by Virlyce
“They were in our way,” Vur said and blinked. “Why didn’t you do that?”
“That’s not how a leader behaves! You’re nice to people in Konigreich the Second,” Tafel said. “Why aren’t you nice to them here?”
“They’re not my people.”
“Then make them—” Tafel stopped what she was about to say. If she told Vur to make them his people, he might really do it. “Okay. Fine. But still, people are people regardless of whether or not you rule over them.”
“But they’re not my people,” Vur said again and crossed his arms.
“Does that really matter?”
“Of course,” Vur said and nodded. “When you take money from your not people, it’s called liberating shiny resources. When you take money from your people, it’s called taxation.”
“You should really stop hanging around Mr. Skelly,” Tafel said, her face darkening. “Besides, our countries collect mana crystals. We don’t have taxes.”
“We don’t?” Vur asked, blinking twice.
“And we won’t!” Tafel said, crushing Vur’s thoughts. “Anyways, the first place we should go is the adventurers’ guild. We should register for cards to make traveling through this continent more convenient. I’m surprised they had a guild though. Maybe the practice was carried on from Trummer when the worms invaded and the humans fled?”
“Hey, look at that person,” Vur said and pointed at a minute figure. Tafel turned her head. “I’ve never seen a child with a beard before.”
“Uh, Vur,” Tafel said as the figure glared at them. “I don’t think that’s a child.”
“…A midget then?” Vur asked. Stella nodded in agreement.
“Oi! Who’re you calling a midget!?” the figure said and stomped up to Vur. He barely reached up to Vur’s thighs. “I am a dwarf! Never seen one before, you bumpkin?”
Vur blinked. “Then a dwarf is a midget…?”
“No,” the dwarf said as his face turned red. “See here! We have muscular bodies. Bulging beards! A knack for crafting! And—”
“Can’t a midget have all of those?” Vur asked, tilting his head up.
Stella met his gaze and nodded in agreement. “He’s really small.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you!” the dwarf said, shaking his fist at the tiny fairy. “Let me show you the difference between a dwarf and a human midget!”
The dwarf reached over his shoulder into his bag and pulled out a rifle. Vur tilted his head as the dwarf pointed it at him. There was a loud noise, but Vur didn’t flinch, and a bullet struck him in the chest before bouncing off his armor. Vur furrowed his brow and rubbed the cracked leviathan scale the bullet had struck. He glared at the dwarf as a golden rune formed on his forehead. The dwarf’s eyes widened, and he was about to say something, but Vur’s leg blurred, launching the dwarf into the air.
Tafel shielded her eyes from the sun as she watched the dwarf fly beyond the town walls. When he disappeared from view, she glanced at Vur. “I’m pretty sure there’s something in the dragons’ code about not punting little people.”
Vur snorted. “He said he was a dwarf, not a little person.”
“I guess he did…,” Tafel muttered. “It just feels so immoral though.” She shuddered before shaking her head. “Anyways. Adventurers’ guild?” She could worry about solving the problems Vur brought later. To stay sane, one should take things one step at a time, and the first step was to register as citizens of the continent. Then the next step could be figuring out how much of a crime punting a dwarf was.
The trio ignored the crowd that had gathered and headed towards the building with the giant plaque that read, “Adventurers’ Guild.”
Tafel gagged and wrinkled her nose as she stepped inside. “It smells like goats.”
The receptionist glared at her.
“What?” Vur asked. “That’s not the smell of adventure?”
6
“Why don’t you give him a chance, honey?”
Kondra glanced at her mate before shifting her gaze back onto Grimmy. He was lying on his back with his four limbs sticking up into the air. Snores rocked the cavern walls. Leila was curled up beside him, partially shielding him from her mother’s view. “I really don’t trust darkness dragons.” She frowned. “There’s something … off about them.”
“You mean how they’re the complete opposite of us with their morals?” Lulu asked from the side. Her face was smudged with soot, and she was cleaning up the remains of an explosion that occurred because she ‘added one drop too many’ of toad venom into her concoction.
Kondra sighed. “It’s great that I’m going to be a grandmother, but….” She sighed again and shook her head.
A rumbling sound caught Kondra’s attention, and she turned her gaze towards the elf sitting next to Grimmy’s tail. “So hungry…,” Lindyss murmured as she drew pictures of steak in the ground. She stared at the picture before swallowing her saliva.
Kondra frowned. “Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked Lindyss, gesturing towards a patch of moonlight on the ground with her tail. “We left it open for you.”
“I’m not a plant, goddammit!” Lindyss shouted and threw a lightning bolt at Kondra’s face. Her and Kondra’s eyes widened at the same time. “Uh. I really didn’t mean to do that.”
Kondra wiped away the snakes of electricity from her scales and glared at Lindyss, causing the elf to stiffen. “A holy warrior wielding black magic?”
Lindyss let out a dry laugh. “I dabbled here and there as a magician before I was blessed,” she said. She summoned her sword of light and halo before waving them around. “Look, blessed sword and hat.”
Lulu cleared her throat. “I have this toad leg over here you can eat if you want,” she said. She glanced at Lindyss and her mother, but neither of them paid any attention to her. She sighed and lowered her head.
Leila stirred and opened one eye. Her other eye flashed open when she saw her mother looking as if she wanted to eat Lindyss. “Did something happen?” she asked, shielding Lindyss from her mother with her tail.
“Your little mascot threw a lightning bolt at me,” Kondra said.
Leila blinked and glanced at the elf.
Lindyss pursed her lips. “I’m hungry. And tired. And bored. I’ve been here for a month watching you two sleep!”
A claw flicked the back of Lindyss’ head, causing her to faceplant into the ground. “It’s just one month,” Grimmy said as he yawned and rolled onto his belly. “Why are you making such a fuss?”
“I really hate you, you know that?” Lindyss muttered through the earth, refusing to pick herself up.
“I love you too,” Grimmy said with a laugh. He scooped her up and dropped her onto his head. “Let’s go hunting. I haven’t tried any of the local fauna since I came here.”
“Hunting?” Kondra asked, raising her head. “We don’t do that here. Neither do the phoenixes. It’ll disrupt the ecosystem if we join in.”
Grimmy blinked. “Well. I don’t live here, so that doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “Besides, it’s your failure as a host. My little holy elf has gone hungry because you haven’t fed her. You’re not even going to let her eat now?”
“I offered,” Lulu muttered and threw the toad leg into her pool of water.
“How long are you going to hide behind your holy warrior?” Kondra asked, curling her lips to reveal her teeth.
“Until it stops working,” Grimmy said with a nod.
Kondra’s gaze lingered on Grimmy before she shifted it to Leila. “I really can’t approve of the mate you’ve chosen,” she said and snorted. “Just what do you see in him?”
Leila puffed her chest out. “I see everything I want to see in a mate and more. He’s irreplaceable.” She nuzzled Grimmy’s neck, and the two gazed into each other’s eyes.
“So gross,” Leila’s brother, Luke, said from his patch of moonlight. “Get a room, you two.”
Leila stuck her tongue out at him. “Why aren’t
you playing with Leo?”
Luke made a face. “He went to the assembly,” he said. “He’s been going in your place ever since you left.”
“Oh,” Leila said. “I see.” She cleared her throat and patted Grimmy’s wing. “Anyways, hunting time?”
“What!?” Kondra asked, her eyes widening. “You also hunt?”
Leila beamed at her parents before grabbing Lindyss, holding her up in front of her mother’s face. “Quell her wrath,” Leila said, holding Lindyss out even further.
Lindyss cleared her throat as sweat rolled down her back. “Say … isn’t there something Grimmy can do to, you know, not be so hated by you?” she asked. She resisted the urge to shrink back underneath Kondra’s glowing eyes. “I understand there’s some differences between your and his beliefs, but Leila loves Grimmy so much that I feel sick from all the sweetness bubbling out of the two.”
“Hey.”
“And it’d be a shame to ruin that,” Lindyss said, ignoring Grimmy’s remark. “Are your beliefs more important than your daughter’s happiness?” Kondra’s eyes continued to glow. Lindyss sighed. “What if Leila hates you because of this and you never see your future grandchild?”
Kondra blinked, the glow disappearing from her eyes. She bit her lower lip and furrowed her brow. Smoke poured out of her nostrils and ears as she remained motionless.
“Don’t use my kid as your shield,” Grimmy said, wrinkling his snout at Lindyss.
Lindyss placed her hands on her hips. “You two used me as a shield first! I earned this!”
“Honey?” Leila’s father nudged Kondra’s side. “Why don’t we give Grimmy a righteous quest?”
Kondra blinked again as the smoke pouring out of her face stopped. “Then I’ll give Grimmoldesser a quest,” she said and nodded as if she had come up with the idea by herself. “Since ancient times, the—”
Grimmy stuck his claw out, interrupting Kondra’s speech. “I always skip boring dialogue,” he said. “Just tell me what I have to do.”
Kondra gave him a dirty look. “Pacify the dwarves. They’re causing a lot of trouble on this continent.”
“Oh,” Grimmy said. “That sounds easy. I accept. I’m good at pacifying species.” He grinned at Lindyss and gave her a thumbs up.
Lindyss sighed as a sense of sadness overwhelmed her. Poor dwarves.
***
“Do you think goats are some kind of sacred animal here?” Tafel whispered to Vur as the couple walked up to the counter. The guild was bustling, filled with people who were staring at Tafel and pointing at her horns. A few also pointed at Stella, who was standing on Vur’s head with her head swiveling about like an owl.
“A goat is a goat,” Vur said and rolled his eyes. “Nothing sacred about them. Maybe they raise them for milk here.”
The receptionist’s gaze turned even darker as he scribbled on the paper in front of him. He was in the middle of servicing an adventurer, recording her report.
“Hey,” a voice called out.
Tafel turned her head, but Vur was too busy reading the requests on the commission board to care. Tafel’s eyes narrowed at a scrawny, pale man with greasy blond hair. “Did you need something?” she asked. The eyes of everyone in the room turned towards her.
“What are you?” the man asked with a leer. His gaze felt like worms crawling on her skin. “That’s some weird-looking armor you got there. Very … formfitting.” A strange laugh escaped from his mouth as he licked his lips.
Tafel clenched her fist, but Vur stepped in front of her, blocking the man from her view. Vur’s eyes glowed golden, causing everyone in the room to stiffen as a surge of mana pressed down on them. The man’s face paled as the faint image of a dragon’s head formed from the mana enveloping Vur.
“W-wait,” the man said, holding his arms out in front of himself.
A sharp pain on Vur’s head caused him to frown and look up. Stella had plucked a hair out. “Let me, let me,” she said and looked at him with puppy-like eyes. “Punish the bad man, right?”
Vur hummed as he rubbed his chin. The aura around him died down as he nodded. “Okay.”
Stella cheered and flew into the air. She approached the trembling man and sneezed on his nose. His eyes widened.
“Did she just sneeze on me?” the man asked.
Tafel’s brow furrowed as she recalled her first meeting with Rella. What kind of curse would a fairy queen cast? A minor inconvenience? A major inconvenience? A—. Her thoughts were cut off as the man screamed and collapsed onto the ground, his body twitching. His limbs flopped around, smacking himself as red welts appeared on his skin.
“Get them off me! Get them off me!”
The surrounding adventurers’ faces paled as the man clawed at his skin, scraping off layers and revealing flesh beneath. One white mage rushed forward and cast dispel, but nothing happened. Stella giggled as she flew back onto Vur’s head, creating a nest of sorts with his hair.
“What did you do to him?” Tafel asked. She didn’t like the man, but this punishment was a bit unusual and cruel.
“Curse of imaginary spiders,” Stella said with a smug expression.
Tafel paused. “Is this what you would’ve done to me if I didn’t give you the apple?”
Stella beamed at her. “Secret.”
Tafel’s expression darkened. It seemed like she shouldn’t refuse Stella’s demands for apples. How tyrannical. She saw a staff member of the guild approach from the corner of her eye, and she turned to face him. The staff member glanced at Vur and Stella and then Tafel’s horns before finally meeting her eyes. “Are you three new here? The guild master wishes to speak with you. It’s not every day we see a group like … yours.”
“Alright,” Tafel said. “Take us to him.”
“What about our companion?”
Tafel turned her head. The white mage standing over the squirming man was glaring at her. “Ask the fairy,” Tafel said and shrugged.
The mage’s gaze fell on Stella, who blinked. “Ask him,” she said and pointed at Vur.
Vur tore his gaze away from the commission board. “Ask me what?”
“Can you undo the curse on our companion?” the white mage asked, lowering his head.
Vur blinked before tilting his head. He pointed at Tafel. “Ask her.”
The white mage’s face fell as Tafel rolled her eyes and followed the staff member up the stairs to the guild master’s room. Vur tore a commission off the board and stuffed it into his armor before following after them.
The guild master’s room was a small one on the highest floor of the building. Papers were stacked up on a desk, and all kinds of weapons were hanging on the walls while a few sets of armor stood in the corner. The guild master was a petite human woman, wearing a pink blouse, with large glasses and braided hair; anyone would mistake her for a librarian. Except Vur. The first thing he asked when he entered the room was, “Are you a dwarf too?”
The guild master’s brow furrowed. “There are two types of really strong people in the world: the hardworking and talented ones who meticulously worked their way up, and the ones that defy all common sense. I have a feeling you’re the latter.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Tafel said and sighed.
Vur tilted his head at the guild master. “Are you jealous?”
“A little,” the guild master said with a nod. “Have a seat.” She poured four cups of tea—one cup small enough for Stella—and cleared her desk by knocking all the papers on top over. She sat down and waited for Tafel and Vur to make themselves comfortable before speaking, “I’m the guild master representing the town of Anfang. I have many titles and many names, but you can call me Alice. I called you over because I sensed something and wanted to confirm if my suspicions were true.” She raised her head and stared Vur in the eyes. “Are you a representative of the dragons?”
“I am a dragon,” Vur said and snorted. “And I only represent myself.”
Alice’s eyes widened. �
�I’ve never met a dragon who was strong enough to assume a humanoid shape,” she said and lowered her head. “I apologize for any disrespect shown.”
Vur tilted his head. “All dragons look like this when they first start out,” he said. He ignored Tafel’s almost inaudible sigh.
Alice raised her head and blinked. “Pardon?”
“I’m not old enough to grow out my wings and scales completely yet,” Vur said and nodded. Stella nodded with him, sipping her tea.
Alice looked at Tafel with an expression that asked, ‘Is he serious or is he just stupid? Or is it both?’
Tafel kept a straight face. “He’s a dragon,” she said, copying Sera’s demeanor when Nova had interrogated her.
“I, I see?” Alice asked, furrowing her brow. “You’re speaking human words, though your accent is a bit strange, and I understand the meaning of each word, but when you put them together like that, I’m unable to grasp exactly what you’re trying to say.” She bit her lower lip. “Let me rephrase my question. Did the holy matriarch send you here or not?”
Vur scratched his head. Sera hadn’t sent him and Tafel here. And Tafel hadn’t been able to go where she wanted to. So it was Nova’s fault? Yeah. “No. It was the patriarch.”
“The patriarch?” Alice asked, blinking twice. “There’s a patriarch?”
“Yeah,” Vur said and nodded. “He can cast meteors and stuff.”
Tafel frowned at the guild master, who seemed to be panicking. Should she correct the misunderstandings caused by Vur? If she did, did she have to correct every misunderstanding caused by Vur in the future too? She’d never have any time to do anything else if that was the case. In the end, she sipped on her tea and remained silent.
“So you’re saying…,” Alice said, saying each word slowly, “there’s another dragon out there who’s on the same level as the matriarch?”
“I think he’s stronger?” Vur asked, glancing at Stella. The fairy queen shrugged.
Alice chewed her lip as the crease in her forehead deepened. After a few moments of contemplating, she raised her head and sighed. “Sorry about that. You gave me a lot to think about,” she said. “What were you planning on doing when you came to the guild?”
