Legends of Runeterra

Chapter 689: Ashe's Invitation

"Good evening, Lord Li En."

"Ms. Frenna? What do you want so late at night?"

Looking at Frenna who was quietly waiting not far from his longhouse, Li En had a look of confusion on his face.

It was already the middle of the night, and considering his status as the 'chief of scouts', it was unlikely that he would have the time to wait for me here, unless...

"Lord Li En, Warmother Ashe invites you to come over and see her. She said she has something important to discuss."

"Really? Well, I'll change my clothes first."

Li En nodded and was about to go into the house to change his clothes, which were inevitably wet with alcohol and smelled of alcohol as he had not used any ability to cheat during the drinking contest.

"It's okay, Master Li En, we can just go over there."

"Okay, let's go."

"Yes, thank you Master Li En."

After bowing slightly, Frenna turned around and left with Li En.

...

"Hoo~!"

Sitting quietly on the bench in the courtyard, Ashe looked at the sky filled with brilliant stars, frowned slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Ashe is now worried about the 'blood alliance' raised by the tribesmen at today's meeting.

Previously, Ashe found Li En under the guidance of Anivia. During the process of getting along with each other and from the report of the maid Tasha, Ashe admired him very much.

But as the war mother of the Avarosa tribe, the matter of the Blood Alliance is not just a matter for her own consideration. More importantly, she needs to prioritize the survival of the tribe.

So even with Anivia's guidance, Ashe still chose to wait and see.

However, it was this decision that allowed Sejuani to express her feelings to Li En first when the Crimson Devil raided the battle festival and the Winter Claw snatched Ornn's Urn.

Even Sejuani's style over the years has been more decisive than Ashe expected. Facing Li En, as the "War Mother" of Winter's Claw, she simply ignored the tradition formed over thousands and tens of thousands of years and chose to "marry" the other party.

This 'realization' made Ashe doubt her own feelings.

Was she attracted to Li En as a person, or the power that Li En possessed, and wanted to "bind" him to the Avarosa tribe?

Ashe only thought about it briefly. Although she admired Li En's character and personality very much, she had to admit that the latter was indeed a factor that she could not deny.

Coupled with her complicated and guilt-ridden relationship with Sejuani, Ashe has already begun to have the idea of ​​giving up this relationship.

"Perhaps... this is the difference between me and Sejuani..."

"What's the gap?"

"Shua~!"

Ashe dodged and was about to attack, but she found that the person walking behind her was the source of her troubles.

"Leen!?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay. My reaction was a little exaggerated. Did it scare you?"

Smiling and shaking her head slightly, Ashe suddenly seemed to have thought of something and looked at Li En, after hesitating for a moment.

"Um... Li En, why are you here so late..."

"It's not Ashley you..."

Li En was halfway through his words when he saw a look of confusion and expectation on Ashe's face, and he realized that he had fallen into Frenna's trap. Ashe had not asked him to come over at all, but the chief scout had acted on his own initiative.

Judging from Ashe's condition, although her invitation to come here was fake, it seemed that she was in trouble and it was not false.

"What's wrong, Lee En?"

"Nothing, I just came back from the Ice Arrow Tavern, and I sensed that you didn't rest yet, so I came to see you. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. Let's go sit inside."

Hearing this, Ashe subconsciously reached out to support Li En, and the two walked into the War Mother's longhouse together.

She was too nervous to notice it before, but now that she was close to Li En and could smell the faint scent of alcohol coming from him, Ashe became nervous again. After all, some things might be easier to say when one is drunk.

"Haha~! Thank you, Ashley."

"Um...no...you're welcome."

Feeling the faint warmth coming from Li En, Ashe turned her eyes away to avoid the other's gaze.

"Click~!"

The door opened, and it was called the 'Long House', but in fact, as Ashe was the 'War Mother', the 'Long House' where she lived was the tallest in the city of Avarosa.

The thick wooden floor is covered with tanned and woven fur carpets, which are soft, comfortable and quiet to walk on.

The furniture in the longhouse is made of the hardest citrus wood, and is carefully carved with patterns representing Avarosa.

Helping Li En to sit on the bench, Ashe adjusted the hair by her ears a little embarrassedly as she saw his eyes sweeping across the hall.

"Although I also think it's a bit extravagant, as the Warmother of Avarosa, a residence of a certain standard is indeed essential.

Since the construction of this area in the city center was completed, many small and even medium-sized tribes have directly requested to join Avarosa."

"Well, I understand. Just like a king doesn't necessarily need a palace, but people generally believe that a king must have a palace."

"Haha~! Li En, what you said is almost the same as what Grandpa Flock said when he advised me."

"Grandpa Flock?"

“Well, he was a warrior of the Avarosa tribe when my mother was still alive. Although he was not an Iceborn, he was also at the forefront of the battle. He survived the rebellion and formed a mercenary team.

When they learned that I was still alive, they brought their mercenaries to pledge allegiance to me, which provided great help to the tribe in its early stages.

He is old now, but when I am away, I always let him and a few others guard the city of Avarosa."

"That's great. At least it will save Mr. Flock from the bitter cold."

"Well, Grandpa Flock is one of the few people I can completely trust..."

As Ash spoke, she subconsciously looked at Li En. When their eyes met, she was slightly stunned and pursed her crystal clear lips.

"Leen, you...you too."

“Haha~! Thank you for your trust, Ashe.

If it's convenient, you can talk to me about what's bothering you so much that you couldn't rest until late at night?"

"This...this..."

Faced with the person involved in the matter, Ashe didn't know how to start for a moment.

Don't get me wrong, she had no intention of saying it at all. The reason she was struggling now was that she had just told Li En that she trusted him, but when Li En asked her about it, she didn't say it, which inevitably made her previous words seem a little false.

Li En saw that although Ashe was hesitant, she did not look worried. She must be talking about some personal matters - such as how to deal with the relationship between Sejuani and Winter's Claw.

So he stopped trying to ask.

"By the way, tonight Gragas gave me a bottle of wine that he has never drunk before. Do you want to try it?"

"Gragas?"

Ashe always felt like she had heard this name before.

"Yes, further south, near the brewmaster Gragas in Demacia."

"It turns out it's him!"

"Would you like to have a drink with me?"

"Okay...okay."