Chapter 199

In those clear yet chaotic pale violet eyes, there seemed to be a power capable of seeing through one’s soul.

“What… what on earth is going on…”

“What’s going on—shouldn’t I be the one asking that, not you?”

The crisp tapping of Sheffy’s little shoes echoed on the sturdy floor made of demon domain nanmu wood.

She paced back and forth a few steps, and when she stopped, her expression turned stern.

“Fire Lizard, what exactly have you been trying to say these past two days? Why don’t you just come out and say it directly? I don’t like beating around the bush, and I like guessing people’s thoughts even less.”

“You don’t like…”

“What are you mumbling about?”

“I’m not mumbling anything! Don’t ask me!”

“?!”

What the heck! You lizard—why are you yelling at me all of a sudden?!

In any case, Sheffy was quite sure—recently, Timani had been wanting to say something.

But every time, just before she opened her mouth, she swallowed her words.

It had happened several times now. Timani would look distracted, and when asked if something was wrong, she’d say she was hungry. When asked if she was okay, she’d say she was tired. It was enough to drive Sheffy mad.

This time, she planned to corner Timani in this hallway and get to the bottom of it. She wasn’t going to let her curiosity suffocate her for real!

Well… it wasn’t just curiosity, perhaps.

Maybe it seemed like Sheffy was meddling, but she didn’t believe that this Fire Lizard’s fate should be one that no one cared about.

So be it—meddling or not. If no one else was going to ask, she would.

She had originally thought it would take some effort, a bit of gentle coaxing and persuasion, to get her to open up.

But who could’ve known—before she even got through the opening lines, Timani suddenly lost control and shouted, nearly shaking Sheffy off her feet!

But that loss of control lasted only a moment.

Timani was only trying to encourage herself—just to muster the courage to answer the question.

Watching Timani press her palm against her soft chest, taking deep breaths over and over, Sheffy figured she was finally about to speak?

Sheffy rose slightly on her tiptoes, leaning her little head close to Timani’s face, tilting it this way and that.

It seemed like she wanted to help Timani get into the right state of mind faster.

“Fire Lizard? Fire Lizard? Timani? Hey, say something, will you? Did you lose your voice?”

“You…! Tch, I get it! Just—don’t get so close to me! A demon is still a demon, you’re such a devil…!”

“What’s that supposed to mean… I was just trying to help you relax, wasn’t I? A kind heart mistaken for ill intent.”

You’re only making me more nervous like that!

Her hands pressed lightly against Sheffy’s shoulders—not forcefully, just enough to push her a bit farther away.

Timani turned her gaze to the side and began twirling a strand of her crimson hair between her fingers.

Every time she did that, it meant she had resigned herself to whatever was coming.

“It’s not anything too important… ah, fine! I’ll just say it. It is important to me! Tomorrow—I plan to leave this place. I won’t be traveling with you all anymore.”

“Hah… it’s nice to want to hunt on your own, but make sure you don’t get lost when you come back to sleep tonight, okay?”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean—after I leave tomorrow…”

In that fleeting expression of Timani’s—

Three parts determination, seven parts loneliness.

She paused for a moment, gritted her teeth, and continued anyway.

“After I leave… I won’t be coming back.”

No matter how quiet her voice was, Sheffy still heard it clearly.

“May I ask… why did you suddenly decide to go?”

The hallway was quiet—so quiet that Timani’s nose stung with the urge to cry.

She bit down hard on her crimson lips, speaking those hushed words as quickly as she could.

“It’s all because you guys are so annoying… always bickering and making a racket, and then getting into fights at the drop of a hat. I’ve had enough of you all. Every single one of you drives me crazy. It’s so much better being alone. You can find food anywhere, but freedom—freedom isn’t something you can have just anywhere. So… I want to leave this place as soon as I can, go wherever I want to go.”

“Where will you go?”

“I don’t know. I’ll just wander, same as before.”

“And what will you eat?”

“I… I don’t know… whatever I can catch, of course! Same as before. It’s not like there aren’t wild rabbits along the road! Ah, you’re so annoying…! I’ve already decided to leave—why are you asking all these pointless questions? Aren’t these things I should be thinking about myself? What’s it got to do with you anyway?”

“All of that’s the truth?”

“Of course it’s—! Ugh, obviously it’s the truth! Forget it, there’s no point waiting until tomorrow to go. I might as well just—”

“Liar.”

“!”

Timani had already spread her dragon wings, ready to leap out from the round window beside them.

But that single word from Sheffy—“Liar”—spoken in a voice that carried no emotion—

It froze Timani in place.

Her broad wings slowly folded in, wrapping around her body. She turned her head blankly toward Sheffy, only to see the magical particles fading from those “Eyes of True Sight.”

Right…?

Lies… were meaningless to her, weren’t they?

Damn it…

Why did such a cheating kind of magic even exist in this world?

But truthfully, even without using her magic eyes, Sheffy could already tell which parts of Timani’s words were false.

After all, every single word had sounded too forced, too strained.

If she truly wanted to leave… why hesitate for so many days, waiting until tomorrow?

If she truly wanted to leave, then why—when Sheffy mentioned it—did she suddenly change her mind and decide to go right now?

The more anxious she was, the less her heart matched her words.

It wasn’t easy for you to leave.

Just like yesterday—when you tried to squeeze through this narrow window to fly inside, you got stuck.

The use of the magic eyes was merely to tell Timani—

you don’t need to pretend to be so strong.

For some reason, Timani’s legs suddenly gave out beneath her, and the powerful Fire Dragon Clan girl collapsed straight onto the floor.

She braced herself with both hands, trying to keep her balance, her heart aching all the while.

In her eyes flickered fear for the future. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, and though she belonged to the high-temperature Fire Dragon Clan, the girl still hugged herself tightly for warmth—yet still felt as if she were freezing inside.

Thankfully—

Sheffy had prepared a little blanket for her beforehand.

From her Storage Magic, Sheffy took out a blanket and gently draped it over Timani’s shoulders.

She didn’t know if a blanket could warm a dragon’s heart, so Sheffy crouched down beside her as well.

Usually, when she looked up, Timani was much taller than her.

But when you’re kneeling—don’t I just have to crouch down a little, and then we’re the same height?

See? Not that tall after all~

“Come on, talk to me.”

Sheffy had the patience—and the time—to listen to this poor Fire Dragon–Elf hybrid girl speak what was in her short, trembling heart.

“Tell me why you suddenly want to leave?

No… maybe I should say—why do you want to escape?”

Everyone carried a scale in their heart—on one side the good, and on the other, the bad. By watching which way the balance tipped, one could tell what weighed heavier in their life.

Timani had such a scale in her heart too.

It rose and fell on either side, and that constant shifting was the root of her troubled, wavering emotions.

“You all seem to live happily every day… isn’t that a good thing?”

“Well, it’s alright, I guess. There’s food and drink, we can go fishing, there’s Xiarette, there’s Belith, and there’s a home—plus a bunch of noisy little companions. So, what is it you’re trying to say?”

“What I want to say… is exactly that.”

Sheffy casually sat cross-legged across from Timani, listening as she began to pour out the weight that had crushed her side of the scale.

Timani let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh.

That “doesn’t matter” look on her face—seemed to mock the person she once was.

Then she lowered her head, almost as if she were apologizing to Sheffy.

“Me, huh… maybe I really am pretty selfish. My previous thoughts… no matter how righteously I tried to dress them up, the truth doesn’t change—I just wanted to use you all…”

“Use?” Sheffy raised an eyebrow, leaned in lower so her head was level with Timani’s lowered face. “What kind of nonsense is that? Oh—well, I guess it’s true. You’ve eaten a lot of my rice for free all this time, and now you want to pat your butt and walk out? You definitely used my food. I haven’t even made you pay for the meals yet.”

“You… You’re obviously smart, so why do you keep pretending to be dumb? Do you have some kind of problem?”

“Ehehe… thanks for the compliment… I’m actually not that smar—ugh, you have a problem!”

“Pfft…”

“Oh, you laughed? Hehe, see? You have to laugh before we can talk properly.”

The reason for playing dumb—wasn’t it obvious?

All the things Timani had been struggling with, unsure whether to say or not, were completely disarmed by Sheffy’s clumsy play-acting and feigned confusion.

Sheffy’s head moved in sync with Timani’s as she slowly raised her face—until their eyes were level.

Timani’s laugh slipped out—but it was like warm water left in the cold wind, gradually tinged with sorrow.

Out of the corner of her eye, she kept glancing out the window, as if she might harden her resolve and take off at any moment.

“I just… keep asking myself from time to time—what’s the reason I’m traveling and moving together with all of you?”

“Sheffy, you once said you’d come with me to the Northern Flaming Lands. You said it was just to investigate something about some gods or whatever, and that helping me uncover the truth behind my parents’ death was something you were doing in passing. And somehow… I actually believed you.”

“No… maybe I understood from the start that you were only saying it that way so I wouldn’t feel burdened. The more time I spend with you all, the more I realize—you’re all just that kind of ‘strange’ people.”

You said you were helping me in passing.

And for that, you were willing to travel to the most dangerous place in the world.

In that place, every single thing you do—even if it’s in passing—comes with immense risk.

This kind of “in passing” wasn’t as simple as sipping water while eating—it was the kind of unimaginable challenge where a single misstep could cost your life.

And what pained Timani the most—what made her look down on herself—

Was that she actually accepted that explanation.

The things she’d told herself in her heart—every time she recalled them, guilt would well up inside her.

—It should be fine, right…? Yeah… they’re just helping me investigate a little, as long as we’re careful, everyone should stay safe…

—Sheffy said it… she said helping me was just something she did in passing… just in passing… I didn’t beg them, I already tried to talk them out of it, they didn’t listen—that’s not my fault, I didn’t hold back on trying…!

—Even if there’s not much chance of uncovering the truth, what if…? Sheffy is someone who always manages to call forth miracles, someone who can bring people together around her… so maybe, just maybe…

Maybe. Possibly. What if.

These were the words Timani always clung to—her way of persuading herself whenever she became anxious.

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