━━━━━━━━━━┓?( ∞ )?┏━━━━━━━━━━
Vol 2 Chapter 33: She Is Mine
━━━━━━━━┛?( ∞ )?┗━━━━━━━━
“...Would you miing that?”
“Ah... I said, the ‘Eclipse’ team and the others they’ve been w with have fled the town... directly.”
“Eh...”
The branch manager of the Adventurer's Guild couldn't help but sigh, pressing her fio her temple.
She wasn't unaware of their often reckless, free-spirited nature, but knowing it and experieng it were two entirely different things.
“...Prepare yourselves. We’ll go and offer support.”
After a moment's sideration, the manager made her decision- she would assist after all. inally, she had po rally as many adventurers as possible, gathering a well-prepared group before heading out. But now, with the town’s stro batants already on the move, their only option was to follow in their wake.
She stepped out of her offid into the main hall of the guild, where adventurers had already gathered. Eae wore a look of steely resolve, for they khat a fierce battle could await them.
“Everyohank you for your swift arrival. We’ve just received word that uild members w outside the town have been ambushed. This could be a signifit crisis, and we must- ”
Creek.
Before she could tihe guild’s main doors swung open.
“...What are you doing back here!?”
The oo enter was Farkonia. However, much to the manager’s surprise, she was the only oanding at the doorway. A sense of foreboding slowly crept into her thoughts.
“The situation’s resolved. The criminals are trapped in the barrier, and the missing persons have been found.”
““...Huh?””
Every adventurer present gasped in collective disbelief.
Before they could ask any further questions, Farkonia turned a without a word. The adventurers were left in a state of utter fusion.
“What? Just like that, it’s all over?”
“Were we just here for... nothing?”
“That was... rather sudden.”
The room buzzed with murmurs and questions.
“...Ahem! Everyone.”
The branch manager, frustrated by the noise, finally activated the sound-amplifying magic tool, f the room to quieten down.
“...It seems the crisis has been temporarily averted, which is certainly a good thing. However, there’s still work to be done. We’ll tih the pn ao the designated location.”
Though embarrassed, she knew her duty had to be carried out. It was better not to appear superfluous at this point.
...
Having veyed that their stronghold had beeed, Farkonia returo the inn.
Inside, Marlyno was kneeling on the floor, while Mira and Sisi sat before her. Due to the differen height, even with Marlyno kneeling, the two women’s line of sight was hardly different.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry about what?”
“...I left without a word, causing you unnecessary worry.”
At that moment, Marlyno looked every bit like someone fessing to a nun. If it weren’t for Sisi, dressed as a mage, she would have resembled Mira, who wore a simple white priestess gown, to a tee.
“...Captain, bend forward just a little.”
“Like this?”
Marlyno tilted forward as instructed, nearing a position resembling a kneel. Mira stood up and moved to her side.
Suddenly, Marly something pressing down on her back. It wasn’t light, yet not heavy enough to be a burden; she could easily e, though it still felt somewhat odd.
‘No, this is...’
She focused, realizing the weight on her back was soft, something familiar to her.
“Mira? What are you...?”
“Shh... she’s asleep.”
Sisi softly interrupted Marlyno’s words.
Mira was now curled up against her back, purring like a tent cat.
“Although you only saw her after the i was over, she worked very hard behind the ses. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have arrived so quickly.”
“...”
“You’ll always be our captain, no matter what you are- whether a monster or a ‘forbiddeence.’”
“Wait...! Don’t say that...”
The mention of the ‘forbiddeence’ made her face flush red with embarrassment.
“...Oh? I thought maybe my ‘dition’ had passed onto you, but now you're embarrassed?”
“Ugh...”
Farkonia stood in the doorway for a moment, watg the tender exge between Mira, Sisi, and Marlyno- though, in truth, there had never been any real need for reciliatioween them. With a small sigh, she turned away, deg not to intrude on their moment.
She had returo the inn looking for someone, but they were o be found.
...
Elsewhere, a short distance from the inn, Diana walked slowly through the streets.
She knew her movements had been noticed, and it wouldn’t be long before the dragonkin guards arrived to escort her back to the Dragon Empire.
“Yhness, please wait here for a moment. The guards will be arriving shortly.”
The dragonkin scouts stationed iown bowed before Diana. Their sole task was to ensure her safety until the royal guard arrived, and to prevent her from esg again.
“You need not worry. I will not run away.”
Diana was all too aware that no matter how much she tried to flee, her responsibilities would not disappear. Her reckless as i days had been enough. She was satisfied with what she had done.
'If there’s any reing to be had, it’ll be when I asd to the throne as Empress of the Dragonkin. But I wonder... will I even be able to face you then?'
She knew her strength wasn’t enough to and the dragonkin with sheer power, as her mother had. She would have to find other ways.
As her thoughts drifted, a portal suddenly opened before her.
“...Yhness, I am here to escort you back to the pace.”
A dragonkin warrior, peculiar armor, k before her. His imposing build and the faint aura of dominance about him suggested that his strength was formidable- perhaps even matg the likes of Jade, who had fought alongside Arymm.
“I uand. The us- ”
“Stay.”
Suddenly, a voiterrupted, causing the dragonkin scouts and the newly arrived guard to tense up.
A young girl appeared ireet. Her silver hair shimmered, and her blood-red eyes, hypnoti their iy, pierced the air. Beh a sophisticated bck gown, her small stature belied the fearsome aura that radiated from her, making those around her feel insignifit.
“Who goes there!?”
One of the dragonkin guards rushed forward, positioning himself between Diana and the girl. His face was stern, and his voice demanded answers.
“Elyssa Rosenthal. The Rose Duchess of the Vampire Race.”
Elyssa curtsied gracefully, then raised her head, her eyes glowing with an eerie red light as they fixed on the dragonki.
In that moment, the dragonkin scouts felt as though their hearts were being gripped by an invisible hand, as if they might be crushed at any given moment.
Even the dragonkin guard trembled, cold sweat running down his back.
“...A Duchess of the Vampire Race? Do you uand what you’re doing? Are y to provoke a war between the Vampire and Dragon s!?”
The guard’s loyalty suppressed his fear, and he shouted at Elyssa with ched teeth.
“War? I’m simply here to recim what is mine... or perhaps, to settle a score.”
“Hand over the silver dragon, she is mine, and I’ll let you leave in peace.”
