a few tears silently. However, the next words she said weren’t words of appreciation. "Why are you so... late?"

She was whining like a child. Seo Jun-Ho, Skaya, Rahmadat, and Gilberto smirked at their youngest's childish behavior.

"She’s crying again. Horns will start growing on your butt if you keep that up."[1]

"Rahmadat, as far as I know, you have to cry and laugh to get horns on your butt."

"No, I tested it myself, and it doesn’t work that way. However, I can stick horns up your ass if you want.”

The Frost Queen looked at Seo Jun-Ho pitifully. "Are they always like this?”

"Not really—wait, are they?" Honestly, Seo Jun-Ho found it hard to defend them.

Sighing, he swept his gaze across the old men and said, "It’s about time for you old men to grow up and stop depending on the younger generation."

"A-ahem."

The old men didn’t know what to say, and they could only cough dryly. They started to get ashamed of how they came here in a hurry, afraid that they would lose influence and power once Mio took over.

"Ahem. E-excuse me.”

"I'll leave for today."

"Miss, let’s meet again...”

"No.” Mio wiped away the flowing tears and looked at them with determination before saying. "I hereby declare the dissolution of the Sky Soul Guild."

"M-Miss! No—Family Head!"

"Please think about it again!"

"So what if Sky Soul is one of the Big 6? Anyway, if you don’t want the guild, we can just sell it.”

The Watchguard of Darkness growled at the old men, who looked like they wanted to kick up another fuss.

Mio stared gratefully at Seo Jun-Ho and said, "My mind is set, no matter what you say."

She felt sorry for the Sky Soul Guild members, but she had no plans of running it on her own.

"Letting them go is the right thing to do." Even if she took control of the Sky Soul Guild and prevented its dissolution, it would still be incredibly difficult for the Sky Soul Guild to become widely acclaimed as part of the Big 6 once more. In addition, Mio didn’t really have a reason to do such a thing.

"I shall reform this family. It has to be reformed because it has long forgotten its duties after basking in the glory of being a part of the Big 6."

The Tenmei family had always been a family of swordsmen, and they were supposed to pursue the peak of the sword. However, everything changed when the Sky Soul Guild, established by Tenmei Yugo, became a part of the Big 6.

"People just learned swordsmanship to get promoted within the guild."

Those who dedicated their lives to pondering and interpreting the sword style of their ancestors disappeared without a trace. Mio only wanted one thing. She wanted the family to return to what it was like during her childhood, where everyone could laugh and cry with just their swords and without any worries.

“…”

The director and elders lost even the little hope they had due to Mio's firm tone, so they were forced to retreat bitterly. If they really wanted a spectacular comeback, they would have to lift their swords once more rather than their pens.

“…”

Once the stormy events were over, Mio stared at her friends with wide eyes.

'...No, they’re my family.'

She had always been thankful for them because they always came to her aide whenever she was having a hard time, even though she had never really called for help

When Mio looked like she was about to burst into tears again, Skaya was startled.

"Hey, hey! Rahmadat, you idiot! She’s crying again! It must be your face.”

"What, is she a baby? But babies laugh whenever they see me!"

"Oh, really? It seems that the kids know that you look like a funny dog.”

"Haha.” When Mio smiled and chuckled, everyone turned to her.

"It's really nice to see you smile.”

"It reminds me of the old days. Our youngest always cried a lot because it was hard.."

"…When did I do that?" Mio wiped her red and swollen eyes. She quickly managed her expression and said, "Anyway, thank you all for coming today. I’m happy to see you here."

"Oho, does our youngest only know how to be grateful in words?” Skaya asked and hugged her tightly.

At that, Mio smiled softly. "Hmm, it has been a while since you visited my house, so I guess I will have to cook for you then. The chefs are away, anyway."

"…What, huh?"

Skaya immediately received resentful looks.

"Uh. For your information, you don't have to make mine. I have to eat chicken breasts for the gains."

"Rahmadat, you seem like you’re trying not to eat my food."

"Well, it’s because your food is bad for your body, and they taste really bad."

"I hate you. I won't serve you my food again."

"Thank you so much, really.”

In the end, everyone ate Mio's food aside from Rahmadat.

1. To have horns growing on your butt is an idiom for those who do bad deeds since they were young and keep doing bad deeds when they are older. ☜