Chapter 145

Timani’s reply after a brief moment of thought… when it came to “useful information,” it seemed rather disappointing.

“‘Dragon God’ is a title within the Fire Dragon Clan. Our clan leader is called ‘Dragon God.’”

“Only you call them that?”

“No, other dragon races also use this name. Because the Fire Dragon Clan is the most powerful among all dragon races, the Ice Dragon Clan, the Dark Dragon Clan, and the Flying Dragon Clan all address our clan leader with respect as ‘Dragon God.’ They also have to offer tribute to the Flaming Domain every year.”

“Then has your clan leader ever changed?”

“Of course… isn’t it survival of the fittest for your Demon Clan? For us Fire Dragons, it’s even stricter. Whoever is strongest can challenge the clan leader to a duel to the death. The winner becomes the new clan leader, and also the ‘Dragon God,’ while the loser must die.”

“Oh oh, truly useless information.”

“What did you say…!”

When Timani spoke of her clan’s rules, there was clearly a trace of pride and belonging in her eyes.

For Sheffy to pour cold water over her at this moment, it was no wonder this girl erupted in fury.

Ignoring her protest, Sheffy pondered for a moment.

The information Timani provided looked useless on the surface.

But in truth, there was one detail that was very strange.

——The title of ‘Dragon God’ still existed even now.

Wasn’t that odd? A race’s deity of faith, now being used as just another name for the clan leader.

For example, the King of Aurus was simply called King. The Pope of Coreia was simply called Pope.

They would never be called “Human God.”

Of course, it could be due to different racial customs, and that wasn’t something that could be concluded right away.

So in the end, did this require an on-site investigation…

“I’ve finished answering the questions!” Timani sat down angrily, her expression suddenly filled with grievance. “You questioned me for so long, now can I ask you one question!”

“No.”

“No or not, I’m asking anyway! Who exactly is that Syla?! Why could she defeat me without even using her full strength? I even activated Domain Magic! That was the first time in my life I ever successfully unleashed a Domain! Isn’t that cheating? She must have cheated, right?! I don’t understand! Hero, how could someone like that appear among your humans?!”

Look at her flustered and exasperated appearance—it was the perfect portrayal of what it meant to be unable to accept defeat.

Timani truly could not accept defeat.

Her loss in this match meant that for a very, very long time in the future, she would have no chance of returning to the Flaming Domain of the Fire Dragons.

“Sheffy, should we tell her Syla’s true identity?”

“We can say it, but not yet. Xiarette, she hasn’t told us her real identity either.”

Sheffy’s sudden words made Timani freeze.

Xiarette frowned upon hearing this and countered.

“Identity? Isn’t she from the Fire Dragon Clan…”

“Conversations should be equal.” Sheffy spread her hands and shook her head helplessly. “Now, I’ve explained Shaya’s identity, and I’ve also explained why I saved her. We’re just about to reveal Syla’s identity too. But you, fire lizard, haven’t said a single word about yourself. I’ve even treated you to several meals, yet you’re like this—do you think that’s right?”

“Don’t pry into other people’s private matters…” Timani instinctively covered the ear hidden beneath her hair, her voice suddenly chilling.

Sheffy closed her left eye, waved her hand casually, and spoke with feigned nonchalance.

“If you don’t want to talk, then don’t. Who are you trying to scare? If you won’t say anything, then go ahead and leave on your own. Keep wandering the world, and in the end, as a proud member of the Fire Dragon Clan, starve to death on the streets of some country. Anyway, you’re so dumb you can’t even figure out a way to make money. Some people, even when others might be able to help them, won’t appreciate it. And if they don’t, then we won’t force our help on someone with a sour face. Enough, Xiarette, let’s pack up and get ready for our second midnight snack!”

“Pfft…”

Hearing this, Xiarette couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

Really, Sheffy… that provocation was way too obvious.

But.

That was Sheffy’s personality.

Timani’s understanding of human nature still wasn’t deep enough.

She thought human nature was complicated—that when someone helped her, aside from generosity, there must be something they wanted in return.

But in truth, sometimes, when someone wanted to help you…

——It didn’t necessarily mean they sought something in return.

—

56. Can’t Go Back (5K)

Whether it was provocation or sincerity, to Timani it no longer mattered.

What lingered in her ears were words like “homeless,” “cold and destitute,” “wandering the streets.”

Those words seemed utterly incompatible with a race born proud.

But that was the true reflection of Timani’s life in recent years.

The dragon maiden slowly lifted her head, gazing at the grand, ornate door illuminated by candlelight.

Inside the door lay leisure and conversation with others, warmth from fire and food.

Outside the door lay desolation stretching for a thousand miles, the harsh winds striking with bitter loneliness.

The proud daughter of the Fire Dragon Clan feared neither the cold winds nor the vanity of luxury.

——But she was terrified of walking out that door, burdened by sun, moon, and stars, and yet stepping into a future with nothing, a road with no path.

The most frightening thing of all was the unknown.

An unknown road ahead, with no destination—where even starving to death on the streets would seem meaningless.

She feared that version of herself.

Timani’s eyes gradually became empty and lifeless. Even her body, born with heat, shivered in the cold. Wrapping her trembling arms around herself, she tried, as always, to comfort herself: that tomorrow, she would find a chance to go home.

But it didn’t work.

This hazy road, she had already walked it for so many years…

And now, today, having reached this place.

It was the first time someone had asked her: where did she come from, and where did she want to go.

She herself didn’t know.

“I don’t know… I can’t go back…”

“…Even if I told you, I still couldn’t go back.”

“But why must you go back at all?”

“Would you not return if you had a home?!” Timani suddenly widened her eyes and roared the question. She wasn’t asking Sheffy—she was asking herself, shaken and wavering. “There are people waiting for me at home! I’ve come this far only to return home! I’m just one step away, but…!”

“But haven’t you only walked farther and farther away? And besides…”

The eyes that could see through lies shimmered with a faint violet glow.

Within them reflected Timani’s true heart.

“And besides… no one at your home is waiting for you.”

“……”

“You want to go back, but that’s just an excuse to prove something, isn’t it? Even if you truly return to the Northern Territory, back to the Fire Dragon Clan’s lands, there will be no one in the Fire Dragon Clan who will welcome you. Everything you’ve done would be for nothing. Well… I don’t want to say it like this, but your heart itself is telling me so.”

This time, Timani didn’t try to refute it.

She wanted to refute it.

But she had no grounds to refute.

She had imagined countless times what it would be like returning to the Fire Dragon Clan’s lands, countless times imagining everyone releasing flames into the sky to welcome her home.

But every time she awoke from those countless dreams, she realized it had been only a dream.

What the Demon Clan Princess said was true…

The saddest thing was not that she could never return home.

——It was that even if she did return, there would be no one waiting for her.

And the root of all that sorrow… was hidden beneath the hair covering the ear she pressed with her left hand.

Wanting to go home—this was nothing more than the excuse Timani had clung to over the years, just to keep herself from falling apart.

She feared that door.

Because beyond that door lay the vast, boundless world.

And there was no home waiting for her return anymore.

…………………………….

Xiarette and Sheffy sat on either side of the dining table, watching as Timani slowly raised her hands to lift her crimson hair.

She had just said these words—words she had never once spoken to anyone since leaving the Fire Dragon Clan. And she asked Sheffy and Xiarette to help her keep this secret.

Truthfully, she hadn’t even needed to say that, since Sheffy had already told her own secret first. At best, this counted as an equal exchange of information. And when both sides exchanged secrets, of course they would keep them from outsiders.

Timani’s fingers parted the long hair at either side of her face slowly.

Each small motion was mixed with fear, resistance, and inexplicable conflict.

But on Sheffy and Xiarette’s faces, there was no mockery or any other emotion at all. That kind of purity gave Timani the courage, for the first time, to reveal her ears before others.

These two people… really are strange…

Her hair lifted away from the back of her head, as if clouds parted to reveal the sky.

Unlike those of humans, and unlike the Fire Dragon Clan, long pointed ears appeared in Sheffy and Xiarette’s sight.

“Miss Timani…? Your ears… those are of the Elf Tribe…?”

Unlike Sheffy, who seemed to have expected it all along, Xiarette widened her eyes slightly, surprised by this unforeseen revelation.

Timani quickly lowered the hand that had brushed aside her hair, letting the strands of crimson fall once more to cover her ears.

“There… that’s enough, right! You’ve seen it now… that’s all there is to it…!”

“……”

So… was that supposed to be the end of the “reveal”?

Xiarette, struggling with her comprehension, whispered to Sheffy for help.

“Wait… Sheffy? She said ‘that’s all there is to it’—what exactly does she mean by that? I saw her ears looked a bit different, and then…?”

“Xiarette… maybe I should just knock on your head a little.”

“I won’t ask anymore, you two talk.”

Xiarette’s level of understanding really was neck and neck with Timani’s—it was like evenly matched rivals meeting their equals.

Sheffy tapped the bottom of her fork twice against the table in a steady rhythm.

She leaned back, resting her shoulders against the chair.

The words Sheffy spoke to Timani next also served as an answer to Xiarette’s earlier confusion.

“So, you were expelled from the Fire Dragon Clan because of impure blood? A half-blood of Elf Tribe and Fire Dragon Clan… no wonder every spell you cast felt unstable. By the way, are half-bloods not accepted among the Fire Dragons?”

“Not just unaccepted… half-bloods among the dragon race are symbols of impurity and evil. They represent betrayal of a strong bloodline, and all of them are… driven out.”

“So in that case, you weren’t the only one who was expelled?”

“There were others who were half-bloods besides me. But the one exiled… was only me.”

“Hah? Then why were you the only one punished more severely?”

“It wasn’t that I was punished more severely.” A murky, blood-tinged shadow flickered within Timani’s eyes. “It was that all the other half-blood dragons, except me… were executed. I was the only one who left the territory alive.”

“……”

The story Timani recounted.

It had already become a memory buried far in the past.

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