by Virlyce
Tafel bit her lower lip as she waited for more, but Mary didn’t continue. “It sounds like you’ve had a rough childhood,” she said and glanced at Vur. “It’s very similar to someone else’s.” After a brief moment of hesitation, Tafel wet her lips and asked, “About that heart transplant…, how does that work?”
“Are you interested?” Mary asked. “My heart easily beats three times faster than a normal person’s. If your body isn’t strong enough to handle it, your veins will rupture and you’ll die. It’s very painful too; I don’t recommend it.”
“…Painful?”
“Being stabbed in the chest hurts,” Mary said, her face expressionless. “But adding orichalcum to your bones hurts even more. You shouldn’t do either.”
Tafel’s lips trembled. “Were you awake … when he did those things?”
“Of course,” Mary said. “As with any blood-magic spell, fainting means death. A lot of my brothers and sisters died while trying these operations when they learned I had them.”
“Who’s your uncle?” Apollonia asked. She had been sitting in a corner, not having made a sound until now. “Why have I never heard about him?”
“He was the head of Shadows,” Mary said.
Apollonia furrowed her brow. “Are you his puppet empress?”
“No,” Mary said. “He fell down the stairs and died when I was ten. It was an accident.”
“…Someone who could capture a desolate bear died by falling down the stairs?”
Mary shrugged. “There were a lot of steps.”
Apollonia’s mouth fell open. “That’s…. I see. A lot of steps.”
“What’s this turtlesnake?” Alice asked. “I’ve never heard about one before.”
“It looks like a turtle,” Mary said, “but instead of a tail, there’s a snake. There was only one left, but my uncle killed it, so turtlesnakes should be extinct now. He said they were as strong as phoenixes and dragons.”
“If they were that strong, how was there only one left?” Tafel asked, furrowing her brow. “Don’t tell me humans hunted them down….”
“No, that’s not it,” Mary said. “After a turtlesnake lives for a few centuries, the snake part and the turtle part fight and eat each other. Then the turtlesnake dies.”
“…It kills itself?”
“Some caterpillars turn into moths that can’t eat and die within a week. Some spiders let their young eat them after they’re born. Some mantises eat their mates during copulation. Is it so strange for a turtlesnake to eat itself?”
“Yes.” Tafel nodded. “It’s strange. Just because you listed three examples of strange animal behaviors doesn’t make turtlesnakes eating themselves any less strange. I think you’re the weird one for thinking it’s normal.”
Mary blinked and tilted her head. “I’m weird?”
“I win!” Vur shouted as he jumped to his feet. He caught Tafel midfall and pointed at Mary. “You blinked!”
Mary froze. “Your wife distracted me again! It doesn’t count!”
***
Lindyss sighed as she wrapped her blanket around herself tighter. Everything around her was white, and a shivering fairy with damp hair was clinging to her neck. Lindyss kicked her foot against the black surface beneath her. “How many times do I have to tell you not to fly through clouds!?”
Grimmy snorted. “You can tell me as many times as you want, but if it gets too hot when I’m flying, I’m going to dip into the clouds to cool off. You knew what you signed up for when you wanted to tag along.”
“Who wanted to tag along, damnit,” Lindyss said, pulling the blanket around herself tighter. She sneezed and sniffled a few times before wiping her nose against the fabric covering her shoulder. “I was perfectly happy sunbathing on a beach until you came along and whisked me away for no good reason.”
“Eh, when you put it that way, you make me seem like I’m the bad guy,” Grimmy said. “I’m the one carrying you across two oceans like some kind of cheap transportation. You’re not even paying me.”
“I didn’t want you to carry me,” Lindyss said, narrowing her eyes. “We’ve been flying for over a day now. I haven’t eaten or slept or used the bathroom. What kind of transportation won’t stop to let someone use the bathroom?”
“What, you want me to just float atop the ocean or something?” Grimmy asked. “Dragons aren’t great at hovering, you know. Circling around at high altitudes is much easier.”
Lindyss sighed. “Forget it. Just hurry up and fly.”
Grimmy clicked his tongue. “Someone’s grouchy.”
“I have every right to be grouchy. Why are we even going to check out this devil summoning? What is a devil anyway?”
“A devil’s a being from another dimension,” Grimmy said, rolling his eyes up to look at Lindyss. “They don’t have conventional forms, and the rules governing their abilities are different from ours. Back when I lived in the southern continent, a group of people tried to get rid of all the dragons using devils. Long story short, those pesky people failed and everyone died, rendering the whole continent uninhabitable. Then—”
“I remember you mentioning you destroyed the southern continent,” Lindyss said, lowering her head to meet Grimmy’s gaze.
“Did I?” Grimmy asked. “Let’s ignore the minor details, alright? Anyways, it’s not like I exterminated everyone. Clearly, someone must’ve escaped to the western continent. How else would knowledge of devil summoning appear?”
“You think the person summoning devils is trying to get rid of the dragons again?” Lindyss asked. “It makes sense why’d you want to investigate.”
“Yup,” Grimmy said. “Who knows, it might even be someone I’m familiar with.”
“You get along with people other than me?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow.
Grimmy snorted. “What, you thought you were the first person I experimented on?”
“I’m not?”
“No, but you’re the only one that I like,” Grimmy said. “All the other people swore to get revenge on me for some reason. Sheesh, after all I did for them too. Well, not like it matters—thousands of years have passed since then, so they’re all probably dead.”
“I told you he’s evil,” Erin whispered from Lindyss’ neck. “It’s not too late to jump off and hide in the ocean.”
“No, no,” Grimmy said. “It’s far too late even if you do that. No matter where you go, I’ll know where you are thanks to those souls planted inside of you.”
Lindyss frowned. “…Really?”
“How do you think I found you to take with me?”
“That’s … kind of creepy,” Lindyss said. “No, that’s seriously creepy.” She paused. “Does that mean you were just ignoring me for all those years before I found Vur and met you again?”
Grimmy scratched his snout. “Eh…, dragons are very busy individuals, you know?”
Lindyss sighed. “Sure. If you say so.”
“I wouldn’t ignore you for years,” Erin said with a pout.
“Please do.”
Erin snorted. “Maybe it really is too late for you to be a good person anymore.”
***
Mary sat with her arms and legs crossed, her cheeks bulging outwards like a chipmunk’s as she glared at Tafel. Tafel smiled at the pouting empress. “Glaring at me won’t change the fact that you lost.”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone as wishy-washy as you,” Mary said, the tension in her face relaxing. She turned her head away and closed her eyes, her chin tilting towards the ceiling. “This round doesn’t count. We agreed that only Apollonia could spectate as a judge. Outsiders interfered.”
“You should’ve said something when Tafel and Alice came into the room,” Vur said. “By not saying anything, you agreed to let them spectate. Besides, even if they hadn’t come, I would’ve won anyway.”
“You wouldn’t’ve,” Mary said, still refusing to meet Vur’s eyes. “It doesn’t count.”
“Sore lose
r,” Vur said and clicked his tongue. “Where’s your honor?”
“I don’t want to hear that from you, cheater,” Mary said, opening her eyes and pointing at Vur. “You made your wife distract me because you knew I was going to win. Where’s your honor? I refuse to step down as empress under these conditions.”
Tafel nudged Vur’s side. “You want her to step down because it’d be bad if you beat up the empress since you’re a dragon, right? That’s what Alice said, at least.”
Vur nodded. “I don’t like how she hurt you.”
Tafel sighed. “You know how I told you I have someone I want to beat?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And how you shouldn’t interfere and beat them for me because it’d be unsatisfying for me?”
“Mm.”
“Well, she’s the same,” Tafel said and pointed at Mary. “I want to get stronger and beat her with my own strength. Yeah, sure, she beat me pretty badly, but that’s not something you should get mad over.”
Vur tilted his head. “I shouldn’t get mad when someone hits you?”
“Hmm.” Tafel scratched her head. “No, that’s not right. You should, but when someone beats me this badly, you should let me take revenge for myself unless I want you to help.”
“But how do I know if you want me to help?” Vur asked. “You were unconscious.”
Tafel bit her lower lip. “Um, you just should…?”
Vur sighed and lowered his head, staring at the rose tattoo on his chest. It flashed with a purple light as Stella’s voice rang out, “I told you so.”
Vur furrowed his brow and placed his hands on Tafel’s shoulders. “You’re really confusing sometimes.”
Tafel’s face turned red. “Well, sorry,” she said, emphasizing the last syllable. “But you understand my feelings, right?”
“Right. You want to beat her yourself.”
“That’s impossible,” Mary said as she leaned forward and grabbed a slice of dried mango. “Someone who can’t fully dedicate themselves to their craft has no chance of winning against me.”
“Hey,” Tafel said, furrowing her brow as she broke away from Vur. “I train hard every day. Who says I have no dedication?”
Mary shook her head. “Your efforts will always be half of mine. You can’t decide whether you want to be a magician or a swordsman. That’s why you fail at being both.”
Tafel let out a long breath through her nose, clenching her hands. “I might fail at being a swordsman and a magician, but at least I can run a kingdom properly.”
“Wow, how childish,” Alice said from off to the side, her voice dry.
The tips of Tafel’s ears turned red, but she pretended as if she hadn’t heard the guild master.
“What do you mean?” Mary asked, her eyes narrowing. “Are you trying to say I’m running my empire improperly?”
“That’s right. Your people hate you,” Tafel said. “You’re a terrible ruler.”
“When you can’t hurt her with fists, you’ll hurt her with words, huh?” Alice asked. “Is that what you meant by beating her?”
“My people love me,” Mary said as she stood up, placing her hands on her hips. She talked through gritted teeth due to the mango slice hanging out of her mouth. “Look at all the taxes I’ve collected.”
“Pardon me for interrupting,” Apollonia said, lowering her head, “but people most certainly do not enjoy being taxed.”
Mary tilted her head as she slurped up the mango and swallowed. “Why not? The richer an empire is, the happier its people. The more taxes I collect, the richer the empire becomes. To make people happy, I simply have to raise taxes. Whenever people complain about something, I can raise their taxes to make them happier.”
Tafel’s expression disappeared off her face as she poked Vur’s side. “Maybe you should force her to step down.”
Vur knit his brow. “I don’t know,” he said and rubbed his chin. “What she’s saying makes a lot of sense to me.”
Apollonia raised an eyebrow at Tafel. “Does this mean you approve of my plan?” She glanced at Vur before smiling at Tafel. “Since it seems like you’re the one who makes the decisions.”
“By plan, you mean the one involving”—Tafel motioned at Mary with her head—“and…, wait. Why am I even trying to hide it? She thought I was a devil coming to kill her. She knows about the plan, doesn’t she?”
“The one where Apollonia tries to take my throne from me by summoning a devil to kill me?” Mary asked. She nodded. “I know about it.”
Tafel stared at Mary with a blank expression. “And that’s something you’re alright with?”
“Yes,” Mary said. “I’ve never killed a devil before. I’m looking forward to it.”
“And that’s how it is,” Apollonia said. “You’re not going to interfere, right? It’s her wish.”
“That’s….” Tafel bit her lower lip. “But does she know about the other part?”
“What other part?” Apollonia asked, raising an eyebrow. “There is no other part.”
“Aren’t you forgetting the human wave?” Mary asked as she picked up a dried mango. “Of course, I know about it. After I kill the devil in one strike, I’ll run away. I’m very fast.”
Tafel’s expression darkened. “You’re—”
“Um?” Mary made a small sound as she reached out for another mango but grasped empty air with her hand instead. She looked down just in time to see Vur stuff the last slice into his mouth. “You did it again! My mangoes….” She hung her head before glaring at Vur, clenching the hilt of her sword. “I’m going to train. Goodbye.”
Vur made a face as he swallowed the mango slice. “Like I thought, mangoes still taste bad.”
“Then why’d you eat it?” Tafel asked with a sigh. She pursed her lips as Mary left the room. “I’m going to follow her. I want to see what kind of training she puts herself through.” Vur yawned and leaned back, resting his head against the back of the couch. He was just about to close his eyes when Tafel grabbed his hand. “You’re coming too.”
“Eh?” Vur’s eyes widened. “Me? Why? Dragons don’t train. We naturally grow stronger.”
Tafel’s eye twitched as she dragged Vur out of the room. “You’re going to train with me!”
“Should we go too?” Mr. Skelly asked Alice.
“Nah. I—wait, where did you come from? Actually, never mind,” Alice said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to be made fun of after not being able to keep up with those two. There’s other ways for us to be useful.” She turned her head and gestured at Apollonia, waving her down. “Do you have a library?”
“Ah, yes,” Apollonia said. “I’ll show you where it is.”
Mr. Skelly and Alice followed Apollonia out of the room, leaving behind a woman with blue hair all alone on a couch in front of a table filled with empty plates. Alora blinked as her head swiveled around. “Wow. It’s so quiet. This is amazing!” She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes before chuckling to herself. “I wonder if Dad can sleep with the annoying trio bothering him now that I’m not there.”
***
“Can I observe your training session?” Tafel asked. She stood next to Vur, facing Mary who was standing under a tree.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Mary said. She grabbed a flat rock nearby and placed it by her feet. She pressed her forehead against the rock and kicked her feet off the ground, balancing on her head without using her hands. She crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. Somehow, the sword on her waist wasn’t affected by gravity and didn’t fall out of its sheath. Mary took in a deep breath and exhaled, her body stiffening up like a statue.
Tafel tilted her head. “What are you doing?”
Mary didn’t respond.
“Hello?” Tafel asked, crouching down to see eye to eye with the empress. Unfortunately, Mary’s eyes were closed.
Vur walked up to Mary and pushed her knee, causing her to topple over. The empress yelped as she scrambled to her feet, g
laring at Vur with glistening eyes. Her lips quivered as if she were about to cry. “It’s you again! Why do you always oppose me!?”
Vur coughed and shifted Tafel in front of himself, using her as a shield. Tafel scratched her neck. “Um, so, what kind of training was that?”
“I was becoming one with a carrot,” Mary said with a pout. Her hand trembled as she pointed at Vur. “I had a feeling I was about to experience a breakthrough until he pushed me over!”
“Wait,” Tafel said. “Becoming one with a carrot? Shouldn’t it be one with a sword?”
Mary shook her head, her hair whipping about. “I’ve already become one with the sword. Becoming one with a carrot is the next obvious step.”
“What part of that is obvious?”
Mary furrowed her brow. “No one likes carrots. Carrots are always avoided. No one notices a carrot when they walk past one. If I can become as unnoticeable as a carrot, then no one will be able to read my attacks.”
“…Are you sure it works that way?” Tafel asked, her voice tinged with doubt. She raised an eyebrow as she took a step backwards. “I was expecting, um, a lot from your training methods, but I guess not….”
Mary snorted. “As someone who’s lost to me, you have no right to criticize my training methods at all,” she said. “For as long as I’ve been able to wield a sword, I’ve swung it ten thousand times every day until it was as natural as breathing. If you can’t even do ten thousand swings, your opinion doesn’t matter to me.” She bit her lower lip as she glared at Vur. “Though I hate to say this, I’m sure your husband knows what I’m talking about. No one can be that strong without going through intense training.”
