Chapter 90

“‘No, seriously, what are we even doing this for, huh? Shaya, you… you get down from there!’”

“‘I’m not getting down!’”

Now what was she supposed to do?!

Sheffy had climbed up onto a chair, raising both arms high, her face flushed pink—but that wasn’t the main issue.

The real problem was… she wore a hazy, dazed little smirk, and in her hands, she had gathered an alarming amount of magic power…!

The magic force swirling in that glow made Xiarette feel she could blow up half the Royal Capital!

“‘Wuwu—my little ancestor, please stop making trouble! Let’s just talk this out, we can—uh.’”

Never mind.

She really did stop making trouble.

The magical particles in Sheffy’s hands scattered like starlight, her eyes, rimmed with swirling mana, suddenly appearing vacant.

Just as Xiarette was trying to figure out what on earth was happening this time…

The little one let out a soft, adorable hiccup from drinking.

Her knees buckled, and she tipped straight backward over the chair, as if she were plunging into an ocean of carefree indulgence—free, unrestrained, without a single worry!

“Sheffy…!”

Xiarette reacted in time, lunging forward and catching her squarely in her arms the instant Sheffy fell.

Sheffy’s head came to rest atop two soft, marshmallow-like cushions, and a shimmering, chiming echo filled her mind. The comfortable sensation made her drunken sleep all the more serene.

Hic~ Drank too much, time to call it a day.

Since Sheffy had finally quieted down, Xiarette seized the chance to bend over and check her condition.

Hmm… no problem.

It looked like she had fallen asleep.

Her little face was flushed with a rosy, tipsy contentment, and even in her dreams, she was smacking her lips. She probably hadn’t eaten enough earlier and was still gnawing on roast duck legs in her sleep.

Xiarette finally let out a long sigh of relief.

—and silently resolved in her heart to put “alcohol” on the list of terrifying things Sheffy must never be allowed near!

Sheffy… your tolerance was really too awful!

Even if the drinks got mixed up, you’d only had a few sips from that wooden barrel of grape wine, and you still got this drunk…

Come to think of it, did the entire Royal Capital just narrowly avoid a real moment of life and death?!

As Xiarette’s nerves finally began to unwind, she heard someone running quickly toward the [Perception-Blocking Barrier].

Xiarette lifted her head in a flash, her gaze sharp, ready to protect Sheffy.

But when she turned around, she saw that the person rushing over was none other than Timani, who had pulled back the brown-hooded cloak and wore a look of utter disbelief.

Looking past her, Xiarette saw that the proprietress had already vanished without a trace, and the tavern itself had become completely empty.

The proprietress, after witnessing that scene, couldn’t stay calm any longer. She had hurried out to fetch the Kingdom’s Knight Order for help—even though, once they heard her story, they surely wouldn’t believe a word, and at most would come to clean up a scuffle between adventurers.

Timani stepped into the barrier, the fear on her face still impossible to dispel.

A moment ago, the reason she hadn’t rushed over immediately was purely because that immense magical pressure had felt like a tangible mountain crushing her, leaving her unable to take even a single step forward.

The stronger one’s power was, the more vividly one sensed the threat when the surrounding concentration of magic surged. It was like a tsunami crashing overhead, stunning you so completely you forgot to run.

Timani simply couldn’t believe that, as a member of the Fire Dragon Clan… she had been so frightened by some presence that she hadn’t dared to move.

“‘Hero… was that you just now… no, this isn’t the same as your magic at all. What in the world happened…’”

“‘This isn’t a place where we can talk.’”

Xiarette closed her eyes to sense.

The knights weren’t arriving in great numbers, but there was still a squad moving this way at a decent speed.

Time to leave. Even if she could explain things, the fewer entanglements, the better—she couldn’t allow Sheffy to get mixed up in any trouble.

“‘Someone’s coming soon. I have to take Shaya and go. You’d better not—sigh, forget it. If you have questions to ask, just follow along and we’ll talk later.’”

—

On the outskirts of the Royal Capital, far from any lights, the forest vegetation spread lush and dense, concealing everything, deserted and silent.

Xiarette hurried on her way, carrying the already sound-asleep Sheffy on her back.

This bit of weight was practically nothing to Xiarette. Even carrying her while using [Super Acceleration], it only took a few minutes to dash from the tavern out to this remote area and find the path that led straight back to her villa in the countryside.

Ordinarily, she could have just left right away upon arriving here.

But she chose to stop and stand still, extending her perception to cover an extremely wide radius around her. Only after confirming that no soldiers were nearby did she slowly open her eyes—

—and turn her gaze toward the sky, where the moonlight was sparse and scattered.

Timani was a little behind, but by now she should have arrived.

From the upward-tilted angle, the moon was momentarily blocked from view. A pair of crimson dragon wings tore through the darkness, drawing a flaming arc across the heavens.

While midair, Timani flipped her body and spread her wings wide as she homed in on Xiarette’s position. She dove straight down, beating her scarlet wings to decelerate, descending gradually as she neared the ground.

If Sheffy were awake, she would certainly have praised this landing—so graceful!

She hadn’t even stumbled on the stones when she touched down. It was truly something Sheffy should learn from.

But this wasn’t any friendly reunion, nor an old acquaintance meeting again.

Xiarette’s gaze on Timani was tinged with coldness.

Fortunately, when Sheffy had revealed her magic just now, no one else had noticed—no one except this Fire Dragon.

In fact, if it were Belith here instead, she might already have chosen to ensure Timani would stay silent forever.

But Xiarette, after all, was not the same as her. She would do everything in her power to protect Sheffy, but unless it was absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t slaughter the innocent without cause.

In any case, it was best to see whether they could communicate… If not, she didn’t mind resorting to more forceful measures.

After landing, Timani folded her wings—those unique Fire Dragon Clan wings—back beneath her brown cloak.

The heavy, astonished look on her face hadn’t changed at all from back in the tavern. Seeing Xiarette standing there, she quickly stepped closer and asked,

“‘Can you explain now? I already scouted from the air. No one followed us—it’s safe here.’”

“‘Forgive me for being blunt, Miss Timani.’” Xiarette’s vigilance had reached its peak—after all, this concerned Sheffy. “‘I think… there’s really no need for you to get to the bottom of this. If it’s simply curiosity driving you, I ask that you abandon it. There are things in this world that knowing isn’t necessarily a blessing. Not knowing might actually protect you. It would harm neither you nor us.’”

“‘Ah?’”

“‘?’”

Whenever Timani didn’t understand what someone was saying, she would respond with a succinct, perfectly clear “‘Ah?’” So she ended up saying “‘Ah’” quite frequently, since she often failed to follow others’ words.

Xiarette couldn’t help wondering—she’d stated things so plainly, and Timani still hadn’t understood?

Was she really so dense that it left Xiarette herself bewildered?

Sheffy often said she was clumsy… but could there really be someone even clumsier than herself?

Timani wasn’t truly stupid, though. She just had a forthright nature and disliked it when people tried to wrap everything up in roundabout words.

“‘What exactly was all that you just said supposed to mean? Hero, just say it directly—I can’t follow all those twists and turns!’”

“‘There was only one sentence missing! I’m saying, if you insist on digging any deeper into this, then we can only be enemies—understand?’”

“‘Ah?’”

What are you “ah”-ing about again?!

But this time, Timani’s “‘Ah?’” wasn’t because she hadn’t understood.

This time, she was even more bewildered precisely because she had understood.

“‘Wait—how does me asking a couple questions make us enemies? What, are you hiding some secret world-ending weapon? Or are you all some sort of world-class villains? It’s not like I’m pestering you out of idle curiosity—did you not feel that magic surge just now? It could probably have blown up half the Royal Capital! Knowing that something so dangerous exists, how am I supposed to sleep at night if I don’t at least understand it? If that power had really exploded just now, there wouldn’t have been a single safe place left in all of Cormier!’”

“‘That’s… that’s a fair point?’”

Timani’s scarlet slit-pupiled eyes truly didn’t seem to be hiding any deceit—only a flicker of curiosity and a desire to make sure she was safe.

Ahhh… Sheffy, can’t you wake up? I really can’t tell whether she’s lying or not—use your Eyes of True Sight and see for me!

“‘Mmmgh… roast duck legs… roast duck… donuts… heehee.’”

All right, there was no relying on Sheffy now.

When Xiarette looked back to the front again, she noticed that, at some point, there was a glistening droplet hanging from the corner of Timani’s mouth.

“‘Roast duck legs… huh?! No—I absolutely wasn’t remembering how that food tasted!’”

“……”

Even though Sheffy was fast asleep, she had once said something: those who loved good food—especially grilled fish donuts—couldn’t possibly be bad people.

Xiarette made her own judgment in her heart. Just to be sure, she asked in her clumsy way,

“‘Miss Timani, may I ask… do you like grilled fish donuts?’”

“‘Uh, why are you suddenly—well, they’re not bad? I’ve had them a few times before. Tasted pretty good… just can’t afford them anymore.’”

“‘That’s fine. In that case, I can tell you a little bit.’”

“!”

Somehow, she’d inexplicably gained the right to know the truth!

Though she said she would share, Xiarette certainly kept her guard up—one should always leave room for retreat.

Xiarette shifted Sheffy’s thighs to rest them more securely along her shoulders, so the girl could lie in a more comfortable position.

Although her chest and back were a little awkward where Sheffy’s weight pressed against her, it wasn’t anything unbearable.

“‘This matter… I can’t share every detail. Everyone has things they prefer not to discuss. For example—Miss Timani, you haven’t told us exactly why you left the Fire Dragon Clan’s territory, have you?’”

“‘That’s because… I… Well, true enough. We’re not exactly close… I don’t need to tell everything about myself.’”

“‘Exactly. And the same goes for us. But since you already sensed that magic before—what I can tell you is that the magical surge just now did indeed come from Shaya here on my back.’”

“‘I knew it… Just as I thought. I had a feeling that little girl wasn’t ordinary. At the arena, she casually nullified my [Dragonburst Purgatory]. Then at lunch, she used [Spatial Magic] to slip silver coins into my pocket without me noticing. A kid her age shouldn’t be able to do that… She probably isn’t a human like you all, right? Could she be a higher race, like the Winged Spirits…? No, she looks so small… don’t tell me she’s actually some centuries-old high elf?!’”

“‘That’s all I can say. Anything further, no comment.’”

Timani really was an extremely curious little fire lizard.

She began circling to get a clearer look at Shaya’s face, but Xiarette turned in perfect synchronization with her, always keeping Sheffy shielded behind her back.

Sensing that if she kept talking she’d risk exposing even more, Xiarette decisively chose to end this pointless conversation.

Had she not worried that Timani would poke her nose around and cause trouble if left completely in the dark, Xiarette wouldn’t have bothered speaking to her at all.

“‘All right, that’s everything I can say. Miss Timani, please don’t ask any more. I can guarantee she won’t pose any threat to your Fire Dragon Clan. As for everything else—that’s our own business.’”

“‘Well… fine. It’s not really any of my concern anyway. Pfft… but were you serious just now, when you said she could threaten the Fire Dragon Clan? Hero, I get that this little girl is pretty formidable, but do you really understand what kind of monsters those Fire Dragon Clan elders are?’”

“‘I don’t know them, just like you don’t know her.’”

Ugh—Xiarette and her damn competitiveness. If you’re going to say that, then I have to retort back!

[Super Acceleration] [Physical Reinforcement]

Everything that needed to be said was said.

Sheffy was drunk, and surely her condition wasn’t really as peaceful as it looked on the surface. Being intoxicated was rather uncomfortable—she needed to get home soon.

“‘Until we meet again, Miss Timani. Please don’t tell anyone about this. Shaya only wishes to live a quiet and peaceful life. Can you promise that?’”

Timani smiled with a proud expression, nodding. She lifted a hand in a refined, graceful gesture, brushing her long red hair back over her shoulder with a rustling sound.

“‘Don’t worry. I’m not that lacking in sense. We Fire Dragons are not only noble—we’re also quite adept at keeping secrets.’”

“‘That… that part about being “adept” is something you just thought up and tacked on, isn’t it…’”

“‘W—what nonsense!’” Timani’s gaze drifted faintly past Xiarette to the little one slumped on her back, a stray cowlick bobbing softly over her shoulder with lively energy. “‘Besides… that girl isn’t a bad person. That [Restraint Magic] in the tavern just now—she was the one who cast it, wasn’t she? Not being able to stand evil—we’re the same in that. So there’s no reason for me to cause you trouble. Just trust me.’”

“‘Thank you. On Shaya’s behalf, I appreciate it. Well then—until next time.’”

“‘Yeah, yeah~ I’d really rather not see you again anyway. You two are like a pair of ghosts.’”

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