I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 432: Unlikely Travel Partners

"It’s okay! It’s okay," Irene tried to reassure the man. "The ice is only settling."

However, that didn’t mean she wasn’t holding her breath until it was truly confirmed that the ice was just settling and he didn’t fall into the water again.

The man could only pathetically nod as he caught his breath with his face down and practically squished against the ice, having little energy to hold his head up after spending it all struggling to escape.

"Just take a moment," Irene insisted. "I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I want you to roll until you’re closer to the shore. It’s better than falling into the ice again."

She sat back on her heels and watched over the man until he was able to press on and make it back to land safely. Then the knight ran in the opposite direction until she could meet him at the shore.

Luckily, Arne had taken care of the goblins and was dragging them further down the shore. The woman also rushed to meet the man who had fallen through the ice.

"I thought I lost you, Frey!" the woman cried. "Never in my life... Never in my life..."

She clung to the man despite his wet clothing, making her cold and getting her outer layer wet.

"We will burn the goblins’ bodies so there’s no risk of necromancy, and you can get a bit dryer by the fire," Irene explained.

As she did what she promised, Arne helped her stack them, and then the woman gave them dried flint so that it was easier to spark and catch the bodies on fire. Since there wasn’t anything useful on the goblins, she decided that it was a lost cause and burning every bit of them was necessary.

"What happened here?" Irene wondered when the fire was finally sustainable and everyone had huddled around.

The smell of burning goblin flesh from the smoke was pungent, but everyone opted to be warm rather than shrink away at the scent.

"My wife, Thyra, and I just arrived for a bit of ice fishing," the man, Frey, explained. "Our cabin is a bit up the road, but only about an hour walk to here or so. I wasn’t expecting one of the caves along the banks to be full of goblins. That’s where my family’s kept our fishing equipment since the beginning of time."

Irene nodded along to the man’s words.

"It’s unpredictable when the goblins are hibernating this time of year," she expressed. "I’m just glad nothing worse happened and we were here to hear you."

"Yes, well..." the woman referred to as Thyra sighed. "I feel there are more goblins than usual over autumn and winter."

It felt like a direct hit to Irene’s pride because she side-eyed Arne and responded, "I assure you that Lord Litharion is doing what he can to ensure the lands remain free of monsters, but it’s normal for a few to be missed."

"Ah, right, you said you’re a knight?" the man questioned. "Then you can tell the lord about the monsters and how it’s getting bad out here on the outskirts."

Irene pushed pride aside, deciding that there was no way they would know the two they were talking to were Lord Litharion’s children. They must have never seen Arthur to know that the children had the same hair as he.

"Of course," Irene promised. "We will be sure to pass it along." However, she had noticed that the man was shivering despite the fire. "Would the two of you like to get warm in our cabin? It’s a much shorter walk than what you’re dealing with. I don’t think you’ll make it far if the sun sets. You will freeze to death."

"Oh, we couldn’t overstep," Thyra insisted.

"I don’t mind at all," Irene persisted, followed by a few nods from Arne. "I would rather live knowing the two of you made it safe than leaving you in the cold."

"You might even have to stay the night," Arne admitted. "If you plan on fishing, it’s going to get late quickly since the sun sets so early."

Irene couldn’t help a tinge of pride sprout in her heart at her brother’s words. Each time she saw him again, he acted more grown-up. Although his hotheadedness was certainly a product of being a kid still. She smiled at him.

"We couldn’t possibly..." Frey went on.

"The fishing cabin is big enough for all of us," Irene explained. "It used to hold my entire family when we were kids. At least get dry before you decide what to do next." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Even though the people had just slighted her father, it was still her duty to make sure commoners were safe. While she didn’t trust anyone so quickly, she sized up the two and knew that she could handle both easily, considering they seemed to be unarmed.

Frey seemed to sigh out a puff of steam as a show of his relenting; his shoulders settled. He was still shivering as he responded, "I suppose there’s no other choice for now."

With that, the two red-headed teenagers helped the couple clean up their items, and they led them on the short journey back to the hunting cabin.

By the time they made it there, Irene was somewhat proud that they had started a fire in the cabin before so that it would be nice and warm for them upon their return. Plenty of nights in the cold and long travels made her more prepared than the average person.

"I hate to say it, but I think your only option is to get undressed so that the cold material doesn’t stay close to your skin," Irene explained to the man as she was building up the fire. "I will remain facing this way."

Arne was standing close to the door, he witnessed the man shrug as he met his wife’s eyes. There was nothing more to discuss as he began removing his pack and undressing from his outer layer inward. With each article of clothing down to his socks removed, Thyra would hang them on various hooks or the small cage around the fire - something that had been installed when Irene and her brother were small children.

"I’m in my shorts," Frey announced, a bit embarrassed. "It’s no problem. I will sit on this bed with a blanket until things are dry."

"There are extra blankets if needed. Now, if you wouldn’t mind," Irene said to the pair as she stood up and went towards the door. "We ought to see if our bait had any luck."

"Of course!" Thyra responded. "If you have anything caught already, I would love to help prepare something to eat as a token of my thanks."

"We’ll be back quickly with something fresh!" Arne responded quickly, not giving Irene a moment to speak up.

It was clear her brother was hungry, so Irene let it go as they exited the cabin and rushed off over the ice and towards the hole where both of their lines felt particularly heavy.