Ep 93. It's Not Too Late. (1)

  10 minutes ago…

  “…Think they’re afraid of us?”

  “That does seem to be the case.”

  Ohe sun had risen, the twons busily went about refilling the expansive crater Serenis had made st night which had bee a little too noticeable in daylight. Several vilgers were now also out and about, a majority were simply gathered around to watch the vilge’s twe guests. And every time Raizel g them, they’d hurriedly turn away around to avoid the youngling’s eyes.

  “…I get that they’re scared, but what’s up with them just watg us like animals?”

  “Who do you suppose told them what we are, child?”

  “Goldie?”

  “…”

  When Serenis stared at Raizel with thinned, disappointed eyes, the youngling shrugged aantly correct herself.

  “…Fine. Aldrid.”

  “And what do you suppose Aldrid is to these vilgers?”

  “Wasn’t she one of those deity sh…oh.”

  With Rozerre’s uling influenow washed away, the vilge was just as Serenis had expected: wary and cautious. A rural vilge was wont to be on guard of non-human visitors, especially if they’d just blown up the town’s only tavern on their night of arrival.

  Aldrid had checked for vilgers to make sure no one had been harmed by st night’s events, but if the deity had gone around telling them who the twons were while she did so – which did seem to be the case – it wouldn’t have been surprising to see the farmers gathering their pikes and axes to drive out the twons.

  As, while the twons were rather unweled guests, they were also the pany of a worshipped deity: the vilgers couldn’t dare to drive them away, but no one was brave enough to wele them with open arms, either. The result was the current awkwardness where everyone was warily watg from a distaoo scared to approay further.

  “Meh. Still better than what it was yesterday.”

  “…Hm. I suppose.”

  Serenis snickered at the youngling’s grumbling. True to her words, the vilgers’ alertness was much better in parison to the jarring brashhey’d experiehe day before. As some would say, silence was golden.

  But even that silence was soon broken by a low, authoritative voice that split the crowd in half.

  “Excuse us.”

  As the gathered vilgers made way, a group of four men, all dressed in bilitary armor, appeared from their midst. One of them was on horseback, his gaze focused owe individuals repairing the paved ground.

  “Sir. They match the reported descriptions.”

  “Hm.”

  After narrowing his eyes further, the leading officer quickly dropped off his mount to approach the dragons before him, the other men following closely behind. The man in lead didn’t seem bothered o as they came to a stop before Raizel’s gring eyes.

  “The hell do you want?”

  “…”

  After a brief s, the officer shot a demeaning look towards Serenis before turning to address Raizel.

  “Two nights prior, a pair of winged figures – a human, apanied by a half – were spotted flying across the tial border. Numerous witnesses poio the invaders’ destination being in the dire of this vilge.”

  “So?”

  “Invaders will not be doned. Unless proven otherwise, you are both guilty of trespassing the empire’s borders.”

  “…?”

  It took Raizel a mio realize the ‘human and half’ in the officer’s description were referring to her and Serenis. Apparently, dragons weren’t even an option in their mind.

  But even with that realization, two things baffled Raizel: one, despite the vilgers being perfectly aware of what she and Serenis were, none of them seemed keen on stepping up to inform the four soldiers.

  And two, the steel draghe moon-pierg sword crest embedded unto their breastptes.

  ‘…Isn’t that…’

  But even as the steel drago the men with sied eyes, they were too lost in their idle chatter to even notice.

  “You sure they’re the right ones? her of ‘em look capable of using magic to fly.”

  “Doesn’t matter. As long as we have someoo hold responsible. Even if they aren’t, nobody’s gonna care about outskirt folks like these.”

  “We just turn in the girl ahe half ourselves, ’t we? Their price’s been rideiculously high sihe army bought most of ‘em.”

  Once Serenis’ empty gaze met one of the soldiers hungrily staring at her figure, she briefly sed her surroundings once more.

  Seeing how relut the vilgers were to intervene, she could guess that the four men before her were of at least some authority. And apparently, said authorities were keen on selling the ‘half’ before them to a market as if they were selling potatoes.

  But even more ing was the seething hatred in Raizel’s eyes.

  Seeing the youngling holding ba unusual amount of anger, Serenis gently touched Raizel by her shoulder with ed eyes. But the steel dragon was quick to shake off the hold, not even b to look back.

  “Don’t worry. I’m just gonna ask them something.”

  Wheeel dragon took a step closer the leading officer, he was staring back at the twons with a most peculiar gaze. The sed gnce he spared towards Serenis was even more demeaning.

  “A human girl, ed about a half? That’s rather curious.”

  “…I’m gonna ask you once. If you don’t answer, I’ll kill you all.”

  “…?”

  The four threw the youngling a fused, mog look. Upon hearing the threat, the lead officer instinctively fixed the grip on the hilt of his sword, uhing a small bit to let the sunlight reflect off of its dim, hazel bde.

  But Raizel only scoffed at the on in response. Following suit, a giant, scaled mass of metal was flung out of the steel dragon’s back, bashing onto a massive tree far behind her. After suffering a brutal wound to its trunk, the tree sunk down to the ground with a deafening thud beside Raizel’s enormous tail, causing the nearby vilgers to flee in fear.

  “Don’t even try.”

  “…”

  …And that was all that was needed for the officer to sheathe his bde ba.

  After the noise of the falling tree whittled down, the steel dragon hissed her question in a furious voice.

  “Are you four from the empire?”

  “…We…”

  The officer audibly gulped in fear. A terrifying realization began to settle within him as he studied the metallic tail, apanied by a paralyzing fear of what he was talking to. To make matters worse, he wasn’t certain what answer ropriate here.

  Unfortunately, lying was useless with the crested armor they wore. And even if he were to fool Raizel for the time being, all it would take was oive their crest.

  “…We…are.”

  “…”

  Raizel took a heavy step fround lowly rumblih her foot. The men behind the leading officer began to step ba fear, though they all khat running away was futile before the entity they faced.

  However, moments before Raizel could swing her summo their heads, the youngli a firm grip pulling back at her hand. Wheurned around, Serenis was looking at her with pained eyes, shaking her head.

  “…Stay your hand, child.”

  “Lord, they’re all from that same damned empire. You might not have been there, but they came at us first!”

  “If they truly were responsible for the kin’s misfortuhen I will punish them in your pce. Do not sully your hands.”

  “…”

  Another minute passed by as Raizel pted between shaking off Serenis’ hold against listening to her. The youngling frowned in flicted anger, but eventually lowered her hand and turned away from the empire’s soldiers.

  “…Tch. Fine.”

  After relutly withdrawiail, the steel dragon shot the soldiers anre. Serenis instead stepped forth, her gaze l towards the leading officer’s waist.

  She then reached fripping the hilt of the officer’s on before swiftly pulling out the bde without permission. A dim glow shone from the metal, its smooth, brown surface bathing in sunlight.

  “…? What are you…”

  Serenis then summoned a ball of fire into her other hand, dipping the bde straight into its glow. But instead of melting or cutting through the spell, the magicked ember was reduced into bits of harmless mana as soon as the bde made tact. It only took moments before the spell dissipated into thin air.

  Finally, Serenis raised her pressuring gaze to meet the officer’s.

  “Where did you acquire this bde?”

  “…It’s a on given to all officers of the empire.”

  “…Where did its make hail from?”

  The officer opened his mouth to answer, but closed it back without a word. His eyes darted around nervously before he stammered out his answer.

  “I…ot tell you.”

  “…”

  This wasn’t regur metal. In fact, it wasn’t eveal to begin with. If anyone would know, the dragonlord would.

  - ‘Hey Serenis, look! I made your daughter a ring from my shell!’

  - ‘…I am NOT givio you.’

  - ‘What are you saying?! It’s not THAT kind ! Hey princess, tell your mother she’s wrong!’

  She ran her fiip across the bde’s length. Uhe rugged warmth she remembered, it was cold, and unnaturally smooth.

  ‘…What’s your shell doing in a human’s possession?’

  A long sigh escaped the dragonlord. No demon remained on this star aside from her own kin; if her gargantuan friend was still alive, there was no way she wouldn’t have been able to sense his existe Vulka’s grave.

  Then, this on was merely a piece of his corpse. A corpse that humans had somehow acquired to wield for themselves.

  That had to be the case.

  “What does your natioo aplish with ons like these?”

  “…I’m afraid ot tell you that, either. Kill us if you must.”

  “…No matter.”

  her Serenis nor Raizel had the ability to make someone speak their mind. Threats and tortures could supposedly go a long way, but Serenis wasn’t too keen on employing such methods herself.

  And she didn’t o. A far better option was right there, hurriedly approag the dragonlord with his mother.

  Praybird