81: Relief

I didn’t even get to leave the building before the ethereal green figure I had seen before appeared before us—alongside Lily.

“Ah, I see I have interrupted something?” Sylverith’s voice echoed out. This time, it appeared to be heard by everyone at least.

That didn’t stop everyone from freezing the moment it spoke, however, as all eyes turned to take in the ethereal humanoid in our midst.

“Uh—it’s okay. Not interrupting. They tried to rob the food I was preparing for you,” I said.

I regretted blurting that out the moment the words left my lips, as my whole being was flooded with a sensation of danger—bloodlust and anger.

“It’s okay though! Lily helped deal with it. Only one of them is still alive at the moment.” I raced the words out as fast as I could, in case the dragon decided everyone here was trying to steal her food.

The figure appeared to turn, taking in the man in the cage. He turned instantly pale, sweat beading on his brow.

There was a long pause.

Then a deep, loud chuckle echoed from outside the building—from the dragon itself.

But nothing was said.

The eyes of the remaining party member opened wide… and then he passed out.

“Wait!” I said, as everyone stared in shock. “We need him alive, right?” I turned to Hari, who was standing next to the cage, hoping for backup.

“Fear not. He lives. The conversation was too much for his mind to handle, is all. He’ll recover,” the ethereal figure said again, aloud for everyone to hear. Then she turned to me with a smile.

“Now, Lily mentioned you had the food prepared. I would very much like to test your abilities.”

I just nodded.

I pulled out the tail—only to immediately remember the dragon was outside, not inside.

Quickly storing it again, I made my way to the door. Lily, Crisplet, and Liane followed me outside. I looked around at the outer walls, wondering where I could place it to make it easy to reach. In the end, Milo came out and created an entryway, allowing me to exit the structure entirely.

Once I was back outside on the plains, I saw the dragon in its entirety. And it took me a moment to take in just how stunning it looked.

While it had been in the forest, I hadn’t gotten a good look—its body mostly hidden among the trees. But now?

It had vibrant green scales, and an almost whip-like tail. Its wings, unlike the Tempest’s, were sleek—and the best description I could come up with for them was sharp. But what stood out even more now were its claws. They looked incredibly sharp and large—like polished metal.

All of this, in combination with the vibrant, emerald-like eyes that practically glowed, left me in awe.

A spark from Crisplet broke me out of my reverence.

“Oh! Sorry!” I nearly yelled, pulling the cooked tail out of my storage, where it appeared on the ground.

Lily came over and inspected it first, appearing to smell it, then taking a bite—only to receive a look from the dragon. No words were spoken, but Lily quickly vanished and reappeared behind me…

Wait—was she hiding behind me after stealing the dragon’s food? Like I’d be able to do anything?!

Sylverith followed the same approach, lowering her head to sniff at it before taking a bite—where a third of the tail half vanished in an instant.

“Mmm. Yes. Delicious. I agree, Lily. Although now I’m especially not pleased you stole my food,” the voice echoed out.

Lily vanished again, this time reappearing further back—now hiding behind the party, who were all standing at the stone entrance watching.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. They were also going to do nothing to a dragon!

“I, uh, only cooked half because we had a lot of trouble cutting it. Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly, looking up at Sylverith, who had now finished eating the tail entirely.

“It is okay, young one. I will not meddle in the affairs of your species. But after talking to your prisoner, be warned—your connection to us will bring you more trouble. And we cannot protect you always. You need to grow strong. My daughter may not be there to protect you next time,” Sylverith said, looking over the group before—after a couple short flaps of her wings—heading back toward the forest.

A moment later, I was bumped from behind. Looking around, I saw that Lily was nudging me again—though this time, at least, not pushing me anywhere.

“I don’t have any more food, sorry!” I said. I’d really need to start stockpiling snacks—and not just for Liane now.

“Thank you for saving us tonight,” I added softly.

Lily glanced at Crisplet, who responded with a burst of sparks, before she vanished into my shadow.

“Uh, Crisplet… can you talk to Lily?” I asked curiously.

I got a bright burst of sparks.

I was surprised by the response. I wonder how that worked?

A moment later, we were just standing there in the cold night air—everything calm, everyone looking at me.

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“Well, that’s that,” I said with a smile. “The warning is kind of ominous. I wonder what they spoke of,” I added as I walked back to the group—Hari, Milo, Jen, Liane, and Micca.

It seemed Sarah had stayed inside with the prisoner—or maybe she just didn’t want to face the dragon outside. After that leak of bloodlust earlier, I couldn’t blame her.

All this stress and it was over. Finally. Well, kind of. We had new problems now, I supposed—with Simon, and now a group wanting to kill me because I’m working with Lily and Sylverith.

“All well?” Liane asked.

“Yeah, I think so. We’re all done with the food now—no more deadlines there,” I said, glancing behind me toward the forest.

“Excellent. Then tomorrow morning we’ll head back to town with our prisoner and go straight to the guild. After that, we’ll head in the direction of the capital—but let’s keep it on the down-low where we’re going,” Hari said.

Micca just looked around, still rattled from earlier. “You’re all leaving?”

“Yes, but you’ll be coming with us. We’re not leaving you in this town. I think we can get you set up in the capital—I know some people there,” Jen added, patting her on the shoulder.