In the reception room of Havelock Forward Base, which serves as the command center receiving reports from all outposts on the Dragon’s Boundary, the four of us sat in our respective places.
“Khuhuh, introducing yourself as a student from there, huh?”
Hotshim Velok laughed heartily, patting his round belly. His laugh poked at my ears, grating on my nerves, but I didn’t say a word.
I didn’t want to get caught up in this topic.
“Are you really just a student?”
Jaegyua Baekplin stroked his chin, glancing at me. He seemed to be trying not to show it, but it was all too clear.
“Still, it’s good that the Dragonkin accepted you.”
“Of course they should accept us; they must’ve heard our names. So let’s be honest with each other here.”
Hotshim gestured and whispered softly.
“Let’s ignore the kid since she’s just a student. But you two, are you really the Direct Subordinate Unit of the Beast King and the Guardian of Yggdrasil?”
“That’s a pointless question.”
“Ha ha, do we really look like liars?”
Jaegyua scoffed, while Eris awkwardly continued the conversation.
“Well, I’m not one to comment, but you must admit it’s not common to gather such characters in one place, especially the Guardian of Yggdrasil…”
The dwarf Hotshim murmured as he stroked his beard.
“Looks like we’ve met a big shot among big shots.”
“I wouldn’t deny it.”
Eris is generally humble, but here she must present herself as the Guardian of Yggdrasil, not just as an Elf named Eris.
One shouldn’t carelessly lower their dignity.
“But I heard they pick the Guardians of Yggdrasil by appearance. Guess that’s true.”
“Excuse me?”
What the heck does that mean?
Hotshim burst into loud laughter, raising his voice.
“I’ve never thought anyone other than dwarves was beautiful before. Of course, dwarves are still the best.”
“……”
“Way too skinny! The best body is plump and healthy, you know? Tsk, a woman shouldn’t be like that.”
Jaegyua shot him a disgusted look, while Hotshim smacked his lips.
Eris, whose face had turned crimson, was about to say something, but I jumped in first.
“What? Where do you see Eris as skinny? Just look! She has radiant blonde hair, sapphire-like eyes! A slim waist with a curvy figure! How dare you compare her to a barrel-shaped dwarf!”
“You mock the boldness of dwarf women! A woman’s spirit should be magnificent, supporting a man’s center! Look at the Earth Mother! Plumpness signifies abundance and virtue!”
“Shut it! Everyone knows dwarves are henpecked! And why throw in the Earth Mother? Do you even know what kind of woman Eris is?”
“D-Daniel!”
Eris’s face was as red as a tomato, and she was shaking my shoulder, half crying, which made me realize I might’ve gone too far.
I was too worked up.
Clearing my throat, Hotshim calmed down a bit and took a sip of the tea in front of him.
In the awkward atmosphere, Jaegyua broke the silence with a chuckle.
“But Beastmen are the best.”
“Where the hell are you bringing those beastly brats into this?”
“Ao, you guys really have terrible taste in women, huh?”
After quite a debate, the conversation ended when Eris gathered her mana and warned that she’d kill everyone if they didn’t stop.
Feeling Eris’s glare, I cautiously changed the subject.
“By the way, who’s coming that’s higher than a High Inquisitor?”
Everyone’s gaze turned back to me.
A High Inquisitor is not an ordinary title, but given the grandeur of this place, I thought someone fitting would be arriving.
“Since it’s the frontline, I’d assume it would be an Elder. I’ve heard Elders are kind of all over the place.”
Hotshim’s comment had Jaegyua nodding in agreement.
But Eris shook her head.
“Hmm, I’ve heard Dragonkin are excellent at developing magic, so Warping shouldn’t be too hard for them. It might be a Cardinal who comes.”
“A Cardinal, huh?”
Not quite at the level of a Guardian, but still a big shot.
Just then, the door opened, and the answer appeared.
A big man dressed not in ordinary priest robes, but a comfortable and armored version introduced himself as Cardinal Theocender.
As Eris had predicted, a Cardinal had shown up.
But right next to him was a girl with an unordinary vibe. She would have been mistaken for a human if not for the red horns protruding from her forehead.
“I am Dragoness Zane.”
‘Dragoness?’
Dragonkin determined the will of dragons through a council, where votes were cast by high clerics like Cardinals.
Among them was the only one who could exert the authority of two votes, the Dragoness.
In our terms, her emergence was akin to that of a Saint.
*
While Daniel McLean met the Dragoness, a chase was unfolding in the village near the city of Elgrid.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!”
A male spy from the Tudogs dashed through the alleys, trying to shake off his pursuers, but the expressionless white-haired pursuer leaping across the building rooftops made him feel like giving up.
“How? How did they find out?”
He had kept contact to a minimum.
Living in this village for five years, he thought he had hidden sufficiently as a flower shop owner. How did that female student know about him?
As he raced through the alley, he desperately turned at a fork, thinking he had to get out of the village.
“Ugh!”
He fell flat on the ground as his throat was struck precisely.
“Hey, mister. Didn’t you know?”
A girl with reddish-brown hair, holding a candy in her mouth, looked down at the spy with a wicked smile.
“You’ve got to be careful in alleys. Or else, you’ll get swept up by kids like us.”
A crowd of delinquent students surrounded the spy from behind, looking down at him.
“Got him.”
Sen called out while climbing down from the rooftop, speaking into her Communication Orb.
The recipient of that message was Tana and Eve in the Aios Academy dormitory.
Both of them held several Communication Orbs that looked fit for use in the royal palace, all supplied by Bertia, Elise’s maid.
“The situation in Harman village has been resolved.”
As Eve’s words echoed through the orb, another voice rang from the other side, unwilling to back down.
“Here, too, it’s done.”
It was the blunt voice of Hayun.
Since the skirmish in Bethel, her swordsmanship had skyrocketed, allowing her to easily manage the Tudogs’ henchmen.
“We’re finished as well.”
The chilling voice of Elise resounded.
Empowered by magical tools that boosted her physical capabilities, Elise was deemed even stronger than Apviel by Daniel, making it easy for her to eliminate the remaining stragglers.
“So the last one…”
There was no response from Lin’s orb, who was tasked with taking down the largest gathering of henchmen, a city rather than a village, in Hainam.
“Lin?”
“Ah, yeah… it’s done here too.”
Elise’s voice was unsettling.
There was a feeling of dignity mixed with an ominous undercurrent hidden beneath it.
Meanwhile, Lin’s voice conveyed overwhelming fear.
Her tone, laden with dread, caused Tana to feel a moment of terror.
She merely ended the communication without adding anything else.
The city of Hainam.
This was one of the main hubs for the Tudogs.
Given its lack of security, it was an ideal place for drug dealing and filthy dealings that couldn’t be spoken of elsewhere.
The old crone in charge of Bethel’s Murder Hotel had brought people right from here.
“How, how…”
In the underground pharmacy run by the Tudogs.
Despite the spacious location and numerous bodyguards, the pharmacist trembled, staring at his own pharmacy, which had turned as black as shadow.
All those guards were no longer there to protect him.
A dark energy was emanating from her chest as she commanded the dead to rise, forcing colleagues to fight each other, ultimately killing everyone except the pharmacist.
“I have a lot I want to hear from you.”
She could have made him a lackey and rummaged through his memories, but due to her lack of skill, she couldn’t gather all the information.
In the end, Lin had chosen a somewhat aggressive method, and she smiled slightly in apology.
“It’s going to hurt a lot. But there’s no helping it.”
“Please, please save me!”
As the pharmacist kneeled and begged the much younger Lin, she slowly placed her hand on his head.
“Daniel was sad.”
The man’s screams echoed in the darkened pharmacy.
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